Hubbertville School held a reception on Friday, July 30 honoring Lamar Harris for his 44 years of service to the school and the community. A large crowd of former players, students, coaches, family members and friends gathered in the school’s gymnasium to honor Harris. Glen Allen Mayor Allen Dunavant presented Harris with a framed letter from the Town of Glen Allen, thanking him for his numerous contributions to Hubbertville School and the surrounding community.

The Fayette County Commission held its regularly scheduled meeting on July 26. All commissioners were present for the meeting. At the close of the meeting, District 1 Commissioner Joe Acker announced that he would be resigning his position on the commission. He turned in his paperwork to complete his resignation the next day. When asked later in the week about his resignation, Acker said that he enjoyed his time on the commission and felt that they had been successful in several areas. He also said that there were areas where they had not been as successful.

The Fayette City Council agreed to give Mayor Rod Northam its consent to hire a new police officer during its July 27 meeting. All council members were present for the meeting. At the start of the meeting, Fayette Freewill Baptist Church Pastor Adrian Nottonson led the council in prayer. Fayette Police Chief Danny Jenkins told the council that he needs to hire another officer to be back to full strength. He recommended that the council give its consent to hire Keiontae Brent as an officer.

Fayette welcomed two new band directors to the community on Sunday, July 25 with a “Meet and Greet” reception at Fayette County High School. Sebastian Dobbins is the new band director at Fayette County High School, and James Smith will lead the band at Fayette Middle School this year.

A depository box for worn, faded and torn U.S. Flags was dedicated and displayed at Flag Park in downtown Fayette on Friday, July 23 by the Fayette Beautification Committee. The Flag Box idea and project was led by committee member Bonita Logan, and was dedicated in honor of Steven Nolen, local Scout Master.

The Fayette County Board of Education approved numerous personnel changes and reviewed its public audit for fiscal year 2020 during its July 22 meeting. All members were present for the meeting, with the exception of Board Member Brenda Webb, who was absent due to the death of her mother. At the beginning of the meeting, Josh Taylor from the Alabama Examiners of Public Accounts reviewed the findings from the fiscal year 2020 audit.

A total of 131 AHSAA high schools were recognized Friday at the 14th annual AHSAA Sportsmanship Luncheon, held as part of the 2021 Summer Conference. Principals and athletic directors from the schools who were ejection and fine free for the 2020-21 school year attended the luncheon held at the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center. Eight of the schools, one school from each of the AHSAA’s eight school districts, were selected to receive a special $1,000 grant. The grant program has now paid out $96,000 since the inception of the AHSAA Sportsmanship program in 2008.

The Fayette County 4-H Program and Fayette County Extension Office hosted “Raptor Trek” on Monday, July 12. Raptor Trek is an outreach Birds of Prey program originating from the Alabama 4-H Center and 4-H Science School. The program presented in Fayette was free to all ages, courtesy of a grant from the Fayette Community Foundation.

Fayette County was awarded a $300,000 Community Development Grant last week that will be used to help construct a new medical clinic. The grant was applied for through the Fayette County Commission, and the funds were awarded from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

Several farmers are offering for sale locally-grown, harvest-fresh produce at the Fayette Farmers’ Market, located near the Fayette County Multipurpose Complex on McConnell Loop Road in Fayette. Ronni Rena Brasher, Fayette County Extension Coordinator, said that the local farmers have produced a bumper crop of fresh vegetables this year that are offered for sale each Tuesday and Thursday from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. at the Fayette County Farmers’ Market.

The Fayette City Council voted during its July 13 meeting to extend the one-half cent sales tax that is earmarked for the Fayette Medical Center. All council members were present for the meeting. Prior to the start of the business portion of the meeting, Tim Oliver, assistant pastor at Olive Branch Church, led those in attendance in prayer. His daughter, Hannah Oliver, led the Pledge of Allegiance.

The more than 40 limelight hydrangeas that are located throughout Fayette are now in full bloom. The plants are taken care of by the Fayette Garden Club, and were purchased with a grant from the Fayette Community Foundation. Two new “Moon” Hydrangeas will be planted at the Flag Park in downtown Fayette.

Jerry Lacy, a former Fayette County Commissioner, spoke at the July 12 Fayette County Commission meeting in favor of the proposed county transportation plan. All commissioners were present for the meeting. Lacy thanked the commissioners for their unanimous vote earlier this year in reference to pursuing a transportation plan. He said that he wanted to speak to the commissioners from both his head and his heart.

The Berry Town Council approved a lease agreement with Alabama Power during its Monday, July 12 meeting, All council members were present for the meeting. Alabama Power has requested that the Town of Berry allow it to use a portion of the town’s industrial park on a month-to-month basis at a lease fee of $2,500 per month. Councilman Calvin Madison made a motion to allow Berry Mayor Jimmy Madison to sign the lease agreement with Alabama Power, and the motion was seconded by Councilman Troyce Townsel. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote.

There are many special occasions in life worth celebrating: births, engagements, weddings, and milestone birthday and anniversaries. Years ago, before social media outlets became commonplace, people celebrated these special events by submitting them to the local newspaper for publication. Now they are seldom submitted. The Times-Record is the community newspaper for Fayette County. We want to help share your momentous events with our readers. Many of our readers are your friends, neighbors and family members, and lots of our readers do not use social media.

After battling with Mississippi the past couple of weeks in a neck-to-neck race, Alabama now holds the dubious distinction of having the lowest COVID vaccination rate in the nation. That distinction is nothing to brag about, as the state is currently seeing the number of COVID cases and hospitalizations rise again after a few months of relative calm. Adding to the concern is a new, more contagious version of the COVID virus, the highly infectious Delta variant.

A pair of softball players for Berry High School combined to make the 2021 Alabama Sports Writers Association’s All-State Softball Team. Junior pitcher Kyla Edmonson made second team All-State, while her batterymate, catcher Allie Taylor, was named as All-State honorable mention. Berry played in the highly-competitive Class 1A, Area 9. Teams from the area placed two players on the first team, four on the second team, and three players were selected honorable mention.

A single-vehicle accident that occurred at approximately 2:37 p.m. on Saturday, July 10, claimed the life of a Cottondale man. Joseph T Box, 42, was killed when the 2006 Lexus GS300 he was driving lost control in a curve, left the roadway, and struck several trees.

The Fayette Career Center is partnering with the City of Vernon, West Alabama Works, and the Northwest Alabama Economic Development Alliance (C3) to present a multi-employer “Job Fair" on Friday, July 16 from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the Vernon City Complex, located at 44425 Highway 17 in Vernon. The event is free and open to all employers and jobseekers.

Fayette hosted its latest "Tractor and Truck Pull" in Fayette on Saturday, July 10. A large number of participants competed in several categories during the event.