Fight for Bud Cramer's seat gets down and dirty

The Shoals Insider got to sit down with Gov. Bob Riley last week. After his endorsement of Wayne Parker, the Gov said he knew both men and that is why he endorsed Parker. I asked Riley if he was surprised by the negative campaigning in this race. "Not at all" said Riley. "There is so much at stake here. It's more than most people know." Riley was referring to the Democratic controlled congress and our future with a possible Obama presidency.

It does appear Democrats have the momentum now. Political insiders are still waiting for a video or audio tape to surface on Michelle or Barack Obama.

We feel a vigilant press would do far better than negative campaign ads. I think most would agree, the negative campaign ads do more harm than good. The sad thing is they do work. Experts say negative campaign ads, while unpleasant, work to inform voters about the candidates.

Democrats and republicans agree Gov. Bob Riley has been and is still the best governor Alabama has seen in years. He, with the help of the legislature, has brought more jobs and industry to Alabama than anyone I can remember .

An endorsement from Riley should help Parker. However, there will be record turn out for the presidential race. This could work in Parker Griffith's favor.

We also talked with Parker Griffith. He is a conservative democrat.
Griffith is pro-life and seems dead set on bringing new jobs to North Alabama.

We at Shoals Insider are not going to make an endorsement in this race. We feel the voters should decide. Unlike other media outlets, the Shoals Insider is not going to tell you how to vote.

Honeymoon over for Florence City Council

Sources close to the situation tell the Shoals Insider that the honeymoon is over for the Florence City Council. At the last council meeting a straw poll was taken for who would be the next city council president. We would like to remind the council of Mr. Barnhart's long statewide public service. Mr. Barnhart has worked under two governors as Labor Commissioner. Out of all those involved and especially the new members of the council, Barnhart has the greatest amount of knowledge, pertaining to state and local government.

Let's hope this city council will be less divisive than prior ones. We have a very talented group this time.

Do us all a favor and leave your egos at home.

Another jailor arrested at Colbert County Jail

It was somewhat shocking this week to see another jailor, Justin Franks, arrested for promoting prison contraband at the Colbert County Jail in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Around thirty days ago another jailor, Tony Chaney, was arrested on similar charges. That, we feel, should have been a big warning to other employees. It is quite possible that Mr. Franks was out of town or did not see any of the media coverage.

The one difference is that Chaney's case involved drugs and this case involved cell phones and Kentucky Fried Chicken. One could almost say this makes for good comedy, but, it seems the consequences are very serious. We at Shoals Insider hope the court system has a little mercy on Mr. Franks. He couldn't be all that bad of a guy.

Maybe they could put fried chicken on the menu at the Colbert County Jail. . . .

What's up with the Shoals having higher gas prices than surrounding areas?

The Shoals Area's gas prices are consistantly higher than all of our neighboring communities. According to gasbuddy.com, we are paying up to 40 cents more than everyone else. Today, Karl Owens, one of our investigative reporters attempted to contact some of the owners of our local gas stations. He was met with hostility and hung-up on more than once. We are beginning to wonder what it is these people are hiding. His story will appear on the Shoals Insider this week.

Sheffield mayoral campaign finally over

The citizens of Sheffield have spoken and Ian Sanford will be the next mayor. We were the first in the Shoals to report the victory. I can't say that I remember a local mayors race getting this heated. Emotions have run high. One could probably argue that is a good thing, but, I can't say that. At the end of this whole election fiasco, it seems a lot of people got their feelings hurt. While we at Shoals Insider never endorsed anyone, we did try to bring fair coverage to you, our readers. We at Shoals Insider get up early in the morning scanning news feeds and the news wire to bring you a broad spectrum of coverage as it effects us here in the Shoals.

I feel all of the coverage of this mayors race has raised the public's awareness of the issues in Sheffield. All of the newly elected officials would do well to remember the people are watching them now, more than ever. We hope to keep you informed on the issues that effect your lives. Some say what is the big deal about all of these little city races. We say they are big because the decisions that they make will have an impact on your lives. As one Fox News television host says "We're looking out for you" Shoals Insider