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The year in review: many projects underway
January The old mental health center in Thomasville will soon be put to use as a state agency again. Gov. Bob Riley and members of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles announced in Montgomery Wednesday that a new LIFE Tech Center will open at the Thomasville facility. The center will be a 300-bed male facility and is expected to open in April. It will be similar in curriculum to the LIFE Tech Center in Wetumpka, which is for female inmates. The LIFE Tech Program provides an alternative to incarceration in a Department of Corrections facility, which frees bed space in prisons. The demanding program includes dealing with addictions, vocational training, and instruction in social, life and communications skills, according to a news release from the Governor’s Office.
Riley said Wednesday that the center will help prisoners about to be released make the transition back into society. Now, he said, the state will provide “not just $10 and a bus ticket but the skills needed to make a transition back into society.” He said he hopes the program will “fundamentally change” the way a person looks at life so they will not ever return to prison. Two people died in a head-on collision Jan. 23, in south Marengo County. Emma Jean Elliott, 57, of Gallion, and Cleo Otis Hall, 38, of Meridian, Miss. were both killed in the accident that took place on Hwy. 43 near Dixons Mills, according to the Alabama State Troopers. According to eye-witness accounts at the scene, Hall was driving a Ford delivery van north on 43 when he lost control of the vehicle. The van left the roadway and Hall apparently over-corrected, swerving into the southbound lane, colliding with Elliiott’s Mazda, according to eye-witnesses.
The project will build 17 historic styled townhomes on a bluff overlooking the Norfolk Southern Railroad. The 2 and 3- bedroom cottages will be leased, but the developers have reserved the right to sell the units at a future date. Because the property will be subdivided into individual lots the project fell under the review of the city’s planning board. After extensive questioning from members regarding utilities and storage buildings the board gave its approval. Construction was expected to begin in the spring of 2006. A plane crash in Yellow Bluff, near the Weyerhaeuser mill Jan. 29 led to the death of one woman and left the pilot of the airplane in critical condition. Beverly Burton, of Mobile was killed in the crash. She was a leading figure in the Boys & Girls Club and was returning from a speaking engagement in Mississippi. The pilot, Fredrick Rux was found injured at the crash site and airlifted to a hospital in Pensacola, Fla. The plane, a 1977 Piper Saratoga crashed Saturday afternoon, before its expected arrival at the Camden airport. February Alabama Southern Community College, along with seven other community colleges in western Alabama and eastern Mississippi, has been awarded a $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to serve 17 counties in western Alabama and 19 counties in eastern Mississippi. The grant is one of 13 grants totaling $195 million issued around the nation as part of the Labor Department’s new WIREDWorkforce Innovation through Regional and Economic Development- initiative. Alabama Southern Community College served as the lead institution for pursuit of the grant, along with seven other community colleges within western Alabama and eastern Mississippi. The WIRED grant will support the efforts of The Economic Transformation of Rural West Alabama- East Mississippi Alliance (The Economic Transformation Alliance). The Economic Transformation Alliance is a partnership for prosperity in thirty-six counties in the states of Alabama and Mississippi. The Alliance’s vision is to pull together the region’s stakeholders, rising above the past and increasing opportunities for prosperity, by creating a world-renowned, regional identity reflecting its enterprisecentric workforce. Over 350 Thomasville citizens have signed a petition requesting that the city council take steps to have local legislation passed that would allow for the sale of alcoholic beverages within the municipal limits. The thick petition was presented to the council at a special council meeting by Linda Vice and Amy Duke. They and other citizens had worked for about three weeks collecting the signatures, Vice said. The move by Thomasville citizens to be allowed to sell alcoholic beverages was prodded by Jackson’s vote on the issue last May. Sales have been legalized in that south Clarke County community since July 2005. Thomasville schools superintendent Roger Speed announced his retirement. “I have certainly enjoyed the 10 years I’ve been here and certainly wish the best for the Thomasville city school system,’ Speed said. His retirement became effective July 31. This is the second time Speed announced his intention to retire from the system. Speed was convinced to stay by board members after his first decision to retire in 2002. It was Speed’s 37th year in schools, he is a native of Fayette, and plans to stay in Thomasville for the immediate future, but may move to be closer to his grandchildren later. Co-Publishers of The Thomasville Times and Former owners of The South Alabamian Mike and Linda Breedlove were named Alabama Press Association Lifetime Achievement recipients for 2006. They, along with Jim Oakley, former publisher of The Centreville Press, were honored March 3 in Montgomery during the group’s annual winter meeting in Montgomery. The Breedloves are co-owners and publishers of The Thomasville Times along with Jim Cox. Despite expectations of a vigorous debate over alcohol sales in Thomasville, a second step towards a referendum on the issue was met with little fanfare in late February. The city council voted 5-1 to approve an resolution seeking local legislation that would allow the city to hold a referendum that could legalize the sale of alcohol within the city limits. Judge Harold Crow, a Thomasville Democrat, announced his retirement in late February. He has been one of two local circuit judges for 12 years. He served as district judge of Clarke County for 14 years before being elected circuit judge in 1994. That was a rare race in which Crow challenged incumbent Circuit Judge Richmond Pearson of Leroy. The race was a hardfought one with Crow winning the seat. He was re-elected in 2000 without opposition. March The City of Thomasville has been awarded yet another grant. Alabama Power Company informed city officials in March that it has awarded a grant to the city to help build a speculative shell building in the city’s new south industrial park. The grant would fund 50 percent of the building’s construction cost. The grant is limited to a total of $500,000 if the building’s cost exceeds $1 million. The city originally requested a $1 million grant. This is the second Alabama Power speculative building grant the city has received. A prior grant was used to construct the building now housing Thompson Tractor Company in the Joe Davis Industrial Park. Advocates for keeping Thomasville dry presented their views to the city council in late March. Rob Moore, representing CAAST – Citizens Against Alcohol Sales in Thomasville presented the council with a resolution from the group. Prefacing his reading of the resolution, Moore praised Thomasville and its leadership. Moore said many blessings have come to the town and all without alcohol sales. “I believe it would be a detriment to our community.” The resolution quoted several alcohol-related statistics relating the dangers of alcohol consumption. House Bill 822, the bill that would allow for a vote on legalizing alcohol sales in Thomasville was approved in the House of Representatives by a roll call vote on March 30. It was approved with 42 votes for and 48 abstentions. No votes against were recorded according to records from the Alabama legislature. April A Thomasville woman who teaches at Coffeeville High School faces charges of having sex with her students and soliciting the murder of her husband. Sharon Linton Rutherford, 30, of Thomasville was arrested by the Clarke County Sheriff’s Department and placed in the Clarke County jail under a $41,500 bond. Rutherford is charged with rape in the first degree, solicitation for murder, sexual abuse in the second degree and two counts of enticing a child. Gov. Bob Riley signed House Bill 822 April 15, paving the way for a vote on legalizing alcohol sales in Thomasville. For the proponents of alcohol sales in Thomasville, the next step will be to fill a certified petition and present it to the city council. The group will need more than 200 signatures of registered voters living in Thomasville before a vote can be called. Stephen Richardson, of Thomasville, pleaded guilty to the charge of a parent allowing a minor to engage in pornography and received a life sentence in Clarke County Circuit Court. Richardson, the first defendant on Judge Thomas Baxter’s docket, was also charged with four counts of enticing a child to engage in sexual activity, three counts of pornography producing with a minor, possession of pornographic material, pornography distribution and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Those charges were dropped. May The Thomasville City School Board voted unanimously to hire Vic Adkison, superintendent of Barbour County Schools, as the new superintendent of Thomasville’s city schools. Adkison served with the Barbour school system since 2002. Barbour County School Board members gave him a two-year contract with a salary of $84,000. In June 2004, they extended his contract for another four years and, in light of the system’s budget crunch, he did not ask for a salary increase. Prior to that he served as a principal in the Eufaula City School System since 1997. Hannah Etheridge, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Chip Etheridge of Thomasville, was selected as Clarke County’s 2007 Junior Miss. In addition to winning the title she was the winner of the interview, talent, poise and fitness categories. She was also first runner-up in the scholastic achievement category. Hannah received a full tuition and books Presidential Scholarship to Alabama Southern Community College, $3,375 in other tuition and books scholarships, Revere bowls, flowers and the Junior Miss medallion. She attends Thomasville High School. Three Pine Hill men were arrested Monday for stealing guns at a Thomasville camphouse in late May. Ten long guns, including automatic and semi-automatic rifles and shotguns were stolen as well as cases of shotgun shells. A Sweet Water woman was arrested on assault charges after she allegedly stabbed another woman during an altercation on Campbell’s Landing Road over Memorial Day weekend. It was reported at the time that occupants of two vehicles got into an argument and someone brought a knife out. Aundra Hancock of Thomasville was stabbed once in the neck and twice in the abdomen. She told officers Stacey Amanda Daniels, 18, was her assailant. Daniels was charged with assault, first degree. Her bond was set at $10,000. After nearly 53 years of working in grocery stores Harold Smith of Thomasville turned in his apron May 5. June Long-time Thomasville businessman Edward Vaiden Dozier died at the Southwest Alabama Medical Center. Dozier was the owner and operator of Dozier Oil. Stuart DuBose picked up six provisional ballot votes across the three counties of the First Judicial Circuit to retain his narrow victory for a circuit judge seat. The unofficial totals from the June 6 primary gave DuBose 9,629 votes and Chris Bailey 9,536—a majority of just 93 votes. A Thomasville man was arrested in conjunction with a sting operation conducted by the Gulf Shores Police Department and the Baldwin County District Attorney’s office. Joseph Anthony Hubka III, 22 of Thomasville was charged with soliciting a child by computer. July After an exchange of strong words with BFIover its garbage contract renewal, Thomasville got what it wanted, a new garbage contract. During a special session, the city council approved Arrow as the city’s new waste disposal company. Arrow will begin delivering new trash cans and dumpsters soon and begin operations in Thomasville August 1. Prices for garbage collection increased from $11 per household to about $13 per household when Arrow takes over the garbage duties. Garbage collection will remain at once per week. Thomasville native Tony Wood was honored for his impact on students’ lives for his work at Whitesburg Middle School. Wood was one of several teachers honored with the Golden Apple Award, sponsored by the Huntsville Times. Wood, a 1991 graduate of Thomasville High School was nominated by 8th grade student Chris Childers. Southwest Alabama Medical Center was awarded a certificate of need for the construction of a replacement hospital. The next step will be securing financing for the project. The cost of the new hospital is estimated to be about $35 million. Other following steps include completing a sales contract with the city of Thomasville to purchase property in the city’s south industrial and medical park. Construction is expected to begin in the spring of 2007 with the goal to move into the new building by December 2008 or January 2009. Thomasville hired Brian Clayton as principal of Thomasville High School. Clayton, who holds his doctorate from the University of Alabama was hired to replace Leon Clark, who left the high school after five years. Clayton was principal of Hale County High School for six years and an assistant principal for two years prior to that. He started his career as a math teacher and football coach. Thomasville hosted its second world series in the Dixie Youth baseball organization. Hotel rooms and restaurants around town filled with vistitors to the week-long event. Thomasville’s team made it to the semi-finals, bucking the trend of the host city’s team losing out early in the tournaments. August Powerful political and military leaders came to Thomasville, impressed with the city’s continued efforts to develop this region as they spoke for the second rural national supplier conference. Cong. Joe Bonner said Thomasville is leading the charge in getting people to work together to “let the sunlight of economic development shine on rural Alabama.” Gov. Bob Riley also praised the area, but was quick to point out that the state as a whole was doing well these days. “Thomasville is on a roll,” he said. “What you’re seeing here is indicative of what’s going on around the state.” He also took a good-natured jab at Day, saying, “your mayor is a piece of work. I made the mistake once of telling him to call me whenever I could help.” Bids for Thomasville’s proposed civic center came in at more than $5 million, forcing the project back to the drawing board. Based on other recent construction projects in the area, the two men believed the Thomasville civic center could be built for a cost of about $3.5 million, or $4 million at the most. Two bids out of four expected bids were submitted, one by Cooper Brothers for $5,102,563 and the other by Sharp Inc. for $5,872,000. School report cards issued by the state gave Thomasville’s city schools a passing grade in August. Thomasville city schools reached all their state goals for the 2005 school year, delaying the onset of coming under the school improvement program. Thomasvlle’s schools achieved what the state calls adequate yearly progress under state testing as mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act. A Thomasville landmark of nearly 60 years could move or even close if a giant pharmacy chain exercises an option to purchase a corner lot on Highway 43. The Alabama Grill dates to at least 1949, co-owner Craig Wells said, and has long been a popular eatery in Thomasville. Charlie Gaston of Camden owns the property and Walgreens approached him about buying. The Grill employs 23 people. September Weyerhaeuser announced the elimination of 79 jobs from its Pine Hill mill in early September. Nineteen salaried positions and 60 hourly positions will be eliminated from the operation’s workforce of about 425 in an effort to cut costs. The restructuring only involves cut costs. The restructuring only involves the containerboard operation and does not involve other Weyerhaeuser businesses at Pine Hill, which are lumber, veneer and timberlands operations, company officials said. Southern Family Market in Thomasville closed its doors before the end of the month. Southern Family Markets, based in Birmingham and an affiliate of C&S Wholesale Grocers, is closing or selling 13 stores in Alabama and nearly 40 across the southeast. Southern Family Markets purchased the grocery store formerly operated by Food Fair last year. Before that it was a Delchamps. In an effort to continue Thomasville’s growth, the city established a dedicated industrial development and city planning arm. With the approval of the 2006- 2007 budget, Debra Fox, executive director of the Southwest Alabama Chamber of Commerce and assistant Judi Clark moved away from the chamber and went to work for the city’s industrial development board. The pair will be working for the board under a two-year contract. October The Disciplinary Commission of the Alabama State Bar accepted a conditional guilty plea from Jackson attorney Stuart C. DuBose related to his actions regarding the preparation of a will for a deceased Washington County man. DuBose was involved in a civil dispute regarding the estate of the man he wrote the will for but it was settled out of court last week and the specifics of the settlement were not publicized. The suspension has apparently been arranged so that it will not interfere with DuBose serving as a new circuit judge. A news release Monday from the Bar detailed the actions taken by the Disciplinary Commission on Oct. 4. “Under the terms of the conditional guilty plea, DuBose will be suspended from the practice of law for a period of 45 days effective Nov. 8, 2006.” The Southwest Alabama Chamber of Commerce moved into its new home in October. The new location for the office is at the Ala-Tom RC&D and Regional Tourism Office at 16 W. Front St. in downtown Thomasville. Marilyn Morgan is serving as the interim chamber director. November In the most closely watched Clarke County race, longtime sheriff’s department lieutenant and Democratic candidate Bobby Moore won the sheriff’s race, defeating Republican challenger and state trooper Gene Wiggins. The two lawmen were vying to succeed the retiring Jack Day. Moore garnered 4,729 votes, or 52.5 percent, to Wiggins’ 4,277. The biggest local win was for coroner where the Democratic candidate, Kevin Brunson, polled over 72 percent of the vote to beat Republican appointee Jonah Thomas. In the District 1 County Commission race, Elma Averett, the Democrat, won with nearly 60 percent of the vote over Republican Henry Burge. He will succeed the retiring Rubye Andrews. The race for the District 3 seat on the commission was a bit tighter with incumbent Democrat Patricia DuBose winning nearly 54 percent of the vote to defeat GOP challenger Clint Odom. Odom gave up a seat on the school board to run for the office. In the District 3 school board race, Barry Chancey kept Odom’s old seat in the Republican column with a 1,224 to 772 win over Democrat Karen Donald. Well over 50 percent of Clarke County’s approximately 17,000 registered voters cast ballots Tuesday, an amazing turnout. Former Thomasville councilmember and school board member John J. Jackson received a high honor from the Salvation Army. Jackson was presented with the William Booth award in honor of his service to the community. Jackson was instrumental in bringing the Salvation Army to Thomasville. “God wanted the Salvation Army here in Thomasville, and I thank God that he let me be in on the blessing,” Jackson said. Thomasville’s proposed zoning and land use ordinance was approved with one no vote cast by Alberta Dixon. “I’m not voting against zoning, I’m voting against the part that was not clear,” she said, explaining her vote. “I think we’ve needed zoning for a long time.” Dixon was referring to the clause in the zoning ordinance that grandfathers existing uses of land into the ordinance. Marc Prescott also presented his concerns over how the city would determine how non-conforming uses would be grandfathered under the new zoning ordinance. December Thomasville High School and Sweet Water High School both made it through the playoffs to play in the state Super 6 championship games in Birmingham. New bids on the Thomasville Civic Center rang up at $3.5 million, well below the first bids of $5.2 million. The low bidder for the second round was Frasier- Ousley. The plan for the civic center remains with restoring and remodeling the original high school auditorium to seat 456 people, down by about 140 seats from a figure of more than 500 in earlier plans to build a new auditorium. The revamped stage is also smaller by 1,100 square feet from the earlier plans for a new building. The original structure is smaller than the earlier proposal by about 1,900 feet.
Though the theater is smaller than in the earlier proposal, Thomasville’s arts council stated concerns that it would have trouble filling nearly 600 seats for local productions.
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