The newly elected President of the National Association of Counties is visiting Alabama this week.
Complaints about the stalled federal highway bill in Congress are just one topic being voiced by county elected officials. Twenty five percent of Alabama roads are reportedly in need of repair. Sixty percent of those roads run through the counties.
NACO President Sallie Clark says a three-month stopgap spending plan did win approval in Congress. But she says that’s not enough for major road projects.
“They’re not simple, they’re not quick. Yes, road overlays can be done as you go. But, these are major projects that really impact our citizens from a safety level and to make sure that we keep our economies strong.”
Clark also wants to talk with Alabama counties about disaster management funding from Washington. She says additional dollars are needed to safeguard against hurricanes in Alabama and wildfires in her home state of Colorado.
An Alabama trucking company has agreed to pay over a hundred thousand dollars in back wages and damages after an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Fitzhugh Contracting, a logging and trucking company based in Gallion, was the subject of a Department of Labor investigation after employee complaints.
Authorities found the company failed to pay required overtime to more than 60 of its employees, and 46 drivers were misclassified as independent contractors. The company has agreed to pay the more than $56,000 owed in back wages and the same amount in damages, totaling over $112,000.
Frank McGriggs, the department’s deputy regional director in Atlanta, says the investigation and penalty should be a warning to other employers paying their workers in a similar manner, and they should change their practices immediately.
Classes at the Alabama School of Mathematics and Science are set to resume today.
Students were sent home last week because of an unknown illness. Opening was set for Monday, but school officials wanted some extra time to finish sanitizing the facility before bringing students back today.
School spokeswoman Amber Day says the decision to send students home last week began with a few complaints.
“We had a couple of students report to our hall staff late in the afternoon in the dorms that they were having some stomach problems. First thing the next morning couple more students reported to the nurse when she got there that morning. The school felt it best to go ahead and call in the health department.”
The Mobile County Department of Health says test results show the illnesses were due to the Norwalk virus. The 253 students are being urged to use hand sanitizer just to be careful.