Degree of Madness

Second Mexican citizen caught with drugs in Jefferson County

From The Birmingham News, October 30, 3:54PM:

 Jefferson County sheriff's deputies announced today the seizure of $750,000 worth of cocaine intercepted on Interstate 20.

Deputies with the department's Highway Safety Unit found 10 kilos of cocaine when they stopped a 2001 Porshe Carerra traveling eastbound on I-20 near Interstate 459 about 1 p.m. Monday. Investigators found the cocaine taped and wrapped in plastic. The bundle was stored in the car's vinyl side panels.

Alfredo Portilla Palacious, a 28-year-old Mexican citizen, was taken into custody and charged with drug trafficking. His bond is set at $1.5 million.

Looks like a trend:

On Thursday, October 18, the Sheriff's Office Highway Safety Unit stopped a 2001 silver Ford Mustang for a traffic violation on I-20 near I-459.

This vehicle displayed Mexico tags. Upon further investigation, 12 Kilos of cocaine and 1 Kilo of ICE (crystal methamphetamine) were found hidden in the vehicle.

A 51 year old female from Paraeuara, Mexico, Teresa Medina Pallares, was arrested and charged with trafficking cocaine and methamphetamine. She is being held in the Jefferson County Jail on bonds totalling $3 million.

Both arrests took place on I-20 near I-459, both Mexican citizens. 

  Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Randy Christian said authorities are trying to determine whether the cases are linked.

Hoover High School's problems continue

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools is looking into the school's "institutional integrity and fiscal management".  SACS is Hoover's accrediting body.  From The Birmingham News:

The state director of the K-12 accreditation arm of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools said Thursday he has identified two areas of concern in an investigative report into Hoover High School and asked the system's superintendent for plans to address them.

Jimmie Lawrence, the state director of SACS' Council on Accreditation and School Improvement, said he asked Superintendent Andy Craig on Thursday how the system plans to resolve issues of institutional integrity and fiscal management raised in the report on Hoover High by Sam Pointer Jr. and his law firm.

Specifically, he's concerned about grade changes for football players and pressure on teachers, as well as the fiscal management of resources relating to the athletic program, he said.

This could potentially be much more serious for Hoover than the forfeited games and national embarrassment caused by Coach Rush Propst's win at all costs philosophy. 

Efforts to reach Craig for comment were unsuccessful, but Hoover schools spokesman Jason Gaston said Thursday Craig has sent his action plan to SACS.

Craig last week gave the Hoover school board a plan that addresses grade-changing procedures and includes consideration of an alternative avenue for teachers to report concerns such as undue influence related to grading or academic performance of athletes. Craig also sent a memo to secondary principals and athletics directors in September outlining changes and reminders regarding athletics finances.

SACS will monitor for implementation of corrective action and, if concerns persist, possibly send a team to Hoover High, Lawrence said.

The scrutiny is the result of the investigative report prepared by retired judge Sam Pointer (at a cost of $151,000, paid for by city of Hoover taxpayers).  School board member Suzy Baker puts the blame squarely on Coach Propst:

Baker lays the blame for Hoover's situation on Propst, who this week apologized for the negative attention.

"That $151,000 bill (for Pointer's report) sits at the feet of Rush Propst," Baker said. "Back in March and April when the rumblings started, Rush should have walked in (to Craig's office) and said, `We need to talk.'

"He could have saved the community and the football team the embarrassment they're in now," Baker said. "He didn't do it."

Propst had to have known what would come out in the report but chose to let it play out, totally disregarding the negative consequences it would have on the city of Hoover, the students at Hoover High School, and most importantly, his players.  However, the school board bears some responsibility as well.  They received the report on August 31 and chose to do nothing until it became public (under pressure) on October 13.

Propst is still fighting to keep his job.  His arrogance apparently has no limit:

School board member Suzy Baker, who said this week that Propst should no longer be coach, said Propst has legal counsel with the Alabama Education Association. That's contributing to the delay in a resolution about his job status, she said. Propst has tenure, according to his contract.

The fact that he has tenure should have no bearing on this case.  Propst's despicable behavior speaks for itself. 

Adding insult to injury, Propst's cheating has garnered national attention, and not the MTV Two-A-Days kind.  Jon Solomon, reporting for The Birmingham News:

Hoover High School, once the recipient of positive national attention for its football program, finds itself back in the spotlight for the wrong reasons as more people across the nation pick up on the community's controversies.

Sports Illustrated contained a brief article in this week's issue. USA Today and other newspapers across the country have provided coverage. And "Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel," an investigative series on HBO, has expressed interest in the topic.

[...]

Sports Illustrated reported on the findings in the Pointer report, describing the allegations of grade changing and adultery as "humiliating" for Hoover's football program and "far juicier" than anything on television.

A Google search of "Hoover" and "Rush Propst" finds coverage in the San Francisco Chronicle, The New York Times and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, among others.

One bright spot for the Hoover football team, they beat Oak Mountain last night and qualified for the playoffs as the fourth seed in Region 6.

Hoover High School football team forfeits four games

Their record drops from 6-1 to 2-5.  Rush Propst's disregard for the rules has cost his players four victories and that's a shame.  Hoover can still make the play-offs if they beat Oak Mountain Friday night, which is some consolation especially for the seniors.  From The Birmingham News:

Hoover High School's football team will have to forfeit all of its victories this season in which an ineligible player participated, the Alabama High School Athletic Association ruled Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Hoover School Board Vice President Suzy Baker became the first board member to call for football coach Rush Propst's removal. Baker said Propst is "not the leader we hired him to be," and criticized a letter supporting Propst that was signed by 65 Hoover football players and sent to the Board of Education on Tuesday.

Board member A.W. Bolt said that in addition to the forfeits, the AHSAA's ruling requires Hoover to pay a $2,000 fine and go on probation for three years, with further action possible if other violations occur.

Bolt said he was told Tuesday's ruling occurred for two reasons: improper participation at Hoover before the player was enrolled, and not changing his residence in accordance with AHSAA rules.

[...]

...Propst said the player, Tristan Purifoy, has played in four of Hoover's six victories, meaning Hoover's record would drop from 6-1 to 2-5.

[...]

Propst maintains the issues with Purifoy were an oversight and not intended to gain an advantage.

"We thought we did everything right," Propst said. "If we did anything wrong - and (Savarese) told us this - it's we should have sent the paperwork in to them to get verification. But we did not see a red flag in this situation. I cannot say that enough."

Maybe, maybe not.  Recall this from the investigative report prepared August 31 and released to the public October 13:

The report criticizes former Hoover High Principal Richard Bishop for not reporting the use of ineligible junior varsity players to the Alabama High School Athletic Association, even after it was reported by The Birmingham News.

Propst admitted he was responsible for the ineligible players being in uniform and defended himself by saying it was common for that to occur in JV games, the report states.

"The knowing and intentional use of ineligible players is disturbing, as is the fact Propst provided different explanations for how the violation occurred," the report states. "Perhaps more disturbing is Bishop's decision to disregard his Athletic Director's advice and not report the violation to the AHSAA."

The players are standing up for their coach which is not surprising but that doesn't change the fact that Propst failed his players and Hoover High School in a big way. 

Hoover High School football program out of control

The long anticipated report on the Hoover High School football program was released to the public this morning.  The report is 71 pages (pdf) and I've not read it all but from what I have read it would be a cause for concern if I had a son playing football (or attending school for that matter) at Hoover High School. 

The Birmingham News:

A report into improprieties at Hoover High School concludes actions by administrators, more so than football coaches, created preferential academic treatment for a handful of standout football players.

Assistant Principal Carol Martin and Peer Helping Coordinator Terri Borie became so engrossed in helping one player's academic challenges that they "had in essence lost their objectivity and self-restraint," the report states. The News has previously reported that player is Kerry Murphy, who signed with Alabama but did not qualify.

The report, conducted by Birmingham attorney Sam Pointer Jr., says that Hoover High School athletics has "grown into a big business" and needs tighter administrative controls.    

The report says football coach Rush Propst's bank account records reflect he has been providing financial support for a second family in the Pell City area.

Pointer's report concludes that the grade change for a football player - whom the News has identified as Josh Chapman, a player at Alabama - was the result of "innocent human error" and was not an effort to inflate his grade.

From what I've read, I would agree the grade change was an innocent mistake.  Other efforts on behalf of star football players did not appear so innocent to me.

The report criticizes former Hoover High Principal Richard Bishop for not reporting the use of ineligible junior varsity players to the Alabama High School Athletic Association, even after it was reported by The Birmingham News.

Propst admitted he was responsible for the ineligible players being in uniform and defended himself by saying it was common for that to occur in JV games, the report states.

"The knowing and intentional use of ineligible players is disturbing, as is the fact Propst provided different explanations for how the violation occurred," the report states. "Perhaps more disturbing is Bishop's decision to disregard his Athletic Director's advice and not report the violation to the AHSAA."

The report also mentions spying on a Vestavia Hills High School football practice (last year) by Hoover assistant coach Luke Pruitt, a violation of Alabama High School Athletic Association regulations.  According to the complaint filed by Vestavia High School Pruitt lied about his identity when approached by Vestavia officials.  Pretty sleazy.  A reminder of what Rush Propst said about Vestavia last year:

"There's nothing worse than losing to Vestavia," Propst told his players following a victory against Minor during the 2006 season. "They're a dirty football team. They're very dirty."

Projection anyone?  By the way, Hoover beat Vestavia last night 16-7.  There was much speculation the release of the report was held until today because of last night's game.  Hoover officials didn't want the report to be a distraction.  Just a rumor.  I do believe it, however. 

The report covers the personal issues surrounding Rush Propst, the rumor about a second family in Pell City is apparently true.  What a scumbag.  Read the report here and decided for yourself.

There will be much discussion about the report in the coming weeks.  Time will tell whether the Hoover football program will follow the recommendations, they certainly should.  And although not in the recommendations, Rush Propst should be fired.  Today.  I'm not optimistic, the Hoover Board of Education has had this report since August 31 and Propst is still there.  Shameful.

***Update 10-14***

The Birmingham News has a time line of significant dates in the Hoover investigation.

***Update 10-24 here***

Huntsville's "all-hazards" disaster plan

The city of Huntsville, Alabama is preparing for the worst.  From the AP:

In an age of al-Qaida, sleeper cells and the threat of nuclear terrorism, Huntsville is dusting off its Cold War manual to create the nation's most ambitious fallout-shelter plan, featuring an abandoned mine big enough for 20,000 people to take cover underground.

Others would hunker down in college dorms, churches, libraries and research halls that planners hope will bring the community's shelter capacity to 300,000, or space for every man, woman and child in Huntsville and the surrounding county.

[...]

"If Huntsville is in the blast zone, there's not much we can do. But if it's just fallout ... shelters would absorb 90 percent of the radiation," said longtime emergency management planner Kirk Paradise, whose Cold War expertise with fallout shelters led local leaders to renew Huntsville's program.

Huntsville's project, developed using $70,000 from a Homeland Security grant, goes against the grain because the United States essentially scrapped its national plan for fallout shelters after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Congress cut off funding and the government published its last list of approved shelters at the end of 1992.

After Sept. 11, Homeland Security created a metropolitan protection program that includes nuclear-attack preparation and mass shelters. But no other city has taken the idea as far as Huntsville has, officials said.

[...]

As fallout shelters go, the Three Caves Quarry just outside downtown offers the kind of protection that would make Dr. Strangelove proud, with space for an arena-size crowd of some 20,000 people.

Last mined in the early '50s, the limestone quarry is dug 300 yards into the side of the mountain, with ceilings as high as 60 feet and 10 acres of floor space covered with jagged rocks. Jet-black in places with a year-round temperature of about 60 degrees, it has a colony of bats living in its highest reaches and baby stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

"It would be a little trying, but it's better than the alternative," said Andy Prewett, a manager with The Land Trust of Huntsville and North Alabama, a nonprofit preservation group that owns the mine and is making it available for free.

In all, the Huntsville-Madison County Emergency Management Agency has identified 105 places that can be used as fallout shelters for about 210,000 people. They are still looking for about 50 more shelters that would hold an additional 100,000 people.

Good for Huntsville.  Maybe some other cities in Alabama, and elsewhere, will follow suit.

Operation Clean Sweep

From The Huntsville Times:

The FBI announced at a press conference today more than 350 arrests were made in a three-day operation that targeted gang and drug activity in a five-county area in Northeast Alabama.

FBI Assistant Director Kenneth Kaiser said the operation, called Operation Clean Sweep, was the largest and most productive he's seen. The sweep took place in Marshall, DeKalb, Etowah, St. Clair and Blount counties.

The gang activity included MS-13:

Kaiser said among the gangs targeted was the El Salvador-based gang "MS-13," which he said is a very violent gang. He said M-13 is involved in drugs and a number of other crimes. DeKalb County District Attorney Mike Odell said his county has seen a rise in MS-13-like gang activity among juveniles.

The success of this operation shows what can be accomplished when federal and local law enforcement work together (local to include city, county and state).  Here is the FBI press release.

Birmingham - FBI Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Carmen S. Adams today announced over 350 arrests in Operation Clean Sweep, an operation targeting violent offenders, gang members and drug felons across a five-county area in Northeastern Alabama. This coordinated multi-agency action is a combined effort of over 300 law enforcement personnel representing over forty local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

These arrests stem from an effort to reduce violent crime in the counties of Marshall, DeKalb, Etowah, St. Clair, and Blount. The over 350 arrests and execution of 20 searches occurred over a three-day period from Tuesday to Thursday of this week.

SAC Adams noted the significance of this operation: "Detecting, deterring and defeating current and emerging national security and major criminal threats is the FBI's mission for the 21st century. To achieve this mission, effective partnerships are imperative. Operation Clean Sweep is a perfect example of these partnerships at their best. Violent gang and drug criminal enterprises are no longer an option in Northeastern Alabama. The FBI and our partners will continue to aggressively pursue individuals who threaten the safety of our communities."

Operation Clean Sweep targeted criminal violations involving drug distribution, drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms; however, various other offenders were caught in the sweep, to include two previously deported illegal aliens - a convicted sex offender and a validated gang member. In addition to arrests were seizures of almost 30 firearms, to include multiple assault rifles and sawed-off shotguns; significant amounts of cash; and, various drugs to include crystal methamphetamine, cocaine, pills, and marijuana. One of the incidental results was a marijuana grow discovered by an Etowah County Sheriff's helicopter conducting flyovers in DeKalb County. The entire crop was destroyed, thus preventing additional drugs from reaching the community. Another aspect of the operation led to the recovery of 16 stolen vehicles, the issuance of over 920 safety-related traffic citations and the impounding of over 180 other vehicles in the five-county region.

"This week's searches and arrests represent one of the largest combined law enforcement operations to remove narcotics distributors, gang members and violent offenders from our streets in recent history," said Assistant Director Kenneth Kaiser, FBI HQ Criminal Investigative Division. "This major effort to target high-profile violent crime and drug areas is a result of significant information-sharing and coordination with our local, state and federal partners, as we are collectively dedicated to restoring safety to our communities across America."

FBI coordinated the operational and intelligence component of Operation Clean Sweep, utilizing resources such as Intelligence Analysts and agents with subject-matter and language expertise, who conducted interviews, sifted through information and developed actionable intelligence...

The success of Operation Clean Sweep should lead to more arrests and confiscations:

More arrests are possible from information gathered during the operation, officials said...

Here is a county map of Alabama.

Heat wave

This looks pretty good right about now, Dubai Ice Hotel.

Yeah yeah

Alabama officials find banned drugs missed by FDA

One more reason, if one is needed, to avoid buying food products from "China, Vietnam and other Asian countries":

...Alabama officials have reported finding banned medicines missed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in seafood from China, Vietnam and other Asian countries.

``I'm sure that FDA would probably wish we'd go away,'' says Ron Sparks , commissioner of Alabama's Department of Agriculture and Industries, which conducts the seafood testing, in an interview. ``My wish is that they'd come to the table and work with us.''

[...]

The FDA says it does a good job of keeping unsafe products out of the food supply. In June, the agency began blocking imports of some farm-raised seafood from China  until importers provide test results showing shipments are free of banned drugs.

I guess it depends on what the meaning of the word "good" is.

Yet, of 94 samples of Chinese catfish checked by Alabama since March, the state reports that 41 tested positive for fluoroquinolones, antibiotics banned in the U.S. for seafood. Of 13 more samples of species similar to catfish, including one called basa, five tested positive for the antibiotic. The exporting countries included Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.

It might be time for the State to consider blocking all fish imports from these countries.  I'm sure we have much better uses for our money than spending it cleaning up after the FDA.  If they won't "come to the table and work with us" maybe they can throw a few bucks our way to cover our costs for doing their job.  Three other southeastern states have found the banned drugs as well:

Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana  also have found banned drugs in imported seafood, according to statements by regulators in those states. The tests, conducted after the products cleared U.S. ports and were sent on for sale in grocery stores or restaurants, show the FDA isn't adequately protecting consumers from tainted fish, food safety advocates said.

Ya think??

The Chinese government, concerned over the tainted fish, is working on an incentive program for their food and drug regulators.  It's a killer:

China has promised to improve the safety of seafood and other exports. The country executed its chief food and drug regulator last month, citing corruption.

It's encouraging to see the states step up to the plate.  I suspect it has something to do with protecting their catfish industries, although Ron Sparks in Alabama denied it, but  whatever the reason the inspections have kept a lot of potentially deadly fish off the shelves.

No free lunch

The Bull locked horns with the Mobile County School System today.  Folks, our government, at all levels, is so dysfunctional that a simple paperwork issue turns in to this:

Mobile Co. Schools are informing parents that their children that qualify for the free lunch program MUST complete the paperwork on the day of registration - like today. This would not be such a major issue without the fact that THE SCHOOLS HAVE NOT BEEN SUPPLIED WITH THE PAPERWORK!

Moreover, parents are being told that their children will NOT be fed lunch if they can not afford to pay for it! What is up with that?

One would think school officials could figure something out, I'm assuming they're all educated.  Here's an idea.  Maybe they could come up with a substitute form, copy it on the copy machine, have parents fill it out, file it and feed the kids.  At some point down the road when the actual forms come in, have the parents fill them out and get them approved.  If one or two children who don't qualify get a free meal in the meantime, big deal.  Sometimes you just have to improvise.  The Bull did find out the children would be fed...peanut butter sandwiches:

After a rather heated discussion with the Mobile Co. School District I was instructed that the lower income children in the district will indeed get fed. However, they will only be fed a simple peanut butter sandwich, (what happens to the kids with peanut allergies?), rather than the complete meal the other children will be offered. Unless, of course, their parents can come up with the cash out-of-pocket until our elected school board gets off its collective duff and gets the paperwork to the schools - and then gets the forms approved. I think NOT!

On top of all that, the parents had already filled out paperwork at pre-regisration.  Don't know what happened with that.  The Bull has a request:

If this bothers you as much as it bothers The Bull, then contact the Mobile County cafeteria elves at 251-221-4617 and let them know just how you feel about how your Federal tax dollars are being spent.

As of this writing, Mobile County thinks that this Bull’s horns won’t hook. I think they are about to learn a hard lesson! Send this to everyone you know as well as every newspaper you can find until someone pays attention!

Hats off to Bull for confronting Mobile County School District officials.  The money is there to feed these children.  A paperwork snafu is no excuse for not doing it.

Remains of Confederate Sailor buried in Alabama

MOBILE, Ala. -- The remains of a Confederate sailor, recovered several years ago from a shipwreck at the bottom of the English Channel, were buried Saturday in a handmade wooden coffin pulled by a horse-drawn caisson.

The unidentified sailor's skeletal remains were found on the underside of a cannon raised from the wreck of the CSS Alabama in about 200 feet of water.

[...]

The CSS Alabama had a crew of about 120 members, and most were rescued by boaters in the area, but about a dozen drowned or were never heard from again, said Robert Edington, a Mobile attorney and president of the CSS Alabama Association.

Saturday's funeral procession began downtown at the site of the statue of Adm. Raphael Semmes, who was the commanding officer of the CSS Alabama, and ended at Magnolia Cemetery where the sailor was buried.

A son, husband, or father, or maybe all three, who never came home.  Until now.