Matt Belk was selected as mayor by the Belk City Council during the council’s regular monthly meeting on Thursday, June 22.
Belk Mayor Karen Strickland lost her ongoing battle with cancer and passed away at her residence on June 17 at the age of 68. Strickland was a lifelong resident of Fayette County, and lived most of her adult life in the community of Belk. She loved Belk deeply, and devoted her life to helping make life in the small community a better place for the residents.
A car crashed into a Fayette County residence just as the family living at that residence was sitting down to a meal. Luckily, all involved in the accident escaped with no or only minor injuries. The Fayette County Sheriff’s Department responded to the scene, and a spokesperson for that department said that the accident occurred at approximately 7 p.m. on the night of Tuesday, Dec. 13.
Karen Strickland made history on Tuesday, May 10 by becoming the first female mayor of a municipality in Fayette County.
Interfor, a forest product company based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, announced on May 27 the acquisition of the Belk Georgia Pacific sawmill facility. Also acquired during the purchase were three additional Georgia Pacific operations, facilities located in Bay Springs, Miss.; DeQuincy, Louis. and Philomath, Ore. Interfor announced a total purchase price of $375 million for the four facilities.
The Belk Town Council held its March monthly meeting a week early because of a pending medical issue involving Mayor Mike Ellison. All council members were present. The council addressed the appointment of a Mayor Pro Tem to serve in the absence of the mayor. The council approved the appointment of Bill Davis as Mayor Pro Tem for the Town of Belk. The council voted to purchase a tractor from Freeman Tractor Sales in Fayette. The cost of the Mahindra tractor was $22,430.
The Belk Town Council selected Joe Waldrop at its Feb. 9 meeting to replace Jeannie Hollingsworth as the new member of the Belk Town Council. All board members were present for the meeting. Hollingsworth, a longtime member of the Belk Town Council, died as the result of COVID-related issues on Dec. 18, 2020. Councilman Bill Davis nominated Waldrop to fill the vacant council position at the start of the meeting. There were no additional nominations and Councilwoman Karen Strickland made a motion to close the nominations.
A stalwart member of the Belk community beginning her eighth term on the Belk Town Council passed away on Friday, Dec. 18 after losing her battle with the COVID-19 virus. Jeannie Hollingsworth, age 69 of Belk, had been visiting with her daughter Dana Hollingsworth in Charlottesville, Va. during Thanksgiving week when she became ill and was taken to the hospital. Dana Hollingsworth said that her mother was admitted to the hospital with “COVID-related symptoms” from which she never recovered.
A Belk woman who had been missing since Saturday, Dec. 5, was found safe in the City of Tuscaloosa on Monday, Dec. 7. According to the Fayette County Sheriff’s Office, Marilyn Watkins, 70, was last seen at approximately 11 a.m. at her home in Belk. She had reportedly left her home driving a 2012 Infinity G37. Law enforcement authorities issued an alert because Watkins was thought to have a medical condition that might impair her judgment while traveling alone. Fayette County Sheriff Byron Yerby said that there were reports of her being seen in the Tuscaloosa area on Sunday, Dec. 6.
The Belk Town Council held its first monthly meeting following this year’s qualifying and election cycle. All members of the council were present for the Nov. 10 meeting. The council members officially took their respective oaths of office on Nov. 2. The members of the council are as follows: Sherry Spack, Place 1; Bill Davis, Place 2; Karen Strickland, Place 3; and Jeannie Hollingsworth, Place 4. Mike Ellison is the mayor of Belk.
