Rally Set for Bedford’s District

Alabama Citizens for a Sound Economy, a conservative group that touts lower taxes and less government, has scheduled an anti-corruption rally Saturday in the legislative district of state Sen. Roger Bedford.

The group’s state director, Twinkle Andress, former executive director of the Alabama Republican Party, said the rally will include barbecue and live bluegrass music. It begins at 5 p.m. in the Marion County town of Brilliant, on the farm property at 12108 Alabama 233.

Ms. Andress said people from the district asked her group to hold a rally there. The group is trying to build a grass roots following that will hold candidates accountable on tax and policy issues in the 2002 elections.

Bedford, a Russellville Democrat, has been the focus of recent news stories raising questions about the use and expenditure of various state funds.

He says he’s done nothing wrong and is planning to attend the Saturday event. He said the group would be “very proud of my record” in managing tax dollars. Tom Gordon United Way meets $6 million goal The United Way’s Pacesetter Campaign exceeded its goal Thursday.

“Six million dollars [the goal] is a bunch of money, but we did it,” campaign director F. Dixon Brooke Jr. said before reporting $6,324,988 had been raised.

“None of this would be possible without your hard work,” Brooke, vice president and division general manager of Ebsco Industries, told volunteers.

The $6 million goal was $1 million higher than the $5,087,000 raised in last summer’s fund drive.

Pacesetter is the summer portion of the annual United Way of Central Alabama’s campaign in Jefferson, Shelby, Walker, Blount and St. Clair counties. It funds 75 social service agencies and programs.

The larger campaign will kick off Sept. 6 and continue until Dec. 7.

Walter Bryant Poison center wins federal grant WASHINGTON – The Regional Poison Control Center at Children’s Hospital in Birmingham is receiving a federal grant for $108,374 through the federal Poison Center Enhancement and Awareness Act.

The new law authorizes funding for poison control centers and establishes a national toll-free poison control hot line, said Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Vestavia Hills, a cosponsor of the plan.

The center receives about 35,000 calls a year, Bachus said. “It’s a lifeline for parents and children.”

The center fields poison-related calls, directs those whose problem cannot be managed at home to a hospital for treatment, provides professional and public education and training and collects data on poisoning exposures.