May 1, 2012
Childersburg gearing up for Grits Festival
from The Daily Home
by Mark Ledbetter
CHILDERSBURG — Hoping to build on last year’s success, the Grits Festival at Kymulga Grist Mill and Covered Bridge Park Saturday will feature grits, a petting farm, a fish rodeo, crafts and much more.
“I’m hoping it (the festival) will grow quite well,” Childersburg Historic Preservation President Martha Little said.
Last year’s inaugural festival drew hundreds of visitors. “Car tags from 15 states” were among the many sighted in the parking lot, resident and festival supporter Gene Piatowski said.
The festival’s theme is “The Year of Alabama Food,” which is the same theme the Alabama Tourism Department is using throughout the state in 2012. A Grits and Cornbread contest will be featured.
Past contests included restaurant chefs and home cooks. Contestants must use cornmeal and grits ground at the Kymulga Grits Mill. Grits, cornmeal and entry forms can be obtained at the mill or at the Childersburg Recreation Center. Participants can enter three categories: appetizers, entrees and desserts.
CONTINUE>>>
_____________________________________________________________
April 27, 2012
Tiny Alabama town rebuilds after 2011 tornado
from WSET
by Bob Johnson
HACKLEBURG, Ala. (AP) - It was about 3:20 p.m. a year ago when the skies grew dark over the northwest Alabama town of Hackleburg and a tornado dropped from the sky. When it left, 18 people were dead. All but one of town's 32 commercial buildings was wiped out, including its largest employer, leaving most of the survivors without jobs.
"The building just collapsed on us," said Kelly Dobbs, crying as she recalled the storm hitting her workplace, Ray's Pharmacy, and trying to protect her then-1-year-old daughter from flying debris.
"Then there was a weird noise and lights were flashing and cinderblocks started hitting us," she said.
When the first anniversary of the storm arrives Friday, it will find Dobbs and many others still living in FEMA trailers, while others have moved away. The town's cafe and grocery store have not been rebuilt. Some thought it would be impossible to rebuild what was once named the "Best Hometown in America" by CMT, the country music network.
But there are signs of the town coming back to life: City hall has been rebuilt and final plans have been set for a new police and fire station. Downtown is being refurbished.
CONTINUE>>>
_______________________________________________________________
April 25, 2012
Semmes Heritage Day is April 28
from Press-Register
by Jo Anne McKnight
The ninth annual Semmes Heritage Day is April 28 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Heritage Park, 3871 Wulff Road. The celebration of Old Town Semmes will begin with the firing of the cannon by Steve Cobb and will continue with a flag presentation by Mary G. Montgomery High School ROTC and music by the Lost and Found Orchestra, by the MGM choir and other groups.
There’ll be food, music and other entertainment, old-fashioned games for children to play, demonstrations of a grist mill and corn sheller, a blacksmith showing how he goes about his work, displays of antique tractors, tools from the olden days and a Classic Car Show.
The Square Deal Square Dancers will perform, Azalea Trail Maids from MGM will grace the premises and the City of Semmes will have a display and information on the newly incorporated city.
CONTINUE>>>
_______________________________________________________________
April 20, 2012
The Skylab Trainer Is Still Rotting in Huntsville
from Space Ref
by Keith Cowing
The Skylab trainer built to train astronauts has been sitting outside at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC) in Huntsville for a long time. Right now, as can be seen in the photo below, it is simply rotting away when simple measures to protect it could at least slow down the destruction.
In 2006 AP reported that "A full-size training mock-up of Skylab is slowly rotting away outside the Alabama space museum where it spent years on display. Flecks of gray paint from a wall dot its mesh floor, and a bird's nest rests in an equipment compartment."
In 2007 we took note of the condition of the Skylab trainer and an attempt by a group of volunteers to try and halt further deterioration: "the Skylab trainer hardware has been allowed to sit outside for years and rot by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC). The USSRC did nothing to preserve the hardware except throw a tarp over it. A group of concerned citizens organized and donated their own time and money to try and halt the destruction and preserve the hardware. After their efforts show some results (and made the USSRC look bad) the USSRC thinks that the volunteers were doing something wrong and locks them out. And now the hardware continues to rot and yet the USSRC does nothing but try to look concerned. This is pathetic. It is also a rotten way to say "thank you" to volunteers who sought to do the job that USSRC has clearly failed to do i.e. to preserve the artifacts that have been entrusted to it."
CONTINUE>>>
______________________________________________________________
April 17, 2012
Tuscaloosa newspaper wins Pulitzer for tornado coverage
from Herald-Tribune
A year after the Pulitzer judges found no entry worthy of the prize for breaking news, The Tuscaloosa News of Alabama won the award for coverage of a deadly tornado. By blending traditional reporting with the use of social media, the newspaper provided real-time updates and helped locate missing people, while producing in-depth print coverage despite a power outage that forced the paper to publish at a plant 50 miles away.
CONTINUE>>>
______________________________________________________________
April 16, 2012
Ways to get involved in the Civil War sesquicentennial in Huntsville
from The Huntsville Times
by Deborah Storey
Exactly 150 years ago this week, the Union occupation of Huntsville began. With the sesquicentennial this year, there are many ways to get involved in discussions about the Civil War:
See local stories
University of Alabama in Huntsville history professor Dr. John Kvach received one of the History Channel's 10 nationwide grants to "preserve public and private memories from the Civil War."
"Real People, Real History began as a collaborative project between 10th grade students from Huntsville High School and upper-level undergraduate and graduate history students" at UAH, he said. Students did research in the library and online.
That project is going public this week. See uah.edu/realhistory or facebook.com/realhistoryhuntsville.
Kvach is also leading a series of lectures called "Making Sense of the Civil War" at the main public library. Remaining talks start at 7 p.m. April 26 and May 10.
Take a walking tour
The Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table and Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society have reissued a self-guided walking tour map of Huntsville during the Federal occupation, 1862-65. The maps are $5 and available at Harrison Brothers Hardware downtown (256-536-3631) and the Huntsville-Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 500 Church St. (256-551-2293).
CONTINUE>>>
April 10, 2012
Grits Festival at Kymulga Grist Mill to Help in Emergency Restoration Efforts!
from al.com
The Kymulga Grist Mill at Childersburg, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, was built around 1860. Due to recent flooding, this landmark is in danger of being lost forever.
Timber for the mill's construction came from the nearby forest, and machinery to operate it was made in a foundry in North Carolina. Powered by water turbines, the mill was capable of grinding both wheat and corn. The lumber and timbers were cut from the mountains across the creek and the big timbers were hewn out in the surrounding woods. All lumber was cut using water power.
The mill has five sets of grinding rocks. Two sets came from France and were driven by two yoke of oxen to Mobile for transport back to the mill. They are called French Buhrs and are thought to be the hardest rock in the world. The covered bridge, located a few hundred feet upstream from the mill, was built the same year, in 1860. It provided access to the Georgia Road, a Native American trade route used by frontiersmen and settlers coming into the area.
CONTINUE>>>
_______________________________________________________________
April 9, 2012
Does your pet feed you breakfast? Backyard chickens becoming popular for their eggs
from The Huntsville Times
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The DIY (do it yourself) movement may have inspired you to sew your own clothes, build your own furniture or brew your own beer. But raise your own chickens? In your backyard?
People are doing it, and they’re having a lot of fun.
“It’s extremely joyful,” said Lane Cobl, who keeps four hens as pets in the historic district of downtown Decatur. “We had no idea how much fun it would be, or that our chickens would have different personalities.”
Cobl and his wife, Ginger Cobl, bought a few chicks because they liked the free-range eggs at the grocery store. Neither of them had raised chickens before – Lane is in sales and Ginger manages Huntsville’s Harrison Brothers Hardware. But nearly a year later, they’re hooked.
CONTINUE>>>
_______________________________________________________________
April 4, 2012
New documentary on Harper Lee given private author's blessing
from The Birmingham News
by Alec Harvey
Even Nicolosi, the Chicago-based dentist-turned-pop-artist who has worked with dozens of celebrities over the decades, was surprised by a request he received in 2010.
He had just finished a portrait commemorating the 50th anniversary of the publication of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Monroeville’s Harper Lee, and it had been auctioned off in Montgomery to benefit the arts. “Somehow, Harper Lee saw it and contacted the Alabama Humanities Foundation, and they called me and asked if there was any way I could do a print or lithograph of the original, and I said of course I would,” Nicolosi recalls. “Then they called me back and said, ‘She said she’d like to meet you.’ ” So in May 2010, Nicolosi headed to Monroeville with a longtime friend, actress Mary Badham, who played Scout in the film version of the book.
“It was the first time they were together in 50 years, since the filming of the movie, and Mary said she just wanted to thank her for her life,” Nicolosi says.
For the artist, it was the beginning of a friendship that led to a documentary, “Song of the Mockingbird: Monroeville Memories.”
CONTINUE>>>
_______________________________________________________________
April 2, 2012
Easter-themed Train a big hit in Huntsville
from WAAY
by Rebecca Schlien
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The spirit of Easter was in the air Saturday as hundreds of kids got to take a train ride with the Easter bunny. The festive one-day event was hosted by the North Alabama Railroad Museum, which offers rides on its historic, 1940's era train throughout the year.
On each of the train's five trips Saturday, kids got to meet two Easter bunnies, one outside and one on the train. They also received a small gift once the ride was through. Organizers hope families will appreciate the history of the train as well.
Museum Historian Hugh Dudley says, “Since we don't have any more passenger trains available here for them to ride, we think this is a good thing, they enjoy a little bit of history and they know what a real train is all about."
The Railroad Museum also hosts a Santa train ride for kids during the winter.
________________________________________________________________
March 28, 2012
Endangered snail could hamper grist mill's repair
from The Daily Home
by Mark Ledbetter
CHILDERSBURG – Members of the Kymulga Grist Mill task force met with representatives from Birmingham Steel Erectors and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss ways to stabilize the mill’s foundation.
BSE industrial contractor Buddy Bruser said the location of the mill will make the project labor intensive, “but it can be done.”
BSE Project Manager Joe Johnson said plans call for stabilizing the foundation with steel beams.
Casey Ehorn, project manager and biologist for the Corps of Engineers, said there were two other issues that must be addressed before the Corps can issue a permit.
One, there is the possibility that living downstream from the mill is the Lacy elimina snail.
CONTINUE>>>
_______________________________________________________________
March 27, 2012
Statewide "Walking Tours" set for Saturdays in April
Childersburg gearing up for Grits Festival
from The Daily Home
by Mark Ledbetter
CHILDERSBURG — Hoping to build on last year’s success, the Grits Festival at Kymulga Grist Mill and Covered Bridge Park Saturday will feature grits, a petting farm, a fish rodeo, crafts and much more.
“I’m hoping it (the festival) will grow quite well,” Childersburg Historic Preservation President Martha Little said.
Last year’s inaugural festival drew hundreds of visitors. “Car tags from 15 states” were among the many sighted in the parking lot, resident and festival supporter Gene Piatowski said.
The festival’s theme is “The Year of Alabama Food,” which is the same theme the Alabama Tourism Department is using throughout the state in 2012. A Grits and Cornbread contest will be featured.
Past contests included restaurant chefs and home cooks. Contestants must use cornmeal and grits ground at the Kymulga Grits Mill. Grits, cornmeal and entry forms can be obtained at the mill or at the Childersburg Recreation Center. Participants can enter three categories: appetizers, entrees and desserts.
CONTINUE>>>
_____________________________________________________________
April 27, 2012
Tiny Alabama town rebuilds after 2011 tornado
from WSET
by Bob Johnson
HACKLEBURG, Ala. (AP) - It was about 3:20 p.m. a year ago when the skies grew dark over the northwest Alabama town of Hackleburg and a tornado dropped from the sky. When it left, 18 people were dead. All but one of town's 32 commercial buildings was wiped out, including its largest employer, leaving most of the survivors without jobs.
"The building just collapsed on us," said Kelly Dobbs, crying as she recalled the storm hitting her workplace, Ray's Pharmacy, and trying to protect her then-1-year-old daughter from flying debris.
"Then there was a weird noise and lights were flashing and cinderblocks started hitting us," she said.
When the first anniversary of the storm arrives Friday, it will find Dobbs and many others still living in FEMA trailers, while others have moved away. The town's cafe and grocery store have not been rebuilt. Some thought it would be impossible to rebuild what was once named the "Best Hometown in America" by CMT, the country music network.
But there are signs of the town coming back to life: City hall has been rebuilt and final plans have been set for a new police and fire station. Downtown is being refurbished.
CONTINUE>>>
_______________________________________________________________
April 25, 2012
Semmes Heritage Day is April 28
from Press-Register
by Jo Anne McKnight
The ninth annual Semmes Heritage Day is April 28 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Heritage Park, 3871 Wulff Road. The celebration of Old Town Semmes will begin with the firing of the cannon by Steve Cobb and will continue with a flag presentation by Mary G. Montgomery High School ROTC and music by the Lost and Found Orchestra, by the MGM choir and other groups.
There’ll be food, music and other entertainment, old-fashioned games for children to play, demonstrations of a grist mill and corn sheller, a blacksmith showing how he goes about his work, displays of antique tractors, tools from the olden days and a Classic Car Show.
The Square Deal Square Dancers will perform, Azalea Trail Maids from MGM will grace the premises and the City of Semmes will have a display and information on the newly incorporated city.
CONTINUE>>>
_______________________________________________________________
April 20, 2012
The Skylab Trainer Is Still Rotting in Huntsville
from Space Ref
by Keith Cowing
The Skylab trainer built to train astronauts has been sitting outside at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC) in Huntsville for a long time. Right now, as can be seen in the photo below, it is simply rotting away when simple measures to protect it could at least slow down the destruction.
In 2006 AP reported that "A full-size training mock-up of Skylab is slowly rotting away outside the Alabama space museum where it spent years on display. Flecks of gray paint from a wall dot its mesh floor, and a bird's nest rests in an equipment compartment."
In 2007 we took note of the condition of the Skylab trainer and an attempt by a group of volunteers to try and halt further deterioration: "the Skylab trainer hardware has been allowed to sit outside for years and rot by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC). The USSRC did nothing to preserve the hardware except throw a tarp over it. A group of concerned citizens organized and donated their own time and money to try and halt the destruction and preserve the hardware. After their efforts show some results (and made the USSRC look bad) the USSRC thinks that the volunteers were doing something wrong and locks them out. And now the hardware continues to rot and yet the USSRC does nothing but try to look concerned. This is pathetic. It is also a rotten way to say "thank you" to volunteers who sought to do the job that USSRC has clearly failed to do i.e. to preserve the artifacts that have been entrusted to it."
CONTINUE>>>
______________________________________________________________
April 17, 2012
Tuscaloosa newspaper wins Pulitzer for tornado coverage
from Herald-Tribune
A year after the Pulitzer judges found no entry worthy of the prize for breaking news, The Tuscaloosa News of Alabama won the award for coverage of a deadly tornado. By blending traditional reporting with the use of social media, the newspaper provided real-time updates and helped locate missing people, while producing in-depth print coverage despite a power outage that forced the paper to publish at a plant 50 miles away.
CONTINUE>>>
______________________________________________________________
April 16, 2012
Ways to get involved in the Civil War sesquicentennial in Huntsville
from The Huntsville Times
by Deborah Storey
Exactly 150 years ago this week, the Union occupation of Huntsville began. With the sesquicentennial this year, there are many ways to get involved in discussions about the Civil War:
See local stories
University of Alabama in Huntsville history professor Dr. John Kvach received one of the History Channel's 10 nationwide grants to "preserve public and private memories from the Civil War."
"Real People, Real History began as a collaborative project between 10th grade students from Huntsville High School and upper-level undergraduate and graduate history students" at UAH, he said. Students did research in the library and online.
That project is going public this week. See uah.edu/realhistory or facebook.com/realhistoryhuntsville.
Kvach is also leading a series of lectures called "Making Sense of the Civil War" at the main public library. Remaining talks start at 7 p.m. April 26 and May 10.
Take a walking tour
The Tennessee Valley Civil War Round Table and Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society have reissued a self-guided walking tour map of Huntsville during the Federal occupation, 1862-65. The maps are $5 and available at Harrison Brothers Hardware downtown (256-536-3631) and the Huntsville-Madison County Convention and Visitors Bureau, 500 Church St. (256-551-2293).
CONTINUE>>>
_______________________________________________________________
April 10, 2012
Grits Festival at Kymulga Grist Mill to Help in Emergency Restoration Efforts!
from al.com
Timber for the mill's construction came from the nearby forest, and machinery to operate it was made in a foundry in North Carolina. Powered by water turbines, the mill was capable of grinding both wheat and corn. The lumber and timbers were cut from the mountains across the creek and the big timbers were hewn out in the surrounding woods. All lumber was cut using water power.
The mill has five sets of grinding rocks. Two sets came from France and were driven by two yoke of oxen to Mobile for transport back to the mill. They are called French Buhrs and are thought to be the hardest rock in the world. The covered bridge, located a few hundred feet upstream from the mill, was built the same year, in 1860. It provided access to the Georgia Road, a Native American trade route used by frontiersmen and settlers coming into the area.
CONTINUE>>>
_______________________________________________________________
April 9, 2012
Does your pet feed you breakfast? Backyard chickens becoming popular for their eggs
from The Huntsville Times
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The DIY (do it yourself) movement may have inspired you to sew your own clothes, build your own furniture or brew your own beer. But raise your own chickens? In your backyard?
People are doing it, and they’re having a lot of fun.
“It’s extremely joyful,” said Lane Cobl, who keeps four hens as pets in the historic district of downtown Decatur. “We had no idea how much fun it would be, or that our chickens would have different personalities.”
Cobl and his wife, Ginger Cobl, bought a few chicks because they liked the free-range eggs at the grocery store. Neither of them had raised chickens before – Lane is in sales and Ginger manages Huntsville’s Harrison Brothers Hardware. But nearly a year later, they’re hooked.
CONTINUE>>>
_______________________________________________________________
April 4, 2012
New documentary on Harper Lee given private author's blessing
from The Birmingham News
by Alec Harvey
Even Nicolosi, the Chicago-based dentist-turned-pop-artist who has worked with dozens of celebrities over the decades, was surprised by a request he received in 2010.
He had just finished a portrait commemorating the 50th anniversary of the publication of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning book by Monroeville’s Harper Lee, and it had been auctioned off in Montgomery to benefit the arts. “Somehow, Harper Lee saw it and contacted the Alabama Humanities Foundation, and they called me and asked if there was any way I could do a print or lithograph of the original, and I said of course I would,” Nicolosi recalls. “Then they called me back and said, ‘She said she’d like to meet you.’ ” So in May 2010, Nicolosi headed to Monroeville with a longtime friend, actress Mary Badham, who played Scout in the film version of the book.
“It was the first time they were together in 50 years, since the filming of the movie, and Mary said she just wanted to thank her for her life,” Nicolosi says.
For the artist, it was the beginning of a friendship that led to a documentary, “Song of the Mockingbird: Monroeville Memories.”
CONTINUE>>>
_______________________________________________________________
April 2, 2012
Easter-themed Train a big hit in Huntsville
from WAAY
by Rebecca Schlien
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The spirit of Easter was in the air Saturday as hundreds of kids got to take a train ride with the Easter bunny. The festive one-day event was hosted by the North Alabama Railroad Museum, which offers rides on its historic, 1940's era train throughout the year.
On each of the train's five trips Saturday, kids got to meet two Easter bunnies, one outside and one on the train. They also received a small gift once the ride was through. Organizers hope families will appreciate the history of the train as well.
Museum Historian Hugh Dudley says, “Since we don't have any more passenger trains available here for them to ride, we think this is a good thing, they enjoy a little bit of history and they know what a real train is all about."
The Railroad Museum also hosts a Santa train ride for kids during the winter.
________________________________________________________________
March 28, 2012
Endangered snail could hamper grist mill's repair
from The Daily Home
by Mark Ledbetter
CHILDERSBURG – Members of the Kymulga Grist Mill task force met with representatives from Birmingham Steel Erectors and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to discuss ways to stabilize the mill’s foundation.
BSE industrial contractor Buddy Bruser said the location of the mill will make the project labor intensive, “but it can be done.”
BSE Project Manager Joe Johnson said plans call for stabilizing the foundation with steel beams.
Casey Ehorn, project manager and biologist for the Corps of Engineers, said there were two other issues that must be addressed before the Corps can issue a permit.
One, there is the possibility that living downstream from the mill is the Lacy elimina snail.
CONTINUE>>>
_______________________________________________________________
March 27, 2012
Statewide "Walking Tours" set for Saturdays in April
from WSFA 12
submitted by Donna Wallace-King
A variety of community leaders will lead the free tours through the historic districts or courthouse square areas of their hometowns. The hour-long tours will start at 10 a.m. on April 7, 14, 21, and 28.
Towns and starting places for the April Walking Tours are: Abbeville, Abbeville Welcome Center; Ashland, Ashland City Hall; Athens, Athens Visitor Center; Atmore, Heritage Park; Birmingham, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute; Butler, Jackson’s Jewelry & Gifts; Courtland, Park on the Square; Cullman, Cullman County Museum; Decatur, Delano Park Rose Garden; Enterprise, Rawls Hotel; Eufaula, various locations; Fairhope, Fairhope Welcome Center; Gadsden, various locations; Hartselle, Historic Depot.
Huntsville, Constitution Village (April 7 & 14 only); Madison, Madison Roundhouse (April 21 & 28 only); Monroeville, Old Courthouse Museum; Montevallo, Chamber of Commerce; Montgomery; Montgomery Visitor Center; Prattville, Autauga County Heritage Center; Selma, Dallas County Public Library; Sylacauga, B.B. Comer Memorial Library; Tallassee, Mt. Vernon Theatre; Tuscumbia, ColdWater Bookstore; Wetumpka, Chamber of Commerce.
CONTINUE>>>
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The White House isn’t just a place where high-level meetings with the president take place. It’s also what Jacqueline Kennedy called a “living museum.” No one knows that more, perhaps, than Betty Monkman, who served on the White House curatorial staff for 35 years and through eight presidents.
Monkman, who retired as the White House’s chief curator in 2002, will be the final speaker of the Huntsville Museum of Art’s Voices of Our Times lecture series this Thursday at 7 p.m. Christopher Madkour, the museum’s executive director, asked Monkman to make this rare public appearance, having heard her speak when he was the director of the Southern Vermont Arts Center.
Those who attend the lecture will hear Monkman share moments “of a very rich career of working at the White House,” Madkour said.
_______________________________________________________________
March 26, 2012
Former White House curator to speak at Huntsville Museum of Art
from The Huntsville Times
March 26, 2012
Former White House curator to speak at Huntsville Museum of Art
from The Huntsville Times
by Pat Ammons
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- The White House isn’t just a place where high-level meetings with the president take place. It’s also what Jacqueline Kennedy called a “living museum.” No one knows that more, perhaps, than Betty Monkman, who served on the White House curatorial staff for 35 years and through eight presidents.
Monkman, who retired as the White House’s chief curator in 2002, will be the final speaker of the Huntsville Museum of Art’s Voices of Our Times lecture series this Thursday at 7 p.m. Christopher Madkour, the museum’s executive director, asked Monkman to make this rare public appearance, having heard her speak when he was the director of the Southern Vermont Arts Center.
Those who attend the lecture will hear Monkman share moments “of a very rich career of working at the White House,” Madkour said.
CONTINUE>>>
It didn’t take long.
The $6 million worth of sand that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pumped around the lighthouse in October and November to re-create the long-lost island has started to move west, as scientists predicted it would.
On Monday, about 40 feet of shallow water separated the historic lighthouse from the island, leaving it once again a lonely brick pillar atop a pile of rocks. In 2008, the 141 year old structure was featured on a postage stamp.
The lighthouse was rebuilt in 1871 after being destroyed in the Civil War. Cracks run up and down the outside of the structure and the mortar between bricks is worn away, testament to the rough passage of time at the mouth of Mobile Bay. (Ben Raines/Press-Register)
“I’m not at all surprised,” said Scott Douglass, a coastal engineer with the University of South Alabama. “The sand is moving. We want it to move. That feeds the beaches on Dauphin Island. But it is too bad that the island is not still connected so people could visit the lighthouse.”
_______________________________________________________________
March 26, 2012
Mobile Bay's Sand Island Lighthouse loses its namesake island again
March 26, 2012
Mobile Bay's Sand Island Lighthouse loses its namesake island again
from Press-Register
by Ben Raines
Sand Island Lighthouse has lost its island again.
It didn’t take long.
The $6 million worth of sand that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers pumped around the lighthouse in October and November to re-create the long-lost island has started to move west, as scientists predicted it would.
On Monday, about 40 feet of shallow water separated the historic lighthouse from the island, leaving it once again a lonely brick pillar atop a pile of rocks. In 2008, the 141 year old structure was featured on a postage stamp.
The lighthouse was rebuilt in 1871 after being destroyed in the Civil War. Cracks run up and down the outside of the structure and the mortar between bricks is worn away, testament to the rough passage of time at the mouth of Mobile Bay. (Ben Raines/Press-Register)
“I’m not at all surprised,” said Scott Douglass, a coastal engineer with the University of South Alabama. “The sand is moving. We want it to move. That feeds the beaches on Dauphin Island. But it is too bad that the island is not still connected so people could visit the lighthouse.”
CONTINUE>>>
______________________________________________________________
The annual Saturday walking tours for Eufaula have been moved from June to April.
“June was just too hot for walking tours,” said Deborah Casey, who helps organize the tours.
The tours this year will concentrate on the Seth Lore Historic District and downtown. Tours will begin at 10 a.m. on April 7, 14, 21 and 28 at various locations.
“Everyone is welcome to join the tours, both locals and visitors,” Casey said.
“Over the last several years stories offered by locals have added greatly to the enjoyment of both the tour leaders and the other participants.
“Stories of ceilings collapsing at spend the night parties, of former teachers and how they punished students back in the good old days and missing structures have all been shared during walks through the historic district in past years.”
Alabama Tourism has launched a three-year campaign called “100 Alabama Road Trips.”Itineraries are designed so that travelers can experience the destinations over two or three days.
So far, only 10 trips have been announced. More will be added later this year and through 2014. Call 800-ALABAMA (252-2262).
Huntsville’s U.S. Space & Rocket Center makes the initial list. Folks here know all about that, so here are the nine others, with details excerpted from the guide:
1. Tuscaloosa – Auburn: BCS Championship Tour
Follow the signs to the campus and Bryant Drive and park at the rear of the Paul W. Bryant Museum. To see where many of the legendary football victories have taken place, walk four blocks over to Bryant-Denny Stadium, with statues of coaches Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Bear Bryant, Gene Stallings and Nick Saban.
In Auburn, a 9,121-seat basketball arena opened across the street from Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2010 with space to house its trophies. The Lovelace Hall of Honor is not a freestanding museum, but a section between the lobby and the basketball arena’s concession stand.
2. Eagle Awareness Program
Lake Guntersville State Park created an event for folks to watch migrating birds each January and February. High Falls Park, a day-use park located in nearby DeKalb County, has a 35-foot waterfall that spans 300 feet.
______________________________________________________________
March 22, 2012
Pinson to be first in Alabama released from Section 5 of Voting Rights Act
from The Birmingham News
by Mary Orndorff
WASHINGTON -- The city of Pinson is about to be free from U.S. Department of Justice oversight of its city elections, the first exemption from a key section of the Voting Rights Act granted to anyone in Alabama.
Pinson and the Justice Department agreed in writing to excuse the small Jefferson County city from Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act because it has no history of discrimination against minority voters.
"In this case, the department carefully evaluated the information provided by the city and conducted its own investigation, which has satisfied us that the city is eligible for a bailout," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "I appreciate the cooperation of city officials in providing the department with information that we have requested and in moving toward a resolution of this matter in the way envisioned by the Voting Rights Act."
Once approved by a federal court, the bailout would mean Pinson could conduct its city elections, annex property, move polling places or make any voting-related changes without first getting permission from the Justice Department. That process has cost between $8,000 and $15,000 a year in legal fees, according to Pinson Mayor Hoyt Sanders.
Sanders said the city first started talking about applying for the "bailout" in 2010, after a U.S. Supreme Court decision that made it easier for local jurisdictions to get out from under the supervision of Section 5. Pinson didn't become a city until 2004, so city leaders felt like they had a good case to make about how they shouldn't be penalized for the state of Alabama's poor history when it comes to voter discrimination.
Pinson to be first in Alabama released from Section 5 of Voting Rights Act
from The Birmingham News
by Mary Orndorff
WASHINGTON -- The city of Pinson is about to be free from U.S. Department of Justice oversight of its city elections, the first exemption from a key section of the Voting Rights Act granted to anyone in Alabama.
"In this case, the department carefully evaluated the information provided by the city and conducted its own investigation, which has satisfied us that the city is eligible for a bailout," said Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division. "I appreciate the cooperation of city officials in providing the department with information that we have requested and in moving toward a resolution of this matter in the way envisioned by the Voting Rights Act."
Once approved by a federal court, the bailout would mean Pinson could conduct its city elections, annex property, move polling places or make any voting-related changes without first getting permission from the Justice Department. That process has cost between $8,000 and $15,000 a year in legal fees, according to Pinson Mayor Hoyt Sanders.
Sanders said the city first started talking about applying for the "bailout" in 2010, after a U.S. Supreme Court decision that made it easier for local jurisdictions to get out from under the supervision of Section 5. Pinson didn't become a city until 2004, so city leaders felt like they had a good case to make about how they shouldn't be penalized for the state of Alabama's poor history when it comes to voter discrimination.
"We were guilty by association and guilty until proven innocent," Sanders said.
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March 19, 2012
Eufaula walking tours begin April 7
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March 19, 2012
Eufaula walking tours begin April 7
from The Eufaula Tribune
The annual Saturday walking tours for Eufaula have been moved from June to April.
“June was just too hot for walking tours,” said Deborah Casey, who helps organize the tours.
The tours this year will concentrate on the Seth Lore Historic District and downtown. Tours will begin at 10 a.m. on April 7, 14, 21 and 28 at various locations.
“Everyone is welcome to join the tours, both locals and visitors,” Casey said.
“Over the last several years stories offered by locals have added greatly to the enjoyment of both the tour leaders and the other participants.
“Stories of ceilings collapsing at spend the night parties, of former teachers and how they punished students back in the good old days and missing structures have all been shared during walks through the historic district in past years.”
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March 12, 2012
Southern Alabama Girl Scout History Exhibit
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March 12, 2012
Southern Alabama Girl Scout History Exhibit
We love to keep up with what our committee members are accomplishing. Gigi Baroco, a founding member of the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta Archives, is creating a new exhibit on 100 years of Girl Scouts, which will be available on March 12, 2012, at the History Museum of Mobile (Alabama). Since 2007, she has been the historian for the Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama, and has been a Girl Scout for 45 years.
From Gigi:
From Gigi:
“Girl Scouts all over the world are connected by traditions, friendships and vision, but each Girl Scout council has its own history because of its culture and geography. The Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama is comprised of 30 counties: eight from Deep South, fifteen from South Central Alabama, and seven from Pine Valley, Concharty and Cottaquilla councils. We have a history of Mariner troops in our coastal areas, troops involved in state government in the Montgomery area and animal husbandry and agricultural activities in our rural areas. Unique to Mobile is the Junior Miss pageant and for many years troops have adopted Junior Misses.
Alabama also has many rich archaeological sites around which encampments were held for 25 years. We are digging up our past through scrapbooks, photos and personal stories and are developing visuals that showcase our history. In addition to our council history, we are collecting items that have appeared over the years in the GSUSA equipment catalogs. Our museum collection began with a major donation from the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta for which we are very grateful. We are using these items in exhibits, fashion shows of vintage uniforms, and shadowboxes that can be easily transported to various venues. Each shadowbox has a theme and includes vintage newspaper articles featuring Girl Scouts as well as Girl Scout awards and memorabilia related to the articles. These shadowboxes along with enlarged photos, mannequins in vintage uniforms, and Girl Scout memorabilia from our collection will be in an exhibit room at the Museum of Mobile opening on March 12th."
Alabama also has many rich archaeological sites around which encampments were held for 25 years. We are digging up our past through scrapbooks, photos and personal stories and are developing visuals that showcase our history. In addition to our council history, we are collecting items that have appeared over the years in the GSUSA equipment catalogs. Our museum collection began with a major donation from the Girl Scouts of Greater Atlanta for which we are very grateful. We are using these items in exhibits, fashion shows of vintage uniforms, and shadowboxes that can be easily transported to various venues. Each shadowbox has a theme and includes vintage newspaper articles featuring Girl Scouts as well as Girl Scout awards and memorabilia related to the articles. These shadowboxes along with enlarged photos, mannequins in vintage uniforms, and Girl Scout memorabilia from our collection will be in an exhibit room at the Museum of Mobile opening on March 12th."
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March 9, 2012
Not dead yet: Toomer’s oaks showing signs of growth
from ABC Sports
by John Taylor
Nearly a year and a half after they were allegedly poisoned by a rival “fan”, the venerable Toomer’s Corner oaks on Auburn’s campus are still hanging in there.
Speaking to WLTZ-TV, AU horticulturistGary Keever sounded guardedly optimistic on the future of the historic trees due to what appears to be signs of growth over the past few months.
“This means the trees still have food, and are still alive,” Keever said of the growth. ”This gives us hope that the trees might make it if they are starting to produce more foliage.”
While it’s long been assumed that the oaks would not survive the damage wrought by the pesticides, the thought of the trees actually making it is not exactly a foreign concept; back in July, Keever said he “[doesn't] want to give a sense of false hope, but we’re not ready to say they’re definitely not going to make it.”
The station’s website wrote that Keever and other university officials will go up in a lift on Friday to check the leaf development and the branches at the top of the trees.
Harvey Updyke, the man accused of spreading Spike 80DF into the soil around the trees after the 2010 Auburn-Alabama game, was arrested in February of last year and originally charged with felony first-degree criminal mischief. Three months later, he was officially charged with two felony counts of first-degree criminal mischief, two felony counts for unlawful damage, vandalism or theft of property from a farm animal or crop facility and two misdemeanor counts of desecrating a venerated object.
The case was scheduled to go to trial March 5 of this year, but was delayed late last month at the request of Updyke’s attorney. No new trial date has been set, although another hearing will be held March 14 to hear motions presented by both the defense and prosecution.
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March 8, 2012
First 10 of '100 Alabama Road Trips' list released by state tourism
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March 9, 2012
Not dead yet: Toomer’s oaks showing signs of growth
from ABC Sports
by John Taylor
Nearly a year and a half after they were allegedly poisoned by a rival “fan”, the venerable Toomer’s Corner oaks on Auburn’s campus are still hanging in there.
Speaking to WLTZ-TV, AU horticulturistGary Keever sounded guardedly optimistic on the future of the historic trees due to what appears to be signs of growth over the past few months.
“This means the trees still have food, and are still alive,” Keever said of the growth. ”This gives us hope that the trees might make it if they are starting to produce more foliage.”
While it’s long been assumed that the oaks would not survive the damage wrought by the pesticides, the thought of the trees actually making it is not exactly a foreign concept; back in July, Keever said he “[doesn't] want to give a sense of false hope, but we’re not ready to say they’re definitely not going to make it.”
The station’s website wrote that Keever and other university officials will go up in a lift on Friday to check the leaf development and the branches at the top of the trees.
Harvey Updyke, the man accused of spreading Spike 80DF into the soil around the trees after the 2010 Auburn-Alabama game, was arrested in February of last year and originally charged with felony first-degree criminal mischief. Three months later, he was officially charged with two felony counts of first-degree criminal mischief, two felony counts for unlawful damage, vandalism or theft of property from a farm animal or crop facility and two misdemeanor counts of desecrating a venerated object.
The case was scheduled to go to trial March 5 of this year, but was delayed late last month at the request of Updyke’s attorney. No new trial date has been set, although another hearing will be held March 14 to hear motions presented by both the defense and prosecution.
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March 8, 2012
First 10 of '100 Alabama Road Trips' list released by state tourism
from The Huntsville Times
by Deborah Storey
Alabama Tourism has launched a three-year campaign called “100 Alabama Road Trips.”Itineraries are designed so that travelers can experience the destinations over two or three days.
So far, only 10 trips have been announced. More will be added later this year and through 2014. Call 800-ALABAMA (252-2262).
Huntsville’s U.S. Space & Rocket Center makes the initial list. Folks here know all about that, so here are the nine others, with details excerpted from the guide:
1. Tuscaloosa – Auburn: BCS Championship Tour
Follow the signs to the campus and Bryant Drive and park at the rear of the Paul W. Bryant Museum. To see where many of the legendary football victories have taken place, walk four blocks over to Bryant-Denny Stadium, with statues of coaches Wallace Wade, Frank Thomas, Bear Bryant, Gene Stallings and Nick Saban.
In Auburn, a 9,121-seat basketball arena opened across the street from Jordan-Hare Stadium in 2010 with space to house its trophies. The Lovelace Hall of Honor is not a freestanding museum, but a section between the lobby and the basketball arena’s concession stand.
2. Eagle Awareness Program
Lake Guntersville State Park created an event for folks to watch migrating birds each January and February. High Falls Park, a day-use park located in nearby DeKalb County, has a 35-foot waterfall that spans 300 feet.
