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Articles from the May 1, 2015 edition


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  • Maxwell's C-130s Confirmed by Air Force Report

    Rep. Martha Roby|May 1, 2015

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – Eight C-130 aircraft will remain with the 908th Airlift Wing at Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base in Montgomery, according to recently released Air Force plans. The Air Force Report on C-130 Force Structure reinforces a temporary November 2012 decision not to move forward with a plan to transfer the aircraft away from unit. After scrutiny from Rep. Roby and other members of Alabama's Congressional Delegation, the Air Force elected not to transfer the existing aircraft as p...

  • "Flakka"--

    Hector Oswaldo Chavez|May 1, 2015

    The name Flakka comes from the Spanish word "flaca," which means "skinny girl." The drug is sold in other parts of the United States as "Gravel." The drug comes in the form of a white crystal (Gravel) or a pink crystal (Flakka) that is foul-smelling. Flakka can be snorted, swallowed, injected or vaped in an e-cigarette. While its effects are generally felt for three or four hours, they can continue for days. This new synthetic drug has increasingly been reported in Ohio, Texas, and several recen...

  • Inside the Statehouse

    Steve Flowers|May 1, 2015

    May 6, 2015: There is an ominous cloud hanging over this legislative session. Last year the U.S. Supreme Court surprisingly agreed to hear a Hail Mary complaint filed by the black legislative caucus over the 2014 redistricting plan. In an even more surprising opinion, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the complainants and remanded the case back to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals instructing the lower court to tell the legislature to try again. The super majority Republican legislature fully...

  • America's Historic Education:

    Bobbie Ames|May 1, 2015

    “As men, we have God for our King, and are under the Law of Reason: as Christians, we have Jesus the Messiah for our King, and are under the law revealed by Him in the Gospel.”John Locke, “The Reasonableness of Christianity,”. 1695. “...The right to freedom being the gift of God Almighty... The Rights of the Colonists as Christians...may be best understood by reading and carefully studying the Institutes of the great Law Giver..which are to be found clearly written and promulgated in the New T...

  • What Are The Types Of Lawyers?

    Ron Holtsford|May 1, 2015

    United States lawyers or attorneys practice in many areas such as insurance defense, consumer issues, elder law, social security, admiralty, estate planning, bankruptcy, tax, business entities, criminal, health law, military, divorce, adoption, probate, immigration, government related and many other areas. As a guess there are probably more than forty or so practice areas. Additionally, beyond the Juris Doctorate (JD) degree or older LL.B (Bachelor of Laws), attorneys may seek a Master of Laws...

  • Cry Wolf Syndrome

    Marcia Chambliss|May 1, 2015

    A recent opinion piece from James Spann, Chief Meteorologist for ABC 33/40 in Birmingham regarding severe weather explored the various reasons that Alabamians fail to heed the warnings of approaching dangerous storms. Based on meteorologists’ collaboration with social scientists studying why there was such a tremendous loss of life from the April 27, 2011 tornadoes despite the timely warnings of that day, Spann relates that he learned many things. Given that my interest leans towards all t...

  • Another Episode of Bob & Mike Show:

    John Sophocleus|May 1, 2015

    In our current episode 'as the corruption churns' in the Heart of Dixie, Big Daddy Bob and step-child Mike Boulevard are having a spat over inability to pay future legal bills without Daddy's help. Seems as serial felony indictments proceed through the process, Mr. Boulevard is having trouble acquiring more unsecured loans and contributions as more political hacks discount the probability he can retain his ‘Spender of the House’ position as auctioneer of future theft from taxpayers. Sad to wit...

  • Selection, Training And Standardization:

    Robert Tate|May 1, 2015

    On 24 March 2015, Germanwings Flight 9525, an Airbus A320-200 crashed into the French Alps killing all 150 people onboard. Things instantly didn't seem right and almost immediately authorities knew for sure that the 27 year-old German copilot, Andreas Lubitz, intentionally flew the airplane into the mountains. Having flown for Delta for 18 years and 12 years before that in the Air Force, I know a little about the subject of flight safety. I know many of you have questions because I am...

  • Alabama State Trap tournament coming to Dixie Trap and Skeet

    Steve Long|May 1, 2015

    For many hunters in Alabama, it's been a great few weeks of turkey hunting! The season has just ended, and hopefully everybody had a good, safe time. For many folks that enjoy spending their time in the outdoors, camping, fishing, and boating are some of the things they get to look forward to this time of year. But don't put those shells down just yet; there's still another sport to look forward to. Trap shooting is the most popular shotgun shooting sport in the US, with a vast following. Trap...

  • Squirrels

    Ron VanHerwyn|May 1, 2015

    Squirrels are familiar to almost everyone. Yes, our cute squirrel friends are in fact part of a huge family of Squirrels (Sciuridae) which also makes them cousins of prairie dogs, the woodchucks, the amazing flying squirrel and both tree and ground squirrels. The Squirrels are pretty widespread too because their kin can be seen all over the trees, parks and woodlands across the globe- Australia, Asia and the Europe. There are more than 200 squirrel species live all over the world, with the notab...

  • Best Of The West

    Ed Jones Sports Editor|May 1, 2015

    With all of the SEC spring football games completed, one can better make a determination as to who is improved, who has digressed and who remains relatively the same. All spring games are for basically three reasons. First the coaches need to look at some of their younger players in a game situation as similar as possible to a regular football game. Remember, many of these players have not played in a game in two years in some cases. The coaching staff likes to evaluate their performance in...

  • Montgomery County Law

    Sheriff Derrick Cunningham|May 1, 2015

    On April 9th, we recognized two officers, Lt. Thomas LeSage, from the Detention Facility and Cpl. John Shepherd, from our Patrol Division here at our agency for Exchange Club Officers of the Year. On October 4th, 2014, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office Dispatch received a 911 call from a resident of Montgomery County reporting robbery that had just occurred at her residence. The victim stated that the offender identified himself as a Law Enforcement Officer and requested to come inside to...

  • Abolish Grand Juries

    Judge Philip Dale Segrest|May 1, 2015

    Sometime after William the Conqueror successfully invaded England in 1066, the new line of kings decided they needed help rounding up local criminals to prosecute. Accordingly, they organized groups of local citizens who could keep up with what was going on in the local area to report crimes to the king and his court whenever they visited town. The result was the origin of grand juries. The process evolved so that prosecutors began to utilize the grand jury to bring about indictments....

  • Revelations And The Unraveling Of Common Core

    Dr. David Nichols|May 1, 2015

    Does Tennessee Value Its Children’s Education More Than Alabama? On Tuesday, April 21 in a bipartisan vote, the Tennessee House of Representatives voted unanimously (97:0) to repeal Common Core. Today, the Tennessee State Senate followed with a (27:1) vote in favor of repeal. The Truth in Medium Team, an online news site (benswan.com) was the first of many media outlets to report this breaking news. “This legislation is a template for all states to begin a much needed journey of separation fro...

  • Southern Cuisine

    David Spooner|May 1, 2015

    Something A Little Different I love watching the “Chopped” series on Food Network. How else are you going to learn to prepare an entree with a whole catfish, a bottle of cherry soda, broccoli and goat cheese? Some of the combinations the contestants make to prepare their dish at first sounds horrible. But most of the time it works. There is a time that a chef will be asked to cook from a Mystery Basket. To be successful, you need to think outside the box and be a master of the basics. Thinking o...

  • Robert Schuller And Me

    Michael J. Brooks|May 1, 2015

    I was saddened to hear of Robert Schuller's passing last week. In his heyday he was a preacher to the nation, including many of the nation's leaders. Politicians and Hollywood celebrities came to be interviewed by him on TV, and he was the minister the family called to visit John Wayne when he lay on his deathbed. Schuller began his work in Southern California preaching at a drive-in theatre with the mantra, "Come as you are in the family car." Then he built the Crystal Cathedral--an all-glass...

  • May Potpourri

    Judge Peggy Givhan|May 1, 2015

    May Day has been celebrated throughout the world since ancient times and the festivals held commemorated the astronomical mid-way points between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. One of the earliest celebrations stemmed from the Celtic festival of Beltane. I can remember as a child in elementary school, watching the erection of the May Pole and being taught, along with other classmates, to weave the wide pastel colored ribbon around the pole. The May Pole had a bonnet of flowers at...

  • Emily Post would be shocked....

    Dr. John Bitter|May 1, 2015

    Emily Post passed away before cell phones became popular; but she was the ultimate expert on etiquette. She would most likely have been mortified had she been alive to witness today's epitome of bad manners: cell phone usage. Marching under her banner, modern day experts on good manners have posted a list of ten rules for good cell phone manners, a list that has apparently been kept under wraps, for there's little evidence of it having ever been read by the multitude of cell phone users....

  • Honoring Our Service Members On Memorial Day

    Kylle McKinney|May 1, 2015

    On Memorial Day, we honor men and women who died while courageously serving in the U. S. military. We also recognize active duty service members, especially those who have been wounded. Cities and towns across the United States host Memorial Day parades to thank our service members and their families for their sacrifices. Policymakers put into place laws and benefits to protect our heroes and their families. For example, Social Security provides survivors, disability, retirement, and Medicare...

  • The Toughest Job

    Dr. Rick Marshall|May 1, 2015

    My friend David Dykes reminded me of a funny story about a man who rushed into a toy store late one evening to buy a Barbie doll for his daughter who had a birthday the next morning. The saleslady said, “Well, you have several to choose from. This is the Tennis Barbie; it’s $20. The Ballet Barbie and the Beach Barbie are also $20 each. We have a new item called the Divorced Barbie, and she sells for $265.” The man said, “Why is the Divorced Barbie so much more expensive?” The saleslady...

  • "Go Team B & T!"

    Trisston Wright Burrows|May 1, 2015

    For months now, my hubby, Brian & I have talked about purchasing a selfie stick. After all, we mainly take photos with our cell phones these days. So, how nice it would be to be able to take photos together ourselves. Recently, I was running errands and went by a popular box store. I saw they had selfie sticks. So I bought one for us. When I got home, I decided to go ahead, open the box & get our new toy working to surprise Brian. Simple right? WRONG! I worked a good 45 minutes...even reading...