Category: Community News

Prattville – David and Jan Farnsworth were presented the Forest Conservationist of the Year Award at the 2026 Alabama Wildlife Federation Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards banquet on Friday, August 7th at The Marriott Legends at Capitol Hill in Prattville. Governor Kay Ivey provided a congratulatory video prepared specifically for the 2026 Award Recipients.

The AWF Governor’s Conservation Achievement Awards (GCAA) are the most respected conservation honors in the state of Alabama. For over 50 years, AWF has presented these awards to individuals and organizations that make great contributions to the conservation of Alabama’s wildlife and related natural resources.

Clay County is home to 230 acres along Hatchett Creek owned and managed by David Farnsworth. David’s goal for the property is to manage his forest in an economically sustainable manner that provides for timber harvest, ecological enhancement, and aesthetics.

AWF worked with David to develop a plan to achieve those goals and he has been actively improving the property ever since. Specifically, he has:

• Applied quality vegetation management practices to establish and maintain 55 acres of early successional habitat in upland loblolly pine stands
• Converted 70 acres of loblolly to longleaf pine on sites best suited for that species
• Controlled Chinese privet on 49 acres of Hatchett Creek floodplain and established over-cup, water, willow, cherry bark, and swamp chestnut oak within the floodplain
• Implemented prescribed burning on upland forests

Throughout that journey, David has collaborated with AWF and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Partners for Fish & Wildlife Program, to maximize results.

Presenting Sponsors for the event were Alabama Power Company and PowerSouth Energy, along with the Westervelt Company, Lockheed Martin, Tennessee Valley Authority, Alabama Farm Credit, and Alabama AG Credit.

Sylacauga – Pastor Rick Patrick reports that Sylacauga’s First Baptist Church celebrated a special anniversary this past weekend, “Sunday, August 16, 2026, was exactly 112 years to the day since we held our first service in this sanctuary in 1914.”

The landmark church and its congregation have played a lot of major roles in the Marble City over time. The current sanctuary has served for over a century, and it is the fifth sanctuary for the church, dating back to 1833.

(Photo Credit: Dana Theilacker)

Sylacauga – King Home Thrift celebrated their Grand Opening in the Fort William’s Square Shopping Center with a Friday Ribbon-Cutting ceremony, opening the doors with guaranteed lower prices, with the promise that “Every Purchase Restores Hope” through their King’s Home mission of life-changing support for abused youth, women, and children.

Under the direction of former Crimson Tide footballer Del Fulgham as store manager, King’s Home Thrift offers clothing, household & home decor items, furniture, toys, tools, and more, all at attractive affordable prices. Or as Fulgham put it, “A large variety, because that’s the nature of a thrift store. With our pricing and goods, there’s going to be a lot of merchandise turnover, a lot of unique new items added every week.”

Fulgham has been with King’s Home for 8-year’s, “Teamwork is a key ingredient in what we do, something I learned with football. And the focus is on helping kids, to help them understand that love really does exist in God’s world. Their life experiences hasn’t exactly shown a lot them much of that yet, and that’s where King’s Home comes into play. And as a customer, you’re part of the team that’s making a difference for them.”

The Sylacauga location is the third in the family of stores that support their missions in Alabama. The other two are in Homewood and Pinson, while their mission stretches to large Boys, Girls, and Women’s housing campuses, along with 16 resident homes.

“We started with the King’s Ranch,” explained John Sweeney, “and that has only grown as the needs has grown. Our mission is to first serve Christ, and we do that by serving abused and homeless youth, women, and children, providing hope through shelter, safety, and resources.”

As the crowd gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony photograph session, King’s Home President Lew Burdette explained how they do things a bit differently, “We start our days with prayer,” as he turned attention to First Baptist Pastor Rick Patrick for the dedication prayer. And just before cutting the ribbon on the new store, he mentioned a Bible passage that is sort of a theme of encouragement for those women and children King’s Home serves, “Jeremiah 29:11.”

He left us to look it up, but I’ll share it with you now to close – “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Sylacauga – When Sylacauga Parks and Recreation Director Steve Masters opened the ground-breaking ceremony on Wednesday (8/12), he referenced an already long journey it took to get to that point, “The idea started in 2017, and it didn’t take long to understand that nothing government moves quickly.”

But Masters noted many of the ideas and people involved that made it work. The previous Council that committed ideas and funding for an overall “master plan” for his department, “We’ve renovated two parks, with two more coming. We replaced a non-functioning eyesore and turned it into the quite busy Courtside Park. We’re improving Boat Dock Lane for better access to Lake Howard. And there are so many to thank for being part of this long burt productive journey to improve the quality of life for families and citizens.”

Mayor Matt Hubbard, who was the Parks Board Chair when this all got started said, “It’s about hope and opportunity, it’s about making lifetime friends and memories, it’s about healthier lifestyles that make a strong contribution to our quality of life in meaningful ways.

Council President Tiffany Nix opened her remarks by thanking former council member Ashton Fowler and Lee Perryman for their insights and leadership in making the ground-breaking day possible, “When people and businesses look for new homes, they look at industry, education, and recreation. With this master plan for our Parks and Recreation Department, we will have all three of those things among the strongest anywhere. That’s something that should make us proud.”

SYLACAUGA, Ala. – Weather has cooperated with area farmers during the 2026 growing season. So, the Sylacauga Farmers Market, which often ends its summer operation near the start of a new school year, will extend the season into September, before hopefully making way for a fall market as well.

That means fresh fruits and vegetables from local farms, plus all sorts of Home Cottage industry products like fresh-baked breads and eggs straight from the farm will continue for the foreseeable future.

The local farmers market program is administered by the Alabama Farmers Market Authority, a program to aid marketing of agricultural products from the farm to the consumer. This assures the consumer a better quality product at a reasonable price and a fair return to the producer by providing a convenient, dependable place through which producers and buyers to gather on a regular basis. In Sylacauga, that will be every Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 Noon until further notice.

The Market also serves as a place for area seniors to use the Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program (SFMNP) cards from the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries.

Sylacauga – RadioAlabama’s Lee Perryman welcomed everyone to the August Chamber Coffee from the Childersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, “Our missions are to meet people and make a difference. We have 63 people on our payroll across 13 radio stations serving a region along 280 from Chelsea to Auburn/Opelika, from Pell Cit to Montgomery, along with affiliated websites and phone apps.”

Perryman went on to explain that there are 2.8-million people living and working in that coverage area, looking to be entertained and informed about things going on in their community, “Our focus is on high school sports, bringing play by play action to loyal fan-bases.”

The Chamber announced a lot of upcoming community activities. There’s a ribbon-cutting for Frontline Offroad on Highway 280 on Friday, August 21st at 11:00 a.m., and another ribbon-cutting for B&A Photography, also on Highway 280, on Wednesday, August 26th at 10:00 a.m. A few days later, on Saturday, August 29th at the original John Cox Stadium, it’s Childersburg Trade Days from 10:00 to 3:00. The Chamber will host a Job Fair on Thursday, September 17th from 9:00 to 1:00 at the Childersburg Parks & Recreation. And they’re registering vendors for Childersburg Oktoberfest on Saturday, October 17th.

There was exciting news from the Talladega County School System. The South Talladega County Elementary schools just got their 3rd-Grade reading test scores back as follows: Watwood Elementary – 93, Fayetteville Elementary – 100; and Childersburg Elementary – 100. Congratulations!

SYLACAUGA, Ala. – Last week, the Sylacauga Chamber helped welcome the new educators for Sylacauga City Schools and Talladega County Schools at the New Beginnings Breakfasts presented by AEA UniServ District 15. Thanks to the donations of several local businesses, we were able to give every new educator a bag full of supplies to help them get their classrooms started.

The Sylacauga Chamber of Commerce is grateful for the incredible educators who dedicate themselves to preparing the next generation of our workforce. Every lesson taught, every skill developed, and every student encouraged helps build a stronger future for our businesses, our community, and our local economy. Thank you for investing in the leaders, innovators, and employees of tomorrow! Have a great school year!