Blogs
post a blog entry
Please note that The Anniston Star reserves the right to delete blog entries for any reason without prior notice.
Blogs are for personal use only. Any posts used for commercial purposes (i.e., selling products or services) will be deleted.
Blog posts containing racial or sexual remarks or other offensive content will be removed immediately.
Please do not use your blog post to copy content from other Web sites. Instead, we encourage you to provide a link to that content.
Repeated violations of these rules may result in the termination of your AnnistonStar.com account.
Recent Blog Posts
Final Lunch and Learn Program for 2012 by SherryBlanton
Sep 08, 2012 |  0 comments | 11 11 recommendations | email to a friend
YOU’RE INVITED TO LUNCH & LEARN - A series of free gardening programs sponsored by Calhoun County Master Gardeners & Calhoun County Commission. Held the 4 th Wednesday of each month at the Cane Creek Community Garden at McClellan. Noon-1pm ~ bring your own lunch! Sept 26 th – "Nati...
WHY MAYWEATHER VS. PACQUIAO MAY NEVER HAPPEN by tailorswift009
Sep 05, 2012 |  0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend
Money may not be the only factor preventing the Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao fight from happening, although it may well come down to the fact that Pacquiao’s pride will not allow him to accept anything less than a 50/50 purse split with Mayweather. Mayweather, on the other hand, is...
Sepeda Motor bebek Injeksi Kencang dan Irit Jupiter Z1 Sepeda Motor Bebek Injeksi Kencang dan Murah Jupiter Z1 by pepycantik
Sep 04, 2012 |  0 comments | 10 10 recommendations | email to a friend
Again, the famous motorcycle manufacturer Yamaha reproduce their new product which is the development of the old variant . Sepeda Motor Bebek Injeksi Kencang dan Irit Jupiter Z1 Is the latest variant of bebek that is completed by injection technology after ...
One FUN College Summer by IreneAlamo
Sep 03, 2012 |  0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend
It’s the moment all college students have been waiting for – Summer! After several months of non-stop working on assignments, projects and literature review dissertation finally, the best time of the school year is coming! Do you have plans in mind already? Since you’ve been away for few month...
There used to be a view. Faith and Figs by JanCase
Sep 01, 2012 |  0 comments | 14 14 recommendations | email to a friend
Roy Nelson didn’t do anything in a small way. When he brought pecans to share, he brought a grocery sack full of them. He bought ice cream by the gallon, never the half gallon. And when he played bridge at the Methodist church, he played by the rules until they prevented him from bidding as high...
9AQP_citra.jpg Out in the Back Forty by Ben_Cunningham
Aug 30, 2012 |  0 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend
I paid a visit today to Back Forty Beer's brewery in downtown Gadsden, for an magazine story I'm working on. Brad Wilson showed me around, and I spoke at length with him, with founder Jason Wilson and with brewmaster Jamie Ray. Brad let me rummage around in this bag of Citra hops, which give Frec...
Peace by BrianRobinson
Aug 30, 2012 |  0 comments | 14 14 recommendations | email to a friend
     It has been a busy time here.  So it's been a while since I caught everyone up.  But I think you'll forgive me when you hear what's been happening.       The new kitten I talked about last time has settled in well.  Gizmo is adorable, intermittently a sweetie cuddling and purring one minute...
I Know You by JohnBagwell
Aug 25, 2012 |  0 comments | 18 18 recommendations | email to a friend
Ever know someone who never met a stranger?  That is my oldest daughter.  Ever since she was a baby, anyone could hold her and she simply did not seem to care or mind.  Most children, when taken from their mother, will start to reach out and cry to get back to their mom.  My oldest never did th...
What's on tap? by Ben_Cunningham
Aug 24, 2012 |  0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend
I feel safe in assuming that most of America's beer consumption takes place on the weekends. Given that assumption, one of my favorite things to do on my old blog was to ask readers on Friday where, why and what they'd be drinking over the weekend. So, I'm bringing back "What's on tap?" Where wi...
by bmdubya
Aug 21, 2012 |  0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend
Mary Klinefelter is in an election for the city of anniston's school council. Please be aware that this lady is the owner of 1236 edmondson drive and is a slum lord. Please take the time to ride by this property and view how this lady takes care of her rental property. Please note, this neighborh...

Today's Events
event calendar Icon_info

Tuesday, 18, 2013
post a new event Icon_info

Pond Spring- The Gener... 3:50 PM
Oxford Farmers market 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM
Join us for the kick-off of Oxford's first...
Oxford Farmers market 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM
Join us for the kick-off of Oxford's first...
They're headed to a Game 7
by Associated Press
Jun 18, 2013 | 0 views |  0 comments | 3 3 recommendations | email to a friend | print
San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) and Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) collide during the second half. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker (9) and Miami Heat forward LeBron James (6) collide during the second half. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
slideshow
MIAMI — LeBron James led a title-saving charge, and now his crown will be on the line one more time in Game 7. James powered Miami to a frantic fourth-quarter rally and overtime escape as the Heat beat the San Antonio Spurs 103-100 on Tuesday night to extend the NBA Finals as far as they can go and keep their repeat chances alive. Losing his headband but keeping his cool while playing the entire second half and overtime, James finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists, making the go-ahead basket with 1:43 remaining in the extra period. Tim Duncan scored 30 points for the Spurs, his most in an NBA Finals game since Game 1 in 2003, but was shut out after the third quarter. He added 17 rebounds. Game 7 will be here Thursday, the NBA's first do-or-die game to determine its champion since the Lakers beat the Celtics in 2010. The Spurs looked headed to a fifth title in five chances when they built a 13-point lead with under 4 minutes left in the third quarter, then grabbed a five-point edge late in regulation after blowing the lead. But James hit a 3-pointer before Ray Allen tied it with another with 5.2 seconds remaining in regulation. James was just 3 of 12 after three quarters, the Heat trailing by 10 and frustration apparent among the players and panic setting in among the fans. Nothing to worry. Not with James playing like this. He finished 11 of 26, even making a steal after his basket had given Miami a 101-100 edge in the OT. Before that, he was 12 minutes from hearing the familiar criticisms about not being able to get it done, from having to watch a team celebrate on his home floor again. Then he changed the game and erased that story. The Heat, who haven't lost consecutive games since Jan. 8 and 10, had too much defense and way too much James for the Spurs in the final 17 minutes. They are trying to become fourth team to win the final two games at home since the NBA went to the 2-3-2 format for the finals in 1985. James came in averaging 31.5 points in elimination games, highest in NBA history, according to a stat provided through the NBA by the Elias Sports Bureau. This wasn't quite the 45-point performance in Game 6 of last year's Eastern Conference finals in Boston, but given the higher stakes may go down as more important — if the Heat follow it with another victory Thursday. The Heat were in the same place as they were in 2011 at the end of their Big Three's first season together, coming home from Texas facing a 3-2 deficit in the finals. This is a different team. And oh, what a different James. They said they welcomed this challenge, a chance to show they how much mentally tougher they were than the team the Dallas Mavericks easily handled in Game 6 that night. James made sure they did, looking nothing like the player who was so bad in the fourth quarters during that series. He was simply unstoppable down the stretch of this one. Kawhi Leonard had 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs. Tony Parker had 19 points and eight assists, but shot just 6 of 23 from the field. The Spurs had one final chance down 103-100, but Chris Bosh blocked Danny Green's 3-pointer from the corner as time expired. Bosh had said Green wouldn't get open the way he has all series — and he didn't.
Editorial: Schools on trial — In Anniston, improving education remains the ultimate goal
by The Anniston Star Editorial Board
Jun 18, 2013 | 229 views |  0 comments | 8 8 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Any cocoon of stability that may have surrounded Anniston Middle School is now shattered. Last month, after decades of debate, the Anniston Board of Education voted to close the school on Alabama 21 and move its students to other campuses as part of a system-wide reorganization and cost-cutting measure. Last week, Superintendent Joan Frazier announced her retirement for June 2014, meaning someone else — possibly from outside the system hierarchy — will shepherd the system through the middle school’s closure. And Tuesday, the state Board of Education included Anniston Middle on its list of “failing” schools that, as part of the Alabama Accountability Act, will allow parents zoned for AMS to receive tax credits if they transfer elsewhere. For the Anniston Board of Education, the state board’s list of 78 “failing” schools represents two different headlines — both significant. No other Anniston schools made the list. (For that matter, Anniston Middle was the only school in Calhoun County to be deemed “failing” by the state board.) Anniston High School, whose dropout and graduation rates have long been serious civic concerns, and the system’s five elementary schools are free of both the stigma and the practicality of being considered “failing” institutions. We are glad that’s the case. But the other headline didn’t bring a sigh of relief to a city desperate to use public education in its efforts to reinvent the city’s outlook on vital matters such as job creation, economic growth and crime reduction. A city without vibrant and well-supported public schools is a city that struggles to educate its children and sustain its future. A city without successful public schools is a city that faces stagnation and decline, not prosperity. That is Anniston’s struggle today. Our advice is to consider Anniston Middle School’s label as a “failing” school as part old news and part opportunity. Don’t overreact. Instead, see Anniston Middle as what it is — a school already destined for closure. That’s not a rationalization; it’s a fact. What’s important now is the system’s still-developing reorganization that, once completed, is expected to lessen the system’s fiscal concerns. More important, still, is this community’s understanding that the education of the children within Anniston’s public schools must be a grade-A priority. It is not the priority solely of the city’s educators or its black community, whose children are overwhelmingly the majority of the city’s schools. It must be a priority for all who want Anniston to prosper. Make no mistake: We are disappointed that the state considers Anniston Middle School a “failing” school. But we cannot lose focus on the larger, vital picture — the reinvention of Anniston’s school system and the improvement of its public education. The ailments are well known. Repairing them with hard work and rational decisions is the key.
Editorial: In Alabama, best path is to scrap this wishful policy
by The Anniston Star Editorial Board
Jun 18, 2013 | 87 views |  0 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Tommy Bice, the state’s superintendent of education, had the unenviable task Tuesday of carrying out a poorly conceived policy that, its authors assure us, is designed to raise the quality of Alabama public schools. Playing the good soldier, Bice produced a list of failing schools as defined by the so-called Alabama Accountability Act, the controversial law handed down earlier this year by Montgomery’s ruling Republicans. The strict definition of failing, Bice said Tuesday, meant he was “unable to remove a school from the list although they’ve shown improvement.” Sadly, that’s merely the start of the problems with this policy. As private school administrators from Calhoun County told The Star earlier this year, the law’s intent — allowing students in “failing” schools to transfer to a private school or better public school — almost certainly won’t work. The law’s tax credit — approximately $3,500 annually — won’t be enough to cover private school tuition. What’s more, private schools are balking at accepting state-administered scholarship dollars. Public schools are under no obligation to take transfers from failing schools. Several local districts have confirmed to The Star that they aren’t interested in taking on these new students. In Anniston and elsewhere across Alabama, there’s also the matter of a federal court order concerning desegregation that severely limits student transfers between public schools. All this adds up to a law that seems unlikely to have the intended effect. The shame is that Alabama’s public schools desperately need improvement. Of course, the 78 schools listed Tuesday as “failing” need help, but so does the entire state, especially when considering our ranking in national comparisons of student achievement. Perhaps the best path forward would be for the Legislature and the governor to scrap this policy’s wishful thinking and head back to the drawing board. Putting Alabama’s schools on the path to excellence will require a greater investment, in money, of course, but also in tougher standards for teachers and students.
Speak Out: The state of foreign missions
by our readers
Jun 18, 2013 | 69 views |  0 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Today, one assumes that much of our commerce and industry have gone overseas — primarily to China. We further assume that China is a nation of non-traditional religious values, living virtually in the Stone Age with hostile attitudes toward Christianity. It may surprise the Christian community that China is now the largest Bible publisher in the world. Amity Publishing in Birmingham recently opened a sprawling printing complex in Nanjing dedicated just to the Holy Bible and is scheduled to turn out 12 million Bibles per year. But the unique twist is that local Chinese caught with an Amity printed Bible do not face harassment and are at liberty to practice their Christian faith just as they would be in America. This is a remarkable feat accomplished by the missionary effort of the Christian community. By relocating and vastly expanding the publishing arm of the effort and making it a Chinese industry, worldwide missionaries have been able to establish themselves permanently and become accepted for what they are in the previously most obstinate mission field ever targeted. To say foreign mission work has come a long way in the past 40 to 50 years would be the understatement of the year. If only U.S. foreign missionary Lottie Moon, who starved herself trying to save hungry Chinese on the mission field, could know this feat today. James W. Anderson
Talladega
-->
Marketplace