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HAMILTON HIGH

CLASS NIGHT,

TUES., MAY 13, 2008

Hamilton - Class Night will be held Tuesday night, May 13th. 

It was postponed due to bad weather.

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April 1, 2008

ALCOHOL SALES BILL

PASSES ALABAMA HOUSE

AND GOES TO

ALABAMA SENATE

House Bill number 393 or HB393, is a bill sponsored by Representative Jimmy Martin (D-District 42, Chilton and Shelby Counties) and Representative Mac Gipson (R-District 88, Autauga and Elmore Counties).

It removes all population requirements for municipalities within dry counties that wish to have a wet/dry referendum and it passed the House today (April 1, 2008). It has now gone to the State Senate Committee on Tourism and Marketing for consideration and a vote.

April 3rd, 2008, it was read for the first time in the Alabama Senate and referred to the Alabama Senate Committee on Tourism and Marketing.

This bill will allow any municipality of any size, to call for a wet/dry referendum if a minimum of 25% of the number of those who voted in the last election were to sign a petition asking for such a referendum (also a requirement in the current law). If this bill passes, every town or incorporated community in Alabama will have the ability to vote "wet/dry".

Currently, the law requires that the largest  municipality within a dry county must have a population of 7000 or more in order for such a referendum to be called. The current law further states that if a municipality of 7000 or more (within a dry county) votes for legal sales of alcoholic beverages, then any other municipality in the same county with a population of 4000 or more may then call for a wet/dry referendum.

This affects Marion County in that if HB393 passes the Senate, as it did the House, and the population requirements now in place were removed, then Hamilton, which is just below the 7000 population limit at this time, will be able to vote for legal sales of alcoholic beverages, and Winfield, which is above the 4000 population requirement at this time, would be able to follow with it's own wet/dry referendum.

The current law further requires a lapse of 720 days (approximately 2 years) between such elections. HB393 originally removed that requirement so that a municipality could see a wet/dry referendum on every ballot (and even specially called elections). However, it was amended today (April 1, 2008) to require that one year must lapse before another vote can be taken.

To read the bill as it was originally presented, Click Here. (You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader for viewing)

If you are interested in this bill, call or contact your State  Representatives and Senators.  Let him or her know whether you are for or against this bill and any others that might interest you and your families. 

That's how we're represented in the making of laws in our  State.  That is how we have a say in our local laws.

Click Here to see the Roll of the House for Vote 625 on HB393 and see how your Representative voted.

Click Here to find out how to contact your Alabama Representatives and Click Here to contact your Alabama Senators.

jmays@49countynews.net

4/4/08

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Sell It In The

Classifieds

Click Here

To List What You Need

to Sell or Trade

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Crime Reports Archive 2008

News Archive 2008

Crime Reports Archive 2007

News Archive 2007 - 2

News Archive 2007

News Archive 2006

Weekly Area

Crime Reports

NTN

STRIKE

CONTINUES

HAMILTON - Workers at NTN-Bower in Hamilton have been on strike since July 25th, 2007, after months of contract negotiations with the Japanese owned company.

Workers at the plant are  members of the Union of Auto Workers Local 1990 and have been working for over 16 months with no contract.

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Find It In The

Classifieds

Click Here to Find

What You're Looking For

Friday, May 2, 2008

Senator Roger Bedford Capitol Report

Friday, 2 May, 2008

As I write this, there are three legislative days left in the session. Some important legislation has been passed by the senate in keeping with the Senate Democratic Caucus’s promises to the Alabama people including the passing of a tax cut, a ban on smoking, a college savings plan and a crack down on sexual predators, which was done all in one day last week. Wednesday night the Senate exempted the federal stimulus rebate checks from state taxation which is a tax cut of more than $50 million for Alabamians. This bill, which I supported, was the original idea of the Caucus and sponsored by Senator Parker Griffith of Huntsville.


Currently, a four year college education in Alabama can run upwards of $50,000 or more. However, as promised by the Senate Democratic Caucus, this was addressed in a bill sponsored by Senator Zeb Little, and supported by me, which allows those who save for college through the Alabama Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program or the Alabama College Education Savings Program to have up to a $5,000 tax deduction per year.


The Senate also passed a bill that banned smoking in public places including sports arenas, restaurants and other indoor areas. This bill was sponsored by Senator Vivian Figures and now goes to the House of Representatives.


The Senate also passed another bill I supported to strength the current laws regarding sexual predators. Currently, sex offenders are prohibited from living within 2,000 feet of property on which schools or child care facilities are located nor may they loiter within 500 feet of these places. The new bill adds the 2,000 feet limit to Alabama colleges and universities as well.


As your hard working senator, I am continuing to fight for the elimination of the state sales tax on food which would result in a tax cut for all Alabama families who make less than $137,000. It remains my priority to get the funding to save All Kids and Pre-K programs throughout the State. So as you can see, we still have much too do before this session is out and it is hopeful, that the Democratic Caucus can continue to be successful in fighting Republican hindering tactics.


Both the Senate and House members were elected by the people of Alabama to do their business and address the many serious issues that are facing our State as a result of the national downturn in the economy which has caused us to make some hard choices regarding funding effecting many important agencies including the Department of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention. Currently, Alabama is 48th in the nation in regards to child well-being. What does this mean? It means, in part, that we spend more on programs to address child abuse after the fact than on programs to try and prevent and reduce the number of cases of child abuse including after school programs.


Another problem with the session has been Governor Riley’s increased attention to the campaign of 2010. As many of you know, the Republicans have started a fundraising program called Campaign 2010. The Republicans campaign goal is to raise enough money in order to take over the Legislature. Part of the fundraising efforts has led to the creation of a special donor group known as the "Governor’s Circle." Members of the Circle are those that pledge to donate $10,000 or more a year over the next four years. For their donation, they are to be allowed to have a number of perks including being able to attend exclusive events and have access to conference calls with Governor Riley. While the GOP party is emphasizing that none of this access will include discussions on state business and there is no evidence that anything unethical has or is taking place, it still seems to send a message that the Governor’s time is for sale for those with enough money to pay for it. You may rest assured that my door will always remain open to you. I do not believe taxpayers should have to make special donations to get to see elected officials. I always remember that I work for all of you.


It was my pleasure to be able to travel to Winston County this past week and present grant checks to Haleyville Dixie Youth for $1,275 and $500 to the Haleyville High School for the My C.A.L.L. Club.


I was also able to present grant checks in Franklin County including $500 to the Franklin County Career Technology Center for the FBLA trip, $1,000 to Tharptown High School for basketball uniforms, $500 for the Red Bay Youth Football League for equipment needs, $500 to Tharptown High School for their prom promise program, $500 for the Red Bay High School tennis program, $1,000 for Quinn’s Ranch, $250 for the Team Witness softball program, $750 for the Red Bay High School FFA program, $500 for the Tharptown High School cheerleaders and $3,940 to the Franklin County Archives for renovations to their building. It was a pleasure, as always, to be able to assist with these important school and community projects.


It was an honor to be in attendance at Phil Campbell High School this past week to announce the donation of $1,200 from the Northwest Alabama Resource Conservation and Development office and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System to assist with the purchase of the first "Smart" Board for the school. The Smart Board is a touch-screen board that focuses on increasing hands-on learning opportunities for more than 400 students at the high school. Smart Boards have a responsive touch screen which allows the user to write, erase and perform mouse functions directly onscreen. I am proud to have assist in this matter as I believe it is important that we do all that we can to prepare our children for the jobs of tomorrow which are increasingly technology based.


Congratulations goes to Shelton State Community College on being awarded a $18,400 grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. The funds will be used to provide overtime funds to law enforcement agencies.

5-2-08

Please continue to contact me at the following addresses and numbers:

Roger H. Bedford, Jr.
Alabama State House
Suite 730, Montgomery, AL 36130

Phone:334-242-7862, Fax:334-353-4304

 

Roger Bedford & Associates, P.C.
P.O. Box 370, Russellville, AL 35653

Phone: 256-332-2880 Fax:256-332-7821
 

email:
senbedford@aol.com

website: www.rogerbedford.com
 

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New E-Mail From Bro. Preston Headrick, Pastor Christ Community Fellowship

 Get Together

Look on the Religion Page
 

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Pre-Order your Spay/Neuter License Plate The Alabama Veterinary Medical Foundation (ALVMF) has received approval from the Alabama Department of Revenue for individuals to begin placing orders for the Spay-Neuter license plate. The cost of the tag is the standard $50 like other specialized tags, with $41.25 of each sale going to the Foundation to assist low-income families with the cost of spaying and neutering their pets. 1000 tags must be pre-sold within 12 months in order for the program to be implemented. The 12 month period begins November 1, 2007.  (Click Here For the rest of the story.....)

jmays@49countynews.net

1/08

Public Service Announcement, Because We Care About Marion County. 49 County News.Net

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Sell It In The

Classifieds

Click Here

To List What You Need

to Sell or Trade

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Find It In The

Classifieds

Click Here to Find

What You're Looking For

BEVILL STATE

IN  HAMILTON

TO HOST STAINED

GLASS WORKSHOP

WITH

JOHN HOGARTH

Most of our NWAAC board members, JBAF volunteers, and festival attendees know and have met Mr. John Hogarth from Jackson, Alabama. Mr. Hogarth is a stained glass artist and has been a JBAF artist for the past two years.

Mr. Hogarth and continuing education coordinator Belinda McRae at Bevill State-Hamilton have arranged for him to present a four-day workshop here in Hamilton. For anyone would like to attend, here is the pertinent information:

John Hogarth Stained Glass Workshop Monday, June 16 through Thursday, June 19, 2008, 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. nightly Bevill State Community College-Hamilton Campus.  Cost of the program is $250.00.

If you are interested and would like to register for the course, or if you have any additional questions, please contact Belinda McRae at (205) 921-3177 ex. 5306.

Please take advantage of this wonderful opportunity! Please spread the word to anyone who you feel might be interested!

Northwest Alabama Arts Council, Inc. P.O. Box 694 Hamilton, AL 35570
(205)921-9483 www.nwaarts.org www.jbaf.org

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Food Inspections

April 14-18, 2008

Sam LeMaster SLeMaster@adph.state.al.us

Check out the Food Inspection Ratings each week on the Food Page!

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Dangerous Emails Are

Being Circulated

For Your Protection

Read This!

Here is an answer I received today in reference to a spam email I had received and reported to E-bay.  The email looked legitimate but the links showed other sites so I did not click on them.  But the most glaring mistake that the spammers made was that I did not have an account under that email!

Look for mistakes, misspellings and bad grammar etc.

I advise anyone who receives any email asking you to fill out personal information to send it to spam@(whoever it is supposed to be from) such as ebay.com or paypal.com.  Do not click on the links provided by these suspicious emails!  Most of these legitimate companies have an email such as spam@ebay.com etc. just for this purpose.  Use your regular email to contact the company! They will usually answer you back immediately and advise you to go to directly to their site and check in your back office or where you usuallly receive messages from them.

Here is their email back to me in answer to my inquiry:

Hello,

Thanks for forwarding the suspicious email you received.

The email is a spoof, also known as a phishing, email. (That's "phishing," as in "fishing" for personal information.) It didn't come from eBay. Our Trust & Safety team is working to disable any websites it links to.

Remember that you can always check the My Messages section of My eBay to see if a message from us is legitimate. Copies of any emails we send you about the status of your account or a change in your account information will be displayed in My Messages. This is especially helpful since many spoof emails try to convince you that your account is in jeopardy.

If you've given out personal information in a spoof email or website, you need to take steps to protect your identity right away. For more information about what to do, go to:

Click Here

If you'd like to learn more about how to spot a spoof email and stay safe online, go to:

Click Here
 

Keep those reports coming -- you're helping protect the global Internet community! Our Trust & Safety team works closely with Internet Service Providers to shut down fraudulent sites. We also send your reports to Web browser companies so that they can develop tools to identify spoof sites.


Sincerely,

eBay Trust & Safety Team

-----------------

jmays@49countynews.net

3/13/08

Public Service Announcement, Because We Care About Marion County. 49 County News.Net

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