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Greetings from the Mayor’s office. I hope you and your family survived the storms, rain, and hail last night and this morning. It really got rough around our neighborhood. Maybe the weekend won’t be so bad and you will be able to find some fun things to do. Friday evening, March 5, Kay and I went to a Bar and Grille in Huntsville to attend a gathering of candidates from around North Alabama. This was sponsored by Dale Jackson, who is the talk-show host on WVNN every morning. Also attending were State Senator Tom Butler, Rep. Howard Sanderfer, Bill Holtzclaw, candidate for our Senate District, Dwight Tanksley, Mayor of Hartselle and candidate for a House Seat in Morgan County, and Rep. Mike Ball who serves a House District in Madison County. Later Kay and I came back to town and went to eat with Phyllis and Mark Whitt at Clark’s Restaurant. Their family, Daniel, Jennifer, and Stella, and Joy also came to eat. We enjoyed the fellowship, and later went to our daughter Whitney’s house for a visit. Our grandsons, Luke and Asa, spent the night with us. Saturday morning I got Luke and Asa up at 6:00 am and took them to Hardee’s for breakfast. We then went to the High School to set up for the Chili Challenge. It took a while to get ready, and I heated up my chili in the car. I threw my old Coleman Camp Stove in the back because I know the crock pots would never heat the chili in time. Asa had to leave at 9:30 to go practice baseball, but Luke stayed with me the entire time. We finished the Chili Challenge around three o’clock. I went home and immediately took a nap. I felt so bad for a while that I was beginning to worry about myself. I then drank two bottles of water and felt 100% better. I am sure that I was nearing dehydration, which is a bad situation when you are diabetic. Our entire family, except for our two oldest granddaughters, went to Stanfield’s in Rogersville tonight for dinner. We enjoyed our outing very much tonight. We saw the Spry family there celebrating the birthday of their Dad and Mom. Mr. Spry turned eighty this week, and his family really did surprise him with the party. He introduced me to his brother, Bill, and told me about his coffee-cup collection that includes six thousand cups. Sunday morning Kay and I attended Sunday school and Church. Our class lesson was very good today, and Brother Jenkins had an outstanding sermon. We had more people baptized this morning and others joined the Church. Our bunch ate sandwiches at home for lunch today. I took a rest this afternoon, then Kay and I went to Decatur with our choir to participate in the Choir Festival at Westmead Baptist Church on Beltline Road. Decatur Baptist, Decatur First Baptist, Central Baptist, and Westmead Baptist were also performing in the Festival. This was a great festival. It is hard to believe that there are so many talented people involved in their Church music. I hope you will take every opportunity to support your Church music program, and be sure to teach your younger generation to sing the old Gospel Hymns. We need to be sure that we pass on to our children and grandchildren an appreciation for good Gospel music. Monday morning I had Donna Jo Curtis, Vice-President of the Alabama Cattlemen’s Association as my guest on my radio show. Her friend, Daveen Stanford, Secretary of the local association, came to be with us. Donna was a great guest. She grew up in Thatch on a farm, attended Ardmore Schools, and graduated from Middle Tennessee State with a degree in Agriculture and the certification to teach. She never has taught, but she is and active cattlewoman, running around 150 head of registered cows on around 300 acres. I spent time in the office with staff taking care of our city’s business. I met with city officials this afternoon to discuss a possible project for our community. Kay had an excellent country supper tonight that was enjoyed so much by our family. I went to Polk Sallet Practice tonight at the Senior Center. Tuesday morning I awakened to snow covering the earth and coming down at a fast clip. I stopped at LuVici’s for a cup of coffee with Jerry Sandlin, the owner of the restaurant. I spent the morning in the office doing correspondence and speaking with several staff members and Councilpersons. I ate lunch at home and stopped at LuVici’s to see if I could see David Seibert having lunch. He was not there but I saw and visited with Hugh Ball, President of our Chamber of Commerce. I received word from my cousin, Norma Gail Delmore Weimer, that her sister, Billy Anne Dampier’s home burned last week. Billy Anne lives near St. Louis, Mo. She and her family were not injured, but they lost everything, including all her Dad and Uncle’s memorabilia. Their Dad was Alton Delmore of The Delmore Brothers. I spoke with Barbie Peek from Huntsville Jet Port, about the agenda for their Town Hall meeting that is scheduled for Wednesday, March 10, at Athens State University Ballroom at 10:30 am, and 5:30 pm. The public is invited to attend to give input and receive information about their efforts to secure a low-fare airline. Wednesday morning I had breakfast at LuVici’s by myself. All my friends must have had other things to do. I did see and speak with Matthew Kyle, owner of our local Chic Fil-A restaurant, who was there with other owners from the North Alabama area. They were having a meeting related to business and I was glad to see them in Athens. Matthew recently was in Washington to receive an award for our local store related to business and profitability. Matthew and his family live in our community. They are fine folks and we are glad to have them here. Later, David Seibert and I signed a proclamation for the Chamber of Commerce Garden Show that will be held at the local armory on March 13 and 14. The admission is free, so go on out to see the show. I met with two candidates for public office who came by to see me. The first was Mitchell J. Howie, and attorney from Huntsville, who is running as a Democratic candidate for the Fifth District Congressional seat. He was a Jag Officer in the Air Force and is now in private practice. We had a good discussion and I gave him my opinions as to what our local community wanted from our Congressman. The second candidate was Ken Gawronski who is a Republican candidate for the State School Board, District 8. Ken seems to be a fine young man who received his entire education in the District for which he is running. His elementary and secondary education was attained in Huntsville, and his college degrees at Calhoun and Athens State. He married Catherine Roberts, a local girl from Athens, and they have one child, Kaylee. Ken is very active with the Masons and is very concerned about the future of education for his daughter and our community’s children. I was very impressed with this young man, and I hope you get to meet him. I like the fact that he attended Calhoun and Athens State, and that he married an Athens girl. I also like his daughter’s name, Kaylee. She is just seven months of age. I have a beautiful granddaughter, Kaleigh, who is now seventeen years of age. Wednesday night I went to choir practice. We are now practicing our music for our Easter programs. Our Church places a great deal of emphasis upon the Easter Season. I really enjoy the music that our choir does during this time. Thursday morning I went to my Doctor for my regular checkup. Everything seems to be going well with the numbers from the tests. I had a device called I-Pro placed under my skin that I will wear for a week to check my blood sugar 288 times per day. This will be removed and downloaded into a report for the Doctor. They also gave me a different meter to check my blood during this time. I came back to the office to cover several items of work. Kay and I had lunch today with Mark and Phyllis Whitt at Clark’s restaurant. We had a good time with these dear friends, and we enjoy every outing we have with them. They are planning to go to their Nashville home this afternoon and spend the night. I went to the American Legion Building and made arrangements to rent it for a campaign rally later this month. I will be having the rally on Tuesday, March 23, starting at 5:00 pm. I hope all my friends and supporters will come out for this event which will kick-off my campaign for the District 5 Alabama House seat. Kay and I drove to Chattanooga this afternoon for the weekend. I like to go to Chattanooga occasionally for the weekend. It doesn’t take too long to get there, and there is a lot to do in the downtown. We stayed at the Stone Fort Inn, which is a renovated hotel that is around one hundred years old. It is a beautiful place, but the floors in the room were from six inches to a foot higher on one side than the other. If you dropped anything, it would roll quickly to the other side. The bed had a thick King James Bible placed under one of the legs to keep you from rolling out of bed. We had dinner tonight at the North Shore Grill. This place was recommended to us by our son, Daniel, who recently ate there. I had the stuffed trout and Kay had the grouper. We enjoyed the meal. Friday morning we had breakfast at the Stone Fort. It was very nice, and the staff catered to our every need. There were few guests beside us this morning. We visited several galleries and talked to the artists about what is going on with the arts. We had lunch at Sticky Fingers, a Rib House. We had the BBQ sandwich which was good, but not as good as Whitt’s. I always call Mark whenever we have any kind of barbecue and tell him it is the best I have ever eaten. That is an inside joke for us. I have had some in places which was very good, but none has ever come up to as good as Whitt’s. I will put our community’s Whitt’s barbecue up against anyone’s. Saturday morning we had breakfast again at the Stone Fort. There were more guests present today. The breakfast turned out to be sort of gourmet. They had Egg Benedict, Quiche, raspberry tarts, and fresh fruit. We left Chattanooga around 11:00 and drove to our son Daniel’s house at Ryland to see his family. We had forgotten that they were going to Collinsville to the Flea Market today, so we didn’t get to see them. We came on home and unloaded our gear, then went to see our kids. Saturday night our bunch went to McCollom’s Catfish in Decatur. My sister, Joan Stanford and her family came to be with us. Her brother and sister-in-law, Glen and Linda Stanford and their son Greg were also there. They had a huge crowd of folks there to eat, including several more people from Athens. I talked with Ms. McCollom about the history of their business which they started in 1961. She is a nice lady and really enjoys being in the food business. Sunday morning I went to Church early for a prayer meeting, then attended Sunday school and Church. The crowds were down some and we had several missing from our Choir because of illness. I guess the crud is still going around. Our bunch ate lunch at our house. We had a little bit of fried chicken and plenty of homemade sandwiches. I went to Polk Sallet dress rehearsal this afternoon. We went through our skits several times and seemed to improve each time. I hope you get to come out to see some of our community’s leader’s entertainment. You will be surprised to see how talented some of us are, and are not. Our family came back to our house tonight and Dinah and Whitney made homemade pizza for supper. They did an excellent job with this. I told them it was like gourmet pizza. Monday morning I had Ardmore Police Chief, David Whitt, on my radio show. David was a great guest and I think he is doing a good job for Ardmore from everything I hear. David had a 26 year career with the Athens Police Department before leaving for the Ardmore job. His wife, June, is employed by us as a Magistrate of the City Court. The City Council met tonight for a regular meeting and the following items of business received the attention of the Council: 1. Approved travel expenses for the Electric Department. 2. Re-appointed Butch Cook to the Personnel Board. 3. Rejected the bids for the Rescue Tool for the Fire Department because the low bid did not meet the specifications. 4. Entered into an agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation for construction of additional lanes beneath CSX Railroad overpass at Highway 72 and Jefferson Street. 5. Approved Dunivant Engineering to do site design on property for Fire Station #1. 6. Introduced an agreement between the City and County to develop a new Public Library. 7. Amended Section 50-72 Sewer Service Rates to increase the sewer rates. 8. Amended Section 50-71 to increase the water rates. 9. Amended Section 50-71 to increase service charges for automatic sprinklers and fire hydrants. 10. Approved drainage work on Westview Street and Vine Street. 11. Approved the costs associated with the new Fire Station #1. 12. Approved the costs associated with the new City Hall. 13. Approved the purchase of new skunk traps for our Animal Control services. 14. Amended the match money for the Cottonwood sub-division sewer project. 15. Approved bidding out the Glen Valley Sub-division sewer project.
The Council also heard a report from Bob Culver, head of TARCOG, about the services it offers to our community. They also heard a request for funding from the Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area. I went to Polk Sallet practice tonight after the Council meeting. Kay Burlingame really ran us through the wringer at this practice. I asked her if she was one of the original Egyptian taskmasters that we read about in the Bible. She did get us to the point that improvement was readily seen for our skit. I hope you will get to come to the program which begins Thursday night and runs through Saturday night. Tuesday morning I had the regular radio show on WKAC to discuss the previous night’s Council meeting, and any business that involves the City of Athens. Most of the remainder of the day I was in the office taking care of business. We ate supper at Whitney’s house tonight. She had made Taco soup which was very good. She was afraid it wasn’t going to taste good because this was her first time to make it. We enjoyed our food and fellowship with three of our children and one grandchild. Wednesday morning I attended the town meeting at Athens State’s McCandless Hall for a presentation by the Huntsville Jet Port. This is an effort to get community support to secure a low-cost air carrier for our area. Huntsville now has the reputation of being the most expensive airport in the nation for travel fares. Tom Hill from Economic Development, David Seibert from the County Commission, and I spoke in support of this effort. Barbie Peek, Director of Marketing for the airport, and Damon Hylton from Seabury Consulting presented the information to the audience. There will be another meeting at the same location tonight at 5:30 pm. I met Jason Harper, the newly appointed Huntsville TVA Office Manager, for lunch today at LuVici’s. David seems to be a fine young man and is interested in developing a good relationship between our community and TVA. We talked about many items of business. One very important one is our efforts to get Nuclear Plant Road repaired and paved. This is a two million dollar project and we have asked everyone to give us assistance. Jason will be working with us on the project. After lunch I met with Public Works Director, James Rich, for a conference call to Rep. Parker Griffith’s office in Washington. We spoke with his staff about this project, and asked for an update on our request for his assistance. They insured us that they would be back in touch with us. Tonight our family went to Huntsville to meet Daniel and his family for dinner at the Thai Gardens at Five Points. Daniel and Luke are leaving Friday morning for a school trip to Washington, D.C. This will be Luke’s first time there. They are traveling by bus and will come back next Wednesday. We all enjoyed the Thai Gardens. It was our first time there, but Daniel and Charles meet there for lunch often. Thursday morning I spent time in the office catching up on correspondence and had conversations with Public Works personnel about projects we have that are on-going. I had lunch with our Finance Director and a financial consultant to discuss our city’s investments. I went to the Polk Sallet tonight for our first performance. The house was sold out and I thought our performance went very well for the first night. I hope you will be able to see it either Friday or Saturday night. Friday morning I went to Decatur to my Diabetic Doctor to have the I-Pro chip removed from my back. The nurse converted the information from it to the computer and I was able to see that it had measured my blood sugar over 1000 times. The results were good. Most of my time was in the acceptable range, although there were a couple that were not. By comparing it to a food log I was required to keep, I could see that the night I ate at the Thai Gardens my blood sugar went much higher than it was supposed to be. I guess that means I cannot be making trips over there too often. I came back home and met Kay at LuVici’s for breakfast. We enjoyed the time we had together at breakfast this morning. I spent the morning going over city business, and I went to Canebrake with Councilman Harold Wales and Public Works personnel to preview a sidewalk project there. I am including the Chamber of Commerce’s schedule of events for the remainder of March and April. Pick out some fun things for you and your family to look forward to attending. I guess this is enough for this time. Take care and I will see you next time. Mayor Dan Art Marketing; An Artists Meet and Workshop March 13 at 9:00 AM – noon Art on the Square is pleased to offer this workshop which includes creating a marketing kit; proper presentation to galleries and shows; the importance of a web presence; finding the “right” market; grassroots marketing strategies and networking. Keynote speaker and facilitator will be Gina Hurst of Ascribing Artists and Trisha Black, Executive Director Spirit of Athens. Athens Home and Garden Show March 13 & 14 The Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce’s annual Home and Garden Show will be at the Athens Armory just off Hwy 31 on Armory Drive. This year vendors displaying all types of lawn and garden products will be available for purchase. Contact 256-232-2600 to reserve a booth or for more information. Polk Sallet Follies March 11, 12 & 13 The Athens Senior Center on Pryor Street will be full of life at the annual Polk Sallet Follies. This event offers a delicious dinner and outstanding live entertainment. Reserved seating required. Tickets go on sale Feb 15th. Purchase your tickets early – they go fast! Contact 256-233-6412. Taste of Ardmore March 19 at 11 AM – 2 PM Ardmore restaurants will showcase their delicious food during the annual Taste of Ardmore at the Ardmore, TN Annex building. Purchase a $5.00 ticket and enjoy lunch sampling all the varieties offered. Contact 256-423-7588 for tickets or information. Blast From the Past in Concert March 20 at 7:00 PM – dinner at 6:00 PM Yesterdays Event Center invites you to enjoy the oldies a’cappella group “Blast From the Past and national singer/impressionist Kevin Adams. Both groups just returned from the national O’Reilly’s World of Wheels auto expo and Kevin just opened for Billy Joe Royal and Percy Sledge. Admission is $10 each and dinner is $8.95 each. Reservations required by email halljd99@hiwaay.net. www.yesterdaysevents.com Easter Extravaganza March 27 starting at 9:00 AM The Spirit of Athens’ Easter Extravaganza will be a fun filled day for the children. Beginning with Breakfast with the Easter Bunny at The Club House (Marion Street) at 9-11 AM. Advanced tickets are required – adults $15.00 and children $10.00. The Easter Egg Hunt will be at 11:30 AM on the lawn of the Limestone County Courthouse downtown Athens. Photos with the Easter Bunny will be from 11 AM – 1 PM. Fee for photo is $5.00. For more information call Trisha at 256-278-6436. Blacksmithing Demonstration/Workshop - March 27 at 9:00 AM Everyone is welcome to come and watch the demonstrations in the art of making tongs and candleholders throughout the day at Travis Fleming’s Shop located at 208 Commercial Drive, Athens. Contact Travis at 256-227-6216 or visit alaforge.org for more information. Ardmore AL/TN Civitan Club Annual Easter Egg Hunt - April 3 at 10:00 AM Bring the children (ages 1 – 10) to the Ardmore, AL town park (located behind Rab Shelton Furniture) and let them enjoy the annual easter egg hunt. The Easter Bunny will be there so be sure and bring your camera and get pictures of your children with the bunny. Free and everyone is welcome. For more information call Janet at 256-423-6850. Athens Cruise In on the square April 3 at 2:00 – 8:00 PM Bring you antique vehicle and enjoy the fellowship of other antique vehicle owners. Everyone is welcome to walk around the square and enjoy the vehicles and our encourages to eat at our local restaurants and do a little shopping before you leave. Come and enjoy the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s music. For more information call Bland at 256-603-1227. Swamp John’s Fish Fry - April 5 at 4:– 0 7:00 PM - Join us at the First United Methodist Church Beasley Center for delicious fish, shrimp and chicken and all the trimmings. Tickets are $10 in advance or at the door. Tickets are available at the KALB Office, 125 East Street, Athens or by calling 256-233-8728. Women’s Conference April 9th & 10th - Friday at 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM and Saturday from 9:00 AM - 2:30 PM Ms. Donna Partow will be the speaker at the First Baptist Church Women’s Conference this year . Tickets are $25.00 and includes lunch. For information and reservations (which are required) contact Jackie Jackson, 256-232-7829 or jackiejackson12@gmail.com. 40th Annual Ardmore Beauty Walk April 9 at 7:00 PM (grades K-5th grades) - April 10th at 10:00 AM (preschool) - April 10 at 7:00 PM (grades 6th – 12th grades); Hosted by the Ardmore Band Boosters, the annual beauty walk will be held at the Ardmore High School gym. Students from Cedar Hill and Johnson Elementary my enter the Miss Elementary Pageant. Students from Ardmore High may enter the Miss Ardmore Pageant. The Preschool pageant is open to all girls not enrolled in school. Registration forms are available at each school’s main office, on each school’s website, Lil’ Tigers Daycare and Wee Care Learning Center. The deadline for entry is March 12th. Inaugural Chick-fil-a 5K April 10 256-777-3999 Singing on the Square - April 16 at 6-8:00 PM This year’s free singings will begin with Miss Lacey Snider and Piney Creek band. Bring your lawn chair and enjoy the outstanding music. Contact 256-232-5411, www.tourathens.com/events-attractions. “A Decade of Difference” – Athens Limestone Hospital Gala April 17 at 7:00 PM until midnight The annual gala, to benefit the Julia Ann Stacey Sweet Charity Fund, will be at the Westin at Bridge Street Town Centre, Huntsville. Make your reservations today. Contact 256-233-9236. Administrative Professionals Luncheon April 21 - Hosted by Big Brother/Big Sisters, this luncheon honors our Administrative Professionals. 256-232-4650, www.bbbsna.com 5th Annual Best Buckin’ BBQ Cookoff April 23-25 - Think your barbecue is the best? Then you should enter this Kansas City Barbeque Society sanctioned cook-off which is held at the Limestone County Sheriff’s Rodeo Arena at 17836 AL Hwy 99. Some $12,000 will be awarded in prize money and proceeds go to the Boys and Girls Clubs of Limestone County. The event is free to the public, but amateur teams will be charged a $125 entry fee and professional teams will be charged $250. To sign up visit www.bestbuckinbbq.org. For more information call Jonathan 256-497-4887 or send an email to jhinton@limestonesheriff Athens on the Square Car Show April 24 at 8:00 AM 256-603-1227, www.carsonthesquare.com Best Buckin’ BBQ Cookoff April 23-25 www.bestbuckinbbq.org Doggie Fun Fest April 24 256-216-0945, www.hoplc.com Taste of Home Cooking School April 27 at 6:30 PM. Doors open at 4:30 PM The Athens News Courier will host its annual “Taste of Home Cooking School” at Athens Middle School. Tickets are $8.00. Contact 256-232-2720. Athens Ladies Civitan Blue Gold Charity Golf Classic April 29 – registration 11:00 AM. - Golfers needed! Join us for a 4-Man Scramble Golf Tournament at Canebrake. Shotgun Start 1:00 p.m. This Golf Tournament is to help support the Civitan International Research Center and local organizations that helps with developmentally delayed children and adults. Contact: Mary Duncan 256-233-1257 or 256-337-6279 or email mduncan@hiwaay.net. |
