Talladega – A Talladega man, 36-year-old Colton Lynn Dorough was arrested on Wednesday, July 29th by the Talladega County Sheriff’s Department, charged with Criminal Mischief 1st Degree.
Those charges stem from a series of attacks on Flock cameras owned by Talladega County. Dorough is alleged to have fired a weapon at multiple Flock cameras on several occasions between June and July, 2026, causing damage to the equipment. He is facing six counts of Criminal Mischief and one count of Destroying Cable Property in connection with the incidents.
Sylacauga – The Sylacauga Parks and Recreation will host the Ground Breaking Ceremony for the new recreation center on Wednesday, August 12 at 5:30 p.m. Everyone in the community is invited to attend this long-awaited event. The ceremony will begin promptly at 5:30 PM at the site which is situated at Highway 21, North Norton Avenue, and Central Avenue (behind Chevron gas station).
This project, which was initiated in 2022, is the fulfillment of four years of in-depth research and careful planning. The new Recreation Center will feature:
● Two basketball courts that can also accommodate four volleyball courts. ● A fully equipped fitness center with cardio equipment, strength machines, and free weights. ● An indoor walking track providing a safe, climate-controlled place to exercise year-round. ● An eight-lane swimming pool for lap and competitive swimming. ● A separate 31⁄2-foot-deep instructional pool area for swim lessons, water aerobics, and therapy programs. ● Locker rooms with showers. ● A concession area to serve tournaments and special events. ● Two multi-purpose meeting rooms for community meetings, classes, and private events.
Construction will begin shortly after the ground breaking ceremony, and the project iis expected to take approximately two years to complete.
“This Recreation Center represents much more than a new building. It is an investment in the health, wellness, and quality of life of our citizens for generations to come. We are grateful to everyone who has played a part in making this vision a reality, and we look forward to welcoming our community into a facility that will serve Sylacauga for many years to come,” said Steve Masters, Executive Director of the Sylacauga Parks and Recreation.
Childersburg & Montevallo – Washer, dryer, and even detergent are free from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5th, at the Highway 280 location of Suds-R-Us in Childersburg, thanks to Surrendered Ministries.
And on Thursday, August 6th in Montevallo, Beacon of Hope Ministries teams up with Shelby Emergency Services for “Loads of Love,” free laundry day from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. at the Suds-R-Us location on Highway 25 in Montevallo.
No registration is necessary. No questions asked, just free laundry service from Suds-R-Us.
Sylacauga – With Tuesday’s Grand Opening of Earth Helps on the Old Birmingham Highway provides a return of local accewss to health foods, natural supplements, and more healthful product lines.
“It’s been 22 years since we had Nature’s Aid on Highway 280,” explained owner Haley Dailey, “And besides my own health issues, that’s why we decided to open Earth Helps, so locals won’t have to drive log distances to find such a wide selection of health foods, vitamins, herbs, supplements, clean beauty items, teas, coffee, soaps, candles, and more. And we’re very open to suggestions as to what you want us to carry.”
The “we” Haley referred to includes her daughter, Alison Bland, who will manage the store at 899 Old Birmingham Highway, while her mother continues her nursing career, “This was my daughter’s idea, and I’m happy to play a part in bringing a natural way to stay healthy to Sylacauga.”
Childersburg – Community events are hitting a new gear in Childersburg as new items have been added to the calendar, including traditional events, the return of another big tradition, as well as a pair of vendor attractions.
Things got started on Saturday, August 1st at the ballpark at Sadie Lee for the annual K-through 12 Back-to-School Back Pack giveaway, with all sorts of great food, bounce houses and games, informative exhibitors, and of course back packs filled with school supplies, with a goal of 600 this year.
Radio Alabama on Norton Avenue in Sylacauga will host the August Childersburg Area Chamber Coffee at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 11th, providing great networking opportunities and get updates on community news and member happenings.
With high school football kicking off the season once again with the Tiger versus Tiger – Childersburg versus B.B. Comer match-up kicking off the season with their Thursday night season-opener on August 20th in Childersburg, another related longtime tradition is back as well – “Tiger Town Takeover – a Community Pep Rally” on Wednesday, August 19th from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. at the Childersburg High School Baseball Field. And there’s a full line-up of activities, including the Comer Game Bonfire.
Everyone is invited to the free with fun games like a pickleball tournament, a kickball game, whiffle ball, live music, food trucks, and of course the return of the Comer game bon fire tradition with an 8:00 p.m. lighting.
Coming on Saturday, August 29th from 10:00 a,m, to 3:00 p.m., pop-up vendors – local businesses, crafters, makers, food vendors, direct sales representatives and more will gather at John Cox Stadium for what is hoped will be another new tradition, Childersburg Trade Days! If you’d like to be one of the participating vendor/exhibitors, get in touch with the Childersburg Area Chamber as soon as you can to secure your spot.
Go ahead and mark Saturday, October 17 on your calendar for a new festival event – Childersburg Oktoberfest 2026 downtown from 3:00 to 8:00 p.m. Get ready for a day packed with family fun, and follow the Childersburg Area Chamber on social media for a string of exciting announcements that will be coming soon.
Childersburg – Community gatherings in Childersburg, like Council meetings and Childersburg Area Chamber Coffees, often come with valuable announcements of interest.
With all the paperwork done on a grant from the Alabama Historical Commission and work underway at Kymulga Grist Mill park covered bridge repair, the City is exploring other historical grant opportunities from the National Covered Bridge Association. Repairs are inevitable for a pair of historic structures on the property, requiring adherence to historical standards, and staying ahead on funding is a never-ending matter.
The $3.29-million Industrial Access grant has been finalized, giving the green light to road additions to facilitate expansions for Cooper Steel South and Super Rock/Blair Block operations in the Childersburg Industrial Park.At the moments, plans are being reviewed by project engineers to make way for cost estimates, and the road work itself.
A Rebuild Alabama paving grant application for Bates Addition/ 9th Avenue in Childersburg did not make the cut for funding this year, but the program did pay for Forest Hills road improvements and paving.
While school renovations have been taking place at Childersburg’s elementary schools ahead of the new school year, the SAFE-Bridges Program has been keeping the Limbaugh Community Center hopping with activities for the students in that program, and continue closer to the school year start.
Coosa Valley Technologies is looking to expand their broadband internet service into the Childersburg community. If you’re interested, your asked to register your address on the coosavalleyec.com/home-technologies/ website and urger your neighbors to do the same.
Also, if you’re a Childersburg resident who contracts with someone to cut trees on your property, you’re asked to discuss disposal with your contractor, because such contractor work is NOT covered by the City’s yard waste collection and disposal contract.
Childersburg – Childersburg First Methodist is using community events and activities to boost local community engagement and involvement. Here are a couple of family-friendly examples – recent & future.
Several times a year, they use their property adjacent to downtown Childersburg to host Community Block Parties, such as this one from a few weekends ago, featuring fun family-friendly activities – live music (even featuring a talented crew from First Baptist), food and treats, plus pop-up vendors for shopping. On a hot summer day, the waterslide was a HIT with the younger crowd! The events are free to attend and open to literally everyone.
There’s another community block party, “CarniFall” coming in October, but before then, there’s something special for the kids, that provides a great opportunity for parents at the same time. Starting in August, it’s the return of the CFM “Parent’s Night Out” series. They’ll post the dates on their Childersburg First Methodist Church Facebook page. From 5:00 to 8:30 p.m., you can drop off the kids for a free evening that includes dinner, fun games and activities, along with a craft to take home. Best of all, the parents get to enjoy some worry-free couple time.
Now, those are a win – win situations for Childersburg area families!
Childersburg – A Childersburg couple has been arrested on charges of possession of child sex abuse material for dissemination and production of child sex abuse material. They had been arrested earlier in July on various drug charges.
Chad Daniel Smith and Jodi Shell Bowen-Vincent, both 49-year-old, were arrested by agents with the Talladega County Drug and Violent Crime Task Force on the new charges, after being arrested July 0th by the Childersburg Police Department,
Both face charges of Production of Child Sexual Abuse Material, five counts of Dissemination of Child Sex Abuse Material, six counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material With Intent to Distribute. Earlier, both were chargedwith Possession of a Controlled Subtance; Possession of Marijuana 2nd Degree, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
Lincoln – There’s a new expansion coming to Lincoln’s Honda plant, and the Talladega County Commission has granted a tax abatement to Honda Manufacturing expansion project.
The expansion will create around 200 new jobs by its estimated completion date in July 2029. It will cost around $472 million. According to documents approved by the commission, the expansion will “increase engine plant capacity, transform model flexibility” and include “ancillary projects” as well.
The tax abatement is a 10-year, $11.2 million tax abatement.
Birmingham – Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the most remarkable and most dangerous technological inventions in history. It accelerates data analysis, automates repetitive and time-consuming tasks and is always available. At the same time, it can displace jobs, is expensive, is not always correct, and can be used for fraud and scams. The latter has the FBI on alert.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and local law enforcement agencies urge us all to remain aware that eEveryone is a potential target, especially senior citizens, and even the tech-savvy young and professionals. The FBI says that Alabama has seen an explosion of AI fraud recently. Data security and personal privacy alerts are high as scams are rising with the increasing use of AI by criminals.
The FBI’s 2025 Internet Crime Report shows cyber-enabled crimes defrauded Americans of nearly $21 billion, with cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence-related complaints among the costliest. AI scammers are even making use of the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) to ask for personal information in fraudulent investigations.
