Baldwin County, Alabama News and Discussion
November 19th, 2008 — Robertsdale
Ball tournaments that exclude local teams will no longer be able to use municipal fields free following action by the City Council.
Council members voted unanimously Monday to charge standard fees and deposits for tournaments with fewer than three Robertsdale squads in each age group. Scott Gilbert, public works director, said the city will continue to allow local teams, schools and other groups to use the fields for free, but some outside organizations were taking advantage of the practice.
November 17th, 2008 — Robertsdale
Now that ex-football star Ken Stabler has been acquitted of a drunken driving charge, he faces what some experts contend will be an even bigger challenge—keeping his drivers license.
The Alabama Department of Public Safety moved to suspend Stabler’s license after he refused to take a breath test to measure the concentration of alcohol in his blood in June. State law calls for an automatic suspension of a license for 90 days for anyone who refuses a breath test.
But Stabler’s attorney, Mark Polson, said he thinks his client has a shot. He said he did not want to reveal the specifics of his legal strategy. But he said he would challenge technical defects with the way the Robertsdale police officer asked Stabler to consent to a breath test. He said video evidence calls into question the report that the officer filed.
November 17th, 2008 — Robertsdale
Alabama State Troopers have released the name of a Robertsdale teenager killed Saturday in a wreck in Walker County.
Cecil R Smith V, 19, was killed near Parrish, when his truck crashed at about 5:50 a.m.
Smith’s body was taken to the coroner’s office in Walker County, which is northwest of Birmingham.
November 16th, 2008 — Robertsdale
A Robertsdale teenager was killed early Saturday when he crashed his pickup truck about 10 miles south of Parrish in Walker County, according to Alabama State Troopers.
The 19-year-old was driving a 1997 Chevrolet S10 when he wrecked on Pumpkin Center Cutoff, according to troopers. The teen was the only one in the truck, and he was pronounced dead at the scene.
Troopers declined to release additional information, including whether the driver was wearing a seat belt, at this time. The Press-Register withheld the teenager’s name because troopers said family had not been notified as of Saturday evening.
November 14th, 2008 — Robertsdale
David Jones follows the same routine everyday. He eats lunch and dinner at the Arby’s in Robertsdale.
You could certainly call it an unconventional diet, but for Jones it’s worked. He picks any of the Arby’s sandwiches and orders them as a wrap.
When he started his “Arby’s diet” in January, he tipped the scales at 413 pounds. This morning he weighed in at 272 pounds… a loss of 141 pounds in just ten months!
November 9th, 2008 — Robertsdale
A month after Ken Stabler won acquittal on a drunken driving charge, some legal experts and local judges are still scratching their heads over a decision to bar as evidence the fact that the former football star refused to take a breath test.
Stabler refused the breath test in June after a Robertsdale police officer pulled over his SUV on Ala. 59. Ordinarily, such a refusal can be used by the prosecution to make its case during the subsequent driving-under-the-influence trial.
But on Oct. 22, acting Robertsdale Municipal Judge James Sweet ruled Stabler’s refusal as inadmissible because officers had failed to monitor him for 20 minutes after his arrest as required.
Some legal experts and judges puzzled by ruling in Stabler DUI case
November 6th, 2008 — Robertsdale
Eleven dogs found near death have a new lease on life tonight.
Nursed back to health, the dogs who were scheduled to be euthanized tonight have been given another chance.
Robertsdale Police charged the owners of the dogs, James Parker and Kristin Keith with animal cruelty.
“A anonymous donor has agreed to step forward and pick up the tab for paying for all the dogs care from this point on until a suitable place for them can be found.”
November 6th, 2008 — Robertsdale
Eleven dogs seized by Robertsdale officials last month may face euthanization if an appropriate home is not found for them by
5 p.m. today, according to attorneys associated with the case.
In mid-October, Robertsdale officials seized the 11 dogs — young and old pit bull mixes — after police investigated a complaint of animal cruelty, confirmed city prosecutor Ken Raines
November 2nd, 2008 — Robertsdale
It was an excited group that gathered in the conference room of Citizens’ Bank in Loxley. It’s not every day you see a check for $5.6 million.
That’s the loan the Association for Retarded Citizens of Baldwin County received from the United States Department of Agriculture - Rural Development to construct a new training center in the Robertsdale Industrial Park.
“The reason we are building it (the facility) is twofold,” said Kathy Fleet, the executive director of ARCBC. “Second, we are going to build the facility to withstand winds of 200 mph, so in a disaster we can house up to 200 clients, not including staff. The first reason for all this is to build a training facility.”
“We teach how to act in public,” said Fleet. “That gives clients an opportunity to socialize.”
November 2nd, 2008 — Robertsdale
Tired of hopping into a car for every errand and to get to work? Looking for ways to get around, especially city to city that might not break the family budget?
Members of the Baldwin County Public Transit Coalition might have an answer. The group held a meeting Tuesday, Oct. 21 at the Baldwin County Annex in Robertsdale. The group was founded in 2004. Their Web site can be found at baldwinptc.org.
October 27th, 2008 — Crime, Robertsdale, Schools
A seventh grader at Central Baldwin Middle School in Robertsdale faces expulsion and weapons charges after police say he brought an unloaded gun to school.
No one was hurt and police say no one appeared to be in danger.
A 12 year old in handcuffs. Police Sgt. Rex Bishop says he brought an unloaded firearm to Central Baldwin Middle school. “The student was asked to be patted down and was patted down and the weapon was recovered.”
An unloaded, 9 millimeter handgun was found tucked inside the 7th graders waist band. Students reported seeing the gun in a bathroom and told school administrators.
October 1st, 2008 — Crime, Robertsdale
Robertsdale man arrested on rape, sex-abuse charges
A Mobile County deputy arrested Steve Randy Klaber, 52, of Robertsdale on Tuesday on a grand jury indictment charging him with sexually accosting two girls known to him.Steve Giardini, the assistant district attorney who prosecutes child abuse cases, said the crimes occurred about three years ago in the Irvington area. The girls are now 13 and 14. Klaber is charged with two counts of first-degree sexual
abuse and one count of first-degree rape.
September 16th, 2008 — Robertsdale
Charles Murphy became a full-time mayor Monday following a vote by the City Council to name him utilities superintendent as he begins his fifth term as the municipality’s chief executive.
With Murphy abstaining, the council voted unanimously to name him superintendent of the Robertsdale Utilities Department at a salary of $50,000 a year. Murphy will also continue to collect the mayor’s annual salary of $18,000.
“I talked it over with the council and we felt that with the growth of the city that the time was right for a full-time mayor,” Murphy said after the Monday council meeting. “With everything going on right now, this was the way we wanted to go.”
What additional services can the citizens expect from the new full-time mayor?
September 7th, 2008 — Robertsdale, Schools
It would be easy to forget. The kids are in school, and the hustle and bustle of daily life is going on.
A little over a month ago, the body of 33-year-old Joshua dams was found in one of the classrooms of the new Robertsdale Elementary School. According to coroner’s reports, Adams, who was working for C & R Electric of Bay Minette, died of electrocution.
Spearheaded by Theresa and her husband, Wade Mosley, there will be a “Classic Car, Truck, and Motorcycle” benefit Sept. 6 in the parking lot of Greer’s Shopping Center, 22245 Highway 59 in Robertsdale.
September 5th, 2008 — Robertsdale
The mood of the meeting was flat, and the budget was flatter as the Robertsdale City Council approved a $13,688,520 budget for fiscal 2009.
“As far as our revenues go, it was a pretty flat year,” Chief Financial Officer Ann Simpson told the Council. That means that the budget for next year had to be as flat. Or flatter. The total budget for the city is $13,688,520 and the surplus is $134,894, according to Simpson.
“As people have left for one reason or another, we have not replaced them,” said Simpson. She added that the Senior Citizen’s center “lost” an employee last year, who has not been replaced.
One of the big decreases in revenue is on the line labeled “liquor tax.” The line item was budgeted in 2008 for $45,000 and only $10,000 in the 2009 budget.
Robertsdale council approves budget
Sounds like Tom the Beer Man needs to start drinking in Robertsdale to help out a little. How long would it take to drink $35K? Let’s see…35,000 divided by, oh heck, now I’ve had too many to do that kind of math.
