 Greetings From The Publisher
For those of you who are regular readers of this column, I am happy to report there
have been no major malfunctions in the past 30 days. Of course... there is always
tomorrow. It’s just a matter of time.
I’ve always been one of those people that draw strange and unusual circumstances.
It’s certainly given Debbie entertainment over the past 26 some odd years; and a few
headaches.
Case in point: this week marks the 7th anniversary of me getting run over by the family
dog and (not) walking away with a broken leg and hip.
Having been in the newspaper profession in Evergreen since 1986, this newspaper got
started with me sitting in a wheelchair in front of a home computer.
A rough start with no insurance, a wife, a 6-year old and a newborn to provide for.
The past seven years have not been a cake walk, but that’s Life. If I had my options,
I’d have taken a different route, but I wouldn’t trade those years for anything.
I’ve learned just how much of a loving wife I have. I’ve watched my children
grow; my daughter from a pony-tailed 6-year old into a bright, intelligent, beautiful
young lady - and my son from a newborn into a handsome, too bright for his britches holy
terror we’re too old and feeble to chase.
Somehow along the way, between the pages of this newspaper we’ve been able to
provided you with a variety of news about politics, law enforcement, weather, Alabama
history, astronomy, local events, historic re-enactments, missing persons - and tossed in
a mix of funny stories that begged to be told.
And here we are today. Isn’t it strange how things work out?
There is an old Chinese curse that goes, “May You Live In Interesting Times.”
I don’t know if I managed to offend some old Chinaman when I started this journey,
and I wouldn’t call my Life experiences a curse, but there is little doubt it
certainly has been interesting. Welcome along for the ride. Stay tuned....
Jim Allen
Owner/Publisher
Let The People Vote
CONECUH COUNTY-For some reason the issue of a landfill in Conecuh County will not die. I
know a simple way to bring it to an end: put it on the ballot in November and let the
people vote.
This is not a new idea. The Conecuh County Commission voted in August 2007 to have the
issue placed on the Presidential Preference ballot in February 2008, but that never
happened.
There were two things wrong with the Commission's actions that August and I brought the
board to task in our September 4, 2007 issue of this newspaper.
Number One: the commission made its decision/announcement to a virtually empty room after
the board reconvened their August 27th meeting following an executive session. This
particular item of discussion was apparently not on the agenda made available to the
public prior to the meeting.
Having covered the Conecuh County Commission's meetings for many years as Editor of the
Conecuh Countian Newspaper, I learned early on that it is not unusual for our commission
to conduct unannounced business not on their "public" agenda after the group
exits an executive session - which is closed to the public and the room has been cleared.
Number Two: the measure the Commission proposed would have been a non-binding “straw
poll,” which meant the commission could totally ignore the vote of the people.
A non-binding opinion poll would have been a waste of taxpayer money. Let the people vote
- and make it count.
The issue of a landfill has been hanging over Conecuh County for some five years. It's
past time to make a definitive decision, yes or no, and put this issue to rest once and
for all.
The solution is simple: LET THE PEOPLE VOTE!
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