Local man charged with domestic terrorism

> Authorities allege that Pleasant Hill resident shot at military helicopter that was searching for illegal marijuana patches
By Tommy Campbell
Sun-Advocate Publisher
BUTLER – A Choctaw County man faces state and federal charges for allegedly pointing a shotgun and/or taking a shot at an Alabama Army National Guard helicopter that was participating in the state’s annual Marijuana Eradication Program last week.
Sheriff James Lovette said that Donnie Gordon Stafford, 39, of the Pleasant Hill community on CR 25, was arrested and charged locally with domestic terrorism. Since pointing a weapon at or shooting at an aircraft of any type is a federal offense, Stafford also faces possible charges from the U.S. Department of Justice. The fact that the helicopter was also a military aircraft could bring additional charges as well.
According to Lovette, the helicopter was part of the semi-annual countywide “sweep” for illegal “pot” plantations conducted jointly by the state, Sheriff’s Department and the Drug Task Force of the First Judicial Circuit. The chopper was near Stafford Congregational Church when the pilot radioed to ground crews that a man at a house across from the church was pointing a rifle or shotgun at the aircraft. Lovette and Deputy Ernie Randall were less than half a mile away on the ground and immediately went to the scene where they found Stafford in the yard of the residence.
“I asked him where the weapon was and he said it was inside the house,” Lovette said. A shotgun retrieved from the dwelling was loaded with one shell and appeared to have been recently fired, the sheriff said.
Even though Stafford denied shooting at the helicopter, the very act of pointing a deadly weapon at any type of aircraft is a federal crime, Lovette said.
Tommy Loftis, a spokesman for the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, told the Sun-Advocate Monday morning that officials are looking at the incident but that, as of that time, no federal charges had been brought against Stafford.
As of Friday afternoon, Stafford remained in the Choctaw Co. Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond awaiting action by federal authorities.

Towns of Silas, Pennington elect mayors; runoff in Butler

By Tommy Campbell
Sun-Advocate Publisher
GILBERTOWN – Municipal elections were held Tuesday in the towns of Butler, Pennington and Silas.
In Butler, runoffs will be held for the office of Mayor and Town Council, Place #2.
Incumbent Mayor Ben W. Smith received 342 votes to challenger Dwight McBride’s 224. Coming in third place was Debbie Jackson Bell with 182 votes.
For Butler Town Council, incumbent council member Patricia Randolph, who received 175 votes, lost her bid for re-election. In that race, a runoff will be held between Melissa L. Skelton, who polled 253 votes, and challenger Phillip A. “Phil” Pope who received 249 votes. Candidate Neal Hollister, Jr., received 65 votes.
The runoff will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 7th.
In Pennington, incumbent Mayor Jack Fendley held on to his position by a 20-vote margin, polling 86 votes to challenger Shirley Williams’ 66.
The new Town Council of Pennington will include: George “Sandy” Carpenter, 23 votes; Kay L. Harrell, 20 votes; Henry Grady James, 19 votes; Katina Manley, 19 votes; and Keith A. Young, 29 votes. Other candidates and their vote totals included: Sherry Faile, 15 votes; Rhonda Goodman, 10 votes; Celeste S. May, 6 votes; and Thonia Rowe, 14 votes.
In Silas, where incumbent Mayor Roy Davis did not seek re-election, the new Mayor will be Shirley M. Perry. Perry received 130 votes to defeat challenger Maxie W. Nix who received 19 votes.
The new Town Council of Silas will include: Jerry Baughman, 73 votes; Brenda Taylor Bozeman, 57 votes; Shannon Singley, 56 votes; Russell Williams, 35 votes; and Claude Brown Wimberly, 44 votes.
Candidate Maxine Fox received 14 votes and Sandy Tallon received 16 votes.
No elections were necessary in Gilbertown, Toxey, Needham, and Lisman because none of the positions in those towns were contested.
(PUB. NOTE: The vote totals published here are those provided to this newspaper by Town Halls in each of the respective municipalities. Readers are reminded that vote tallies are always considered “unofficial and incomplete” until they are duly certified as required by law. Also, vote totals could change slightly due to any “provisional” ballots which may have been cast.)

Fay soaks Choctaw County

By Tommy Campbell
Sun-Advocate Publisher
GILBERTOWN — Tropical storm Fay made her presence known in southwest Alabama on Saturday morning as rain began to fall in Choctaw County in a light drizzle with heavier downpours increasing through the day and into the evening and overnight hours on Sunday.
However, Fay’s northeastern quadrant – where most of the heavier rains are normally found in tropical systems – tracked slightly farther to the north and west than had been forecast which kept much of the expected 10-15 inches of rainfall away from Choctaw County.
Even so, unofficial reports for the period from Saturday through Monday morning – from residents with rain gauges across the county – indicated that an average of six inches of rain fell locally, with as much as eight inches in some parts of the county.
Wind gusts of 30-40 MPH were experienced through the evening hours on Saturday, with falling trees temporarily knocking out power and keeping many County Commission crews, Rescue Squad members, police officers and other emergency crews on duty around the clock.
Electricity was restored in most areas in a matter of minutes, but an Alabama Power substation which was knocked off line kept electricity off to some areas in Gilbertown until about 8 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Fay was downgraded to a tropical depression late Saturday evening after making a record-setting fourth landfall in the state of Florida. The storm’s center of circulation, which still showed the counterclockwise tropical cyclone rotation — moved back across the region on Monday and Tuesday, bringing welcome rain to parched, drought-stricken areas of north Alabama and Georgia but also the threat of more severe weather.
Shortly after 4 a.m. on Monday, the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings for two south Alabama counties – Monroe and Covington – after funnel clouds were indicated on radar.
In Choctaw County, power was out in some areas prior to daybreak on Monday due to falling limbs striking power lines, and a tornado watch remained in effect through most of the day.
As of noon Monday, the center of TD Fay was located between Hattiesburg and Philadelphia, Miss., and slowly drifting to the north-northwest at about five miles per hour.
Jimmy Cowan, Acting Director of Choctaw County’s Emergency Management Agency, said that all things considered, the local area dodged a bullet.
“It was a big rain event and there were some minor problems, but we were fortunate,” Cowan said.
The next potential threat to the Gulf Coast may be from Tropical Depression Gustav which formed Monday in the Caribbean. Readers are advised to keep a close eye on this storm which – at presstime – was intensifying and moving along in a direction that could threaten the U.S. by early next week.

LOCAL

NEEDHAM
Needham-Land VFD gets $204,939 grantfor new fire truck
NEEDHAM – The Needham-Land Volunteer Fire Department was recently notified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security that it had been awarded a grant in the amount of $204,939.
The 2008 Assistance to Firefighters Grant will be used toward the purchase of a new truck which is expected to cost around $215,000, Fire Chief Vallrey Covington said.
The local department will have to provide the remainder of the funds -- or ten percent of the cost -- necessary to pay for the truck.

GILBERTOWN
USDA issues correction in regard to water expansion story
GILBERTOWN — The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has issued a correction concerning last week’s announcement about funds awarded to the Utilities Board of Gilbertown for their public water expansion project.
The USDA had stated in information released to the news media that the funds awarded to Gilbertown were in the form of a combination loan and grant.
However, no grant funds have been awarded to the utilities board. Rather, the board has received a low-interest loan for $3.5 million to the project.