Friday, June 4, 2010
This past week, June 1, brought to a conclusion the first part of the
political process with the primary elections. I want to first congratulate
the families and the candidates who offered themselves on both the Democrat
and Republican side of the ticket for all offices. One of the great freedoms
we have in America thanks to our brave veterans is the right to run for
office and serve if elected. It is one of the freedoms that make our country
so strong.
We will have a runoff election date on July 13 with the General Election in
November. As I have said many times before and have heard from the families
and candidates who ran for office, if everyone would run for office once or
have a close friend or family member who did, we would have 90 percent plus
turnouts on election day. Campaigns can be quite a bit of work and I always
enjoy seeing the family members out supporting their candidates.
It was also good to see so many young people at the political rallies this
year. I think that is a very positive sign about the strength of our
communities.
Unfortunately, the BP Oil disaster in the Gulf continues. The oil has
already reached epic proportions being a great deal larger and worst than
the Valdez spill in Alaska some twenty years ago. Property values,
lifestyles as well as the environment itself is under threat from this
spill. I am concerned also that the tons of chemicals that have been put in
the water to disperse the oil will be just as toxic as the oil itself. We
are so blessed to have such wonderful beaches and great seafood in the Gulf
but, thanks to BP’s negligence, all of that is threatened possibly for years
to come. There are multiple internet sites in which you can get constant
updates on the developments in the Gulf including one by BP as well as one
by the Alabama Port Authority. Should you have any questions or concerns
please feel free to contact my office and I will be happy to help all that I
can.
This past week, saw the announcement of five grants in our senate district
from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. They are as
follows:
$25,000 for the Franklin County Commission to purchase equipment for seven
patrol vehicles
$24,616 for the Lamar County Commission to purchase equipment for the police
department
$25,000 for the Fayette County Commission to purchase fingerprint scanning
equipment to meet the requirements of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and
Safety Act of 2006.
$23,414.08 to the City of Guin to purchase e-citation equipment, in-car
video cameras and digital cameras
$1,977.50 for the University of North Alabama to purchase bullet proof vests
for the University Police Department
I am pleased to see these much needed grants which will greatly assist our
fine area law enforcement officers in protecting the lives and property of
citizens. You may rest assured that I will keep fighting to bring our tax
dollars home to Northwest Alabama.
I want to congratulate the Burnout Volunteer Fire Department on being
awarded a $653,040 federal grant from the Assistance to Firefighters Grant
Program. The funds are currently expected to be used to update communication
equipment across Franklin County and may be shared with other Franklin
County volunteer fire departments.
I also want to congratulate the Phil Campbell campus of Northwest Shoals
Community College which has been awarded $92,500 to implement a welding and
machine tool technology program. The funds come from the Department of
Postsecondary Education for workforce training. This will help train and
upgrade the training of our workers for better paying jobs.
We must continue to fight to bring in new jobs and keep the ones we already
have.
It is good to see the ongoing commitment to education and community services
which these grants represent.
Please continue to contact me at the following:
Alabama State House
11 S. Union Street
Suite 730
Montgomery, AL 36130
Phone: 334-242-7862
Fax: 334-242-4736
Russellville Office
PO Box 370
Russellville, AL 35653
Phone: 256-332-6966
Fax: 256-332-6967
Email: senbedford@aol.com
Website: www.rogerbedford.com