The move of Coach Caleb Hynds from Berry to Hubbertville during the off-season increased the tension and excitement of this year’s football game betwen the two cross-county rivals. It would be difficult for any game to live up to the hype leading into the 80th meeting between the two schools, but for the fans in attendance at Fred Webster stadium, it was one of the most exciting games ever, with Berry winning 8-6.

On Sept. 11, 2001, the most horrific terrorist attack ever on American soil was conducted. It all happened in approximately one and a half hours, yet the impact from those events is still felt today, especially approaching the 20th anniversary of the attacks. A total of 2,996 people lost their lives in the four attacks from hijackers of commercial planes. Thousands others suffered physical injury, and many thousands more have been emotionally scarred forever from the events.

The Fayette Zoning Board of Adjustments failed to issue a variance for the property of Henry and Erika Hollis during its Aug. 31 meeting. All members of the board were present for the meeting. The Fayette Zoning Board of Adjustments consists of Dr. Bruce Perry (chairman), Mike Newman, Larry Pinkerton, Belinda Ary and Scott Walker.

The Fayette County Commission approved its 2022 “Rebuild Alabama” Transportation Plan at its Aug. 30 meeting. All commissioners were present, with the Commission 1 position being vacant.

C-Plus, a local band with a big band orchestra sound, will be performing this year as the headline entertainment group at the 51st Fayette Arts Festival, to be held on Saturday, Sept. 11 in Guthrie Smith Park in Fayette.

The Berry Wildcats were seeking to pick up its first win of the season as they hosted the South Lamar Stallions. Although the game was riddled with penalties for both teams,  untimely penalties and turnovers by the Wildcats ultimately helped to lead the Stallions to a 36–20 victory.

Hubbertville welcomed the Pickens County Tornadoes to Wiley Hollingsworth Stadium last Friday for the first regional game of the season. Winning the coin toss, the Tornadoes elected to receive the opening kick.

A two-vehicle accident that occurred at approximately 10:18 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 25 claimed the life of a Bankston woman. Gwen “Judy” Halbrook, 79, was killed when the 2005 Hyundai Sonata she was driving collided with a 2010 Dodge Ram that crossed the centerline and came into her lane of travel. The Ram was driven by Daniel Wilson, 52, of Fayette. Halbrook was pronounced dead at the scene.

Local citizen and business owner Tom Jenkins addressed the Fayette City Council concerning Americans with Disabilities (ADA) violations at its Aug. 24 meeting. All council members were present for the meeting. Before the meeting began, Owen Sweatt led those in attendance in prayer, and veteran Jimmy Campbell led the Pledge of Allegiance.

The 51st Fayette Arts Festival will take place on Saturday, Sept. 11 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Fayette’s beautiful Guthrie Smith Park on Highway 43 North. The Fayette Arts Festival is the longest-running festival in the State of Alabama, and attracts many artists and visitors from the entire southeast.

The Fayette County Board of Education held its Aug. 24 meeting in the school district’s courthouse annex boardroom. All board members were present for the meeting. The board accepted the resignation of Derek Price as custodian at Fayette County High School, effective Aug. 13. Employed by the board were Laurie Kalson as lunchroom worker at Fayette County High School, and Alexis Frost as teacher at Berry Elementary School. Both hires were effective Aug. 25.

The Lions opened its regular season play on Friday night by traveling to Waterloo to face the Cougars. Following the coin toss, T.J. Keeton returned the opening kickoff to the 30-yard line, setting up the Lions’ offense for its opening possession.

The Fayette County Tigers’ football team fought back from an 18-0 halftime deficit to cut Bibb County’s lead to 18-12 in the fourth quarter. However, a couple of fourth quarter touchdowns by the Choctaws put the game away and secured a 31-12 victory for Bibb County.

The Fayette County Board of Education held a work session at Fayette Elementary School on Aug. 17 to discuss the opening of the school year during the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. All board members except for John Aaron were in attendance. Several concerned parents, along with teachers and school administrators were also in attendance. Fayette County Superintendent of Education Jim Burkhalter opened the work session by telling the crowd, “I don’t know what a normal day is anymore.

A two-vehicle accident that occurred at approximately 2:10 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 19, claimed the life of a Carbon Hill man. Kevin Edgil, 56, was killed when the 2002 Ford F-250 he was driving hit head-on with a 2016 GMC Sierra driven by Jeffrey Norris, 38, of Berry. Edgil was pronounced deceased at the scene.

The Fayette City Council held a work session last month to discuss plans for focusing on eight key areas of development for a strategic plan that will strengthen and grow the City of Fayette. All council members were present for the work session. Also present for the work session were several local business leaders and concerned citizens.

Current Fayette County Board of Education President Tom Hubbert officially changed from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party during a special meeting of the Fayette County Republican Party held on Aug. 17. The party’s executive committee welcomed Hubbert to the Republican party by a unanimous vote. Hubbert had applied for membership with the party at a previous meeting.

The Fayette Tigers began its 2021 football season last Thursday night with an old-fashioned defensive struggle on a rain-soaked field, losing to the Pirates by a score of 6-0. Playing the first half in a steady rain, neither team could get any momentum until Winfield hit a pass over the middle late in the fourth quarter to score a touchdown and secure the victory. Fayette’s effort was also hampered by six turnovers and nine penalties for 70 yards.

The Berry Wildcats opened its 2021 season on the road, traveling to Northside to face the Class 4A Rams. Rain throughout the day leading up to the game and rain throughout most of the first half made the playing conditions less than ideal. The Wildcats could never get any momentum on offense because of numerous turnovers, which gave the Rams a short field for most of the game. The Wildcats scored late, but could not come back to defeat the Rams, taking the 37 – 6 loss.

The Hubbertville Lions kicked off the 2021 football season under the leadership and guidance of new head coach Caleb Hynds on Friday night by traveling to Hackleburg to face-off against the Panthers in a fall jamboree game. In an agreement between the two head coaches, the varsity starters played the first half of the game and the second and third string players competed in the third quarter, followed by the junior varsity team taking the field for the final quarter of the matchup.