Alabama health officials urge schools to keep mask mandates
Alabama health officials are urging schools to continue requiring masks despite a decline in COVID-19 cases in the state, which has one of the nation’s lowest vaccination rates and worst death rates. The state department of public health said Tuesday nearly 23% of COVID infections in Alabama are among children up to the age of 17. As of Monday, at least 30 children were hospitalized for the disease, and three were on ventilators. “Consistent and correct mask use in schools has helped reduce the number of cases of COVID-19, helped schools remain open to in-person learning in Alabama, and helped prevent the consequences of this serious disease,” the department said in a news release. The release cited studies by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that found masks were critical to preventing the spread of COVID-19 in schools. Alabama left masking decisions to local officials, resulting in a patchwork of rules that vary in districts just a few miles apart. While Birmingham city schools require face masks, nearby Vestavia Hills dropped its mandate and made face masks optional last week. Shelby County has said it will quit requiring facial coverings at the end of the month. Alabama has had 14,155 deaths related to COVID-19, according to researchers from Johns Hopkins University. The death count is the 16th highest in the country overall and the fourth-highest per capita at nearly 290 deaths per 100,000 people. Health officials attribute much of the problem to Alabama’s vaccination rate, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ranks worst in the Southeast and among the lowest in the nation. Roughly 42% of the state’s population is fully vaccinated. Over the past two weeks, the rolling average number of daily new cases has decreased by 1,397, a drop of about 36%, and hospitalizations have fallen below 1,500 after reaching nearly 2,900 on Sept. 1. Even with the improvement, Alabama ranked 10th nationally for the rate of new cases over the past week. There were 785 new cases per 100,000 people in Alabama over the past two weeks, according to Johns Hopkins. Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Vestavia Hills City Council to consider Red Mountain Park gun range
The City of Vestavia Hills may soon have its own gun range in Red Mountain Park for law enforcement training purposes. The Vestavia Hills City Council on Monday will consider a Memorandum of Understanding facilitating the development of a gun range in the park that would be used exclusively for law enforcement training purposes for the Red Mountain Park Police Department and the Vestavia Hills Police Department (VHPD). According to the council agenda, the range would span 285 acres. Some of the ideas that have been discussed are: A pistol range would be developed for the exclusive use of Red Mountain Park Police Department and VHPD; and A rifle range would be constructed for the exclusive use of the Red Mountain Park Police Department and VHPD; and No invitees would be permitted on the pistol range or the rifle range; and Both the Commission and the City would provide, maintain and pay the premiums on general comprehensive liability insurance policies to cover any and all liability issues. A Memorandum of Understanding has been drafted to authorize the development of a conceptual plan and an estimated cost of a firearms training facility. The Vestavia Hills City Council meets at 6 p.m. on March 18.
Alabama mayors join Jr League Birmingham to fight human trafficking
Mayors all over Alabama are stepping up to fight human trafficking. Julia Meyers, Junior League Birmingham (JLB) chairwoman of the Anti-human Trafficking Committee, has been working tirelessly with the state legislative Human Trafficking Task Force in order to get regional government officials to proclaim January human trafficking awareness month. Mayors of Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, and Hoover have all signed proclamations. “I reached out to 18 mayors in Jefferson County and immediately Over the Mountain mayors responded,” Meyers told the Over the Mountain Journal. “That, for me, was very exciting. In the areas where we think this problem isn’t going on, they are actually taking action.” “I’d like our city to know that Vestavia Hills Police Department actively participates in a task force with some of my old colleagues from my FBI days in addressing this issue,” said Vestavia Hills mayor, Ashley Curry. “We’re doing what we can and just ask that everybody look out for certain signs … if you see something that you don’t think is right, give us a call.” The city of Cullman, Ala. has also stepped up to the task with Mayor Woody Jacobs not only proclaiming January as human trafficking awareness month, but establishing January 11 as a Human Trafficking Awareness Day. “Human trafficking is a problem everywhere, even here in our community. I greatly respect the work that the Task Force has done and continues to do to help prevent this terrible crime in Cullman and Cullman County.” Newly elected Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin also joined Meyers in declaring January as human trafficking awareness month, as evidenced in this tweet by the Junior League of Birmingham: Junior League of Birmingham(JLB) President, Katy Roe Eldridge, and JLB Anti-Human Trafficking Chair, Julia Meyers, join Mayor Randall Woodfin as he and City Council proclaim January as “Human Trafficking Awareness Month”. Thank you for supporting JLB in this effort! pic.twitter.com/bBRq1GvkG2 — Jr. League of Bham (@JLBirmingham) January 10, 2018 “Junior League of Birmingham(JLB) President, Katy Roe Eldridge, and JLB Anti-Human Trafficking Chair, Julia Meyers, join Mayor Randall Woodfin as he and City Council proclaim January as “Human Trafficking Awareness Month”. Thank you for supporting JLB in this effort!” Birmingham is an important participant in human trafficking awareness month because of it’s closeness to the issue. Interstate I-20 between Atlanta and Birmingham is known as the Sex Trafficking Superhighway. “It cuts right there through downtown Birmingham, and what we’re finding, unfortunately with the interstate system that you and I use to get from Birmingham to Montgomery — is that people are using it to bring in girls, for example, for a short period of time. Buyers are available, and then they leave,” said David Pinkleton, fundraising chair for the Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force. Other Alabama officials have responded to the Task Force’s urges. Sen. Cam Ward introduced SB179 on Tuesday to increase the criminal punishment for those found guilty of obstruction or enforcement of current human trafficking laws. Gov. Kay Ivey is also expected to sign a proclamation later this month in observance of National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. In addition to the proclamations, Meyers is promoting the Rescue Innocence Project Gala, a fundraiser for the National Center on Sexual Exploitation. The event features guest speaker Ed Smart whose daughter was abducted in 2002 and miraculously returned to her family after nine grueling months. Smart and his daughter Elizabeth are now active voices in the fight against sexual exploitation. Although Alabama has it’s own human trafficking task force, new laws to punish those who would sexually exploit children, and lawmakers who are willing to step up and make a difference; Alabama only scores an 83.5 on the Shared Hope International report card. According to the report; “A juvenile sex trafficking victim will be identified as dependent or as a child in need of supervision rather than as delinquent, but Alabama law does not provide a statutory avenue to specialized services.” Under the Safe Harbor law, which passed in Alabama in 2016, minors who are arrested for prostitution are not sent to juvenile detention centers or convicted of prostitution. But therein lies the problem; the state of Alabama has no where else to put them. Minors are currently sent back into the situations that sent them there in the first place, or turned over to DHR. “They were denied education and have no skills. They don’t even have family to turn to.” Meyers told the Over the Mountain Journal. This is a problem Meyers and the National Center on Sexual Exploitation hopes to solve. By providing training, specialized staff, and intake facilities for minors who are victims of human trafficking; Alabama would finally have somewhere to send victims in desperate need of care. Funds collected from the Gala will go towards providing these facilities in Alabama and states around the nation.
The top 10 safest cities in Alabama
Every state has its fair share of crime, but when it comes to pinpointing the safest city in the Yellowhammer State — Helena, Ala. takes the top spot. That’s according to a new report by the National Council for Home Safety and Security (NCHSS) of the Safest Cities in Alabama for 2018. The small Birmingham suburb finds itself in good company of nearby neighbors as Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook and Alabaster, following in the no. 2, 3 and 4 spots respectively The top ten safest cities in Alabama are: 1. Helena Vestavia Hills Mountain Brook Alabaster Daphne Moody Auburn Pleasant Grove Pelham Hartselle To identify the safest cities, NCHSS reviewed the most recent FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics along with their own population data and internal research. They eliminated any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI and removed cities with populations under 10,000. Then, the cities were ranked based on the number of reported violent crimes (aggravated assault, murder, rape, and robbery) and property crimes (burglary, arson, larceny-theft, and motor vehicle theft) per 1,000 people. These variables were then weighted, with violent crimes assigned a value 1.5 times (due to their severity) that of property crimes.
Safest cities in Alabama: 50 safest spots in the Yellowhammer State
Safety has always been an important factor when searching for a new place to call home, but a contentious national political system combined with an increase in violent crime across the country, has made safety the number one priority for many Americans. Since navigating through crime statistics can be a difficult and time-consuming process, Alarms.org, part of the National Council for Home Safety and Security, took it upon themselves to crunch the numbers and rank the safest places to live in Alabama. Their experts analyzed FBI Uniform Crime Report statistics in conjunction with their own population data and internal research to find which communities across the Yellowhammer State are the most secure, eliminating any cities that failed to submit a complete crime report to the FBI and removing cities with populations under 5,000. Taking home the top spot is Helena. Made up of 17 square miles, 18,109 residents, the city has the lowest crime rates in the state with the average violent crime rate five times lower than the state average. And the average property crime rate is 4.7 times lower than the state average. “Helena residents enjoy movies in the park, citywide softball competitions, an annual Christmas parade, and everything else that pairs nicely with a white picket fence,” reads the report. As the city motto suggests, “it’s where you want to be.” Following Helena, three of the remaining top five cities also come from affluent Birmingham suburbs. With Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook and Fultondale taking the second, third and fourth spots on the list. Here’s a look at the 50 safest cities in Alabama:
Alabama State Rep. Jack Williams announces he will not seek re-election
Vestavia Hills-Republican, State Rep Jack Williams announced he will not not seek re-election at the end of his term Monday morning. Williams, 59, has been a member of the Alabama House of Representatives since 2004, representing House District 47, which is composed of much of the City of Vestavia Hills and the City of Hoover. “I’ve been in Montgomery for the last 12 years and have two more years to go at the end of my term and there are some other things that I have an interest in doing that doesn’t include anything in Montgomery,” Williams told Alabama Today. “I will refocus my attention then.” The former Chairman of the Greater Birmingham Young Republicans, Williams has also served as President of the National Republican County Officials. He currently serves as the Chairman on the Alabama House Commerce and Small Business Committee. Williams made the formal announcement of his decision Monday morning in the foyer of his church in Vestavia Hills — an apt location following all of the prayers that went into his decision. “I’m grateful for the voters in District 47 and for the confidence they’ve shown in me the last three to four elections,” he told Alabama Today after the announcement. “I wanted to make announcement now, in time to give folks a chance to consider running. There are a lot of folks capable in the District.” Williams said he had privately made the decision years ago, but wanted to be sure of his choice before he formally announced it. “I probably decided a couple of years ago I wasn’t going to run again for the legislature, but didn’t want to make a decision in the heat of an election season,” Williams explained. ” But as the months have gone by, I’ve prayed about and thought about it and I’m even more confident this is the right thing for both myself and the District.”
Attorney General reviews reports of gun law violations by cities
Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange announced the results of three investigations into alleged violations of state gun laws by three municipalities on Wednesday. Strange found city-owned facilities in Daleville, Vestavia Hills and Decatur illegally banned the possession of firearms, contrary to a state statute governing the carrying of guns in public places. The attorney general’s office received a complaint that the city of Vestavia prohibited firearms at half a dozen public parks and recreational sites. Strange met with the city attorney and advised them to remove signs in front of the facilities that advised residents they could not possess a firearm there. After the removal and assurances residents’ rights to carry would not be abridged, no further action was deemed necessary by Strange. Similar steps were taken at the Daleville Cultural and Convention Center and a Decatur Utilities office. In each case, complaints were brought by private residents under a state law enforcement process which triggers a review from the attorney general.
