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Last Wednesday our nation paused to pay tribute. It was on Sept. 11, 2001 when terrorists attacked the twin towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. A fourth plane apparently headed to the White House or Capitol building never made it thanks to the heroics of passengers on board who lost their lives saving others. It's been called the Pearl Harbor of another generation. Everyone knows what they were doing when word spread that the United States was under attack. I, like...
Floyd the barber credited Calvin Coolidge for saying 'everybody complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it' and I'm not sure if that's correct or not, but it's a pretty good saying. There are a lot of debates across this planet that say we can do something about the weather and the climate over the threat of global warming. We haven't bought into the whole conspiracy theory yet, because scientist have data that shows this planet has gone through many climate changes over the past billion or so years and most of those changes...
Mr. Editor In response to your article and opinion on the issue I brought forward at the council meeting, I wanted to elaborate a little on the reasoning behind why this was important. I guess I spent many years knowing and believing that no one person was above any other when it came to the laws which govern municipalities within the state. Well, much to my surprise, it is everywhere else except here. Apparently, it is ok for an elected official to make purchases from his business using municipal funds. Apparently, it is ok to miss direct paym...
During the late summer, it was revealed that Alabama’s economy set records for the number of people employed along with the lowest unemployment rate in decades. Figures released in August had the state with a record-breaking 3.3% unemployment percentage. The numbers indicate a continued upward trend with 57,000 more people employed than at the same time a year ago. Gov. Ivey said, “The effort we are making to bring jobs and employers to Alabama is working.” She further stated, “We are consistently improving our workforce and preparing Alabama...
Marriage rates in America have been declining for over half a century. In 1960, almost three quarters of Americans were married; now only about half of Americans are married. Dropping about ten percent the past couple decades, marriage rates are still steadily slipping. With certainly many factors, demographers struggle to accurately explain the continuing decline. Some say marriage is no longer in vogue, but there is evidence Americans still cherish marriage or at least long term relationships. In the pop culture, marriage is not cool....
Flomaton Elementary School began the 2018-19 school year with 367 students enrolled. This year there are 391 students enrolled but the school has one less teacher. Simple math should say that Flomaton Elementary School has 24 more students enrolled for the 2019-20 school year that the school should have another teacher. It doesn't work that way. The state of Alabama allocates teacher units based on the number of students enrolled during the first 20 days after Labor Day for the next school...
We were never threatened by Hurricane Dorian, but at this time last week we really didn't know what would happen with the massive storm. The biggest fear a week ago was that the storm could possibly cross over the southern peninsula of Florida and enter the Gulf of Mexico. As Emergency Management Director David Adams told us there was not much to slow down a storm crossing Florida because the highest point in that state is probably and overpass and not a mountain. We are fast approaching the 15th anniversary of Hurricane Ivan that devastated...
Labor Day is a wonderful time to celebrate Alabama’s exceptional working men and women. From Tennessee River Valley engineers to Black Belt farmers and Gulf Coast shipbuilders, our workers are powering an economic boom that has reduced unemployment and raised wages. President Trump and his commitment towards prioritizing and empowering American workers continue to pay dividends in our state. Commonsense pro-growth strategies like slashing unnecessary regulations and reducing taxes are keeping more money in the wallets of employee and e...
Governor Kay Ivey has had a very successful first year as governor. One of the coups she pulled off was getting the legislature to pass legislation granting the governor the power to appoint the Board of Pardons and Paroles. The new law will give her all the new appointments to the Parole Board. Previously, the three-member Board picked the director. The new law went into effect on September 1, 2019 and Gov. Ivey wasted no time selecting the new director. She appointed longtime political figure, former Attorney General and former Mobile County...
The United States of America is the greatest experiment in democratic principles and liberty in all of human history. Not since the Judges ruled the Israelites have so many enjoyed freedom and fortune. The USA shook off tyrannical colonial rule to become the premiere force for freedom. America thrived because we enshrined our God given rights in our Constitution and we embraced capitalism and free enterprise in the pursuit of happiness. The result was the most prosperous and powerful nation in the world. Blessed with abundant natural resources...
As we say goodbye to the summer of 2019, allow me to reminisce with you and indeed commemorate more than likely a summer exactly 50 years ago that was undoubtedly the most momentous summer in American history – The Summer of 1969. It is amazing what all occurred in America during the last six-weeks of the Summer of 1969. Richard Nixon was in his first year as president. He had escalated the never-ending Vietnam War and he had heightened the Tet offensive. The war was finally heading in our direction. A July assault on North Vietnam caused h...
Israel means so much to our nation. The American people have no better friend. As the only democracy in the volatile Middle East, Israel is one of our greatest partners on the global stage. And Israel, particularly Jerusalem, holds a close personal significance to many Americans of different faiths. Israel is a very special place to my wife and me. Four years ago, Rebecca and I traveled together to the Holy Land in a visit that affected us deeply. On this transformational trip, we renewed our baptismal covenant in the River Jordan. From the...
Americans are already suffering through perhaps the longest presidential election in history. Absolutely refusing to accept the results of the 2016 election, many Democrats are still fighting to reverse that result, but with 2020 upon us, dozens of deluded Democrats have been running for president for months now. So Americans never really enjoyed a break between presidential elections and now face almost two years of a wide range of zany Democrats campaigning for president. While each of the comical characters pursuing the Democrat nomination...
Over the years covering hundreds of county commission meetings and city council meetings the most complaints I've heard expressed was the condition of roads, bridges and ditches. Those complaints have ranged from needing dirt roads paved, to filling potholes or resurfacing roads. The standard answer most of the complainers received was either 'we'll get to it when the can' or simply 'we don't have the money'. It was about 15 or so years ago, the four-laning of Highway 31 from Flomaton to Atmore...
We don't want to sound like we're crying wolf every time a hurricane comes out of the Caribbean and has a potential to cause issues in our area, but we still want to inform people of the possibility and tell them that they need to stay on top of the storm by monitoring the National Weather Service and the local television and radio stations. By time our next newspaper comes out next week, Hurricane Dorian will have likely made landfall and it will be too late for us to issue any warnings in our print edition. As in the past, we monitored the...
The recent violence in our country – and the passionate debates it has sparked – have led me to reflect on the emotional state of our country and the battle being waged between good and evil. I thought back to comments I gave earlier this year at a naturalization ceremony. These new citizens were gifted with the opportunity to forge for themselves a new American identity, complete with all its blessings, possibilities, and responsibilities. That morning at the U.S.S. Alabama Battleship Memorial Park, I spoke of the American belief in self-gover...
It has been a long hot summer in Montgomery, and I do not mean at the Capitol or Statehouse, but in the City of Montgomery itself. There is a heated and pivotal mayor’s race. It has been considered a foregone conclusion that Montgomery will elect their first African American mayor this year. It is probably about eight years later than expected. Montgomery has been a majority minority city for a decade. It is well over 60 percent today. A good many Montgomery citizens have moved to suburban enclaves, like Prattville, Wetumpka, Millbrook, and n...
Literally on the other side of the world, Hong Kong seems too distant and far removed to capture our attention, but Hong Kong is quite relevant with some poignant lessons for all freedom loving people. Occasionally making news in the West, Hong Kong’s long hot wet summer has been marked by regular protests for freedom. Hundreds of thousands of the 7.4 million residents have been hitting the streets every weekend. Beijing is none too happy with Hong Kong and steadily clamping down, but this drama portends particular peril for Hong Kong and w...
It took a while, but Monday afternoon the Flomaton Town Council voted to allow the sale of alcohol on Sundays. Flomaton followed the steps first taken by Atmore when Atmore became the first municipality in Escambia County, Ala., to allow Sunday alcohol sales. Atmore did it under the old law that took a unanimous vote resolution by the town council to ask the county's legislative delegation of State Representatives Alan Baker and Mike Jones along with State Sen. Greg Albritton to get a local...
Need a job? Want a job? There are jobs available. Escambia County Commissioner Karean Reynolds of Atmore partnered with Atlas Industrial Outsourcing to hold a job fair this past Monday at Atmore City Hall. Some 150 people showed up and many of those will receive jobs if they pass the screening process by the Atlas staff. Reynolds said those selected will be trained by Atlas staff for a variety of jobs in industrial plants and manufacturing facilities. Due to the high turnout at the job fair, Reynolds said Atlas has agreed to provide the...
After perpetuating a preposterous hoax for over two years, the corrupt cabal of Federal Bureaucrats, Democrats, and media determined to topple President Trump have found a new grotesque lie. The accusation that Trump colluded with Russia to steal the presidency has been a ridiculous ruse since its inception. Despite the incessant speculative whining of House Democrats, everyone knows Trump never colluded with Russians. The Mueller Report did not end it, but his pathetic Congressional testimony coupled with absurd Democrat antics have finally...
One of the legendary figures in Alabama political lore is Floyd Mann. Colonel Mann was Public Safety Director for two governors. His lifetime friend, John Patterson, made him his Public Safety Director while he was governor, 1958-1962 and Governor Albert Brewer chose Colonel Mann to be his Director while he was governor, 1968-1970. The Public Safety Director in those days was referred to as the Head of the State Troopers. It was during the Patterson administration that Mann made his mark in Alabama history. The hot winds of segregation began to...
One of the first actions I took after being elected in 2013 was to visit all the hospitals in Southwest Alabama. Big and small, rural and urban, I visited them all. And I spoke directly with doctors and hospital leadership about issues they and their communities faced. I did this because the importance of hospitals to the communities they serve is so great. When industries look at potential locations to build or expand, they look for things like quality of life, education, and available healthcare. Areas without hospitals are often at a...
Arguing. Why do we spend so much time doing it? I've thought about it recently when I've watched the national news. I thought about it again when my daughter got into an argument online with a stranger that didn't see eye-to-eye with her. I was reminded of it, yet again, when I found myself embroiled in an argument with someone close to me. Not so very long ago, I was speaking to my mother, whom I've come to realize may be one of the wisest people that I've ever had the pleasure of knowing. I...
I'm a little tired of talking about gun control, immigration and politics, so I'll talk about what's really important to people, especially in the south – football. If you're like me you have to feel sorry for the young men who have been out on the practice field the past week practicing with a heat index above 110 degrees. But I do remember some of those days many years ago in a era when players didn't get water breaks. We ate salt tablets like they were M&Ms and you were a sissy if you n...
