The Year of Moving Forward

The Year of Moving Forward
At our 4 person wedding reception in DC

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Hope for Arlington School, Little Hope for Republicans

Judging from the number of emails and contacts I have received after my post about Artur Davis I am sure people will be visiting Bessemer Opinions (as well as Birmingham Blues to read Kathy's post) to read it today. Just scroll down or use the above link.

The Republicans are no closer to deciding who they want after yesterday's Michigan primary, which Romney won, than they were six months ago but we know we don't want this person to be our next president.





Mike Huckabee doesn't just want to "amend" the constitution, he wants to "amen" it.


And I thought we were close to a theocracy now. But at least we can rest assured that the democratic controlled congress would never attempt to amend the consitution in this way...would they?


And speaking of "amends" did you see Chris Matthews trying to make some with the Hillary camp after last nights Mod Squad (one black, one white, one blonde) debate. Matthews, who insulted Hillary, Bill, Barack and the entire list of democratic voters in new Hampshire last week declared Hillary the winner of the debate and praised her "power play" that restored her to the front runner position in the race. The momentum grows.

In Bessemer, what might be the most important story of the (15 day) year was buried in the Birmingham News today, on page 3B under "Government Roundup".

Bessemer

Arlington school declared surplus

The school board Tuesday voted unaminously to declare the former Arlinton school building surplus property.

Why: The land must be declared surplus before the board can sell it.

History: The building, constructed in 1908, housed Bessemer's first high school. It was later an elementary school and closed in the 1980's. Since then various groups have proposed uses for the building, including converting it into apartments for senior citizens.






Now we just have to hope that whoever they sell it to realizes the historical significance of the building and restores it to be used in way that benefits our historic southside community as well as the entire city. Alabama Heritage magazine described the property in this way, "A fine example of classical revival school building from the turn of the last century, the Arlington School, built in 1908, was Bessemer's first high school. Its most distinguishing features are the decorative brick and stone facade, interior sky-lighted basketball courts, and an auditorium in the form of a jewel box theatre with a raked floor, proscenium stage, and horseshoe balcony. Once a part of a thriving middle class neighborhood, the Arlington School was abandoned in the early 1980s. Now dilapidated and out of use, the school's state of disrepair is indicative of the decline in the surrounding neighborhood..."

Stay tuned.

Just added:

Hillary Clinton called Bush "pathetic" and so does Kathy. He's pitiful.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Joe, The Arlington School must be sold to B3 for $10 so that it can be made into an incubator for non-profits. That would help everyone.

Anonymous said...

Here's a column for The Opinion: "Does B3 still exist?" I thought it faded away when Bill Heintz stepped aside and Herman Lehman moved to Montevallo.