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EDITORIAL BOARD Kenneth Boone - Publisher Mitch Sneed - Editor
Thursday, April 14, 2016
Editorial
Letters to the Editor
Thanks to I Dixie Youth League for recognition Dear Editor, I recently retired from the Dadeville Parks and Recreation Department, but was invited to attend Dadeville’s Dixie Youth Opening Day ceremonies. On the hill of age past memories really matter. A giant thank you to the Dadeville Dixie Youth Board for inviting me to their opening ceremonies. A heartfelt thank you for the plaque and for honoring the 20th anniversary of our 1996 Dixie Belle World Series Champions. I will always treasure the shadowbox of memories. The Dixie Youth Board and the Parks and Recreation Department put together a wellorganized, patriotic opening day. The teams and coaches were introduced, Mayor Smith welcomed the big crowd and Councilman Randy Foster participated in the ceremonies. A prayer was given and the National Anthem was sung. These opening events took a lot of hard work, a lot of planning and a lot of organizing. The Dixie Youth Board did an outstanding job in getting the 2016 baseball and softball season underway. I was really thankful to be a part of your opening ceremonies and for once again being with our ballpark family. I haven’t had too many good days during the last eight months fighting cancer, but this day I consider a lucky day. Believe me there are no losers in your program. Remember there is one thing worse than striking out and that is never going to bat. Your program went to bat today for Dadeville’s youth. The Dixie Youth Board, Parks and Recreation Department and approximately 300 people, coaches, and players were winners today. You are the wind beneath the wings that keep this program flying high. Thanks for letting me be part of all this. Good luck for a great season. Gary Melton Dadeville
THE RECORD Kenneth Boone .................. Publisher Mitch Sneed .............................Editor Tippy Hunter....Advertising Director David Kendrick ....Circulation Manager Angela Mullins. ..............Accounting
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Times, they are a'changing
got tickled watching a comedian on YouTube the other day. In the video, he talked about how we respond to our doorbell ringing now as opposed to how we did so 30 years ago. Back then, we were excited to hear it ring. We were thrilled to have “company.” Up in my grandparents’ neck of the woods, they referred to it as “viztin.” People would visit just to visit—to keep each other company for a spell. The homeowners would always offer up something to drink, which was usually sweet tea—sweet tea so thick it could be poured on a pancake. They’d usually try to feed you, too. If the phone rang, they’d either let it ring or pick it up and tell the caller they’d have to call them back, because they had company. Now, the phone takes precedence over everything. Boy, times certainly are a’changing! Today, when the doorbell rings, my heart starts pounding like I’m back in Iraq during a mortar attack. I immediately want to hit the floor or take cover. Once I regain my composure, I tiptoe to the door to see who could possibly be contemplating coming through my front door. What could they possibly want? I tiptoe, even though I have carpet. One can never be too careful when it comes to doorbell
JODY FULLER Guest Columnist
ringers. I’ll look through the peephole to see if it’s a friend or a foe or someone I don’t even know. If I don’t open the door, I stand there and watch them like a oneeyed hawk until they leave. Sometimes, they even have the gall to ring it a second time. Who raises these animals? One of my biggest pet peeves is when I wave or speak to someone and they look at me like I have a carrot poking out of my ear instead of simply waving back or saying hello. How difficult is it to acknowledge someone’s presence? I remember my uncle being so excited about seeing Bo Jackson one time when Bo was still at Auburn. My uncle spoke to him. Bo didn’t strike up a conversation with him. In fact, he didn’t even say hello. He grunted. That’s it; he grunted, but the grunt was acknowledgement. That’s all I’m asking for. In the Army, we answer everything, good, bad, or indifferent, with “hooah.” It’s an acknowledgement. Growing up I knew all of my neighbors. I prob-
ably went into half, if not more, of the houses in my neighborhood at some point during my childhood. I broke bread or windows in some of those houses, too. Nowadays, we don’t even know our neighbors. We may know the people directly next to us, but that’s about it. The folks down the street might as well be living atop Mount Kilimanjaro. Times, they are a’changing. For the record, all the “viztin” I experienced as a child was up around my grandparents’ house in Tallapoosa County. No one ever visited us at our house. Mama didn’t care to have people over, so we kept the house locked up tighter than Fort Knox, hooah. Well, not literally. In fact, we didn’t even lock our doors. We didn’t even have a key for the front door. We’d leave the door unlocked while we were at school all day. Heck, we even left the door unlocked when we loaded up the Pinto to go to Panama City for the week. Who would do that today? No one. Why? Because, times have already changed. Jody Fuller is a comic, speaker, writer and soldier with three tours of duty in Iraq. He is also a lifetime stutterer. He can be reached at jody@jodyfuller.com. For more information, please visit www.jodyfuller.com.
State's budgets may be Bentley's saving grace
T
here appears to be very little interest in promoting an effort to impeach Governor Robert Bentley. With very few legislative days left in the session, legislators have a myriad of problems to deal with, not the least of which are the budgets, especially the General Fund. The financial woes surrounding the General Fund cloud the horizon and justly require more attention than the circus of an impeachment charade. In this day of wiretapping, videophones, “burner” phones and loose tongues, most legislators do not want to risk the chance that Bentley could have them on the phone with their paramour. In addition, it would be the height of hypocrisy to have the Speaker of the House preside over an impeachment proceeding with a pending trial awaiting him in less than 30 days on 23 ethics law indictments. It was obvious from the get-go that the impeachment idea would get very little traction given the sponsor of the measure. Rep. Ed Henry, a first term backbencher from Hartselle, is considered somewhat of a nut with a penchant for grandstanding. His colleagues in the House consider him a joke and refer to him as “Headline Henry.” It is common knowledge that Speaker Hubbard and the House leadership have relegated Henry to the backbench. They do not even recognize him when he seeks to speak. It would be hard for him to pass a resolution honoring apple pie and motherhood, much less pass a bill. Furthermore, very few House or Senate members want to substitute Lt. Gov. Kay Ivey for Bentley. At least they
STEVE FLOWERS Guest Columnist
know what they have in Bentley. They can push him around and basically ignore him. He has been relegated to a benign punch line. He can serve out his next two years cutting ribbons. However, they are not sure about a new lame duck. Kay Ivey would have very little power, but she could be a loose cannon. Based on reliable sources, the Poarch Creek Indians are clearly one of the driving forces behind the effort to have Gov. Robert Bentley impeached. The Poarch Creek Indians clearly would like to see Kay Ivey as Governor for a number of reasons, but primarily to protect their non-taxed monopoly of casino gambling in the state. The Indian casinos are gearing up for the 2018 elections. However, legislators and gubernatorial aspirants clearly perceive that Alabamians are disenchanted with the “so called Indian gambling” monopoly. The Indian money may be an albatross to any potential candidates. This distrust and disdain for the Indian casinos could be the political death for Attorney General Luther Strange. It is well known that Big Luther plans to run for governor in 2018. It is also rumored that Luther will be the Indian casinos’ horse. If that is the case it is very difficult to hide their money under the new campaign finance laws. They are also so arrogant that they pompously, like lizards, want to show their money. This could be the kiss of death for Luther.
On another front, it has gone under the radar with all the Bentley and Hubbard scandals, but the U.S. Attorney in the Middle District of Alabama has stepped into the ring of the casino gambling circus. He may become the ringmaster under the tent. It should be known by most ninth grade civics students – and hopefully by now our Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore – that the federal courts trump the state courts every day of the week. U.S. Attorney George Beck, a very well-respected man and attorney, has weighed in on what he calls an obvious discriminating enforcement of laws by the state. In a March 21 letter to Luther Strange, Beck adamantly calls out the attorney general for flagrantly giving different and inequitable treatment to the Indians. He clearly asks the attorney general to clarify his position on the matter concerning the Indian casinos and Alabama casinos, especially VictoryLand. Beck focuses on the memorandums of understanding (MOUs) that Attorney General Strange forced the vendors at VictoryLand to sign, which have prevented VictoryLand from reopening. We could have Gov. Robert Bentley, Speaker Mike Hubbard and Attorney General Luther Strange all in hot water at the same time. See you next week. Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www. steveflowers.us.
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Involved Communication with elected officials is the key to good government. To let your most local representatives know how you feel about city matters, contact your council representative. To contact the city hall, please call 256-825-9242. Stephanie Kelley represents District 1. Her phone number is 256-8250544. Her address is 171 Wink Drive, Dadeville.
James M. Tarpley represents District 2. His phone number is 256-825-2522. His address is 274 East LaFayette St., Dadeville. Jimmy Frank Goodman Sr. represents District 3. His phone number is 256-8259749. His address is 241 Goodman Road, Dadeville.
Stephanie Kelley
James Tarpley
Frank
Billy Monroe rep- Goodman resents District 4. His phone number is 256-749-4451. His address is 1670 North Loop Road, Dadeville. Randy Foster represents District 5. His phone number is 256-825-7770. His address is 648 South Tallassee St., Dadeville.
Billy Monroe
Joe Smith is mayor of Dadeville. His phone number is 256-8256691. His address is 725 Henderson St., Dadeville.
Randy Foster
Joe Smith