Early this year I revealed my hope for Bessemer for 2012. My wish has already come true.
I thought that the city could show it cares by replacing the Dartmouth Avenue sign that had the street name spelled wrong. Within days there was action, and earlier this month the sign was replaced.
I apologize for the picture; this was taken on a foggy day.
I made city officials aware, but council woman Sherrina Rice-Franklin is the only one who replied and voiced her concern, so I give her credit.
State of the City
On Monday, January 30, 2012, Mayor Ken Gulley will give his State of the City Address. This will be interesting, because he has been in office over a year now, and has been doing all he can to get the city straightened out. I'm hoping he can reveal something about finances and budgets that will give us some hope.
I'm sure he will mention Dollar General and hopefully will mention Norfolk Southern.
I'm hoping he will say something about crime. I've reviewed the increase in homicides from last year, and now we have had an attempted murder and a very disturbing murder downtown this week. I'll have more to say about crime in our city later.
And maybe he'll mention a letter he received this week from me. Or maybe he'll provide a personal response. He has my number.
In any case, I look forward to hearing what he has to say.
The State of the City Address takes place at the Bessemer Civic Center on Monday, January 30, 2012 at 6:00 PM.
The Birmingham News printed some chicken soup recipes today so I thought I would throw mine into the mix. This chicken soup is good for the soul, but even better for the palate. It combines some flavors that you may not be accustomed to using together.
It might appear complicated at first, at least compared to opening a can of that brand name kind, but it's really not. Start the chicken. While it's in the oven, prepare the rice, and after the rice is on, slice the veggies. If you do not want to use wine in the recipe, substitute apple juice or diluted cider vinegar.
This soup will chase away the blues, clear your head, and make you feel all warm inside. Normally it would be cold outside this time of year and we would need something like this. It's described as the ultimate comfort food. But it is good on a warm January night as well, so try it.
The deadly storms that rolled through our communities two nights ago brought quick reminders of the April 2011 storms that devastated large areas and killed so many people.
There is some degree of irony as the Alabama Department of Human Resources in Bessemer began operating out of their new building. Their former assistant director Nancy Wilson was killed during the April storms, and the building she worked so hard to bring to downtown Bessemer opened in the wake of the deadly tornadoes this week.
Soon a plaque will be installed in the building commemorating Nancy Wilson. The Bessemer Public Building Authority is dedicating the building in her name. There will be a grand opening soon.
The building sits on the corner of 1st Avenue and 20th Street, and is expected to bring new life to this area of downtown.
All of the services offered by DHR for the Bessemer Cutoff will now be accessible from this office.
The 20th Street entrance reflects the styles of historic buildings in Bessemer.
Here is a picture of the light fixture overhead as you exit (or enter) through these doors.
Here is a small portion of the electrical conduit in the mechanical area.
There is still some work to be done before all the DHR operations are running smoothly, as there are "birthing pains" that must be experienced when moving operations from three or four areas into one building takes place. One of the parking lots is still under construction, and employees are still adjusting to their new offices and a new phone system and such.
So be patient if you visit the new Department of Human Resources building in Bessemer. Having this building is definitely a plus for the area, and accessing their services will be easier once everything is running smoothly.
On January 12, 2012, Heather Guy presented a program on the history of Sloss Furnaces at the Bessemer Public Library. Heather is the education coordinator at Sloss, and she brought photos and artifacts to complement her slide show.
In April, 1882, the furnaces went into blast and within a year had sold 24,000 tons of iron. read the story of Sloss here.
Sloss produced pig iron. This is pig iron, much smaller than the ones produced by the furnace back in the day.
Here is a picture of a group of workers at Sloss.
Here a lone iron worker is dwarfed by the hot furnace.
Sloss Furnaces is now a National Historic Landmark. A visit to Sloss Furnaces is worth the time. Information on hours, etc, can be found here.
Many community events are held at Sloss, including Stokin' the Fire Barbecue competition in the summer and Sloss Fright Furnace in October
One annual event at Sloss is sponsored by Central Alabama Pride; Pridefest is during the month of June. Read about Pridefest 2009 here.
President Obama will win his second term in November.
That should be a sure thing after events of this week.
I'm not talking about the debate last night where the womanizer gained respect or where the front runner continued to fumble with the issue of his taxes and relating to the disappearing middle class.
I'm talking about the economy. Pundits keep telling us that the economy and jobs are the issues that are important to Americans. But we hear little about solutions to these problems from the candidates; in fact we hear lies. Mitt Romney says the president has no plan for jobs. Jobs bill, Mitt, was the president's plan.
The debates and the Republican primaries have turned into
entertainment more than politics. We saw Newt Gingrich try to shift the
focus from his indiscretions to the media.
We saw Ron Paul whining about being ignored on questions that should have been directed to him; questions about health care that the doctor feels qualified to answer. We saw Rick Santorum pleading for recognition after being declared the winner in Iowa and endorsed by evangelicals. And we saw Mitt Romney unable to make a connection with regular Americans over the issue of income taxes.
Seeing the potential Republican candidates in these debates is igniting a fire among the Democratic base and independents who care. So they will turn out in November.
Those antics are reported on the lead pages of newspapers. Buried deeper in the news (page B2 in the Birmingham News) is an article about the economy. Here are the highlights.
"The outlook for hiring has brightened."
"Business travel is up."
"Companies are hiring more."
"Consumer confidence is up."
"More people are buying cars."
"Factories are making more goods."
"Bank lending is on the rise."
"Fewer people sought unemployment benfits last week than at any time in nearly four years."
"Union Pacific...transported more cars, oil, industrial parts and chemicals in the final quarter of 2011."
"JPMorgan Chase...said its lending to businesses rose 12% in the October - December quarter."
These are all indicators of an economy taking off. And this growth will continue through the spring and summer, propelling Obama to a win, because the economy will still be perceived as fragile, and the risk of changing leadership will seem too great for voters to choose Romney or Gingrich or whoever the Republican nominee turns out to be.
So for the next few months we will continue to be entertained by the Republican candidates and their ex-wives and their tax returns. In late summer we will enjoy the grandiosity of the Democrat and Republican Conventions, seeing an outdoor acceptance speech which is already generating prayers for rain from conservatives (we've seen this before) and the possibility of a brokered (not broken) convention, with lots of history about such conventions of the past.
Then there will be some debates between Obama and someone, which will be a lot different from these clown shows we are watching now, regardless of who the candidate is.
But in November the voters will choose Obama to serve a second term.
Enjoy President Obama singing a little Al Green last night at the Apollo.
Today I debut The Year of Bessemer Food. The Birmingham News is running weekly columns titled The Year of Alabama Food in "City Scene." I decided that Bessemer Opinions needed to promote cooking, so I will be sharing recipes, some original, some borrowed, that make my family and friends happy. My columns will be random, weekly at times, but not always.
It may seem odd introducing this so soon after Paula Deen has announced her Type 2 diabetes. Let me editorialize here just a bit, and say I support Paula Deen and that people have no right judging her for how she handled her diagnosis and her livelihood. "In moderation," she urges, regarding her casseroles and cakes.
I urge the same, as I begin this series with a type of comfort food; beans and cornbread.
