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Articles from the January 1, 2020 edition


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  • IT'S A NEW YEAR!!

    Staff Writer

    Can you believe it is now 2020? At the Alabama Gazette, we hope that all of our readers and advertisers have had a very blessed 2019. This past year has been an exciting one for us! Not only have we celebrated our 20th year of publishing this past October, but also we have continued to grow the company. Earlier this summer, we were awarded a contract with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries to produce its 100-year-old-plus publication, the Alabama Farmers and Consumers'...

  • Is it good to think about any legal issues for the New Year?

    Ron Holtsford|Jan 1, 2020

    Without specifics about yourself I’ll make this answer generic in a personal and in a business sense. I presume you looked at your financial estate planning (401K, mutual funds, stocks and bonds, life insurance, etc.) and as you do you also think about your legal estate planning. After all you are a year older; you may have gotten married, had a new child, had a child reach the age of majority (19 years), gotten divorced or suffered the death of a spouse or even a child. You may have a child g...

  • Out of the Mouths of Babes

    Robert Tate|Jan 1, 2020

    The other day, I was sitting in a mall food court reading a magazine I just bought while my bride was shopping. I like to sit, read and of course watch the world pass by. I have to admit, I am a people watcher. Some are obviously more pleasant to watch than others, but regardless, people are interesting to watch. While sitting there, I was watching this young girl writing furiously on pieces of paper. She would write something, scribble it out, write some more and then wrinkle up the paper and...

  • New Year Begins. It's a Presidential Year

    Steve Flowers|Jan 1, 2020

    As the new year begins, so does a Presidential election year. For several decades, in fact for most of the twentieth century, Alabamians were more interested in state and local politics than presidential politics. In fact, from 1901 through the 1950’s there were more people voting in a Democratic Primary for Governor than in a presidential General Election. The interest in national politics is a fairly new occurrence for Alabamians, and it seems to have been in correlation to the party change i...

  • The Nanny

    John Martin|Jan 1, 2020

    From our very beginning, we the people of the United States have honored and fought for the right to live free and support ourselves without government interference under a sacrosanct principle called “The American Dream”—to live and let live.” This is the bedrock that provided the opportunity for all citizens to create the greatest nation on earth. But over the last century and especially the second half of it, numerous agencies have been created that violate that ethic. The taxes, regulat...

  • Montgomery County Sheriff's Office

    Sheriff Derrick Cunningham|Jan 1, 2020

    Thank you to everyone that gave generously to our annual Christmas Angel Tree! Once again, we were able to provide Christmas for the homeless at Faith Rescue Mission and to special children at the Children’s Specialty Center. Your thoughtfulness goes a long way! Detention Facility Recognitions We also recognized the following personnel in our Detention Facility: Corrections Officer of the Year B. Jackson Corrections Officer for the First Quarter J. Gourdine Corrections Officer for the Second Q...

  • Autauga County Sheriff's Office

    Sheriff Joe Sedinger|Jan 1, 2020

    Autauga County Alabama SHERIFF’S OFFICE Sheriff Joe Sedinger Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chris West appointed as Sheriff of Lowndes County Newly appointed Sheriff of Lowndes County, Chris West, admits he can never fill the shoes of former Sheriff “Big John” but that he will be a vessel and the best sheriff he can be. He already has plans to increase patrol and combat crime. West served as Chief Deputy under Sheriff “Big John” and Lowndes County for several years in many capaci...

  • Doing the County's Bidding; Malice in Hubbardland spirit still alive and well in Lee County…

    John Sophocleus|Jan 1, 2020

    Two Lee county officials were bound by law and contract documents to procure bid proposals before spending taxpayer money. Records show one manager was not protected for her actions; the other was protected and lauded for his admitted wrongdoing. This familiar “tale of two bureaucrats” in a county believing in Mike Hubbard is as follows… One county manager was placed on administrative leave with pay, brought before a County Commission executive session, tendered a resignation and received sever...

  • Will the Best Team Win?

    Daniel Sutter|Jan 1, 2020

    The field is set for the college football playoff. Good sportsmanship often involves wishing, “May the best team win!” But the best team does not always win, which illustrates an important element of economics. Either LSU, Ohio State, Clemson, or Oklahoma will be crowned champion on January 13. I will not prognosticate about the winner. Football fans know that many small things affect a game’s outcome. The football can take funny bounces. Passes can get deflected or dropped. A player can slip....

  • The Most Charismatic name in Auburn Football History

    Ed Jones|Jan 1, 2020

    That will not change. He battled cancer for years, continuing to coach until he could not stand up. Pat Sullivan, dead at the age of 69. “The most charismatic name in Auburn football history.” That is what Coach “Shug” Jordan said about Pat Sullivan in 1971. There is no question that this was true in 1971 after Pat won the Heisman Trophy. It is also true today. Even after Bo Jackson and Cam Newton won the Heisman Trophy, Pat Sullivan is the name that Auburn people revere over any other. Why is...

  • Remembering…

    Dr. Lester Spencer|Jan 1, 2020

    I read about an enlisted soldier who was walking along a Bavarian road. World War I was over. Germany was defeated and devastated. The land around him was scorched by the destruction of war. This little fellow decided to end it all. With the Fatherland finished, what was the point of living? He came to a river, and he looked over a bridge railing to the icy waters down below. He decided to jump. He looked around again, and saw people aimlessly wandering about trying to find what was left of...

  • Honoring Our Heros

    Martha Poole Simmons|Jan 1, 2020

    Romay Catherine Davis: 100 Romay Catherine Davis served two years and four months in the Women’s Army Corps (WACS) during World War II. She was born October 29, 1919, to her parents, Fairfax and Catherine Johnson, in Prince George County, VA, where she finished the 7th grade followed by education in Camden, NJ, attendance at Harren High School in New York City and graduation from Dumbar High School in Washington, D.C. After graduation, Davis worked for a year in the U. S. Treasury Dept. o...

  • Patriotic Ceremony for Veteran's Funerals

    Martha Poole Simmons|Jan 1, 2020

    • Veterans are entitled to a patriotic ceremony at their funerals. • Families should take a copy of the veteran’s DD214 discharge papers to the funeral home and ask for an honor guard to conduct a flag ceremony. • Although the funeral home can arrange for the honor guard to include a bugler to play “Taps”, that bugler may bring a bugle and play a tape recording. • To arrange for a “live bugler”, contact Raymond Keel, a veteran who attend veterans’ funerals and plays “Taps” live. • Call...

  • Southern Cuisine - January

    David Spooner|Jan 1, 2020

    In past articles of the Alabama Gazette I gave a preview of what to expect in future articles. I commented about recipes in old cookbooks. The use of real ingredients not hydrogenated this and artificial sweetened that, but ingredients that were simple, fresh and raised or grown as close to home as possible. The recipes from these cookbooks used fresh sweet milk and heavy cream, real butter, bacon drippings, lots of eggs and lard. Also, the recipes called for ingredients that you can make at...

  • A Season for Giving! $1,000

    Staff Writer|Jan 1, 2020

    Alabama Gazette Publishing, LLC was very pleased to be able to again present several deserving people with $100 cash this Christmas season! While we couldn’t give everyone who was nominated a gift, we appreciate everyone’s thoughts and times for others who deserved some extra Christmas spirit this year. We hope everyone has a blessed and prosperous New Year! One of the recipients this year was Linda Hood. Sadly, her home burned down during the holidays with one life lost and two burn vic...

  • Tears and Laughter - The Answer Remains the Same

    Amanda Walker|Jan 1, 2020

    Over the Christmas season I only lost the car twice. Once I was looking on the opposite side of the mall from where I had parked. I kept setting off my alarm with my keyring, but was too far away to hear it blaring. I finally found it by process of elimination. The next week I lost my friend’s car. The main reason I lost her car was because I had lost her for a while too. We went to separate checkouts thinking that would be quicker, only it wasn’t. Once I had checked out I headed on out to the...

  • "Who Do You Want to Be?"

    Trisston Wright Burrows|Jan 1, 2020

    Happy New Year, Everyone! As we enter into this new year, I have a question for us to ponder…Who do you want to be in world? Think about it. Notice, I did not ask what you want to do or what you want to achieve this year. While these are important things to think about, I am asking you to think more along the lines of what kind of person do you want to be. Do you know the answer to this question? “Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces per...

  • Potpourri for January

    Judge Peggy Givhan|Jan 1, 2020

    First of all let me wish all of my readers a Happy Happy New Year. This country has been through a lot, but I have always been of the mind, that if lemons come your way, do not despair, make lemonade. In spite of the prophets of gloom and doom, 2013 will soar with hope, new ideas, new inventions and a new commitment to making our world a better place to live. And that include beautiful gardens. January is the month of hope of things to come. A group wanted to visit my garden in the dead of...

  • EXPANDING Social Security Field Office Hours

    Kylle McKinney|Jan 1, 2020

    Beginning on January 8, 2020, field offices will remain open until 4:00 p.m. on Wednesdays, with typical field office hours from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can locate the closest field office to you using our field office locator. In another move to improve service to the public, Commissioner Saul announced in his Open Letter to the Public at www.socialsecurity.gov/agency/coss-message.html that the agency is hiring 1,100 front line employees to provide service on the a...