Alabama Power Engineering Supervisor Russell Hill recently spoke to members of the Fayette Exchange Club concerning an extensive project that his company is undertaking in the Fayette area. Alabama Power is installing new power poles and a fiber-optic integrated system that will allow for quick restoration of power during a power outage.

The Fayette Tigers won a four overtime thriller at Class 6A Brookwood on Jan. 5 by a score of 41-38. The game was low-scoring throughout regulation, with Fayette leading 3-0 at the end of the first quarter and 8-5 at halftime. The game was tied 19-19 at the end of regulation.

Berry traveled cross-county to face area rival Hubbertville in basketball on Jan. 4 and defeated the Lions in both boys and girls basketball. Despite a two-week layoff during the holiday season, the Wildcats still appeared sharp as they easily won each of the games.

Two escaped female inmates from the Fayette County jail were quickly returned to custody after escaping on Sunday, Dec. 23. Deputy Barry Corkren said that Carol Ann Eaton, 34, of 588 Northam Rd., Vernon, and Julie Burrage Miller, 39, of 1144 Co. Rd. 101, Fayette, escaped on Dec. 23 at approximately 5:30 - 6 p.m.

We continue our review of stories from 2018 with headlines from July - December. Events from the first six months of the year were reviewed in last week’s edition of The Times-Record. July - The annual Fayette Tractor and Truck Pull was held on July 7 at the Fayette Multipurpose Complex. Shannon Taylor was hired as the new fire chief for the Fayette Fire Department.
Jeff Newman was selected as President Pro Tem of the state Alabama Board of Education.

A worker injured in an industrial accident at Georgia Pacific in Belk on Friday, Dec. 21 has been discharged from the hospital and is continuing to recover from the incident, according to a spokesman for the company. Rick Kimble, director of communications for Georgia Pacific, said that at approximately 1 p.m. on Dec. 21, Melissa Watkins was pinned and caught under a moving platform at the facility.  She was freed from the platform and was having extreme difficulty breathing, Kimble said.

Jonathan K. Smith, who has practiced general surgery in Fayette for a decade, will be leaving this summer to train as a surgical specialist. Dr. Smith will begin a fellowship in oncology breast surgery at Rutgers University in New Jersey in August. Dr. Smith said he will announce his plans in more detail soon. Until then, he said, he will continue to see patients.

Two long-time public servants of Fayette County will have receptions in January, honoring them for their service to the citizens of the county. Probate Judge William Oswalt and District Judge Jerry Clary were each elected to their respective offices in 1988. They have each served the county for the past 30 years in their official capacities, and each of the men will retire in January after choosing to not seek another term in office.

Sarah Stovall, a senior student and softball player at Carbon Hill High School, recently signed an athletic scholarship to play for Judson College. Although Stovall attends Carbon Hill High School in Walker County, she is a resident of Fayette County in the Huvbbertville community. Stovall posted a 9-9 record last season as a pitcher with a 4.91 ERA. In 94 innings pitched, she struck out 75 batters and walked 37 for Carbon Hill. Her team ended the season with a 34-24 record and advanced to the North Central Regional Tournament.

As we approach a new year, we pause to take a look back at some of the top stories from the first six months of 2018. January - Tyner Bowling, a cheerleader at Berry High School, participated in the London, England New Year’s Day parade.

The Fayette City Council voted during its Dec. 21 meeting to hire Jesse Finch, a current policeman in Gordo, to fill a vacancy on the police staff. According to Fayette Police Chief Danny Jenkins, Finch is a recent graduate of the law enforcement academy. Jenkins said that Finch is a native of Fayette County and also stated that he still lives in Fayette County.

Employees and staff at Amedisys Home Health of Fayette decided this year to sponsor three children through the Department of Human Resources to buy Christmas gifts instead of exchanging gifts among themselves. Shown are the toys and presents that they purchased for the children.

Tre’Darion Walker, a senior at Fayette County High School, was named first-team Class 4A all-state receiver by the Alabama Sports Writers Association for the 2018 season. Walker  had 43 receptions for 1,051 yards and 14 touchdowns during the season. Cannon Alexander , senior offensive lineman at Hubbertville, was named Class 1A honorable mention.

The Winfield Pirates traveled south to Fayette to participate in the West Alabama Conference (WAC) Basketball Tournament on Dec. 20-22 and swept all three conference championships.
Winfield built comfortable leads in all three championship games to cruise to easy victories.

Joey Day President Charles A. Langley received $3,005 from the Kirkland/Bluff/Wayside communities on Thursday, Dec. 13. Over 35 families, Wayside Church, The Animal Clinic, Nix Flying Service, The Kirkley Foundation, and Wayside Community Club made generous donations to the Joey Day Project with the hope that over 300 needy children referred by the Department of Human Resources will have a Merry Christmas as they receive clothing, shoes and toys.

The Berry boys basketball team defeated Waterloo 63-58 in a game played at Berry on Dec. 21. The games against Waterloo and Holy Spirit were added to the schedule to provide additional competition prior to the Christmas break. Isaac Darty had an outstanding game, scoring 29 points for the Wildcats. Levi Cannon and Tyler Lollar also scored in double figures for the Wildcats with 11 points each. Johnathan Locke scored five points, Sam Franklin had four points and Isaiah Kizzire notched three points for Berry.

Hubert Norris, a former long-time sheriff of Fayette County, passed away on December 12 at the age of 84. His funeral was held on Dec. 16 at Nelson Funeral Home with burial in the Bethabara Cemetery in Berry. Norris had a long and legendary career in law enforcement, beginning as police chief with the Berry Police Department in 1967, and continuing with the Fayette Police Department from before being elected sheriff in 1974.

The Fayette County Board of Education held its regularly scheduled meeting on Dec. 11 at the Hubbertville School Library. Board member Tim Fields was absent from the meeting, with all other board members and Superintendent Jim Burkhalter present. A motion to accept the low bid of $32,336 to build a privacy safety fence around the campus of Fayette Middle School was made by board member John Stowe and seconded by board member Keith Madison. The funds for the fence would be provided by the Fayette Community Foundation and from local school funds.

The Fayette County Commission continued its discussion concerning the aging program at its Dec. 10 meeting. Commission Chairman Joe Acker said that there appeared to be a general consensus after the commission’s last meeting to discontinue the Medicaid Waiver program that the aging program has been particpating in. He said that Pam McDaniel of the regional aging program stated that the county is already in violation of the guidelines because follow-up inspections were not being completed.

The Fayette Area Chamber of Commerce held an "After-Hours" event and ribbon cutting at the recently opened Ron's Pottery in Fayette on Dec. 13.

The combined Calvary and Macedonia Churches presented a Christmas Cantata entitled “Peace Has Come” at Calvary Church on Dec. 8 and Macedonia Church on Dec. 9.

The Fayette Civic Center will host a Christmas Concert at 7 p.m. on Dec. 21 featuring Fayette native Mart Avant and “The Night Flight Big Band.” The concert will also feature Annie McClendon on vocals. Avant said that the band will combine traditional Christmas music with standard big band tunes for the concert.

Berry’s girls coach Caleb Hynds recorded the 100th win of his coaching career as Berry defeated Pickens County 69-44. The Lady Wildcats easily overcame the Lady Tornadoes, aided by a 75 percent team performance from the free throw line. Brooke Hill led Berry with 17 points and 10 rebounds, followed closely by Tyner Beth Bowling with 16 points and Allie Taylor with 10 points.Zoe Mauldin added nine points for the Lady Wildcats and Bailey Thomas had five assists for Berry.

Hubbertville boys and girls teams each won two games during the week and lost one.
The boys team defeated Vina on Dec. 10 by the score of 46-30. The Lions were led by Brady Tucker with 20 points, followed by Tanner Upton, Aaron Cribb  and Lawson Harkness with six points each. Zack Hubbert scored four points for Hubbertville, followed by Ethan Nichols and Cannon Alexander with two points each.

The Fayette County High School varsity basketball teams played two games each last week with mixed results. The girls team won at South Lamar before falling to Brookwood at home, while the boys team lost a heartbreaker at South Lamar before beating Brookwood on its home floor.
 The girls team traveled to South Lamar on Dec. 11 and defeated the Lady Stallions 67-41.

The Fayette County Board of Education held a brief meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 4, followed by a work session. Prior to the start of the meeting, Fayette County Probate Judge William Oswalt issued the oath of office to Superintendent Jim Burkhalter, Board member John Stowe and Board Member Waldon Tucker. All three were incumbents who were re-elected to their offices during the November general election.

The Town of Berry held its annual Christmas Parade on Thursday, Dec. 6. The Berry High School Marching Band performed in the parade, along with several colorful and festive nentries.

Russ Taylor, Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Director for Fayette County, announced the start of a new Mass Notification System for Fayette County residents. Taylor said that the system was activated for Fayette County on Dec. 1. He said his department was able to fully fund the system’s cost with a grant through Homeland Security.

The Berry Town Council appointed a new town council member, municipal judge and city prosecutor to fill vacancies that occurred recently in those positions. Council members Russell Madison, Chris Rice and Calvin Madison were in attendance for the regularly scheduled monthly meeting, held Monday, Dec. 3 at Berry Town Hall. Absent from the meeting was Councilman Troyce Townsel. Berry Mayor Jimmy Madison, Town Clerk Marie McClusky and Berry Police Chief Gerald DeDeaux were also in attendance for the meeting.

Jeff Dodson, native of Fayette and former baseball coach at Bevill State Community College, has been named the new Director of Development for the School of Medicine and Health Sciences for the University of North Dakota Alumni Association and Foundation.

The Fayette County High School boys basketball team hosted Corner High School on Tuesday, Dec. 4 and won a come-from-behind thriller by a score of 67-63. Fayette had a lead for the first few seconds of the game and never led again until Trevor Billups hit a shot with 2.1 seconds left to give Fayette a 65-63 lead. After Corner threw the ball away on a full-court inbounds pass, Corner fouled Billups as Fayette inbounded the ball. Billups made the two free throws to give Fayette a hard-earned 67-63 victory.

The Hubbertville Lady Lions finished second in the NAC Basketball Tournament, held Dec. 6-8 at Guin. The girls team received a first round bye and defeated Lynn in the semifinals on Dec. 7 by a score of 39-35. Leading the way for the Lady Lions was Gracie Dodd with 11 points, followed by Kendall Dunavant with nine points. Haylee Pollard had eight points for Hubbertville, Laikyn Wright scored seven points and Chelsea Porter added four points.

The Berry Lady Wildcats competed on Dec. 7-8 at the NAC Tournament in Guin and brought the championship trophy back to Berry. In the semifinals on Dec. 7, the Lady Wildcats played Marion County and won by a score of 51-40. The leading scorer for Berry was Brooke Hill with 22 points, five steals and two assists. She was followed by Zoe Mauldin with 12 points, and Tyner Beth Bowling with 10 points and two assists. Bailey Thomas also contributed five big assists during the game.

The Fayette Christmas parade was held in downtown Fayette on Monday, Dec. 3. The Fayette County High School band performed and their were many festive and spiritual entries in the parade.

The West Alabama Regional Commission held their Annual Meeting and Awards Ceremony Thursday, Nov. 8 at Cypress Inn Pavilion. Candi Williams, State Director of AARP for Alabama, was the guest speaker for the evening. The highlight of the program was the presentation of the 2018 David M. Cochrane Award to the Honorable Jimmy Madison, Mayor of Berry. Members of the West Alabama Regional Commission’s board of directors were also recognized at the ceremony.

The Fayette County Commissioners donated $250 out of their personal funds to the Joey Day program in Fayette to buy Christmas presents for children in Fayette County.

The Fayette County Commission discussed its plans for the future of the aging program in the county, following the retirement in November of its long-time program director, Fay Meharg. All commissioners were present for the Nov. 26 meeting. Commissioner Barry Corkren said that he is certainly not against having an aging program in the county, but added that now by be the appropriate time to evaluate the way the program is funded and staffed to ensure that the program runs more efficiently and economically.

The Fayette City Council discussed options for street paving at its regularly scheduled Nov. 27 meeting. Councilman Jerry Nichols was absent from the meeting, with the remainder of the council members and Fayette Mayor Ray Nelson in attendance.

The Berry Wildcats boys basketball team opened its 2018-19 basketball season on Nov. 29 at Brilliant and started the season off with a road win against the Tigers by the score of 67-48.
Berry was led in scoring by Isaac Darty with 20 points, followed by Levi Cannon with 16 points. Also scoring in double-digits were Sam Franklin with 13 points and Tyler Lollar with 10 points. Johnathan Locke scored six points and Isaiah Kizzire rounded out the scoring with two points.

The Hubbertville Lions boys team won its first game of the season on Nov. 27 at Brilliant by a score of 48-33. The Lions’ Aaron Cribb scored 16 points and had 13 rebounds, with Brady Tucker scoring 12 points and nine rebounds. Others scoring for Hubbertville were Zach Hubbert with nine points, Ethan Nichols with five points, Tanner Upton with four points and Cannon Alexander with two points. Brilliant’s Kevin Bryant scored 20 points to lead the Tigers.

Note: The U.S. Postal Service office will be closed on Wednesday, Dec. 5. to honor the memory of the late President George H.W. Bush. This will delay delivery of The Times-Record to our subscribers. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Dr. Kim Ennis, president of the Bevill State Community College system, said that despite a few temporary setbacks, the college is still strong and looking ahead to a bright future. “We’re positive about the future of our institution and we want other people to feel the same,” Ennis said. “Bevill has impacted the lives of so many individuals during the last almost 60 years and we think the college will continue to be a vital part of its service communities in the future.”

This year marks the 14 anniversary of “Christmas at the Park” and according to organizers John and Doris Brasher, the lights and exhibits this year are better than ever. Doris Brasher said many new lights and two new scenes were added to the numerous exhibits that were already on display at Guthrie Smith Park. The two new scenes are “The 12 Days of Christmas” and a dinosaur Christmas display.

The veterans Christmas tree lighting ceremony, sponsored by the Fayette Garden Club, was held on Nov. 20 on the front lawn of the courthouse.

The City of Fayette will hold its annual Christmas parade this year on Monday, Dec. 3, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Participants in the parade are asked to be at the vacant lot of the former Fayette Square Shopping Center at 4:30 p.m. to line-up for the parade. The parade will follow the usual parade route, traveling south on Temple Avenue and proceeding to Second Avenue heading north before disbanding back at the starting location.

The Glen Allen Town Council held its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Nov 6 at the town hall with all council members in attendance. Following standard opening procedures, Mayor Allen J. Dunavant stated the meeting would likely be very brief since the agenda consisted of only two items along with the monthly reports. The first item addressed from the agenda was the consideration of finding a date that would be best suitable for holding the annual Christmas Tree lighting ceremony.

While Alabama Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) officials continue to do all they can to keep chronic wasting disease (CWD) out of Alabama, unfortunately the latest news from our neighbors in Mississippi is not good. Another deer in the lower Mississippi Delta in Issaquena County, a 2½-year-old doe, tested positive for CWD last week. The initial CWD case in Mississippi last January was also in Issaquena County, confirmed in a 4½-year-old buck.

The Fayette County commission held its annual organizational meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 14. All commissioners were present for the meeting and commissioner Joe Acker assumed the chairmanship of the commission until January 2019, when newly-elected probate Judge, Mike Freeman, will serve as chairman. Commissioner Acker asked Freeman to sit with the commissioners at the meeting table since he would soon be chairman of the commission.

The Fayette County Board of Education held its yearly organizational meeting on Nov. 13 at the Fayette Middle School gymnasium. Prior to the meeting the local school board toured the facilities at Fayette Elementary School and Fayette Middle School. The meeting also offered the general public an opportunity to address the board concerning any topic relevant to the local schools or the school board. No one took this opportunity to address the board.

The Fayette City Council voted unanimously to file a lawsuit to abate the former Cotton Mill property during its Nov. 13 meeting. All members of the council were present. Mayor Pro Tem Cedric Wilson presided over the meeting during the absence of Mayor Ray Nelson.