The Fayette Medical Center will celebrate its 60th anniversary on Friday, Sept. 21 and is still a vibrant, continually growing healthcare facility in the county. The hospital is a testament to the pioneers of healthcare in Fayette County and its roots started many years before, when the McNease-Robertson hospital/clinic was built. The McNease-Robertson facility came into existence because of a vision and care that Dr. B.W. McNease and Dr. John Banks Robertson had for the county.

The 49th annual Fayette Arts Festival, held on Sept. 8 at Guthrie Smith Park, was a huge success. Many visitors to the festival enjoyed the arts, crafts, vendors and entertainment throughout the day. The event was endorsed by the Alabama Bicentennial Commission, and featured the band “Three on a String” as the headlining musical entertainment.

Former Fayette police chief Ralph Crawford Olive Sr. passed away on Saturday, Sept. 1 at the Veterans Administration Medical Center at the age of 77. Olive was born in Berry on Sept. 24, 1940, and graduated from Berry High School in 1958. His career with the Fayette Police Department began in 1965, and Olive served as the Fayette police chief from Oct. 1972 until his retirement in Dec. 1994. Current Fayette police chief Danny Jenkins said that Olive was a big influence on his life. “He gave me my start in law enforcement,” Jenkins said.

The backyard brawl between the Berry Wildcats and the Hubbertville Lions took place Friday night at Wiley Hollingsworth Stadium as the Lions hosted their cross county Region 6 rivals. In a show of unity the Berry Red Regiment Band joined the Lion Pride Band on the field for the presentation of the national anthem followed by team captains meeting at the center of the field to get the much anticipated game underway.

The Fayette Tigers used a balanced offensive attack and a strong defensive effort to dominate the first three quarters, defeating the Northside Rams by a score of 27-12. The Tigers allowed Northside only 123 yards of total offense in the first three quarters and led the Rams 27-0 entering the final quarter of the game. Fayette appeared to enter the game with a renewed vigor, after losing to its rival Winfield the previous week. The Tigers also unveiled a new style uniform for the first time, as they took the field in their”Eye of the Tiger/Warrior” uniforms.

The M. Barnett Lawley Forever Wild Field Trial Area (FWFTA) in Hale County will host a series of deer hunts for hunters with physical disabilities from late November 2018 through January 2019. Registration for the hunts will open Sept. 17 and run through Oct. 19. “Access to outdoor activities such as hunting should be available to everyone who has an interest,” said Chris Blankenship, Commissioner of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR). “We are honored to provide hunting opportunities for all Alabamians including those with physical disabilities.”

Jeff Huff, of the Fayette Medical Center (FMC), gave the hospital’s annual report to the Fayette City Council at its Aug. 28 meeting. Councilmen Jerry Nichols and Cedric Wilson were absent from the meeting. Huff introduced several members of the FMC staff in attendance, then told the council that the one-half cent sales tax passed by the council three years ago to help the hospital has made a tremendous difference in the way the facility is able to do business.

The Fayette County Commission voted during its Aug. 27 meeting to pay County Engineer for all of his accrued sick and vacation hours upon his separation of employment from the county on Aug. 31.

Guthrie Smith Park will host the 49th Fayette Arts Festival from 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 8. The Fayette Arts Festival is the longest consecutive-running arts festival in the state. This year’s festival is also an endorsed event of the Alabama Bicentennial Commission. To help celebrate Alabama’s 200th birthday, the Fayette Arts Festival will host Alabama’s own “Three on a String” as the morning entertainment on the Main Stage from 9:30 a.m. – noon.

In a game that was delayed by lightning for approximately 30 minutes during the first quarter, the Winfield Pirates scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to defeat the homestanding Tigers 35-13. Fayette trailed 14-13 early in the fourth quarter before the Pirates scored the final 21 points to seal the victory.

Hubbertville made the long trek north to Lauderdale County to battle the Cougars of Waterloo. The two teams had never met on the gridiron so the atmosphere among players, coaches and fans were varied. Head coach Lamar Harris forewarned his Lions prior to boarding the bus that the long trip would be conducted as a "business venue" with the ultimate goal of remaining confident and bringing home the victory.

Green Bay coaching legend Vince Lombardi once said, “We didn’t lose the game; we just ran out of time.” The Berry fans who traveled to Cullman County to watch the Wildcats take on the Cold Springs Eagles can identify with this. The two teams traded the lead all night, but ultimately the clock caught up with Berry and Cold Springs escaped with a seven-point victory, 27-20.

Approximately 15 miles from downtown Fayette, is an old Warren Pony Truss bridge, estimated to have been built around 1928. It spans the Luxapallila Creek on Dodson Road (off of County Road 21). This unique bridge is currently still open to traffic. Its total length is 101.1 feet, with a deck width of 12.1 feet.

The Fayette Community Foundation will soon accept grant applications for 2018. According to the Fayette Community Foundation’s mission statement, “The Foundation shall seek to support, promote, improve, and maintain the health, educational, and cultural institutions serving the citizens of Fayette County.”

The 2018 high school football season kicked off last week and the county teams appeared to be ready for action. Fayette County High School scored with 4.7 seconds remaining in the game to take a hard-earned 19-13 victory over Gordo, and Berry played Sulligent extremely close before losing a heartbreaker by the score of 30-22. Hubbertville also had a very impressive jamboree win against Phil Campbell. See additional pictures and details of these games in this week’s paper.

Several Fayette businesses held ribbon-cutting ceremonies in Fayette last week. The Charming Cottage and Fannie’s Bistro and Events celebrated the opening of their new businesses, and Alabama Sunshine celebrated the opening of its new location.

Fayette County Superintendent of Education Jim Burkhalter told board members during the Aug. 21 meeting that the Fayette County school system is exploring the possibility of participating in the Alabama Sentry Program. The sentry program will allow an authorized and certified school administrator in a school without a resource officer to have a firearm on campus in a secure location to protect students and teachers in the event of a security threat to the school.

The Berry Town Council met in a work session on Aug. 20 to discuss budget issues for fiscal year 2019. All councilmen, Mayor Jimmy Madison and Town Clerk Marie McCluskey were in attendance. Berry Police Chief Gerald DeDeaux told the council that his department is needing new patrol cars and asked the council to consider options to buy or lease new cars during the next budget.

For the second straight year, the FayetteTigers completed a touchdown pass with little time remaining on the clock to defeat the Gordo Greenwave. Fayette senior Blake Wallace, who was starting his first game as quarterback for Fayette, completed a 26-yard touchdown pass to Tre’Darion Walker with 4.7 seconds left on the clock to give Fayette a 19-13 victory.

The Berry Wildcats began its 2018 football campaign by hosting the Class 2A Sulligent Blue Devils for the first time since 2007. The Wildcats and Blue Devils played a close game, with both teams bitten by the turnover bug. In the end, Sulligent escaped with an eight-point victory.