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.

The “Snake Show” came to Fayette Middle School last week, and offered thrills and education about reptiles to the students.
Yarborough Educational Reptiles presented a show that sought to show children that not all snakes and reptiles are bad. The show also brought examples of both venomous and non-venomous snakes, along with several other exotic animals to gibe the students an up-close encounter with nature.

The Fayette County Board of Education met for its regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 16 at the Berry Elementary School library. The meeting was the board’s annual trip to Berry High School and Berry Elementary School for a tour of the facilities. All board members were present for the meeting. The board elected Steve Sawyer to serve as the new principal at Berry High School, filling the vacancy left when Trevor Kribb left the position near the beginning of the school year to take a similar job with another school system.

The Nov. 6 general election will decide several key offices, not only throughout Fayette County but also in the state. The sheriff race in Fayette County will have three candidates on the ballot. Incumbent Rodney Ingle will be seeking his fourth term as sheriff of Fayette County and will be on the ballot as independent candidate. He will be challenged by current Alabama State Trooper Tierre Agnew as the Democratic candidate and current Fayette policeman Byron Yerby as the Republican challenger.

The Fayette County High School volleyball team celebrated its Senior Night on Oct. 16 with a regional match against Cordova. The seniors on this year's team are Mary Kate Ballew and Aleah Byars.

The Fayette County Fair, held Oct. 16-20  had rides, exhibits and something for just about everyone. The fair is held annually and distributes the profit from the fair to several local organizations.

Fayette scored the first 27 points of the game and coasted to a 33-14 regional road win over the Haleyville Lions. Haleyville received the opening kickoff near midfield and moved inside Fayette territory before a fumble was recovered by the Tigers’ Zack Ingle at the Fayette 30-yard line. The Tigers proceeded to methodically march down the field, with Ingle running the final eight yards on the 11th play of the drive for the touchdown. A two-point conversion run failed and with 3:19 left in the first quarter, Fayette led 6-0.

Hubbertville celebrated its homecoming last week and capped off the festivities with a 41-24 football victory over the Brilliant Tigers.

Hubbertville celebrated homecoming Friday night by welcoming the Brilliant Tigers to Wiley Hollingsworth Stadium. Winning the coin toss, the Lions elected to receive the opening kick, starting its first offensive possession from the 34-yard line. Runs by Zach Hubbert, Gage Key and Blake Anthony quickly moved the ball to midfield and two plays, later Z. Hubbert took the handoff from Ethan Nichols to the endzone for a 47-yard rushing touchdown with 9:18 showing on the clock. The PAT kick by Z. Hubbert was perfect and the Lions were on the scoreboard.

The Berry Wildcats finished up its home games at Fred Webster Stadium by playing host to the Pickens County Tornadoes for Senior Night.  The Tornadoes got off to a quick start and opened up a lead that would prove to be too much for Berry to overcome. The Wildcats fought hard all night but fell 51–7 to Pickens County. The Wildcats returned the opening kickoff to the Berry 39-yard line to begin play, but was unable to advance and piunted the ball away. 

Anne Perry-Uhlman spoke to the Fayette Progress Club on Oct. 11 at the Fayette County Memorial Library. Perry-Uhlman told the club members that there are several events planned during the next few months that will celebrate Fayette County’s role in the state’s 200th anniversary celebration.

The Fayette City Council held its regularly scheduled meeting on Oct. 9 and passed its budget for the 2019 fiscal year. Councilman Jason Cowart and Councilman Jerry Nichols were absent from the meeting. Prior to the start of the business session of the meeting, Fayette County Baptist Association Director John Killian introduced Jim Zeigler, state auditor, as a guest speaker for the meeting. He was allowed five minutes to address the council before the meeting started.

Danny Raines, former coach at Berry High School, is having a remarkable season at a school that was known for its sub-par football teams prior to his arrival. Raines became the head football coach at Headland High School in 2017, following his controversial dismissal as the head football coach at Berry after the 2016 season. When Raines arrived at Berry in 2003, he inherited a football program that had not had a winning season during the previous five years, nor had Berry been to the playoffs during that period of time.

The Fayette County Commission hired two new employees for the county road crew during its Oct. 8 meeting. Billy Rodgers was absent from the meeting with all other commissioners present. County Engineer Chris Howell requested that the commissioners approve the hiring of the two new employees, as was discussed in previous meetings. The employees would fill vacancies on the road crew staff, and the money for the employees was allocated in the recently passed budget for fiscal year 2019.

A few of the staff members at the Fayette Medical Center’s 2018 “Staying Alive Pink Party” posed for this picture at the event. The party honored the survivors of breast cancer and remembered the ones who lost their battle with the dreaded disease. The party raises funds to help fight breast cancer and this year’s theme was, “It takes a team to battle breast cancer.”

The Fayette Lady Tigers volleyball team defeated Cordova in straight sets: 25-22, 25-10 and 25-23, to win a key area matchup as the volleyball regular season winds down. Fayette currently leads the area four matches to one.

“Community” is a word often used to describe the area around Hubbertville School and the people in it. Yet to the individuals who have helped Hubbertville School grow throughout the years, community means much more. It was through the dedicated members of this community that the current Hubbertville School has its beginnings. The school is deeply rooted in its rich history, from the growth of the school to the tribulations it faced in its early years as the four previous schools came together to form the school that we know today.

The Glen Allen Town Council held its regular scheduled monthly meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at the town’s community center. Councilwoman Willie Rose McClinton was not in attendance. Following standard opening procedures, Mayor Allen J. Dunavant welcomed political candidates whom were in attendance, allowing them an opportunity to address the council during the meeting. Each candidate presented their platforms and following their presentations, the council asked questions and discussed concerns with each candidate.

The Berry Wildcats traveled to Brilliant to take on the Tigers for Brilliant’s Homecoming. The Wildcats started the game hot and never cooled off, scoring on offense, defense, and special teams as they rolled to a 42–6 victory. Brilliant won the toss and elected to receive the opening kickoff. The Tigers returned the kickoff to the Brilliant 35-yard line. After three plays, Brilliant faced fourth and 11 on the Tigers’ 34-yard line. Brilliant elected to punt and the Wildcats’ offense got the ball for the first time on the Berry 36-yard line.

The Hubbertville Lions ventured into Winston County Friday night to face-off against the Lynn Bears. The Bears won the coin toss and elected to defer, holding the Lions to four-and-out on its opening possession. Following the punt from Ethan Nichols, Noah Jackson called his own number on the first three plays, advancing the ball to the 42-yard line to keep the Bears’ opening possession alive.

Jens Konig, a German journalist working for Stern Magazine, visited Fayette last week to get a view of the political climate of this country “from the heartland of America.” Konig works out of Stern Magazine’s New York office and covers the American political scene for the weekly German news publication. Stern magazine has a weekly circulation of approximately 750,000 issues and is one of the largest news publications in the country.

Jose Perry, representing U.S. Senator Doug Jones’ office, spoke at the Oct. 2 Fayette Area Chamber of Commerce First Tuesday Luncheon concerning Jones’ actions in Congress.
Perry said that Jones has a deep-rooted love of God and country similar to most of the citizens of Fayette County. “Doug Jones has the issues of Fayette County at-heart,” Perry told the audience.

The Fayette Frog Level Festival, held in Fayette on Oct. 5-6, was a tremendous success. The weather was good, and the festival offered lots of entertainment for people of all ages.

Berry High School celebrated its homecoming last week, which included a homecoming football game against Lynn High School.

The Fayette County Fair begins Tuesday, Oct. 16 and goes through Saturday, Oct. 20. The gates open Monday through Friday at 6 p.m. and at 4 p.m. on Saturday.  Archway Amusements is the ride contractor on the Midway. Fun family entertainment is monitored by the Fayette County Fair Board.

The Berry Town Council held its regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Oct.1, with Councilman Wesley Jacobs and Councilman Christopher Rice being absent from the meeting. All other council members were present for the meeting. Councilman Russell Madison made a motgion to appoint Michael Frost to fill the unexpired term of Corey Kizzire on the Berry Park and Recreation Board. Councilman Troyce Townsel seconded the motion and the motion was approved unanimously. Frost’s term on the board will expire on March 1, 2019.

Blake Wallace ran for two first quarter touchdowns as Fayette notched a decisive 27-7 victory over the winless Oak Grove Tigers. Fayette played its reserves for most of the second quarter and the entire second half, as a running clock was utilized during the third and fourth periods of the game.

The Lions welcomed the Red Raiders of Marion County to Wiley Hollingsworth Stadium seeking revenge from last year’s overtime loss along with hopes of forging ahead of the Raiders in the Region 6 standings. Hubbertville won the coin toss, electing to receive the opening kick with Gage Key advancing the ball from the 18-yard line to the Lions' 26-yard line. Ethan Nichols led the offense to the field, choosing to utilize the ground game to slowly advance the ball downfield. Runs by G.

Homecoming is always a special time to welcome friends and family back to their alma mater, and Friday was no exception at Fred Webster Stadium. The Wildcats faced the Lynn Bears in front of a packed house. Unfortunately for the Berry faithful, big offensive plays by the Bears would be too much for the Wildcats to overcome as Lynn won the game 44-20.

Fayette County High School has a long-standing tradition of having more Crimsonettes annually at the University of Alabama than any other school. That tradition continues this season.

The 2018 Fayette Frog Level Festival promises to have something for just about everybody this year - from jumping frogs, to antique and vintage vehicles, lots of live musical entertainment, a large variety of arts and crafts, and food vendors cooking up a variety of tasteful creations. The festival will be held in downtown Fayette beginning at 4 p.m. on Friday Oct. 5 and will continue at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 6 with a full slate of activities scheduled.