Burleson students celebrate Farm Day Page A7
Hometown newspaper of Barry Pearson- since 1933
Hartselle volleyball’s season ends Page B1
Hartselle Enquirer
50 CENTS
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2023
VOLUME 90, NO. 44
’ By Jacob Hatcher For the Enquirer The Morgan County Parks and Recreation Department unveiled the first ever countyowned gymnasium this past Friday. Located at Morgan County West Park, the gymnasium is the fruition of an idea that was born in 2019 for the county to be able to discontinue using
the school gyms for community events and have a space the public owned independently in order to have a full breadth of events available to the community. The $2.1 million athletic venue has 10,500 square feet for basketball, volleyball and community events. The construction cost came from a settlement with 3M over chemical contaminants and $160,000 donated by Daikin
America of Decatur, according to Morgan communications director Michael Wetzel. Speaking of the accelerated and efficient timeline of the project, Morgan County Commisioner Randy Vest said, “I’m so thankful that we live in the area that we do; that we can serve and get things accomplished. We appreciate everybody’s hand that made this happen because it was a team effort.” “As you go inside and see the
beautiful floors and molder bleachers I also see its future,” Morgan County Parks and Recreation Director Sean Dailey said. “The future where we’re going to have coaches that are going to make impacts on young people’s lives, we’re going to have those kids that will have their shining moments that will stick with them forever, we’re going to have the relationships that are going to be built that will last kids a lifetime.”
Dailey said that they are in the process of hiring a full time employee to manage the gym. In the meantime there will be staff available to open the gym for the public. Dailey also said that hours of operation will be driven by the needs of the community. Dailey anticipates having the gym be open widely within a couple of weeks. The gym is located at 74 West Park Road, Hartselle, in the Neel community.
Local industries speak with area eighth grade students about careers at expo
PHOTOS BY JERONIMO NISA
Clynise Simpson, left, administers the flu vaccine to Daphne Cost during Morgan County Health Department’s annual drive-thru flu clinic at Central Baptist Church last week.
Flu season here, experts say get vaccinated By Erica Smith For the Enquirer Jill Phelps brought her 16-year-old daughter, Kylee Sircy, to last week’s Morgan County drive-thru flu shot clinic because they want to stop the spread of illness. “(Sircy) has a 1½-year-old niece,” Phelps said. “We don’t want anybody to get sick in the house.” Phelps, 36, said the drivethru clinic was easier and cheaper to bring her daughter to than anywhere else. She said she receives her vaccine at Decatur Morgan Hospital where she works. Phelps and Sircy, both from Hartselle, said they have received a flu shot every year of their lives. Sircy said influenza vaccinations are important because “they prevent you and others from getting sick.” Both Sircy and Phelps said they have never tested positive for the flu and believe it is because they have received a flu shot annually. Phelps said influenza vaccinations help “prevent spreading the flu, keep people out of the hospital.” Angela Priest, from unincorporated Limestone County, is a registered nurse with the Morgan County Health Department and said influenza vaccinations are very important. “It reduces the illness burden on the community,” she said. “The more of us that are vaccinated, it reduces the burden on the people who more easily to get sick. To me, that’s the importance.” Dr. Wes Stubblefield, district medical officer for the Alabama Department of Public Health, said flu activity in Alabama histori-
Obituaries
• Hayden Rose Ian Crow • Joe Kyle • Gary Hill • Charles ‘Johnny’ Edward
cally peaks in December or January. “The flu season is considered anything usually from October to March,” he said. “We’ve had activity as early as September, although that’s very unusual, and then we’ve had late surges even up into the spring.” Getting an influenza vaccination is especially important for those that are high risk, Stubblefield said. “The flu vaccine, especially for those that are at high risk of complications from the flu — older individuals, those with chronic medical conditions, the younger children — the vaccine can prevent serious issues from the flu, including hospitalization and potentially even death,” he said. “Because the flu can be a deadly illness in certain people, the recommendation is for everyone to consider a flu vaccine.” Stubblefield said the vaccination should protect against the four predicted influenza strains for this season. He said now is the time to get a flu vaccination. “We encourage people to get vaccinated in September, October so that their protection will last the whole season, but they’re protected against early activity,” Stubblefield said. “If you get vaccinated in September, October, you should have protection through the season.” The flu vaccine, Stubblefield said, cannot cause the flu. “Sometimes people can feel a little achy as your body makes a response to the vaccine; that’s your immune system responding to the vaccine. The flu vaccine cannot give you the flu; that’s not the way the vaccine works,” he said.
PHOTO BY JERONIMO NISA
A group of Hartselle Junior High students visit the Alabama Robotics Technology Park mobile unit during the Endless Opportunities Job Fair at Ingalls Harbor Pavilion on Oct. 19.
By Wes Tomlinson For the Enquirer The eighth graders who attended a career expo Thursday won’t be in the workforce for a few years, but more than 50 businesses and industries took the opportunity to give them a preview of the many careers that will be available to them. The Endless Opportunities Job Fair, a hands-on career expo hosted by the Decatur-Morgan County Chamber of Commerce, began Thursday at Ingalls Harbor Pavilion. Representatives of numerous companies answered questions and engaged with students about the specifics of their jobs. The expo Thursday was exclusively for Morgan County eighth graders, with a repeat of the event planned Friday hosting Limestone County eighth graders. Fisher Nix, an eighth grade student at Hartselle Junior High School, was wearing a blue hat with the Cook’s Pest Control logo on it along with several of his classmates. “Actually, I never thought about it before today, but I might look into Cook’s as a career,” he said. The Madagascar hissing cockroaches and tarantula that Cook’s had on display at its booth got his interest, Nix said. See LOCAL, page 5
PHOTO BY JERONIMO NISA
Falkville student Carsten Russell pumps one of ULA’s air rocket launchers during the Endless Opportunities Job Fair at Ingalls Harbor Oct. 19.
See FLU, page 2 For full obituaries, see page A-2
• Gloria Gregg Green • Betty Ann Crow Wilbanks • Tanya Jennings Alexander PHOTO BY JERONIMO NISA
Students compete to catch one of ULA’s cardboard rockets during the Endless Opportunities Job Fair at Ingalls Harbor Oct. 19.