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No New Constitution?/Hard Times

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We've mentioned the need for home rule and constitutional reform here before...not that we think it's going to happen in our lifetime. Mike Goens again brought up the subject of a new state constitution in his column last Sunday, but we didn't see scores of readers joining the bandwagon.

The last official word that we heard almost four years ago? The state legislature would be rewriting the constitution one article each year. They just failed to announce a start date. 2113, perhaps?

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Guns in schools? For every opinion, there's an equal and opposite opinion. We hope the incident at Hibbett Middle School was an isolated event and not the preview of the coming Wild West show. For those who have already sent e-mails asking, we haven't found any arrest record for the father with the gun hidden beneath his shirt.

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The first day of school for most local students was yesterday. Along with all the pleasantries, there seems to be a new phenomenon if we're to believe several who have contacted us and also posted on local forums.

Yes, in the 21st Century, it seems we get to kid our classmates about their summer arrests. Nice, huh? Our opinion? If you're old enough to be in Hard Times to start with, you're too old to complain about the fallout. What if it's the parents who have graced that wonderful publication? Then we suggest they get their act together or their kids will be featured in 10, 15, or 20 years.



Shoalanda

Saluting Kerry Gilbert/Protest Letters Still Arriving

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Local musician Kerry Gilbert remains in ECM Hospital awaiting test results. Kerry is well known in  local music circles, operating primarily out of his home base of Franklin County. Friends say that Kerry remains upbeat while awaiting word on what could be a serious condition.

Fellow KGB band members have stated that the self-employed musician has no health insurance. Several benefits are planned, and we'll post more information as these events are finalized.

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For several years, Kerry Gilbert and the KGB have headlined a monthly concert that has benefited the restoration of the Roxy Theatre in Russellville. The Roxy was recently home to several Watermelon Festival events, but it's the concerts complete with neon flashing that present the old venue at its best. Let's hope these events will carry on even if Kerry is out of commission for a few months.

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If you haven't yet read elsewhere, the board turned down Ashley Fawn Greenhill's bid for parole this morning. According to DK, the board stated that letters of protest were still coming in even as the broad began today's meeting.

Letters work--both ways. Now the public is reasonably safe from Ash Lette until the fall of 2015.



Shoalanda

A "Judgement" on "Heroine"

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A Shoals Heroine Being Used?
Several readers regularly kid the bloggers here at Shoalanda, as well as our friend at O.B.'s Corner, about our critiques of the TimesDaily. We usually call it the TotallyDecatur, while O.B. prefers the moniker TimesFaily. The latter certainly works in the spelling department.

Earlier this week the TD treated us to a story on the rise of heroine use in the Shoals, while today a sportswriter announced it was judgement day at the University of Alabama. Does our local rag need better spellers or better proofers?

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Honest answer now...how many of you feel safer now that Franklin County teachers are armed? That's what we thought. Honest answer again...how many of you teachers out there have ever wanted to kill a student? Yep, we were right again.

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The School Resource Officer at Hibbett Middle School has made the news. Why, oh, why are they called "resource officers?" Wouldn't they be more effective if dubbed "Ya better do what I tell ya or get 120 volts below the belt officers?"

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Shoalanda

The Truth About School Resource Officers

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Yesterday, we made a humorous comment about school resource officers. One who labors here with us felt it was perhaps not in good taste. The line why don't they call them "ya better do what I say or ya get 120 volts below the belt" officers was not intended to disparage these men and women who help protect local schools.

We simply feel the term "resource officer" doesn't clearly define their roles in local schools. If students and parents had more respect for these officers, it would make their jobs much easier; however, we assume if these same students and parents had enough proper respect for others, there would be no need for these officers in our schools to begin with.

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The regular school resource officer for Hibbett Middle School is Matt Minor. We have not been able to verify that he was the one who held down the fort at the recent gun in lunchroom incident, but nonetheless, we hear great things about him, and he deserves the public's thanks for an often under appreciated job.

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The “Muscle Shoals” movie will be showing Sunday August 25th at the Shoals Theatre at 2:00 PM and 5:00 PM.
General Admission and VIP reserved seating available.
General Admission $20
VIP Reserved Seating with movie poster $40

More Info



Shoalanda

Saluting Jim Smith

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Many in the Shoals know of Jim Smith and his wonderful book Walk Through Town. Jim has frequently provided historical details for our blog, as well as offering some columns for us and other blogs to publish.

We've learned that Jim has had some serious health problems, and want to wish him well in his recuperation. We also want to commend Jim and his lovely wife for taking time to visit with Kerry Gilbert during Jim's hospitalization. The Shoals has some wonderful talent in every area of the arts, and we need to take special care of it.

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Monday is fast approaching. That's P-Day for the TimesDaily; after August 25th, readers will have to purchase a subscription to read the full TD online. We've heard many say it's just not worth it them. If you've never checked out these local sites, do so now. We think you'll be pleasantly surprised, and as always, they're completely free:





Shoalanda

AMHOF Ad Nauseum

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If you've read the TimesDaily today, you quite possibly now know more about the problems at the Alabama Music Hall of Fame than you've ever wanted to. We are going to commend the TD for asking some questions that should have been asked long ago. Now we're going to ask two...

1. If some board members were only on ego trips and some employees only there to cash a paycheck, why didn't someone step in some way, some how, long before the HOF went bankrupt?

2. If everyone from the board to the mayors to the business leaders to Joe Bleau on the street are so concerned about the AMHOF, why hasn't at least one of them weeded the #*&^ parking lot?

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On the subject of maintenance for the HOF and other state, county, and city buildings that may need just a little sprucing up, why don't some local Boy Scouts make it a project for a badge? That's only if there aren't enough cemeteries to go around...

*****

Speaking of city properties that need some extra work, we see the vandal who spray painted racial epithets on Florence's Blackberry Trail Golf Course and clubhouse has again been arrested:




Shoalanda

Don't Blame Spellcheck for These Errors

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It's certainly easy to blame spellcheck for a number of errors in the news today. If we can't attribute errata to spellcheck, the slightly more evolved auto-correct often looks like a good patsy. Examples?

We read of a woman who wasn't going on a diet just yet because she was getting pregnant that night. In reality, she was getting Pringles, as in potato chips. A friend regaled us with an account of trying to type the name Nipper into an article while the auto-correct kept changing the man's name to Nipple.

Yet some errors can't be chalked up to anything but...hmmm...what? Again we see the TimesDaily telling us the Alabama Music Hall of Fame needs more notoriety. Really? We think the word Russ Corey was looking for in both articles was publicity. We also think he doesn't read the comments to his articles or he would have been aware of his error the first time he misused the word.

Then we recently ventured over to the Flor-Ala online to see how the can carry/can't carry battle is shaping up. Weren't we surprised to learn the Tennessee River runs through Florence. Whether this error was caused by too little geography being taught these days or too many smoking materials being readily available, we weren't sure.

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Very cool video:





Shoalanda

Meet Chris Seibert

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You may remember the name Chris Seibert from some weeks ago when he saved a child from drowning in the gulf, or you may know him as an Athens city councilman. Be prepared to hear a lot more about Chris in days to come--he announced this afternoon that he will be running as a Republican, seeking to become the state senator for District One. From his bio:

Chris served our country for 7 ½ years as an Air Force officer, and his MOS, or job description, was logistics. Having lived in a combat zone, and observing first hand just what a daunting task it is to get everything from soap to Stinger missiles in country, I have great respect for his experience. His area of expertise was transportation, and prior to his commissioning as an officer, he played football for Alabama, majoring in history and minoring in business. He attended ‘bama on a ROTC scholarship, and got his MBA from USA in Mobile.

He was in the Azores during 9/11, dealt with the stresses of watching the threat level on his base skyrocket overnight, and after getting out in ’05 with the rank of Captain, parlayed all of his experience in college and overseas into becoming a successful regional medical device rep. He is responsible for sales as well as mentoring the 8 guys who are members of his team, and he teaches docs how to successfully use robotic cardiac ablation catheters.

His wife’s name is Tiffany, they met as kids, dated in high school and have two boys, Brock, age 8, and Ben, age 5. Tiffany has been active as a wife, mom, and in the community as part of the Library Foundation, the Athena League, Spirit of Athens and the Athens-Limestone Hospital Foundation. Chris has recommended to both of his sons that they serve their country in the branch of their choice, something that used to be considered a reasonable way to show appreciation for all of our blessings as Americans.

Chris spends his spare time coaching soccer and youth baseball while he mentors his sons as well as what he hopes are the future leaders of Athens through athletics. He is on the church council at First United Methodist, and is a member of Rotary. The Seibert family lives in the Historical District of Athens, a place where being an active community member just goes with the territory.



Shoalanda

Just What Was That Promotion? Da Bomb?

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We know that rumors of bombs coming to Florence city schools Thursday have made their way to police who have stated there have been no credible threats. Who makes those kinds of threats? Usually teenage boys who think it's...umm, cute? Smart? We're not sure what they think or if they think at all, but such threats are 99.99% of the time based on nothing.

Besides a drain cleaner type "bomb," how many of us would have any idea how to make an explosive device? How many of us would be stupid enough to even try? How many of us would be blown up if we did try?

However, it seems Tuscumbia has some sort of similar problem. We say it seems, since we're not sure what rumor is making the rounds, just that it's based on a promotion related to Star 94, a radio station in the Shoals. We went to their website and clicked on a promotion link and were met with Asian characters.

We're going to guess that Star 94 subscribes to some national franchise advertising, for after all, isn't that the way in the 21st Century? It's not what you say, but how loud you say it, how many special effects highlight the speech, and sadly even how many times you can insert words your grandmother wouldn't have approved of. It's even sadder that we can't send our children to school completely sure of the fact the most violent thing they will face all day might be a schoolyard bully.

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We appreciate any reader input on local threats. We don't want to encourage them, but to shine light on them. Similarly, we recently asked about the need for two ambulances at a medical emergency. Two of our readers replied concerning the frequent need of two teams for heavy lifting. One of these readers also mentioned that female patients may request a female paramedic. Again, we thank all our readers and friends for comments and answers to our/reader questions.

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It's extremely rare that we comment on national issues, obviously knowing how little our ideas can influence things at that level. We have to say that while we're aghast at the chemical bombing in Syria last week, we don't want to be singing Over There for another group of "our boys." Prayers for this situation. How many presidents in our lifetime could campaign for re-election on the slogan "He kept us out of war?"



Shoalanda

It Was An Alien Invasion?

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No bomb threats, just an alien invasion, and a mock one at that. From WMSR 94.9:

Everyone, we have received numerous inquiries about the article in the Times Daily this morning. Of course, we were not reached for comment for the piece. They have agreed to run our take on the events of this week tomorrow. Additionally, WAAF and WAAY will be running stories tonight which include our thoughts on the matter and the actual audio featured on the air (which many of you have already heard).

We're still not sure how an advertising ploy was turned into a bomb threat or threat of something even possibly worse, but that is the Shoals. In fact, that's almost any community. We're also not sure why extra police, etc., were needed after it became apparent that the nine o'clock event was harmless. Rationales, anyone?

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We understand the new Star 94 format may even be playing some real music:





Shoalanda

Unionize Helen Keller Hospital?

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That elephant looks familiar. Does his owner know something we don't? How would Huntsville Hospital feel about such a plan? It might just be an interesting autumn in local hospital circles.

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On September 12, 2013, at 7:30 AM in the Guillot University Center on the UNA Main Campus, a Celebration of Diversity Breakfast will be held to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Desegregation of the University of North Alabama. Advanced tickets are $15.00 for individuals (or $100 for a table of 8 – with special recognition for the sponsoring organization) with proceeds going to support minority scholarship programs at UNA. Mr. Wendell Gunn, UNA’s first African-American student, will be the featured speaker with musical performances by the UNA Student Ensemble under the direction of Dr. Terrance G. Brown. Tickets are available from the UNA Office of Student Engagement or by contacting the UNA Department of History and Political Science at 256-765–4306 or history@una.edu.

We hope that everyone will be able to be part of this special event to commemorate an important milestone in the history of the Shoals and UNA.



Shoalanda

Special Report: This Is the Saddest Post We've Ever Written

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If any have not heard, Jerry Wayne Edgil and his wife Caroline Cunningham Edgil were in an auto crash last night in Franklin County. Caroline, 72, later passed away at the hospital. Jerry, 71, is in critical condition in Huntsville.

We're asking for prayers for the entire Edgil family. Unless you know them, you cannot know what they have done for others in the northwest Alabama area.

We ask this question of all: "What have they seen in thine house?"


Everyone at Shoalanda Speaks


Tuscumbia Makes Daily Mail/Dumb & Dumber

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"Well, it is Alabama."

The above was one comment concerning an article in the internationally popular Daily Mail. What was the article? If you guessed an item detailing the mock alien invasion turned bomb threat, you would be correct.

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Tony (Dumber) Olivis
Let's see...someone, quite possibly a bored teenager, decided to tell his/her friends on Facebook that a radio promotion had implied a bomb threat for local schools. Yes, and Paul is dead. Not to mention we're all getting microchipped next week. Who believes these things?

If someone were going to bomb anything, would they announce it on the radio? Wouldn't the hacked radio station just possibly call police with this little bit of news? But Dumb and Dumber, otherwise known as Tony Logan and Tony Olivis, blame the radio station for this...ummm, fiasco?

Let's talk (Tony) Turkey. It's men like Logan and Olivis, particularly the latter who should at least claim some measure of education, who hold Alabama back. We can't logically expect every citizen of Alabama to be MENSA material, but we can expect our elected school officials to demonstrate at least a modicum of common sense.

Olivis called the Star 94.9 ads in "bad taste" and added that school safety was no laughing matter. We're guessing he didn't even listen to the ads...either that or he intentionally lied. Just remember that at election time.

And Chief Tony Logan? He says he had to add extra patrols to placate parents. How about placating all Tuscumbia citizenry by repaying the salary you've taken while wasting time in court fighting a DUI charge?



Shoalanda

Two Local Parole Hearings September 10th

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Many  readers have asked to be made aware of parole hearings for local individuals. We're going to attempt to keep everyone updated on these as we hear of them. Scheduled for September 10th, from D.K.:


Lesia Kay Bigley
AIS # 256270
Lesia killed Edward Bigley by shooting him nine times.
        
Christolyne Brown
AIS # 172096
On Nov 23,1991, Brown killed Billy Jean Burton, grandmother of  Lauderdale County Assistant District Attorney Angie King Hamilton. Brown confessed to the horrific stabbing murder of Mrs. Burton and stated to police "if she got released she would murder again." Brown has 46 disciplinary actions.


You may contact the board at:


301 South Ripley Street
PO Box 302405
Montgomery, Al 36130-2405
Telephone:  (334) 353-7771, 353-8067
FAX:  (334) 242-1809
 
Be sure to include AIS number in any correspondence.  



Shoalanda 

Miss Labor Day 2013

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Yes, it's that time of year again...time for the annual Labor Day beauty pageant. This year's festivities started on a sad note when it was announced that the Sheffield Sanitation Department's entry would not be able to compete. Dirty Sally Tally has been in a coma since the theft of the dumpster at the methadone clinic. Very odd, and we wish her the best.

This morning's entries included the following:

Helga (Helen) Keller Jorgenson - 47, member of the Hospital Workers' Union and an employee at HKH. Helen brought a shot in the arm to the contest by adding talent to her catwalk appearance. Juggling three AK-47s, Helen stated she was ready for any RegionalCare employees who would even think of a hostile takeover of the Colbert County hospital.

Carmen Miranda Electra - 39, member of the Electricians' Union and currently on strike against the City of Florence. When questioned about how the strike was going, Carmen announced her union cell was responsible for the four-hour loss of power in downtown Florence this morning. She felt things were heating up, so to speak, but if the electric workers don't get a new contract soon, she couldn't promise that anything in the city would be heated up this winter.

Allison (Alley) Katz - 57, animal control officer representing the Florence Municipal Workers' Union. Alley's talent portion demonstrated her ability to wrangle a pit bull and Maine Coon simultaneously.

Morticia Porter - 35, member of the Garment Workers' Union of Lexington. Morticia's talent was being able to read. Considered a long shot, Morticia may get a sympathy vote since she's legally blind and the only woman in her small town not to have been married to the police chief.

Ahh, thank God it's only once a year...



Shoalanda

Matthew Fox & Jamie Mackey

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We've previously mentioned that Matthew Fox will be having a parole hearing on September 18th. He has far more chance of making parole than did his co-conspirator Ashley Greenhill. Fox has no previous criminal record and quite possibly has legal representation on his side.

The family of Amanda Taylor doesn't want to see Fox released, and we agree. Fox entered the situation of his own free will and failed to extricate himself when he had the chance.

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Also on September 18th, Jamie Allen Mackey will be up for parole. You may read about Mackey here:


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Matthew Fox
AIS# 289240

Jamie Allen Mackey
AIS# 200300

301 South Ripley Street
PO Box 302405
Montgomery, Al 36130-2405
Telephone:  (334) 353-7771, 353-8067
FAX:  (334) 242-1809
Shoalanda

Why Revenge Isn't Justice, but Neither is "Justice"

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The most horrible thing a person can experience in life is the death of those they love most. If the death is accidental, it makes it that much worse. The "what if's" never go away. Yet even worse is the death of a loved one at the hand of another.

We've commented many times that friends and family of victims can never, no matter their education or maturity or morals, be objective. We here at Shoalanda sometimes become personally involved with victims and their families even though we never met them or even knew they existed before the crimes that changed their lives forever.

We'll add that we often receive e-mails from others these miscreants have hurt over the years, so we do have a better idea of the perp's character than those who may only read a short account in a local newspaper. We know of those beaten and stabbed by a man who received only two years for killing a young father. We know of the women harassed and sexually abused by a teacher accused of rape. At that point, we are no longer unbiased, but we do not deny that fact.

We've also commented on the unfairness of Capital crimes in Alabama. There is no justice in the world if a wicked man, who even uses the name "Wikkid," kills and dismembers a young mother and gets only Life With Possibility of Parole, but a frightened man who accidentally kills someone is tried for Capital Murder.

Yet, while we know "justice" can be very dissimilar among the various states, we've never commented on it or even delved very far into it for our personal edification. If you think justice isn't different from state to state, just check out the various penalties for possession of child pornography. We promise you'll be surprised.

Today we read of a man who murdered Sheffield native Joseph Glen Pruitt. The crime took place in New Mexico where the killer was sentenced this week to life in prison. We don't know the specifics of the crime, but what little we have read causes us to think the killer deserved the sentence, or possibly even a stronger one.

The killer Lawrence Tarbert will be eligible for parole after 30 years, yet the investigator interviewed stated: “No one has ever paroled out of New Mexico state prison on a life sentence.” We have to assume than many who have received such a sentence are "less guilty" than Mr. Pruitt's killer.

No, we only approximate "justice" no matter what state we live in. That's why it's important to lobby for what you think is fair. Remember the parole hearings coming up this month. There's a doozy we haven't yet mentioned, but we will. Keep reading...



Shoalanda

Do You Really Need a Website?

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How many of you have your own website? Not counting Facebook or blogs which many use as a personal page, we're guessing not too many of our readers have a personal website. How about business? Obviously many businesses can use a website to help market their product or make important announcements, but how many have one just to say they do?

It seems that besides the official City of Florence website, Florence now also has a Facebook page. We assume we can now find out which city streets to avoid due to construction or when to expect scheduled power outages, but couldn't these be announced via the FPD Facebook page? No matter, we're big time now. Here's the link (and may we suggest they work on the header):


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Under the "Do all businesses need a website?" heading, here's one for you (we didn't have the courage to click on the "Your Stories" section): Exciting Website

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The Quad-Cities Daily has begun publishing Marion County arrests. Marion is just to the south of Franklin, and you can bet the reports will include many regular offenders from Russellville and Phil Campbell. The QCD--your "go to" source for arrest reports.



Shoalanda

No More Appeals for Jon Thomas Wallis

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Laynie's face was bruised; it was always bruised. Laynie told her friends that Eddie beat her regularly. First she asked them to visit often to protect her; then she told them to stay away. One day the local news carried the story of a woman's suicide. It was Laynie. The funeral was packed, and those who worked with Eddie told how much he had loved his late wife and had tried to help her conquer her demons. The days and weeks after the funeral, Laynie's lies began to unravel little by little. Very little of her account of life before the Shoals proved to be true. Was she also lying about Eddie?

Tessa was one who had especially tried to help Laynie. She worked a second job to help her husband through law school and she often encountered Eddie there on weekends. He was kind and courteous. He told Tessa how much he missed Laynie. When Tessa had a flat, Eddie was the first to offer to fix it. Tessa began to believe Laynie's tales of Eddie's violent nature were just more lies.

Then Eddie came by Tessa's workplace after being evicted from his apartment. He felt the landlord had blamed him for Laynie's death. As he spoke, his voice grew louder and deeper. He used words that Tessa never heard outside a movie. Eddie's eyes grew large and he plainly said how he would love to find the landlord alone and kill him with his bare hands. 

Tessa realized Eddie was capable of being two different people...

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Aren't most of us really two different people? Just not to the extremes of Eddie...and perhaps Jon Thomas Wallis. Tommy, as his many friends call him, is now serving a life sentence in prison. We've received word that he's exhausted all his appeals. His only recourse now is parole. How long he must serve to be considered is nebulous, but certainly at least 10 years without an attorney to lobby for him. Probably it will be much longer before the board sets a date.

Here's two links of interest:



Notice the February 2012 FB page entry. Tommy has never had any other felony? My, my... What was that three years for trafficking? We don't think it was a misdemeanor. 



Shoalanda

Not an "Orchestrated Attempt" at a News Story

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Years ago, many newspapers used what were called "fillers" to even out page content. In an era before computerized type setting, fillers were invaluable--not to mention they enlightened readers on the population of various foreign countries. Today we still have fillers in the TimesDaily. They're usually fluff pieces that relate what various garden clubs have accomplished over the summer months. Sometimes there seems to be even less point.

Below is an article from today's TD:


It's mainly the ending that's confusing. Was the article an attempt at humor? Was it published before it was completed? One of our readers in Red Bay has stated that if anyone working at the TD could write, they wouldn't be working at the TD. It seems like a sound theory.

*****

If you missed this, here's another arrest for possession of child pornography:


Thanks to the Quad-Cities Daily for their in depth reporting.



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