Voters streamed to the polls as they opened at 7 a.m. Tuesday across south Alabama. Lines were long but moved quickly.

At the Daphne Civic Center in Baldwin County, the line stretched back to the library at about 7:45 a.m. but kept moving. It took about 15 minutes to make it inside the Civic Center.

In Robertsdale in Baldwin County, about 500 people had voted at City Hall as of 9 a.m. Turnout was likely high in Fairhope, though lines moved quickly and by 9 a.m. had diminished.

Turnout heavy across south Alabama (pix)

Baldwin County is expected to be part of a record-setting demonstration of the democratic process nationwide today.

County Probate Judge Adrian Johns said he wouldn’t be surprised to see turnout reaching the 80 percent level countywide as voters head to the polls from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Alabama Secretary of State Beth Chapman has predicted statewide turnout will break the all-time record of 76 percent set in 1992.

If that prediction holds true, it would mean nearly 90,000 county residents casting ballots in an election that features no local races. It would shatter the previous record for total number of voters in Baldwin County — about 70,000 in 2004. A percentage turnout record for Baldwin County was not available Monday.

Baldwin poised to make history

A Baldwin County judge last week granted a foster parent’s request for a protection order against a juvenile probation officer.

Circuit Judge Charles C. Partin said after observing foster parent Kaye Barlow during testimony and a nearly six-hour hearing, he concluded “the plaintiff has and would continue to suffer emotional distress in the absence of the entry of a preliminary injunction.”

Turner had served as the child’s probation officer starting June 18. During an August interview, Turner asked Barlow whether she was a homosexual, according to testimony. Barlow refused to answer.

Judge grants protection order

In 2007 Christine Williams and her adult son, Christopher, filed a lawsuit seeking a court order confirming they were the legal titleholders to about 2.3 acres that Historic Blakeley Foundation claimed as its own.

After a three-day hearing that ended Oct. 1, Circuit Court Judge Lang Floyd granted that request in a Thursday order. The property is on the southeastern quarter of the roughly 2,000-acre park on Ala. 225. It includes a 660-foot strip along Blakeley Road and a 220-foot strip along Williams Road.

At the hearing, Christine Williams testified that her parents had purchased the property in the early 1920s. The family has used the property in various ways, including growing row crops, since that time, according to testimony.

Bob Wills said that while Blakeley may have had a paper title to the property, the Williams have used it for more than 20 years, the standard required for the “adverse possession” claim in the lawsuit.

Blakeley Foundation loses contested land

For about three weeks, Baldwin County Sheriff Huey “Hoss” Mack Jr.’s mother received a daily phone call from his office to see whether she was all right.

Mack’s mother wasn’t receiving special treatment, she was testing out the “Are You OK?” program. The new service, which will be open to the public starting Monday, allows senior citizens, the physically challenged and others to receive an automated daily telephone call from the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office checking on their well-being.

“She is not homebound but she doesn’t get out very much,” Mack said about his mother. “It was kind of convenient and I know I could get some feed back.”

It is free.

Service set to begin

There are no local offices on Tuesday’s ballot.

Baldwin voters will be interested in the race between GOP state school board member Randy McKinney of Orange Beach and Democrat Kenyon Berry of Mobile, and U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Mobile, vs. Democratic challenger state Sen. Vivian Davis Figures of Mobile.

There are three local constitutional amendments on the ballot:

No. 1 would create a second Baldwin County Board of Equalization to hear appeals of property valuations. This past year, a record of nearly 15,000 cases were heard by the three-member board, and many observers predict another surge of protests when tax bills go out in December.

No. 2 would give the County Commission the same authority as municipalities to adopt local criminal laws governing the use of county-owned public buildings, parks, boat launches and historic sites. Currently, the county would have to file civil lawsuits to enforce park rules, officials said.

No. 3 would change a previously adopted amendment to clarify how wastewater operations can be excluded from regulations by defining themselves as “cluster facilities.” Once that loophole is closed, supporters said, the Legislature could begin drafting laws overseeing local private sewerage companies, according to reports.

On the ballot

Baldwin County Voting Precincts

It’s not unusual in booming Baldwin County to have a record number of people registered to vote in a presidential election, and it’s happened again.

Voter rolls as of the Oct. 24 deadline were at 114,581, said Doris Hearn, chairwoman of the county Board of Registrars. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday.

There also is a measurable increase in interest among black residents, according to statistics provided by the Board of Registrars.

Between the 2000 and 2004 general elections, the number of black registered voters only increased by about 450 — 7,243 to 7,697. But as of last month’s deadline, the number had jumped by almost 2,000, to 9,658, statistics show.

Baldwin reaches another registration record

A record number of Baldwin County residents have registered to take part in Tuesday’s history-making presidential election, officials said.

As of the Oct. 24 deadline 114,58 county residents were registered to vote, said Doris Hearn, chairwoman of the county Board of Registrars.

Voter registration sets record in Baldwin County

Update 7:15 p.m.
- The man has been found by officers. They are walking him out of the woods. police say he is not hurt.

Update 6:55 p.m.
- Captain Steve Williams with the Elsanor Fire Department says they are looking for an 83yr old man at the end of Koier Rd off Hwy 90 in Elsanor.
- Williams says the man is wearing a dark jacket, wearing dark blue pants, he apparently took his shirt off but they think he still has the jacket on.
- He has a Project Lifesaver locator on his wrist and officers are tracking the signal.

Alzheimer’s Patient Found

Local lady, Marie Curren, the marketing director for Brett/Robinson will be appearing ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire’ Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 6:30pm (WEAR TV3). Curren and her friends and family will hold a viewing party on Wednesday at Indigo Joe’s on Gulf Shores Parkway.

Baldwin County Woman Stars on ABC’s “Millionaire”

Reported violent crimes in unincorporated Baldwin County jumped by 44 percent from 2006 to 2007, according to FBI figures released Monday.

Such crimes — a category that encompasses rape, robbery, aggravated assault and murder — increased from 93 in 2006 to 134 in 2007.

The statistics from the FBI’s annual Uniform Crime Report include only crimes reported to the Sheriff’s Office, and do not reflect total crimes countywide.

FBI: Baldwin violent crime jumps

The University of South Alabama has enrolled a record number of students this semester, and Baldwin County high schools are feeding the growth. The Mobile-based institution announced last week that 14,279 students are enrolled at USA for the fall semester, representing a 276-student increase from one year ago.

USA drew new freshmen from more than 300 high schools nationwide, with 20 schools named as top feeder schools. Among them are Daphne High School, with 46 students enrolling as new USA freshmen this semester; Fairhope, 25; Spanish Fort, 17 and Foley High, 15.

USA enrollment at record high

The state’s insurer of last resort, the Alabama Insurance Underwriting Association, this week released a report that chronicles the changes it has undergone in response to recommendations made by a gubernatorial task force three years ago following Hurricane Ivan.

Known as the “beach pool,” the Foley-based association offers wind insurance in coastal areas to those who can’t find coverage in the private market. In essence, the beach pool forces insurers that do business elsewhere in the state to share in property risks in Mobile and Baldwin counties

Alabama beach pool report cites changes made

About 35 employees left Baldwin County for Louisiana Wednesday morning, but more could be on the way.

“If the work takes longer than 7-10 days we’ll take these guys out with a new crew to give these guys a rest,” Moore said. However, with hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses left without power in Louisiana, it should take at least that long.

The workers have already switched on more than 600 of those meters, but they know there’s plenty of work left to do. “It will take us awhile, lots of lines down, lots of power out and we’re going to see if we can get those back up.”

Baldwin EMC working power outages