Lincoln – A major, ongoing police excavation is currently taking place on Wolf Pond Road in Talladega County, between Lincoln and Pell City. The site is an open field and contains no standing structures.
The excavation project is being led by the Pell City Police Department following a tip they say is linked to an open case. Also working the scene are the FBI, the Talladega County Sheriff’s Office, the Lincoln Police Department, and the Jacksonville State University (JSU) Center for Applied Forensics.
Law enforcement officials have remained tight-lipped about exactly what they are looking for, but have confirmed it is an “open investigation.” The extended excavation and use of forensics teams have led to rampant local speculation that it may be tied to a cold case, such as the 1992 disappearance of Felicia Cochran in Pell City.
Ashland – An investigation into suspicious activity at an Ashland motel lead authorities to believe there were explosives on site. There were not, but a local man was arrested on multiple criminal offenses.
Joseph Blancher was arrested at the Country Inn Motel, where the Clay County Sheriff’s Office found materials they believed to be explosives. The building was evacuated and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) Bomb Squad was called in to investigate.
After a thorough investigation, the bomb squad determined that the materials posed no danger to the public, they did find illegal drugs, paraphernalia, a working still, and untaxed illegal alcohol, for which Blancher was charged.
The Ashland Police Department and the Lineville Police Department assisted with this investigation.
Springville – A person has been arrested in connection to a bank robbery last week in Springville, when officials said a man wearing a motorcycle helmet walked into a PNC Bank in the early afternoon hours of Monday, July 13, and placed a handgun on the counter before demanding money from the cash drawer.
After he allegedly received an undetermined amount of money, the man left the scene on a motorcycle. Local authorities reached out to the public for witnesses to help identify the suspect.
According to the Springville Police Department, 50-year-old Kristopher Michael Tribble of Pinson was arrested on Saturday, July 18th and charged with Robbery 1st Degree. Authorities say that items that collected from the suspects residence are the same items seen in videos and pictures during the bank robbery itself.
Springville Police Chief Jason Mize said that flock cameras helped in the investigation, also adding thanks the public for submitting tips to authorities.
Montgomery – Rising high school seniors, Abba Crumpton of Fayetteville High School, Allaster Hay of B.B. Comer High School, and Hayden Hubbard of Sylacauga High School, were three of twenty-three high school students representing seventeen Alabama Chambers of Commerce to attend the seventh Huntingdon College Economic and Community Development Scholars Program. Abba, Allaster, and Hayden represented the Sylacauga Chamber of Commerce.
The three-day, two-night event was hosted by Huntingdon College in partnership with the Huntingdon College Presidential Scholars Program and the Chamber of Commerce Association of Alabama. The annual program introduces students to the importance of economic and community development across Alabama on a state and local level.
To receive first-hand experience in economic and community development, the students were divided into teams and assigned a city in Alabama to represent. The students were tasked with assuming public office identities and using their knowledge of their hometown to vie for a corporation to make their headquarters in the city. After completing assignments in the project, including creating a town highlight tour, the teams gave their final pitch to President Leigh and guests. The winning team was highlighted in a groundbreaking ceremony and ribbon cutting ceremony after the final presentations on Friday.
Huntingdon College President Anthony Leigh shared high praise for the students stating, “Each year, this program brings together some of the most promising young leaders from high schools across Alabama, and this year’s cohort is no exception. These students are motivated, thoughtful, community-minded, and eager to make a positive impact. They represent the very best of their schools and hometowns, and it is clear that their local Chambers of Commerce recognized outstanding potential in each of them. Their creativity, curiosity, leadership, and genuine commitment to service set them apart. As ambassadors for their communities and as emerging leaders for our state, these students remind us that Alabama’s future is in capable and inspiring hands.”
Childersburg – You’re all invited to join Childersburg First Methodist for a fun-filled day with the community on Saturday, July 18th from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at 603 4th St SW, Childersburg, AL 35044.
There will be Food trucks, vendors, a waterslide, a car show, fun games & more for a FREE event that’s open to everyone. So bring your family and friends and come enjoy a day of fun.
Sylacauga – Sylacauga Parks and Recreation reopened Beth Yates Park on Thursday with a Ribbon Cutting ceremony, following months of renovation that included handicap accessible new playground equipment, shaded landscaping, and interactive signage.
“As part of a continuing project to update and upgrade our entire park system, we are here today to open Beth Yates Park,” said department Director, Steve Masters, “This park targets families with toddler age children – a safe place for young children to run and play.”
Masters noted previous projects that replaced the former municipal swimming pool with popular pickleball courts, along with an outdoor basketball court, along with major upgrades to the city’s largest park, Noble Park, “Next on our list will be South Highland and Fairmont Parks, as well as a new recreation center with an emphasis on swimming facilities and multi-sport gyms for basketball, volleyball, and much more.”
Masters thanked the City Council for their support and dedication to recreation facility improvements, “Thanks to their leadership, we have taken great strides with a lot more coming. And while we’re here, notice to work done to resurface our tennis courts. Four courts are already back in service, and the other two should be completed within a week.”
Following the rededication festivities, Beth Yates Park hosted a Storytime With Friends event, featuring Batman.
For founder/owner Branden Haley, ARCsoutheast has been a journey of growth that finally led them to Childersburg and the ribbon-cutting of the new plant on Plant Road just past the paper mill.
That five-year journey started when Haley was still a teen inside a storage building in the backyard of the family home in Talladega, starting with his Dad and couple of like-minded friends. But it wasn’t long before the realization of the potential of custom automation services. Next was a move to a location along US Highway 280 toward Chelsea, in the tiny community of Shelby, where he doubled the staff. Then, on to Pell City, where the company grew to 15, then 20.
“That’s all tied to becoming an all-in-one resource for custom automation services,” explained Haley. “We offer services in robotics, controls, vision systems, design and integration, welding, maintenance, all the way to turnkey custom machinery.”
“It finally meant that we needed a built-to-suit our needs, property big enough to keep growing without packing up and moving,” said Haley, “And while we were constructing this is building, it was with that future growth in mind. It won’t be long before we’re adding on our building and adding on our staff which has already grown to 31.”
Their priority is quality. The goal for their industrial clients often focuses on “Cycle Time,” an all important factor in plant output, “We are experts in the field of Cycle Time Reduction. Usually, programming changes alone can shave valuable time off the production process to maximize output.”
Some naysayers say that robotic automation leads industry to cut human staff, but Haley smiled at that notion and answered, “Not at all. We have seen the exact opposite, a negative job replacement. What we do adds to growth instead. It creates new employment needs and actually incentivizes growth.”
When it came time to cut the ribbon for the new state-of-the-art facility, Haley said, “It has certainly been a lot of work, as we continued to work while we grew this new facility.” And with a big smile. he added, “Worth every bit of that journey, and we’re not done yet.”
Childersburg Mayor Ken Wesson thanked Haley for choosing Childersburg, “It was such a pleasure helping to locate this industry in a perfect site for the present and well into the future. It is so neat what y’all are doing here. It’s a wonderful opportunity for all the young people wanting to enter this field.”
And with that in mind, Haley invited those interested to just, “Stop and ask. You don’t have to be an electrical engineer to be a designer.”
After all, he wasn’t when he started this journey as a teen in his backyard shop, and made it happen with classes at Central Alabama Community College.
With active programs focusing on aiding in the education of the next generation, the ALICE Center signaled the move to a brick and mortar foundation with a well-attended ground-breaking ceremony along 9th Avenue SW in downtown Childersburg on Monday, October 13th.
The ALICE Center concept has been one of bringing together so many aspects of the community to shape and support a bright future for the families and children that make up the local community. That cooperative effort was front and center during the ground-breaking event, highlighting why Gerald Wallace had a dream inspired by his mother, Alice to create an entity to meet community needs.
“With property secured, we focused first on getting programs started toward our mission, “explained Gerald Wallace, “and now we will work on creating a place where opportunity lives, a place for children to learn, grow, and thrive. I can promise you that we will see potential in every child, and we will invest in that potential.”
That first phase of building will be to add to the base line of work already in progress, creating a new, modern home for the Talladega, Clay, Randolph (TCR) Child Care Corporation in Childersburg, housing the Head Start program – The ALICE Head Start Learning Center. TCR, a non-profit corporation, is committed to elevating the lives of eligible children and families. With locations throughout Alabama, TCR has been providing services and programs centered on education and health for more than 45 years.
Kay Jennings, TCR Executive Director, said, “At the heart of our mission lies a steadfast commitment to nurturing the potential in every child and supporting Alabama families in their journey towards a brighter future, providing programs with a purpose. Thanks to a long time part of TCR, Jackie Hall introducing us to Gerald Wallace, we were able to do exactly what she suggested we would – share a common goal and difference-making purpose for new generations of children.”
Jodi Hopkins, Wallace’s personal assistant for more than two decades explained, “Watching this project transition from an idea to action is a testament to what is possible by coming together.”
Hopkins highlighted the groundwork already laid by ALICE Center programs – engaging programs, making an impact before buildings, like a tutoring program for Childersburg students. It’s a program conducted by local educators who literally grew up as products of, as students the schools they now serve through the ALICE Center – Jasmine Shepherd and Ashley Norwood.
“I look at it as creating opportunities where they did not already exists,” said Norwood.
Shepherd echoed her thoughts, “I am a native of Childersburg, shaped by Childersburg, sharing my blessings this new generation of students.”
There was a large placard with names of partnering business, industry, and other community entities that are already on board with the goals and missions of the ALICE Center. Together with ALICE Project Director, Ty Knight and a strong ALICE Center team, this is not a project from Gerald Wallace. It’s a project for, from, and by the community itself, whose purpose will be to help the community grow and prosper. Together.
The final announcement came as a surprise to the crowd. The ALICE Center has acquired the former Phyliss Wheatley High School and Community Center, allowing for programs to be located on both sides of US Highway 280.
This past Saturday morning, Sylacauga native, Dima Pacha McCuiston was inducted into the Huntingdon College Athletic Hall of Fame. She played a vital role in helping build the women’s tennis program at the Montgomery school.
She was named her team’s Most Valuable Player and Best All-Around Player. In 1999, she won her conference Women’s Singles Championship, earning the school’s first ever women’s tennis selection to the NAIA National Tournament. She topped that “All American” honor as an Academic All American, as well.
After the induction ceremony, she did not want to talk about her tennis career. She wanted to talk about the help and support of her high school coaches – Randy Carter and Nathan Brown, who attended her ceremony with his wife, Laura.
She wanted to talk about her college coach, fellow Huntingdon Hall of Famer, legendary John “Coach Johnny Mac” McWilliams. Prior to the induction, she was presented with a classic antique “Chris Evert” tennis racquet from her late coach’s son, even carrying it to the podium to receive her honor.
She wanted to talk about the support she has received from her team mates throughout her tennis career, along with the unwavering support from a family of outstanding tennis players.
“There are so many who contributed to my athletic and academic career at Huntingdon, said Dima, “It’s one of the things that makes this place so special. I feel very fortunate to have been inspired to be my best.”
And Dima reserved her biggest smiles for the non-athletic side of her time at Huntingdon, the role played by Dr. Lisa Olenik-Dorman, “She was so much more than a professor, an academic advisor, a mentor. She inspired my passion. We worked together to develop a physical activity program for those who had many challenges to overcome in life that would have otherwise limited their opportunities to find the joys of athletic activities that most of us take for granted.”
Competitive tennis was, for sure, a highlight for Dima Pacha McCuiston, that earned her a deserved place in the Huntingdon College Athletic Hall of Fame. But it was the Huntingdon Motto, “Enter to grow in wisdom; go forth to apply wisdom in service,” that became the difference-making life lesson that put a “heart” on her time at Huntingdon College.
WEOGUFKA, Ala. – As part of “Alabama’s Year of Trails,” the Alabama Trails Foundation and the Alabama Forestry Commission held a special dedication ceremony to recognize Flagg Mountain’s Observation Tower as the southernmost point of the Pinhoti Trail and to celebrate a project that has finally brought reliable water to the mountain, from the Stewartville Water Authority.
Flagg Mountain, the southern-most Appalachian peak in Alabama at 1,156-feet, and the tower at 54-feet, the Pinhoti Trail Head was officially moved to the Flagg Mountain Observation Tower in the Weogufka State Forest.
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built the iconic stone tower in the 1930s, which served as a fire lookout for decades. Its recent restoration returned the tower to its original grandeur, allowing visitors to once again climb to the cab for panoramic views of the surrounding landscape that, on a clear day, allows visitors to see across seven counties.
In keeping with this restoration, the tower will now Officially serve as the iconic beginning of Alabama’s longest footpath, the Pinhoti Trail that connects with the Appalachian Trail in Georgia.
“The restoration and work done on Flagg Mountain is more than just a project; it’s a celebration of Alabama’s natural heritage,” said Paul DeMarco, President of the Alabama Trails Foundation. “By preserving this historic structure and formally linking it to the Pinhoti Trail, we are creating a world-class destination that will attract hikers and nature lovers from across the country while providing a better experience that all Alabamians can enjoy.”
Rick Oates, State Forester of the Alabama Forestry Commission, added, “This partnership demonstrates the great things that can happen when we all work together for a better Alabama. The renovated tower complements the new Pinhoti trailhead. We hope the combination of the two will encourage not only avid hikers, but also outdoor enthusiasts to embark on exciting adventures right here on the peak of beautiful Flagg Mountain. We are proud to help make this historic resource accessible to the public.”
