Jason Rickels, the former fire chief of Tarrant, was recently reinstated to his position by the Jefferson County Personnel Board. His return was not welcomed by Tarrant’s mayor, Wayman Newton, who, in an interaction recorded by security cameras in city hall, accused Rickels of racism.
“Welcome back. I want to thank you,” Newton told Rickels. “You’re going to actually help me get elected. Folks don’t want a racist fire chief. You’re pulling out guns on people and stuff.”
Rickels was fired by the mayor in 2021 after he was arrested near Atlanta due to a confrontation between himself and a realtor at a property he owned.
The realtor had hired a photography crew to take marketing photos during a scheduled viewing of the home, which was for sale at the time. Rickels and his wife said they saw the group entering the house on the home’s Ring camera and thought that they were using the viewing to rob the house. They went to the house, and during the confrontation that followed, Rickels smashed a camera and drew a handgun. Both the realtor and the cameraman were Black, and accused Rickels of profiling due to their race.
Criminal charges were later dropped.
Rickels contested his firing, and the Jefferson County Personnel Board in November 2024 ruled that Newton had failed to follow proper procedures by not notifying the City Council.
This left the small town of 5,000 people with two fire chiefs on the payroll. Additionally, Rickels is demanding $500,000 in backpay. Rickels has said that if he receives the funds he wants from the city, he will retire.
This is not the first time that Tarrant’s leadership has made the news. In 2024, an ongoing feud between the City Council and Newton occurred involving Tarrant Police Chief Wendell Major, who was placed on administrative leave by Newton, then reinstated by the City Council.
Council members argue that Newton was only going after Major due to his testimony following an incident between Newton and City Council member Tommy Bryant. A verbal altercation between the two men led to Bryant punching Newton. A judge found Bryant not guilty due to vulgar language used by Newton pertaining to Bryant’s wife.
“The court is in the opinion that any ‘reasonable person’ would consider the words stated to the defendant regarding his wife as ‘fighting words,’’’ said District Judge Katrina Ross.
The next Tarrant City Council meeting is scheduled for Feb. 3.
Alabama top stories in brief
Alabama’s fourth grade math improves while other scores remain flat
- The National Assessment Education Progress results announced on Jan. 29 showed Alabama’s fourth graders had scored 236 for 2024, which puts them only a single point below the national average.
- This is a six-point gain for the fourth grade from when they were last scored in 2022.
- Reading for the fourth grade, and math and reading for the eighth grade, remained on par with 2022’s scores.
- Despite lack of improvement in most areas, Alabama’s students moved up compared to other states due to drops in scores nationwide following the COVID-19 pandemic.
- According to the NAEP, students considered to be economically disadvantaged scored an average of 28 points below other students — a statistic that remained largely unchanged since 2000.
Bill to aid in prenatal care reintroduced for 2025 legislative session
- The bill, HB89, would allow for pregnant women to receive 60 days of “presumptive” medicaid before their application has been approved.
- In order to be considered “presumptively eligible,” women would have to have proof of pregnancy and show proof of current household income.
- Legislators who support the bill say that it could help reduce the number of preterm births in Alabama, which was 12.8% of all births in 2022.
New bills target improvements to state rural health care
- Two bills filed this session, HB46 and HB86, specifically focus on improving the state of Alabama’s rural health care.
- HB46 would allow for physicians operating in rural communities to claim additional tax credits and make adjustments to current tax credits so that they are more accessible for rural physicians.
- HB86 “would establish a Rural Hospital Investment Program to provide financial support for rural hospitals in the State of Alabama.”
- If passed, HB86 would allow businesses and individual donors to receive tax credits for financial contributions to rural hospitals.
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