Alabama State Troopers have joined a nation wide effort to crack down on drivers who text while driving. The campaign is called U Drive. U Text. U Pay. Public Safety Director, Colonel John Richardson said troopers will utilize traditional and new strategies to crack down on texting while driving. The campaign starts Friday and runs through Thursday. Under Alabama's texting law, drivers face a $25 fine for the first citation, with fines jumping to $50 for a second violation and $75 for a third citation.
Lottery Bill
An influential Republican legislator has signed on as co-sponsor of a statewide lottery bill. GOP Representative Steve Clouse of Ozark is Chairman of a House Budget committee. Clouse has joined House Minority Leader Craig Ford of Gadsden who believes it's time to revisit the idea, it has been over 15 years since Alabama voters rejected a state lottery. Ford said if voters approve the lottery referendum next March, proceeds would be steered to the state Medicaid agency and the Department of Corrections.
Officers Honored
The Montgomery Exchange Club honored the River Region's top law enforcement officers at a luncheon Thursday. The Officer of the Year awards were presented to Montgomery County Sheriff Corporal John Shepherd; Montgomery County Sheriff Lt. Thomas Lesage; Montgomery Police Sgt. Reuben Rogers and Montgomery Police Officer R.F. Hubbard. Hubbard was honored for confronting a gunman at a Wal-Mart store in Montgomery in October of last year. The officer was shot twice and has since recovered.
Hearing Excuses
Second District Congresswoman Martha Roby says she's grown tired of hearing excuses from officials at the Veterans Administration. Roby said in a statement issued Thursday that she will turn Washington's attention to the problems at VA facilities in central Alabama. The Montgomery Republican reacted to government data that shows the number of patients facing long waits at VA facilities in central Alabama has not dropped at all. The Associated Press has found that since last summer, the number of medical appointments delayed 30 to 90 days has largely stayed flat. The number of appointments that take longer than 90 days to complete has nearly doubled. The Montgomery and Tuskegee VA facilities had some of the worst wait times in the nation for completing patients visits.