Anniston declares shopping center public nuisance

The Anniston City Council voted Monday to declare the Lenlock Shopping center a public nuisance. With the declaration, the city now has the authority to entice an owner through legal means to repair the building or have it torn down to protect public health and safety.

Now that it’s been declared a nuisance, City Manager Brian Johnson Johnson said, the city could do nothing; it could demolish the site; it could put a lien on the property; or it could use the declaration to encourage the owners of the center to make changes.

While there are a few businesses at the shopping center, most of the building, erected in 1958, is vacant and in disrepair. During the council's work session last week, Tana Bryant, code enforcer, presented pictures that showed some sections had water damage, while others had green mold growing on the floor. Also, Bryant had said the roof was in danger of possibly collapsing in one section of the building.

Johnson said the shopping center is currently in the care of the state after the previous owners failed to pay property taxes. However, the city can't get the state to pay for repairs to the site.

Johnson said an auction of the site is being organized and could be held within a month, at which point the city would talk with the buyer about the building's restoration.

Talladega County residents oppose expansion of Lincoln police jurisdiction

Lincoln's city motto is "Come Grow With Us", but some property owners are trying to fight back against the growth of the city's police jurisdiction.

Citizens Against Lincoln Expansion wants the city to stop enforcing codes on people who live in unincorporated parts of Talladega County.

Lincoln Mayor Bud Kitchin said Alabama state law allows the city to enforce building permit ordinances inside the police jurisdiction, which extends three miles outside the city limits.

The Lincoln police jurisdiction extended 1.5 miles beyond the city limits, but expanded to three miles when the population surpassed 6,000 people in the 2010 census.  Parts of the jurisdiction are even more than three miles from the main part of Lincoln, because the city annexed some isolated areas.

Lincoln Harbor is about four miles from the southwest corner of Lincoln proper.  There is also an 80 acre property near Oxford.  The three-mile radius around each of these properties overlaps with the three-mile radius from the main city, so everything in between is part of the city's jurisdiction.

The fight against Lincoln expansion began more than a year ago when a chicken farmer said the city cost him $40,000.

State senator Jim McClendon moderated a meeting Monday morning between the mayor, members of the Lincoln City Council and Talladega County Commission, and Citizens Against Lincoln Expansion.

McClendon said the legislature can pass a statutory revision to determine a solution if the city and county cannot.  However, he said it preferable for the local sides to come up with a resolution that is satisfactory to both sides "without involving folks in Montgomery."

Oxford student subject of internet threat

Oxford Police were working Friday to get a court order for the arrest of an Oxford High School student for what police say was an anonymous threat she made through a social media application.

Oxford police Chief Bill Partridge said he was working to obtain a court order for the 17-year-old girl’s arrest.

That threat, made Nov. 21, specified no particular school, but stated that there would be a “slaying Monday at lunch.”

The post was made on Yik Yak, a smartphone and tablet computer app that allows users to anonymously post to a virtual message board of sorts.

Posts to the app are typically read by those within a mile and a half of the poster, though the app’s developers have attempted to prevent its use on middle and high school campuses. Partridge said at the time that the post was made within about two miles of Oxford High.

Partridge declined to say how investigators were able to identify the girl, but on Yik Yak’s website the company writes that it cooperates with law enforcement “if there’s a post that poses a threat to people.”

Making terroristic threats is a felony under state law, punishable by between one and 10 years in prison. Partridge said that the girl would be charged as a juvenile, however, which would mean she could face a lesser sentence if convicted.

Gadsden man sentenced in child abuse case

Steven Jamar Jackson

A 27 year old Gadsden man has been sentenced to two 20-year split sentences and one 10-year split sentence in two child abuse cases  one that left his stepdaughter with physical issues she will face for the rest of her life.

The split sentence means Steven Jamar Jackson, will be credited with three years and one month served awaiting trial, serve 12 months in the county jail and spend the rest of a five-year term in Community Corrections.

Defense attorney John Floyd asked Judge David Kimberley to consider Jackson’s diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in Iraq as a mitigating factor, and sentence Jackson to time served. In sentencing the judge sought to address the mental health question, including requirements that Jackson continue to undergo therapy for PTSD.

Jackson was arrested after then 5-year-old Iyana Spencer sustained serious injuries while in Jackson’s care on Nov. 19, 2010. The girl suffered a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain that required surgery, a lacerated liver and pulmonary bruises, among other injuries. She spent two weeks in pediatric intensive care at Children’s Hospital and remained in the hospital until Dec. 31, 2010. She still receives therapy daily at school and additional therapy to recover from the lasting damage done to her more than four years ago.

Gadsden hoping to negotiate new contract with Humane Society Pet Rescue

Gadsden City officials hope to meet soon with Humane Society Pet Rescue and Adoption Center representatives to try to reach an agreement on a new contract that would keep the shelter accepting city animals after March 1.

The board of directors for the Humane Society Pet Rescue sent the city a letter dated Jan. 14 that said if an agreement is not reached February 1st, the letter would serve as notice that the center is terminating its month-to-month agreement to serve as the city’s animal shelter.

The letter stated that they would no longer take in any animals belonging to the city after March 1, 2015.

Mayor Sherman Guyton has sent Humane Society Board of Directors President Christiane Michel an email requesting a meeting to discuss a new contract. He said the city had hoped to have such a meeting in December, but it didn’t take place, and would like to have one as soon as possible “in an effort to finalize a contract before March 1.”

Ellison said the city wants to discuss Animal Control officers having space at the center, which would remove the need to operate a separate office for that department; the ability to bring in animals after hours without having to pay the Humane Society $30 for someone to meet Animal Control personnel there; and the amount of money the city pays the Humane Society.

According to the original 2006 contract, the city pays the Humane Society $8,000 a month and paid $125,000 toward the cost of the new shelter on Brooke Avenue that opened in 2007. That contract expired in 2008, and the month-to-month arrangement has continued since then.

Gadsden smoking ordinance takes effect super bowl sunday

A tougher smoking law took effect in Gadsden on Super Bowl Sunday.

The new law prohibits smoking in all public indoor areas where people work, including restaurants and bars. The law also bans smoking within 20 feet of public entrances to buildings.

The Gadsden City Council passed the ordinance in June 2014 but delayed enforcing the law until Feb. 1.

There are a few exceptions to the law.

One exception allows smoking on outdoor patios; however food or drinks cannot be served by waiters.

Supporters say it’s an effort to protect servers from secondhand smoke.

The ordinance allows smoking in cigar bars only if the cigar bar has a functioning humidor.

The ordinance’s enforcement will be handled by the police department.