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Thursday, April 3, 2014
New program for farmers LAURA CAMPER
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“Fresh vegetables; that sounds good,” said Randy, a Cleburne County man who receives government assistance to buy food. Those vegetables are typically found in area farmers markets, but Randy, who’s enrolled in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and didn’t want to give his last name, hasn’t gone to a farmers market in years. That’s partly because he didn’t know he could use his benefit card at the market, Randy said. But he said he’d love to. “It’s better than going to the store; you don’t know what
you’re going to get,” Randy said. “You don’t know how long it’s been laying around.” He may soon get his wish. Alabama farmers selling produce at farmers markets will soon be accepting SNAP cards from buyers. Through funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service, the National Association of Farmers’ Market Nutrition Programs is helping farmers acquire the technology to accept payment from customers using SNAP. Under a new program, administered through the association, farmers would be eligible to receive iPhones and receipt printers that could accept the SNAP
cards as well as debit and credit cards, according to Don Wambles, president of the association and director of the Montgomery-based Farmers Market Authority. Since the early 1990s, people using the government-issued food assistance program haven’t been able to use it at farmers markets because it was issued in electronic card format, Wambles said. But in 2012, the USDA awarded funding to the state Department of Human Resources to provide terminals to farmers markets to accept the SNAP cards. The farmers market in Jacksonville applied for and received
a terminal, said LuAnn Billings, who has volunteered with the market for five years. “There were so many bugs in it,” Billings said. “We just were never able to use it.” If the people were unable to pay because of the problems, the market didn’t let the customers leave without their food, she said. But there was never much demand for the terminal, Billings said. Only three people inquired about using it. This year, the market would have been charged for the terminal, so it decided not to keep it, she said. n See Farmers page 2
“Steel Magnolias” premieres tonight This year’s production will also introduce a new actress to Heflin: Misty Owen, in her first play with the council will portray Annelle.
Laura Camper Steel Magnolias starts tonight at Heflin Civic Center. The play will bring back some cast members from the previous production done in 2005.
For news stories call Laura at 256.463.2872 +
The Heflin Arts Council will celebrate another first this year – its first performance on the Heflin Civic Center stage — by bringing back “Steel Magnolias,” the first play it produced in 2005. The play, scheduled to run today through Sunday, also features some of the same cast members of the original play. Suzanne Payne will play Clairee Belcher; she played Ouiser in the first production. Lolly Payne, who directed the 2005 production, will play the part of Oiuser this year, and Peggy Cochran will reprise her role as Truvy, the beauty shop owner. This year’s production will also introduce a new actress to Heflin: Misty Owen, in her first play with the council will portray Annelle, the newcomer to town who takes a job at the beauty shop. The cast is rounded out with Georgia Cook, a Birmingham resident, who will play the part of the bride, Shelby, and Ricketta Wilson, who will portray her mother M’Lynn. “Steel Magnolias’ has no male cast members and focuses on the women at a place they can all talk and laugh and commiserate about the joys and trials in their lives, said director Shane Smith. The play cast is small, at just six roles and it all takes place in a beauty shop in Chiquapin Parish, La., Smith said. But it’s a favorite with audiences, he said. Theatre-goers can look forward to “some laughter, some tears, leaving very happy and just having a good time,” he said. The Arts Council was created to bring drama, music, art, literature and learning to the community, said Tracy Williamson, the group’s president. “Steel Magnolias” was its first effort and it was welcomed by the community. Plays continue to be successful projects for the council. “We have packed houses many times,” Payne said. “People, I think they’re hungry for this type of entertainment.” The plays have become a fundraiser for the council, raising an average of $2,000 for its other activities including the children’s theater, Music in May and theater camps, Smith said. This year, the play is also raising money for the Civic Center. Audience members and residents can sponsor chairs that will be used at the play and other Civic Center events that will follow. Sponsoring one chair for $25 will get the sponsor’s name in the “Steel Magnolias” program; sponsoring four chairs for $25 each will also earn the sponsor a free ticket to the play, Smith said. As of Wednesday morning, sponsors had purchased 102 chairs. For the cast, the play is a creative outlet and just plain fun, they said. Cook, who drives from Birmingham to the practices, said the Heflin productions are among her favorite to work on. She’s done 15 plays in Anniston and some in Gadsden; this is her fourth in Heflin. She knew no one when she came to her first audition, but was welcomed into the community, Cook said. “That’s why I drive an hour and a half and why I will continue to drive an hour and a half to Heflin,” she said. Many cast members agreed. The cast and crew become a close-knit family for a couple of months during the practices, Smith said, and that shines through on the stage. Performances will be today, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Heflin Civic Center on Evans Street. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students. Staff Writer Laura Camper 256-463-2872. On Twitter @LCamper_Star.
LAURA CAMPER
news@cleburnenews.com
On March 3, Josh Lydell set off on a 2,800-mile journey that he expects will take him eight months and cost him at least seven pair of shoes, but gain the Wounded Warrior Project thousands of dollars in donations. When he stopped in Heflin Tuesday, Lydell, a New York transplant to Charleston, S.C., said he would be christening the second pair of running shoes he had brought with him the next day. He expected each pair would last him about 400 miles, pretty close to what he had walked in his first 30 days. Lydell, who is a self-employed stonemason in Charleston, said he set off on the journey to San Francisco after he saw the good that the Wounded Warriors Project did in a friend’s life. The Wounded Warriors Project works with military members and veterans injured during their service. According to the website, it does that through “a holistic rehabilitative effort to assist warriors with visible and invisible wounds as they recover and transition back to civilian life.” Project programs include education, career guidance, peer support, family support, recreation, sports and nutrition among others. Lydell is a veteran of the Ma-
Lydell with his homemade cart walked through Heflin on his way to San Francisco.
n See Warrior page 10
INDEX: Opinion/Editorial . . . . . . 3 Church Sponsor . . . . . . . 6 Sports . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . 4
Wounded warrior walk
Heflin Highlights. . . . . . 2 Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Classified . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
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