Alabama apostille

Published January 8, 2010
Zoning issues pertaining to the area around Fort Paynes newest interstate interchange are expected to be the topic of discussion at a meeting of the Fort Payne Planning Commission next week.

Mayor Bill Jordan said the citys zoning department is expected to take up preliminary discussion of the issue when the Planning Commission meets in regular session on Tuesday.

The Fort Payne Planning Commission will hold a public forum Tuesday to discuss the probability of rezoning property near 49th Street NW and the citys newest Interstate 59 interchange.

The forum will be at 6 p.m. in the auditorium at City Hall and will concern how rezoning could affect adjacent property owners.

This is just a preliminary meeting to get a feel for things, said Jordan. We dont want to create a situation where we get into spot zoning. We want to get a plan together going in and get input from people who live in the area and own different parcels of property there.

Jordan said most of the property near the interchange is currently zoned as rural farm.

Construction of the third interchange on I-59 in Fort Payne is nearing completion. Alabama Department of Transportation Division 1 Engineer Johnny Harris said earlier this month that the northernmost exit in Fort Payne is on track and expected to be complete in late spring or early summer.

The new interchange is going to be a great asset for Fort Payne, Jordan said. It shows the town is growing and progressing. It should help open up some property for us and help the traffic situation on the north end of the city.

Jordan said the interchange also creates easier access to the old Sara Lee plant. Jordan said the city is still actively pursing recruitment of an industry to fill the plant.

The city bought the empty plant several months ago for $1.2 million, in the hopes of being able to turn around and sell it to a private industrial interest at cost. Jordan said there are several interested parties, but no one has yet committed to buying the facility.

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Published January 12, 2010
Educators at Fort Payne Middle School are hoping to hit the mark with a new elective program archery.

Principal Shane Byrd said the archery class got off to a flying start last week, with some help from Stuart Goldsby with the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, who visited the school to help set up the program.

Byrd said Terry Robertson is currently instructing the class, which is being offered as a fifth-period elective. He said 18 students are enrolled, eight girls and eight boys.

We wanted to offer more high-interest electives, Byrd said. And we saw this as an opportunity to do so. We were able to buy the materials earlier this year to set it all up and two of our teachers had already been trained.

Byrd said the archery course would be offered as an elective, for now, but would later likely be incorporated into the schools physical education courses, since it was initially created for use as part of a PE curriculum.

He said it was initially co-created by the Kentucky Departments of Education and Kentucky Fish & Wildlife Resources in the spring of 2002, and a similar program was implemented in 16 of Alabama’s middle schools in 2003.

The Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries provided the equipment to each of the 16 pilot schools.

Designed to teach Junior Olympic Archery Development-style archery programs to fifth-12th grades as part of an in-school curriculum to improve educational performance and participation, the core content of the course includes archery history, safety, technique, equipment, mental concentration and self-improvement. Before presenting the two-week archery course, teachers undergo a 12-hour National Archery in the Schools Program archery-training program, Byrd said.

He said students shoot at bullseye targets placed in front of an arrow-resistant net in their gymnasium. Byrd said equipment used is state-of-the art and designed to fit every student.

The goal of this program is to provide middle school children with the ingredients to become involved in a life skill that has no barriers, Byrd said. Unlike many school activities, students of all sizes can easily be involved in archery.

Allowed: times-journal.com

Published January 11, 2010
DeKalb County investigators charged a Rainsville man with sending a 14-year-old girl sexually explicit text messages.

David Ray McSpadden, 30, is charged with enticing a child for immoral purposes and dissemination of material harmful to minors.

DeKalb Sheriff Jimmy Harris said McSpadden apparently knew a friend of the teen. He said the teens mother contacted School Resource Officer Scott Tarrant on Friday about the alleged messages she found on her daughters cell phone.

Harris said, in the messages, McSpadden allegedly said he wanted to meet the teen. He said the girls parents agreed to allow investigators to use their home for a sting operation.

Tarrant, posing as the girl, replied to the texts and made arrangements for McSpadden to visit the teens house after he got off work.

When McSpadden arrived, Harris said two deputies were inside the house and two other undercover agents were in the area. He said Deputy Jon Hill and Lt. Josh York arrested McSapdden without incident.

Harris said officers confiscated McSpaddens phone and allegedly found several explicit text messages describing sexual acts. He said there were also nude photographs McSpadden had taken of himself and allegedly sent to the girl.

We continue to encourage parents to monitor their children’s cell phone and computer use,” Harris said. “You just never know when someone might be inappropriately contacting them. There is no reason why we shouldn’t stay informed about who our kids are talking to and what’s going on in their lives.”

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Published January 7, 2010
PASADENA, Calif. The sure thing was looking shaky for Alabama.

Hanging onto a precarious three-point lead and with momentum on the other side, linebacker Eryk Anders was determined not to let the championship slip away.

Anders forced a fumble on his blindside sack of Texas backup quarterback Garrett Gilbert with 3:02 left Thursday night to help the top-ranked Crimson Tide hold on for a 37-21 victory in the BCS title game a win that figured to be much easier when Alabama knocked out Colt McCoy early in the first quarter.

I would have given anything to be out there because it would have been different, McCoy said.

With McCoy on the sideline nursing a shoulder injury, the Tide (14-0) rolled to a 24-6 lead at halftime, the final touchdown coming when lineman Marcell Dareus picked off a shovel pass and returned it 28 yards for the score late in the second quarter.

I was thinking about grabbing the guy with the ball, but then I said, Let me just grab this football. I wasnt even thinking about the highlight. I was so excited. My legs were weak, my muscles were crazy, and I made it, Dareus said.

The second half figured to be a laugher with Gilbert in the game a freshman who was Texas quarterback of the future but had thrown only 26 college passes.

The kid almost did it, though.

He threw two touchdown passes to All-American Jordan Shipley to trim the deficit to 24-21 with 6:15 left, and after an Alabama punt, he had the ball at the 7-yard line, 93 yards away from one of the most improbable comeback stories in the history of the game.

But after an Alabama holding penalty moved the ball to the 17, Gilbert dropped back to pass and got rocked by Anders, a senior who plays in the shadow of All-Americans Terrence Cody and Rolando McClain. The ball went flying and Courtney Upshaw recovered.

Three plays later, Heisman Trophy winner Mark Ingram surged into the end zone from the 1 for the 10-point lead. A few minutes later, after Gilberts third interception of the night, Trent Richardson scored his second touchdown to make it 37-21.

Then the party began. Glory came back to one of the countrys most storied programs, the football factory that Bear Bryant built, courtesy of Nick Saban, who resurrected this team in the short span of three seasons.

We back, Ingram said.

Back for the first time since 1992, when Bryants protege, Gene Stallings, led the Crimson Tide to its last national title. This one gives Alabama eight since the polls began in the 1930s. Its seventh Associated Press championship should be a shoo-in when the votes are tabulated.

Ingram finished with 116 yards and two touchdowns, and Richardson had 109 yards and two scores.

Anders will go down with them in Crimson Tide lore, as will Dareus, who before his touchdown knocked McCoy the winningest quarterback in college football history down and out with an injury to his throwing shoulder on Texas fifth offensive play.

I just heard a thump when I hit him, Dareus said. I did lay it down pretty hard. I didnt try to, but it felt great.

Dareus finished with one tackle, one interception and one touchdown, but all were game-changers.

Seeking its second national title in five years, Texas (13-1) got to the game on the back of its All-American quarterback, who often looked like a one-man show in leading the Longhorns to 13 straight wins.

After the injury, McCoy was begging to go back in to finish his last college game. His dad, interviewed on TV, said the injury wasnt that bad.

But Texas coaches decided to err on the side of caution, and McCoy spent the second half wearing a headset on the sideline, trying to encourage his teammates.

The Longhorns defense, ranked third in the country in yards allowed, kept things close until Gilbert got his feet underneath him.

And boy did he.

He led the Longhorns on a five-play, 59-yard drive to make it 24-13, then 60 yards for the second score, and suddenly, the Tide was falling apart, not rolling. The 2-point conversion made it 24-21.

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Published January 6, 2010
The Fort Payne City Council took a preliminary step toward possibly expanding the citys park system when it met in regular session on Tuesday.

The council voted unanimously to authorize an application to receive flood buy-out funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to put toward buying property currently owned by the Fort Payne Church of God and located in a flood plain. The property is adjacent to the citys Alabama Walking Trail.

The Church of God building was damaged by fire in 2009, and the church is expected to relocate. McGee said the city hopes to be able to buy the church building and surrounding property, at least partly with grant money then demolish the building and expand the park.

Mayor Bill Jordan earlier said one of his goals for 2010 is to expand the park.

Councilman Johnny Eberhart did not attend Tuesdays meeting.

In other business today, the council:

voted 3-1 to reappoint Gary Kennedy to a three-year term on the Fort Payne Improvement Authority Board. Councilman Kevin Chitwood voted against the reappointment. Chitwood nominated former Fort Payne police officer Clay Fugatt for the position, but the nomination died due to lack of a second.

voted unanimously to rezone 3.5 acres at 2700 Jordan Road, SW, owned by Matthew McCoy, from rural farm district to light industrial district, to make way for construction of a bail bond office. The planning commission has approved the change.

voted unanimously to authorize an application for bond issue revenues through the state revolving fund loan program to go toward the cost of repairing sewer lines and a pump station on Airport Road.

Allowed: times-journal.com

Published January 5, 2010
Bring out the caps, gloves and heavy coats and make sure youre stocked up on milk and bread forecasters are predicting up to 2 inches of snow in DeKalb County on Thursday and bitter cold throughout the weekend.

WAFF-48 Chief Meteorologist Brad Travis said the weather event is expected to begin around 8 a.m. Thursday with ice and snowfall thats expected to accumulate. He said most of DeKalb would likely get up to 2 inches of snow, with up to 3 inches possible in higher elevations. Travis said the precipitation could begin as freezing rain before changing over to snow.

He said its probably going to be plenty cold enough for the snow to stick around, with highs Thursday only reaching the low 30s. Travis said temperatures are expected to drop into the low 20s on Friday and a gusty north wind could put wind chills in the single digits for much of the day.

By Friday night, we could see lows in the single digits, he said. Saturday will stay cold with highs only in the low 20s.

DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency Director Mike Leath said his agency is ready to deal with winter weather conditions. Fort Payne Public Works Director Stanley Byrd said crews would be prepared to clear and open roadways if necessary.

DeKalb County Superintendent Charles Warren and Fort Payne Superintendent Jimmy Cunningham said a decision about whether to close schools would likely be announced sometime late today.

Travis said the weather should begin to change by Sunday, with temperatures expected to return to the mid-40s. Travis said hes more concerned about the bitter cold the area will experience for the next few days than about the snowfall.

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Published January 5, 2010
About 40 worried parents and grandparents came to First Baptist Church in Scottsboro with one concern on their mindshow to save their loved ones’ college tuition funds.

The first Jackson County-Fort Payne Save Alabama PACT meeting was held Monday night. Save Alabama PACT was co-founded by Patti Lambert and Dr. Richard Huckaby as a way to communicate between contract holders in the prepaid affordable college tuition program and state officials.

“We want to get what we paid forno more, no less,” said Lambert, who spoke at the Monday meeting.

The PACT board recently made a policy decision that would pay only a fixed amount for tuition leaving parents to pick up the difference and would adjust funds based on earnings in the PACT trust, rather than increasing tuition costs. A time limit to use the PACT funds would also be changed from 10 years to six.

When the PACT program began operating in Alabama in 1990, its goal was to allow parents and grandparents to pay for their children’s college education in advance. A PACT contract guaranteed the any tuition or fees the student incurred at any in-state college or university would be covered.

Jack Lovelady, of Scottsboro, who purchased a PACT contract in 1994, said he expects his contract to be fully honored.

“Either that, or their word’s no good,” Lovelady said.

Lona Bradford, of Scottsboro, said she bought a contract for her now 13-year-old grandson. Since he’s already 13, she said, she would not have a lot of time to reinvest the funds if she cashed in the contract.

Lambert said there are currently 45,000 PACT contracts in the state.

Gubernatorial candidate Robert Bentley (R-Tuscaloosa) said at the meeting an estimated 10.4 percent of students at the University of Alabama and 10.1 percent of students at Auburn University are PACT students.

Bentley, who was joined at the meeting with state treasurer candidates George Wallace Jr. and Jeremy Sherer, said he believes the board has both moral and legal obligations to uphold the contracts.

Wallace said he’s asking state Attorney General Troy King for an opinion on the legality of the PACT board’s changing contract benefits. Wallace was state treasurer when the PACT program was created 20 years ago.

Allowed: times-journal.com

Published January 5, 2010
DeKalb District Judge Steve Whitmire set bond at $150,000 Tuesday for Nathan Garrett Wilder, who is charged with the murder of his estranged wife.

DeKalb Assistant District Attorney Bob Johnston said Wilders attorney Tony Jennings filed the motion Dec. 15 requesting bond be set in the case.

According to court records, Circuit Judge David Rains determined Wilder not be released from custody since the defendant advises the court that he believes it is in his best interest that no bond be set at this time at Wilders initial bond hearing on Dec. 10.

Wilder remained in DeKalb County jail Tuesday.

Johnston said Whitmire accepted a series of recommendations from the state concerning Wilders release should he post bond. He said Wilder would not be allowed to have any contact with the alleged victims family or their two children, place of employment or the daycare where one of the children attends. He also said Wilder would have to comply with conditions from the court referral program.

Elizabeth Virginia Wilder, 28, was found dead Dec. 10 at a home at 900 Grand Ave. NW. Her husband, Nathan Wilder, 30, was charged with murder for allegedly killing her.

Fort Payne Police Commissioner Ron Ogletree said Nathan Wilder apparently used a belt to strangle Elizabeth Wilder to death.

Ogletree said Tuesday an autopsy report is still pending.

Fort Payne Chief of Detectives Mike Grant said the crime happened around noon at a home Nathan Wilder rented.

Grant said the Wilders were involved in a domestic dispute that became physical and led to the homicide.

According to Ogletree, Nathan Wilder called Fort Payne 911 and told a dispatcher that he and his wife had been fighting and she was possibly dead, and then said he had choked his wife with a belt.

Ogletree said Nathan Wilder stepped onto the porch and surrendered to the officers without incident, telling them, I think I have killed my wife.

Ogletree said officers found Elizabeth Wilder unresponsive in the bedroom of the home, where they also found obvious signs of a struggle. He said medical personnel from the Fort Payne Fire Department and DeKalb Ambulance Service examined the body and DeKalb County Assistant Coroner Charles Williams later pronounced Elizabeth Wilder dead at the scene.

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Published January 4, 2010
Just as the bone-chilling temperatures have arrived in Fort Payne and DeKalb County as suddenly as the New Year, forecasters call for snow flurries to show up on Thursday.

WAFF Chief Meteorologist Brad Travis said Monday the snow should start to fall during the day Thursday at around 10. He said flurries would continue through around 6 p.m.

Travis said 1-2 inches of snow is expected, but the threat of ice is not likely.

Thursday night could be a real mess for those traveling the highways, he said.

National Weather Service forecasters said Thursdays high temperatures would be near 30 degrees and the chance of snow is about 60 percent in DeKalb County. The low temperature is expected to be around 14 degrees Thursday night with a 40-percent chance of snow.

NWS forecasters said a 30-percent chance of snow is expected on Friday in DeKalb with high temperatures near 19 degrees.

Allowed: times-journal.com