Sunday, July 30, 2006

gulf shores: Retired Baldwin County DA takes job as Gulf Shores city attorney

Associated Press
MOBILE, Ala. - Former Baldwin County District Attorney David Whetstone is back in public office after a brief foray into retirement.

The Gulf Shores city council voted unanimously this week to retain the national law firm Adams & Reese, where Whetstone is employed, the Press-Register reported in an online story Tuesday.

Whetstone retired from his district attorney post in March and his new position as the city attorney for Gulf Shores became effective immediately after the council's vote on Monday.

The firm has an office in Mobile and is planning another one in Foley.

State Sen. Bradley Byrne, R-Fairhope, is also employed at the firm.

Whetstone spent 22 years as a county prosecutor and handled the case against former Gulf Shores Mayor Steve Russo, who resigned in January amid allegations of public corruption and drug possession.


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Information from: Press-Register, http://www.al.com/mobileregister

Tuesday, July 25, 2006

gulf shores: Gulf Shores team does well at match

Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Submitted by Pete Lee
The Gulf Shores Swim Team scored 18 total wins in the Junior Championships at Orange Beach on July 8.

"We had a wonderful showing at the Junior Championships," Gulf Shores coach Brooke Monroe said. "I was extremely pleased with how well our swim team raced. The kids are showing great improvement in their times and stroke technique."

It was a long meet for all of the swimmers as the competition started at 9 a.m. and lasted about five hours.

Individual winners from the Gulf Shores squad included Haley Montgomery, Kristy Santa Cruz, Sarah Meehan Long, Taylor Shannon, Sammi Jo Daily and Nathan McGee, who combined for all 18 total wins for the team.

With the final meet of the year scheduled for Friday and Saturday in Fairhope, Monroe said she is looking forward to another solid performance from her continually improving team.

Sunday, July 23, 2006

gulf shores: Tennis camp serves up some summer fun

Gulf Shores boys tennis coach Ryan Moss ran two free events last week in Orange Beach and Gulf Shores
Sunday, July 23, 2006
By DEREK BELT
Sports Reporter
GULF SHORES -- Despite the sweltering heat and typical Gulf Coast humidity, a handful of kids from the Gulf Shores-Orange Beach area braved the elements last week and took to the courts for a series of free tennis lessons.

It was hot, yes. It was humid, for sure. But it was loads and loads of fun.

"Oh, we're having a great time," said Ryan Moss, who coaches the boys tennis team at Gulf Shores High School. "We had about eight kids come to camp (Tuesday) in Orange Beach and we've got 17 here (in Gulf Shores). I think word started to spread and that's great."

Tuesday's camp was held at the Orange Beach Tennis Center, while Wednesday's camp was held on the tennis courts behind the Bodenhamer Center in Gulf Shores.

Moss, who got help from several of the Dolphins' varsity tennis players, said the camp's focus was simple: learn the basics.

"We're trying to teach them the fundamentals and techniques of tennis," said Moss. "Most of the campers are beginners, so we're trying to start with the basics. The earlier they learn the basics the better they're going to be, especially if they want to play at the high school level."

Moss said campers were instructed in the proper grip and how to hit ground strokes, serves, lobs and overheads. They also learned how to volley and how to score a tennis match in addition to playing a few fun games.

Last week's tennis camps were part of a summer-long series of free camps being offered to local youths by the cities of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.

In all, a baseball, basketball, softball and volleyball camp was held in each city earlier this summer. A two-day football camp recently wrapped up in Orange Beach.

GSHS coaches and city officials said the first year of free camps were an overwhelming success and they plan on offering a similar set next summer.

Tuesday, July 18, 2006

gulf shores: Baldwin athletes excel at

Despite South squads going winless, locals made mark in Huntsville
Monday, July 17, 2006
By MIKE HERNDON
Sports Reporter
The athletes who represented the southern half of the state in last week's Alabama All-Star Sports Week in Huntsville may not have claimed outright victories in any of the event's seven sports, but those from Baldwin County left their mark on the games nonetheless.

Overall, the South went 0-4-3 on the week, splitting the baseball and softball doubleheaders and earning a tie in girls soccer, while falling to the North in volleyball, boys soccer and both boys and girls basketball.

But several Baldwin County athletes were among the week's standouts.

In baseball, Gulf Shores' D.J. Jones was the South Most Valuable Player, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the two games and driving in the game-winning runs in the South's 6-3 opening-game victory with a two-run triple. Robertsdale's Logan Ramage and Travis Waddle also did their part, as Ramage was 2-for-4 with two runs scored in the doubleheader and Waddle was 1-for-3 with one RBI and a run scored.

In girls soccer, Fairhope's Mandie Martin set up the South's only goal of the game, chipping the ball over a defender to Auburn's Sarah Schwartz for the score. Martin's Fairhope teammates, Baley Murphy and Sidney Morgan, also contributed to the South's first-ever non-losing effort in the girls soccer competition.

In boys soccer, Fairhope's Brian Keyser, Andrew Dolan and Steven Pearson helped the South play a tighter game than the final 3-0 score indicated, with Keyser firing two of the South's seven shots on goal.

In softball, Gulf Shores' Carolyn Manolakis went 1-for-4 at the plate in the South's doubleheader split.

In volleyball, Bayside Academy's Kersten Reed and Caroline Gill were standouts for the South as Reed led the South in assists with 17 and Gill made 10 kills and led the team in blocks with five. Robertsdale's Whitney Jones also played well, contributing one kill, two assists, two digs and a block.

And in boys basketball, Robertsdale's William Cowan was one of the South's top rebounders with seven boards. He also chipped in two points.

"It was a learning experience," Cowan said of the week. "I learned what I've got to do. It was an honor to be here."

Several Baldwin County coaches also participated in last week's games. Bayside Academy's Doug Leffard coached the South baseball team, Fairhope's Patty Etheridge coached her final volleyball game before retiring and Fairhope's Paul Stroud and newly hired Steve Morisani led the boys and girls soccer teams, respectively.

"It was a great experience for everyone -- for the players to the coaches to the families," Leffard said of the weeklong event. "Everybody enjoyed it."

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

gulf shores: Little zoo on higher ground

Monday, July 10, 2006
AMONG THE flurry of donations flowing to the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo since Hurricane Ivan turned it into "The Little Zoo That Could," a recent one stands out.

It's the one Gulf Shores businessman Clyde Weir and his daughter, Andrea Weir Franklin, gave last week ? 25 acres so the zoo can move to higher ground.

The zoo, a financially struggling nonprofit that has been an attraction for schoolchildren and tourists since the late 1980s, gained national publicity two years ago when directors evacuated nearly all the animals -- 267 of them -- as Hurricane Ivan approached. It was the first full-scale evacuation of an American zoo.

The hurricane flooded the zoo grounds with a surge several feet deep, and winds ripped the buildings. The extensive damage closed the attraction for more than a year.

The national publicity, though, caught the attention of cable's Animal Planet, and the zoo got its own prime-time series. "The Little Zoo That Could" documented the Ivan evacuation and later evacuations for Hurricanes Dennis and Katrina. The show also followed zoo personnel as they rebuilt the zoo and brought home their tiger, the rare black-spotted leopard, a python with sinus trouble, and Umba, a baboon who loves ice cream, among other residents from the animal world. The show was a hit.

As a consequence, attendance more than doubled, fans sought zoo workers' autographs, and donations ? always the lifeblood of the zoo ? have been generous.

Ranging from a few dollars to a $25,000 cashier's check, the donations received so far have made it possible for the zoo to thrive. Now the animals can have a new, safer home, thanks to Mr. Weir and Mrs. Franklin.

The 25 acres in north Gulf Shores are worth several million dollars and sit far enough from the coastline that future evacuations may not be necessary. The new zoo grounds also will allow the governing board to expand exhibits and build hurricane-secure housing for the animals.

The zoo board still must raise funds to construct the new facility. That's where local residents can help. Donations can be mailed to the Zoo Reconstruction and Relocation Fund or can be made online at the zoo's Web site.

Indeed, with the help of their fans, the wonderfully exotic animals of Gulf Shores' little zoo that could can be part of south Baldwin County for many years to come.

Friday, July 07, 2006

gulf shores: Gulf fisheries require vigilant protection

Thursday, July 06, 2006
/drop/3/tPROTECTING THE Gulf of Mexico's fish population will require much more vigilance than federal and state agencies have shown so far.

The importance of the resource can hardly be overstated. It forms the foundation of the Gulf's commercial fishing industry as well as a substantial part of its tourism.

"It's time to follow the science and put Gulf fisheries on the road to ecological and economic recovery," Chris Dorsett of Austin, Texas, who works for The Ocean Conservancy, told The Associated Press. "We can and must be better stewards of our coastal ecosystem." He's right.

Ironically, Congress passed legislation in 1996 directing federal agencies to rebuild diminishing fish populations, but it has been poorly implemented.

Four species -- red snapper, red grouper, greater amberjack and vermillion snapper -- are being overfished in the Gulf of Mexico, meaning they are being harvested faster than the fish species can reproduce. Other species of grouper are at risk, too.

Unless aggressive steps are taken to limit fishing of these species and others, restore wetlands, and protect estuaries from pollution and encroachment, the Gulf will lose them.

Granted, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and its related regional councils contend plans are in place to protect these at-risk species. But a recent study concludes most fish resources remain in poor shape a decade after the 1996 law went into effect.

Andrew A. Rosenberg of the University of New Hampshire's Ocean Process and Analysis Laboratory told the AP that recovery plans instituted by NOAA have been delayed, managers have failed to revise plans that aren't working, and monitoring remains inconsistent or absent.

Those are damning conclusions.

Overfishing isn't a speculation; it's a fact. Worldwide, fish once popular on dinner plates are virtually gone from the oceans. The populations of many are less than 10 percent of what they were five decades ago.

Nationwide, NOAA says 54 fish stocks of specific species and complexes are overfished. (A complex is a grouping of different species that are similar.)

As the population along the coasts continues to grow, pressures on fish populations will intensify. There are an estimated 153 million residents living along the U.S. coastlines, and more are moving to the nation's edge on the sea every day.

Federal and state agencies need to step up their efforts to protect fish populations of the Gulf. Otherwise, red snapper, grouper and other popular fish will disappear from dinner plates, Alabama's fishing industry will dry up, and deep-sea fishing will cease to be a favorite tourist attraction for Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.

gulf shores: Gulf fisheries require vigilant protection

Thursday, July 06, 2006
/drop/3/tPROTECTING THE Gulf of Mexico's fish population will require much more vigilance than federal and state agencies have shown so far.

The importance of the resource can hardly be overstated. It forms the foundation of the Gulf's commercial fishing industry as well as a substantial part of its tourism.

"It's time to follow the science and put Gulf fisheries on the road to ecological and economic recovery," Chris Dorsett of Austin, Texas, who works for The Ocean Conservancy, told The Associated Press. "We can and must be better stewards of our coastal ecosystem." He's right.

Ironically, Congress passed legislation in 1996 directing federal agencies to rebuild diminishing fish populations, but it has been poorly implemented.

Four species -- red snapper, red grouper, greater amberjack and vermillion snapper -- are being overfished in the Gulf of Mexico, meaning they are being harvested faster than the fish species can reproduce. Other species of grouper are at risk, too.

Unless aggressive steps are taken to limit fishing of these species and others, restore wetlands, and protect estuaries from pollution and encroachment, the Gulf will lose them.

Granted, the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration and its related regional councils contend plans are in place to protect these at-risk species. But a recent study concludes most fish resources remain in poor shape a decade after the 1996 law went into effect.

Andrew A. Rosenberg of the University of New Hampshire's Ocean Process and Analysis Laboratory told the AP that recovery plans instituted by NOAA have been delayed, managers have failed to revise plans that aren't working, and monitoring remains inconsistent or absent.

Those are damning conclusions.

Overfishing isn't a speculation; it's a fact. Worldwide, fish once popular on dinner plates are virtually gone from the oceans. The populations of many are less than 10 percent of what they were five decades ago.

Nationwide, NOAA says 54 fish stocks of specific species and complexes are overfished. (A complex is a grouping of different species that are similar.)

As the population along the coasts continues to grow, pressures on fish populations will intensify. There are an estimated 153 million residents living along the U.S. coastlines, and more are moving to the nation's edge on the sea every day.

Federal and state agencies need to step up their efforts to protect fish populations of the Gulf. Otherwise, red snapper, grouper and other popular fish will disappear from dinner plates, Alabama's fishing industry will dry up, and deep-sea fishing will cease to be a favorite tourist attraction for Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.

Monday, July 03, 2006

gulf shores: Baytown duo takes top prize in tourney

By Richard Kotrla
Correspondent

Published July 3, 2006

TIKI ISLAND — Rainy skies proved to be an expected challenge for fishermen competing in the Redfish Nation Series Redfish Tournament, which ended today with the Baytown team of Tim Young and Jason Catchings walking away with the $15,000 first prize.

Their combined weight total for two days of fishing was 26.77 pounds.

The tournament, which was sponsored by Academy Sporting Goods, had 38 entries that competed over a two-day period for the prize money and the right to compete in the Redfish Nation Series national tournament in September at Gulf Shores Alabama. The tops teams from this tournament earned the right to compete in that event.

Todd Casey of Galveston and his partner, Joe Lindeman of South Padre Island, placed with fourth with a two-day total of 21.11 and will advance to the national event.

“The rain definitely had a negative effect on the fishing,” said Bob Sealy of Redfish Nation Magazine, who sponsors the series. “Fish just behave differently when it’s raining, and it makes it hard for the fishermen to figure out their feeding patterns.”

There were several fishermen from the Galveston area who fished in the tournament, which Sealy calls the “semi-pro division” of the popular Oh Boy! Oberto Redfish Cup series that is featured on ESPN’s “Saltwater Sunday” television series. That tournament made a stop in Kemah last month.

“This particular tournament series is designed for those fishermen who want to learn to fish in tournaments,” Sealy said. “This gives them a chance to decide if they can or want to compete in the Redfish Cup.”

In conjunction with the tournament, the popular Berkley Strike Team appeared at the Galveston Academy Store. Visitors to the store during the tourney weekend had a chance to have their rods refilled with free fishing line, saw product demonstrations and had a chance to engage in fishing video game.