Alternative news and discussion for Scottsboro, Jackson County Alabama and the Tennessee River Valley as I see it. Responsible comments to articles welcome. As always, "Watch for Snakes," particularly those wearing suits.
JAMES MADISON QUOTE - 1822
"A popular government without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance; and a people who mean to be their own governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives."
Greg Mashburn, center of photo in blue shirt, selected to the 2 year term for Scottsboro City Council, Place 1, which was vacated when Jessica Butler resigned on June 4, 2018. Council Member Patrick Stewart to the left of Mr. Mashburn; local attorney Will Parks, on right, offers his congratulations. (photo by G. Morgan)
Unfortunately there is much more to this crisis than meets the "public eye." Possible bid law violations is just the tip of the puzzle. I have been having conversations with past Mayors of Scottsboro prior to Mayor Shelton, 16 years, about serious shortcomings in the City of Scottsboro's Personnel Management system, this includes presentations to the City Council. The City Council is just as at fault as Mayors past and present regarding this issue. In this case, as well as the Blizzard issue, it appears there may be an intentional undermining of the Chain of Command at the City of Scottsboro. Instead of working together as a team to manage the City of Scottsboro, professionally, intelligently, and facilitating the principles of leadership and stewardship, there is intentional conflict and undermining of processes.
If you are a politician in the City of Scottsboro either act professional, do the peoples business, be a leader, work to resolve problems as a team, OR RESIGN. If you are an employee, politically appointed (Which is another problem, unresolved, several of the positions should be classified not appointed.) or classified (hired) follow the rules of the City, quit scheming, or you should expect to be terminated if you are not going to be a team player. The situation regarding Mr. Blizzard is part of the problem.
CITY COUNCIL AND MAYOR - recommendations were made several years ago regarding needed improvements to the Scottsboro Personnel Management System, you have ignored those recommendations. The situation involved the Scottsboro Police Department, Mr. Smith as the Police Chief, Mayor Deason and the alleged improper termination of an employee. A Personnel Management Specialist was hired and gave a report of needed improvements. Instead of making improvements y'all have proceeded on a course of unprofessional conduct which does not have the best interests of the citizens of the City of Scottsboro as first and foremost in your agendas. STOP WITH THE PERSONAL EGOTISTICAL VENDETTAS AGAINST PEOPLE WHO ARE PART OF THE CITY STRUCTURE OF SCOTTSBORO! CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS AND MAYOR, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE.
Is it too much to ask for professional conduct on the part of elected leadership??
BE PROFESSIONAL - BE THE TEAM
Stop working against each other.
The Council President, Mr. Tony Wallingsford, Mayor Robin Shelton, and the City Attorney are to meet this week to discuss the issue of inappropriate expenditures.
VIDEO EXCERPT OF MR. SMITH'S PRESENTATION
AGENDA
Vote on the Scottsboro City Council for Place 1, vacated when Mrs. Jessica Butler resigned.
Jenna Bell received 2 votes, Mr. Wallingsford and Mr. Gary Stewart
Linda Bray received 2 votes, Mr. Smith and Mr. Patrick Stewart
A Special Call Meeting to be announced for a second vote on July 16, 2018 after the regular scheduled work session meeting.
THE LIST
VIDEO
Records request regarding documented Verbal Warning given to Mr. Eddie Blizzard by Mayor Robin Shelton. There are two items in this document which stand out: 1) Provoking comments documented, quote - Mayor stated - "I apologized for cursing him," 2) and an assault upon the Mayor by a Department Head, Quote from Mayor: "Blizzard said then we will just settle this right now, reached in and grabbed my necktie and started pulling."
Mr. Blizzard refused to sign the warning. H.R. Director Erin Stiles signed, Police Chief Ralph Dawe signed and the Mayor signed.
Scottsboro Council Member Keith Smith questions the ongoing practice of cost overruns regarding city construction projects. Smith comments about the City Streetscape project, "Look across the street at the sidewalk slope. . .other cities around are not having this contract problem." Meeting the American's for Disability Act requirements has been a problem, another result of failed planning. It appears there is an approximate $26,000 overrun thus far, for the Streetscape Project.
Mr. Smith is right, the City Taxpayers have paid thousands upon thousands in construction project cost overruns to various contractors. Abuse and waste was evident in the Ball Field construction project. A failure to plan and properly investigate architectural and street infrastructure problems is resulting in cost overruns in the downtown Streetscape Project.
Many citizens have questioned the necessity of the Streetscape project's scope and state it is wasteful and not needed. There have been many parking spaces lost to the Streetscape Project. A delegation of downtown merchants briefly met with the City Council tonight discussing traffic patterns and parking around the square affecting merchant business.
The historical significance of the drive around portion of the Courthouse Square was lost in the project, instead two expensive bricked in area were placed at the south side of the square changing traffic patterns and creating hazards. It was stated there were many meetings about the project explaining the scope. However, many of the meetings were not announced properly and involved only select citizens who agreed with the plans. (photo by G. Morgan)
Scottsboro, Alabama August 16, 2016 Scottsboro Election Forum - 3 Part video featuring Candidates for the Board of Education, Scottsboro City Council and the Mayor of Scottsboro. The Forum was sponsored by: WWIC, The Daily Sentinel, Scottsboro Electric Power Board, The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, many thanks to Scottsboro High School for hosting the forum.
Why should I vote for you over other candidates for city council? A second question - What do you offer the citizens of Scottsboro, Alabama that other candidates do not offer?
Ms. Butler's answers:
Thank you for your interest in Scottsboro and the citizens.
I offer a genuine, unbiased concern for the city of Scottsboro. I do not have a personal agenda. I want to serve and help our community progress. I offer the citizens a fresh perspective and a fair voice.
Why should I vote for you over other candidates for city council? A second question - What do you offer the citizens of Scottsboro, Alabama that other candidates do not offer?
Mr. Deason's Answers
Why should I vote for you
over other candidates for city council? I love this city and the people of this
city and I love helping people. I am no
stranger to Scottsboro or Scottsboro city government. I am dedicated to being "the people's
voice" - listening to their ideas and concerns and then taking
action. The wonderful people of this
city already know me and I feel they know they can absolutely count on my
dependability.
What do you offer the
citizens of Scottsboro, Alabama that other candidates do not offer ? 1. I have
many years of experience in working with budgets of tens of millions of
dollars. 2. I feel the years that I have spent in city hall as Safety Director
and Mayor uniquely qualify me as having more experience, knowledge, and
leadership in and of city government than any other candidate. 3. I
have friends across the state of Alabama in municipal government - plus friends
in Montgomery to use as a source of knowledge and expertise - when
necessary. 4. I have over 40 years of experience in
"management" - in retail, life and health insurance, mortgage
financing, manufacturing, the military (U. S. Air Force), and in
government. 5. I have been designated as
an Advanced Certified Municipal Official by the Alabama League of
Municipalities.
Photo of Tim Saint, Candidate for Place 1 Scottsboro City Council - Fair use rights for non-profit news reporting and commentary. Face Book info at https://www.facebook.com/TimSaint2016/
QUESTIONS
Why should I vote for you over other candidates for city council? A second question - What do you offer the citizens of Scottsboro, Alabama that other candidates do not offer?
Mr. Saint's answers
The impacts of this upcoming national elections are felt on
a local level, regardless of political party or chosen candidate, if for no
other reason than it is becoming increasingly clear that American voters are
tired of politicians who climb the political ranks and lose touch with the real
issues on their way up. I am no career politician, and I am not looking for
this office to be my start to climbing the ranks. As a born and raised
Scottsboro citizen, I have been in this community through many highs, lows and
everything in between. Throughout my life, I have not just invested in
Scottsboro actively participating in its workforce on many levels and
supporting its businesses, but I have also made the greatest investment of all
by raising my children here in Scottsboro schools and now my grandchildren
here.
While I do not believe a class or program can completely
prepare someone to hold an elected office exists, I do believe the experience
necessary to be a true representative of a community comes from not just
reading about a city, but by knowing the community and what makes it unique and
using that knowledge to recognize what goals can be made to keep making that
community great.
If elected, you can count on me to work diligently with the
other council members to consider the needs of the public, the issues at hand
and act on both in a way that ensures Scottsboro will give its citizens the
opportunity to grow the economy and create a stronger community to raise our
families in. We can all agree that when families are strong, Scottsboro is
strong.
Mr. Ken Southeard (No photo available, no Face Book listing.)
Questions: Why should I vote for you over other candidates for city council? A second question - What do you offer the citizens of Scottsboro, Alabama that other candidates do not offer? Mr. Southeard's answers provided at the Scottsboro Depot Meet and Greet on August 7,2016.
" I worked as a Volunteer Fireman for 25 years. I just want to help people of Scottsboro."
VIDEO - Scottsboro Political Candidates Meet and Greet August 7, 2016 at the Jackson County Historical Association's Scottsboro Railroad Depot. Many thanks to the Jackson County Historical Association.
Facebook has permanently suspended my account, CENSORED, for telling the truth about Donald Trump's criminal history and disclosing facts about racial discrimination in Scottsboro and our nation. Garry Morgan : 03/15/2025
Copyright Info
All Rights Reserved for writings, video, photographs and art by Garry L. Morgan.
U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Rule: "Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, nonprofit educational purposes and research. Link: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
Total "In the Boro" Pageviews
Scottsboro Police Department Web Site
""The police are the public, the public are the police. The police are the only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties that are incumbent on every citizen in the interest to community welfare and existence." - Sir Robert Peel, 1829 https://www.scottsboropd.org/
The Sunlight Foundation uses cutting-edge technology and ideas to make government transparent and accountable. Click on image to learn more.
THE FEDERAL BUREAUCRACY
"I can say with confidence that the federal government needs a major overhaul. Don’t get me wrong, most public servants in government are highly educated and dedicated professionals who are committed to “the greater good.” At the same time, the government has become a bloated bureaucracy that is based on past conditions and in too many cases, federal programs and policies can’t demonstrate that they are generating real results that benefit the American people."
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David Walker President and CEO The Peter G. Peterson Foundation http://www.pgpf.org/ ; former, recently served for 10 years, Comptroller General of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO).
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NPR's story on David Walker: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124460237
"public intelligence"
"What is Public Intelligence? Public Intelligence is an international, collaborative research project aimed at aggregating the collective work of independent researchers around the globe who wish to defend the public’s right to access information." http://publicintelligence.net/
A Nuclear Engineer's Report on the Bellefonte Nuclear Plant
Danger Zone: Aging Nuclear Reactors
Incident at Browns Ferry (PBS 1977)
History of nuclear power safety issues which the 1975 Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant fire brought forward. This video has been censored by the nuclear industry. The trillion dollar multinational nuclear death industry prefers to keep you the citizen in the dark and feed you crap.
Renaissance artists including Michelangelo, Sandro Botticelli, Pietro Perugino, Pinturicchio and others. Click on image for a tour. Left click & hold mouse to move image.
Bellefonte Efficiency and Sustainability Team/Mothers Against Tennessee River Radiation http://www.matrr.org/
"TVA at the Crossroads" a SACE Film.
"America is at an energy crossroads and the Tennessee Valley Authority has a choice to make: Will it cling to old coal power because of its historic significance or will it retire its oldest, dirtiest and least efficient plants and lead America into a clean energy future?" TVA At The Crossroads from SACE.
****************************I'm GARRY MORGAN, a Christian, U.S. Army (AMEDD) retired, Race Relations/Equal Opportunity Specialist (U.S.Army, Retired DOD-DRRI-DEOMI) a citizen of Scottsboro Alabama, a Baylor University grad-Go Bears, a political activist and a political Independent as I believe political parties divide the citizenry whom they are suppose to represent. We must learn the lessons of our history or we will surely repeat our mistakes. I think the greatest problem facing our nation is the massive national and personal debt.
