March 2024 Newsletter

Eliphalet Remington built his first rifle barrel more than 200 years ago, painstakingly crafting it in his father’s forge in upstate New York. At that point ammunition was round, the British were the bad guys and gun control involved forearm strength. About a decade later, Remington moved his operation just beside the newly opened Erie Canal. Remington Arms became a force in Ilion, NY west of Albany producing weapons used by cops, robbers, soldiers and the public. But as generations passed, competition and economics eroded Remington’s bottom line and its presence in the village, whose Main Street stops at its gates. That road reached a dead end in late November when the privately held company announced it would relocate its Remington Ilion operations to Geogia amid suggestions from company leaders. New York’s efforts to stem gun violence had driven away a beloved local institution. The move meant the loss of jobs for more than 300 employees. The mayor said “Ilion is Remington. Remington is Ilion.”

Officials at a tiny AM Station in Jasper, Ala. were stunned when thieves made off with its 200 foot tall, heavy steel radio tower. “I have heard of thieves in this area stealing anything, but this one takes the cake” said longtime station manager Brett Elmore. Police are investigating and Elmore has put up a GoFundMe page to raise the $60,000 to $100,000 needed for a new tower. “You’re not going to keep me down,” he said.

Keeping It together, after a Las Vegas man arrested on suspicion of DUI lent weight to those suspicions by urinating on the leg of the arresting officer. Frank Afoa now faces multiple charges, including “unlawful” acts related to human excrement of bodily fluid.”