Times Daily, bought again?

Some of us at the Shoals Insider have been mystified by the Times Daily's apparent refusal to cover any aspect of the recently passed Alabama patient safety bill.

The bill requires hospitals to collect data on the number of hospital acquired staph infections.

We have received several e-mails from patient safety advocates from across the state of Alabama, asking us why the TD refuses to run anything, even the mere mention of the bill.

Maybe we should connect the dots. The Times Daily's largest advertisers are Helen Keller Hospital and ECM. Don't believe me? Open the newspaper any given day. You will see what I mean.

One employee confirmed the figure Keller spends with the TD is close to one half a million dollars in advertising.

We at Shoals Insider feel the Shoals area is very blessed to have the three great hospitals we do. They are all full of hard working men and women dedicated to patient care. One hospital has garnered an award for patient safety.

In a recent Times Daily column, written by a senior editor, he used words like the "sacred" and "trust" in regards to journalistic integrity. This is probably true. Unless it deals with big spending advertisers.

We have several friends at the Times Daily. We are sure their lack of coverage on the safety bill is just an oversight.

Colbert Heights hit hard this past week

It is with great sadness, I write this column today. Hearts are just broken all over the Shoals area, with news of two teenagers dying this past week on Hwy. 43 near Littleville. The two accidents happened within a mile of each other.

The latest death was that of the young man to the left, 14-year-old, Stephen Hunter Moore, a student at Colbert Heights High School. He was crossing Hwy. 43 with three of his friends, when a car struck and killed Hunter.

I can say this, some local politicians have taken note of the deaths. Two have expressed their grief over these recent deaths.

Five people have died in the past ten years, where, 14-year-old, Dalton Stewart and his mother died, this past Wednesday. There is an obvious lack of a guard rail on that section of Hwy. 43 North. One can only speculate. Would they have died if if the guard rail was in place? If the drainage was better or if the road more level, would they have slid off to their deaths. We will never know.

I think it would be in the public's best interest to fix the road and erect guard rails on that section of road.

We know words could never describe or ease the pain felt after a young person's death. But we will keep these families in our thoughts and prayers and ask that you do too.

Decatur Daily comes to town, T.Wayne not getting on a plane

When we first reported a couple of weeks ago The Decatur Daily was in talks to buy The Times Daily, my first thought was, is it making a profit? Of course, cutting the four senior-most positions must be a large cost saving measure. In all likelihood, more cuts will be necessary. Last I heard, there were over 100 employees at TD. And we are all aware of the plummeting ad sales in print media, hundreds of papers across the nation are going out or under, as we speak.

From media accounts of the transaction, the new owners seem very focused on local news. So I can't see many more cuts in the newsroom. But you better believe they are going to want a return on their multi-million dollar investment. Financial analysts recently estimated the New York Times Regional News Group value to be around $100 million. With the Boston paper accounting for most of that, that leaves just a few million dollar value on the rest of the newsgroups papers, five to ten million a piece. Rest assured, the new owners have close to this invested in the Times Daily.

The new owners have mentioned the high dollar presses at the TD. This will save money on print cost for the Decatur paper.

We at Shoals Insider extend our welcome the new owners and new staff to the Shoals area.

We really hate to see T. Wayne Mitchell leave the TD. I have to admit, I have read several of T. Wayne's columns. I once asked him if T. Wayne was yankee for Dewayne. We both laughed.
In his last column, Mitchell seemed to imply he is sticking around. He can always come work for the Shoals Insider. The check would be the same minus a few zeros.

Who is Denny Belew?

The Shoals Insider has received several requests for information on Denny Belew.

Belew, the teacher Allen Wilson allegedly assaulted in a brawl at Allen Thornton Vocational School, heads up Lauderdale County School System's alternative programs.

He and Wilson were both suspended from work, after the incident.

Aside from teaching, Belew is part owner of Select South Group Inc., an auction and realty company in the Shoals.

A graduate of Wilson High School, Belew is a licensed real estate agent and auctioneer.

Of particular note, Belew is also a member of the World Tang Soo Do association.

This leads one to believe that maybe, just maybe, he was sucker punched by Wilson.

We have not seen the tape, but sounds possible.

Belew has a Bachelor of Science in history and political science and a Master's in secondary education, both from UNA.

From what we have been hearing, Belew comes from a good family and this is not something he would instigate.

All parties have to admit, this whole fiasco sets a poor standard of professional behavior.

Not to mention, Wilson going to jail, WOW. What are the students thinking?

Just another day at the office for Lauderdale Superintendent Billy Valentine.

We at Shoals Insider feel Valentine will do what's best for the school system.

He should get a raise after all of this.

What's the biblical proverb say? Slow to speak?

Times Daily not immune to economic woes

It's no secret the print newspaper business is sinking and sinking fast. One only has to read the national headlines to see newspapers across the country are going out of business by the bushel.

The Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Baltimore Sun, have all filed for bankruptcy protection this past month. The New York Times, parent company of the Times Daily, has had to mortgage its' building to stay afloat. Millions of people are going to the internet, instead of print, to get their news. Why buy the cow when the milk is free?

The Times Daily's financial woes have been well hid from its' readers. The first sign came a couple of weeks ago when T. Wayne Mitchell, Executive Editor, mentioned in his weekly column that the Editorial Page Editor, Robert Palmer, is retiring. Palmer is not the only one. Gary Messner, Operations Director is retiring too. According to folks in the know at the Times Daily, the brass have been offering retirement packages to employees for quite some time. Palmer is not at retirement age. Messner is.

A couple of months ago the Times Daily started to farm out the PrePress department. The PrePress department builds ads and lays out the newspaper, creates graphics, etc.. The department went from seven to one employee. From what we gather, Tuscaloosa will do some of the work.

One of our writers contacted Wayne Mitchell about the PrePress jobs. He said "What is the Shoals Insider? No comment."

Our boss has several friends at the Times Daily. We wish them all the best.

Some people at the TD have told us they foresee a day when they will be online only with a weekly condensed version.

We hear a lot of complaints about the TD. I'm sure they hear some about us, but, it would be hard to imagine the Shoals without a daily newspaper.

Colbert County home invasion: Sign of the times?

Early last Tuesday morning, a man was murdered in his own home by three thugs looking for money.

41 year-old, Harry James Ricks Sr. was murdered in cold blood because he attempted to run away from his captors. This in front of his tied up family. In a house not too far from yours. The murder occurred on Gate Six Road in Muscle Shoals, just passed Wise Alloys.

Mr. Ricks leaves, through no fault of his own, a son that looked up to his father, a wife, friends, and co-workers.

Some have suggested this is just a sign of the times. I don't know, but, I do know the Shoals has suffered great loss this year, tragic losses.

Jennifer Lee Hampton, of Lauderdale County, was taken from us by a monster that just so happened to be an illegal alien.

Mason Scott, a young boy from Russellville, was allegedly burned alive by his mother in a house fire.

A man beaten to death in Florence.

A Sheffield man shot by his sister in a drunken brawl.

Colbert County District Attorney, Bryce U. Graham Jr., has made it clear that he aims to get the thugs that killed Ricks off of the street. Anyone that has talked to or seen Colbert Sheriff Ronnie May lately, know he is dead serious about apprehending these thugs too. We are lucky to have dedicated public officials in Colbert County that will pursue this.

Some people have suggested these deaths are just part of living in cities this size or sign of modern times or, amazingly, the economy. I have actually heard people say the economy is to blame for the sharp increase in crime. I think not. Shoplifting, yes, but not murder.

The Shoals is our home , for better or worse, and we would like to think all of these deaths are anything but ordinary. This is not D.C. This is not Birmingham or Memphis. This is our home.

We must show these people that this will not be tolerated.

When the murderers are caught and sitting in a Tuscumbia courtroom, I hope they are made to see the faces of Mr. Rick's family. I hope they see the hurt. The whole community is feeling it right now.

Dollar General Stores ordered to pay $2.2 million to an injured worker they fired

It is a sad day when an employee of a dollar store is fired for reporting an injury. And we wonder why people vote Democrat instead of big business Republican. This is a good case in point.

Ms. Burbank, the employee, worked for Dollar General in Florence, Alabama. She was injured on the job by a cash drawer that fell and hit her hand. The cut became infected and Ms. Burbank had to have her arm amputated.

Instead of approving workman's compensation, Dollar General fires Burbank. What in the world were these people thinking? It came out in court that Dollar General fines the managers $7,500 of their bonus for every injury they report. This policy is practiced in all 8,000 Dollar General stores throughout America.

I totally agree with the $2.2 million judgment against Dollar General.

Her attorney, Joey James, did an excellent job presenting the truth in this case.

I wonder how many people Dollar General has done this to in the past.

Our prayers are with Ms. Burbank in her fight for justice.

I hope this case will serve as a warning for others. Be careful how you treat the least of these.