Cleburne County teacher sues school board and Supt. over salary overpayments

A teacher at Pleasant Grove Elementary School in Cleburne county has filed a lawsuit against the Board of Education and school superintendent to stop the system from garnishing her wages for four years of salary overpayments.
Hollie White, has worked at the school system since the 1996-97 school year, according to her complaint, filed in Cleburne County Circuit Court June 25. White was mistakenly placed in a higher level on the salary schedule at the beginning of the 2006-07 school year and she stayed on that level through the 2009-10 school year, according to the complaint filed in the lawsuit. White returned that school year from taking medical leave during the 2005-06 school year, the complaint states. Two raises were awarded by the Legislature for teachers by the time she returned, so she didn’t notice the mistake, according to the complaint. In October 2011 she was informed of the mistake and her salary was adjusted to the proper level. The adjustment cost her $744.91 in monthly gross pay, a net of $475.24 on her October paycheck, the complaint said.  When she requested a report of the over payments, she received a summary that said she was overpaid $34,490.94 over the four-year period. White claims It didn’t say why she was wrongly placed, where she was placed on the salary schedule or the date which it happened.
White stated in her complaint that she received a letter from the supt. dated April 11, 2014, informing her that beginning in May and for the next eight years, $359.28 would be withheld each month to correct the overpayment.
White’s complaint asks the court to stop the garnishment. Her complaint states that the system doesn’t have the authority to garnish her wages without a judicial process. In addition, she believes that the law has a two-year statute of limitations on collecting the overpayments, which the school system has missed. She also asks that employees be provided information to allow them to verify they are being compensated at the proper level.
If a judge decides that she does owe the money to the school system, White asks for a judgement against any employees responsible for the mistake to cover the taxes and retirement contributions that were paid based on the higher income she was receiving as well as medical expenses due to the “emotional distress caused by the sudden and significant reduction in her compensation.”
White also asks that attorney fees and other costs be paid by the defendants.

DNA leads to arrest of Attalla man

Investigators with the Etowah County Sheriff’s Office report that DNA evidence has lead them to arrest an Attalla man in connection with a 2013 burglary at a church.   According to Sheriff Todd Entrekin, 34 year old Robert John David Woods,  of Attalla, has been charged with felony counts of   third-degree burglary, and  second-degree theft of property, as well as a misdemeanor charge of  third-degree criminal mischief.  Brans Chapel Church, in the Sand Valley community, was burglarized in March 2013. Speakers and microphones were taken from the church. Investigators were able to obtain DNA evidence from the burglary scene. The evidence was sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science. The results came back to Woods.
Woods admitted to the burglary and theft after his arrest,. Woods was on probation at the time of the break-in.
He is being detained in the Etowah County Detention Center on $5,500 property bond.

Trial in Anniston murder delayed

James Douglas Bussey

A Calhoun County  judge  Friday pushed back the trial for a man charged in the 1993 shooting death of his wife.  Calhoun County Circuit Judge Brian Howell ruled that the trial, which was to start today, will begin Nov. 3.  50 year old James Douglas Bussey,  of Leesburg was indicted by a grand jury in May 2011, charged with murder in the shooting death of his wife, Diana Bussey.  The 21-year-old convenience store clerk was found by a customer where she was working at the Exxon Discount Food Mart on Alabama 202 in Bynum shortly after midnight on June 26, 1993. She had been fatally shot in the head.   Bussey said he was at the gas station the night she was killed helping her close up the shop.  Bussey’s attorney, Richard Fricks, asked the court Friday to be withdrawn from the case because Bussey was behind on payments to Fricks. In his request to be withdrawn, Fricks also states that Bussey is not “fully and properly cooperating” with Fricks.
“I want his be  Howell agreed to allow Bussey to hire another attorney, giving him three weeks to do so. The trial date was moved, to give Bussey’s new attorney, once hired or appointed by the court, time to prepare.
st interest to be served. This is a very, very serious case,” Fricks told the court.

Third person arrested in child neglect case

Hokes Bluff police have arrested A third person for endangerment of a child in connection with an investigation that was spurred by an incident last month.  Investigators said the adult who was supposed to be watching a 4-year-old girl, found wandering in the Euclid Road area of Hokes Bluff with a 3-year-old boy, turned himself in after a warrant was obtained charging him with a misdemeanor crime. Two people, the parents of the 3-year-old boy, were arrested earlier.  Police were called On July 11, about two small children wandering in the Euclid Road area.  By the time police got there, the 3-year-old boy had fallen into a swimming pool. Fortunately, the homeowner was in a part of his home so that he heard the splash and immediately opened the door. He found a 4-year-old girl standing at his screen door, and he pushed past her to pull the boy out of the pool.  The boy was unharmed. Neighbors reported that the children had been outside, unsupervised, for some time, and told police it was not an isolated incident.
Officials  said the criminal investigation into the incident is complete and no further charges are expected. DHR has been involved in the investigation, and is likely to continue to monitor the case of the 3-year-old.

RMC continues negotiations with Blue Cross

Officials with Annistons Regional Medical Center said Friday the hospital could survive losing insurance coverage from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama, but are confident a deal will be reached to prevent that.
Hospital officials said Friday that RMC will reach a new deal before the deadline. However, even if negotiations fail, officials say the hospital could generate enough revenue to remain open,. RMC officials said Jacksonville's hospital and several outlying clinics owned by RMC will not be affected since all are under different Blue Cross contracts.
Blue Cross began informing customers last week that RMC is terminating its contract with the company, effective Sept. 12. As a result, most services offered at RMC would not be covered by Blue Cross insurance after that date. RMC officials said Blue Cross ought to pay more for the hospital’s services to match what the insurer pays other area hospitals. However, Blue Cross said it won't increase its reimbursements to RMC, arguing that to do so would force it to raise customers' premiums.  Blue Cross is Alabama's largest private insurance provider, controlling about 90 percent of the market. Kernion said Blue Cross pays more to RMC's competitors, specifically Stringfellow Memorial Hospital, Gadsden Regional Medical Center and Riverview Regional Medical Center, all operated by Tennessee-based Community Health Systems.
The city of Anniston and Mayor Vaughn Stewart are helping with the issue. RMC is a nonprofit hospital overseen by a board of directors appointed by city councils in Anniston, Jacksonville, Oxford and the Calhoun County Commission. "The mayor is trying to get Blue Cross to come back to the table," Mayor Vaughn Stewart said he and other city officials spent much of Friday trying to help RMC. Stewart said he'd received many calls from residents concerned about how the issue could affect the city.
With more than 1,500 employees, RMC is one of the region’s largest employers.

Man loses cash from back of pickup

 Talladega Police say  a 50-year-old man was carrying approximately $4,000 in cash and a handgun in a bag attached to a walker in the bed of a pickup truck Friday evening . Sometime between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., the bag appears to have come lose and scattered cash all over the side of Alabama highway 21 between Talladega and Munford.   Police say The bag and the gun were recovered fairly quickly, but most of the cash was not. Altogether, police were able to gather up a $100 bill, a $5 bill and three of the bands used to hold rolls of bills together.  Thomas added that the victim said at first that he did not want to file a police report because he knew he would not be getting any of his money back.  In addition to Talladega Police and Talladega County Sheriff’s Office, officers from the Lincoln and Anniston police departments also responded.