The Best of "Rambling Thoughts"

As originally printed in the June 3, 2009 edition of the Centreville Press

By Jim Oakley Jr.

A very wonderful event took place in Bibb County last week and it is something a lot of people will long remember. The bridge across Haysop Creek below Brent has been designated the "Sp.4 Willie Gardner, Jr., Memorial Bridge.” Sp. 4 Gardner was killed in combat in Viet Nam. Willie graduated from Faucette High School in Brent and enlisted in the Army on June 14, 1970. He was killed in action on February 12, 1971, eight months after he joined the Army. For his meritorious service he has been awarded the Silver Star, one of America’s most distinguished honors. He also received numerous other awards for valor. I think one of the most impressive things to me was the fact that seven of his fellow servicemen came to Brent for the occasion. These men came from places like South Carolina, Illinois, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Massachusetts. What a wonderful thing for these men to do so long after the war has ended and so much time has passed. These men must have had tremendous respect for Willie and their attendance testified to that. Signs will soon be in place with the name on them.

This is being written before the Cahaba Lily Festival and I can hope it was a success. A lot of planning goes into these annual events and those who are so dedicated are due a lot of thanks and credit. The Lily is one of Bibb County’s treasures and it is fitting that we have this event to honor it and give people the opportunity to come to West Blocton, meet, eat and take a trip to the river to see the lilies. As this is being written the Cahaba River seems to still be pretty high. We can only hope the level drops enough to provide good viewing. A good crowd is usually in attendance and I hope this one was the same.

 The family took a trip to Jacksonville, Florida last week for a few days and we found the price of gasoline to be $2.35 all over the place. On the way back home I took notice of the prices all the way up those 480 miles of the trip. $2.35 was about the average all the way until I drove into Centreville Monday afternoon and was greeted by $2.39 per gallon. I saved my need to buy gasoline until I got to Tuscaloosa Tuesday morning and bought gasoline for $2.29. Thursday it was $2.39 all over. My question is why it went up in Bibb County to $2.39 a week or so before it went up elsewhere? It’s just not right. I hate to advocate that people not buy gas here but that is something everyone has to decide for themselves. When we buy gas outside the county our county loses tax money and the cities do as well. Sometime it is just more than a person can put up with if there is something else that can be done about it.

 The legislature adjourned last week and left a pile of very important legislation undone. The situation in Jefferson County being one. I do not think the people of Alabama should have to bear the debt of Jefferson County.  With so many going to jail for fraud and crookedness, I am surprised they still have a group to tend to business. I say let Jefferson County sink or swim. It’s their mess, let them handle it. I was also very surprised that with all the clamoring that has been taking place regarding the PACT program that nothing was done. The problem with the PACT program is that is was never created to be backed by the faith and credit of the State of Alabama. Not until the fat got in the fire did those running the program start pointing to the state for help. I can fully understand the thinking of the over 48,000 Alabamian who have invested and many stand to lose almost their entire investment. I certainly feel for these people who dealt in good faith. I also have strong feelings for the thousands of other Alabamians who decided to but stock as an investment that could be used to pay college tuition. The present recession took no prisoners. The bottom fell out of the PACT program, but the bottom also fell out for those who bought stocks. No one seems to be worried about these people. Hopefully the economy will continue to recover and with the rise in the stock market there is a chance that a lot of this loss will recover. The question then is will it increase fast enough to cover these lost dollars before they are needed for tuition?

A couple more people have tossed their hats in the ring for state office. State Treasurer Kay Ivey said last week that she would be a candidate on the Republican ticket. She has been the administrator of the PACT program for a long time and the outcome of that situation could impact her bid for office. She will run as a Republican. She has done a great job as our treasurer and it is sad the economy went sour on her watch. People are looking around for voter support and financial support at the same time. It looks like we will have a full slate of candidates come 2010.