Five Bessemer Schools Get Money for Achievement

Five Bessemer City schools that performed well on accountability assesment last year will receive $52,500 in monetary awards from the state.

The Alabama Department of Education notified interim Superintendent Michale Foster last week about the reward the schools would be receiving. The state rewards schools in four categories: Advancing the Challenge, Meeting the Challenge, Exceeding the Challenge and Addressing the Challenge.

Abrams, Greenwood, Hard, Davis and Jonesboro elementary will share the reward. The former four, who will each receive $5,900, were recognized for Meeting the Challenge because they met state goals for two years consecutively.

Jonesboro was awarded for Metting, Exceeding and Advancing the Challenge and they will receive $28,900. Foster said each school will decide how to spend its money.

Two Hueytown Men Killed in Wreck

The Birmingham News

Two men were killed in a single car wreck in Hueytown this morning, according to the Jefferson County Coroner's Office.
Authorties think the victims are a 38-year-old and a 36-year-old, but the men have not been positively identified, Chief Deputy Coroner Pat Curry said.
The car the men were driving ran off the road in the 3500 block of 15th Street Road at about 2:45 a.m., Curry said.
Hueytown Police Lt. Jim Rice said the wreck remains under investigation.

Blasting in Lipscomb Causing Many Problems For Residents

LaFarge Aggregates Southeast, Inc. was one of the many blasting companies that had a civil suit filed against them on Dec. 23, 2008. LaFarge has caused health problems among the residents that live in Limpscomb. These include: asthma, bronchitis, sinusitis, pulmonary problems, upper respiratory conditions and COPD. Health is not the only issue that is a problem for these residents. Dust has collected in their yards which prevents residents from sitting on their porches or children playing outside. LaFarge was contacted but did not want to comment.

Missing Headstone Found in Brighton

A headstone was found in a ditch near the Woodward Country Club with the name Herman A. Adams 1905-1946. Cemetaries in Brighton were called as well as Cedar Hill but no one claims it. If you have any information on where the headstone is suppose to be call 424-7827 or email editor@thewesternstarnews.com.

US Pipe Pollutes Bessemer Gardens

Residents in Bessemer Gardens have called many news outlets to get help in stopping the pollution that is coming from US Pipe. Becki Parsons says dust has covered her house, yard and cars with a thick, gray dust. A representative from the Jefferson County Health Department said it is the heaviest of particles that he had observed in nine previous visits to her home in the past 22 months. The health department has an investigation underway to see what parts of the plant the pollution is coming from and how to correct the problem. Plant manager, Tom Nicholson, said he apologized for the pollution and was going to make sure it didn't happen again.

Danny Dean New Publisher-Editor at the Western Star

Danny Dean has worked at 53 newspapers around the U.S. He has worked in every state besides Alaska. Dean has spent 20 years with the Walls Newspaper group where he started as a pressman.

He then succeeded to a retail sales, advertising director and finally as a publisher. He welcomes phone calls and even walk-ins from anybody.