Take my signs? Take that!
Councilman accused of assault in dispute over roadside removals

This is one of those stories I don't know what to make of, perhaps because the Birmingham News only got one side of the dispute. Police in Hoover (the largest suburb south of Birmingham) arrested the head of the City Council of Bessemer (an older industrial suburb southwest of Birmingham) for assault after he allegedly (the story doesn't include the qualifier) punching a Hoover resident.

It should be pointed out that W.W. Ledbetter, the Bessemer councilman, is 66 years old, and Porter Vardaman, the Hoover man, is twenty years younger. It also should be noted that the dispute centered around Vardaman removing (and returning to a collection center) Ledbetter campaign signs from Highway 150, which runs between Bessemer and Hoover, and main roads in Bessemer that were a long way from Hoover. (Trust me, as someone who's lived in both cities.) Apparently there's a history between the men and their families.

I expect there's something more here. I'll talk to my father or sister (who work in Bessemer) and ask what they know. I have my suspicions but I won't state them.