Triana Public Library lost to fire on Sunday (al.com)

[eppur_se_muova]

Tuesday, September 22, 2009
By Patricia C. McCarter
Times Staff Writer [e-mail]
Boys & Girls Club in same building; sprinklers were out

TRIANA - The roof of the Triana Public Library caved in during a fire late Sunday, destroying a bank of computers and thousands of books.

Madison County Deputy Fire Marshal Aaron Pearson said three trucks from the Triana Volunteer Fire Department and the Huntsville Fire Department responded to the blaze at 280 Zierdt Road. The call came in at 11:23 p.m. from a nearby homeowner.

The Boys & Girls Club is housed in the same City of Triana-owned building. Though it didn't see nearly as much fire as the library did, it suffered substantial smoke and water damage and will not be open after school.

Pearson said he couldn't immediately determine the cause of the fire, but he did say if the sprinkler system had been operational, it would have minimized the damage.

Blanche Orr said she doesn't know what she'll be able to do for the children who would normally get off the school bus and come to the library to use computers for their homework.
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more: http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?/base/news/1253610966149830.xml&coll=1

Just to make matters worse,

Thursday, September 24, 2009 By Steve DoyleTimes Staff Writer [e-mail]
County to reduce by 5%; city's amount still being debated

Public library officials stunned by a Sunday night fire at the Triana branch now face a different type of trauma: the loss of key government funding.

Monday morning, the Madison County Commission adopted a 2009-10 spending plan that cuts the library's county funding by 5 percent, or $14,000.

More bad news could come at tonight's Huntsville City Council meeting, 6 p.m. at City Hall, 308 Fountain Circle.

With sales tax collections slumping badly, Mayor Tommy Battle is recommending that the city reduce spending on outside agencies by 2.5 percent next year.

If the council agrees, the library's city appropriation would shrink from $3.78 million to $3.685 million - a loss of $94,500. The city is the library's biggest financial backer.
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more: http://www.al.com/news/huntsvilletimes/local.ssf?/base/news/1253783800117230.xml&coll=1

This library is in a largely AA community. A library burns down, the sprinkler system was turned off, and arson is ruled out? :shrug: I'm waiting for more explanation.

[John Williams]

1. First the Triana P.D. loses their cruisers to arson...

...now they lose their library and rec center? Something's off here.

Being fairly close to HSV, plus the fact that they now have to rely on HPD to patrol the city, I bet you dollars to donuts that if the Triana area was absorbed into HSV, these incidents would cease.

In the meantime, I hope they catch whoever's going around doing this crap.