The Greene County Democrat

Category: Politics

  • Black comedians react to Larry Wilmore’s White House Correspondents’ Dinner jokes

    By Stacy M. Brown (NNPA News Wire Contributing Writer)

    Larry WilmoreLarry Wilmore

    President Obama drops mic

     President Obama drops mic

    President Barack Obama dropped his microphone at the annual White House Correspondents’ Dinner, acknowledging what everyone had already concluded: he slayed it!  Larry Wilmore didn’t do so bad as host, either, at least depending upon who is doing the review and if you’re among those willing to dismiss his use of the N-word.   But, leave it to comedians like George Wallace to really sum up the evening – in Wallace’s case, probably better than anyone else. “Please come to my 2:17am show at the Waffle House Correspondents’ Dinner,” Wallace wrote on Twitter, right after the event ended.
    “I’m getting from [Larry Wilmore] what I wanted and didn’t get from Chris Rock at the Oscars: Peak truth-telling…” said Erica Williams Simon, a comedian in her own right and a self-described recovering D.C. political strategist and activist.
    Comedian Akilah Hughes had even more to say. “Someone come through with the ‘White Feelings about Larry Wilmore’ Bingo card,” Hughes tweeted as she followed the monologues and skits at the dinner. The comedian was even more impressed with Obama’s mic drop. “Literal mic drop from Mr. President #ObamaOut,” Hughes said.
    Chris Acuff took note of those who were not laughing at Wilmore’s jokes.“D.C.-based journos, Republicans [and] everyone at CNN,” Acuff noted on his Twitter feed.
    However, Rev. Al Sharpton called Wilmore’s remark in which the comedian saluted Obama by using the term “My N—-a,” distasteful. “It was in bad taste,” Sharpton said. Comedian Dick Gregory also said Wilmore could have done without the obscene word. “I wouldn’t have done it,” Gregory said.
    Philip Lewis, an editorial fellow at the Huffington Post, tweeted that pundits should “save your N-word, think pieces. We don’t want them.” Lewis then signed his tweet, “Sincerely, the Black community.”
    Brandon Patterson of Mother Jones, however, had a different take. “I wish White people were as offended by police brutality and mass incarceration as they are by black people using the N-word,” Patterson tweeted.
    By dropping the N-word on Obama, Wilmore broke the cardinal rule of cutting-edge humor – he wasn’t funny,” said Leonard Greene of the New York Daily News.
    However, Matt Wilstein wrote in “The Daily Beast” that, “Wilmore proved exactly why he was the perfect choice to host Obama’s final White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Even if the crowd of journalists in attendance didn’t seem to agree.” Wilstein continued: “More than ever before, the president was an impossible act to follow. Not only did Obama deliver a slew of jokes at Donald Trump’s expense, but he also presented an elaborate ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’-style video that included an epic John Boehner cameo.
    Wilmore began by welcoming the guests in the house once again to the event, ‘or as Fox News will report, two thugs disrupt elegant dinner in D.C.’ He introduced himself as ‘a Black man who replaced a White man who pretended to be a TV newscaster,’ before adding, ‘so yeah, in that way Lester Holt and I have a lot in common,’ to groans from the crowd at Brian Williams’s expense.”
    He was even more harsh to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, saying, ‘Hey, Wolf, I’m ready to project tonight’s winner: Anyone who isn’t watching ‘The Situation Room.’”
    Perhaps, no one else captured the historical sentiment of the evening better than former Attorney General Eric Holder after Obama finished his speech in grand style. “Dropped the mic!! Obama out. POTUS killed at WHCD. You’re going to miss my man America,” Holder wrote on Twitter. “Consequential – and funny. #POTUS2016”

  • Members file lawsuit to assert democratic rights Black Warrior Electric Membership Corporation holds ‘Annual Meeting’ in Choctaw County declares no quorum of members present

    By: John Zippert, Co-Publisher, Special to the Democrat

    Black Warrior meeting

    BWEMC members attend Annual Meeting

    The Black Warrior Electric Membership Corporation (BWEMC), which provides electricity to rural residents of Greene, Sumter, Pickens, Tuscaloosa, Choctaw, Marengo, Hale, Perry and other counties held its Annual Meeting in Butler, Alabama, on Friday, April 15, 2016, at 9:30 AM.
    The BWEMC is a cooperative formed under Section 501c12 of the IRS code, in the 1940’s, to provide electricity and other services to rural areas not served by other public utilities. As a cooperative, the BWEMC is supposed to be democratically controlled by its users.
    Each person with an electric meter is entitled to one vote in electing the co-op’s board and making other major decisions.
    At the start of the Annual Meeting, after a welcome by Terry Barr, Board President of Nanafalia, Alabama, Woodrow Dinning, attorney for the BWEMC stated, “ This is not an official annual meeting because we do not have a quorum of the members present. We have 25,527 members and our bylaws require a quorum of 5% of the members or 1,276 members to be present to have an official meeting. This is an informal meeting of the members.”
    Dinning announced that there were only 49 members present, based on registration of members by their actual membership number at the door. There were additional “guests” present for the meeting who were not members.
    Research by the Democrat has shown that the BWEMC has not had a quorum at its meetings for decades, perhaps as far back as to the 1950’s. “The cooperative has used this lack of a quorum, to allow its board of directors to perpetuate itself, without any democratic input from the members. We have also determined that there are no African-American members of the BWEMC Board of Directors, which makes it unrepresentative of its membership in rural communities of the Alabama Black Belt,” said Rev. James Carter of Tishabee community in Greene County.
    Carter said, “Because of Black Warrior’s undemocratic record, a group of members from Greene and Sumter counties have filed a lawsuit against BWEMC to compel them to act in accordance with their by-laws, vacate the existing board, and hold an Annual Meeting where the members can elect a new and more democratic and representative board.”
    At the Annual Meeting in Butler, BWEMC’s general manager, Daryl Jones said, “Our cooperative has 6,717 miles of power lines and fewer member-users per mile (about 4 per mile) than any other rural electric co-op in the state. We have 64 employees many with years of experience maintaining our lines. Last year we sold 4.3 million kilowatt hours of power to our members at competitive rates.”
    Mr. Lance of Stewart Engineering in Anniston, Alabama, a consultant to the cooperative, presented a chart showing that the average BWEMC residential customer uses 1,175 kWh annually of electricity at a rate of 11.4 cents per kWh. He said this compares with a TVA co-op, which has rates of 13.3 cents; a south Alabama co-op with 13.4 cent rates and Alabama Power Company, which has 12.4 cent rates. The consultant stated, “BWEMC has some of the best rates and reliability of any utility in the state.”
    In the question and answer period of the meeting, members raised concerns about high power bills and increasing total power bills. Jones and Dinning responded by saying that members may not be using the most energy efficient appliances, heating equipment or have proper insulation in their houses. They said that BWEMC would provide staff to do an energy review of member’s homes and make recommendations to reduce energy usage. They offered no special programs from the cooperative to deal with improving member’s more efficient use of energy.
    Members questioned the structure of the cooperative, nominating and election procedures for board members, clarity on district lines for the election of board members and other issues. The officials of BWEMC who responded to questions did not give specific or satisfactory answers according to Rev. Carter and other members in attendance at the meeting.
    John Vester of Forkland made a motion to adjourn the meeting until such time as more adequate notice of a meeting, at a suitable time and place, could be provided. At first Attorney Dinning did not want to entertain the motion since it was not a formal meeting but after Rev. Carter seconded the motion, Dinning agreed that the members could adjourn and end the meeting. Vester, Carter and others are named plaintiffs in the lawsuit against BWEMC for its undemocratic actions.
    For more information on the BWEMC lawsuit and democracy campaign, contact Adriauna Davis at 205/652-9676 or adriaunasdavis@gmail.com.

  • Federal Judge upholds North Carolina voter rules

    By Alan Blinder and Richard Fausset, NY Times

    NC Voting Rights rally

    A voting rights rally in Winston-Salem, N.C., in 2015. Travis Dove for the New York Times

    RALEIGH, N.C. — A federal judge on Monday upheld sweeping Republican-backed changes to election rules, including a voter identification provision, that civil rights groups say unfairly targeted African-Americans and other minorities. The ruling could have serious political repercussions in a state that is closely contested in presidential elections.
    The opinion, by Judge Thomas D. Schroeder of Federal District Court in Winston-Salem, upheld the repeal of a provision that allowed people to register and vote on the same day. It also upheld a seven-day reduction in the early-voting period; the end of preregistration, which allowed some people to sign up before their 18th birthdays; and the repeal of a provision that allowed for the counting of ballots cast outside voters’ home precinct.
    It also left intact North Carolina’s voter identification requirement, which legislators softened last year to permit residents to cast ballots, even if they lack the required documentation, if they submit affidavits.
    The ruling could have significant repercussions in North Carolina, a state that Barack Obama barely won in 2008, and that the Republican Mitt Romney barely won four years later.
    The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, which sits in Richmond, Va., will be the first to consider an appeal, which the law’s opponents said they would pursue. If the Fourth Circuit or the Supreme Court does not intervene, the changes will be in force when voters go to the polls this autumn. North Carolina voters will also elect a governor in what is expected to be one of this year’s most competitive state races.
    The ruling is an early signal of how federal judges might regard changes and challenges to voting laws in the aftermath of a 2013 Supreme Court decision that effectively eliminated a portion of the Voting Rights Act that had forced nine states, mostly in the South, to obtain advance federal approval before changing their election laws.
    “North Carolina has provided legitimate state interests for its voter ID requirement and electoral system,” Judge Schroeder said near the end of his 485-page opinion. The judge, an appointee of President George W. Bush, found that North Carolina’s system was not beyond “the mainstream of other states.”
    Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican, who signed the bill scaling back the voter access provisions in August 2013, welcomed the decision. He said in a statement that “this ruling further affirms that requiring a photo ID in order to vote is not only common sense, it’s constitutional.”
    But critics vowed to appeal the ruling, and charged, as they often have, that the legislature sought to eliminate tools that made it easier for everyone, but particularly minority voters, to get to the polls.
    “By meticulously targeting measures that were most used by people of color — in addition to imposing a restrictive photo ID requirement — the legislature sought to disturb the levers of power in North Carolina, ensuring only a select few could participate in the democratic process,” Penda D. Hair, co-director of the Advancement Project and a critic of the law, said in a statement. “This fight is not over.”
    In his ruling, the judge suggested that past discrimination had abated. “There is significant, shameful past discrimination,” he wrote. “In North Carolina’s recent history, however, certainly for the last quarter century, there is little official discrimination to consider.”
    Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican, who signed the bill scaling back the voter access provisions in August 2013, welcomed the decision. He said in a statement that “this ruling further affirms that requiring a photo ID in order to vote is not only common sense, it’s constitutional.”
    But critics vowed to appeal the ruling, and charged, as they often have, that the legislature sought to eliminate tools that made it easier for everyone, but particularly minority voters, to get to the polls.
    “By meticulously targeting measures that were most used by people of color — in addition to imposing a restrictive photo ID requirement — the legislature sought to disturb the levers of power in North Carolina, ensuring only a select few could participate in the democratic process,” Penda D. Hair, co-director of the Advancement Project and a critic of the law, said in a statement. “This fight is not over.”
    In his ruling, the judge suggested that past discrimination had abated. “There is significant, shameful past discrimination,” he wrote. “In North Carolina’s recent history, however, certainly for the last quarter century, there is little official discrimination to consider.”
    The law, which originally included a much stricter voter ID provision, was passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in summer 2013, shortly after the Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 ruling in Shelby County v. Holder.
    The ruling effectively eliminated what was known as the “preclearance” process, in which certain states and local governments had to submit proposed voting changes to the Justice Department or to a federal court in Washington.
    Judge Schroeder’s decision capped a trial court record that stretched more than 23,000 pages and included weeks of testimony about the General Assembly’s revisions to the election laws here. The voter identification standard, which required voters to display one of six forms of documentation, was central to an overhaul that supporters described as a bulwark against fraud.
    But opponents of the changes said they were intended to disenfranchise black and Hispanic voters, an assertion they repeated on Monday.
    “Through widespread actions, rallies, marches and protests, we have said all along that we would accept no less than unabridged access to the ballot for all eligible voters,” said the Rev. William J. Barber II, the president of the North Carolina N.A.A.C.P. “Just like those who carried on before us, we will continue our movement challenging regressive and discriminatory voter suppression tactics on behalf of African-Americans, Latinos, seniors, students and all those for whom democracy has been denied.”
    Such comments surfaced occasionally on Monday here in the state capital, where Mr. Barber led demonstrations against the state’s new law about gay and transgender rights and, occasionally, veered into other issues that have propelled his Moral Monday movement of activism.
    The N.A.A.C.P., the League of Women Voters and the Justice Department were among the plaintiffs challenging the 2013 law. A lawyer for the plaintiffs, Daniel T. Donovan, said he expected a higher court to block the changes from being enforced this year. “We’re disappointed in the ruling, reviewing the decision carefully and evaluating our options,” said Dena Iverson, a spokeswoman for the Justice Department.The plaintiffs may have reason to be optimistic about their chances at the Fourth Circuit. In fall 2014, a three-judge panel of the appellate court issued a preliminary injunction forcing the state to temporarily restore two ballot access provisions: one that allows same-day registration and another that allows for the counting of provisional ballots filed outside voters’ home precincts. The panel ruled that the elimination of those two provisions probably violated another section of the Voting Rights Act that remains intact, known as Section 2, which prohibits racially discriminatory voting rules.
    Judge James A. Wynn Jr. wrote at the time that there was “undisputed evidence” that those two provisions “were enacted to increase voter participation, that African-American voters disproportionately used those electoral mechanisms and that House Bill 589 restricted those mechanisms and thus disproportionately impacts African-American voters.”

  • Virginia Governor restores voting rights to felons

    By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG and ERIK ECKHOLM

    VA Governor Terry McAuliffe

    Gov. Terry McAuliffe held up the signed executive order at a ceremony outside the state capitol in Richmond, Va., on Friday. CHET STRANGE FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES

     

    WASHINGTON — Gov. Terry McAuliffe of Virginia used his executive power on Friday to restore voting rights to more than 200,000 convicted felons, circumventing the Republican-run legislature. The action effectively overturns a Civil War-era provision in the state’s Constitution aimed, he said, at disenfranchising African-Americans. The sweeping order, in a swing state that could play a role in deciding the November presidential election, will enable all felons who have served their prison time and finished parole or probation to register to vote. Most are African-Americans, a core constituency of Democrats, Mr. McAuliffe’s political party. Amid intensifying national attention over harsh sentencing policies that have disproportionately affected African-Americans, governors and legislatures around the nation have been debating — and often fighting over — moves to restore voting rights for convicted felons. Virginia imposes especially harsh restrictions, barring felons from voting for life. In Kentucky, Gov. Matt Bevin, a newly elected Republican, recently overturned an order enacted by his Democratic predecessor that was similar to the one Mr. McAuliffe signed Friday. In Maryland, Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, vetoed a measure to restore voting rights to convicted felons, but Democrats in the state legislature overrode him in February and an estimated 44,000 former prisoners who are on probation can now register to vote. “There’s no question that we’ve had a horrible history in voting rights as relates to African-Americans — we should remedy it,” Mr. McAuliffe said in an interview Thursday, previewing the announcement he made on the steps of Virginia’s Capitol, just yards from where President Abraham Lincoln once addressed freed slaves. “We should do it as soon as we possibly can.” Republicans in the Virginia Legislature have resisted measures to expand voting rights for convicted felons, and Mr. McAuliffe’s action, which he said was justified under an expansive legal interpretation of his executive clemency authority, provoked an immediate backlash. Virginia Republicans issued a statement Friday accusing the governor of “political opportunism” and “a transparent effort to win votes.” “Those who have paid their debts to society should be allowed full participation in society,” said the statement from the Republican party chairman, John Whitbeck. “But there are limits.” He said Mr. McAuliffe was wrong to issue a blanket restoration of rights, even to those who “committed heinous acts of violence.” The order includes those convicted of violent crimes, including murder and rape. There is no way to know how many of the newly eligible voters in Virginia will register. “My message is going to be that I have now done my part,” Mr. McAuliffe said. Nationally, an estimated 5.85 million Americans are denied the right to vote because of felony convictions, according to The Sentencing Project, a Washington research organizations, which says one in five African-Americans in Virginia cannot vote. Only two states, Maine and Vermont, have no voting restrictions on felons; Virginia is among four – the others are Kentucky, Florida and Iowa – that have the harshest restrictions. Friday’s shift in Virginia is part of a national trend toward restoring voter rights to felons, based in part on the hope that it will aid former prisoners’ re-entry into society. Over the last two decades about 20 states have acted to ease their restrictions, according to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. Previous governors in Florida and Iowa took executive action to ease their lifetime bans, but in each case, a subsequent governor restored the tough rules. Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, said Mr. McAuliffe’s decision would have lasting consequences because it will remain in effect at least until January 2018, when the governor leaves office. “This will be the single most significant action on disenfranchisement that we’ve ever seen from a governor,” Mr. Mauer said, “and it’s noteworthy that it’s coming in the middle of this term, not the day before he leaves office. So there may be some political heat but clearly he’s willing to take that on, which is quite admirable.” Myrna Pérez, director of a voting rights project at the Brennan Center, said Mr. McAuliffe’s move was particularly important because Virginia has had such restrictive laws on voting by felons. Still, she said,“Compared to the rest of the country, this is a very middle of the road policy.’’ Ms. Pérez said a number of states already had less restrictive policies than the one announced by Mr. McAuliffe. Fourteen states allow felons to vote after their prison terms are completed even while they remain on parole or probation.

  • Obama: Black Lives Matter movement “can’t just keep on yelling”

    JASON SILVERSTEIN, NEW YORK DAILY NEW

    britain-obama

    President Obama speaking at a town meeting in Britain.

    President Obama criticized the Black Lives Matter movement during a town hall meeting in London Saturday — saying the activist group “can’t just keep on yelling” about the issues it wants to change. Obama’s comments came during day two of his visit to Europe, at a Q and A event for young people. One audience member asked Obama if he felt his administration had done enough to discourage racial profiling at airports. His answer led him to discussing social justice movements, with Obama specifically naming the Black Lives Matter movement. He said he admired such groups for being “really effective in bringing attention to problems” of racial injustice — but he also showed those movements some tough love.
    “Once you’ve highlighted an issue and brought it to people’s attention and shined a spotlight, and elected officials or people who are in a position to start bringing about change are ready to sit down with you, then you can’t just keep on yelling at them,” Obama said. “And you can’t refuse to meet because that might compromise the purity of your position. The value of social movements and activism is to get you at the table, get you in the room.”
    Black Lives Matter did not respond to his remarks.
    Obama has openly supported the Black Lives Matter movement in the past. At a White House forum in October, he dismissed the popular “all lives matter” rebuttal to the national group, saying: “I think everybody understands all lives matter…They were suggesting was there is a specific problem that’s happening in the African-American community that’s not happening in other communities. And that is a legitimate issue that we’ve got to address.”
    Obama in February praised prominent Black Lives Matter activist Deray McKesson for an “outstanding” job leading the movement in Baltimore, where McKesson is now running for mayor.
    Black Lives Matter groups have consistently clashed with presidential candidates on the campaign trail.  Several members have been assaulted at Donald Trump rallies, while Hillary Clinton has had heated exchanges with protesters accusing her of racial insensitivity.

  • Sheriff Benison provides $30,000 to Greene County Hospital Greene Co. electronic bingo bill defeated in Alabama Senate; Meeting in Branch Heights to explain status of bill and next steps

    News Analysis
    by John Zippert,
    Co-Publisher

    Sheriff and CEo of Hospital.jpg

    Photo includes Sheriff Benison, Jasma Colvin, Alicia Jordan, Jalessa Jones and CEO Elmore Patterson shown providing a check for $30,000. Shown below meeting held at the Branch Heights Center on Bingo with represenatives Bobby Singleton and AJ McCampbell.

     Bingo in Branch Height.jpg
    The past week saw many developments related to the future of electronic bingo in Greene County.
    Eutaw Councilman Joe Lee Powell and County Commissioner Corey Cockrell convened a meeting at the Branch Heights Community Center for the county’s legislative delegation to explain their efforts to assist Greene County.
    Senator Bobby Singleton and Representatives Artis McCampbell and Ralph Howard were present to explain their efforts to pass SB 340 to amend Greene County’s Amendment 743 to strengthen the legal basis for electronic bingo in the county.
    SB 340 also allowed electronic bingo at only one site in the county, which is Greenetrack, since it is already approved for pari-mutuel gambling on greyhound dogs and horses. The bill also would have changed the formula for distribution of bingo funds to county agencies and charities. It also removed the regulation of bingo from the exclusive control of the Sheriff to a five member Greene County Gaming Commission.
    The proposed bill included a provision that three-quarters of one percent of the annual gross revenues of electronic bingo would be paid to the Greene County Housing Authority. Based on projected annual gross revenues of $50 million, the Housing Authority would receive approximately $375,000 per year. “ Under our plan, the Housing Authority could use these revenues to finance a bond issue that would repair the roads and streets in Branch Heights, ” said McCampbell. Bobby Singleton said, “ Our goal was to legally protect bingo in Greene County and we needed support from the Republican super-majority in the Legislature to get this done. Some Republicans do not want to vote for any form of gambling; others want to reduce the spread of gambling; and some legislators want to help the Native Americans that have bingo in their casinos.”
    “We felt we had the 21 votes needed to pass our amendment in the Senate. We hoped we had all eight Democratic Senators and even changed the bill to accommodate some of their concerns. We had some Republicans who promised that if we got 19 or 20 votes they would vote with us, to put us over the top.
    “We were very disappointed that we only got 17 votes because two Democrats, who are African-American, Senators Hank Sanders of Selma and Vivian Figures, voted against the bill which effectively killed our chance to pass it,” said Singleton.
    Singleton said, “ I know the rules of the Senate and worked hard with my personal relationships to get enough support to pass it. We changed it to accommodate various concerns by Senator Sanders and others. We tried to calm the opposition of the Native Americans. We included a 4% state tax to provide revenues for the state. We did everything we could but we needed a few more votes.”
    A lady in the audience was very concerned that the proposed bill would result in the closure of the other three bingo parlors and put their employees out of work. Singleton responded that this was done to insure the legal survival of bingo and show that the growth of bingo establishments would be curtailed and concentrated in one place. “ We hoped that most of the people, who may have lost their jobs, would be hired by Greenetrack, who would need more employees. In the past, Greenetrack had 400 to 500 employees making living wages with a good benefits package.”
    Hodges Smith, speaking on behalf of the 14 volunteer fire departments in the county said, “From 2003 to 2011, when bingo was exclusively at Greenetrack, $2,9 million was provided to the Greene County Firefighters, since 2011, we have received $259,000 from Greenetrack and $8,208.24 from the other bingo places combined. The Firefighters, E-911 and Woman-to-Woman are the three charities supported by Greenetrack, in addition to funds that the four bingo establishments pay to the Sheriff for distribution to county agencies, municipal governments and the school system.
    Iris Sermon of E-911 said, “We can see what is happening because we are not united. The state Legislature may sponsor a lottery and cut out bingo all together. E-911 has been assisted by Greenetrack when the county government and other agencies could not support our critical services.”
    Luther “Nat” Winn, CEO of Greenetrack came into the meeting late. He challenged the group,” Tell me who owns the other bingo establishments in Greene County. We do not know who owns them. We do know who owns Greenetrack and they are all people from Greene County. We have let other people come in and take advantage of Amendment 743 but they are not helping to protect it. We pay a cashier $41,000 a year, plus benefits, but we never hear what the others pay their employees. They are not paying living wages and supporting charities outside of Greene County. Greenetrack used to give college scholarships to every Greene County graduate. We cannot do this any more because the bingo revenues are scattered.”
    John Zippert, a member of the Greene County Health System Board, reported that members of the GCHS Board had met with Sheriff Benison and asked that he increase the $200 per bingo machine fee by $25 a month and give those funds to help keep the Hospital and Nursing Home open providing services to Greene County residents. The Sheriff said he would consider this request and review it with the four bingo operators. He made an immediate grant of $30,000 to help the GCHS meets its current critical financial situation.
    Mr. Winn said, “I’m not sure Greenetrack, under the current state of affairs, could afford an increase in the monthly fee and be able to pay its other expenses.”  Winn also made no clear declaration that he would employ people from the other bingo businesses if this bill were ever passed restoring Greenetrack’s exclusive rights to operate electronic bingo in Greene County.
    In response to a question from Val Goodson of Citizens to Make Greene County Better about the future of bingo legislation, Singleton said, “We were trying to do the right thing for Greene County. We can introduce the bill again in a Special Session of the Legislature, but the people of Greene County need to be behind it and help us push it through.”

  • City of Eutaw receives $519,900 grant from ALDOT to pave Prairie Avenue

     

    Mayor Hattie Edwards of Eutaw announced at the March 29, 2016 meeting of the Eutaw City Council that the State of Alabama Department of Transportation had made a grant to the city of $519,900 for repaving Prairie Avenue from Highway 11 (Boligee Street at the old Eutaw Drug location) to Highway 43.
    This street is a major traffic thoroughfare that passes the U. S. Post Office, Merchants and Farmers Bank, the Greene County Democrat, The James Poole Memorial Library, King Village and Branch Heights. Construction on this project is scheduled to start in May 2016. The city and the county are still looking for funds to pave the streets within the Branch Heights Sub-division, which are in a state of serious disrepair.
    At the March 29 meeting, the Eutaw City Council endorsed the work of SCORE (Sharing Christ Our Redeemer Enterprise) International and Domestic. SCORE is planning to hold a summer festival in Greene County on June 20-23, 2016 primarily to serve children and young people in the county. SCORE is exploring various options to hold the festival including the Eutaw City Park. The Council voted to give the group a letter of support.
    The Council discussed an issue brought by John Campbell a volunteer with the Son Light Ministry Center of Jamison, Alabama that distributes day-old bread from bakeries in Alabama to poor people. The group, which had secured the approval of Police Chief Coleman to pass out bread at the vacant lot next to Solomon Drug Store, was sent away due to complaints from Piggly Wiggly and Solomon Drug.
    Campbell requested the help of the City Council in finding a place for his charitable group to distribute bread. Several locations including the National Guard Armory, Eutaw Activity Center, Greene-Sumter Farmers Market shed, and the area and park behind City Hall. The Council said they would make the National Guard Armory available if the location was close enough to low income people in town.
    Mayor Edwards announced that the City was scheduling meetings with area banks to seek interim financing for the $3.1 million USDA/Rural Development water system improvement loan and grant project. The city is required to finance the project through construction and then USDA comes in when it is built and inspected to the required specifications and approves it for payment, including the interim financing costs.
    At the March 22, 29 and April 12, 2016 meetings, the Eutaw City Council took other actions:
    – approved contract with CNI for $13,745 for billing softwear and training for the water department, this includes an additional $675 per quarter for on-going support;
    – renewed contract with RDS for administering the City’s business licensure procedure;
    – agreed to lift a freeze on hiring for the Street, Water and Police Departments;
    – approved use of $9,000 from the City’s gasoline tax fund for the emergency paving in Branch Heights and the dirt road from Elm Street and Oak Street;
    – supported the ‘Back to School Sales Tax Holiday’ for August 5 to 7 for sales tax abatement on school supplies. The estimated sales tax revenue loss to the city will be $3,500 for agreeing to this holiday.
    – approved official travel for staff members to training conferences and payment of all bills through March 2016.

  • Cockrell wins run-off election for District 2 school board seat

    kkCockrell

    Kashaya “Newt” Cockrell won the District 2 school board seat in a run-off election held Tuesday, April 12, 2016.  Cockrell secured the District 2 school board position with a total of 189 (52%) votes to Madylen Thomas’ 173 (48%) total votes.
    Cockrell and Thomas led the slate of five candidates vying for the open seat in the Primary Election on Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Cockrell will hold this position on the Democrat’s Party slate for the November 1, 2016 General Election. She is currently unopposed in the General Election. After the vote count was reported, Cockrell said “ I want to thank all those who helped in this election and all those who voted for me. I did not win by myself, it was because of a community effort. I ran to help and support the children of Greene County and provide a brighter educational future for all of them.
    Cockrell is a lifelong resident of Greene County with three children, two of whom are enrolled in the Greene County school system. She is employed as finance manager with the Greene County Housing Authority and also works with agency’s youth department.

  • County extends 1 cent sales tax for hospital Greene County Commission rejects Greenetrack’s offer to settle outstanding lease payments

    At the Greene County Commission’s work session held Wednesday, April 6, 2016, Commissioner Allen Turner, Jr. presented a document from Greenetrack CEO Luther Winn offering $600,000 to settle the outstanding lease payments due to the county from Greenetrack.  The offer presented in the Commission’s work session indicated that Greenetrack would pay $250,000 as lease payment for 2013; $150,000 for 2014; $100,000 for 2015; and $100,000 for 2016.
    At the following monthly meeting held Monday, April 11, 2016, the County Commission voted to reject  that offer from Luther Winn and Greenetrack, Inc. The Commission supported a motion directing the Chairperson to inform Winn in writing that the last lease agreement was set at a payment of $250,000 annually and at this time discussions on a new agreement were necessary.
    Greene County and Greenetrack, Inc. own jointly the physical property where Greenetrack operates simulcasting dog and horse racing as well as the electronic bingo operations. Greenetrack and the County Commission had an agreement in which Greenetrack, Inc. would pay a designated amount for use of the county’s portion of the property.  The current 20 year lease agreement was reached by the two parties in 2008 with Greenetrack committing to pay the county $250,000 per year.  Reportedly, this agreement stated that the lease amount could be re-negotiated every 5 years.  If there was no re-negotiation, the current lease payment would continue.  There was no re-negotiated lease agreement between the parties since 2008.
    Based on the 2008 agreement Greenetrack owes the county $1 million dollars in lease fees.
    The County Commission agreed to extend, for an additional 10 years, a one cent sales tax which supports the Greene County Health System.  That sales tax generates approximately $35,000 per month for the hospital system.  The county’s authorization included language which would allow the hospital to pursue other financial assistance against this guaranteed sales tax revenue. County CFO, Paula Bird reported the total funds in banks as of March 16, 2016 as follows:  Citizen Trust Bank $2,398,717.49; Merchants & Farmers Bank $1,636,341.33; CD Bond Fund Investments $566,145.29; Bank of New York $575,610.26. The CFO reported one budget amendment request from Sheriff Jonathan Benison to move $8,000 from the fuel account to the account for repairs to motor vehicles. The Commission approved this request as well as the financial, claims, revenue and expenditures reports presented by Bird.
    Mrs. Joyce Pham and Ms. Katie Powell were appointed to serve on the Housing Authority of Greene County Board of Directors for Districts 5 and 2, respectively. The appointment for District I was tabled.
    The Commission also tabled the J.C. Poole Library Board appointments for Districts 1 and 3.
    In other business the Commission approved the following:
    * Travel requests for employee training: Rhonda French – Payroll Certification Program; Tanesha Mack and Blake McMillian – ACCA Jail Training; Jeremy Rancher – Child Abuse Training; Iris Sermon and Hodges Smith – EMITS; Iris Sermon – Fusion; Commissioners Brown, Cockrell and Williams – Prattville Training.
    * Resolution regarding the Abatement of Taxes and support of the passage of HB 169 and SB 96.
    * Resolution adopting a Title VI Plan for ALDOT grant (Nutrition Program).
    * Resolution approving the 2016 Sales Tax Holiday.
    * Resolution approving the Finley McRae Cemetery.
    * Board of Education’s request to use lawn of the former Miles College building for a parent cookout on April 22, 2016.

     

  • Bernie Sanders would apologize for slavery if elected President

    Written By NewsOne Staff

    Bernie Sanders

     Bernie Sanders campaigning

    Presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders became known for his work during the Civil Rights Movement and was the first candidate to explicitly declare that Black Lives Matter, but would he address slavery if elected president?
    Well, yes. In fact, the Democratic candidate said Wednesday at an event in Philadelphia that he would issue a “necessary and overdue” apology about the horrific system, The Hill reports: “An American president has yet to muster up the courage to formally apologize for the 400 heinous years of rape, death and inhumanity that occurred during the enslavement of black people in this country that still impacts million of slave descendants,” an audience member told Sanders before asking whether he’d apologize for it.
    “Want the short answer?” Sanders asked in response. “Yes.”
    His response isn’t all that surprising. In July, Sanders said the nation should apologize for slavery. He later reiterated his statement, saying, “as a nation we have got to apologize for slavery, and of course the president is the leader of the nation.”