The big news Friday was political as Cordova High Principal Jason Adkins confirmed he will run for Walker County superintendent of education in 2010, vying for a seat held now by Vonda Beaty. (She is in her first term.) Sheriff John Mark Tirey also announced will run for fifth term as sheriff. That news came out of interviews during an active two hours at the Jasper Mall as "Talk of the Town" was simulcast on WJLX and WJBE at the Home and Garden Show.
Attorney Herbie Brewer, who represents bingo charities, came on the show to discuss the issues around electronic bingo at the moment. Walker Wilson came on to talk about the retail recruitment committee at the Chamber of Commerce of Walker County, as well as the banking industry in Walker County. (His own bank, the Bank of Walker County, also marked its fifth anniversary Friday, which he remarked on.) The only disappointment was that we couldn't get state Rep. Ken Guin, who had a schedule change and offered to come on by phone, but our situation of doing a remote at the mall was not easily set up for tape playback and called-in phone interviews, which we usually do a lot of at the studio. Hopefully we'll have him on the show soon.
We also had a pretty robust news segment, as unemployment figures announced Friday showed the rate going up again in Walker County and slightly above the state and national figures. (Winston and Marion counties are now above 14 percent.) The Jasper City Council had a work session and indicated it would likely go with a lessor Blue Cross plan for employees that will eliminate their drug card and require them to start filing for prescriptions (although they get 100 percent on generics). They also were told they have very good chances to get a $250,000 grant for a new senior citizen center. However, they also have a total debt of more than $11 million and they are still seeing declines in the sales tax. I also had news about the bingo hearing in Birmingham, where agreement seemed near to allow the release of bingo charity applications to the Walker County Political Accountability Coalition.
Overall, I am well pleased with the day, and my thanks to everyone who participated. The crew at the radio station did a great job overcoming difficulties to bring this remote, and hopefully we can do more.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
bingo hearing and more
I will be covering the Walker County bingo hearing at 3:30 p.m. in Room 330 of the Jefferson County Courthouse on Thursday, March 26. I'll be representing not only WJLX but also the Alabama Baptist weekly newspaper. This is the hearing that involves the Walker County Political Accountability Coalition wanting to see the permit applications for electronic bingo charities in Walker County, as there are questions about the validity of some charities.
Meanwhile, I learned this week that a full list of the charities is on display at the Walker County Courthouse, along with expiration date and assigned bingo hall. It is in a narrow basement hallway outside of the bingo compliance officer's office -- under glass. No paper copies are allowed to be distributed, and there were lines of bingo-related people in the hallway when it first went up trying to scribble the information down on paper.
As for Thursday, because of the hearing and the home and garden show being set up by my station for this weekend, the show will be taped in advance but will feature a reading of the full statement released by Jasper Councilman Johnny Rollins to WJLX on Tuesday about the new position being created for a public works director/engineer. Rollins said it was released to other Jasper media as early as March 2 but was never published. Since he is an elected councilman (as opposed to just anyone coming off the street to vent), I feel obligated to read the entire statement as a matter of record. Mayor Sonny Posey has denied some of the allegations in the statement. I also hope to include the recorded statement from Bevill State's president concerning the cuts that could be approved by the state board of education on Thursday.
On Friday, I will be on both WJLX-AM and WJBE-FM from 2-4 p.m., a special two-hour live broadcast from the home and garden show at the Jasper Mall. We hope to feature Sheriff John Mark Tirey and banker and chamber retail official Walker Wilson, as well as some others we are trying to line up. We hope you will join us at the center of the mall Friday, as well as on the radio and the Internet.
I'm still proud of what we're doing on this show. We were the only news organizations to cover the last Dora City Council meeting over the past week (and the first to report on Carbon Hill's meeting). We were the first in the county to report about the rise in the county unemployment rates, and we reported today that state Rep. Tommy Sherer abstained on the food sales tax vote because he was not comfortable with how the funding would be made up. We were the first to report about the public works director/engineer matter from Jasper's meeting and ran a 30-minute segment taped from the meeting hours earlier. We were the first to report that the county had been confirmed to receive more than $200,000 in stimulus funds and that it would have more time to use the money, thus preventing the county from having to give the money back. We were the first to report that Dora firemen had formed a bingo charity to help the fire department using the department's name in the title...while the council had earlier voted not to receive bingo money. (We ran a long portion from that discussion as well.) We've been the first to report stock closings and breaking legislative developments from Montgomery.
I hope we can offer a service in breaking the local stories of interest and bringing listeners into public meetings, as well as informing and entertaining them with our guests. No other news outlet in Walker County is offering anything like we do, and I hope advertisers and listeners in our market will support this effort. Again, we are also streamed live on http://www.walkercountyradio.com/ and the shows are archived there for a week to be downloaded.
A final word for the moment: I'm getting so old I am forgetting my age. I got off track during a morning show on WJBE Wednesday. I think someone asked if I was 32 and I kept saying I was 36. Actually, I meant to say I turned 46. In fact, it got me messed up all day and I had to keep correcting myself, for some reason. I think we can now really say I am old when I can't remember how old I am! At any rate, 46 or not, I appreciate the many kind words I received Wednesday. It has been a difficult time of transition, and the day was a welcome comfort to me.
Added to this happiness on Wednesday was my interview that day with Jarrod Jones, which I think was important for many people to hear concerning the problem of sexual problems and looking at it from a Christian perspective. I would encourage you to look up this show on the Web site, archived as Wednesday's show, and give it a listen. You can also find links to his material at http://www.jarrodjones.com/.
Meanwhile, I learned this week that a full list of the charities is on display at the Walker County Courthouse, along with expiration date and assigned bingo hall. It is in a narrow basement hallway outside of the bingo compliance officer's office -- under glass. No paper copies are allowed to be distributed, and there were lines of bingo-related people in the hallway when it first went up trying to scribble the information down on paper.
As for Thursday, because of the hearing and the home and garden show being set up by my station for this weekend, the show will be taped in advance but will feature a reading of the full statement released by Jasper Councilman Johnny Rollins to WJLX on Tuesday about the new position being created for a public works director/engineer. Rollins said it was released to other Jasper media as early as March 2 but was never published. Since he is an elected councilman (as opposed to just anyone coming off the street to vent), I feel obligated to read the entire statement as a matter of record. Mayor Sonny Posey has denied some of the allegations in the statement. I also hope to include the recorded statement from Bevill State's president concerning the cuts that could be approved by the state board of education on Thursday.
On Friday, I will be on both WJLX-AM and WJBE-FM from 2-4 p.m., a special two-hour live broadcast from the home and garden show at the Jasper Mall. We hope to feature Sheriff John Mark Tirey and banker and chamber retail official Walker Wilson, as well as some others we are trying to line up. We hope you will join us at the center of the mall Friday, as well as on the radio and the Internet.
I'm still proud of what we're doing on this show. We were the only news organizations to cover the last Dora City Council meeting over the past week (and the first to report on Carbon Hill's meeting). We were the first in the county to report about the rise in the county unemployment rates, and we reported today that state Rep. Tommy Sherer abstained on the food sales tax vote because he was not comfortable with how the funding would be made up. We were the first to report about the public works director/engineer matter from Jasper's meeting and ran a 30-minute segment taped from the meeting hours earlier. We were the first to report that the county had been confirmed to receive more than $200,000 in stimulus funds and that it would have more time to use the money, thus preventing the county from having to give the money back. We were the first to report that Dora firemen had formed a bingo charity to help the fire department using the department's name in the title...while the council had earlier voted not to receive bingo money. (We ran a long portion from that discussion as well.) We've been the first to report stock closings and breaking legislative developments from Montgomery.
I hope we can offer a service in breaking the local stories of interest and bringing listeners into public meetings, as well as informing and entertaining them with our guests. No other news outlet in Walker County is offering anything like we do, and I hope advertisers and listeners in our market will support this effort. Again, we are also streamed live on http://www.walkercountyradio.com/ and the shows are archived there for a week to be downloaded.
A final word for the moment: I'm getting so old I am forgetting my age. I got off track during a morning show on WJBE Wednesday. I think someone asked if I was 32 and I kept saying I was 36. Actually, I meant to say I turned 46. In fact, it got me messed up all day and I had to keep correcting myself, for some reason. I think we can now really say I am old when I can't remember how old I am! At any rate, 46 or not, I appreciate the many kind words I received Wednesday. It has been a difficult time of transition, and the day was a welcome comfort to me.
Added to this happiness on Wednesday was my interview that day with Jarrod Jones, which I think was important for many people to hear concerning the problem of sexual problems and looking at it from a Christian perspective. I would encourage you to look up this show on the Web site, archived as Wednesday's show, and give it a listen. You can also find links to his material at http://www.jarrodjones.com/.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Aderholt on Monday's show
Aderholt Press sent a message to the members of Friends of Rep. Robert Aderholt.-------------
-------Subject: MEDIA ALERT: Aderholt on the Radio Monday
Congressman Aderholt will be on the radio several times tomorrow (Monday). First, he will be on the Matt Murphy morning radio show at 8:45am Central (9:45 EST) to talk about the AIG controversy, the out-of-control federal spending and the Cap & Trade debate in Washington. You can listen to this interview on 1070am WAPI in the Birmingham metro area or online at www.wapi1070.com. Later in the day, Rep. Aderholt will be on the "Talk of The Town Radio Show w/Ed Howell" at 2:15pm Central (3:15pm EST). You can listen to this interview on 1240am in or nearby Walker County or online at www.walkercountyradio.com.
God Bless, Aderholt Press Office
-------Subject: MEDIA ALERT: Aderholt on the Radio Monday
Congressman Aderholt will be on the radio several times tomorrow (Monday). First, he will be on the Matt Murphy morning radio show at 8:45am Central (9:45 EST) to talk about the AIG controversy, the out-of-control federal spending and the Cap & Trade debate in Washington. You can listen to this interview on 1070am WAPI in the Birmingham metro area or online at www.wapi1070.com. Later in the day, Rep. Aderholt will be on the "Talk of The Town Radio Show w/Ed Howell" at 2:15pm Central (3:15pm EST). You can listen to this interview on 1240am in or nearby Walker County or online at www.walkercountyradio.com.
God Bless, Aderholt Press Office
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Talk of the Town at Home and Garden Show
"Talk of the Town" is planning to hold a special two-hour broadcast at the Walker County Home and Garden Show at 2 p.m. Friday, March 27, that will be simulcast on both WJLX and its FM sister station. It will be our first remote broadcast, our first two-hour show and our first time to be simulcast on both the stations. We are trying to get guests lined up for the show, which I understand should be broadcast from near the center of the Jasper Mall. (Considering how some guests have cancelled or gotten lost in the past week or so, this may be the first publicly broadcast nervous breakdown in history, but hopefully it will go well.)
Hopefully, if you show up to watch, you might get a chance to ask some questions yourself on the air. I was just sitting here thinking we should have a giveaway to people who come up watch. Of course, I've seen a lot of cheap things given away at things like this. (I suggest we give away Brett Elmore to the first one who wants him. That's about as cheap as it gets.)
Also, we have smoothed out problems with the live stream on www.walkercountyradio.com so that you should be able to stream it, at least if you have high speed Internet. It will continue to be archived by suppertime and available for a full week for each broadcast.
It is a gamble to say who will be on because of breaking news and cancellations but some highlights we are planning for include Carbon Hill Chris Hart today (Friday) and Cordova Mayor Jack Scott on April 1. Dora Mayor Chris Edwards is set for April 15. I would also like to point out two Christian-themed guests that I hope you will especially tune in to, as they are personal friends I recommend: Christian youth speaker and author Jarrod Jones (www.jarrodjones.com) on March 25 (my birthday) and singer Mark Baynes (www.markbaynes.com) on April 7.
Hopefully, you'll like what we are doing on the broadcast, and I would love to hear feedback.
Also, I hope you will visit around on my Web site at www.edhowellcommunications.com and realize I can handle some of your photography, Web site and other communication needs. I will be upfront with you and help you to fit a project to within your budget. We're all tight on our spending these days, and I can do you a bargain job without sacrificing quality.
Hopefully, if you show up to watch, you might get a chance to ask some questions yourself on the air. I was just sitting here thinking we should have a giveaway to people who come up watch. Of course, I've seen a lot of cheap things given away at things like this. (I suggest we give away Brett Elmore to the first one who wants him. That's about as cheap as it gets.)
Also, we have smoothed out problems with the live stream on www.walkercountyradio.com so that you should be able to stream it, at least if you have high speed Internet. It will continue to be archived by suppertime and available for a full week for each broadcast.
It is a gamble to say who will be on because of breaking news and cancellations but some highlights we are planning for include Carbon Hill Chris Hart today (Friday) and Cordova Mayor Jack Scott on April 1. Dora Mayor Chris Edwards is set for April 15. I would also like to point out two Christian-themed guests that I hope you will especially tune in to, as they are personal friends I recommend: Christian youth speaker and author Jarrod Jones (www.jarrodjones.com) on March 25 (my birthday) and singer Mark Baynes (www.markbaynes.com) on April 7.
Hopefully, you'll like what we are doing on the broadcast, and I would love to hear feedback.
Also, I hope you will visit around on my Web site at www.edhowellcommunications.com and realize I can handle some of your photography, Web site and other communication needs. I will be upfront with you and help you to fit a project to within your budget. We're all tight on our spending these days, and I can do you a bargain job without sacrificing quality.
court hearing on Thursday
Bucky Rizzo, the chairman of the Walker County Political Accountability Coalition, told me tonight that a court hearing on the coalition's motion to release the applications for charities in the county, is set for 3:30 p.m. next Thursday, March 26, in Birmingham.
Monday, March 16, 2009
A better county Web site
Today on "Talk of the Town," assistant University of Alabama journalism professor Chris Roberts, an old friend of mine, came on for a few minutes to discuss the fairly new trend of Web sites for county governments. In Sunday's Birmingham News (his old newspaper), Roberts talked about the subject in an ed-op piece, which also coincided with Sunshine Week. That is a time set aside to emphasize the importance of making government documents and resources available to the public at large and calling attention to what is legally in place to do such work.
Finding government information on Web sites may sound like a small subject, but many people are now getting much of their information from Web sites now. Perhaps some people are poor and can't afford a computer, but in that case others with a computer can take more time to look up that information for the less fortunate. However, we are moving to a society where many people have access to computers, even at libraries for free.
Moreover, in a very busy world we live in today and with commuter situations that take people out of the county to work, it is easier to look up this information by the Internet. Making it available allows the public to do what reporters have done for years -- to be the watchdog over the government. By putting contracts, bids, court dockets, arrest information, meeting agendas and more on the Web, we are able to better keep track of government officials. It is not to say everything they are doing is bad, but it makes for more transparency and quicker response in the 21st century to have material scanned in quickly for the public to browse through.
In the old days, they might have to fight traffic, pay fees for photocopying and then carry reams of paperwork. Now government is available to watch over while sitting in your pajamas at a computer. Maybe it shouldn't be THAT comfortable, but it certainly makes it easier for the common folk, especially the busy ones who have jobs to do, to find out what the people they are paying are actually doing.
Roberts uses the example in Sunday's column that former Jefferson County Commissioner Jeff Germany, who used non-profits to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to friends and relatives, could have been tracked as the spending was in line items in county agendas and minutes -- records that Roberts said are still not online.
Roberts and some of his students marked Sunshine Week by conducting the first survey in the state that I know about concerning county Web sites. (A similar one is being finished about city Web sites. The county results can be found at www.chrisrob.com/sunshine.) What they found out is discouraging. Out of 67 counties, 25 still don't have Web sites and the rest vary wildly in the quality of useful information. Only 17 counties even include the minutes of minutes and only 11 had timely links to agendas for upcoming meetings.
That brings us to Walker County, which pays Walker Web $1,500 a year to maintain a Web site (http://www.walkercounty.com/) that has been around for a while. However, some departments have apparently never even submitted information to complete their pages, such as the sanitation department. Walker County did state the time but did not include the place of the meetings. The agendas are not posted, as a county official indicated it has not been set up for her to make the postings herself and sometimes the agenda is not completed anyway. More than two dozen other counties have their agendas posted online.
The county does post some contact information and commission district maps. There is an ability to pay for some items, such as in renewing tags online, printing business license applications to pay by mail, renewing hunting and fishing licenses online and paying sales tax revenue online. However, on the flip side, finding property values and a property map was not apparent. About 29 counties gave an employee directory, but Walker did not have one. It did not post its budget, contracts or requests for bids. No police or sheriff reports, nor any jail logs, were on the site (even though Carbon Hill and Winston County were doing similar items on their Web sites). The county did not follow Winston's lead to put court dockets directly on the site; instead, it gave a link to the state's AlaCourt site, which usually requires a subscription fee.
It would seem that it is time to sit down with Walker Web and county departments to see what can be done for taxpayers to get their money's worth. To his credit, Walker County Commission Chairman Bruce Hamrick said today he was interested in looking into an update and noticed recently some things were still missing from the site. He wanted a breakdown of some of the information from Roberts' study in comparison with other counties. He did note there is the problem of how smaller counties can afford to provide so many services on a Web site and that there is only so much time to make postings.
Hamrick did note there is a possible solution being bantered around. There is apparently some talk within the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama to possibly handle the service for all the counties, apparently pooling resources. Roberts said Monday that this would be an excellent idea and hopes that it takes off as a way to help the counties. It could particularly help many smaller counties that may feel they cannot afford in some ways to tackle a project. Certainly there has been great advancement in the state court system for bringing online services online, as lawyers are now getting used to filing and researching cases electronically. The association and the Alabama League of Municipalities might be able to undertake similar projects.
At any rate, county and city Web sites are the next wave of government service. Anyone who thinks it is premature to discuss the impact of the Internet can only see newspapers shutting down in Denver, Seattle and other areas to note that the future is here. It is imperative that the public be served in an efficient, cost-effective way. It also helps the public to take up its role again as the true boss of all those politicians who try to take advantage of the voters.
Interesting thing about that study, by the way: When I noted one or two mistakes in the results concerning Walker County, Roberts admitted he had already started finding them and updating the results. In fact, since they went online, others around the state are calling in. Believe it or not, he didn't sound displeased, because this is the point about oversight that he is making when it comes to the general public. If they can start correcting the study this quickly, think what they could do with county and city governments when their material goes online.
Finding government information on Web sites may sound like a small subject, but many people are now getting much of their information from Web sites now. Perhaps some people are poor and can't afford a computer, but in that case others with a computer can take more time to look up that information for the less fortunate. However, we are moving to a society where many people have access to computers, even at libraries for free.
Moreover, in a very busy world we live in today and with commuter situations that take people out of the county to work, it is easier to look up this information by the Internet. Making it available allows the public to do what reporters have done for years -- to be the watchdog over the government. By putting contracts, bids, court dockets, arrest information, meeting agendas and more on the Web, we are able to better keep track of government officials. It is not to say everything they are doing is bad, but it makes for more transparency and quicker response in the 21st century to have material scanned in quickly for the public to browse through.
In the old days, they might have to fight traffic, pay fees for photocopying and then carry reams of paperwork. Now government is available to watch over while sitting in your pajamas at a computer. Maybe it shouldn't be THAT comfortable, but it certainly makes it easier for the common folk, especially the busy ones who have jobs to do, to find out what the people they are paying are actually doing.
Roberts uses the example in Sunday's column that former Jefferson County Commissioner Jeff Germany, who used non-profits to give hundreds of thousands of dollars to friends and relatives, could have been tracked as the spending was in line items in county agendas and minutes -- records that Roberts said are still not online.
Roberts and some of his students marked Sunshine Week by conducting the first survey in the state that I know about concerning county Web sites. (A similar one is being finished about city Web sites. The county results can be found at www.chrisrob.com/sunshine.) What they found out is discouraging. Out of 67 counties, 25 still don't have Web sites and the rest vary wildly in the quality of useful information. Only 17 counties even include the minutes of minutes and only 11 had timely links to agendas for upcoming meetings.
That brings us to Walker County, which pays Walker Web $1,500 a year to maintain a Web site (http://www.walkercounty.com/) that has been around for a while. However, some departments have apparently never even submitted information to complete their pages, such as the sanitation department. Walker County did state the time but did not include the place of the meetings. The agendas are not posted, as a county official indicated it has not been set up for her to make the postings herself and sometimes the agenda is not completed anyway. More than two dozen other counties have their agendas posted online.
The county does post some contact information and commission district maps. There is an ability to pay for some items, such as in renewing tags online, printing business license applications to pay by mail, renewing hunting and fishing licenses online and paying sales tax revenue online. However, on the flip side, finding property values and a property map was not apparent. About 29 counties gave an employee directory, but Walker did not have one. It did not post its budget, contracts or requests for bids. No police or sheriff reports, nor any jail logs, were on the site (even though Carbon Hill and Winston County were doing similar items on their Web sites). The county did not follow Winston's lead to put court dockets directly on the site; instead, it gave a link to the state's AlaCourt site, which usually requires a subscription fee.
It would seem that it is time to sit down with Walker Web and county departments to see what can be done for taxpayers to get their money's worth. To his credit, Walker County Commission Chairman Bruce Hamrick said today he was interested in looking into an update and noticed recently some things were still missing from the site. He wanted a breakdown of some of the information from Roberts' study in comparison with other counties. He did note there is the problem of how smaller counties can afford to provide so many services on a Web site and that there is only so much time to make postings.
Hamrick did note there is a possible solution being bantered around. There is apparently some talk within the Association of County Commissioners of Alabama to possibly handle the service for all the counties, apparently pooling resources. Roberts said Monday that this would be an excellent idea and hopes that it takes off as a way to help the counties. It could particularly help many smaller counties that may feel they cannot afford in some ways to tackle a project. Certainly there has been great advancement in the state court system for bringing online services online, as lawyers are now getting used to filing and researching cases electronically. The association and the Alabama League of Municipalities might be able to undertake similar projects.
At any rate, county and city Web sites are the next wave of government service. Anyone who thinks it is premature to discuss the impact of the Internet can only see newspapers shutting down in Denver, Seattle and other areas to note that the future is here. It is imperative that the public be served in an efficient, cost-effective way. It also helps the public to take up its role again as the true boss of all those politicians who try to take advantage of the voters.
Interesting thing about that study, by the way: When I noted one or two mistakes in the results concerning Walker County, Roberts admitted he had already started finding them and updating the results. In fact, since they went online, others around the state are calling in. Believe it or not, he didn't sound displeased, because this is the point about oversight that he is making when it comes to the general public. If they can start correcting the study this quickly, think what they could do with county and city governments when their material goes online.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Paint me a bingo hall, Randy Owen
Well, I have say I am a little disappointed in Randy Owen of Alabama, as he has gone over to the side of bingo. So much for a wholesome reputation.
On Wednesday the House Tourism and Travel Committee voted to approve the bingo bills that would set up 14 large bingo halls in the state, including two in Walker County. According to the Associated Press, the committee passed a version of the bill that would allow games in Etowah, Greene, Houston, Lowndes, Jefferson, Macon, Mobile and Walker counties. The committee took out Calhoun County, which was in the original version. Lucky Calhoun.
The identical Senate committee held a public hearing on the identical Senate bill but did not take an identical vote. In fact, they held no vote at all, for some reason.
Perhaps they were not serenaded like the House committee was. According to the AP, "The legislation attracted support from country music entertainers, who say it will help a country entertainment center be built near Dothan. Tracy Lawrence sang 'Paint Me a Birmingham' for the House committee, and Alabama singer Randy Owen told the Senate committee that there is no place he'd rather play than Alabama."
Paint me a bingo hall, Mr. Owen. And use some pretty colors to mask the ugly mess we're creating. Be sure to use green, the color of money.
By the way, going through the bill, I uncovered something interesting. There is a section that indicates that while the current bingo amendments for the counties would be scrapped, the governing authorities under those old amendments would have the ability to pick the operators of the two bingo halls for that county. In other words, the Walker County Commission would get to pick the two bingo halls which would have at least 1,000 machines each and would cost at least $50 million to build. Once that word gets around, the reaction should be quite interesting.
There is no question there is a big push this time to pass the bills. Paul Hubbert of the Alabama Education Association has already staked out a position, noting 70 percent of the 20 percent tax on the gross would go for education. The ink had barely dried on the newspapers announcing the plan on Friday before a weekend blitz of TV commercials started to advocate the passage of the bills. The commercials were so cheery that you would have thought you were voting for motherhood and apple pie.
Of course, the commercials also want to tout that you will be getting rid of illegal gambling. Oh, really?! The same illegal gambling that some of the same supporters are not just pushing for, but operating? Give me a break.
It becomes even more interesting when looking at other factors. The economy becomes a bigger player in this than it ever has before. We can talk about the faked charities, the crime committed to get money to play bingo, the poor people and elderly who are losing funds that they would otherwise use to pay bills and more...but money in a severe recession such as this will take center stage every time. One of the latest full page pro-bingo ads plopped down in local newspapers (still without identification, of course) blows up huge photos of Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday, of all things, the quintessential cop. (I would bet...if I bet...that the ads used the images without copywrite permission, because I saw no hint of that. Heck, they won't even identify themselves!) It blew up that and another publicity photo from "Dragnet" with the headline, "Just the facts, ma'am," the famous cliche to come out of the TV show.
It then led into figures, which are true, showing the Walker County's unemployment rate has been lower than that of surrounding counties. It then made this statement:
"Over 1,400 individuals are directly employed by the Charity Bingo industry in Walker County. That's almost 5% of the entire workforce of Walker County. Tourism in Walker County is at an all-time high. Charity Bingo brings visitors to the area, which keeps local businesses thriving."
Of course, there is no way to double-check those numbers since the bingo halls are almost unchecked and have been from the beginning. But as the county has given itself over so freely and the bingo halls are hiring like mad, I would not doubt it has come to this. Kill bingo and you kill Disney World, the golden goose that draws in the crowd. And who would want to put our county into an economic tailspin?
Well, maybe those folks could do legal work for Attorney General Troy King. He may need it soon.
The Birmingham News and the Montgomery Independent reported that a federal grand jury has been meeting to question Troy King's former employees, with U.S. Attorney Alice Martin in the room. Not only do there appear to be questions of King taking retribution on those who don't see eye-to-eye with his supporters, but there are questions, according to reports, about why King seems to allow some bingo halls in the state to remain unchecked while he allegedly acts to close others. And this comes on the heels of a very public, nasty falling out between King and Gov. Bob Riley over bingo, with Riley telling the Alabama Baptist that King has simply been "wrong" in his stand. Riley apparently met with Walker County bingo opponents, heard from King, then heard from his own legal experts and concluded something was not right. King didn't even make the cut on Riley's anti-gambling task force.
Yes, that's the kind of tourism we need. New York Times reporters staying in our motels covering the attorney general of Alabama on trial.
Reports indicate Riley will oppose the new bingo bills in the Legislature, and so will a number of Republicans. One senator said it was dead on arrival. Then again, when Nashville comes to sing in front of legislators and bingo halls start using Joe Friday as a poster boy, anything goes. Stay tuned.
On Wednesday the House Tourism and Travel Committee voted to approve the bingo bills that would set up 14 large bingo halls in the state, including two in Walker County. According to the Associated Press, the committee passed a version of the bill that would allow games in Etowah, Greene, Houston, Lowndes, Jefferson, Macon, Mobile and Walker counties. The committee took out Calhoun County, which was in the original version. Lucky Calhoun.
The identical Senate committee held a public hearing on the identical Senate bill but did not take an identical vote. In fact, they held no vote at all, for some reason.
Perhaps they were not serenaded like the House committee was. According to the AP, "The legislation attracted support from country music entertainers, who say it will help a country entertainment center be built near Dothan. Tracy Lawrence sang 'Paint Me a Birmingham' for the House committee, and Alabama singer Randy Owen told the Senate committee that there is no place he'd rather play than Alabama."
Paint me a bingo hall, Mr. Owen. And use some pretty colors to mask the ugly mess we're creating. Be sure to use green, the color of money.
By the way, going through the bill, I uncovered something interesting. There is a section that indicates that while the current bingo amendments for the counties would be scrapped, the governing authorities under those old amendments would have the ability to pick the operators of the two bingo halls for that county. In other words, the Walker County Commission would get to pick the two bingo halls which would have at least 1,000 machines each and would cost at least $50 million to build. Once that word gets around, the reaction should be quite interesting.
There is no question there is a big push this time to pass the bills. Paul Hubbert of the Alabama Education Association has already staked out a position, noting 70 percent of the 20 percent tax on the gross would go for education. The ink had barely dried on the newspapers announcing the plan on Friday before a weekend blitz of TV commercials started to advocate the passage of the bills. The commercials were so cheery that you would have thought you were voting for motherhood and apple pie.
Of course, the commercials also want to tout that you will be getting rid of illegal gambling. Oh, really?! The same illegal gambling that some of the same supporters are not just pushing for, but operating? Give me a break.
It becomes even more interesting when looking at other factors. The economy becomes a bigger player in this than it ever has before. We can talk about the faked charities, the crime committed to get money to play bingo, the poor people and elderly who are losing funds that they would otherwise use to pay bills and more...but money in a severe recession such as this will take center stage every time. One of the latest full page pro-bingo ads plopped down in local newspapers (still without identification, of course) blows up huge photos of Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday, of all things, the quintessential cop. (I would bet...if I bet...that the ads used the images without copywrite permission, because I saw no hint of that. Heck, they won't even identify themselves!) It blew up that and another publicity photo from "Dragnet" with the headline, "Just the facts, ma'am," the famous cliche to come out of the TV show.
It then led into figures, which are true, showing the Walker County's unemployment rate has been lower than that of surrounding counties. It then made this statement:
"Over 1,400 individuals are directly employed by the Charity Bingo industry in Walker County. That's almost 5% of the entire workforce of Walker County. Tourism in Walker County is at an all-time high. Charity Bingo brings visitors to the area, which keeps local businesses thriving."
Of course, there is no way to double-check those numbers since the bingo halls are almost unchecked and have been from the beginning. But as the county has given itself over so freely and the bingo halls are hiring like mad, I would not doubt it has come to this. Kill bingo and you kill Disney World, the golden goose that draws in the crowd. And who would want to put our county into an economic tailspin?
Well, maybe those folks could do legal work for Attorney General Troy King. He may need it soon.
The Birmingham News and the Montgomery Independent reported that a federal grand jury has been meeting to question Troy King's former employees, with U.S. Attorney Alice Martin in the room. Not only do there appear to be questions of King taking retribution on those who don't see eye-to-eye with his supporters, but there are questions, according to reports, about why King seems to allow some bingo halls in the state to remain unchecked while he allegedly acts to close others. And this comes on the heels of a very public, nasty falling out between King and Gov. Bob Riley over bingo, with Riley telling the Alabama Baptist that King has simply been "wrong" in his stand. Riley apparently met with Walker County bingo opponents, heard from King, then heard from his own legal experts and concluded something was not right. King didn't even make the cut on Riley's anti-gambling task force.
Yes, that's the kind of tourism we need. New York Times reporters staying in our motels covering the attorney general of Alabama on trial.
Reports indicate Riley will oppose the new bingo bills in the Legislature, and so will a number of Republicans. One senator said it was dead on arrival. Then again, when Nashville comes to sing in front of legislators and bingo halls start using Joe Friday as a poster boy, anything goes. Stay tuned.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
News Bulletin: Carbon Hill City Council gets National Guard Armory
The Carbon Hill City Council voted Thursday night to get the National Guard Armory property, ending a long issue that began in the Phillip Howard administration when the decision was made by the state to close the armory.
The council essentially will only pay $17,000 for the property. Lt. Col. Mark Weeks (Ret.), in representing the state, wrote an e-mail to Carbon Hill Mayor Chris Hart, which Hart read at Thursday night's meeting. The state agreed to a price of $50,000, but the price had a credit of $33,000. Hart said essentially the city would write a check for $17,000.
The transaction will include the property in "as is" condition and excludes a metal storage building that has already been removed, Hart said. The decision was unanimous except for Councilman Horace Jones, who stepped out of the room momentarily.
Councilman Scott Wright said just the land alone was worth the purchase price.
Hart said after the meeting the site will be used as part of park improvements and that he hopes to get grants to renovate the building. Hart said the overall park complex would be a youth center, with the armory useful as a basketball court and as a community center where birthday parties and other events could be held.
The council essentially will only pay $17,000 for the property. Lt. Col. Mark Weeks (Ret.), in representing the state, wrote an e-mail to Carbon Hill Mayor Chris Hart, which Hart read at Thursday night's meeting. The state agreed to a price of $50,000, but the price had a credit of $33,000. Hart said essentially the city would write a check for $17,000.
The transaction will include the property in "as is" condition and excludes a metal storage building that has already been removed, Hart said. The decision was unanimous except for Councilman Horace Jones, who stepped out of the room momentarily.
Councilman Scott Wright said just the land alone was worth the purchase price.
Hart said after the meeting the site will be used as part of park improvements and that he hopes to get grants to renovate the building. Hart said the overall park complex would be a youth center, with the armory useful as a basketball court and as a community center where birthday parties and other events could be held.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
A bingo dilemma in Dora
If anyone needs an example of the dilemma faced by good people who decide to use bingo to fund good things, Dora may be a good example after Tuesday night's work session of the Dora City Council.
(NOTE: Ed Howell's "Talk of the Town" on WJLX, 1240 AM in Jasper, will air the 24-minute debate on its 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, broadcast, which can also be heard live and over the next week on www.walkercountyradio.com.)
At one point, the council began to discuss about the proceeds of a bingo charity called the Dora Fire Department Community Action Group. A while back, the outgoing council before the new administration took office voted to have the fire department not accept electronic bingo funds.
Councilwoman Kristie Tuggle, who opposes electronic bingo, was not happy that a charity was set up with the name "Dora Fire Department" in the long title. She felt it still gave the impression the fire department was collecting electronic bingo funds under this charity, which Dora Mayor Chris Edwards said is registered with Country Classic Bingo.
Told by Edwards, the former fire chief, that the group is separate private group and that the sheriff had approved it as a charity, Tuggle responded, "But I think it is misleading that it says Dora Fire Department Community Action Group, because they do no own the Dora Fire Department and that is the implication that that name gives. That name needs to go away because that is giving the implication this council has voted no on bingo but, yes, we've started a charity to accept money for the fire department."
The impression that the fire department was involved turned out to be more than passing. Edwards, pressed on who was involved with the group, revealed five or six members of the fire department were behind it. Councilman Nick Isbell, who is part of the volunteer fire department, was revealed during the meeting as one of the firemen who is part of the charity. He said it was designed to collect funds that could be used in time solely for fire department equipment, although no funds have been transferred yet.
Tuggle said the city is liable for the equipment purchased. Isbell said if "someone dies because we don't have the proper equipment, who's fault is that?" He said some of the current equipment is 15 years old. He also asked how was this different than accepting alcohol and tobacco taxes.
"Look how crooked the government is and we accept money from it," Isbell said. (Well, you may have us there, but ...)
He also alluded to some long-standing allegations that money intended for the fire department went missing. (As I recall, then-Mayor George Sides denied this last year.) Isbell said the money was set up so that it would not go through the General Fund, although someone later said any funds for the city have to go through the General Fund.
Isbell said the group had a tax account number. When Tuggle asked where the group's account was set up, Isbell said, "Do I have to tell you?" Edwards then said, "It doesn't have to be discussed here at all because it ain't city business."
"I think it is city business because we voted no," Tuggle said.
Eventually, Councilmen Gary Thomas and Hezekiah Walker also expressed concern about using the fire department's name in the charity's title.
Edwards and Isbell said the group was set up last summer. Did we say last summer? Yes, and there lies another problem. Even though Walker County Sheriff John Mark Tirey approved the bingo charity, it apparently does not meet the requirement that the charity needed to be set up for five years and own property for five years. Asked what property the charity owned, Isbell said during the meeting he was not sure about that.
Council members were mostly concerned about the name, indicating that if the group changed the name, it would be alright. They did not want to give the impression that the fire department was taking bingo money, and having "Dora Fire Department" in the name would not make a good impression. However, here's the question I have: Even if you change the name and accept a donation, isn't that the same thing as prevented by the council resolution? This was set up by firemen who belong to the fire department for the benefit of the fire department. You could call it the Mystic Order of the Benevolent Tuna Salad Appreciation Society and it still appears to be the Dora Fire Department.
Moreover -- and let's forget what the sheriff has or has not been approved; the whole permitting process for charities is pretty much in shambles -- there appears to be no doubt that the charity does not follow the most basic rules, practically the only rules we seem to agree on for bingo in this county: The charity must have existed for 60 months and own land for that amount of time. (Tuggle said Tuesday night the East Walker Chamber of Commerce "didn't meet the guidelines but they still let the chamber have it," referring to approval to be a bingo charity. No one from the chamber was present at the meeting.)
This is not to say that the Dora Fire Department is a sham or that the department doesn't do good works. That is not to say it doesn't need good equipment and more funds, especially in this economy. The department and Isbell do a good job, and I appreciate the service they do. Anyone who remembers Sept. 11 and has seen the movie "Fireproof" can't begin to state how much we appreciate their service.
However, the firemen of this county opened the door to this, perhaps with a certain amount of naivete, after a bingo lawyer promoted the benefits of electronic bingo at a firemen's meeting. Starved for cash, the fire departments signed up to be charities, following the Pied Piper all the way down the path we have all been forced to take. It has now come down to the point that firemen feel they have to create some fire department appreciation society to get charity funds (albeit before the council apparently voted to prevent firemen from participating).
I can understand the frustration of charities, particularly of firemen. It is easy to go after bingo money; I've been put into some tempting situations recently, some of which would really only be incidental in connection, but I've decided against those situations as best as I can manage for the sake of erring on the side of avoiding conflicts with my stand and my associations. Turning down money and opportunities is not easy, but racing after bingo money is not the answer.
And even if it was, taking the road that Dora firemen went down appeared to be in conflict with the wishes of the city council. The group easily could have changed its name after the vote, but even then it walked like a fireman, talked like a fireman and acted like a fireman. The fire department should have abandoned the effort.
I hope the Dora firemen can find another source of funding if it needs turnout equipment that badly, and after 15 years it probably does. But this was one fire the department should have put out and didn't. It is a lesson of how easily we can get burned by this raging blaze that seems intent on leaving our county in ashes.
(NOTE: Ed Howell's "Talk of the Town" on WJLX, 1240 AM in Jasper, will air the 24-minute debate on its 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, broadcast, which can also be heard live and over the next week on www.walkercountyradio.com.)
At one point, the council began to discuss about the proceeds of a bingo charity called the Dora Fire Department Community Action Group. A while back, the outgoing council before the new administration took office voted to have the fire department not accept electronic bingo funds.
Councilwoman Kristie Tuggle, who opposes electronic bingo, was not happy that a charity was set up with the name "Dora Fire Department" in the long title. She felt it still gave the impression the fire department was collecting electronic bingo funds under this charity, which Dora Mayor Chris Edwards said is registered with Country Classic Bingo.
Told by Edwards, the former fire chief, that the group is separate private group and that the sheriff had approved it as a charity, Tuggle responded, "But I think it is misleading that it says Dora Fire Department Community Action Group, because they do no own the Dora Fire Department and that is the implication that that name gives. That name needs to go away because that is giving the implication this council has voted no on bingo but, yes, we've started a charity to accept money for the fire department."
The impression that the fire department was involved turned out to be more than passing. Edwards, pressed on who was involved with the group, revealed five or six members of the fire department were behind it. Councilman Nick Isbell, who is part of the volunteer fire department, was revealed during the meeting as one of the firemen who is part of the charity. He said it was designed to collect funds that could be used in time solely for fire department equipment, although no funds have been transferred yet.
Tuggle said the city is liable for the equipment purchased. Isbell said if "someone dies because we don't have the proper equipment, who's fault is that?" He said some of the current equipment is 15 years old. He also asked how was this different than accepting alcohol and tobacco taxes.
"Look how crooked the government is and we accept money from it," Isbell said. (Well, you may have us there, but ...)
He also alluded to some long-standing allegations that money intended for the fire department went missing. (As I recall, then-Mayor George Sides denied this last year.) Isbell said the money was set up so that it would not go through the General Fund, although someone later said any funds for the city have to go through the General Fund.
Isbell said the group had a tax account number. When Tuggle asked where the group's account was set up, Isbell said, "Do I have to tell you?" Edwards then said, "It doesn't have to be discussed here at all because it ain't city business."
"I think it is city business because we voted no," Tuggle said.
Eventually, Councilmen Gary Thomas and Hezekiah Walker also expressed concern about using the fire department's name in the charity's title.
Edwards and Isbell said the group was set up last summer. Did we say last summer? Yes, and there lies another problem. Even though Walker County Sheriff John Mark Tirey approved the bingo charity, it apparently does not meet the requirement that the charity needed to be set up for five years and own property for five years. Asked what property the charity owned, Isbell said during the meeting he was not sure about that.
Council members were mostly concerned about the name, indicating that if the group changed the name, it would be alright. They did not want to give the impression that the fire department was taking bingo money, and having "Dora Fire Department" in the name would not make a good impression. However, here's the question I have: Even if you change the name and accept a donation, isn't that the same thing as prevented by the council resolution? This was set up by firemen who belong to the fire department for the benefit of the fire department. You could call it the Mystic Order of the Benevolent Tuna Salad Appreciation Society and it still appears to be the Dora Fire Department.
Moreover -- and let's forget what the sheriff has or has not been approved; the whole permitting process for charities is pretty much in shambles -- there appears to be no doubt that the charity does not follow the most basic rules, practically the only rules we seem to agree on for bingo in this county: The charity must have existed for 60 months and own land for that amount of time. (Tuggle said Tuesday night the East Walker Chamber of Commerce "didn't meet the guidelines but they still let the chamber have it," referring to approval to be a bingo charity. No one from the chamber was present at the meeting.)
This is not to say that the Dora Fire Department is a sham or that the department doesn't do good works. That is not to say it doesn't need good equipment and more funds, especially in this economy. The department and Isbell do a good job, and I appreciate the service they do. Anyone who remembers Sept. 11 and has seen the movie "Fireproof" can't begin to state how much we appreciate their service.
However, the firemen of this county opened the door to this, perhaps with a certain amount of naivete, after a bingo lawyer promoted the benefits of electronic bingo at a firemen's meeting. Starved for cash, the fire departments signed up to be charities, following the Pied Piper all the way down the path we have all been forced to take. It has now come down to the point that firemen feel they have to create some fire department appreciation society to get charity funds (albeit before the council apparently voted to prevent firemen from participating).
I can understand the frustration of charities, particularly of firemen. It is easy to go after bingo money; I've been put into some tempting situations recently, some of which would really only be incidental in connection, but I've decided against those situations as best as I can manage for the sake of erring on the side of avoiding conflicts with my stand and my associations. Turning down money and opportunities is not easy, but racing after bingo money is not the answer.
And even if it was, taking the road that Dora firemen went down appeared to be in conflict with the wishes of the city council. The group easily could have changed its name after the vote, but even then it walked like a fireman, talked like a fireman and acted like a fireman. The fire department should have abandoned the effort.
I hope the Dora firemen can find another source of funding if it needs turnout equipment that badly, and after 15 years it probably does. But this was one fire the department should have put out and didn't. It is a lesson of how easily we can get burned by this raging blaze that seems intent on leaving our county in ashes.
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