Riverside Amnesty

The Riverside Municipal Court will have an amnesty period for people who have outstanding warrants.

City Clerk Candace Smith said individuals who have outstanding warrants can seek amnesty through the Municipal Court from March 1-April 30, a two-month period.

During that time, those people with outstanding warrants can pay their fines without additional penalties or being taken to jail for processing.

Smith said people can also come by the Municipal Court office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday-Friday to check and see if they have any outstanding fines or warrants.

If they have ever received a ticket in Riverside, she says  it would be a good time to call and double check to make sure everything was taken care of.

In many cases, she said individuals don’t realize they have an outstanding warrant for their arrest or still owe money for a fine.

She said the Riverside Municipal Court has about 500 outstanding warrants.

The city court system only handles misdemeanor cases, no felonies.

For more information or to check and see if you have an outstanding warrant, call Smith or Court Magistrate Chrystal Womack at 205-338-7692.

ROADS IMPASSABLE -- TRAVEL ADVISORY

Wednesdays snowfall has virtually shut down travel in much of the area.  Officials in Calhoun County reported this morning that areas from just south of Jacksonville, north in the county received upwards of 2 inches of sleet and snow, making driving conditions hazardous.  Streets in Jacksonville and Piedmont are deemed impassable this morning as well as Calhoun County roads in the area.  Officials say that several lmotorists had to be rescued in northern Calhoun County Wednesday when they became stranded in their vehicles on highway 431.  Things are much worse in Etowah county with six to eight inches of snow reported which has made all of the streets and roads impassable.  Road crews will begin working on the roads this morning and motorists are urged to restrict travel until temperatures rise above freezing.  There were scattered power outages reported in the county as a result of tree limbs falling across power lines.  Officials with the Etowah County EMA report that all power has been restored.  Again motorists are urged to restrict travel until later this morning when temperatures rise above freezing.

LATEST CLOSINGS AND DELAYS FOR THURSDAY

AIDB: No school buses Thursday. AIDB Industry buses will run on a 2-hour delay.

Albertville City Schools: Closed

Anniston City Schools: Closed

Attalla City Schools: Closed

Blount County Schools: Closed

Calhoun County Schools: Closed

Cherokee County Schools: Closed

Clay County Schools: Closed

Cleburne County Schools: Closed

Donoho School: 3 hour delay

Episcopal Day School (Gadsden): Closed

Etowah County Schools: Closed

Gadsden City Schools: Closed

Jacksonville Christian Academy: Closed

Jacksonville City Schools: Closed

Oneonta City Schools: Closed

Oxford City Schools: 3 hour delay

Pell City Schools: Closed

Piedmont City Schools: Closed

St. Clair County Schools: Closed

St. James Catholic School (Gadsden): Closed

Sylacauga Schools: 2 hour delay

Talladega City Schools: 3 hour delay

Talladega County Schools: 3 hour delay

Victory Christian School (Pell City): Closed

Westbrook Christian School (Rainbow City): Closed

Gadsden State Community College: Closed

Snead State Community College: Closed

Etowah County: Judicial Building closed

Gadsden Municipal Court cancelled defendants will be mailed new court date

Lee Brass (Anniston): First shift delayed until 7 a.m.

NobleBank (Calhoun County): Open at 10 a.m.

Tyson Foods Albertville: No first shift, second shift report normally

Guilty Plea in Cherokee Murder

39 year old Vinnie Leroy Keaton pleaded guilty Wednesday morning to capital murder charges in the 2012 killing of a woman whose body was found at the Gadsden State Cherokee Campus.

Keaton, entered the plea before Cherokee County Circuit Judge Jeremy Taylor in the murder of 32 year old Melissa Leeann Hudgins.

Sentencing is set for March 16.

Police began searching for Keaton in November 2012 after Hudgins, of Cedar Bluff, was found dead in the arena at the Centre campus of Gadsden State Community College in Centre.

U.S. Marshals originally arrested Keaton in Cookeville, Tenn., where he was charged with theft of Hudgins' car.

Authorities said at the time Hudgins and Keaton were co-workers with a cleaning company that did work for the college.

Suit against City of Anniston Dismissed

Rev. Ben Little

A Calhoun County judge has dismissed a former Anniston city councilman's lawsuit that demanded the city repeal its stormwater drainage fees on property owners.

Calhoun County Circuit Judge Brian Howell granted the city's motion Monday to dismiss the lawsuit, filed by former councilman Ben Little and Anniston resident Ralph Bradford. The two filed the lawsuit in January, alleging the city's recently instituted stormwater fees are unconstitutional and cannot be levied on “acts of God.”

According to the order to dismiss, Howell agreed with the city that his court did not have jurisdiction over the complaint due to its allegation that the fees violated the state constitution.

The city's motion to dismiss states that the stormwater fee ordinance was created under the authority of Alabama law. It further states that according to state law, any challenge to the constitutionality of a state statute or municipal ordinance must be served to the Alabama Attorney General — something Little and Bradford's lawsuit failed to do.

The City Council approved the annual fee in July and it was first levied in December. The fee is permitted by a state law, passed in April, which among other things permits cities to recover some of the costs associated with federal stormwater runoff regulations. The law applies only if any man-made structure exists on property, such as a building or a parking lot, and it specifically exempts only utilities and agricultural property from the fee.

The city, which expects to generate $400,000 from the fee this year. The city has allocated the money specifically for stormwater drainage improvement.

Etowah County Republicans to meet

The Etowah County Republican Executive Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m. March 9 in Room 210 at Gadsden State Community College's Joe Ford Building where they will consider candidates for the vacant District 2 County Commission seat. The seat was left vacant by Saturdays death of Commissioner Kenney Tidmore.

Party Chairman James Clay asked anyone interested in applying for the vacancy to attend the meeting.

He said candidates can bring their résumés and even can bring people to speak on their behalf.

At the end of the meeting, the committee will vote on a candidate to recommend to Gov. Robert Bentley, who will make the final appointment.

TRAVEL ADVISORY

Officials in Etowah County have deemed all roads impassable as the area has received in excess of 4 inches of snow as snow continues to fall.  In Calhoun County, there is little or snow accumulation in the Anniston Oxford Area.  Officials urge motorists in the region to stay off the roads if at all possible.