2011 Year in Review

Corruption trial leads to guilty pleas; new trial begins in January

Two Coffee County men made headlines statewide after pleading guilty to bribery charges following a federal investigation into an alleged vote-buying scheme to pass electronic bingo legislation.

Enterprise developer Ronnie Gilley shocked many after he pleaded guilty to 11 of 21 charges brought against him in a September 2010 federal indictment that alleged he participated in attempts to bribe legislators to vote in favor of pro-gambling legislation.

Gilley acted as a prosecution witness in a trial against nine legislators and business leaders who faced almost 100 combined federal charges for their alleged roles in attempting to pass the legislation.

Defendants Sen. Quinton Ross and lobbyist Bob Geddie were acquitted of all charges the men faced.

The remaining seven defendants, including state Sen. Harri Anne Smith and Victoryland owner Milton McGregor, could face a possible mistrial on 33 remaining charges that include conspiracy and bribery.

Mere months following the declaration of a mistrial, former state representative and then Elba City Schools superintendent Terry Spicer entered a guilty plea to federal programs bribery.

Spicer admitted before U.S. District Judge William Capell he accepted monthly payments from Montgomery lobbyist Jarrod Massey-Massey pleaded guilty to bribery charges stemming from the alleged vote-buying scheme-beginning in 2006 in exchange for the former representative's aid in passing favorable legislation that included a pro-gambling bill and providing Massey with new clients.

While receiving payments from Massey, Spicer also accepted bribes in the form of campaign contributions, cash and tickets to the BamaJam Music and Arts Festival from Gilley.

Immigration Legislation

Alabama legislators passed illegal immigration reform that was soon dubbed the "harshest immigration law in the nation."

Shortly after the law's passage numerous lawsuits ensued attempting to halt and force the repeal of the legislation. Families in fear began withdrawing their children from Alabama public schools.

Federal judges have placed injunctions on portions of the law including a requirement that public school systems collect and report the number of illegal children in their student populations.

While fighting the lawsuits in federal courts, Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange called in December for a number of changes to the law.

New Brockton v. the IRS

The town of New Brockton received a surprise visit from an Internal Revenue Service field officer after reports the town was more than a year delinquent in submitting its federal taxes.

The agent informed officials the town owed the federal government more than $80,000 in back taxes.

Delinquent taxes have plagued the town throughout the year.

The town's accounts were levied by the IRS in July and a majority of the town's income has been submitted to the federal agency to avoid liens and personal financial penalties.

Mayor charged in animal cruelty case

New Brockton Mayor Lenwood Herron and Tony Bloodsworth were charged with cruelty to dogs and/or cats in the second degree for their alleged roles in the treatment of five dogs housed at the New Brockton Animal Shelter.

Controversy has swirled around the New Brockton Animal Shelter since law enforcement officials received a complaint about the facility May 19.

When officers arrived at the shelter, they found four dogs living in feces inside a cage. Each animal, including two puppies, was found in need of medical attention, with undrinkable water and insect-infested food.

An additional dog was chained outside the shelter without food or water. The dog was observed eating insects and grass.

About 24 hours after the shelter was discovered, a puppy died.

Neither Herron nor Bloodsworth have been convicted of charges at this time.

City reaches out to northern Alabama after historic tornado break out

The cities of Enterprise and Daleville went to the aid of one of several communities that suffered numerous deaths and massive destruction during a historic April 27 tornado break out in northern Alabama.

Community organizations, private individuals and city officials collected food, toiletries and water for the Rainsville community.

Thirty-two people in Rainsville were killed by an EF-4 tornado, one of two tornadoes that hit DeKalb County during a storm system that spawned dozens of tornadoes and killed hundreds of Alabama residents.

The tornadoes spawned by the storm system were the deadliest recorded in the South with a recorded 346 fatalities.

Funding shortfalls lead to court staff reductions

The Coffee County Circuit Clerk's Office and Juvenile Probation Office faced staffing cuts following budgetary shortfalls during the year. Circuit clerk Mickey Counts was also required to reduce office hours for his office in an effort to reduce costs.

Former Alabama Supreme Court Justice Sue Bell Cobb also asked court systems to reduce their operational hours in an effort to meet budget shortfalls, but presiding Circuit Court Judge Jeff Kelley said the county's courthouses would remain open throughout the week to aid local residents.

Budgetary shortfalls were not alone in causing changes to the local system. The retirement of a long-time court official changed the face of the local court system.

Former District Attorney Gary McAliley retired in January after serving more than 30 years in the local judicial system as the last inferior judge, district judge, circuit judge and district attorney.

Tom Anderson was elected as the district attorney for Coffee and Pike counties.

Local Red Cross closes doors

The Enterprise chapter of the American Red Cross learned in September it would close its doors and be absorbed into the organization's Dothan office.

Paid staff in Coffee County, which included a full-time administrator and a part-time employee, lost their jobs Sept. 2 as part of the regionalization of the Wiregrass Red Cross.

The Dothan and Andalusia offices remained open as the organizations plan to consolidate offices into regions.

City officials and business leaders have worked throughout the remainder of the year to convince Red Cross national leaders to reopen the office.

Major changes within city school system

For the Enterprise City School System, 2011 was a year of significant change in leadership. Former Dauphin Junior High School principal, Dr. Aaron Milner, was selected as the school systems new superintendent after the retirement of Dr. Jim Reese, and began his first days as superintendent in January. With Reese's retirement, so came Gladys Welch's, secretary of the superintendent, who had served the school system for 40 years. Enterprise High School principal Rick Rainer became the director of operations, taking the place of Bob Tomberlin. Enterprise High School assistant principal Matt Rodgers was selected as the new EHS principal. Dr. Bob Phares, who spent 27 years as the system's assistant superintendent retired. Hillcrest Elementary School principal Hugh Williams, who led the school for 30 years, retired, and the system welcomed Dr. Teri Prim from the Ozark City School System. Trent Trawick was selected as principal of Dauphin Junior High School. Pinedale assistant principal Chris Cox became principal and Enterprise Junior High School assistant principal Sheree Hardrick became principal at Rucker Boulevard Elementary School after the retirement of Jackie DuBose.

Opening of Center for the Performing Arts

In May, Enterprise High School celebrated the opening of the Center for the Performing Arts. The 1,800-seat state-of-the-art facility adjacent to the school has already played host to a number of events, including several theatrical and musical performances. The center is and will continue to be a facility for not only the high school, but also the entire community to benefit from as it attracts performers and guests from across the nation.

County redraws district lines

According to the 2010 Census, Coffee County grew by about 14 percent during the past 10 years. As a result of the county's growth commissioners were tasked with redrawing district lines to accommodate the population increase. With the new districts approved by the Justice Department, the Board of Registrars also set out to identify new voting houses. Currently, the board is awaiting Justice Department approval on the voting houses before a notification of changes is sent to county voters.

Fort Rucker phases out UH-1 Huey

After more than 50 years of service to the United States military, Fort Rucker hosted a ceremony in May phasing out the UH-1 Huey from service. The aircraft was introduced in 1959 and used heavily during the Vietnam War with more than 7,000 used in combat.