Would You Support Mars Hill if George Soros Ran It?

 

How many of you would support Mars Hill or some other Christian school if George Soros were made the head of the institution? You may say the school still does a great work, but does this support still sound as logical?

We'll admit to surprise that so many wonderful animal rescuers have tossed support to Corey Speegle in Colbert County. The man has proved nothing but a divisive figure and opportunist.

Now, Speegle has been accused of performing tasks related to his gun business on his work time. Is that what you want?  (You may have seen the videos online...)

There's also an unwritten rule that breeders don't make good rescuers. True? False? Who knows? Whatever the answer, Speegle is a breeder who helps perpetuate the myth that only certain kinds of dogs make good trackers.

The truth about dogs? They possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to about six million in us. And the part of a dog's brain that is devoted to analyzing smells is about 40 times greater than ours. Dogs also have something called neophilia, which means they are attracted to new and interesting odors.

Looking for the best tracker? Try a bloodhound, not one of Corey's specials.

Do you have any idea how much of our email involves criticism of Speegle? We've said it before: He may have good qualities somewhere, but he is not a person who can be supported by the masses.

If "good thoughts" count, Shoalanda should be in charge of world disaster relief. She would still be better qualified than Corey Speegle.

No One Innovative in the Shoals?

 

Under the Innovate Alabama banner, our state just awarded 30 business grants. These went to the best companies the state has to offer. How many won locally? None.

The 30 winners were located in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Bessemer, Huntsville, Auburn, and Mobile. For all the Shoals' talk about business recruitment, we're still the red-headed step-sister.

We hear about brain drain. For brains to drain, we believe they have to be present to start with. Oh, well, we still have Inspiration Landing.

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We see where some Alabama teachers are bringing cattle into the classroom to help teach. We love it. We're putting in our order now: Make ours medium rare...

Here's Where the 14K Central Donation Came From

 

Pictured at left is Luke Mansell, principal of Central Elementary School. He recently posted about a $14,000.00 donation "from" Phillip Pettus. Many who saw this immediately seemed to think Pettus' personal money. 

Since we don't follow this school, we were not aware of this until a friend/reader sent us a copy. We immediately asked Mansell. No response.

We then asked Assistant Principal Jacob Fowler. No response.

We then resorted to contacting the school board's office where an extremely nice gentleman whose name we didn't get filled us in on this donation. We then filled him in on the lack of response from Mansell and Fowler.

We had assumed the donation came from COVID funds; however, it would appear that Central and a second school were the recipients of Pettus' discretionary fund for this legislative period. How these schools were chosen, we don't know. Both schools should consider themselves lucky to receive this bounty.

Bottom line: The money came from taxpayers - not Pettus himself.

Proof Positive It's Really Tennessee Street

 

Some weeks ago, there was a discussion as to East Tennessee Street/Florence Boulevard. One reader adamantly defended alleged remarks by the cemetery sexton that part of the cemetery was on Florence Boulevard. She claimed that the name was changed in the 80s when Dr. Hicks was constructed.

Pictured is the last structure on East Tennessee. According to 911 and city maps, it's located at 812 East Tennessee Street, not Florence Boulevard. The red marker shows Tennessee's last block terminating on Royal Avenue. The blue marker indicates where Florence Boulevard merges into East Tennessee at the Memorial Grove. 

Below is a map depicting the terminus on Royal Avenue:

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing. Learn a little; live dangerously.

The Battle for Pope's Tavern - Part I

 

This is the first of several articles on Pope's Tavern Museum, a facility now owned and run by the City of Florence. In this series, we will not so much comment on the history of this one-time coaching inn, but on how this early 19th Century pile has become the subject of woke sociology and the center piece of a plan to cement a one-trick pony career.

Wayne Higgins was for many years a teacher in the Florence City School system. By the end of 2018, Higgins was the curator of Pope's Tavern. He's pictured below left in a photo with former Mayor Steve Holt:

Higgins was almost universally liked. If anyone had any criticism, it was that he was unable to extract more money for museum upkeep and expansion from the turnip that was the City.

In 2019, Higgins was 70 years old. Time for retirement? Did Wayne Higgins even wish to retire? The answers to that question may vary from person to person. A local university professor once made the comment online that people of a certain age should be content to simply spend time at home playing with their grandchildren.

Why should we care what this woman espouses? It's a remarkable opinion coming from the wife of the one who replaced Wayne Higgins. 

Next: How to get the job

Wheeler Reserve Center in Sheffield Scheduled for Renaming

 

The Joseph Wheeler Reserve Training Center on Hatch Boulevard is scheduled to be renamed, along with dozens of other military facilities, after Congressional approval. Some facilities have had naming contests, with Nick Saban even getting a few votes.

We're going to suggest the Inspiration Landing Center. At least IL will then have a permanent place in the City on the Bluff.

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Two years ago, this was a hot topic: Rename Deshler High School

Fido Survived; Sasquatch Didn't

 

First a clarification: The dog shot by the Muscle Shoals police officer did not die, but was treated and returned to its family. Neither the dog nor the officer face any charges as far as we know.

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Now an interesting tale from a reader:

I recently picked up a news publication displaying a photo of a young woman holding hands with a sasquatch. She looked intelligent and happy. I was impressed by her courage and obvious happiness. I've always wanted to hug a baby elephant, and here's someone hardly more than a child making her dreams come true.

Then I looked at the next photo and saw her beating the sasquatch with a baseball bat. I had no idea why she was hurting this animal.

Yes, there are too many of the big-footed guys running around, but how many would actually want to kill one for fun. Please keep her away from all the baby elephants.

When we see stories like this, we're always reminded of Southern Mama's question to her husband: Randy, we can't we buy our meat at Walmart like ever'body else?