• Haleyville Fire/Rescue Receives Grant

    August 10, 2023 By InUncategorized

    Haleyville Fire/Rescue was awarded $274,761.90 in federal funds on August 11th, 2023 in round 6 of the 2022 FEMA/DHS Assistance to Firefighter’s Grant Program. The grant is a 95/5 matching grant with FEMA providing 95% and the fire department matching 5% or $13,738.10 for a total award of $288,500.

    The grant will be used to purchase thirty-two (32) new NFPA compliant Self-Contained Breathing Apparatus, replacing the department’s entire existing inventory of SCBA. The department’s current SCBA range from 7 years old to over 30 years old and the manufacturer is no longer making SCBA for the fire service in the United States. The new SCBA will be manufactured to the latest standards & technology, be lighter weight, more ergonomically designed, and have a 45-minute air supply where the current SCBA only have a 30-minute air supply.

    The primary goal of the Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) is to meet the firefighting and emergency response needs of fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical service organizations. Since 2001, AFG has helped firefighters and other first responders to obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources needed to protect the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards. $324 million dollars was appropriated for the 2022 Assistance to Firefighters Grants program

  • Crash Takes Life of Lynn Woman

    August 2, 2023 By InUncategorized

    HAMILTON POST – A two-vehicle crash that occurred at approximately 8:34 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 1, has claimed the life of a Lynn woman. Shirley F. Griffith, 78, was fatally injured when the 2008 Nissan Sentra she was driving struck the 2022 Peterbilt tractor-trailer driven by Darrell Aldridge, 57, of Newton, Miss. Griffith was pronounced deceased at the scene of the crash, which occurred on Alabama 13 near the 264 mile marker, approximately two miles south of Haleyville. Nothing further is available as Troopers with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s (ALEA) Highway Patrol Division continue to investigate.

  • HB 209 Prevents Absentee Ballott Harvesting

    May 24, 2023 By InUncategorized
    n Editorial by Secretary of State Wes Allen
    Over the last decade, there have been multiple convictions for absentee ballot fraud across the state of Alabama. As a Probate Judge, a legislator and now as Secretary of State, I am committed to eliminating election fraud in our state.  HB209, sponsored by Rep. Jamie Kiel, makes incredible strides in protecting the rights of Alabama voters to cast their own votes without undue influence.
    Currently, it is legal for groups operating as non-profits to offer payments in exchange for absentee ballot applications to Alabama registered voters. HB209 would end that.
    Today, it is legal for out of state organizations to mail pre-filled absentee ballot applications to unsuspecting voters across the state, some of whom have moved or who have no intention of voting absentee. HB209 would prohibit this practice.
    HB209 would make it illegal to pay, or to be paid by a third party to collect absentee ballot applications or absentee ballots from Alabama voters. Furthermore, it would eliminate the ability of organizations to sow the seeds of chaos and confusion by sending pre-filled absentee applications into our state.  Our elections are the foundation of our constitutional republic, and nobody should be paid for their absentee application or their ballot.  Ballot harvesting should not be a job description.
    Rep. Kiel shepherded HB209 through the Alabama House of Representatives and through the Senate committee.  Senator Garlan Gudger will present HB209 for a vote to the entire State Senate and on to Governor Ivey’s desk for her signature.  I applaud these two legislators for their efforts to further secure Alabama’s elections and to help protect each individual Alabama voter’s right to cast their own ballot without interference.  That is, after all, the foundation of this great nation.

  • Three Arrested in Franklin County for Identity Theft and Voter Fraud

    April 11, 2023 By InLatest News

    Wes Allen, Alabama’s Secretary of State, announced today that his office assisted the U.S. Department of State, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Franklin County District Attorney’s Office, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the Russellville Police Department with an investigation that led to the arrest of three individuals for identity theft. The three individuals are also not American citizens.

    The arrest of Teresa Martin Pascual, Maria Juan Pascual and Luis Balderman occurred on March 15, 2023. The three individuals are not qualified to vote, are not American citizens and had no right to participate in Alabama’s elections. According to the indictment, they each used identification that was not their own to register to vote and vote in the names of identity theft victims.

    “I am incredibly appreciative of the efforts of the law enforcement agencies who worked together to indict and apprehend these three individuals,” Secretary Allen said. “My office will always assist law enforcement in every way possible to seek convictions of individuals who attempt to illegally vote in our elections. We will not tolerate a single illegal voter attempting to participate in our elections.”

    Alabama law requires that registered voters must be legal American citizens.

    Wes Allen serves as Alabama’s 54th Secretary of State and was sworn into office on January 16, 2023.