Serving Cleburne County since 1906 Four Cleburne County High School Cheerleaders go to Disney World.
Send your announcements to: mpointer@cleburnenews.com Deadline is Monday at 5 p.m. 75 CENTS
news@cleburnenews.com
Thursday, January 9, 2014
New scoreboards needed in Ranburne LAURA CAMPER
news@cleburnenews.com
Shannon Tucker
Mary Fredriksen comforts her 12-year-old grandson, Dallas Shepard. Mary cares for Dallas and his brother, Austin, at her home in Cleburne County. Dallas was recently granted a wish through the Alabama chapter of Make-A-Wish.
Make-A-Wish
LAURA CAMPER
news@cleburnenews.com
After his dream trip to Tennessee in December, 12-year-old Dallas Shepard has new memories to ignite his imagination. Shepard has a rare genetic condition called 1p36 deletion syndrome. He suffers from many of the complications of the disease including low muscle tone, difficulty in swallowing and breathing as well as heart problems, said his grandmother Mary Fredriksen, his caregiver. In addition, he has kidney disease but is unable to go on dialysis because of his heart condition and his seizures, she said. “He never walked,” Fredriksen said. “He never talked.” Dallas can communicate in other
ways, his grandmother said. He lifts up his shirt to uncover his feeding tube when he is hungry, waves bye, he nods yes and shakes his head no, Fredriksen said. Because of his medical conditions, he spends much of his day being moved from his bed to his grandmother’s lap to a recliner, Fredriksen said. But Dec. 7 through Dec. 12, Dallas and Fredriksen, along with Bridget and Austin Shepard, Dallas’ mother and 10-year-old brother, went to Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tenn., courtesy of Make-A-Wish Alabama. Fredriksen said the trip incorporated Dallas’ greatest loves: pretty scenery and music. A difficult life Dallas has lived with his grandmother since he was 6 months old, she said. He was diagnosed with the
rare syndrome — experts estimate 1 in 5,000 to 10,000 newborns are born with the genetic disorder — when he was very young, Fredriksen said. But despite being born with a heart condition, Dallas was healthy until he was 4 years old. “At 2, they expected him to have a good life,” Fredriksen said. But at age 4, he could no longer swallow and had to start using a feeding tube. At 9, he had to have a tracheotomy to help him breathe. At 10, he started having problems with his kidneys. Today, Dallas requires 16 medications and equipment that includes a wheelchair, humidifier with a heatn See Dallas page 8
The town of Ranburne is looking to replace decades-old scoreboards at the Ranburne Recreation Park and is hoping for help from the Cleburne County Commission. Recreation Department Director Mike Calvert approached Commissioner Benji Langley with a request for the commission to purchase two scoreboards, one for each baseball field. Ranburne would handle the installation and wiring, Calvert said. Langley brought the request to the commission Monday during a work session. The two scoreboards would cost approximately $7,200, Langley said. The scoreboards currently on the fields are more than 20 years old, Calvert said. “One won’t work at all and one works about halfway,” Calvert said. The old scoreboards were provided by Coca-Cola in exchange for the department purchasing Coke products, he said. But the soft drink manufacturer will no longer service them, Calvert said. Langley said the county has tobacco tax money that is collected for economic development and recreation. He believes the scoreboards would be a good use of that money. The Recreation Department has around 200 children signed up to play baseball, Langley noted. “To me anything that many kids are involved in is important,” Langley said. At the work session on Monday, Commissioners Emmett Owen and Laura Cobb suggested the town ask Coca-Cola or Pepsi-Cola to pay for replacement scoreboards. Calvert said he hasn’t asked the companies, but he believes the volume of product the department buys isn’t enough to entice the companies to purchase the new signs. Langley said Wednesday he would check with the company before the Jan. 21 commission meeting to be sure. “If they’d pay for it, we’ll save our money and use it for another project,” Langely said.
Relay for Life meeting Relay for Life Meeting will be held on January 13 with a committee meeting at 5 p.m. The team meeting at 6 p.m., with a Baked Potato Dinner at the Community Arts Center
Heflin
Industrial Board pleased with website promoting area LAURA CAMPER
news@cleburnenews.com
Announcing that the Heflin Industrial Development Board’s website is now live, board members said at their meeting Tuesday they believe it’s the first step in bringing new businesses to the area. “I think we’re going to see some response to it,” said Heflin City Clerk Shane Smith. The board, which was formed to develop the city’s 212-acre industrial park, has been working on creating the website since May. It hired Decatur-based Red Sage Communications on July 8 to design and build the website. In December, the board made the final edits on the site. “It’s fantastic,” said Tanya Maloney, board member and executive director of
the Cleburne County Chamber of Commerce. The new site,cityofheflinidb.org, includes demographic and community information about Heflin and Cleburne County, maps, available properties and tax incentives. Maloney suggested the new website also could be the beginning of a marketing campaign including promotional packets to hand out to developers and representatives of other economic development agencies.The board has already gathered the information for the website. All it needs to do is organize it on paper, she said. “The only way we’re going to get anything is to get out there and market ourselves,” Maloney said. Smith said the city might like to partner with the board on creating the packets so
For news stories call Laura at 256.463.2872
that it also could have some of the material to distribute. But Maloney said she wanted the materials to focus on economic development throughout the county, not just in Heflin. Board Chairman Jerry Cash, though, said the handouts could promote not just economic development but also the city of Heflin, the Cleburne County Chamber of Commerce and the Heflin Industrial Development Board. “It would promote what we are,” Cash said. Heflin Mayor Rudy Rooks said at the meeting that he thought the money would be well spent on the materials. The board members voted unanimously to allocate $1,000 to the project and to partner with the city with the understanding that it would also provide $1,000 to
INDEX: Opinion/Editorial . . . . . . 3 Church Sponsor . . . . . . . 5 Sports . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 4
+ Matthew 22:37 Don’t wait till there is a problem with your tank
JDS JDS
CALL Joey Sprayberry
Septic & Services
Pumping • Installation • Repairs • Grading & Clearing • Storm Shelters Licensed • Bonded • Insured Serving Alabama & Georgia
AL# (256) 419-1105 • GA # (770) 574-3648
create the packets. In other business the board: -Heard from Cash that the new fencing and gate at the entrance of the Heflin Industrial Park off Alabama 46 are finished. The board spent a total of $22,376 on improving the road and the entrance into the park. The money came from a $25,000 donation from the Cleburne County Commission. The board discussed using the remaining $2,264 toward recovering the sign in the park. -Voted unanimously to change its name to the City of Heflin Industrial and Economic Development Board. The new name, Cash said, would better fit the board’s expanded mission to bring business of all kinds to the community. Staff Writer Laura Camper 256-4632872. On Twitter @LCamper_Star.
Call Misty to advertise in this space 256.463.2872
Heflin Highlights. . . . . . 6 Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
To subscribe
256-463-2872 P.O. Box 6, Heflin, AL 36264 FAX: 256-463-7127
386 Ross Street • Heflin, AL 36264
256.463.2224
+