News Briefs

MUSCLE SHOALS

Lecture series begins Monday

The Aplha Sigma Beta chapter of the Phi Theta Kappa honor society is sponsoring a "Lecture of a Lifetime" series beginning Monday in the Workforce Development Center at Northwest-Shoals Community College.

The speakers will be Northwest-Shoals instructors Bob England on Monday, Claude Eubanks on Nov. 3, and Pat Sealy on Nov. 17.

All lectures will begin at 6:30 p.m. and are aligned with Phi Theta Kappa's honors topic: "The Paradox of Affluence: Choices, Challenges and Consequences."

The public is invited. The lectures will be held in Room 112 at Building 127.

FLORENCE

Three protesters face charges

Three protestors were arrested Friday on allegations they were trespassing on the campus of Heritage Christian University to deliver letters requesting tolerance for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

The three people arrested by Florence police on the misdemeanor charges were from Houston, Charleston, S.C., and Bronx, N.Y.

The three were part of Equality Ride, a group that has toured nationwide and met with college administrators to discuss better acceptance of gay and transgender students.

"(Heritage Christian) trains missionaries to go beyond the walls of their school to spread the inclusive gospel of Christ, but today they chose not to uphold the principles they preach," said Jarrett Lucas, co-director of Equality Ride.

University officials declined to host the group.

"Heritage Christian University has chosen to assert its freedom as guaranteed by the Constitution to choose the programs to be presented on the campus," school officials noted in a prepared statement.

NORTH ALABAMA

Griffith endorsed by police order

The Alabama State Fraternal Order of Police has endorsed Parker Griffith in the 5th Congressional District race in Alabama.

Griffith, a Democrat, faces Republican candidate Wayne Parker in the Nov. 4 general election.

The winner will replace U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer, of Huntsville, who is retiring after 18 years. The district includes the Shoals.

The Alabama State Fraternal Order of Police has about 8,600 members. Both Griffith and Parker have received multiple endorsements this week.

MONTGOMERY

Some voter rolls exceed population

Six Alabama counties have more people registered to vote than they have adults of voting age.

The Birmingham News compared the state's voter registration numbers with the Census Bureau's population estimates and found more registered voters than voting-age adults in Conecuh, Greene Lowndes, Perry, Washington and Wilcox counties.

Greene County, for example, had 7,540 people on its voter rolls at the end of September, but the Census Bureau estimates its adult population at 6,834.

Secretary of State Beth Chapman says her staff is reviewing the numbers because bloated voter rolls can provide an opportunity for election fraud.

MONTGOMERY

Police chase leaves driver dead

A high speed chase in Montgomery ended in the death of a driver.

It happened early Friday at about 4 a.m.

Montgomery police said the driver attempted to elude officers and crashed into a light pole in the downtown area.

The deceased driver's name was withheld. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Captain Huey Thornton, a police spokesman, said the chase started when officers tried to arrest the man for domestic violence.

The investigation was turned over to Alabama state troopers.

MARION

Deputy: Body found is missing woman

Authorities say a body found near a rural intersection in Perry County is that of Virginia Colee, an 85-year-old Selma woman missing more than five weeks.

Dallas County Chief Deputy Randy Pugh said Friday the decomposed body was found by state highway maintenance workers near the intersection of Alabama Highways 183 and 219 in a part of Perry County that is in a national forest. The Selma Times-Journal reports that the woman's vehicle also was found, but details were sketchy.

Colee was last seen leaving a Wal-Mart on Sept. 10 in her car. Security tapes at the store did not suggest foul play.

SOMERVILLE

16 hurt in meth lab fire

A house fire that authorities said was sparked by an illegal drug laboratory resulted in 16 firefighters being sent to hospitals in north Alabama. None required any extensive care.

Mike Corley of the Morgan County Sheriff's Department said firefighters from the Somerville Area Volunteer Fire Department and one deputy had symptoms that were consistent with being exposed to fumes from methamphetamine.

All were treated and released after the blaze, which occurred Wednesday evening.

Corley said agents determined there was a meth lab inside the burning home that may have caused the fire. There was no immediate word on any possible charges, but police are investigating.

The blaze occurred near Brooksville.