Hundreds of children and adults attended the Community-Wide Fall Festival, held at the Fayette Multi-Purpose Complex on Sunday, Oct. 27. The festival was sponsored by area churches as a safe place for kids at Halloween.
Fayette Medical Center hosted a "Pink Party" on Oct. 23 to raise breast cancer awareness and honor the cancer survivors in the area.
Along with the cooler fall temperatures, the leaves on the trees are beginning to turn colorful.
The Fayette City Council heard a report from Chris Champion on the status of the Fayette Aquatic Park during its Oct. 22 meeting. Councilman Jason Cowart and Councilwoman Linda McCraw were absent from the meeting with the other council members being present.
Longtime businessman and former Fayette City Councilman, Brannen Perry, passed away at his home on Friday, Oct. 25. Perry served for more than 15 years as city councilman in Fayette, and also was a former owner of a Sears store.
The Fayette County Board of Education toured Berry Elementary School and Berry High School on Oct. 22 before meeting in the high school library for its monthly meeting. Board members John Stowe and Tim Fields were absent with all other board members present for the meeting.
This Friday night at John Morgan Brown Stadium, the Fayette Tigers will host the Class 5A Dora Bulldogs at 7 p.m. However, fans will want to get to the stadium early, as the football team celebrates “Senior Night,” recognizing the parents of the senior football players, cheerleaders, majorettes and band members.
Fayette played its best game of the season on the road against Good Hope, defeating the Raiders 30-14 to secure the second place spot in the region. Winning the game allows Fayette to host a first round playoff game in two weeks against Anniston.
The last home game of the year is always special. However, the six Wildcat seniors, in addition to playing their last regular season game at Fred Webster Stadium, had even more on their minds. A win by the Wildcats over the Marion County Red Raiders would ensure that Berry would be the three seed from Region 6 heading into the playoffs. The game was closely contested and would not be decided until the fourth quarter, but the Wildcats fought hard and walked away with a 39–35 victory.
With the threat of severe weather and heavy rain, the Pickens County Tornadoes arrived in Wiley Hollingsworth Stadium one night earlier than scheduled. Hubbertville won the coin toss and elected to receive the opening kick, with Alex Barnes and Gage Key lining up deep for the reception. Key advanced the kickoff 10 yards, setting the Lions up at its 25-yard line.
Governor Kay Ivey paid a quick visit to Fayette on Oct. 21, stopping at the Fayette County Courthouse to make a brief speech and greet residents before traveling to her next stop. She was in town to help celebrate Alabama’s Bicentennial. “Alabama has a lot to celebrate,” she said. She also added that the best part of serving as governor is getting to serve the “great people” of the state.
The Fayette County Fair was held Oct. 16-19 at the multipurpose complex, and offered something for almost everyone.
Former Fayette and Sulligent police officer, Gary Hugh Farrior, was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a child less than 12 years old. The sentence was pronounced by 24th Judicial Circuit Judge Sam Junkin on Oct. 16.
Fayette County High School celebrated the success of its AP scholar students with a ceremony on Friday, Oct. 18 at the school. FCHS was recently named an A+ College-Ready School of Excellence. In earning the recognition, Fayette exceeded its school-wide goal for AP qualifying scores during the 2018 - 2019 school year. The school had a total of 34 AP qualifying scores, with two AP scholars who passed three AP exams.
The Fayette Cub Scout Troop enjoyed a “Fishing Rodeo” on Saturday morning, Oct. 12 at the pond near the Fayette Airport. The fishing rodeo was sponsored by Tony Brown and Mike Freeman Ford, who stocked the pond with approximately 400 pounds of full-size catfish prior to the event.
County Administrator John Gordon announced his plans to retire from his position during the Oct. 15 meeting of the Fayette County Commission. In a letter to the commissioners, Gordon expressed his desire to retire, effective April 1, 2020, stating that he has “been blessed to work for the commission 22 years as of Dec. 1, 2019.
Dr. Jeremy Madden, principal of Fayette County High School, has been named District Seven South High School Principal of the Year. Madden is a 19-year educator who became principal of Fayette County High School in 2011. He attended Russellville City Schools and graduated from Russellville High School in 1993.
The Fayette Tigers used a tremendous rushing game to control the tempo in the second half and defeat the Haleyville Lions 27-13. Fayette scored 14 points in the first quarter, but allowed the Lions to score 10 unanswered points in the second period to cut the Tigers’ lead to four points at the half. Fayette closed out the second half by running the ball 28 times and throwing only five passes.
The Hubbertville Lions traveled to Brilliant to faceoff against the Tigers on Friday night. Winning the coin toss, the Tigers elected to receive, with Braden O’Mary and Braden Burleson back deep to receive the opening kick. Gaberiele Arcidiacono’s kick was fielded by Burleson at the 10-yard line and advanced to the Tigers’ 31-yard line, where Xander Morrow made the stop. The Tiger’s first offensive possession came to a halt with the Tigers facing fourth down and 12 from its own 45-yard line. Gage Key fielded a punt at the 14-yard line and advanced to the 16.
It was Senior Night at G.S. Spruill Stadium, as the seventh ranked Pickens County Tornadoes played host to the Berry Wildcats in a Region 6 contest. A win for the Tornadoes would ensure the region championship for Pickens Co., and the team would not disappoint the Tornado fans.
