Selma Police Chief John Brock to retire after mayor asks him to step down
After 31 years with the Selma Police Department, Selma Police Chief John Brock has announced his plans to retire. Citing issues with the city’s new mayor, former state representative Darrio Melton, Brock has decided to move on, after Melton asked him to step down. Brock started working with the department as a teen as a part-time dispatcher, where he worked his way through the ranks and served as a lieutenant before being promoted to chief in September 2015. “That commitment to the city speaks volumes in regards to what he gave to this city,” Melton told the Selma Times Journal. “Being in law enforcement is a service that takes special people to do, and we have been blessed in Selma to have Chief John Brock to be a part of our law enforcement over these 30 plus years.” The City of Selma also extended their well wishes to the departing chief. “His example is cherished, his legacy is preserved and his commitment is admired,” the city said in a news release. “The City wishes him every happiness and success as he embarks on the next chapter of his life.” Brock will retire from the department effective Jan. 1, 2017. Longtime police lieutenant Johnny King has been named interim chief until a permanent replacement can be found.
Don’t ignore Jeff Sessions’ good work for black communities, Salon article warns
Alabama Republican Sen. Jeff Sessions may have taken some questionable stances on race in the past, but boiling down his career to those instances is selling him short according to an article published in Salon. Back in 2001, Sessions helped an impoverished, predominantly black Lowndes County, Alabama, by directing Environmental Protection Agency funds to the area to install new septic tanks. The area was home to 37 families facing arrest or eviction due to health regulation violations, and the $12,000 cost of installing a new septic system was well beyond the reach of the residents, whose average income is around $20,000 a year. Lowndes County holds 43 miles of the 54-mile 1965 voting rights march from Selma to Montgomery, and despite dozens of black leaders marching through the area annually, the area had to turn to Sessions for help. Sessions also moved to bring jobs to the area by approving $4 million in grants for secondary auto suppliers to set up shop after Hyundai Corp. opened a $1 billion manufacturing plant just 6 miles from the Lowndes County border. The longtime Senator also hosted a Capitol Hill meeting with corporate and policy representatives that resulted in Microsoft donating more than $65,000 worth of software to install on PCs in computer centers built for the county’s low-income residents.
Brick by brick, fundraiser helps carry on legacy at National Voting Rights Museum
The National Voting Rights Museum and Institute (NVRMI) is giving its supporters a chance to leave their legacy in stone. Based in Selma, the NVRMI is selling commemorative bricks to help maintain and improve the facility. Museum board member Louretta Wimberly told AlabamaNews that bricks cost $100 dollars and buying one helps to carry on the legacy of the foot soldiers of the Selma Voting Rights movement. “The brick represent a stone. It means that this is how we came over and now I have an opportunity to continue that growth and that moving forward,” Wimberly said.
State Rep. Darrio Melton elected Selma’s next mayor
Six-year Alabama State Rep. Darrio Melton will be leaving the Alabama Legislature behind to take the helm in the city of Selma. Melton defeated former Selma mayor James Perkins Jr., the city’s first black mayor, in the city’s mayoral runoff election Tuesday. Melton received 4,054 votes to 2,558 for Perkins, will take office as mayor Nov. 1. A special election will be held to fill his House seat. Watch Melton’s victory speech below:
Corporal punishment persists in many Alabama schools
Think being yelled at by a teacher or being sent to detention is bad? Nearly 19,000 Alabama students were paddled in the 2013-2014 school year. That’s according to newly available data from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights, which found more than 4,000 schools across the country, and several within Alabama, still use corporal punishment as a form of discipline. Despite calls from the U.S. Department of Education to curb punitive discipline — which has been shown to affect minority and disabled students disproportionately — Alabama and 18 other states still allow corporal punishment in their public schools, although parental permission is often required. In fact, 107 of Alabama’s 133 school districts use corporal punishment, which ranks the Yellowhammer Sate third in the nation in percentage of students paddled overall, at 2.5 percent. Several medical and human rights groups have called for an end to the practice of paddling, calling it ineffective and potentially harmful. “You want to keep kids in the classroom, but to suggest that the only way to keep them in is to beat them with a stick is ludicrous,” said Dennis Parker, director of the ACLU’s Racial Justice Program. “Paddling can cause pain, humiliation, and in some cases deep bruising or other lasting physical or mental injury,” an ACLU-Human Rights Watch report said. In Alabama, males are paddled at a 4.5-to-1 rate over females. The data also shows black students disproportionately receive physical discipline as opposed to white students.
Selma mayoral race heads to a runoff
Selma voters winnowed the crowded field of five mayoral candidates down to two at the ballot box Tuesday. State Rep. the Rev. Darrio Melton and former Selma mayor Rev. James Perkins, Jr. will face off Oct. 4 in a runoff election. While the official results are not in, the unofficial results have Melton with 35 percent of the vote and Perkins with 30 percent. Incumbent Mayor George Evans, who is nearing the end of his second term, will definitively finish in third place with 18 percent of the vote, writing the end of his mayoral career. Eight years ago, Evans defeated Perkins for the position.
Terri Sewell endorses Selma Mayor George Evans in third re-election bid
Alabama 7th District U.S. Congresswoman Terri Sewell endorsed current Selma Mayor George Evans Tuesday in his third re-election campaign. “I am proud to endorse George Evans for re-election as Mayor of my hometown of Selma,” said Sewell in a statement of endorsement. “I have known Mayor Evans all my life and he has always been a strong voice and a tireless fighter for the people of Selma.” It’s a crowded field of candidates vying for the position of Selma mayor, with four candidates running against Evans — Ward 3 Selma City Councilman Greg Bjelke, Baptist minister Jerria Martin, State Rep. Darrio Melton and former Selma mayor James Perkins Jr. But Sewell believes Evans is best for the job. “From his demonstrated efforts to revitalize downtown Selma to his dedicated commitment to making our community stronger and safer, Mayor Evans has earned a third term to continue the progress that he has made in the areas of economic development, education, infrastructure and public safety,” Sewell explained. Sewell went on to explain throughout his tenure Mayor Evans has worked hard to bring federal jobs and resources to Selma. “We share a real love for Selma and a passionate desire to move this City forward,” Sewell continued. “Mayor Evans stood with me and President Obama to commemorate the historic significance of the events that occurred in Selma over 50 years ago and he was a fearless advocate with me in making the case to Obama cabinet officials from HUD, DOT, and Agriculture to bring more federal resources to Selma so that our community can thrive for future generations.” Sewell concluded, “Mayor George Evans believes in Selma and I strongly support his re-election so that we can continue working together to provide better opportunities to the people of Selma and Dallas County.”
Selma police officers demand more pay, go on strike
Police officers in Selma went on strike Thursday morning, after demanding the city increase their pay. The strike started at 5:30 a.m. and quickly forced administration employees to patrol the streets, according to NBC affiliate WSFA. Department spokesman Lt. Sam Miller told WSFA patrol shift workers did not come into work this morning and night shift officers have already called out. He said some supervisors also are absent. Last week, Selma officers anonymously sent city officials a letter asking for pay increases. The letter, dated Aug. 5, which is addressed to the Mayor of Selma, Selma City Council, Personnel Director, Treasurer, City Attorney and Police Chief John Brock, is a request for a “collaborative” and “mandatory” meeting. Chief Brock says his officers are ready for the city to take action. “The officers want a raise,” Brock told WFSA. “They’ve been waiting, they’ve been put off for several years and it’s time to put up or shut up. Since Day 1 when I took this job, I said to the council that night that they had to give the officers a pay raise. They’ve got bonuses over these last several years, but an actual pay raise they haven’t had since 2007.” A Selma Police Department spokesman confirmed the requested meeting is set for Thursday afternoon downtown. “It’s not something that’s been ignored,” Selma Mayor George Evan told WFSA. “It’s just a matter of trying to find all of the pieces to put it together to be able to find any money to do that. We all agree that our police officers and those in public safety and all of our departments deserve more money. It is my belief that the city council and mayor will work to get that done.”
Selma’s 5 mayoral candidates participate in weekend political forum
It’s a crowded field of candidates vying for the position of Selma mayor. Five candidates are in the running — Ward 3 Selma City Councilman Greg Bjelke, incumbent Mayor George Evans, Baptist minister Jerria Martin, State Rep. Darrio Melton and former Selma mayor James Perkins Jr. — and Selma residents had the opportunity to hear from each of them at a political forum Sunday afternoon at Selma High School. There, all five candidates shared their platforms and took turns answering questions for 90 minutes. “We’ve got a lot of work to do,” said incumbent Mayor George Evans. “We need some infrastructure changes and street paving, and stuff like that doesn’t come overnight. And so, it’s just going to take a bonafide effort from the citizens of Selma along with city government, education-wise along with industry to build our city. And it can be done.” First elected in 2008, Evans defeated then-incumbent James Perkins Jr., who is making another go for the post. Since his time in office, Perkins became the pastor of a Selma church. “This is just an opportunity for me to share experience, knowledge about what’s going on in our community to help build Selma,” Perkins says. Another mayoral hopeful at the forum was State Rep. Darrio Melton. “Our city is crumbling at its foundation,” Melton told the crowd. “I have experience, I have relationships both in the federal and state level that I think I can use in regards to building our city and moving our city into the 21st century.” Despite her lack of political experience, Jerria Martin, 28, brought youthful energy to the forum. “Even our motto is, ‘From Civil War to Civil Rights and Beyond,’” Martin said. “But my question is, when are we going to get to the beyond? I think it’s time for this younger generation to rise up and be that beyond, and lead us to that beyond.” Selma City Councilman Greg Bjelke said he wants to do more for the city. “I felt as if I was sitting on my hands, and show up to the meetings and yay and nay and go to ribbon cuttings, and that’s all very nice and all, but I wanted to more,” Bjelke, who’s been sitting on the city council to 2011, said. Sponsored by “One Selma,” the event was moderated by WAKA news anchor Darryl Hood and was followed by a city council forum as voters in the Black Belt’s largest city prepare to cast their ballots in the state’s municipal elections Aug. 23.
Robert Bentley vetoes bill requiring longer driver’s license office hours in Alabama
A widely passed bill requiring driver’s license offices across the state to be open a minimum of two days a week was pocket vetoed by Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley Monday, after the time during which he had to either veto or sign the bill expired. Because the pocket veto occurred after the Alabama Legislature had already concluded the session during which the bill was passed, the effort is dead for the year. The bill passed on the last day of the 2016 Regular Session, earning a vote of 24-3 in the Senate, and 99-1 in the House. The legislation was introduced during the budget fights of 2015’s multiple sessions after the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency decided to close down 31 of the state’s lowest-utilized driver’s license offices, including 10 in the already under-served agricultural “Black Belt” region. After a significant public outcry over the closures, many of the offices were reopened on a part-time basis, for as little as one day a month. Civil Rights activist Jesse Jackson even came to Alabama in October of last year to protest the bill, and have a conversation with the governor and other elected leaders in the state. The bill’s sponsor, Democratic Sen. Hank Sanders of Selma, says he is disappointed by the pocket veto, but plans on introducing the bill again in either a Special Session later this year or during 2017’s Regular Session. Supporters of the bill say they’d even be amenable to having the driver’s license offices open only one day a week, as was almost included in an amendment that was tabled due to timing concerns. “I’m not going to quit trying,” Sanders said. “I want every county to have a place where people can go on a weekly basis to get a driver’s license.” As of publishing time, the governor’s office had given no indication of why Bentley chose not to sign the bill into law.
Alabama city ranked as 5th most student debt city nationwide
Millennials may be typecast as an entitled, unmotivated and lazy generation that choose to crash in mom’s basement after college because they can’t find a job they like, but even those who fight the narrative and pound the pavement are facing massive post-college debts as they struggle to earn their independence in entry-level jobs. Today, college graduates spend nearly a fifth, or 18 percent, of their salaries just on student-loan payments, according to a recent report from Citizens Bank. And those debts are likely to grow old with them. Three in five graduates, who belong to the Millennial generation, expect to keep paying their college loans into their 40s. With college graduation season upon us, the personal finance website WalletHub on Tuesday released its 2016 report on the Cities with the Most & Least Student Debt where it compared the average student-loan balance against the median income in each of 2,513 U.S. cities to determine where Americans are most overleveraged on their college-related debts. Unfortunately for some Alabama students, the debt burden is devastating. In Selma, students are graduating with an average debt of $28,035. With a median income for ages 25 to 44 at $17,610, that means these graduates have a ratio of student debt to median income of a crippling 159 percent — the fifth worst in the nation. But Selma’s not alone, Talladega’s student debt to median income ratio ranks in the top two percent nationwide at 116 percent, followed close behind by Birmingham with 109 percent. According to Sandy Baum, Professor of Higher Education Administration in the Graduate School of Education & Human Development at George Washington University, and Senior Fellow at the Urban Institute, part of the problem is that college-bound students make the wrong choice about where to go to school and what to study. “Too many people make the wrong choice about where to enroll and what to study,” explained Baum. “That means they may be financing an endeavor in which they are unlikely to succeed, that leads to weak employment prospects even if they do succeed, or that is much more expensive than alternatives of equal or higher quality.” The other issue: some students borrow too much. “They take all the loans for which they are told they are eligible,” continued Baum. “Instead, they should think hard about what their needs will be over the course of the school year. This is particularly an issue for part-time students, who are eligible for the same amounts as full-time students … borrowing moderately is important.” To identify the cities that are most overleveraged on their student-loan debts, WalletHub’s analysts divided the average student-loan balance (based on TransUnion data from September 2015) by the median income of residents aged 25 to 44 in each of 2,513 U.S. cities. According to WalletHub, the most overleveraged cities include Voorhees, N.J.; Opa-locka, Fla.; College Park, Ga.; Bastrop, La.; and Selma, Ala. The least overleveraged cities include Lake Forest, Ill.; Sammamish, Wash.; Severna Park, Md.; Winchester, Mass.; and Scarsdale, N.Y.
Selma is cracking down on diaperless horses
SELMA, Ala. (AP) — The west Alabama city of Selma is planning a crackdown on what one councilman says is a big problem: Horse droppings. The City Council passed a law three years ago requiring that horses wear diapers when on city streets, but Councilman Michael Johnson says riders aren’t following the law. Johnson says he doesn’t mind people riding horses in the city of 20,000. But he’s bothered by the smell and other sanitary problems created by horses on city streets. The Selma-Times Journal quotes Police Chief John Brock as saying officers will be stricter enforcing the diaper law. He says the department will issue warnings for a first offense and citations for repeat offenders. There could be plenty of tickets: Johnson says he’s seen just one diaper-wearing horse in town. Republished with permission of the Associated Press.
