Hubbertville School and Fayette County High School will each celebrate homecoming festivities this week. Hubbertville’s students  will celebrate “Decade Day” on Wednesday, Class T-Shirt Day on Thursday, and Spirit Day on Friday. There will be a Homecoming Pep Rally at the football stadium on Thursday, Oct. 1 at 6:30. The homecoming court will be introduced at the pep rally.

A runoff election to fill the Fayette City Council seat for Ward 1 will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 6 at the Fayette Civic Center. This will be the only race on the ballot. Virettia Whiteside will face Steve Herring in Ward 1 to fill the council seat currently held by Linda McCraw. McCraw did not seek re-election.

As the season turns to fall, the nearly year-long COVID-19 pandemic continues to keep a firm grip on the state and the nation. The total number of confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus in the state totaled 152,983 cases with 2,501 deaths on Monday, Sept. 28. Fayette County’s totals, which were the lowest in the state for the first few months of the pandemic, now total 467 cases and eight deaths. These totals are currently listed as the seventh lowest totals in the state.

The Fayette Community Foundation will begin accepting applications on Oct. 1 for a new round of grants. The Fayette Community Foundation mission statement says, “The Foundation shall seek to support, promote, improve, and maintain the health, educational, and cultural institutions serving the citizens of Fayette County.”

Despite being a close game at halftime, Fayette used a tremendous rushing attack in the second half to defeat the South Lamar Stallions 36-12. Samuel Kizzire returned the opening kickoff for the Tigers to the Fayette 40-yard line. After suffering a 15-yard penalty on the first play of the game, Fayette methodically moved downfield toward the Stallions’ goal line.

The Lions traveled to Hackleburg on Friday night for a matchup against the Panthers in a non-region contest. Hackleburg won the coin toss, electing to defer. Following a 15-yard return on the opening kick by Gage Alexander, Lions' quarterback Gage Key led his offensive front to the field.

After spending three weeks on the road, the Berry Wildcats returned to the friendly confines of Fred Webster Stadium, seeking its first home win of the year in a game against the Class 2A Lamar County Bulldogs. The game featured the running attack of the Wildcats versus the passing attack of the Bulldogs. The contest was close until late in the fourth quarter, when the Wildcats’ defense stepped up and led Berry to a 26–13 victory.

Ronald Waldrop, former teacher in the Fayette County School System and the longtime mayor of Belk, died on Wednesday, Sept. 16 following a lengthy illness. He was 78 years old. Waldrop lived his entire life in Belk and truly loved the community. He was the second person to serve as mayor of Belk, first serving a six-year stint from 1970-76. Later when Mike Ellison resigned as mayor of Belk in 1998 to take an elected position on the Fayette County Commission, Waldrop stepped in again as mayor and served until resigning due to health reasons this year in June.

Fayette Medical Center (FMC) recently updated and renovated its community walking trail, located near the FMC Long-Term Care facility. The trail was originally built in the 1980s thanks to a $10,000 donation from the Georgia Pacific Foundation. The renovation was made possible through a $60,000 grant from OptumRX, and included widening the track and sidewalks, repairing the fence, and renovating the pavilion at the track.

The Fayette County Board of Education passed its budget for fiscal year 2021 during its Sept. 15 meeting. Board President Tom Hubbert was absent from the meeting, with Superintendent Jim Burkhalter and all other board members in attendance. Board Vice-President Sam Sullivan presided over the meeting in the absence of Hubbert. Prior to the meeting, a budget hearing was held. This was the second hearing for the proposed budget that was held by the board, with a previous hearing held at Berry High School on Sept. 10.

The Fayette County Commission discussed position vacancies and other items at its Sept. 14 meeting, as they continue to work toward adopting the fiscal year 2021 budget later this month. All commissioners were present for the meeting. Commissioner Barry Corkren said that he asked that position vacancies be placed on the agenda for discussion.

The Berry Town Council approved its fiscal year 2021 budget during its Sept. 14 meeting. Councilman Chris Rice was absent, with all other council members present for the meeting.
Berry Town Clerk Marie McCluskey said that projected revenues for the town are expected to be similar to the revenue collected last year. Total revenue for the FY2021 general fund budget is expected to be approximately $677,586.

Bobbie Jo Kemp-Driver was presented a plaque and a resolution signed by the members of the Fayette County Commission, honoring her for her 37 years of “dedicated and loyal service” to the county. Her official retirement date will be Oct. 1.

The Fayette Tigers traveled to Oak Grove last week for its first road game of the season and came home victorious with a 26-7 win. Fayette scored touchdowns on its first three possessions, then sealed the victory with another score late in the fourth quarter.

The Berry Wildcats sought to continue its road game winning streak as they traveled to Guin to face the Marion County Red Raiders. Marion County took an early lead, but big plays on both sides of the ball by the Wildcats proved to be too much for the Red Raiders to handle.  A 26-point second half led Berry to a 38–16 victory.

Hubbertville recorded its first Region 6 win of the season on Friday night with a 57-28 victory over the Meek Tigers. Gage Key returned the opening kick 19 yards, setting up the Lions’ offense with its opening possession. With the snap, Key connected on a passing route down the right sideline with Austin Berryhill, who raced to the four-yard line awarding the Lions with first and goal. First down brought Gage Alexander with the handoff for the quick six with only 42 seconds erased from the game clock.

The Fayette County Courthouse dome was repainted last week during a project that is a portion of the courthouse refurbishing project.  The project will include a complete new roof and the repainting of all exterior wood surfaces. The cost of the project is approximately $170,000, and will be paid out of the Courthouse Restoration Fund. No tax money will be used for the project.

After starting school on Aug. 20, the Fayette County School System is starting to experience some of the attendance problems that were expected due to attending school during a pandemic.
On Monday, Sept. 14, the Fayette County Board of Education reported that, since the beginning of the school year, 180 total individuals had been quarantined throughout the school system.

Fayette County High School had local musician Roger Wallace play “Taps” before the Fayette - Curry football game on Sept. 11 to honor the memory of the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on American soil. The Fayette Fire Department also flew a huge American flag all day on Sept. 11, hoisted by a ladder on one of its trucks, to commemorate the event.

The Fayette City Council discussed the new designated dumping site for wastewater during its Sept. 8 city council meeting. All council members were present for the meeting. The council recently changed the sites allowed for wastewater dumping to a central site located in the northern portion of the city. According to John Dill, manager of the wastewater department, the site was chosen to reduce the harmful impact on the city’s wastewater pumps to a minimal amount.