Community Feature – Page 3

Join CVMC in honoring loved ones with the annual “Christmas Tree of Love”

Coosa Valley Medical Center (CVMC) invites the community to celebrate the season with its annual Christmas Tree of Love lighting ceremony on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 6:00 p.m.

The event, organized by the Coosa Valley Auxiliary, offers individuals an opportunity to honor loved ones by purchasing a light on the Christmas tree. Proceeds from the sales benefit the Coosa Valley Medical Center Foundation.

In the meantime tribute lights are available for $2, or $3 with a card notification, while group tribute lights with card notifications are priced at $20.

To purchase a tribute light, community members can scan the QR code in the attached graphic or by visiting this link – https://givebutter.com/treeoflove24

Childersburg welcomes “Fair to Middlin’ Gifts & Boutique”

Kara Eslinger opened the doors to “Fair to Middlin’ Gifts & Boutique” with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, November 7th, including both the Greater Coosa Valley & Sylacauga Chambers of Commerce.

Childersburg Mayor Ken Wesson welcomed the new downtown business, “The transformation has been nothing short of amazing. This is a shop that Kara and her family can be proud of creating, something special for the future of downtown Childersburg. It’s great to see such a crowd welcome her and her new shop.”

Eslinger got more than a bit teary-eyed as she explained the name she chose, Fair to Middlin’, “The name is a tribute to my GrandPa, using one of his favorite sayings. I was blessed to have such a supportive family. Everybody chipped in, allowing me to research what I wanted to include, while getting the building ready, and deciding how to display everything. I know he’d be so proud of everything about Fair to Middlin’.”

Here are some scenes for the dig day:

Check out “Fair to Middlin’ Gifts & Boutique in person at 705 1st Street Southwest in downtown Childersburg.

Hometown celebrity brings a pair of magical events to the Comer Museum

David Merlin’s “magical” events are usually reserved for places like New York City, Las Vegas, or prime time television. In fact, his act is fresh off October appearances in the Big Apple, but his hometown of Sylacauga gets two shows next week from Merlin.

Merlin’s performance history includes shows with Penne & Teller, David Letterman, America’s Got Talent, the Mike Huckabee Show, appearances on Comedy Central, and so many more. And he has something brand new for a pair of shows at Sylacauga’s Comer Museum next week.

His magical illusions are legendary, with dozens of magicians including them in their international shows. But those will have to wait for another day, because Merlin will delve into a whole new area of mind-reading for his Sylacauga shows, “I’ve done shows in the area of paranormal phenomenon. I’ve read minds and made predictions as a mentalist. I’ve performed shows which include complete audience participation. But I’m about to feature a brand new experiment in mental telepathy,” explained Merlin, “You’ll be the star of my new show at the museum, as the audience will read MY mind, instead.”

Prepare to be “wowed” on the evenings of Wednesday and Thursday, October 23rd and 24th. The shows are scheduled for 7:00 p.m. each night, with a limited number of seats available for each show. Get your tickets at the Comer Museum. Call (256) 245-4016 to reserve your seats now.

HSCU presents, “All Things Considered” on 10/21, 11:00 a.m. at the BB Comer Library

The Heritage South Credit Union Foundation has commissioned an original play about the reality of financial scams, “All Things Considered.”

The play is scheduled to be performed live at the B.B. Comer Memorial Library on Monday, October 21st at 11:00 a.m. A FREE Lunch will be provided for the first 100 guests.

“We wanted to do something to raise awareness of financial scams,” said HSCU’s Kevin Whitman, who is directing the play, “We obtained a grant to make the production possible, including having Sylacauga native Logan Chance write the script, along with myself, Beth Chance, and Jessie Vincent.”

Heritage South held auditions back in early September, and the troupe has been rehearsing since. They held a dress rehearsal for staff members on Monday, October 14th at the main branch in Sylacauga. The cast features:

Janie Giddens as Marjory
Donna Walker as Sara
Randy Clark as Ed
Michael Giddens as Jon
Robin Wallace as Stella

Ribbon-Cutting & Open House for College Park development

Rausch-Coleman Homes held a Ribbon-Cutting & Open House event on Thursday, October 15th. Twelve homes of a planned 132-home College Park development have been completed and more are currently under construction. A great crowd was on hand as College Park gave its first public peek at its new homes.

Here are some scenes from the big event:

We talked with Rausch-Coleman’s in-house College Park representative, Robbyn Duncan:

Wow! What a weekend!

Wow! What a weekend in the Greater Coosa Valley! There was NO shortage of things to do in the region on Saturday (10/12), all full of family fun! A pair of annual festivals drew crowds in south Talladega County, as well as a big veteran-related music event in the Lincoln area.

Childersburg’s John Cox Stadium hosted a “combo” event – the “Pumpkin Festival & Coosa Fest 484,” while the Childersburg Rescue Squad’s “Ride to the Rescue” brought hundreds of bike riders to town, along with a Classic Car, Truck & Bike show and some of the south’s best BBQ and all the fixings.

And for the 14th consecutive year, Oak Grove’s Fall Family Festival was the biggest and best ever, along with a great collection of vintage vehicles from the Marble City Cruisers.

Learn about & get involved with the Talladega County Extension Service

Talladega County’s Extension Service held an “Open House” on Thursday, October 10th to show of their many community education offerings, while expanding their network of partners. Extension Service offices are an “extension” of Alabama’s land grant universities – Alabama A&M and Auburn University – Offering a wide variety of educational programs to make your life better, richer, and more fulfilling.

The new Talladega County Extension Agent, Dr. Samuel Roberson has been a “regular” of late at all manner of community gatherings and events, to introduce himself and his mission. With this “Open House” event, the focus shifts to enlisting partnerships of community leaders and the businesses, organizations, and other entities they represent.

Check out the event photo slideshow, but also hear directly from Dr. Roberson in the video below:

To find out more, to pledge your support, you can contact Roberson at [email protected], by visiting the Talladega County Extension Service office at 132 North Court Street in Talladega, By calling (256) 362-6187, and/or visiting aces.edu.