Community A8
The Auburn Plainsman
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Employee’s claims singe Auburn Fire Department Annie Faulk Community Reporter
The taps flow freely at Oktoberfest Jessa Pease Community Writer
Lederhosen, sauerkraut, bratwurst and beer — oh my! The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center held its third annual Oktoberfest Saturday, Sept. 28, from 4-9 p.m. in their parking lot. One hundred different craft beers and German cuisine, mixed with live music, drew hundreds of people to the event. “The crowd is very responsive,” said Duran Patterson with Lagunitas Brewing Company. “Everybody has been enjoying the beers. This is the first year they have had it out in the parking lot so there are so many more people. We love that — to be able to interact with all the people — it’s been great!” This is Patterson’s third year at Oktoberfest and he said he was excited to see the amount of people who turned out. Lagunitas brought two different craft beers for the Auburn crowd to sample: their IPA and Pils brews. To accompany the beer, the Hotel at Auburn University prepared many traditional German dishes for $10. German cakes, pretzels, kabobs and, of course,
bratwurst with sauerkraut were offered. Timothy Pfaff, chef with the hotel, said the turnout for the event was much more than they had expected. “We have had a lot more sales and a lot more walk-ins than we expected, but people are really enjoying the food,” Pfaff said. Guests such as Michelle Graffam and Chris Hoffman said they love beer so the choice was obvious to come to Oktoberfest. “We came last year and we had a great time,” Hoffman said. “It’s bigger and better this year. Good music, good food and good smells. The food is amazing.” Graffam said the atmosphere this year was great because of the different location. She said she was happy to have so many craft beers to choose from. “The beers are delicious,” Graffam said. “We are working our way around. You kind of have to have a strategy for this kind of thing. Hopefully we will make it all the way around the ‘U.’” Graffam said her favorite beer was from the Victory Brewing Company. “I am a fan of their beers anyway,” Graffam said. “Victory Summer Love Ale, I
am happy to see. With summer ending and fall beginning, I am definitely glad to see it here.” Hoffman said everything he tasted was delicious. “Most of (the beers) are pretty good,” Hoffman said. “I was surprised by the Evil Twin Brewing’s Talented Mr. Orangutan. I picked it based on the label, but it ended up being really good.” Other attendees such as Jorge Gonzalez came for the beer. “You pay $35 for unlimited beer,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a pretty good deal. Most of the beers are really good. It’s a lot of fun.” He said he enjoyed all of the beers he had tried so far, but the strawberry-flavored beer from Merchant du Vin Brewing Company was his favorite. Kay Keeshan, mother of the senior restaurant manager of the hotel, said she and her husband always attend the hotel’s events. She said the hotel staff always does a great job and the atmosphere is always fun. With the beer, food, atmosphere and live music still drawing people in, Pfaff said the event was a very German success.
Auburn City Council met Tuesday, Oct. 1, to discuss street closings, board appointments and alcoholic beverage licenses. The Citizens Communication brought discussions of racism in the fire department and questioned the Council’s support of schools. Julian McPhillips, of McPhillips Shinbaum, LLP in Montgomery, represents Christopher Turner, an Auburn firefighter. McPhillips said Auburn’s population is approximately half black and half white, however according to the 2010 Census, Auburn is approximately 75 percent white and 16.5 percent black. “Few blacks are being hired to begin with, and whites with much less experience and time on the job are being promoted, while blacks are being denied,” McPhillips said. McPhillips said no black people have been promoted by the fire department since 1996. “Auburn’s fire department, in its defense, says that in order to be promoted, the fireman must pass an assessment center validation. And Mr. Turner has not done that, they say,” McPhillips said. “We say, the assessment center requirement is frankly a ruse or
pretext that allows the Auburn Fire Department to discriminate against black employees, especially in promotion.” Council member Arthur Dowdell of Ward 1, said the firefighter assessment test is not designed to take into account experience. He said the test asks difficult and often trick questions. “We ought to eradicate or delete, as far as I’m concerned, the assessment center at our discretion, we could do that,” Dowdell said. “I think it’s time we look at the fire department and see [that] it does not look like America.” “And we must look at this and see there is something remiss, there’s something wrong in the Auburn Fire Department,” Dowdell said. “It seems like we are not going forwards, we are regressing.” The city defended their practices citing a history of equality. "We use race-neutral hiring practices when they hire, or promote," said Bill James, director of Auburn Public Safety. He said every city department uses race-neutral standards of practice when hiring or promoting. When asked if racial claims had been made before, James said, "Yes, there have been some allegations."
In other Council news • Steven Benson raised budgetary concerns about building a new high school. • Benson said he wants Council to ask departments to cut budgets by 5 percent. He leaves the Council with the charge, “Hard times demand leadership. You’ve been elected to be the leaders of this city, it’s time for leadership. The question is simply, are you up for the task?” • Cody Carlson, fire division, named as October’s employee of the month. • Two Dollar General stores, 1961 Wire Road and 1106 Opelika Road, received alcoholic beverage licenses. • Two Mapco Express locations, 2393 E. University Drive and 2385 Moores Mill Road., received alcoholic beverage licenses. • Resolution authorizing street closings for Homecoming Parade Oct. 11 was approved. • Approval of resolution to adopt tax abatement in connection with Seohan Auto USA Corporation for new equipment for its Auburn Technology Park location. • Resolution passed to sign contract with Sansom Equipment Company for the purchase of one 2014 Ramer 3500 Shuttle Knuckle Boom Loader with boom extension, one Kenworth T3170 Chassis and one Ramer 20-foot heavy-duty trailer. • Approved installation of fiber optic cable from Fire Station No. 5 to the H.C. Morgan Water Pollution Control Facility.
Local communities boogie all the way out to Waverly Kelsey Davis Editor-in-chief
Thirteen years ago, Highway 280 didn’t stretch four lanes across, and didn’t lead travelers directly to Birmingham, as it currently does. The two-lane highway snakes through back roads and small towns, one of which is Waverly. Traffic suited for four lanes of highway coming through a two-lane road generated constant hassle and hazard for Waverly locals and people passing through. “Forever it was 18 wheelers and everything coming right through here. Can you imagine all that? Four-lane traffic coming right through this little, bitty, skinny road? That’s what it was like all day and all night,” said Scott Peek, owner of Standard Deluxe, a print shop that doubles as a music venue. The Alabama Department of Transportation completed construction of a larger Highway 280 that bypassed Waverly altogether and relieved traffic in 2000. It was reason to celebrate, and the most fitting way to celebrate was to boogie. A year later, Peek held the first Waverly 280 Boogie as a community festival of music, art and craft. The festival began humbly with a few hundred attendants, at no cost, and now returns annually packed by a dedicated and enthusiastic crowd. “For 10 years, it was free,” Peek said. “We did everything for free and we took donations. Some people paid and some people didn’t. So, it was tons of work for free and people got it for 10 years.” As the Boogie grew up and shows at Standard Deluxe persisted throughout the years, the venue gained a reputation among musicians and fans. “(Standard Deluxe) is kind of the big boy of the music scene,” said Jake Carnley, local musician and recent Auburn graduate. “Playing there is just an honor, and you’re playing for people who are thirsty for good music and who are expecting good music.” Carnley is a regular patron of the venue, but
Kelsey Davis / editor-in-chief
Matt Myers and Katie Toupin of Houndmouth perform at the Waverly Fall Boogie, some songs from their premiere album such as “On the Road,” “Penitentiary” and “Houston Train.” The following night, the band took the show to Birmingham.
has also had the experience of playing at the Boogie in years past. In the 11th year, Peek’s business moved, and so did the location of festival. With this move came the introduction of The Waverly Fall Boogie in addition to the yearly spring festivities. Musicians now perform on an eclectic, tinroofed stage and music lovers take it in under light-draped trees in the backyard of Peek’s home. Sitting, standing or boogying, the grass of
Peek’s yard provides a show experience atypical of a concert hall. “Everybody knows it’s somebody’s yard,” Peek said. “It’s not bar, you know what I mean? It’s not somewhere you can trash, you kind of feel like you’re sitting in somebody’s yard and you are. People respect it.” Twelve years after the first Boogie, the event has grown from a celebration of freedom from overcrowded roads to a widely known music festival. This year’s Fall 280 Boogie, which took
place Sept. 28, drew in more than 1,000 attendants and nationally recognized bands such as Houndmouth and Jason Isbell. The stop in Waverly on their tour throughout the states provided the Illinois-based band Houndmouth with their first trip to Alabama. The crowd in Standard Deluxe took the band by surprise because they have become accustomed to playing larger music festivals and shows in more well-known venues. “We didn’t know what to expect,” said Katie Toupin of Houndmouth. “When we were driving up we were like, ‘Are we going to someone’s house? What’s happening? But then we got here and everybody was super into it. It was surprising, we didn’t have any idea of what to expect. We do a lot of summer festivals, but we didn’t do any smaller ones like this, so this was really kind of refreshing. It’s very unique.” After touring with The Alabama Shakes, Toupin said she also appreciated getting to see their home state and, “see what they’re all about.” Houndmouth took the stage second to last, and got the crowd on their feet with songs from their latest album “From the Hills Below the City.” Toupin and other band members were conversational with the crowd, cracking jokes and telling stories. Hundreds remained after the show, packing out the yard, as night fell and headliner Jason Isbell took the stage. Though Jason Isbell and Houndmouthwere the main events of the day-long festival, other bands such as Peewee Moore, Great Peacock, Doc Dailey and others entertained the crowd from early in the day until well into the afternoon. “There were a lot of people there who weren’t just there to see Jason Isbell,” Carnley said. “And so I think that’s how you can really gauge the growth of it. It wasn’t just about one band. People were there, they had blankets out. They packed food, they packed beer, they made it an event which is exactly what it needs to be.”