The March 3 primaries, which will determine the outcome of several local races, are less than three weeks away. There will be contested general elections for Fayette County Commission Districts 5 and 6, with the incumbents in both districts running as Democrats and facing Republican opposition.
The Tom Bevill Readiness Center, home of the horizontal unit of the 168th Engineering Company of the Alabama Army National Guard, held its ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony on Feb. 7. The building originally opened in 1983 and was acquired for $1,700. The latest total restoration on the 29,000 square foot building and the 19 acres on which the building sits costs approximately $4 million.
The Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles denied parole to two Department of Corrections inmates who are currently serving five years each for drug-related crimes. Tommy Lee Moore was denied parole by the board on Feb. 4. He was sentenced in Jan. 2019 to five years in prison for two counts of possession/receiving a controlled substance. Jason Glenn Dalton was denied parole on Feb. 5. He was sentenced in May 2019 to five years for one count of possession/receiving a controlled substance.
Elementary school students from the county recently visited Bevill State Community College for “Career Exploration Day.”
Rick McCabe of McCabe and Associates, Inc. addressed the Glen Allen Town Council on Tuesday, Feb. 4 during the town’s regularly scheduled meeting. McCabe reviewed his findings from the annual audit of the town’s accounts for fiscal year 2019, informing the council that he had discovered no discrepancies nor had he experienced any significant difficulties in dealing with the town’s management in performing his audit.
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.
