Shipments of uranium ore from a revived mining operation just south of the Grand Canyon are expected to resume in February after the Navajo Nation reached a settlement with the mining company, clearing the way for trucks to transport the ore across the largest Native American reservation in the U.S.
The agreement announced Jan. 29 settles a dispute that erupted last summer when Energy Fuels Inc. began trucking ore from the Pinyon Plain Mine to a mill site in Utah. Navajo authorities attempted to put up roadblocks but the trucks already had left tribal roadways.
The dust-up spurred negotiations with the company and led the Navajo Nation to adopt emergency legislation to strengthen regulations for transporting radioactive material across tribal lands. The Navajo Nation and tribes elsewhere in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah have a long, sordid history of disease, death and contamination linked to mining that took place during World War II and the Cold War.
Energy Fuels’ President and CEO Mark Chalmers acknowledged those longstanding impacts in highlighting the importance of the settlement.
“This has understandably caused mistrust toward the U.S. government and energy companies,” Chalmers said, adding that he was honored to be able to work with the tribe to address the concerns and ensure transportation will be done safely and respectfully.
Energy Fuels already must meet standards spelled out by federal agencies when transporting uranium ore. The measures outlined in the agreement with the Navajo Nation provide additional layers of protection, company officials said.
The agreement also includes a pledge by Energy Fuels to help transport up to 10,000 tons of waste material from abandoned mines that are relics of the federal government’s past uranium programs.
In addition to allowing the Navajo Nation to monitor and inspect transport trucks, there are provisions for financial compensation for improving safety and protecting the environment, said Stephen B. Etsitty, head of the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency.
Shipments from the mine are expected to resume in February. They will be limited to specific routes and times of day, and no shipments will happen when the tribe is participating in cultural celebrations or other public events.
The tribe also is requiring the company to have clear emergency response procedures in place, provide adequate notice and ensure drivers have additional qualifications and training.
The trucks will be covered to prevent any dust from escaping along the route, and there are provisions for escorts and blessings as the tribe sees fit.
This may seem late, seven days into Black History Month, but it’s not. It’s never too late to do what must be done, what we all should do — you, too, white folks. It’s never too late to celebrate Black History Month.
Never too late to educate and remind ourselves and our children of the substantial contributions made by African Americans to this nation.
Never too late to acknowledge the plethora of Black Alabamians who sacrificed to change our state and nation.
Never too late to reinforce that Black history is history. And it has never been more vital, more imperative that we all do so.
Even the president said — or signed one of those quadrillion executive orders saying — it’s okay. (Please read the previous sentence with the full eye-roll like-I-care tone with which it was written.)
To help you celebrate, I’ve pulled together a calendar of Black history facts, one for each day of February, courtesy of Blackfacts.com. But first, some history.
It was 101 years ago today, in fact — Feb. 7, 1926 — that historianCarter G. Woodson, the Virginia-born son of formerly enslaved parents who became a celebrated author and historian, declared the second week of February as “Negro History Week”. He chose that time on the calendar because it coincided with the birthdays of Frederick Douglass (Feb. 14) and Abraham Lincoln (Feb. 12), which many Blacks across America were already celebrating.
Woodson initially hoped for NHW to be a coordinated teaching opportunity in partnership with public schools nationwide. Early on, though, departments of education in just a few states (North Carolina, Delaware and West Virginia) and cities (Baltimore, New York, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia) embraced the concept and initiated it in classrooms.
This undated photo provided by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) shows historian and author Carter G. Woodson. (ASALH via AP)Association for the Study of African American Life and History
Mostly, though, NHW was stifled by decades of resistance and indifference.
Not until 1970 was Black History Month first celebrated, on the campus of Kent State University. It took years for it to finally be integrated into many school calendars and curriculums and in 1976, Gerald Ford became the first U.S. President to acknowledge BHM. In a proclamation, he wrote: “We can seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of [Black] Americans in every phase of endeavor throughout our history.”
Now, our accomplishments — our history — are again under attack.
And as Donald Trump with one hand signed the order last week expressing his “gratitude” for our contributions to this nation, with the other he pacified insecure white men and cost a lot of white women their jobs by pouring whiteout over efforts to diversify, foster equitable opportunity or be inclusive. Anywhere.
Check that order; it may have been signed with invisible ink.
To help you celebrate, here, courtesy ofBlackfacts.com, is a Black history fact for each day of the month:
Feb. 1 — Happy birthday, famed Harlem Renaissance writer/poet Langston Hughes (born 1901, died 1967)
Feb. 2 — In 1862, The District of Columbia abolished enslavement.
If you didn’t know, now you know. Or you should by the end of the month.
Let’s be better tomorrow than we are today. My column appears on AL.com, and digital editions of The Birmingham News, Huntsville Times, and Mobile Press-Register. Tell me what you think at [email protected], and follow me at twitter.com/roysj, Instagram @roysj and BlueSky.
In the final trade before the NBA’s deadline on Thursday, former Mountain Brook High School star Colby Jones moved from the Sacramento Kings to the Washington Wizards.
In addition to Jones, Washington got Alex Len from Sacramento and Marcus Smart and a 2025 first-round draft pick from Memphis.
The Grizzlies got Marvin Bagley III, Johnny Davis and two second-round draft picks from Washington.
The Kings received Jake LaRavia from Memphis.
In his second season with Sacramento, Jones averaged 1.1 points and 1.0 rebounds in 24 games.
A 6-foot-6 guard, Jones also averaged 19.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.7 steals in 15 games this season with the Stockton Kings, Sacramento’s affiliate in the NBA Gatorade League.
Jones won the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Class 7A Player of the Year for the 2019-20 season, when he averaged 25.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.5 steals as a senior at Mountain Brook.
Jones entered the NBA as the 34th pick in the 2023 draft after he averaged 15.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.3 steals for Xavier in the 2022-23 season, when he earned second-team All-Big East recognition. The Musketeers posted two victories in the 2023 NCAA tournament. In 2022, Xavier won the NIT, with Jones receiving the Most Outstanding Player Award in that tourney.
In their other trades, the Wizards acquired Siddy Cissoko, Reggie Jackson, AJ Johnson and Khris Middleton and parted ways with Patrick Baldwin Jr., Jared Butler, Kyle Kuzma and Jonas Valanciunas. Cissoko already has been waived.
Washington also got another first-round pick and two second-round picks while trading four second-round picks.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.
Perdido River Meats, a meat processing plant and retail store, is officially open for business in Atmore.
The facility is run by Perdido River Farms, the agricultural arm of the Poarch Band of Creek Indians and has the capacity to process up to 125 head of cattle per week, according to a release from the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association.
“This state-of-the-art meat processing facility…offers the Tribe, and its neighboring farms in Southwest Alabama, the opportunity to offer locally raised and processed beef to consumers,” the release reads.
The $29 million idea took six years to come to reality, and Alabama Agriculture Commissioner Rick Pate expects it to have a massive impact on the local economy.
“You are cutting out every middleman there is, and so all that money is going to the cattleman and all our rural communities struggling and things like this are just huge economics,” Pate told WKRG.
Currently Perdido River Meats is only offering beef cuts, but Atmore’s Grateful Garcia Farm recently they would be adding pork and chicken to the store in the coming months.
“We are so excited to announce that we are partnering with Perdido River Farms to provide pork and chicken for our community,” the farm announced in a Facebook post.
“Perdido River Farms shares our passion for quality meat raised in a humane way. Our chicken and pork will be available in the retail store in the coming months.”
The shop is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays, and is closed on Sundays.
Alabama football has its homecoming date and opponent set. And its a late one.
The Crimson Tide will hold its homecoming game Nov. 15 against Oklahoma. Yea Alabama, the university’s NIL collective, announced the date. That’s the third-to-last game of the regular season.
The Sooners make the trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium after beating Alabama in Norman, Oklahoma in 2024, what was Oklahoma’s first season as a member of the SEC.
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer faced Missouri in the first homecoming game of his tenure this past October, which resulted in a 34-0 shutout of the Tigers.
The Crimson Tide has a homecoming record of 89-13-1.
DeBoer is preparing to head into his second season with Alabama. The former Washington coach finished 9-4, which included ranked wins over Georgia, Missouri and LSU but unranked losses to Vanderbilt, Oklahoma and Michigan.
Juanisha Latonya Wesley was last seen by her family on April 24, 2005, at the family’s home in Collegeville. Family reported her missing on May 5, 2005.
There were later reports of Wesley being seen in November 2005 at Kelly Ingram Park in the Civil Rights District and at the Motel 8 on First Avenue North in Woodlawn.
She was not seen or heard from after that.
On Dec. 21, 2020, someone surveying a densely wooded area near the intersection of Seventh Avenue South and Exeter Avenue in the Crestwood Green community found a human skull.
The following day, a recovery team from the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner’s Officer returned to the scene to search the area but did not find any other remains.
Wesley was officially pronounced dead at 5:20 p.m. on Dec. 21, 2020.
She was identified through DNA analysis and comparison.
Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said the cause and manner of death is undetermined currently, pending additional anthropology and DNA studies.
The Birmingham Police Department is investigating the circumstances surrounding the death.
Guard Davion Mitchell is joining the Miami Heat as part of a five-team NBA trade announced on Thursday night. Moving from the Toronto Raptors, Mitchell was among three players acquired by the Heat, which gave up six-time NBA All-Star Jimmy Butler.
Mitchell’s journey to the NBA included a season at Auburn in 2017-18. The Tigers shared the SEC regular-season title and lost to Clemson in the second round of the NCAA tournament in Mitchell’s only season on the Plains. Mitchell played two seasons at Baylor before entering the NBA as the No. 9 pick in the 2021 draft.
At the NBA trade deadline for the 2024-25 season:
Miami acquired Mitchell from the Raptors and Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson and a 2025 protected first-round pick from the Warriors.
The Detroit Pistons acquired Dennis Schroder, Lindy Waters III and a 2031 second-round pick from the Warriors.
The Golden State Warriors acquired Butler from the Heat.
Toronto acquired P.J. Tucker from the Jazz and a 2026 second-round pick and cash considerations from Miami
The Utah Jazz acquired Josh Richardson, a 2031 second-round pick and cash considerations from the Heat and KJ Martin and a 2028 second-round pick from the Pistons.
Mitchell averaged 6.3 points, 1.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 44 games with the Raptors this season. He had made 22 starts in his fourth NBA season.
Mitchell playing for the Sacramento Kings in his first three NBA campaigns before being traded to Toronto in June.
In 271 NBA regular-season games, with 54 starts, Mitchell has averaged 7.3 points, 1.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.
Baker-Mazara is Auburn’s starting small forward. His game is dynamic, his mouth is a garbage can and his minutes are appointment television. He’s my favorite player in college basketball since Florida’s Joakim Noah, but SEC commissioner Greg Sankey might not agree.
CBM’s vibe is sudden danger, and I mean that in a good way, but I’m starting to think he’s being unfairly targeted by league officials.
Is the SEC going to finish this all-time season with different rules for Auburn’s talkative star? It sure feels that way after Auburn’s victory against Oklahoma earlier this week. Did refs really need to slap CBM with two fouls on one play, or did they just want to get him out of the game?
Keep a close eye on CBM on Saturday when the No.1-ranked Tigers play No.6 Florida at Neville Arena (3 p.m. tipoff). Some veteran players get the benefit of the doubt from officials. Then there’s CBM. He could trip over his own feet and pick up a technical foul.
The fouls that led to his ejection against the Sooners were unjustified, plain and simple. Is it going to be that way for Auburn the rest of the season? Is CBM going to walk into the SEC Tournament with a target on his back? We already know a quick whistle is awaiting him in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Everyone remembers last year. Auburn won the SEC Tournament and had all the momentum going into the Big Dance. CBM was a big reason why. He’s one of the best players in the country, and everything was coming together for him at the right time in 2024. Then came the first-round game against Yale.
Refs knew the scouting report on CBM and they ejected him from the game before anyone could even break a sweat. Yale went on to upset Auburn and CBM got the blame.
Refs go into the first round with an agenda. I see it every year. They want to set the expectations early. No funny business. They made an example out of Auburn’s CBM. I tried to warn him about his sneaky elbows before the NCAA Tournament, but he laughed and shrugged it off.
Now it’s to the point where refs in the SEC don’t even call fouls when opponents stick their elbows in CBM’s chest. Against Oklahoma, Sooners freshman Jeremiah Fears elbowed CBM in the open court. Clearly, it was a non-basketball play. Instead of giving Fears a foul, the refs reviewed the film and gave him a high-five.
There is a clear bias against CBM. And all because he talks a little trash. Give me a break. Sankey should issue a formal apology on behalf of the SEC for CBM’s most recent ejection. CBM’s colorful personality isn’t hurting anything and I could make the argument that it’s good for the game.
Auburn is the No.1 team in the country for a lot of reasons. Bruce Pearl is a great coach. Johni Broome is playing like the best big man in the country. Miles Kelly was the missing link. Freshman Tahaad Pettiford is fearless. But, for me, it all starts with Baker-Mazara’s relentless pursuit of driving everyone on the opposing team completely insane.
CBM is old school. He talks trash the way Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Charles Barkley talked trash. CBM should get his own camera feed during the NCAA Tournament. He’s that fun to watch and he plays with an angry passion that has gone completely dormant in the NBA.
I’m 100 percent positive that the NBA is not ready for CBM’s game next season.
The Association went limp years ago. Players who make over $100 million refuse to play on back to back nights. Enforcers are a thing of the past. There are no rivalries. Everything is a foul. Steph Curry Syndrome ruined the league. Luka couldn’t be bothered to play defense in the NBA Finals. Kevin Durant is the King of Cry. Fans have nicknamed Devin Booker “Charmin Ultra-Soft.”
One player, spoiled brat Jimmy Butler, quit on his team, the Miami Heat, during the middle of the season.
Fans are constantly bemoaning this new NIL era of collegiate athletics. I get it, but it’s not all bad. This season, SEC basketball is a more entertaining product than the NBA. It’s because players like CBM are playing with passion on the college level instead of toiling away in the G-League or watching from the bench in the NBA.
CBM talks more junk than a waste management convention in Las Vegas. He might be a headache for refs, but he’s the reason why college basketball has never been better.
BE HEARD
Got a question for Joe? Want to get something off your chest? Send Joe an email about what’s on your mind. Let your voice be heard. Ask him anything.