(ROANOKE) Services for James Earl Harry Jr., 82, of Roanoke, formerly of LaGrange, Ga., will be held Tuesday, July 29, 2008, at 4 p.m. at Quattlebaum Funeral Chapel with the Revs. Gary Baugh and Richard Meade officiating. Burial will follow at Randolph Memory Gardens.The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 6 to…

A former police officer from Roanoke was arrested in Mississippi as a suspect in an armed robbery in Elmore County. Jonathan Heard was charged with holding up the Central Store in Central, about nine miles north of Wetumpka, Friday at around 6:30 p.m. An eyewitness got the tag number of the suspect’s Chevrolet Avalanche pickup…

(NEWELL) Services for Emma Ellen Cook, 81, of Newell, will be Tuesday, July 29, 2008, at 2 p.m. at Harmony Congregational Methodist Church with the Revs. Cecil Cook and Ronald Carroll. Mrs. Cook will lie in state one hour before the service at the church. Burial will follow in the adjoining church cemetery. The family…

(ROANOKE) Services for John Robert Davenport, 80, of Roanoke will be Friday, Aug. 1, 2008, at 2 p.m. at Weathers Heights Church of Christ in Wedowee with the Rev. Hollis Boykin officiating. Burial will be in Wedowee Cemetery. Mr. Davenport died Thursday, July 24, at Wedowee Hospital. He is survived by four daughters, Lola Mae…

(ROANOKE) Services for Dorsey Eugene “Buck” Shelnutt, 69, of Roanoke, will be Tuesday, July 29, 2008, at 2 p.m. at Oak Grove Church of Christ with the Rev. Ridley Parmer officiating. Mr. Shelnutt will lie in state one hour before the service at the church. Burial will follow in the adjoining church cemetery. The family…

(ROANOKE) Services for Frances Susan Hernandez Miner, 39, of Roanoke, formerly of Oceanside, Calif., will be Tuesday, July 29, 2008, at 11 a.m. at Quattlebaum Funeral Chapel, with the Rev. Larry McDaniel officiating. Burial will follow at Paran Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 5 to 8 p.m.…

(ROANOKE) Services for Helen Huffman, 52, of Roanoke will be Wednesday, July 30, 2008, at 2 p.m. at New Beginnings Outreach Ministry with the Rev. Tom Staples officiating. Burial will be at Skyview Memorial Gardens in the Welch community. Mrs. Huffman died Friday, July 25, at Randolph Medical Center. Survivors include a daughter, Thaiwan Huffman…

(WEDOWEE) Bobby Frank Stewart, 76, of Wedowee, died Thursday, July 23, 2008, at Wellstar Douglas Hospital. He was born Dec. 16, 1931, in the Pine Hill community. Mr. Stewart was a carpenter and worked many years building grocery stores. He loved having company and entertaining with fish fries. His friends and neighbors referred to Mr.…

(ROANOKE) Services for Susie Lucile Pike, 88, of Roanoke, will be Tuesday, July 29, 2008, at 2 p.m. at Quattlebaum Funeral Chapel with the Revs. Gerald Sheppard and Ricky Cummings officiating. Burial will follow at Randolph Memory Gardens. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 5 to 8 p.m. on Monday, July…

(VALLEY) Margie T. Davis, 82, of Valley died Saturday, July 26, 2008, at East Alabama Medical Center, Opelika. Mrs. Davis was a native of Roanoke, born April 7, 1926, daughter of the late R.D. Tidwell and the late Della Brown Tidwell. She was a graduate of Handley High School and retired from West Point Stevens…

(DADEVILLE) Services for Gladys Sears Coleman, 91, of Dadeville will be Wednesday, July 30, 2008,at 2 p.m. EDT at Johnson Brown-Service Funeral Home Chapel in Valley with the Rev. Jimmy Allen officiating. Burial will follow at Resthaven in Lanett. The family will receive friends Wednesday afternoon from 1 p.m. EDT until the funeral hour. Mrs.…

(WOODLAND) Services for Tommy Wayne Kitchens, 55, of Woodland, will be Sunday, July 27, 2008, at 2 p.m. at Iduma Congregational Methodist Church with the Revs. Tim Craft and Tommy Carr officiating. Burial will follow at New Home Methodist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 4 to 8 p.m.…

(DARIEN, Ga.) John Willie Harris, 78, of Darien, Ga., died peacefully early Monday morning, July 21, 2008, at his residence surrounded family and friends. Born in Hoboken, Ga., he was the son of Arthur Willie and Alma Griffin Harris. Mr. Harris was a member of Northside Baptist Church. He served in the U. S. Army…

(ANNISTON) Services for Jessie Mae Knight, 47, of Anniston were Tuesday, July 22, 2008, at 2 p.m. at Union Chapel United Methodist Church, Wedowee, with Kristy Finley and the Rev. Craig McClure officiating. Burial was in Union Chapel Cemetery. Mrs. Knight died Thursday, July 17, at Stringfellow Memorial Hospital, Anniston. Survivors include her husband, Donald…

(ALEXANDER CITY) Services for Myrtleen “Myrt” Spears Sims, 83, of Alexander City, will be at 11 a.m., Wednesday, July 23, 2008, at Bass Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Vince Lee officiating. Ms. Sims died Tuesday, July 22, at Chapman HealthCare. She was born June 9, 1925, in Clay County to Henry and Chessie Lee…

(ROANOKE) Services for Marjorie Eloise Yates, 72, of Roanoke, will be Sunday, July 27, 2008, at 2 p.m. at Quattlebaum Funeral Chapel with the Revs. Steve Dean and S. T. Janney officiating. Burial will follow at Center Chapel Baptist Church Cemetery. The family will receive friends at the funeral home from 5 to 8 p.m.…

(WEDOWEE) Services for Harold McKissic, 56, of Wedowee, formerly of Maryland, will be Sunday, July 27, 2008, at 2 p.m. at Pine Flat Primitive Baptist Church with Elder Thomas Knight officiating. Burial will follow at the adjoining cemetery. Mr. McKissic will lie in state at the church for one hour beginning at 1 p.m. on…

(ROANOKE) Services for Margaret Spears Walding, 74, of Roanoke were Sunday, July 20, 2008, at 2 p.m. at Quattlebaum Funeral Chapel with the Revs. Fred Flowers, Barry Harlan and Scott Whaley officiating. Burial followed at Randolph Memory Gardens. Mrs. Walding died Thursday, July 17, at Bethany House. Survivors include her husband, Wallace Wade Walding of…

(WEAVER) Graveside services for Leonard Keith Spears, 27, of Weaver were Thursday, July 24, 2008, at Union Cemetery in Wedowee. Mr. Spears died July 20. He was born Aug. 16, 1981. Chapel Hill Funeral Home, Anniston.

Like most loyal Southerners, I am deeply concerned about the current catfish crisis. If you’ve never sat in a weather-beaten wood-frame restaurant by the Tombigbee River, or a reasonable facsimile of same, and devoured a mess of battered-and-fried catfish washed down by sweet tea, you may not react as viscerally as I to the news…