I personally think the state of Alabama needs a lottery, but I can tell you right now I will not vote for the bill Rep. Steve Clouse of Ozark says he will introduce when the Legislature goes into session on Feb. 4.
I like the lottery concept because I see the people from Alabama flocking to Century every week to purchase lottery tickets. They also buy other items at the convenience stores. Every state that surrounds Alabama has a lottery and I'm sure those counties that border Mississippi, Florida, Tennessee and Georgia see that same thing I see.
Powerball had jumped to $349 million heading into last night's (Wednesday's) drawing and people are flocking into Century. Let the thing roll over to Saturday with a purse in excess of $500 million and the lines will be long.
But the problem I have with Rep. Clouse's proposed bill is that he wants all the proceeds of a lottery to go toward funding pre-kindergarten classes and college scholarships. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for pre-kindergarten and college scholarships, but this state has some other major issues that need to be addressed and addressed quickly.
I was working on this week's paper this morning when I happened to access my email. There is was, posted at 11:05 a.m. saying the Alabama Department of Corrections was shutting down the William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. The press release I received used the word 'Decommission' as to what it planned to do to Holman, but I knew what it meant – it means they are closing the prison and somebody with a Thesaurus came up with the word 'Decommission' to deflate the fact that the prison is closing.
I remember when I was in journalism school a professor said he would fail any student he caught using a Thesaurus. His reasoning was that fancy words don't tell the real story. He also said most people wouldn't understand the Thesaurus word over a simple word we all speak.
I thought about him today when I received the email from ADOC with the headline: 'ADOC Announces Plan to Partially Decommission William C. Holman Correctional Facility'. I scratched my head wishing I had my old Thesaurus back to figure out what they were talking about. I read the release twice and came to the conclusion that 'Decommission' really meant closure.
Back to the lottery issue. It's evident by Wednesday's announcement by the DOC that we have a major prison crisis. That's not new news because we've known for years that we have a prison crisis and the federal government has threatened to take over our prisons for the past several years.
I don't always believe in coincidences, but about two weeks ago I learned Gov. Kay Ivey was flying into the Atmore Airport to take a trip to Holman. Fog delayed the flight, that happened to be on a Wednesday when I was trying to write stories, but I stayed there hoping to at least get a picture of the governor shaking hands with Atmore Mayor Jim Staff. She landed, got into her vehicle and left. Bim Bam Boom, two weeks later they announce they are closing Holman Prison.
Maybe they took the governor to the bowels of the prison to see for herself that it was not only unfit for the inmates but the staff as well.
So, I say right now, I will not vote for or support any lottery bill that earmarks all the money to education. An education lottery bill is an easier sell to the people, but we have a lot of serious problems facing the Alabama General Fund.
The news release said they would transfer about 617 inmates from Holman to other institutions. Last I saw all the other DOC institutions were as overcrowded as every prison and every county jail in the state.
When they don't have room for those prisoners, they will get early release and be back in our neighborhoods.
The Legislature needs to decide the best way to spend that money and not be handcuffed. I've had people tell me they don't trust the Legislature with lottery money that's not earmarked.
There's a simple solution to that problem. If your senator or representative votes to spend money where you don't think it should be spent, vote against them at the next election and vote for somebody who agrees with you.
What scared me the most when I got that email this morning is how it would affect Atmore being chosen as one of the three sites for the mega-prisons the governor is proposing.
I live by that rule echoed in the movie 'Outlaw Josey Wales' that says don't piss down my back and tell me it's raining.
Hopefully Rep. Clouse's lottery bill won't be the only one introduced. Any lottery bill passed needs to address critical needs like prisons, mental health and more. Don't be fooled by an education lottery because they will eventually cut the education budget to supplement other areas.
