Fires Ravage Six Rural Alabama Churches

“Fires Ravage Six Rural Alabama Churches
Friday, February 03, 2006


CENTREVILLE, Ala. — The search for a possible arsonist was underway Friday after six churches in rural Alabama were found burning. At least five of the fires were suspected to have been set deliberately.

The fires were set "as fast as they could drive from one location to the next," Bibb County Chief Deputy Sheriff Kenneth Weems said of the cluster of blazes, all near U.S. 82 and Highway 139.

Most of the churches were Baptist and all were in Bibb County, about 25 miles south of Birmingham.

The churches that burned Friday morning included Rehobeth Baptist Church in Randolph, Ashby Baptist Church in Brierfield, Old Union Baptist Church in Brierfield, Pleasant Sabine southeast of Centerville and Antioch Baptist Church in Antioch, FOX affiliate WBRC in Birmingham, Ala., confirmed. New Harmony Holiness Baptist Church in Fairview, Chilton County, was also ablaze. Ashby Baptist and Rehobeth Baptist both burned to the ground.

All were within a 15- to 20-mile radius of each other, according to WBRC.

The fire that damaged the Chilton County church apparently happened late Thursday afternoon and gutted New Harmony Holiness Baptist. No one was hurt. That church had been undergoing construction, which could have been a source of the fire, said Ragan Ingram, a spokesman for the state insurance agency that oversees fire investigations.

Firefighters were still spraying water on some hotspots late Friday morning.

The Rev. David Hand of the Old Union Baptist Church said a fire was discovered at his church at around 4:30 a.m. Friday. But, he said the blaze was extinguished before it could cause serious damage.

Jim Parker, a member of the Ashby Baptist Church, told WBRC television in Birmingham that he understood the fire began near the pulpit and that the fires at other churches had a similar pattern.

The minister of The First Baptist Church of Woodstock — which was not burned — told FOX News that all the churches targeted were southern Baptist; one is predominantly black while the others were predominantly white.

In 1996, race was a factor in a series of arsons that damaged rural black churches in Alabama and elsewhere. But Ingram said the fires late Thursday and early Friday destroyed both the churches of predominantly black congregations and predominantly white congregations.

WRBC reported that police have not made public the names of any suspects or announced any arrests. But pastors of the burned churches have been making plans for weekend services.

Republican Congressman Spencer Bachus of Alabama visited Bibb County Friday "to see the destruction firsthand."

"My deepest sympathies are with the residents of Bibb County and members of the affected churches," Bachus said in a statement released by his office. "Federal, state and local resources are being exhausted to find those responsible for these heinous acts. ... My prayer is that the people of Bibb County can soon begin to heal."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,183704,00.html



I'm pleased the anti-Christian mob here hasn't been cheering this on.
Maybe they do have some certain level of decency.”

“COOL!!!! (no, I'm devoid of decency)”

“Damn shame.”

“Mutt, Mutt, Mutt... ;-)”

“Why on earth would you start a fuego thread and assume that someone is going to cheer acts like this on, if you weren't just trying to stir up trouble yourself, SS? What the hell makes you tick, anyway?”

“Troll!”

“[VBG]”

“Dang! Must be losing my trolling edge.
Can't even troll up BB or A$$Crack.
They must be dead or banned or something.
Neither of them has been around today.

" message from Treebeard being ignored" doesn't count. There has to be some challenge to it.
LOL”

“Ignore it all you want. Besides, you never had an edge to lose. Go back to laughing at your co-workers, macho-man!”

“what's vbg?”

“It's a French acronym for "sucking treebeard's dick".”

“snicker”

“message from Treebeard being ignored

I will not 'debate' with tb because he is a hothead that thinks since he's from NYC, he's better that a redneck #$#^%^%#^%&# Southerner like me. He has told me such in earlyer Fugeo threads.
He has a habit of calling me vile names, requesting I suck a certain part of his body, and thinking he's being smart and witty for doing so.

Sad. He lost me as someone that could have been a good friend.
I've even had to put a block on email from him.

There is a Psychological Behavioral Term for people that have done someone wrong, and because of feelings of guilt over this, grow to hate that person.
I think this is the case with tb, who otherwise seems to be a nice person, as long as your political opinions agree with his.”

“so violin's response was honest?”

“[VBG]
very big grin, you dofuss!
LOL”

“So you say.”

“LOL @ violin
That's what I like about you, violin.
So consistent.”

“I need a computer geek dictionary.

;)”

“OH God....sorry but a church fire usually means you have to put up with the State Fire Marshal, and you have to secure the scene and call ATF.”

“Nothing I hate more than a hate crime. It's a sad day for the people of those churches but even sader for the perp/perps. Something tells me that Saint Peter just put an X by his/their name.
last edited: 2/03/06 8:19:08 PM”

“http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11726024/

They caught 2 of 3 perps.”

“Wow. They were students at Birmingham Southern. That's a pretty prestigous liberal arts college sponsered by the Methodist Church. The article said they just liked to watch fire. BS, more will come of this. The majority of those fires started at the pulpit. I think one of those guys has a major axe to grind in some way with a clergyman.”

“a four-year, private liberal arts college affiliated with the United Methodist Church”

“A federal source said the apparent motive was that the three students just liked to set and watch fires.”

“I think one of those guys has a major axe to grind in some way with a clergyman.”

“Hey Stove - You forgot to restate dayhikers last two sentences.


edit: Ha! Sarge beat me to it.
last edited: 3/08/06 10:57:26 AM”

“Violin is on drugs again.”

“Great minds think alike, huh Violin?”

“Tis scary.”

“Silly violin.
Dayhiker used 'prestigous' and 'sponsered' in his version.
LOL”

“Watch out
You might get what you’re after
Cool babies
Strange but not a stranger
I’m an ordinary guy
Burning down the church

Hold tight wait till the party’s over
Hold tight we’re in for nasty weather
There has got to be a way
Burning down the church

Here’s your ticket pack your bag: time for jumpin’ overboard
The transportation is here
Close enough but not too far, maybe you know where you are
Fightin’ fire with fire

All wet
Hey you might need a raincoat
Shakedown
Dreams walking in broad daylight
Three hun-dred six-ty five de-grees
Burning down the church

It was once upon a place sometimes I listen to myself
Gonna come in first place
People on their way to work baby what did you except
Gonna burst into flame

My church
S’out of the ordinary
That’s might
Don’t want to hurt nobody
Some things sure can sweep me off my feet
Burning down the church

No visible means of support and you have not seen nuthin’ yet
Everything’s stuck together
I don’t know what you expect starring into the tv set
Fighting fire with fire”

“Too bad they were caught.”

“I wonder why dayhiker left this little part out? LOL

Police are also searching for a third person, reportedly a student at the University of Alabama in Birmingham.

He was identified as Matthew Lee Cloyd, and owns a vehicle that matches the description of a vehicle that witnesses had placed at the scene of several of the fires, WVTM reported.”

“I don't know why I left it out either. My degrees aren't from UAB. I feel closer ties to Southern than UAB. The North Alabama Conference of the United Methodist Church is hq'd at BSU.

Around this area a degree from there is a pretty good degree to have. It's very expensive by SE standards.

Again, major axe to grind somewhere in these kids past. If they like to watch buildings burn there are plenty of abandoned crack houses 10 minutes drive from their college campus. That's still not right to do, but at least it's not building that is in use. No, I'm not saying it's ok to burn crackhouses.”

“Direct quote:

it's ok to burn crackhouses.
dayhiker
11:11:28 AM
3/08/06”

“No, I'm not saying it's ok to burn crackhouses.”
dayhiker
11:11:28 AM
3/08/06
ignore this user

I said it's NOT ok to burn crackhouses. Do you learn to edit quotes in liberal media 101 in college?”

“I'm a racist...”

“I just don't understand how you can advocate arson (even crackhouses).”

“V - you know I was being tongue in cheek. You've had your fun now move along.”

“Is every white male from Alabama an arsonist?”

“Or just Methodists?”

“Why are you afraid to meet SS for a beer when he goes to NJ? You could each drive 30 minutes and it wouldn't be a big deal. Are you afraid to actually meet someone in person?”

“He's intimidated by hikers.”

“Suit yourself. If I were you I'd only get my tires secondhand though - like from a junkyard or something.”

“LMAO @ Nigal.
That was a quick and deep cut.”

“Hikers do it in packs.”

“Um...pyromania...is a serious sickness. I have interviewed only one confirmed pyro in my career. He was 13 and scared the hell out of me. He set fires to watch stuff burn. In fact during the interview he admitted that "the effects of puberty" would become apparent when he was watching a fire.”

“What do you mean XL?

Did you guys watch House last night? ... the cow thing?
last edited: 3/08/06 12:47:39 PM”

“Whose House?”

“the TV show

Dude wanted meds so he wouldn't see the "effects of puberty" when he was around cows. Turned out he wanted it b/c his mom was hot.”