Today the U.S. Supreme Court denied the appeal of Tommy Arthur and once again a date can be set for his execution. This will be the 8th time he as been set for execution following seven times set then later stayed. Three different trials found him guilty of a 1982 murder-for-hire of Troy Wicker in the Shoals. At the time Arthur was on work release while serving a sentence for having killed his sister-in-law at a business in Bear Creek.

In a second meeting at the Craft Community Center on Thorn Hill Road Monday night February 20, local residents again gathered for the purpose of forming a fire department to serve the eastern part of Marion County. The area includes Thorn Hill Road, Highway 129 and Marion County Highway 48 and rural areas off those roads. Historically most of this area has been served by Haleyville with a fee charged to all residents and businesses outside the Haleyville City limits. In November, a 3% tax was approved for Marion County with the money designated specifically for fire departments in Marion County. To pay the tax and the fee would have been the same as paying twice for the same thing. The decision was made by the residents and Marion County to build a new volunteer fire station and provide fire protection and use Haleyville and surrounding fire departments as a back-up under the mutual-aid agreement.

At the meeting Monday night, the first board was elected. The board held a short meeting after the general meeting and elected a board chairman. The board will meet again and adopt by-laws, select a fire chief and assistant fire chief and begin the process of acquiring a building, fire trucks and equipment and seek volunteers. Training of new firemen will be done by the Haleyville Fire Department.

Plans for the new proposed station will be next to the Craft Community Center on Thorn Hill Road and will be called the Craft Volunteer Fire Department.

Board members pictured below include Chairman David Crane, Karen Hulsey, Jonathan Chambers, Scott Ward and David Fowler.