The Observer | March 7, 2024

Auburn Chamber celebrates several ribbon-cuttings

Beacon Landscaping

The Auburn Chamber of Commerce recently celebrated a ribbon cutting with Beacon Landscaping, which provides lawn maintenance, weed control, landscape installation and more across East Alabama and West Georgia. Residential, commercial or industrial, large or small, they do it all. Learn more: www. beaconlandscapingllc.com.

Auburn sets March 23 as household hazardous waste collection day

CONTRIBUTED BY

AUBURN— The city of Auburn's annual spring household hazardous waste collection day will be held on Saturday, March 23.

This event has moved to the brand-new Environmental Services and Public Works Complex, located at 4277 Wire Road. It will no longer be

held at the former facility on Donahue Drive. This free biannual event gives Auburn residents the opportunity to drop off hazardous materials that are illegal to dispose of during weekly garbage collection. Acceptable items include house-hold chemicals, pesticides, paints, batteries, automobile fluids and more. Computers and

electronics will be accepted for recycling, and there will be a shredder on site to safely and securely get rid of old paper documents.

Participants should load the materials they wish to drop off in the trunk or rear of their vehicle for a quick, contactless drop off. Residents may bring up to 20 pounds of material per household for

disposal at no charge. Household hazardous waste collection day is only open to Auburn residents. Bring a recent water bill as proof of residency.

Participants are asked to register ahead of time online. For a list of accepted items, a link to register and more information, visit www.auburnalabama.org/hhw.

Mills Urgent Care

The Auburn Chamber of Commerce recently celebrated a ribbon cutting with Mills Urgent Care, located at 1850 Shug Jordan Parkway, Suite 101. Mills Urgent Care offers fast and effective urgent care in Lee County with treatments like acute care management, basic procedures, flu vaccines, blood tests and more, all available for patients ages six months and older, including families and college students. Learn more at millsurgentcare.com.

Gentiva Hospice

The Auburn Chamber of Commerce recently celebrated a ribbon cutting with Gentiva Hospice, located at 730 N. Dean Road, Suite 300. Hospice is more than end-of-life care. Gentiva Hospice helps people with a life-limiting illness and their loved ones make the most of the time they have together, providing a unique plan of care that addresses the emotional, spiritual and physical needs. Learn more at www.gentivahsp. com.

Trash Amnesty 2024 underway in Auburn

curb no later than 6 a.m. on your regular collection day.

• Place items at least 3 feet from mailboxes, utility boxes, poles or other fixed objects.

• Contain or bundle items so they don’t fall into the street or down storm drains.

• Limbs and other debris should be no longer than 5 feet.

• Place all items in one pile for pickup.

NOT include household garbage or hazardous waste.

• Place debris at the

Because of the large volume of pickup expected during Trash Amnesty 2024, residents may experience a delay in their normal collection schedule. For questions, contact Environmental Services at (334) 501-3080 or webenvirsvc@auburnalabama.org.

Opelika Chamber announces State of the City on March 28

CONTRIBUTED BY OPELIKA CHAMBER

OPELIKA — The Opelika Chamber of Commerce announces the State of the City mayoral address will take place at the Southerly Warehouse on Thursday, March 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. Presenting sponsor is ESG Operations, Inc.

State of the City is an opportunity to hear from Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller, who will review the city’s progress made in the past year and share plans for the future. The event will include a cocktail hour, hors d’oeuvres and the mayor’s update.

New this year, a few special awards will be distributed, in-

cluding the Community Partner of the Year, Tourism Partner of the Year and the coveted Spirit of Opelika Award. Citizens and business professionals alike are encouraged to attend.

The chamber plans to “paint the town red and black” at this event, so red and/or black cocktail attire is encouraged. The price to attend is $50 for general admission and $75 for VIP tickets, which include a private cocktail hour with special guests and elected officials.

The deadline to register is Monday, March 25, at noon.

Tickets are limited and refunds are not available after the registration deadline. Visit www.opelikachamber.com to register and find more information.

Spa at Grand National among nation's Top 100

CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER

OPELIKA — The Spa at the Grand National in Opelika has been named on the list of Top 100 USA Spas of 2023 by Spas of America, showcasing it among the favored retreats for those in pursuit of ultimate relaxation and well-being.

Spas of America’s annual Top 100 USA Spas award provides valuable insights into the most popular spas of the year, determined by unique page views and consumer choices on www. spasofamerica.com. In a new criterion for 2023, all spas must uphold a Google Reviews rating of 4.0 or higher to be considered for inclusion.

Four of the Top 100 Spas hail from the state of Alabama. In addition to the Spa at Grand National, these include the Spa at Ross Bridge, the Spa at the Shoals and the Spa at Montgomery, all of which are

owned by the Retirement Systems of Alabama, managed by PCH Hotels & Resorts and situated along the renowned Robert Trent Jones (RTJ) Spa Trail.

“First came great golf in 1992. Next, luxury Four Diamond hotels were added. Now, the latest hospitality advances in Alabama come from the Spa Trail on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail,” according to the RTJ Spa Trail website.

“From traditional warm stone massages to red carpet ready facials, the RTJ Spa Trail features six spas across Alabama offering innovative treatments in exquisite settings,” said Taylor Fields, corporate director of spa for the RTJ Resort Collection. “From therapeutic massages to pampering treatments, the Spa Trail is ideal for individual golfers, couples traveling together or for groups of friends coming to play golf in Alabama.”

The spas are located in

Marriott, Autograph, and Renaissance Hotels along the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail: Point Clear, Mobile, Montgomery, Hoover, Florence and Opelika. “We are truly honored to have four of the six RTJ Spas represented as the best in the USA,” Fields said. “All of our spas along the RTJ Spa Trail offer world-class experiences at a time when health and wellness are a priority for many. Our spas provide a unique experience and exude hospitality from the heart and soul.”

The Spa at Grand National is located at 3700 Robert Trent Jones Trail, Opelika, AL 36801. Hours are Sunday through Monday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Wednesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Tuesdays.

Services are provided by appointment only. Call (334) 737-2250 or visit rtjspatrail.com/spa/the-spaat-grand-national for more information.

Taylor

EVAN TAYLOR

The Spa at Grand National is listed among the Top 100 best spas in the U.S. All spas with this distinction must maintain a Google Reviews rating of 4.0 or higher.

BY SEAN DIETRICH

OPINION —

My interview was scheduled for noon. It’s not every day you are a keynote speaker for Miss Bernice’s fourth-grade class career day, via video call. I wore a necktie.

Miss Bernice’s class has been interviewing a lot of people lately about their careers by using video calls. She has been introducing the kids to people with different occupations from all over the U.S.

So far, her class has welcomed guests from all fields. The class has interviewed PhDs, celebrated journalists, famous musicians,

Sean of the South

Where the redhead grows

chefs, well-known songwriters, people who work in finance, pro fishermen, doctors, and anyone else who drives a Range Rover.

I was scheduled to go on after the decorated navy pilot.

While the fighter pilot gave his presentation, I started to feel like a an idiot. I looked at the little camera image of myself on my laptop screen and cringed. My red hair was disheveled, my face looked tired. The bags beneath my eyes could have been used for a Samsonite ad.

Captain America wowed his audience, and I was trying to remember when and why I became a writer in the first place.

Truthfully, I don’t know when exactly I first wanted to be a writer. I can’t remember ever NOT wanting to be one.

Still, I think it must have happened officially for me in the fourth grade. That was the year our teacher read “Where the Red Fern Grows.”

She would read aloud to

us after lunch period, every weekday for an hour. And she did all the voices.

It takes real talent to do the character voices right.

That beautiful woman with the cat-eye glasses and the coiffed hair possessed such talent. I can never forget that period of my life.

We would file into the classroom after gorging ourselves in the cafeteria. She would turn off the lights, sit by the window, and read to us.

Students would gather around her like disciples in da Vinci’s Last Supper. We would lie on the floor, sit at her feet, or recline in her bosom. She would hypnotize us with her voice, and many of us would completely forget about how badly we had to pee.

After she finished reading Wilson Rawls’ classic homily of boyhood, I knew precisely what I wanted to do with my life. I wanted to use little boys restroom.

But also, I wanted to be a maker of stories.

That year I started spending entire weekends before a little pinewood desk in my room, tapping out five-hundred-word pieces on my mother’s manual typewriter. My stuff read like a bad “Curious George” book.

But I fell in love with the process of writing. Namely, because writing was among one of the only acceptable forms of entertainment fundamentalist boys like me had.

I grew up during a slower time. I don’t mean to imply that I grew up in the late 1920s, but I was born at the tail end of an era that still used letters in phone numbers.

The internet had not been invented. Cell phones were devices only found in prisons.

Arcade games had pinballs in them. And cable television was for people who told Charles to saddle their horse.

Thus, my boyhood was devoid of technology. The most advanced piece of techequipment in our household was my father’s console Zenith

television. It was his prized possession. He wiped it down before and after each use.

Entertainment-wise, the highlight of our week was Howard Cosell, or CBS’s “Sunday Night Movie.” We never missed a Lawrence Welk rerun on PBS. And Carson was a deity.

Other than that, it was books for me. I read a lot. And I tried to imitate what I read by typing it onto paper. I adored Doyle, Pyle, Defoe and Samuel Clemens. I idolized anyone who could make me laugh.

But I’ll level with you. I was an untalented student. I wasn’t quick. I wasn’t diligent. I had a hard time following instructions, I couldn’t pay attention. My grades were pitiful. I once lost the regional spelling bee with the word “purple.”

Purple.

Later, I went on to fail the fifth grade. I was almost held back a year, but a charitable educator had mercy on my flailing self-confidence, and

she let me enter the sixth grade.

A year later, after my old man died, I dropped out of school altogether and didn’t return until I was a grown man with a mortgage. I was the poster child for white trash.

So how am I qualified to give advice to young people on how to pursue their dreams?

How can I, with a clear conscience, impart any words of value when I know so little?

How, I ask.

So when the navy pilot finished a stunning presentation for his awestruck audience, it was my turn. I was nervous. It was like being the follow-up act to Elvis.

The teacher asked me to explain to the class how I came to fall in love with writing.

I cleared my throat. And, without preamble, I thumbed open a tattered copy of a children’s book I once read in the fourth grade. A book that has helped me through some very hard times.

I did all the voices.

And I ditched the necktie.

News vents, E

S Food ociety & News

Making the Grade

On the road to Alex City: Wharf Casual Seafood

BY STACEY PATTON WALLACE

OPINION —

As I’ve mentioned many times in this column, Lee County has many wonderful restaurants to enjoy.

I’m grateful for this, not only because my husband Mike and I love to eat out; the large number of restaurants has allowed me to write my column for the past three years.

There is one type of restaurant, however, that I would LOVE to see come to our county: an all-seafood one, preferably a Mom and Pop’s.

Back when Mike and I lived and taught in LaGrange, one of our favorite restaurants was Hoofer’s, which served an amazingly huge and delicious seafood buffet on Friday and Saturday nights with every kind of Gulf seafood imaginable: shrimp, deviled crab, crab legs, oysters, flounder, etc. A lady sat and doled out about three crab legs per person at a time.

Mike and I thought that was funny since you could come up to her as many times as you wished.

However, we always passed on the crab legs; to us, cracking those legs was too much work for too little food.

Years ago, the owners got tired of working on the weekend, so they stopped having the seafood buffet.

Instead, they served Southern cooking for lunch (dinner) on the weekdays.

Mike and I, along with all of LaGrange, were very

unhappy. However, we couldn’t blame the owners; working on the weekend is really a drag. But I digress.

Recently, Mike and I visited my hometown of Alexander City (“Eleck” City to the locals) and decided to try a seafood restaurant about which we’d heard good comments.

Wharf Casual Seafood is located at 4011 U.S. 280 in Alex City. When Mike and I entered the restaurant, we liked the bright, roomy, cheerful interior. We also loved the column that posted signs that said, “Sylacauga-25 miles,” “Wetumpka-35 miles,” etc. And since we love the Gulf Coast of Alabama, we felt right at home with the slogan, “The Coast is Here.” We knew that we were in the right place.

James Manning, a manager in training at Wharf Casual Seafood was so kind and helpful, answering all of my questions. It was only his third day on the job, and he was rocking it.

Manning said that one of the restaurant’s owners, Noah Griggs Jr., lived in nearby Tallassee.

Stephen Duggar, the other owner, lives in Tallahassee, Florida.

Kenslee, who took our order, and Tammy, our server, were both so sweet, helpful and patient.

Wharf Casual Seafood received bonus points from this retired English teacher for serving Diet Dr. Pepper, my beverage of choice.

Mike and I both ordered a cup of gumbo as an appetizer, and it was terrific. For his entrée, Mike selected the blackened catfish, French fries and coleslaw.

I chose the grilled shrimp, fried catfish, smashed potatoes and a side salad.

All of our meal, from start to finish, was outstanding. Mike really loved his coleslaw, which is made fresh daily. Now,

in some seafood restaurants, a side salad is almost an afterthought, with only lettuce and tomato. Not mine. My salad was colorful and fresh, having spinach leaves, iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, slivers of almonds and cucumbers. It was as beautiful as it was delicious.

In fact, everything was

slap your Grandma two times good. I LOVED my smashed potatoes. Tammy told me how they were prepared. The cook first boiled red potatoes in a Cajun seasoning. Then the potatoes were smashed and deep fried

with cheese and garlic butter.

Too. Good. For. Words. Our catfish and grilled shrimp were also top notch. We ate so much, Tammy almost had to bounce us to our car.

After our meal, I told the

manager in training to tell the owners that we need a Wharf Casual Seafood in Lee County. Trust me, run and do not walk to this restaurant. It is certainly worth the short drive.

Wharf Casual Seafood, located at 4011 U.S. 280 in Alexander City, is open

OCT's Penguin Project to perform Annie Jr. March 7-10

BY KADIE VICK FOR THE OBSERVER

OPELIKA — Opelika Community Theatre’s Penguin Project will present the play Annie Jr. March 7-10.

The Penguin Project creates opportunities for students in the community who have special needs to participate in the arts and showcase their talents and abilities.

Performances will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday at Opelika Middle School located at 1206 Denson Drive.

Tickets cost $17 each or $58 for four and are available at www.opelikacommunitytheatre.com.

“These kids have worked their butts off, and

I have just been absolutely 100% amazed,” said OCT Artistic Director Marty Moore, who added that the Penguins’ enjoyment “shows in the joy on their faces. It just makes you feel good all over. It's a feel good situation.”

“All of the proceeds go to help fund help with costumes and giving more kids the opportunity to perform and to be part of this great experience,” she said. “It's a life changing process for them. They have learned to find joy, and they are creative. They have gifts they never knew they had, and they're already asking what are they going to do after the show is over.”

The Penguin Project has benefited more than the students involved, according to Moore.

“The parents are loving it, because they're seeing their children smile and engage with something that they normally wouldn't have an opportunity to do otherwise,” she said.

Moore explained she has seen first-hand the confidence that performers have developed over the past few months, and she asked the community to donate and support yearlong opportunities for the Penguins.

“They don't want to stop, so this program needs to continue,” she said. “It needs to continue with weekly classes and meetings for the Penguins, so we need the community to get behind us and help us continue to fund the project for them.”

In addition to attend-

ing the performance, “I would encourage everyone to make to make a donation either on the website, or they can mail us a donation or they can contact us to see how they can personally donate,” Moore said. “They could sponsor a penguin project artist in a weekly class, for as little as $45 a month.”

To donate visit the website www.opelikacommunitytheatre.com or email opelikatheatrecompany1@ gmail.com.

Opelika Parks & Rec Easter egg hunts

Opelika Adult Easter Egg Hunt: Look for clues March 25-29 to find special eggs throughout the city of Opelika. Find an egg and return it to the Opelika SportsPlex for a prize. Clues will be posted by @opelikaparks on Facebook and Instagram. This event is free and open to the public.

Opelika Flashlight Egg Hunt: Children in third through fifth grades are invited to hunt for special prizes and golden eggs in the dark during the Opelika Flashlight Egg Hunt, set for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 28, at the Opelika SportsPlex Amphitheater. Bring a flashlight and a basket. This event is free.

Underwater Egg Hunt: Children ages 6 to 10 are invited to hunt for eggs in the Opelika SportsPlex pool from 6 to 8 p.m. on March 29. Free swim to follow. Fee is $5 per guest. Must pre-register by March 25 at www.opelika-al.gov/913/Parks-Recreation.

Easter on the Square: Children in second grade and younger are invited to the largest egg hunt in the area, set to take place on the courthouse square in Opelika on Saturday, March 30. Toddlers will hunt beginning at 10 a.m., followed by four-year-olds and kindergarteners at 10:30 a.m. and first- and second-graders at 11 a.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Chewacla State Park presents 'Bats, Bugs and Biodiversity'

Chewacla State Park will welcome back esteemed environmental educator Vicky Beckham Smith (pictured at right) of A-Z Animals for the presentation, "Bats, Bugs and Biodiversity: Connecting Kids to Parks" on Saturday, March 9, at 1 p.m. at the Beach Pavillion. The program is an exciting adventure into the world of bats and biodiversity through live animal encounters, crafts and engaging activities. This program is offered at no additional cost to the front gate fee, but you will need to pay the fee in advance to secure your spot. Registration for this program is first-come, first-served and seating is limited. Please bring your own chair. Pre-register at the website: reserve.alapark.com/register/bats-bugs-biodiversity-chewacla.

WALLACE >>

FROM B5

Wharf Casual Seafood also offers diners delicious appetizers, Po Boys, tacos, salads, bowls and sandwiches. The restaurant also serves a large variety of entrees, some of which include: Early’s salmon, honey pe-

can shrimp, oysters, mahi mahi and grouper.

Wharf Casual Seafood is open on Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Wharf Casual Seafood makes the grade with an A+ from this retired English teacher. Remember, “Poohsized” people NEVER lie about

food. Enjoy!

Stacey Patton Wallace, who retired from teaching language arts for 30 years, is a professional diner. Her column, “Making the Grade,” will appear every other week in The Observer. Stacey may be reached at retiredlangartsteacher2020@gmail. com.

March 3, 2019 Rememberance, Reflection, Resilence

BY STEVEN STIEFEL FOR THE OBSERVER BEAUREGARD —

Survivors of the March

3, 2019, tornado in Lee County gathered Sunday at Providence Baptist Church in Beauregard to mark the fifth anniversary of the day and to honor the 23 people killed by the storms.

Family and friends of the fallen lit candles as the names were read by Rusty J. Sowell, the church’s senior pastor.

The tornado, Alabama's eighth deadliest, destroyed 230 homes and severely damaged 141 others, leaving a swath of destruction nearly a mile wide. The National Weather Service rated it as an EF-4 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, with winds reaching speeds of up to 170 miles an hour. That year marked the fourth most active season on record, behind 2008, 2011 and 2004.

During the 2019 storm, winds uprooted trees and reduced homes to hurling debris spread over 24 miles.

The devastation left from

the deadliest natural disaster in county history left many wondering whether the community could recover, but the response has demonstrated strong resilience as everyone came together to rebuild. Meanwhile, the work of healing and growing stronger together moving forward continues, as survivors celebrate the legacy of those they lost. The pain remains, but their memories bring comfort as time passes.

Kayla Melton, mother of the youngest victim, 6-year-old Armondo “A.J.” Hernandez, expressed thanks for the anniversary program.

“Definitely, the five year anniversary program has been the best overall,” she said. “This year felt a bit more cozy with all of the extra people that came out to support us.”

Melton said enduring such a lost has meant relying on family and her faith in Christ.

“He’s the ultimate creator and has a plan," she said. "Questioning why things

happen is beyond us.”

Kayla Grimes came to remember family members Marshall Lynn Grimes, Sheila Creech and her friend, Taylor Thornton. She said she feels that survivors can continue to grow together through events like Sunday’s anniversary program.

“At events like these, we can continue to come together and pray on the things that happened in the past and knowing that we’re all here for each other,” Grimes said. “My family were all very loving and gave back to the community in any way possible. They were always there for me, and all of them gave back to help others.”

Irma Gomez-Moran was remembered by daughter Andrea, who said it is important to remember those lost.

“When something bad happens, everyone knows about it,” she said. “When we get together, we need to talk about it. It is comforting just knowing there are still good people out there and

strong communities. That’s the great take-away from it. I decided to stand up during [Sunday’s] program and speak because I know that my mother is here with us, and they’re all watching over us. I remember my mom as the great woman she was.”

Another attendee remembered family members Florel Tate Stenson, Eric Jamal Stenson, Henry Lewis Stenson and James Henry Tate. He called the program “really nice in how the community came together and still comes together. We’ve always been a tight-knit group in Beauregard. We all respect and love each other. That’s basically what it’s all about.”

Others who died locally on March 3, 2019 included Charlotte Ann Miller, David Dean, Emmanuel Jones, Felicia Woodall, Jimmy Lee Jones, Jonathan Marquez Bowen, Maggie Delight Robinson, Mamie Roberts Koon, Mary Louise Jones, Mykala Waldon, Raymond Robinson Jr., Ryan Pence, Tresia Robinson and Vicki

Braswell.

The East Alabama Medical Center director of spiritual care, Laura Eason, called it “the worst day of my life."

"I can't imagine what [the families] went through," she said. "In the days following, people asked, ‘What does Beauregard need? What do they need? What can we do? How are they ever going to get over this? How are they ever going to recover?’ And I remember saying to people, they are never going to get over this. They are never going to get over the loss of those 23 family members. But we're going to help them get through it.

"I wish I could say we've healed, but I think we've mended it a bit," Eason said. "There's still more mending to go. St. John of the Cross calls it the dark night of the soul. I think we all experience the dark night of the soul. The lowest of lows. The hardest time you'll ever go through, hopefully, in your lifetime, but that's when you need God the

most, and that's when you realize you can't make it alone. You need one another, and you need God.”

Sunday’s event also presented an opportunity to recognize and give thanks to everyone who came together to act during the unprecedented crisis.

“We had a lot of ecumenical response during that time, churches of faith, different faith churches that came about, all of them coming together, working together in different groups,bringing their chainsaws, bringing their ATVs, their skid steers and doing everything they could to help enable us to get to where we need to be to help those who are helpless,” Sowell said.

Eason said the lack of blue tarps on rooftops today says a lot about Beauregard.

“Somebody early on said, with that much damage, it's going to take a minimum of four years and I think we were pretty much was able to sit down after two years,"

See REMEMBRANCE page A8

A candlelight remembrance ceremony was held on the fifth anniversary of the March 3, 2019 tornados that hit the Beauregard and Smiths Station communities, killing 23 people and injuring more than 100.

From left to right, Providence Baptist Church pastor Rusty Sowell, Lee County Emergency Management Director and Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones spoke during the ceremony, March 3.

PHOTOS

EMA director recalls fateful day, looks toward future

BY MICHELLE KEY MICHELLE@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

LEE COUNTY — March

3, 2019, is a date forever etched into the memory of most Lee County residents, especially those in Beauregard and Smiths Station.

Twenty-three lives were lost, more than a hundred people were injured and hundreds of families were displaced due to damage to their homes when two long-track tornadoes barreled through Lee County like the freight train they sounded like. The first and largest of the two was just shy of a mile wide and traveled nearly 70 miles over a period of one hour and 16 minutes. The second followed almost the exact same path, further exacerbating the damage.

Lee County Emergency

Management Agency (LCEMA) Director Rita Smith was serving as the Public Information Officer (PIO) in 2019 and Kathy Carson was the LCEMA director. Smith recalled how the agency had been preparing for the storms for several days leading up to that Sunday afternoon and said she arrived at the EMA center around 9:30 a.m. Sunday and to start monitoring the weather.

Smith said the first tornado watch occurred at 11:03 a.m. and at 2:03 p.m. the first of the two tornadoes was on the ground.

“Within just a few moments, the second tornado was on the ground, and we were already starting to receive calls over the radios of damage, and then news of fatalities started coming in,” Smith said. “I remember going into Carson’s office

Alabama Medical Center.

he said. "It's because of your resilience and everybody jumping in and neighbor helping neighbor, and loving one another, and with the help of God, we were able to get through. Those 23 precious souls look down on us from heaven every single day, and are glad that we are in their memory now. Say their names. Tell their stories. And remember that you are not alone. That God is with us every single step of the way. He's never going to leave us. He's never going to forsake us. He's with us, even in your darkest night. Thank you for your resilience, thank you for your witness, thank you for showing the world how strong Beauregard is.”

“Many of you that I'm looking at tonight, I didn't even know you by name [in 2019], and now I consider a great deal of you to be personal friends," said Lee County EMA Director Rita Smith.

"It's a beautiful thing to see the resiliency and the strength that you have shown and the way you've honored your loved ones by continuing to press on and press forward.”

Among those lost were a hospital nurse, Maggie Robinson, mourned not only by her family but also by co-workers in the endoscopy department at East

and she was on both the phone and a radio. I held up two fingers and watched as the color drained from her face.”

That number would change over the next several hours as first responders and emergency personnel worked to systematically search to account for everyone.

During that time, the national media had picked up the story and was calling to verify the information. Smith said the first press conference was held around midnight Sunday night in Beauregard.

One of the biggest tasks for those on the ground on March 3 was accounting for everyone.

“We had some people that weren't home [Sunday afternoon],” Smith said. “We had some people who are out of

“You may not have seen the suffering of the hospital staff, because what we do is we put on this armor of professionalism and we just keep going, because we can't let ourselves think about what's really happening, empathize with it or we can't function," said EAMC Crisis Counselor Deborah Owen. "But I can guarantee you, hearts broke all over that day, and every single person who worked there broke down at some point. Through the years, people have asked me about it, they said, 'We've heard about Beauregard — what's special about Beauregard?' And I said, 'To start with, not one person, not one person was on the ground the night of March third. Every person was recovered. That's remarkable. That doesn't happen in tragedy, but it happens here. And it's because of the people you are.”

Owen said her own home was directly hit by a rare January tornado in 2023, but she drew strength from the victims of Beauregard.

“As I emerged from the basement, I remembered your strength and how thankful I was to be safe and alive," she said. "I thank you for your friendship, I thank you for the love and I thank you for sharing the joy of rebuilding."

Sheriff Jay Jones recalled meeting a Florida man who had lost his home to a

hurricane, yet he traveled to Beauregard to help clear roads, hand out water and anything else he could do to help.

“This volunteer didn't have anywhere to live," Jones said. "He was just getting by day to day, but he dropped what he was doing and came here to help. That's the kind of people that we need. And thank God for that.

“Driving here tonight, I don't know, maybe some of y'all noticed it: A really nice sunset, clear sky, sunset," Jones said. "So, you know, I'd just like to think that maybe that was all those who died who kind of gave us a smile, to just say thanks for continuing to remember them.”

Mark Wakefield, disaster relief and chaplain ministry specialist, said living in small cities had taught him the value of community.

“Small is not necessarily the size, land-wise or population-wise, but it's the thinking process, the relational process, where when stuff happens, we pull together. We take care of each other. We help each other out. And for that, I'm grateful," Wakefield said.

"What you did, how you survived, giving inspiration and encouragement to others. The scripture says, 'Therefore we do not lose heart, though outwardly we are wasted away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.' For our

life and momentary troubles are achieving in us an eternal glory that far outweighs those at all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal,” Wakefield said.

On that fateful afternoon in 2019, volunteers from across the U.S. rushed to Lee County’s rescue.

“The faith community was among them,” Wakefield said. “Several hundred volunteers across Alabama and several thousand volunteers across the United States are ready to help when the time is called for. Groups who find their mission in the calling of Jesus to show his love.”

Wakefield noted the importance of Providence Baptist Church, outside of which a permanent memorial stands to remember the victims and those who came to help them.

“This church was a place that ... became a receiving ground and a distribution point and it was pretty quickly packed to the gills with things that had been donated," he said. "This church also became a place of feeding and looking out for the survivors and the volunteers and whoever else. The faith community, because of the love we've been shown, wanted to show that love back to you. Maybe they were wearing a specific shirt or hat, maybe they weren't, but they were

here to encourage you and to cut your trees and to move your things and to rake the yards and to try and help put things back together to feed the hungry. To give information and give hope.

"It's one thing to bring help in those so important days like March 3 and those days following, but it's quite another to bring hope," Wakefield said. "Please know that you have not been forgotten, neither in heaven nor on earth. God is still God and He still lives.”

Clay Ford of the Community Foundation of East Alabama recognized law enforcement, volunteer firefighters and rescue personnel who responded locally during Beauregard’s darkest hour.

“Their courage and dedication in the face of danger shows us that they're true heroes, and we thank them for all their extraordinary service," Ford said. "The families represented here today, we know your pain, we know your loss, we can only say we stand with you and offer our support, our love, our compassion. There was an incredible outpouring of love and money, labor, shelter, food, but really more than that, it was the kindness, compassion and love that showed up here.

"We all know how much they did, how important they were, but you've heard it from others here tonight, and I believe that in the

end, it was this community that made the biggest impact," he said.

“We know that there was, there is, and there will forever be pain and suffering from what happened here five years ago. But we also know that through the strength and resilience that you love and hope in this community, there can be healing. On behalf of the Community Foundation of East Alabama, I'm here to honor those that we lost. May their memory be a lesson, and may we all draw strength from them to make this community and the world a better place. The recovery efforts continue. Organizations are still looking for ways to help the survivors of that devastation.”

Such efforts included the dedication, earlier in the day, of a storm shelter. It sits a short distance from the path the tornado took in 2019.

In the small community of Beauregard, the families have reportedly long enjoyed close ties to one another, often visiting each other’s homes even before they shared a tragedy in common. Today, the survivors’ remembrance strengthens this bond and their resilience in the face of unthinkable devastation highlights their collective strength and ability to recover while preserving the legacies of those lost to nature’s unpredictable wrath.

Family members light candles in remembrance of their loved ones who perished in the storms on March 3, 2019.

A memorial for those lost on March 3, 2019.

PHOTO

See SMITH, page A9

Sheriff remembers people helping people

BY MICHELLE KEY MICHELLE@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

LEE

“I didn’t know how large the tornado was at that time, but I remember thinking the damage stretched nearly a mile. It was just incredible,” Jones said in an interview with The Observer in 2019.

Jones said he was at his home in Auburn, watching the weather when he heard Josh Johnson from the Montgom-

ery television station say something that he will always remember.

“We have debris in the air,”

Johnson said. Jones said he knew then that this was going to be a difficult situation.

“From that minute the tor-

PHOTO BY ROBERT NOLES THE OBSERVER

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nado came through to current present day, the impact to me has always been the people of Beauregard and Smiths

Station,” Jones said. Strength, toughness, resilience all come to mind. Literally within minutes of the storm had gone through and there were already people out there standing shoulder to shoulder helping their neighbors. It is something I will never forget, and it reminded of why Beauregard is such a special place.“

It did not take long for Jones to decide to invoke the mutual-aid agreement and request assistance for other sheriff’s departments throughout the state.

“A tribute to the other agencies and organizations that came in, particularly Beauregard Volunteer Fire Department. They knew what to do and they came in and immediately jumped into action. Our sister agencies in law enforcement — Auburn Police Department, Opelika Police Department, the state troopers – ALEA and their people - were a part of the

town. We had a couple of people that were in the hospital; you know, regular life things.”

More than 60 people with injuries were treated at East Alabama Medical Center according to an interview conducted in the weeks following March 3.

Smith and others set up a Joint Information Center — a JIC — and started working to coordinate information. A lot of things were happening all at once. Search and rescue efforts were being coordinated, volunteers were being organized to assist families with various needs, and donations for those affected as well as food and supplies for the first responders began pouring in as early as Sunday afternoon.

Within the first 48 hours, plans were forming for then President Donald Trump and FirstLady Melania Trump to visit and tour the area on Friday and an unprecedented number of news outlets from around the world converged on Beauregard.

“Four hundred and fifty-seven agencies were documented over that first week,” Smith said. “We had calls from Greece, the BBC and many others.”

Press briefings were held daily that first week according to Smith.

“Gov. Kay Ivey came twice and spoke; Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones spoke; our coroner spoke, the utility company spoke.”

The state of Alabama EMA, as well as FEMA, both arrived to assist with stabilizing the recovery. The Disaster Recovery Centers were established and provided people with a place to go to seek assistance. One of the big needs was emergency housing for those that had been displaced. Two hundred and thirty homes were destroyed and another 141 suffered major damage.

Donations and support from many organizations began pouring into the community. Over the course of the last five years, more than $2.5 million has been donated towards the rebuilding of homes. The Poarch Creek Indian Tribe donated $184,000 for funeral expenses for all the victims.

With FEMA declaring the area a disaster zone, many families have been able to seek funding to aid in the recovery process.

Smith said approximately 100 individual storm

overall operation and coordinating with one another with confusion.”

Having arrived on scene around 2:15 p.m., Jones and other first responders and volunteers would search through massive amounts of debris for nearly 10 hours before making the decision to halt the search-and-recovery efforts until daybreak Monday morning.

One of the biggest obstacles of the recovery efforts was accounting for everyone that lived in the area. Emergency personnel had no way to know who may have been home during the storms, who may have been injured and already transported via private vehicles to the hospital or those that had not been there at all during the storms.

“We had over a hundred people injured and they just went everywhere. We did not

See

shelters have been installed using the Hazard Mitigation Grant money since 2019. Life safety is No. 1 in a hazard mitigation plan.

“I think it is a plus to have those,” she said.

“At the first of the year, we had a small tornado –and well, there is no 'small tornado' to people in Beauregard – that took part of that [same] path and those people that had some damage, they said ‘I got in my shelter. There is my shelter right there, I went and got in it.’ Those comments does your heart good as a emergency manager. When you see that came to fruition, they got it, they used it. Lives saved.”

Smith said the most important information she wants the community to know is that they should never realize on the outdoor warning sirens.

“Our app became more relevant after March 3,” Smith said. “The app to me is great, wherever you are, you will be able to get the push notifications. I just want you to be sure that you can get the information.”

Community shelters are still a need for the area.

Southern Union and Auburn University both have public shelters that are always open during a tornado watch and warning. The Auburn one accepts pets. It is the only one in the county that does so.

‘We don’t have a lot of community shelters,” Smith said. “We rely heavily on our faith-based shelters for opening a shelter when we have a watch. Our churches can change each time. We have to call them ahead of time and ensure they will be available. Different variables may affect a church’s ability to be open.”

The important thing to know is that EMA wants people to go to shelters when a watch is issued and not to wait until there is an active tornado warning.

“All in all I think we have shown improvements in notifications and improvements on people having their own safe shelters to go. I do think we have citizens that are very traumatized by bad weather because of what they’ve gone through. Smiths Station did not have any fatalities, but they had homes with structural damage, debris and they had a lot of scared people.”

I think it bonded people. I think there is a common bond with those citizens that went through that, Smith said. “It is a bond that is there came from tragedy.”

SMITH >> FROM A8

Photos from the Remembrance ceremony held March 2021.

Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones speaks at the Remembrance ceremony held March 2021.

PHOTOS BY ROBERT NOLES THE OBSERVER

Jonathan Marquez Bowen

Vicki Braswell

Sheila Creech

David Dean

Marshall Lynn Grimes

Armando “A.J.” Hernandez

Emmaniel Jones

Jimmy Lee Jones

Mary Louise Jones

Mamie Koon

Charlotte Miller

Irma Gomez-Moran

Ryan Pence

Maggie Robinson

Raymond Robinson Jr.

Teresa Robinson

Eric Stenson

Florel Stenson

Henry Stenson

James Henry Tate

Taylor Thornton

Mykala Waldon

Felicia Woodall

people - were a part of the overall operation and coordinating with one another with confusion.”

know that at the time, and we thought, ‘What if they are here?’”

Jones said that in spite of the challenges that every single person had been accounted for by Wednesday afternoon, a mere 72 hours following the storms.

“To account for everyone, injured and unaccounted for in just three days I thought was an incredible feat,” he said. “They [the investigative division] did a great job.”

Jones gave a tribute to the other organizations that showed up.

“A tribute to the other agencies and organizations that came in, particularly Beauregard Volunteer Fire Department. They knew what to do and they came in and immediately jumped into action. Our sister agencies in law enforcement — Auburn Police Department, Opelika Police Department, the state troopers – ALEA and their

He spoke about how he helped his deputies and staff to stay focused on the job at hand and praised them for the work they did.

“It was a lot of reminding them to stay focused on their training. I told them, these people are hurting, and they need you to help them, so it is basically one of those things where you have to be strong for these people. They are on their knees right now and we’re going to put a handout and help them up. So, focus on the job, focus on your training and focus on the fact that they need you more than any other time right now. And they did. To this day I am so very proud of our personnel at the sheriff’s office. They did just a phenomenal job in their performance that day and being professional and doing everything that needed to be done in many cases without even being directed. They

just knew the right thing to do because that is the kind of people they are. Education and training are the key and that is really what got them through it, but their hearts are all in the right place and they knew what to do instinctively to be there not only physically but emotionally for the families.”

In the midst of the recovery efforts, Jones and his department was tasked with provided on ground support for a visit by then President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump and Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey.

“We’ve have had presidential visits before, and we have prepared for that so I kind of knew the drill and that helped a lot. I knew what they would need. We all got together at once and started planning. We were able to shift gears for a little bit and then shift back.”

The Trumps and Ivey arrived on Friday and toured the parts of Beauregard most heavily affected, met with then mayor of Smiths Station, F. L. “Bubba” Copeland and

victim’s family members.

“Sometimes when these types of disasters happen, people leave and never come back,” Jones said. “But in smaller-knit communities like Beauregard, so many people stayed right there and said, ‘No, we’re not going anywhere. We will start over again.’

Jay said that relationships have changed in a good way since 2019. “We’re a little bit closer, a little bit more personal in a good way with the community.

I think that is very important for us to always work to achieve and maintain the personal relationships that we have with the people that we

serve and certainly Beauregard is a prime example of that prior to and certainly after March 3.”

I hope that other areas of the country are fortunate enough to have a Beauregard, in their area, a community like Beauregard, where they are. We are so fortunate to have Beauregard here.

JONES >> FROM A9

Pastor Rusty Sowell unveils the plans for the monument to be dedicated to the victims of the storms in 2020.The monument is located at Providence Baptist Church.

President Donald Trump visited with families of the victims in March 2019.

PHOTOS

PHOTO

PHOTOS

BY PHILIP SHUCET

Opelika sixth-grader competing on national television

Bryson McGlynn vies to be Gordon Ramsay's MasterChef Junior

BY ANITA STIEFEL & ELESE MCKINLEY

OPELIKA —

Sixth-grader Bryson McGlynn of Opelika is competing on the ninth season of the television show MasterChef Junior, currently airing on FOX network.

Bryson developed a fascination with cooking, and at the age of four he regularly joined his father in the kitchen, where his passion for cooking blossomed. By the time he reached age nine, he was participating in cooking contests that further refined his talents. Recently, at age 11, the promising young chef stepped into the national spotlight as a contestant on MasterChef Junior, where he found himself alongside world-renowned Chef Gordon Ramsay.

The journey to the show began with a rigorous interview process, involving several preliminary interviews. then a week of auditions. This challenging process served as a gateway for Bryson to showcase his culinary prowess in the weeks to come, as he was able to incorporate into the challenges his distinctive cooking styles and unique flair.

The filming for this season of MasterChef Junior extended over a period of three months, from October through December. Bryson's father, Micheal McGlynn, a music teacher for Opelika City Schools, expressed gratitude that the show’s producers provided on-site teachers at the sets.

“They are firm believers that kids must continue their educations while filming,” he said. “The children would receive instruction from teachers for six days a week.”

While filming, Bryson said he developed enduring friendships with the 11 other children competing for a prized apron. He said he derived equal

enjoyment from the filming process of the show as he did from spending time with fellow contestants during off-hours.

"After every challenge, us kids would gather at night and engage in activities such as swimming in the indoor pool or hanging out at the nearby mall," he said.

Bryson worked alongside world-renowned Chef Gordan Ramsay and described him as highly approachable and well-versed.

“He pushed us hard and was very passionate about MasterChef Junior,” said Bryson.

Bryson said working with Ramsay provided contestants with the opportunity to cultivate a sense of responsibility, improve their time management skills, showcase their cooking skills and learn the importance of perseverance and innovation in the culinary world.

On the first show of the season, which aired Monday, March 4, Bryson and the other children were tasked with choosing an emoji-decorated cookie and then creating a dish inspired by their choice.

Chef Ramsay’s daughter, Tilly, is a judge on the show alongside her father this season. In introducing Bryson, she said he is “someone who cooks way beyond their age.”

After learning he was a Top 3 Finalist in the show’s first cooking challenge of the season, Bryson said, “I was so nervous, but it feels so good to be in the top three, and I hope this steak brings home the win.”

The finalists were all inspired by the “cool” emoji wearing sunglasses. The other two finalists were 10-year-old Remy from Hollywood, Florida, who prepared “Sunshine State on a Plate” consisting of lemon-roasted chicken with

carrots and mushrooms, carrot top chimichurri and mashed potatoes; and 11-year-old Michael from New Smyrna, Florida, who impressed the judges with his shrimp linguini with green pesto sauce.

Bryson, whose nickname is “Cheese Curd,” was called into the spotlight to explain the dish he prepared.

“I got the cool sunglass emoji, and in my opinion, I think my dad is really cool, he taught me how to cook steaks,” Bryson said, describing his inspiration for his dish to the judges. “I made a ribeye cap with white truffle potatoes with Manchego cheese on top, broccolini and a compound butter.”

“Let’s get one thing clear,” said Ramsay. “That ribcap is cooked beautifully, the potatoes crispy, broccolini [cooked] a little bit over for me, but man, you’re cooking with confidence, aren’t you? Well done.”

“I actually really like the way you did the broccolini,” said Tilly. “I like it cooked like that, and those potatoes are nice and fluffy on the

inside. Really delicious.”

“Everything’s great — cheese is awesome, butter’s awesome, your potatoes were truly perfect,” said judge and television chef Daphne Oz. “Clearly you really came to show us some beautiful cooking, and I am very excited to see you expand that palate even further.”

“It’s like the tower of power of meat — look at that thing, you’ve got a beautiful sear on the outside and those potatoes just look glorious,” said celebrity chef and judge Aaron Sanchez. “What you’ve put forward here on this plate — it’s rich, it’s deep, it has a lot of those wonderful flavors, it’s honest.”

“We all agree that the winning home cook tonight is Bryson,” announced Ramsay. “That ribcap was exceptional. You really know your meat, young man. You and your family have won an all-expenses-paid trip to Las Vegas. You’re going to stay inside that

BRYSON MCGLYNN

beautiful Harrah’s Las Vegas Resort and have the most amazing dinner at my newest restaurant, Ramsay’s Kitchen.”

“It feels so good — I just won the first challenge of MasterChef Jr., like, I’m going to Las Vegas,” said Bryson at

the conclusion of the show. “This Cheese Curd is not leaving the building.”

MasterChef Junior airs on FOX network every Monday at 7 p.m. The Observer will provide weekly recaps of Bryson's progress.

Bryson McGlynn, a sixth-grader from Opelika, was joined by his friends and family at O'Town to watch his debut on the cooking competition show MasterChef Junior.

BY WALTER ALBRITTON

OPINION —

FAltar call In my need, His power is displayed

His power in my weakness.

The song is “Yet Not I, but Through Christ in Me,” composed and made popular by a group called “CityAlight” in Australia. Warning: These words will bless you!

riends make an awesome difference in our lives. Two special friends – Greg Lotz in Cincinnati and Bonny Johns in Pensacola – shared with me a new song that stirs my soul. The song reminds me that the living Jesus wants to display

What gift of grace is Jesus, my redeemer There is no more for heaven now to give He is my joy, my righteousness, and freedom My steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace

To this I hold, my hope is only Jesus

For my life is wholly bound to His

Oh, how strange and divine, I can sing: All is mine!

Yet not I, but through Christ in me

The night Is dark but I am not forsaken

For by my side, the Savior He will stay

I labor on in weakness and rejoicing

For in my need, His power is displayed

To this I hold, my Shepherd will defend me

Through the deepest valley, He

After retiring, Woody and Sandra followed their children and grandchildren to Florida and enjoyed 12 years in that community. Woody was very active in their church, The Chapel at Crosspoint of Santa Rosa Beach. He served on the board and as treasurer for many years. He loved to talk about his church.

JAMES WOODY DAVIS

James Woody Davis, 75, of Dadeville passed away on March 2, 2024.

Fondly known as Woody, he was born to James (Jim) and Wilma Davis on Jan. 26, 1949, in Tuscaloosa. He was a talented musician and loved playing his Baby

Grand piano. He attended Free Will Baptist College (Welch College) in Nashville, where he met the love of his life, Sandra Eubanks. He later graduated from Birmingham Southern with a degree in accounting. Woody worked in banking for over 30 years.

Woody held many titles in his life, from musician to executive vice president, but his most treasured role was Granddaddy. He loved nothing more than spending time with his grand-children, Drew and Sarah. He spent many hours watching them play different sports and always being the supportive grandparent.

will lead

Oh, the night has been won, and I shall overcome

Yet not I, but through Christ in me

No fate I dread, I know I am forgiven

The future sure, the price it has been paid

For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon And He was raised to overthrow the grave

To this I hold, my sin has been defeated

Jesus now and ever is my plea

Oh, the chains are released, I

OBITUARIES

Woody loved his family so much. He was an amazing Dad and Granddaddy. If you spent more than a minute talking with him, he was going to talk to you about his family and how proud he was of them. Aside from his love of music, Woody was a passionate Alabama fan. For over 20 years he and Sandra were Alabama football season ticket holders and loved to tailgate. If you were near their motorhome on tailgate weekends, you were sure to enjoy great food and his tales of growing up in Tuscaloosa, selling programs so he could get into the football games.

Woody is survived by his wife of 55 years, Sandra; two children,

can sing: I am free!

Yet not I, but through Christ in me

With every breath, I long to follow Jesus

For He has said that He will bring me home

And day by day I know He will renew me

Until I stand with joy before the throne

To this I hold, my hope is only

Jesus

All the glory evermore to Him

When the race is complete,

See ALBRITTON, page A13

Heather (Russ) Pinckard of Dadeville and Jon Davis of Titus, Alabama; and two grandchildren, Drew Pinckard of Ni-ceville, Florida, and Sarah Pinckard of Auburn. He is also survived by his sister and her husband, Sara and Glenn Poston of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and many nephews, nieces and cousins. He will be missed by many but especially by his family.

Woody's family will host a celebration of life service on Thursday, March 7, at 11 a.m., with visitation at 10 a.m. at Frederick- Dean Funeral Home in Opelika. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the benevolent fund of The Chapel at Crosspoint,

Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.

PEGGY JOYCE BAGGETT

Peggy Joyce Baggett, 88, of Auburn was called home to be with the Lord on the March 4, 2024. Born on July 2, 1935, in Atlanta, she was a beacon of steadfast devotion to her beloved family, her vocation and her faith throughout her blessed life.

Upon her retirement in 1998, Mrs. Baggett left a lasting impression of commitment through her service as a secretary in the insurance department at the East Alabama Medical Center. Her professional endeavors were characterized by an exceptional degree of precision and moral

See OBITUARIES, page A14

BY BRUCE GREEN

Teaching Minister at 10th Street Church of Christ in Opelika

OPINION —

Over the last three weeks, we’ve looked at Paul’s instructions from Ephesians on how we are to walk as disciples of Jesus. We’ve learned that we are to walk: 1) in a manner worthy of our calling (4:1), 2) differently from the world (4:17), 3) “in the way of love” (5:2), and 4) “as children of light”

Studying His word

The walk of life, part four

(5:8). That brings us to the fifth and final “walk” of Ephesians.

5. We are to walk wisely. “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but wise” (v. 15). This is done by understanding “what the will of the Lord is” (v. 17). Accordingly, he encourages us to be “filled with the Spirit” (v. 18). It is clear from its contrast with “do not get drunk with wine” that being filled is the equivalent of being under the Spirit’s influence.

Still, we can understand what the will of the Lord is, but if we do not allow our lives to be shaped and molded by it—it means nothing. I’ve heard people refer to this as “missing heaven by 12

inches,” because the knowledge about the way God wants us to live never made the trip from our head to our heart. In-tellectually we might have known a great deal about the Bible and God’s will for us, but attitudinally and behaviorally it never took hold. There was no transformation, just stagnation. What a tragedy that would be!

How do people under the influence of the Spirit live?

He mentions three things. 1) They speak to one another with “psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit” (v. 19). 2) They give “thanks always and for everything” (v. 20), and 3) they submit “to one another out of reverence for Christ”

(v. 21). People who are full of self don’t submit to others, but people filled with the Spirit do. And with these truths, (especially No. 1 and No.3), we’ve come full circle to what Paul initially told us was needed for maintaining the unity of the Spirit (4:3).

These five occurrences of “walk” in Ephesians 5 contain fundamental teaching for the disciples at Ephesus on how to live out the salvation they had experi-enced in Jesus. They mean no less to us today. As disciples, let’s make sure we’re participating in the walk of life.

Find more at a-tasteof-grace-with-brucegreen.com.

Bible verse of the week:

ALBRITTON >> from A12

still my lips shall repeat: Yet not I, but through Christ in me!

How marvelous the great affirmation of this song: Though the night is dark, the Savior, my Shepherd has not forsaken me and In my need, despite my weakness, His power is displayed! Oh Yes! In my own sorrow I have felt the presence of my Shepherd by my side, breaking my chains and guiding me home until that day I shall stand with joy before His throne. Singing this song chases the darkness of sadness away as my Shepherd strengthens me to live a life that honors Him.

If you are now in a dark night, struggling in a deep valley, and wishing for His peace, then turn to Jesus. Admit your need and trust Him.

Pray as the Spirit leads you. Or pray this prayer as your own: “Jesus, I am getting nowhere trusting myself so today I will start trusting you to forgive me, redeem me, guide me, comfort me as my Shepherd. I invite you to strengthen the muscles of my heart, mind and soul. Fill me with your strength so that no matter what I must face tomorrow, I will be able to say with joy, it is well with my soul. In the power of your name I pray. Amen.”

Now, trusting Jesus, move forward. With every breath follow Jesus, obeying His Inner Voice. With your Shepherd by your side, you will realize that Jesus truly is everything. Abiding in Him, you will receive all the strength you need to be his strong and courageous servant until the day He calls you Home.

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. — James 2:26

CHURCH DIRECTORY

ANGLICAN

The Good Shepherd Anglican Church 3015 Opelika Road, Opelika

APOSTOLIC HOLINESS

God’s House of Prayers Holiness Church 301 Highland Ave., Opelika 334-749-9672

BAPTIST

Beulah Baptist Church 5500 Lee Road 270, Valley 334-705-0538

AFB - Cooperative Baptist Fellowship 128 E. Glenn Ave., Auburn 334-887-8506

Friendship Missionary Baptist Church 3089 Judge Brown Road Valley 334-710-2117

Greater Peace Missionary Baptist Church 650 Jeter Ave., Opelika 334-749-9487

Green Chapel Missionary Baptist 390 Lee Road 106, Auburn (334) 749-4184

Pepperell Baptist 2702 2nd Ave., Opelika 334-745-3108

Providence Baptist Church 2807 Lee Road 166, Opelika

334-745-4608

Shady Grove Baptist Church 2194 Lee Road 177, Opelika 334-476-1531

Union Grove Baptist Church

4009 Lee Road 391, Opelika

334-749-0461

CHURCH OF CHRIST 10th Street Church Of Christ 500 N. 10th St., Opelika 334-745-5181

The Opelika Church 2660 Cunninghan Dr., Opelika

Church Of Christ 2215 Marvyn Pkwy., Opelika 334-742-9721

Southside Church Of Christ

405 Carver Ave., Opelika 334-745-6015

CHURCH OF GOD Lakeside Church of God 3295 Lee Rd 54, Opelika 334-749-6432

EPISCOPAL- AME

Saint Luke AME Church 1308 Auburn St., Opelika 334-749-1690

EPISCOPAL

Emmanuel Episcopal Church 800 1st Ave., Opelika 334-745-2054

METHODIST

Auburn United Methodist Church 137 South Gay St., Auburn 334-826-8800

Beulah United Methodist Church 5165 Lee Road 270,

Valley 334-745-4755

NON-DENOMINATIONAL

Bridge Church of AL 315 2nd Ave., Opelika 334-363-0552

Church At Opelika 1901 Waverly Pkwy., Opelika 334-524-9148

Connect Church 2015 West Point Pkwy., Opelika 334-707-3949

Father’s House Christian Fellowship 214 Morris, Ave., Opelika

Living Waters Ministry Center 3005 Lafayette Parkway, Opelika

Southern Plains Cowboy

Church 13099 U.S. Hwy. 280 Waverly 334-401-1014

PENTECOSTAL

Gateway Pentecostal Sanctuary 1221 Commerce Drive, Auburn 334-745-6926

PRESBYTERIAN

Providence Presbyterian Church 1103 Glenn St., Opelika 256-405-8697

Trinity Presbyterian Church 1010 India Road, Opelika 334-745-4889

SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST

Opelika Outreach S.D.A. Church P.O. Box 386, Opelika 334-749-3151

uprightness, attributes that garnered her the profound admiration and respect of her colleagues and peers.

As a pious and dedicated congregant of Marvin Parkway Baptist Church in Opelika, Mrs. Baggett's spiritual life was a cornerstone of her existence. She drew great strength and camaraderie from her church family under the spiritual guidance of Pastor David Floyd.

With skilled hands and a tender heart, Mrs. Baggett crafted numerous knitted, crocheted and needlepoint treasures, each a symbol of her diligence and artistry. These handmade creations, woven with care and affection, will endure as a precious inheritance among those she held dear.

Left to cherish her memory are her children, Farron Bledsoe, Jackie Scott (née Glenn), Mark Bledsoe and Hal Bledsoe (Donna), her brother, Bert Bates (Joanne), 11 grandchildren and a host of great-grandchildren who brought her immeasurable joy.

Mrs. Baggett was predeceased by her first husband, Art Bledsoe, and her dearly loved spouse, Hollis Baggett, with whom she is now reunited in the glory of Paradise.

Visitation will be

Thursday, March 7, from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Parlor of FrederickDean Funeral Home of Opelika, with a funeral service on Friday, March 8, at 11 a.m. in the Chapel. The family kindly suggests that memorial contributions be made to Marvin Parkway Baptist Church in lieu of floral tributes.

VIVIAN "BIBBIE" TUCKER

Bibbie Tucker went to her heavenly home

on March 2, 2024. She was 89 years young. A funeral service was held graveside at LaFayette, Alabama, Cemetery on March 4, with JeffcoatTrant Funeral Home of Opelika handling the arrangements.

Bibbie was born on April 1, 1934, in West Point, Georgia, to Columbus Shealy and Vivi-an (Brown) Huguley. When she was a year old, the family moved to LaFayette, where she grew up, married and raised her own family. She was a loving wife and mother who loved making a home and helping others whenever she could. Of most importance to her was her faith in Jesus Christ.

Bibbie graduated from LaFayette High School and the University of Alabama, where she earned a degree in education. She was a life-long Alabama fan. She taught physical ed-ucation for 15 years before she married William Henry Tucker on Nov. 25, 1970. Together, they raised their two children.

Bibbie leaves to cherish her life well lived and a legacy of faith to her children, Kelly Tucker and David Tucker of LaFayette; sisters Bett David (Bob) of Marietta, Georgia, Shealy Lynn (Emory) of Huntsville; brotherin-law Mose Tucker of LaFayette; and many extended family and friends.

Bibbie was preceded in death by her parents and husband.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to your church or favorite Christian ministry.

SYLVIA DENISE JACKSON

Sylvia Denise Jackson, a lifelong resident of Opelika, was born in Birmingham on May 15, 1954, to Otis and Marcel (Lacy) Lynn and died at East Alabama Medical

Center on March 1, 2024.

Throughout life, she was compassionate and caring for those in need. In early child-hood, “Nesie” discovered her love of animals and rescued as many strays as Mama and Daddy would let her.

Denise retired from Auburn University and was an active member of Pepperell Baptist Church.

She was predeceased by her parents; her youngest son, Glenn Jackson; and siblings, Daphine Lynn, Hal Lynn and Tommy Lynn.

Denise is survived by her devoted and loving husband, Donnie Jackson; her beloved son and daughter-in-law, P.J. and Jamie Jackson; and her grandchildren, Haley, Andrew and Emma Jackson, whom she loved dearly. She is also survived by a very special aunt, Christine Stillwell; her sister, Darlene Armstrong (Randy); nephews and nieces Justin Armstrong (Allie, Olivia and Lillian); Mallory Cutts (Bowen and Lacy Lynn); and her in-laws, Cecil and Janet Rodgers and Debbie Palmer.

A memorial service was held March 5 at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home, with Revs. Zac Gardner and Mike Newman officiating.

JOHN EDWIN LOHMEYER

John Edwin Lohmeyer, 75, of Endicott, New York, passed away on Feb. 24, 2024, in Opelika. John was a simple man who led his life with selflessness, bravery and a deep devotion to his family and faith. He served our country for 28 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a sergeant with full honors, multiple medals and awards for his distinguished service. John served in the infantry, completing two tours in Vietnam and participating in

the Desert Storm wars, earning numerous ribbons, medals and accolades for his valor.

After his military retirement, John continued his service at Auburn University for 10 years, working in facilities. He was a man of faith, worshipping at Pine Grove of Beulah, and he found joy in hobbies such as fishing, camping, spending time with family and reading his Bible.

John is survived by his beloved wife Linda Lohmeyer, his brother Galen Lohmeyer, his daughter Allison Lohmeyer, his son Michael and his wife, six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father, Edwin Lohmeyer, and mother, Eli-nore Hakes.

A service to honor John's life was held at Pine Grove of Beulah on March 2. Frederick Dean Funeral Home in Opelika assisted the family with the arrangements. In lieu of flowers, please consider sending donations to Pine Grove of Beulah to honor John's memory.

JAMES "JIM" GOODMAN

James Champion

"Jim" Goodman, 51, of Opelika, passed away on Feb. 22, 2024. He was born on March 5, 1972, in Birmingham. Jim, a beloved husband, father, son, brother and friend, was known for his unwavering faith and love for his family.

Jim graduated from Auburn University with a bachelor's degree in business administration in 1998. He dedicated 20 years to a successful managerial career in the hospitality industry with Choice Hotels before transitioning to the telecommunications industry, where he ex-celled in selling insurance.

A man of many talents and interests, Jim was a dedicated member

of Trinity Church in Ope-lika. He enjoyed spending time with his family, listening to music, watching movies, going on evening walks, collecting records and perfecting his homemade pizza recipe. Jim had a passion for storytelling, humor and making lasting memories with his loved ones.

Jim is survived by his wife of 26 years, Robin Goodman; daughter, Kaitlyn Goodman; son, Evan Goodman; mother, Brenda Goodman; sister, Leah Goodman; brother, Adam Goodman (Megan); and many loving close family members. He was preceded in death by his father, Gary Goodman, grandparents, Mr. & Mrs. James Robert Kinney, Mrs. Charles McKee and Mr. James Hugh Goodman; and great-grandparents, Mr. & Mrs. Horace Curtis Champion.

A memorial service to celebrate Jim's life was held March 2 at Trinity Church, with Frederick Dean Funeral Home & Crematory assisting with arrangements. Contributions in Jim's memory can be made to Trinity Church or Compassus Bethany House.

DAVID AVERA

“Fear of death is fear of what we may experience. Nothing at all, or something quite new. But if we experience nothing, we can experience nothing bad. And if our experience changes, then our existence will change with it - change, but not cease.”

- Marcus Aurelius

David Eugene Avera, 70, of Auburn, Alabama, passed away on Feb. 29, 2024, after bravely enduring a two year battle with malignant melanoma. Throughout his illness, he was surrounded and supported by his family, and lovingly cared for

COFFEE & CONVERSATION WITH VFW POST 5404

VFW Post 5404, 131 E. Veterans Blvd., Auburn, next to Ray's Collision off of South College Street, will be open on Wednesdays, 8 to 11 a.m. with coffee, donuts, cake and conversation about service and benefits for all veterans and spouses to stop by.

AUBURN/OPELIKA MOPS IS NOW 'MomCO'

MOPS

LEE/RUSSELL COUNTY LOW VISION SUPPORT GROUP

The group meets every month on the third Wednesday from 1:30 to 3 p.m. The meeting will be held at the AIDB-Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind Opelika Regional Center on 355 Dunlop Drive in Opelika. Every month different topics are discussed to make life more manageable living with low vision.

Contact Shiquita Fulton, M.ED/Vision Rehab therapist for additional details at 334-705-2024, or Melody Wilson, case manager for the blind, at 256-368-3258.

NAMI MEETING

NAMI East Alabama, the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), will meet at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024. NAMI supports families dealing with mental illness through mutual support, education and advocacy. Board and Officer elections will be held. There will be a time for sharing. The public is invited. Meetings are held at 714 E. Glenn Ave. in Auburn.

by his wife, daughters and a special caretaker, Jackson Wolters.

David graduated from Peachtree High School in 1972, and attended the University of Georgia. He was a senior software architect at Sybase, and retired after twenty five years. He had many academic interests, such as astronomy, philosophy, history and politics. He was an avid reader, exploring many subjects with a great appetite for knowledge. David liked to wonder, and learn and lived by his self taught stoicism.

David enjoyed many years, and many trails, traversing the mountains alongside friends and family. He loved backpacking, hiking, camping, simply sitting outside on the back porch and spending time at the shooting range.

As an audiophile, he boasted quite the record collection, and loved to listen and share his favorites.

David was born in Macon Country, Georgia, on Jan. 31, 1954, to Carol Eugene Avera, and Anne Darden Avera. David was predeceased by his parents, and leaves his wife of 27 years, Candice (Candy) Edwards Avera; his siblings, Nancy Sartin Avera (Mike Richardson) and Bruce Avera (Donnie); three children, Caty Nation Avera (Sean), Lena Vera Cooper (Drew) and Meredith Anne Avera; and grandchildren Sullivan and Tessa Nation.

An informal memorial gathering will be held at Grove Hill Clubhouse on Saturday, March 9, at 11a.m. In lieu of flowers, donations in David’s honor can be sent to Woof Avenue rescue in Auburn, Alabama.

David faced adversity with a straight face, and often repeated the words of his father, “Gettin’ old ain’t for sissies.”

The Harbor at Opelika to offer new alzheimer’s support services

CONTRIBUTED BY

KADE BROERSMA

SPOT ON MARKETING

OPELIKA — The

Harbor at Opelika is excited to announce Alzheimer’s Support Services, a new program for both companies. This is a free service that is designed to give support and resources to families and caregivers who are navigating the pressures of caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s or other memory loss conditions.

Dr. Ronald Harvard has come aboard as the Director of Alzheimer’s Support Services. As a pastor, counselor, college professor and primary caregiver to his late wife, Linda, who suffered from Alzheimer’s for

20 years, Harvard brings many years of experience to this new program. At various times, Harvard has served his alma mater, Lee University, as a faculty member in the psychology department, as director of counseling, and as an adjunct faculty member at Lee Online. He and Linda also served as senior pastor at churches in Florida, Indiana and Georgia.

With degrees in Biblical studies, social psychology and pastoral counseling, Harvard’s love for teaching and counseling have defined his life, but no more so than the love of his life, Linda, and their four children.

Harvard’s introduction to Alzheimer’s was

DR. RONALD HARVARD

personal and very painful. In the fall of 2003, he recognized the beginning signs of memory loss in his late wife, Linda. Fifteen years later, she became a resident of a Legacy Senior Living community, The Harbor at Legacy Village of Cleveland. In May of 2023, Linda

passed away and David chronicled his struggles and victories in his blog, “Dementia: walking victoriously through the ‘Long Goodbye,’” offering lessons learned, meditations and comfort to many.

“What became clear to me during the process of loving Linda through the battle of

Alzheimer’s, was that I was being prepared to minister to families going through similar situations,” Harvard said. “My mission in leading this new Alzheimer’s Support Service is to provide behavioral insights, practical direction and comfort through support groups and one-on-one meetings.”

“This is a program that we are so excited to offer to families that are struggling with the challenges of memory loss,” said Barry Ray, CEO and co-founder of Legacy Senior Living. “We are eager to welcome Dr. Harvard to this position as he supports other family members and caregivers navigating this overwhelming season.”

More information about this program is available online at www. legacysl.net/alzheimerssupport.

COMMUNITY DETAILS

The Harbor at Opelika is a premier memory care community with apartments for seniors. The Harbor at Opelika is a part of Legacy Senior Living, a family-owned, faith-based company with an executive team that has well more than 100 combined years of experience in the senior living industry. The Harbor at Opelika strives to serve the Greatest Generation with honor, respect, faith and integrity. More information is available at www.harboropelika. net or by calling (334) 749-7992.

Schools & S

On the Mark

Spring sports recap

BY D. MARK MITCHELL

OPINION —

SOCCER

OHS Bulldog boys soccer opened area play with a 3-1 win over Central. David Cruz, Tristan Tatum and Nolen Wilson each scored a goal. Cruz also had two assists, and Wilson had one assist.

Dothan beat the Bulldogs 2-1 in a tough game last week. Cruz scored the lone goal for OHS with an assist from Rigo Ramirez.

GOLF

The Opelika girls golf team beat Beauregard 183142 last week. OHS played consistently despite awful weather conditions. The lowest OHS golfer, Karly Phatsadavong, shot a 45 on nine holes, followed by Paige Bales (48) and Kaylin Ward (49).

Opelika boys tied Beauregard while playing in the same brutal conditions. Over nine holes, Bennett Young shot a team low 42, followed by Carter Nesse (45), Evan Henderson (47) and Nolen Wilson (52).

TRACK AND FIELD

The Opelika girls and boys track and field teams participated in the Auburn Early Bird presented by

Glynn-Smith ChevroletGMC at the Auburn High School track last Saturday. Here are the results:

GIRLS:

14.06 SB Alieah Nelms, 3rd 14.09 SB Daejah Maddox, 5th

800 METER RUN

2:49.05 SB Caylyn Moore, 5th

1600 METER RUN

6:35.86 Caylyn Moore, 6th 300 METER HURDLES

55.01 London Gardner, 2nd

55.52 Lauren Waits, 3rd 56.94 Taylore Phillips, 5th HIGH JUMP

4-2 London Gardner, 2nd LONG JUMP

15-0 Ava Thomas, 3rd 13-5 London Gardner, 3rd

DISCUS

58-0 Kennady Caldwell, 1st

52-9 Kamora Johnson, 3rd SHOT PUT

30-3 Kamora Johnson, 1st

29-10 Kennady Caldwell, 2nd

29-8 Katlyn Brooks, 3rd BOYS

100 METER DASH

11.70 Michael Swanson, 1st

12.38 Rico Kindred, 4th

800 METER RUN

2:23.95 Matthew Pritchett, 1st

1600 METER RUN

5:56.13 Ty Roberson, 10th

300 METER HURDLES

48.48 Aedan

See ON THE MARK, page B4

OHS theatre takes award-winning 'Quilt' to southeastern competition

Local performances March 10-11 to help fund trip

BY ANITA STIEFEL ANITAS@OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

OPELIKA — At its regular board meeting on Feb. 27, the Opelika City Schools Board of Education passed a resolution honoring the Opelika High Theatre Society (OHTS) for winning Best in Show in the One Act Competition at the Walter Trumbauer Theatre Competition held in Florence, Alabama, in December.

OHTS won the statewide competition with its performance of “Quilt, A Musical Celebration,” with cast members Drue Gagliano, Clayton McBurney and Atticus O’Banner named to the All-Star Cast.

OHTS will represent the state of Alabama at the Southeastern Theatre Conference in Mobile later this month. To raise money for the trip, OHTS will present two performances of the play on Sunday and Monday, March 10 and 11 at 5 p.m. Donations will be accepted at the door.

Director Revel Gholston has led close to 70 productions in his 23+ years with OHTS. “Quilt” is a collection of stories accompanied by songs that represent panels in a quilt, each of which tells the actual story of loved ones who died from AIDS. Musical director is Dean Jones and technical director is Tracy Tidwell.

“Mr. Revel Gholston, Mr. Tracy Tidwell, Mr. Dean Jones and the members of the Opelika High Theatre Society continue to excel and set a higher standard with each production,” reads the resolution. “We express our sincere congratulations …for the honor they have brought to themselves, their families, our school system and our community.”

Pictured above are members of the Opelika High Theatre Society. Pictured below, on behalf of the Opelika City Schools Board of Education, Superintendent Dr. Farrell Seymore presents a resolution honoring the group to Musical Director Dean Jones, left, and OHTS Director Revel Gholston, right.

Auburn woman receives $10K scholarship

Applications open for next year

CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER

AUBURN — Auburn native Sheila Sjolseth received a $10,000 scholarship from The Sallie Mae Fund’s Bridging the Dream Scholarship for Graduate Students, in partnership with Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

Sjolseth was one of 10 nationwide scholarship recipients selected from nearly 500 applicants based on academic performance and how she plans to leverage her degree and career to help advance social justice within her community.

Sjolseth is completing her Ph.D. at Auburn University, where she is studying human development and family science with a goal of helping families find mental health support for their children. She said she plans to use her newfound knowledge to have meaningful collaborations to help families and children navigate the mental health process, and said she hopes to revolutionize the child mental health system by finding the balance between research and policy.

“Higher education unlocks opportunities and empowers students to be agents for positive change in their communities and beyond,” said Nicolas Jafarieh, executive vice president of Sallie Mae. “Together, with Thurgood Marshall College Fund, we continue to support students from all backgrounds on their unique higher education journeys.”

“The Bridging the Dream Scholarship for Graduate Students empowers students …to advance their education and make a positive impact in the communities in which they live and serve,” said Thurgood Marshall College Fund President and CEO Dr. Harry L. Williams. “We are pleased to continue this essential work with The Sallie Mae Fund.”

The Bridging the Dream Scholarship for Graduate Students is part of a threeyear, $3 million commit-

ment made by The Sallie Mae Fund to help students access and complete higher education.

In addition to scholarships to graduate students, The Sallie Mae Fund provides scholarships to high school students through its Bridging the Dream Scholarship for High School Seniors, as well as scholarships to help current college students complete their education through its Completing the Dream Scholarship. Sallie Mae also connects students to millions of dollars in scholarships through its free app and resource Scholly by Sallie.

The application windows for the 2024-25 Bridging the Dream Scholarship for Graduate Students and Bridging the Dream Scholarship for High School Seniors will open on March 25 at 11 a.m.

For more information, visit SallieMae.com.

ABOUT SALLIE MAE: SLM Corp. (Nasdaq: SLM) believes education and life-long learning, in all forms, help people achieve great things. SLM provides financing and know-how to support access to college and offer products and resources to help customers make new goals and experiences, beyond college, happen. Commonly known as Sallie Mae, SLM Corporation and its subsidiaries are not sponsored by or agencies of the United States of America. Learn more at SallieMae.com.

AU Cafe Series highlights Black scientists, mathematicians

BY KADIE VICK FOR THE OBSERVER

AUBURN — Throughout February, Auburn University’s College of Science and Mathematics (COSAM) Outreach offered a Cafe Series celebrating Black scientists and mathematicians. COSAM Outreach Program Coordinator Christopher Martin spoke about what inspired him to organize this series.

“One of the biggest things that made me want to do it was reflecting on my childhood and the lack of representation in distinguished roles like that,” Martin said. “So being able to bring people who are making such a big difference in the community and highlight them to show people of color the opportunities that they could have in the future.”

To ensure this idea became a reality, Martin utilized some of AU’s many other programs that foster community involvement and inclusion. He partnered with COSAM’s Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion director,

Kimberly Mulligan-Guy.

According to Martin, both parties felt that Black History Month is often used to tell the same important stories, but that the stories and impact of those who make a difference through everyday life are not told enough.

“One of [Mulligan-Guy’s] key takeaways was that in February, we highlight the important people — MLK, Rosa Parks and all these people that have pushed civil rights, pushed equality — but we never really highlight just the average person that's constantly making a difference in the community,” Martin said.

Through the Black History Cafe Series, Martin hopes listeners will feel empowered to pursue their dreams and ideas through speakers who have done so much for inclusivity in STEM [science-technology-engineering-math].

“They were making black history every day,” he said. “Not just these big events, and I thought that was also very important.”

This series has highlighted the community's desire for other similar series that would celebrate other marginalized groups.

Martin said he has received “a lot of feedback from the community about potentially doing a Women's History Month for March or an Asian History Month for May, opportunities that I didn't even think about.”

COSAM Outreach events are “catered to reach K-12 kids and just educate them and expose them to STEM at an early age,” Martin said. “We cater to underprivileged communities.”

Martin encourages anyone interested to get involved to help continue to open up STEM opportunities for children and those who have been historically excluded.

“If people want to get involved, we want as many volunteers as possible,” he said.

“Reach out to our Instagram and Facebook @cosamoutreach. We love the opportunity for people to just come see what we're doing.”

Southern Union College Bowl team is national runner-up

CONTRIBUTED BY SUSCC

OPELIKA — The college bowl team from Southern Union State Community College recently finished second

in the nation at the NAQT Community College Quiz Bowl Championship.

Chipola A of Marianna, Florida, took first place. Southern Union finished the tournament with an 11-3 record, losing two matches to Chipola and one to third-place team Murray State College of Tishomingo, Oklahoma. To reach the final, Southern Union avenged its playoff loss to Murray State, winning 365-120.

The leading scorer for the tournament was Southern Union's captain, William Hughes, who had a scoring average of 123.36. He was also selected as a

tournament all-star.

Hughes, a sophomore, led a team composed of sophomore Josh Kroll, and freshmen Lane Aldridge, Abbie Hardin and Macey Slick.

Quiz bowl is a competitive, academic, interscholastic activity for teams of four students. Quiz bowl teams use buzzers to answer questions about science, math, history, literature, mythology, geography, social science, current events, sports and popular culture. The matches feature a blend of individual competition and team collaboration, since no individual player is likely to be an expert in

all subject areas. Participation in quiz bowl both reinforces lessons from the classroom and encourages players to develop new intellectual interests.

The tournament was comprised of 24 teams that competed in four pools of six and then the top teams were placed in a championship pool of eight, and played round robin matches against the other teams in the championship pool.

ABOUT NAQT:

National Academic Quiz Tournaments, founded in 1996, organizes the premier middle school, high school and college quiz bowl championships in North America. In addition to its national champion-ships, NAQT provides questions to invitational tournaments, league championships, and television shows throughout the year.

SHEILA SJOLSETH

Team sponsors Brent Catchings and Jackson Bonner and SU College Bowl Team members Josh Kroll, Will Hughes, Macey Slick, Abbie

Hardin and Lane Aldridge brought back a second place trophy from the recent NAOT Quiz Bowl Championship.

Beulah falls to Beauregard in softball

ON THE MARK >>

from B1

McCullough, 1st

48.55 Keelan Banks, 2nd

HIGH JUMP

5-0 Kentrell Oden, 4th

LONG JUMP

15-4.5 Jordan North, 4th

DISCUS

96-1 Teddy Houston, 1st

85-8 Ethan Oyola, 2nd

SHOT PUT

35-1 Jordan Williams, 3rd

34-5 Jaivian Holloway, 4th

SOFTBALL

The Lady Bulldog

Softball team (6-8) won one of three games last weekend. Calera shutout Ope-lika 0-2 in five innings last Saturday. Katie Johnson led at the plate with two hits, followed by sin-gles from K.D. Harrelson, Katelyn Foley and Kali Harper. Harper was losing pitcher, allowing only two runs over four innings.

OHS rebounded in game two on Saturday, beating Randolpn County 7-3 behind two doubles and three RBIs from Katie Johnson. Katiie Soltau recorded two hits and

scored two runs. Emily Birmingham added a hit and two RBIs.

Wetumpka beat OHS 13-2 in the last game of the tripleheader. The Lady Indians held Opelika to three hits while slamming 13 hits over four innings.

BASEBALL

The OHS baseball team (8-3) lost two of three games last week. Opelika beat BRHS 2-0 in Alex-ander City. Parker Killcrease led the Dogs offensively with two hits, and Hudson, Jones, J. Kilcrese and D. Ford added

hits. Davis Ford earned the win, pitching five innings without giving up a run. Russell Copous pitched the final two innings without giving up any hits to earn to the save.

The Wildcats rebounded to win two 2-9 in game two. Kilcrese led OHS with three hits, along with hits from Jones, D. Ford and Hudson.

Beauregard defeated Opelika at BHS 9-6 last week. The Hornets scored nine runs on 11 hits, while the Dogs made four errors. Offensively, R. Copous led with two hits, followed by

singles from Hudson, Jones, Clayton, Kilcrese, Hudson and Johnson. The Dogs rallied for four runs in the last inning but came up three runs short. Four Opelika pitch-ers were used over six innings.

DIXIE BOYS BASEBALL

Registration for Dixie Boys Baseball for ages 13-15 will begin March 15 at the Opelika Sports-Plex. Every player registered will be placed on a team. Cost is $45 for city of Opelika residents and $50 for nonresidents. The league is open to anyone interested in

playing summer baseball. The league begins in late April, and regular season games end by the second week in June. The 13-, 14and 15-year-olds will field an All-Star team in each age group. For more info email me foxonthemark@ yahoo.com.

D Mark Mitchell is the sports director at iHeartMedia, host of “On the Mark” Fox Sports the Game 910-1319, co-chair of the Auburn-Opelika Sports Council, chairman of the Super 7 and Dixie Boys Baseball state director.

On Feb. 29, the Beauregard varsity girls softball team won their game against Beulah High School by a score of 7-6.

Opelika soccer takes on Central

Opelika

team

PHOTOS BY ROBERT NOLES THE OBSERVER

Harris transforms AU women with best season in five years

BY NOAH GRIFFITH FOR THE OBSERVER

AUBURN —In year

three under head coach

Johnnie Harris, Auburn University women’s basketball completed its winningest regular season since 201819 with a victory in Gainesville on Sunday.

Entering the SEC Tournament as a 7-seed, Auburn is showing all the signs of turning the corner from the rebuilding phase under Harris. Auburn has made noticeable strides each season since Harris was hired in April 2021, but the Tigers have now become competitive at the national level.

Last season, Auburn

finished with a winning record for the first time since going 22-10 five sea-sons ago under former head coach Terri Williams-Flournoy, but the Tigers took it a step further this season. They finished the regular season at 19-10 with four more wins than last year. They also notched a .500 record in SEC play, at 8-8, for the first time since going 9-7 in 2018-19. Auburn earned its first postseason berth under Harris last season, making an appearance in the WNIT, but the team has its eyes on the NCAA Tournament this season. Prior to SEC Tournament play, Auburn is projected as one of the “Last Four

Byes” in the NCAAW Tournament by ESPN’s Bracketology.

In 2020-21, the season before Harris was hired, Auburn failed to win a conference game and finished at 5-19. Harris’ squad doubled that win total in her first season and notched two conference wins over No. 20 Georgia and No. 4 Tennessee. The Tigers went 15-13 in the regular season in her second year with a 5-11 SEC record.

In addition to notching four more wins — three in league play — this season, Auburn stunned defending national champion, No. 7 LSU and snagged three conference wins in a

row to end the regular season. Auburn emerged triumphant against LSU, Alabama, Georgia, Missouri and Kentucky before going out with a bang against Texas A&M, Mississippi State and Florida.

Even after the leading scorer from Harris’ first two seasons on the Plains — Aicha Coulibaly — transferred to Texas A&M following last season, senior Honesty ScottGrayson took over and ranked second in the SEC with 18.4 points per game. She’s

on the watch list for this year’s Women’s College All-Star Game after surpassing 1,500 career points and 200 assists during her final collegiate season.

#7 seed Auburn plays #10 seed Arkansas in the SEC Tournament on Thursday, March 7 at 5 p.m. on SEC Network

Lady Panthers win softball game, lose soccer game

2024, the Smiths Station varsity girls soccer team lost its game against Prattville High School by a score of 0-2.

PHOTOS

Pictured above is AU women's basketball head coach Johnnie Harris.

On Tuesday, Feb 27, 2024, the Smiths Station varsity girls softball team won its game against Beauregard High School by a score of 13-3.

AU MBB starts March strong despite falling in Knoxville

BY NOAH GRIFFITH FOR THE OBSERVER

Auburn –– No. 13 Auburn University men’s basketball (22-7, 11-5) welcomed in the madness of March by splitting a pair of Quadrant One opportunities against Tennessee and Mississippi State.

To close out February, Auburn fell short in Knoxville against SEC-leading, No. 4 Tennessee before beginning the new month by defeating Mississippi State at home. The Tigers fell two spots in this week’s AP Poll and remain tied with Kentucky for fourth place in the SEC, while falling out of contention for an SEC regular-season title.

Auburn, a projected

4-seed in the NCAA Tournament, will close out the regular season this week with games against two bottom five teams in the SEC. It will go to Missouri (821, 0-16) on Wednesday before returning home for its final home game in a rematch with Georgia (15-14, 5-11).

“It's March and it's time to make shots, not take shots," said head coach Bruce Pearl. "The guys have been putting in the work, and that's what it takes to win … I hope we get a great crowd in here for our last game, Senior Night against Georgia.”

Following are some highlights from Auburn’s pair of games this past week.

Wednesday, Feb. 27: Auburn 84 – Tennessee 92

Auburn went to battle with a top five team on the road, but it couldn’t overcome 39 points from Dalton Knecht as it fell to No. 4 Tennessee.

In a game with 12 lead changes, the Tigers went on a run and found themselves up by eight with 12:17 left to go in the game. Knecht went off at that point, scoring 23 points in just over nine minutes to help him match his career-high in scoring.

Coming into the game as the SEC’s second top scorer, 0.4 points behind Alabama’s Mark Sears at 20.1 points per game, Knecht scored 11 consecutive points right after Auburn notched its biggest lead of the game to seize momentum. After Zakai

Zeigler drained a three to make it a 44-40 Volunteer lead at halftime, Knecht scored 29 points in the second half to put Auburn’s comeback bid to rest.

In his return from injury, Jaylin Williams played 21 minutes and scored 12 points off the bench. Auburn went with the same starting five as it did against Georgia with Chaney Johnson and Chad Baker-Mazara, but the duo combined for 18 points after scoring 41 in Athens.

Despite the loss,

Auburn shot 45.8% as a team and scored the most points against Tennessee in Knoxville this season. Only North Carolina and Kentucky have scored more against the Volunteers, who entered the game allowing 66.6 points a game this season.

Falling just short of a double-double, Johni Broome recorded his sixth 20-point game this season with 23 points and nine rebounds, including a pair of 3-pointers. He led a team of five double-digit scorers, consisting of Baker-Mazara’s fourth consecutive game in double figures with 13.

Auburn shot well and showed a lot of offensive life, but eight threes between Knecht and Zeigler was too much for the Tigers.

Tennessee improved to 21-6 and 14-1 at home this season, and it put itself two games ahead of Auburn in

the SEC race. Auburn falls to 4-4 in SEC road games this season with just one such contest remaining at Missouri.

Saturday, March 2:

Auburn 78 – Mississippi State 63

The Tigers clawed back at the Bulldogs in Neville Arena, avenging their January loss to Mississippi State in Starkville.

In the first matchup between the two, Auburn shot 33.9% as a team and lost the turnover battle while getting dominated on the glass. The Tigers reversed the narrative this time around, shooting 50% with nine 3-point makes and winning the turnover battle, 13-10.

Despite getting outrebounded again, 36-30, Auburn played stingy defense and kept them from turning the advantage on the boards into points. The Tigers recorded nine blocks and eight steals, while forcing 13 total turnovers and holding Mississippi State to 39.3% shooting.

In fact, Mississippi State had 21 rebounds but only 22 points at halftime, as Auburn built a commanding early lead.

Auburn went up 3922 at halftime, and it led all the way through. It took fewer than eight minutes for Auburn to take a double-digit lead, and it stayed ahead by as much as 19 as it kept its lead to at least 10 all the way through 13:28 in the second half.

The Bulldogs showed their toughest bark coming out of halftime, when an 18-9 run drew the deficit to eight points. SEC Freshman of the Year candidate Josh Hubbard hit a pair of threes out of the break, and Mississippi State capitalized on a pair of missed threes by Auburn to go on a 6-0 run, making Auburn’s lead the narrowest it had been since Denver Jones’ three made it an 11-point game midway through the first half.

After another of Hubbard’s six threes shrunk the lead to seven, Auburn responded with an 8-0 run behind 3-balls from Jones and Lior Berman.

Berman gave the Tigers his last offensive spark before the senior suffered a season-ending ACL injury in the second half. Despite the heartbreaking loss, Jaylin Williams returned to the starting lineup for the first time in two weeks and helped the Tigers capitalize on Berman’s efforts.

Boosting Auburn to the finish line, Williams went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line to notch 10 points and seal Auburn’s 10th conference win by 15 or more.

Johni Broome led the Tigers with 17 points and six rebounds, and Denver Jones hit three 3-pointers to give him 15 points. Starters Williams and Chad Baker-Mazara joined them scoring in double

Auburn’s Chaney Johnson (31) during the game between the No. 11 Auburn Tigers and the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Neville Arena in Auburn, AL on Saturday, March 2, 2024.

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Education briefs

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LEE COUNTY — Four local students have been inducted into The Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, including Sophia Simpson and Jessica Walker, both of Auburn; Eli Baggett of Opelika; and Ashanti Fuller of Smiths Station. Phi Kappa Phi is the nation's oldest and most selective collegiate honor society for all academic disciplines, and membership is invitation-only and based on scholastic achievement. Eligibility is limited to the academic top 10% of seniors and top 7.5% of juni ors. Simpson, Walker and Baggett all attend the University of Alabama at Birmingham, while Fuller attends Troy University. figures with 10 a piece. Entering the game projected as a 4-seed in the NCAA Tournament in ESPN’s bracketology, Auburn earned a much-needed Quadrant

1 win over Mississippi State, who entered the game as a projected 8-seed. That is a valuable win, as Auburn has no more Quadrant 1 opportunities in its final two regular-season games. Auburn is no longer

in contention for first place in the SEC, but it still has seeding in the SEC Tournament and NCAA Tournament on the line as it closes out its third consecutive 20-win season with games against Missouri and Georgia.

Calling golf enthusiasts, animal lovers

Get ready to swing for a cause and make tails wag at our upcoming Golf for Paws event benefiting CARE Humane Society. Join CARE for a day of fun on the greens while making a meaningful difference in the lives of animals in need. With every swing, you’ll be supporting CARE’s vital work in rescuing, sheltering and caring for our furry friends.

Saturday,April 27, 2024

Tee Time: Shotgun start at 8 a.m.

Lunch provided for all sponsorships

Location: Pines Crossing Country Club

Highlights include: a scenic golf course, exciting contests and prizes, delicious lunch provided to all sponsors (additional lunch tickets available) and heartwarming stories from CARE Humane Society. Don’t miss this opportunity to tee off for a great cause. Grab your clubs, gather your friends, and let’s make a paw-sitive impact together by supporting CARE’s vital work of Compassion, Adoption, Rescue, and Education.

For registration and sponsorship opportunities, complete the form to secure your sponsorship www. forms.gle/eLMTdiu1dtJzTNsNA

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Inside the State House

L labama Politics ee County & A Political potpourri

BY STEVE FLOWERS

OPINION —

Ihope you all voted in the March 5 primaries.

You have an advantage on me in that I must go to press with my column before Wednesday, my publication date. Therefore, you know the results. However, I doubt there are any surprises.

We do not have any good state races this year. We have four open seats on our State Supreme Court. However, three of the four are held by popular incumbents, none of which received even token opposition from either Republicans or Democrats.

Justices Will Sellers, Jay Mitchell and Tommy Bryan won reelection to new sixyear terms on the State’s high tribunal. Winning the Re-publican nomination is tantamount to election in the Heart of Dixie. All nine of our Supreme Court posts are held by Republicans.

Another very popular jurist, Chris McCool of Pickens County lore, is moving up to one of the four open seats on the Supreme Court. Judge McCool is moving up from the Court of Criminal Appeals to the seat being vacated by Sarah Stewart, who is running for chief justice.

Speaking of popular state judges, my friend Bill Thompson has retired from the Court of Civil Appeals effective Feb. 1. Thompson served 27 years as a judge on this appellate court, including the last 17 years as the presiding judge. Thompson is the longest

serving judge in the Court of Civil Appeals and the longest serving presiding judge in the history of the Alabama Court of Civil Appeals. He was first elected in 1996 and was reelected in 2002, 2008, 2014 and 2020. Hopefully, he will have an enjoyable retirement. Thompson grew up in Autauga and Elmore counties. He and his wife, Melinda, live in Homewood where they raised their three children. Gov. Kay Ivey made an excellent appointment to this plum vacant appellate court seat by selecting Elmore County Circuit Judge Bill Lewis. He is a fantastic appointee.

My friend Tom Parker will be retiring as chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court at the end of the year. Alabama has an antiquated law that requires judges to retire after age 70. Tom and I went to Boys State together in 1969. We became friends there and have remained so over the years. He and his wife Dottie are high minded and quality people.

Fortunately, the newspapers in the state do not have a mandatory age 70 retirement mandate so I will keep writing this column for a few more years.

One of my favorite political legends in state history is former Attorney General and Lt. Gov. Bill Baxley, who is now in his eighties and remains one of Alabama’s premier defense attorneys. Back in December, the presiding judges and bar in Houston/Henry counties honored Bill with a portrait unveiling in the Dothan Courthouse. The portrait was hung in the courtroom that Bill grew up in watching court as a boy in Dothan. His daddy was Presiding Judge Keener Baxley. He and his daddy would walk home together to have lunch with his mama Mrs. Leema. Bill became district attorney of the Houston/Henry circuit at the ripe age of 24. He was

elected attorney general of Alabama four years later at 28. Bill moved to Birmingham to practice law after politics. His brother, Wade Baxley, remained one of the most prominent lawyers in Dothan until he succumbed to cancer. The portrait and ceremony meant a lot to ol’ Bill.

Speaking of old friends and Alabama political legends, my lifetime friend George Wallace Jr. has penned a marvelous book about his daddy, Gov. George Wallace Sr. The book came out last year and is entitled, George Wallace, from Segregation to Salvation. George tells the story of his growing up the son of one of the most well-known and controversial figures in America’s 20th Century. He talks about how his father truly changed and had the courage to ask for forgiveness, and how he meant it. Obviously, Black Alabamians believed him, because Black Alabama voters elected George Wallace to his final term as governor in 1982.

George Jr. is truly a very genuine, good guy. He has the same quiet, humble and unassuming manner as his mother, Gov. Lurleen Wallace. He had a successful career in politics himself.

George Jr. served two terms as treasurer of the state of Alabama, as well as two terms as Alabama Public Service Commissioner. George and his wife, Elizabeth, live in a suburban Shelby County, Highway 280 neighborhood and very much enjoy their peaceful life together.

See you next week.

Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist. His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers. Flowers served 16 years in the state legislature. He may be reached at www. steveflowers.us.

'Renfro House' ordinance tabled by city council

BY MICHELLE KEY MICHELLE@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

OPELIKA — During its March 5 meeting, the Opelika City Council voted to table the ordinance that proposed the rezoning of property located at 414 N. 10th St. from R2 to an I1 (industrial zone.)

The council announced plans to consider amending the current city ordinance pertaining to the R2 zone to allow for a provisional use permit for a bed and breakfast to operate within the zone without the property having to be rezoned.

"What I care about is that the public knows that we, as the council, was listening to what they were saying and try to react accordingly," said Council President Eddie Smith. "We want to have everybody happy, but that is not a possibility; but it is a possibility to make most of them happy, and so what we did tonight was move away from a rezoning and move to what they [citizens opposed to the rezoning] were okay with — it being a bed and breakfast — but they don't want it

rezoned, so that is what we're going to try to do.”

Smith said the process to do a text amendment to an ordinance can take approximately 90 days.

“It has to go through the very same things that other zoning requests go through,” he explained. “The reason we tabled it rather than deny it was because it could not come back for [consideration] for a year."

Ward 3 council member Tim Aja publicly addressed some of the correspondence he received in which a threat was made toward the council.

"The few communications

that went straight to threatening legal action against this body and trying to intimidate us into not doing our job is not well received," Aja said. "Let me be absolutely clear; we do not take that intimidation lightly. It is not to be done and don't expect anything but an antagonistic response in the future. It is your right to file suit if you feel that you want to. That is fine. But do not threaten."

JOB WELL DONE

Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller and Sutricia Johnson from Keep Opelika Beautiful See COUNCIL, page B12

The Opelika City Council during its March 5 meeting.

From left to right, Sutricia Johnson, Jonathan Fischer, Mayor Gary Fuller, Davis Fischer, Kelli Fischer and Charlotte Fischer.

Copelan, Drury win local primary elections without a runoff

BY DAVID BELL FOR THE OBSERVER

Publisher's Note — These results are unofficial until certified by election officials.

LEE COUNTY — Two local three-candidate races in Tuesday’s Presidential Primary Election were decided without the necessity for a runoff.

According to the uncertified results, Opelika attorney Samantha Copelan easily won the Republican Primary for Lee County District Judge, Place 2, with 8,346 votes, or 57%. Lee County Assistant

District Attorney Clay Thomas finished second with 3,990 votes (27%), while Opelika attorney Harold Morris received 2,290 votes (16%).

Copelan will face Democratic challenger Kris Patton, an Auburnbased DHR attorney, in the Nov. 5 General Election.

In the Republican Primary race for Lee County Commissioner, District 3, Jeff Drury was victorious with 1,582 votes, or 54% of the total cast. Challenger Brian Davis was second with 875 votes (30%), while incumbent Gary Long received 462 votes (16%).

Lee County voters followed the statewide trend in the Republican

and Democratic Presidential Primaries, giving current president

Joe Biden 90% of his party’s vote and former President Donlad Trump 75% of the Republican ballots cast.

United States Representative, 3rd Congressional District (Rep)

Mike Rogers - 78.13%

Bryan K. Newell13.85%

Barron Rae Bevels8.02%

Chief Justice Of The Supreme Court

Sarah Stewart53.13%

Brian Taylor - 46.87%

Court Of Civil Appeals Judge, Place 2 (Rep)

Chad Hanson - 56.36%

Stephen Davis Parker - 43.54%

Court Of Criminal Appeals Judge, Place 2 (Rep)

Local voters were evenly divided when it came to the proposed statewide Amendment to the Constitution of Alabama that would authorize the Legislature to sign and transmit local laws or constitutional amendments before the transmission of basic appropriations. “Yes” votes totaled 8,490, with 8,497 voting “no.”

Of the total 128,741 registered voters in Lee County, only 18,999, or 14.76%, actually voted in Tuesday’s election.

“That’s about what I predicted,” said Lee County Probate Judge Bill English. “Historically, we have a small turnout for primary elections.”

OTHER LEE COUNTY RESULTS

Rich Anderson54.18%

Thomas Govan - 45.82

President, Public Service Commission (Rep)

Twinkle Andress

Cavanaugh - 55.07%

Robert L. McCollum44.93%

Democratic Delegates 3rd Congressional District (Dem)

Joseph R Biden Jr Delegates (DEM)

Jeremy Gray - 34.31%

Pam Howard - 21.92%

Kyle Pierce - 20.34%

Ciara Smith - 22.19%

Uncommitted Delegates (DEM)

John Squires - 1.24%

State-wide results from Tuesday's election can be found at www. sos.alabama.gov/ alabama-votes.

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NAACP holds police town hall meeting

BY SAM DICHIARA FOR THE OBSERVER

LEE COUNTY — The Lee County branch of the NAACP held a community and law enforcement town hall discussion on Feb. 27. Citizens gathered at True Deliverance Holiness Church to voice questions and concerns to a panel of top law enforcement officials, including Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones, Auburn Chief of Police Cedric Anderson and Opelika Police Chief Shane Healey.

Lee County NAACP

Chair Laticia Smith opened the meeting, saying, “We know that the police are here to protect and serve us, and we are the recipients of that protection and that service.

And we know that, for us to have safe communities, for us to have trust and build relationships, we have to come to the table and have these types of discussions.”

The event was the second law enforcement town hall hosted by the Lee County NAACP, with the first held in February of last year following the police killing of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Ten-

nessee, on Jan. 7, 2023.

“We had such good participation last year that we wanted to bring everybody back together again,” Smith said. “We all want to work together, and we know that when we work together we can be successful.”

The sheriff was first on the panel to address the room. “We can’t do it by ourselves — we would be lost without your support,” Jones said. “Everyone’s on the team, so to speak. We just happen to be the public safety component of that team.”

Healey affirmed the sheriff’s call for greater cooperation between law enforcement and community members.

“Imagine on one side of a bridge is law enforcement,” he said. “On the other side of the bridge is the community. You hear that all the time — that we’ve got to bridge that gap. How do we close that gap between us?

“If we, as law enforcement, start doing some things to get ourselves on that bridge and start moving toward our community, does that help our community, our city, our county, our friends and neighbors that live with

us?” he asked. “Does that help them have a better, safer community? Yes, it does. If the community gets on that bridge and starts walking toward us, does that help? Yes, it does. Imagine if both entities, the law enforcement and the community, are walking toward each other on that bridge. Are we going to get there twice as fast? Yes. It takes all of us to be able to work together to bring these things to fruition.”

One audience member asked the panel whether their law enforcement agencies support thorough and independent systems for reviewing use of force in encounters with civilians and holding officers accountable.

“Absolutely, yes,” Healey said. “We have a very robust ‘use of force’ review process where any use of force is reviewed by several different people. It begins immediately with the collection of any information and what we call first line supervisors. They’re the first ones to see and review that use of force to make sure that it complies with law and policy.”

He laid out the police department’s internal ‘use

of force’ review process. “That ‘use of force’ packet is sent up through the chain of command, where it’s viewed by the division commanders of whatever division there was a use of force in. Then that division commander gives it to the assistant chief, and depending on the situation, that may ultimately land on my desk. We built this review process after the Ferguson [Missouri] and Cleveland, Ohio, DOJ reports came out many years ago to make sure we were looking at things,” Healey said.

A community member in attendance asked what programs are in place to provide support for crime victims, including keeping them updated about the suspect’s case winds its way through the court system after an arrest.

Jones recommended that victims reach out to the district attorney’s office for information on the local level and to the Alabama Crime Victims’ Compensation Commission for assistance on the state level. He said in some cases, the commission can provide victims of crime with financial assistance or help them

access resources like psychiatric counseling.

Another community member asked what measures are taken in the event an officer falsely accuses a citizen or engages in corrupt behavior.

Jones outlined the checks and standards in place to prevent these cases.

“If a law enforcement officer, regardless of agency, not just locally, but anywhere in the state of Alabama, is making false charges or is engaging in activity that is counter to their oath and their mission as far as protecting the public and enforcing the law in a fair and impartial manner, then we’re going to find out,” the sheriff said. “We may not get it the first time, we may not get it the second time, but it’s going to come out. And when it does, they’re not going to be employed enforcing the law in the state of Alabama much longer.

“I can assure you that professional law enforcement, these gentlemen sitting next to me, those deputies out here in the audience tonight and professional law enforcement officers all over

the state of Alabama, we do not want individuals amongst our ranks that are not doing the job right and we will not tolerate it,” Jones said. Another attendee asked what measures the panelists and their departments are taking to address fears or questions young people may have regarding how to act when pulled over by police.

“That’s exactly why we built what we call our ‘Knowledge Is Power’ program,” Healey said. “We teach it out in the community. We’ve done it in several different places throughout the community, but we also teach it to every single kid in driver’s education at Opelika High School. It’s some classroom instruction, and then we actually go outside with them and let them conduct some traffic stops. And we work through, what do you do with your hands? What can you expect that police officer to ask you? What can they do, what can’t they do? So we talk about a lot of those things and give them an opportunity to walk through that. It’s been very impactful. It’s really helped.”

AG announces another $220 million opioid settlement

BY ANITA STIEFEL ANITAS@OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

ALABAMA — Alabama

Attorney General Steve Marshall announced on March 4 a $220 million settlement with two opioid distributors to resolve litigation with the State over their role in the opioid crisis in Alabama. The companies, Cardinal Health and Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen) are two of the “Big Three”

distributors against whom the State originally filed suit in 2022.

“Today reaffirmed our decision to decline participation in the national opioid settlement with Cardinal and Cencora, as that proposal failed to adequately acknowledge the unique harms faced by Alabamians,” said Attorney General Marshall. “While this settlement will not bring back those lost to this devastating epidemic, it presents

a historic opportunity to ameliorate the harm that opioid abuse has caused in our communities and to finally move us out of this epidemic altogether.”

According to the terms of the agreement, Cardinal and Cencora will pay a combined $220 million in abatement funds over ten years. Per the terms of each agreement, the settlement funds are to be used only to remediate the harms caused by the opioid crisis in

Christian Care Ministries holds MLK Jr. Community Outreach Day

Pastor Carolyn Morton and Samford Court Christian Care Ministries held the 4th Annual MLK Jr. Opelika Beloved Community Outreach Day and celebrated black history together on Feb. 17. The group received a proclamation from Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller setting aside every third Saturday in February for this event to be recognized annually.

Alabama. As with previous opioid settlements, the State will share settlement funds with local governments and public hospitals. The State’s share of the settlement funds will be deposited directly into the State’s General Fund. As the Alabama Legislature works to determine the best uses of this funding, appropriators will have the benefit of reviewing two-and-a-half years of diligent work by the Alabama Opioid Overdose and Addiction Council to determine the State’s greatest needs.

Cardinal and Cencora will also be responsible for paying fees and costs for the State’s counsel, allowing the State to direct the entirety of the settlement funds to opioid abatement.

A few weeks ago, Marshall announced a $350 million national settlement with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the global marketing and communications firm’s role in the prescription opioid crisis. Alabama will receive

nearly $5.5 million from that settlement.

Filings in the Montgomery County Circuit Court describe how Publicis’ work contributed to the crisis by helping Purdue Pharma and other opioid manufacturers market and sell opioids. Court documents detail how Publicis acted as Purdue’s agency of record for all its branded opioid drugs, including OxyContin, even developing sales tactics that relied on farming data from recordings of personal health-related in-office conversations between patients and providers. The company was also instrumental in Purdue’s decision to market OxyContin to providers on patients’ electronic health records.

Thousands of Alabamians have died from prescription opioid overdoses over the last 20 years. These deaths—and the impacts on thousands more who have struggled with opioid addiction—have created considerable costs for

our health care, child welfare, and criminal justice systems. More significant than the dollars and cents in damage to our state, opioid addiction, substance use, and overdose deaths have torn families apart, damaged relationships, and devastated communities.

These settlements are the latest action Attorney General Marshall has taken to combat the opioid crisis and to hold accountable those responsible for creating and fueling the crisis. Prior to this settlement, the State had already reached settlements totaling over $500 million for Alabama to resolve claims against drug manufacturers and other entities over their roles in the crisis. In November, Attorney General Marshall sent a letter to local leaders statewide emphasizing the importance of implementing long-term strategies and warning that any non-approved allocations of settlement dollars could cost the State future payments from the opioid defendants.

Educating more Alabamians than any other university in the state

BY GREG MARKLEY

OPINION —

Several years ago, my wife and I interviewed several house painters for a major project. Most had the required experience, but we received high praise for one particular painter. Unlike some applicants, this 40-ish man did not have a college degree. We hired him anyway and he did an amazing job. He learned the skills when young, and his education ended in the eighth grade.

There is discrimination against people who do not have the right sheepskin for certain jobs, if such a degree is available. Many well-educated people wonder what stopped

recognized Davis Fischer, a first-grade student from Jeter Primary School for a job well-done. Recently, while on the way to school, Davis noticed some trash littering the side of the road and asked his dad if he could take him back to the area after school so that he could pick up the trash.

Davis is the son of Jonathan Fischer, assistant prinicpal at Fox Run School and Kelly Fischer, principal at Opelika High School.

Davis received a certificate and a gift from the city of Opelika for his efforts to help Keep Opelika Beautiful.

OTHER BUSINESS

- The council approved a downtown street closure for “Wheels on the Tracks" event on April 20.

- The council approved a downtown street closure for "Taste of the Town" event on April 23.

To be or not to be in college? Part two

others from a four-year journey through a college education. I have a college degree and two university degrees. Yet I would be lost without a mechanic for my car or a landscaper keeping our yard. Some have degrees; others do not. But not going to college did not hurt them much, or at all.

I recently learned that Yale University, an Ivy-League institution, reversed its position and will again require students to submit standardized test scores when applying for admission. Such tests are controversial. But I recognize that without these tests some students will benefit more, as some high schools grade more leniently than others. A negative is that on standardized tests some students test poorly. They know the material but freeze up while testing.

“The change to standardized tests comes after officials found that the scores were the single best predictor of student’s academic performance and that not considering them could be a disadvantage

- The council approved a downtown street closure for the Opelika Songwriter's Festival event on May 17.

- The council approved a temporary street closure for the Sportsplex Triathlon for Kids event on Aug. 3.

- The council awarded the bid for the Pepperell Village sidewalk upgrades to Evergreen Siteworks LLC in the amount of nearly $372,000.

- The council awarded the bid for Construction Services for Substation 10 to Service Electric Co. in the amount of $921,115.

- The council awarded the bid for the Opelika City Hall basement renovations to Whatley Construction in an amount of a little over $1.5 million.

- The council awarded the bid for the Opelika Public Works Building to Whatley Construction in the amount of just over $5.725 million.

- The council approved the expense reports from various departments.

for those who have already faced daunting classes,” wrote Susan Syrluga in The Washington Post last week.

Last year, the U.S. Census Bureau released new Educational Attainment Data. Some 23% had a bachelor’s degree as their highest degree, 14% had completed advanced education such as a master’s degree, professional degree or doctorate. Many people assume the percentage of bachelor’s or higher degrees is more than half. I’m sorry but that’s a fallacy.

As an undergraduate, I read that only 24-28% of the population in 1979 had a four-year college degree or beyond. Now the figure is 23%, plus 14% with advanced education, which amounts to 37%. From part one of this series, recall the upset graduate Neil Patel, now successful in industry but still critical of higher education. In 1996, Patel wrote, “Just about everywhere you go, people tell you ‘Go to college! Get a degree!’ Don’t listen to

- The council designated city personal property as surplus and authorized its disposal.

- The council approved the renewal of Nuance Dragon Software from CDW Government LLC for the IT Department. The annual subscription amount is nearly $71,500.

- The council approved an agreement with John Randall Wilson, architect for Opelika Public Works Building and City Hall Basement Renovations.

- The council approved the funding agreement for extension of Northpark Drive and construction of new bridge Across Halawakee Creek. The total cost of the project is estimated to be $4,037,280: $2,537,280 for the Northpark Drive extension and $1.5 million for the new bridge construction.

- The council approved a professional services agreement with Hydro Engineering Solutions, a division of Hydro LLC for a hydraulic study to replace drainage

them! It’s not worth it. At least it wasn’t for me.”

Danielle Gagnon of Southern New Hampshire University wrote a public relations piece that mentioned seven distinct ways attending and graduating college can mature and improve a student. She states college graduates earn more on average than people with associate degrees, who on average, make $7,000 more a year than those without college. A person with a 4-year degree usually makes more money, and those with advanced degrees, significantly more.

The six other benefits of a college degree: increases chances for employment, expands your opportunities, prepares you for the future, builds new relationships, achieves your personal goals and makes a difference in the lives of your family and friends. Many of these activities can also be attained by people without an academic bent. All or many of these benefits of attending college are right at your feet, as you move

structures on Blackhawk Drive. The estimated fee for the services is $17,500.

- The council approved the sale of a surplus bucket truck to the Opelika City Schools Board of Education for $15,000.

- The council approved the utility encroachment agreement with Gary and Barbara Gullett.

- The council agreed to designate Mayor Gary Fuller as the city’s voting delegate at the 2024 ALM Annual Convention.

- The council approved a special appropriation to 3D Youth Development Academy Inc. for the amount of $3,000.

- The council approved a special appropriation to Southern Union State Community College Foundation for the amount of $5,000.

- The council also voted to table the proposed ordinance to amend the master plan for 24.05 acres in the Brookstone planned unit development (PUD). The property is located at 1001 Fox Run Parkway.

- The council heard the

about on the campus.

Critical thinking, in its correct usage, refers to the ability to interpret, evaluate and analyze facts and information and to decide if something is right or wrong. Some people get disoriented when they begin graduate school and there is not largely rote teaching as at the undergraduate level. When asked by college students, I describe the class material for a bachelor’s as 40% tougher than high school work. (Again, this depends on the professors; some are more demanding than others.)

The decision to go to college is something you should talk over with mature friends or supportive family members. A good listener, not an enforcer, is needed. The list of famous and successful people who never graduated from college is long — Sean Connery, “James Bond” actor; John D. Rockefeller, billionaire banker; Abraham Lincoln, president during the Civil War; Bill Gates, co-founder

first reading to approve the leasing of the property located at 1103 Glenn Street to Envision Opelika Foundation Inc. for a period not to exceed one year and for an amount of $10 per year.

- The council reappointed Steve Bordeaux, Steve Chapman and David Scott and to the Opelika Industrial Development Authority (OIDA) for a terms ending March 8, 2028.

During the second public comment period, Michael Ferguson addressed council expressing his opinion that the Ope’Loser trash campaign is insulting and distasteful.

"I thought that was very degrading," he said. "That's not good, we don't need to be calling our young people losers."

Following the final item, Smith called for a motion to adjourn the meeting and Ward 2 Council Member Erica Norris interrupted, saying "Excuse me, you [addressing Smith] gave out instructions to

of Microsoft; and Will Smith, Oscar-winning actor.

People who graduated from college, notably those over 40, generally will have good practical life suggestions. Continue to read and use critical thinking to vet political candidates. Critical thinking gets you closer to the truth and enables you to find solid answers. If you need a painter, scour Facebook and Instagram searching for the man who left school in eighth grade. He never went across a stage getting an undergraduate degree, but sure impressed his customers.

Greg Markley moved to Lee County in 1996. He has a master’s in education from AUM and a master’s in history from AU. He taught politics as an adjunct in Georgia and Alabama. An award-winning writer in the Army and civilian life, he has contributed to the Observer since 2011. gm.markley@charter.net.

everybody on this city council except the lone female, and I would like to know why ...the lone female is not given an assignment today ..."

Smith continued to call for adjournment while Norris continued speaking.

"I am going to continue to talk," she said. "I don't care," Smith responded.

"Okay, very good, I would like to know why the lone female was not given an assignment today, especially disrespecting Women's History Month,” Norris said. “I don't appreciate that, Councilman Smith. Anybody that is here today should feel some kind of way knowing how Councilman Smith does business."

Norris continued to address the room for several minutes following the meeting, eventually thanking people for listening to "her tirade."

The next city council meeting will be held on March 19.

COUNCIL >> FROM B9

Brooka Stokes receives Presidential Certificate of Appreciation, Opelika Lions Club welcomes speaker from Sheriff's Girls Ranch

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EDUCATION

ATTENTION ACTIVE Duty & Military

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This week our speakers were Christian Brodbeck and AU student Hayden Harding of Engineers without Borders, who spoke on their club's impact around the world and discussed a couple of water treatment projects they are working on in Guatemala and Bolivia. For more information please visit www.facebook.com/ewbauburn.

Terry “T.J.” Wood, left, director of ranch Life at the Tallapoosa County Sheriff's Girls Ranch in Camp

recent guest of the

Lions Club. The ranch,

John Braswell.

At a recent Alabama Lions Club District meeting, Brooka Stokes, center, was awarded a Presidential Certificate of Appreciation for lifelong Lions Club service. Stokes joined the Opelika Lions Club in 1991 and has since served in various levels of Lions leadership. The presentation was made by International Director Dr. Guy Hollander, right, and District Governor Melanie Tapley, left.

Opelika, AL 36803 334-745-7033 Legal Run 02/22/24, 02/29/24 & 03/07/24

NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT

been granted to the undersigned Paula P. Frazier, on the 20th day of February 2024, by the Honorable 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 our hands, and dated this the 20th day of February 2024.

JULIA HILL

Legal Run 02/22/2024, 02/29/24 & 03/07/24

INVITATION TO BID 24016 Sealed bids for the construction of Roof Replacements at the Eastside & Westside Wastewater Treatment Facilities shall be received at the Opelika City Hall 2nd Floor Conference Room, 204 South Seventh Street, Opelika, Alabama, until 2:00 p.m., local time, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, and then publicly opened and read aloud. All interested parties are invited to attend. Only bids from competent general contractors will be considered. At the time of contract award, the successful bidder must be a properly licensed general contractor. The attention of all bidders is called to the provisions of State law governing “General Contractors” as set forth in the Ala. Code §34-8-1, et. seq. (1975) and rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto. Bidders must be licensed by the Licensing Board for General Contractors when bids are submitted. A Pre-Bid Meeting will be held at the Eastside Wastewater Treatment Facility (3010 Columbus Parkway, Opelika, Alabama) at 10:00 a.m., CST on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, and at the Westside Wastewater Treatment Facility (1017 Grand National Parkway, Opelika, Alabama) at 11:00 a.m., CST on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, for the purpose of reviewing the project and answering Bidder’s questions. Attendance at the Pre-Bid Conference is mandatory for all Bidders intending to submit a Proposal. Bidders are required to have a State of Alabama General Contractor’s License. All bidders must submit with their proposal, contractor’s license number and a copy of the license. State law Ala. Code §34-8-8(b) requires all bids to be rejected which do not contain the contractor’s current license number. Evidence of this license shall be documented on the outside of the sealed bid.

All bidders shall possess all other licenses and/or permits required by applicable law, rule, or regulation for the performance of the work.

Drawings and specifications will be distributed via email at no charge to contractors upon the completion of the mandatory pre-bid meeting. Additionally, bid documents will be made available on the City of Opelika’s website at www.opelika-al.gov/bids.aspx following the mandatory pre-bid meeting. The bidder’s proposal must be submitted on the complete original proposal furnished to him/ her by the City of Opelika. All information in the

PUBLIC NOTICES

NOTICE OF PUBLIC PUBLICATION NOTICE FOR HEARING ON PROBATE OF WILL STATE OF ALABAMA

COUNTY OF LEE

ION THE PROBATE

COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA

To: Mr. Preston T. Holman, whose whereabouts are otherwise unknown, and any known or unknown heirs of the Estate of Helen Beatrice Grantham, deceased. You will please take notice that on the 23rd day of February, 2024, a certain paper in writing purported to be the Last Will and Testament of Helen Beatrice Grantham was filed in my office for Probate by Linda Ann Holman and that they 5th day of April, 2024 at 10:00 a.m. CDT was appointed the day and time for the hearing thereof, at which time you can appear and contest the same, if you see proper. Given under my hand, this the 23rd day of February, 2024.

BILL ENGLISH, Judge of Probate Legal Run 02/29/2024, 03/07/2024 & 03/14/2024

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

IN THE PROBATE

COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA ESTATE OF KEVIN

MICHAEL LEWIS,

DECEASED

CASE NO.: 2024-036

NOTICE TO CREDITORS

Take Notice that LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION of said deceased having been granted to Brenda L. Lewis on the 14th day of February, 2024, by Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court 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.

Brenda L. Lewis

Legal Run 02/22/2024, 02/29/2024 & 03/07/2024

STORAGE TREASURES

AUCTION

Extra Space Storage will hold a public auction to sell personal property described below belonging to those individuals listed below at the location indicated:

1242 N Dean Rd, Auburn, AL 36830 Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 10:00AM

Unit 504

The auction will be listed and advertised on www.storagetreasures.com. Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction. Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.

Legal Run Date 03-07-2024

Extra Space Storage will hold a public auction to sell personal property described below belonging to those individuals listed below at the location indicated:

1412 Opelika Rd Auburn, AL 36830 - Thursday, March 14, 2024 @ 10:00 AM

Unit 212

The auction will be listed and advertised on www.storagetreasures.com. Purchases must be made with cash only and paid at the above referenced facility in order to complete the transaction. Extra Space Storage may refuse any bid and may rescind any purchase up until the winning bidder takes possession of the personal property.

Legal Run Date 03-07-2024

CITY OF OPELIKA

ZONING BOARD OF

ADJUSTMENT REGULAR MEETING

AGENDA

300 Martin Luther King Blvd. March 12, 2024

TIME: 9:00 AM A. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

B. VARIANCE

Envelopes containing bids must be sealed, marked, addressed as follows, and delivered to: Lillie Finley, Purchasing-Revenue Manager, City of Opelika, 204 South 7th Street, P.O. Box 390, Ope¬li¬ka, Alabama, 368030390. Attn: Roof Replacements at the Eastside & Westside

Wastewater Treatment Facilities LILLIE FINLEYPURCHASING-REVENUE MANAGER

CITY OF OPELIKA 204 SOUTH SEVENTH STREET (36801) POST OFFICE BOX 390

PH:

Legal Run 02/29/24, 03/07/24 &

the parking lot as required by Section 10.6.C.3.

“In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the City of Opelika will make

to this meet-

If you need special assis-

to participate in this meet-

please contact the ADA Coordinator 72 hours prior to the meeting at (334)705-5130.”

Legal Run 03/07/2024

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA

Case No.: CV-2024-900078

HALLIE JONES, Plaintiff, v. A tract or parcel of land designated as: Commence at the intersection of easterly right-of-way of Lee County Highway No. 87 with the southerly margin of a 50-foot dirt road in Section 10, Township 18 North, Range 29 East, Lee County, Alabama, being the Point of Beginning of that tract described in Deed Book 905, Page 182, of Deed Records of Lee County, Alabama; thence run along the southerly margin) of said fifty (50 foot road South 67 degrees 40 minutes East 112 feet, more or less, to the Point of Beginning of tract herein described; from said Point of Beginning, thence continue along said road margin South 60 degrees 40 minutes East 200 feet; thence leaving said road, run thence South 19 degrees 00 minutes West 200 feet; thence run North 60 degrees 40 minutes West 200 feet; thence run North 19 degrees 00 minutes East 200 feet to the Point of Beginning. Located in Section 10, Township 18 North, Range 29 East, Lee County, Alabama,

And Charlie F. Shellman, and/or the unknown heirs of Charlie F. Shellman, And Jessie M. Shellman, and/or

heirs of Jessie M. Shellman, And Charlotte F. Thornton, and/ or the unknown heirs of Charlotte F. Thornton And Wanda Chapman, a/k/a Wanda Christine Shellman, a/k/a Wanda Lloyd, and/or the unknown heirs of Wanda Chapman And Kristin Nichole Lloyd, and/or the unknown heirs of Kristin Nichole Lloyd And Zachary Taylor Lloyd, and/ or the unknown heirs of Zachary Taylor Lloyd And Fictitious Defendants A, B, C, D, E, F & G, Being Persons, Individuals, Firms, Associations, Partnerships, Corporations or other Entities, Whose names are otherwise unknown to the Plaintiff, but who claim interest in and to the above-captioned parcel of land, and whose correct names and legal identities will be added by Amendment when ascertained, Defendants.

NOTICE OF ACTION

P.C. 724 North Dean Road,Suite 100 Auburn, AL 36830 Legal Run 03/07/24, 03/14/24, 03/21/24 & 03/28/24

IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Case No.: CV-2024-900020 FAIRPOINT PROPERTIES, LLC, Plaintiff, v. A tract or parcel of land designated: Lot 13 and a portion of Lot 12, B1ock 210, Totten's Official Real Estate Map of the City of Opelika, Alabama, 1930, according to and as shown by that certain map or plat thereof of record in Town Plat Book 2, at page 9, in the Office of the Judge of Probate of Lee County, Alabama, further described as follows:

of due diligence, and which are believed to have claimed some right, title, interest or claim in and to the property described as follows:

Lot 13 and a portion of Lot 12, B1ock 210, Totten's Official Real Estate Map of the City of Opelika, Alabama, 1930, according to and as shown by that certain map or plat thereof of record in Town Plat Book 2, at page 9, in the Office of the Judge of Probate of Lee County, Alabama, further described as follows: Beginning at the Southwest corner of said Lot 13, thence Northeasterly along the Southeastern boundary of said Lot 13 and 12 for a distance of approximately 120 feet; thence leaving said Southeastern boundary at a right angle, Northwesterly for a distance of approximately 190 feet, perpendicular to the Southwestern boundary of said Lot 12, to the Northwestern boundary of said Lot 12; thence in a Southwesterly direction along the Northwestern boundaries of said Lot 12 and 13 for a distance of approximately 121 feet; thence along the Southwestern boundary of said Lot 13, for a distance of approximately 187 feet, to the Point of Beginning, being further described as Lee County, Alabama tax parcel 4309-01-12-4-002-069.000

All persons having an interest in said lands or any portion thereof, claiming any title thereto or any encumbrance or lien thereon, 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 28th day of February, 2024

/s/ Mary Roberson

Mary Roberson Circuit Court Clerk, Lee County J. Brandon Rice Davis, Bingham, Hudson & Buckner, P.C. 724 North Dean Road, Suite 100 Auburn, AL 36830 Legal Run 03/7/24, 03/14/24, 03/21/24 & 03/28/24

1.

To: All Defendants herein, whose whereabouts are unknown and which cannot be ascertained after the exercise of reasonable diligence. You are hereby notified that on the 14th day of February, 2024, a complaint to quiet title was filed in the Circuit Court of Lee County, Alabama, and the following are the names of all parties to the action: Hallie Jones, as Plaintiff; Charlie F. Shellman, and/or the unknown heirs of Charlie F. Shellman; and, Jessie M. Shellman, and/or the unknown heirs of Jessie M. Shellman; and, Charlotte F. Thornton, and/ or the unknown heirs of Charlotte F. Thornton; and, a Wanda Chapman, a/k/a Wanda Christine Shellman, a/k/a Wanda Lloyd, and/or the unknown heirs of Wanda Chapman; and, Kristin Nichole Lloyd, and/or the unknown heirs of Kristin Nichole Lloyd; and, Zachary Taylor Lloyd, and/or the unknown heirs of Zachary Taylor Lloyd, as Defendants, whose heirs, executors and/or administrators are unknown and cannot be ascertained after the exercise of due diligence, and which are believed to have claimed some right, title, interest

Beginning at the Southwest corner of said Lot 13, thence Northeasterly along the Southeastern boundary of said Lot 13 and 12 for a distance of approximately 120 feet; thence leaving said Southeastern boundary at a right angle, Northwesterly for a distance of approximately 190 feet, perpendicular to the Southwestern boundary of said Lot 12, to the Northwestern boundary of said Lot 12; thence in a Southwesterly direction along the Northwestern boundaries of said Lot 12 and 13 for a distance of approximately 121 feet; thence along the Southwestern boundary of said Lot 13, for a distance of approximately 187 feet, to the Point of Beginning, being further described as Lee County, Alabama tax parcel 43-09-0112-4-002-069.000 And Belle Jordan, and/or the unknown heirs of Belle Jordan, And Lillie Mae Smith , and/or the unknown heirs of Lillie Mae Smith, And Lillian Ann Smith, and/or the unknown heirs of Lillian Ann Smith, And Fictitious Defendants A, B, C, D, E, F & G, Being Persons, Individuals, Firms, Associations, Partnerships, Corporations or other Entities, Whose names are otherwise unknown to the Plaintiff, but who claim interest in and to the above-captioned parcel of land, and whose correct names and legal identities will be added by Amendment when ascertained, Defendants.

NOTICE OF ACTION

To: All Defendants herein, whose whereabouts are unknown and which cannot be ascertained after the exercise of

NOTICE OF COURT PROCEEDING IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Notice of the filing of Petition for Summary Distribution In the Estate of CURTIS

WHATLEY, deceased Notice is hereby given that a Petition

BILL

NOTICE

Auburn police busy with multiple theft arrests

CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER

AUBURN — On Feb. 24,

Auburn Police arrested Carl Theophilous Dumas, age 57, of Auburn on warrants charging him with four counts of fraudulent use of a debit/credit card, theft of lost property fourth degree and possession of drug paraphernalia.

The arrest stems from Auburn Police receiving a report of a theft on Feb. 23. A victim advised that a wallet was left at a business located near the 100 block of North College Street. Upon realizing that the wallet was missing, the victim discovered multiple unauthorized charges were made at several businesses using a credit card from the wallet.

Dumas was developed as a suspect, and after further investigation, arrest warrants were obtained associated with the theft of the wallet and fraudulent charges. Dumas was located by police on Feb. 24 and was arrest-

ed in obedience to the warrants.

Dumas was additionally charged with possession of drug paraphernalia for narcotics contraband that was in his possession at the time of the arrest.

Dumas was transported to the Lee County Jail and held on an $8,000 bond.

AUBURN — On Feb. 25,

Auburn Police arrested Jordan Lee Crook, age 20, of Auburn on felony warrants charging her with unlawful breaking and entering into a vehicle and theft of property second degree.

The arrest stems from Auburn Police locating a subject during an investigation of a person reported missing and possibly endangered. Police identified the subject as Crook. Officers subsequently learned that she made unlawful entry into a vehicle during the early morning hours of Feb. 25 and stole property from the vehicle.

The stolen property was re-

covered, and Crook was arrested for charges associated with the auto burglary and theft. She was transported to the Lee County Jail and held on a $6,000 bond.

AUBURN — On Feb. 27, Auburn Police arrested Takelia Parham, age 37, from Pine Mountain, Georgia, on a felony warrant charging her with theft of property, first degree.

The arrest stems from Auburn Police receiving a report of a fraudulent check on Sept. 11, 2023. Police met with a complain-ant who reported a check made out to a business was mailed to the intended recipient from a location in Auburn. While in trans-it, the check was stolen and altered, and a suspect deposited the check at a bank in Georgia.

Parham was developed as a suspect, and after further investigation, an arrest warrant for theft of property first degree was obtained, associated with the financial loss caused by the fraudulent transaction.

Parham turned herself in and was arrested in obedience to the warrant. She was transported to the Lee County Jail and held on a $5,000 bond.

Opelika police seek public's help to identify suspects

CONTRIBUTED BY OPD

OPELIKA — The Opelika Police Department is requesting the public’s assistance in identifying two individuals wanted for theft of property, second degree, and fraudulent use of a credit/ debit card.

On Feb. 5, the victim was shopping at TJ Maxx, located at 2185 Tiger Town Parkway, when her wallet and cell phone were stolen from her purse. The stolen cards were then used at Target, locat-ed at 2640 Enterprise Drive.

The first suspect, a Hispanic female with black hair, is seen on surveillance video wearing a black leather jacket, white shirt, ripped blue jeans and sneakers. The second suspect is a Hispanic

male who was wearing a black hat, gray striped shirt, black pants and white sneakers.

If you have any information on this incident or the identity of the suspects, please contact the Ope-lika Police Department Detective Division at (334) 705-5220 or the Secret Witness Hotline at (334) 745-8665. Tips can be submitted through our Opelika Police Mobile App. You may wish to re-main anonymous.

Tips can also be forwarded through Central Alabama Crime Stoppers at (334) 215-STOP(7867), toll-free at 1-833-AL1-STOP, or via their Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/215stop or their website: www.215STOP.com.

ALL PERSONS ARE PRESUMED INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY IN A COURT OF LAW

This Week's Puzzle Answers