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50¢ | Vol. 144, No. 7
Hometown Newspaper of Shirley Massey — Est. 1879 | Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Elect
Jason
Miller
Vehicle pursuit ends in wreck, arrest
PROBATE JUDGE
Pd.Pol.Adv.by Jason Miller, 605 Elm Circle, Russellville, AL 35653
By Staff Reports
HORACE BORDEN
BRANDON CLARK
Attempted traffic stop leads to high-speed vehicle pursuit, wreck
By Staff Reports
The Russellville Police Department reported in a Facebook post that RPD officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop Feb. 7 of a vehicle displaying a switched tag. The driver refused to stop. A vehicle pursuit was initiated that reached speeds of nearly 100 MPH on Highway 56 and Highway 60. The vehicle eventually turned down a dead-end road and wrecked through a
See VEHICLE, Page A7
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CONTRIBUTED Russellville High School’s Scholars Bowl team qualifies for state tournament. From left: Steven McCormick, Damien Tompkins, Uriel Mojica, Callie Stevens, (team captain) Dalton Stoltz and Bianca Santamaria.
Russellville High School Scholars Bowl team qualifies for state tournament By María Camp maria.camp@ franklincountytimes.com Undefeated in the recent Alabama Scholastic Competition Association district tournament, the Russellville High School Scholars Bowl team, currently made up of six members, is now qualified for participation in the state tournament, which
will take place April 12 at Jefferson State Community College in Birmingham. “I knew they stood a really good chance because they’ve been working really hard studying, and each of them has an area they specialize in,” explained the team’s coach, Susan DeArman. “We went to Athens State for the first time. We used to always
go to Northwest Shoals for our district competition, but the state organization has reclassified into three divisions where we used to have two, so we’re playing different schools.” The team won matches against New Century Technolog y High School, Lee High School, Athens High School and Decatur High School. Dalton Stoltz, the only
senior, as well as captain of the team, scored the highest number of points for RHS. “We’re really going to miss him next year,” DeArman said. The other five members of the team are juniors. “My team won the state championship two years ago,” she contin-
See SCHOLARS BOWL, Page A7
Wednesday night, Russellville police officers assisted deputies of the Franklin County Sheriff ’s Office with a vehicle pursuit, reported the Russellville Police Department through a Facebook post. The pursuit began north of the Russellville city limits and ended near the south end of the city limits. After the suspect wrecked his vehicle, he was taken into custody. The FCSO is the arresting agency. Alejandro Cacatzum was charged with Attempting to Elude a Law Enforcement Officer, Driving Under the Influence, Criminal Mischief First Degree and Leaving the Scene of an Accident. The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office has listed booking number 11719, Alejandro Francisco Cacatzum, 26,, born Nov. 30, 1997, online under Inmates, admitted Feb. 7, 2024 at 7:24 p.m., with release Feb. 8, 2024, at 9 a.m. Charges listed are Attempting to Elude, DUI any substance, Leaving a scene of accident and criminal mischief first degree-other. All suspects should be presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
PCHS JAG student places in district conference By María Camp maria.camp@ franklincountytimes.com Phil Campbell High School Jobs and Graduates (JAG) student, Justin Wade, a senior, placed first in the employability skills competition at the National Career Association North District Career Development Conference Feb. 6 at the Marriott in Florence. This qualifies him to compete March 5 at the state level. The competition will take place at the BirminghamJefferson Civic Center in Birmingham. JAG is a school to work transition program to help prepare students for their careers. The group’s sponsor, Tina King, said if Wade places in the top three, he’ll go on to compete at the national level April 18-20 in St. Louis.
“I was very surprised when I won,” Wade said. “I didn’t expect it, but I practiced and put in a lot of hard work, and I’m very proud of my accomplishment.” He said although he was “a little nervous” when first going in, it “all went away” when he got to meet the judges and start the interview. “I had fun,” he added. “I like learning from my mistakes, and they told me what to improve on. I’m very grateful for the experience. I feel like I’ll be more prepared next time, as well as a lot more confident in my abilities.” Wade said after high school, he plans to earn an associate degree from Northwest Shoals Community College. His current long-term goal is to earn a law degree from the University of
Alabama. “I’m really excited for Justin placing and getting this opportunity to advance to the next level and see where it takes him,” King said. “It takes a lot of courage to go in front of anyone and interview for something, but knowing you’re going in front of three perfect strangers to compete for a mock position is a very particular situation to prepare for.” PCHS JAG student, Abraham Barrientos, also a senior, competed at the district conference, in the category of financial literacy. “I enjoyed the competition,” Barrientos said. “It was my first time competing, and although I didn’t win, it was interesting. I’m so happy for my friend, Justin Wade, for getting first place in his competition.”
CONTRIBUTED PCHS senior JAG student Justin Wade (right) places first at the district competition in the category of employability skills.