1. THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF THE TENNESSEE VALLEY SINCE 1912
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SPORTS
COMING SUNDAY
NATION
Complete forecast, A2
AREA DEATHS
Houston goes Major;
Kiffin was contender
SPORTS | B1
TODAY SUN MON
44°/26° 55°/49° 61°/52°
Roof tells police
he hated blacks
Dylann Roof wanted the world
to know he hated black people and
thought they were criminals. He
thought about attacking drug deal-
ers, but they might shoot back. So,
he told the FBI he picked a historic
black church in Charleston, South
Carolina, he had learned about
online. In a videotaped confes-
sion shown Friday during his death
penalty trial, Roof laughed several
times and made exaggerated
gun motions as he recounted the
massacre. A7
Michigan’s Peppers
a surprise finalist
Jabrill Peppers, the do-it-all,
three-way dynamo, had quite a
year for No. 6-ranked Michigan,
and the team says he played 15
positions across offense, defense
and special teams. But the nation’s
most versatile star wasn’t necessar-
ily projected to be among the final
five players up for the Heisman.
The Heisman winner will be named
tonight. B1
Your guide to local,
state holiday gifts
In Living: Embrace unique and
original gifts that highlight state
and hometown pride this holiday
season. Find items for the fash-
ionistas, foodies, art aficionados,
Alabama lovers and thrill seekers
with this gift guide featuring items
made by local artists or found at
local shops.
Euwin Bowers, Somerville
David Clem, Elkmont
Roy Laughmiller, Decatur
Emmett Martin, Moulton
Betty Martindale, Athens
David Putman, Pulaski, Tennessee
Felicia Stovall, Decatur
Death notices, obits, A5
Saturday, December 10, 2016
President orders review
of election email hacking
NATION | A7
FORECAST
decaturdaily.com
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By Bayne Hughes
Staff Writer
City officials are reducing
softball tournament rates in an
effort to lure tournaments back
to Wilson Morgan Park.
Decatur Parks and Recreation
Director Jeff Dunlap said he is
reducing tournament rates to
$600 on Friday evenings and
$1,200 each for Saturday and
Sundayafterthenumberoftour-
naments scheduled fell to almost
zero last summer.
In 2014, Dunlap
increasedtherates
from $1,000 to
$4,000 a day for
the tournaments,
most of which are
Saturday-only
events. He said
the dramatic increase was meant
to offset operating losses created
in hosting the tournaments.
Dunlapsaidtheparkwaslosing
money prior to the increase
because staffing costs exceeded
revenue. He is cutting field
maintenance staffing from six to
two employees per day.
“We were dragging and lining
the fields between every game,”
Dunlapsaid.“Nowthetwowork-
ers will be there to troubleshoot,
keep the park clean and maybe
line the field once.”
After the increase, people
quit holding the tournaments
at Wilson Morgan. Prior to the
increase, the complex held about
16 tournaments each summer.
That dropped to one this past
summer, Dunlap said.
LocalbusinessmanScottSmith
said he used to regularly play in
these tournaments at Wilson
Morgan but left after the price
change.
Smith said adult softball began
declining in the mid-2000s at
Wilson Morgan. He wonders if
city officials are trying to ruin
softballatWilsonMorganbecause
of the Beltline Road Southwest
land’s value to developers as a
retail development.
WILSON MORGAN PARK
Tournament rates reduced
Dunlap
By Michael Wetzel
Staff Writer
MOULTON — The Lawrence
County Commission is brac-
ing residents for another round
of cuts in services — or it might
implement a temporary tax
increase.
At its regular meeting Friday,
commissioners discussed the
county losing an additional
$513,000 in TVA in-lieu-of-tax
money this fiscal year. Commis-
sioners said the cut means an
extra $240,000 coming out of
the county’s general fund. They
said it would cost the schools
$180,000.
The commissioners said they
will look into implementing a
temporary sales tax increase of
either 1 percent or 2 percent for
18 months.
LAWRENCE COUNTY
Tax hike
being
considered
By Mary Sell
Montgomery Bureau
MONTGOMERY — Some
state lawmakers said they expect
repercussions for any Alabama
school systems that knowingly
inflated its graduation rate.
“There should be some sort
of consequences, and those
consequences should be made
public as well,” Sen. Dick Brew-
baker, R-Montgomery, said
Friday. Brewbaker is chairman
of the Senate education policy
committee.
State Superintendent Michael
Sentance on Thursday said the
state’s recent record-high grad-
uation rates aren’t accurate. A
review by the U.S. Department
of Education Office of Inspector
General revealed two issues that
factored into the faulty numbers.
First,thestatewronglyincluded
a diploma for special needs stu-
dentsinitsrateseventhoughitwas
told not to by the federal depart-
ment. Second, the state has not
properly overseen local systems’
awarding of class credits, result-
inginsomediplomasthatwerenot
honestly earned, Sentance said.
GRADUATION RATES
Lawmakers:
Hold schools
accountable
Abby...................B5
Business.............A6
Classified............B6
Comics................B4
Crossword..........B5
Editorials............A4
Horoscope..........B5
Lotteries.............B3
Obituaries...........A5
Sports.................B1
Decatur, Alabama
105th year, No. 289
16 pages, 2 sections
ONLINE
Make sure Santa
sees your letter
Submit letters to Santa through
the link at decaturdaily.com.
SEE TAX, A3
SEE PARK, A3
SEE GRADUATION, A3
B
asketball players weren’t the only ones in the paint Friday night.
Austin High School students sing “Jingle Bells” during crosstown
rivalDecatur’steamintroductionbeforeDecaturandAustin’sgameat
CalhounCommunityCollege.Below:Decaturstudents,meanwhile,pretend
toreadthenewspaperduringAustin’steamintroduction.GamestoryonB1.
JERONIMO NISA PHOTOS/DECATUR DAILY
RIVER CITY RIVALRY
In the paint
By Kim Chandler
The Associated Press
ATMORE — An Alabama
inmate coughed repeatedly
and his upper body heaved for
at least 13 minutes during an
execution using a drug that has
previously been used in prob-
lematic lethal injections in at
least three other states.
Ronald Bert Smith Jr., 45,
also appeared to move slightly
duringtwotestsmeanttodeter-
mine consciousness before he
was finally pronounced dead at
11:05p.m.Thurs-
day — about 30
minutes after
the procedure
began at the state
prison in south-
west Alabama.
Alabama uses
the sedative midazolam as the
first drug in a three-drug lethal
injection combination.
Oklahoma’s use of midazolam
as the first in a three-drug pro-
tocol was challenged after the
April 2014 execution of Clay-
ton Lockett, who writhed on a
gurney, moaned and clenched
his teeth for several minutes
before prison officials tried to
halt the process. Lockett died
after 43 minutes. A state inves-
tigationintoLockett’sexecution
revealed that a failed line caused
the drugs to be administered
locally instead of into Lockett’s
blood.
Ohio and Arizona have used
midazolam as the first in a two-
drug protocol. Ohio inmate
Dennis McGuire repeatedly
DEATH PENALTY
Inmate coughs, heaves during execution
Smith Jr.
SEE EXECUTION, A3
Sales tax could
rise for 18 months