Shadrack McGillSen. McGill loses county office bid
SCOTTSBORO, Ala. – Republican state Sen. Shadrack McGill lost his bid to become Jackson County’s revenue commissioner.
Kathy Thompson won the Republican runoff Tuesday night with 63 percent of the vote. McGill got 37 percent.
McGill was a political newcomer when he upset powerful Democratic Sen. Lowell Barron in 2010. His victory helped Republicans take control of the Alabama Senate for the first time in 136 years. McGill attracted even more attention in 2013 when his wife took to Facebook to warn women to stop sending pictures to her husband or face public scorn.
McGill took to Facebook Tuesday night to thank his supporters and congratulate Thompson.
Alabama’s chief election official, Secretary of State Jim Bennett, said the runoff election turnout Tuesday at 8 percent was slightly higher than the 5 percent he had predicted.
He said there were no issues reported with voters having to show photo IDs at the polls.
State sets record for lottery sales
NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Education Lottery Corp. has had a record year with $1.4 billion in sales for fiscal year 2014.
According to the lottery, this year’s sales provided more than $337 million for targeted education programs. Those include college scholarships and grants, after-school programs for children and an initiative to make schools more energy efficient.
In all, the lottery has provided more than $3 billion for education since ticket sales began a decade ago. It has funded more than 800,000 grants or scholarships since 2004. More than 100,000 grants or scholarships were awarded just in the past academic year.
More than 350 dogs taken from owner
CUMMING, Ga. – Authorities in Cherokee County say more than 350 dogs were found living in squalid conditions on a property.
Cherokee County Marshal’s Office spokeswoman Alexa Huston told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that 357 dogs were being kept in unsanitary conditions and housed in cages. Huston said urine, feces and dog food that had fallen through the cages’ grates were underneath most of the cages.
Hutson said the dogs were found during a compliance check and have been taken to the Cherokee County animal shelter. It’s unclear if any arrests have been made.
Animal shelter director Susan Garcia said the facility was able to accept the dogs because of the number of recent adoptions; the animals aren’t adoptable yet.
Tax-free school sales coming up
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Alabama’s tax-free weekend for back-to-school clothes and supplies is scheduled for the first weekend in August.
The state department of revenue said the 4 percent state sales tax will be waived from Friday, Aug. 1, through Sunday, Aug. 3. Many cities and counties also are waiving local sales taxes.
Items that can be purchased tax-free include clothing costing $100 or less per item, computer equipment costing $750 or less, school supplies costing $50 or less per item, and books costing $30 or less.
Officials noted that the tax break on computer equipment does not include items intended primarily for recreational use, such as video games.