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| Jesse Poor, deputy to the commander at the Anniston Army Depot, and Sen. Richard Shelby talk Thursday about humvees and armor plating after the senator’s speech at Classic on Noble. Photo: Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star |
Recent events at the incinerator have raised questions about the process’ security. Incinerator officials continue to say the process is safe.
"I believe they’re learning as they go," said Shelby, a Republican from Tuscaloosa, who wore a sling on his right arm because he is recovering from rotator cuff surgery.
Shelby addressed a meeting Thursday sponsored by the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce at Classic on Noble.
"There have been no fatal mishaps, and we don’t want any," Shelby said during an interview.
He told the crowd of nearly 180 the sooner the weapons are destroyed safely, the better the community will be, and he admitted there is no easy answer to incineration.
Calhoun County Commissioner Eli Henderson said Shelby was "right on target" with his efforts.
Shelby addressed several issues local leaders have identified as being key to the area’s future, including the Eastern Parkway, ridding the area of environmental contamination and preserving Anniston Army Depot’s future.
"Of course you never know with the base realignment commission, but if they take an objective look, the depot’s going to survive," Shelby said.
He said he would fight to get federal money for the depot and its programs.
Shelby said Alabama is getting more federal transportation money than it’s ever gotten before. He said it was up to the local leaders to get the money allocated for the Eastern Parkway.
"We’re bringing money to Montgomery, but we don’t micromanage it," Shelby said.
Local officials have identified the parkway’s completion as a major force for economic development. Shelby has supported the effort, but urged local leaders to take action.
"I can push, but it’s going to take you pushing, too," Shelby said.
After hearing what Shelby said about the parkway, Anniston Mayor Chip Howell said the city needs the parkway to further develop McClellan.
"If there was a need for redevelopment through transportation, I believe we’re singular in that respect," Howell said.
Aware of the recent announcement by Werner, Shelby told the crowd America needs to "trade tough." He later said the term needed to be defined by the president’s trade representatives.
Once jobs go overseas, they don’t come back, Shelby said. He told the crowd that China manipulates its currency so it can market goods more cheaply.
On the ongoing struggles in Iraq, Shelby said: "It’s not the American way to cut and run."
Shelby, who chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee until last year, called for more intelligence agents on the ground to collect information on terrorism and national security. The country has come to rely too much on satellite technology for intelligence, he said.
Shelby does not support President Bush’s immigration and amnesty proposal for illegal aliens, in a departure from the Republican president.
"We should not reward people who break the law to come here, to stay here," Shelby said.