Latest news with #AlabamaDepartmentofVeteransAffairs
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Memorial Day ceremony in Spanish Fort honors fallen heroes
SPANISH FORT, Ala. (WKRG) — The Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs honored fallen service members Monday morning with a ceremony at the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort. Mobile County jury awards man $6 million after 2022 tractor trailer crash Attendees recognized the sacrifices of men and women who died defending American liberties. The ceremony featured a wreath-laying, a flag-folding, a moment of silence, a rifle volley, the playing of Taps, and an Honor Guard salute. American flags, placed by local Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts of America, were on display at all Alabama veterans' graves. USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park Executive Director CDR Mark K. Fields, (Ret.) U.S. Navy, delivered the keynote address. ADVA Commissioner Jeff Newton also spoke during the event. 'We are privileged to host this solemn event at the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort, a place that symbolizes the service and sacrifice of so many courageous Alabamians,' Newton said. 'Memorial Day is a time for reflection and gratitude, and we thank all Alabamians who honor those who gave their lives for our country's freedom.' Locals, tourists flock to Gulf Shores for Memorial Day getaway The ADVA held the ceremony as part of broader Memorial Day observations taking place across Alabama and the United States. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Alabama VA restructuring raising concern among some veterans
MOBILE, Ala. (WKRG) — The fight over how the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs operates continues. New legislation in Montgomery would restructure the department and some vets argue it takes their voice away. This follows the fight last year that ended with Governor Kay Ivey removing state VA commissioner Kent Davis. Supporters of the bills say this elevates the VA commissioner and opens up the board–opponents say it's the exact opposite. Under Senate Bill 67 and House Bill 154 the VA commissioner would be a cabinet-level position who serves at the governor's discretion–not appointed by the VA board as it is now. The bills also change the VA board membership from people who are appointed by different veterans service groups in the state to positions that are appointed by the governor, speaker of the state house and senate president. Senate sponsor Andrew Jones says this bill elevates the commissioner making that person cabinet level and opens the VA board up beyond membership in a formal vet organization. He argues most veterans are not members of these service groups. 'When you broaden the amount of folks that can participate by fourfold, and when you elevate the position to where they have the ear of the governor, you know, whatever they need to this board of governors, cabinet, I think that you strengthen the position,' said State Senator Andrew Jones. The new President of the South Alabama Vets Council Robert F. Barrow said he wanted to start his tenure with the organization without wading into politics but says this issue has pulled him back in. 'Those senators and those House members that choose to vote for this, if it goes through that, the 400,000 vets across America or across Alabama are not going to forget it,' said Barrow. 'This is not good legislation and it's creating an unnecessary rift among the veteran community that that's going to have long term consequences.' Jones says the legislation streamlines the department and formally spells out the governor is in charge of who runs the state VA, having exerted that power last year. 'At the end of the day, she used her supreme executive authority to remove the former commissioner. So at the end of the day, the buck stops with her. This just makes it more official and it elevates the position in such a way that they have her ear,' said Jones. An online petition against the bills garnered more than 1,300 signatures in 5 days. Baldwin County State Senator Chris Elliott says he doesn't support this legislation and Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth says he also opposes it. The bills have advanced but it's not clear if a version will make it to the governor's desk. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
New Silverhill Elementary School opens, old school to be transformed
SILVERHILL, Ala. (WKRG) — There is a different feel to learning these days at Silverhill Elementary School. 'They are just so happy to be here, and they tell us all the time,' principal Wendy Rodgers said. Proposed legislation aims to totally revamp the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs Four hundred eighty students almost seem lost inside the 137,000 square foot facility with all the bells and whistles. 'The technology, the size of the gym, the STEM classrooms, the seating in the cafeteria, this is all things that we never had before,' Rodgers said. Classes started this week after a rare midyear move. Breeze Airways unveils new routes coming to Pensacola International Airport (Details) 'I wasn't going to have a $30 million school empty for five or six months, so we gambled on a midyear move, and it worked out,' Baldwin County Public Schools Superintendent Eddie Tyler said. The new school is a far cry from the old one built in 1956 with all the problems of a nearly 70-year-old building, which will also be transformed, according to Tyler. 'It's going to be the only one of its kind that we know of, an early learning center Pre-K, and it's going to be beautiful,' Tyler said. Fairhope mayor outlines 2025 plans during State of the City Address The beauty of the new school is not lost on those who live here, but it is what is happening for students inside the building that is even better. 'They are totally locked in on instruction,' Rodgers said. 'It is just great!' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Proposed legislation aims to totally revamp the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs
Mobile, Ala. (WKRG) — After a shakeup last year that saw the Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs unceremoniously fired from his post by Gov. Kay Ivey, legislation has been introduced to revamp the department. 'We're glad they're back, but it's very sad why it's back': Gulf Shores moving forward with return of NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship If passed, Senate Bill 67 and a companion bill in the House would allow the governor to appoint the commissioner of ADVA. Since the department was established in 1945, the State Board of Veterans Affairs was in charge of hiring and firing the commissioner. The proposed legislation would also relegate the State Board of Veterans Affairs to an advisory capacity. A hearing before the Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee was scheduled at the State House today (Wednesday, Feb. 5) and the bill was approved by a 5 to 2 vote with one abstention. Veterans in the Mobile area familiar with the debacle that saw former Commissioner Admiral Kent Davis lose his job are also crying foul over the legislation to revamp the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs. Pensacola woman sentenced for causing 2022 deadly crash in Santa Rosa County, officials say Davis was popular with many veterans in the state. He is credited with overseeing several improvements during his five years as commissioner. These are some of them: Overseeing the opening of a new State Veterans Home in Enterprise and reducing the backlog of veterans on a waiting list, the longest waiting list of any state in the country Reopening a dozen Veterans Services Offices that had been shuttered during the decade before Davis took office Securing a grant to expand the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Spanish Fort. Davis called the legislation retaliation for the dust-up he had with Ivey last year, which began when Davis filed an ethics complaint against a member of the governor's cabinet. Davis further said the proposed legislation was written by the governor's staff, which the bill's sponsor, Sen. Andrew Jones (R) of Centre, seemingly admitted to on the public affairs program ''Capitol Journal' on Dec. 20, 2024. Jones said, 'I got an update from some of the Governor's staff just yesterday that they are continuing to work through the process of developing the legislation and it's my understanding that it would go through both of our respective committees. 'You know, I see this as really a way to elevate the Department of Veterans Affairs, bring them fully in the fold of state government, and highlight the work that's being done for veterans, and make that person a member of the Governor's team and the Governor's cabinet.' Davis told that he plans to file a lawsuit over the governor's alleged 'supreme executive power over his firing and the Alabama Ethics Act anti-retaliation provisions. MPD officer resigns months after being placed on administrative leave Davis said, 'I obviously disagree with the governor's actions. I think over 5 years we'd accomplished a lot, and frankly, a lot of that has been stymied by the governor's actions.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
