A cross-country balloon race ended abruptly for two Spanish pilots when they had to make an emergency landing in southern Fayette County. The Spanish balloon pilots, Anulfo Gonzalez and Angel Aguirre had left Albuquerque, N.M. on Saturday, Oct. 7 as part of the annual “Gordon Bennett Cup” Gas-Powered Balloon Race.

The Fayette City Council held its regular council meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 10.
Councilwoman Virettia Whiteside and Mayor Rod Northam were absent from the meeting, with all other members of the council present. Mayor Pro Tem Eddy Campbell presided during the meeting in the absence of the mayor. Fayette resident John McPeek opened the meeting with prayer. His daughter, Sadie McPeek, led the Pledge of Allegiance.

A Guin man was arrested on Oct. 2 after being indicted by a Fayette County Grand Jury on 10 counts of sexual offenses against minors. Emil Christopher Sebesta, 34, was indicted in August by a Grand Jury following an investigation by the 24th Judicial Circuit.

The two top vote-getters in the Sept. 26 Republican primary for the Alabama House District 16 seat, Brad Cox and Bryan Brinyark, will face each other in the Tuesday, Oct. 24 runoff.

An accident, occurring at the intersection of Highway 159 and Highway 171 South, caused severe vehicular damage and injuries. The accident occurred at approximately 5:49 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 9. Manuel Portuges Ajqui was driving a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox, and John David Horton was driving a 2024 Chevrolet 3500.

Roger Bedford Jr., 67, passed away in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 11 following a brief illness.
Bedford was a mainstay in the Alabama Senate for many years, becoming the youngest person to ever win election to the prestigious state chamber in 1982 at the age of 25. At the time of his State Senate service, Fayette County was in his district.

Hubbertville FCCLA Chapter Officers Kaylee Crumpton, Ella Kate Curington, Ana Tingle, and Layla Frederick, along with Chapter Advisor Rhonda Dunavant from Hubbertville School, attended FCCLA’s Capitol Leadership program, where they joined with youth leaders from across the nation.

Fayette County High School will host the area volleyball tournament on Thursday, Oct. 19.
Gordo and Winfield will meet at 1:30 p.m. in the first match of the day, and the winner of that match will play Fayette at 3 p.m. Oakman will face Carbon Hill at 4:30 p.m., with the championship match scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.

The Lions boarded buses and traveled to Berry to meet their cross-county rivals. Following the coin toss, Mason Parr’s opening kick was received at the 25-yard line by Coby McCarley, with Max Westbrook and Noah Morrison on the stop. With runs by T.J. Keeton and Blaize Wakefield, the Lions advanced the ball to midfield, where the opening possession came to a halt.

Fayette County hosted one of its regional rivals last Friday night, losing to the Gordo Greenwave by the score of 35-6. The scoring began early for the visiting Greenwave, as Ethan Wilder received the opening kickoff for Gordo and returned it 67 yeards for a touchdown. Jordy Gomez kicked the extra point, and Gordo held a quick 7-0 lead after 23 seconds of action.

Troyce Townsel, a former councilman for the Town of Berry, passed away on Thursday, Oct. 5 at the age of 74. He died at Hospice of West Alabama following a lengthy illness.

The 2023 Fayette “Festival of Hope” Crusade was held last week and according to the organizers of the event, it was a tremendous success. “We really didn’t know what to expect,” said Robert Parrish, pastor of Southside Baptist Church and one of the organizers of the crusade. “We were hoping that souls would be saved and the crusade would be a beacon of light for the glory of Christ, and we are thrilled and overwhelmed with the results.

Alabama State Superintendent of Education Dr. Eric Mackey, along with state staff officials, visited Hubbertville School on Sept. 27. Mackey, as well as Chief of Staff Chuck Marcum, Executive Director of the School Superintendents of Alabama Ryan Hollingsworth, and Alabama State Board of Education District 7 member Belinda McRae were in attendance.

The driver of a fire truck tanker was fortunate to receive no injuries during a partial road collapse and subsequent tanker turnover on Monday, Oct. 2. The Kirkland-Bluff-Wayside Volunteer Fire Department had been using a 1977 International 1600 Loadstar tanker to wet an area of Cook Road, a dirt and gravel road, to help residents with dust conditions, due to the road being part of a current detour.

The two-day annual Fayette Frog Level Festival and the second annual Fayette Airport Fly-In were both huge success, with hundreds of people attending the events. The Frog Level Festival had to compete with high school football games on Friday night, but numerous people attended the event, shopping the arts and crafts, and the merchandise booths while partaking of a wide variety of food that was available at the festival.

Fayette traveled to Oakman to face the Wildcats in a crucial regional game, losing by the score of 24-6. Fayette received the opening kickoff and advanced across midfield before having to punt. The punt went into the endzone, forcing Oakman to start its first possession on its 20-yard line.

The Berry Wildcats returned to region play by traveling to face the Holy Spirit Saints in Tuscaloosa for the first time since 2017. The Wildcats were looking for their first regional win of the season and to play spoiler on the Saints’ Homecoming. The Wildcats took control of the game early and cruised to a 44-13 victory.

Hubbertville returned to region play on Friday night, traveling to Brilliant to face the Tigers. Following Tucker Bowen’s opening kick, Brilliant’s offense, led by quarterback Brooks McLemore, began its opening possession at its 32-yard line. Back to back penalties left the Tigers facing fourth down and 15, sending Bruin Hulsey back to punt the ball away.

A man who traveled from Texas to engage in sexual activity with a teenager has been sentenced to serve 25 years in prison. De’Airo DeShawn Bryant, 30, pled guilty on Tuesday, Sept. 26 to Electronic Solicitation of a Child. The victim was 15 at the time and had met Bryant on a social media instant messaging app. Bryant was 27 at the time of the offense.

A crowd of approximately 1,250 - 1,400 people were in attendance on Sunday night at John Morgan Brown Stadium during the opening night of Fayette’s “Festival of Hope.” The crusade concludes tonight (Wednesday, Oct. 4), with the hope that the event has made a positive difference in the lives of many throughout the area. For additional pictures and details of the Fayette Festival of Hope, see next week’s edition of The Times-Record newspaper.