The Fayette City Council awarded checks in the amount of $20,000 during its Feb. 12 meeting.
Councilmen Jason Cowart and Jerry Nichols were absent from the meeting with all other council members present. Fayette Elementary, Fayette Middle and Fayette County High School each received a check for $5,000 from the council. The Fayette Area Chamber of Commerce was also awarded a $5,000 appropriations check during the meeting.

The Fayette County Commission made additional board appointments during its Feb. 11 meeting. All commissioners were present for the meeting. Commission Chairman Mike Freeman opened the meeting with a moment of silence in memory of Edwin “Punk” Turner, who died on Feb. 10. Fayette County EMA Director Russ Taylor told the commissioners that FEMA has given its final approval for the Fayette County storm shelters, and has also closed the grant application for the shelters. Paperwork concerning the shelters has to be kept on file for an additional three years.

Alabama Pawn and Cash in Fayette has donated a limited edition, commemorative Alabama Bicentennial Henry 22 Rifle to be given away on April 19. Tickets are $10 each and all proceeds from the raffle will benefit the Fayette County Animal Shelter. Only 300 tickets for the rifle will be sold. Tickets are available at Alabama Pawn and Cash.

The Alabama Bicentennial Traveling Exhibit had its grand opening at Hubbertville School on Saturday, Feb. 16. Many historical exhibits pertaining to the state’s history, in addition to displays of a local nature were on display. Herb Hollingsworth was the keynote speaker for the event. The exhibit will remain on display at Hubbertville School until Friday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.

The Fayette Exchange Club honors the “Student of the Month” at Fayette County High School throughout the school year by presenting them with plaques at an Exchange Club meeting. These awards are presented to students who achieve academic success in the classroom, and are also very involved in extracurricular activities both at school and in their communities. The club presented the awards for December, January and February at its meeting on Feb. 4.

The Northwest Alabama Economic Development Alliance (EDA) honored Congressman Robert Aderholt, John Riley of Bolzoni Auramo and current and former board chairmen as the EDA held its eighth annual “State of the Region” meeting at the Vernon City Complex on Thursday, Jan. 31.

The eighth annual Alabama Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday will be observed Feb. 22-24. The tax holiday will begin at 12:01 a.m. on Friday Feb. 22 and continue until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 24. The towns of Berry and Fayette are participating in the tax holiday, and Fayette County is also participating, which means that no sales tax will be charged on covered items in those areas during the holiday. Glen Allen has chosen not to participate in the sales tax holiday this year.

The Bevill State Bears split a doubleheader with Motlow State of Tennessee, losing the early game 11-2 and winning the second game by a score of 11-1. Jared Barnes led Bevill in hitting with two hits, including a solo home run. Parker Hubbard suffered the loss for Bevill, allowing four hits and six runs in 4 1/3 innings.

The Berry Lady Wildcats finished its basketball season on Feb. 11 by losing in the sub-regional tournament to Falkville by a score of 72-39. Brooke Hill led Berry with 15 points, five steals and five rebounds. Bailey Thomas added seven points for the Lady Wildcats, while Tyner Bowling and Zoe Mauldin each scored six points.

Corey Savage, youth pastor and associate minister at Plum Grove Baptist Church in Tuscaloosa, gave the keynote speech at Bevill State Community College on Feb. 6 during the college’s Black History Month program. Savage, a Fayette native and graduate of Fayette County High School, Bevill State Community College and Auburn University, told the audience that many people equate Black History with the freeing of slaves in this country and the subsequent civil rights battles. He said there is a much deeper, richer history of achievement among blacks that he wanted to emphasize.

The Fayette Area Chamber of Commerce held its annual “State of the Community” luncheon on Feb. 5 at the Fayette Civic Center. Josh Musgrove, pastor of Pisgah Baptist Church in Fayette, led the opening prayer to begin the meeting. Several community leaders addressed the state of their departments at the luncheon, with the general consensus being that Fayette County is a good place to live with a viable economic and business base.

The Fayette City Council held a special called meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 6 to address the fees due from the dumping of industrial wastewater into the Fayette Wastewater System. All council members were present at the meeting. Councilman Eddy Campbell said at the beginning of last week’s meeting, it appeared that Georgia Pacific was supposed to be paying $75 per load to dump its industrial wastewater in the Fayette Wastewater System.

Former three-term tax assessor and revenue commissioner for Fayette County, Edwin “Punk” Turner, died Sunday at the age of 81. Turner served as tax assessor and revenue commissioner from Oct. 1984 until his retirement in Nov. 2002.

The Berry Town Council approved the financing for its three new police cars during its Feb. 4 meeting. All council members were present for the meeting. Berry Police Chief Gerald DeDeaux said that the new police cars are in and have been shipped to a facility in Georgia to be equipped. He said that the cars should be ready for use by the department in approximately in month.

Three high school football players in Fayette County signed scholarship offers last week to continue their football and academic careers in college. Cannon Alexander of Hubbertville signed to play for Faulkner College, while Tre’Darion Walker of Fayette County High School signed to play at the University of West Alabama and Zack Ingle of Fayette County High School will be playing for Huntington College.

The Miss Fayette Middle School Pageant was held Jan. 26 at Bevill State Community College. Winners of the Fayette Middle School Pageant, Senior Division, were: Abby Berthoud, Most Photogenic; Claire Holliman, Miss Congeniality and First Alternate; Emma Claire Kummer, Miss Fayette Middle School; and Allie Long, Second Alternate. Winners of the Fayette Middle School Pageant, Junior Division, were: Haven Magouirk, First Alternate; Bailey Unger, Most Photogenic and Miss Junior Fayette Middle School; Caylen Williams, Second Alternate; and Victoria Allison, Miss Congeniality.

The Bevill State Bears opened its 2019 baseball season by hosting Mineral Area Community College of Park Hills, Mo. on Friday Feb. 8 for a single game and for a double-header on Saturday, Feb. 9. Unfortunately for the Bears, the 2019 baseball campaign did not get off to a good start as the Cardinals of Mineral Area swept the three-game series.

The Berry Lady Wildcats advanced to sub regional play by finishing second in the area tournament played last week at Guin. On Feb. 6, Berry faced its cross-county rival Hubbertville and was victorious by a score of 50-22. Leading the scoring for Berry was Zoe Mauldin with 13 points and six rebounds. Iannah Fields scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds, while Bailey Thomas added 10 points and six rebounds. Brooke Hill scored eight points, followed by Tyner Bowling with five points.

The “Making Alabama: A Bicentennial Traveling Exhibit,” will be in Fayette County at Hubbertville School from Feb. 15-22. The schedule for the exhibit at Hubbertville School is: Friday, Feb. 15 from 3:30-7 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 16 (Grand Opening) noon-5 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 17 from noon-5 p.m., Monday, Feb. 18 from 10 a.m. - 5 pm., Tuesday, Feb. 19 - Friday, Feb. 22 from 3:30-7 p.m.

The AARP Tax Aide volunteers are again offering free tax return assistance this year in Fayette County. This is a service that the volunteers have offered to citizens in the area for the past 15 years. The service is free to the public and there are no income or age restrictions. You do not have to be a member of AARP to take advantage of this service.