Opelika Observer 4-17-19 E-editions

and t are] erat from

pelika Observer O Vol. 11, No. 28

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Opelika, Alabama

“By local people, for local people.”

Hidden heroes of March 3

Photo special to the Opelika Observer

‘We the People’:

Photo by Robert Noles/Opelika Observer

By Tyler Roush For the Opelika Observer When speaking of first responders, one rarely is talking about the county highway department.

But that is exactly what Lee County’s Highway Department became in the immediate aftermath of the March 3 tornadoes.

County foremen and crews quickly arrived to the heavily affected areas and worked well into the night to clear roadways of downed trees and debris in order to create access points for EMT’s and others that

were working to save lives.

Hardee reflected on the inexplicable nature of the natural disasters and suffering in Beauregard.

“I mean, there are things you see like that that are amazing, phenomenal, tragic and horrific that you don’t understand,” Hardee said. “And when you see it that close to your home...

That could easily have been my children as it was their children, and that pulls on you.”

After walking through the torn-down neighborhoods and trees, Hardee had no explanation for the damage that was done.

“You drive through it, again and again, there are things you can’t explain,” Hardee said. “There [are] homes that are completely obliterated standing next to a house that doesn’t have a shingle missing from its roof.”

Now more than six weeks into relief efforts, Hardee said that he is “very proud” of local and national responses and cleaning efforts.

“You do see the best of people, and the people coming out, they're not looking for personal reimbursement,” Hardee said.

“They're not looking for

‘I'm going to send you a bill for my time here.’ They're not doing that. They are here to help. They realize that it could be [their] house and [they] could need this help one day.”

Hardee also recognized the efforts of his Assistant Engineer Patrick Harvill.

“Due to circumstances beyond my control, I had to be out of Lee County when this storm hit. Patrick was kind enough to call and let me know it had, and for me to stay where I was and tend to what I needed to do,” Hardee said at a March 25 Lee County CommisSee Hardee, page A3

State’s ‘defining documents’ to be featured in bicentennial exhibit

By Keith Huffman For the Opelika Observer Seven historical documents that shaped Alabama will be displayed in an upcoming exhibit as part of the state’s bicentennial celebration.

The exhibit, “We the People,” will allow visitors to get a close look at the state’s six constitutions, according to Scotty Kirkland, who serves as the exhibits, publications and programs coordinator at the Alabama Department of Archives and History

in Montgomery. The Ordinance of Secession, which resulted with the state being the fourth to secede from the Union in 1861 after a 61-39 vote, will be featured as well.

The occasion will mark a special time for “Alabama’s defining documents,” said Kirkland, who served as guest speaker last Saturday at the Museum of East Alabama during the Genealogical Society of East Alabama’s quarterly meeting.

See GSEA, page A5

LRCG’s Suzanne Burnett to retire May 1

By Morgan Bryce Editor Shortly after her hiring as the LeeRussell Council of Government’s executive director, Suzanne Burnette remembers wondering if she would last in that position long enough to be vested in Alabama’s state retirement system.

On May 1, she will be retiring after a nearly 25-year career with the organization.

Deciding to retire has been on Burnette’s mind for the

Burnette last two years, but said she believes the time is now perfect for her to make that life change.

“I realized that I’ve been here a while and it’s for some new blood to

be in here. Also, my husband Wayne is now fully retired and we have some things that we want to do together,” Burnette said.

From birth to high school, Burnette and her family resided in West, Texas before moving to Mayfield, Kentucky for her father’s tire production job.

After high school and some college, Burnette traveled abroad before returning to the United States. In 1972, she See Burnette, page A2

Index

OPINION.....................................A4 SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY..............A7 RELIGION..............................A12 CALENDAR..................................A14

Photo special to the Opelika Observer

HydraMed serves individuals battling dehydration, needing renewed energy

By Morgan Bryce Editor Providing individuals with a quick, healthy

SPORTS................................B1 POLITICS.................................B9 LEGALS.......................................B13 ENTERTAINMENT......................B14

way to rehydrate and refresh is the goal of downtown Opelika wellness center HydraMed. Founded in 2016 by

Dr. John Tole, the area’s only board certified allergist, the business began in Auburn before See HydraMed, page A3

pelika O Observer.com

pelika O Observer

A2 April 17, 2019

Tax season wrap up

Burnette, from A1

It’s never too early to start planning for next year

By Justin Smith For the Opelika Observer As this year’s regular tax filing season wraps up (don’t worry late filers – Lee County residents still have until July 31, and you have until September 15/ October 15 for business/ personal returns), there are several key items to think about to get ready for next year.

First, as I wrote last week, make the best use of your options if you owe money to the government.

Don’t put those taxes on a credit card – the interest rate from the government is much lower, and they will accept payment plans.

A guaranteed low rate loan from the government beats credit card interest anytime.

Second, it may be time to consider updating your withholding allowances. If you received a substantial refund this year, it means you overpaid the government and did not have the use of your money throughout the year. While over withholding can provide a forced savings plan, you can only withdraw once a year and the government is not going to pay interest to you. Why not follow up that hefty refund with a nice increase in your takehome pay? Consider filing an updated W4 with your employer/payroll depart-

Smith ment to reduce your withholdings and put additional money in your pocket each paycheck throughout the year. The only thing better than a raise and bonus is another raise and bonus at tax time!

Next, if you are selfemployed and faced a large tax bill, consider making quarterly estimated tax payments to avoid sticker shock next spring. Employee payroll withholdings are nothing more than frequent estimated payments.

If employees pay estimated taxes, you should too. A quick and easy way to project your 2019 estimated taxes is to divide up your 2018 liability over 4 quarterly payments, and send those in regularly using Form 1040ES. Don’t forget your state tax – just because it’s smaller doesn’t mean you should ignore it. Paying smaller amounts can help you avoid a major bill at

married Wayne.

In the early years of their marriage, the Burnettes were in postgraduate school, both pursuing a masters degree in public administration.

Starting her career in the business development sphere, Burnette said she found her life’s calling for serving others during her time working for the city of Richmond, Kentucky’s community development program.

“That’s where my heart landed more than anywhere because I could take that skill I had acquired in school and use it. I was able to help people in their daily lives as well as the infrastructural development of the surrounding communities, cities and region,” Burnette said.

During the next two decades, the Burnettes lived in California, Florida and Tennessee before moving to Alabama following Wayne’s acceptance of an economic representative position with the state.

Already with more than two decades of community development and infrastructure development experience, Burnette was tasked with helping the LRCG get off the ground with a small staff and budget.

The organization has boomed in the last 24

the end of the year. Taxes should not be considered an emergency – you know they are coming, so it’s best to be prepared for them.

Don’t forget to keep good records to document your financial activity throughout the year.

While your likelihood of being audited may be low, your accountant cannot claim the deductions he or she doesn’t know about. Do your CPA a favor – give him a complete record of your taxable activity throughout the year so they can provide you with the very best tax return possible.

Most importantly, it’s time to set your budget and financial objectives for the year if you have not already done so. Do you want to get out of debt?

Save for a home? Invest for the future? Whatever your goals and objectives are – seek out and engage professional guidance from a CPA, investment advisor or other wise counsel and get started on your road to success.

Justin Smith is a licensed certified public accountant in Opelika, specializing in individual and small business tax and accounting. He can be contacted at 251-209-2579 or Justin@ JSmithCPA.net. His website is www.jsmithcpa.net.

years, with Burnette overseeing a staff of nearly 40 full-time employees and multiple departments, including the Area Agency and Lee-Russell Aging Foundation which provides benefit programs for seniors, planning and economic development initiatives and a massive public transit system which operates across the area.

“I’ve been able to do this because I’ve built a great team. That’s the key to everything: hiring people smarter than you are,” Burnette said laughingly. “This area is also certainly a great place to live and we have some of the best area leadership anyone could hope to have.

They work together extremely well and that’s not very common.”

A hiring team is in the process of finding Burnette’s replacement.

With only two weeks until her retirement, she said she will miss the day-to-day interaction with her staff and the opportunity to better the area she calls home.

“I’m proud of what I’ve done. I think the next person they hire will do just as well as me, hopefully even better,” Burnette said.

“We’ve added new programs and made the existing ones better over time. I believe what I’m leaving behind is a good legacy.”

For more information about the LRCG and its services, visit www. lrcg.com.

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334-364-9993 phone | 334-364-9997 fax 7667 Alabama Hwy 51, Ste. A, Opelika www.beauregarddrugs.com

pelika Observer

Publisher: Michelle Key Editor: Morgan Bryce Marketing: Doug Horn and Woody Ross Photojournalist: Robert Noles Phone: 334.749.8003 editor@opelikaobserver.com Sports Writers: Rick Lanier and Michelle@opelikaobserver.com D. Mark Mitchell

O

w w w. o p e l i k a o b s e r v e r . c o m 216 S. 8th Street, Opelika, AL 36801 Copyright 2009. All right reserved. Opelika Observer is published weekly by Opelika Observer, 216 S 8th St. Opelika, AL 36801. Periodicals postage is paid at Opelika, AL. USPS #025104 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Opelika Observer, 216 S. 8th Street, Opelika, AL 36801

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pelika O Observer

A3 April 17, 2019

EAMC holds annual ‘Donate Life’ ceremony Thursday

By Kelly Daniel For the Opelika Observer East Alabama Medical Center’s annual Donate Life ceremony honored those who have made the selfless choice to save lives and help families through organ donation.

During the ceremony on April 11, two families that have been touched by organ donation shared their stories about the lifesaving practice and the difference that donation has made in their lives.

While data shows the great need for more people to become donors and the number of lives saved each year, the true stories of people whose lives have been saved by this act of generosity go further toward illustrating the enormous impact that one donated organ can have.

For Tom Bomberger, a transplant was the only treatment option for his nonalcoholic liver disease, one which gave him the opportunity to spend time with grandchildren who would have otherwise not gotten the chance to meet him.

Bomberger’s daughter Kelli Pruitt shared the heartbreaking truth of only having one option in which her father survived.

“No matter how great the will and desire to live, we knew that he wouldn’t survive without someone making the choice to donate,” Pruitt said.

As his condition progressed, Bomberger suffered from cognitive symptoms that required him to stop working at the business he owned, and then later a lack of comprehension of what was going on around him.

HydraMed, from A1 relocating to Opelika.

The business has two components: a walk-in spa and relaxation center where patrons can come receive IV fluids, medicines and vitamins and a mobile unit that can deliver those treatments to customers or be rented for corporate events.

“Before starting HydraMed, Dr. Tole noticed a lack of places in this area for people to go who were dehydrated. There were similar concepts in bigger cities like Houston, and other Alabama cities like Birmingham and Mobile, but nothing close to here,” said paramedic and HydraMed Manager Michael Bolton. “People go to the emergency room or urgent care, but they’re paying outrageous prices and those were the ideas that put the idea of HydraMed into motion.”

Bolton identified summer and football season as their busiest times of year and cited a national medical

While fewer than half of individuals on liver transplant waitlist receive on each year, a donor was found before Bomberger became too sick to receive a liver transplant.

His daughter said that because the gift of a liver gave him a second chance at life with his family, he considers the date of the transplant to be his second birthday.

“Beyond the fact that I am here and present today, rather than the alternative that awaited me within months of my surgery, I have gotten to live my life again. I’ve met my three newest grandchildren,” Pruitt said, reading her father’s statement to the audience.

For Nate Puckett,who was diagnosed with renal failure as a child, the first kidney that he received had begun to fail after 18 years, making it necessary to undertake dialysis, which is a physically draining and expensive procedure that makes it difficult to enjoy life and to work.

“My life came to a complete halt. I was put on hemodialysis three days a week and unable to work, and unable to have the life that a 31 year old should have,” Puckett said.

A kidney transplant would provide for a longer life and better quality of life compared to dialysis.

However, Puckett would have needed to wait around five years to get a kidney from the national waitlist, which was time that he didn’t have to wait.

To receive the kidney that he needed, he would need to find a friend or research study that determined that nearly 75 percent of Americans are unsure of dehydration symptoms.

“Signs of dehydration can include a sense of being lethargic or dizzy, having a headache, fuzzy headedness, feeling weak or waking up not feeling 100 percent.

Just a three-percent drop in water from your body and you will feel a huge difference,” Bolton said.

Within a 24-hour window, HydraMed staff can be dispatched with the mobile unit to treat individuals dealing with dehydration. Susan Forbes, market manager for O Grows, recently used their services during a time of sickness and described it as a great experience “The house call was the best (because) I’m not fit for society right now!! Should you ever want to try it - I highly recommend them!!

They are affordable and worth every penny and have packages/membership options also,” Forbes wrote in an April 4 Facebook post.

In addition to treating dehydration, HydraMed offers vitamin-rich IVs to combat fatigue

family member willing to donate. However, none of his family members were found to be a match.

Fortunately, Puckett’s family found programs that work with transplant patients in his situation, with family members who wish to donate but are not a match for their loved ones. These programs analyze blood and urine samples of donors to find compatible matches, and then exchanging kidneys between the families of organ recipients.

Nate’s aunt Carol Dudley had previously offered to donate to her nephew, and while she was not a match for Puckett, she was eligible to be a donor through the matching programs. She sent in her samples to Emory Healthcare and University of Alabama at Birmingham and waited until they found a match.

After months of testing, Dudley finally received a call saying that a donor had been found for her nephew and that a transplant patient had been found for whom she could be a donor. Dudley’s kidney was removed and sent to a patient in need, while Puckett’s kidney was delivered to him, enabling him to resume living a full and healthy life.

Leaders from EAMC and Lee County communities were present at the ceremony. EAMC CEO Laura Grill began the ceremony by stressing the importance of organ donation both locally and statewide.

Auburn Mayor Ron Anders and Opelika City Councilwoman Patsy Jones were in attendance at the ceremony, emphasizing the critical need for organ donors in East or anxiety and B-12 booster shots to improve overall quality of life.

IV and booster shot pricing options are listed online at www. hydramedwellness.com.

Following are their membership pricing options: - Month-to-month: ($70) Includes one free treatment per month and 30% off add-ons or additional fluids - Three-month membership: ($60) Includes one free treatment per month and 40% off addons or additional fluids - Six-month membership ($50) Includes one free treatment per month and 50% off addons or additional fluids - B12 Memberships: Monthly ($60), Three months ($50) and Six months ($40) Four shots are given per month.

- Lipo-B12 Memberships: Monthly ($112) Three months ($96) and Six months ($80) Four shots per month.

For more information, call 334-209-1780, like and follow their social media pages or visit their two Opelika offices, located at 824 Ave. A and 121 N. 20th St.

Alabama and proclaiming April as official Donate Life Month for the cities of Auburn and Opelika.

“One of the most meaningful gifts a human being can bestow upon another is the gift of life,” Jones said.

Jones and Anders shared the heartbreaking statistics illustrating that the number of donated organs isn’t nearly great enough to meet the need of those with failing organs, which results in death for those who do not receive organs in time.

“In 2018, more than 36,000 transplants brought new life to patients and their families and their communities from more than 10,000 deceased and 6800 living donors,” Anders said. “Sadly 8000 candidates die each year, 22 people a day, almost one person an hour because the organs they need are not donated in time.”

Dudley said that resources are available for anyone thinking of becoming a donor who might be hesitating for financial reasons. The donor programs provide financial assistance for travel, lodging, and even potentially for lost pay.

Dudley added that for her, recovery from the kidney transplant surgery was uncomplicated and didn’t result in much pain.

While Dudley’s husband and children were understandably worried about her undergoing surgery to donate the kidney, she said that her family supported her decision that would transform her nephew’s life for the better and help another patient and family in the same situation.

April is National Donate Life Month, which is dedicated to educating the

Hardee, from A1 sion meeting. “I can’t tell ya’ll what that meant to me with what I was going through. And to have that young man tell me that, the worst disaster to ever hit Lee County during my (17-year) tenure ... it meant a lot and I wanted to share that personally.”

Moving forward Hardee urges for locals to move additional debris, which currently sits on

Photos by Robert Noles/Opelika Observer public on organ donation and answering the concerns that often arise when one is considering becoming an organ donor.

To help with the cause of organ donation, Donate Life America offers information on how to register to become an organ donor after death, as well as how to become a living donor.

“Living donation offers another choice for transplant candidates, and it saves two lives: the recipient and the next one on the deceased organ waiting list,” Donate Life

America explains on their web page. “Even better, kidney and liver patients who are able to receive a living donor transplant can receive the best quality organ much sooner, often in less than a year.”

For more information on how to become another donor or on more ways to get involved, visit https:// www.donatelife.net/. The full video of the Donate Life ceremony can be found on EAMC’s Facebook page. (https://www. facebook.com/EAMCnow/).

private property outside of the county’s jurisdiction, safely toward pickup locations.

These are open, flat and public surfaces that don’t block drainage or interfere with fire hydrants.

There must also be space for trucks to come by and safely load the debris without interrupting traffic.

The highway department cleared more than 10,000 cubic yards of vegetative debris with county equipment in the first week of relief efforts and with the assistance of the storm

debris removal contractor, KDF Enterprises, LLC, more than 150,000 cubic yards of debris has been collected to date.

They have concluded the first pass of the areas and will complete a second and third pass to clear the final “15 to 20 percent” of debris. The second pass will begin on April 23, while a date for the final pass will be determined on April 29.

This break will offer homeowners additional time to move debris to the county right-of-ways for pickup.

Photos by Robert Noles/Opelika Observer

A4 April 17, 2019

pelika O Opinion

AFTER THE STORM

S

little exercise for torms seem to be newbie writers and worse near the accomplished writers water. There is of the like. Even Jody most likely a scientific does this from time to reason for that, but I time. have yet to research it.

Being out here toThe wind seems stronday, you never would ger, the thunder sounds guess that there was louder, and the lightning

By Lucy Fuller a torrential downpour strikes harder. I now early this morning. understand why everyExcept for the scattered lawn one here in the Elder community chairs and a few small branches, has a storm shelter in their front yard. Actually, most people I know there is really no evidence of a storm at all. The birds are singin Dadeville have storm shelters. I ing, our bee hives are humming, am thankful for our storm shelter, our chickens are pecking around, although, we have not had to use and the dogs are all asleep in the it yet but have been close several sun, per usual. It’s just another times. day. It’s amazing how fast life Everyone was taking extra precan go on especially when the cautions last night in preparation storm seemed to move through for the storm. After the tornado here so slowly. There is a lesson that struck Lee County several in that last sentence. weeks ago, everyone has been on Just as all of the animals are edge. The slightest blob of yelmoving forward with their day low or red on the radar makes us to day tasks and responsibilities Alabamians start to bite our nails so must I. I have work to do. and stock up on bread and bottled Children need to be taken care water. Last night was no excepof, bees and chickens need to be tion. James Spann had his jacket off and we were all waiting for that tended to, and I need to go pick up limbs and turn the lawn chairs dreaded moment where he rolls upright again. We are all busy up his sleeves. Luckily, he never around here and life must go on. rolled up his sleeves last night. We Life really goes on without made it through the wee hours of our consent, doesn’t it? Nature the morning with lots of rain but doesn’t wait for us to say, “Ok, no tornadoes. The screaming baby we are rested up now. You can was a piece of cake compared to storm again.” Nature just does its our anxiety built up for what could own thing, such as life. have come.

We are literally just along for Needless to say, I was exhausted the ride whether we like it or this morning. This article won’t not. Does that make the storms be published until Thursday so for easier? Not at all. It does prepare those of you that “take the paper” us for what potentially lie before I am recalling the events of early us.

Sunday morning. It was supposed It looks like we have a few to be pretty bad. storms ahead of us later in the They even cancelled church and week. they never do that around these I guess we better rest up. Right parts. I am tired… I almost connow, I am going to relax in the sidered not writing because I sun, let the cool breeze blow wanted to nap with Abigail and catch up on about 5 hours of lost against my skin, and relish in all of the sounds of this beautiful sleep. Considering I have taken day. But first, I need to flip those an unplanned hiatus from the chairs back over. paper, I decided to make a go at Lucy Fuller is a lover of nait. So here I am, sitting on my front porch, sunning my legs and ture, animals, gardening, and old houses. She is a full time mother typing out the best words I can and wife. She currently resides come up with. in Dadeville with her husband, Nature always lends itself to two daughters, four dogs, and good ideas. Sometimes, I like to cat. She may be reached at fulsit outside and just write about lalove2017@gmail.com. what I see and hear. It’s a good

I

K

Kudzilla

the goodies in the other udzu. categories plus memberLike the weather, ship in the “ultra-elite everybody talks Kudzillionairs Club” about it, but no one does – apparently they aren’t anything about it. expecting many in the Introduced as an ornatop one for if they did, it mental vine and later pushed would not be “ultra-elite.” as a way to prevent erosion, Now I gotta admit, the some of it escaped into

By Hardy Jackson Kudzilla-themed teethe wild where it not only shirts and hoodies they survived, it thrived. sold were pretty neat, but And you can’t get rid of it.

There have been attempts to turn it into that would be expected since the guy from San Francisco is the founder of something useful. Some folks have said a mail order casual clothing company. you can make jelly from it. I once tried Consider what great Christmas gifts what was said to be kudzu jelly. I can see Kudzilla cloths would make. why that idea went nowhere.

If they get more than the $50,000 And there are those who contend that needed to build it, they will add glowan herb contained in kudzu will help ing eyes, arms and a tail that move, and combat alcoholism. They say it is an old they’ll even get it to breathe fire.

Chinese remedy.

But where will they put it? In the Others say the vine is just perfect for South, of course, down here in the heart making Christmas wreaths, but if every door in Dixie was decked in coiled kudzu of kudzu country, where “empty lots in it would hardly make a dent in the supply every town teem with the vine.”

But which teeming town will get the available.

I had not thought much about kudzu un- attraction? The one “where folks want it the most.” til a few years ago when I came across a In other words, the one that has the web site that revealed yet another attempt most Kudzilla sponsors. So, the bidding to do something with kudzu. war began.

What might that be, you ask?

And which town quickly leaped into Why make money, what else? the lead? ATLANTA. And who is going to do this?

Right.

Some guy from San Francisco. He “The City too Busy to Hate,” “The went to the University of North Carolina Next Great International City,” “Hot“where he first saw (and became fasciLanta,” has all the necessary ingredients nated with) kudzu” – no lie, that’s what – sterile soil, nasty air, an inadequate the website says. sewer system, and best of all, a large How is he going to make money from useless space ready and waiting. this fascination?

Turner Field, where the Atlanta By getting us, you and me, to pay Braves – now the Cobb County Braves for building KUDZILLA – “a 40-foot – used to play is perfect. Just pull down Godzilla-like” skeleton that will be the the old stadium, clear off a spot for mother-of-all-road-side-attractions.

Kudzilla, leave the rest of the debris to This California promoter assembled a serve as inner-city potting soil and you “team of experts – architects, engineers, have the perfect environment for kudzu. gardeners and topiary artists” to “turn There is even a parking lot for all the this idea into awe-inspiring reality.”

They planned to build the skeleton and folks who will come to see the city’s plant kudzu around it. Since the vine can newest attraction. Kudzilla will be the best show in town. grow up to a foot a day, if it is planted At least until the first frost comes. in May, in well-prepared soil (mix in You know what it will look like then. old motor oil, broken glass, crushed up That may be why, if you go to Atlanta concrete, and assorted fast-food wrapand ask directions to Kudzilla, you will pers), by Fourth of July Kudzilla would get that blank stare for which Atlantans be covered. are famous.

If we give them the money to do it.

For a search of the internet reveals, Of course, if you contribute to the project you will get something in return, Kudzilla was never built. Another Southern idea whose time never came. depending on how much you kick in.

Harvey H. (“Hardy”) Jackson is ProCategories start at a $1, which gets you fessor Emeritus of History at Jackson“an official sponsorship e-mail, someville State University. He can be reached what suitable for framing,” and go up to $500 for which you will receive ALL of at hjackson@cableone.net.

SEAN DIETRICH: EASTER

some fella yapping t was the worst about the joy of the Easter Sunday ever.

Lord.

People arrived to ser“You play first base, vice dressed in pastels, don’t you?” Phillip wearing those big soupy asked. “Hell, I ain’t no grins. They were happy good at baseball.” He people. No. Worse than removed his necktie and that. They were families.

By Sean Dietrich tucked it in his pocket.

After Daddy died, we “Don’t you hate ties?” were half a family.

Silence.

In the woods behind the church “You know,” Phillip went on. sat a rusted Buick with busted win“My daddy left my mom and me dows. It was the perfect place for before I was born. Shoot, my buddy sitting. Or crying.

Billy, he don’t even know if he On Easter Sunday, I did both.

HAS a daddy. And Roger Allen, While cheerful folks sat in the his daddy died when he was just a chapel, I hiked through the brush, toddler. Lots of us ain’t got daddies, plodding through the creek, toward the Buick. I climbed onto the roof. I you know.”

I said nothing. loosened my green tie, rolled it into “I suppose,” he said. “What I’m a tight ball, then flung it as far as I trying to say is, you’re part of our could. club now.”

I hated that thing. It was my He nodded toward two boys in father’s. the distance. It was Billy and Roger The same necktie I’d worn to his Allen, leaning against an oak tree. funeral only six months earlier. It None of them had neckties on. still smelled like him, which made More silence. me sick to my stomach. And then I “Dammit,” said Phillip. “I don’t started sobbing. know squat about how you’re feelI was interrupted by footsteps in ing. But I know nobody’s alone in the brush. It was Phillip, who was a few years older than me. He climbed this world. Not even you.”

And then he let me ruin his sportup beside me. “You didn’t want to jacket with my snot. hear the sermon today?” he asked.

I understand Phillip can preach the I didn’t answer, because I didn’t paint off a fire-plug, nowadays. give a cuss about sermons.

But I liked his first sermon the best.

Six months after your daddy dies, Happy Easter. the last thing you want is to hear

I

t’s Easter down South; I’m so excited I can barely hold my bladder.

And I’m not alone.

Bishop Ricky Moore, in Shreveport, has Easter fever worse than me.

Yesterday, old Ricky dressed up like Jesus, took a deep breath, and then sealed himself inside a coffin. His deacons swore not to open the thing again until Easter.

You heard me right.

Ricky will lay in a locked casket for thirtysix hours; no food, water, toilet, or pound cake.

Had Ricky attempted this stunt up north in, say, Toledo, Ohio, they’d have carried him off to the crazy house. But this is the South. Ricky’s selling T-shirts.

And why not? Easter is grander in our part of the world than in other places. It’s the pinnacle of our calendar. Holidays like Christmas, Mardis Gras, and the SEC Championship are cotton balls compared to Resurrection Day. Here, Easter is when

all Dixie busts open like an azalea blossom.

There’s singing, seersucker suits, hidden eggs, and Sunday lunches big enough to make your ears ring and your feet swell.

Gospel quartets visit town. Fellas with big hair, belting out songs that make your granny stand up in her pew and shout, “Tell it, boy!”

Which isn’t like timid Granny at all — except on Easter.

In Alexandria, Alabama, off Highway 63, Mount Zion Baptist puts on a roadside pageant for folks driving by. Three middle-aged men, who look like your uncle Joey, stand on wooden crosses for half the day, wearing only their skivvies.

“It’s more dangerous than it looks,” remarked one Alabama official.

“Jesus’ knees will lock up if he’s not careful.

They need to make sure to drink plenty of Gatorade out there.”

Well, I’m not going to lie, I’ve worn an Easter

tunic or two in my day.

And, by God, I’m proud to say it. This is Resurrection Day. A day we choose to believe in things that mean something. When we attend the churches our daddies grew up in. When we think about our friends who’ve crossed the river.

It’s when Mama wears her hat; when preachers holler things like, “He’s risen!” When Granny shouts back, “He’s risen indeed,” so loud she cracks her hip.

Anyway, don’t forget, lunch is at noon.

And for heaven’s sake, somebody don’t forget to unlock Ricky tomorrow morning.

Sean Dietrich is a columnist, and novelist, known for his commentary on life in the American South. His work has appeared in Southern Living, the Tallahassee Democrat, Southern Magazine, Yellowhammer News, the Bitter Southerner, the Mobile Press Register and he has authored seven books.

pelika O Observer

A5 April 17, 2019

Perry Garden Club meets with Auburn Forestry and Wildlife Sciences department during March meeting

Photos special to the Opelika Observer The Perry Garden Club of Auburn held their March meeting in the conference room of the Forestry & Wildlife Sciences Building on the Auburn University campus. Alavalapati, greeted the club members and talked about the school's forestry program. Sharon Tatum and Jessica Ascott, student ambassador for the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences, took the club member on a tour of the building and provided interesting facts about the building, furnishings and the Forestry and Wildlife Sciences programs. Pictured Left to Right: School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences Development Coordinator Sharon Tatum, Carolyn Coker, Garlan Walker, Zona Beaty, Anne Miller, Carolyn Ann Carr, Sue Retzlaff, Ross Ann Craig, School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences Dean Dr. Janaki Alavalapati, Garden Club President Susan Farish Perry and Sue Daniel.

GSEA, from A1

“It’s one of the few times that all of the documents have been displayed together,” Kirkland told the Observer.

“And it’s the first time, we believe, that they’ve all been displayed together outside of our building in downtown Montgomery.”

The exhibit will first be held at the Huntsville Museum of Art on June 30 to Aug. 11, according to Kirkland. In fact, its presence in Huntsville on Aug. 2 will commemorate a special occasion.

“The 1819 constitution will be back in Huntsville on the 200th anniversary of when it was signed,” Kirkland said. “So we’re excited about that.”

Afterward, on Nov. 3 to Dec. 31, the exhibit will be available at the Museum of Alabama in Montgomery, according to Kirkland. In addition to seeing the documents, the public also will have opportunities to listen to guest speakers and review profiles of key men and women during the time periods in which the documents were created.

“The exhibit has the

seven documents, but it also looks deeply at sort of what these documents say about Alabamians at the time, the people who lobbied for them, the people who fought against them,” Kirkland said.

The exhibit will highlight the conservation of the documents as well, Kirkland added, highlighting the recent completion of a yearlong effort to conserve the historical pieces and ensure they’re ready for public display.

“In doing so, we make sure that they’re safe to be put on display for a couple of weeks in Huntsville, a couple of weeks in Montgomery,” Kirkland said. “But, also, that they’ll survive so that Alabamians, when they celebrate their 300th anniversary, can look at them and debate them, and think about them.”

Plans for the exhibit were inspired by another state celebration that was held decades ago, Kirkland highlighted.

“Back in 1969, when the state was celebrating its sesquicentennial, Huntsville had a 6-month display of the 1819 constitution in the courthouse,” he said. “And there are still some peo-

ple around there [who] remember that. And so as planning for the bicentennial was kicking off, we got a request for the 1819 constitution and we thought, ‘Well, what a good time to think about displaying a lot of these documents together.’

“We’ve had this 3-year celebration now. People have been thinking about Alabama history and Alabama future as one conversation, and that’s really good. And we thought that what better to facilitate… the end of the bicentennial, and continue that conversation, than with talking about these documents that really define what it means to be an Alabamian.”

Bert Harris, GSEA program chair and a board member of the Museum of East Alabama, said the exhibit will be a timely attraction offering a wealth of historical insight.

“It’s very fitting that, during our bicentennial year, look back on the things that shaped Alabama as it exists today,” Harris said. “And, of course, these founding documents – the six constitutions and the Ordinance of Seces-

Pictured left to right: Perry Garden Club President Susan Farish, School of Forestry ambassador Jessica Ascott student and club Horticulture Chairperson Carolyn Ann Carr. Auburn, a Smiths Station High School alum, is expected to graduate in May with a degree in forestry.

sion – were important documents that represent important decisions that were made along the way, for good and for ill. But history is a compilation of events and decisions that need to be examined. Not always the best decisions, but always impactful.”

Others who attended the GSEA meeting are looking forward to seeing the exhibit.

Mary Lou Smith,

of Auburn, remarked about the intelligence that was required to create such centuriesold documents, a factor of which she deemed as overlooked today.

“Just the level of education in government,” Smith said, afterward adding, “It’s just something that we don’t consider.”

Bill Page, of Smiths Station, plans to visit the exhibit when it’s in Montgomery and

observe the signatures.

He, too, enjoyed Kirkland’s presentation.

“He gave an excellent talk about the history of Alabama,” Page said.

Edna Ward, an Opelika resident and editor of GSEA’s quarterly publication, “Tap Roots,” is anxious to see the historical pieces as well.

“It’ll be so good for everyone in Alabama to look at those documents,” Ward said.

— SMALL CHANGE —

BIG

DIFFERENCE Follow these tips to lower your power bill.

Opelika SportsPlex hosts Camp Seale Harris Diabetes Walk last Saturday Use cold water to wash clothes.

Vacuum refrigerator condenser coils to improve efficiency.

For more ways to save by making your home more energy efficient, visit AlabamaPower.com/tips.

Photos by Robert Noles/Opelika Observer More than 150 local residents attended the event last Saturday at the Opelika Sportsplex. A total of $11,000 was raised at the walk and donations can still be made at www.secure.qgiv.com/event/940269/.

© 2019 Alabama Power Company

Fix or replace faulty electrical cords and plugs.

Opelika E vents, Society, & Food

CALENDAR OF EVENTS: • April 19 - A Father’s Voice Matters • April 20 - Flags for Vets Benefit Concert at John Emerald Distillery Benefit Carwash for Kayla Grimes • April 22- ‘The King and I’ at the OPAC • May 24-26 - Opelika Songwriter’s Festival

Celebrate Easter with traditional spring favorites, festive desserts Ann Cipperly’s

Southern

Hospitality

A

s dawn breaks on Easter morning, sunrise services herald in a glorious day of church services and celebrations. Let the celebration continue after church with family and friends by serving a festive luncheon.

Prepare the dessert along with other dishes the day ahead to keep last minute preparation easy.

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Eggs and Chocolate Easter Eggs with Creamy Filling are lovely for Easter and make nice gifts. Let children and

grandchildren help make and decorate the eggs. The eggs are wonderful to have for favors to give guests to take home.

Wrap each one in cellophane and tie with a pastel colored ribbon.

Ham or pork roast are hearty main dishes that are easy to bake for a crowd. Linda Letlow makes an elegant Herb-Roasted Pork Loin with Gremolata, while Edith Walker serves a festive Easter Ham covered in pineapple.

Two other excellent ham recipes are

Photo by Ann Cipperly Amanda Wunderlich’s Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Eggs are easy to prepare and will appeal to almost Southern Glazed Ham everyone. Let children or grandchildren help decorate the eggs and give for gifts or favors and Carol Dillard’s at Easter dinner.

Baked Ham with Cola-Cherry Sauce. tion, and the crystal everyone dressed for When planning side Amanda, who is my church. Plan ahead and ones are easy to find. dishes, select spring niece, has a degree They are eye-catching set the table the day fresh vegetables, such from Auburn Univerplaced among green as asparagus, tiny new before. Colored eggs sity in restaurant and and blooming plants. can create a celebrapotatoes, baby carrots hotel management and Following is a tory centerpiece, and and green peas. baked cakes for the variety of springtime the eggs can be hidEvery year we have original Gourmet Tiger recipes for assembling den after lunch. For deviled eggs on the before having children. a scrumptious Easter a quick centerpiece, menu. Lynn Patterson Carol taught catering place maidenhair ferns menu. In the season makes tasty Deviled at Auburn. of rebirth, may this and/or hydrangeas in Eggs with Assorted If you have leftover Easter be a time of rebaskets or urns.

Toppings. The eggs ham from lunch, serve Instead of decorating newed faith and hope make an attractive preLinda Letlow’s Baked for your family. sentation and are great the table with bunHam and Cheese SlidCipperly can be nies, I prefer assorted for an appetizer or on ers for supper. They contacted at recipes@ crosses on stands. a buffet. are easy to assemble cipperly.com.

Years ago Easter morning and will be a delicious I began a colleccan be hectic getting snack after a busy day.

See Recipes, page A9

Keep Opelika Beautiful’s 14th annual ‘Garden in the Park’ slated for May 4 Special to the Opelika Observer Keep Opelika Beautiful is excited to host the 14th annual “Garden in the Park” on May 4 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Municipal Park, an annual festival featuring handmade and homegrown art.

Throughout the day, a variety of vendors, children’s activities and live entertainment will be showcased. Items for sale will include handmade jewelry, bags, paintings, plants, personalized items, children’s clothing and pottery.

Children will be able to participate in activities

such as inflatables, Rocky Brook Rocket rides, environmental education activities and Home Depot building kits. Farmer Brown’s Petting Zoo will have a camel, donkey, kangaroo, tortoise and more for children to enjoy. Do not miss an introduction to the animals at 12:45 p.m.

The Lee County Extension Service Master Gardeners and Saugahatchee Bee Keepers Association will also be displaying their exhibits. Live entertainment will be provided

by Jeter and Carver Singers, West Forest Singers, Southview Singers and Northside Singers. Also

on stage will be Opelika High School Chamber Choir, Opelika Middle School Sensations, Make Your Move and Opelika Parks & Rec baton class.

Food vendors will sell barbecue, cakes, fish, hotdogs, fish, pies, smoothies and more.

“Garden in the Park is a wonderful family event in our lovely park. One asset to this event is that every item sold has been created, painted, planted or built by the person selling the item. Many of our artist come back year after year and people start developing a bond with the artist.” said KOB Director Tipi Miller.

There is no charge for event admission. Food donations will be collected for the East Alabama Food Bank. Garden in the Park is a rain or shine event. Attendees are asked to leave their personal pets at home.

The Opelika-Auburn News, City of Opelika City Council Members, Glynn Smith Chevrolet, Buick & GMC, Alfa agent Drake Martin and ESG Operations are sponsors for this year’s event.

For more information, call Miller at 334-7494970 or send email to tipi@keepopelikabeautiful.com.

Photo by Robert Noles/Opelika Observer

Monday-Saturday 11 AM - 8 PM

pelika Observer O

A8 April 17, 2019

Greg Klyma to perform at Sundilla April 25 Special to the Opelika Observer Greg Klyma will be in concert at Sundilla April 25, with showtime set for 7:30 p.m.

The Buffalo-born troubadour has settled in Boston, though Klyma still spends most of his time on the road. He is keeping the American folk tradition alive with his enduring themes, articulate and amusing stories and populist ideals.

Another apt descriptor is “genre diversity,” which shouldn’t come as a surprise from an artist well studied in American music.

“Old school country, classic rock, and singer-songwriter folk are three styles of music that I love. I love to listen to ‘em. I love to play ‘em,” Klyma said. “My wheelhouse finds me standing in the long shadows of Bob Dylan, Kris Kristofferson, Willie Nelson, Steve Earle, Tom Petty and Mick & Keef, to name a few.”

Klyma’s birthdate puts him squarely in the middle of Generation X, but he is an old soul.

He has been living on the road performing music full-time since

August 1998.

Traveling from the Rust Belt to FEMA villages with guitar and mandolin in hand, capturing the stories of the people he’s met and seen for over a decade, he has honed his songwriting and storytelling while developing a show that lands somewhere between the worlds of Steve Earle and Steve Martin - it’s literate, witty, visual, sometimes comical and forever building on tradition while seeking its own voice.

Sundilla shows are held at the Auburn Unitarian Universality Fellowship, which is located at 450 E. Thach Ave. Advance tickets cost $15 and can be found at Spicer’s Music, World Cup Coffee and online sundillamusic.com, and tickets at the door cost $20. Showtime is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Sundilla Concert Series & Radio Hour has been bringing the world’s music to Auburn since 1993.

Free coffee, tea, water and food will be available, and as always attendees are welcome to bring whatever food or beverage they prefer.

Klyma

Tony Lucca promoting new album ‘Ain’t No Storm,’ scheduled to perform at Opelika Songwriter’s Festival Special to the Opelika Observer Nashville-based singer-songwriter Tony Lucca continues touring in support of his new album, “Ain’t No Storm,” with a number of tour dates that include stops at Bonnaroo, the Opelika Songwriters Festival and Pat McGee’s Down the Hatch, among others.

“I’d say my favorite part of the whole album cycle process is getting back out on the road, playing the new songs for folks, and being able to put the record in their hands, more so as a token of gratitude than anything,” Lucca said.

“At this point, my fans are beyond invested in what I do, so to be able to go represent that investment, to show them the kind of pride I’m taking in my music, brings me great joy. They’ve earned a great record. They deserve a great show.

This is when I get to deliver both at the same time.”

During Memorial Day weekend (May 24 to 26), Lucca will perform all three days of the inaugural Opelika Songwriters Festival event (www. opelikasongwritersfestival.com) in Alabama, alongside more than 30 fellow singersongwriters, such as Dan Navarro, Harpeth Rising, Kim Richey and others. Following that several days later, he heads to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to join the likes of Shawn Mullins, Stephen Kellogg, Chris Trapper, and others on the stage at the 11th Annual Pat McGee’s Down the Hatch May 29 to June 1.

On his brand new album, “Ain’t No Storm”, Lucca is flexing his Americana muscles, and the credits for the album read like a who’s who of East Nashville

shiniest environments, from his early years on the “Mickey Mouse Club” alongside future pop stars like Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera, to his top-three finish on the second season of

NBC’s “The Voice.”

For more information about Lucca, visit www.tonylucca.com.

Tickets for the Opelika Songwriter’s Festival are available for purchase now through www.freshtix.com.

Photo special to the Opelika Observer

notables. Replete with songs borne of his admiration for Nashville’s rich history, “Ain’t No Storm” finds Lucca embracing with reverence the process and craft of songwriting and taking his time, more than two years, to get it right, writing or co-writing “daily and diligently.”

PopMatters.com called “Ain’t No Storm”, “...a refreshing look outward as [Lucca] expands his musical boundaries… Lucca flirts with textured pop-rock and Americana, recall-

ing in spouts the likes of Amos Lee, Jason Isbell, and Ben Schneider... It’s all at once an inviting, familiar embrace and a refreshing step in a brand new direction for Lucca, whose easygoing soul fits well within the roots realm.”

Lucca’s career is a long and noteworthy one that spans some of the country’s greatest music scenes — from his hometown Motown mecca of Detroit, to the hills of Hollywood, to the borough of Brooklyn. It includes stints in some of the

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pelika O Observer Recipes,

the sliced pork.

from A7 Herb-Roasted Pork Loin with Gremolata Linda Letlow Roast: 3 lb. boneless pork loin ¼ cup fresh rosemary, chopped 4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 1 tsp. fennel seed (If you don’t like fennel seed you can leave it out.)

1 ½ tsp. kosher salt 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil Gremolata: 1 cup packed fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped 1 tsp. lemon zest from 1 lemon 1 Tbsp. lemon juice ½ tsp. kosher salt ¼ tsp. pepper ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil For the roast: remove the loin from refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Place rosemary, garlic and fennel seeds, if using, on a cutting board.

Run knife through the pile a few times to chop everything finely and mix ingredients together.

Place mixture in a small bowl and stir in salt and pepper, and olive oil to make a paste.

Set aside.

Using a sharp knife, make about ten 1-inch deep slits in the top and sides of the pork loin.

Rub herb paste all over roast, especially in the cut surfaces. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.

Roast to an internal temperature of 145, which is about 40 minutes or so, and let the roast rest for about 10 minutes. I like my pork roast a little more done, so I roast it a little longer to an internal temperature of about 155. Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before slicing.

For the gremolata: while the roast rests, whisk together parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil in a small bowl. Serve the gremolata alongside

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Eggs I have been making these for many years.

Let your children or grandchildren decorate them.

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs ¾ cup butter, melted 1 cup peanut butter 1 box or less confectioners’ sugar Chocolate bark or 12 oz. pkg. chocolate chips, melted Sprinkles, candies for decorating Combine crumbs, butter and peanut butter; add confectioners’ sugar. Mix until smooth.

Roll mixture into egg shapes in sizes desired. Dip in melted chocolate bark or chocolate chips. Decorate with sprinkles or as desired.

Chocolate Easter Eggs with Creamy Filling Carol Pridgen 1/2 cup butter, softened 1 tsp. vanilla 8 oz cream cheese, softened 2 1/2 lbs. powdered sugar Optional: 1 cup peanut butter and/or 1 cup cocoa Chocolate Topping: 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips 2 Tbsp. Crisco In a large bowl mix butter vanilla and cream cheese. Stir in powdered sugar to make a workable dough.

If adding optional ingredients, divide the dough and add peanut butter or cocoa.

Roll dough into egg shapes and place on wax paper lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate until hardened; at least one hour.

Melt chocolate chips over pan of simmering water. Stir occasionally until smooth. If too thick, stir in some

of the Crisco.

Dip chilled eggs in chocolate. Place on wax paper. Refrigerate half an hour to harden.

Deviled Eggs with Assorted Toppings Lynn Patterson 1 dozen hard-boiled eggs, peeled ½ cup mayonnaise 1 green onion, finely chopped 2 tsp. hot sauce Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste Toppings: black olive slices, green olive slices, cooked bacon or chopped fresh herbs Slice eggs in half lengthwise; remove yolks. Set whites aside.

Mash yolks with mayonnaise, onion and hot sauce until well blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon or pipe yolk mixture into reserved egg white halves.

Chill until ready to serve; garnish each with a topping of choice.

Southern Glazed Baked Ham Amanda Wunderlich 1/2 cup Dr. Pepper (regular-not diet) 3/4 cup light brown sugar 2 Tbsp. fresh orange juice 2 tsp. Dijon mustard 1 spiral sliced bonein half ham (7-10 lb.)

Bring first 4 ingredients to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer about 8 minutes until syrupy and measures 3/4 cup.

Bake ham according to directions on package and apply cooled glaze last 10 minutes.

With ham end up (largest part flat on the pan), apply half of glaze over ham. Cover with foil; return to oven for final 10 minutes.

Remove from oven.

Carefully turn ham on its side, and brush with remaining glaze.

Baked Ham and Cheese Sliders Linda Letlow

This is super quick and easy to prepare, and everyone loves them! Great way to use leftover ham.

For the melted butter topping: 3 2/3 Tbsp. butter, melted ½ tsp. garlic powder ½ tsp. Italian seasoning (I don’t use this.

I just use the garlic powder.)

1 12 count pkg. Hawaiian or soft dinner rolls 12 slices baked ham 12 slices cheddar cheese 12 slices Swiss cheese Preheat oven to 350.

Make butter topping: Melt butter and add garlic powder and Italian seasoning to butter.

To make the sliders: Split slider buns in half, place one half in the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish. Brush a little bit of the melted butter mixture on rolls.

Top with slices of cheddar cheese on the bottom layer, then layer with the ham slices, and then top with the Swiss cheese.

Place the other half of rolls on top and brush with remaining butter mixture.

Cover with foil and bake in preheated oven for about 12 – 15 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Slice into individual sliders and serve with a sprinkle of grated Parmesan, if desired.

Baked Ham with Cola-Cherry Sauce Carol Dillard 1 (12-15 lb.) fully cooked bone-in- ham 1 tsp. ground allspice 1 (2 liter) bottle of Cola 3/4 cup cherry preserves or jelly 1/4 cup orange juice 2 Tbsp. orange flavored liqueur (Grand Mariner), optional Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Trim rind and excess fat from the ham, leaving a 1/4 thick layer of fat.

With a sharp knife score the fat in a diamond pattern.

Place ham in a large roasting pan

A9 April 17, 2019 and sprinkle with the allspice. Pour the cola into pan and bake uncovered 1 hour and 15 minutes, basting every 15 minutes with pan juices.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the preserves, orange juice and liqueur over medium heat and stir until melted.

Remove ham from oven and brush top and sides with cherry glaze. Return ham to oven and bake, brushing with pan juices and glaze every 15 minutes. Tent the ham with foil if browning too quickly until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of ham without touching bone registers 140 ( 30 minutes).

Remove ham from oven and let rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour before slicing. This can be served at room temperature or warm.

This is delicious with biscuits or dinner rolls and mustard to make sandwiches.

Easter Ham Edith Walker 10-12 lb. ham (shank) Brown sugar 1 can pineapple tidbits Turn ham fat side up. Pour can of pineapple with juice over ham. Pat brown sugar over top of ham to cover.

Place ham in roasting pan and cover well with foil.

Bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for 20 minutes per pound.

Baste several times during cooking. Let rest about 20 minutes before slicing.

Place on a platter and garnish with pineapple slices.

Ranch New Potato Salad Kelli Duncan 5 lb. unpeeled red potatoes 1 oz. pkg. ranch dressing mix 1 cup mayonnaise 1 cup sour cream 3/4 cup chopped green onion Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add whole potatoes, and cook until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain, run under cold water to cool; chop into 1-inch cubes.

Refrigerate until chilled.

Stir together ranch dressing mix, mayonnaise, sour cream and green onion. Refrigerate covered for about 2 hours to blend flavors.

Stir mixture and potatoes together. Chill until ready to serve.

Marinated Carrots with Green Pepper Deborah Jones 1 lb. carrots, scraped and thinly sliced (or baby carrots) 1/3 cup chopped onion 1/3 cup chopped green pepper 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar 1/3 cup sugar 4 Tbsp. water 3 Tbsp. vegetable or olive oil 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce ¼ tsp. prepared mustard Cook carrots in a small amount of boiling water about 5 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain.

Combine carrots, onion and green pepper.

Combine remaining ingredients in a jar; shake vigorously. Pour over vegetables and toss lightly. Cover and chill at least 8 hours. Makes 4-6 servings.

See Recipes, page A11

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pelika O Observer

A10 April 17, 2019

Opelika will be hopping with Easter events this weekend Special to the Opelika Observer Spring is in the air and filled with Easter excitement in Opelika.

Opelika’s Parks and Recreation Department is hosting three annual Easter events during a span of three days for the community, a great chance for children and citizens to gather together and celebrate.

FLASHLIGHT EGG HUNT The Flashlight Egg Hunt will start on April 18 at 7:30 p.m. This is a free event, and it is for children in the third through fifth grades. All attendees must bring a flashlight and a basket to participate.

The field will be separated into different areas per age group to hunt. Parents should send children down to

the appropriate grade area and remain in the stands for the event.

Golden eggs and special prizes will be hidden in the grass, waiting to be collected once the lights go off.

The Easter Bunny and chicken will also be in attendance to pose for pictures prior to the event. According to Opelika Parks and Recreation Event Coordinator Mandy Johnson, the event brings in more than 100 children each year and is a unique way for children to experience an Easter egg hunt.

UNDERWATER EGG HUNT On April 19, children ages six to 10 can participate in the Underwater Egg ] Hunt at the Opelika Sportsplex from 6 to 8 p.m. Egg hunters of all

swimming experience will have the opportunity to collect weighted eggs from the bottom of the pool. Participants can exchange their eggs for special Easter treats after the hunt.

The Underwater Egg Hunt is free for all Sportsplex members.

Participants who are not members will only have to pay $4 per child to participate.

EASTER ON THE SQUARE Opelika Parks and Recreation’s Easter events will conclude on April 20, with Easter on the Square. The event will be held at courthouse square and is open to children in the second grade and younger.

For more information, call 334-705-5560 or visit www.opelika-al. gov/Parks-Recreation.

Food Ratings Capps Sausage 555 Lee Road 100 Opelika Score: 100 Honestly Smooth Smoothie Co. 2701 Frederick Road Opelika Score: 99 Highway 80 Barn Restaurant 25250 U.S. Highway 280 Opelika

Score: 99 Salud es Vida 3778 Pepperell Parkway Opelika Score: 95 Louie’s Restaurant 5496 Cambers Road 388 Cusseta Score: 92 McDonald’s 2900 Pepperell Parkway Opelika Score: 87

Saturday, May 4

8am-3pm Opelika Municipal Park Free Event, Rain or Shine Patsy Jones Tiffany Gibson-Pitts Eddie Smith Dozier SmithT David Canon

Drake Martin

Please leave all pets at home Garden in the Park is a project of Keep Opelika Beautiful

pelika O Observer

A11 April 17, 2019

Wellness Wins Festival: A Celebration of Holistic Health

By Kelly Daniel For the Opelika Observer The Wellness Wins Festival on April 6 featured a wide range of health and wellness perspectives in a lively gathering of holistic practitioners and wellnessfocused organizations.

Organized by local business owners Hannah Casey of HC Popup Fitness, Emily Ellis of Twenty-One Acres, which was also the venue for the event, and Lisa Swift of nutrition company Juice Plus, the festival encouraged the collaboration of wellnessminded people and invited the public to learn about fitness and holistic health topics. The festival took place in Auburn and benefitted the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Lee County, an organization that aims to empower young people to reach their potential.

The organizers decided to donate their proceeds to the Boys and Girls Clubs because of the role that the clubs play in helping children to develop healthy habits and lifestyle choices. Emily Ellis, who owns Twenty-One Acres and is one of the event’s three organizers, explained that it all comes back to improving health in the community.

“We wanted to target the youth because that’s

Recipes,

from A9 Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Sauce Parmesan Marian Scharpf 1 lb. fresh asparagus, trimmed Olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar 1 clove garlic, finely chopped ¼ cup shaved Parmesan cheese Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place asparagus on a sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil.

Season with salt and pepper. Roast until al dente (about 4 minutes).

Whisk together 2 Tbsp. olive oil, vinegar and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Pour over asparagus and top with Parmesan cheese.

Creamed Fresh English Peas Julia Moreman 2 cups shelled and washed peas (about 2 lbs. in shells) ½ tsp. lemon juice Pinch of sugar 3 Tbsp. butter 1 tsp. flour Milk 1 Tbsp. butter Cool peas in ¼ inch boiling water; add lemon juice (to preserve color), a pinch of sugar and 3 Tbsp. butter. Cover and cook over medium

where wellness begins and when people develop their routines and habits,” Ellis said. “We also included activities for children at the festival so that kids and adults can have fun at the event.” The kid-friendly festivities included Ninja Fit martial art classes by Jen Ambrose Martial Arts School and a fire truck and inflatable safety house.

In a day-long event that invited local wellness specialists and enthusiasts to present their products and services, offerings included free chair massages from the Better Bodies Massage Institute in Opelika and a variety of fitness classes for only $5 per class.

Classes were offered on subjects ranging from yoga and meditation to Pilates and group cardio.

In a Facebook post from the day of the event, the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Lee County wrote, “It’s an amazing day here filled with exhibitors sharing healthy foods, classes, massages, music & entertainment, activities for kids and general good health information!”

While local musicians created a lively and welcoming ambiance, booths were set up with local people selling supplements, natural skin care products, and wellness equipment.

The Juice Plus booth showcased its line of fruit heat.

In a bowl mix 1 tsp. flour and 1/3 cup water.

Add to peas just before they are done. Cook about 5 minutes. Add sweet milk and 1 Tbsp. butter once completely cooked.

Boiled New Potatoes Julia Moreman 12 small red new potatoes 6 Tbsp. butter Chopped fresh parsley Wash and scrub potatoes. Drop them in boiling, salted water; cover. Cook until tender, about 20-30 minutes. Drain and add 6 Tbsp. butter. Shake them gently over low heat until well coated.

Serve with chopped fresh parsley sprinkled over top.

Roasted Baby Carrots 3 lb. baby carrots 1 Tbsp. olive oil 3/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper Preheat oven to 400.

Peel carrots, if desired.

Toss carrots with oil, salt and pepper. Place on a jelly-roll pan.

Bake for 20 minutes, stirring once. Reduce heat to 325 degrees, and bake, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes or until carrots are browned and tender.

Lemon-Swirled Cheesecake Helen Pitchford

and vegetable-packed supplements and health foods, while a few tables included information about plant-based nutrition and exercise programs including yoga and Pilates.

Other booths displayed information about various herbal supplements, such as fresh turmeric, as well as cannabidiol, which was featured by Auburn business Da Gallery.

When asked about the goals for the event, Swift said that the main objective was to build a “no judgment community in which we can learn about and help each other.”

Ellis said that planning for the event started over a year before it took place as an idea to have a popup yoga class, but when the organizers started to contact various wellness experts to ask if they wanted to contribute, the event began to grow into the large event that took place on April 6. “ With a high chance of rain in the forecast, the event had to be adapted from the original outdoorsy plan to being under a pavilion and other covered spaces at Twenty-One Acres.

Even so, the event was considered a success, with Hannah Casey of HC Popup Fitness sharing her gratitude. “A big thank you to everyone who gave their time and energy to help make this event a reality, and a special shout

out to Emily June Ellis and Lisa Albano Swift for ALL of your hard work & passion,” Casey posted on Facebook. “The magic was in the air and everyone was really feelin’ it!”

In addition to being informative to attendees, Wellness Wins also served as an opportunity for holistic practitioners to network and share ideas.

Honey Folk, who serves as marketing director for Metrics Fitness Lab, said, “It was a great opportunity to make new connections with healthminded professionals, and to interact and collaborate with the community.”

Leigh Anne Clark, who owns Better Bodies Massage Institute, a nonprofit medical massage school offering clinical student massage at discounted rates, said that the event was one of the most diverse health and wellness festivals that she has been to, presenting a unique opportunity for wellness focused people in the Auburn-Opelika area “to gather as a holistic community.”

Integrative health, which combines conventional with alternative medicine, is becoming more popular as people become curious about the benefits that various therapies have to offer, according to the Mayo Clinic’s page on Integrative Medicine. (https:// www.mayoclinic.org/ tests-procedures/com-

plementary-alternativemedicine/about/pac20393581) As the popularity increases, trustworthy local wellness experts can help with ensuring that people choose the wellness practices and high quality products that are right for them.

Unlike conventional allopathic medicine, which focuses on treating specific conditions and organ systems, many people are drawn to naturopathic and integrative medicine because of the focus on promoting overall health for the mind, body, and soul.

As stated an article titled “Wellness Versus Treatment: The Reasons Why People Choose Complementary Health Approaches” by the NIH National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, many naturopathic therapies like supplements and yoga are more likely to be chosen for their overall wellnesspromoting properties rather than to treat an illness. (nccih.nih.gov/ about/offices/od/wellnessvs-treatment) Other alternative therapies like chiropractic care are more likely to be used for specific ailments, particularly when conventional medicine doesn’t yield the relief desired.

The Mayo Clinic and NIH articles referenced above state that while

many naturopathic and alternative treatments haven’t been subjected to the rigor of conventional medical trials, some have shown promise in medical research as the body of evidence grows.

Both the Mayo Clinic and NIH articles on Integrative and Complementary Medicine recommend that those who decide to use naturopathic and holistic medicine do so alongside conventional medicine, which has the advantage of targeting specific health conditions.

By keeping one’s healthcare providers informed about all conventional and naturopathic therapies used, an individualized plan can be created to optimize one’s health.

In the case of supplements, the NIH and Mayo Clinic articles advise that it is especially important to ensure that supplements don’t interact with one’s medications.

When asked about her overall thoughts on the festival, Swift said, “We are grateful that we are creating a healthy living community in Auburn and hope it will continue to grow bigger every year!” Swift and her fellow event organizers mentioned that they look forward to gathering feedback so that next year’s festival can be even more successful. than the first.

Lemon Curd 8 egg yolks or 4 whole eggs 1½ cups sugar 1 stick margarine Grated rind and juice of 3 lemons Whip eggs to lemoncolored. Place sugar, margarine, lemon rind and juice in boiler and cook over low heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved and butter has melted.

Add lightly beaten egg and continue stirring until mixture is thick enough to coat back of wooden spoon.

Pour into container and store in cool place.

Can make the day ahead or can be kept up to two weeks ahead stored in refrigerator.

Crust 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs 2 Tbsp. sugar 5 Tbsp. butter or margarine, melted Mix together and line bottom of 10-nch spring-form pan.

Cheesecake Filling 5 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, room temperature 1¾ cups sugar 3 Tbsp. self-rising flour 2½ tsp. grated lemon rind 2 tsp. vanilla extract 5 large eggs 1 cup lemon curd (save ¼ cup for garnish) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Beat cream cheese at high speed of a mixer until smooth.

Add sugar and the next 4 ingredients; beat well.

Add eggs, one at a time,

beating well after each addition.

Pour half of mixture into prepared pan.

Spoon half of lemon curd over filling and gently swirl curd into filling. Add remainder of filling and lemon curd and repeat swirling.

Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until cheesecake is almost set.

Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Loosen cheesecake from sides of pan, using a knife. Chill at least 8 hours.

Cover with remaining curd and garnish with lemon slices, if desired.

Fold vanilla and almond extracts into whites. Sprinkle flour and sugar mixture over beaten whites, folding in gently. Pour half of batter into another bowl; fold in beaten egg yolks.

Spoon white and yellow batters alternately into greased tube pan.

Gently cut through batters and swirl.

Bake on bottom shelf of oven 40 minutes or until top springs back when touched lightly.

Invert pan onto funnel to cool completely.

Place on plate and drizzle Almond Icing over cake.

Almond Icing 1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar 2 Tbsp. butter, softened 2 to 3 tsp. almond extract 2 Tbsp. hot water Mix all ingredients together until smooth.

Garnish: chopped pecans, lemon slice Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 3 (9-inch) round cake pans with nonstick baking spray with flour.

In a large bowl, combine oil, sugar, and eggs; beat at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add lemon zest, beating until combined.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, ginger, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Gradually add to oil mixture, beating until combined. Stir in grated carrot.

Spoon batter evenly into prepared pans and bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely on wire racks.

Spread Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting evenly between layers and on top and sides of cake.

Garnish, if desired.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting 1 cup butter, softened 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, room temperature 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice 6 cups powdered sugar In a large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, lemon zest and lemon juice at medium speed with a mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth.

Daffodil Cake This makes a lovely and light dessert for Easter 1 cup cake flour 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. sugar 12 egg whites 1 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar 1/4 tsp. salt 3/4 cup sugar 8 egg yolks 1 tsp. vanilla 2 tsp. almond extract Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix together flour and 3/4 cup sugar plus 2 Tbsp. sugar; set aside.

Beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until foamy. Add the other 3/4 cup sugar slowly; beat on high speed until whites hold stiff peaks.

Beat egg yolks until thick and lemon colored.

Gingered Carrot Cake with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting Gail Swarthout 1½ cups vegetable oil 2 cups sugar 4 large eggs 1 Tbsp. lemon zest 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. ground cinnamon ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg 3 cups grated carrot Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

A12 April 17, 2019

Opelika

Family & Religion Eight-sided baptisteries and the Resurrection

T

Hunley Group Lambert Transfer & Storage An Interstate Agent for North American Van Lines 1102 Fox Trail Opelika, AL 36803 745-5706

here are two rites/ ceremonials acts that God has given the church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

Both of these are simple actions that symbolize much deeper, greater realities. Singing is singing and praying is praying, but when it comes to baptism and the Supper, there’s something more than what meets the eye.

There is water, wine, and bread, but these are all symbols of much greater realities.

And as such, they are rich, profound, and multi-dimensional and we need to be careful that we don’t unintentionally minimize them by taking one picture or one passage of Scripture and making it the picture or passage that we focus on to the exclusion of all others. Baptism must not become John 3:5. The Supper must not become 1 Corinthians 11. These are important texts that teach wonderful truths—

resurrecbut they are tion. Part of not the only its deeper Scriptures meaning has or truths on to do with the subject. its connecWe stifle and tion to the impoverish

By Bruce Green resurrection ourselves Teaching Minister at of Jesus— if we treat 10th Street Church of specifithem that Christ in Opelika cally that as way.

Christ was Among raised from the dead to a other things, both of new life, so the recipient these rites are closely of baptism will be raised aligned with the resurrection of Jesus. Romans out of the water to a new life. Peter plainly states 6:4-5 is instructive in that baptism “saves you regard to baptism and by the resurrection of the resurrection: Jesus Christ,” (1 Peter “We were therefore buried with him through 3:21). The saving power of baptism does not baptism into death in reside in the person beorder that, just as Christ was raised from the dead ing baptized, the person doing the baptizing, or through the glory of the the water itself—it is in Father, we too may live Jesus and His resurreca new life. If we have tion! Baptism is simply been united with him the act of faith that conlike this in his death, we nects us to Him. will certainly also be Early Christians united with him in his seemed to be especially resurrection.” attuned to this as some It’s clear that the of the earliest baptisterceremony of baptism ies discovered have been is predicated upon the

Church calendar

• Pepperell Baptist is continuing to offer a Wednesday evening program from 6 to 7 p.m. for preschool and elementary children called WOWWorship on Wednesdays. The evening program of Bible messages for children, crafts, fun activities, and snack is ongoing throughout the year.

The youth program meets on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 7 p.m. This is an evening of prayer, Bible Study, and discussion. For more information, contact youth and children’s pastor Ryno Jones if you need more information at 334-7453108.

• Registration for Farmville Baptist Church’s First Steps Preschool program for fall 2019 is now open to the public.

For more information or to register, call 334-887-7361 or visit them at 3607 Alabama

Catch ‘On the Mark’ with D. Mark Mitchell and Jeff Sasser weekday mornings from 7-9 a.m.

ANGLICAN Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd 1311 Second Ave. #758-6749 ASSEMBLY OF GOD Bridge Church 1000 Lee Road 263, Cusseta #742-0144 AME Mount Zion AME Church West Point Hwy #749-3916 St. Luke AME Church 1308 Auburn St. #749-1690 St. Paul AME Church 713 Powledge Ave. #745-6279 Thompson Chapel AME Zion 187 Columbus Pkwy #749-8676 BAPTIST Abundant Life Baptist Church 1220 Fox Run Ave. Suite B #7064421464 Airview Baptist Church 2301 Airport Rd. #745-6670 Antioch Baptist Church 605 W. East Morton Ave #742-0696 Bethesda Baptist Church 201 S. 4th St. #745-7528 Bethel Baptist Church Hwy. 29 Sasser Rd #745-4865 Central Baptist Church 1611 2nd Ave. #745-2482 Community Baptist Church 154 N. 16th St. #745-6552 Cornerstone Missionary Baptist 500 N. Railroad Ave. #742-2008 Eastview Baptist Church 1208 Spring Dr #749-9595 Farmville Baptist Church 3607 Alabama Hwy N. #887-7361 First Baptist Church of Opelika

Highway 147 N. in Auburn.

• April 17 - The church at Cunningham Drive will host a gospel singing at 7 p.m. Join them for a evening of worship through songs of praise. The church building is located at 2660 Cunningham Dr. • May 2 - Lee County residents are invited to participate in the 68th National Day of Prayer event May 2 beginning at noon at downtown Opelika’s Courthouse Square. This nondenominational event will feature prayer, messages and worship led by area church leaders. Hallelujah 910 AM will broadcast the event live. In case of rain, the event will be held in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church Opelika.

Events can be emailed to the Observer at editor@opelikaobserver.com.

314 S. 9th St. #745-6143 First Baptist Church 301 S. 8th St. #745-5715 First Baptist Church Impact 709 Avenue E #741-0624 First Freewill Baptist Church 103 19th St. #703-3333 Friendship Missionary Baptist 432 Maple Avenue #742-0105 Greater Peace Baptist Church 650 Jeter Ave. #749-9487 Heritage Baptist Church 1103 Glenn St. #363-8943 High Hope Baptist Church 227 Lee Road 673 Liberty Baptist Church 2701 West Point Pkwy #749-9632 Love Freewill Baptist Church 1113 Frederick Ave. #745-2905 Ridge Grove Missionary Baptist Church 1098 Lee Road 155 #334-745-3600 Northside Baptist Church 3001 Lafayette Hwy #745-5340 Pepperell Baptist Church 2702 2nd Ave. #745-3108 Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Uniroyal Rd #749-2773 Providence Baptist Church 2807 Lee Rd 166 #745-0807 Purpose Baptist Church 3211 Waverly Pkwy #704-0302 St. James Baptist Church 1335 Auburn St. #745-3224 Union Grove Missionary Baptist 908 Huguley Rd #741-7770 BUDDHIST Buddha Heart Village 3170 Sandhill Rd. #821-7238

Fresh Foods...And A Whole Lot More!

603 Pleasant Pleasant Drive 603 Drive Opelika, AL Opelika, AL 36801 749-1333 Mon- Sat7am 7am-8pm Mon-Sat - 8pm Sun 12pm-6pm Sun 12pm - 6pm

octagonal in shape— eight being the number of resurrection. (This probably arose from there being seven days in a week, making the eighth day the start of a new week and eight the number of something new). It’s not hard to see from this their association of baptism with the resurrection and the new life.

The Lord’s Supper shares a similar emphasis. Although it is a proclamation of the death of Jesus (1 Corinthians 11:26), the thought of the resurrection is always close by.

In fact, the two are best thought of as different sides of the same coin so that even when you are focusing on one, the other isn’t far away.

That’s true in this text, for the death he wants us to consider is a death that resulted in life (resurrection).

Furthermore, it is a death we proclaim

“until He comes,” which wouldn’t be possible if there wasn’t a resurrection. And when is this Supper taken? The Lord’s Supper is taken on the Lord’s Day—the first day of the week.

Now we’re back to the eighth day, the day of resurrection historically as well as figuratively.

A couple of things should be obvious from this little piece. The first is that there is a vital connection between the resurrection of Jesus with both baptism and the Supper. The other truth is that God has richly blessed the church with the rites of the Supper and baptism.

We stifle and impoverish ourselves if we fail to explore the grandeur of these symbols and all our Father wants to communicate to us through them.

You can find more of Bruce’s writings at his website: atasteofgracewithbrucegreen.com.

Verse of the Week “Give me a sign of your goodness, that my enemies may see it and be put to shame, for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.”

Psalm 86:17

CATHOLIC St. Mary’s Catholic Church 1000 4th Ave. #749-8359 CHURCH OF CHRIST Church of Christ 2215 Marvyn Pkwy #742-9721 10th Street Church of Christ 500 N. 10th St. #745-5181 Southside Church of Christ 405 Carver Ave. #745-6015 Church of Christ 2660 Cunningham Drive #745-6377 CHURCH OF GOD Airview Church of God 3015 Old Opelika Rd #749-9112 Church of God 114 17th Place #7496432 Tabernacle Church of God 3 Oak Court #745-7979 CHURCH OF NAZARENE Opelika Church of Nazarene 1500 Bruce Ave. #749-1302 EPISCOPAL Emmanuel Episcopal Church 800 1st Ave. #745-2054 HOLINESS Eastside Emmanuel Holiness Church 86 Lee Road 186 Opelika, Ala. 36804 JEWISH Beth Shalom Congregation 134 S. Cary Dr. #826-1050 LATTERDAY SAINTS Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints 510 Groce St. #742-9981 METHODIST First United Methodist Church of Opelika 702 Avenue A #745-7604 Hopewell United Methodist 1993 Lee Rd 136 #745-0460

Pierce Chapel United Methodist 8685 AL Hwy. 51 #749-4469 Pepperell United Methodist 200 26th St. #745-9334 Trinity United Methodist Church 800 Second Ave. #745-2632 Wesley Memorial United Methodist 2506 Marvyn Pkwy #745-2841 PENTECOSTAL Full Gospel Pentecostal Church Hwy. 29, PO Box 1691 #741-8675 Gateway Community Church 2715 Frederick Rd #745-6926 PRESBYTERIAN First Presbyterian Church of Opelika 900 2nd Ave. #745-3421 Trinity Presbyterian Church 1010 India Rd #745-4889 SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST Outreach Seventh-Day Adventist 1808 S. Long St. #749-3151 NON-DENOMINATIONAL Apostolic Holiness Church 610 Canton St. #749-6759 Auburn Opelika Korean Church 1800 Rocky Brook Rd #749-5386 Beauregard Full Gospel Revival 2089 Lee Road 42 #745-0455 Christ Church International 1311 2nd Ave. #745-0832 Church of the Harvest 2520 Society Hill Rd #745-2247 Church at Opelika 1901 Waverly Pkwy #705-0505 East Congregation of Jehovah Witnesses 1250 McCoy St. #737-1488 Emmanuel Temple of Deliverance 207 S. Railroad Ave. #745-6430 Faith Alliance Church 3211 Waverly Pkwy #749-9516 Faith Christian Center 600 S. 8th St. Faith Church 3920 Marvyn Pkwy #707-3922

Family Life Christian Center 601 S. 7th St. #741-7013 Father’s House Christian Fellowship 214 Morris Ave. #749-1070 Fellowship Bible Church 2202 Hamilton Rd #749-1445 Ferguson Chapel Church 310 S. 4th St. #745-2913 First Assembly of God Church 510 Simmons St. #749-3722 Garden of Gethsemane Fellowship 915 Old Columbus Rd #745-2686 Grace Heritage Church Opelika #559-0846 Holy Deliverance Church 831 S. Railroad #749-5682 Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses 1250 McCoy St. #737-1488 Living Way Ministries 1100 Old Columbus Rd #749-6241 Move of God Fellowship Church 1119 Old Columbus Rd #741-1006 Connect Church 2900 Waverly Pkwy #749-3916 New Life Christian Center 2051 West Point Pkwy #741-7373 New Life Independent Church 10 Meadowview Estates Trailer 741-9001 Opelika’s First Seventh Day 2011 Columbus Pkwy #737-3222 Power of Praise, Inc. Church 3811 Marvyn Pkwy #745-6136 Shady Grove Christian Church West Point Hwy #745-7770

pelika O Observer

A13 April 17, 2019

OBITUARIES Martha Mead Alverson Martha Mead Alverson, 68 of Opelika, passed away Saturday, April 13, 2019 at her home in Opelika. Funeral services for Mrs. Alverson were held 2:00 pm Tuesday April 16, 2019 at Mt. Hebron Baptist Church in Blountsville, AL., with burial following in Mt. Hebron Church Cemetery. Visitation was held Monday, April 15, 2019 at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home beginning at 6:00 pm until 8:00 pm.

Mrs. Alverson had been a resident of Opelika since 1969.

She was retired from the Orthopaedic Clinic

Karen Lane Hendricks Karen Lane Hendricks passed away from heart complications at Emory Hospital in Atlanta on Thursday, April 11, 2019 at the age of 44.

Visitation was held from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., with the funeral service starting at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 13 at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home.

Karen had such a sympathetic, caring and compassionate heart to those hurting and going through hard times.

Even in the middle of life’s pains and adversity she would always find a way to bring a calm demeanor, sweet spirit and willingness to help people. Karen leaned on Jesus. Karen’s sense of humor was infectious and she had a way of turning everyday things into laughter.

She loved Auburn foot-

Robert Roy Stewart, Jr

in Opelika with twenty plus years of service.

Mrs. Alverson is survived by her husband Bobby Alverson of Opelika; daughters: Jennifer Eastridge of Opelika, and Melanie Alverson of Opelika; grandchildren: Gabe Smith, Judd Eastridge, and Brooklyn Lagoy; sister, Darlene Elliot of Blountsville, AL; brother, Jimmy Mead of Blountsville, AL. The family respectfully declines the gift of flowers and suggests memorial donations be directed to Mount Hebron Baptist Church, Mount Hebron Road Blountsville, AL 35031.

Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home and Crematory directed.

ball. Her mother and her sister love Alabama football. Because of Karen, watching this family rivalry was hilarious. Karen’s caring heart and laughter will be greatly missed.

Funeral services were held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 13 at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home with Pastor Bill Bryan of The Bridge Church officiating.

Burial followed at Shady Grove Cemetery on Highway 29 in Cusseta, Alabama. Arrangements were by JeffcoatTrant Funeral Home.

Karen Lane Hendricks was born in Opelika, Alabama to Charles and Sandra Hendricks on September 27,1974.

She went to school at Beulah High School.

She studied applied sciences at Southern Union Community College.

She worked at KEPRO Healthcare Manage-

Elizabeth Bryan Fuller Elizabeth Bryan Fuller of Opelika was born in Shawmut, Alabama to the late Troy and Fannie Mae Fuller on December 13, 1934 and died on April 13, 2019 at the age of 84.

She is survived by her husband of 65 years, Warren Fuller; daughter, Cathy Bryant (Joey) ; son, Jeff Fuller (Jennifer) ;grandchildren, Whitney Lawler (Matt), Tyler Bryant (Emily), Travis Bryant (Kelsey), Davis Gamble (Candice), Tristian Gamble, and John Fuller; great-grandchildren Fuller

Robert Roy Stewart, Jr. of Opelika, AL died at Oak Park Nursing Home on Friday, April 12, 2019. Mr. Stewart was born on October 18, 1927 in West Point, Georgia, the son of Robert Roy Stewart and Hazel Wells Stewart. He was a graduate of West Point High School and The Georgia Institute of Technology where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Textile Chemistry.

He served his career in textile finishing plants at Riegel Textile Corpora-

ment.

Karen Lane Hendricks is survived by her two children Alexis Williams and Austin Williams of Cusseta, Alabama. Survivors include her mother and father Sandra and Charles Hendricks of Cusseta, Alabama; brother Todd Hendricks of Cusseta, Alabama; sisters Shannon Hill of Clay County, Alabama, Tonya Sue Kibbe, South Bend, Indiana; brother-in-law Gene Hill of Clay County, Alabama; grandchildren Grayson Haynes and Evelyn Rose Williams of Cusseta, Alabama; niece Kaylin Lee Wilson of Clay County, Alabama.

Pallbearers were Steven Haynes, Gene Hill, Michael Pitts, Alan Odle, Ben Odle.

Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home and Crematory directed.

and Eli; sister, Mary Ann Fuller (Sanford) as well as numerous nieces, nephews, and other family members.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Lee County Humane Society.

A private family only graveside service was held on Tuesday, April 16, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. at Garden Hills Cemetery, Opelika, Alabama.

“Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul. And sings the tune without the words, and never stops at all.” Emily Dickinson.

Frederick-Dean Funeral Home directed.

tion in Trion, Georgia, Erwin Mills in Cooleemee, NC, and West Point Pepperell in Opelika, AL and Lanett, AL. He retired from West Point Pepperell’s Research Center in Valley, AL in 1989.

Mr. Stewart had been a resident of Opelika since 1968.

He was a lifetime Methodist and had served in many capacities. He was member of Trinity United Methodist Church in Opelika where he had served as past president of his Sunday school class, past president of the men’s club, past member of the official board, was an

usher for many years, and had other responsibilities. He was a past president of Lions Clubs in both Georgia and North Carolina. He was a US Army veteran and served in occupation duty in Japan at the end of World War II. He was a volunteer at the Museum of East Alabama for many years and he enjoyed fishing, boating, gardening, reading, computers, wood working, and traveling.. He and Lois traveled to numerous Elderhostel programs both in the US and overseas after retiring.

Survivors include his wife of 67 years,

Lois Wehunt Stewart; three children, Robert Roy Stewart, III of Birmingham, AL, Jennifer Wells Stewart of Boonville, NC, John Michael Stewart of Auburn, AL, and a number of cousins.

A visitation was held at the Trinity UMC Fellowship Hall Sunday, April 14, 2019 from 2:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m.

A graveside service followed at Marseille Cemetery in West Point, Georgia.

Memorials may be made to Trinity United Methodist Church or a charity of your choice.

Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home and Crematory directed.

Dorothy Jean White Norrell

children.

Mrs. Norrell is preceded in death by her husband William B. Norrell; parents: Todd and Daisy Mae White; son, Eddie Lee Norrell; sister, Rebecca Burdette, and brothers: Bill and Bobby White.

Mrs. Norrell is survived by her children: Marshall (Paula) Norrell, Montey (Gladys) Norrell, Ronnie (Barbara) Norrell, and Donna Norrell Guidry (Marcel); 14 grandchildren: Pat (Kim) Norrell, Shane Norrell, Erik (Jessica) Norrell, Aaron (Devin) Norrell, Kirby Norrell, Walker Norrell, Allyson Norrell Baker (Dan Jackson), Adam (Erin) Norrell, Hillary Norrell Allen (Patrick), Spencer (Haylee) Norrell, Schuyler Stephens, Michal

Stephens, Taylor (Andrew) West, and Ashton Guidry; along with 18 great grandchildren; aunt, Addie Abercrombie, along with several cousins, numerous nieces, and numerous nephews; also her loving caretakers: Greta Payne, Sandra Williams, and Keisha Williams.

Mrs. Norrell spent her working years as a seamstress at several textile sewing rooms. She was a member of the Red Hatters and the American Legion.

She was a member of First United Methodist Church of Opelika.

She was an avid QVC Shopper.

The family would like to thank Compassus Hospice for their tender love, and care.

Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home and Crematory directed.

Funeral services for Dorothy Jean White Norrell, 86, of Opelika, were held 11:00 am Thursday, April 11, 2019 at JeffcoatTrant Funeral Home, interment followed at Garden Hills Cemetery.

Visitation was held Wednesday, April 10, 2019 at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home beginning at 5:00 pm until 7:00 pm.

Mrs. Norrell who passed away Tuesday, April 9, 2019 at her home, in which she lived for the past 60 years. She was born April 12, 1932 to Todd and Daisy Mae White. She married William B. Norrell on July 31, 1947. They were married 51 years prior to his death in 1999. They had five

Shirley Anne Watson Shirley Anne Watson of Beauregard, Alabama was born in Columbus, Georgia to the late Anne Leona and Roy Fincher on July 25, 1935 and passed away at East Alabama Medical Center on April 9, 2019. She was 83 years old.

She was a faithful Member of Providence Baptist Church. She worked in accounting as an

accounts payable clerk for West Point Pepperell Company.

She later worked at Diversified Products in Customer Service. Mrs. Watson and her late husband, Charles, loved to dance as long as they were able. They loved music and old movies.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Charles Watson; brothers, Charles, David, and John Fincher.

She is survived by

her daughters, Teresa Albert (Lloyd), Felicia Kay Long (Bruce), and son, Michael Watson (Judy); grandchildren, Scott Palmer, Brandon Watson, Dennis Palmer, Adam Gilliam, Daniel Bandor, Beth Watson, Amy Orr (Tom), Jason Long (Michelle), Brandon Long, and Tiffany Long; great grandchildren, Jason, Jared, Tori, Kiley, Kinsley, Kaitlyn, Maddy, Kessa, Emma, Lil-

lie, Libby, Abbi, and Zach; greatgreat grandchild, Karalyne.

Visitation was held Thursday, April 11, 2019 in the Parlor at Frederick-Dean Funeral Home from 10:00 until 10:45 a.m.

Graveside was held Thursday, April 11, 2019 at 11:00 a.m. at Garden Hills Cemetery with Dr. Rusty Sowell officiating.

Frederick-Dean Funeral Home directed.

pelika Observer O

A14 April 17, 2019

Community Calendar: Events around town

• April 18 - Business After Hours at The Village at the Preserve 2102 Teale Lane - 5 p.m.

• April 24 - Ribbon Cutting - FetchMe Delivery - 4 p.m.

• April 25 - Ribbon Cutting - Resting Pulse Brewery - 4 p.m.

•April 30 - Ribbon Cutting - O Town Ice Cream - 10 a.m.

Ongoing: • Village Friends/Village Values is a nonprofit organization that supports seniors who prefer to stay in their own homes as they grow older. For info or to schedule a presentation to your group, call 334-209-4641. For the website, Google “village friends village values.”

• The Martha Wayles Jefferson DAR chapter is appealing for sweaters, jackets, trousers, shirts and socks, women’s clothing, soft soap in individual containers, shaving supplies, disposable razors, denture cleanser, toothpaste and toothbrushes, DVDs, games, books and magazines to take to veterans at the CAVHCS in Tuskegee.

The Martha Wayles Jefferson DAR Chapter regularly visits veterans living in assisted living, the homeless domiciliary and psych (trauma) ward in Tuskegee. Donations are tax deductible and will be much appreciated. Pick up is provided. Please call Linda Shabo at 887-6659 or at 256-307-1449.

Mondays: • The Lee County Voters League meets the first Mondays of the month at 6 p.m. at Bethesda Baptist Church located at 201 S. 4th Street, Opelika • The John Powell American Legion Post 18 and Auxiliary meets the third Monday at 7 p.m. at 910 West Point Parkway in Opelika.

• The Opelika Community Band practices from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Auburn High School

• April 19 - Local author Greg Clark will be holding a book signing for copies of the first two books of his Amazon Best Selling Mystery series “Ashes of Arson” April 19 at downtown Opelika’s

band room. Everyone is welcome, amateurs and professionals alike.

• Smiths Station Military Chapter of Military Officers Association of America (MOAA) meets weekly at Mike & Ed’s at 5 p.m. For more information, call 297-5581 or visit www.nonukesforiran.org.

• The Touched by Suicide Support Group meets the first Monday of every month at 5:30 p.m. at the East Alabama Medical Center Health Resource Center, 2027 Pepperell Parkway. For more information, contact Deborah Owen, EAMC’s director of Psychiatric Services at 334-528-4197 or deborahowen@eamc. org.

• The fourth Monday of each month a Community Grief Support Group meets from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the EAMC Health Resource Center. No reservations are necessary; everyone is welcome. For more information call 826-1899 or 502-0216.

• T.O.P.S (Taking Off Pounds Sensibly), a weight loss support group, meets every Monday night from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Covington Recreation Center, 213 Carver Ave., Opelika. For more info contact Mary Johnson, 749-1584.

• The Lee County Commission meets the second and last Mondays of each month at the courthouse beginning at 5 p.m.

• The Commercial Horticulture Extension Team organizes webinars to

Irish Bred Pub, beginning at 6 p.m. For more information or updates, like and follow his Facebook page “Greg Clark, DC” or visit personal website www.gunbuild. com. These books are self-published and can

provide quick updates for producers on various topics of interest. Whether you are interested in the proper way to plant fruit trees or have questions in turf management, these webinars cover a wide range of subjects. Webinars are streamed live via Panopto on the last Monday of every month starting in January and ending in November. During the presentation, participants can send questions via email. The webinars also are recorded and stored in the archive on the Beginning Farmer website. Webinar topics include: trap cropping for reducing squash insect pests, cowpea curculio updates, nutsedge control, introduction to potting mixes in ornamental container production, dealing with drought in commercial horticulture crops, and many more.

To view the full schedule, please visit www.aces. edu/anr/beginningfarms/ webinars.php. Please send questions during the presentations to Ann Chambliss, thameae@ auburn.edu. For questions regarding the webinar series or for providing suggestions, please email Dr. Ayanava Majumdar at bugdoctor@auburn. edu.

Tuesdays: • Ballroom Dance Classes at the Opelika Sportsplex from 7 to 8 p.m. every Tuesday. Instructor is Cody Wayne Foote. For more info call Diane at 749-6320.

• The East Alabama Old Car Club meets every

first Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Monarch Estates Clubhouse, located at 1550 East University Drive, Auburn. A program of interest to the old car enthusiast is presented.

Car ownership is not required.

• The Opelika City Council meets the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7 p.m.

Meetings are preceded by non-voting work sessions that typically begin about 6:30 to 6:45 p.m.

• Every second Tuesday, a country, gospel and bluegrass music jam session is held at Pierce Chapel United Methodist Church in Beauregard.

The event is free and open to the public. Those who play an instrument should bring it and plan to join in. The jam session is held from 6 to 8 p.m. 8685 AL Highway 51.

• A Grief Support Group meets at Oak Bowery United Methodist Church Tuesdays at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. for anyone dealing with the pain of loss and feeling the need for support on their journey as they attempt to bring order and wholeness back into their life. Attendance and participation is strictly voluntary for any and all sessions. There are no fees or charges involved.

The church is located on U.S. Highway 431 – eight miles north from Southern Union State Community College and Opelika High School. For more information contact Bill Parker at 459-0214 or 706-518-9122.

• The Auburn Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol meets every Tuesday evening from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Auburn University Regional Airport. The Civil Air Patrol is a nonprofit organization that is Congressionally chartered to be the civilian auxiliary of the Air Force and focuses on three missions: aerospace education, cadet programs and emergency services. For more information visit

New Events be purchased through Amazon. The restaurant is located at 833 S. Railroad Ave. • April 26-27 - Lee County Gathering Old Time Music Festival.

Pioneer Park, Loachapoka

• April 28-29 - High School Band Days at Pioneer Park. Members of local high school bands are invited to learn to play acoustical instruments with nationally recognized musicians.

Pioneer Park is located

www.auburncap.org or find the organization on Facebook.

• East Alabama Gem & Mineral Society meet the 4th Tuesday of every month at 5:45 p.m.

Meetings are held at the Covington Rec. Center located at 213 Carver Ave. in Opelika.

Wednesdays: • The second Wednesday of each month a Community Grief Support Group meets from 10 to 11 a.m. at the EAMC Health Resource Center.

No reservations are necessary. For more info call 826-1899 or 502-0216.

• The John Powell American Legion Post 18 and Auxiliary hosts Bingo every Wednesday night at 6 p.m.

• Every Wednesday is Wine Down Wednesday at the Bottling Plant Event Center from 5 to 8 p.m.

Thursdays: • American Legion Auxiliary Unit 152 meets the first Thursday of every month at 11 a.m. at Niffer’s Place, 917 S. Railroad Ave. in Opelika.

• The Teal Magnolias Gynecological Cancer Support Group meets the second Thursday of every third month at 6 p.m. at EAMC Health Resource Center, 2027 Pepperell Parkway. For more information on the Teal Magnolias, email tealmagnoliasAL@yahoo.com or find them on Facebook.

• Opelika-Auburn Newcomers’ Club provides a variety of programs for the betterment of the Auburn/Opelika community to assist women transitioning into the area or to help women adjust to recent lifestyle changes. The club meets on the third Thursday of each month at 11:30 a.m. for a luncheon at various local restaurants. Please call or email Cheri Paradice at 334-737-5215 or cheri.paradice@gmail. com for more information or luncheon location of the month.

• T.O.U.C.H. Cancer Support Group meets the third Thursday of

the month at 6 p.m. at EAMC’s Health Resource Center. This is a support group for people living with any type of cancer or their families and friends. Call 334528-1076 for more information.

•After School Art Classes for Children & Youth Weekly Studio Classes featuring Drawing, Painting & More.. *beginners are welcome *all fine art supplies are always provided The Sarah West Gallery of Fine Art A Center for Cultural Arts - Enroll Today- 334-480-2008 •Afternoon Art Classes for Adults featuring Studio Drawing, Painting & More.. *beginners are welcome *all fine art supplies are always provided Thursdays at 3 p.m.

Eastern Standard Time The Sarah West Gallery of Fine Art, A Center for Cultural Arts - Enroll Today- 334-480-2008 • Evening Art Classes for Adults Fundamental Drawing Studio - Every Tuesday: 6:30 p.m. *beginners are welcome *all fine art supplies are always provided The Sarah West Gallery of Fine Art, A Center for Cultural Arts - Enroll Today- 334-480-2008 • Portrait Drawing Studio - portrait drawing classes for beginners, Every Wednesday 2 p.m.

EST *all fine art supplies are provided The Sarah West Gallery of Fine Art, A Center for Cultural Arts - Enroll Today- 334-480-2008 • Senior Studio Art Classes Every Wednesday 11 a.m. EST *beginners are welcome *all fine art supplies are always provided - Enroll Today- 334-480-2008

at 6500 Stage Road in Loachapoka.

• April 28 - The Junior League of Lee County will hold an Alice in Wonderland-themed fundraiser and silent auction April 28 at the Moore’s Mill Club pa-

vilion. Called the “Mad Hatter’s Tea Party,” the event will begin at 2 p.m. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.juniorleagueofleecounty.com.

The venue is located at 1957 Fairway Drive.

Email editor@opelikaobserver.com to place your community events.

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OPAC to host performance of 27th annual ‘Fishing Rodeo’ ‘The King and I’ on April 22 returns to Auburn May 18 Special to the Opelika Observer

Photo special to the Opelika Observer Special to the Opelika Observer A national touring group will bring the story and magic of the beloved Rodgers and Hammerstein musical “The King and I” to the Opelika Center for the Performing Arts April 22.

One of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s finest works, The King and I boasts a score that features such beloved classics as “Getting To

Know You,” “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” “Hello Young Lovers,” “Shall We Dance” and “Something Wonderful.”

Set in 1860’s Bangkok, the musical tells the story of the unconventional and tempestuous relationship that develops between the King of Siam and Anna Leonowens, a British schoolteacher whom the modernist king, in an imperialistic world, brings to Siam to teach his many wives and

children. According to New York Magazine, this version of The King and I based on the 2015 Tony Awardwinning Lincoln Center production is “too beautiful to miss.”

For more information or to pre-order tickets, call 334-7498105 Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or visit www. eastalabamaarts.org.

The venue is located at 1700 Lafayette Parkway.

Cast into summer with the 27th Annual Fishing Rodeo May 18 from 7 to 11 a.m. at the Auburn Technology Park, which is sponsored by Evans Realty.

The first 150 children will receive a free rod and reel courtesy of Evans Realty and Auburn Parks and Recreation will supply the bait. Door prizes will be given out to lucky participants and prizes will be awarded to the biggest fish caught in each age category.

An award will presented to the individual who caught the most fish overall. This

Photo special to the Opelika Observer event is a great chance to bring kids and their parents together with one of America’s favorite pasttimes, fishing. The cost is $5 per child and can be paid at the event in the form of cash or check.

Checks can be made payable to the city of Auburn. There is a

limit of five fish per child and parents must stay with their child at all times.

For more information, call Auburn Parks and Recreation Community Programs Coordinator Gabby Filgo at 334-501-2930. The park is located at 229 Enterprise Drive.

Opelika Theatre Company to hold murder mystery dinner April 26,27

By Tyler Roush For the Opelika Observer The Opelika Theatre Company will be hosting a murder mystery dinner event on April 26 and 27 at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., respectively.

Both will be held at the Center for East Alabama Arts at 1103 Glenn Ave. “I’m Getting Murdered in the Morning,”

will be a “night filled with romance, food, murder and mystery” and will have participants help solve the crime while eating their meals. Dinner will be prepared by Backwater Bar-B-Que from Salem. Vegan options will be available, but anyone requiring dietary accommodations must contact the theatre company.

Tickets for the event

are $40 and can be purchased at OTC’s online store www. squareup. com/store/OpelikaTheatreCo or by clicking buy online from the website www.opelikatheatrecompany.com.

The Opelika Theatre Company is a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and a portion of tickets may be considered as a donation to the organization.

FetchMe Delivery using Easter fundraiser to benefit Lee County tornado victims, Red Cross efforts Special to the Opelika Observer The Auburn-Opelika based food-delivery company FetchMe Delivery will be using a special Easter promotion to benefit the Red Cross's Lee County Tornado Relief Fund.

Team members have distributed more than 200 eggs throughout Auburn, Auburn University and Opelika, each containing coupons and

Also inside each egg will be a note asking the recipient to answer the question "In this life I want to eggsperience."

For each individual who posts a response, FetchMe will donate $1 to the Red Cross to benefit individuals who were affected by the March 3 tornadoes.

For more information, like and follow the Special to the Observer business's social media gift certificates for their pages or visit www. service. fetchmedelivery.com.

Located in Historic Downtown Opelika

334-745-4618

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45th annual ‘Old Car Show’ returns to USA Town Center May 18 Special to the Opelika Observer The East Alabama Old Car Club’s 45th annual “Old Car Show” will be held May 18 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Opelika’s USA Town Center.

Dash plaques will be awarded to the first 50 entries. Entries manufactured until 1998 will be judged during the show.

Following is a full schedule, rules and procedures and trophy classes: Schedule of Events (all based on C.S.T.) - 8 to 11 a.m.: Registration for judging and/or displaying vehicles - 8 to 10 a.m.: Refreshments for participants and their families - 10 a.m.: Judging, which requires hoods and trunks open, doors unlocked and

Photos by Robert Noles/Opelika Observer convertible tops up.

Boar’s Breath Restaurant will be open and restrooms are available on-site.

- 2:30 p.m.: Trophies awarded by 2:30 p.m. or ASAP thereafter Rules and Procedures: 1. Entry fee: $20 for first entry and $5 for each additional entry.

2. Dash plaques will be awarded to the first 50 registrants

3. Any class with fewer than three entries may be merged into a neighboring class at the judges' discretion 4. Final classification of the entries will be decided by the judges; all decisions of the judges are final 5. All vehicles must have a rated fire extinguisher (having no fire extinguisher is a three-point deduction) 6. Each owner must

have his own insurance (neither USA Town Center nor the EAOCC assumes any responsiblity) Trophy Classes: A. Historic: Thru 1931 B. Model A Ford: 1928-1931 C. Vintage: 19321945 D. Post-War: 19461954 E. Classic: 19551966 F. Neo-Antique:

1967-1986 G. Late Model: 1987-1998 H. Sport Cars (twoseaters): through 1988 I. Foreign: thru 1988 J. Light trucks (3/4 ton and lighter): through 1988 K. Tractors and heavy trucks: through 1988 L. Unrestored: through 1988 M. Street rods:

through 1948 N. Street machines: 1949-1998 O. Modified classic Chevy: 1955-1957 P. Modified trucks: through 1998 Q. EAOCC President's Choice R. Merchant's Choice S. Best of Show.

For more information, call 334-2441158. The shopping center is located at 1220 Fox Run Ave.

Loachapoka’s Pioneer Park to host 11th annual ‘Old Time Music Festival’ April 27 Special to the Opelika Observer The annual “Lee County Gathering: OldTime Music Festival Down From the Mountains” will be held April 26 to 28 at Loachapoka’s Pioneer Park.

The event began in 2009 when four members of the society sought to bring oldtime, traditional music on historical acoustic instruments to the area.

Since then, more than 700 people from all over the United States have attended the event.

The instructors have always been a mixture of nationally known and award-winning recording artists, musicians/ instructors, and talented local musicians. This

year’s line-up is no different.

The schedule on April 26 will be an all-day jam. All area musicians with acoustic instruments are welcomed to join in the fun. Friday is an admission-free day, and will end with a covered-dish supper at 5:30 p.m. All instructional classes will be April 27.

On April 28 there will be a 9 a.m. hymn sing followed by private lessons from the instructors.

These private lessons are arranged by individual instructors and fees are paid directly to them.

Headlining the mountain dulcimer classes is the 2007 National Dulcimer Champion and North Carolina

native Dr. Joe Collins.

In addition to Collins, Tennessee residents Jim and Cheri Miller will perform bluegrass, Celtic and old-time music, as well as teach the hammered dulcimer and mandolin.

Sharrie George, part of the Guy and Sharrie Duo from the Dayton area, will bring in her vibrant and fun instruction skills, teaching traditional and Celtic tunes on ukulele.

Local musicians, Bob Taunton (banjo and bass) and Cindy Mask (autoharp) will round out the faculty. All instructional classes will be held on April 27 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday will end with an instructors concert at 7 p.m.

Those interested in attending are encouraged

to use the Lee County Gathering registration page inserted into the trails to register for the festival. Both Friday and Saturday’s events are free.

Breakfast and lunch will be available Friday and Saturday at the Pioneer Park Cookhouse.

The breakfast menu will feature sweet-potato and

sausage biscuits. The lunch menu will feature grilled hamburgers and hot dogs with all the “fixings.”

For more information, call organizer Deborah McCord at 334-7033646 or visit www. leecountyhistoricalsociety.org. The park is located at 6500 Stage Road, Loachapoka.

Photos special to the Opelika Observer

Southern Union holds fourth annual ‘Simply Spring Fashion Show’ April 9

By Ann Cipperly For the Opelika Observer The fourth annual Simply Spring Fashion Show, Lunch and Marketplace was held April 9 in the Southern Room to benefit the Southern Union Foundation Scholarship Program. President Todd Shackett welcomed everyone to the event, and Carol Knight discussed the importance of the scholarship program.

Entertainment was provided by members of the Performing Arts Department at Southern Union, including Jansilynn Kelly, who is Miss Southern, Daniel Smith and Jontavion Henderson. Their upcoming production “Damn Yankees” will be held April 18 to 28 at the Wadley Campus.

Mindy Reynolds, a social sciences instructor, was mas-

ter of ceremonies.

Beverly Corley, an English teacher and department chair of language arts, was in charge of the table decorations.

Some people purchased and decorated tables themselves.

Others bought tables for the event, but they are not interested in decorating. Their tables were decorated by staff who enjoy decorating.

“We have people sign up to decorate the tables,” Beverly says.

“We have in-house decorating with the employees and staff.

It is a good-hearted contest, but it sets the tone to make it something special for those attending.”

Judges select the best tablescape. There is also a “people’s favorite.” Jars with the number of the table were placed in the back of the room. Every dollar

donated counted as a vote. The winner was Health Science’s “40 years of nursing.”

After the luncheon, a fashion show was held. Darlene EarleyAndrews directed the models. Models for the fashion show were students, faculty and staff. Fashion show contributors were Fringe, Studio 3:19, Matilda Irene Designs and Men’s Warehouse.

The luncheon sponsors were Chicken Salad Chick and East Alabama Medical Center. Runway sponsor was Glynn Smith Chevrolet-Buick.

Table sponsors were Alabama Power Company, Circle of Care, Fincher-Coffin Real Estate, Huntington College, John Fuller and Rebecca Hoyt, Newman’s Accounting Service, Opelika Chamber of Commerce, Scott Bridge Company and Sena-

tor Randy and Oline Price.

Red Carpet Sponsors were Auburn Chamber of Commerce, Bailey’s BBQ & Catering, City of Opelika, ESG Operations, Inc. and Thrifty Lizard.

The cake auction was held again this year. Four cakes raised $600.

All of the funds raised from the event benefit the Southern Union Scholarship Program. The money goes to local students who might fall outside the conventional scholarships.

Tables were festively decorated for the event by various groups. Entertainment was provided by members of the Performing Arts Department at Southern Union for their upcoming production “Damn Yankees” April 18-28 on the Wadley Campus.

Photos by Ann Cipperly The fourth annual Simply Spring Fashion Show, Lunch and Marketplace was held April 9 in the Southern Room to benefit the Southern Union Foundation Scholarship Program. Pictured top: After the luncheon, a fashion show was held. Models for the fashion show are students, faculty and staff. Fashion show contributors were Fringe, Studio 3:19, Matilda Irene Designs and Men’s Warehouse. Bottom: Beverly Corley, left, was in charge of table decorations, and Mindy Reynolds was master of ceremonies.

Opelika Schools & Sports Inside • opelika schools • lee county schools • community sports

On the Mark

OPELIKA BOYS SOCCER SCHEDULE •April 17 v. Northside •April 22 v. Eufaula OPELIKA GIRLS SOCCER SCHEDULE •April 17 v. Northside at 4:30 p.m.

• April 22 v. Eufaula at 5 p.m.

Smiths Station High School Band, city dignitaries visit Washington D.C. last week

By D. Mark Mitchell

Opelika baseball swept by Russell County to end season

O

pelika High School’s baseball season ended last Thursday at Bulldog Park, falling 5-3 and 6-4 in a doubleheader sweep against Russell County.

Under first-year Coach Zach Blatt, the Bulldogs finished the season with nine wins and 24 losses including a 1-3 area mark.

They did not qualify for the 6A State Baseball playoffs.

In game one, Russell County scored five runs in the second inning, beating Opelika 5-3 to earn the area title. Opelika scattered five hits, one each from Jared Willis, Brooks Bryan, Jackson Craft, Julian Due and Brody Davis. Andrew Parr started on the mound, with Jace Rhodes providing relief in the sixth inning and pitched the final two innings.

In game two, the Bulldogs started early, scoring two runs in the first and third inning. The Warriors answered with two runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings on their way to a 6-4 win.

Colton Dunson and Kory McCoy led the Bulldogs with two hits each apiece. Christian, Willis, BJ Thomas and Zach Pierce added hits. The Bulldogs will concentrate

on improving offense and defense during the off season.

SOFTBALL Opelika’s softball team improved their record to 12-13 after finishing 3-2 in the “O-DAWG INVITATIONAL” at West Ridge Park last weekend.

The Lady Bulldogs defeated Valley 9-3 on senior night last week.

Seniors Chelsea Clark, Chloe Clark, Kakai Gagliano and Kaylan Gunn each recorded a hit during the game. Gagliano earned the win, striking out 13 Ram batters.

SOCCER The Opelika girls soccer team slipped by Benjamin Russell 2-1 last week at the Charles Bailey Sportsplex. Amiya Brown scored a goal and won the game with her second goal in double overtime.

Emily Lux played a great game as keeper, according to head coach Button.

The OHS Girls earned their seventh-straight area championship with the win.

The Opelika boys lost 5-1 to the Wildcats. Caleb Rujana scored the lone goal for the Bulldogs.

Opelika’s boys played well prior to the area game, tying Northview See Sports, page B4

Kevin Wolf AP/Images for NHK WORLD-JAPAN Pictured above, the Smiths Station High School Marching Band performs in National Cherry Parade in Washington D.C. last weekend.

Special to the Opelika Observer The Smiths Station High School marching band participated in the National Cherry Blossom Parade in Washington D.C. last week. On Friday, pictured left, Mayor Bubba Copeland, Smiths Station Director of Bands Gene Butler and seniors Calen Greene and Lauren Chaffin placed a wreath on behalf of the city of Smiths Station at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Jan Busby becomes Southern Union’s outreach coordinator for adult education program

By Morgan Bryce Editor Auburn native Jan Busby has been hired as the new outreach coordinator for the adult education program at Southern Union State Community College’s Opelika campus.

Previously with Point University, Busby’s main task is to promote the program and what services it offers to people in 14 sites across Chambers, Clay, Lee and Randolph counties.

“We are designed specifically for the population who left high school before gradua-

Busby tion, G.E.D. seeking or a non-diploma option, serve adults adults who are English learners and operate a career pathway program for G.E.D.-seeking students that allows them to be dually enrolled and take one regular

class on the school’s campus per semester,” Busby said.

Although they are affiliated with Southern Union, Busby explained that her department relies on state funding for its operation.

“Ultimately, our goal is to get more students to come and further their education so they can get better jobs and become better providers for themselves or their families,” Busby said.

According to the Southern Union webpage, its adult education classes are “open entry and open exit.

Students work at their own pace rather than in accordance with a set term limit. Instructors provide each learner with an individualized plan of instruction.

This plan is based on See Busby, page B4

pelika Observer O

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Opelika Parks and Recreation holds area track and field tournament

Photos by Robert Noles/Opelika Observer

Museum East Alabama of

invites you to join us 7th Annual

Taste of the Town Tuesday, April 23rd 2019 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Tickets are $30.00 per person

Silent Auction

Beneeting the Museum of East Alabama For more information please call (334) 749-2751

Come Sample the Best of Local Restaurants’ Food & Wine

Sponsored by Henry J Stern Family Foundation

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Building Upon What Remains G

rowing up in the south meant long summer days spent playing in the creek beds, discovering a snake wrapped round a ladder in a friend’s chicken house, observing crawdads and crafting pottery out of clay deposits along spring-fed streams. On occasion, we would unearth some intriguing object; an arrowhead, and our imaginations would paint for us ancient Indian burial grounds. I think back over the objects we found. Perhaps I should have held onto some of them.

We’ve all read accounts of popular discoveries made in this region. Dinosaur bones, and other exotic relics.

To some extent, we equate these discoveries to lottery winnings, and presume them to be a product of chance rather than examining the ground beneath our feet.

Most towns have a historic district, a museum or a library where archives and artifacts might be exhibited.

And yet, here at home, for years, we’ve looked around and proclaimed there’s nothing left. In recent days, together we’ve learned the profound power of

YOUR DESTINATION for CONTINUED FINE ARTS EDUCATION STUDIO CLASSES | DRAWING, PAINTING & MORE for ALL AGES www.thesarahwestgalleryoffineart.com

By Sarah West further examination.

We’ve seen how one person shares a story, old newspaper clipping or high school program, and many more stories, even proof, emerge.

Suddenly locals return to their attics, rummage through the old trunks and dust off tangible threads which tie present to past. Enlightened, now we find ways to preserve this information, and showcase the “ruins” of heritage.

Mentioning the Jones Store strikes a familiar chord with some, and after explaining its original location, many express, “oh yes, I do remember passing that.” In my childhood, it was a mere landmark, the old general store - looking place, down

passed the Hay Farm, or some such vague descriptive. I knew little about the geography or cultural heritage of this area until local community elders began reaching out to me and talking about it. Now the pastimes of childhood exploration inform current work, and seeks to unearth history. It is all worth saving.

Building upon what remains, is a point of profound importance.

Often the substantial ties to heritage are the unsuspecting ruins of the old cabin, the barn, and the store and even the clippings from a decaying shoebox.

The process of building things is an activity which seems to intrigue both young and mature

alike. In studio young artists have embraced a project called Building History. As part of the Sarah West Gallery of Fine Art’s Cultural Enrichment Initiative, the process of art and design converges in creations commemorating heritage and discovery. Art students take part in opportunities to re-create and construct models of the landmark, now known as the historic Jones Store.

Through this endeavor, they’ve heard stories of the structure’s history and of the town’s people who remember it best.

As I arrive home, close and lock the gate, I now take a moment of consideration to question what does lay just beneath my feet. The

ruin-particles amongst the bedrock may actually be an artifact that we can build upon.

Sarah West serves the Opelika Observer as a contributing columnist, with written works of Cultural Arts relevance and prose. She is a preservation, and conservation advocate, activist, and visual artist of American Illustration with a focus on Regional Narrative Painting.

She is founder of the Sarah West Gallery of Fine Art, A Center for Cultural Arts, Smiths Station, Alabama’s premier fine arts destination. She is the appointed Official Artist to the City of Smiths Station, a Lee County syndicated columnist, the director of her art center’s Cultural Arts

Outreach Initiative which partners with local schools to make the arts accessible to all. She also serves a chief curator to the City of Smiths Station, City Hall Art Galleries. She is a founding member of the Smith Station Historic Commission.

She is a member of the Women’s Philanthropy Board- Cary Center, Auburn University College of Human Science. She is an elected member of the Society of Illustrators- NYC. She mentors art students of every age through weekly classes at her studio located in the heart of Smiths Station, Alabama. To learn more about her work and activism visit, www.thesarahwestgalleryoffineart.com.

Playing with Doodlebugs

Beth Pinyerd The Classroom Observer

A

s I substitute teach and outreach in different community children’s’ ministries, we are focusing on God’s creation during April. God has given us a beautiful and lively world even right down to ants, doodlebugs, roly-poly, ladybugs, and young spring peepers.

Genesis 1:25 - “God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw it was good.”

Spring brings out a lot of nature’s creatures for the smallest of little nature lovers to enjoy!

Safely and carefully look in the soil, under logs, and fallen leaves, inside special bumps on plants, near eaves and attics of homes to discover and find some

of the following spring creatures. I have pulled out my spring classroom plans to share with my readers observations and facts. My resources of classroom lesson plans are based on observations, other teachers, experiences, and gleaning from many resources over the years.

Have you ever played with doodlebugs?

When I take my class of little folks out to the playground, we look for clearly defined circles where we know doodlebugs reside. They are called doodlebugs because this little animal makes a track that zigzags in every direction as it crawls across the dry sand looking for a place to dig its pit. The children and I carefully slip down a long piece of pine straw into the hole, keep it down in the hole for a few minutes and gently pull the pine straw up.

It’s like going fishing. At the end of the piece of pine straw you will be pleasantly surprised to see a little doodlebug curled up at the end. After taking a few minutes to observe, gently lower the doodlebug back down into its hole on the piece of pine straw.

This is so fascinating to little ones and even grown-ups. In fact, this is a wonderful family science activity time!

Continuing on with bugs, I am personally a big fan of ladybugs.

I have used pictures of ladybugs to decorate my spring bulletin boards. Here are a few fascinating facts of ladybugs that actually are appealing with its red wings and the black dots on its wings: • There are 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs worldwide, 400 are in North America.

• Female ladybugs will lay more than 1,000 eggs during their lives.

• Ladybugs beat their wings 85 times a second when it flies!

• Ladybugs chew from side to side and not up and down like we people do.

• Ladybugs protect themselves by making a chemical that smells and tastes terrible so that birds and other animals that might prey on them stay away.

As I am lining up my little students for spring recess, our little snail friends usually greet us on the sidewalk or the edge of the sidewalk.

We always take time to bend down and observe this unique little fellow. Here are a few snail facts that are very interesting: • Snails’ bodies produce a thick slime which protects them from getting hurt.

• Because of the suction created by the slime, snails can actually crawl upside down.

• Snails usually are more active at night.

• Some snails can live to be 15 years old!

• As we already can observe, snails don’t see well. They strongly depend on the senses of touch and smell.

Don’t we all just love those roly-polys!

All little folks are so fascinated how a roly poly can roll its body into a ball resembling a small pill. Our roly-poly friends are crustaceans which are surprisingly related to crayfish and shrimp.

Again, we need to respect the lives of these little creatures when handling.

A spring science unit just cannot be complete unless you grab a clean bucket, go to nearby ponds or streams to gather tadpoles. Caring for

tadpoles at school and at home and watching them turn into frogs (metamorphosis) is a fascinating and rewarding experience for young and we adults alike. In setting up the temporary home for the tadpoles, I have found it better to put them in a container that is shorter and wider as opposed to a container that is tall and narrow. It’s just easier to take care of them and observe them. Be sure the water is really clean. When you know that you are going to get tadpoles, be sure to get your water ready before you bring them home. It is like setting up an aquarium for fish. Tadpoles breathe with gills so that is why it is important to have clean water. In keeping tadpoles in my classroom and at home, I have usually fed them plant food in the form of clean little lettuce pieces. With tadpoles you feed them small quantities frequently.

One very neat family excursion after an April rain is to go walking and listen to the little frog called “peepers.” Even if you are in the car, so many times you can see little white forms jumping up after a shower. It may be rain but usually it is a little “peeper.”

I haven’t covered

half of the “creature” observations and experiences that I know personally fascinate young children and make for family fun and learning, but maybe this will give you a very good start! Happy doodlebug hunting!

Pinyerd has taught young children in the early childhood classroom for 34 years as well as outreaching to the elderly in intergenerational settings. She has taught and outreached in the schools in Opelika and Baldwin County. She holds a master’s degree in early childhood education as well as a bachelor’s degree in family and child development both from Auburn University. Her husband is the late Carl Pinyerd and she has one son, Gus Pinyerd who has taught her so much about learning.

Classroom Observer is here to serve the community in sharing the wonderful teaching programs in our local public schools, private schools, and homeschools. The column is provided to enrich the education of our children, youth, and families. Classroom Observer welcomes educational news, school news, pictures, and events by e-mailing her at donnapinyerd@ att.net.

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B4 April 17, 2019

OLLI at Auburn to host Dr. James Birdson April AMEA, OPS honor 24 for ‘Wisdom Wednesdays’ lecture series four area seniors Special to the Opelika Observer The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Auburn University (OLLI at Auburn) will host its lecture series Wisdom Wednesdays April 10 from 2:30 to 4 p.m. at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art located at 901 S. College St. in Auburn.

OLLI members, guests and friends are all invited to learn more about OLLI at Auburn course offerings, social engagements and initiatives.

The guest speaker will be James Bird-

song.

Birdsong will present Auburn Aviation: Flying Into the Future. A career Air Force officer, Birdsong served as a command C-130 pilot, headquarters staff officer, academic instructor, and squadron operations officer. He has held various positions in finance, operations, safety, systems acquisition, and strategic planning, and has extensive international aviation experience.

Birdsong is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, EmbryRiddle Aeronautical

University, and Auburn University and has served in higher education for more than 10 years.

As program coordinator, Birdsong is responsible for all facets of Auburn Aviation, to include teaching, research, and outreach. He is Auburn’s principal investigator for the FAA’s Technical Training and Human Performance Center of Excellence (TTHP COE), and serves as a member of the TTHP COE executive leadership committee.

OLLI at Auburn is a program of the Of-

fice of the Vice President for University Outreach at Auburn University. OLLI administrative offices and select classes are located at the historic Sunny Slope property located at 1031 S. College St. in Auburn.

For more information regarding this event or if you would like to assist the organization as a volunteer faculty member, volunteer service assistant, or sponsor, contact the OLLI Director at 334-8443105, sending email to olli@auburn.edu, or visiting www.olliatauburn.org.

Unity Stampede scheduled for April 27 Special to the Opelika Observer Opelika’s Southern Union State Community College campus and the Envision Foundation are teaming up to organize this year’s “Unity Stampede 5K” at the Opelika Sportsplex on April 27, beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Proceeds will be used to fund Character Education through the Community Foundation of East Alabama, provide scholarships for students at SUSCC, and promote wellness and healthy lifestyles in the community.

The following is a breakdown of races and walks that will be ongoing during the event.

Registration is available through www. runsignup.com and

closes April 24 at midnight.

1 Mile Wheel (Free): Closed loop starts and ends on a paved one-mile track at the Opelika Sportsplex.

1 Mile Fun Run/ Walk/Wheel ($18): Closed loop starts and ends on paved one-mile track at Sportsplex. Because it is a stampede, participants are encouraged to wear unique running outfits.

5K Run/Walk ($30): The race will begin at the Opelika Sportsplex, go to Joe’s Grocery (along newly built road), loop back to the Sportsplex (2.1 miles) and then complete the onemile paved path at the Sportsplex. Because it is a stampede, participants are encouraged to wear unique running outfits.

Photo special to the Opelika Observer There will be live music before and after the races, as well as food vendors. Guests are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs to partake in the festivities. No alcohol is allowed.

Door prizes will be given away through-

out the night, but individuals must be present to win.

For more information, call event organizer Dr. Amy Rogers at 334-745-6437, ext.

5530. The Sportsplex is located at 1001 Andrews Road in Opelika.

with college scholarships Special to the Opelika Observer

Four high school seniors from Opelika will enroll in a four-year college/ university, community college and/or vocational school in Alabama this year with help from the Alabama Municipal Electric Authority (AMEA) and Opelika Power Services (OPS) through the 2019 AMEA Scholarship Program.

Area winners are OPS customers.

Caroline Richie Hawkins, Thomas Whittaker Krehling, and Jacob Hamilton Walker, Opelika High School students, along with Katherine Ann Dudley of Lee-Scott Academy, will each receive a $2,500 scholarship. AMEA received 206 scholarship applications in the 2019 program.

“We are excited to be a part of the development and growth of our local students. They are clearly making a difference in the community and have a bright future ahead,” said OPS Director Derek Lee. To be eligible for the AMEA scholarships, a student’s family must receive electric service from OPS, an AMEA member city elec-

tric utility, and the student must attend an Alabama college/ university or vocational school.

“We take our role as a good corporate citizen seriously,” said AMEA President and CEO Fred D. Clark, Jr. “That’s why we, along with our Members, support education initiatives, like the AMEA Scholarship Program, that contribute to making our state economically competitive.

We congratulate this year’s scholarship winners.”

OPS has a rich history of providing exceptional power to the residents of Opelika. Combined with this, OPS also offers residents in Opelika the fastest video, voice and data around with its 100 percent fiber network.

AMEA, a joint action agency formed in 1981, is the wholesale power provider for 11 public power utilities in Alabama, which serve approximately 350,000 customers in the cities of Alexander City, Dothan, Fairhope, Foley, LaFayette, Lanett, Luverne, Opelika, Piedmont, Sylacauga and Tuskegee.

For more information about OPS and its services, visit www.opelikapower. com.

Auburn Fencing Club to offer free classes April 20,23

By Tyler Roush For the Opelika Observer The Auburn Fencing Club is expanding its options for free classes.

Ryan Delap and Tatiana Gitchevich, both as coaches at the club, will be hosting a free youth fencing session on April 20 at 1 p.m. A separate, allages adult class will be held on April 23 at 8 p.m., the club’s first free day for adult participants.

Busby,

from B1

the Test of Adult Basic Education (TABE) which each person is required to complete before entering classes” and is open “to all Alabama adults age 18

The youth class is restricted to children ages four to seven, with both services providing refreshments and snacks during “casual open fencing” sessions.

Delap, who is also the current president for the Alabama division of USA Fencing, said that the free sessions will start by introducing participants on how to properly move before learning how the game works. Following an introduction to fenc-

Delap added that those who participate in the free adult session are welcome to join the club’s regularly scheduled training sessions.

Youth classes are held on Tuesdays from 4 to 5 p.m., beginner, intermediate and advanced classes are held on Monday, Photo by Robert Noles/Opelika Observer Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 6 to 8 ing, participants will said that he expects p.m. while adult classbe free to compete the adult sessions to es run on Tuesday and against one another. be just as rewarding.

Thursday from 8 to Though the club “They’re great,” 9:30 p.m. has hosted free youth Delap said. “They’re The club is located classes before, Delap really fun.”

at 229 S. 8th St. in downtown Opelika.

Free classes will be a good introduction to what the club’s paid courses have to offer, Delap said.

“It’ll be a fun way for, one, for people to have a little bit more education about what our sport is,” Delap said. “Two, I think a lot of people will really enjoy it to the point where they’ll join our adult group.”

Like and follow the club’s social media pages for updates.

and older; and, to 16 or 17-year-old individuals who have the proper documentation of withdrawal from their public school, private school, church or home schools.”

Following is a full list of courses offered by the program: Business management

CDL certification Child development CNA First aid/CPR Machine shop technology Norstar Digital Literacy Certification (also offered to the general public) Office management ServSafe

with program members for additional information on what services they offer.

“A lot of people often say, ‘oh adult education.

What is it that ya’ll do?’

Once they find that out, they often realize how important that information is because these are free services avail-

able to our community for people who want to further their education,” Busby said.

For more information, call 334-749-8480 or email Busby at jbusby@ suscc.edu. Their office is located in Technical Building 1 on the Opelika campus at 1701 Lafayette Parkway.

WorkKeys.

Busby said the public is invited to attend an open house on April 30 from 4 to 6 p.m at the Student Union Building on the Opelika campus.

Refreshments will be provided and door prizes given away throughout the event, and individuals will be able to meet

pelika O Observer

B5 April 17, 2019

O.G.R.E. to compete at FIRST national robotics competition in Houston this week

By Tyler Roush For the Opelika Observer It was supposed to happen last year.

After winning at the Rocket City Regionals in Huntsville in March, Opelika High School’s robotics team is headed to Houston, Texas to compete in the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Championship. The event is recognized as the world championship for robotics competitions.

FIRST runs an annual four-day robotics championship in April.

This year’s competition will be held April 17 to 20 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.

Brenda Howell, Opelika’s Greatest Robotics Engineers’ (OGRE) advisor and teacherl, has worked with the 14-person team throughout its two years to help the students with logistics.

After failing to advance from regionals in the team’s first

year with their robot “Fiona,” Howell will now watch her students on the biggest stage with their robot “Lord Farquaad.”

“We’re really excited,” Howell said.

Opelika’s team is currently sponsored by NASA, United Technologies, AuburnBank and Gordian Strategies among others.

Each match is comprised of two alliances, red and blue, that are made of three teams.

Every team builds a robot that must work and cooperate to achieve an objective, with points scored in several categories in a two-and-ahalf minute round.

Roles on the team include drivers, technicians and coaches, with each student providing help for the robot’s engineering and strategy during a match.

The difference for Opelika’s team, Howell said, is its reliance on students to troubleshoot and problem-solve.

“You go to these competitions and you walk around in the pits, and many of the teams

as you walk through, old teams that have been doing this for a long time, teams that have the top eight robots or whatever, many of them you’re going to see adults in the pits with them, helping them,” Howell said.

“You walk by our pit, you don’t see adults there.”

With a new theme and competition released every year on the first weekend in January, each robotics team works to build a machine that will work to achieve that competition’s objectives. In accordance with those objectives, however, a robot must also suit the weaknesses and strengths of the other teams.

This season is spacethemed, “Deep Space,” and requires robots to place hatch panels and discs onto a makeshift rocket ship, which robots also feed balls into. Though each machine could work to achieve certain tasks, others can be used to play defense to prevent opposing teams from

Photo special to the Opelika Observer scoring more points.

Separate from the “super intense” twoand-a-half minute matches, Howell said that the team has come together as a family.

“It’s kids,” Howell said. “These are my kids, my school kids.

We get aggravated with each other. We have great times together, we travel together and we kind of vacation together, I guess you could kind of say.

They’re my kids, and I’m as proud as I can be

Sports,

from B1

1-1. Jemarcus Kirk scored the goal for Opelika.

TENNIS The Opelika tennis teams had a tough time with Pell City, winning one match. Beardon was the only winner for the Bulldogs. Oxford swept the boys 9-0 while beating the girls 7-2.

Gagiano and Long won single matches.

On Wednesday, the boys and girls soccer teams will host Columbus at the W. James Samford Soccer Complex and the softball team will play at Beulah on Wednesday and participate in the Beauregard Invite on Friday and Saturday.

D. Mark Mitchell is sports director for iHeart Media, Alabama Dixie Boys State Director and vice president of the A-O Sports Council.

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of them.”

Competing one time in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Howell and the team were minutes from the Atlantic Ocean. When members of the team told Howell and Mandi Edwards, OGRE’s second advisor, that they had never seen the beach or the ocean, they made sure to stop.

Though they had to get to the competition, the team parked, rushed onto the beach, took photos and stood and

stared for a minute, and then packed back into the bus.

For freshman Kyler Mitchell, the team and its long hours spent together build to grow each member.

“It’s pretty amazing,” Mitchell said. “For me, this is like an experience of a lifetime. If I never did robotics, I probably wouldn’t be the person that I am today.”

Just two years into competing, now it was meant to happen.

Girl Scouts summer camp offers young girls chance for fun, learning in safe environment Special to the Opelika Observer

For more than 100 years, camping has been a cornerstone of what Girl Scouts do.

At either one of Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama's (GSSA) summer resident camps, she'll feel inspired to take the lead in an allgirl safe space where she's free to explore, learn, and have fun without pressure.

At camp, she'll learn self-reliance, leadership, and perseverance all while having exciting girl-led adventures.

Both Scoutshire Woods (Citronelle) and Kamp Kiwanis (Eclectic) are open to any girl, regardless of previous Girl Scout involvement.

Whether it’s her first time at camp or her fifth, GSSA says there’s something new for her to discover in girl-led activities through which the Girl Scout experience truly comes to life.

GSSA knows sending your daughter to camp is a big decision—especially when it’s her first time away from home. Overnight camp starts as young as second and

third grades, giving them a way for them to explore their independence in a safe and supervised environment.

At Girl Scout camp, your daughter will learn to problem solve, work with girls her age and return home excited to share the many new skills she learned.

"Out of home and into the camp world, each girl is equal to those around her,” said Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama CEO Karlyn Edmonds.

"As she sits around the campfire, rides a horse, tries zip-lining, or even sails for the first time, something in her changes—she is growing and gaining a sense of pride by facing fears, learning new skills, and making friends. We guarantee she'll come home with a spark in her. We call it the camp glow."

Also, this year GSSA has added a water whoosh mat, ascent slide and power tower

by Rave Sports to Kamp Kiwanis and a brand new hatchet throwing range to Scoutshire Woods!

For more information, visit girlscoutssa. org/camp.

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B6 April 17, 2019

Opelika softball recognizes seniors last week

Photos by Robert Noles/Opelika Observer

By Beth Pinyerd For the Opelika Observer One of the special centers I enjoy children rotating through in a classroom is the art center, where a fresh white sheet of paper stretched out on an easel or table is waiting to be painted or drawn on by the hand of a child. The blank easel page waits for the artist’s touch. This is the way it is with our lives. Sure, we may have certain gifts, talents, or services that we use in serving the kingdom, but we must realize that

Special to the Opelika Observer Opelika High School softball honored its four seniors last week prior to their game against Valley, which they won 9-3. Pictured from left to right: Chelsea Carr, Coach Todd Kyser, Kaylan Gunn, Coach Tina Deese, Chloe Clark, Coach Charles Gagliano and Makai Gagliano. As of press time, the girls are 12-13 overall on the season.

Easel of our life

our blessings, talents, gifts, and motivation are painted as our life by the grace of our Heavenly Father.

How can an empty easel page talk or a blank blackboard mean anything unless it’s been painted or written on? How can our lives speak unless it has been touched by the hand of our Heavenly Father?

This is only realized by having a relationship with the Son of the Father, Jesus Christ. We must ask ourselves the question, not “what can I do for Him” but “what can I be for Him.” How do

we teach our children this truth? We can start by closely examining the life on earth of our Savior and how he was one with the Father in everything he spoke or did, and is doing.

From Christ’s birth in a manger on a bed of straw, as well as the tomb which was provided for him by Joseph of Arimathea, we witness the hand of the Father providing for his son. Christ realized the importance of being an empty vessel as we witness the many times he drew away from the crowd to commune with the Father in prayer.

We see God’s hand on his son’s life when in Luke 2:46-47 as a young 12-yearold Jesus was in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone was amazed.

Quickly, we see God’s hand on the canvas of his son’s life when Jesus responded to his parent’s concerns ”Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s House?” Being still and knowing that God was his father in the stillness, he was submitting to God who was painting on the canvas of his son’s life. Luke 2:52 - “And

Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men.”

As we see Jesus’ life being touched by the hand of his Heavenly Father, we see that our Savior waited upon his Heavenly Father to be anointed by the Holy Spirit in his ministry, miracles, teaching and saving our lives. Jesus never ran; He always walked as He trusted His Father every step of the way. As we paint on the canvas of children's’ lives in our families, community, and churches we must look at the life of Christ as our model in

guiding our children to the portrait that God intends. Realizing that God holds the palette, paint and brush in prayer, God’s word and living for him our own portrait will reflect the light and colors of his Love. This is the grace and the love of our creator as he made us to fellowship with him. Waiting, submitting, and obeying gives us joy, freedom, and more than that a portrait of who we are in Christ and what he intended us to be.

To all our readers, I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful Easter.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER “LOVE ONE ANOTHER, JUST AS I HAVE LOVED YOU” JOHN 13:34 68TH NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

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“This project was supported by Subgrant #16-VA-VS-076 awarded by the Law Enforcement / Traffic Safety Division of ADECA and the U.S. Department of Justice.” The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication/program/exhibition are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice or grant-making component.”

Thursday, May 2, 2019 12 noon Lee County Courthouse Square Rain site - 1st Baptist Church located at 8th St. in Opelika Broadcast live on Halleluiah 910AM NON DENOMINATIONAL PRAYER & PRAISE GATHERING

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pelika O Observer

B7 April 17, 2019

Opelika Trampoline and Tumbling Program ‘flips for a cure’ for cancer

Photos by Robert Noles/Opelika Observer

Opelika baseball ends season with sweep at hands of Russell County last week, fails to earn postseason bid Photos by Robert Noles/Opelika Observer

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B8 April 17, 2019

pelika O Observer

Lee County Special Olympics holds 50th annual track and field meet last week at Smiths Station High School

Photos by Robert Noles/Opelika Observer

Opelika, L ee County & A labama Politics Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Inside the Statehouse Smiths Station City Council honors A host of young, female lobbyists National Merit Scholarship finalist have taken over the Statehouse

A

s I observe the legislature, it occurs to me that I am getting older. A lot of the legislators and lobbyists I have known over the years have moved on.

Montgomery is no longer an “Old Boys Club.” A cursory look at a typical day at the Alabama Statehouse would surprise you. An increasing number of professional women are a major part of the lawmaking process.

There are a host of brilliant women under 40 who are at the forefront and yield a great deal of influence over the process of policy making in Alabama.

First on most lists is of course Katie Boyd Britt, who has recently been selected as head of the Business Council of Alabama. She is not only the first female to lead the organization, but by far the

By Steve Flowers youngest at 37. Britt is dynamic, fierce and talented. She will be an outstanding advocate for the business community in the state. She is the former student body president of the University of Alabama as well as a graduate of the University of Alabama Law School.

Mary Margaret Carroll was the first female to join the state’s oldest governmental relations firm, Fine, Geddie and Associates. She is a brilliant superstar. Carroll is from a prominent Ozark family and possesses a temperament professional demeanor

that depicts class, character and intelligence. She has a proven combination of analytical, problem solving, legal and communications skills. She is known for her quiet confidence and conscientious discernment.

Carroll manages a broad array of interests in tech, insurance, natural resources, energy and education.

Carroll and Britt have amazingly similar backgrounds. Both are daughters of the Wiregrass. Carroll is from Ozark and Britt is from Enterprise.

Both were student government presidents and were Chi Omegas at the University of Alabama.

Alison Hosp, who represents the Alabama Retail Association, has proven to be one of the most effective and professional governmental relaSee Flowers, page B11

By Morgan Bryce Editor National Merit Scholarship finalist Madison Brandt was honored with a proclamation recognizing her accomplishments during last Tuesday’s Smiths Station City Council meeting.

Prior to reading a proclamation in Brandt’s honor and presenting her with a challenge coin, Mayor Bubba Copeland spoke on how much the recognition means to the community. The city’s last National Merit finalist was Steve Elliott in 1990.

Photo by Morgan Bryce/Opelika Observer

“I was on the (Lee County) School Board for 13 years before I became a mayor. Every single year, we wished for a merit finalist,” Copeland said. “Once I was made aware of your progress and how well you did, I knew that we needed to recognize (Brandt). I want you to know how proud that I, the city council and city as a whole are of you for this accomplishment.”

“Some people that are great in the classroom do not get the recognition, but you are the quarterback for the brain and brawns.”

With plans to attend the University of Ala-

bama this fall, Brandt’s winnings include “full tuition for up to five years, four years of on-campus housing, $3,500 Merit stipend, one-time allowance of $2,000, National Study or Travel Abroad grant for $2,000 and $500 for books each year for four years,” according to the proclamation read by Copeland.

The council also approved a resolution for renewing a one-year contract with Premier Landscaping to assist in bimonthly roadside clean-ups across the city.

See Council, page B11

Attorney General Steve Marshall supports legislation to reform the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles Special to the Opelika Observer Alabama Attorney Gen. Steve Marshall announced his support of legislation to reform the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles. The legislation was proposed by

the Attorney General’s Office and is sponsored by Sen. Cam Ward and Rep. Connie Rowe.

“In January 2018, Jimmy O’Neal Spencer, a violent offender sentenced to life imprisonment, was released from prison

after being recklessly and wrongfully paroled by the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles,” Marshall said. “Months later, Spencer brutally murdered two women and a seven-year-old boy in their homes.

This tragic failure of

our justice system should have never happened—and cannot ever be allowed to happen again.

“Gov. Ivey and I have worked handin-hand to prepare a comprehensive proposal that prioritizes public safety

within Alabama’s parole system,” Marshall said. “Over the course of the last two months, we have had numerous conversations and have exchanged written correspondence with the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles

related to the Board’s proposed corrective action plan. We have determined that changes to the law are critical to ensuring public safety.”

“Under the reform legislation sponsored by Sen. Ward See Marshall, page B11

pelika O Observer

B10 April 17, 2019

Medicaid expansion must be part of the solution to Alabama’s prison woes

By Jim Carnes Special to the Opelika Observer

Overcrowding and understaffing are such glaring contributors to Alabama’s prison crisis that it might be tempting for state leaders to make them scapegoats for the whole problem.

That would be a mistake.

A challenge of historic proportions calls for a comprehensive response.

We must address the generational impacts of a corrections system warped by chronic poverty, inadequate educa-

tion and poor health. The solution will require both new revenue and broad policy reform. And one essential step is to extend health coverage to uninsured Alabama adults with low incomes.

Call it what you will: closing the coverage gap, a healthy Alabama solution or Medicaid expansion. But whatever the name, harnessing federal money to raise Alabama’s Medicaid eligibility limit – now the country’s most restrictive – would address the prison crisis in four ways: (1) Untreated mental

illnesses and substance use disorders helped bring us to this point, and Medicaid expansion tackles these challenges head-on. Too often, serious problems left unaddressed in the outside world lead to prison and only worsen there. A proposed increase of $40 million for corrections in 2020 falls far short of addressing the neglect of prison mental health needs that an ongoing federal lawsuit seeks to remedy.

On the outside, Alabama uses scarce General Fund dollars to support local mental health and substance use

treatment services for people who are ineligible for Medicaid. But for people who gained coverage under Medicaid expansion, the state would only have to spend a dime on the dollar for those same services. That would free up nearly $33 million a year (slightly less in year one) to expand such programs statewide, according to a recent study

by Manatt.

(1) Any reasonable response to the U.S. Department of Justice’s ultimatum will mean reducing the current prison population, which is at 162 percent of designed

Financing Available Now serving Tallapoosa County

capacity. Nonviolent drug offenders are the most likely candidates for release. Medicaid expansion would support a robust array of new community-based services to treat mental illnesses or substance use disorders that cause many offenders to return to prison.

(2) A widespread challenge for newly released prisoners is lack of affordable health coverage, which Medicaid expansion can provide.

The setbacks that result from untreated asthma, hypertension or diabetes make it harder to find and keep a job. And the

jobs that many former prisoners get are unlikely to offer insurance. Medicaid coverage would help more people make successful transitions to life after prison. It also would cut recidivism and reduce reliance on uncompensated health care.

(3) The permanent 90 percent federal funding for Medicaid expansion would slash state costs for hospitalizing prisoners. Today, Alabama spends nearly $15 million a year to pay for prisoner hospitalizations that occur outside of prisons. Covering those same hospitalizations under Medicaid would save corrections nearly $12 million a year.

These savings could be redirected to staffing and other critical needs.

(4) On the generational scale, the best antidote to incarceration is education, and Medicaid expansion would stimulate major new funding for schools. The first four years of federal matching funds for expansion would generate $11.4 billion in new economic See Carnes, page B11

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pelika O Observer

B11 April 17, 2019

Attorney Gen. Steve Marshall files brief responding to former Speaker Mike Hubbard’s appeal of his 11 felony ethics convictions Special to the Opelika Observer Attorney Gen. Steve Marshall filed a brief with the Alabama Supreme Court last week, responding to former House Speaker Mike Hubbard’s appeal of his 11 felony ethics convictions. Marshall argued the legal questions in this case are straightforward, and the evidence is plainly sufficient to support each of Mike Hubbard’s 11 convictions.

“Alabama’s Ethics Law helps prohibit conflicts of interest and promote Alabamians’ confidence in the integrity of their government,” Marshall said. “As

we explained in our brief, Mike Hubbard repeatedly violated those laws, and his convictions should be affirmed.”

The state’s brief takes no issue with Hubbard’s contention that, in 2010, he helped enact “aggressive but sorely needed” ethics reforms. And the state agrees with Hubbard that the result was an ethics law that was “among the toughest in the nation.”

The state also agrees with Hubbard’s statement that the Alabama Supreme Court “must apply” that law “as the Legislature wrote it,” not as Hubbard now wishes he had.

But the state’s brief disagrees with Hubbard’s

Marshall “unnatural” reading of the ethics law, which asks the Supreme Court to write broad new exceptions into the law that the Legislature never put there. The brief also disputes Hubbard’s contention that Alabama’s “strongest-in-the-nation” ethics law allows legislators to receive hundreds of thousands of dollars for part-time “work” from

people and businesses who are paying the legislators precisely because of their public office.

The state’s brief also takes on Hubbard’s assertion that there was “no evidence” he was using his public office for private gain. The brief recounts how, shortly after receiving his 10th $10,000 check from a “client,” Hubbard told his chief of staff that “he had 100,000 reasons” to use his time and office for that client. The brief also notes how, after Hubbard delivered a legislative victory for another client, the client proclaimed him its greatest legislative “champion.” And the state quotes extensively

from Hubbard’s emails, including one in which he stated that the business community owed him for all the “sacrifices [he] made personally and professionally to finally get Alabama a pro-business legislature,” and found it “amazing, and quite disappointing,” that despite his “sacrifices,” he was not capitalizing as handsomely on his office as he had hoped.

Finally, the state’s brief sums up the case, “Hubbard asserts that he was just trying to ‘make a living as other citizens do.’

But private citizens cannot earn a living through jobs that involve minimal work and training over

scotch. They cannot collect hundreds of thousands of dollars for occasionally calling a legislator. They cannot email lobbyists and expect riches. In short, private citizens cannot use a ‘public office … for private gain.’ Ala. Code §3625-2(a)(3). And under the Ethics Law, Hubbard could not either. Hubbard broke the law and betrayed the public trust.

His convictions should be affirmed.”

Hubbard will now be given 14 days to file a reply brief, and the Alabama Supreme Court will determine whether to schedule oral argument or decide the case based solely on the briefs.

Sen. Doug Jones speaks on lack of action on disaster aid for state Special to the Opelika Observer Sen. Doug Jones recently expressed deep disappointment in the Senate’s failure to deliver critical disaster aid to Alabama and other states to assist in recovery efforts for some of the natural disasters that occurred in 2018 and 2019. A compromise remains out of reach due to disagreements about the level of funding to be included for Puerto Rico.

“I am deeply disap-

Flowers,

from B9

tions spokespersons for several years.

Maci Martin Walker is an outstanding contract lobbyist with the Christie Group. She has worked on dozens of policy measures over the years for major corporate clients.

Katherine Green Robertson is the chief legislative liaison for the attorney general’s office.

She is a native of Selma and a graduate of Auburn University and the University of Alabama School of Law. Katherine previously worked for Sen. Jeff Sessions as counselor during his tenure on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Robertson was one of the few former staffers called back to Washington to advise Sessions during his confirmation process as U.S. attorney general.

First on many lists is Neah Mitchell Scott, who represents the revered Retirement Systems of Alabama. Scott is a brilliant attorney who posses excellent interpersonal skills that holds her in good stead representing the 800-pound gorilla that is the RSA before the state

pointed that a political tug-of-war has once again delayed much-needed disaster aid to Alabamians and others throughout the country. For months, I have worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to find a solution and I have personally reached out to the president to discuss the urgent need for aid.

Unfortunately, people on both sides of the aisle are blaming each other and refusing to negotiate in good faith — all while legislature. She is a Montgomery native and a graduate of Auburn University and the University of Alabama Law School.

Holly Caraway very aptly represents the Department of Mental Health. Holly is a native of Trussville and earned a BA, JD, and MBA from the University of Alabama. She is admired because she is a passionate advocate for causes in which she believes.

Ashley McLain is an extremely talented and confident lobbyist for the Alabama Education Association.

Brittany Bryan represents the State Personnel Board. She is one of the most experienced agency liaisons on this impressive group of female policy makers.

Molly Cagle, who represented Manufacture Alabama, is a star on the rise.

She was stolen away

by Katie Britt at the BCA. Cagle is a former Auburn University Homecoming Queen.

Christian Becraft, who represents Auburn University, is another superstar.

Sally Corley, who represents the State Employees is one of the most well-liked young professionals in Montgomery.

“Unfortunately, people on both sides of the aisle are blaming each other and refusing to negotiate in good faith — all while farmers and others who were devastated by natural disasters must continue to wait, wondering each day if they’re going to be able to put a crop in the ground this year or to rebuild their homes and businesses.” – Senator Jones farmers and others who were devastated by natural disasters must continue to wait, wondering each day if they’re going to be able to put a crop in the ground this year or to rebuild their homes and businesses.

Playing politics when people lives and livelihoods are at stake just

All of the outstanding young governmental affairs folks in Montgomery are not all female.

There are some bright and brilliant young male lobbyists, also. Two of the brightest are married to females just mentioned. Niko Corley, who represents the Medical Association of Alabama, is married to Sally.

R.B. Walker, who represents Alabama Power, is married to Maci Walker.

David Cole, who has been an energetic stalwart advocate for ALFA, has gone to the BCA to work with Katie Britt. He was a key player in the recent passage of the infrastructure passage.

The University of Alabama has brought on young Charlie Taylor. He is smart and has a strong family history in Alabama politics.

Young William Filmore, the son of a prominent Wiregrass judge, is outstanding as the governor’s legislative liaison.

See you next week.

Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist.

His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. He served 16 years in the state legislature. Steve may be reached at www.steveflowers.us.

reaffirms Washington’s reputation for dysfunction and partisanship. We have to do better and that will require both sides to come together and stop pointing fingers,” Jones said, who plans to return to visit Lee County in the coming weeks said.

Last week, Jones was

the only member of the Senate to support both disaster relief bills that were brought to a vote.

After both bills failed, he personally reached out to the president to discuss the need for a disaster aid compromise and urged him to make a deal that could pass Congress.

In February, Jones joined with several of his Republican colleagues to propose a bipartisan $13.6 billion disaster relief package, which would provide aid to Lee County as a result of the March 3rd tornadoes, as well as farmers in the Wiregrass whose crops were devastated by Hurricane Michael.

Jones visited both areas following these disasters and has committed to fighting for aid to help these impacted communities recover.

Council,

this is a no-brainer with them,” Copeland said.

In other business, the council: - approved an annexation petition for residents Jose and Sarah Silva, whose property will go from unzoned to R-1 residential.

The Smiths Station City Council meets on the second and fourth

Tuesday of each month, with a work session beginning at 5:30 p.m.

EST and regular meeting at 6 p.m. Their meetings are held within the council chamber of the Smiths Station Government Center, which is located at 2336 Lee Road 430. For more information, call 334297-8771.

retain its independent judicial function of granting or denying parole and issuing pardons. The legislation codifies the board’s existing policies on parole consideration dates. The bill also strengthens the board’s duty to provide notice to victims. These changes are designed to increase accountability, set clear parameters, and make certain that no prisoner who is a threat to public safety can slip through the cracks.

“I want to thank

Sen. Cam Ward and Rep. Connie Rowe for working closely with my office to draft and steer this vital reform legislation,” Marshall added. “Alabama crime victims and their families have let it be known that accountability must be restored to the Pardons and Paroles Board in order to protect the public. This legislation will help accomplish this goal and I look forward to its swift passage this session.”

This new money would flow to the Education Trust Fund to support public schools.

The 36 states that have accepted Medicaid expansion are case studies in how a single policy decision can strengthen the health care system, make the population healthier and shore up state budgets. Alabama’s legacy of failure on all three counts is a major

contributor to the prison crisis. And Medicaid expansion is an essential part of the solution.

Jim Carnes is policy director of Alabama Arise, a nonprofit, nonpartisan coalition of congregations, organizations and individuals promoting public policies to improve the lives of low-income Alabamians. Email: jim@alarise. org.

from B9

“Twice a month, this company goes and takes care of the debris found on roadsides ... we don’t have prisoners in Smiths Station that we can use and we’re all kind of busy to do it. Renewing

Marshall,

from B9

and Rep. Rowe, the process by which the governor appoints board members would be made more in line with the governor’s standing appointment authority for other boards, with Senate confirmation.

The legislation creates the position of ‘Director of Pardons and Paroles’ who would serve as the agency head, while the board would

Carnes,

from B10 activity, according to a study by Dr. David Becker, a health economist at the UAB School of Public Health. As a result, state tax revenues would increase by $446 million, and local revenues by $270 million.

pelika Observer O

B12 April 17, 2019

Woods appointed to ATRIP committee by Gov. Kay Ivey Special to the Opelika Observer District 38 Rep. Debbie Wood was recently appointed by Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey to become a member of the ATRIP-II Program committee, which will address statewide infrastructure needs includ-

ing bridges and roads.

“It’s going to be a committee that will have to work really hard because there are 67 counties and all of them will have the availability to apply for grant funds. Their projects will have to be vetted and proved to be a worthy project,”

Wood said. “I’d like to express my gratitude to the governor for placing her faith in me to be on this committee. I’m extremly humbled by this gesture.”

Wood added that she expects the committee’s first meeting to take place in the coming weeks.

Alabama Forest Owner Association’s 38th annual meeting to be held April 26 and 27 in Atmore Special to the Opelika Observer Forestry is a big business in Alabama – a business that begins when more than 100,000 private landowners invest their time and their money in the nurturing and protection of trees on millions of forested acres.

Landowners are invited to learn more about forest management at the 38th Annual Meeting of the Alabama Forest Owners’ Association. The meeting will be headquartered at the Wind Creek Casino & Hotel in Atmore, Alabama on April 26 and 27.

On Saturday, guests will hear from experts on the following: WORKING ALONE IN THE WOODS In the news last week,

a hiker found himself lost in an area of the Bankhead National Forest where cell coverage is non-existent.

Had the hiker carried a small, inexpensive satellite device, he would have been able to send an SOS to family or friends, and would not have spent several days lost in the woods.

OUT-OF-CONTROL FIRE DISTRICT PROPERTY TAXES Fire District Dues in some parts of the state have been assessed on forestland to the tune of more than $8 per acre per year.

SOUTHERN PINE BEETLE ALERT SYSTEM The Alabama Forestry Commission has begun making the locations of newly discovered pine beetle infestations publicly available.

RECREATIONAL

POND MANAGEMENT Many landowners have ponds on their land and might enjoy them more if they understood a few principles of pond management.

TIMBER MARKET OUTLOOK Will markets improve for the wood we grow?

Should we plant pines or hardwoods?

SELLING TIMBER SUCCESSFULLY After spending years growing their trees, many landowners make the mistake of selling them to the first person who knocks on their door. Making a successful timber sale is much more fun when landowners employ the help of consulting foresters.

For more information or to register, call 205624-2225 or visit www. afoa.org.

LOCAL CLASSIFIEDS Multi-Family Yard Sale!

Friday, April 26, Saturday, April 27 from 7a.m. to 4 p.m. CST 206 Etowah Ave. in Opelika Furniture, Electronics, Clothes, Costumes, Home Decor... too many things to list!

Spread the word!

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES Golden State Foods is one of the largest diversified suppliers to the Quick Service Restaurant industry segment and retailers. The company is seeking qualified applicants for hourly positions at its new state-of-the-art meat processing facility in Opelika, Alabama.

Pay range: $13-14.50 per hour, depending upon posi-

tion.

The following positions are currently available.

• Patty Packing • Block Person To Apply: For more information and to apply for these positions, visit:www.goldenstatefoods.com/careers/ Benefits: Golden State Foods offers a competitive benefits package including: • Medical & Pre-

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pelika Observer O

B13 April 17, 2019

LEGALS IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION PETITION OF EVAN FRAZIER CASE NO.: 2019-A-133 PUBLICATION NOTICE TO: BROCK WALKER, address unknown. Please take notice that a petition for adoption was filed in the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama by Evan Frazier on March 18, 2019, for the adoption of A.E.S. born on March 9, 2017 in Opelika, Alabama to Carleigh Cileste Simpson.

A hearing has been set for the 25th day of June, 2019 at 10 o’clock am Central time in the Probate Court, Lee County Courthouse, 215 South 9th Street, Opelika, AL 36801.

Should you intend to contest this adoption you must file a written response with the attorney for the petitioner, Hon. Brett A. Smith, of Huff Smith Law, LLC, 369 S College Street, Auburn, AL 36830 and with the Clerk of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, as soon as possible but no later than thirty (30) days from the last day this notice is published, or appear on the date of the hearing as set above to contest said Petition, Dated on this the 19th day of March, 2019.

HON. BILL ENGLISH JUDGE OF PROBATE LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Legal Run 3/27, 4/3, 4/10, 4/17/19

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING OPELIKA CITY COUNCIL May 7, 2019 7:00 P.M. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN in accordance with §23-4-2, Code of Alabama, 1975, that the City Council of the City of Opelika will conduct a Public Hearing during the regularly scheduled City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Opelika City Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 204 S. 7th Street, Opelika, Lee County, Alabama, to receive the benefit of public input concerning a proposal to vacate a portion of the southwesterly right-of-way of West Point Parkway (formerly U.S. Highway 29) located at the corner of West Point Parkway and Sportsplex Parkway. All persons interested in the proposed vacation are invited to appear at the public hearing and express their views. Written statements or objections may be submitted to the City Clerk prior to the time of the hearing.

The portion of the right-of-way of West Point Parkway (formerly U.S. Highway 29) proposed to be vacated are more particularly described as follows: A tract or parcel of land containing 0.18 acres located in Section 34, Township 20 North, Range 27 East, Lee County, Alabama, and being more particularly described as follows: Commence at the southwest corner of Section 33, Township 20 North, Range 27 East; thence N83°23’32”E 5950.38 feet to a point on an old highway right-of-way limit, the point of beginning; thence leaving said right-of-way limit N33°02'34”E 74.48 feet to the southwest right-of-way limit of Sportsplex Road; thence along said southwest right-of-way limit S56°57’26”E 23.15 feet; thence continue along said southwest right-of-way limit S13°11’19”E 79.37 feet to the northwest rightof-way limit of West Point Parkway; thence along said northwest right-of-way limit S33°00’10”W 100.00 feet to point on old highway right-of-way limit; thence along said old highway right-ofway limit N11°59’50”W 113.81 feet to the point of beginning.

A copy of the Petition to Vacate and the proposed resolution approving the vacation will be available upon request at the office of the City Clerk, 2 nd Floor of City Hall, 204 South 7th Street, Opelika, Alabama.

Please contact Lisa McLeod, the City’s ADA Coordinator, at 334-705-5131 at least two (2) working days prior to the meeting if you require special accommodations due to a disability.

DATED this the 3rd day of April, 2019. /s/ R. G. Shuman ROBERT G. SHUMAN, CITY CLERK Legal Run 4/3, 4/10, 4/17 & 4/24.

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING OPELIKA CITY COUNCIL May 7, 2019 7:00 P.M. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN in accordance with §23-4-2, Code of Alabama, 1975, that the City Council of the City of Opelika will conduct a Public Hearing during the regularly scheduled City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, begin-

ning at 7:00 p.m. in the Opelika City Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 204 S. 7th Street, Opelika, Lee County, Alabama, to receive the benefit of public input concerning a proposal to vacate a portion of the southwesterly right-of-way of Sportsplex Parkway and a portion of the southwesterly right-ofway of West Point Parkway (formerly U.S. Highway 29). All persons interested in the proposed vacation are invited to appear at the public hearing and express their views. Written statements or objections may be submitted to the City Clerk prior to the time of the hearing.

The portions of the rights-ofway of Sportsplex Parkway and West Point Parkway (formerly U.S. Highway 29) proposed to be vacated are more particularly described as follows: A tract or parcel of land containing 0.20 acres located in Section 34, Township 20 North, Range 27 East, Lee County, Alabama, and being more particularly described as follows: Commence at the southwest corner of Section 33, Township 20 North, Range 27 East; thence N83°23’32”E 5950.38 feet to a point on an old highway right-of-way limit, the point of beginning; thence along said old highway right-of-way limit N11°59’50”W 27.61 feet; thence continue along said old highway right-of-way limit N56°59’50”W 93.03 feet; thence continue along said old highway right-of-way limit N32°54’33”E 77.04 feet to the southwest right-of-way limit of Sportsplex Road; thence along said southwest right-of-way limit S56°57’26”E 112.74 feet; thence continue along said southwest right-of-way limit S33°02’34”W 20.00 feet; thence leaving said right-of-way limit S33°02’34”W 74.48 feet to the point of beginning.

A copy of the Petition to Vacate and the proposed resolution approving the vacation will be available upon request at the office of the City Clerk, 2 nd Floor of City Hall, 204 South 7th Street, Opelika, Alabama.

Please contact Lisa McLeod, the City’s ADA Coordinator, at 334705-5131 at least two (2) working days prior to the meeting if you require special accommodations due to a disability.

DATED this the 3rd day of April, 2019. /s/ R. G. Shuman ROBERT G. SHUMAN, CITY CLERK Legal Run 4/3, 4/10, 4/17 & 4/24.

CIRCUIT COURT OF LEE COUNTY, AL FAMILY DIVISION: JUVENILE J.R.A. (DOB: 04/21/2004) JU-2017-194.02 1.C.A. (DOB: 06/10/2005) JU-2017-195.02 NOTICE OF PETITION & SERVICE BY PUBLICATION NOTICE TO: CLINTON RAY ANGLIN and BETTY MARIE BLACK, parents of J.R.A. and I.C.A. both born at Spalding Regional Medical Center in Griffin, GA. The legal custody of J.R.A. and I.C.A. was vested with Lee County DHR on 3/26/2018. Clinton Ray Anglin and Betty Marie Black must answer the Petition to Terminate his parental rights within fourteen (14) days from the last date of Publication of this notice with the Clerk of the Court located at 2311 Gateway Dr. Opelika, AL 36801 or thereafter, a final judgment may be rendered in Case JU-2017-194.02/195.02 terminating their parental rights and placing said children for adoption.

Mary Roberson, CIRCUIT CLERK Hon. Margaret A. Mayfield Attorney for Lee County DHR P.O. Box 809, Opelika, AL 36803 (334)745-0333 Legal Run 4/3, 4/10, 4/17 and 4/24

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING OPELIKA CITY COUNCIL May 7, 2019 7:00 P.M. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN in accordance with §23-4-2, Code of Alabama, 1975, that the City Council of the City of Opelika will conduct a Public Hearing during the regularly scheduled City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 7, 2019, beginning at 7:00 p.m. in the Opelika City Council Chambers of the Municipal Building, 204 S. 7 th Street, Opelika, Lee County, Alabama, to receive the benefit of public input concerning a proposal to vacate a portion of the northwesterly right-of-way of Anderson Road and a portion of the northwesterly right-ofway of Sportsplex Parkway. All persons interested in the proposed vacation are invited to appear at the public hearing and express their views. Written statements or objections may be submitted to

the City Clerk prior to the time of the hearing.

The portions of the rights-of-way of Anderson Road and Sportsplex Parkway proposed to be vacated are more particularly described as follows: A tract or parcel of land containing 0.56 acres located in Section 34, Township 20 North, Range 27 East, Lee County, Alabama, and being more particularly described as follows: Commence at the southwest corner of Section 33, Township 20 North, Range 27 East; thence N81°16’14”E 5991.60 feet to a point on an old highway right-ofway limit, the point of beginning; thence along said old highway right-way-limit N32°54’33”E 104.55 feet; thence continue along said old highway rightway-limit S57°23’58”E 112.20 feet; thence continue along said old highway right-way-limit N77°36’02”E 141.42 feet to a point on the northwest right-ofway limit of Anderson Road; thence along said northwest right-of-way limit S33°55’21”W 136.02 feet to the northeast right-of-way limit of Sportsplex Road; thence along said northeast right-of-way limit S79°09’19”W 101.25 feet; thence continue along said northeast right-of-way limit N56°57’26”W 136.12 feet to the point of beginning.

A copy of the Petition to Vacate and the proposed resolution approving the vacation will be available upon request at the office of the City Clerk, 2nd Floor of City Hall, 204 South 7th Street, Opelika, Alabama.

Please contact Lisa McLeod, the City’s ADA Coordinator, at 334705-5131 at least two (2) working days prior to the meeting if you require special accommodations due to a disability.

DATED this the 3rd day of April, 2019. /s/ R. G. Shuman ROBERT G. SHUMAN, CITY CLERK Legal Run 4/3, 4/10, 4/17 and 4/24/19

IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF SHIRBIE LOVVORN LINDSAY, deceased Case No.: 2013-B-079 NOTICE OF HEARINGS Pursuant to the Order of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, a hearing will be held on the Petition for Appointment as Successor Personal Representative filed by Al Grizzard, seeking to be named as Successor Personal Representative of the Estate of Shirbie Louvorn Lindsay, deceased, as well as a Petition for Final Settlement of Estate of Shirbie Lovvorn Lindsay, deceased.

Notice is hereby given that all persons claiming to be an heir and/or devisee of the Estate Shirbie Lovvorn Lindsay, deceased, shall appear at the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, on June 3, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. CDT. Respectfully submitted this 27th day of March 2019.

Hon. Bill English Judge of Probate, Lee County, Alabama Legal Run 4/3, 4/10, 4/17

IN THE PROBATE COURT FOR LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE FOR RAYMOND ROBINSON JR., deceased. Case No.:2019-A-142 NOTICE TO CREDITORS Take Notice that LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION of said deceased having been granted to Benjamin H. Parr on the 26th day of March, 2019 by the Honorable Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama.

Notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within the time allowed by law or the same will be barred. /s/ Benjamin H. Parr OF COUNSEL Legal Run 4/3, 4/10 and 4/17/19

IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF BETTY ANN HITCHCOCK, DECEASED. IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Letters Testamentary on the estate of said decedent having been granted to the undersigned on the 3rd day of April, 2019, by the Hon. Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

KIM MILLER MANN Personal Representative

Robert H. Pettey Samford & Denson, LLP P.O. Box 2345 Opelika, AL 36803-2345 (334) 745-3504 Legal Run 4/10, 4/17 & 4/24/19

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA FAMILY COURT DIVISION: DOMESTICE RELATIONS AMEE KIVETTE, Plaintiff, v.

TIMOTHY JEROME PASCHAL, Defendant.

CASE NO.: DR-2018-900379.00 NOTICE OF ACTION NOTICE OF ACTION To: All Defendants herein, and any heirs or legal representatives of any Defendant herein, whose whereabouts are unknown and which cannot be ascertained after the exercise of reasonable diligence.

You are hereby notified that on the 11th day of December 2018, a complaint to adjudicate parentage of F.K. was filed in the Circuit Court of Lee County, Alabama, and the following are the names of all parties to the action: Amee Kivette, as Plaintiff, Timothy Jerome Paschal, and his unknown heirs or legal representatives as Defendant, whose heirs, executors and/or administrators are unknown and cannot be ascertained after the exercise of due diligence.

All persons having an interest in said case or any portion thereof, claiming any legal right to represent Timothy Jerome Paschal, are hereby directed to plead, answer, or otherwise respond to the Complaint on or before the expiration of 30 days after the last publication of this notice, or thereafter suffer judgment by default to be rendered against them, it being intended that this notice shall be used to perfect service against all parties who cannot be personally served with a copy of the Complaint.

Done this the 14th day of February, 2019.

Mary Roberson Circuit Court Clerk, Lee County Benjamin H. Parr Attorney for Plaintiff Rice & Parr 830 Avenue A, Suite A Opelika, Alabama 36801 Legal Run 4/10, 4/17, 4/24 and 5/1/2019

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT ESTATE OF PATRICIA CAROL CROWLEY COURT OF PROBATE Letters Testamentary of said deceased having been granted to the undersigned on the 4th day of April, 2019, by the Hon. Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

Witness my hand, and dated this the 4th day of April, 2019.

JAMES RICHARD CROWLEY Legal Run 4/10, 4/17 & 4/24/19

Notice of silent auction. Eagle Imports Services 2 will be auctioning off the below mentioned vehicles on Wednesday 04/24/2019. This Auction will be held at 424 Opelika Rd, Auburn, AL 36830 at 10:30 am. If you have any questions in regards to either of the vehicles please give us a call at 334-821-9900.

VEHICLES Year: 2009 Make: Mercedes Benz Model: ML320 Diesel Color: Black VIN#: 4JGBB25E59A518073 Year: 2007 Make: Mini Model: Cooper S Color: Grey/black VIN# WMWMF73597TT81014 Legal Run 4/10 & 4/17/19

NOTICE OF ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLE SALE To be held on Friday, May 10, 2019, at 10 a.m. at Best 4 Less at 2509 Lafayette Parkway, Opelika, AL 36801.

4T1BG22K6XU449034 - 1999 TOYOTA CAMRY 1FMRU17L4WLC48823 - 1998 FORD EXPEDITION Legal Run 4/10/19 & 4/17/19

IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF ANGELA YVONNE ECHOLS, Deceased.

CASE NO. 2019-A-132 NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF ESTATE Letters of Administration on the Estate of said decedent having been granted to the undersigned on the 29th day of March 2019,

by the Honorable Bill English, Judge of Probate of said county in said State, notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are required to present the same within the time allowed by law or the same will be barred. /s/ Eugene Echols Jr. Eugene Echols, Jr., Administrator of the Estate of Angela Yvonne Echols, Deceased Legal Run 4/3, 4/10 and 4/17/19

IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF PATRICIA A. RODRIGUEZ, DECEASED. IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Letters of Administration of said deceased having been granted to the undersigned on the 3rd day of April, 2019, by the Hon. Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

JAZMINE RODRIGUEZ Administrator Robert H. Pettey Samford & Denson, LLP P.O. Box 2345 Opelika, AL 36803-2345 (334) 745-3504 Legal Run 4/10, 4/17 & 4/24/19

IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN RE: The Estate of Ryan Wesley Pence, Deceased Case No.: 2019-A-152 NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT OF PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE Letters of Administration of said deceased, RYAN WESLEY PENCE, having been granted to LORI PENCE on April 3, 2019,

by Hon. Bill English, Probate Judge of Lee County, Alabama, notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said Estate are hereby required to present same within the time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

Dated on this 3rd day of April, 2019.

HON. BILL ENGLISH JUDGE OF PROBATE LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Legal Run 4/10, 4/17 & 4/24/19

IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF JAMES ARTHUR MELTON, DECEASED IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Letters Testamentary on the estate of said decedent having been granted to the undersigned on the 10th day of April, 2019, by the Hon. Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

SHIRLEY M. CARTER Personal Representative Robert H. Pettey Samford & Denson, LLP P.O. Box 2345 Opelika, AL 36803-2345 (334) 745-3504 Legal Run 4/17, 4/24 & 5/1/19

IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF MARY N. ADKINS, DECEASED. IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY,ALABAMA Letters Testamentary on the estate of said decedent having been granted to the undersigned on the 8th day of April, 2019, by the Hon. Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

BENNIE G. ADKINS Personal Representative Robert H. Pettey Samford & Denson, LLP P.O. Box 2345 Opelika, AL 36803-2345 (334) 745-3504 Legal Run 4/17, 4/24 & 5/1/19

IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN RE: THE ESTATE OF DOROTHY W. MITCHELL, Deceased.

CASE NO.: 2019-A-170 NOTICE TO FILE CLAIMS TAKE NOTICE that Letters Testamentary, having been granted to Joanne M. Scarbrough, as Executrix of the Estate of Dorothy W. Mitchell, deceased, on the 10th day of April 2019, by the Honorable Bill English, Judge of Probate of Lee County,

Alabama.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that all persons having claims against the said Estate are hereby required to present the same within the time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

Legal Run 4/17, 4/24 & 5/1/2019

NOTICE OF ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLE SALE To be held on Wednesday, May 15, 2019, at 10 a.m. at Best 4 Less at 2509 Lafayette Parkway, Opelika, AL 36801.

1GKDM19W2XB533635 - 1999 GMC SAFARI 2C3LA53G48H224934 - 2008 CHRYSLER 300 Legal Run 4/17/19 & 4/24/19

NOTICE OF ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLE SALE To be held on Friday, May 17, 2019, at 10 a.m. at Best 4 Less at 2509 Lafayette Parkway, Opelika, AL 36801.

3VWSA29M2XMO19337 1999 VOLKSWAGON JETTA Legal Run 4/17/19 & 4/24/19

NOTICE OF COURT PROCEEDING CASE NO. 2019-A-176 IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Notice of the filing of Petition for Summary Distribution In the Estate of JAMES PATRICK MURPHY, JR., deceased Notice is hereby given that a Petition for Summary Distribution has been filed in the LEE COUNTY Probate Office by Kimberly Klepper Murphy on April 10, 2019 pursuant to Seciton 43-2-690, Code of Alabama and that 30 days after the notice of publication hereof and pursuant to law the Court shall be requested to enter an Order directing Summary Distribution of the estate of said decedent.

BILL ENGLISH, PROBATE JUDGE Legal Run 4/17/2019

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT ESTATE OF CHARLOTTE ANN MILLER, DECEASED COURT OF PROBATE Letters of Administration of said deceased having been granted to the undersigned on the 11th day of April, 2019, by the Hon. Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, notice is hereby fiven that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

Witness our hands, and dated this the 11th day of April, 2019.

JUSTIN THOMAS MILLER Legal Run 4/17, 4/24 & 5/1/19

NOTICE OF COURT PROCEEDING CASE NO: 2019-A-184 IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Notice of the filing of Petition for Summary Distribution In the Estate of MARY LOUISE JONES, deceased Notice is hereby given that a Petition for Summary Distribution has been filed in the LEE COUNTY Probate Office by CORA LEE JONES on April 16, 2019, pursuant to Section 43-2690, Code of Alabama and that 30 days after the notice of publication hereof and pursuant to law the Court shall be requested to enter an Order directing Summary Distribution of the estate of said decedent.

BILL ENGLISH, PROBATE JUDGE Legal Run 4/17/20129

NOTICE OF COURT PROCEEDING CASE NO: 2019-A-185 IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Notice of the filing of Petition for Summary Distribution In the Estate of EMMANUIEL JONES, deceased Notice is hereby given that a Petition for Summary Distribution has been filed in the LEE COUNTY Probate Office by CORA LEE JONES on April 16, 2019, pursuant to Section 43-2690, Code of Alabama and that 30 days after the notice of publication hereof and pursuant to law the Court shall be requested to enter an Order directing Summary Distribution of the estate of said decedent.

BILL ENGLISH, PROBATE JUDGE Legal Run 4/17/20129

See Legals, page B15

B14 April 17, 2019

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Last week’s answers:

04-10 Scramblers Answers: 1. Abrupt, 2. Kindle, 3. Single, 4. Broad Solution: BROKEN

pelika Observer O

B15 April 17, 2019

Tulip Garden Club holds April meeting Auburn resident Amy Owens meets Congressman Mike Rogers at D.C. office at the Pottery Shed in Auburn

Special to the Opelika Observer Amy Owens of Auburn visited with Rep Rogers today in his Washington office. Amy is in town with the Alabama Society for Respiratory Care.

Special to the Opelika Observer Members of the Tulip Garden Club held their monthly meeting at The Pottery Shed on Moore's Mill Road in Auburn. The members met at the home of hostess Leslie Sumrall for refreshments followed by a brief business meeting. The group adjourned to the Pottery Shed to meet with Heath Davis, business co-owner, who conducted an interesting and informative tour of the facility. Shown above is Davis and club member Laura Hill.

Lee County Farm City Committee visits, tours Golden States facility last week Special to the Opelika Observer The Lee County Farm City Committee toured the Opelika Golden States facility on April 9, embarking on an interesting tour, learning specifically about how McDonald’s burger patties are made. Established in 1947, the Los Angeles-based company “is one of the largest diversified suppliers to the foodservice industry, servicing approximately 120,000 restaurants in more than 40 countries from its 41 locations on five continents. Established in 1947, GSF is values-based with proven performance in superior quality, innovation and customer service.” Pictured left to right:Amanda Aby, Bob Harris, Ann Whatley, Barbara Patton, Dale Huffman, Winsley Bates, John Fields, Vicky Yarbrough, Lynda Adair, Jason Prince

Legals,

from B13 RESOLUTION NO. 19-02 RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE UTILITIES BOARD OF THE CITY OF OPELIKA ADJUSTING RATES, FEES AND CHARGES ASSOCIATED WITH THE PROVISION OF WATER SERVICE WHEREAS, The Utilities Board of the City of Opelika, Alabama (the “Board”) now exists as a public corporation under Article 9 of Chapter 50 of Title 11 of the Code of Alabama of 1975; and WHEREAS, the Board is charged with the responsibility for the construction, operation and maintenance of all water facilities of the City of Opelika and for the collection of all charges for water services; and WHEREAS, pursuant to $11-50314(9), the Board is authorized to adopt a schedule of rates and charges for services furnished by the Board; and See WHEREAS, on June 23, 2014, pursuant to Resolution No. 06414, the Board adopted a schedule of rates and charges that went into effect on August 1, 2014; and WHEREAS, water revenue projections based on the current schedule of charges indicate that the annual net income during the ensuing fiscal year will not be sufficient to cover anticipated operations and maintenance expense, debt service and proposed water system improvements; and WHEREAS, the Board finds that it is necessary to implement a new rate structure designed to generate revenues sufficient to cover anticipated operations and maintenance expense, debt service and proposed system improvements; and WHEREAS, the Board finds and determines that the rate structure adopted below will produce no serious inequalities between categories of users.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Directors of The Utilities Board of the City of Opelika, Alabama, as follows: 1. That Article VII of the Schedule of Charges adopted by resolution of the Board on June 23, 2014, be and the same is hereby amended to read as follows:

Article VII Monthly Gallonage Rates Rates Effective May 1, 2019

2. That the amendments to the Schedule of Charges adopted herein shall become effective for consumption as of April 1, 2019 and billed to the Board's customers on May 1, 2019.

3. The Secretary is hereby authorized, directed and empowered to cause this Resolution to published one (1) time in The Opelika Observer, a newspaper published in and of general circulation within the City of Opelika and Lee County.

ADOPTED AND APPROVED this the 25th day of March, 2019.

THE UTILITIES BOARD OF THE CITY OF OPELIKA, ALABAMA

By JEFFERY A. HILYER, CHAIRMAN ATTEST: HERBERT SLAUGHTER, SECRETARY CERTIFICATE I, HERBERT SLAUGHTER, Secretary of The Utilities Board of the City of Opelika, a public corporation, do hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the Resolution duly adopted by the Board of Directors of The Utilities Board of the City of Opelika at a regular meeting thereof held on March 25, 2019, which meeting was attended by a quorum of the said Board of Directors and that said Resolution was duly adopted and is still in full force and effect.

GIVEN under my hand and the seal of said Board on this the 25th day of March, 2019.

HERBERT SLAUGHTER, AS ITS SECRETARY LEGAL RUN 4/17/19

B16 April 17, 2019

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