Approximately 400 people participated in the “March for Jesus” event, held in the streets of Fayette on Saturday, May 15. Organizer Milborn Savage said that he was thrilled with the turnout for this year’s march, especially since the nation is just beginning to recover from the COVID pandemic. The crowd contained a wide range of ages, from newborn babies being pushed in carriages to Perry Kelley, who will turn 95 on May 30. Kelley walked the entire length of the route in this year’s march.

The Fayette County Board of Education recognized the Fayette County Teachers of the Year, Nurses of the Year, and the valedictorian and salutatorian of each high school during its May 11 meeting. All board members were present for the meeting. Teachers of the Year as recognized during the board’s meeting were Savana Trice (Fayette Elementary School), Cristy Thompson (Fayette Middle School), Austyn Jones Freeman (Fayette County High School), Victoria Ellison (Berry Elementary School), Holley Naramore (Berry High School) and Chelsea Rutledge (Hubbertville School).

The Fayette City Council approved several proposed guidelines that will help return the Fayette Aquatic Park to a sense of normalcy following a year of unusual circumstances due to COVID restrictions. All council members were in attendance at the May 11 meeting, with the exception of Councilman Jerry Nichols. Prior to the start of the meeting, Gracelyn Westbrook, Alabama Southern Miss Ambassador and a member of the 4-H Council, led those in attendance in prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance.

The Fayette County Commission agreed at its May 10 meeting to adopt the “Investing in Alabama Counties (IAC)” plan offered through the Association of Alabama Commissions. The plan will help the county pursue reimbursable “American Relief Funds” that are still available through the CARES Act. All commissioners were present for the meeting.

Fayette County High School held its annual Awards Night on Thursday, May 8, with the senior class receiving more than $2 million dollars in total scholarship awards. One of the highlights of the night is the announcement of the top 10 seniors by academic scores. Trey Pinkerton is the valedictorian of the class, and Marlee Yerby is the salutatorian.

The Fayette County High School golf team recently completed a successful season, with a fourth place finish in the Class 4A State Championship. The fourth place finish was the icing on the cake for an all-around successful season. The team finished the regular season undefeated, was second in the five-team Fayette Invitational, finished second in the WAC Tournament, held at Oak Hill Country Club, and finished third in the Class 4A Sectional Tournament, held at Ol’ Colony in Tuscaloosa.

Fayette’s 23rd “March for Jesus” celebration and prayer rally will be held Saturday, May 15, beginning at the Fayette Depot Museum and concluding at the First Baptist Church/Fayette Civic Center parking lot on Temple Avenue. The march and rally have been held in Fayette each year since 1997, with the exception of 2003, and last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Fayette Area Chamber of Commerce recognized its “Students of the Year” during a ceremony and reception held on Tuesday, May 4 at the Fayette Civic Center. The awards are presented annually to students selected as representatives from all of the schools within Fayette County. Chamber President Kelli Foster presented the awards to the recipients after they had been introduced and recognized by a school representative.

The Berry Town Council approved a “Memorandum of Understanding” with Community Service Programs of Alabama during its May 3 meeting. All council members were present for the meeting. According to Berry Mayor Jimmy Madison, there are some funds available through Community Services Programs to help people in financial need with their water bills. For the town’s water customers to be able to use the program for assistance, the town had to pass a Memorandum of Understanding.

Fayette’s 2021 softball season came to a close last week as Hamilton defeated Fayette twice in the Class 4A, Area 12 Tournament. Fayette had trouble in the field during the first game against Hamilton as the Lady Aggies won 12-2. The Lady Tigers out-hit Hamilton 7-2 in the game, with Searaley Nichols and Tyy Smith each collecting multiple hits.

Berry struggled for hits early in its first area tournament game against South Lamar, losing by a final score of 5-3. The Lady Wildcats had not managed a hit entering its half of the seventh inning. Ashlyn Smith led off the inning with a single, followed by a bunt single by Brooke Hill. Allie Taylor had a single, then Caitlyn Banks followed with a RBI single, scoring Smith.
With one out, Gracyn Hydrick singled to center field to score Hill. Anna Kate VanDee then hit into a fielder’s choice, scoring Allie Taylor with the third run of the inning.

The Hubbertville Lady Lions won one of three games in the area 12 tournament to close its 2021 softball season. Hubbertville lost a heartbreaker to Meek to begin the tournament by a score of 11-10. Emma Nichols started at pitcher for the Lady Lions, and was relieved by Dixie Moye, who suffered the loss. Laikyn Wright had a double, while Moye had a hit, scored two runs and had a RBI. Kaydance Brown and Krissa Comer each had hits and scored a run.

The Fayette City Council approved a rubbish pickup contract with Harmony Lane Apartments (formerly Quail Run Apartments) during its April 27 council meeting. All council members were present for the meeting. Prior to the meeting, Scott Smyth, pastor of Vision Church in Fayette, led those in attendance in prayer. Mayor Rod Northam led the Pledge of Allegiance. Northam explained to the council that the apartments no longer use the City of Fayette for its household garbage collection service.

The Saturday, May 1 clean-up day in Fayette was declared a huge success by Fayette Mayor Rod Northam, after a truck load of garbage was removed from the streets within a 2 1/2-hour timeframe. “I’m thrilled with the results,” Northam said. “We had great support for the clean-up and the amount of garbage removed from our streets speaks for itself.”

After years of having to travel to Tuscaloosa for medical services or use a mobile unit in Fayette, local veterans now have a more conventional and comfortable facility to receive medical help with the opening of a storefront Veterans Medical Clinic in Fayette. A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on Thursday, April 29 for the new clinic, which is located in the DCH Medical Office Building on Temple Avenue North in Fayette. The ceremony was attended by local clinic staff members, local officials, VA, DCH and FMC administrative officials, several local veterans and U.S.

Governor Kay Ivey announced on Monday, May 3 that Alabama’s COVID-19 public health order will end Monday, May 31, and the state of emergency will end Tuesday, July 6. “For over a year now, Alabamians, like people around the globe, have made sacrifices and adjusted to a temporary ‘new normal.’ We have learned much since last year, and this is absolutely now a managed pandemic. Our infection rates and hospitalizations are in better shape, and over 1.5 million Alabamians have had at least one shot of the COVID-19 vaccine,” Governor Ivey said.

The Berry Wildcats baseball team fell behind early and could never recover as they lost the first game of the second-round playoffs to Brantley by the score of 12-1. Brantley scored five runs in the first two innings to force the Wildcats to play catch-up the remainder of the game. Berry managed only four hits and one run in the seven-inning game, while timely hitting by the Bulldogs allowed Brantley to score 12 runs on 10 hits.

Fayette softball won three of its four games during the past week. The Lady Tigers started the week with a 13-6 victory over Hubbertville. Sarah Moore was the winning pitcher for Fayette, allowing three earned runs in seven innings with four strikeouts. Jessica Duck started the game off in grand fashion, hitting the first pitch to the Lady Tigers over the fence for a solo home run.

The Berry Lady Wildcats defeated Aliceville 18-2 in three innings during the only game played by Berry last week. Allie Taylor started the game for Berry and collected the win, allowing no hits and no earned runs in 2 2/3 innings of work. Kyla Edmonson pitched to one batter, striking out the only person she faced.