Matthew Austin Bolling, age 23 of Reform, was sentenced to 20 years in the Alabama Department of Corrections after pleading guilty to a lesser offense of possession with the intent to distribute. The plea deal was agreed to in Fayette County Circuit Clerk on Tuesday, Oct. 30.

For the first time in the storied history of the Fayette County Marching Band, the band has a true drum major to direct the music on the field. According to current FCHS band director Brent Traylor, the marching band at Fayette had never had a drum major to direct its on-the-field music. Traylor, in his third year at the school, added a color guard last year and he said this was just the next step in the progression to complete the band ensemble.

Jimmy Campbell of Fayette said that he always loved planes. His dad had been a pilot and Campbell said the concept and adventure of flying always fascinated him. As a young man, Campbell joined the Air Force in Feb. 1965, driven by two things - his love of planes and a desire to serve his country in the Arned Forces.

The 2018-2019 Fayette Middle School WIRED robotics team competed in the Bevill BEST Hub Robotics Competition, Friday and Saturday, Oct. 26-27. There were 14 teams registered for the event. This year's challenge included some very difficult tasks, such as driving a robot on a two x four suspended off the ground and creating an expandable arm to locate and move objects. On the day of competition, FMS WIRED competed against nine other schools for the top spot.

The Fayette County Forestry, Agriculture, Wildlife and Natural Resources (FAWN) program was presented by the Forestry Service on Oct. 23 at Guthrie Smith Park in Fayette.The program was for sixth-grade students in the county and taught the students about preventing forest fires, types of forest products, how to use a compass, wildlife management, soil and water conservation, and other things relating to nature.

Residents at the Fayette Medical Center - Long-Term Care facility treated pre-school children in the area to treats on Halloween during the facility’s annual event. Children politely walked through the hallways in their colorful costumes, greeting the residents and receiving candy on their journey. Several of the residents and many of the staff members also dressed in colorful outfits as they waited to greet the children.

The Fayette County High School varsity volleyball team completed a successful 2018 season, winning the regular season area title and finishing as the area runner-up to the Haleyville Lions in the tournament. The Lady Tigers also were the West Alabama Conference (WAC) champions during the season. Fayette finished with an outstanding 29-10 overall record.

Bevill State finished its volleyball season with a 7-16 record and with Brooke Self being named Second Team All-Region. Head Coach Theresa Berry-Franks said she is proud of the team and their accomplishments during the second season of the renewal of Bevill Volleyball. Berry-Franks is also excited to have freshman players Ricki-Jill Burrough, Amanda Cunningham and Madison Pavlovec.She thanked the crowd for their support this season and said that she is hitting the recruiting trail to find new talent for next year’s squad.

The Fayette Fire Department responded to an apartment fire at 406 9th St. NE at 9:50 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5. According to Fayette Fire Chief Shannon Taylor, there was a “heavy” fire inside the apartment upon arrival. The fire was quickly brought under control by the firemen, but the apartment sufferred heavy damage throughout the building’s interior. No injuries were sustained as a result of the fire.

Fayette scored quickly, then used a solid defensive effort to defeat Dora and secure the number one seed in Class 4A, Region 5 for the Alabama high school football playoffs. The win broke a tie-breaker between Fayette, Good Hope and Northside to decide the first place seed in the region. Northside received the number two seed in the region, with Good Hope seeded third and Curry fourth.

Hubbertville closed out regular season play by hosting the Phillips High Bears on Friday night. Winning the coin toss, the Lions elected to receive the opening kick. Gage Key received the ball at the 20-yard line advancing to the 41-yard line and four plays later, he rambled his way down the right side line into end zone for the opening drive score. The PAT kick by Zach Hubbert was good and the Lions were on the scoreboard with 9:42 remaining in the first quarter.

Many people remember Mike Sexton: a native of Fayette, Fayette County High School graduate, husband, father, musician. Yet many people did not know the artistic side of Sexton, a sode that will be unveiled to the public during a showing of his artwork from 2-4 p.m. at The Venue in Fayette on Sunday, Nov. 4.

Gary “Tugboat” Hubbert was honored at the Fayette Civic Center on Oct. 25 with a retirement luncheon that was attended by many of his co-workers and friends. According to Fayette Mayor Ray Nelson, Hubbert’s tenure with the city is the longest ever by an employee, exceeding the tenure of long-time employee and former Mayor Guthrie Smith by about two months. Hubbert thanked his co-workers for attending, and told the city employees to remember to treat everyone equally.

The Fayette County Community-Wide Fall Festival, held on Oct. 28 at the Fayette Multi-Purpose Complex was a tremendous success. Hundreds of children of all ages attended the event to enjoy a time of masquerading, food, candy and fun. The event was sponsored by area churches, with many other organizations and individuals helping to host the event.

The Fayette City Council hired a new full-time fireman for the Fayette Fire Department during its Oct. 23 meeting. All council members were present for the meeting. Fayette Fire Chief Shannon Taylor recommendee to the council that Russell Oswalt be hired as a new fireman. He said that Oswalt has worked the past 1 1/2 years as a volunteer fireman with the department and has been an exemplary fireman in that capacity. He said that Oswalt is the kind of person that he feels good about promoting to full-time fireman.

A structure fire occurring on 6th Ave. SW in Fayette on Oct. 23 resulted in damage to a single residential home. Two occupants were home at the time, but managed to leave the home uninjured. The Fayette Fire Department responded to the fire and was able to quickly get the situation under control. According to Fayette Fire Chief Shannon Taylor, the home suffered moderate fire and smoke damage.

The Fayette County Commission hired Holly Duckworth as the new payables clerk during its Oct. 22 meeting. All commissioners were present for the meeting.
 More than 40 applications were received by the commission for the payables clerk position and after interviews were conducted, the selection committee reccommended that Duckworth be hired for the position. The payable clerk will work with County Administrator John Gordon’s office.

Sometimes, one play and just a few seconds make a difference in a football game. That was the case in Fayette’s game last Friday night against Good Hope. With 36.3 seconds remaining in the game, Fayette appeared to be in pretty good shape to win its region and the number one seed in the region for the playoffs. Good Hope’s quarterback, Bailey Quick, had just intentionally grounded the football while attempting to avoid a sack on third down near the Fayette goal line.

Hubbertville closed out region play by traveling to Reform to meet the Tornadoes of Pickens County. The Lions won the coin toss electing to receive but were held to three and out on its opening possession. Facing fourth and seven from its own 33-yard line, Ethan Nichols punted the ball away. The Tornadoes began its opening drive from its own 49-yard line and quickly advanced the ball downfield utilizing the passing game. Facing second down and nine, AlJaron Edwards connected with his receiver in the endzone for the first score of the evening.

The Berry Wildcats ended its 2018 campaign by traveling to Guin to face the Marion County Red Raiders. The Wildcats had three second half touchdowns, but turnovers would be the difference in the game. The Red Raiders took advantage of the three Wildcat turnovers to win the game 42–18.  Marion County won the toss and elected to receive. The Red Raiders returned the kickoff to the Berry 34-yard line to begin play. Marion County had the ball for seven plays before the Wildcats’ defense forced a punt on fourth and 11 from the Berry 49-yard line.