New reality show will be about Montgomery County animal cruelty

Montgomery County will serve as the setting of a new reality show about fighting animal cruelty that will air on Animal Planet next week.

The show, ?Bully and Sugar: Southern Justice,? will feature Scott ?Sugar Hill? Hill, one of the county?s animal control officers, and Christopher ?Bully the Kid? Bennett, a former animal control investigator for the state of Georgia.

The premise of the show is that Bennett, bringing his city experience from Atlanta, rides around with Hill, a native of Montgomery, to help with animal control and cruelty problems throughout the county.

The show is being produced by 44Blue Productions. If the pilot episode, which was filmed this summer, is successful, the company will film 15 episodes. The pilot will air at 10 p.m. Nov. 10 on Animal Planet Network.

Michael Briddell, the city?s director of public information, said what will really make the show work is the personality contrasts and chemistry between Bennett and Hill.

?I think the show is going to show we do have animal cruelty in Montgomery, but we?re serious about it. We?re going to fight it every day,? Hill said. ?We don?t play around with this stuff here.?

The city worked closely with the 44Blue Productions, the Montgomery Humane Society and its attorneys to make sure they have some control over how the city and county are portrayed in the show.

?All of us had some serious reservations,? Briddell said. ?We don?t want Montgomery, Alabama, to be portrayed in 96 million homes as a place that has a lot of problems.?

After seeing the footage and working with the company, Briddell said he has no doubt that the city and county will be represented accurately.

Steven Tears, executive director of the Montgomery Humane Society, said he hopes the show will educate other cities and counties that don?t take animal cruelty crimes seriously.

He said Bennett?s unique skill set ? and the fact that he won?t be in a uniform ? will help improve the investigations. He said individuals involved in animal cruelty cases who wouldn?t normally talk to the county officers have spoken to Bennett.

?We?re really excited on behalf of the Humane Society and the city and the county that we?re going to be able to showcase the hard work that we do and the successes we have, whether it?s using education to prevent people from having to visit our jails or we actually have to force them to go to jail,? Tears said.

Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said the show does depict animal cruelty, but it also shows that the city and county are trying to eliminate it with the resources they have.

?We took a leap of faith and we decided to go forward with this,? Strange said.

Bennett, who said he came to Montgomery to make an impact, said the South is often misrepresented as a ?backwoods place? where people don?t care about animals.

?I know this is the new South and the new Montgomery,? Bennett said. ?I thought this show was a way to showcase who we are as people and individuals and as a community.?

 

Montgomery Curb Market's redesign to add seating, signage

When John Grier would set up his stand at the Montgomery Curb Market 39 years ago, eager customers helped him unload his truck so they could get the pick of the freshest produce.

Grier, a member of the curb market?s board of directors, said during the ?boom? days, produce would be gone within minutes.

But today, the market doesn?t have the amount of patrons it used to, he said.

In an effort to beautify the market and attract new customers, the city of Montgomery, which owns the curb market building on Madison Avenue, is planning to redesign the front entrance, improve signage and add seating for patrons.

?One of the challenges is a lot of people know where the curb market is, but a lot of new folks or guests into town may not know exactly where it is,? said Chad Emerson, the city?s director of development. ?And so hopefully this new frontage will make a clear entrance while preserving everything about the curb market that everybody has historically appreciated.?

The curb market moved to its current location in 1947, and is one of the oldest farmers markets in the state, Grier said. There have been some renovations over the years, but there?s still a lot that needs to be done, he added.

The city has hired Montgomery-based Pfeffer Torode Architecture to start designing the project. The plan is to add a covered pavilion-like structure across the entire front of the building for vendors to display and sell their goods, Emerson said.

The city also will add a seating area on the north side of the entrance.

?When you buy the goods and products at the curb market, you can sit down and enjoy them right there,? Emerson said.

The budget for the project is between $40,000 and $50,000, Emerson said. The goal is to have the construction completed by next spring.

The project is part of the Madison Avenue Gateway Plan, a vision created for improving Madison Avenue from North Ripley to Vonora streets.

Once the plans are done, the city will work with the curb market to determine the best way to proceed with construction, he said.

?Historically, it?s been a great place to go, but it?s never had a great curb appeal,? Emerson said. ?It?s an institution for people that come and get fresh vegetables.?

Reeda McElwaney, who has a stand at the curb market, said city officials got feedback from members about what they?d like to see the entrance look like.

McElwaney said she?s grateful that the city is going to design a plan that will preserve the historic character of the market, but still make it attractive to younger people.

?People have forgotten about the market,? said Diann Causey, who has had a stand at the market with her husband since 1983. ?If it looks more presentable and there are better signs, then people might remember it.?

Causey said the idea of the front porch, New Orleans-style frontage will improve the ambiance of the market.

?The younger generation that does not come down here as much will come more if it looks a little bit brighter, a little bit cleaner, a little bit more modern,? Causey said.

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Montgomery firefighters douse single-room blaze at State House Inn

The Montgomery Fire Department on Monday afternoon quickly extinguished a fire at the State House Inn in downtown Montgomery.
No one was injured in the fire, which was confined to the room where it started, said Lt. Kenny Jones, a fire department spokesman.
The department received the call at 1:33 p.m., and 12 units and 48 personnel responded, Jones said. It was a second-alarm fire, he added.
The city is buying the Madison Avenue property where the aging hotel sits and plans to implode the building and use the empty space to attract a developer to the site.
The 69,000-square-foot building, located at 924 Madison Ave., was built in 1962. Deputy Mayor Jeff Downes said in a Montgomery Advertiser story last week that the property at one time was a Holiday Inn, and it has deteriorated over time. He said there are rooms with boarded-up windows that don't meet current building codes.
Mayor Todd Strange has said that he hopes to close the hotel by the end of the year, according to previous Advertiser reports.
? Scott Johnson

Montgomery Firefighters get new ladder truck

Montgomery firefighters at Station No. 6 welcomed the arrival of a brand new ladder truck Friday.

The new Ladder Truck 42 replaces one that was nearly 20 years old, said Lt. Kenny Jones, a Montgomery Fire Department spokesman.

The new truck features new safety features that the old truck did not have and is roomier than the old truck as well, firefighter Quinton Robinson said.

The safety features include a sensor that keeps the truck from going too fast around curves and tandem dual axles that prevent the truck from slipping on a rainy day.

The new truck also does not separate the firefighters traveling on it.

?It is one solid cab, so that way we can all talk to each other,? Robinson said.

Jones said firefighters always love having a new truck.

?It?s like Christmas morning,? he said.

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Montgomery gunshot victim, 18, dies from injuries received Thursday

An 18-year-old man who was shot Thursday night has died of his injuries, according to a news release from the Montgomery Police Department.

Justin Leonard, 18, of Montgomery was pronounced dead Sunday.

About 11:30 p.m. Thursday, MPD officers and fire medics responded to a report of a shooting into an occupied vehicle in the 2200 block of Bonaparte Boulevard.

The initial responders found Leonard, who had been shot, and took him to Baptist Medical Center South. His injuries were classified as life-threatening.

This was Montgomery?s 27th homicide of 2012. The investigation is ongoing, and MPD did not indicate that a suspect was in custody.

? Allison Griffin

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Cancer walk a success in Montgomery

Perfect weather, a huge crowd and record donations combined to make the third annual Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event a success from start to finish.

Held once again at Huntingdon College on Saturday morning, the fundraiser set new standards, but organizers were confident that next year?s event will be even more successful.

Attendance at this year?s event topped 2,000 walkers while donations reached $85,000. Both exceeded last year?s totals.

?We are very pleased with how well everything turned out,? event coordinator Laura Walter said Saturday afternoon. ?In fact, we?ve outgrown Huntingdon College and will probably hold this at a different location next year.?

Walter praised Huntingdon officials for allowing her organization to hold the first three on campus.

?Huntingdon has been just wonderful to work with,? Walter said. ?They handled the setup and the cleanup. We certainly appreciate their help.?

Pink once again was the color of the day. Participants showed up in ?Think Pink? T-shirts to tie in with pink shorts, hats and even pets wearing the same color.

Walker estimated that most of the 250 goodie bags were picked up by cancer survivors. She also said 140 teams took part, ranging from two people to 50 representing Regions Bank, one of the leading sponsors of the event. Baptist Health was the primary sponsor.

Several walkers arrived from long distances, including nine women who were members of the ?Benning Boobie Brigade? from Fort Benning in Georgia.

The group, made up of wives and children, left the sprawling Army base before sunup and arrived in time to take part in warm-up exercises in their unique T-shirts.

Watching from a swing on a hill were three other survivors, including one woman who has bounced back from not one, but two, bouts with cancer and a man happy to have survived World War II.

Anne Cartas, 67, said she has been free of breast cancer for 23 years and also has defeated ovarian cancer, detected eight years ago.

Next to her on the swing was breast cancer survivor Pat Hill. She sat next to her husband, Bob Hill, who spent part of the war in the Navy transporting Marines from ships to shore during some of the bloodiest fighting in the South Pacific.

Among the early arrivals at the event was breast cancer survivor Anita Poole, who has been to all three Making Strides walk-a-thons.

?I could feel the lump right away, and my doctor was suspicious, too,? said Poole. ?I go to the Carmichael Imaging Center, and my test showed I had breast cancer.?

Poole said survival depends, in part, on early detection, followed by quick treatment. She said that is one reason she enjoys taking part in the walk-a-thon each year.

She brought along her cocker spaniel, Maggie, who was decked out in a pink outfit of her own.

Walter said funds raised at the event are used for research, education and services to help drive home the point that awareness and early treatment are among the best ways to defeat breast cancer.

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City of Montgomery works to finish demolitions on Maxwell Boulevard

The city of Montgomery continues to make way for new developments on Maxwell Boulevard by demolishing unoccupied, city-owned buildings.

Crews on Friday were demolishing a building that Deputy Mayor Jeff Downes said was a potential safety hazard.

?Any unoccupied building that is in poor shape like that, we plan to demolish,? Downes said.

Last week, the city demolished the old Land and Sea building and earlier tore down an old building at Maxwell Boulevard and Whitman Street.

The city is in negotiations to bring in a developer for those locations, and the city?s general strategy along Maxwell Boulevard is to try to meet the demand for residential housing, Downes said.

Friday?s demolition is the last of the unoccupied, city-owned buildings along Maxwell that were in ?deplorable? condition, Downes said.

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Montgomery police investigate cause of fatal crash on Interstate 85

Montgomery police are investigating a fatal crash that happened shortly before midnight Thursday.

One person was killed and two were injured in the single-vehicle crash, which happened on Interstate 85 North at the Perry Hill Road exit.

The crash claimed the life of the front seat passenger, Latisha Henderson, 21, of Montgomery.

The driver and an infant were transported to Baptist Medical Center South and their conditions were listed as not life-threatening, said Sgt. Regina Duckett, a police spokeswoman.

Based on the investigation, the vehicle lost control and struck the concrete divider. Investigators continue to work to determine the cause of the crash, Duckett said.

There also was a second crash at the scene that led to the arrest of the driver of a pickup.

The pickup struck and totaled two police cars that were blocking the scene of the fatal crash, Duckett said.

Shana Hanrahan, 30, of Montgomery was charged with driving under the influence.

No one was injured in that crash.

The fatal crash marked the city?s 18th traffic fatality of the year.

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Montgomery mayor asks media to 'shut up' about grade-change allegations until investigation complete

As he closed his media briefing Thursday, Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange said everyone should ?just shut up? about reports of improperly changed grades at three Montgomery high schools until investigations of the allegations are completed.

?Whatever the facts are, wherever they lead, I know that the (county) Board of Education will do the right thing because our community, including your city government, including your county government and including the state Board of Education, will be watching,? he said. ?Because at the end of the day, we?ve got to have a great educational system for us to continue to make this step forward, continue to have these dreams that we all have realized in this, the capital of dreams.

?So my advice is, let?s just shut up until we see what the results (are), and then it will be time for (editorializing), for talking, for taking action or for doing whatever else it is that is appropriate.?

On Oct. 3, after being informed that a Montgomery Advertiser investigation had found nearly 30 current and former Montgomery Public Schools employees who said hundreds of grades had been changed improperly for failing students at Robert E. Lee, Jeff Davis and Sidney Lanier high schools, MPS Superintendent Barbara Thompson announced she would ask the school board to approve hiring an outside investigator to look into what she called ?rumors? of alleged grade changing.

A former FBI investigator has been hired to look into the allegations, and after another request from Thompson, the Alabama Department of Education has appointed a three-person investigative team to also investigate the allegations. MPS board chairman Charlotte Meadows has requested that Attorney General Luther Strange conduct a third investigation.

The Montgomery mayor believes that should be enough, and that the newspaper and other media should stop reporting on the allegations until the investigations are complete.

Advertiser reporter Josh Moon has written a series of exclusive stories in which teachers and data-entry specialists have said on the record that they witnessed improper grade changes.

Advertiser executive editor Wanda Lloyd said while the Advertiser understands the importance of focusing on the city?s accomplishments, it also realizes it has to focus on the problems.

?We always walk the fine line between being a champion for the positive developments in our community and our watchdog responsibility to investigate and share information about things that may need to be corrected,? she said. ?We are committed to continue in this role.?

She said the community needs to know the good and the bad.

?Our journalism is based on the information we gather and verify, and the community?s need to know,? she said ?When we hear about good things going on in the community, we write about it because the community needs to know about the progress being made here. There has been a lot good news about economic development in Montgomery in the past few years and we proudly share those stories with our readers.

?At the same time, we take very seriously our First Amendment responsibility to help readers understand some of the things that may be a lot less than positive news. When a reporter came to us several months ago with information about allegations by teachers of grade changing in Montgomery schools, we approached the story with the same level of attention to verify sources and fairness that we do with any other story that may have great impact for the community. For every allegation made by teachers, we asked MPS officials to respond or to help us verify information.?

The Montgomery mayor said Thursday that he believes the stories focusing on the allegations are keeping people from focusing on the good things the school system is accomplishing, and that this is hurting the city because ?so goes education, so goes Montgomery.?

?When we talk to economic development people, when we talk to companies that come in here, we will share the message of having the No. 1 high school in the state of Alabama, of having 72 percent of the national merit scholars in our public schools in this River Region,? he said.

?The graduate rates are higher than others, not as high as anyone wants them. (It?s incredible) to be able to have our magnets and to have MTEC (The Montgomery Technical Education Center) and to have the academies that are doing all of these great things.?

But he said because of the grade-changing allegations, that?s not the message others are seeing.

? ... I wake up mornings and I read about allegations of grade changing, a very serious allegation,? he said. ?We as the city, the county, the state, we take that not lightly at all. But we?re not going to comment about that until we know what the facts are.

?And I promise the citizens and I promise the (members of the) media who all (are) here, the city leadership, the City Council, the County Commission, the local elected officials will assure ourselves that we?re doing the right thing for the kids in our public schools in Montgomery.?

The mayor said that he, Thompson, County Commission Chairman Elton Dean and state Rep. Jay Love, who is head of the House Education Committee, will hold a 6:15 p.m. forum Tuesday at Carver High School to address the good things that are happening with education in the city and will make themselves available to ?answer questions from the community via live TV, call-ins, questions at the forum, texts, whatever.?

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Montgomery turns development focus to Faulkner area, Atlanta Highway 'nodes'

Referencing the city development mantra ?never let the money get in the way of the vision,? Montgomery officials trumpeted long-term plans Wednesday to improve the look and access at key points along Atlanta Highway while praising Faulkner University?s role in those plans.

The city will focus on three ?nodes,? or connection points, along Atlanta Highway: the Ann Street intersection, the Perry Hill Road intersection and Faulkner, where university and city leaders gathered on the steps of the Jones School of Law to discuss the area.

?If you?re here at Faulkner and you want to go to the dinner theater across the street, there?s not a logical way to do that on (foot),? said Chad Emerson, the city?s director of development. ?You have to drive 100 yards. We?re going to transform this environment so that the cars will still flow freely, but that pedestrians will also walk safely and comfortably.?

The plan, created with the input of residents, is meant to help increase the economic viability of the area by creating sidewalks, bike paths, green space and street trees ? an atmosphere that would be functional to pedestrians and attractive to residents and shoppers. It will serve as a guide for future projects along Atlanta Highway.

While it could take years for the vision to lead to major development and a full transformation, no one questioned the importance of setting it in motion.

Montgomery City Councilman Richard Bollinger was one of those who referenced the motto that was coined by former city planning guru Ken Groves.

?We?re not going to let that money get in the way of that vision that we?ve created,? Bollinger said. ?It?ll be some good connectivity, not just for the campus but for all of the neighborhoods to enjoy.?

City officials also praised the economic development role of Faulkner University, which they said draws students from across the state and nation.

Mayor Todd Strange said he recently spoke to a group of about 250 incoming freshmen, asking them how many were not from Montgomery.

?I just thought there would be a scattering of hands,? he said. ?Almost 90 percent of the individuals that were in that room were from outside of Alabama. From an economic development standpoint, that is meaningful.?

Students at Faulkner?s law school regularly pass the state Bar exam on their first try at a higher rate than students from any other state school ? including the most recent exam, which was administered in July. Jones School of Law associate dean Tim Chinaris said its students have led all state law schools in success rate among first-time takers on four of the past six administered exams.

That?s a source of comfort to Ashley Norgard, the editor-in-chief of the Faulkner Law Review, who is originally from Kentucky.

?It makes me feel like my family is making a good investment, not only in my own education but in this community because we plan to stay here,? she said.

Strange pointed to a potential influx of new businesses that could lead to an even brighter future for the city. He said that the city currently is actively recruiting 55 companies, representing a potential 11,500 jobs and $202 million of investment.

?We may be No. 1, 2 or 3 on some of those lists,? he said. ?We may be (No.) 14 or 15 and we?re just not getting eliminated, but we?re now having an opportunity to win.?

Strange said during such recruitment processes, city officials point out that Montgomery is 3,700 people away from becoming the state?s largest city, that business confidence is high and that 1,200 more people are employed in Montgomery than at this time in 2011.

?We do not hide the other facts, the challenges that we work on day in and day out, but we want to celebrate (the successes),? he said.

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