On Dec. 18, 2019, plaques were presented to three Fayette County Revenue Office employees to honor their many years of service to Fayette County. Rosemary Terry Blakney has worked for Fayette County in the revenue office for over 40 years. She was hired by Aubrine A. Nichols in March 1979. Ruby Porter began working for Fayette County over 35 years ago. She was hired in Oct. 1984 by Tax Collector Marie Grey.

The Fayette County Board of Education approved personnel changes and awarded contracts during a brief meeting held on Dec. 10, 2019 at Hubbertville School. Prior to the meeting, the board members toured the Hubbertville School. The board approved extending Family Medical Leave for Jackie Stevens until Jan. 3. The board also accepted the resignations of James McAlpin as bus driver, effective Dec. 13, 2019; and Sandra Stovall, bus driver and shuttle bus driver, effective Dec. 31, 2019.

We continue our review of stories from 2019 with headlines from July - December. Events from the first six months of the year were reviewed in last week’s edition of The Times-Record. July:
The Town of Berry received a clear audit report from Kellum, Wilson and Associates during its July 1 meeting. A two-vehicle accident in Fayette on July 2 caused multiple injuries and totaled both vehicles.

Judy Godfrey and Susan Newman, members of the Sipsey Arts Alliance, have been volunteering at Fayette Middle School this school year to work with the fifth grade students. They have worked with the students to not only teach them about the skill involved in art, but to also develop an interest and love for art among the students.

Keith Mahaffey, the former Mayor of Vance, was recently named the 2019 recipient of the Roy Dobbs Lifetime Achievement Award. The award, created by the West Alabama Mayors Association in 2013, honors a former mayor from the West Alabama region selected for having made a lasting, meaningful and positive impact on his or her community.

Fayette’s boys team competed last week in the Tuscaloosa County News Basketball Tournament, held at Tuscaloosa County High School. The Tigers lost the first game to the homestanding Wildcats, before winning the consolation game of the tournament the next night against Cedar Bluff.

The Fayette City Council held a brief meeting on Dec. 20 at the Fayette Civic Center, prior to the annual Christmas luncheon for city employees. Councilman Jerry Nichols was absent from the meeting, with all other council members and Mayor Ray Nelson present.

As we approach a new year, we pause to take a look back at some of the top stories from the first six months of 2019. January: The body of Ashley Tenniel Watkins, 31, was discovered in Tuscaloosa County on Jan. 2. The woman had been reported missing on Dec. 8, 2018 while visiting a friend in Fayette County. Retiring Fayette County Probate Judge William Oswalt and retiring Fayette County District Judge Jerry Clary were each honored with separate receptions. Each of the men served 30 years in their respective offices.

The Fayette County Commission held its only meeting of the month on Dec. 9. All commissioners were present for the meeting, along with Commission Chairman Mike Freeman.
In a work session held prior to the regular meeting, a discussion was held about buying a new communications system for the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department.

The Alabama High School Athletic Association (AHSAA) recently announced the new classifications and realignments for the 2020-22 seasons. Fayette remained in Class 4A, Region 5 in football. The Tigers will continue to be in the northern-half of the 4A bracket for the next two seasons, and Fayette will also continue to play Curry, Northside, Oak Grove and Haleyville as regional opponents. Also playing in Class 4A, Region 5 will be Gordo, moving up from Class 3A; and Hamilton, moving down from Class 5A.

Fayette County High School held its annual Football Awards Banquet on Wednesday, Dec. 18 at the Southside Baptist Church gymnasium in Fayette.

The Alabama Sportswriters Association selected Johnathan Locke of Berry as its second team All-State athlete in Class 1A football for the 2019 season. Locke, a junior on the Berry High School football team, was one of the leaders for the Wildcats. He played running back and wide receiver on offense, and also contributed heavily on defense as a defensive back.

The following people were sentenced in Fayette County Circuit Court during the month of November. The list was compiled from information received from the Fayette County Circuit Court. • Gregory Shane Fortner, third degree burglary, sentenced to 20 years in the custody of the Department of Corrections, sentenced suspended with five years supervised probation, and three years reversed split sentence with three years in the custody of the Department of Corrections, and 12 months postponement;

Bradley Byrne, U.S. Congressman from the First District, visited with residents of Fayette last week. Byrne, a Republican, is running next year for the U.S. Senate. He said that he has enjoyed his six years in the House of Representatives, but now he wants to take the next step as a member of the U.S. Senate. “A new senator has a lot more power than a member of the House of Representatives,” Byrne said. “There are 435 House members and only 100 Senators.”

The 2004 Toyota Sequoia, shown in the top photo and driven by Karenda King of Fayette, collided with the 1986 Ford truck, shown in the bottom photo and driven by Jackie Ashby of Fayette, at the intersection of 5th St. NE and 2nd Ave NE. According to the accident report, the two vehicles collided as the Sequoia was attempting to cross 2nd Avenue.

Santa visited the Fayette Medical Center Long-Term Care facility on Friday, Dec. 20 to hand out presents to all of the good residents.

Former U.S. Senator and Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke to the Fayette City Council prior to the beginning of its business portion of the Dec. 10 meeting. Councilman Jason Cowart and Councilman Jerry Nichols were absent from the meeting, with Mayor Ray Nelson and the remaining council members present.

Horace Moore, owner of The Times-Record, The Northwest Alabamian, The Journal-Record and The Pickens County Herald, will become the new sheriff of Winston County on New Year’s Day.

The Fayette B-Team, girls varsity and boys varsity basketball teams participated in the West Alabama Conference (WAC) Tournament in Vernon last week, with all of the Fayette teams making a quick exit after suffering first round defeats. Earlier in the week, the varsity boys and girls teams each defeated Cordova in games played at Fayette County High School.

Local broadband provider freedom FIBER, a subsidiary of Tombigee Electric Cooperative, has been awarded a $29.5 million loan/grant by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to expand rural high-speed internet in northwest Alabama. U.S. and state officials announced the 50 percent loan/grant during a ceremony held at Tombigbee’s warehouse in Hamilton on Thursday, Dec. 5.