Goodbye
Indian Mounds, Hello Sam’s Club
By Dan Whisenhunt for The
Anniston Star via the Associated
Press
OXFORD, Ala. (AP)—A stone mound
on a hill behind the Oxford
Exchange created by American
Indians 1,500 years ago will
soon disappear.
And whether Oxford's taxpayers
wanted it or not, they paid for
its destruction.
Workers hired by the city's
Commercial Development Authority
(CDA) are using the dirt from
the hill as fill for a new Sam's
Club. The project has angered
American Indians who, along with
a Jacksonville State University
archaeology professor, say the
site could contain human
remains.
Oxford Mayor Leon Smith and City
Project Manager Fred Denney say
it was used to send smoke
signals.
The city's CDA uses taxpayer
money and assets to lure
commercial businesses. The $2.6
million no-bid CDA contract for
preparing the Sam's site went to
Oxford-based Taylor Corp. That
money came from the sale of city
property to Georgia-based
developers Abernathy and
Timberlake and from additional
money provided by the city.
In Alabama, CDAs are exempt from
bid laws, meaning contracts can
go to whichever company the
board chooses. Oxford's CDA
board and its actions have
multiple connections to Smith's
political fundraising:
• At least three board members
or their employers have
contributed to his political
campaigns.
• Taylor Corp., under the
ownership of Tommy Taylor, has
received thousands of dollars in
city contracts for non-CDA work.
Taylor donated $1,000 to Smith
in 2004 and $1,000 in 2008.
• Abernathy and Timberlake
donated $1,000 to Smith's
re-election campaign in 2004.
• Montgomery-based Goodwyn,
Mills and Cawood donated $500 to
Smith in 2004. The CDA gave the
company engineering contracts
for the exchange. Denney said
the CDA paid the company $45,000
for engineering work, part of
which paid for a University of
Alabama study on the American
Indian site.
Eligible for National Register
of Historic Places?
The Anniston Star newspaper has
so far been unable to obtain a
copy of the University of
Alabama study, but a letter from
the Alabama Historical
Commission's deputy state
historic preservation officer
indicated the university did not
think the site was eligible for
the National Register of
Historic Places. The state
Historic Preservation Commission
did think the site was eligible
for the National Register.
City Project Manager Denney said
the report's authors found
little at the site. Mayor Smith
has said there is nothing wrong
with the connections between
himself and the CDA. He has
described Taylor as a, "good
friend."
Attempts to reach
representatives for Taylor Corp.
and Abernathy and Timberlake on
Monday were unsuccessful. The
Birmingham office of Goodwyn,
Mills and Cawood declined
comment.
CDA members contacted by The
Star declined comment, referring
questions to board chairman
Dwight Rice. Attempts to reach
Rice on Monday also were
unsuccessful.
Chervis Isom, a Birmingham
attorney representing Abernathy
and Timberlake, said the company
isn't involved with the hill or
the fill dirt.
"If the dirt were contaminated
in some way we'd certainly have
an interest in that," Isom said.
"Where the CDA got the dirt I'm
not sure. We don't have any
control over that." He added he
does not think there is any
problem with the dirt.
Denney said workers will remove
about one-third of the hill and
cover it with grass. The city
eventually will develop
commercial business on what
remains of the hill, he said.
A September 2008 proposal by
Taylor Corp. describes the
demolition in vague terms. "This
item includes undercutting two
building pad footprints ..." the
report reads. "The City has
agreed to let us spoil the
undercut material on their
property across the new bridge."
Denney said the line in the
proposal refers to the hill.
"The agreement was we'd furnish
the soil," Denney said. "The
city would furnish them a place
to get it."
The City Council transferred the
property containing the hill to
the CDA in February.
Councilwoman June Land Reaves,
who voted against the transfer,
said she did not understand the
hill property was a part of it.
"I never heard any discussion
about dirt being taken from the
hillside or a reason why that
was being done, but it seems to
me like a lot of cities
capitalize on the history they
have ... but (we do not seem) to
do that," she said.
Too Late for City Council
Intervention
Council President Chris
Spurlin said it's too late for
the City Council to intervene at
the site. He said he hated the
bad publicity, but said there is
no proof the site holds human
remains.
"The CDA has the authority,"
Spurlin said. "They're trying to
do what's best for the city. I
don't see no reason in buying
fill dirt from someone when we
have that hill available."
In a follow-up story, The
Anniston Star later reported:
OXFORD, Ala. (AP)—City officials
have ignored another protest
over the city's decision to
destroy a stone mound on a hill
behind the Oxford Exchange
created by American Indians
1,500 years ago.
Tony Castaneda, of Anniston, and
Sharon Jackson, of Fruithurst,
who say they are Indian elders,
presented Mayor Leon Smith with
a petition Monday containing
more than 600 signatures of
people opposed to the site's
destruction. The Anniston Star
reported Tuesday Smith became
agitated when the two arrived at
City Hall, took the petition and
went back inside.
Castaneda and Jackson collected
more signatures at City Hall
that evening. The state
Historical Commission says the
mound is the largest of its kind
in Alabama. The city paid to
have part of the hill taken down
for fill at a Sam's Club.
Dan Whisenhunt is a reporter at
The Anniston (Ala.) Star. This
story was distributed by the
Associated Press.
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