The Berry Wildcats girls’ basketball team hosted the Class 1A, Area 10 tournament last week. The Berry girls played South Lamar in its opening round game on Feb. 6, defeating the Lady Stallions 56-46. Leading the Lady Wildcats was Brooke Hill with 19 points, three assists and three steals, followed closely by Zoe Mauldin with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Iannah Fields contributed nine points and three steals, with Katelyn Willcutt scoring six points and pulling down six rebounds.

The Fayette girls’ basketball team finished second in the area tournament, defeating Cordova in the first round before losing to Haleyville in the championship game. The Lady Tigers hosted the area tournament and defeated Cordova 64-41. Holley Files led Fayette with 19 points, followed closely by Jada Savage with 15 points and Samantha Cox with 14 points. Meredith Collins also scored in double figure, notching 11 points for the Lady Tigers. Rounding out the scoring was Mackenzie Nelson with three points and Karlie Rushing with two points.

Hubbertville ended its 2019-20 basketball season Monday, Feb. 3 with losses during the area tournament. The Lady Lions played South Lamar at Berry and lost by a score of 60-38. Laikyn Wright led Hubbertville with 15 points, followed by Haylee Pollard with nine points. McKenna Fisher scored six points for Hubbertville, followed by Kendal Dunavant with three points. Madison Cribb and Haley Watkins each scored two points, with Krissa Comer adding a free throw. South Lamar was led by Savannah Crimm with 20 points.

The Fayette City Council, during its Jan. 27 meeting, voted three to three against an ordinance that would have allowed a referendum to permit Sunday alcohol sales within the city. Several citizens were in attendance at the meeting, with three citizens speaking in opposition to the proposed ordinance. Pastor Scott Davis from the Fayette First Baptist Church was the first citizen to speak in opposition to the ordinance.

The Fayette County Commission made several board appointments during its Jan. 27 meeting. All commissioners were in attendance for the meeting. Commissioner John Underwood made a motion to appoint Charles Brandon to the Fayette Medical Center Board, replacing Danny Palmer. Commissioner Shane Hughes seconded the motion, and the motion passed by a unanimous vote. The commission also voted to keep Bill McCollum on the E911 Board, and to replace Adam Smith on the board with Jay Lawrence.

Samuel Morrison and Jessie Lindsey of Fayette traveled to Decatur on Dec. 7 and brought home medals and new records to add to the growing collection earned by members of the “West Alabama Barbell Club.” Lindsey, who competes in the Masters 40-44 year old class, had not competed in about a year and was moving up a weight classification at the Decatur “Golden Apes Power Challenge. He said the event is drug tested, which means that participants have to build their strength and stamina through natural means and weight training, without the use of steroids and illegal drugs.

The Berry Wildcats had another successful week of basketball, with the boys’ team winning two-of-three games and the girls winning all three games. The Wildcats enter area tournament play this week playing solid basketball and with a lot of momentum.

The Fayette girls’ basketball team hosted Northside on Jan. 28 and dominated the Lady Rams by a score of 53-4. The Lady Tigers led 19-2 at the close of the first quarter, and 32-3 at halftime. The score was 45-4 after three quarters, with Fayette winning the game 53-4. Jada Savage led Fayette with 12 points, followed by Samantha Cox with 11 points. Meredith Collins had nine points, Holley Files scored seven points, Iteria Walker added six points, Mackenzie Nelson scored five points and Julie Beavers notched three points for the Lady Tigers.

The Hubbertville boys’ basketball team traveled to Hackleburg on Jan. 28 and lost a close game by the score of 51-48. Gage Key and Landon Morrow led the scoring for Hubbertville with 18 points each. Morrow also contributed eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Brady Porter scored eight points, while Gage Alexander also scored four points for the Lions.

The death of a Bankston woman last week is being investigated by law enforcement authorities as a possible homicide. Maronda Parker Williams, age 49, of the Bankston community, was found dead in her home off Highway 18 East on Tuesday, Jan. 21.

ABC 3340 Meteorologist James Spann visited Fayette Elementary School on Jan. 23 to talk to students about weather.

An arrest was made after a search warrant was executed on a motel room at China Inn and Suites in Fayette. Mario Prewitt, 31, of Fayette, was arrested at approximately 6:15 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 21, and charged with possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and two counts of probation violation.

Crystal Faye Anders, of Millport, was injured and transported to Fayette Medical Center by ambulance when the 2010 Ford Escape she was driving collided with a 2005 GMC Sierra, driven by Wayne Stowe of Fayette. The accident occurred on 2nd Ave. NE on Friday, Jan. 24.

The Fayette County Board of Education accepted a bid to build dugouts at the Hubbertville School baseball field during its Jan. 21 meeting, held at Fayette County High School. Board Member John Stowe was absent, with all other board members and Superintendent Jim Burk- halter present for the meeting. Board President Tom Hubbert made a motion to approve a contract with Savage Construction in the amount of $12,000 to build the dugouts, and the motion was seconded by Board Member Waldon Tucker. The motion passed by a unanimous vote.

The Berry Lady Wildcats wrapped up the area portion of its 2019-20 basketball season as area champs and will host the area tournament beginning Feb. 3. The Lady Wildcats will play their first game in the tournament on Feb. 5, and will face the winner of the South Lamar – Pickens County game. Berry opened last week with a game against South Lamar and defeated the Lady Stallions 49-44.

The Fayette girls’ basketball team finished its area season in a three-way tie for the area championship, sharing the title with Haleyville and Curry. The Fayette girls’ team won the tie breaker to determine the number one seed in the area, and will host the area tournament beginning Monday, Feb. 3. On Monday, Jan. 20, the Lady Tigers defeated Lamar County 56-35.

The Hubbertville boys returned to the win column with a 51-24 win over Vina. Landon Morrow led the Lions with 19 points and 17 rebounds. Gage Key also scored in double figures with 16 points. Gage Alexander added six points, while Austin Berryhill and Brady Porter each scored four points. Carter Hollingsworth rounded out the scoring for Hubbertville with two points. Vina was led by David Davidson with 10 points.

The second annual march and rally in remembrance of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day was held in downtown Fayette on Monday, Jan. 20. The event was organized by the Fayette County Ministerial Alliance. The celebration began at the Fayette County Courthouse and continued through the streets of Fayette to the First Baptist Church on Martin Luther King Drive. Despite the bitterly cold temperature, a crowd of approximately 100 people participated in some part of the walk and rally.

The City of Fayette received a grant from the Alabama Department of Transportation that will aid with the resurfacing of Martin Luther King Drive and 10th Street. The grant, in the amount of $250,000, was announced last week by Governor Kay Ivey. The grant is the second round of special grants that have been awarded to counties and municipalities throughout the state as part of the “Rebuild Alabama Act.”

The Fayette County Commission reviewed the budgets for all departments within the county during a work session prior to the start of its Jan. 13 meeting. All commissioners were present for the meeting, along with Commission Chairman Mike Freeman and County Administrator Brooke Slatton. County Administrator John Gordon was not present at the meeting.