Approximately 15 miles from downtown Fayette, is an old Warren Pony Truss bridge, estimated to have been built around 1928. It spans the Luxapallila Creek on Dodson Road (off of County Road 21). This unique bridge is currently still open to traffic. Its total length is 101.1 feet, with a deck width of 12.1 feet.
The Fayette Community Foundation will soon accept grant applications for 2018. According to the Fayette Community Foundation’s mission statement, “The Foundation shall seek to support, promote, improve, and maintain the health, educational, and cultural institutions serving the citizens of Fayette County.”
The 2018 high school football season kicked off last week and the county teams appeared to be ready for action. Fayette County High School scored with 4.7 seconds remaining in the game to take a hard-earned 19-13 victory over Gordo, and Berry played Sulligent extremely close before losing a heartbreaker by the score of 30-22. Hubbertville also had a very impressive jamboree win against Phil Campbell. See additional pictures and details of these games in this week’s paper.
Several Fayette businesses held ribbon-cutting ceremonies in Fayette last week. The Charming Cottage and Fannie’s Bistro and Events celebrated the opening of their new businesses, and Alabama Sunshine celebrated the opening of its new location.
Fayette County Superintendent of Education Jim Burkhalter told board members during the Aug. 21 meeting that the Fayette County school system is exploring the possibility of participating in the Alabama Sentry Program. The sentry program will allow an authorized and certified school administrator in a school without a resource officer to have a firearm on campus in a secure location to protect students and teachers in the event of a security threat to the school.
The Berry Town Council met in a work session on Aug. 20 to discuss budget issues for fiscal year 2019. All councilmen, Mayor Jimmy Madison and Town Clerk Marie McCluskey were in attendance. Berry Police Chief Gerald DeDeaux told the council that his department is needing new patrol cars and asked the council to consider options to buy or lease new cars during the next budget.
For the second straight year, the FayetteTigers completed a touchdown pass with little time remaining on the clock to defeat the Gordo Greenwave. Fayette senior Blake Wallace, who was starting his first game as quarterback for Fayette, completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Tre’Darion Walker with 4.7 seconds left on the clock to give Fayette a 19-13 victory.
The Berry Wildcats began its 2018 football campaign by hosting the Class 2A Sulligent Blue Devils for the first time since 2007. The Wildcats and Blue Devils played a close game, with both teams bitten by the turnover bug. In the end, Sulligent escaped with an eight-point victory.
The Lions kicked off its 2018 season by traveling to Phil Campbell to face the Bobcats in a fall jamboree. The varsity squads took the field for the first three quarters with the junior teams finishing out the last quarter of the game. Following the opening kick by Zach Hubbert, the Lion defense quickly stood ground holding the Bobcats offense in check, turning the ball over on downs at the Lions 42-yard line.
The Fayette Tigers entered last season seeking to rebound from an uncharacteristic 4-6 season in 2016. Head Coach Lance Tucker was optimistic last year, especially with the senior leadership that he had returning, including quarterback Chance Stevenson and receiver Darius Nalls.
His optimism was rewarded with a spectacular season, one that saw the Tigers play for the Class 4A state Championship before falling 21-7 to UMS-Wright on a snowy and freezing Bryant-Denny Stadium field.
Lamar Harris is beginning his 42nd year as the head football coach at Hubbertville, breaking a tie with the late Woody Clements of Holt as the longest head coaching tenure in Alabama high school football history. Harris’s tenure at Hubbertville also exceed the tenure of current Vestavia Hills coach, Buddy Anderson, by one year. Harris has seen a lot of changes since he started coaching at Hubbertville in 1977, and he has experienced both good and bad seasons. Yet Harris said that he loves what he does and has no immediate plans to retire.
Coach Caleb Hynds said before last season that he had always wanted to be a head football coach. He admits that last year was a learning process, but said his determination and the determination of his players is stronger than ever. “Last season was tough at times, but I learned a lot and it was a big adjustment for both me and the players,” he said. “I’m very hopeful that the results will be somewhat different this season.”
A sudden flash thunderstorm at approximately 4:15 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 17 sent this heavy metal awning crashing into the front of Bolling’s Pharmacy. The awning apparently fell due to a sudden strong wind burst generated by the thunderstorm. Fortunately, the awning did not break any windows and no one was hurt during the incident.
The Fayette County Commission hired a new engineer and shop supervisor during its regularly scheduled Aug. 13 meeting. Current County Engineer Luke Porter resigned his position at the last commission meeting, with his resignation becoming effective on Aug. 31. At the time of his resignation, Porter told the commissioners that Mike Tomlin had also expressed an interest in returning to the shop and resigning his position as road supervisor. The commissioners accepted the resignations and posted each position during the same meeting. After a brief executive session during the most recent Aug.
The 2018 Berry High School Alumni Association reunion was highlighted by recognizing former Miss Berry winners. Special groups were a part of those present. The first Miss Berry, Ettie Grey Bozeman Clark, and the current Miss Berry, Tyner Beth Bowling, were present. A mother/daughter duo also attended, Charlotte Cannon Kilgore and Crystal Kilgore Elliers. Barbara Logan Clark and Rachel Moore Lawler, a grandmother - granddaughter were recognized. Tracy Clark Fields and Mandie Clark Mauldin are sisters who were crowned Miss Berry.
The Fayette City Council voted to donate $2,000 to the Fayette County High School stadium renovations during its Aug. 14 meeting. Amy Tucker spoke to the council concerning the recent renovations that the Fayette Boosters Club and other volunteers have been performing over the summer at John Morgan Brown Stadium.
The Glen Allen town council met in regular session on Tuesday, August 7 at the town hall. All councilors were present for the meeting. Following standard opening procedures, Mayor Allen J. Dunavant addressed the council concerning items of old business.
As part of Fayette Middle School’s commitment to prepare students for the adventures and rigor that high school brings, the eighth grade teachers and Principal Rodney Hannah have decided to begin the tradition of holding an eighth grade graduation ceremony at Fayette Middle School each May. While the eighth grade graduation will be an exciting event for our students, we understandably find it necessary to implement eligibility requirements for all eighth graders who wish to participate in this end-of-the-year activity.
The 2018 Fayette County Sports Hall of Fame was held on Saturday, August 11 and inducted 11 new members to its honorees. Tom Roberts, former Fayette County High School athlete and retired director of broadcasting for the University of Alabama, emceed the event and presented the awards to the recipients.
Many members of the former cast and crew of Dogwood Productions gathered on Aug. 5 at the Fayette Civic Center for a reunion. They performed many of the songs that they had sung in the plays, “Come Back to God America” and “The Gospel According to Scrooge,” while reminiscing about the glory days of the production company.
