Pell City holds annual law enforcement appreciation luncheon
The City of Pell City recently held its annual law enforcement appreciation luncheon sponsored by Metro Bank owner Annette Cox. The annual event was held at the Pell City municipal complex. Cox expressed her pleasure at being able to host this event to honor the members of law enforcement in the community. The annual event honors law enforcement for making Pell City and St. Clair County a great place to live, work, and raise a family. The luncheon featured steak entrees with a wide selection of cakes for desserts. St. Clair County Commission President Stan Bateman (R) said, “This community is so special. Metro Bank and Ms. Annette Cox steps up and does this every year to show all of our appreciation of what you in law enforcement do for our community. If you drive around the county and see all the commercial development that’s going on, if you will look at the sign in front of the project Metro Bank is the one providing the financing for a lot of it. I want to give Metro Bank a round of applause.” Bateman spent his career law in enforcement, having spent decades as a game enforcement officer for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR). Bateman said that the biggest change he has seen since his early days in law enforcement is the adoption of technology. “I didn’t have any of the technology and tools that you have today,” Bateman said. “In my day, I just had to recognize people by the back of their heads.” Members of the Pell City Police Department and St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department were on hand to be honored. Several dignitaries were present including Associate Alabama Supreme Court Justice Sarah Stewart. Stewart, who was being escorted that day on a tour of St. Clair Counties by St. Clair County Presiding Judge Phil Seay, expressed her support for the law enforcement community and all that they do for the people of Alabama. Stewart is a candidate for the Republican nomination for Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Stewart faces two Republican opponents in the March 5 Republican primary: former State Senator Bryan Taylor and Jerry Michael Blevins. The eventual Republican nominee for Chief Justice will face Democratic nominee Montgomery Circuit Judge Greg Griffin in the November 5 general election. State Sen. Lance Bell (R-Pell City), State Representative Randy Wood (R-Anniston), Rep. Craig Lipscomb (R-Gadsden), Rep. Jim Hill (R-Odenville), Probate Judge Andrew Weathington, Commissioner Ricky Parker, Commissioner Bob Mize, Commissioner Tommy Bowers, Sheriff Billy Murray, Circuit Judge Bill Weathington, St. Clair County School Board President Bill Morris, Revenue Commissioner Ken Crowe, Circuit Clerk Kathryn Burke, St. Clair County Republican Party Chairman Deputy Freddy Turrentine, St. Clair County Young Republican Chairman Logan Glass, and former St. Clair County Republican Party Chairman Joey Stevens. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Young Republicans gather in Moody
On Saturday, Young Republicans (YRs) from across the state gathered at Moody Park for an afternoon of barbecue, bluegrass music, and camaraderie as the St. Clair County Young Republicans (YRs) held their summer gathering. St. Clair County Young Republicans Chairman Logan Glass presented plaques to Federation of Alabama State Young Republican President Stephanie Petelos and State Representative Craig Lipscomb (R-Gadsden) – who represents parts of St. Clair and Etowah counties. Glass praised Petelos for her example and her leadership and credited her with restoring the Greater Birmingham Young Republicans (GBYRs) to its role as the largest Young Republican group in the state. That club has grown to the point that a new club has branched off from the GBYRs – the Shelby County Young Republicans. Glass thanked Lipscomb for his work in Montgomery on behalf of the county and for his support of the YRs. The St. Clair Young Republicans presented former St. Clair County Republican Party Chairman Circuit Judge Phil Seay with the inaugural Phil Seay Award. Seay is the President of the Alabama Judges Association. Glass thanked Seay for his years of unwavering support for the YRs. Former State Representative Mike Ball and his bluegrass band performed at the event. Ball served twenty years in the Alabama Legislature representing Madison. He is the author of an autobiographical book about his experiences: Picking, Politicking and Pontificating: How an Ex-Cop Legalized Cannabis While Fighting Corruption. Several state appellate court seats are on the ballot in 2024, so several judicial candidates were present at Saturday’s event. Former State Senator Bryan Taylor (R-Prattville) was present. Taylor is running for Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court. Current Chief Justice Tom Parker is near the age 70s age limit, so he is prevented from running again. Taylor is a practicing attorney who has held many state government positions, including counsel for Governor Kay Ivey. Taylor is a retired Judge Advocate, a former military prosecutor, and an Iraq War veteran. Taylor faces a Republican primary battle with Alabama Supreme Court Justice Sara Stewart. Current Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Chris McCool is running for the position on the Alabama Supreme Court that Stewart is vacating in her run for Chief Justice. McCool is a former district attorney in West Alabama. McCool is also a farmer, a preacher, and a gospel singer. He performed a couple of songs with Ball and his band at Saturday’s event. James Govan is running for the position on the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals that Judge McCool is vacating. Govan is a career prosecutor and a U.S. Air Force Reserve officer currently working for the Alabama Attorney General’s office. Rich Anderson is also an Assistant Alabama Attorney General and a prosecutor running for the Alabama Criminal Court of Appeals. Anderson has represented the state of Alabama before the Criminal Court of Appeals, federal district courts, the Alabama Supreme Court, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. Emory Cox was the platinum sponsor of Saturday’s event. Cox is U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville’s aide on finance and economics. While Cox’s duties in Washington D.C. prevented him from attending, Cox’s mother, Annette Cox, the owner of St. Clair County-based Metro Bank, was present. Glass thanked the Cox family for their friendship and history of support for the YRs and Emory for his service in Washington. Bamacarry of St. Clair County was an exhibitor and a sponsor of Saturday’s event. Glass also thanked Shaw’s Barbecue for the food as well as all of the many bronze sponsors of the event. Other notables in attendance were State Supreme Court Justice Greg Cook, State Rep. Jim Hill (R-Odenville), State Senator Lance Bell (R-Pell City), Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Bill Cole (R), Alabama Court of Civil Appeals Judge Matt Fridy, St. Clair County District Attorney Lyle Harmon, St. Clair County Commissioner Tommy Bowers, commission candidate James McGowan, former St. Clair County Republican Party Chairman Joey Stephens, St. Clair County School Board Member Bill Morris, and Colbert County Assistant DA Brent Woodall. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
St. Clair County honors Paul Manning on his retirement from county commission
On Thursday, over three hundred attended a retirement party at the St. Clair Arena in Odenville for long-time St. Clair County Commission Chairman Paul Manning. Manning lost re-election to long-time rival Stan Bateman in the May Republican primary. Manning was first elected to the county commission in 1978 and has served on the commission in 36 of the last 44 years. Manning, who has a disability, also ran two businesses: a barbecue restaurant and a gas station while he served on the commission. Prominent Real estate broker Lyman Lovejoy said, “He has been an asset, he and Marie, for so many years. They have been a force.” Sonny Brasfield is the executive director of the Association of County Commissions of Alabama (ACCA). “It is great to be with you in support of the career of Paul Manning,” Brasfield said. “A measure of whether you have touched people’s lives is how many people are willing to sit out in the cold in honor of you. In all my thirty years with the Association, I have never seen anything like this before. It is a measure of what this man and this family have done for this country.” Brasfield said that the ACCA honored Manning at their summer convention. “It is one thing to come when people want something from you, but the real friends are here where you are leaving office and can’t do anything for them anymore,” Brasfield said. “The Association of County Commissions of Alabama represents the county employees and commissioners of the state. It has been my pleasure to be working with the Association and these commissioners for the last 34 years. The Association of County Commissions of Alabama was created in 1929.” Wayne Johnson with the St. Clair County Veterans Association presented Manning with a framed U.S. flag that had flown over the U.S. Capitol at the request of Congressman Mike Rogers. Former St. Clair County Circuit Clerk Annette Manning presented Paul Manning with a letter from U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville honoring Manning on his retirement. “I would like to extend my congratulations to you on your time as St. Clair County Commissioner,” Tuberville wrote. “St. Clair County has experienced great economic growth during these years. This economic expansion was in no small part due to you and your abilities. You have served your state and county well.” “Thank you for letting me stay around for 36 years,” said Paul Manning. “I see Mayors here, I see Councilmembers here, but I also see the other people. I was always honored to represent the people that did not think that they had representation otherwise.” State Rep. Jim Hill presented Manning with a letter of commendation from Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth and a framed state of Alabama flag that has flown over the state capital.” “I am a retiree from Alabama Power, so I have been on the other side of things where I had to get along with politicians, and some were easier to get along with than others,” said St. Clair County Commissioner Tommy Bowers. “I love Paul and the family to death.” Bowers also reminisced about former County Commissioner Jimmy Roberts, who died after 28 years of service on the commission. Bowers announced that the commissioners had named both chambers where the commission meets after Paul Manning and presented the plaque and Manning portrait that will hang in both chambers. Due to the mountain ridge that divides St. Clair County and the difficulty of driving a wagon over that ridge, St. Clair County is the only county in the state to have two county seats: Ashville and Pell City. Prominent Pell City attorney Billy Church said, “Paul, most people have to die to get all these accolades; but all you had to do was to lose an election.” St. Clair County Commissioner Bob Mise presented Manning with a framed St. Clair County flag that has flown over both of the St. Clair County courthouses. Logan Glass is the Vice Chairman of the St. Clair County Republican Party and the Chairman and founder of the St. Clair County Young Republicans. “He was the first to recognize that we were a force in St. Clair County and the first to put his money behind us,” Glass said of Manning. “Paul is a true statement; we don’t have enough of them today. It is no secret that I want to run for office someday, and if I am, I can only hope that I will be as much of a statesman as Paul Manning.” “I appreciate every year that I served, and I appreciate all the people that I have worked with,” Manning said. Manning was also honored by his wife, children, and grandchildren. Manning is married to Marie Manning. Marie Manning is a career educator who has served St. Clair County as a teacher, principal, as well as the elected St. Clair County school superintendent. She is presently ending her tenure on the St. Clair County Board of Education. Marie Manning is the Republican nominee for State school board district 6. She is running unopposed in the November 8 general election. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
