1. SPORTS
Decatur, Alabama
103rd year, No. 152
50 pages
or Decatur
yesterday.
p.m. 0.70"
0.70"
1.92"
44.18"
47.40"
2.67" in 1961
47°
26°
55°
35°
76° in 1931
4° in 1962
C
uesforeachday.
DAY
cloudy
N 7-14
27°
eel: 47°
nce of
tion: 12%
Washington
48/27
New York
42/24
Detroit
21/10
Chicago
21/13
Minneapolis
8/-6
Kansas City
23/9
Denver
40/10
Billings
24/9
Los Angeles
72/50
San Francisco
58/43
Seattle
42/34
Washington
48/27
New York
42/24
Detroit
21/10
Chicago
21/13
Minneapolis
8/-6
Kansas City
23/9
Denver
40/10
Billings
24/9
Los Angeles
72/50
San Francisco
58/43
Seattle
42/34
NATIONALFORECAST
Statistics are for Decatur
through 7 p.m. yesterday.
Precipitation:
Temperature:
24 hrs. ending 7 p.m. 0.34"
Month to date 2.91"
Normal m-t-d 3.13"
Year to date 2.91"
Normal y-t-d 3.13"
Record 1.02" in 1947
High 48°
Low 42°
Normal high 52°
Normal low 33°
Record high 74° in 1943
Record low 8° in 1965
ALMANAC
Yesterday’sextremes (forthe48contiguousstates):
ThepatentedAccuWeather.comRealFeelTemperature®
isanexclusiveindexofeffectivetemperaturebasedoneightweatherfactors.Shownarethehighestvaluesforeachday.
TODAY
Afternoon Sun
Wind N 5
FRIDAY
Decreasing Clouds,
COLDER
Wind N 15-25
32°50° 16°24°42° 28°
SATURDAY
Variably Cloudy
Wind SW 5-10
40° 22°
SUNDAY
Sunny to Partly
Cloudy
Wind SSE 5-10
45° 29°
RealFeel: 47°
Chance of
precipitation: 0%
RealFeel: 51°
Chance of
precipitation: 70%
RealFeel: 20°
Chance of
precipitation: 20%
RealFeel: 40°
Chance of
precipitation: 0%
RealFeel: 47°
Chance of
precipitation: 0%
THURSDAY
Evening Rain to Lt
Snow
Wind S-NW 5-15
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
High:90°inEdinburg,TXLow:-27°inWarroad,MN
Statistics are for Decatur
through 7 p.m. yesterday.
Precipitation:
Temperature:
24 hrs. ending 7 p.m. 0.00"
Month to date 0.00"
Normal m-t-d 0.18"
Year to date 5.92"
Normal y-t-d 10.66"
Record 1.27" in 1950
High 62°
Low 38°
Normal high 60°
Normal low 38°
Record high 78° in 1940
Record low 20° in 1968
ALMANAC
s.Shownarethehighestvaluesforeachday.
Y
ere
-20
5°
SUNDAY
Isolated Rain, Cool
Wind SSE 10-20
52° 36°
9°
f
70%
RealFeel: 54°
Chance of
precipitation: 30%
Washington
54/36
New York
46/34
Detroit
42/32
Chicago
49/36
Minneapolis
36/26
Kansas City
46/32
Denver
40/26
Billings
36/22
ngeles
co
tle
0
Washington
54/36
New York
46/34
Detroit
42/32
Chicago
49/36
Minneapolis
36/26
Kansas City
46/32
Denver
40/26
Billings
36/22
ngeles
co
tle
0
ORECAST
Statistics are for Decatur
through 7 p.m. yesterday.
Precipitation:
Temperature:
24 hrs. ending 7 p.m. 0.00"
Month to date 2.18"
Normal m-t-d 1.28"
Year to date 8.10"
Normal y-t-d 11.76"
Record 2.70" in 1930
High 52°
Low 38°
Normal high 61°
Normal low 39°
Record high 82° in 1934
Record low 20° in 1960
ALMANAC
e48contiguousstates):
mRealFeelTemperature®
isanexclusiveindexofeffectivetemperaturebasedoneightweatherfactors.Shownarethehighestvaluesforeachday.
n
THURSDAY
Patchy Rain, COOLER
Wind NW 15-25
50°63° 42°52°
FRIDAY
Sun Returns, Still
Cool
Wind S 5-10
56° 32°
SATURDAY
A GREAT DAY!
Wind WNW 5-15
68° 38°
%
RealFeel: 62°
Chance of
precipitation: 100%
RealFeel: 49°
Chance of
precipitation: 0%
RealFeel: 63°
Chance of
precipitation: 0%
RealFeel: 68°
Chance of
precipitation: 0%
WEDNESDAY
Rain & T-storms
Wind SSW 10-20
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
High:89°inPecos,TXLow:-22°inWilliston,ND
Today’sweather,a2
High: 95 Low: 72
Chance of isolated storm.
Frances Motley, Decatur
John Dickerson Jr., Trinity
Roy Moore, Athens
Death notices, obits, C7.
area deaths
inside
Abby E13
Books E15
Business D1
Chatterbox E3
Classified F1
Crossword E14
Editorials A4-5
Horoscope E14
Living E1
Lotteries C2
Obituaries C7
Riverfront B1
Sports C1
Weather A2
decaturdaily.comThe independent voice of the tennessee valley since 1912
Rack — $1
HOME
DELIVERY
— 51 cents
Sunday
July 27, 2014TheDecaturDailyFashion pros help
students start new
year in style, E1
Are you ready?
Ninth annual back-
to-school sales tax
holiday just around
corner, B1
Ribeye,withloaded
bakedpotato......................$21.99
Friedgreentom
atoes...........$8.49
Softdrink...............................$2.49
Breadpudding.......................$4.99
TOTALaftertax:..................$41.76
TIP:..........................................$3.00
AL:..................................$44.76
youverymuch
ORIGINALOYSTER
HOUSE
GulfShores,Alabama
TOTAL
:..................................$44.76
TOTAL:................................ $54.50
TravelYOUR
TAXES
OFFICIAL’S
License commissioner spends
$13,000 on trips since Oct. 1
By Leah Cayson
Staff Writer
Receipts from Morgan County License Commissioner Sue Baker
Roan’s road trips show she and an assistant have spent more than
$13,000 to attend conferences around the state and region since the
fiscal year began Oct. 1.
The expenses include $2,000 for condominiums, and Roan paid
for meals with ribeye steaks, appe-
tizers and as many as three des-
serts.
Roan’s receipts were provided to
The Decatur Daily after an open
records request of expenses for her
travel to various professional con-
ferences during the past year. Roan
has attended six conferences dur-
ing the past 10 months and has
another trip scheduled in August
for her and her assistant, Gertie
Nicholson, before her pending
retirement. It would be her third
conference in Orange Beach, the Alabama Probate Judges Asso-
ciation 2014 Summer Conference.
Roan, 84, is retiring at the end of this year. Initially appointed by
Gov.JimFolsomin1994,shewonelectionstotheofficeasaDemocrat
three times and is serving her last, six-year term.
Herdepartment’sfiscal2014travelbudgetwas$9,500,andshehas
spent $11,214.40 to date. She has used another $1,947.57 on travel out
of her discretionary fund. The fiscal year ends Sept. 30.
In a typical receipt, from April 12 in Orange Beach for the Asso-
ciationofAlabamaTaxAdministratorssummerconferenceplanning
Please see Travel, A7
Sue Baker Roan
WHERE SHE’S GOING............
License commission-
er’s FY14 conferences:
November 2013:■■
Association of Alabama
Tax Administrators
planning meeting for
winter conference, Mont-
gomery
January:■■ Alabama
Licensing Officials Con-
ference, Prattville
February:■■ Asso-
ciation of Alabama Tax
Administrators winter
conference, Montgom-
ery
April:■■ Association of
Alabama Tax Adminis-
trators planning meet-
ing for summer confer-
ence, Orange Beach
June:■■ Association of
Alabama Tax Adminis-
trators summer confer-
ence, Orange Beach
July:■■ 2014 National
Association of Coun-
ties advanced leader-
ship training, New
Orleans
August:■■ Alabama
Probate Judges Asso-
ciation summer confer-
ence, Orange Beach
..AND WHAT’S BILLED
License Commissioner office travel billed
by month, FY14:
November 2013:■■ ...................$635.68
December:■■ ............................$485.89
January 2014:■■ .......................$501.92
February:■■ ..............................$343.36
March:■■ ................................$1,744.14
April:■■ ..................................$1,662.82
May:■■ .................................. $1,436.10
June:■■ ..................................$1,598.59
July:■■ ................................. $4,753.47*
Total: $13,161.97†
*$2,805.90 billed to travel budget and
$1,947.57 billed to discretionary fund
†$11,214.40 billed to travel budget and
$1,947.57 billed to discretionary fund
Bentley picks up pace of in-state flights
Decatur Daily file
Alabama Gov. Robert Bent-
ley helped celebrate the
grand opening of the Jack
Daniel cooperage plant July
7 in Lawrence County.
A Palestinian
woman carries
her belongings
Saturday past
the rubble
of houses
destroyed by
Israeli strikes
in Beit Hanoun
in the northern
Gaza Strip.
Lefteris Pitarakis/
Associated Press
Friends of slain
woman want killer
sent back to prison
By Seth Burkett
Staff Writer
A petition gathered by
friends of a woman who was
stabbed to death in her
Decatur home is aimed at
putting her killer back in the
prison where she spent less
than nine months before
being transferred to a work
release center.
According to the state
Department of Corrections,
Apiffany Tremaine Smith,
26, of Decatur, was trans-
ferred to Birmingham Work
Release Center in May, less
than a year after being sen-
tenced for a guilty plea to
manslaughter in the 2011
death of Crystal Elizabeth
Parker, 33.
Michelle
Teague, of
Decatur,who
said Parker
was her best
friend, col-
lected more
than 100 sig-
natures from
members of
thecommunityandsentcop-
ies to the Alabama Board of
Pardon and Paroles, the
Morgan County District
Attorney’s office and U.S.
Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Hunts-
ville.
“I don’t know if they’ll lis-
ten to us or not, but I figure
it’s worth a chance,” Teague
said. “It’s just not fair. We
On the Net
View office’s■■
spending documents
at decaturdaily.com.
Israel extends truce, but warns
it will respond to Hamas fire
By Ian Deitch
Associated Press
BEIT HANOUN, Gaza
Strip — Hamas resumed
rocketfireSaturdayonIsrael
after rejecting Israel’s offer
to extend a humanitarian
cease-fire, the latest setback
in international efforts to
negotiate an end to the Gaza
war.
Despite the Hamas rejec-
tion, Israel’s Cabinet decided
toextendatrucefor24hours,
until midnight today. Howev-
er,itwarneditsmilitarywould
respond to any fire from Gaza
and would continue to demol-
ish Hamas military tunnels
during this period.
The temporary lull Satur-
day saw Palestinians return
to neighborhoods reduced to
rubbleandallowedmedicsto
collect close to 150 bodies,
Palestinian health official
Ashraf al-Kidra said.
Smith
Please see Prison, A7 Please see Israel, A8
Beverage...............................$2.00
TIP:.........................................$5.00
TOTAL
:.................................$26.02
Thank you very m
uch
TOTAL
:.................................$26.02
Ribs appetizer................... $10.00
Dinner special................... $24.00
House salad.........................$2.50
Strawberry tart....................$5.00TOTAL after tax:................ $45.65TIP:........................................$8.85
TOTAL:................................ $54.50
Thank you very much
GILBEY’S SEAFOODAND STEAKOrange Beach, AlabamaApril 12, 2014
Roan’s 1-bedroom condo,5 nights...........................$963.64Nicholson’s 2-bedroomcondo, 5 nights............$1,013.71
TOTAL:...........................$1,977.35
TAX ADMINISTRATORSSUMMER CONFERENCEOrange Beach, AlabamaJune 15-19, 2014
TOTAL:...........................$1,977.35
Countdown
to kickoff
Experienced
defensive backs
return for UA, AU.
C1
By Mary Sell
Montgomery Bureau
MONTGOMERY — Gov.
Robert Bentley’s use of state-
owned aircraft increased in
the first quarter of this year
as he flew around Alabama
more often than in the previ-
ous three years.
His communications offi-
cials say the travel was all
relatedtohisroleasgovernor
and not his re-election cam-
paign.Anycampaignexpens-
esincurredbyhisofficehave
been reimbursed by his cam-
paign.
Bentley’s flight logs, but
not the trips’ costs, are listed
on his office’s website. The
log for the second quarter —
April, May and June — had
not been posted as of late last
week.
Most of Bentley’s flights
are on an older-model Ala-
bama Department of Trans-
portation jet. In June, The
Decatur Daily filed an open
recordsrequestwithALDOT
for the cost of each trip taken
by Bentley from January
through June 3, the GOP pri-
mary.
The department turned
over records, for a $118 fee,
on 35 flights totaling about
$83,600. Bentley’s office
occasionally uses other state
agency aircraft, including
that belonging to the depart-
ment of public safety.
“The governor uses the
plane as necessary to fulfill
thedutiesofbeinggovernor,”
JenniferArdis,spokeswoman
for the governor’s office, said
Thursday in an email. “His
goal is to meet with people
outside of Montgomery in
order to understand local
issues and communicate his
message of job creation, gov-
ernment efficiency savings,
etc.
“These flights also include
tripstakenbythegovernorto
manage and respond to natu-
ral disasters like the ice
storms, tornadoes and flood-
ingthestatehasexperienced
this year.”
Lastyear,TheDailyreport-
ed Bentley and staff spent
Tally of gov.’s trips
Bentley’s flights on
state-owned aircraft in
the first quarter of the
last four years:
2011*■■ .................. 19
2012■■ .................... 26
2013■■ .................... 29
2014■■ .................... 42
*Bentley was not in
office the entire month of
January 2011.
Source: Governor’s
online flight logs
Most expensive flight: $9K to Washington, DC
Please see Bentley, A7
TOTAL:................................ $54.50