The Observer 07-28-2022

Thursday July 28, 2022

Vol. 14, No. 42

Opelika, Alabama

FRED ERi CK-DEAN FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORY

Covering Lee County, Alabama

Compassion • Integrity • Tradition

An award-winning publication created 'For local people, by local people.'

334-745-4667 On-site Crematory Coming Soon

Hope Remains In Downtown Opelika

PHOTO BY HANNAH LESTER / THE OBSERVER

PHOTO BY ROBERT NOLES / THE OBSERVER

50 Years and Counting

BY HANNAH LESTER HLESTER@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

BY THE OBSERVER STAFF EDITOR@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

OPELIKA — Opelika is mourning the loss of Maffia’s. One week ago, on July 21, Maffia’s

burned to the ground in the middle of the night, leading to a total loss.

In the week since,

recovery has begun, even though it is a slow process.

See FIRE, page A2

Sidewalk Prophets to Perform in Opelika Aug. 4

OPELIKA — From a small dorm room to nationwide Christian sensations, the Sidewalk Prophets has steadily become one of the biggest contemporary Christian bands in the country. On Aug. 4, they will be perform-

ing at the First Baptist Church in Opelika.

The band was formed back in 2001 in lead singer Dave Frey’s and guitarist-turned-manager Ben McDonald’s dorm room at Anderson University in Indiana.

Formally known as "Four Floorz II Heaven" back in those days, the group would go on

to win a Battle of the Bands-type competition at Anderson which jump started the musicians' budding careers.

Two decades later, with four studio albums under their belt and more than 15 Top 20 songs, the musicians have stayed true to their message, Christ and See BAND, page A2

2 . g Au . m . p 7 at

o T k c a B h s a B l oo Sch

See ROGERS, page A4

Caroline Dean Wildflower Trail to Honor Billie Oliver With Plaque Unveiling PHOTO CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER

BY JUSTIN TRAUSCH FOR THE OPELIKA OBSERVER

OPELIKA — Smith T Hardware Building Supply last week celebrated one of its employees –– Cecil Rogers –– who has worked for the business for 50 years.

“Any time someone is dedicated enough to work someplace for 50 years, that in and of itself, speaks volumes,” said Dozier Smith T, owner of Smith T’s.

Rogers took a job with Winston Smith T, Sr., Dozier’s grandfather, in 1972, right after his graduation from Opelika High School.

CONTRIBUTED BY THE CITY OF OPELIKA

OPELIKA –– A plaque honoring Billie Oliver will be unveiled at the Caroline Dean Wildflower Trail on Wednesday, Aug. 3, at 10 a.m.

Oliver, a Lee County Master Gardener, is the architect of the Caroline Dean Wildflower Trail at Opelika’s Municipal Park (Park Road, Opelika, Alabama, 36801).

Over the past 12 years, Oliver created landscape plans, wrote grant letters, prepared budgets, designed signage, advocated support, raised funds, rallied volunteers and put forth countless hours of labor to make the

OLIVER Caroline Dean Wildflower Trail what it is today.

The Caroline Dean Wildflower Trail is a

teaching garden made up of native plants. The trail is maintained by the Lee County Master Gardeners.

CONTENTS

OPINION ..................... A4 ENTERTAINMENT ........... A7 RELIGION ................... A12 OBITUARIES ............... A13 COMICS ....................... A16 SPORTS ........................ B1 POLITICS ...................... B9 PUBLIC NOTICES ........... B12 CLASSIFIEDS ................ B14 PUZZLES ..................... B15

A2 July 28, 2022

FROM A1

Opelika’s Mayor, Gary Fuller, happened to be awake at that hour, because he was at a conference in London, England.

“I was attending the foreign bureau air show, just outside London, and we were recruiting industry, so when I got to my hotel room from breakfast, I saw a text message. Course, 7:30 in the morning in London is 1:30 a.m. in Opelika.

“I saw the text right away from [Fire Chief Shane] Boyd that he had sent to me.”

Fuller said that he felt helpless in London, despite the fact that there wasn’t much to be done immediately on his end even had he been in Opelika, but he heaped praise on the Opelika Fire Department for its quick action and response.

“I cannot commend them enough for the fabulous job that they did,” he said.

“My fear has always been, if something catches fire downtown, the likelihood of it spreading to other buildings, because of the proximity of other structures, is pretty great. And, of course, many of those buildings are well over 100 years old, so you know they’ve got a lot of heart-pine lumber in them.”

However, other structures did not burn down, even though nearby businesses did suffer damage.

The Opelika Fire Department received aid from the Auburn Fire Department during the night, Fuller said, which helped contain the flames.

“The only thing that I can say is that it was an absolute miracle that the fire didn’t spread to the other two buildings, and it was entirely because Opelika and Auburn both fought so hard to get it out,” said Nelson Marsh, who’s family owned the building that Maffia’s was in. “My folks and I were down there all night, and we were absolutely

BAND >>

FROM A1

their fans.

“We want to joyfully inspire hope and let everyone know that they’re welcome in the family of God,” Frey said. “That’s what we call our fans — The Great Big Family — because we really believe that they’re brothers and sisters in Christ.”

amazed with how brave and organized those firefighters were. They are genuine heroes.”

There was an immediate response in terms of cleanup, too, Fuller said.

“We immediately got someone engaged to clean the site, to straighten up the front of the sidewalk and to barricade the ruins over, which has been done, which took a lot of great work by Mike Hilyer and his public works folks,” he said. “But, overall, I hate that we lost a structure, but I’m so grateful we did not have additional damage and additional structures that burned.”

This tragedy affected many in Opelika.

“Opelika Main Street is devastated to learn about the fire that occurred early [Thursday],” said Ken Ward, director of Opelika Main Street. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all the impacted businesses along with their employees during this time."

Ernie Rains, owner of Rock n Roll Pinball wasn’t allowed back into his business right away to check the damage.

But when he did, it was manageable.

“We feel completely blessed and lucky to be a little separated and to have next to no damage, no repercussions,” he said. “We had a little bit of water in our Jailhouse music venue, and that found its way out and underneath our floor.

It’s downhill from our floor all the way to Side Track Coffee, so the water flows that way underneath the floors … They pump that water out, and we are using fans to make sure that the water underneath our floor, which is in puddles and stuff, eventually evaporates.

We do have a residual smoky aroma coming up from underneath, but we expect that to eventually go away. “… Of course, we are highly appreciative of the firefighters’ efforts to con-

tain the fire and not allow it to spread. All the businesses have wooden floors, so when you start a fire on those wooden floors, there’s just no way to put that out.

Well, no good way.”

And the business is in operation, as Rains said, at 100%.

Southern Crossings, however, was not so lucky. The business, which has been open more than 25 years, also suffered a total loss, due to water damage from fighting the fire.

“It’s a complete loss of contents and everything,” said Valerie Smith, owner of Southern Crossings. “They had to fight the fire through our building, so it’s full of water and smoke, and I’m in shock.”

The store was in the middle of holding a big summer sale — ready to get new Fall and Christmas items out for sale. Smith said she doesn’t know if the store will reopen or how it would.

"I really just love what I do, and I’m sad I can’t do it,” she said. “But thank you for all the support, and everybody’s been so kind and reached out and asked if there’s anything they can do, and we just need prayers. That’s it. We’re going to be fine, but I don’t know what the future holds for Southern Crossing. “… I don’t know what opening back up, ever, looks like, but thank you for all

your support throughout the years. I got a text from ... the original owner — she’s in Missouri on vacation — but that just speaks for itself that she is on vacation, and this is what she’s worried about because all the women who have worked here — the previous owners — we’ve all put so much hard work and … such a huge part of our lives into it.”

Smith encouraged patrons to continue to shop locally at other small business.

“I really feel for the couple next door — the Smiths, Valerie and Mike — and their daughter, Maddy,” Rains said. “All of their inventory got ruined. I’ve been encouraging people on social media to reach out to them … They do the best job of wrapping gifts … I’m sure, over the [several] years that they’ve been open, thousands of people have received gifts from their store … I think I talked to her [Monday], and she was in much better spirits, so, hopefully, they will bounce back and reopen, if not at this location, then somewhere real close by.

“It's something our community needs, and we need to encourage the discouraged owners to bounce back and not throw up their hands.”

Opelika is resilient, Fuller said.

“I would encourage [the Maffia’s owners] to be

strong and know that this is not the end,” he said. “It’s a new opportunity for them, something that they, I’m sure, had not planned to happen, but hopefully they will be able to get their business back open, perhaps in another building … Maffia’s was absolutely an outstanding restaurant, I have been there several times and always had a really good meal.

“And Nick and Robin and his crew obviously know something about Italian cooking. And Nick credits his mother and grandmother and uncle from the old country on teaching him how to do that. So I would encourage him to be strong.”

Fuller said that he hopes The Marshes will build a new building in that spot.

Nelson said that not much has been done yet in terms of rebuilding.

“To be honest, all that we’ve done is closed it up and started the whole process,” he said.

IN TERMS OF RECOVERY? “We do not currently have a finalized plan for a fundraiser effort, but I am comfortable saying that the Opelika Chamber and Opelika Main Street are coordinating efforts to provide support to businesses, and as more details become available, we can share that,” said Ali Rauch, president and CEO of the

Opelika Chamber of Commerce. “The businesses are still just trying to figure out where they need assistance.

It’s taking time.”

The Community Foundation of East Alabama has started a fundraiser to bring in money for the locally-affected businesses.

“The Community Foundation of East Alabama expresses its sympathy to the property owners, the businesses and the livelihoods that have been affected by the recent fire at Maffia’s,” The Community Foundation said in a statement.

“The Foundation has set up a Downtown Fund to help with any needs in those areas and future needs. All contributions are tax-deductible. Mailing address is PO Box 165, Opelika, AL, 36803 or on the website at www.cfeastalabama.org."

Rains is organizing an event as well to show appreciation to the firefighters.

“I am hoping to put together some kind of event where the community can recognize the tremendous effort of the firefighters,” he said. “… We are shooting for the second week in August or the Friday of the first week in August because people need to think about it when it’s still fresh in their minds.”

Fuller said that Opelika’s people are what make it special — even in tragedies like this.

“You know, we just have really great people that live here, that work here, that worship, that play, that own businesses, that educate the children in Opelika, so there’s a lot of resilience in our community,” he said. “… We know how to come back from something because we’ve done it before, we’ve got a good track record. So, yes, this will be a stumbling block, but just very temporary. I think our downtown will be back stronger than ever and I hope that Maffia’s will get reopened because what a great restaurant, what good food.”

With their most recent album "The Things That Got Us Here" topping out at No. 2 on the U.S. Top Christian album charts and over 600,000 monthly listeners on Spotify, the group's fanbase has certainly grown to unprecedented heights.

“We as a band would not be able to function without our fans,” Frey said. “So, to us, it’s a closer relationship than just

fandom, it’s a family.”

Of course, summer is the time for music festivals and big concert venues, but First Baptist Church doesn’t really meet those criteria. Turns out that the musicians have an unusually strong connection to the area through one of their band members.

Ben Young, their newly recruited keys player, is an Auburn native and

graduated from Auburn High School in 2017. He joined the band just over a year ago by replying to a Facebook message that the band put out, and “has been a blessing” for the Sidewalk Prophets.

Even though the group has been touring mostly in northern states for much of the summer, taking time to visit the South has always been a great experience for the band,

they said.

“Every time we go down there, we’re always blown away by the hospitality and the people,” Frey said. “We’re just excited for people to come out, feel loved on and hopefully walk away with a smile on their face knowing that Jesus loves them, and we love them too.”

Frey even helped fan the flames of the most in-

famous rivalry in college sports along the way.

“We’ve played Tuscaloosa, and so we fully expect Auburn to be at least four times better.”

Their upcoming album is currently in the works and is projected to be released sometime early next year. In the meantime, the public is invited to come out to First Baptist Church in Opelika on Aug. 4

PHONE: 334.749.8003 editor@opelikaobserver.com Michelle@opelikaobserver.com

PUBLISHER: Michelle Key

PHOTO BY ROBERT NOLES / THE OBSERV ER

FIRE >>

LIVE LEE EDITOR: Hannah Lester MARKETING: Woody Ross, Rená Smith PHOTOJOURNALIST: Robert Noles SPORTS EDITOR: Wil Crews SPORTS WRITERS: Rick Lanier, D. Mark Mitchell, Harrison Tarr STAFF REPORTER: Kendyl Hollingsworth

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A3 July 28, 2022

Opelika Goes Big for Back-2-School Bash

PHOTOS BY JERRY BALLAS / FOR THE OBSERVER

Hosted by various non-profits, social clubs, businesses and organizations in Opelika, the annual Back-2-School Bash supplied local youth with school supplies at Covington Recreational Center, July 23 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Free food, games and music were enjoyed by all who attended.

A4 July 28, 2022

Country Music

A

SEAN DIETRICH

no-name beer joint. Just off the highway.

Somewhere outside Atlanta. Glowing Coors signs. Un-level pool tables. I had been driving for several hours. I’d just hit town and my throat was dry.

I stepped into the dark room and made my way to the bar alongside the other hands. There was a kid playing music on a plywood stage. He had tattoos, a trendy mullet haircut and wore his ball cap backward. He looked like a frat boy. He was singing what passes for country music in today’s melodically deprived America.

Then the kid started “country rapping.”

“Country music is dead,” said my bartender, who was pushing 70. Or maybe he was pulling it.

“The real cowboy singers have disappeared,” he went on. “I miss Willie Nelson, every day.”

He brought me a cold Pabst and asked what I wanted to eat.

“A burger,” said I. He leaned onto his elbows. “We got vegan burgers, black bean burgers and chicken burgers.”

“Vegan burgers? I thought this was a beer joint.”

“New management.”

“But, I want a beef patty that’s bleeding so

badly it needs BandAids.”

The bartender sighed.

“Don’t we all.”

The barman looked like a real cowpoke. He had smoker’s teeth. His skin was crepe paper.

He wore a tan so rich he looked as though he’d been born in the Mojave.

His hands were veiny and rough. I know this because we actually shook hands. Just the way real guys used to do before the “fist bump” made us all look like schoolgirls playing Patty Cake at recess.

The kid strumming the guitar was still rapping. It was hard to watch.

The bartender looked at me. “They call it redneck rap. It’s all over the radio these days. Kids eat it up.”

“But it ain’t music,” said the guy next to me.

He was wearing a crumpled suit. He looked like Fred Mertz after a long day. “Just a bunch of stupid talk with a drum beat.”

When the kid finished rapping, he started singing a song by Taylor Swift, entitled “Shake it

Off.” There wasn’t a middle-aged man in the joint who didn’t cringe.

The kid was singing to a pair of young lovelies near the stage. The two women wore lacy tops and $300 boots. They were scrolling on their phones. And something was all wrong here.

Nothing about this place felt like the Great American Beer Joint.

A small piece of me grieved. What happened to our honkytonk angels?

What happened to our sacred music? I’m not against change. I understand that things must progress. But there is beauty found in tradition.

And we’ve killed the traditions of country and western music.

The musical genre I grew up with was built on piercingly clever lyrics, witty storytelling and interesting melodies. But today, our music comes from kids with iPhones.

I don’t mean to complain, but I’m not alone in my misgivings. The old school doesn’t like this new change any more than I do.

For example, some

years ago Blake Shelton publicly called fans of classic country “old farts and jackasses.” Shortly thereafter, Willie Hugh Nelson renamed his national tour the Old Farts and Jackasses Tour.

So it just goes to show you. For some time, country music has been going downhill like a snowball headed for hell.

And it’s no secret. The CMT Awards once cut short a tribute to George Jones, but staged a full performance between musical duo Florida Georgia Line and hip-hop artist, Nelly. Complete with strobe lights.

And all this begs the question, Did Roy Acuff use strobes?

Listen, I realize the days of Hank Sr., Ernest Tubb and Loretta Lynn are over. But does that mean the whole convention of classic country must die?

There was a time when even the up-and-coming generation of country music was championed by stalwart guys like Randy Travis, Alan Jackson and George Strait.

That’s all over now.

Today, people would laugh the Aquanet right out of Conway Twitty’s hair.

My burger came in a red basket. It was made of chicken. Mango chutney came on the side.

The singer took a break. The musician sat at the bar and spent his break playing with his phone and drinking blueberry-flavored beer.

While the kid was busy, the bartender looked at me and whispered suggestively.

“Hey, anybody wanna hear some Willie?”

Without waiting for our response, the old barkeep turned on the radio.

The room filled with the rapture of a nylon-strung Martin N-20. I closed my eyes and smiled. If I’d had a BIC, I would’ve flicked it. The song was “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.”

The bartender shook his head and said, “It’s a crying shame so many mothers followed Willie’s advice.”

picked up my first Jodi Picoult novel. I was not the first person to pick up that book. In fact, I was probably not the 51st person to turn its pages.

The spine was broken.

The pages were so soft they felt like fabric. The print was more gray than black, and the cover was torn.

It was perfect.

The book rode home with me and has stayed on a bookshelf in whatever home I’ve been in ever since. I will die with that book still sitting on a shelf, and I will carry the words in it with me until I breathe my last. It has become a best friend.

Since then, I have gone to that bookstore (and countless others) in search of more perfect volumes, Picoult’s and so many other writers’, to add to those shelves.

And I have found them, countless times over.

I’ve found more than

books behind doors that read “The Last Chapter,” “A Novel Idea” and “Your Books or Mine?”

Often I have found a community … like-minded readers who know the value of words. Bibliophiles, just like me.

Gloria Steinem said, “Wherever I go, bookstores are still the closest thing to a town square.”

For years, naysayers have predicted the downfall of physical bookstores.

Kindles and computer screens make printed pages obsolete, “they” say. “People don’t read anymore,” is another opinion that’s been flung about. Even physical libraries, city planners predict, will be a thing of the past before the century is over.

But they’re wrong.

Just ask the throngs of people, from grade school to nursing homes, who have read every See HODGE, page A5

Bibliophilia

WENDY HODGE

I

n all of my travels, in this country and overseas, I’ve seen monuments and artwork, natural wonders and famous folks. I’ve listened to symphonies and watched famous plays.

I’ve been to concerts and parties. The memories I’ve made while on a trip are priceless.

But while my friends and family flock to tourist shops to buy T-shirts or postcards stamped with the Eiffel Tower

ROGERS >>

FROM A1

“I had just gotten married, right out of high school and Mr. Winston called me and talked to me for a few weeks and asked me to come to work the first of July,” he said. “Well, I told him Id worked for three or four years while I was in high school for the guy that I’d worked for, and I told him, I felt like I needed to give him a two-week notice. He told me that’d be fine and all that and that is when I started.”

Rogers, with initial aspirations of becoming a mechanical engineer, had taken some classes in high school that lent themselves well to his job at Smith T’s.

“I had a good bit of drawing background from high school so that gave me a little bit of a heads up here with pulling plans and all that kind

or the Atlantic Ocean, I can inevitably be found in what I consider to be the treasure of each city I visit — the local bookstore.

Neil Gaiman once said, “A town isn’t a town without a bookstore.” I agree wholeheartedly.

There’s nothing like the rush of wind as you open a bookshop door. The bell above you tinkles to let the storekeeper know another bibliophile has entered. There is a quiet in a bookstore that is unique. It’s a silence filled with comfort and excitement all at once.

The occasional whisper can be heard, and the flutter of pages … even a sigh of contentment now and then, if the bookstore is worthy.

And then there’s the unmistakable scent of print on paper. New books smell like print shops and endless possibilities. If you scan

enough pages, it is quite possible to get slightly lightheaded. Fresh pages with crisp corners are as lovely as clean cool sheets on a freshly made bed.

It’s the used books I love best, though. The weight of a previously loved book is unique, as if the hands that have held it before you have shaped it, realigned the spine a bit … broken it in. The pages yield when you turn them because they know the words they hold are being absorbed by new eyes. A used bookstore has a scent that I wish could be bottled. It is the smell of faded ink and gold-edged paper, of coffee stains and teardrop marks on favorite passages, of dust and weather … it smells of time itself.

Virginia Woolf said, “Second-hand books are wild books, homeless books; they have come together in a vast flock

of stuff,” he said.

Despite the classes in mechanical drawing and drafting, Rogers said he didn’t know much when he took the job. But 50 years is a long time to gain experience and his customers have been a big help in that process, he said.

“More or less, over the years, the customers have taught me about everything I know, from their experiences and giving you little tricks and tidbits of information and they still do, after 50 years,” he said. “I still have people come in here and tell me something, a shortcut or something and I’ve just tried to pass that information on from customer to customer.”

Now, Dozier said that Rogers brings a lot to the table in terms of helping customers.

“He’s incredibly talented,” Dozier said. “He can do anything. He can solve any

problem and his mind is just amazing. Just being able to see a problem in his head, with someone describing it, he doesn’t even have to see a picture, and he can come up with a solution for people.”

But, Dozier said that it is not just Rogers’ commitment to the store, but to his community that sticks out.

“Knowing his character and knowing all the things he does in our county and for so many different people, everybody just loves him, and we’re just so blessed as a business to have had him working for us,” Dozier said.

“And you just feel like he’s just part of the family … He’s incredibly, unusually selfless.

“He will do anything to help people. He will go out of his way, take up his own time, even his own resources to come to help people solve their problems or to help them out in a time of need.”

of variegated feather and have a charm which the domesticated volumes of the library lack. Besides, in this random miscellaneous company, we may rub against some complete stranger who will, with luck, turn into the best friend we have in the world.”

I first discovered my favorite author in a used bookstore. It was on a trip to Savannah when I entered The Book Lady for the first time. The owner, it turned out, was from my hometown. Her giant teddy bear of a dog lounged at her feet while she and I chatted about people we knew and places she missed.

Talk turned, as it often does when you’re talking to a bookshop owner, of favorite authors. We compared our tastes in literature and writers, and she directed me to a bookshelf in the center of the shop. And there I

One way Rogers has done this is by serving as the Salem Volunteer Fire Department Chief since 2005 and in the department as a whole for 31 years. “[That] just shows, they don’t get paid for that,” Smith T said. “That is taking up their own time where they’re in the middle of the night getting up, helping people that have had wrecks, going to help people that have had their homes on fire, and

putting those out. He’s just the most selfless person that I know.”

He has also served as an associate pastor in his church for 14 years.

Rogers said that his customers aren’t just “work”.

“I have very few customers, most of them are friends,” he said. “After you see them for day after day and for year after year, you know as much about them as you would your best friend:

their kids, their family, what it is if they’re going through something … it’s like I’ve seen friends over the years.

That’s one of the reasons it’s made it so easy to stay.”

Dozier had high praise for Rogers, but Rogers heaped praise on the Smith T family, too.

“They’re such good people,” he said. “They’re Christian people, but more than that, they’re so community-oriented, their concern is always for the betterment of Opelika and they pass that on to the employees.

“As a matter of fact, Mr. Winston Sr. told me, the first couple of weeks that I had worked here, he came out, he told me, he said, ‘when those people come through the door,’ he said, ‘I want you to treat them like they put a roof over your head, lights in your house and food on your table, because they do.’”

A5 July 28, 2022

Women’s Commission Launches Statewide Text Campaign to Encourage, Empower, Inspire Alabama Women CONTRIBUTED BY ALABAMA WOMEN’S COMMISSION

ALABAMA –– Did you know? More than one-in-five women in the United States experienced a mental health condition in the past year, such as depression or anxiety.

Also, many mental health conditions, such as depression and bipolar disorder, affect more women than men or affect women in different ways than men.

Alabama Women’s Commission, Well Woman Alabama and 211 Connects Alabama have teamed up to launch a text message campaign to address women’s health, provide access to resources and inspire Alabama women to live a healthy lifestyle. A healthy lifestyle can help prevent the onset or worsening of mental health conditions.

The 211Know text mes-

HODGE >>

FROM A4

page of all seven Harry Potter books. I’ve witnessed children and adults alike, waiting until midnight to get the latest installment of their favorite novel at their local big-chain bookstore. I’ve mingled with strangers in more cities than I can count,

sages empower, encourage and inspire women with two messages each week on nutrition, wellness, family life, stress management support and resources. The campaign serves to keep women in Alabama encouraged and provide information about all resources available to them.

Everyone faces challenges in life that can impact their mental health, and good mental health is essential to a person’s overall health and well-being. The Alabama Women’s Commission and its 211Know partners are taking action to help the women of Alabama find the proper resources and encouragement they need to improve their lives.

“The 211KNOW text messaging system was born in the fall of 2020 when the Alabama Women’s Commission established a mental health subcommittee

to investigate the mental health needs of women in our state. Since most individuals have access to a cell phone and text messaging services, it was decided that

and resources to support their health and well-being,” said Cathy McGowin, Alabama Women’s Commission chair.

211Know is a great

COMMISSION The Alabama Women’s Commission, established in 1971, by Act of the Alabama Legislature, is a continuing vehicle for the determina-

a text messaging system would be the ideal tool for communicating wellness tips and resource information. "We hope this system will reach all women in our state to communicate facts

first step toward improving women’s lifestyles.

Alabama women can sign up to receive text messages by texting 211KNOW TO 898-211.

ABOUT ALABAMA WOMEN’S

tion of effective policy and legislation in areas affecting Alabama’s women. The commission is composed of three members of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker

of the House; two members of the Senate, appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate; and 10 members appointed by the Governor.

The purpose of the Commission, as provided in 419-413, Code of Alabama 1975, is to improve and advance the lives of women in the state of Alabama. The Commission may study, make recommendations, educate and promote constructive action on issues related to women which should include, but are not limited to, the following: economic development, education, employment, health, legal rights, political participation, and the quality of individual and family life.

For additional information about the 211KNOW text campaign and how to join, visit www.211know.com

each of them with the same excitement when talking about the latest John Grisham novel or the debut work of Delia Owens or sharing a classic like “Pride and Prejudice” with their daughter for the first time.

I read these words

by Alberto Manguel in a well-worn book I bought in St. Gervais,

France: “Maybe this is why we read, and why in moments of darkness we return to books: to find words for what we already know.”

I have shuffled down crowded aisles between rows of books and boxes, reaching for that one novel I just have to have, while others around me (speaking French, or a New Jersey

twang or Cockney British) reach for the same treasure. I’ve negotiated over a three-dollar copy of To Kill a Mockingbird with booksellers on a busy New York street, and once I even bought a book in an antique bookshop that was kept locked behind a glass door because of its value.

Books and the people

who love them will never be obsolete. Stephen Fry said, “Books are no more threatened by Kindle than stairs by elevators.”

I, for one, will always be the girl Annie Dillard spoke of … “She reads books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live.”

To all my fellow bibliophiles out there,

here’s to many more rainy afternoons in used bookstores and smalltown libraries, to adventures that require no passport or suitcase and to the peace and comfort that come from reading new words and old words that speak to us across time and remind us that we are not alone in our thoughts and our experiences.

World Premier Production

WE’LL MEET AGAIN AUGUST 30, 2022

AN OPELIKA WELCOME

James R. Harris

Mark Hayes

As Julius Hagedorn, a Jewish merchant in Opelika, Alabama, began to see the storms of World War II gathering over Europe in the 1930’s, he set about helping the family of his young nephew, Henry Stern, escape the Holocaust just in time for a new life in America. We’ll Meet Again celebrates Henry’s growing up in a small Southern town, being overwhelmed at first by the welcoming crowd of thousands gathered to greet the family stepping off the train at the Opelika Depot; then journeying on through a life that held surprises at every turn. e

F O R T I C K E T I N F O R M A T I O N C A L L 3 3 4 . 7 4 9 . 8 1 0 5 O R V I S I T W W W. E A S T A L A B A M A A R T S . O R G

A6 July 28, 2022

Get Ready to Get Out on National Night Out

LEE COUNTY — As part of an annual initiative, citizens of Auburn and Opelika are inviting individuals, families and local agencies to come together Aug. 2 to create safer, more unified communities.

The goal of each National Night Out is to raise awareness of local public safety, crime prevention, education, health and youth programs. Both local events will feature their respective law enforcement agencies, as well as other organizations and nonprofits.

AUBURN An Auburn-focused “National Night Out” event will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at Ag Heritage Park, located

PHOTO BY ROBERT NOLES / THE OBSERVER

BY KENDYL HOLLINGSWORTH KENDYLH@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

Photo from the 2021 National Night Out event in Opelika. This year's events will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 2.

at 620 S. Donahue Dr. In Auburn, attendees can expect a K9 demonstration, fire demonstration, opportunities to meet school resource officers, Touch-aTruck, free food and more.

"The city of Auburn is excited to partner with Auburn University to host National Night Out, an event that truly celebrates community policing," said Sidney Hancock, public relations specialist for the city of Auburn. "Auburn Public Safety is committed to nurturing the relationships it has with the communities we serve. Many of our relationships begin with young students, their families when they first enter Auburn City Schools. With the start of the school year right around the corner, we hope parents and children will stop by our ‘Meet Your SRO’ booth to get to know their school resource officer. This event provides first responders, students and their families an opportunity to interact through fellowship and positive exchanges. National Night Out reaffirms the concept of everyone working together, bringing a true sense of community.”

Local organizations present will also have information, giveaways and activities to entertain attendees of all ages.

OPELIKA In Opelika, the Concerned Citizens group is spearheading efforts to bring together agencies and nonprofits, including the PRF Institute, to inform the public. A thank-you gift will be given to the first 25 people who RSVP by Aug. 1, according to event information from the PRF

Institute.

The Opelika event will take place at Bandy Park, 300 Jeter Ave., from 5 to 8 p.m.

Oscar Penn of the Concerned Citizens of Opelika encouraged members to wear their memorial T-shirts to the event to remember loved ones.

“Stopping the violence is our responsibility as a community,” Penn said in a Facebook post.

National Night Out, as it is known today, was established in 1984 by the National Association of Town Watch, according to natw. org. The event sought to go beyond symbolic efforts to build camaraderie in communities by sparking larger celebrations where residents could learn more about the resources available to them.

“National Night Out was introduced in August of 1984 through an already established network of law enforcement agencies, neighborhood watch groups, civic groups, state and regional crime prevention associations and volunteers across the nation,” the website reads.

Those organizations joined to provide exhibits, seminars, fun activities, safety demonstrations, youth events, visits from emergency personnel and more.

The first National Night Out saw about 2.5 million neighbors in 400 communities across 23 states come together. Since then, about 38 million neighbors have participated in 16,000 communities. National Night Out is held each year on the first Tuesday in August.

For more information, visit natw.org.

E vents, Food, & SocietyNews

UPCOMING EVENTS: JULY 30: AUBURN ANGLERS NATIONAL TOURNAMENT SENDOFF, 9:30 A.M. TO NOON AT ACADEMY SPORTS + OUTDOORS AUG. 5 THROUGH 14: AACT PRESENTS "HANDS ON A HARD BODY" AUG. 5 THROUGH 14: OTC PRESENTS "NEWSIES"

Serve Variety of Nutritious In-Season Garden Fresh Vegetables PHOTO BY ANN CIPPERLY

Ann Cipperly

Southern O

ne of the pleasures of summer is preparing garden fresh vegetables with “just picked” natural flavor to serve our family.

Garden-fresh vegetables also provide more nutrients. As most of us are trying to eat healthy these days, adding fresh produce will boost immune sys-

Hospitality

tems.

We are fortunate to have seasonal and year round farmers markets as well as a locally-owned grocery store. When we purchase produce from them, we are providing nutritious produce for our families and helping local farmers.

Research has shown local produce contains more flavor and nutri-

tion than those shipped from other areas.

For years, I boiled and steamed fresh vegetables, then began roasting almost all vegetables a few years ago. It started with roasting small new potatoes and chunks of sweet potatoes coated in olive oil. Then, I discovered fresh asparagus kept its flavor and color when coated with

The Sound Wall Presents Wyatt Espalin Friday July 29

BY WIL CREWS SPORTSCREWS@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

and Espalin to find a new setting fit for a more personal level of songwriting. So alone began his sabbatical to the Ocoee River. While working as a raft guide

a noticeably unique sound and a growing fan base. Having years of touring under their belts and two successful albums, Run (2008) and The Gospel of Hurt (2010), it was time for Ferguson to settle down,

and caring for his ailing Granddaddy, Wyatt began writing the songs for his debut album.

After releasing his debut album “Songwriter/ Singer” in 2015, Espal-

PHOTO FROM THE SOUND WALL

OPELIKA –– The Sound Wall in Opelika is hosting Wyatt Espalin, July 29, with the concert starting at 7:30 p.m.

Entertaining audiences in his hometown of Hiawassee, Georgia, since the young age of 8, Espalin’s passion for music was obvious, even from the music barn stage built by his grandfather on the campground where Espalin was raised. He and his brother, Matt, were known as “The Fiddling Brothers.” While Matt hung up his fiddle and bow after high school, Espalin was just getting started. Armed with a guitar and a desire to write songs, he paired

with his friend, Cobi Ferguson, to form the acclaimed Americana duo, Trees Leave.

Combining electric guitar with traditional bluegrass roots led to

See SOUND, page A9

Summer Squash Medley combines red pepper, mushrooms, garlic and olive oil with toasted pine nuts for crunch in a tasty dish. Enhance meals with nutritious fresh vegetable dishes this coming week. Look over recipes for a variety of dishes using fresh vegetables. on the other side and Vegetables roast at 375 olive oil and roasted wedges of Vidalia for about 20 minutes for about eight to ten onions in the center or until squash and minutes. or placed throughout onions are tender. Stir My favorite sheet the pan. Extra virgin the vegetables once or pan of roasted vegeolive oil is then driztwice while roasting. tables is sliced yellow If roasting new potasquash at one end of zled over all with a the pan, whole okra sprinkling of sea salt, with the ends removed then tossed to coat.

See CIPPERLY, page A10

Experience Alabama Your Way Through Sweet Home Alabama’s Post Rewards Campaign CONTRIBUTED BY KARA KENNEDY

ALABAMA –– A picture is worth a thousand words. With that in mind, we want to see your vacation photos. The Alabama Tourism Department’s new social media promotional campaign, Post Rewards, invites visitors to share the unique moments from their travels through Sweet Home Alabama.

Through September, visitors can post photos of their favorite vacation memories in Alabama and tag them with the hashtag #SweetRewardsAL in the caption for a chance to win Sweet Home Alabama swag. To

submit entries on Instagram, post your photo with the hashtag #SweetRewardsAL. To submit entries on Facebook, add your photos to the comments section of the

Post Rewards post found at this link: https://alabama.travel/ article/post-rewards.

The Alabama Tourism Department’s Agency of Record, See ALABAMA, page A8

“Our Mission is Your Health”

BEAUREGARD DRUGS

WE DELIVER! Piedmont Fertilizer Co. Inc. 201 2nd Ave. • Opelika, AL SINCE 1910

Nothing better for your lawn exists

• Drive Thru Only • Regular Operating Hours • Please Call Ahead on Refills to Avoid Wait

334-364-9993 | 334-364-9997 7667 Alabama Hwy 51, Suite A, Opelika www.beauregarddrugs.com Mon-Fri 8am–6pm | Sat 9am–12pm | Sunday Closed

A8 July 28, 2022

STACEY PATTON WALLACE

B

efore I begin this week’s review, I want to give a shout out to East Alabama Ambulatory Surgery Center, which opened at the end of 2021 at 900 Camp Auburn Road, Suite 200 in Auburn. About a month ago, I had an ultrasound performed there. Also, last week, Mike had a procedure performed at the facility.

Let me say, both the building and its staff are state of the art. All doctors, nurses and techs are very professional, compassionate and patient. What a blessing to have East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika and East Alabama Ambulatory Surgery Center in Auburn. Mike and I have been treated in both facilities, and each of them gets an A+ from this retired English teacher. Mike and I are also blessed to live between these two exceptional health care facilities.

To the staff of both, thanks for taking such great care of the people of Lee County.

Now, back to my review. Recently, Ryan, my amazing hair stylist whom I’ve mentioned before, recommended a restaurant to try …

Ponko Chicken.

“It’s the only chicken fingers I’ve eaten which didn’t need a dipping sauce; it was really good,” Ryan said.

Therefore, last week, Mike and I went to Ponko Chicken at 2111 S. College St. in Auburn. The interior of the restaurant was bright and inviting. I loved the restaurant’s motto: “Eats meets West.”

Also, on the wall, Rachel on Facebook declared: “Literally the best chicken on the ENTIRE planet!”

Last, I learned that Auburn, Alabama, is located at 32.60800 North and 85.48010 West on the map. It’s good to learn something

new each day, no matter your age.

Shelby, who took our order, was delightful.

She was very willing and patient to answer all of our questions.

She told us that Ponko Chicken opened about two months ago. She also said that Walker Styron, the restaurant’s owner, lives in Auburn and that this is the first Ponko Chicken in Alabama.

Now, you know I’m a fried chicken freak, so I was intrigued by Ponko Chicken. According to Kylie, another great employee at the restaurant (All the employees were fabulous.), they bread the chicken fingers with Ponko bread crumbs. Then the breaded fingers are fried in rice bran oil.

Last, the chicken fingers are dipped in the sauce of your choice: sweet sesame, walnut cilantro, spicy sauce, jalapeno crema, buttermilk ranch, OG and BBQ sauce.

ALABAMA >>

that record their favorite destinations and vacation experiences.

Another goal of the campaign is to show the hidden treasures and places of Alabama so viewers will ask the question, “Is that in Alabama?,” striving to further drive conversations centered on the beauty and wonder of the state.

“We can promote the state through our eyes any day of the week,” said Lee Sentell, director of the Alabama Tourism Department.

“People typically follow the recommendations of their most trusted sources who have experienced something before. This campaign gives people an opportunity to see

FROM A7

Intermark Group, launched the campaign recently to capture the feel and ambiance visitors had about vacationing in Alabama.

The agency’s main goal is to show the emotional connection that visitors have to the state through images

AUBURN AREA COMMUNITY THEATRE PROUDLY PRESENTS

AUGUST 5-14, 2022 6 SAT AUG

JAN DEMPSEY COMMUNITY ARTS CENTER TICKETS $15/$12 STUDENTS & SENIORS (334) 246-1084 OR AUBURNACT.ORG

HANDS ON A HARDBODY IS PRESENTED BY ARRANGEMENT WITH CONCORD THEATRICALS. WWW.CONCORDTHEATRICALS.COM

Mike and I both chose BBQ sauce chicken fingers with French fries and coleslaw.

Ryan, my hairstylist, spoke the truth. Ponko Chicken fingers are terrific just the way they’re cooked; no additional sauce is needed.

Mike and I really enjoyed our meal and topped it off with dessert … a chocolate cakecup. Oh, my two times. The cup contained recurring layers of chocolate frosting and cake. It was delicious! Yes, I know; I shouldn’t have. I can see Lynn Hudson, my diabetic specialist, shaking her head. I promise not to get the dessert next time, Lynn.

Besides our delicious BBQ chicken fingers, Ponko Chicken also offers diners: salads and sandwiches (including grilled, vegan and tofu

choices), tacos, the Ponko dog (I want that one next time; again, without the dessert.) and numerous sides.

Besides our oh, my two times dessert, the restaurant also serves the Betty cookie and red velvet and carrot cakecups. Citizens of Lee County, there’s a new chicken in town.

You should really give this place a try.

Ponko Chicken is open seven days a week from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Alabama through the eyes of visitors who intentionally choose to vacation in our state.”

The Post Rewards promotion runs through Sept. 30. To learn more on how to participate: https://alabama.travel/ article/post-rewards.

About the Alabama Tourism Department: The Alabama Tourism Department has

won honors from World Travel Market: London, United States Travel Association, National Council of State Tourism Directors, Travel Weekly magazine, the Southeast Tourism Society, Southern Public Relations Federation and others for its tourism marketing campaigns. Alabama was only one of six states

PHOTOS BY MIKE WALLACE / FOR THE OBSERVER

Making the Grade: Ponko Chicken

Ponko Chicken makes the grade with an A+ from this retired English teacher. Remember, “Pooh-sized” 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 each week in The Observer. Stacey may be reached at retiredlangartsteacher2020@ gmail.com that did not suffer severe tourism losses due to the pandemic, and in 2021, the state’s tourism rebounded significantly with 28.2 million visitors vacationing in the state and a record amount of nearly $20 billion on travel and tourism activities spent.

For more information, please visit Alabama.

Travel.

A9 July 28, 2022

Deljen’s Goes Global in Birmingham

BY KENDYL HOLLINGSWORTH KENDYLH@OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

SOUND >>

FROM A7

in went on to win the first Annual New Song Songwriting Contest at North Carolina’s popular L.E.A.F. festival.

He also placed twice as a finalist in the Chris Austin Songwriting competition at Merlefest (2009, 2019), the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival

prospect of serving at a major event like the World Games was “so cool,” but she also saw it as a valuable experience for her daughter.

Not only was Della J. able to meet and interact with new people, but she also gained experience managing her business at a large event. That included everything from counting change to keeping the trailer and equipment clean.

“It was a great experience for her, and as a young CEO, she’s learned a lot about entrepreneurship and customer service and how to speak to people, how to take orders,” Jennifer said.

Della J. said she enjoyed taking a break to watch gymnastics, but she was also excited to participate in her first television news appearance with Birmingham’s WVTM-13.

For Jennifer, who grew up in Birmingham, it was just as exciting to watch her daughter share her story with the city she once called home.

“Deljen’s is not a job to me,” she said. “It’s really not a job to her.

We make it fun, and so by planning that (the World Games), it was a fun process … We still make sure that her business runs as long as she wants it to run, and I believe she’ll want it to run until the end of time.”

And as long as Della J. keeps her grades up, Jennifer said she’ll be able to take her business to new heights.

Della J. said she is grateful for the support she has received so far and hopes to

one day “travel the whole world” to sell her shaved ice in other states and countries.

Until then, she will

continue serving the Opelika-Auburn community — and make it back to Birmingham soon.

“I was really happy to serve Birmingham and the rest of those people that really appreciated it,” she said.

Songwriting Competition (2014, 2019) and Eddie’s Attic Open Mic Shootout (2014, 2015).

Espalin won third place at the 2019 Songwriter Serenade.

He has also spent the last few years sharing the stage opening for some of his songwriting idols Indigo Girls, Jennifer Knapp, Kevn Kinney, Chely Wright, Michelle Malone, Shawn

Mullins, Patty Loveless, to name a few.

In 2022, Wyatt Espalin shakes things up with his new band the Riverstones and a collection of songs that invites his fans to examine his songwriting through a different lens. After returning to his roots to live at the rustic campground where he was raised by his grandparents in the North Geor-

gia Mountains, he found a setting that would inspire “Diamondback”, a collection of mysterious songs released in 2020 that gave his audience a bird’s eye view of an artist rediscovering himself. Well, this fiddler/ singer and champion clogger has discovered more and before the Year of the Rabbit, all may be revealed. Let the enlightenment be-

gin. During his performances, the haunting, intimate songs juxtaposed with the hilarious stories that he shares in the banter between them create a beautiful tension.

Performing solo or traveling with a revolving set of talented musicians as Trees Leave, Wyatt Espalin has found a way to continue writing and performing

these songs that have longed to be free; to be pardoned, like the river.

The Sound Wall is located at 605 Avenue B, Opelika, 36801. Tickets for the event are $20, non-refundable. Doors open at 7 p.m. This is a bring your own beverage (BYOB) event.

For more information: www.thesoundwallopelika.com/events/ wyatt-espalin.

PHOTOS CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER

OPELIKA — Two years ago, Della J. Morgan was a first-grader sitting in her room, drawing and writing about a goal she had to sell shaved ice to friends and family. Earlier this month, she served up the frozen treat to an international clientele at the World Games in Birmingham.

“It was fun,” she said of her experience. “I got to see new people all over the world ...

They appreciate the shaved ice so much because it was so good.

They said it’s the best thing they ever tasted.”

As the young CEO of Deljen’s, 8-year-old Della J. is bringing her dreams and ideas to life with her food trailer in Opelika and beyond. This summer, she has been busy with Food Truck Fridays in downtown Opelika, but she has also served hungry customers in Auburn, Columbus and Lake Guntersville.

Her parents help with the business as well, whether it be making ice, prepping the flavors, helping with production, updating social media or seeking new opportunities to serve.

In fact, it was Della J.’s mother, Jennifer Morgan, who was alerted to the opportunity to serve at the World Games.

“My sister, who’s in the heart of Birmingham, she came to me and mentioned to me that, ‘Hey, I think you guys should do the World Games,’” Jennifer recalled.

It took about a year of paperwork, meetings, background checks and obtaining the proper permits, but Deljen’s was able to join only a handful of food trucks and trailers as the “official shaved ice of the World Games.”

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime event,” Jennifer said. “For us, we were the only shaved ice food truck that was there.”

Deljen’s typically offers 30 shaved ice flavors, but the Morgans decided to condense the list to 14 for the World Games. According to Jennifer, many of the flavors reflected

different countries and cultures — from li hing mui, a dried Chinese plum flavor, to piña colada and mango with Tajín.

“The World Games was people from all over the world, so I had flavors that represented Hawaii, China, United States, Mexico … just a different variety of flavors that would represent everybody coming into Birmingham for the World Games,” she said.

While Della J. and her team focus on shaved ice, they also offer other “tidbits” such as hotdogs, nachos, cotton candy, bottled water and canned drinks. They also serve the shaved ice in large cups with a decorative drink umbrella for tropical flair, with a variety of toppings available such as whipped cream, candy and boba.

Deljen’s prepared 14 bottles of each of the 14 flavors for a total of nearly 200 bottles, and they ended up using most of their supply, according to Jennifer.

Both she and Della J. said it was a challenge to deal with the long lines, but their shaved ice was a welcomed treat in the hot weather.

“Even though we condensed our flavors doing the World Games, the most challenging was making sure that we served every person that came to our window, even if we had a cutoff time,” Jennifer said. “…We wanted to make sure that we serve everyone that came through the line.”

Jennifer said the

A10 July 28, 2022

CIPPERLY >>

FROM A7

toes, it will take closer to 45 minutes, depending on the size. Check occasionally for desired doneness for your family. Vidalia wedges are also good roasted with the potatoes and will caramelize for a delectable taste.

Vidalia onions are available now through early September. For an onion to be labeled “Vidalia” it must be grown in a specified region in Georgia.

Mose Coleman, a Toombs County farmer

CIPPERLY RECIPES >> SUMMER SQUASH MEDLEY Laurel Jackson Buckalew ¼ cup pine nuts ½ Tbsp. garlic 1 Tbsp. or more olive oil 1 medium squash, sliced 1 medium pkg. mushrooms 1 large red bell pepper, sliced Kosher salt and pepper to taste Over low-medium heat, sauté pine nuts, garlic and olive oil until pine nuts are a golden. Add squash, mushrooms and pepper; cook until tender.

May need to add more olive oil. While simmering, add salt and pepper to taste.

CARAMELIZED VIDALIA ONION SPREAD Kelly Cannon Buchsbaum 2 Tbsp. butter 3 medium Vidalia onions, chopped 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened 8 oz. pkg. Swiss cheese, shredded 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 cup mayonnaise Sweet potato chips or crackers Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add sliced onions.

Cook, stirring often, 20 minutes, or until onions are caramel in color.

Combine cooked onions, cream cheese, and all remaining ingredients, stirring well.

Spoon dip into lightly greased 1½ to 2 quart casserole dish.

Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, or until golden and bubbly.

Serve with sweet potato chips or crackers.

Makes 4 cups.

VIDALIA ONION SALAD Chef Eron Bass 2 cups thinly sliced Vidalia onion rings 2 Tbsp. Duke’s mayonnaise 3 Tbsp. white vinegar 1 Tbsp. sugar 1/8 tsp. fine sea salt 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil Dash white pepper Place onion, may-

in Georgia, is believed to have been the first grower of Vidalia onions, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia. Mose discovered in 1931 that his crop of onions had a mild taste. Soon afterwards other farmers in the area began growing onions too.

Before the interstate highway was built, Georgia built a farmers market in Vidalia in the 1940s to help growers sell their onions. By the 1970s, the sweet onions were growing on around 600 acres.

onnaise, vinegar, sugar, salt, olive oil and pepper in a bowl.

Toss together and allow to marinate for 20 minutes to 1 hour in the refrigerator.

Serve over thinly sliced ripe tomatoes and garnish with parsley and sea salt.

VIDALIA ONIONS AU GRATIN 5 or 6 large Vidalia or other sweet onions, cut into bite size pieces, about 6 cups 6 Tbsp. butter 1/2 cup self-rising flour 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1 lb. grated Monterey jack and sharp cheddar cheese (about 4 cups), divided 1/2 cup butter cracker crumbs, Ritz or Town crackers Combine onions and enough water to cover in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes. Drain onions and set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour to pan, salt and pepper.

Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture turns a light tan color. Remove from stove; add onions and 3 cups grated cheese, stirring until blended.

Spoon into a buttered 1 1/2 to 2 qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with cracker crumbs and remaining 1 cup cheese.

Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serves 8.

GRILLED CORN ON THE COB Tiffany Martin 4 ears of corn 1/4 cup butter, softened 2 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese 1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

Husk corn; remove silk. Rinse under cold water; shake off excess water. Wrap each ear in foil.

Grill 15 to 20 minutes or until corn is tender, turning occasionally. Remove from grill, unwrap corn.

In 1986, the Georgia legislature passed the Vidalia Onion Act Change to: that said that the onions could only be grown in the 20 counties. The Vidalia sweet onion was declared Georgia’s official state vegetable in 1990.

Look over the recipes using Vidalia onions for a scrumptious spread, salad, au gratin dish and savory pie.

Dee Dee Harper is sharing her signature summer dish layering tomatoes, Vidalia onions and green pepper, then topping it

with mayonnaise and crushed Ritz crackers.

The original recipe belonged to Brown Torbert at the Saugahatchee Country Club.

Corn is a popular vegetable for all ages.

Corn on the cob is flavorful cooked on the grill, but it can also be baked. One of the easiest baked recipes is simply removing husks and silks from corn.

Preheat oven to 400.

Line a large baking sheet with foil and place corn in a row along the baking sheet.

Spread softened butter on top of each ear

and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, flip corn and spread with softened butter. Bake an additional 10 minutes, turning occasionally.

If you have a bumper crop of cucumbers, you can make pickles or relish, and extra okra can be pickled.

You can also make pickles from green tomatoes. If you have not made pickles before, look on the extension service website to learn the safety steps for canning. Be sure to use hot, sterilized jars.

If you have a garden

with more vegetables than you can use, consider donating them to the Food Bank of East Alabama. With rising food costs, it is getting more difficult for some families to provide fresh vegetables and fruits that are needed for their children to develop healthy bodies.

Also, keep the elderly in mind, as a container of freshly cooked vegetables would give them a huge lift.

Look over the recipes and select a few vegetable dishes for treating your family this coming week.

PICKLED OKRA (TEXAS STYLE) Esther Marshall 3 lbs. thumb-size raw okra pods Equal parts apple cider vinegar and water to fill pint jars after packing Pack pods in large mouth pint jars. Per jar, add 1 tsp. mustard seed 1 hot pepper pod 1 small garlic clove and Enough vinegar/ water to cover Process in hot water canner for 15 minutes. Let pickles “age” for at least 6 weeks before serving.

the original.

Spread fresh tomatoes, cut into bitesized pieces, over the bottom of serving dish about 2 inches deep. Add layer of chopped Vidalia onion, about ½ inch deep. Then add ½ inch layer of chopped green bell pepper.

Salt and pepper well. Seal with Miracle Whip or Hellman’s mayonnaise.

Be sure to cover edge to edge. Chunkycrush Ritz Crackers for a generous layer on top.

Refrigerate 1 to 2 hours but not overnight.

this cool and then pour it over the vegetables. Refrigerate for 12 hours.

Other garden combinations: cucumbers, sweet onions, and peppers, or squash, zucchini, basil, cherry tomatoes, sweet onion, and bell peppers

margarine ¼ cup sugar 2 eggs ½ tsp. salt 1½ cups milk 2 cups fresh corn cut off cob Cream butter and sugar; beat in eggs.

Add salt and milk.

Stir in corn. Pour into greased casserole dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 35 minutes or until firm. Serves 6.

CUCUMBER RELISH Esther Marshall 3 lbs. large cucumbers 3 lbs. onions 4 green peppers 2 Tbsp. salt 1 tsp. turmeric 1 Tbsp. celery seed 1 tsp. garlic chips 1 lb. sugar 4 Tbsp. mustard seed 2 qt. apple cider vinegar Grind vegetables coarsely in food chopper. Mix with salt in large mixing bowl and let stand for 1 hour. Drain in muslin sack.

In large kettle combine turmeric, sugar, mustard seed and vinegar. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil.

Add vegetable mixture all at once and mix well. Reduce heat and cook slowly until vegetables are tender.

Pack in hot sterilized jars and seal immediately. Makes 8 to 12 pints. For tart relish, leave out sugar.

CRACKER SALAD WITH TOMATOES, VIDALIA ONIONS, PEPPERS Dee Dee Harper Brown Torbert, Saugahatchee Country Club ca. 1975 This has become my “signature” summer dish. I had the beloved Johnny McEachern cater it for an Opelika National Bank picnic. He added some extras like cheese and celery, and it was wonderful too. This is

FRENCH GREEN BEANS WITH BACON 1½ lb. haricots verts (French green beans), stem ends removed.

Kosher salt 1 Tbsp. good olive oil 4 slices bacon, diced 1 medium sweet onion, diced 1 or 2 garlic cloves, sliced 3 Tbsp. light or dark brown sugar 3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar Freshly ground black pepper Blanch green beans in boiling salted water 1½ minutes or a little longer if less crisp beans are desired. Drain and set aside while making sauce.

Cook bacon, onion and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet until bacon is crisp. Add brown sugar, vinegar and pepper. Add green beans to skillet and heat through.

MARINATED GREEN BEANS Claire Watts 2 lbs. fresh green beans, snapped and slightly cooked 2 cans kidney beans, drained 1 red bell pepper, sliced 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced 1 sweet onion, sliced Sauce: 1 cup sugar ¾ cup canola oil ¾ cup vinegar Layer first five ingredients. Heat sugar, oil and vinegar until sugar melts. Let

VIDALIA ONION PIE Dr. Bruce Thornton 3 cups sliced Vidalia onions (1½ large onion) 1 Tbsp. butter 9-inch pie shell, partially baked and cooled 1 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. black pepper 2 eggs, beaten 4 oz. (1/2 cup) evaporated milk Sauté onion in butter until tender; add sugar. Then arrange in 9-inch pie shell.

Mix milk, eggs, salt, pepper and pour over onions.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes.

MARJORIE KEYSER’S ICICLE GREEN TOMATO PICKLES Debra Whatley 4 lbs. green tomatoes 4 lbs. sugar 3 pt. vinegar 1/8 tsp. salt, optional 1 Tbsp. whole cloves 1 Tbsp. whole allspice 1 Little stick of cinnamon Select firm small green tomatoes. Slice crosswise. Put in limewater, using ½ pt. lime to 2 gallons of water. Let stand 24 hours. Remove and rinse well in cold water.

Mix all other ingredients together and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add tomatoes and let stand overnight.

Boil 30 minutes and seal boiling hot.

Be sure all pickles are well covered with vinegar. Put in hot sterilized jars. Seal.

EASY FRESH CORN PUDDING 3 Tbsp. butter or

REBECCA’S MARKET SKILLET Jennifer Faircloth 1 Tbsp. olive oil 1 small sweet onion, chopped 1 red pepper, chopped 2 ears fresh corn, kernels cut off 1 large zucchini, sliced ¼ cup of fresh parsley, chopped ¼ tsp. of black pepper 4 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese, divided Heat oil, medium heat, in large skillet.

Add onion and red pepper; cook and stir for 3 minutes.

Stir in corn and zucchini and cook for 5 minutes or until all vegetables are tender, stirring as needed.

Remove from heat.

Stir in parsley, black pepper, 2 Tbsp. of cheese.

Top with remaining cheese. Serves 4.

Optional: For a hearty meal, add sliced, cooked smoked sausage.

GRANNY CAMPBELL’S SQUASH CASSEROLE Beth Campbell 2 to 3 lb. squash 2 medium onions, chopped 1 stick butter, softened ¼ lb. cheddar cheese, grated 20 saltine crackers, crushed ½ cup milk ¼ tsp. salt ¼ tsp. pepper 1 egg Cook squash and onions together until tender; drain. Place in casserole dish. Add butter, cheese, crackers, milk, salt, pepper and egg. Pour into greased baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

A11 July 28, 2022

Cheers, Auburn!

PHOTOS BY JERRY BALLAS / FOR THE OBSERVER

The city of Auburn's annual Cheers on the Corner event took place July 22, from 6 to 9 p.m. During those hours, the downtown streets were closed off to vehicle traffic and opened to pedestrians as friends, families and locals enjoyed a friday evening tasting delicious food and drink. Participating stores offered bites representative of the flavors of downtown Auburn, paired with a drink often served in a souvenir glass.

Opelika Theatre Company is proud to present

y e n s Di

NEWSIES

August 5th, 6th & 7th

August 12th, 13th & 14th

at the Southside Center for the Arts 1103 Glenn Street, Opelika, AL, 36801

tickets available at - www.opelikatheatrecompany.com

A12 July 28, 2022

What's Happening in Lee County DIABETES PREVENTION PROGRAM INFORMATION SESSION Learn how we can help you achieve your health goals!

Information Session Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022 10 a.m. CST East Alabama Health Education Center 2027 Pepperell Parkway, Opelika, AL For more information call 334-528-6800 or email dpp@eamc.org

SUMMER SWING - EVERY TUESDAY NIGHT

Aug. 2 - Back-To-School Bash Concerts are held at Municipal Park at 7 p.m.

Hamburgers and hotdogs provided by Opelika Band Boosters and lemonade provided by SouthState Bank will be available from 6:15 to 7:30 p.m.

Camp Hill Marketplace

Come out and buy your fresh produce, honey, jams and hand-crafted items at the Camp Hill Marketplace, a state-certified farmers market Every Thursday, 8 to 11 a.m., June 2 through Oct. 20, rain or shine, at Mount Lovely Baptist Church at 21900 Senator Claude Pepper Dr., Camp Hill, (AL Hwy 50). Potential vendors contact Sharon at 256-749-5100 to apply to join.

COFFEE & CONVERSATION WITH VFW POST 5404

VFW Post 5404, 131 E. Veterans Blvd., Auburn (next to Ray's Collision off of S. College St.) will be open on Wednesdays 0800 - 1100 with coffee, donuts, cake and conversation about service and benefits for all veterans and spouses to stop by.

Opelika is excited to be the host city for the 2022 Main Street Alabama LAB conference in August!

Registration is now open for this great event.

THE MARKET AT AG HERITAGE PARK Every Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. at AG Heritage Park located at 620-A S. Donahue Dr. in Auburn O GROWS FARMERS MARKET Every Tuesday from 3 to 6 p.m. outside the Southside Center for the Arts located at 1103 Glenn St. in Opelika.

LEE/RUSSELL COUNTY LOW VISION SUPPORT GROUP will meet 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 Dr. in Opelika. Every month there will be different topics discussed to make life more manageable living with low vision.

“Alone we can do so little: together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller Contact: Shiquita Fulton, M. ED/Vision Rehab Therapist for additional details at 334-705-2024, Melody Wilson, Case manager for the blind at (256)-368-3258

NAMI MEETING

Located in beautiful downtown Opelika

223 S. 8th St. | 334-749-8003 www.opelikaobserver.com

NAMI East Alabama, the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), will meet on the 3rd Tuesday of every month. NAMI supports families dealing with mental illness through mutual support, education and advocacy.

There will be a time for sharing.

The public is invited.

RIBBON CUTTING

SUBSCRIBE TODAY $34 FOR LEE COUNTY www.opelikaobserver. com/subscribe-today/

Auburn Parks and Recreation would like to invite the public to the Town Creek Inclusive Playground ribbon cutting Friday, July 29, at 9 a.m. City of Auburn leaders, employees and residents will gather to officially open the new playground. Free drinks and popsicles will be available while supplies last from 9 to 10 a.m.

The Town Creek Inclusive Playground is located at 430 Camellia Drive. For more information, contact Auburn Parks and Recreation at 334-5012930.

A13 July 28, 2022

We’re Going to Need a Bigger Boat

BRUCE GREEN Teaching Minister at 10th Street Church of Christ in Opelika

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RELIGION –– e’re all familiar with the movie director, Steven Spielberg. He’s made a boatload of movies –– from franchise pictures like Indiana Jones and Jurassic Park, to the cute movie about the extra-terrestrial, to the powerful, dramatic portrayals of Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. But before he made

any of those, he made a movie about three guys, a boat that was too small and a shark that was too big.

It is called Jaws and it has absolutely nothing to do with the silly shark movies that are made these days where they drop out of the sky. Jaws was a real movie with a real tag line — “You’re going to need a bigger boat!” In fact, you will still occasionally hear someone in an overwhelming situation say, “We’re going to need a bigger boat!”

I wonder if that’s what the disciples were thinking when they were caught up in a furious storm while trying to cross Lake Galilee? After all, waves were breaking over the boat and it probably felt like they were going to break the it. I’m sure a bigger boat seemed like a

good idea.

But that wasn’t really the problem.

After all, Jesus was in the boat with them. True, He was sleeping (quite soundly), but how hard would it have been to wake Him up? They could have said, “Lord, we’re getting ready to have a prayer meeting about this killer storm and we thought you might want to join us.”

But of course, that’s’ not the way it played out.

Instead, the disciples went with, “Don’t you care if we drown?” Jesus had a couple of questions of His own. The first was, “Why are you so afraid?” The second one was, “Do you still have no faith?”

I heard someone say, "Faith is believing in advance what will only make sense in your rearview mirror." That

sounds about right. Jesus was going to get the disciples to the other side of the lake — He had told them that. But of course, in the midst of a potentially boat-breaking storm, the disciples didn’t see how that was possible. They didn’t know Jesus could and would speak the storm into stillness. They failed to believe in advance what they would soon clearly see in their rearview mirror.

And it’s not any different for us, is it? It’s still easy to trust God when we think we can see how all of the pieces are going to fit together. But what happens when the wind picks up and we get a little water in our boat?

Will our faith dissolve like the water-soluble faith of the disciples, or will we continue to believe despite

ABOUT BRUCE GREEN

appearances?

The good news is that the disciples who at times failed so spectacularly, grew into disciples, who learned to trust in Jesus no matter what the circumstances were. It’s James, losing his life rather than his faith (Acts 12).

It’s his brother John, exiled on Patmos because of his faith, but nonetheless still speaking out boldly for Jesus.

And there’s absolutely no reason why it can’t be us as well. As someone has noted, Jesus didn’t come into the world to convict us of sin, but to convince us of our possibilities through Him. We don’t need a bigger boat, just a deeper faith.

You can find more of Bruce’s writings at his website: a-taste-of-gracewith-bruce-green.com

You can find more of Bruce’s writings at his website:www. a-taste-of-gracewith-bruce-green.com

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

BIBLE VERSE OF THE WEEK

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

— Hebrews 11:1

CHURCH DIRECTORY

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

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

334-887-8506 Friendship Missionary Baptist Church 3089 Judge Brown Rd., Valley 334-710-2117

334-749-0461 CHURCH OF CHRIST Church of Christ at Cunningham 2660 Cunningham Dr., Opelika

BAPTIST Bethesda Baptist Church 201 S. 4th St., Opelika 334-745-7528

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

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

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

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

AFB - Cooperative Baptist Fellowship 128 East Glenn Ave., Auburn

Got Questions?

Come Study With Us

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST AT CUNNINGHAM DRIVE 2660 CUNNINGHAM DR., OPELIKA SUNDAY BIBLE STUDY 9:30 A.M. SUNDAY WORSHIP 10:30 A.M. / 5 P.M. WEDNESDAY BIBLE STUDY 6:30 P.M.

High Hope Baptist Church 227 Lee Road 673 334-524-8750

Church Of Christ 2215 Marvyn Pkwy., Opelika 334-742-9721 Southside Church Of Christ 405 Carver Ave., Opelika 334-745-6015

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

COMMUNITY OUTREACH Good Sheperd Anglican Church 3015 Opelika Road, Opelika

Providence Baptist Church 2807 Lee Road 166, Opelika 334-745-4608

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

Union Grove Baptist Church 4009 Lee Road 391, Opelika

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 Church At Opelika 1901 Waverly Pkwy., Opelika 334-524-9148 Connect Church 2015 West Point Pkwy., Opelika 334-707-3949 St. Ellis Full Gospel Church 5267 US Hwy 80W, Opelika 334-298-4319 PRESBYTERIAN 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

Fresh Foods...And A Whole Lot More!

603 Pleasant Pleasant Drive 603 Drive Opelika, Opelika, ALAL 36801 749-1333 Mon- Sat7am 7am-8pm Mon-Sat - 8pm Sun12pm 12pm-6pm Sun - 6pm

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8:30 AM

Traditional Service

9:30 AM

Sunday School Gathering

10:30 AM

Contemporary Service

10:30 AM

Chapel Service tumcopelika.org

(334) 745-2632

800 2nd Ave Opelika, Alabama 36801

A14 July 28, 2022

I Need Jesus

WALTER ALBRITTON

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RELIGION — ay back in the ‘50s, the Methodists often sent young preachers, who were still college or seminary students, out in the woods to serve small country churches. These “student” appointments were called “circuits;” a circuit might include three to five small churches.

That’s how I got started. When I was a junior at Auburn University, the Bishop appointed me to the LaPlace Circuit which included four churches in Macon County and one in Montgomery County. We lived in a little community known as Milstead.

One of my churches was on Highway 80 in Shorter. Years later, I would understand the wisdom behind giving student pastors several churches. Spreading our ignorance over several churches would reduce the negative impact we might inflict on one church. And to honest, our ignorance about the work of a pastor was indeed plentiful.

Much more important

was the realization later that the wonderful people in those country churches taught me songs that I have loved all my life, songs that I would never have heard in the big city churches. While I learned to love all kinds of music, high church and low church songs, some of the songs I sang in Macon County are still alive in my memory bank. The words and melodies still come to mind and feed my soul. Lately I find myself singing this one, written by George O. Webster: I need Jesus, my need I now confess; No friend like Him in times of deep distress; I need Jesus, the need I gladly own; Though some may bear

their load alone, Yet, I need Jesus.

I need Jesus, I need Jesus, I need Jesus every day; Need Him in the sunshine hour, Need Him when the storm-clouds lower; Every day along my way, Yes, I need Jesus.

I love melodious songs that speak truth. I do need Jesus. I need him every day, every hour, every minute. I need him because I am powerless without him. Without his power within me I can do nothing of eternal value.

I need Jesus when despair comes calling.

Despair for me might be better labeled despondency or cheerlessness or inertia. Those words

describe the feeling that sometimes, like a “stormcloud,” tries to lower its way into my mind. It happens in rare moments when my loneliness sets the self-pity trap for me.

When the battery that runs my “serving the Lord” motivation needs re-charging. That’s when I need to hear Jesus say, “You don’t need to go there, Walter. Stay with me; re-focus on the ways I can help you make a difference in the lives of others.” And that’s when Jesus helps me hang out my “No Vacancy” sign and slam the door in the face of despair and his friends.

I need Jesus when I become anxious about the future and begin wringing my hands about

things that may or may not happen in the final chapter of my earthly life. When I turn to Jesus, he says, “Walter, that’s a burden you don’t need to carry. Remember, you were bought with a price, my own blood, so you belong to me. I am in charge. I have provided you with everything you have needed so far and I will continue to take care of you. Your future is in my strong hands. Whatever you need, I will provide, so be at peace and trust me. Let not your heart be troubled!”

That’s when his peace calms my soul and chases fear away.

Yes, I need Jesus, every day, along my way, until he finally welcomes me Home.

person we’ve ever known and only hope we can somewhat emulate her Christ-like character.

She quietly showed us a powerful example of how to die to self and live totally for the wellbeing of others.

Proverbs 31: 28 and 29 best describes our love and respect for her: “Her children arise and call

her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”

She is survived by her four children and their spouses: Bobby Roland Crosby (Millie) of Madison, Mississippi, Cathy Crosby Anderson (Russell) of Austin, Texas, and Auburn, Sidney Sim

OBITUARIES MINNIE MAE RAINEY CROSBY

Minnie Mae Rainey Crosby was born on November 16, 1926, the youngest of eight children to God-fearing parents, Margaret Mae Grandberry and Simeon Rainey. She was raised on a farm a few miles northwest of Moselle, Mississippi in Jones

County.

She and her sister Mary attended Jones Jr. College on a basketball scholarship. Her plan to coach girls’ basketball was altered by her high school sweetheart. James Roland Crosby, who grew up on a farm 3 miles away, took her as his loving wife for the next 68 years, until his passing in 2015. Their

early years found them in 25 different homes across Louisiana and Mississippi as James’ bridge building work took them from job site to job site.

From 1964 to 1978 they finished raising their four children in Jackson, Mississippi. Once empty nested they built their retirement home back on the old home

place in Jones County.

After James’ passing, Minnie, now Memaw, lovingly called by her 14 grandchildren, lived five more years in Jackson, Alabama and the last two years of her life in Auburn.

All her children and grandchildren know her as the most servant-hearted, unpretentious, humble

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A15 July 28, 2022

OBITUARIES >>

FROM A14

Crosby (Kay) of Jackson, Alabama, and James Dell Crosby (Stella) of Auburn. She and James leave 14 grandchildren and 23 great grandchildren. She leaves a multitude of friends and admirers across Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

We especially thank Marie (“Ree”) Baker, who faithfully cared for Ms. Minnie in her final years at Monarch Estates in Auburn. Also, much thanks to her precious friends at Monarch Estates who always kept a close eye on her. Finally, thank you to the staff of Bethany House of Auburn who gave such loving care the last 4 days of her life.

A visitation with the family will be held at Fairfield Bapt. Church, on July 30 at 10 a.m. followed by a celebration of her life at 11 a.m. in the Sanctuary. At noon there will be a brief graveside service at Soules Chapel UMC cemetery.

Fairfield Baptist Church 942 Moselle-Seminary Rd. Moselle, MS 39459.

Soules Chapel UMC, 579 Rainey Rd. Moselle, MS. 39459.

In honor of Ms. Minnie we ask you to consider sending contributions to either the Alpha Women’s Resource Center P.O Box 582 Jackson, AL 36545 or Mercy Medical Ministry of Auburn 1702 Catherine Ct. Auburn, AL, 36830.

WILHELMINA “MIMAY” B. PITTS

Wilhelmina “Mimay” B. Pitts, 64 of Opelika, passed away July 21, 2022, at EAMC. Mrs. Pitts was born June 10, 1958, to Benjamin and Mercedes Bautista in Manila, Philippines.

Visitation was held on Saturday, July 23, 2022 at Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home with the funeral service being 2 p.m., Sunday, July 24, 2022. Burial followed in Garden Hills Cemetery.

Mrs. Pitts is survived by her spouse Danny Pitts; children: Tim Pitts, Travis Pitts, Chad Pitts; siblings: Perla Bautista, Wilfredo Bautista, Waldo Bautista; sister-in-law Teresa Bautista; nieces: Trisha Bautista, Julianne Bautista, Bianca Bautista; nephews: Bryan Bautista, Glenn Gomez. She was preceded in death by her parents Benjamin F. and Mercedes C. Bautista; brother Antonio Bautista.

Jeffcoat-Trant Funeral Home directed.

DR. HUGO HOMER ROGERS, JR.

Dr. Hugo Homer Rogers, Jr., left on his trip to meet our Heavenly Father on Wednesday, July 20, 2022. He was born in Perdido, Alabama, in 1947, to Hugo Homer Rogers, Sr., a lifetime railroader, and Katherine Rogers, a homemaker who raised five children.

His vision for himself and others made his life full and an inspiration. Dr. Rogers attended Faulkner State Community College before departing for Auburn University in 1967.

There he met his beloved wife, Crystal Harmon Rogers, co-founded the Auburn chapter of FarmHouse fraternity where he made lifelong friends, served the Masonic Lodge of Auburn #76, faithfully attended Auburn United Methodist Church, raised two children, and had a long career in science.

Though Dr. Rogers asked his children to understand him as “an old country scientist,” his impressive career moved him between intellectual projects and positioned him on the front lines of basic research about climate change. Dr. Rogers enjoyed experimental design and had a partic-

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ular affinity for building test chambers to run CO2 experiments on plants.

Dr. Rogers retired as a Plant Physiologist for Global Change at the National Soil Dynamics Laboratory after 35 years of service with USDA–ARS. He received a bachelor's degree in Botany (1969, honors), an master's degree in Plant Physiology (1971) from Auburn University, and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science and Engineering from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ( (1975), where he worked in the laboratory of Dr. Lyman Alonzo Ripperton. Rogers’ first job was in the Division of Engineering, Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina (1975) studying the control of airborne particulates by vegetation. In 1976, he began research as a Plant Physiologist in Dr. Walter Heck’s Air Quality/Vegetation Effects Program, USDA– ARS, Raleigh, NC. From 1976 to 1984, Dr. Rogers served on the adjunct faculties of North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1984, he moved to the USDA’s National Soil Dynamics Laboratory in Auburn. Dr. Rogers also held adjunct appointments in the Department of Biology at Duke University and the Department of Agronomy & Soils and the School of Forestry & Wildlife Sciences at Auburn University.

His principal focus for 30-odd years was plant response to atmospheric changes, mainly the increase in CO2, concentration. His earlier work included environmental toxicology and the kinetics of air pollutant uptake by plants. Dr. Rogers pioneered the adaptation of continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) design and theory (from the field of chemical engineering) to generate test atmospheres.

Later, Dr. Rogers devel-

oped field-scale systems for the study of plant response to elevated atmospheric CO2, a major global change variable.

He also initiated investigations of the effects of CO2 on agronomic and forest species, and his aboveground results led to questions about processes below the ground.

Dr. Rogers performed root measurements, first with shovel and foot ruler, as well as soil coring and optical scanners, then moved to minirhizotron observations and originated the use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technology on plant matter. He introduced the idea of fractals into the study of roots.

Dr. Rogers authored or co-authored nearly 200 publications, with his work appearing in prestigious journals including Science and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), generating thousands of citations. Dr. Rogers mentored numerous students and postdoctoral scientists, and often lectured to classes. For 20 years, Dr. Rogers was on the Donald E. Davis Arboretum Committee. He served on the Editorial Boards of Environmental Pollution, Agronomy Journal, Journal of Environmental Quality, and Global Change Biology. He was admitted to a number of honor societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, Phi Kappa Phi, Gamma Sigma Delta, Gamma Beta Phi, and Alpha Zeta.

He was a Fellow of the American Society of Agronomy, Fellow of the Air and Waste Management Association, and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He was ARS Scientist of the Year in 1993. In 2003, Dr. Rogers delivered the 20th annual Roscoe Ellis, Jr. Soil Science lecture at Kansas State University. He took great joy and pride in his friendships in science and beyond and in keeping up

with the advancements in his science and that of his colleagues.

Hugo and Crystal shared a love of plants and the environment, having met in Dr. Freeman’s botany class at Auburn University. They journeyed throughout their marriage to the Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage in Tennessee. Hugo loved to travel and his work took him to fields and conference rooms across America’s heartland, the Southwest, New England, and California, as well as Scotland, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, and Japan. Hugo pressed himself to the limit to see the world. On one memorable occasion, he found himself climbing out of a volcanic crevasse as night fell on the Big Island of Hawaii. For Hugo, there was always a little more that could be squeezed out of time and opportunities. When he received the Scientist of the Year award for ARS, he and Crystal took in a Willie Nelson concert in Washington, D.C. Hugo prized his friendships and enjoyed corresponding in letters, postcards, and later emails. Friends will recall that he sent out an enormous number of personal and often highly detailed Christmas cards each year. Many are also grateful for the time and effort he took in brainstorming ideas, making phone calls, and helping write and rewrite resumes to secure jobs, funding, and honors for friends and colleagues. Hugo was preceded in death by his parents and sister Rosemary Rogers, and leaves bereft his wife and two children, Dr. Hannah Star Rogers and Hiram Harmon Rogers, his two brothers, Norman Rogers and Tolbert Rogers, and a sister, Barbara McCoy. Hugo’s hallmarks were persistence and preparation, as he believed that fortune favored the prepared and in the limitless power of God to help us navigate the universe.

We are unable to give summation to his life, well-lived.

An open house was held in honor of Dr. Rogers at the Rogers family home in Goldhill, Alabama, on Monday, July 25 from 3 to 7 p.m., with a celebration of his life at 2 .m. on Tuesday, July 26 at the Auburn United

Methodist Church Founder’s Chapel. We ask that in lieu of flowers donations be made to Alabama Prison Arts and Education Project (www.apaep.auburn.edu/) because of his interest and concern about the wellbeing of prisoners and his volunteer work in this area earlier in life.

KENNETH STEPHEN "STEVE" OLAVESON

Kenneth Stephen "Steve" Olaveson of Opelika was born in Roanoke, Alabama, to the late Ferrell J. and Thelma Dudley Olaveson on Oct. 26, 1939, and passed away on July 21, 2022. He was 82 years old.

Steve retired after 20 years as the Dean at Opelika State Technical College. He also taught and coached at Chattooga High School in Summerville, Georgia., Benjamin Russell High School, Opelika High School, and Scott Academy. Steve was an active member of Northside Baptist Church where he served as Trustee and Sunday School Director. Steve was an avid Atlanta Braves fan, he enjoyed watching Auburn sports, camping with the love of his life, Barbara, and spending time at Lake Martin.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Jack Olaveson; and nephew, David Olaveson.

Steve is survived by his wife, Barbara H. Olaveson; nephew, Phillip (Nancy) Olaveson of Opelika; nieces, Jackie (Fred) Wertymer of Cashiers, North Carolina, Pat (Graham) Weatherstone of Columbus, Georgia, Melissa (Jason) Cherry of Opelika, Jennifer (John) Heffner of Alpharetta, Georgia., Deborah (David) Morgan of Lafayette, Alabama, and Ginger Whitson of Jacksons Gap, Alabama.

He is also survived by numerous great nieces and nephews.

Visitation was held Friday, July 22, 2022, in the Parlor at Frederick-Dean Funeral Home and the funeral service was held Saturday, July 23, 2022, at 11 a.m. with Bro. John Coker and Bro. Billy Clark officiating. Interment followed at Rock Springs Baptist Church Cemetery in Chambers County, Alabama.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to your favorite Charity of choice or Northside Baptist Church of Opelika.

A16 July 28, 2022

COMICS

“Life is worth living as long as there’s a laugh in it.” ― Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

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INSIDE B1 - B8:

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• AUBURN CITY SCHOOLS • AUBURN UNIVERSITY • COMMUNITY SPORTS • LEE COUNTY SCHOOLS • OPELIKA CITY SCHOOLS • SUSCC

SCHOOL BOARD MEETINGS OPELIKA: JULY 28 AT 4:30 P.M. LEE COUNTY: AUGUST 9 AT 6:30 P.M. AUBURN: AUGUST 9 AT 6:30 P.M.

OHS Coach, Former AD Recognized at AHSAA Championship Coaches Banquet PHOTO CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER

ON THE MARK D. MARK MITCHELL

The AllImportant Booster Club

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the student-athlete should wear the best uniform, have the most up-to-date equipment and all resources necessary to compete at a high level — the championship level. For many years, Opelika received financial help from businesses and boosters through the “Quarterback Club” and “The All-Sports Booster Club”.

The Opelika High “Quarterback Club” was a group of people in the community who wanted to help Opelika High athletics by raising funds, meals and whatever was requested to help a team.

The board of directors was not employed by Opelika City Schools, just supporters of Opelika athletics.

Every year, the QB Club raised funds by selling ads for the program, running concession stands at sporting events and holding fundraising events throughout the year.

I saw the importance of the booster club while attending OHS. As a sophomore, I started helping the broadcast team. By the time my senior year rolled around, I was handling the play-by-play duties, See SPORTS, page B6

OPELIKA — At the 26th annual AHSAA Championship Coaches banquet held on Friday, July 22, at the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center, former Opelika High School Athletic Director, Mike Pugh, was named the AHSAA/AHSADCA 2021-22 Athletic Director of the Year. In addition, OHS boys' head track coach, Jimmy Johnson, was recognized as the 2020-21 NFHS State Coach of the Year for Boys Outdoor Track.

Johnson’s award had been announced in December 2021 and he was formally recognized at Friday’s banquet.

Pugh served as the athletic director from May 2018 until his retirement in May 2022. He was nominated earlier this year by OHS colleagues See AWARDS, page B5

AHSAA Executive Director Kicks Off High School Football Media Days PHOTO BY ROBERT NOLES / THE OBSERVER

OPELIKA — tudent-athletes at Opelika Middle School (OMS) and Opelika High School (OHS) have plenty to do as fall sports approach.

Athletic teams such as cross country, volleyball and football will soon be practicing every weekday in preparation for the first contest.

Head football coach Erik Speakman worked his team Monday and Tuesday before giving the athletes off until Monday (Aug. 1). The Bulldogs will have two full weeks before preparing for Callaway the week of Aug. 15.

When you think about high school sports, Friday night football comes to mind.

Yes, students participate in numerous sports affiliated with the AHSAA and Opelika City Schools (OCS), but football attendance translates to money for athletics.

Money is essential in order to run a first-class program. If you ask a parent of a child who plays a sport, “What is the most important sport at OHS?”, the answer in probably “The one my child plays.”

No matter the sport, nor if it draws crowds,

CONTRIBUTED BY OCS

BY WIL CREWS SPORTSCREWS@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

OPELIKA –– Alabama High School Athletic Association

(AHSAA) Executive Director Alvin Briggs kicked off the fifth annual east Alabama High School Media Days at the Bottling Plant Event Center in Opelika on Tuesday.

Briggs, who recently completed his first year in the position of executive director, opened the event with an update on the status of the AHSAA. “It seems like it was two

months ago that I was on the radio talking about the end of spring sports, and here we are starting it off with the beginning of another athletic year,” Briggs See MEDIA DAYS, page B5

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B2 July 28, 2022

Auburn High Football Enters 2022 With Chip on Its Shoulder

BY HARRISON TARR FOR THE OBSERVER

AUBURN — For fans of the Auburn High School football program, winning is more than a tradition; after a string of double-digit win seasons, it has become the expectation. In his first year as the head coach of the blue and white, Keith Etheredge led his team to a 10-3 record, sufficient for a quarterfinals exit at the hands of rival Central Phenix City. As his second year approaches, Etheredge believes that the culture is in place and the Tigers are poised to make yet another run to the state championship game.

According to the head coach, everything begins with a remarkably

deep commitment to bettering the program.

“We’ve got 41 seniors this year,” Etheredge said. “Our classes are very big. From 10th grade to 12th grade we’ve got about 164 kids involved in football, right around 500 total from seventh grade to 12th grade.”

The leader of the blue and white claims that his group is composed of guys which he uniquely refers to as "stick their face in the fan" guys.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who do things the right way,” Etheredge said. “I call them guys who stick their face in the fan for you; they’re guys who want to win and will do anything they can to win. If I told these guys to stick their face in that fan, they’d

grab it.”

Attitude is certainly half the battle; Etheredge believes his group has a healthy dose of talent to complement their outlook.

“We’ve got two quarterbacks who are really good, we’re really deep at receiver,” Etheredge said. “Our offensive line is probably one of the best I’ve ever coached.”

Senior left tackle — and Auburn University committ — Bradyn Joiner agreed with his head coach’s sentiment, adding that the Tigers’ offensive front should be worth paying attention to.

“The whole offensive line had to change a little bit,” Joiner said.

“We only had two starters from last year See AUBURN, page B5

New Standards Bring New Vision to Lee-Scott Football

BY WIL CREWS SPORTSCREWS@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

OPELIKA — “I don’t have starters, we have standards,” said Lee-Scott head football coach Buster Daniel at the fifth annual iHeart Media Days in Opelika on Tuesday.

Daniels enters year three in charge of the varsity Warriors — a program he took from 2-7 in 2021 to 8-3 and an appearance in the AISA Class 3A state semifinals in 2022.

Such a staunch turnaround from year one to year two can be credited to factors involving the pandemic, and the gained practice and weight room time the Warriors received before last season

as health and safety restrictions were lifted.

“These guys have made a drastic turnaround at Lee-Scott,” Daniel said.

“The first year, getting there after COVID, not being in the weight room for eight weeks, we were weak. Our season showed that; we went 2-7. These guys bought in, believed what we were teaching.

That is all attributed to these guys. We can give them direction, but they got to do [the] work.”

Opposed to last year, when the Warriors boasted a roster of just 27 players and seven seniors, Lee-Scott’s team has grown in numbers to 48 in total. Additionally, the Warriors have an experience-laden group entering 2022, with 18 seniors and 16 returning players

in total.

The added depth should provide Lee-Scott with valuable flexibility in terms of who lines up where on the field.

“We have outgrown our locker room, which is a good thing for us,” Daniel said. “Hopefully this year we can do a little bit of one of the two, where they can play either offense or defense.

We have probably five guys who are going to play one side of the ball. That would help us tremendously.”

Amidst changes to the coaching staff, one of the biggest and possibly most influential changes to the Warriors in 2022 will be who lines up under center. Quarterback Ryan See LEE-SCOTT, page B6

The Blueprint

Beauregard Football Enters Year 2 Under Jones

BY WIL CREWS SPORTSCREWS@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

BEAUREGARD — Beauregard football head coach Justin Jones enters his second season with the Hornets attempting to lead the program back to the playoff for the first time since 2018.

In fact, the Hornets have failed to register a .500 season since the year before that, 2017, and Jones and company have determined how they aim to return Beauregard to the lofty standard upon which it once sat.

“At Beauregard, we live by a blueprint,” Jones said at the fifth annual High School Media Days in Opelika on Tuesday.

“I think that is important to have … if you’re going to have a foundation, if you are going to establish

yourself in anything … you have got to have a foundation. We live by three things: go hard, do right and expect to win.

And it has got to be in that order."

Through his blueprint of “go hard, do right and expect to win,” Jones has changed the culture at Beauregard in a short time.

“Before coach Jones, we had a good coach,” said one player. “But playing under him, it was good for a while, but then things started going downhill. We saw Beauregard needed new things to come in.

When coach Jones came he changed the whole program around. We got a new locker room, new helmets, new jerseys, a whole new team. This year I think we can fight with anybody.”

The Hornets are coming off a 4-6 record in

2021, the same as 2020.

However, Beauregard’s improvement as a program can be seen in their scoring and defense averages improving from 15.5 to 20.5, and 30.0 to 24.9 in 2021.

The team is well positioned for increased success this year, with the Hornets returning a good chunk of their offensive and defensive lines –– something Jones said is paramount.

“It’s always going to start up front,” Jones said.

“We are a multiple spread offense. We try to put a lot of speed on the field defensively, but let’s be honest, it starts up front.

So for us, having returners on the offensive line, and returners on the defensive line, to me that is a major component. In the trenches is where it is going to be See BEAUREGARD, page B5

Callaway Await Opelika in Opener

BY JAKE GONZALEZ FOR THE OBSERVER

CALLAWAY — Callaway High School has made the semifinals in the Georgia Class AA state tournament six of the last eight seasons. The Cavaliers last won a state championship in 2020 and made the semifinals last season.

“Over the years, there is an expectation of success,” said Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins. “Every time we step out onto the field there is

determination and the expectation to succeed.

Our seniors, we have 16, have done a great job leading our program.”

Wiggins has been the coach of Callaway for 18 seasons and has totaled over 160 wins with the program. Last season, Callaway went 10-3 en route to its 31-6 semifinal loss to Thomasville but the Cavaliers opened the season with a matchup against Opelika, where they took down the bulldogs 30-21 in Opelika.

Much like last season, Callaway opens the

2022-23 season against Opelika High School on Aug. 19 in Callaway, Georgia. This will be the fourth time that these two schools have faced. Opelika has only beaten Callaway once in this series.

“Our schedule is very demanding,” Wiggins said. “Opelika High School has one of the richest traditions in the state of Alabama. They got great coaches, players and facilities. What a great opponent. You work hard and put a lot of hours in to get to play programs like Opelika.”

PHOTOS FROM THE MEDIA DAYS EVENT ARE BY ROBERT NOLES, HARRISON TARR AND JAKE GONZALEZ

B3 July 28, 2022

Beulah Football Working Harder in 2022

BY HARRISON TARR FOR THE OBSERVER

BEULAH –– As high school football season approaches, many coaches and players are gearing up for the beginning of fall camp and season preparation. Matt Johnson and the Beulah Bobcats are a step ahead of the competition.

After going through an unconventional spring, the black and gold began their first day of fall camp on July 26, setting themselves up for a longer stint of time and earning a head start on preparations for what they hope to be a renewed chapter in a storied legacy.

“We had our first fall camp today,” Johnson said. “We didn’t have a traditional spring, so we got to start early. Some of

our people are spread out through the baseball and softball season, so we get a little bit extra out of this early start.”

According to the fourth-year head coach, the Bobcats have reaped the benefits of matured leadership despite not spending a conventional spring together.

“If you ask me what's the difference in this team, this year and last year, I can name you off a list of things,” Johnson said. “You see, I have a junior, a senior and a sophomore that are here right now. That doesn’t happen too often; that shows you our leadership across the board and tells you the type of team that we have.”

Although a point of emphasis, the Bobcats are not only focusing on leadership development

on the field; quarterback Noah Higdon and tackle Jackson Blanton have traveled internationally for the betterment of others.

“Noah and Jackson were here last year,” Johnson said. “Right now, they’re in Germany on a mission trip teaching kids how to play baseball. That’s just the type of kids we have; we have really good kids. No coaches likes for them to miss practice, but what they’re doing right now is life-changing.”

Per Johnson, the combining factors have produced what he believes to be a positive environment surrounding the team going forward.

“We had a great workout so far, great leadership,” Johnson said. “That’s just what See BEULAH, page B5

‘Be Accountable’

LaFayette Football Looks to Make the Next Step

BY WIL CREWS SPORTSCREWS@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

LAFAYETTE –– LaFayette head football coach Juan Williams is looking for consistency from his players this year.

“A lot of them know what we do,” Williams said of his student-athletes. “The thing is, we are having different parts coming in, so we talk about consistency –– playing your position, doing your part.”

Williams has led the Bulldogs to a 5-5 and 7-4 record in his first two years, respectively.

Last year, Valley lost, 48-20, in the first round of the playoffs to Ariton High School.

This year, Williams and company are looking to take the next leap to push further toward the goal of postseason excellence.

“We are trying to continue to protect the brand,” he said. “These guys who are with me now are a part of that process. The next step is –– we have been put out two years in a row in the first round, our kids know that, that’s the hurdle –– we need to push past the first round.”

The Bulldogs had their region changed due to AHSAA reclassification this year, and the new schedule presents a different challenge for the team.

“This year our region

changed,” Williams said. “It’s a little more football heavy in my eyes. We are ready for the challenge.”

2A Region 3 now includes Reeltown, Lanett, LaFayette, Horseshoe Bend, Goshen, Barbour County, Highland Home and Luverne.

“We got a really good region,” Williams said.

“That’s good and bad.

But we are no slobs, so we are going to compete.”

Part of Williams’s success during his tenure at LaFayette can be attributed to the standard of excellence that Williams and his staff set for the players — on and off the field.

See LAFAYETTE, page B8

Unfinished Business

Central Phenix City Reloads for 2022

BY HARRISON TARR FOR THE OBSERVER

PHENIX CITY –– After seeing their season draw to its conclusion on the losing side of the 2021 state championship game, the Central High School Red Devils are out for vengeance starting next month. Since ending their season with a bad taste in their mouths, head coach Patrick Nix and company have gone back to work on reloading and developing a schedule which might set the red and black up to return to the big dance in 2022.

“Excited about this season,” Nix said. “We’ve got a great schedule ahead of us. Arguably the best region in the state of any classification. Being in our class with Opelika and Lee coming in, now we have six teams that were in the

playoffs last year.”

With all of the outside factors set in place, the head coach has had the opportunity to concentrate on developing what he believes to be a championship-caliber roster.

“Very excited about the players we have,” Nix said.

“We have a lot of holes to fill, a lot of seniors from last year that are off doing their own thing now at different colleges, very proud of them. We are very excited about what we have this coming year and going forward.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Nix has one sure replacement for graduated talent: transfer cornerback and UGA commit AJ Harris. The highly touted athlete noted that the coming year presents a multitude of opportunities for success for the Red Devils.

“It’s been a great

transition,” Harris said.

“It was definitely a great move and I definitely believe that we have the talent to compete at a state championship. I’m looking forward to getting to compete with my new brothers.”

As for Nix, 2022 is a year in which he hopes to display an established culture and shift in mindset for the program as a whole.

“I’ve always believed that the third season is that hump season,” Nix said.

“You have a group of guys that only know what we’ve done. They don’t know what’s been done in the past, they don’t know anything like that, they just know what we’ve done.”

According to the thirdyear head coach, this season’s squad possesses the See CENTRAL, page B8

Valley Football Feeling Refreshed for 2022

BY HARRISON TARR FOR THE OBSERVER

VALLEY –– High school football is nearly back in eastern Alabama; teams are winding down their summer workouts, shifting their focus to the upcoming season and making final adjustments before the beginning of fall camp. Inside the locker room of the newly reclassified Valley Rams, excitement continues to build.

After a 4-5 campaign in 2021, head coach Adam Hunter’s squad has its sights set on a drastic improvement in the new year after making the drop down to 5A. “Dropping down to 5A has really helped our motivation,” Hunter said.

“I think our kids really bought into it and are excited to compete at the 5A level. We know we’ve got our work cut out for us; this schedule in our region is one of the toughest in 5A.” Despite a classification change, Valley remains committed to preparation.

“This team has really bought into being very physical and getting stronger in the weight room,” Hunter said. “I told the kids the other day, this month of June has been the best since I’ve been at Valley, as far as working hard and building as a team. Our guys have really bought into it, and it was great seeing them come together, work hard, improve their skills on the football field.”

As is traditional at Valley, the 2022 squad will

continue to be a defensive-minded unit.

“We’ve got pretty much everybody back defensively and that’s what our strong suit is going to be,” Hunter said. “We’re going to really play fast defense, fly to the football, bring a lot of pressure.”

According to Hunter, the Ram defense is not only the team’s strong suit, but the primary source of leadership.

“Kenny Stevens, one of our outside linebackers, he’ll be back,” Hunter said.

“He had over 100 tackles for us last year so we’re looking for big things out of him. Isaiah Brogson, inside linebacker, he’s going to be a leader for us on the defensive side. Then, See VALLEY, page B8

B4 July 28, 2022

Russell Co. Looks to Continue Important 'Firsts'

BY JAKE GONZALEZ FOR THE OBSERVER

RUSSELL COUNTY — In 2020, Russell County finished its season with a winless record, losing all nine games. A coaching change later, second-year head coach Dillon Griggs has set the team on a championship standard.

“We had a brand new field and got a new Nike contract,” Griggs said.

“Last year we had the first winning season in like 13 years. We had the No. 1 offense in the region, but you know, my big thing was it is not good enough. We have to take the next step. We are thinking about championships.

That’s the expectation here this season.”

Last season, the Warriors made a massive improvement on the 2020 season by going

6-4 and finishing fifth in the region, just missing that fourth and final playoff spot. To put in perspective how much of an improvement the Warriors made, look at the difference in the scoring averages between the 2020 and 2021 seasons. In 2020, they averaged 1.6 points per game. They only scored twice in the nine-game season.

In 2021, the Warriors averaged just below 24 points a game at 23.8.

“The belief in each other and the brotherhood starting to form in our locker room — It has been amazing to watch," Griggs said.

"You are starting to see that translate every day.

I’m starting to see big boy football. I have a lot of high expectations for this team.”

On defense, this team has nine returning starters. Griggs

said he is excited for what this defense can do and what the new Defensive Coordinator Kendall Lacy has been doing. On offense, the Warriors are returning six starters from the No. 1 scoring offense in the region last year.

“On offense, we want to continue what we did last and continue to put points up on the board,” Griggs said. “Our quarterback in Robert Calhoun, who from his sophomore year to his junior year, has taken leaps and bounds. There are sometimes I'm there at practice and I’m like, ‘you look like a different animal.’”

Russell County saw some changes in its region this season with three teams moving out and three teams coming in. The four teams that left region 2 are See RUSSELL, page B6

‘One Goal Only’ Loachapoka Has Championship Expectations

BY WIL CREWS SPORTSCREWS@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

LOACHAPOKA — The ‘Poka way is being reestablished. Entering head football coach Reco Newton’s third year, Loachapoka is looking to continue its recent record of progression, going from 5-6 in Newton’s first year in 2020, to 6-4 in 2021.

Both of the previous two years, however, Loachapoka has flopped out of the playoffs in the first round. According to Newton, that is no longer acceptable. The goal in 2022 is a state championship.

“If we don’t win a state championship this year it’s a failure,” Newton said. “We are here to win a state championship. I tell my kids that every day.”

Since Newton arrived in 2020, the AHSAA Class 1A Loachapoka — a school which registers just over 100 students — has found a new commitment to greatness through his teachings.

“It has been a lot of dedication, grinding and hard work,” one player said of the changes he saw when Newton took over the head coaching job.

“When he came in, he instilled that we are a family. Through everything, it’s going to be hard. But he’s teaching us more than just about football, it’s about life and becoming a man.”

A new field house, weight room, film room, sound system, press box and field improvements are further contributing factors towards Newton and Loachapoka’s renewed sense of confidence.

“Our program is all about putting our student-athletes in the best environment possible,” said Athletic Director and Principal Albert Weeden Jr. According to Newton, Loachapoka has a roster compiled of 27 student-athletes as of now. A team which employs so few numbers has contributed to the sense of togetherness and commitment that Newton’s team possesses heading into 2022.

“Us as a team, we grind it out and we act like a family,” said one player. “It's more than football to us. Our coaches are trying to teach us about our [school’s] history, more on the ‘Poka way and how we discuss it on the field and during practice. We want to demonstrate it with tough love, as our See LOACHAPOKA, page B8

Dadeville Football To Continue Physical Play in 2022

BY JAKE GONZALEZ FOR THE OBSERVER

DADEVILLE — Dadeville head coach Roger McDonald is heading into his third season at the helm of the Tigers and has made the playoffs each of the last two seasons. That is a feat that the Tigers have not accomplished in five years.

“That’s what we have done at Dadeville,” McDonald said. “We came in on both sides of the ball and changed a few things, and the kids have bought into it and the coaches have bought into it.”

Each of the past two seasons, Dadeville has finished with a record of 6-4.

That record was enough to finish fourth in region 4 of 3A and make the playoffs. The most dramatic improvement on the roster since McDonald arrived had been the scoring average jump from year one to

year two where the Tigers averaged almost 10 more points a game.

“We have a lot of guys returning and seven guys returning on offense,” McDonald said. “We feel pretty good there. Just trying to plug a few guys in and maybe one more defensive lineman. I do know these kids work extremely hard and do whatever you ask them to do.”

The Tigers did it in an unusual way, only completing 1.9 passes per game and totaling 19 completions all season.

Dadeville instead opted to utilize the ground game, where they averaged just under 7 yards per carry and scored 25 touchdowns.

“Coach McDonald was asked last year if he'd ever get in the shotgun,” said D. Mark Mitchell, host of the media days. “He answered, ‘every time I punt.’”

McDonald and the

Tigers have been bounced out of the playoffs in the first round of each of the last two seasons. The team has already set the standard that they want to get past that round.

McDonald believes that if it wasn’t for a couple of injuries, Dadeville would have made it to the third round.

“Avanta [Wilson] got hurt going into week 10, so he didn’t get cleared for the first round of the playoffs,” McDonald said.

“If Vontae had played they wouldn’t have scored but once. We would have matched up with Hillcrest Evergreen in the second round, and we felt like we could have beat them.”

Dadeville opens the 2022-2023 season with a matchup at home against BB Comer. The last time these two schools met was in 2009 when Dadeville won 35-7. That matchup will take place on Aug. 19 at 7 p.m.

Springwood Ready for 8-man Football

BY JAKE GONZALEZ FOR THE OBSERVER

SPRINGWOOD — When you think of high school football, you think of 11 taking on 11. In the case of Springwood School, it is going to be slightly different as they move to an eight-man football league.

This is the first year that the Alabama Independent School Association has held the eightman division and holds a total of six teams in the division.

This is not the only major change for the Springwood program as they also have a new head coach in Joey Burks. Burks was on staff last season and is moving to the head coaching role this season.

“A lot of the coaches beforehand didn’t put a lot of

pride in the program,” said assistant coach Henry Plant.

“For them to take on this part that is going to be a difficult year, it shows a lot about their character and shows a lot about the program and how much it means to them.”

Last season, Springwood went 1-9 in traditional 11-man football struggling to put points up on the board but also struggled to stop teams on defense as they gave up close to 40 points a game.

The players are excited about the switch to eight-man because they said they think it gives them a better chance at succeeding.

“When we were in 11-man, we were in 3A,” said Trestin Garrett, starting lineman for Springwood. “We had 20 people on our sideline compared to teams that had way

more kids on their sideline. It gets tough to compete. When you put us in the eight-man it makes it more competitive and shows that y’all can compete as a team. It makes it easier for us to compete as a team.”

According to the three players on stage, Garrett, Cayden Cook and Ben Cooper, there isn’t much of a difference between 11-man and eight-man other than taking three players off the field.

The schemes and playbook they are going to utilize are the same as if it was 11-man.

The dimensions of the field are the same, so speed is going to be a key factor.

“It is the same pass concepts, same run concepts,” Cook said. “It’s the same.

See SPRINGWOOD, page B8

B5 July 28, 2022

Lee-Scott Academy Receives Awards CONTRIBUED BY LSA

MEDIA DAYS >> FROM B1 said.

“Some of our fall sports have already started –– we have several team who started football and volleyball practice this week; we are excited about that.

We are excited about the upcoming year. As we still navigate through the last three years of difficulties being involved with the pandemic, we have had two years of record-setting participants [grades] seven through 12 in [AHSAA] sporting events. That means we have students and communities who want to get involved in athletics, and that means

AUBURN >> FROM B2 that played on O-line so they brought me back from last year on D-line.

We have 2-SEC tackles, we’re just trying to get the chemistry back on offense. We have two great quarterbacks and a lot of weapons.”

Between the collaborative commitment and the remarkable slew of talent, there is little doubt that the Tigers will be tough to defeat in 2022; this group hopes to silence any who might not believe in them.

“We’re going to play with a chip on our shoulder,” Etheredge said.

“Everybody wants to talk about all the other teams, we want to be talked about as one of the best

BEULAH >> FROM B3 consistent programs do.

They show up every day, put in the dedication, put in the hard work and the right attitude. That hasn’t happened in the past just because of some certain issues that have evolved. We have a total renewal of a team and administration.”

On the field, the Bobcat faithful has reason to be excited; the black and gold front line has the potential to be a force.

“We have four or five returning starters on the offensive line,” Johnson said. “They’re the most important people on the field. With that consistency on the offensive line,

by this group of educators every single day. Their innovation, hard work and student-centered approach create an exciting and excellent place to learn, work and play.”

The AISA Blue Ribbon

a lot to the communities throughout the state of Alabama. Prior to the pandemic, we were losing athletes in various sports, but it’s been record setting.”

The first year of Briggs’s tenure was a fruitful one, although not without its challenges.

“The challenges that really stand out, not many, were just the everyday task I had to adjust to throughout the year,” Briggs said.

“I don’t know if it was a challenge, but just getting used to the position, it's different ... yes, coach Savarese (the previous executive director of AHSAA) went over a lot of things ... but I didn’t have him in the office, I had him

a phone call away.”

Briggs acknowledged the framework of the AHSAA that was built before through previous executive directors that has made his transition into the role successful.

“All we want to do is keep that car on the path that they paved and keep giving our communities and staff the best field to participate in,” Briggs said.

In his first year at the helm of the AHSAA, a number of pioneering events occurred under Briggs.

The use of Birmingham’s new Protective Stadium as the site of the Super 7 state championships was

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED BY LSA

AUBURN — Lee-Scott Academy announced last Wednesday that it is the recipient of an Alabama Independent School Association (AISA) Blue Ribbon School Award, the AISA Class AAA President’s Award and the AISA Class AAA Chairman’s Award for the 2021-22 school year. The AISA delivered the awards to Headmaster Dr. Stan Cox on Tuesday.

“Lee-Scott Academy is delighted to receive the AISA President’s Award, Chairman’s Award and be named a Blue Ribbon School for 2022,” Cox

said. “It’s fantastic when your peers recognize your team’s hard work. I cannot emphasize enough that LSA has the best administrative, instructional and coaching staff. I’m so grateful to be surrounded

7A teams in this state.”

In an effort to better prepare themselves for the rigorous journey of regional play, the Tigers have scheduled a weekone showdown with the perennial powerhouse Hoover Buccaneers in the Champions Challenge.

“It’s a situation where — when you play a great team — you not only get to see where your strengths are but it also shows you where your weaknesses are,” Etheredge said. “You play a team that has great players and that’s coached well, it gets you prepared for the season.”

Auburn and Hoover will square off in a clash of titans on Friday, Aug. 19 at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama, at 7 p.m. CST. meshing well together, and just replacing one.

Defensive line is the same thing, we’re replacing one…we’re able to have that depth, especially on the defensive line rotating out there.”

Johnson understands that — behind every great line — stands a quarterback with limitless opportunities. He believes Higdon is poised to capitalize.

“Noah at quarterback, he’s very consistent,” Johnson said. “He’s a great kid, one of the hardest workers.”

Beulah will open its season against the Abbeville Panthers on Friday, Aug. 19; toe will meet leather between the first-time foes at 7 p.m. CST.

BEAUREGARD>> FROM B2 won and lost. So for us to have that group of guys coming back, we feel very fortunate.”

While a noticeable difference could be seen in Beauregard’s play on the field last year, Jones the progress begins off the field.

“We want our young men to value hard work,” Jones said. “That means when they show up every day, we want to stretch them physically, mentally and even spiritually at times.

“We don’t expect our young men to be perfect, but we expect them to establish daily habits that will lead them to success. Success on Friday nights happens because of success on Monday afternoon, Tuesday morning, Wednesday afternoon, Thursday morning and all-day Friday. We want to do the things that create daily habits that produce success.

“We want our young men to expect to win. It’s the third of the process and also the hardest. Its having the right mindset.

There is a thing called life

AWARDS >> FROM B1 for the award. “For over forty years, Coach Pugh has played a significant role in the field of athletics. His impact reaches far beyond the athletes he has coached and the coaches he has mentored. His leadership, kindness, and love of

Award program is sponsored by the AISA to recognize member schools with outstanding educational programs. In order to be considered for the AISA Blue Ribbon Award, a school must complete a rigorous application process and exemplify excellence in scholastic achievement, professional learning, student involvement and community interaction.

The President’s Award was established by the AISA for the specific purpose of recognizing member schools that achieve academic excellence during the school year, and it is awarded to only one school per

academic classification, which is based on student enrollment. The criteria for winning the AISA President’s Award include achievement in all areas of school excellence such as: academic achievement, professional development, extra-curricular involvement, school improvement and other activities that celebrate excellence in education. In addition, this award also serves as a symbol of recognition to the individuals who have given their time to serve as president to the Alabama Independent School Association.

The Chairman’s Award was established by the AISA for the specific

purpose of recognizing member schools that achieve athletic excellence during the school year.

This award also serves as a symbol of recognition to the individuals who have given their time to serve as Chairperson of the Alabama Independent School Association Athletic Committee. The criteria for winning the AISA Chairman’s Award include achievement in all areas of the school’s athletic programs: state champions in all sports, participation in different sports, finishing in the top four in-state play-offs, sportsmanship, student-athlete award and no eligibility problems.

one of the most notable developments.

“Our venues, we have been very lucky that high school athletics is a great product and we have cities and communities that want our products,” Briggs said.

“The great thing about Birmingham and the new venue, Protective Stadium, they wanted to be a part of the Super 7. Coach Savarese set a milestone when we started playing in Bryant-Denny and Jordan Hare; it became the envy across the nation to be able to play in those two stadiums. Birmingham was talking with Savarese and the staff for years.

We wanted to make sure we didn’t upset either

one of those (Auburn or Tuscaloosa). We think it’s going to be a great thing.

Protective Stadium became the perfect storm; for the first year, it was good.”

The development of girls’ flag football also took a step toward to a positive future last year, with a number of schools and athletes competing in the first ever year of the AHSAA with flag football as a sport.

“It’s still a pilot program,” Briggs said. “Flag football –– we were actually trying to implement it before the pandemic. We had a chance to get some foundation money from the Atlanta Falcons and we are going to pilot it

for two more years. Right now, as of July 7 or a little earlier, we had close to 64 teams committed to flag football.”

Lastly, Briggs thanked those in attendance, and members of the AHSAA, before expressing his excitement for the new athletic year.

“As we get ready to embark on another fall year, we just came out of our summer conference, and we had another record setting participants there and we are excited about that,” he said. “As we continue to be leaders in high school athletics throughout the nation, it’s because the gentleman I mentioned before and our membership.”

that hits you in the face sometimes; if our mindset isn’t right, then we are not going to be prepared for that obstacle.”

Beauregard is one of the many teams experiencing regional realignment in 2022. Jones and his players are looking forward to new competition.

“As far as region play, we are pretty much the same core of teams,” he said. “The stakes were already high; it just raises them even more.”

Offensively, the 2022 iteration of Beauregard football returns much of its offensive line, running backs and skill position players; defensively, The Hornets return seven or eight players.

Compared to the 2021 team which had only eight seniors on the roster, this year’s team is facing greater expectations.

“Our goals for this year right now are to just go in having a great mindset, play hard football and see if we can get back to the playoffs,” one player said.

“The standards are really high for us,” another player added. “A lot of players are coming back and we are expecting to go back to the playoff and

have a great year overall.”

The returning depth and an action-packed offseason have The Hornets eager to start the season.

“For us a team, I know we had a great offseason –– probably the biggest offseason as a team since I have been here for sure,” one player said. “We expect to put what we have in the weight room on to Friday nights and just see where that takes us — playoff and even further.”

Jones isn’t as focused on the results as much as his players. More goes into a program than 60 minutes on Friday nights.

“It goes back to the understanding of what our foundation is,” Jones said. “Our fieldhouse lives off expectations. The first thing is, if you live by the blueprint, you have to understand it, you have to know it. Our expectation is always going to be the same. You got to know the blueprint, then you have to live it. That means showing up every day, bringing energy, excitement and effort to everything you do, and controlling the things you can control –– which is your effort, attitude and toughens. Then, the last

thing is demanding the blueprint. That means from coach to kid, coach to player, player to player and player to coach, that’s demanding the blueprint.

When we get to that point, and that is part of our process now, living it every day, and then starting the demanding process from each other, to me that is when success happens in a mighty way.”

Overall, the presence of Jones and his staff over the past two years has undoubtedly changed the outlook of the Beauregard football program for the better.

“One thing I learned about coach Jones the first time I met him is that he is very, very energetic,” one player said.

“He brings a new energy to a team that needed an energy boost. But he’s not only a coach on the field, he’s a great coach off the field. He’s a great friend.

As a team that needs a family connection like that, he’s definitely the guy for Beauregard.

Beauregard is set to open its season at home in a non-region game against Selma High School, Aug. 19. The two teams have never played.

people have impacted our community and unified our system. Coach Pugh has mastered both the art and science of building relationships.

He inspires us to reach new heights and encourages us to keep moving forward. He is the push when we need motivation and the pull when we struggle. Coach Pugh

encompasses all qualities of an effective leader, and his compassion for others is unmatched,” said Allison Gregory, OHS Assistant Athletic Director. Dr. Farrell Seymore, Superintendent of the Opelika City Schools added “Coach Pugh understands more than anything, that athletics is not about

winning but about relationships. He has fostered a sense of community at OHS that transcends across all areas of our community. We are a better school because of his leadership.”

The Opelika City Schools would like to congratulate Coach Pugh and Coach Johnson on these prestigious awards.

B6 July 28, 2022

Jeffreys Promoted to Assistant Director of Operations CONTRIBUTED BY AUBURN ATHLETICS

AUBURN — Maddux Jeffreys has been promoted to assistant director of operations for Auburn Men’s Basketball.

Jeffreys enters his seventh season overall with the program, after serving the last two years as a graduate assistant on head coach Bruce Pearl’s coaching staff.

“Maddux is a true Auburn man,” Pearl said. “He loves the university, our players and our program.

He has worked hard to get to this point in his young coaching career. From team manager to graduate assistant, and now, assistant director of operations. We are proud and fortunate to have another alumnus on our staff, who believes in Auburn and loves it.”

In his new role, Jeffreys will assist in team travel, daily scheduling, analytics and scouting.

Jeffreys previously served as a four-year

SPORTS>> FROM B1 which helped me learn the importance of raising booster club money.

The extra money went a long way for all the sports covered under athletics.

In 1990, coach Doug Barfield was hired after coach Joe Wilson retired. Barfield brought knowledge of college athletics, which included ways to fundraise. After the first season, Barfield asked the Quarterback Club board members to a meeting.

Some of the board members included Margaret Askew (treasurer), Tim Gore, Rusty Melnick, Jimmy Yates, Tom Rickles, Armond Crowder, Stanley Campbell and myself (I apologize if I omitted someone.).

Barfield wanted to expand the Quarter Back to a club that

LEE-SCOTT >> FROM B2 Dearing split duties with the now-graduated Tate McKelvey last season, and the former Auburn High player is eager to take the reins this year.

“I’m not coming in as much on defense opposed to just offense now,” Dearing said. “It’s kind of some pressure not having a dude behind me, but I’ll just give it my all and I know that the guys behind me are getting ready. Whatever happens game one, that will shape what happens throughout the rest of the year. I feel pretty confident; I think it’s going to be great

JEFFREYS manager while an undergraduate at his alma mater. During his time with the Tigers, he was a member of the 2018 regular-season championship, 2019 SEC Tournament Championship and 2019 NCAA Final Four squads.

Originally from Mobile, Alabama, Jeffreys grew up in Newnan, Georgia, and was a two-sport athlete playing football and basketball in high school. He is a lifelong Auburn fan and his career aspiration is to become a college basketball coach.

“I cannot thank coach Pearl, and the rest of the staff enough, for the

would benefit all sports associated with OCS. Barfield and the board named the new athletic boosters “The All-Sports Booster Club”. The board sat down and developed four different tiers of sponsorship, from $250 to $1,500 per package.

The packages gave options to a business, booster or corporate partner for passes to home sporting events, reserved parking in a special place at Bulldog Stadium, an ad in the football program and a few other perks.

A business could support every sport at OHS by making a one-time donation each school year. The late Askew was the long-time treasurer of the QB Club and All-Sports Booster Club. After she passed away, I asked thenOCS Superintendent Dr. J. Phillip Raley if the All-Sports Booster Club funds could go year.”

Dearing was on the roster and played last year when Lee-Scott beat rival and AISA powerhouse Glenwood for the first time in what seems like ages.

Daniel said that victory sparked his team to compile the impressive season it did in 2021, and did important things for the state of the football program.

“I’m finding out that [Glenwood] is Lee-Scott’s rival,” Daniel said. “We went into the game last year and nobody gave us a chance to win the game except us and these players. We decided we wanted to win and our guys did what they had to do to win the football

opportunity to continue working with the Auburn men’s basketball program,” Jeffreys said. “The last six years, working as a student and graduate assistant, have been nothing but incredible.

“Through the relationships built, memories shared and championships won, the Auburn Family has shown we are here to stay. Auburn is my home and I cannot wait to contribute to the continued success of our program. War Eagle.”

A 2020 graduate of Auburn earning a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing, Jeffreys also completed his master’s degree coursework in education in December 2021. He is the son of Toby and Vicki Jeffreys and has three sisters: Katie, Kristen and Mary Helen.

in an account under the watchful eye of the OCS bookkeeper.

The money could only be spent by the ASBC board and required a signature from the president or board member on a purchase order before any of the money was used.

Over time, the AllSports Booster Club has raised over $1 million dollars for OHS and OMS athletics. The program became a favorite to sponsors, and teams were able to get financial support each year. On top of the list of board members mentioned before, many other Opelika citizens served as an officer or board member, including Eddie Smith, Ronnie Wilson, Jeff Sasser, Mike Mann, Joel Lawrence, Adrian Yountz, Trip Garner, Brent Milner, Marcus Ware, Jasper Snipes, Randy Lambert, Teresa Ogletree and many game. Winning that game sparked our football team.

They found out they could do it –– play with the big boys. That really made our season.”

Dearing’s presence under center won’t change much of the offensive structure according to Daniel. But there will be more opportunities to throw the ball downfield.

“We are going to run the same offense,” Daniel said.

“It will look a little different because Tate was more of a runner; Ryan can do both. We are going into it looking to throw the ball a little more.”

Lee-Scott’s Class 3A division of AISA got reclassified this year, and now

Leonard Joins Tigers as Director of Creative Content CONTRIBUTED BY AUBURN ATHLETICS

AUBURN — Steven Leonard joins Auburn Men’s Basketball as the program’s new director of creative content.

Leonard previously served as director of social video for the University of Virginia Athletics since 2019. There, he worked primarily with the men’s basketball program creating content (photography, videography and graphic design), which aided in the growth of the UVA Basketball brand.

Leonard also created highlight packages for the Cavaliers’ 27 varsity sports.

“The addition of Steven Leonard to our staff as director of creative content is a game changer for our program,” said head coach Bruce Pearl. “He will help us continue to build our brand and aid in our recruiting efforts with his visual creativity and expertise.”

Prior to his time at UVA, Leonard was a creative producer/editor

others.

Today, the All-Sports Booster Club has no officers or board members. The ASBC is governed by the athletic director with no involvement from anyone outside of the athletic department. In the spring of 2018, I (D. Mark) resigned as president of the ASBC. The following day, every officer and board member resigned their position.

OHS Principal Kellie Fischer released a financial statement and expressed the importance of donations to help OHS athletics.

OHS received $85,267 from corporate sponsors and program ad sales. OMS Athletics received $6,000; OHS Athletics received $42,000.

The account has a balance of $28,722, which includes $40,694 that was in the account June 2021. only eight teams reside in the entire class. This resulted in a region-full schedule which presents a new challenge for the Warriors.

“It’s going to be tough season,” Daniel said. “Our region is very strong, but I like our chances. I like the way our guys work, the time they put in and the mental attitude.”

The Warriors have recommitted themselves ahead of 2022. The experience on the field and desire to get better off of it are just a couple factors working in their favor if they want to repeat –– or even build –– on the success of last season.

We have really

LEONARD for Houston Athletics, where he covered men’s basketball, tennis and volleyball. He was also a videographer/ photographer for the BIG3 League, a 3-on-3 pro basketball league founded by Ice Cube.

“I am extremely excited to be joining head coach Bruce Pearl’s staff at Auburn,” Leonard said. “I am thrilled to help build the already exceptional brand of Auburn Basketball and to work closely with world-class athletes here at the university.

“The existing creative staff at Auburn has done a fantastic job with the content for Auburn men's basketball, and I am excited to bring new

Opelika moves to class 7A this year. It is in the best interest of Opelika High School to have a booster club governed by OHS graduates, Opelika supporters and Opelika fans. Having people that live in the community serving as board members is the reason the All-Sports Booster Club has been successful since 1990. Opelika supporters formed the Quarterback Club and the All-Sports Booster Club.

IHEARTRADIO HIGH SCHOOL MEDIA DAYS PRESENTED BY ORTHOPAEDIC CLINIC iHeartRadio AuburnOpelika held its fifth High School Media Days presented by the Orthopaedic Clinic and FOX Sports the Game 910-1310 and the Bottling Plant Event Center, Tuesday and Wednesday. Twentytwo high school head football coaches and improved these past couple years,” one player said. “We are looking to go further this year, but we just have to keep our heads down and work week-to-week.”

Lee-Scott begins it season at Monroe Academy, Sept. 2. The Warriors will be hoping to get off to a better start in 2022 than 2021, as Lee-Scott fell to Chambers County, 41-3, in the season opener last year.

“We have been working all summer, hitting the weights, doing three times a week,” Daniel said.

“They have done what they are supposed to do all summer to get to this point.”

and compelling ideas to our social media accounts and recruiting strategy. There’s so much to love about AU, and I can’t wait to join the team and get started.”

A 2017 graduate of Indiana University, Leonard earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism. He was a four-year track & field student-athlete and a member of the 2017 Big Ten Conference Men’s Indoor Championship team. Off the field, he was also a fouryear member of IU’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC).

Originally from Houston, Texas, Leonard lettered in track & field at Klein High School. He still holds the school’s high jump record with a height of 6 feet, 11 inches.

Leonard is the son of Mark and Kim Leonard and has one younger sister, Kelli. His hobbies include following all Houston sports, especially the Rockets, and playing pick-up basketball and pickleball.

three to four players from each team spent 15 to 20 minutes at the podium discussing the upcoming season.

This is the fifth time iHeartRadio teamed with the Orthopaedic Clinic and Bottling Plant Event Center to host the two-day media blitz. Media members attending were from Montgomery, Opelika, Auburn, Columbus, Valley, Lanett, Dadeville, Alex City and other print and digital media outlets. The event was aired live on FOX Sports the Game, WOTM-TV (AHSAA TV Partners) and on the iHeartRadio app.

D. Mark Mitchell is the sports director at iHeartMedia, host of “On the Mark” Fox Sports the Game 9101310, co-chair of the Auburn-Opelika Sports Council, chairman of the Super 7 and Dixie Boys Baseball state director

RUSSELL >> FROM B4 Opelika, Lee, Eufaula and Valley high schools.

The three teams that came into region 2 were Pike Road, Stanhope Elmore and Wetumpka.

Griggs believes that this region did not get any easier with the addition of those three schools but became a gauntlet.

The Warriors start their season with a game at home against Harris County, Georgia.

This is the tenth time that these two schools have faced Harris County, winning the last matchup 35-14 in 2018.

B7 July 28, 2022

Opelika Hosts Swim & Dive Championships

PHOTOS BY ROBERT NOLES / THE OBSERVER

The city of Opelika hosted the 2022 ARPA State Swim & Dive meet, July 21 through 23. It was held at the Opelika SportsPlex, with diving on the 21st, and swimming on the 22nd and 23rd. Over 900 swimmers and their families from across the state of Alabama visited Opelika to compete in the meet.

B8 July 28, 2022

Coping With Disappointments As You Sing in the Rain

I

BETH PINYERD

know as a community we have experienced a very hot summer. We have welcomed the temporary coolness of an afternoon shower. This Friday, July 29, is recognized as Rain Day. I absolutely love to go to the Early Childhood Classroom, rain or shine. Early childhood teachers make our plans way in advance for our classrooms.

One natural event that brings much-needed water and nourishment to our earth, but

CENTRAL >> FROM B3 qualities his staff feels comfortable entrusting power upon.

“I think leadership amongst the players comes when they feel comfortable and when they’re empowered,” Nix said. “I think that

LAFAYETTE >> FROM B3 “The thing about our kids now, they know what we expect,” he said. “They expect to grind every day. What we are trying to teach our kids is to have fun and seize the day. We don’t forget the little things. We are not trying to teach players; we are teaching people.

That is what we are going to hang our hat on –– to be respectful young adults in this society.”

VALLEY >> FROM B3 Quinn Story, defensive end, does a phenomenal job, probably one of the best turnarounds in the summer that I’ve seen in a kid. He’s really bought in.”

That being said, the orange and white offense is far from forgotten. The head coach is excited by the opportunity to teach rising junior quarterback Cam’ron Dooley.

“Offensively, we’re going to mix it up a little bit,” Hunter said. “We’ll spread it out some, then we’ll be rotating personnel. We’ve got (Dooley) coming back, our quarterback, he’ll be a junior.”

After showing early

disappointment to a class of preschoolers who want to go outside and play, is rain. When I have met a class of disappointed faces in sharing our daily schedule of not including outside play over the years, I have “Singing in the Rain” lesson plans to try to minimize the disappointment. Some of these fun lesson plans are for young children to do ink or finger-painting raindrops, creatively design umbrellas, rain songs and movement, using our fingers to

demonstrate the pitter-patter of raindrops and, if it is not lightning or thundering or bad weather, the children will enjoy a rainy day walk, looking at nature and rainbows.

Some of these lessons are fun activities, but they do not take the place of playing outside or a field trip that young children are looking forward to. To be honest with myself, as a teacher, I cannot always protect the children I teach from disappointments. Canceled field trips, having to miss a long-awaited birthday party due to sickness, losing a game, etc., are some of life’s disappointments. They can be big or little, but they still bring sadness and a let-down feeling.

It is better to teach a child healthy coping skills early in life as they work through the sad feelings they may have in disappointments.

Taking the time to encourage your child early in life to work through difficult situations builds up strength, confidence and contentment in tough situations that they may face in life.

As a teacher and parent, I wanted to share some helpful tips that I have gleaned over the years from fellow teachers, parents and the experiences I have had with young children.

The first thing I have tried when I have seen young children truly upset with disappointment is to let them know that I understand and feel their pain of sadness. Sitting down face-to-face with them and spending time with them and letting them talk and express themselves — even through tears — shows empathy and understanding.

Time spent with children spells LOVE. One thing that parents and teachers come to realize is that we cannot control situations or circumstances to prevent disappointments from affecting our children.

Personally, I will admit, as a teacher, I just don’t want the children I teach to experience disappointments. But teachers and parents realize that we have to gently and tenderly guide and direct our children when they are going through disappointments. This

— as coaches — we’ve empowered this group a lot more because they do know the expectations.”

While the region realignment undoubtedly presents new challenges, the head coach remains insistent that his group face quality opponents in the

early going, scheduling Hewitt-Trussville as the Red Devils’ opening day opponent.

“It’s nice to play a team of their quality and to play them early,” Nix said. “It will give us an opportunity to see who we are and what we’re about in a very good matchup

right off the bat.”

Central will kick off its season at home on Aug. 19 when the Huskies of HewittTrussville travel to Phenix City in what is likely to be one of the premier matchups in week one of AHSAA football action.

Despite losing three all-state caliber players from last year’s roster, LaFayette’s attention to details has rallied the team to build on the precedent set before them.

“Keep working,” Williams said was the key to success right now. “The guys who have left here have set a precedent of what we are doing. The work has to continue. The thing is, you can control what is next. That is the consistency that we have to have, being accountable. Right

now they are holding each other accountable.

That’s in and out of football. I’m a believer of the little things.

I think that carries over.”

In terms of how the roster is shaping out, Williams said the biggest, current question mark is at the receiver and running back positions.

“Those two skill positions, the receivers and running backs, are key to us to right now,” he said.

Over the next two weeks, the team will

work tirelessly to solidify those question areas in the hope the can make waves in the AHSAA Class 2A. “My team, we love to compete,” said one player. “We are working, and I feel like we are going to be a really good team this year.”

LaFayette opens its season Aug. 20 against Loachapoka on a neutral site. The Bulldogs are 12-8 all-time against Loachapoka, with the Bulldogs winning the most recent meeting, 26-6, in 2017.

promise in his sophomore campaign, Dooley was forced out due to injury in 2022.

“Cam was fortunate to start the first four games for us last year, ended up having an injury that kind of set him back a little bit, so we’re excited to see what he can do for a full season,” Hunter said. “He’s a playmaker; he’s a competitor. He can throw it and he can run it, so we’re looking forward to building our offense around him.”

While acknowledging the importance of his skill positions, Hunter made a point to place emphasis on establishing the trenches.

“We want to be real physical up front, win

the game up front in the trenches on both sides of the football,” Hunter said. “Our offense and defensive line are veterans, we’ve got a couple of young guys now on the offensive line, but they’ve come a long way and got reps last year.”

Between filling vacancies on both sides of the ball and adapting to a new set of opponents, 2022 is sure to be chock-full of challenges for the Valley Rams; Hunter and company appear to be up to the challenge.

Valley opens its season on the road against Handley, Aug. 19. The two teams last played in 2005, with the Rams coming up on the losing end.

SPRINGWOOD >> FROM B4 Everyone else has to learn the game just like us. Nothing has changed as much as people say it has.”

Springwood is going to open their season with a region game against Southern Prep Academy on Thursday, Aug. 25 at home. This is the third time that these schools have met and the last matchup saw Southern Prep win 40-16. It will be necessary for Springwood to get out fast before they head on the road for the next three games.

“I’m more excited than I have been for any year,” Cook said. “New uniforms, new helmets, new everything. It is something that brings energy to the team. Not only to the team but to the coaches as well.”

requires listening to our children as they express their feelings and identify with their feelings.

If there is a disappointment, due to not being able to go on a trip, activity or event, ask your child what they would desire to have happened.

This opens up a discussion on how it could be done in a different way.

We have to be realistic in knowing that the past few years have been difficult years with COVID and economic challenges. As families, it is so natural to have something to look forward to such as vacations, family gatherings and holidays. We have to admit that it has been hard on children over the past two years with social gatherings being canceled or postponed and usual holiday traditions filled with uncertainty. As parents and teachers, we have to look at our situations over the past few years and assess whether our expectations will be different. Young children are literal thinkers.

When we say we are going to do something, they take us at our word and build hope and

excitement that you will be doing what you said.

During these uncertain times, we have to truly think before we promise our children what we are going to do.

With young children, you have to learn to plan ahead of time in guiding their expectations. This helps them to cope with their disappointments.

Being honest with our children is the best coping skill that we can give them. Gas and expenses have truly gone up for all families. We recognize that this can be a strain on families, which young children quickly discern. But we can take disappointing rainy days and make them into rainbows.

We, as families, can still celebrate the rest of summer on a shoestring budget with the time we spend with our children before school starts back. Have those evening picnics and take time to gaze at beautiful Lee County sunsets, the stars and the moon; just spending time together spells LOVE. Let’s Sing In the Rain With Our Children.

Classroom Observer, Beth Pinyerd

LOACHAPOKA >>

the fourth grade,” said another player. “This is one of the best all-Black coaches programs that I have ever seen. It’s like a college program. We eat right, we practice right. The coaches have shown me how football can get me out of the ordinary, and show that it can lead to a new path for everybody. You don’t even have to be an athlete, just if you put your heart and mind into something with all passion, it can change your life forever. Newton and the rest of the coaches showed me that if I can put my heart and soul into football, that can change our lives forever.”

Loachapoka kicks off its season in the Kickoff Classic on Aug. 20 — a double header of football matchups with Loachapoka facing off against LaFayette, and Lanett facing Notasulga.

“It’s an opportunity and a chance to bring all communities together,” Newton said.

With a revamped coaching staff full of alumni and former proffesionals, Loachapoka, Newton and company will hope to start the season on the right foot to achieve greatness — both on and off the field, in 2022.

“Very excited about the year,” Newton said. “We have a saying at Loachapoka High School about the ‘Poka Way. This year we are adding to that by saying it's only one way — the ‘Poka Way. What that means is when you get on the field, you have to dominate your opponent. And there is only one way that can happen, is by doing right in the weight room and also in the classroom. And that is something we preach at Loachapoka High School — academics.

Without academic success, you can’t learn the football plays. If you can’t learn in the classroom in that situation, how are you going to learn when the band is playing, when the fans are yelling at you and everything else going on in that situation?”

FROM B4 coaches say. Even if we have to get on each other, at the end of the day, we still come together as a family.”

Increased expectations mean increased pressure for Loachapoka in 2022.

However, Newton’s motivation to make his team better than ever is spurred on by his love for his players and by great community support.

“The motivation comes from the kids,” Newton said. “Another great thing is the community we have at Loachapoka. We have a great community, leaders and great people who do a great job supporting us. That’s the greatest thing about being at Loachapoka.”

More attention than perhaps usual has been spotlighted on Loachapoka this offseason, in part due to the acclaim garned — both academically and athletically — by defensive back J.C. Hart. With 24 scholarship offers to play at the next level, and an academic resume that has Hart set up to be the valedictorian of his class, Hart is pushing “The ‘Poka Way” to new heights.

“He really brings the identity that small schools matter,” Newton said on Hart. “Having kids like that brings awareness to your program. He brings awareness to the academics too. He’s a 4.2 student, and No. 1 in his class right now. A kid like that, with academics and athletics both highly ranked, only comes around once in a while. So we are very blessed to have [him] on our football team.”

Hart sets an example for other teammates to live by.

Belief, support and care from the coaching staff, and the recognition Hart is receiving, is further validation for his teammates who are trying to make a name for themselves and the ‘Poka brand.

“I’ve been at ‘Poka since

L ee County & A labama Politics

B9

Nov. 24, 2021

Thursday, July 28, 2022

Inside the Statehouse 1962 Governor’s Race

STEVE FLOWERS

I

OPINION — t is hard to believe it has been 60 years since George Wallace’s first victorious race for governor. Let’s go down memory lane and reminisce about the 1962 governor’s race and Wallace’s classic inaugural victory.

The 1962 governor’s race really began in 1958. The governor’s chair and the race for it was the big show in Alabama politics in that era. Being a U.S. Senator was secondary in Alabama politics.

Governor is still probably the most important and glamorous political position, but it certainly was at that time. Television had not come into its own. Most Alabamians did not own a TV. There were no southern major league baseball teams to follow, such as the Atlanta Braves, who were still in Milwaukee at that time. The closest team was the St. Louis Cardinals, and they were miles away and not really in the south. The Grand Ole Opry was only on the radio on Saturday night. So, southerners had to include politics as a prime source of entertainment. That is why we had such colorful political characters.

They were really our entertainers and, in some cases, real clowns.

Thus, we had more entertaining politicians than the rest of the country. We had a legacy of Jimmy Davis and Huey Long in Louisiana, Bilbo in Mississippi, the Talmadges in Georgia and the most colorful of all time was our very own 6-foot-9-inch Big Jim Folsom.

Big Jim was the most uninhibited, gregarious, fun loving of them all. He traveled the state with his country band the “Strawberry Pickers.” Alabamians thought Big Jim’s barefoot musical antics

and down home soaking the rich speeches spiced with country humor were better than the circus coming to town. Big Jim was first elected governor in 1946. He upset the Big Mules of Birmingham and the Big Planters of the Black Belt to become the first people’s governor in 50 years.

All 12 governors before him had been picked in the closed door board rooms of Birmingham and had been well heeled Big Mules or Big Planters and had gone out and given dull speeches and simply bought the election with corporate and large agricultural money. Big Jim went directly to the country people all over the state and most people in Alabama at that time were rural or lived in small towns.

He convinced them that he was their friend. He won their hearts.

He became the youngest and most progressive Alabama governor in history. He was the little man’s big friend. However, the governor could not succeed himself. It was one, 4-year-term, and you were out. So Big Jim left after 4 years, 1946-1950.

A quaint aristocrat named Gordon Persons became governor from 1950-54, but Big Jim came storming back to win a landslide victory in 1954. He won without a runoff, despite the fact that most of the State’s big daily newspapers endorsed other people and predicted he would lose. He became only the second person to be elected to two terms. Bibb Graves had done it earlier in the century. Big Jim served his second term from 1954-58, then waited out another four years and was running for his third term in 1962. He was legendary by this time and had almost unanimous name identification as simply “Big Jim,” but he was up against another populist and maybe even better politician, Wallace. had run his first race for governor in 1958 and lost to John Patterson. Patterson had beaten Wallace for two reasons. First was sympathy for Patterson resulting from his daddy’s assassination at the hands of the Phenix City mafia, but primarily because Patterson was the most ardent racist and segregationist. Patterson was the candidate of the Klan and See FLOWERS, page B10

Lee County Commission Considers Inmate Medical Program

BY HANNAH LESTER HLESTER@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM

LEE COUNTY — The Lee County Commission heard from President of Millennium Risk Managers, Terry Young, during its Monday night meeting about saving the county money on inmate medical expenses.

Young presented information on how best to manage off-site medical costs.

“The MRM is a claims processor,” he said. “… We’ve been here in Alabama about 30 years … we administer the on-thejob injuries for all of the occupational injuries for 99% of all the municipalities in Alabama. “… The reason I’m here and what kind of got this whole program started, about three years ago, Chilton County reached out to us [Former Mayor Billy Joe Driver]. Mayor Driver said, ‘I need you to come talk to my sheriff,’ so [we]

met with the sheriff. He said, ‘My inmate healthcare is killing me. The cost is going through the roof. How do I control it?’”

Young said that most counties hire third-party companies to manage all on-site healthcare for inmates — the on-site infirmary, nurses, doctors and more. This is not what MRM does — it manages financials off-site.

“When you have an inmate or someone that’s incarcerated or someone that’s being arrested, and maybe there’s an issue and they ultimately have to go to the hospital or follow-up treatment to doctors, that off-site healthcare is where a lot of money is spent,” Young said. “Basically, we have contracts at MRM with 13,000 medical providers in the state of Alabama.”

However, Lee County’s East Alabama Medical Center is not contracted with MRM. “We don’t have a contract with them, not because we

haven’t tried but we just don’t have a contract with them,” he said.

The contracts and management include the treatment of a doctor, prescriptions from a pharmacy, etc.

“We are the largest processor and medical payer in the state next to Blue Cross,” Young said. “So, in simple theory, our contract and our discounts are extremely low, so when those bills come to us, we scrub them, we make sure that what’s being paid by the county for those inmates is actually [what] should have been paid.

“We don’t get into medical diagnosis, we don’t determine treatment, we just make sure the treatment that was provided was what should have been provided, and we audit and scrub those bills.”

Young said that the average payment per county is 15% of the savings go back to MRM. However, different counties choose different payment methods, such as a See COMMISSION, page B11

Candidate Withdraws From Auburn's Ward Four Race CONTRIBUTED BY THE CITY OF AUBURN

AUBURN — Ward 4 candidate Chad Leverette has withdrawn his candidacy for city council in the Auburn municipal election. The withdrawal leaves Tyler Adams as the only remaining candidate who has qualified in the Ward 4 race.

NOW OPEN

Per state law, the city council must certify as elected any unopposed candidate in the municipal election. The certification of election of Adams will be placed on the council's Aug. 2 meeting agenda.

Unopposed candidates in this election also include Mayor Ron Anders Jr., Ward 3 Council Member

Beth Witten and Ward 8 Council Member Tommy Dawson — all of whom were certified as elected by the council on July 5 in accordance with state law.

Unopposed candidates will not appear on the ballot. All candidates will be sworn in for the 2022-2026 term on the first Monday in November.

Indoor shooting range is open to the public

2195 FIRST AVENUE • OPELIKA

B10 July 28, 2022

Waiting for Godot, More 'Honest Brokers'

Photo licensed under CC BY-SA-NC

GREG MARKLEY

A

OPINION –– ll you see and hear about on most public affairs TV shows, and radio and podcast debates, is partisans yelling at each other. The hypocrisy is as thick as the humidity in an Alabama summer. If a Democrat falters in his personal life, Republicans forget that a previous officeholder in their own party did the same thing and all they said was, it was “nothing.”

Likewise, when a Republican introduces a new bill, Democrats immediately dismiss it, forgetting that they lauded their own lawmaker when she was pushing a similar bill. What happened to the honest brokers, wise pundits who judged issues independently of their

political party on occasion? Those measured voices kept things less agitated for decades.

Now is a period where newspapers, too, run commentaries and editorials full of bile and lacking truth. This is part two of a series on ideas and writing. I explain the types of Op/Eds, how I attempt to be an “honest broker" and why I use humor and anecdotes to advance my opinions.

“Let us do something, while we have the chance! ... Let us make the most of it, before it is too late! …

At this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it, before it is too late!” So said a character in Samuel Beckett’s absurdist novel "Waiting For Godot". Two men,

Vladimir and Estragon, search for, but never meet, someone named Godot, discussing many issues, some farcical and some deep.

Three common types of Op/Eds are information, interpretation and commendation. Information is, for example, a column I wrote on human trafficking; it mostly has research. An interpretation highlights, for instance, what inflation is, how it got to be so high, and what we can do about it. A commendation salutes local people or groups with notable achievements.

Three other types of editorials are trending these days to be not only prevalent but harsh. They are argumentative, which, if done right can benefit readers; persuasive, which I try to be, without rancor; and critical, which in these days are abundant and often mean.

As for my writing,

like many journalists I don’t believe objectivity can be followed much because we always bring our personal backgrounds to whatever we write.

Perhaps balance, buttressed by knowing when we go over to one side too much, is the best we can do.

I pursued balance in a column titled “In the U.S. Senate, silence is not always golden.” Within a week, an Alabama Republican politician and a candidate for a federal judgeship both avoided tough questions at hearings. I chose not to have a separate column on each but to combine them. That way I could show unfortunate situations people get into and how they worsen them by being closed-mouthed.

The best way to write with an even-handed approach is to study as much as you can about the subject, from at least two sides, maybe more. If you

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just know the basics of a case, or incident or paper topic, you will commit a disservice to your readers. The more you know, and from divergent sources, the better your insights.

A dozen years ago, when I was doing a lot of both academic and newspaper writing, I developed a method that may appeal to you. It’s a hybrid between “stream of consciousness,” which means using one’s inner thought processes; and logical organization in writing.

First, I list about 30 topics, ideas, anecdotes or facts that I can trim down and shape into a strong narrative. Second, I cut that “on10 to 12 topics. Third, I make an outline to lead me to an engaging but not too long column (between 750 and 800 words). It takes from 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes to complete these steps. But

FLOWERS >> FROM B9 race was the issue in 1958. Wallace was considered the moderate, but Wallace woke up the day after the defeat and swore he would never be outsegged again.

After Wallace’s loss to Patterson in 1958, Wallace worked tirelessly for the next four years, 195862, while Patterson served his only term as governor. Wallace made sure he was the racist segregationist candidate in 1962.

Race was the only issue in the 1962

boy, it invariably is a solid roadmap that saves me time and focus. It can for you, too.

I want you to adopt the values of fairness and balance. You don’t have to switch ideologies, parties, or who you are.

You will be an asset in conversations that offers a genuine balance. With my tips on ideas and writing, you may be inspired. Or you might still be looking ahead for an honest broker or waiting, waiting for Godot.

Greg Markley moved to Lee County in 1996.

He has masters' degree in education and history.

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. He is a member of the national Education Writers Association (focus-Higher Education). gm.markley@charter.net.

governor’s race.

Wallace rode the race issue to his first victory as governor, defeating Big Jim and state Sen. Ryan DeGraffenreid of Tuscaloosa. That 1962 race had an interesting, entertaining and historical twist to it that I will share with you next week.

Steve Flowers is Alabama’s leading political columnist.

His weekly column appears in over 60 Alabama newspapers.

He served 16 years in the state legislature.

Steve may be reached at www.stevef lowers.us.

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B11 July 28, 2022

Lee-Russell Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging Supports Low Vision Group have some useful sight. Symptoms of low vision may include: difficulty in differentiating colors; having a hard time seeing objects at a distance; difficulty in seeing items up close to your eyes such as reading, sewing or cooking. Not all of these symptoms may indicate that you have low vision. An eye doctor can explain to you what is normal

CONTRIBUTED BY BETH PINYERD

LEE COUNTY — One common age-related disability that we see among the elderly is low vision. Low vision is a reduced level of vision that cannot be corrected by regular, conventional glasses. This is different from being blind.

A person who does have low vision does

in aging or other eye health problems.

WHAT ARE CAUSES OF THE LOSS OF VISION: 1. Age-Related Macular Degeneration gradually destroys the macula, which is the part of the eye that provides sharp, detailed, central vision needed for seeing objects sharply. There are two forms of Age Related Macular See SUPPORT, page B12

COMMISSION >> FROM B9 lower percentage or a flat fee upfront.

Young’s conversation with the commission is the result of District 1 Commissioner Doug Cannon reaching out for more information. Young subsequently spoke with County Administrator Holly Leverette and Sheriff Jay Jones.

“My objective right now is to go through [Lee County’s] bills, reprice them, which I told the sheriff I’d have done by Wednesday of this week and present them back to Holly and the sheriff,” Young said.

The commission did not vote for or against entering into a contract with MRM Monday night.

“I hope this is something we’ll hear more about,” said District 4 Commissioner Robert Ham. “Doug, thank you for getting in touch with Terry.”

OTHER BUSINESS: - Martecia Rogers was recognized for two certifications.

- The commission approved the final plat approval for the Creecy Subdivision.

- The commission voted to approve Probate Judge and Commission Chair Bill English to serve as the representative for the Investing in Alabama County’s

Operations Council.

- The commission voted to reject a bid for body cameras for the sheriff’s office on the basis of rebidding.

- The commission approved educational reimbursements for the sheriff’s department.

- The commission voted to approve use of the county attorney for the coroner.

- The commission discussed the six-month evaluation of Leverette.

- The commission approved the RSA retiree resolution.

- The commission approved American Rescue Plan Act replacement funds of $105,000 for use of parking lot lighting at Beulah and Beauregard parks

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B12 July 28, 2022

SUPPORT >> FROM B11 Degeneration. It is dry macular degeneration or wet macular degeneration. Neither wet nor dry Macular Degeneration has pain. Early signs of Age-Related Macular Degeneration are blurred vision and yellow deposits under the retina which are seen by an eye professional.

2. Cataracts cause a clouding of the eye’s lens which causes a loss of eyesight or vision. It grows larger over time and can make it difficult to see. Cataracts can appear in one or both eyes.

3. Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that causes damage of the optic nerve in one or both eyes. If Glaucoma is left untreated, vision loss or blindness can happen.

4. Diabetic Eye Disease is a group of eye problems that people with diabetes face because of the complications of the disease.

Blurred or blocked vision occurs with this disease.

In helping our elderly citizens dealing with low vision, there are so many free resources available.

There are support groups throughout the community that meet and go over helpful tips that help those who have low vision. At the Alabama Institute of Deaf and Blind Opelika Regional and support from Alabama Rehabilitative Services, The Low Vision Support Group of Lee County met on July 20, 2022, and discussed resources of coping with low vision. Menus from local restaurants were shared with members of the Low Vision Group.

The speakers this month were Melissa Sprouse and Bailey Yancey of LeeRussell Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging.

They shared with the members of the group the services provided for senior citizens who are age 60 and older as well as those with disabilities and their families. Services

which were shared are prescription drug assistance, senior centers, home-delivered meals, legal assistance, Medicaid waiver, aging and disability resource center and so much more helpful information in improving the quality of life and promote independence for area residents. Call 334749-5264 for more information.

The Lee County Low Vision Support Group meets every third Wednesday from 2 to 3 p.m. at AIDB Opelika Regional Center on 355 Dunlop Dr. in Opelika, Alabama. You can contact Shiquita Fulton, vision therapist with Alabama Rehabilitative Services 334-705-2024 and Melody Wilson, case manager for the blind at 256-368-3258.

Our community is so very blessed having both the agencies of Alabama Rehabilitative Services and Alabama Institute of Deaf and Blind working on our behalf of our Lee County Citizens.

been set for the 11th day of August 2022 at 11:00 a.m. central time, electronically via “ZOOM”. Please contact the Lee County Probate Court at 334-737-3670 for access to the electronic hearing should you intend to take part in the hearing of the Petition for Probate of Will of the Estate of Peggy L. Adams.

HON. BILL ENGLISH JUDGE OF PROBATE, LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Legal Run 07/14/2022, 07/21/2022 & 07/28/2022 ---------------

---------------

PUBLIC NOTICES Notice of auction of abandoned vehicles.

BEST 4 LESS will be auctioning off The below mentioned vehicles on AUGUST 17, 2022. This Auction will be held at 2509 LAFAYETTE PARKWAY, OPELIKA, ALABAMA, 36801 at 10:00 a.m. If you have any questions in regards to either of the vehicles please give call at 334-705-0000.

VIN# 1N6AD0ER6DN733935 – 2013 NISSAN FRONTIER 3A8FY48B08T125474 – 2008 CHEVROLET PT CRUISER Legal Run 07/21/2022 & 07/28/22 --------------IN RE. ESTATE OF GEORGE OMAR MENDEZ NOTICE TO CREDITORS Take Notice that LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION of said deceased having been granted to Michelle Aviles on the 7th day of July, 2022, by the Honorable Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama. Notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

(Lee Co. Probate Case No. 2022-328) Legal Run 07/14/22, 7/21/22 & 7/28/22 --------------NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT ESTATE OF GERALD L. POUNCEY, SR., DECEASED COURT OF PROBATE, LEE COUNTY Letters of Administration of said deceased having been granted to the undersigned on the 7th day of July, 2022, by the Hon. Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, 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.

Witness my hand and seal this 7th day of July, 2022.

SANDRA R. POUNCEY Legal Run 07/14/22, 07/21/22 & 07/28/22 --------------NOTICE TO CREDITORS TAKE NOTICE THAT Letters of Testamentary were granted to Lauren Ashley Chambers as Executor of the

Estate of Henri F. Davidson deceased, on the 21st day of June, 2022. Bythe Hon. Bill English.

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN tat 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.

Alston E. Lyle Morgan & Lyle P.C. P.O. Box 2056 Columbus, GA 31902 Legal Run 07/14/22, 07/21/22 & 07/28/22 --------------IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF STANLEY AUSTIN MULLINS, DECEASED. IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Case No: 2022-294 Letters Testamentary on the estate of said decedent having been granted to the undersigned on the 1st day of July, 2022, by the Hon. Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

RUSSELL A. MULLINS Personal Representative Robert H. Pettey Samford & Denson, LLP P.O. Box 2345 Opelika, AL 36803-2345 (334) 745-3504 Legal Run 07/14/22, 07/21/22 & 07/28/22 --------------STATE OF ALABAMA IN THE PROBATE COURT LEE COUNTY DOCKET NO. 2022-367 RE: ESTATE OF CAROLE ANN MCLAUGHLIN, DECEASED: NOTICE OF PUBLICATION Letters Testamentary of said deceased having been granted to the undersigned on the 1st day of July, 2022, by the Judge of Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within time allowed by law or the same will be barred. /s/ Gerald J. McLaughlin, Jr. Gerald J. McLaughlin Jr., Executor Attorney for Executor: Jacob J. (Jake) Key, Esq. Johnson, Caldwell & McCoy, LLC

117 North Lanier Avenue, Suite 201 Lanett, Alabama 36863 (334) 644-1171 Legal Run 7/14/22, 7/21/22 & 7/28/22 --------------NOTICE TO CREDITORS ESTATE OF ARTHUR HODGE METCALF, II DECEASED CASE NO. 2022-290 PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY NOTICE TO CREDITORS Take Notice that LETTERS TESTAMENTARY of the Estate of ARTHUR HODGE METCALF 11 are hereby granted to Jean Hughes Metcalf on the 22 nd day of June, 2022, by the Honorable Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama.

Notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

Jean Hughes Metcalf Legal Run 07/14/22, 07/21/22 & 07/28/22 -------------------INVITATION TO BID 22030 Sealed bids for the construction of the City-Wide ADA Improvements Project 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 on day, August 9, 2022, 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.

Bidders are required to have a State of Alabama General Contractor’s License with a specialty of “Highways and Streets, Clearing and Grubbing, Earthwork, Erosion, Site Work, Grading or Municipal and Utility”. 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 may be examined at the Office of the City Engineer located at 700 Fox Trail, Opelika, Alabama, and phone number: 334-705-5450. Bid documents may be obtained from the Office of the City Engineer at no charge as an electronic file if the bidder supplies a storage drive or as an email attachment or electronic drop box.

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 proposal must be completed by the bidder for the proposal to be accepted.

A Bid Bond in the amount of ten thousand ($10,000) dollars made payable to the City of Opelika must accompany each bid. Performance and Payment Bonds for one million ($1,000,000) will be required of the successful bidder. The right is reserved by the Owner to reject all Bids and to waive irregularities.

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: City-Wide ADA Improvements Project LILLIE FINLEYPURCHASING REVENUE MANAGER CITY OF OPELIKA 204 SOUTH SEVENTH STREET (36801) POST OFFICE BOX 390 (36803-0390) OPELIKA, ALABAMA PH: (334) 705-5120 Legal Run 07/14/22, 07/21/22 & 07/28/22 --------------IN THE PROBATE COURT FOR LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN RE: The Estate of PEGGY L. ADAMS Case No. 2022-278 NOTICE OF HEARING Notice is hereby given that a Petition for Probate of Will for the Estate of Peggy L. Adams has been filed. A hearing has

NOTICE Elmer Hernandez, whose whereabouts are unknown, must answer Dorcas Domingo's Complaint and Summons. Said Answer must be filed on or before 09/10/2022 or thereafter a judgment of default may be entered against him in Case No: DR-2022- 900123.00 in the Circuit Court of Lee County, Alabama.

Done this 13th day of July, 2022.

Mary B. Roberson Clerk of Circuit Court Lee County, Alabama OF COUNSEL: Ben C. Hand 114 North 8th Street Opelika, AL 36801 334-741-4077 Legal Run 07/21/2022, 07/28/22, 08/04/22 & 08/11/2022 l lQ) JUL 1 3 2022 IN OFFICE MARY B. ROBERSON CIRCUIT CLERK --------------IN THE PROBATE COURT FOR LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN RE: THE ESTATE OF GEHUGH STITT, JR CASE NO. 2022-084 NOTICE OF HEARING Notice is hereby given that a Petition for Probate of Will for the Estate of Gehugh Stitt, Jr. has been filed. A hearing has been set for the 30th day of August 2022 at 11:00 a.m. central time, electronically via “ZOOM”. Please contact the Lee County Probate Court at 334-737-3670 for access to the electronic hearing should you intend to take part in the hearing of the Petition for Probate of Will of the Estate of Gehugh Stitt, Jr. Bill English, Judge of Probate, Lee County, Alabama Legal Run 07/21/2022, 07/28/2022 & 08/04/2022

Notice of auction of abandoned vehicles.

BEST 4 LESS will be auctioning off The below mentioned vehicles on AUGUST 23, 2022. This Auction will be held at 2509 LAFAYETTE PARKWAY, OPELIKA, ALABAMA, 36801 at 10:00 a.m. If you have any questions in regards to either of the vehicles please give call at 334-705-0000.

VIN# 1GNEC13Z83J210686 - 2003 CHEVROLET TAHOE 1GNDS13S422228726 - 2002 CHEVROLET TRAIL BLAZER 1G8AJ55TX7ZLZ0237 - 2007 SATURN ION 2J4FY19P8NJ551730- 1992 JEEP WRANGLER Legal Run 07/21/2022 & 07/28/22 --------------Notice of auction of an abandoned vehicle. The Only One, Inc will be auctioning off the below mentioned vehicle on SEPTEMBER 01, 2022. This auction will be held at 3601 PEPPERELL PARKWAY, OPELIKA, ALABAMA, 36801 at 10:00 a.m. If you have any questions regarding this vehicle, call 334-745-2166.

VIN#2D4RN4DE7AR138618 – 2010 DODGE GRAND CARAVAN Legal Run 07/28/22 & 08/04/22 --------------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 WILLIAM EDWARD MCELVEEN, deceased Notice is hereby given that a Petition for Summary Distribution has been filed in the LEE COUNTY Probate Office by Peggy McIntosh McElveen on July 20, 2022, pursuant to Section 43-2-690, Code of Alabama and that 30 days after the notice of publication hereof and pursuant to law the Court shall be requested to enter an Order directing Summary Distribution of the estate of said decedent.

BILL ENGLISH, PROBATE JUDGE Legal Run 07/28/2022

See PUBLIC NOTICES, page B13

B13 July 28, 2022

PUBLIC NOTICES >> FROM B12

IN THE PROBATE COURT FOR LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN RE:The estate of Willie Lois Tolbert, Deceased.

Case No. 2022-430 TAKE NOTICE that Letters Administration having been granted to Willie Tolbert as Administrator of the Estate of Willie Lois Tolbert, deceased, on the 20th day of July , 2022.

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 be barred Willie Tolbert, Administrator of the Estate of Willie Lois Tolbert, Deceased Legal Run 07/28/2022, 08/04/2022 & 08/11/2022 --------------IN THE MATTER OF THE ADOPTION OF WILLIAM DAKOTA AKINS IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA CASE NO.: 2022-375 PUBLICATION NO11ICE TO: Jonathan Michael Adams or any other potential unknown father of B.M.R. Please take notice that a petition for adoption was filed in the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama by William Dakota Akins on June 29, 2022, for, the adoption of B.M.R., born on May 28, 2015, in Valley, Alabama to Chasity Nicole Redden.

A hearing has been set in the Lee County Probate Court, Opelika, Alabama. Should you intend to contest this adoption you must file a written response with the attorney for the petitioner, Hon. Mark H. Carlton, 9 Lafayette Street North, Lafayette, AL 36862 and with the Clerk of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, as soon as possible but not later than thirty (30) days from the last day this notice is published.

Dated on this the 21" day of July 2022.

BILL ENGLISH, JUDGE OF PROBATE LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Legal Run 07/28/2022, 08/04/2022, 08/11/2022 & 08/18/2022 --------------IN THE PROBATE COURT FOR LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF: CHARLES A. CUNDARI, Deceased CASE NO: 2022-414 NOTICE TO CREDITORS Letters Testamentary of said deceased having been granted to Robert T. Cundari, Personal Representative on the 19th day of July, 2022, by Honorable Bill English, Judge of 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.

Robert T. Cundari Legal Run 07/28/2022, 08/04/2022, 08/11/2022 -------------IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF DEBRA THOMASINE FULLER-BAXTER, DECEASED. IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Case No: 2022-432 Letters of Administration of said deceased having been granted to the undersigned on the 21st day of July, 2022, by the Hon. Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

ISAIAH ISHMAEL FULLER Administrator Robert H. Pettey Samford & Denson, LLP P.O. Box 2345 Opelika, AL 36803-2345 (334) 745-3504 Legal Run 07/28/2022, 08/04/2022, 08/11/2022 ---------------

IN THE PROBATE COURT FOR LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF JEWEL FLOYD BENEFIELD, DECEASED CASE NO.: 2022-148 NOTICE TO CREDITORS Letters Testamentary of said deceased having been grant d to Sandra Price Benefield, Personal Representative on the 20th day of July, 2022,

by Honorable Bi II English, Judge of 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.

Sandra Price Benefield Legal Run 07/28/2022, 08/04/2022, 08/11/2022 --------------IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN THE MATTER OF JULIA MAE FANNING, An Incapacitated Person Case No. 2021-508 NOTICE OF FINAL SETTLEMENT Notice is hereby given that Benjamin H. Parr, Conservator of the Estate of JULIA MAE FANNING, deceased, has filed in the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, his accounts, vouchers and statements for a Final Settlement of her Conservatorship. A hearing has been set for the 15th day of September, 2022, at 10 o'clock a.m., Central Time, in the Court Room of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, 215 South 9th Street, Opelika, Alabama.

Done this the 20th day of July, 2022.

Legal Run 07/28/2022, 08/04/2022, 08/11/2022 --------------IN THE PROBATE COURT FOR LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN THE MATTER OF ROY SANFORD CHASE, DECEASED, CASE NO.: 2022-413 NOTICE TO CREDITORS Take Notice that LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION of

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said deceased having been granted to Patricia Diane Chase on the 19th day of July, 2022 by the Honorable Bill English, Judge of Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama.

Notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within the time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

PATRICIA DIANE CHASE Legal Run 07/28/2022, 08/04/2022, 08/11/2022 --------------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 JAMES EDWIN STAPLER, deceased Notice is hereby given that a Petition for Summary Distribution has been filed in the LEE COUNTY Probate Office by Ricky Stapler on July 22, 2022, pursuant to Section 43-2-690, Code of Alabama and that 30 days after the notice of publication hereof and pursuant to law the Court shall be requested to enter an Order directing Summary Distribution of the estate of said decedent.

BILL ENGLISH PROBATE JUDEGE Legal Run 07/28/2022 --------------IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF JOHN T. INGRAM, JR., DCEASED. IN THE PROBATE COURT OF LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Case No: 2022-431 Letters Testamentary on the estate of said decedent having been granted to the undersigned on the 21st day of July, 2022, by the Hon. Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama, notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

DEE ANN INGRAM

WILLIAMS and JOHN T. INGRAM, III Co-Personal Representatives Robert H. Pettey Samford & Denson, LLP P.O. Box 2345 Opelika, AL 36803-2345 (334) 745-3504 Legal Run 07/28/22, 08/4/22, 08/11/22 --------------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 BOBBY JACK GRIGGERS, deceased Notice is hereby given that a Petition for Summary Distribution has been filed in the LEE COUNTY Probate Office by Ricky Stapler on March 18, 2022, pursuant to Section 43-2-690, Code of Alabama and that 30 days after the notice of publication hereof and pursuant to law the Court shall be requested to enter an Order directing Summary Distribution of the estate of said decedent.

BILL ENGLISH PROBATE JUDEGE Legal Run 07/28/2022

--------------NOTICE TO CREDITORS ESTATE OF JERRY ALBERT MEDDERS PROBATE COURT LEE COUNTY, AL CASE NO.: 2022-303 NOTICE OF CREDITOR Take Notice that LETTERS OF ADMINISTRATION of said deceased having been granted to Angela Medders House on the 19th day of July, 2022, by the Honorable Bill English, Judge of the Probate Court of Lee County, Alabama.

Notice is hereby given that all persons having claims against said estate are hereby required to present the same within time allowed by law or the same will be barred.

Angela Medders House Legal Run 07/28/22, 08/04/22 & 08/11/22 --------------NOTICE OF SALE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that

the undersigned intends to sell the personal property described below to enforce a lien imposed on said property under The Self Service Storage Act. The undersigned will sell at public sale by competitive bidding on Thursday the 11th day of August, 2022 at 10:00 AM on Lockerfox.com. Said property is iStorage, 501 North 26th St, Opelika, AL, 36801 Speed, Joshua 2146 boxes, misc items.

Glover, Latitia 2137 table,sofa,mattress,lamps.

Saulmarshall, Cherita 2150 boxes, shelf, furniture, bags.

Tianqing Yu 1013 mattresses, bookshelf, boxes, furniture, tote.

Evett, Jennifer 3031 Mattress, couch, boxes, misc items.

Clifton, Catherine 2147 tote, mattress, box, furniture, misc items.

Cole, Michelle 2023 chairs, boxes, rug, misc furniture, clothes.

Hardnett, Kent 2002 Furniture, iron board, mattress.

Purchases must be paid for at the time of purchase by cash only. All purchased items are sold as is, where is, and must be removed within 48 hours of the sale. Sale is subject to cancellation in the event of settlement between owner and obligated party.

Legal Run 07/28/2022 --------------NOTICE IS GIVEN that the undersigned intends to sell the personal property described below to enforce a lien imposed on said property under The Self Service Storage Act. The undersigned will sell at public sale by competitive bid on Thursday, the 11th day of August, 2022 at 10:00 AM on Lockerfox.com. Said property is iStorage, 3806 Pepperell Parkway, Opelika, AL 36801.

Willie Torbert 45 Washer 4boxes, totes,.

Purchases must be paid for at the time of purchase by cash only. All purchased items are sold as is, where is, and must be removed within 48 hours of the the sale. Sale is subject to cancellation in the event of settlement between owner and obligated party.

Legal Run 07/28/2022

Hunley Group Lambert Transfer and Storage An Interstate Agent for North American Van Lines 1102 Fox Trail Opelika, Alabama 36801 334-745-5706

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B14 July 28, 2022

Rep. Ed Oliver Visits Opelika Kiwanis Club

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Alabama State Rep. Ed Oliver spoke at last week's Opelika Kiwanis Club meeting. The speaker next week will be Brendt Bledsole, the Auburn University football director of high school relations/Pro Liason.

Local Rotary Club Presents Service Awards

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B15 July 28, 2022

Like Crossword Puzzles? Sudoku?

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B16 July 28, 2022

Call me for all your real estate needs!

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Celebrating 31 Years

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213 S 8th St, Opelika, AL 36801

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334 749 0877 3051 Frederick Road, Suite 7, Opelika -

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� Circle of Excellence 2008-2011

MilhonA1r 2010 & 2011 & 2012 --------(between Sam:� Club and Tiger Town)

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