Snow Daze Page A-8
Morgan County Tournament delayed Page B1
Hometown newspaper of Etta Mae Campbell- since 1933
Hartselle Enquirer WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2024
VOLUME 91, NO. 4
By Erica Smith For the Enquirer The Morgan County Commission took an initial step this week in building an event center in Cotaco with the hiring of an architectural firm to draw up plans, a step they hope leads to bids being solicited in February and an opening sometime in 2025. Greg Abercrombie, Morgan County District 4 commissioner, said about 18 months ago the county used 3M Co. settlement
money to purchase 24 acres for about $180,000 for the event center. The center will be located at Luker Road and Union Hill Road, across the street from the District 4 tool shed in Cotaco, which is in eastern Morgan County. Abercrombie said there are certain things he wants the center to include. “I would like it to have two full basketball courts. And then these two full basketball courts should be big enough to house four volleyball courts,” he said. “Plus, we’d like to have pickleball striped on
the gym floor. And then if everything goes well, it would have a walking track upstairs for elderly people or whoever wants to come walk.” The center would be available for rental, Abercrombie said. “It will have a room for like parties or something like that,” he said. “Like a ball team, if they were to get together and have a Christmas party or a banquet or whatever. It would allow us to rent out a room in this center.” The Morgan County Commission this week hired the architec-
50 CENTS
tural firm Goodwyn Mills Cawood for $40,950 to design the center. Abercrombie said he will meet with Morgan County Engineer Greg Bodley and the firm next week to go over the plans. Bodley said they are planning for the center to be about 27,500 square feet. “Once they get it designed, (Bodley) and I will look at it, go over it, see if we’re comfortable with it. If we’re comfortable with it, then that’s when we’ll put it out
See COTACO, page 3
Sheriff: Two arrested after drugs found near children in Hartselle By David Gambino For the Enquirer
Ryan
Vinson
gan County Sheriff ’s Drug Enforcement Unit were called to the scene and DHR was contacted to make arrangements for the children,” MCSO said in a statement Thursday. Vinson and Ryan remained in Morgan County Jail on Thursday with no bond, according to MCSO. Ryan was previously charged with chemical endangerment of a child in 2016 after she gave birth to a baby girl who tested positive for meth, opiates and THC, according to court records. The charge was dismissed in 2018 after Ryan completed a program with the Morgan County Drug Court. Chemical endangerment of a child is a class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Winter storm coats Tennessee alley in snow, ice By Staff Reports North Alabama got its first snow day of the winter this past week and the snow and ice impacted businesses and schools through Friday. Local school systems called off classes and colleges closed campuses for several days in anticipation of an even more frigid, icier weather. The winter storm moved Jan. 14 and left roads slick enough to cancel most activities and keep many businesses from opening, while local governmental offices
Obituaries • Manuel Darwin Nickens • Mary Dathnia Wilbanks • James Warren ‘J.W.’ Brown • Peyton Speegle • Fay Parqker Mason
and schools were already closed because of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Weather conditions deteriorated throughout Monday, with local and state officials issuing advisories warning about the icy roads at about lunchtime. Most roads were impassable by Monday afternoon. Temperatures dropped to near 23 degrees on Monday, and meteorologist Andy Kula, of the Huntsville’s National Weather Service office, predicted it would See WINTER, page 8 For full obituaries, see page A-2
• Jack B. Garrett • David Brown • Wayne Holloway • Handsome Harley Hopp • Jeffery L. Davis • Jeremy Lee Williams • Lynda ‘Susie’ Suzanne Gerstman • Kenneth ‘Kenny’ Reeves
Special to the Enquirer The Hartselle Educator Hall of Fame (HEHOF) has announced its selections for the Class of 2024. The Educator Hall of Fame was established to honor individuals who have made a significant contribution to the education of students who have attended Hartselle schools. This year’s inductees are William Booth, Lane Hampton, Robin Hodges, Kim Peck and LeeAnne Pettey. William Booth, long time legendary baseball coach for the Hartselle Tigers, began his career in 1966 as a math teacher with Morgan County Schools. Booth is remembered as persistent in working with students who struggled with key concepts in math and worked with them individually until they mastered the skill he was trying to teach. By 1980, Booth was on the path of being an administrator and coordinator by first serving as an assistant principal. He later served as a chapter I and chapter II coordinator, AP coordinator, transportation coordinator, director of school operations, Interim Superintendent and finally assistant superintendent. He began coaching baseball in 1986 and has had nine state championship teams, four state championship runner up teams and 21 area championship teams. With his 648th win in 2006, Booth became Alabama’s winningest high school baseball coach and continues to hold the title with 1,172 wins. Booth has been inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF), the Morgan County Sports Hall of Fame and the Decatur Daily’s 5A-7A Coach of the Year for the 17th time. The ASHOF awarded Booth the 2023 Frank “Pig” House Award named after the ASHOF founder. In addition, the Alabama Baseball Coaches Association honored Booth with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award which will be renamed
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after Booth for future recipients. Booth retired with 58 years in education and continues to serve as head coach of the Hartselle Tigers with 36 years to his credit. Lane Hampton was a special education teacher who always sought ways to make sure her students achieved their ability. For more than 46 years, Hampton was an advocate for the students she taught and a support for the teachers and administrators in the building. She was in contact with the parents of her students and worked well with regular education classroom teachers to ensure her students succeeded. She believed in her students and did everything she could to help them reach their potential. Hampton’s career began in Starkville, Miss., in 1974, as a special education teacher. Before landing in Hartselle in 1979, she worked for Fayette County Schools, Oneonta City Schools and Guntersville City Schools, all in Alabama. Hampton became the first president of the Hartselle Academic Booster Club and was later recognized as Teacher of Year at Crestline Elementary. Since 1981, Hampton has been a member of
Delta Kappa Gamma Society in addition to being a Sunday School teacher at West Hartselle Baptist Church. Hampton is the perfect example of a caring, hard-working teacher who was constantly and consistently doing everything possible to provide what her students needed. Robin Hodges came to Hartselle City School in 1987 after working in Lawrence County Schools. In Hartselle she taught Biology, Honors Biology, AP Biology, Dual Enrollment Biology through Calhoun Community College, Anatomy & Physiology, Chemistry I, Honors Chemistry and Environmental Science. Serving as science department chairperson for 13 years, she was also on the faculty leadership team, the state department committee for the development of state biology standards for the graduation exam and a member of the high school accreditation committee. In addition, she was a Science Olympiad coach, scholars bowl coach and assistant varsity softball coach. Students on her science Olympiad teams were often See EDUCATORS, page 5
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A Hartselle man and a Cullman woman were arrested after deputies serving outstanding felony warrants at a home in Hartselle discovered illegal narcotics alongside two children at the residence, according to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office. Michael Christopher Dosson Vinson, 34, was charged with chemical endangerment of a child and possession of a controlled substance following the discovery in the 1900 block of Nethery Road on Wednesday, according to MCSO. He was also served warrants for child support and his probation on a thirddegree burglary charge was revoked. Sheryl Marie Ryan, 33, was also charged with chemical endangerment of a child and possession of a controlled substance, according to MCSO. Additionally, she was served warrants for failure to appear in court on traffic violations. “Agents with the Mor-