Vincent, We Have A Problem

This blog was created because of suppression of public information by our local newspaper.
We have a large limestone quarry attempting to take over and destroy our small town.

Some "heavy hitters" are involved in this that consist of some of the largest industries, utilities and developers in the state who make up an organization called BARD (Business Alliance For Responsible Development).

Business Alliance For Rampant Development is what they really are, along with being pervasively corrupt, (i.e. paying off City Councils, Mayors, Zoning Boards and political candidates) brow beating communities and cities to abandon their environmental inspections and reporting, pressuring local officials to withdraw from their established storm water management programs (SWMP), seemingly deliberate liars and very intimidatory to anyone or entity that gets in their way.

White Rock Quarries is part of the Vecellio Group out of Palm Beach, Florida. They did not have the political connections to get this quarry approved (more on why that is a disastrous idea to follow).

They needed help doing this.

Enter BARD and Stephen Bradley, whose "brainchild" BARD is.

Stephen Bradley & Associates was hired by the quarry outfit as their PR firm. Robert P. Fowler of Balch & Bingham was hired as the quarry lawyer. Mr. Fowler lobbies for BARD as does Stephen Bradley and Joel Iverson.

If any organization can push bad business and practices on a community it is BARD. They have left nothing but destruction and big polluters in their wake.

More on BARD and their "activities" which includes close ties to the corruption of Larry Langford, former Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama who was recently convicted on numerous corruption charges and sentenced to 15 years in prison to follow in a future post.

In an attempt to expose them, using links to state open government records and published news stories, to our local community in the comment section of the Shelby County Reporter, the paper decided to remove all links and postings to this public information.

Why would they do that?

What do they have to hide?

This is a story that must be told as it is bigger than just our small town fighting a quarry.

It involves corruption and bribery on a statewide level all the way up to the Governor's office.

Researching this issue has taken us to information that is so damning, and involves so many politicians it is no wonder they want to silence efforts in exposing it.

This is an election year and what has been uncovered could affect the entire process and many candidates.

Since Alabama already ranks 49th (for the most egregious) in corruption, there is really no surprise in what has been uncovered.

That does not make it right though does it?

The citizens should know just "who and what" they are casting their votes for when they visit the polls this November.

Alabama, get ready to be reckoned with. And you too Vincent City Hall.

Hell hath no fury like a small southern town scorned.

We have had enough of the corruption and arrogant disregard for the citizens from our own elected (hopefully to become convicted) officials.

They run this town and this quarry proposition as if it were their own private business, refusing any questions and repeated requests for a town hall style forum.

Residents from other counties and cities are allowed to address our officials in Council meetings.

A Bham News reporter was asked why he was always interviewing and photographing the "pro quarry" side of this and not the opposition of residents to the quarry. He responded with; "Those folks want jobs". When it was pointed out to him most of them were not from this area, and they really did not have a right to be in the process at this stage of it he said, "Well, don't they a right to come here for jobs"? At which point we responded with; "This is not a job fair, this is about our community being strongly affected by this, we have to live with this quarry and it is Vincent business."

He did not seem to get that point, laughed it off, as if he thought that it was fine for outsiders to come to our town and influence town business.

But this is what we deal with when the press comes here; one sided, just get the "story" done so I can leave and make my deadline coverage.

The officials encourage this and unleash those outsiders on their own citizens to make the support for the quarry look greater than it is.

The Mayor refused an area vote on this saying, "We don't have the money." Someone stepped forward and offered him the money to do the vote and he refused saying, "It will only delay things."

Worst of all, our officials and White Rock Quarries brought BARD down on us.

They are very powerful and have a lot of money and influence but we'll say this to BARD, you are not invincible and we have had enough of your bad business in our town.

NO QUARRY.