Centreville AL News Commentary and Reading Recommendations

Words fail to express the outrage. Why do things like that happen? Who in their sick minds is even able to do something like that?

From http://www.al.com/newsflash/regional/ind...ist=alabamanews:
 
A Bibb County grand jury indicted two men Friday on charges that they killed 36-year-old Steven Carlyle Spears of Maplesville in a drive-by shooting and beat his wife with a chain. Monica Spears survived the attack.
The grand jury indicted Troy Edward Connell, 16, of Chilton County, and Jimmy Lamar Killingsworth, 28, of Shelby County. (...) The victims were driving home from a family gathering when assailants in a red SUV passed the Spears' car and killed Spears in a drive-by shooting. Monica Spears was able to steer the car to the side of the road and get out.
The assailants beat her with a chain and stole her husband's wallet, police said. - The highway where the attack occurred runs between Selma and Montevallo. A wooden roadside cross now marks the spot where the attack occurred.

06:29 AM   

The Clanton Advertiser features a great article for all of y'all who want to know what Jimmy Golden is doing these days. Seems that reporter Steve Malone has a personal hotline to the wrestler. He writes about Jimmy Golden's past, and what he's currently doing, in this piece.

From http://www.clantonadvertiser.com/article...ts/b-sports.txt:
 
"Is he still wrestling?" "Is he still in the 'Stud Stable' with Robert Fuller?" "Where can I see him at?" (...) Golden broke into professional wrestling in 1970 at the age of 20 with his first cousins Robert and Ron Fuller. They wrestled in a promotion owned by their uncle, Roy Welch.(...)
Golden is best known for his membership throughout the 1980s in the "Stud Stable" with his tag-team partner, Robert Fuller.(...)
The 55-year-old Montgomery native is married with a 19-year-old son and currently resides in Tenn., where he owns a business and helps run smaller promotions.

Golden is also still a part of the Continental Reunion Tour in Dothan and will be appearing in Birmingham soon.
 
Read the full article through the link above for all the details and a personal message from Golden (who writes that he misses Alabama and kisses the ground every time he has to leave Montgomery)!
 
The Clanton Advertiser will feature more on Golden soon, so (Wrestling Fans!) keep on a lookout for that.

07:47 AM   

At a recent event, doctors of the Vaughan Regional Medical Center educated women about breast and cervical cancer, obesity, heart disease, and other conditions. A very interesting article that re-iterates some of the not-so-well known facts about these diseases, including the fact that heart disease tends to have less obvious symptoms in women than in men: sometimes, shortness of breath is the only (vague) symptom until the arteries get completely blocked.

From http://www.selmatimesjournal.com/article...cal/news690.txt:
 
"Tobacco contributes to getting lung cancer, several other types of cancers and coronary disease," Newton said. "All the cancers caused by cigarette smoke and alcohol can be prevented."
Marlow was the last doctor to speak during the nearly two hour discussion. The doctor told visitors to Vaughan that Mississippi and Alabama have the highest obesity rates in the country. "The highest obesity rate is in Wilcox County," Marlow said. "That means that the fattest people in the world are right next-door."

The fattest people in the world? Oh my, that's harsh. An urgent warning to get serious about that diet and exercise program.

06:28 AM   

This website deals with the current situation of rural Alabama, points out strategies for economic improvement, and warns of a "The Crisis in Rural Alabama." Very much worth a read.
 
Ironically, it takes several minutes to download over a high-speed connection, and requires Acrobat reader. So, few rural residents will be able to read it. Which is sad because it's a great document and features many great photos of rural Alabama as well.

From http://www.auburn.edu/outreach/edi/:
 
Rural communities throughout the South have struggled for decades – and still struggle – to provide jobs, good schools, quality health care, adequate infrastructure, and an improved quality of life. Some states and communities have done a better job of addressing these issues than others. We highlight a few of these stories.
The typical small farmer now derives a majority of his income off the farm. Even larger farms usually have at least one family member with a job “in town” to provide access to medical and other benefits. The slow death of family farming has had devastating effects on Alabama’s rural communities. With the loss of farm income, rural communities witnessed the exodus of the grain dealers, gins, restaurants, insurance companies, feed stores, chemical companies, banks and other businesses that were the backbone of their local economies. Gone also were tax revenues that funded rural schools, hospitals, highways, libraries, and all the other facets of life needed for a healthy community.

Some of the many examples in the document include Andalusia's Henderson Sewing Machine company, and Eufaula's successful strategic plan which includes preserving its environmental resources and reviving its farmer's market.
 
Some of the recommendations in the article are: Create an Alabama Rural Development Council - Create a position/office in state government that focuses exclusively on rural development. - Implement a regional economic and community development strategy and program. - Support the Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) Program - Upgrade the rural technology infrastructure - Support Interstate highway expansions in rural Alabama - and more.

08:19 AM   

Not exactly the latest news I could find, but still interesting.

From http://www.gdg.org/44thala.html:
 
I have before me a newspaper clipping from a February? 1900 edition of a Centreville, Alabama newspaper, in which a veteran of the 44th Alabama (Judge John S. Gardner) offers to return the sword of Captain George Davis of the 4th Maine. Seems that after the fight at the Devil's Den, Gardner and his men bagged Davis, 3 Lieutenants and 29 men who were caught "under a rock" (surely a ledge?). Indeed a whole gang of men from Davis' Co. F were captured and Davis did a stretch in Libby Prison.

Maybe someone has access to history records etc. to help the person who posted the excerpt (who has some questions about the story of the capture in the Devil's Den?)

06:52 AM   

US 82 is dangerous with its hidden dips and people passing at inopportune moments.

From http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/NEWS...trapped501w.htm:
 
On an average day, more than 2,800 vehicles pass along the last five-mile stretch of U.S. 82 in northwest Autauga County before it enters Chilton County.
(...) Anyone who takes U.S. 82 between Prattville and Centreville -- the route is extremely heavily traveled during football season because U.S. 82 goes on to Tuscaloosa -- is familiar with the rural area where the two-lane highway goes up and down hills and around curves.
Since 1995, there have been 58 accidents and nine deaths along the stretch.

The article recommends a thorough study of the danger of the stretch known as 'Death Valley.'

08:42 AM   

What a great project. The Cahaba River features 150 free-flowing miles (without a dam), more than any other river in Alabama.

From http://www.decaturdaily.com/decaturdaily...02/cahaba.shtml:
 
The Cahaba is one of the continent's most biologically diverse rivers. It is home to 135 known species of fish, 40 mussels and a multitude of snails, plants and other creatures.
So far, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has purchased 2,997 acres within the 3,500-acre boundary of the refuge. The agency more recently agreed to add 340 acres if the landowner is willing to sell. (...)
Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills, has been the refuge's primary champion in Congress. He wants the refuge to get much bigger.
"There is a potential of 30,000 acres that we want to authorize that is the most biologically diverse," he said. "It's a 15-mile stretch of the river where all the endangered species are found."
Bachus said he sold his congressional committee on the refuge simply by showing members a video of the river. "I didn't have to say a lot," Bachus said. "People were just blown away."

Once again, a picture - or in this case, a video - says more than a thousand words.

09:18 AM   

That's just awesome.

From http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/NEWS...trapped501w.htm:
 
Two Centreville youngsters are being called heroes after they spotted an overturned car Thursday that had trapped a Jones man in the bottom of a Bibb County ravine for two days.
Kelli Jenkins, 12, and Corey Carter, 14, reported what they saw to their school bus driver, who in turn reported to a Bibb County game warden Thursday afternoon.
(...) Robinson said that since the students were riding in the bus, they were at a higher level and could see the car where a car or pickup could not

The car had pinned the driver by the arm, it was under the roof. The kids think it's cool that they are 'famous' now. Hat's off to them they were very attentive and very possibly saved the man's life. He was taken to Druid City Hospital in Tuscaloosa and remained in serious condition Friday.

08:53 AM   

An important and interesting issue...

From http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs....0/APN/404201114:
 
Alabama Attorney General Troy King has filed a brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a Missouri Supreme Court ruling that prohibits the execution of 16- and 17-year-olds.
The attorney general, in a news release about the brief Tuesday, said that some teenagers are just as capable of masterminding a heinous murder as adult killers.
(...) There are 73 men on death row in 12 states for murders they committed when they were 16 or 17. Fourteen of them are in Alabama.

Alabama's brief is supported by Delaware, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia, and Texas.

08:30 AM   

That's great. I like the idea of repairing the wooden bridge. Personally, I like wooden bridges. On the bad side, there is a weight limit that does not allow log trucks to cross (even though they often do anyway).

From http://www.demopolistimes.com/articles/2...news/news22.txt:
 
Gulf States Paper, International Paper, Buchanan Paper and Weyerhauser together are proposing paying approximately $15,600 to repair the wooden bridge over Bucks Creek on the Perryville-Centreville Road (County Road 69).
The county is proposing to put a new deck on the bridge, which was originally built in 1977, said county engineer Danny Overton. The project will cost approximately $18,312.60, he said
(...) A concrete bridge would cost as much as $400,000, Overton said, and the bridge is used almost exclusively for log truck traffic. There are maybe five cars a day on the bridge.

I guess it's not one of the most heavily-traveled areas in Alabama.

07:30 AM   

This one will be remembered for a while...

From http://www.nbc13.com/news/2994571/detail.html:
 
More than 1,300 customers in Greene and south Tuscaloosa counties were without power Sunday morning. Officials said about 200 people in Centerpoint and Alabaster also were without power.

07:12 AM   

This is a very informative and thought-provoking article from the Birmingham News, about a subject that is practically always overlooked during discussions of the 'bigger picture'.

From http://www.al.com/opinion/birminghamnews...82724231220.xml:
 
for this discussion we'll consider as urban the 22 Alabama counties classified as Metropolitan Statistical Areas, and the remaining 45 rural. These 45 counties are home to 1.3 million of our 4.4 million residents.
(...) The Alabama Department of Industrial Relations says we lost 56,500 manufacturing jobs from 1990 to 2002.
(...) Where were these jobs? Buildings that once housed sewing plants are as common in rural Alabama as kudzu.
(...) People like Jerry Boothe, the mayor of Opp, where Opp & Micolas Mills closed last summer after decades of operation, leaving 600-plus people unemployed. With his budget $250,000 in the red, the mayor is trying to figure out what to do.

Boothe, half-jokingly, points out that Opp even lost the McDonald's. He said he had thought about writing to Dear Abby.
 
The article goes on to describe how Georgia had made more efforts in economic development of rural counties. The OneGeorgia Authority has more than 20 million dollars at their disposal.
 
We've seen it on our travels, too. The small towns in South Georgia tend to be more lively than their Alabama counterparts. If you travel Highway 84 from Valdosta westward, you experience hustling and bustling little towns like Quitman, Thomasville, Cairo, and Bainbridge, with antique shopping and sightseeing. Once you get into Alabama, it gets more drab. Cities like Andalusia, Opp, and Ozark don't present themselves as well as they could. Brewton is the light at the other end of the tunne.
 
Creating local opportunities is about making the most of what you have. Fortunately, it seems that towns like Andalusia are starting now to revitalize their downtowns now.

09:10 AM