wsfa Archives

Voters in Elmore County have decisively rejected the “Enhance Elmore” plan, a local funding proposal aimed at addressing public safety needs.

The overwhelming defeat leaves officials searching for ways to finance aging fire equipment and the long-planned construction of a new county jail.

According to WSFA, approximately 93-94% of voters opposed the measure, which sought to raise revenue through a new property assessment and a tax on vaped tobacco products.

The plan would have established an annual fee of about $150 for homeowners and $300 for businesses, generating approximately $4.5 million per year for fire protection, road maintenance, and other public safety initiatives. Of that amount, around $80 million was expected to go toward a new county jail.

County Commissioner Bart Mercer acknowledged that while voters rejected the funding plan, the county’s public safety needs have not gone away.

He noted that budget discussions are expected to begin soon as leaders explore whether short-term adjustments using existing funds can help meet the county’s most urgent demands.

The opposition group “Resist Elmore Tax Hike” organized against the measure, citing concerns about transparency, the combined structure of the property and vape tax vote, and the financial impact on rural residents.

Group leaders have said they intend to work with state lawmakers or explore other options to support local fire services without imposing new assessments.

The defeat also leaves fire departments grappling with escalating costs.

According to the news outlet, fire trucks that once cost under $200,000 in the mid-1990s now approach nearly $1 million, while the county’s fire fee, last raised in 2005, has remained unchanged for two decades.

Local officials have warned that the current funding model no longer keeps pace with rising equipment and maintenance expenses.

Despite differing views on taxation, both county leaders and opponents agree that ensuring public safety remains a top priority. As Elmore County prepares for upcoming budget discussions, residents and watchdog groups are expected to keep a close eye on how officials address the funding gap for essential services.

Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at sherri@yellowhammernews.com

President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs were met with the typical media derision, mockery, and prediction of doom.

Fortunately, as usual, the experts have shown that they are more interested in politics than they are in getting things right; the doom and gloom has not materialized.

If Trump is actually able to remake the world order on trade, America and Alabama will benefit greatly.

Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN.

It is beyond the time to put people in jail.

Dale Jackson is a thought leader for Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN and from 10-11 a.m. on Talk 99.5 and News Radio 1440, with a rebroadcast Talk Radio 103.9 FM/730AM WUMP from 3-4 p.m.

A two-part documentary chronicling the political life and redemption of the late Alabama Governor George Wallace produced by WSFA 12 in Montgomery is now available online after several broadcast television appearances.

“George Wallace – Politics, Segregation, and Redemption” presents rare archival footage alongside interviews with Alabama political and civil rights leaders who knew Wallace well — whether as a friend, a son, an aide, or someone who suffered from segregation.

The two-part format fittingly depicts the political life of Governor Wallace before he was shot and left paralyzed in 1972, and the intervening 26 years he spent in redemption, continuing to serve as the Governor of Alabama, and forgiving others.

Wallace’s former spokesman, David Azbell, a 30-year veteran of Alabama politics and its foremost historian, was interviewed by WSFA for the documentary. In one of the deepest indications of Wallace’s transformation, Azbell found a letter Wallace wrote to his shooter, Arthur Bremer while he was in prison.

In the letter, Wallace forgave Bremer, shared a message of God’s love, and asked him to accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior.

Also interviewed in the documentary was Joe Reed, a longtime Alabama political and civil rights figure, once, and now again at the center of the Alabama Democratic Party. Reed said Wallace’s change of heart was evident.

“I believe that Wallace, after he got shot, after he was hurt, after he was confined to a wheelchair for a quarter-century, yeah, I believe he thought God was punishing him for the words he spoke and the life he lived,” Reed said.

WSFA 12 anchor Valorie Lawson said the inspiration to produce a new documentary came from a book written by Governor Wallace’s son, George Wallace, Jr. about his dad. He also shared personal reflections in the documentary.

“There’s so much more to my father than the ‘segregation forever’ or standing in the schoolhouse door, which both matters, he later told me he regretted having done. It’s almost as though some of his critics want to focus only on that, and not the entire journey,” Wallace Jr. said.

“I think our all of our lives, should be judged upon the totality of our efforts — not just picking a place here and there.”

The two-part documentary, “George Wallace – Politics, Segregation, and Redemption” is available for streaming on WSFA’s website.

“George Wallace was born in a poor county of Barbour County, his family didn’t have a lot of money, he bootstrapped his way to the University of Alabama, to law school, served in World War II — and eventually became a four-term governor and a four-time presidential candidate,” David Azbell said.

“Despite being born into poverty, he let his ambition cause him to abandon some of the things that he knew were right, but he later saw the error of his ways and he apologized and did everything he could to correct the wrongs that he knew he committed.

“So, if George Wallace gives us a lesson today, it’s: Don’t be afraid to apologize when you know you have been wrong. Reach out to those you have wronged and work toward a better day,” Azbell said.

Grayson Everett is the state and political editor for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @Grayson270

Montgomery’s Old Cloverdale area is about to have fresh appeal thanks to a handful of businesses planning on moving into the neighborhood.

Charlie Colvin, President of the Cloverdale-Idlewild Neighborhood Association, offered details to WSFA 12 on the upcoming projects.

“They’ll make a combination of new buildings, old buildings,” said Colvin. “They’re going to clean up the facades and try to capture it, make it look kind of like a village.”

According to Colvin, there will be two new “soft retail” storefronts and two restaurants, one of which will be “high-end.”

Construction is scheduled to be completed by 2025.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten

Lowndes County Sheriff Christopher West was arrested last week for disrupting a county commission meeting and allegedly threatening its members.

West, a 30-year law enforcement professional, was charged with misdemeanor harassment and obstructing government operations following a dispute at a June meeting with District 1 Commissioner Robert Harris, WSFA reports. The disagreement reportedly stemmed from the proposed relocation of Lowndes County investigators to Hayneville City Hall, which West opposed.

“As the commissioners voted, West was interfering with governmental business and harassing county commissioners, keeping them from doing their legal duties,” Harris told the Lowndes County Signal. “To threaten another elected official, and [West] is a peacemaker for the county… creating that type of environment, [he] is supposed to escalate, not escalate but he wasn’t able to do that.”

At a July executive meeting, Harris received approval from the commission to move forward with West’s arrest in a 3-2 vote. Commissioners Dickson Farrior and Joseph Barganier opposed the arrest, while Commissioners Harris, Joshua Simmons, and Charlie King Jr. voted in favor.

West turned himself in at the John Hulett Detention Center on Aug. 29.

The commission also voted for West to attend anger management classes.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten

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They will change the law to ban Christian flags.

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN and on Talk 99.5 from 10 to 11 a.m.

Iran is the clear villain, Joe Biden helped them.

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN and on Talk 99.5 from 10 to 11 a.m.

Some people want kids to have access to inappropriate content.

Dale Jackson is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts a talk show from 5-9 a.m. weekdays on WVNN and on Talk 99.5 from 10 to 11 a.m.

This is not broadcasting, it is wishcasting.