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."
The interviews consisted of an introduction and four questions which were provided to the candidate for Mayor prior to the interview. #1 Why should a citizen of Scottsboro vote for you as our Mayor? #2 What do you see as major problems of our city, if any, and how do you propose to resolve the problem(s) identified? #3 What do you see that is great about Scottsboro? #4 Is there anything you would like to add?
Scottsboro City Hall - Mayor Candidates Brent Miller and Robin Shelton debate at Scottsboro High School. (photo and videos by G. Morgan)
Mayor Debate, Part 1
Mayor Debate, Part 2
Scottsboro Board of Education Runoff Forums for Places 2 & 3
Scottsboro Board of Education, Page Administration Complex, Scottsboro Board of Education photo, Fair Use for non-profit news reporting and commentary. (Photo crop by G. Morgan)
I had received information regarding the Scottsboro Municipal Court being billed by the City Financial Department for $3000 per month for use of the court area. Below is listed the information regarding this billing. On 23 August I had a discussion with the Mayor of Scottsboro and the City's Director of Finance Rick Wheeler. The line item on the budget regarding the $3000.00 per month has not been paid since 2014. Mr. Wheeler stated that currently there was only $1000 in the fund The line item has been approved by the City Council as a regular annual budget item. General expenses for supplies, janitorial services, etc are absorbed by the Police Department.
I was also informed that a letter of concern was forwarded to the Mayor and the Finance Director in 2011 by Judge Word, who was the City's Municipal Court Judge at that time.
Request for Records was submitted to the City Magistrate, she did not produce the requested records, citing that Judge Word had informed her the budget information contained in that letter was confidential, I informed her that is wrong, all budget information and correspondence relating to budget information is open for public inspection unless there is a specific exemption, such as money for undercover operations of the Police Department, where there might be a specific exemption by law. A Request for Records was submitted to Mayor Potter for that information. As a result this info regarding the municipal court was provided
Scottsboro, Alabama August 23, 2016 Scottsboro City Election - City Council Place 1 Jessica Butler (52.08%) winner, uncertified results. The Scottsboro City Council will meet on Tuesday, August 30, 2016 at 12 noon to issue the certification of election results.
RUNOFFS - Mayor - Robin Shelton and Brent Miller; Board of Education, Place 2 - Patricia Stewart and Mitzi Gattis; Board of Education, Place 3 - Jason Williams and Daryl Eustace.
Total vote count as filed by Heather Garner on the Clarion's Face Book site for the Scottsboro Election: "Mayor - Brent Miller 1412, Robin Shelton 1436, Joe Young 601; City Council place 1 - Jessica Butler 1772, Dan Deason 588, Timothy Saint 826, Kenneth Southeard 109; SBOE Place 2 - Rickey Dooley 724, David Garza 136, Mitzi Gattis 1189, Patricia Stewart 1292; SBOE place 3 - Daryl Eustace 1232 Linda Rogers 841 Jason Williams 1293." VIDEO - 10:30 AM
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.
Scottsboro Ball fields, Scottsboro Recreation; photo from the City of Scottsboro dot com (Government Source) - Fair Use for non-profit news reporting and commentary.
Last night a public hearing was held regarding the Veterans Field Ball Park Renovation Project. The project was originally slated for $1.1 million dollars. The original plans and communications were and are lacking. The results, an announced $600,000 cost overrun, the Citizens of Scottsboro cannot afford such a cost overrun. It has also been announced the Rec-Com swimming pool renovation will be another $1 million dollar cost over-run taking that project to $2,000,000. That was originally a million dollar project.
On August the 23rd, 2016 the citizens of Scottsboro Alabama will go to the voting booths at the Scottsboro Rec-Com and vote for the political candidates of their choice.
For the past Mayor election cycles I have conducted video interviews with the candidates for the Mayor of Scottsboro. Here are the seven questions I provided the candidates a week in advance.
1)Could you tell us a little about yourself? (2 minutes)
2)Why do you want to be Mayor of Scottsboro,
Alabama? (3 minutes)
3)Why should I elect you for Mayor over the other
two candidates? (3 minutes)
4)How do you see the relationship between the
Mayor and City Council? (2minutes)
5)If elected Mayor of Scottsboro, what would be
your #1 goal, your #1 priority in which you want the citizens of Scottsboro to
know that you would accomplish for them? (2 minutes)
6)Will you support the first Monday Trade Day
Event, comments? (1 minute)
7)Is there anything else you would like to add? (2
minutes)
Thank you for your time, good luck to you.
VIDEO INTERVIEW OF BRENT MILLER
VIDEO INTERVIEW OF JOE YOUNG
VIDEO INTERVIEW OF ROBIN SHELTON
PLEASE VOTE ON TUESDAY AUGUST THE 23RD, 2016 AT THE SCOTTSBORO REC-COM.
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.
Or, a tax to support the facilitation of the business of Tourism?
In Alabama we call it a lodging tax, Two citizens spoke on this issue. After the meeting I asked Chamber of Commerce CEO Rick Roden what did he think about the Mayors proposal, Mr. Roden's reply: "I hope they [city council] do their research and homework before they make a decision." He was referring to the Mayor's suggestion that Scottsboro should create an Event's Coordinator position from the Lodging Tax increase. The City of Scottsboro had an Events Coordinator prior to Mayor Potter's tenure. He terminated the position when he took office. Now he wants it back, primarily because a city council member was going to suggest this issue but, he did not get the opportunity, the current Mayor "beat him to the draw" on the issue.
It has been reported that Brent Miller will run for Mayor in the upcoming election; apparently Mr. Miller was going to suggest that the Events Coordinator position be reinstated to the city council and Mayor.
VIDEO, CITY COUNCIL and SCHOOL BOARD RUNOFF ELECTIONS
Tuesday October 7, 2014 - Winners in the Scottsboro City Runoff elections: Tony Wallingsford wins Place 3 with 1384 to Carol McCrary's 772: Gary Stewart wins place 5 with 1095 to Greg Mashburn's 1056; School Board race Place 5 - Julie Gentry wins with 1137 to Gregg Bell's 1029.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA for MONDAY, OCTOBER 6th 2014
Monday evening was a City Council work session and Special Called meeting thereafter for the approval of the city election results.
City Council Agenda
Agenda items: 2-The Knight's of Columbus Roadblock at county Park Road benefits the ARC.
3- Jackson Paving was the only company to submit a bid.
4- Their were no bids received for stripping the city's streets and roads. The Mayor and City Engineer will negotiate with stripping companies and report back to the city council for a final approval.
5- Heritage Day at Brownwood School: Nov 20, 2012 from 8AM till 2PM Bingham Street will be closed.
6&7- Museum and Library Board appointments will be made at next City Council meeting.
8- Discussion concerning the sale on gov deals.com of the old fire truck.
Mayor Melton Potter wins- 2393 votes; Council Member Carol McCrary- 947 votes;
Mr. Bob Starkey- 113 votes
Talley Sheet For the Election (click on image for an expanded view)
Council Place 1: Miller(winner)- 1751, Bell-1625; Council Place 2: Kirkland 985, Speers 913, Stewart 1541(runoff Kirkland-Stewart); Board of Education: Croft 1188, Ferrell 738, Thompson 1479 (runoff Croft-Thompson)
Former Scottsboro Mayor Ron Bailey gives a short election recap.
The Scottsboro municipal elections are less than a week away; it is time for responsible citizens to make some important choices in their elected officials. One of our most important responsibilities we have as citizens is to educate ourselves concerning important issues so that "We the People" may make informed choices in our election process. All to often we forget that we are the government and our government is no more or no less than what "We the People" represent. Please vote on Tuesday, August 28, 2012.
During the past week I asked each candidate for the Mayor of Scottsboro one question. Why should I vote for you as Scottsboro's Mayor? I asked each to limit their answer to 2 minutes, below are the video results for each candidate for the Mayor of Scottsboro. Below each video you will find The Clarions video interview with each candidate.
Mr. Starkey mentions an interesting term, "shrinkage." What is shrinkage in the business sense?
"Definition of 'Shrinkage"
The loss of inventory that can be attributed to factors including employee theft, shoplifting, administrative error, vendor fraud, damage in transit or in store and cashier errors that benefit the customer. Shrinkage is the difference between recorded and actual inventory. According to the National Retail Security Survey, conducted by the University of Florida, shrinkage in the United States during 2009 represented 1.44% of retail sales. This percentage amounts to billions of dollars in lost inventory each year for U.S. retailers. Security guards, security tags and cameras are used by retailers in an effort to reduce shrinkage."
Read more: http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/shrinkage.asp#ixzz24UUQwe6F
I'm late with my Scootsboro City Council and Jackson County Commission report. Please read the Daily Sentinel and Clarion's coverage of the governmental entity reports linked under the appropriate picture. Also included are the Municipal Election qualifying reports from The Clarion and The Daily Sentinel.
The Bid for the Library HVAC units were approved, $22,850 awarded to Central Air Conditioning Service of Scottsboro. The Library roof bid was approved for $35,000, awarded to Jerry Atkins Construction. There will be a separate bid for the library roof truss system.
If you are a Scottsboro resident I ask for your vote tomorrow on Tuesday August 24, 2010, vote for Garry L.Morgan, Scottsboro City Council Place 4. Sensible leadership for Scottsboro's future, vote Garry L. Morgan.
Councilman Matthew Hodges receives the Certificate of Election from Mayor Potter. Mr. Hodges received no opposition in his bid for City Council. This is his 3rd term on the Council.
Scottsboro City Council, Mayor, City Clerk, City Attorney dressed in pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. The pink t-shirts are being sold by the Scottsboro Fire Department for $9.00. Proceeds to go to fighting breast cancer.
“Real men wear pink” is the motto of firefighters across the country that raise money for a program called the Pink Heals Tour. Started in Arizona, the purpose of the Pink Heals Tour, complete with pink fire trucks, is to raise money and show support for women who are fighting the fight against breast cancer.
1) Consider Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon contract for sports complex. Mentioned there were environmental issues (wetlands) which would take from 120-140 days. The issue was approved. The complex will also include a splash park. 2) Bid opening for unpaved road surfacing. Charles E Watts Co. of Gadsden, Al. awarded bid. 3)Bid opening for Fire Department Equipment purchase, $14,267-awarded Sunbelt Fire Equipment; foam purchase-$390.00 awarded to Pro Fire Equipment. A government grant covered 95% of the purchase. 4) Vacancy on Water Sewer and Gas Board, request for position must be turned in to the City Clerk prior to Sep 10, 2010 at 4:30PM 5) Resolution of election by City Council, Certificate of Election by Mayor Potter. Mr Hodges ran unopposed, his election was certified. 6) The CDA will have a Special Called meeting on Aug 10, 2010 at 5:30PM at the City Hall Council chambers. 7) City Council meeting will be continued until 5:30 next Monday evening.
Reports: 1) The Jackson County Voters League will hold its Candidates Screening and Endorsement Forum Tuesday August 10th at the North Houston Street church of Christ. Registration is at 5:30PM, a $25.00 registration fee will be charged. 2) Monday, August 16, 2010 at 7PM the City Council and School Board Forum will be conducted in the High School Auditorium.
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.
