While observing the legislature the other day, I fondly remembered a very eventful day as a youth. As a teenager, I grew up working at the Capitol as a page in the House and Senate.Albert Brewer had been elected to the House from Morgan County in his late 20s and became speaker in only his…
(ROANOKE) Lester Shivers Shepherd of Roanoke passed died at his residence on Tuesday, May 31, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Martha Shepherd of Roanoke; one daughter, Laurie Crowe (husband, Robert) of Cartersville, Ga.; one son, John Shepherd (wife, Kira) of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; and four grandchildren. A private service will be held at…
(ROANOKE) Alannah Maleah Baker, infant daughter of Mario Henderson and Keyera Baker, died Tuesday, May 31, 2016, at Midtown Medical Center. The funeral was Sunday, June 5, at 2 p.m. at Quattlebaum Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Elijah Jackson officiating. Survivors include her parents, Mario Henderson and Keyera Baker of Roanoke; two sisters, Maia Henderson…
(NEWELL) Funeral service for James Franklin “Uncle Jeff” Houston, 80, of Newell was Sunday, June 5, 2016, at 1 p.m. at Oak Grove Worship Center with the Rev. Frederick Brown officiating. Interment with military honors followed in the adjoining cemetery. Mr. Houston died Monday, May 30, at Regional Medical Center. Mr. Houston worked for New…
(MELBOURNE, Fla.) Jackie Edith Rampy of Melbourne, Fla., died Wednesday, June 1, 2016. She was 86. The funeral was Sunday, June 5, at 2:30 p.m. EDT in the chapel of Rainwater Funeral Home. Bro. Ed Grooms will officiate. Interment followed at Campground United Methodist Church Cemetery in Graham, Ala. Mrs. Rampy was born in Randolph…
(LaFAYETTE) Cathy Jackson, 63, of LaFayette died Tuesday, May 31, 2016, at Golden Living Center in Lanett. Graveside services will be Saturday, June 4, at 11 a.m. at Rock Springs Christian Church, Roanoke, with the Revs. Darren White and Paul Howard officiating. She was born in Roanoke on Sept. 20, 1952, to the late John…
(NEWELLON, La.) Funeral services for Lela Warren, 89, of Newellton, La., will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 5, 2016, at First Baptist Church, Newellton, with the Revs. Mike Mitchell and Larry Foster and Bess Graham officiating. Interment will follow in Legion Memorial Cemetery, Newellton. Visitation will be from 1 p.m. until time of services.…
(WEDOWEE) A memorial service for Miguel Angel Roman, 92, of Wedowee will be Saturday, June 4, 2016, at 2 p.m. at the SIFAT Lodge, 2944 County Rd. 113 in Lineville with the Rev. Carlos Martinez officiating. Mr. Roman died Tuesday, May 31, at his home. He was a native of Puerto Rico, where he had…
(ROANOKE) Funeral services for Corene Pullen Hester, 88, of Roanoke will be Friday, June 3, 2016, at 3 p.m. at Quattlebaum Funeral Chapel with the Rev. Richie Farrow officiating. Burial will follow at High Pine Baptist Church Cemetery. Mrs. Hester passed away died Tuesday, May 31, 2016, at the home of her niece, Toni Brown,…
(ROANOKE) Funeral services for Heflin Carden, 76, of Roanoke will be Thursday, June 2, 2016, at 10 a.m. at Quattlebaum Funeral Chapel with the Revs. Larry McDaniel and Anthony Herren officiating. Burial will follow at Antioch Congregational Christian Church Cemetery. Mr. Carden died Monday, May 30, in Louisville, Tenn. A lifelong resident of Randolph County,…
(ROANOKE) Troy Frank Stephens, 42, of Roanoke died Friday, May 27, 2016. The family will receive friends at Jones-Wynn Funeral Home, Saturday, June 4, from 10-11 a.m. EDT. A memorial services will be at 11 a.m. in the chapel of Jones-Wynn Funeral Home with the Revs. Garey McManus and Toby Stephens officiating. He was born…
A house Oliver Kitchens recently bought to restore on Roanoke’s Chestnut Street has special meaning to him. Not only is it within a block of where his granddad started and operated the county’s first dry cleaner–before that same granddad built the “elephant gas station” on Main Street–the house is where his dad, Jack Kitchens, was…
The county’s basketball coaching landscape will be dramatically different when the 2016-17 season begins, as Handley and RCHS will both be looking for new boys coaches for next year. The most seismic change will be at Handley after head coach Clifton Drummonds accepted an offer from Athens City Schools to become an assistant principal and…
Five women, all senior citizens, gathered for a photo on a pier outside a waterfront restaurant in Beaufort, N.C., on the evening of May 11. Without warning, the pier collapsed, plunging them all into Taylor’s Creek eight feet below. Surrounded by oyster beds and wooden pilings, the women clung to the collapsed structure in water…
Southern Union State Community College celebrated its 93rd commencement on May 5. Originally chartered by the Southern Christian Convention of Congregational Christian Churches, SUSCC was established in 1922 and welcomed its first class of 51 students in 1923. The college’s 2016 enrollment totals 4,714 students. Three hundred degrees were conferred to graduates this spring with…
Worship on the Water has gotten underway and will take place every Sunday at 9 a.m. through the Labor Day weekend at Lakeside Marina on U.S. 431 north of Wedowee. The first service was Memorial Day weekend with Elvis North and Jerry Rogers. The remainder of the schedule follows: June 5 Jon Tal Murphree &…
The Summer on Main Festival and Street Market in Roanoke will be a little different this year. It will begin at 6:30 a.m. and run to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 4 The free concert with Soul Tymes Nine will run from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Main Street Theatre. People are reminded…
Clifton Drummonds is gone, which means that the highest-profile basketball job in the county is available. Before I get to the matter of what’s going to happen to that team, I want to throw my two cents in on Drummonds’ departure. It will be strange living in a world in which Clifton Drummonds isn’t coaching…
The Roanoke City Council approved an 10-year franchise agreement with Charter Communications at the last council meeting. Taylor Vice, who handles Charter’s governmental affairs in Alabama, said councilwoman Tammi Holley had questions about the franchise fee and he addressed them. She said she spoke with him and he answered her questions. The city can choose…
You can safely and freely dispose of old electronic devices during the Summer on Main Street Electronics Recycling event June 4. Sponsored by the Tallapoosa Basin Clean Water Partnership, the event will last from 8 a.m. to noon at the corner of White and Trammell streets, a block north of Main Street in downtown Roanoke.…