Oxford moving off hill? Landowner says he is providing dirt for Sam's Club being built at Oxford Exchange
Aug 20, 2009 | 4583 views | 42 
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The stone Indian mound is seen behind Target in the Oxford Exchange. Photo: Stephen Gross/The Anniston Star
The city originally planned to destroy the hill underneath it and use it as fill dirt for a Sam's Club. A landowner said Wednesday his property will be the source for the dirt.
In an unrelated move, the owners of the hill, the city's Commercial Development Authority met Wednesday to deal with a sinkhole found on the Sam's site. Members authorized putting $350,000 into an escrow account to reimburse Sam's for the cost of fixing the sinkhole.
The mound, which archaeologists and preservation officials say could contain funeral artifacts or remains, is on a hill behind the Oxford Exchange. It's estimated American Indians constructed it at least 1,000 years ago.
The Alabama Historical Commission said it's the largest known mound of its kind in the state. Its possible destruction angered American Indian groups and attracted attention from around the world.
Landowner Charlie Williams confirmed to The Star Wednesday that Oxford-based Taylor Corp. is negotiating with him for dirt for the Sam's site. The company has the contract to do site prep work for Sam's Club. He said the dirt would come from his property on McIntosh Road in Oxford. He said he has not received money for the dirt but expects to eventually.
Attempts to reach Taylor Corp. were unsuccessful. City Finance Director Alton Craft said he was "pretty sure" the city was trucking in the dirt, but he didn't know from where. City Project Manager Fred Denney also said the dirt is being trucked in, but he also didn't know the source. Mayor Leon Smith said he did not know anything about the matter.
CDA members declined to comment.
Denney declined to say whether the city has any other plans for the hill. In a prior interview he said the city had planned to develop it for a commercial purpose.
I believe the on-camera statements were meant to be the settlement of this affair with the intention that we won't hear any more about it, and that it was orchestrated by top state officials. I do know of some parties who have been involved in this matter, and that it has been discussed by many other high-ranking persons. It is not uncommon to quietly help a public official out of an embarrassing situation, or to quiet a public official.
Your reference to X-Files is rather appropriate.
I want credit for my comments last night. I signed twice but was shown as "anonymous":
1. Can you also look at somebody and tell how much German ancestry they have, or how much African they are?
2. I can tell a Klingon from a Wookiee by appearance alone. But nobody can look at a person and tell how much of a quantitative racial mix they have. That is insulting.
I love you, too, Edward.
Tug
"Shinola is a brand of wax shoe polish that was available in the early- to mid-20th century. The original trademark was filed in 1929 by 2-in-1 Shinola-Bixby Corporation, New Jersey."
You don't know s**t from shinola means you are pretty dense.
"while superficially similar in appearance, are entirely distinct in their function; only one is good for polishing shoes, and anyone who fails to distinguish one from the other must be ignorant or of low acuity."
source: wikipedia
We used that term all the time in the USAF.
« anonymous wrote on Monday, Aug 24 at 09:48 PM »
Can you also look at somebody and tell how much German ancestry they have, or how much African they are?
i tell you what Edward, i am not color blind i can see the difference in black and white i can see when one is mixed race i can tell when someone has part indian. I did not say how much NDN Leon was i said "it appeared he was more than half. I can tell what just about anyone is by eating their cooking, blindfolded. I can tell your race by your comments!
Tug
These are easy claims to make. I could make the same claims, but the truth is I don't really know if it would be true.
I knew Smith had Indian ancestors... but to call him Indian or Native would be something that I just couldn't bring myself to do.
Yes, perhaps today the Fox website will have a transcript of the report from last night's newscast. It would be an interesting read.
Thanks!
I found NBC13's Aug 20 report by Lisa Crane at http://www2.nbc13.com/vtm/news/fact_finder/article/video_protestors_stand_their_ground_in_battle_over_indian_mound/88255/ with video and text. June Reaves spoke on camera, but Mayor Smith declined. Ms. Reaves was very coherent*.
The Fox6 report pointed out that Mayor Smith is half Indian himself, and Mayor Smith basically said that he never said to destroy the mound and he does not know of anybody else saying to destroy the mound - or at least that is what I think he was saying*, so I would really like to see the written copy of that report.