The Randolph County Chamber of Commerce, Randolph County Extension System and Southern Union State Community College are sponsors for the 16th year of Leadership Randolph County, a program to help identify and educate potential leaders for the community.Sessions will be conducted on the second Thursday of each month, typically from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m.…

RANDOLPH COUNTY PROBATE COURT NOTICE TO FILE CLAIMS IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF EULA M. BILLINGSLEY, DECEASED Letters Testamentary on the estate of Eula M. Billingsley, deceased, having been granted to the undersigned on the 1st day of Aug., 2008, by the Judge of Probate of said County, notice is hereby given that…

RANDOLPH COUNTY PROBATE COURT NOTICE TO FILE CLAIMS IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF ETHEL N. WILLINGHAM, DECEASED Letters Testamentary on the estate of Ethel N. Willingham, deceased, having been granted to the undersigned on the 1st day of Aug., 2008, by the Judge of Probate of said County, notice is hereby given that…

Former Roanoke Police investigator and business owner Jonathan Heard is in the Elmore County Jail in Wetumpka under $120,000 bond. He is charged with two counts of robbery, according to Elmore County Chief Deputy R.T. Ward. Heard has a hold on him from Shorter in Macon County on a robbery charge there. Ward said they…

RANDOLPH COUNTY, ALABAMA IN RE: ESTATE OF ROSE MARIE HARTZEL, DECEASED NOTICE OF FINAL SETTLEMENT Take notice that the 28th day of Aug., 2008, at 10:30 a.m. has been appointed by the Court as the date and time for the Final Settlement of the Estate of Rose Marie Hartzel, deceased, by the Executor of said…

It was with some relief that I learned that the Chinese government has instructed the 112 designated Olympic restaurants in Beijing to take dog meat off their menus during the games. This means that Occidental visitors to the Middle Kingdom will not have to make diligent inquiry to determine whether the meat in their stew…

Two families have gone through the selection process and have been chosen as the first two families for Habitat for Humanity builds in Randolph County. Due to the difficulty of finding affordable land elsewhere in the county, both will be built on Habitat land on West Point Street in Roanoke. Also, it is more efficient…

I’m beginning to think ESPN is in negotiations to change its name to Brett Favre TV. The endless media circus involving Brett Favre’s retirement from the NFL, then his desire to come back and play, to his recent reinstatement, to the long meeting with Packers coach Mike McCarthy has been sports talk gold over the…

A contest filed in the District 4 Randolph County Commission race is apparently finished. Incumbent T.J. “June” Waldrep beat challenger Richard Fetner by six votes but there were questions about the absentee box where Waldrep won by a large margin to retain his seat. Fetner filed a contest but Jim Spearman, vice chairman for county…

It’s been a long time coming. The Leader’s price has remained unchanged for the past 20 years. Expenses haven’t. Beginning with the September 3 issue, the single-issue price of The Randolph Leader will be 75 cents. In making this change, The Leader joins a growing number of non-daily newspapers—and even some dailies like USA Today—who…

(WOODLAND) William Edward “Billy” Beall, 87, of Woodland died Aug. 4, 2008. Services will be Wednesday, Aug. 6, at 11 a.m. EDT at Bethel East Baptist Church in Woodland. Burial will follow in Gray Hill Church of God cemetery.

(WEDOWEE) Services for Ruth Camp Williamson, 94, of Wedowee were Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008 at 2 p.m. at Wedowee First United Methodist Church, with the Revs. Yancey Sanders and Gary Henderson officiating. Burial was at Pine Grove Cemetery in Malone. Mrs. Williamson died Friday, Aug. 1, at Mobile Infirmary Medical Center. Survivors include three daughters,…

(VALLEY) Sally Mae Smith, 97, of Valley died Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008, at Lanier Memorial Hospital. Mrs. Smith was born in Randolph County Jan 21, 1911, daughter of the late Lena Lane Taylor and the late Walt Taylor. She was a former employee of Handley Mills in Roanoke and was a member of Lowell Christian…

(ROANOKE) Services for William Lewis “Bill” Bennett, 83, of Roanoke were Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008, at 2 p.m. at Quattlebaum Funeral Chapel, with the Rev. Stoney Halsey and the Rev. Cecil Halsey officiating. Burial was at Forest Home Cemetery. Mr. Bennett died Thursday, July 31, at his home. Survivors include three grandchildren, John, Mitch and…

(WEDOWEE) Services for Ruth Camp Williamson, 94, of Wedowee were Sunday, Aug. 3, 2008, at 2 p.m. at Wedowee First United Methodist Church with the Revs. Gary Henderson and Yancy Sanders officiating. Mrs. Williamson died Friday, Aug. 1, at Mobile Infirmary Medical Center. Survivors include three daughters, Jane McCarter Fussell of Americus, Ga., Diane McCarter…

Funeral services for Peggy Smith Sivell, 60, of LaGrange, Ga., will be Saturday, Aug. 2, 2008, at 11 a.m. CDT at Quattlebaum Funeral Chapel with the Rev. S. T. Janney officiating. Burial will follow at Randolph Memory Gardens. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 5 to 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug.…

(LANETT) Jay C. Handley, 88, of Lanett died Friday, Aug. 1, 2008, at his residence. Services were Sunday, Aug. 3, at 3 p.m. at Johnson Brown-Service Funeral Home Chapel in Valley with the Revs. Kenneth Wyatt, Phillip Sessions and Robert Huff officiating. Burial followed at Resthaven Memorial Gardens. Mr. Handley is survived by his wife,…

(DADEVILLE) Services for Jan Rodney Siggers, 65, of Dadeville, were at Langley Funeral Home Chapel on Saturday, August 2, 2008, at 2 p.m. Burial was in Tallapoosa Memory Gardens. James Cullins and Chris Tidwell officiated. Born July 29, 1943, Mr. Siggers died Thursday, July 31, at Lake Martin Community Hospital. He is survived by his…

(HOUSTON, Texas) William Clifford “Cliff” Burns, 85, beloved father, grandfather and great-grandfather, died on Monday, July 28, in Houston, Texas. Services were Saturday, Aug. 2, at Roanoke First United Methodist Church with the Revs. Steve Baccus and Paul Messer officiating. Burial followed in Randolph Memory Gardens. Ushers were Steve Burns, Gary Roberts, Hy Rothstein, Paul…

(ROANOKE) Lula Hutchinson, 82, of Roanoke died Monday, July 28, 2008, at Roanoke Health Care Center. Services will be Monday, Aug. 4, 2008, at 6 p.m. at Sweet Home Baptist Church, Five Points, with burial in the church cemetery. Survivors include a sister-in-law, Annie Mae Robertson of Roanoke. She was preceded in death by her…