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Articles written by Commissioner Chris Beeker Jr


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  • Alabama The Beautiful

    Commissioner Chris Beeker Jr|Sep 1, 2018

    The beginning of summer is approaching and we are nearing my favorite time of the year. Summer in the south brings with it vacations, weekends spent outside, outdoor activities, and a multitude of other opportunities. It is a great chance to get out and enjoy our wonderful state parks. I am certainly biased to Alabama but some of the world’s most beautiful natural sites can be found within our state and many of those are at Alabama state parks. Alabama is home to 22 state parks, each having a...

  • Never Stop Learning

    Commissioner Chris Beeker Jr|Aug 1, 2018

    Recently I was asked to address a classroom of young students on what makes a good student a responsible citizen. As I sat down to write some notes, I was inspired and felt led to share this with others as well. Even though the intended audience was 15-16 year old’s, I feel that no matter the age, we can all take away something from this. The process from “good student” to “responsible citizen” all starts within the classroom setting in my opinion. From the very first years of school, you are l...

  • Alabama the Beautiful

    Commissioner Chris Beeker Jr|Jul 1, 2018

    The beginning of summer is approaching and we are nearing my favorite time of the year. Summer in the south brings with it vacations, weekends spent outside, outdoor activities, and a multitude of other opportunities. It is a great chance to get out and enjoy our wonderful state parks. I am certainly biased to Alabama but some of the world’s most beautiful natural sites can be found within our state and many of those are at Alabama state parks. Alabama is home to 22 state parks, each having a...

  • Readiness, Response, and Action

    Commissioner Chris Beeker Jr|Apr 1, 2018

    There are three dates that many of us in Alabama will never forget. The most prominent being those of April 3, 1974, April 27, 2011, and most recently March 19, 2018. On each of those days portions of Alabama were devastated by tornadoes ranging from categories F3 to F5. Lives were lost, people were seriously injured, and homes and businesses were destroyed. Compounding those tragedies was the fact that some communities lacked electrical service for several days. Even those who were not...

  • 58 Million

    Commissioner Chris Beeker Jr|Mar 1, 2018

    In the 1973 landmark ruling of the case of Roe v Wade, it allowed taking the life of an unborn child acceptable and permissible under the law simply because the woman had the ultimate right to make that choice. In this discussion and argument by those judges, was the future ever considered before rendering that ruling? The Supreme Court ruled 7–2 that a right to privacy under the Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment extended to a woman's decision to have an abortion, but that this right m...

  • We The People

    Commissioner Chris Beeker Jr|Feb 1, 2018

    At 12:01a.m. on January 20, 2018, a dually elected group of Senators with the mandate of representing their United States constituents in their states failed to remember who elected them and what their purpose is. Instead, they used an important opportunity reflecting fiscal responsibility to its citizens by creating an unfair and un-American tactic meant to obtain benefits and opportunity for people who never elected them to their position in the first place. The very people who used their...

  • Hopes for the New Year

    Commissioner Chris Beeker Jr|Jan 1, 2018

    “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” Hebrews 11:1 (English Standard Version). It was difficult to accept the loss of a Republican seat in the United States Senate special election; it is never good to lose any seat to a democrat. After the results of that election came in, I found myself in a whirlwind of emotions, but then I remembered that God’s plan is greater than mine, even when I don’t understand it. I trust and believe that His plan is so g...

  • I Am Thankful

    Commissioner Chris Beeker Jr|Dec 1, 2017

    In November we celebrate two holidays that cause us to reflect on our history and the need to remember the sacrifice of so many. Those holidays are Veterans Day and Thanksgiving. The month of November also reflects fall in its full array of colors, which serves to remind us of the need to be thankful for things we mostly take for granted every day. I hope that you paused on Veterans Day to give thanks for those men and women who were brave and selfless enough to fight for our freedom. My...

  • A Tale of Two Responses

    Commissioner Chris Beeker Jr|Nov 1, 2017

    On October 1, 2017 over 500 people were injured and 58 people lost their lives when Stephen Paddock opened fire on concert goers at a country music festival in Las Vegas from his hotel room. This catastrophic event is the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history. As usual, when the responses came out following the shooting, the nation was shown honesty and compassion from the right and lunacy from the left. The debate over gun control and the second amendment have long been a point of...

  • Rescuing, Relieving and Responding

    Commissioner Chris Beeker Jr|Oct 1, 2017

    A heartwarming story took place in Florida just before the arrival of Hurricane Irma. Pam Brekke was next in line at a Lowe’s when she burst into tears as the last generator was given to the person ahead of her in line. “My father is on oxygen and I’m worried about this storm,” she said. Ramon Santiago, who was that next person in line, saw Brekke’s tears and handed over the generator he was going to purchase. “He’s an angel from God is what he is,” Brekke said. “She needed the generator. It...

  • Alabama the Beautiful

    Commissioner Chris Beeker Jr|Sep 1, 2017

    The end of summer is approaching and we are nearing my favorite time of the year – fall. Fall in the south brings with it nights around a campfire, football games, more time spent in the great outdoors, and, thankfully, some cooler weather. It is a great chance to get out and enjoy our wonderful state parks. I am certainly biased to Alabama but some of the world’s most beautiful natural sites can be found within our state and many of those are at Alabama state parks. Alabama is home to 22 sta...

  • COAL CLOBBERS THE COSMIC CURRENT

    Commissioner Chris Beeker Jr|Aug 1, 2016

    In boxing it is said, "To be the champ, you've got to beat the champ." In Alabama, coal is the champion of our natural resources. There is enough coal in our soil to produce electricity for hundreds of years. But, some people don't want us to do that. They want us to use only the sun or wind to produce electricity. We cannot and should not, however, abandon coal, our greatest and most reliable natural resource. Many of the wonderful Alabama citizens currently working in coal mines are...