CLASSIFIED ...................................4B

COMMUNITY ................ 2-11,15-16A

CRIME REPORTS ......................... 8-9A

EDITORIAL ................................ 5-6A

LEGALS .................................. 5-12B

MARRIAGES ............................... 12A

REAL ESTATE ......................... 13-14B

RELIGION .................................. 14A

SOCIALS/OBITS .......................... 13A

SPORTS ................................... 1-3B

SERVING NORTH MOBILE AND WASHINGTON COUNTIES SINCE 1897

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WEDNESDAY

12JUNE 2013

75 Cents

CLASSIFIED ...................................4B

COMMUNITY ................ 2-11,15-16A

CRIME REPORTS......................... 8-9A

EDITORIAL ................................ 5-6A

LEGALS .................................. 5-12B

MARRIAGES ............................... 12A

REAL ESTATE......................... 13-14B

RELIGION .................................. 14A

SOCIALS/OBITS .......................... 13A

SPORTS ................................... 1-3B

INDEX

VOLUME 19, NUMBER 24

CITRONELLE, ALABAMA

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FAITH ACADEMY FOOTBALL: RAMS AIM FOR PLAYOFFS/1B

BE PREPAREDINSIDE TODAY’S PAPER:

OUR 24-PAGE SPECIAL SECTION ALL ABOUT HURRICANES

Bobby Ray Jordan Jr. Brittney L. Peppers

Creola resident Amanda Wyatt signs a petition in favor of annexing into Saraland after an informational meeting at Saraland High School Monday. Wyatt's son is a non-resident student who is going into 10th grade.

Photo by Hannah Garcia/Call News

Saraland invites Creola students But superintendent says best way is to become part of the city

Meanwhile, 200 sign petition for annexation

SARALAND — For Creola residents worried about the education of their children, outgoing Saraland City Schools Superintendent Dr. Wayne Vickers made a bold promise Monday night.

“We have just about ev-erything you could ask for in a school system,” said Vickers, referencing test scores that have climbed annually, an impressive athletics program and a fleet of teachers, 64 percent of whom hold advanced degrees.

Creola Mayor Don Nel-son said he arranged the in-formational meeting host-ed by Saraland officials af-ter receiving requests from residents about sending their children to Saraland schools. The session was the latest installment in an evolving debate among townspeople about the edu-cational future of the area's children and the possibility of annexation.

“I can't promise you anything, but if you're in my

city, you're in. The best way to guarantee a spot

in the school system is to be a part of the city.”

Saraland Superintendent Wayne Vickers

BY HANNAH GARCIAhannah@thecallnews.com

See SCHOOLS, 4A

Four candidates plead cases to join Semmes City CouncilSEMMES — Four people appeared be-fore Mayor Judy Hale and the Semmes City Council during the June 4 meet-ing to make the case to be chosen for two vacant council seats that should be filled at the June 18 meeting.

Places 2 and 4 became vacant with

the resignations of Mary Calhoun on April 19 and Phillip Dodd on May 2.

“We wanted to make sure we’re putting the right people in these posi-tions and to have somebody that the city council is comfortable with,” said Hale. “I thought that the best way to do this and to be fair to everybody was to have one person at a time (address

the council). All of the candidates were awesome. They are all commit-ted to the city, and any of them would work out just fine. I’m happy with all of them.”

The four candidates are:■ TONY EBRIGHT: Ebright, a

BY ARTHUR L. MACKStaff Writer

See SEMMES COUNCIL, 7A

Police confi dent of their case on baby-throwing accusations Jordan, who is still in jail, has a hearing next month

MOBILE — A Saraland man charged with the at-tempted murder of a 1-year-old boy will appear again in court next month.

Bobby Ray Jordan, 28, is still in jail after Judge Bob Sherling ordered him held without bond in early May. Saraland police arrested Jordan on May 5 after officers said they witnessed him throwing the child into the back of a pickup truck. The boy suffered a fractured skull and had burns to his face and feet, according to investigators.

Sherling scheduled a preliminary hearing for July 18. Jordan is also charged with a misdemeanor proba-tion violation related to a DUI along with the attempted murder case, according to court records.

Jordan’s attorney, David Barnett, called attempted murder a “serious charge” during a court appearance on Monday, but Saraland Cpl. James Morton expressed confidence in the case against Jordan, although the investigation is still open.

BY HANNAH GARCIAhannah@thecallnews.com

See JORDAN, 7A

SEMMES — James Gill said he is comfortable taking over as Mary Montgomery High School’s new principal de-spite the embarrassment of the allegations against teach-er Alicia Gray and rumored investigations of improper conduct among some of the staff.

Gill, who has served as the principal at Lott, Alba and Causey middle schools, was named MGM’s new principal at the Mobile County school board’s May 29 meeting, succeeding Wade Whitney, who announced his sudden retirement.

During summer school registration, Gill talked with the Call News about his plans to move Mary Mont-gomery forward. Although he declined to talk about accusations against Gray — she has been charged with

James Gill

BY ARTHUR L. MACKStaff Writer

See JAMES GILL, 10A

Q&A: MGM’s Gill says he’s undaunted by controversies

COMMUNITY NEWSwww.thecallnews.com

4A | Wednesday, June 12, 2013 CALL NEWS

Creola residents listen to a presentation by Saraland City Schools Superintendent Wayne Vickers Monday night about the benefi ts of Saraland schools.

Photo by Hannah Garcia/Call News

“Last year, when I was out knocking on doors (for the campaign), the No. 1 concern I heard about was education,” Nelson said. “These storm clouds have been coming for the last two years.”

After Satsuma and Chickasaw broke away from Mobile County schools to form their own school systems in 2012, most Creola students have been zoned to North Mobile County K-8 and Citronelle High School, the latter of which is around 25 miles away from the town. Since it formed in 2008, Saraland's student enrollment has increased from 1,518 to 2,525, according to the school system.

There's always room for more, accord-ing to Vickers.

“I can't promise you anything, but if you're in my city, you're in,” Vickers said. “The best way to guarantee a spot in the school system is to be a part of the city.”

When asked about a process for Creola students to attend Saraland schools, Vick-ers said the school system accepts a small number of students for each grade that have A-B averages and a good discipline record.

“Even if the student meets that, there's still only about a 10-percent chance they will be accepted,” Vickers said. “We have a good non-resident policy, but I can't promise that's going to be a solution for everybody.”

Vickers said the number of open slots for non-resident students for the upcom-ing school year would be decided in the next few weeks. Non-residents pay $1,500 in tuition yearly.

Nelson said the Mobile County Public School System has no plans to build a new school near Creola, and it has not assigned any bond funds for such a project.

No formal negotiations

The Creola Town Council has not en-gaged in formal negotiations with Sara-land concerning annexation, a decision that Nelson said would have to be made by a referendum.

“Talk to your family members, talk to your neighbors, if this is something that you want,” Nelson said. “It's going to be a community decision.”

Saraland Mayor Dr. Howard Rubenstein said the city is not actively pursuing the annexation of Creola, but the door is open.

“If Creola wants to share in our city and share in our school system, we are open to it,” Rubenstein said. “We are simply saying that we want what Creola wants.”

Both mayors said Creola residents would have to vote in favor of annexation before negotiations would take place, fol-lowed by approval of both councils. After an affirmative vote, the process could take six to eight months, Rubenstein said.

“There's no way logistically that this could happen for the upcoming school year,” Rubenstein said. “But if Creola decides to move forward, it's very realistic for the next school year.”

Rubenstein said if Creola residents consented to be annexed by Saraland, there would be “room for every child in Creola to attend our schools.”

In response to fears of higher taxes, Ru-benstein said property taxes are lower in Saraland at 3.5 mills compared to Creola at 5 mills. The Saraland mayor also assuaged fears that Creola residents would be forced to connect to the city's sewer system.

The Creola Town council can vote against annexation even if residents vote in favor, but Nelson said he would “not stand in the way of voters.”

Nelson proposed having more commu-nity meetings in Creola on the topic, again stipulating that no negotiations would go forward without citizen consent.

Creola resident Casie Bennett, who has a sixth-grader and a first-grader at North Mobile County K-8, said the city should keep petitioning the MCPSS.

“I don't want to be Saraland,” Bennett said. “I'm sorry, but I don't.”

Petition for annexation

Becky Smith, a Creola resident whose granddaughter attends Robert E. Lee El-ementary School, said she is circulating a petition for residents who want to an-nex into Saraland. She said the petition has gathered about 200 signatures in two weeks.

“Saraland offers a really, really good education,” said Smith, who added that she doesn't think her granddaughter is getting a good education at Robert E. Lee. “We're just doing this because we think it's the right thing to do.”

Vickers called Saraland City Schools a mid-sized system, with enrollment already exceeding projections.

A new Saraland Elementary School will open this fall and house 900 students, ac-cording to the school system. The facility cost $164 million, or $127.50 per square foot.

The school system has spent $52 million in construction since breaking away from the MCPSS in 2008, Vickers said.

“I will not apologize for that,” said Vick-ers, who claimed the system still has two months in reserve funding and that the big financial investment for the school system is done after two new schools and a major renovation of the middle school.

“Financially, this school system is in a lot better shape than anyone wants to give us credit for,” he said.

Saraland's school system did not make state rankings in its inaugural year, but climbed to 11th out of 132 school districts in Alabama.

“That's good, old-fashioned, ‘roll-your-sleeves-up’ work,” Vickers said. “That's what can happen when people pull together as a community.”

Saraland just added eight new buses to its fleet, and Vickers said adding college preparatory classes and career academies are goals for the school system.

“What we do from pre-K to 12th grade is vital. Parents, what you do from pre-K to 12th grade is vital,” Vickers said.

SCHOOLS: Saraland’s Vickers invites Creola residents to consider his cityFROM PAGE 1A

SARALAND — Three local students were presented scholarships Monday night at the Saraland-Satsuma Community Educa-tion Advisory Council’s annual banquet at the Saraland Civic Center.

Council president Ron Mitchell present-ed a $2,000 scholarship to Stephany Wilson, a 2013 Saraland High School graduate. She was awarded the gift based in part on a written essay competition.

The council also announced that Kelsey Copeland, a 2013 Satsuma High graduate, and Marissa Gray, a 2013 Chickasaw High graduate, will receive $2,000 and $500 schol-arships, respectively.

The scholarship program maintains the annually renewable $2,000 and $500 awards if a student remains in college full-time and maintains at least a 2.5 GPA.

“It’s a great thing to honor outstanding students,” said state Sen. Rusty Glover, the banquet’s keynote speaker. “We see a lot of negative coverage from the news media about our young people, so to be at an event that honors the good they have

done is a good thing.”Glover commended the organization for

bringing Saraland and Satsuma together for the common good of education.

“You saw a need and, although there were roadblocks, you persevered and put it together,” Glover noted.

Mitchell also announced that Sara-land’s Veronica Hudson has been selected as the council’s 2013-14 president.

“The mission of this organization is to serve, support and enhance the public schools in north Mobile County,” Mitchell said in a written statement. “Both the cities of Saraland and Satsuma are grow-ing, and we want to continue to grow with them. The City of Saraland has success-fully established their own school system, and the City of Satsuma is well on its way to doing the same thing.”

The council’s board members for 2013-2014 are Mitchell, Hudson, Carolyn Sue Cain, Shandra Lyons, William Hamblin, Shelly Turner, Libby Walker, Troy McHen-ry, Sharron Upton, Manda Charest, Mike Box, Barbara Silver and Pamela Vickers

BY EMMETT BURNETTStaff Writer

SATSUMA — The Satsuma City Council has approved a tax holi-day for Aug. 2-4 covering the pur-chase of school supplies.

A unanimous vote at its June 4 meeting provided for a resolu-tion supporting the tax break, which will be finalized at the next council session. City sales tax will be exempt on certain school materials at stores such as Dollar General and McConaghy Drugs during the stated dates.

In other action at the meeting:■ A proposal by Councilman

Matt Dial to refi nance a 2004 sewer works bond issue with AmFund was approved. Dial said it would save the city approximately $900,000 over the next four years. In a related motion, Dial recommended, and the council approved, obtaining quotes to refi nance payments on two gar-bage trucks, a fi re truck and utility boom truck.

■ Councilman Mike Butler dis-cussed resurfacing the parking area of the city’s public safety complex for

an estimated $14,875. Based on a recommendation by Mayor Paul Mur-ray, the council agreed to postpone a fi nal resurfacing decision until after a budget workshop later this month.

■ Councilmembers approved paving Gator Drive for an estimated $15,000. Satsuma’s Public Works Department will do the road prepara-tion for the project. Councilman Bill Black said paving Gator Drive was part of the city’s goal to pave all dirt roads in the city.

■ The group commended Aimee Stubbs Steele and the Satsuma Re-

united group for work in renovating Wright Municipal Park. Councilman William “Bubba” Hamblin praised the high number of volunteers who turned out and the amount of work accomplished in such a short time.

■ Police Lt. Jana Dukes was pro-moted to captain, effective June 8.

■ Councilmen accepted the res-ignation in good standing of police offi cer Du Juan Washington, effec-tive June 19. Washington is leaving for the Saraland Police Department.

■ Charles Ziebach was promoted to crew chief of the public works de-

partment, effective June 8.■ The Satsuma Lions Club re-

ceived permission to place signs on the U.S. Highway 43 entrances to the city.

■ Larry Spikes was reappointed to the Satsuma Library Board.

■ A resolution appointing Jimmy Upton to the Satsuma Board of Edu-cation was approved.

The next scheduled meeting of the Satsuma City Council is June 18 at 7 p.m. at city hall.

BY EMMETT BURNETTStaff Writer

Satsuma OKs tax holiday for school supplies

Saraland, Satsuma students presented with scholarships