Dear Editor,

What is the responsibility of an animal control person? I’ve had strays littering my yards for months. My daughter called the Thorsby Police Department about a month ago when a female dog had five puppies.
Someone from the police department came to my house and said, “I don’t see no dog. I’ll be back this afternoon to set a trap.”
He never came back. The female dog moved the puppies up under a trailer that is in my yard.
My other daughter went to the police department in Jemison and was advised that she would have to go to the Thorsby Police Department. She did go to the Thorsby Police Department several days ago, but no one has come to my house yet.
The female dog is now trying to leave the puppies. I am 90 years old and I cannot get out and chase the puppies out of the road to keep them from getting killed.
So what does an animal control person do?

—Floreine Beasley, Thorsby

By The North Chilton Advertiser staff

Criminals get smarter every day, so those charged with fighting crime must get smarter, too.
In the case of stolen water in Jemison, it also takes cooperation among city departments.
Several residents recently had been discovered stealing water from the city. Their service had been terminated, but they simply tampered with their meters to allow the water onto their property without paying for it.
In one case, the suspect had been receiving free water for about four years—68,000 gallons worth.
Without the work of the Jemison water and police departments, though, who knows how long the thievery would have lasted.
Police Chief Shane Fulmer said water department employees regularly check the meters of residents that have had their service discontinued. In the above case, Animal Control and Code Enforcement officer Bobby Tucker was investigating the residence after an animal control complaint and noticed evidence of running water.
Tucker knew water was supposed to have been cut off to the property, and so the suspect will face charges in municipal court in April.
“The Water Department does a good job of paying attention,” Fulmer said. “If anything is suspected, we work together to figure out what is going on.”
That’s the kind of attitude from public servants it takes to get things done.

By Stephen Dawkins

Minooka Park continues to become more of an asset to Chilton County and an attraction to out-of-towners that would consider visiting here.
The latest news about the park is that it received a $5,000 reimbursable grant from CAWACO Resource Conservation and Development and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System.
The grant helped improve water quality in the park’s lake through a fertilization program that aids fish production and growth. What it means for Minooka visitors is that the fish in the lake—which include bream, bluegill, largemouth bass and grass carp—are no longer solely catch and release.
The new creel limits are five bass and 25 bream or bluegill per fisherman. I enjoy fishing for sport just as much as the next guy, but I’m sure there are many county residents that want the opportunity to fish for supper.
Though the park’s main attraction is its trails for ATVs and dirt bikes, Minooka now has something for hikers, horseback riders, picnickers, campers, those just looking for a leisurely stroll, and all types of fishermen—even beginners.
The grant also helped pay for several rod and reel combos that may be checked out by park visitors and a worm bed near the lake. A potential fisherman can show up at the park with nothing but patience and find inside everything he or she needs to take home a stringer of fish.
You may not even need patience. When I was at Minooka last spring, many large bass could be seen patrolling the shoreline.
If park and county officials keep this up, pretty soon no one will have a reason not to go to Minooka.

– Stephen Dawkins is the assistant managing editor of The Clanton Advertiser.

By Jimmy Martin

There is nothing more important in Alabama than jobs and education. Jobs are the most critical for today since the loss of income can be the most devastating thing to a family. Cuts to education are most critical for tomorrow because education attainment is the No. 1 indicator for our state’s economic future. The better today’s students do, the better we all do tomorrow.
Now we have come to a point where both jobs and education are on the line. The governor has submitted a budget that relies on millions in unapproved new jobs stimulus funds from Washington. As gridlock tightens and congressional GOP opposition to any job stimulus grows, the less likely it seems these funds will come.
Without these new jobs dollars, the governor’s budget can only lead to a new round of teacher layoffs and other devastating cuts to schools. He relies solely on something getting passed in Washington while every Alabama senator and congressman except Rep. Artur Davis are on record as opposing any measure. The governor has no backup plan and no other alternative.
The loss of thousands of teaching jobs across Alabama would have a negative impact on children. Loss of teachers means larger class sizes and less one-on-one attention critical to many students.
Loss of teaching jobs negatively impacts the economy, especially in rural counties where teachers often are the largest group of professionals and a significant part of the local economy.
There have already been teacher layoffs numbering in the thousands  and job losses due to faltering local revenue. Most money for education comes from the state, and they fund most teaching jobs. However, teachers funded by local sources like weakening county sales tax receipts have caused more than 3,000 Alabama teachers to get pink slips.
Last legislative session, as the recession deepened to its highest extent at the end of the 2008 and the beginning of 2009, we worked on keeping teachers in the classroom first and foremost. However, in a time of shrinking revenue, saving teaching jobs was not simple.
The Constitution of Alabama requires the Legislature to produce balanced budgets. There can be no deficit spending, no borrowing to keep the programs and services like schools open. We can only spend what we have, and no more.
As the recession took hold and the economy grew more uncertain, this task became more and more difficult. The economic downturn caused revenue to fall as unemployment rose and folks pulled back on their spending. The hardship then spread to schools with the loss of school funding.
Over the past two years, we worked hard to create budgets that kept the progress we’ve made in reading and other areas in place while also protecting teaching jobs. Now the Legislature is working on next year’s school budget and we hope to do the same, but the governor’s reliance on unapproved federal funds makes it that much more difficult.
The first round of stimulus funds helped Alabama education. This year and next, our schools will get more than $500 million in stimulus aid that goes directly to save teaching jobs. So far, it is estimated these stimulus funds saved more than 7,000 K-12 positions, which is no small amount.
The governor has his eyes looking north for more, and each day it looks less likely to happen. We have our eyes looking at reality and focusing on what is important: jobs and education. In this case, they are one and the same.

Jimmy Martin is the state representative for Chilton County.

By the North Chilton Advertiser staff

We wish a safe trip to the 17 members of the 1156th Military Police Detachment from the National Guard based in Clanton when they are deployed to Iraq this spring.
Though the Guardsmen won’t be Marines on the front lines, patrolling the streets, Iraq is a dangerous situation for any U.S. soldiers there because the insurgency still exists. And the Guardsmen are filling an important role in our country’s efforts overseas. The 1156th is made up of criminal investigators that will spend 12 months looking into homicides, sexual assault and other crimes committed in Iraq, probably Baghdad.
Because human rights violations was a case we made for invading Iraq and replacing the government in power, preventing our troops from committing the same crimes is crucial to our presence there having legitimacy.
Unfortunately, war crimes happen. We’ll be proud to say some of the ones trying to prevent those crimes are from right here in Clanton.

By Stephen Dawkins

As the sports editor of The Clanton Advertiser for the past three years, I’ve seen my share of competitions, from football to tennis, that featured talented players and a breathtaking finish.
The atmosphere at the Chilton County Spelling Bee on Monday, Feb. 8 was probably similar to that of local sporting events, with competitors putting forth their best efforts and parents cheering on their children (in fact, I’m disappointed I didn’t cover this event—maybe next year).
But the competition was much different than what I’m used to, with participants judged on their spelling instead of their strength or speed.
The bee had an ending that sounds as exciting as any I’ve written about in the newspaper. The spellers were so good that the bee judges actually ran out of words before determining a winner. They found some words that had been skipped in earlier rounds, though, and were able to finish the event.
In the end, an apparent slip-up cost a Jemison Middle School seventh grader, and Isabella seventh grader Donovan Cleckley took the win.
The bee brings back memories of my own competing in academic events like Scholar’s Bowl and the Math Team. While I felt honored to be included in these select groups, the competitions were never as exciting as draining a 3-pointer in a basketball game.
Maybe there shouldn’t be much of a difference. Brains, after all, are as worthy (if not more so) a cause for celebration than athletic ability.
Maybe next year’s county spelling bee will feature cheering sections complete with face paint and megaphones. Well, maybe not megaphones.
But if the 2011 event promises as much excitement as this year’s, I’ll be there, and I hope you join me.

– Stephen Dawkins is the assistant managing editor of The North Chilton Advertiser.

By Jimmy Martin

After a mild start, winter has surely landed in Alabama over the past month. We have seen snow and hard freezes in almost every part of the state. How many winters can we remember when school has been canceled in any county of the state, let alone most of them? Old man winter is about as familiar in these parts as snow blowers and ice fishing, and yet he has certainly made his acquaintance with us this year.
We kid that there are really just two seasons in Alabama: summer and everything else. Winter is something that happens maybe for a couple of days or weeks. This year it certainly seems that the cold has been with us forever, and there is no doubt that we will be welcoming and noticing spring just a little bit more.   We are not used to harsh cold. Our pipes freeze or worse. We don’t drive well with slush and ice. And the extreme cold (for our state) sees our energy bills go up.
Again, this is a clear indication of how cold it has been in Alabama. Traditionally the summer months are the peak energy use months, with our air conditioning and other efforts to overcome rising temperatures and soaking humidity. When you go to web sites and other information resources on how to save energy for Alabama households, you see dozens of ideas on how to “beat the heat,” but much less on “how to save on heating.” Well, right now the farthest thing from our minds is how to beat heat; heat is the friendliest word in the English language.
There are some year round things you can do to save on energy on heating that are just as effective for winter as it is in summer.
First and foremost, the thing you can do to improve the efficiency of your heating unit is to make sure your air filter is clean. Replacing a dirty and clogged filter is basic and inexpensive maintenance, and experts say the most overlooked thing you can do to reduce energy use. A new filter improves the performance of your heating system, and will extend the life of your system by keeping dirt out of coils and fans that are the workhorses of any heating and cooling system. The rule of thumb is to replace it once a month.
The cold in our homes makes drafts more apparent than they would be in the summer months.
Check the windows and doors for air leaks, and most hardware stores have a wide variety of simple insulation and weather stripping materials that you can use without leaving the door open for an hour as you try and install it. Experts say it is often the little things that can add up to the biggest savings, like putting a sweeper on an exterior door, or at a minimum put a towel or blanket from keeping the cold air coming in.
The problems with cold and energy use are often made worse by the age of the home and household income. Folks on limited incomes, especially seniors who have lived in their house for decades, have the most need for weather stripping and energy efficiency and have the least ability to do it.
The Weatherization Assistance Program, a decades-old effort at the U.S. Department of Energy, was expanded in the federal stimulus package passed last year, with more than $70 million earmarked for Alabama to help weatherize homes, build a decent weatherization industry in the state with more trained professionals, and set a system of non-profits and contractors statewide that can do the job.
That money was approved in June of last year. Unfortunately, the program has only drawn down a little more than $6 million of the total funds to date, but has hopefully laid the groundwork to effectively start weatherizing Alabama homes.
We are behind other states in using these federal funds, but let’s face it, we are seemingly starting from scratch while states above the Mason-Dixon line do this kind of thing all the time.
Just like dealing with snow.

By the North Chilton Advertiser staff

For those in attendance at last Monday’s meeting of the Chilton County Commission, it was obvious what issue is most important to county residents.
About 30 people attended the meeting, and most of those addressed the commission about road problems.
This has been a point of contention long before now, but the situation is worse because of the recent rainy weather. Dirt roads have become mud roads, and paved roads have washed away.
The problem with trying to correct the problem is that there are too many roads in bad shape and not enough manpower.
“As long as we are having this rain the way we are, there is very little we can do other than hopefully keep these roads passable,” Commission Chairman Tim Mims said at the meeting.
County Engineer Tony Wearren told the audience that highway department crews are working seven days a week, weather permitting (which isn’t often lately). Mims pointed to the fact the county includes about 500 miles of dirt roads.
We understand people’s frustration, and we also understand the commission’s predicament. If there existed an army of road workers and related equipment available to work all day, every day, and the commission had a bottomless purse from which to draw out money for roads, then they would surely be in better shape.
Unfortunately, neither of those conditions exists.
So, the commission will continue to make do with what it does have, and we must continue to make do with what we have: roads that are below our expectations.
That’s not to say we should stop demanding more from the commission. It’s just that this issue isn’t easy no matter which side of it you’re on.

By Justin Averette

As I’ve mentioned in a few columns before, I graduated from the University of Montevallo.
So, naturally, I’m glad to see my alma mater expanding into Chilton County, via a new partnership with Jefferson State Community College.
Starting this fall, Jeff State students will be able to work toward a business degree in management from UM — right here in their own backyards.
More information about the program can be found on today’s front page of The Clanton Advertiser.
I heard William Rupp, dean of UM’s Michael E. Stephens College of Business, speak earlier this week about the program to members of the Chilton County Chamber of Commerce.
I was happy to see while the business classes will be offered through teleconferencing, Montevallo is still committed to making sure the new venture stays true to the school’s liberal arts education mission.
Looking back on my college days, I’m thankful for the small classes and UM professors who challenged students to think for themselves.
It didn’t always seem fun then, especially considering the fact that you had to be prepared for class every day. Because in a class of 15, chances are you would be called on sometime during any given lecture.
Like I said, I’m appreciative of my UM education. (Only wish they had a football team).
Chilton County already has a strong tie with Montevallo. Thousands of graduates from Montevallo live in  Chilton County. In fact, the county has the third highest number of UM alums, only behind Shelby County (where the school is located) and far more populous Jefferson County.
I look forward to that relationship strengthening in future years and wish Dean Rupp and Jeff State officials all the best.
– Justin Averette is managing editor of The North Chilton Advertiser.

By The North Chilton Advertiser staff

Jefferson State is living up to its name as a “community college.” Beginning Feb. 9, Clanton’s Jeff State campus will offer a non-credit community photography class that meets Tuesday nights at 6 p.m.
Also, Jeff State will hold a career fair on Feb. 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. There, local residents can apply for the iCADEMY Prep program, which is a free, non-credit, 12-week training program for dislocated workers in Chilton County.
We encourage readers to take advantage of the photography class and iCADEMY, if eligible, because a show of interest from Chilton County would likely lead to more community courses in the future.
The campus will already offer classes in photography, pharmacy technician certification preparation, paralegal professional, professional medical billing and coding, anger management, ACT preparation, Lego education and Microsoft Excel basics.
These classes are great opportunities for county residents to better themselves — and opportunities we didn’t have before the college was built here.
We would do well to show Jeff State officials there is a need for these kinds of offerings in Chilton County.