White, orange and blue lightning

By Joe McAdory

Pleased to announce Joseph’s pinewood derby car came away with first place in the Lads division at Sunday evening’s Royal Ambassadors Pinewood Derby race at Philadelphia Baptist Church in Smiths Station. The competition was tight, which amazes me. Many of the cars’ times were within .10 seconds of one another, some even closer. What’s the difference? Luck I guess. Maybe graphite too, but I think all cars had that.

It’s hard to get an 8-year-old to sand a car down instead of watching television. For some reason, it’s much easier to get a kid to paint the car. Again. And again. And again. Kids love paint.

When Joseph told me he had a race Sunday night—just two weeks ago—we had to put a car together in a hurry. That’s when local craft stores come in handy, where pinewood supplies are plentiful. I asked him what type of car he wanted. To no surprise, he said he wanted an Auburn car. Other than making a navy and orange racer, I thought it would be best to make something a little more attractive. That’s when we decided to make the car look like an Auburn helmet ... with wheels. Yes, I know, I don’t have the wheels on the car for the above photo.

I was pleased with the finished product, except the graphite really dirties up a white paint job.

It was fun to watch the races and see how the kids got into it. The designs were all unique and, again, I’m amazed how close the competition was. Race them again tonight and we could very easily have different results.

Ice Bowl comes to Opelika

By Joe McAdory

Taking advantage of the wintry precipitation, my 8-year-old son, Joseph and I had a little football game in the snow Saturday afternoon. Area snowfall totals weren’t exactly Canadian-like, but we found plenty of snow on the soccer field behind Southern Union State Community College in Opelika. It was estimated that anywhere from a half-inch to two inches fell in locations across the county.

With temperatures hovering between 33 and 34, we held our version of the Ice Bowl. He wanted to be the Packers, of course. I learned quickly that my feet do not function as well on the frozen tundra of Southern Union. I slipped all over the place. I had to shuffle my steps and waddle across the field. Joseph didn’t have a problem with it.

The Packers won, 21-14. I demand a rematch ... in the summer.

State Dems, GOP bicker

By Joe McAdory

  State Democrats and Republicans offer their points of view, using the media to get their word out. Below is a link to their response to a Republican message, which lies below that.

http://www.aladems.org/2008/01/dems_ask_riley.php

  In response to the aforementioned press release Alabama Republican Party Chairman Mike Hubbard said “Joe Turnham and the Democrats lecturing Bob Riley and the Republican Party about ethics is like Bill Clinton lecturing someone about being loyal to their wife.“

  Republican Party Communications Director Philip Bryan added “The problem Alabama Democrats have is that they can not conceive of a corruption free and ethical Administration.”

Waggoner speaks out on issues

By Joe McAdory

Got a letter, obviously sent to many publications, from state Sen. Jabo Waggoner. I don’t have room on the op/ed page for it, so I’ll give him a forum in cyberspace.

This past Thursday, my colleague, Senator Charles Bishop, spoke on the need for closure in regards to the altercation that occurred during the last legislative session. I echo his sentiments and call on the leaders of the Democratic Party to urge the Senate Ethics Committee for that closure.  However, it has become apparent that the Democratic Party wants to drag this issue into the upcoming Legislative Session, which further hinders the ability for all of us to effectively work for the taxpayers.

The facts remain that Senator Bishop has apologized to the body, his colleagues and his constituents. Senator Bishop has been vocal about finding a resolution to the incident and moving forward.  On the contrary, the Ethics Committee and Senator Barron have been strangely quiet. That 5-member committee, controlled by four Democrats, has done nothing to address the situation in the past six months or during the two meetings that they have held. Further, rules on the governance of this process have not even been established, and there has been no indication given on when this might occur.

It seems that if this was such an important issue, as stated when the incident occurred, the time that has passed would have been adequate to reach a resolution satisfactory to all. This leads one to believe that the Democrats are not bringing closure to the incident for purely political reasons.  It is important that this is put behind us so that we can do what we are supposed to do when the 2008 legislative session begins on February 5 th, work for the people of Alabama.  It is a shame that political motives and power have jaded the views of some in the Democratic Party. 

The taxpayers put us in Montgomery to work for them. The leaders of the Democratic Party need to recognize that we can not work for the taxpayers with this issue unresolved. I urge them to do so prior to Feb. 5.
Jabo Waggoner

A sleeting moment

By Joe McAdory

This just in ... it’s sleeting through much of Lee County. Well there goes today’s sunbathing plans. Fortunately, it appears temps will remain above freezing so it doesn’t appear the roads will turn to ice or anything. There’s always the chance for snow. Regardless, our drought-stricken area is getting precipitation whether it’s frozen or not.

If you’re traveling, use caution and consider the conditions.