The Montgomery County Commission has formally entered an agreement to help pay costs for the so-called Capital City Plume or contaminated groundwater in downtown Montgomery. At its Monday meeting, county commissioners agreed to join entities with the city, state and the Advertiser company to pay federal environmental regulators for expenses linked to studying the plume discovered in the early 1990s. Mayor Todd Strange previously said the downtown Alliance was formed to stay off EPA's Superfund list which would hamper economic development. EPA officials say a public comment period will be held in July.
Free Screenings
Military reservists from the Army, Air Force and Navy are offering free medical, dental and eye screenings in Macon and Barbour counties through June 25th. The medical clinics are part of a program by the Delta Regional Authority to offer free healthcare services in underserved communities. The clinics are free and will be open to the public from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. at the Tuskegee Institute Middle School on Franklin Road; Eufaula High School; and Barbour County High School in Clayton. Organizers say you do not have to be a resident of Macon or Barbour County to participate in the free medical screenings.
Voting Rights Meetings
The NAACP is planning to hold a series of voting rights events in Shelby County. The county, located just south of Birmingham, was successful in getting the U.S. Supreme Court to throw out two key provisions of the Voting Rights Act in 2013. Bernard Simelton, president of the Alabama chapter, said the civil rights organization will hold a summit on Friday in Calera. Simelton said a march and rally is planned at the Shelby County Courthouse on Saturday. Other groups participating include the Alabama Coalition for Immigrant Justice, the Voting Rights Projects and the Alabama Democratic Conference.
30-year Sentence
A west Alabama woman has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for shooting a state trooper. Attorney General Luther Strange said Janice Green of Perry County will also have to serve 78 months on a federal weapons charge after her 30-year sentence. Strange says Green used a high-powered rifle to shoot at a member of a law enforcement team that was trying to serve a search warrant at her home. Investigators said Green and her mother, Marie Billingsley, were accused of being involved in a plot to kill a circuit judge and an agent in the attorney general's office. Billingsley pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit assault.