Greene County Democrat

Category: Community

  • 100 Black Men,  General Motors encourage young people to pursue stem careers

    By Brelaun Douglas (NNPA/DTU Fellow, Atlanta Voice)

    Cadillac 30th Anniversary 100 Black Men Convention
    A young participant shares his art work during a workshop titled ““Bringing STEM Education to Life,” at the 30th Anniversary 100 Black Men Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. (Todd Burford/Cadillac)

     

    In an effort to boost minority participation in science and technology, 100 Black Men of America recently hosted a panel discussion with representatives from General Motors to encourage young minorities to think outside the box when it comes to their career paths.

    This summer, 100 Black Men of America, an organization dedicated to educating and empowering African American youth, held their annual conference in Atlanta, Ga., that focused on topics like civic engagement and managing money. The event also included a panel discussion titled, “Bringing STEM Education to Life,” a workshop geared towards getting youth interested in science, technology, engineering and math fields, commonly known as “STEM.”
    Panel members included Sherwin Prior, managing director for General Motors Ventures; Tobin Williams, executive director of human resources and corporate staff for General Motors; and Aaron Richardson, senior manager for IT development for General Motors who discussed how STEM was involved in something young boys often love: cars.
    “[Technology] is absolutely essential. Over 33 years, the company that I work for [has become] a very different company,” said Williams. “Thirty-three years ago it was primarily a manufacturing company. Three years ago it was primarily a finance company and today it’s pretty much a software company. We are continuously looking for individuals who have the capability in software. There is a blending in terms of the software skill capability between engineering and computer science.”
    Prior agreed, stating that STEM is all about “ thinkers and problem solvers” and that the panelists were some of the people who drive the technology behind cars.
    The panelists also talked about the challenges that the young people may face in an industry or career path where most people don’t look like them.
    In 2012-2013, Black males accounted for just 8.7 percent of the people who earned degrees in STEM fields, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
    “Opportunities are rarely convenient,” said Richardson. “They’re often disguised in something that seems like, ‘oh, I got to do this,’ or ‘I can’t do this, I can’t do that.’ It’s always disguised in challenge. So I challenge you to think about that as you think about how you want to continue your learning in the STEM area to think about the sacrifices that you have to make that will ultimately lead to significant benefits in the long term.”
    Prior also told the youth not to be discouraged by the lack of diversity in STEM fields.
    “It’s about changing the narrative,” he said. “Don’t believe that African Americans aren’t doing phenomenal fantastic things. They just aren’t talked about in the media like they should be.”
    After the discussion, participants lined up to ask the panelists questions about how the technology in the cars worked and about the science and engineering that goes into building the cars. Questions included things such as what is the future of jobs for workers when more and more jobs are becoming automated, how safe the vehicle is and what the future of the technologic capabilities of the car looked like.
    Participants were then invited to draw their own cars and decide what type of technology, old or new, the cars would include. The young men designed everything from cars that could hover and drive themselves to cars that could be unlocked with a fingerprint rather than a key.
    The crowd was populated with young, Black boys, mainly middle and high school-aged, from across the nation including 13-year-old Noel Towson, who finds the 100 Black Men beneficial to him.
    Towson, along with five other young men from the South Bend, Ind., chapter, came to the conference with his chaperone Eldridge Lewis Chism Jr., who is also a 100 Black Men member. Chism has been involved with the organization for years and found the conference and panel beneficial because it gave the young men “new thoughts and new ideals and hopefully provide[d] them an opportunity.”
    “My mom took me to the ‘100 Black Men’ the first time,” said Towson. “I liked what they taught us, the life lessons and how to better prepare ourselves for the future, so I just stuck with it.”
    Brelaun Douglas is a 2016 NNPA “Discover The Unexpected” (DTU) journalism fellow at the Atlanta Voice. The DTU journalism fellowship program is sponsored by Chevrolet. Check out more stories by the fellows by following the hashtag #DiscoverTheUnexpected on Twitter and Instagram. Learn more about the program at nnpa.org/dtu.

  • Black Lives Matter is not a hate group

    July By B19, 20BJ. Richard Cohen is president
    of the Southern Poverty Law Center

    IF
    HUNTS POINT, BRONX, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES – 2016/07/17: On the second anniversary of the death of Eric Garner by NYPD officer Daniel Pantaleo, the Black Lives Matter community organized the Stop The Violence Rally, March and Healing Circle in the South Bronx to remember Eric Garner and other victims of police brutality with a peaceful demonstration around the neighborhood culminating the march at the 41th Precinct where participants held a moment of silence followed by chanting “I CAN’T BREATHE” 11 times as Eric Garner did before his tragic death by an illegal choke-hold. (Photo by Erik McGregor/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)

     

    Each year, the Southern Poverty Law Center, of which I am the president, compiles and publishes a census of domestic hate groups. Our list, which is cited extensively by journalists, academics and government officials alike, provides an important barometer—not the only one, of course—to help us understand the state of hate and extremism in America.

    In recent weeks, we’ve received a number of requests to name Black Lives Matter a hate group, particularly in the wake of the murders of eight police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge. Numerous conservative commentators have joined the chorus. There is even a Change.org petition calling for the hate group label.
    In our view, these critics fundamentally misunderstand the nature of hate groups and the BLM movement.
    Generally speaking, hate groups are, by our definition, those that vilify entire groups of people based on immutable characteristics such as race or ethnicity. Federal law takes a similar approach.
    While it’s no surprise, given our country’s history, that most domestic hate groups hold white supremacist views, there are a number of black organizations on our hate group list as well.
    A prime example is the New Black Panther Party (NBPP), whose leaders are known for anti-Semitic and anti-white tirades. Its late chairman, Khalid Abdul Muhammad, famously remarked: “There are no good crackers, and if you find one, kill him before he changes.” Bobby Seale, a founding member of the original Black Panther Party, has called the NBPP a “black racist hate group.”
    We have heard nothing remotely comparable to the NBPP’s bigotry from the founders and most prominent leaders of the Black Lives Matter movement and nothing at all to suggest that the bulk of the demonstrators hold supremacist or black separatist views. Thousands of white people across America—indeed, people of all races—have marched in solidarity with African Americans during BLM marches, as is clear from the group’s website. The movement’s leaders also have condemned violence.
    There’s no doubt that some protesters who claim the mantle of Black Lives Matter have said offensive things, like the chant “pigs in a blanket, fry ‘em like bacon” that was heard at one rally. But before we condemn the entire movement for the words of a few, we should ask ourselves whether we would also condemn the entire Republican Party for the racist words of its presumptive nominee—or for the racist rhetoric of many other politicians in the party over the course of years.
    Many of its harshest critics claim that Black Lives Matter’s very name is anti-white, hence the oft-repeated rejoinder “all lives matter.” This notion misses the point entirely. Black lives matter because they have been marginalized throughout our country’s history and because white lives have always mattered more in our society. As BLM puts it, the movement stands for “the simple proposition that ‘black lives also matter.’”
    The backlash to BLM, in some ways, reflects a broad sense of unease among white people who worry about the cultural changes in the country and feel they are falling behind in a country that is rapidly growing more diverse in a globalizing world. We consistently see this phenomenon in surveys showing that large numbers of white people believe racial discrimination against them is as pervasive, or more so, than it is against African Americans.
    It’s the same dynamic that researchers at Harvard Business School described in a recent study: White people tend to see racism as a zero-sum game, meaning that gains for African Americans come at their expense. Black people see it differently. From their point of view, the rights pie can get bigger for everyone.
    Black Lives Matter is not a hate group. But the perception that it is racist illustrates the problem. Our society as a whole still does not accept that racial injustice remains pervasive. And, unfortunately, the fact that white people tend to see race as a zero-sum game may actually impede progress

  • 8,000 people open accounts at Citizens Trust Bank in Atlanta, with branches in Alabama

    By: Taryn Finley Black Voices Associate Editor, The Huffington Post

     

    citizens_trust_bank-500x263

     Atlanta executive staff of Citizens Trust Bank

    In the weeks following the deaths of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, more and more influencers, like Solange and Killer Mike, have started to #BankBlack and have transferred their money into Black-owned banks.

    Now, a historic black bank in Atlanta has seen a spike in business. In just five days, 8,000 people have submitted applications to join Citizen’s Trust Bank, according to 11 Alive. Citizens Trust also has branches in Birmingham and Eutaw, Alabama.
    “It’s a tremendous propel forward for the bank and the future of the bank and bringing new relevance to a bank that’s been here for 95 years. And, it’s a statement about what the next 95 years will look like,” Jay Bailey, chairman of the bank’s Next Generation Advisory Board, told the local outlet.
    The bank’s CEO and president, Cynthia N. Day, thanked Killer Mike on Twitter  for urging people to collectively put $100 million in Atlanta’s only black bank just days before the increase in business.
    Executive Vice President Fredrick Daniels said the bank, which was founded in 1921, has survived despite several economic hardships. Now, he said Citizen’s Trust is looking to grow and get more black people to keep their money in their communities.
    “Citizen’s Trust provides a financial foundation for our community and that really helps us to put in place the businesses that we wanna see that we don’t see in our communities,” Daniels told 11 Alive.
    With $328.8 million in deposits as of the end of 2015, Bailey said Citizen’s Trust’s goal is to make history by becoming the first black-owned billion dollar bank in the country. Bailey noted that while protesting racial inequality is important, a perhaps more noticeable change comes when black people invest back into their communities.
    “I’ve been telling people that it’s time to come home,” he said. “Rallies are great and they’re necessary. Protesting is great and it’s necessary but what will sustain and grow from here is our dollar and galvanizing our dollar.”
    The United States had 23 black-owned banks, credit unions or savings and loan associations as of March 31, according to the Federal Reserve.

  • A renewed Greene County Health System Part 1

    By Mynecia D. Steele

    Imaging Room

    The X-ray equipment located at the Greene County Hospital can be seen in an upgraded, under water themed, X-ray room.

    The Greene County Health System (GCHS) is constantly working on improving its facilities and reputation, says Mr. Elmore Patterson, CEO of the Greene County Health System.
    Patterson has worked to upgrade the Greene County Health System, and in less than three years of holding this position he has overseen various renovations.
    But, Patterson does not take all the credit for the current condition of the Greene County Health System. Great employees create a comfortable environment for the patients and residents.
    GCHS only hires the best Patterson said. There are three full time physicians, Medical Director, Dr. Salahuddin Farooqui, MD; Dr. Thomas McDermott, MD; Dr. Michael Gordon, MD; currently working within the health system.
    The staff also includes one part time physician and two nurse practitioners, Kurtizzia Howard, CRNP and Cheryl Hill, CRNP. Each physician is board certified.
    GCHS also has about 150 other full time employees. The staff includes: registered nurses (RN), licensed practical nurses (LPN), certified nursing assistants (CNA), business office people and engineers. GCHS even works with the Greene County School System, providing its nurses to work in the schools.
    Great staff is grounds for well-run facilities. The Greene County Health System is CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) certified. This is the same certification that all Alabama health centers are required to meet.
    Yes, the facilities in the Greene County Health System are held to the same standards as all other health care facilities in Alabama. But, GCHS strives to go beyond the minimum requirements set by the state of Alabama.

    Three Main Departments

    The Greene County Health System is divided into three main departments. These departments are: the Greene County Physicians Clinic, Greene County Residential Care Center and the Greene County Hospital.
    In addition to the three main departments, the GCHS provides urgent care, home health, rehab (including: physical, occupational, and speech therapy), radiology (including: x-ray and CT (computerized axial tomography) scans, ultrasounds, echocardiograms, Nuclear Medicine Testing and women’s care (mammography and bone density scanning).
    The Greene County Physicians Clinic provides in house laboratory services, immunization vaccines for children, Medicaid EPSDT screenings, in house EKG services, injections (B12, Flu, Pneumonia, allergy), yearly exams, physicals (sports, DOT etc.), referrals to specialty services as needed, Saturday Clinic, mammograms and dexascans according to the GCHS website: gcheutaw.com.
    All of these treatments are readily available at the Greene County Health facilities.
    And, accessing the facilities is not a problem either. GCHS provides transportation for Greene County residents who don’t have a way to the GCHS campus.
    The Greene County Health System not only provides a productive atmosphere for healing, but the facilities are top notch, as well, Patterson said.
    “To bring a hospital to current health care trends, was a challenge,” Patterson said. “But, that’s where we are now.
    “We are able to provide the same health care services that you can have rendered at any hospital in Alabama, for the care that we provide.”

    Many Improvements Made

    Many improvements have been made since Patterson became CEO.  The hospital is a 1958 Hill-Burton hospital. There had been no renovations before he arrived nearly three years ago, said Patterson.
    Today, the facilities now have a much more modern look.
    Showers and flat screen televisions have been installed in every hospital and residential care room.
    The hospital has upgraded their cafeteria as well. Their meals are now aviliable to the public for purchase.
    A secured dementia unit has been added on to the Residential Care Center. This renovation was completed within 30 days of Patterson becoming CEO.
    Cleanliness is of utmost importance in the Residential Care center, as well.
    This wards off that nursing home smell. It is important that the residents are in a safe and clean environment said Patterson.
    The concern with cleanliness shows in their critics. The center is regularly monitored. Since 2013, their usual demerit count during reviews has decreased from 20 to only about six.
    A buffet style line has been installed in the residential care dinning area.
    Local barber, Marcus Steele and stylist, Linda Wheat visit the nursing home regularly to groom the residents. A salon and barber area has been added on to the residential care center to accommodate their services. This area includes shampoo bowl, styling chairs, hair dryers and everything needed to keep the residents feeling and looking their best.
    The clinic is receiving a makeover, as well.  The roof is currently being redone.
    Over the past few years the Greene County Health System has seen some major improvements, all with the community in mind.

  • USDA issues closing instructions on $3.1 million loan and grant package for Eutaw water system

    Hattie Edwards

    Mayor Hattie Edwards

     

    At Tuesday’s regular City Council meeting, Mayor Hattie Edwards distributed copies of letters from USDA Rural Development transmitting closing instructions for the $2,219,000 loan and $788,000 grant package for improvement of the City of Eutaw water system.
    “We have been working on this $3 million package for more than three years. We have met all of the conditions and the project which will replace the old water tower in Eutaw, replace and extend water mains, install electronic water meters, repair 52 non-working fire hydrants and other improvements, is now ready to be bid,” said Mayor Edwards.
    The letters which came from Ronald Davis, State Director of USDA Rural Development and Theresa Long, Area Director in Tuscaloosa set August 18, 2016 as the date to open bids.
    City Attorney Ken Aycock indicated he has been taking with the various parties including a bank that will provide interim construction financing for the project while under construction to make sure all requirements are in place. The engineer for the project is Burns Whittaker of Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, who designed the project.
    City Engineer, Torris Babbs commented that the work would begin with replacement of the water tower as phase 1. The City of Eutaw has an existing grant from the State of Alabama – ADECA-CDBG funds to repair the water tower. A portion of this grant remains, after it was determined that the old water tank, built in 1921 was un-repairable, which will be used toward this total project.
    Babbs also reported that work on the resurfacing of Prairie Avenue, between the Courthouse Square and Highway 43, is proceeding on schedule and that bids for this project will be opened on July 25 at City Hall. “There will be several projects going on in Eutaw starting in August and going through the fall of the year and longer,” said Babbs.
    Babbs also pointed out that he had observed several building projects, like roof replacements, room additions and others, that persons had not secured building permits from the City, before doing the construction work. All construction work in the city, residential as well as commercial, requires a building permit according to Babbs, the Mayor and City Council. Councilwoman Shelia Smith suggested that the City put out more notification, in the newspapers and other places, of these requirements.
    In the absence of the City Clerk, Deadre Thomas, who is out on medical leave, the City Council approved employment of Ms. Johnnie Knott, retired Circuit Clerk of Greene County, to be interim city clerk and absentee election manager for the upcoming city elections on August 23. The council also approved a list of city election officials to serve for the municipal elections.
    The qualifying period for the city elections closes next week on July 19 and absentee ballots will be available soon thereafter.
    In other business, the City Council:
    • approved travel for Derick Coleman, Police Chief to a training meeting on August 1-5, 2016;
    • paid bills and claims for the period May and June 2016;
    • reviewed a request from Hodges Smith, to rearrange some property boundaries on four acres of land purchased for construction of the Greene County Fire Fighters Association offices and training facility on Prairie Avenue at J Street;
    • approved providing security and assistance in collaboration with the Greene County Commission for the Black Belt Folk Roots Festival;
    • heard from a number of citizens in the audience praising the work of city employees, especially police and first responders, for their dedicated work and service.

  • Commission seeking Assistant County Engineer Commission recognizes Jackie Hill for 18 years of dedicated service

    Commissioner.jpg

    Shown L to R:  Commissioners Lester Brown, Tennyson Smith and Michael Williams, Assistant County Engineer Calvin Culliver, County Retiree Jackie R. Hill, County Engineer Willie Branch, Commissioners Corey Cockrell and Allen Turner, Jr.

    The Greene County Commission, at its monthly meeting held Monday, July 11, 2016, presented Mr. Jackie R. Hill with a special Certificate of Recognition for his dedicated service to Greene County.  Hill is retiring after working 18 years as a skilled equipment operator with the County Engineer’s Department. During public comments, Hill thanked the commissioners for their support and cautioned that they make sure workers hired to operate county equipment know how to do so. “The only time a machine stopped on me, it was out of gas,” Hill remarked.  The various financial reports and budget amendments were presented by CFO Paula Bird and accepted into the county’s record.  Bird noted that budget amendments  represented a status of the remaining county budget. “The figures reflect what has been spent and what remains for this fiscal year,” she stated.
    The commission accepted the resignation of Assistant Engineer, Calvin Culliver, who was employed in the County Engineer’s office for approximately three years.  County Engineer Willie Branch was authorized to advertise for the position of County Assistant Engineer.
    The commission approved the appointment of Margaretta Bir to the Greene County Health Systems Hospital Board from District 2.
    In other business the commission approved the following:
    * Request from Engineer Branch to declare as surplus and sell two dump trucks at $263,190 and one Lowboy truck at $110,670.
    * Request from Engineer to order three dump trucks at $134,625 each and one lowboy at $114,458.
    * Request from Engineer to consider loan from Merchants & Farmers Bank for financing new trucks as necessary.
    * Contract from Cooks Pest Control for Eutaw Activity Center at initial cost of $100 and $50 monthly.
    * Request to enter into supplemental agreement #1 for Geotechnical Services (bridge over County Road 86 over Little Buck Creek) for $18,216 and authorize the Commission Chairman to sign all necessary documents.
    * Agreement for preliminary engineering for bridge on Flag Road over Spencer Creek at $72,938 and authorize Commission Chairman to sign all necessary documents.
    * Request from Engineer to accept the bid regarding new shop building.
    * Request from Engineer to advertise for equipment operator.
    * Appointment of Commissioner Lester Brown to negotiate with Greenetrack CEO regarding rental payments.
    * Tabled the request from the Society of Folk Arts & Culture to make courthouse restrooms available to the public during week end of the festival.

  • Celebrate ‘Nelson Mandela International Day’ with service and volunteerism

     

    Graca Machel, Nelson Mandela's wife speak with students

    Graca Machel, Nelson Mandela’s wife speaks
    with students

    Jul 11, 2016 (GIN) – “Nelson Mandela International Day” – formalized by the U.N. General Assembly in November 2009 – recalls the former South African President’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom on his birthday – July 18. It comes as Americans reflect on a wrenching week of race-related violence and the undeniable evidence of the persistence of intolerance that Mandela devoted his life to oppose.
    The Nelson Mandela Foundation promotes acts of service to humanity on that day in his honor.
    In December 2015, the General Assembly extended the scope of Nelson Mandela International Day to raise awareness about persons in detention and to call for humane treatment of the incarcerated.
    In South Africa, the 7th annual Bikers for Mandela Day will take the call for service to remote areas.
    “We have crossed over 12 000 kilometers since the inception of this initiative in 2010 and assisted over 20 charitable organizations through Bikers for Mandela day.  We look forward to paying tribute to Madiba’s unwavering legacy once again.  We believe that every small action of goodwill leads to a larger movement in the right direction,” said organizer Zelda la Grange, formerly Madiba’s personal secretary.
    In 2015, UN staff volunteers in New York, partnered with GreenThumb, East New York Farms, and the UN Food Garden, to plant seedlings, pull weeds, and water plant beds in community gardens across the city.
    In Geneva, the Permanent Mission of South Africa and Serve the City Geneva have mobilized volunteers to help the poor and marginalized in the city.
    Mandela’s wife, Graca Machel, speaking to students this month at the Dr Mathole Motshekga Primary School in Tembisa, said: “Mandela Day gives us a way to energize our collective commitment, and it helps to know you are not doing this alone – there are millions of us. This helps build the movement of doing something good for someone else, selflessly caring for others, and remind ourselves that we belong to a global, human family.”
    Also in South Africa, RACE (against time), a song against racism written and co-produced by Katlego Maboe, David Harmse and Ntokozo Mkhize will raise money for Anti-Racism Network South Africa (ARNSA).
    Developed by The Nelson Mandela and Ahmed Kathrada Foundations, it takes a thoughtful look at the roots of racism. Maboe explains the title of the single: “There is a deliberate play on words. The issue of race is a matter of urgency for all of us and we all stand to lose and suffer the consequences if we don’t solve the problem in time.”
    For more about the single, go to http://www.mitracks.fm/preorder/race-against-time

  • National Newspaper Publishers Association calls for appointment of a Special Federal Prosecutor on Racially Motivated Police Killings

     

    NNPALogo

    Washington, D.C. — Today, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), the nation’s largest trade association of African American-owned newspapers and media companies, issued an urgent call and demand that President Barack H. Obama and U.S Attorney General Loretta Lynch appoint a Special Federal Prosecutor in the wake of the police killings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile in Falcon Heights, Minnesota.  The NNPA also expresses sincere condolences to the families of the police officers who were unjustly killed in Dallas, Texas.
    “The killings of African Americans in Louisiana and Minnesota during the past week represent an escalating national pattern  of fatal police  killings that appear to be racially motivated.  These incidents are not isolated local tragedies, but are the terrible growing manifestations of a deadly national system of racism in the criminal justice system that needs to be effectively challenged and changed,” said Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., the president and CEO of the NNPA. “There are, today, too many African American families and communities that continue to endure police brutality and violence across the United States. This is a national crisis that demands immediate federal intervention to both investigate and to prosecute police officers, who continue to commit these wanton racially motivated killings.”
    Chavis continued: “We, therefore, demand that a Special Federal Prosecutor be immediately appointed by the United States Department of Justice. To date, unfortunately, local investigations and prosecutions have been ineffective and have not insured equal justice. The Special Federal Prosecutor has to be independent and impartial. We have heard from many of our NNPA member publishers throughout the nation who all expressed profound disgust and moral outrage about these brutalities. We will not be silent in the face of these continued injustices. We demand action by the federal government now.”
    The reform of the criminal justice system in America requires more intellectual honesty in the national dialogue about race, inequality and injustice.  The NNPA will engage and participate in this dialogue as the movement for reform and social change unfolds.
    The NNPA represents 209 African American owned newspapers based in 32 states and known as the “Voice of Black America” that reaches 20.l million readers per week with national offices located in Washington, D.C. Please visit http://www.NNPA.org to learn more about the NNPA and go to http://www.BlackPressUSA.com to check out news and commentary about the Black community.

  • AG Luther Strange Files document to begin impeachment of Sumter County Sheriff

    Sheriff Clark

    Sheriff Tyrone Clark,  Sr.

     

    (MONTGOMERY)—Attorney General Luther Strange has begun proceedings for the impeachment of Sumter County Sheriff Tyrone Clark Sr. This morning, the Attorney General’s Special Prosecutions Division filed an Information
    * of Impeachment and Prayer for Ouster in the Alabama Supreme Court pursuant to Alabama Code § 36-11-4 through § 36-11-5.  The Sumter County District Attorney initiated this matter, and the Sumter County Grand Jury issued a report of impeachment against the sheriff in April.  That report was sent to the Office of Attorney General to review the referral and take appropriate action.
    The document charges Clark with willful neglect of duty, specifying nine alleged violations, and with corruption in office, specifying three alleged violations.
    The specifications of willful neglect of duty include:
    · Willfully neglecting his duty to secure and supervise inmates under his custody, by making an inmate, who had an extensive criminal history for drug-related offenses, an inmate trustee, allowing him to freely move about the jail and administration buildings and to leave the jail, sometimes without law enforcement supervision;
    · Willfully neglecting his duty to prevent the introduction of contraband into the jail and supervise the inmates housed there, by aiding the inmate trustee in bringing in contraband such as controlled substances, cell phones and cigarettes, ordering officers not to search him when he would return to the jail, and arranging for him to be free from oversight; ·Willfully neglecting his duty to supervise inmates and prevent them from possessing a deadly weapon, by allowing the inmate trustee to have access to firearms;
    ·  Willfully neglecting his duty to preserve the process by which prisoners are committed to jail, by allowing the inmate trustee to process prisoners;
    ·  Willfully neglecting his duty to maintain custody of another inmate, allowing a criminal convicted of a violent offense to leave the jail for extended periods;
    ·  Willfully neglecting his duty to maintain custody of a third inmate by failing to swear out an arrest warrant, apprehend or arrest the inmate after he escaped from the jail;
    · Willfully neglecting his duty to supervise inmates and secure the jail by giving the inmate trustee access to an unsecured room in which he had sexual intercourse with female visitors who were not searched or monitored; Willfully neglecting his duty to supervise inmates and secure the jail by providing an environment that allowed the trustee inmate to engage in second-degree human trafficking;
    ·  Willfully neglecting his duty to properly appoint and supervise deputies by appointing a deputy sheriff who was allowed to patrol on his own but who had not been certified as a law enforcement officer.
    The specifications of corruption in office include:
    · Using his official position to benefit himself by employing inmates to work at his personal home;
    ·  Using his official position to benefit himself by operating an undocumented work release program in which inmates worked for individuals or businesses on the condition that a portion of their wages be paid to the sheriff;
    ·   While serving in his official capacity, attempting to use his position to coerce a female employee into having sexual intercourse with him.
    No additional information about the charges or the evidence against Clark may be released at this time, other than what is contained in the information document.
    Under the Alabama Constitution, the Alabama Supreme Court will consider the charges against Clark. By statute, both the State and Clark may present evidence and compel witnesses to testify before the Court at trial. If Clark is found guilty of the allegations, he will be removed from office. Any possible criminal proceedings must be brought separately.

  • Sarah Duncan’s sweet touch: homemade ice cream at the festival

    By: Mynecia Destinee Steele

     

    Ms.jpg

    Ms. Sarah Duncan adds her sweet touch to the annual Black Belt Folk Roots Festival every year.  On those warm August days, kids and adults alike look forward to something cool and sweet on Saturday and a sundae on Sunday. Duncan churns out cup after cup of her home made ice cream.
    “I like to make people happy. It feels good to put a smile on their faces,” said Duncan. She says making ice cream is her way to spread happiness.  Her presence is expected and appreciated by many each year. People travel from out of town to see her and to have a taste of her ice cream.  Duncan smiled as she remembered a woman traveling from Louisiana for a cup of her homemade deliciousness. The woman told Duncan that she had not planned on coming to the festival. It wasn’t until someone raised the question: “Well, what are we going to do about Ms. Duncan’s ice cream?” that she decided she had to come.
    Duncan says that she has always enjoyed attending the festival. She enjoys the blues and gospel music. She also uses the festival as an opportunity to fellowship with friends and a chance to meet new people. Duncan says she has made many friends while participating in the festival for over 30 years.
    The festival is all about remembering your roots says Duncan. It is a way to see how to make things the old-fashion way. That is why it’s important for youth to attend the festival. It is a learning experience for them, she stated.
    She says children and teens often gather around her table to see how she makes her ice cream. The children make her laugh, asking questions like, “Why are you putting all that salt in the ice cream?” She goes on to explain that she actually pours the salt around the ice cream, not in it.
    Just as she was able to lend that small bit of knowledge, there are many other vendors and older people in attendance who have something to pass on to the next generation.
    Duncan learned to make ice cream about 35 years ago, from Mrs. Margaret Charles Smith. Smith made ice cream at a restaurant that Duncan often visited. She gave Duncan her recipe, and instructions on how to make the ice cream. But, through practice, Duncan was able to teach herself the rest. Over the years, Duncan has tweaked that original recipe, but still credits Smith for helping her get started.
    In the early years, Duncan would make about 5 gallons of ice cream total. Since then, demand has grown. She now sells about 20-25 gallons. Even after preparing that much ice cream, she struggles to make it last both days.  She also had to bring in some help. Her children have started helping out and selling the ice cream for her.
    People frequently ask Duncan about selling her ice cream at other locations and for other events. She decided to keep it in Greene County. She only makes her homemade ice cream for the Black Belt Folk Roots Festival and occasional family gatherings.
    Ms. Duncan stated, with some sadness, that she doesn’t know how long she will be able to continue preparing her ice cream for the festival.