It pays to plan ahead. The new Haleyville City Hall was constructed in part on top of the Storm Safe Room. The original construction of the Safe Room was designed and built with a plans to place a community center type building on top. With the offer from CVS to buy the old city hall and property, the current administration saw an opportunity to rebuild a new facility downtown utilizing the Safe Room as a partial foundation.

The offices of the mayor, magistrate, clerk, and other administrative personnel are now located and operational from the new Haleyville City Hall located between 20th and 21st Street downtown. It took over two years in the planning and execution of selling the old city hall, fire station and property to CVS. Once the deal was made, the administrative offices as well as the police department moved and operated temporarily from the Neighborhood Facilities.

Work on the final stages of the installation of communication equipment being done this week. That means the Police Department, including the dispatch office has not yet moved but should do so soon. A ribbon cutting and open house has not yet been planned.

On November 30, 2015, Winston County Sheriff Hobby Walker terminated two of his investigators, Zachery Green and Steven Moody.

Sheriff Walker said they had both started a security company and that it conflicted with their official duties. Walker explained, if there was an incident such as a theft at a house the two had under contract, neither could be utilized to conduct an investigation. Plus their job entailed being on call 24/7 and working another job would make that impractical. He stated he had instructed both Green and Moody to either terminate their company or resign from the Sheriff’s Department. Because they did not do either, Walker stated both were terminated because he felt he could not trust them to do as instructed.

Green stated their company was not a “security” company and has never been portrayed as such.

Sheriff Walker also stated since they both worked “at will” for the Sheriff, he did not need to provide due process because had the right to terminate anyone at will.

Green and Moody retained an attorney and filed a Notice of Request for Grievance and/or Appeal to Personnel Board in December but there was no response to the notice. On January 13, 2016, a complaint was filed in the Circuit Court of Winston County alleging they were both denied due process on their termination. The two alleged wrongful termination as a result of an incident involving the Sheriff asking the two to commit an illegal act by furnishing the Sheriff with marijuana from evidence they had obtained for a drug case.

The Haleyville City Council met Tuesday evening with all members present. The council approved the minutes from the last council meeting on January 4 and the December general operation bills in the amount of $475,774.35.

The council voted to approve a change in the alcoholic beverage ordinance changing the amount of the license fee to $2,500 from the original $5,000.

An application was approved for a $150,000 grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the new Haleyville Sports Complex.

The council also voted to advertise for a full-time fireman to replace Tommy Lewis who will be retiring in April.

A group of 20 individuals were at the council meeting to express their concurs on the use of the land next to the Knight Subdivision. A request was on the agenda for the last city council meeting to bring it into the city limits, but was tabled without further action.  Members of the group stated they did not want any low income, or multi-family housing built on the property. So far, there has been no public proposal to develop the property in that manner.

The next meeting of the Haleyville City Council will be Monday, February 1, 5:30 p.m. at the Neighborhood Facilities Building.

A Franklin County grand jury has issued more charges, including additional sexual abuse and rape charges, against a former Franklin County sheriff’s deputy.

Court officials said Carl Nathan Weeks Jr., 33, of Phil Campbell, was indicted on six counts of second-degree sexual abuse, three counts of first-degree sexual abuse and one count of first-degree rape. Weeks, a former deputy with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, was arrested in December after an investigation by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s State Bureau of Investigation. At the time of his arrest, he was charged with only three counts of sexual abuse of a child. The case was presented to the recently concluded January grand jury, and the new charges were issued. Sheriff Shannon Oliver said Weeks, along with his attorney, Tim Case, of Florence, came to the jail Friday and surrendered to authorities. He has been released on bail of $150,000.

For the full story see the Times/Daily article.