COMMUNITY CALENDAR: Ongoing and Upcoming Events, PAGE 4-5 Christmas comes early for North Baldwin family The Islander PAGE 6 IN BRIEF DECEMBER 21, 2016 | GulfCoastNewsToday.com | 75¢ Orange Beach January potluck supper Gulf Shores The first Monday of Lagoon pass is a the new year the Orange suspends Beach Community Center Association will have its monthly potluck supper starting at 6 p.m. business tax There will be an entrée constant struggle provided and residents are encouraged to bring discounts a covered dish to feed eight to 10 people. The BY JOHN MULLEN program will be pre- [email protected] sented by town historian Margaret Childress GULF SHORES — The city Long who’ll present a council voted on Dec. 12 to sus- history of the Commu- pend a sales and lodging tax dis- nity Center. Long and co- count for businesses in the city. author Michael Shipler “Currently we allow a 2 per- recently released their cent discount on both sales and second book “Orange lodging taxes if Beach, Alabama: A Pic- they are remitted torial History.” The pair timely,” Financial released “The Best Place Director Cindy to Be – The story of Or- King said. “This ange Beach, Alabama” proposal is to not in 2006. The new book is allow that discount available at the Orange KING anymore.” Beach Indian and Sea Orange Beach Museum, St. Charles suspended the discounts in Place gift shop, Pack and November of 2015. King said Mail, Emporium Gifts other cities in the area stopped and More, The Meat discounts on lodging taxes and Mart, Sam’s, the Flora- JOHN MULLEN/GCM STAFF PHOTO Mobile and Orange Beach do not Bama, Coastal Arts Equipment has been working to keep the mouth of Little Lagoon Pass open for much of the past two months. give discounts on sales taxes any Center of Orange Beach, longer. Tallulah’s and Fish on a Stopping the discount will gen- Plate. For more informa- erate about $380,000 during 2017 tion on the potluck sup- Residents want the state and King said the money will go per call 251-981-6060. into the general fund. “In their ordinance, Orange Luke Bryan coming to find a permanent solution Beach said they would use the to The Wharf BY JOHN MULLEN less than a year and they’ve had the money for the beach cleanup pro- KICHLER gram but use another source of The first Wharf [email protected] dredge equipment in there more than it’s revenue to fund ours,” she said. Amphitheatre concert not been in there. So, their design didn’t Also at the Dec. 12 meeting, of the year will be pop GULF SHORES — State struggles with work.” Public Works Director Mark country superstar keeping Little Lagoon Pass open are con- According to Kichler the pass has been Acreman gave a report on the Luke Bryan on March tinuing and residents along the lagoon completely blocked by sand several times widening of the bridge on Ala- 17. Joining Bryan will are beginning to show frustration. in the latter part of 2016. Equipment has bama 59 just north of the Wind- be a pair of Bretts, “How much time do they need to have,” been operating at the mouth of the pass mill Ridge intersection. He added Brett Eldredge and resident Steve Kichler said. “They keep for the past few weeks removing the sand. CALAMETTI Brett Young. Tickets telling us they need more time to see if will be on sale start- the pass is going to work. Well it’s been SEE LAGOON, PAGE 2 SEE DISCOUNTS, PAGE 2 ing Dec. 16. General admission tickets will be $79.75 and reserved seats are available for $79.75 and $39.75. They are available online at Steve Jones earns advanced designation ticketmaster. com, The FROM COMBINED REPORTS designation and complete on the panel. Mayor Robert Wharf box of- an additional 40 hours The training program Craft, left, pres- fice or by GULF SHORES — of training are awarded for elected municipal ents a plaque phone at Long-time Gulf Shores the Advanced Certified officials was created in recognizing Councilman 800-745- Councilman Steve Jones Municipal Official des- 1994 by the Alabama Steve Jones’ 3000. League of Municipalities was honored at the Dec. 12 ignation, which Coun- achievement of council meeting for volun- cilman Steve Jones has to complete the cycle of Advanced Cer- tarily completing training achieved,” Mayor Robert training for municipal tified Municipal as a public official. Craft said. “Well done, officials and employees. Official desig- DEATHS PAGE 23 Jones has earned the Councilman Jones. The league instituted a nation. designation of Advanced “We can sit this up on series of one-day continu- Daniel Alan Cowart Certified Municipal Of- your dais here because no ing education programs Margie Ray Fancher ficial from the Alabama one else has one.” designed for mayors and Jane Cook Jensen League of Municipalities. Jones was first elected councilmembers who James Rupp “Those who have al- to the council in 2000 and ready received the CMO just started his fifth term SEE JONES, PAGE 3 JOHN MULLEN/GCM STAFF PHOTO INDEX Gulf BALDWIN LIVING, 6-7 OPINION, 10-11 Coast CLASSIFIED, 8 -9 PUZZLES, 34 Media HEALTH, 16-18 SPORTS, 13-15 VOLUME 40 • ISSUE 52 LEGALS, 26-33 TV LISTINGS, 19-22 1 SECTION • 40 PAGES 2 • The Islander • December 21, 2016 • Gulf Coast Media said. “Part of it is because do with $26 million to $30 gets to the pass, the pass closures. need to do more study. It’s LAGOON of development. The other million now?” Kichler stops that movement. So “I’ve heard that conser- been going on for 25 years. CONTINUED FROM 1 part is, of course, because asked. “Every time we as part of the court order vation,” Calametti said. How much more studying the state refuses to fix the turn around we don’t have we have to clear the shoal- “But if you extend the do you need? If the coastal In the 1980s the Little pass correctly. The bottom the money for this, we ing on the south end. We jetties you run the risk of engineer can’t figure it Lagoon Preservation So- line is the water quality don’t have the money for move it to the west to put it down-drift erosion and out, then maybe you need ciety sued the state over is suffering in the lagoon, that. I’d love to know the back in the system. we are very, very aware to find another coastal en- the pass and the resulting fish populations are drop- number.” “We manage the pass in of that situation and we gineer.” court order said it was the ping severely.” Vince Calametti, the accordance with the court wouldn’t want to do any- Kichler says he believes state’s responsibility to Kichler grew up on southwest Alabama en- order. We had this same thing to cause any kind of the state is afraid if it tries maintain a constant water Little Lagoon and said his gineer for the Alabama issue with the old pass. damage to the west.” the jetty solution, beach- flow from the lagoon to the family has lived in the area Department of Transpor- It’s a matter of keeping up Kichler says the time for front homeowners west of Gulf of Mexico. since 1861. He estimates tation, says the natural with it as it happens.” patching and fixing as the the pass will file lawsuits. Society members say the state has spent close to flow of water and sand is Kichler and other mem- problems keep recurring “Who has the priority?” the flowing water is vital $30 million at the pass. responsible for closing off bers of the preservation has passed. Kichler asked. “Is the to the health of the lagoon The most recent expen- the pass. society would like to see a “They’ll give you a water quality of this body and they say it is suffering diture was about $12 mil- “The littoral drift, the long-range solution. They vague reason why they of water more important because of the near con- lion for a new bridge over sand that moves in the believe that a rock jetty on won’t put the jetties out than a handful of people stant closures. the pass. During that work Gulf, it moves from the the east side of the pass there,” he said. “They just who have a house on the “The water quality is the pass was also widened. east to the west,” Calam- jutting out into the Gulf keep referring back to the beach?” just getting bad,” Kichler “What could the state etti said. “As that sand could solve the constant coastal engineers and they Affairs Director Grant build eight-foot sidewalks the concrete work that’s NCAA Volleyball those are the bridge proj- DISCOUNTS Brown announced meet- from the south footing of being done on the bridge ect, Beach Revitalization CONTINUED FROM 1 The tournament returns ings have begun with the the Intracoastal Water- itself,” Acreman said. May 5-7 at the public Project and expansions NCAA to organize the 2017 way bridge to the beach. “These expenditures beach by the Hangout. The by businesses at Jack Ed- that the street-paving beach volleyball national According to a city memo were budgeted as part of NCAA released a promo- wards National Airport projects for 2016 have been championships. the total budget improve- the overall cost needed tional video on the cham- “We’ve had a challeng- wrapped up as well.