Columnists, Opinion, Scot Beard
 By  Scot Beard Published 
8:00 am Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Bad news plus bad news equals solution

Less than a week following the primary election that produced a runoff for the Republican nomination for governor, the two biggest stories in Alabama are events taking place outside the state’s borders.

The crazy thing is that nobody can decide which is the bigger of the two stories.

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is inching closer to Alabama beaches and is already having an economic impact on the state’s fishing industry.

Economic woes in a state full of economic problems is a concern, but it could possibly be trumped by a murder investigation thousands of miles away.

In case you have been away from the news, Joran van der Sloot was arrested in Peru for murder. If that name sounds familiar to you, it is because he remains the top suspect in the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, a teenager from the Birmingham area.

Van der Sloot allegedly murdered a woman on May 30 — five years to the day anybody last saw Holloway alive.

Peruvian authorities said van der Sloot confessed to murdering the woman in his hotel room because she found evidence on his computer about his involvement with Holloway’s disappearance.

Van der Sloot, who is a Dutch national, has been nothing but trouble for most of the past five years.

In an undercover video, he confessed to getting rid of Holloway’s body following her death. He has been implicated in trafficking women into the sex trade in Thailand.

Van der Sloot is currently being charged with wire fraud and extortion in Alabama after offering information on the location of Holloway’s body for money. The money was sent, but van der Sloot allegedly gave bad information and used the money to finance his trip to Peru, where he killed the woman.

With all of the information coming out, van der Sloot makes the BP executives, who don’t seem to be in a hurry to plug the oil leak, look like perfect citizens.

Pehaps the best solution to both problems is to have the principle parties of each story meet and work out a solution to all of the problems.

Maybe the BP executives could use van der Sloot to plug the leak.

There would be no more oil in the Gulf of Mexico and the sleazy van der Sloot would be off the streets for good.

It is a perfect scenario in which everybody wins.

Also on Franklin County Times
Safety, appearance shape cleanup operation
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
February 11, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE -- City crews have started working through a list of 11 unsightly properties as part of a cleanup and code-compliance effort. Mayor David...
NWSCC launches first nursing apprenticeship
Main, News, Phil Campbell, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
February 11, 2026
PHIL CAMPBELL — Northwest Shoals Community College has launched a paid nursing apprenticeship program with Decatur Morgan Hospital. The partnership co...
HB67 clears House
Main, News, Russellville
February 11, 2026
Rep. Jamie Kiel’s bill to prohibit the state from selling voters’ phone numbers for comm ercial purposes moved a step closer last week to final passag...
Clubs support American Heart Month
Columnists, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
February 11, 2026
Most of us can name a family member or friend who heart disease has touched. I can. That is why heart health does not feel abstract to me. It does not...
Health care reform starts with insurers
Columnists, Opinion
February 11, 2026
Every president promises to fix health care, but the system rarely seems to change for the better. Even when so-called reforms pass, prices remain unp...
Community honors Army veteran Weidman
Franklin County, News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
February 11, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE – Veterans and community members gathered Feb. 2 at Pinkard Funeral Home to honor John Weidman, a U.S. Army veteran who retired as a staf...
Newspaper dresses create walk through fashion history
News, Phil Campbell, Phil Campbell Bobcats
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
February 11, 2026
PHIL CAMPBELL — Students in Aleah Harris’ fashion classes created dresses from newspapers with each group picking a different decade. Senior Ava Hall ...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *