Hartselle Christmas Parade Page A8
Lady Tigers improve to 10-4 on the road Page B1
Hometown newspaper of Bruce Harding - since 1933
Hartselle Enquirer
50 CENTS
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2023
VOLUME 90, NO. 51
By David Gambino For the Enquirer
A Hartselle man remained in jail Dec. 14 after grand jury indictments led to his arrest on eight counts of second-degree sexual
abuse and two counts of seconddegree sodomy involving a juvenile between 12 and 16 years of age. Jay Warren Lawrence, 65, was arrested Sunday evening by the Morgan County Sheriff ’s Office and is being held in
Lawrence
Morgan County Jail in lieu of a $102,000 bond, according to jail records. Morgan County grand jury indictments for
Lawrence, signed Sept. 28, were filed in circuit court Monday. He’s scheduled for an arraignment on Jan. 8. Second-degree sexual abuse is generally a class A misdemeanor under state law, unless the offender is at least 15 years older
than the victim, in which case it becomes a class C felony. Second-degree sodomy, or “deviate sexual intercourse” with a person incapable of consent or between the ages of 12 and 16, is a class B felony punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment.
Hartselle’s Booth receives inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award
Hartselle baseball coach William Booth became the inaugural recipient of the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award. Booth was awarded the honor Dec. 9 at the association’s annual banquet. Being the first recipient, the award will be renamed after Booth and will be given each year to those who meet the criteria set by Booth according to the association. Booth has been the head coach of Hartselle baseball for 36 years. He’s amassed 1,172 wins in that span with nine state championships. “Coach Booth has done more than accumulate wins,” said Hartselle’s Athletic Director Jake Miles. “He has spent countless hours investing in people. He is a difference-maker.” Hartselle High School Prin-
cipal Dr. Brad Cooper agrees. “Coach William Booth’s impact is remarkable. He has made a positive difference in his community and in the lives of the young men and women who have sat in his classroom. There is no one more deserving,” Cooper said. Former Hartselle City Schools Athletic Director Pat Smith adds that Booth “wrote the script for modernday high school baseball in the state of Alabama.” “Coach Booth’s state trophies fill a trophy case, but it’s the hearts he’s filled that resulted in this Lifetime Achievement Award,” Hartselle City Schools Superintendent Dr. Brian Clayton added. “Trophies collect dust, but the students and athletes who Coach Booth helped to grow have turned his influence into something that lives on in them and in those who they influence. That’s what a lifetime of achievement is all about.”
Don’t miss Letters to Santa from second grade students in Hartselle City Schools inside today!
Obituaries
• Imelda C Fisher • Dolores Ann Spurlin Jennings
Photos by Jodi Hyde By Jacob Hatcher For the Enquirer A parade of Hartselle Police Department vehicles made its way to Walmart in Hartselle Dec. 15 for HPD’s fifth annual Shop With A Cop event. The event is an opportunity for children to go on a ride along with a police officer and purchase items for themselves and their loved ones. Police Chief Justin Barley said that he had wanted to do a Shop With A Cop event for years but the funding did not materialize until 2019 when Woodmenlife Insurance Company reached out offering to donate funds to the department for something special. “It was the week before Christmas break when we got a call from Woodmenlife saying they had some money to give away if we could figure out something to do with it and we knew it would be perfect for Shop With A Cop,” Barley said. Since its inception it has grown each year with continued support from Woodmenlife, as well as Hartselle Kiwanis Club,The Hartselle Citizens Police Academy Alumni Association, Fraternal Order of Police and private donations. The children who participate in the program are selected through the school system with help from counselors as well as nominations from Shining Stars. “We typically average 10-15 kids per year and honestly it’s one of our favorite days of the year,” Barley said. “The opportunities to interact with our community in a total positive way is tremendous because the nature of what we do limits our chances for something like that.” After completing their shopping the children are treated to Pizza Ed and have an after party where they can wrap gifts they purchased for loved ones.
For full obituaries, see page A-2
• John Cathers ‘John Boy’ • Wanda Faye Haley • Henry Erwin ‘Bud’ Gibson • Cathy Grigsby Roden • Phillip Edward Wright • Carl T. ‘Bug’ Bradley Jr.
VETERINARY VETERINARY EMERGENCY SERVICES EMERGENCY SERVICES Monday-Thursday 8AM-5PM Monday-Thursday 8AM-5PM Saturday 8AM-Sunday 8PM Saturday 8AM-Sunday 8PM 36 Hours of Continuous Weekend Care
Veterinary Regional Referral Hospital 2117 Veterans Dr SE, Decatur, AL
256-350-7001
572841-1
By Staff Reports