Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Jasper City Council - called work session
E-mail from Jasper City Clerk Kathy Chambless: "The Jasper City Council will hold a work session Friday, April 17, 2009, at 12:00 noon in the Council Chamber located at Jasper City Hall. This work session is being held to discuss procedures concerning garbage collections, drainage matters, update on the construction of a pool for Southside, and amendment to the business license ordinance for peddlers, and other matters."
Talk of the Town cancelled; Shelby will not be broadcast
I would have gotten this word out earlier (AT&T's DSL went out yesterday afternoon), but we WJLX will not broadcast Sen. Richard Shelby's town hall meeting today, and, perhaps just as importantly, I won't be on the air myself, as "Talk of the Town" is no more. I will be moving to WIXI, 1360 AM, effective Monday, April 20, to be a co-host on "The People's Viewpoint" with Bucky Rizzo and (occasionally) Charles Bishop from 4-6 p.m. Monday through Friday.
I have enjoyed my show and the crew at WJLX, and I would have done it for a long time. I wish them well, and they have done the same for me; we part on good terms. However, the ad revenue just wasn't there at this time to support the show. I depended on that revenue for my revenue, and the bad economy never gave it a chance. With the economy getting somewhat of a break recently, and after some discussions with those involved with "The People's Viewpoint," there may be a way this new show can work out. I think we will be blending some elements from my show and Bucky Rizzo's show, which was also formerly on WJLX. I will still be bringing the local and state news on this show. I should also point out the time slot and the signal strength should amount to an improvement.
At any rate, thank you to everyone who supported "Talk of the Town." I think it was a journalistic success and proved that we can have another way to bring newsmakers into your homes, offices and cars. I hope you'll follow me to 1360 AM.
I have enjoyed my show and the crew at WJLX, and I would have done it for a long time. I wish them well, and they have done the same for me; we part on good terms. However, the ad revenue just wasn't there at this time to support the show. I depended on that revenue for my revenue, and the bad economy never gave it a chance. With the economy getting somewhat of a break recently, and after some discussions with those involved with "The People's Viewpoint," there may be a way this new show can work out. I think we will be blending some elements from my show and Bucky Rizzo's show, which was also formerly on WJLX. I will still be bringing the local and state news on this show. I should also point out the time slot and the signal strength should amount to an improvement.
At any rate, thank you to everyone who supported "Talk of the Town." I think it was a journalistic success and proved that we can have another way to bring newsmakers into your homes, offices and cars. I hope you'll follow me to 1360 AM.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
ComeUnity cancelled tonight
Jim Odom said the ComeUnity Christian group that meets on Thursday nights has cancelled tonight due to the weather.
School closings in Walker, area start at 1 p.m.
This is Ed Howell at noon. The following school systems will close at 1 p.m. today because of storms: Walker Co., Sumition Christian, Cullman Co., Fayette County, Winfield City, Marion County. Winston County and Jasper City will close at 2 p.m.
Bevill State is still holding classes, as of noon. The Carbon Hill City Council will still meet at 6 p.m. as of this hour.
Jason Simpson of ABC 33/40 says a moderate risk of severe risk of thunderstorms, tornadoes and such will likely hit most of Walker County between 4 and 9 p.m.
Bevill State is still holding classes, as of noon. The Carbon Hill City Council will still meet at 6 p.m. as of this hour.
Jason Simpson of ABC 33/40 says a moderate risk of severe risk of thunderstorms, tornadoes and such will likely hit most of Walker County between 4 and 9 p.m.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Adkins will run for superintendent; Tirey will run again
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.
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.
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
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