DOTHAN: 5:20 PM Under the Dothan City Manager/Dothan Mayor/Dothan Associate Commissioner laws all hires of department heads are required to come to the Mayor and Commission from the City Manager.
With the retirement of long time serving Dothan Fire Chief, Larry Williams, it is the duty of Dothan City Manager Randy Morris to make a recomendation to the Dothan Mayor and Associate Commissioners. The law of which the City of Dothan operates does not allow the Mayor and Associate Commissioner to select the finalist or recomend to the City Manager a particular person for the job.
However, the Mayor and Associate Commissioner can vote up or vote down the person recomended by the City Manager. They are not bound to hire who the City Manager recomends.
Dothan City Manager Randy Morris, assisted by Birmingham and Peachtree City Fire Chief’s intreviewed the three Dothan Fire Deputy Chief’s. Following the interviews it is the intentions of Dothan City Manager Randy Morris to recomend Dothan Fire Deputy Chief David Hasty to the Dothan Commission as the next Dothan Fire Chief. That recomendation is expected to be made on the November 4, 2025 agenda of the Dothan City Commission.
If the Dothan Mayor and Associate Commissioners accept the recomendation of the City Manager, David Hasty will assume the role of Dothan Fire Chief on January 1, 2026.
BARBOUR COUNTY: 12:49 PM The bondsman protected by Barbour – Bullock County Circuit Court Judge Bert Smithhart has been released from the Barbour County Jail this morning. As we understand the charges that Bondsman James Thomas was arrested for by Eufaula Police Department were for Domestic Violence and Possession of Cocaine. The arrest was confirmed by Eufaula Police Department.
According to some information to RSN some have denied the cocaine charges that was alleged to have been found on James Thomas. The jail video in the Barbour County Jail will confirm the cocaine that was alleged to have been removed from Thomas. In Barbour County there is no telling what evidence will be lost, destroyed or erased.
Barbour – Bullock County Circuit Court Judge Bert Smithhart has denied or just sit on the paperwork of persons interested in opening a bail bonding business in Barbour County. That has happened for decades. This has resulted in only one bonding company being allowed to operate in Barbour County. The court would enter orders “professional surety required” which prevented citizens from Barbour County from even doing a property bond. And with the order “professional surety required” forced people to use James Thomas as a bondsman and pay whatever he charged them. That is because of the protection from Circuit Court Judge Bert Smithhart.
There has been no legal reasons for Circuit Court Judge Bert Smithhart to deny others from being approved as a bail bondsman in Barbour County. However he is the only Circuit Court Judge and a bonding company has to be approved by the Presiding Circuit Court Judge. A writ of Mandamus could be filed against Circuit Judge Bert Smithhart but he would try to put them out of business if anyone failed to appear and not allow the bail bondsman time to locate the person and return them to the custody of the Sheriff.
Circuit Court Judge Bert Smithhart resides in Union Springs – Bullock County. His wife is a practicing attorney in Union Springs.
Circuit Court Judge Bert Smithhart’s protection of James Thomas as the sole bailbondsman in Barbour County, RSN feels that makes a reasonable person really question the honesty and integrity of Circuit Court Judge Bert Smithhart. And in review of some case files and Smithharts actions, it is the opinion of RSN that Bert Smithhart should not be allowed to be a Circuit Court Judge or even allowed to practice law. And in RSN opinion he has mistreated the people of Barbour and Bullock County.
Any day Circuit Court Judge Bert Smithhart would like to publically debate this with me, 334-790-1729.
DOTHAN: 11:47 AM Dothan 911 dispatched a structure fire at 1946 Ennis Road, Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences building. Reports to Dothan 911 the fire alarm was pulled and smoke in the building.
This is a new building which was recently constructed.
11:52 AM Dothan Fire, on the scene, reported audible alarm, smoke haze in the lab room.
Multiple Fire Engine companies are on the scene.
11:53 AM Dothan Fire Chief Larry Williams is on the scene and assumed command.
11:56 AM From the roof nothing showing and the fireman in the lab have not been able to identify the source of the haze at this time.
11:55 AM Fire attack reported no needs at this time, still investigating the source of the haze in the building.
11:57 AM Fire alarm has been re-set.
11:58 AM Dothan Fire Chief Larry Williams has turned command over to Training 2 and Fire Chief is in service.
12:01 PM Dothan Fireman are still searching overhead in the lab for the source of the haze.
12:02 PM Fire Attack has reported to Command that two fire engines can return to service and leave two fire engines on the scene and they can handle the situation. They are still searching for the source of the haze but has determined no actual structure fire.
NEWVILLE: On Tuesday evening at Ravenwood in Newville there were perhaps some of the most powerful people across the State of Alabama who came together for the re-election announcement of Republican Incumbent Rick Rehm, member of the Alabama House of Representatives.
But with all of the powerful people together, there were two young people who outshined all of them. And those two were Headland High School students Aleah Sanders and Luke Lawson. ( Hope spelled their names correctly ).
These two young people spoke and gave an overwhelming endorsement of Rick Rehm in his re-election bid for the Alabama House of Representatives.
These two students have studied politics and campaigns. They have been involved in campaigns since before they could drive. Their parents drove them around to events before they were 16.
These two students, who represented students from all over, in particular Headland High School, were an inspritation to everyone of our future in young people.
I had never met these two young people until Tuesday evening. I know they made their parents and school happy with their represention and presentattion.
NEWVILLE: On Tuesday evening Johnny Lee, Chairman of the Henry County Farmer’s Federation and with ALFA Insurance spoke in Newville at Ravenwood at the announcement of Republican Incumbent Rick Rehm for the Alabama House of Representatives.
Johnny Lee wore several hats in his endorsement of Rick Rehm.
