Dexter Roberts is still living a dream, riding high after becoming one of the top eight contestants on NBC’s “The Voice.” Last week, Roberts sang Tim McGraw’s number one hit song, “Something Like That,” and was voted through easily by the fans’ vote. Roberts appears to be one of the fan favorites this season, and also appears to be a favorite contestant of Blake Shelton, who has five of the remaining  eight contestants on the show.

Fayette’s 22nd annual “March for Jesus” celebration and prayer rally will be held Saturday, May 18, beginning at the Fayette Depot Museum and concluding at the First Baptist Church on Temple Avenue. The march and rally has been held in Fayette each year since 1997, with the exception of 2003. March for Jesus is an annual interdenominational, global event that started in England in the 1980s before spreading to other countries. The first known march in the United States was held in Austin, Texas in 1989 and has been observed nationwide since 1992.

Although the weather caused a change of venue for this year’s Fiddle Fest and Southeast Fiddle Championship, the event’s organizers said the Fiddle Fest was still a huge favorite among the fans who attended. Glenn Taylor, one of the organizers of the event, said that despite the inclement weather, the event still ran smoothly and allowed the performers to showcase their talents.

Tommy Wilcox, former All-American football player at the University of Alabama and current host of the popular hunting and fishing show, “Tommy Wilcox Outdoors” will be the guest speaker at this year’s Fayette Area Chamber of Commerce banquet. The banquet will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 21 and will be held in the Earl McDonald Auditorium of Bevill State Community College, Fayette Campus. Tickets for the event are $15 each and will include a meal. Tickets can be purchased by contacting the Chamber’s office.

The Fayette Exchange Club annually honors the top senior students at Fayette County High School during the academic year. At the May Exchange Club meeting, the top three seniors receive plaques from the club in recognition of their outstanding achievement.

Fayette County Memorial Library (FCML) is proud to present the 2019 Summer Reading Program: “A Universe of Stories,” from May 28 – June 28. The program is comprised of the Summer Reading Challenge and a variety of events and programs offered throughout the summer.

On Thursday, May 9, the Berry High School softball team traveled to Choccolocco Park in Oxford to compete in the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s East Central Regional.  
Game one paired Berry against the Area Seven winner, Victory Christian. Berry’s bats came alive early, scoring seven runs in the top of the first while coasting to a 23-0 victory.  

Fayette Middle School held its first-ever Eighth Grade Graduation this year on May 9 in the Arthur Hughes Gymnasium at the school. The graduation was initiated because the school’s administration and teachers felt the students should be rewarded for their accomplishment of completing middle school. The diplomas that they receive were also intended to serve as encouragement for the students as they begin a new journey of academics in high school.

Dexter Roberts of Fayette continues to win fans with his classic country sound as he advanced last week to the top 13 contestants on “The Voice.” The Fayette Civic Center hosted a viewing of “The Voice” last week during the Tuesday night results show, allowing many of Roberts’ family and friends to watch the show together to cheer on their hometown favorite.

The West Alabama Fiddle Fest and Southeast Fiddle Championship will be returning to Fayette this weekend for its third consecutive year. Daniel White, director of the Fayette Area Chamber of Commerce, said that last year’s crowd was great and that he anticipates another huge crowd for this year’s event.

Christopher Lee Price, who received a last-minute stay of execution on April 11, has a new execution date scheduled for May 30. At approximately 4 p.m. on April 11, U.S. Southern District Court Judge Kristi Dubose ordered a stay of execution for Price. At 11:34 p.m. that evening, the state called off the execution, stating that the U.S. Supreme Court had not issued a ruling on the stay, and that there was not sufficient time left in the day to carry out Price’s death warrant.

The Fayette Tigers baseball team put up a valiant fight, but ultimately lost its third round playoff games to Hokes Bluff by the score of 5-1 and 2-1. The Eagles traveled to Fayette for the games and keep its magical season alive. Hokes Bluff started the season ranked number one in Class 4A and has remained on its perch all-season.

A major resurfacing project on U.S. Highway 43/171 will force motorists in Fayette to exercise patience and caution during the next several weeks. The resurfacing is occurring from the intersection of Highway 159 (Gordo Rd.) on the south end of town and will conclude at the intersection of Highway 102 on the north end of Fayette. The road construction is expected to conclude during the summer.

The national rise in cases of measles - a disease which was considered virtually eradicated in the United States in 2000 - is causing worry throughout the nation. A press release from the Alabama Department of Public Health on Thursday, May 2, noted that ADPH had received notification of a presumptively positive case of measles that morning in an infant in St. Clair County. The child had not been in a daycare setting nor had the child traveled out-of-state.

The Berry softball team won two of its four games in the area tournament and advanced to the regional playoffs by finishing second in the area. The Lady Wildcats traveled to Holy Spirit and faced South Lamar in the first game of the tournament, losing a close game by the score of 4-3.

The Hubbertville Lady Lions traveled to Guin on April 29 to begin play in the area tournament. In the first game of the tournament, Lynn defeated the Lady Lions 8-0. Emma Nichols pitched a complete game in a losing effort for Hubbertville. Chelsea Porter and Madison Cribb collected the only hits in the game for Hubbertville.

The Fayette Lady Tigers concluded its 2019 softball season by traveling to Curry for the area tournament. Curry defeated Fayette 12-4 in the first game, with Haleyville winning the second game by a score of 11-5. No stats were available for either of the Fayette area tournament softball games at press time.

The Fayette City Council unanimously approved the transfer of West Alabama TV Cable to Spectrum/Charter Communications during its April 23 meeting.  All members of the council were present for the meeting.

The Fayette County Board of Education accepted several retirements and resignations during its April 16 meeting. Board members Waldon Tucker and John Stowe were not in attendance at the meeting.

Fayette held an Alabama Bicentennial Event on the courthouse lawn on April 27, featuring music by the band C Plus.

Berry celebrated its annual Heritage Festival on April 26-27. The event was well-attended by local residents and visitors.

The City of Fayette and the towns of Glen Allen and Berry recently held clean-up campaigns in their communities.

Bevill State Community College hosted a career fair on Friday, April 26 for high school students in Fayette and Lamar County. The career fair is a partnership between Bevill State, 3M, Northwest Alabama Economic Alliance, the Alabama Career Center and the Alabama Cooperative Extension Service.

Governor Kay Ivey reappointed Fayette resident Don Waldon, former administrator of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, to another four-year term with the waterway authority.

The Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post 5406, held its annual awards program on April 16. Each year, the post sponsors the essay contest: “Patriot Pen, the Voice of Democracy” contest, and the “Teacher of the Year” contest. All middle and high school students are encouraged to enter. This year, the winners in the Patriot Pen contest were: Kylee B. Dunn, Emily Huang and Harry Unger IV. Isaac Fowler won the Voice of Democracy award. He prepared and gave a winning speach on our freedoms. The Teacher of the Year award was given to Julie Nabors from Hubbertville School.

The Old Union Cemetery Association will observe its Decoration and Homecoming on Sunday, May 4 as it does annually on the first Sunday of May each year. This year a new sign has been installed at the entrance to the cemetery.

The Fayette Tigers swept North Jackson in the second round of the Alabama High School Athletic Association baseball playoffs and will host Hokes Bluff in the third round on Friday, May 3.

The Berry Lady Wildcats defeated Hubbertville 16-0 on April 13 in the continued NAC Tournament that was previously postponed. The tournament was played at Guin. Brooke Blanton was the winning pitcher for Berry, allowing only two hits and striking out three to capture the win.

The Hubbertville Lady Lions hosted Hackleburg on Tuesday, April 23 and won a thriller by the score of 6-5. Emma Nichols pitched a complete seven-inning game for Hubbertville to record the win.

Dexter Roberts of Fayette made it through the live auditions and is still going strong after defeating two opponents in the battle rounds on this year’s “The Voice.” Roberts, a 2010 graduate of Fayette County High School, earned a four-chair turn during the auditions and picked country music star Blake Shelton as his coach. In the first battle round, Roberts performed a duet with his teammate Dalton Dover of Aragon, Georgia.

A severe thunderstorm hit Fayette County in the late afternoon and early evening hours on Thursday, April 18, and the county suffered damage in numerous locations due to straight-line winds. Fayette County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director Russ Taylor said that there were trees reported down throughout much of the county, with some structural damage. He said that a church in northeast Fayette County reported damage and several sheds were demolished during the storm.

The Fayette Community Foundation held its annual reception on April 11 at the Fayette Civic Center to recognize the past year’s grant recipients. William Oswalt, chairman of the Fayette Community Foundation board of directors, presented opening remarks at the beginning of the reception.

A single vehicle accident on Highway 171 approximately four miles south of Fayette resulted in injuries to the occupants of the vehicle. The vehicle left the roadway and traveled several feet before being stopped by a wooded area. Names of the occupants had not been released at press time. Both occupants were transported by ambulance to a medical facility.

Fayette Medical Center held a Community Health Fair on Friday, April 12 to help inform the residents about medical services available in the area and also to offer educational materials and services. In addition to the various agencies and departments located at Fayette Medical Center, other medical providers were on-hand to talk about the services that they offer and to provide information and demonstrations for the public.

Fayette Medical Center Long-Term Care residents hosted an Easter Egg hunt for pre-school children on April 17.

Alabama Pawn & Cash recently held a raffle to give away a Henry Alabama Bicentennial Rifle to benefit the Fayette County Animal Shelter. The raffle raised $3,000 for the shelter and the gun was won by Chris House of Millport.

The Fayette Middle School majorettes were recently selected for the 2019-20 school year.

Color Guards for the 2019-20 school year were recently selected at Fayette Middle School.

The annual Berry Heritage Festival is April 26-27, and Berry Mayor Jimmy Madison said that he is hoping this will be one of the best festivals ever. Madison said that the festival was started several years ago as a fun way to bring the citizens of the town together for a time of fellowship and fun. He said that other towns were having festivals, so the citizens of Berry decided to start a new tradition of its own.

The Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts in Florence presents the works of Fayette folk artist Bernard Wright from Wednesday, April 10 through Friday, May 3. A gallery talk is scheduled for Friday, May 3 at 6 p.m. Wright is a student of acclaimed Alabama artist, Jimmy Lee Sudduth and will be teaching a workshop using Sudduth’s methods in painting with mud on Saturday, May 4 at the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts. The workshop lasts from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. and includes lunch.

The Berry softball team had a very successful week, winning three of the four games that the team played. Berry started off the week on April 15 by defeating Hubbertville 6-1. Brooke Blanton pitched a complete game for the Lady Wildcats, allowing six hits and striking out six batters.

The Fayette softball team had a tough week, losing four of five games including its only two games in the WAC Tournament. Fayette started the week with a 14-1 loss to Cordova. Brandy Johnson pitched a complete seven inning game to suffer the loss.

The Fayette Tigers won a best-of-three series with Oneonta to advance to the second round of the state baseball playoffs. Fayette will host North Jackson on Friday, April 26, beginning at 5 p.m. The Tigers won the deciding third game against Oneonta on Monday by a score of 3-2. No stats for that game were available at press time.

The Hubbertville Lady Lions traveled to Pickens County on Wednesday, April 17 and defeated the Lady Tornadoes by a score of 12-1. Emma Nichols pitched a complete game for Hubbertville, allowing only three hits and one run.

Convicted killer Christopher Price received a last-minute stay of execution on Thursday, April 11, just two hours before he was to have been executed at Holeman Prison near Atmore for the 1991 murder of Bill Lynn. 

The Greek philosopher Plato was quoted as saying, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” A local resident found that saying very applicable and proceeded to invent an implement that will help not only himself, but other farmers and gardeners who own smaller tractors.

The Fayette City Council approved the hiring of an additional police officer at its April 9 meeting. All council members were present with the exception of Councilwoman Linda McCraw. Fayette Police Chief Danny Jenkins said that he had an additional vacancy on his staff due to the resignation of Sargeant Adam Smith. Smith resigned to take a position with the Fayette County Sheriff Office as the jail administrator, effective May 1.

The 13th annual Cattlemen’s Association Rodeo in Fayette was a huge success, with a near-capacity crowd on each night of the event.

The Fayette County Commission voted at its April 8 meeting to use a Homeland Security Grant to purchase 10 radios for the Fayette Sheriff Department and five for the Berry Police Department. All commissioners with the exception of Commissioner John Underwood were present for the meeting.

The Glen Allen Town Council held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, April 2 at the Town Hall. All council members were in attendance for the meeting. Addressing an item which had been tabled from the March council meeting, Mayor Allen J. Dunavant asked each councilor to submit a nominee to serve on the Glen Allen Community Club Committee. Following discussion among the council, the following individuals were agreed upon and appointed to serve:  Tracie Hubbert, Virginia Tucker, Candice Shipp, Crissy Youngblood, Shirley Jones and Sue Hubbert.