R Record-ecord-JJournalournalVolume 28 • Number 42 • 10 Pages • 1 Section • 1 Insert • Livingston, Alabama 35470 • Thursday, January 21, 2021 • 75¢ each, tax included

www.recordjournal.netwww.recordjournal.net

By Tommy McGrawAs Alabama continues to im-

plement one of the worst rolloutsof vaccinating the public in theU.S., the governor is optimisticthat the job will eventually getdone.

Alabama is ranked 50th out of

the 50 U. S. states in vaccinatingits residents. That ranks last inthe country on a per capita basis,trailing next-from-last Georgia.First-place West Virginia’s rate isrunning more than 3 and a halftimes ahead of Alabama.

Rhode Island last week had

vaccinated 65 percent of its pop-ulation, compared to 20 percentin Alabama.

According to the latest data asof Jan. 14 from the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention,a little more than 84,000 Al-

Continued on page 2-A

Sumter CountySumter County

By Herman B. Ward, Jr.& Tommy McGraw

The Sumter County HealthDepartment has receivedCOVID-19 vaccines and is pro-viding those vaccines to resi-dents, according to the Alabama

COVID-19 Vaccination Alloca-tion Plan.

Health care providers and res-idents that are seventy-five andolder are currently being vacci-nated in Sumter County.

Residents are asked not to call

local hospitals directly to set upappointments to receive theCOVID-19 vaccine at this time.

Many healthcare providers arecurrently being overwhelmedwith telephone calls, which is

Continued on page 2-A

Vaccine is hereShots given at Sumter Health Dept.

Moving dirt; Enviva era beginsEnviva begins construction at Port Epes for wood pellet biomass facility

Contributed article to theSumter County Record-Journal

Last month, Enviva - theworld’s largest producer of sus-tainable wood pellets – laiddown stable roots in NorthwestAlabama through the purchaseof 307 acres of land at the Portof Epes Industrial Park. The of-ficial closing of the land pur-chase, and the initiation ofpre-construction activities onsite, brings Enviva yet anotherstep closer to opening its pro-posed wood pellet productionplant in Epes, Alabama in early2023.

The proposed Epes plant willbe a near carbon copy of En-viva’s Lucedale, Mississippiplant, which is currently underconstruction. As the Missis-sippi plant nears its expected

completion in mid-2021, cer-tain teams and contractors willtransition to the Epes project.Enviva expects to have the pro-posed Epes plant constructedand fully operational in early2023. Once complete, Envivaestimates it will have investedbetween $175 - 200 million inthe project.

“I’m so happy to hear thatEnviva has formally plantedroots in Sumter County. Thepurchase of land at the Port ofEpes for their plant is a greatmilestone for Enviva andSumter County.  Great thingsare happening here and Envivais a big part of that.  I’d like togive them a big shout out fortheir commitment to SumterCounty and the surroundingarea, and I appreciate their con-

Sumter Courthouse is closeddue to armed violence threats

Courthouse under attack?

By Tommy McGrawPublisher

Livingston City Council metfor the first time in 2021 and pro-moted a fireman to captain, dis-cussed a curfew time, heard of a

grant, and discussed why twoambulances respond to one call.

The meeting was Monday,Jan 11 at City Hall as the councilcontinued to wear masks and so-cial distance amid coronavirus

concerns.Police report

During the Police report givenby Chief Roger Tolliver, thecouncil decided to maintain the

Continued on page 3-A

Heavy machinery begins moving dirt at Port Epes in preparation of building a $175 million facility that will boost Sumter’s economy.

UWA receives record $6.5 M foreducating new Alabama teachersPartner districts include Mobile and Tuscaloosa County School Systems, University Charter School

The University of West Al-abama has been awarded $6.5million in grant funding fromthe U.S. Department of Educa-tion for a teacher residencyproject, Project REACh, thatwill be led by the Tutwiler Col-lege of Education. ProjectREACh, Residencies for Edu-cating Alabama’s Children,will be a $13-million-dollarproject for prospective Al-abama’s educators. The fund-ing will be disbursed over afive-year period.

This is the largest singlegrant award that UWA has re-

ceived to date.“We could not be more

proud of the team that has de-veloped Project REACh, par-ticularly the College ofEducation, in collaborationwith UWA’s Office of Spon-sored Programs and Re-search,” said UWA PresidentKen Tucker. “This is a modelof innovation and responsiveleadership that sets UWA apartin our efforts to effectively ad-dress the needs of the regionwe serve. With the support ofthis grant award, UWA is ulti-mately investing $13 million in

Alabama’s families by way ofquality teacher education andcareer-strengthening opportu-nities.”

“Project REACh will re-cruit, train, and graduate 60 di-verse, highly effective teacherswho are well prepared to teachin Alabama’s high-needschools,” explained Dr. JanMiller, Dean of the College ofEducation at UWA.

UWA has partnered withthree school systems for Proj-ect REACh: Mobile CountyPublic School System, UWA's College of Education announces the TQP grant award to partners virtually. Go to

https://www.uwa.edu/news/education/TQPgrantOct2020 and click to play.

COVID-19 Vaccine You may call the local Health Department

number at 205-652-7972 or call 855-556-5333to set up a time to have your vaccinationCall if you are a frontline

health worker or 75 years andolder; otherwise, DO NOTCALL THESE NUMBERS!

Continued on page 3-A

Alabama is last in vaccinatingits residents; Gov. urges calm

L’ston Council hears aboutgrant, ambulance concerns

Sumter County Courthouse is closed again, this time due to possible violent threats againstpublic buildings throughout the United States. The parking lot is empty where the employeesnormally park their vehicles as they attend a day of work for the citizens of Sumter County.This marks the third time the offices have been closed in recent weeks, twice for COVID-19concerns. Unhappy Sumter residents alerted the Record-Journal to the closure.

By Herman B. Ward, Jr.& Tommy McGraw 

Sumter County Commis-sioners closed the SumterCounty Courthouse after aFederal bulletin warned ofplans for armed protests. Com-mission Chairman MarcusCampbell said Tuesday, Jan. 19that commissioners agreed

with Sumter Sheriff Brian Har-ris, who recommended theBoard seriously consider let-ting the courthouse remainclosed until after the inaugura-tion.

The Courthouse and ProbateOffice were already closed be-cause courthouse employeeswere exposed and affected by

the COVID-19 virus. Thecourthouse was scheduled toreopen Tuesday, Jan. 19.

Commissioners previouslyunanimously agreed it wouldbe best to close the Courthouseon two separate occasions andgive all employees an opportu-nity to be tested for the coron-

Continued on page 2-A

Continued on page 3-A

Page 2-A The Sumter County Record-Journal Thursday, January 21, 2021

Pratts celebrate 74th Anniversary

Thelma and W. C. Pratt, Jr., of Livingston celebrated their 74th anniversary on January 9, 2021. “Mom and Dad married on Jan. 9th, 1947. Their only child is Wilburn Clyde Pratt, III, also

known as Sonny. Sonny was born Jan. 23, 1952. Sonny married Patricia Ann Richardson; born inAliceville March 23, 1954; of York June 2, 1972. They have one son, Michael Lee Pratt, bornMarch 12, 1975 in Livingston and one daughter, Stacey Michelle Pratt, born May 16, 1977 in Liv-ingston. Michael lives in Livingston and is married to Kyla Williams of Silas, Ala. They have onedaughter, Brittney Caroline Pratt of Livingston, born Nov. 1, 1999. Stacey lives in Mobile AL andhas one son, Brandon Michael Hunt, born Jan. 28, 2006. Mother is from Cuba, Ala., and the daugh-ter of Benjamin Phillips and Ollie Shaw. She was born Dec. 4, 1927. Dad was born in Carrollton,Ala. April 28, 1924, son of Wilburn, Sr., and Mabelle Simpson of Stancel Ala. Dad is a WWII vet-eran and landed at Normandy June 6, 1944 in the second wave of soldiers to land.”

Submitted by Wilburn Clyde “Sonny” Pratt

USPS 579-740The Sumter County Record-Journal is published every Thursdayat 210 South Washington St., Livingston, Alabama. POSTMAS-TER send changes of address to P. O. Box B, Livingston, AL35470. Advertisements are accepted in person, via USPS mail, e-mail or through advertising agents. Phone: (205) 652-6100. E-mail: scrjmedia@yahoo.com. Website: www.recordjournal.net.Periodicals postage paid, Livingston, AL 35470.

Tommy McGrawPublisher, Editor

Herman Ward. Jr.Associate Editor

Kasey DeCastraCommunity Editor

Garrett PearsonCirculation/Delivery

Contact us at 205-652-6100 •Fax 205-652-4466 •Email us at scrjmedia@yahoo.comOur Website: www.recordjournal.net •Friend us on Facebook.

Sumter County Record-Journal Advertising Policy: This Newspaper is not responsible formistakes in advertising beyond cost of the space involved.

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More gov. urges vaccine ... from front

More courthouse closed ... from frontavirus.

The Federal Bureau of In-vestigations released a bulletinto alert all states that armedprotests could occur in Wash-ington D.C., as well as all 50state capitals ahead of Presi-dent-elect Joe Biden’s inaugu-ration.

Alabama Law EnforcementAgency stated that, while therights of protestors will be pro-tected, if there is rhetoric thatcould motivate violence, that iswhen the law will step in toprovide protection and securethe state capitol in Mont-gomery.

Commissioner Campbellsaid, “We agree that it’s impor-tant to be careful and protectour employees and residentsand the decision was made toallow the courthouse to remainclosed until Thursday, Jan. 21.”

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey’soffice confirmed that some Al-abama National Guard soldiershave been activated for the in-auguration of President-electJoe Biden, and approximately10,000 National Guard troopswere deployed to WashingtonD.C. to help with security dur-ing the inauguration of Presi-dent-elect Joe Biden.

The Sumter County Record-Journal was alerted to thecourthouse being closed byseveral of its readers. All werenot happy with the decision to

close the courthouse so manytimes. One resident stated,“I’ve got a several thousanddollar job in the balance de-pending on getting informationfrom the Sumter courthouse.Sumter is the only county I’vehad trouble with trying to ac-cess the courthouse.

“I’ve been able to conductbusiness in 13 counties in Ala-bama and Mississippi with noproblem except for Sumter.Even with the COVID-19 clo-sures. The other courthousesclose only the portion that maybe affected, not the whole

courthouse. The employeescommunicate with me byphone, fax and email. Sumterhas been the only county I’vehad a problem with,” stated theresident.

Another resident drove 30miles from Panola to do busi-ness at the courthouse only tofind the doors locked and asign posted on the door.

“They could have put it [clo-sure notice] in the Record-Journal or posted on Facebook.I just wasted a tank of gas andlost a payday from work,” saidthe disgruntled resident.

abamians had gotten their firstshot of the two-dose vaccine.

“I am thankful so many Al-abamians are willing and readyto get their COVID-19 vaccines.Please continue to be patient aswe are in the very early stages ofdistribution. Dr. Harris and histeam are continually working tomore efficiently get this vaccineinto the arms of Alabamians. Ourcurrent supply remains limited,but we are committed to vacci-nating as many Alabamians aspossible. We will get shots in thearm and off the shelf. In themeantime, be patient, wear yourmask and practice good com-mon sense. Let’s get this thingbehind us.”

Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey re-ceived her second dose of theCOVID-19 vaccine Tuesday.But questions remain on whythere’s a backlog on other Al-abamians getting their shots.

After receiving her final shotof the Pfizer vaccine at BaptistSouth Hospital in Montgomery,Ivey urged Alabamians to havepatience when it comes to get-ting their vaccine.

“I just want to reiterate every-one to be encouraged to get inline and get your shot becauseshots will be available at somepoint,” Ivey said.

State Health Officer Dr. ScottHarris received his second shotalong with the Governor. Harrisaddressed concerns over theslow vaccination process.   Hesaid there are simply not enoughvaccine shots to meet demand.

“The number that’s allotted to

the state is based on our percapita allotment from Alabama’spopulation. 1.4% of the dosesmanufactured can be shipped toour state. We’ve not received allof that,” Harris said.

Harris also said that shouldchange in the coming weeks asproduction ramps up and morevaccines get approval from thefederal government.

As for the governor, she’s urg-ing Alabamians to be ready forwhen their turn comes.

“I just want to encourage ourpeople to state patient, stay calmand you’ll get your shot,” Iveysaid.

Meanwhile, the governor’scurrent mask mandate remains ineffect through Jan. 22.  There’sno word yet from the governor’soffice if she plans to extend itagain.

According to the latest data asof Jan. 14 from the Centers forDisease Control and Prevention,a little more than 84,000 Al-abamians had gotten their firstshot of the two-dose vaccine.

Alabama Hospital Associa-tion President Dr. DonWilliamson says the state has notvaccinated enough frontline hos-pital workers to make an impact.He said he hopes to reach thatthreshold by the end of themonth.

Some hospitals have given outall of their supply and that otherswill have done so by this week-end, Williamson said.

Williamson continued, “Westarted with 19 sites to begin. …We’ve now grown out 200

sites,” he said. “Their goal is togo to, grow, in the next week orso over 400 sites.”

For people not yet eligible forthe vaccine, health officials areasking for patience. Dr. Bert Ei-chold, the Mobile County healthofficer, said the main culprit insouthwest Alabama is supplies.

“Our rate-limiting step has re-ally been the lack of vaccine inthe community from the federalgovernment,” he said. “So, youknow, that distribution point hasbeen very weak, but hopefully isgoing to correct in the next weekto 10 days. So we’re excitedabout getting vaccines for peo-ple. … We’ve given out as muchvaccine as we had.”

Eichold added, “If we don’tget community transmissionunder control with COVID-19,it’s going to be a significantissue. So please everyone, getvaccinated. …Wear your maskand socially distance,” he said.“There’s light at the end of thetunnel. It’s not a train. It’s thevaccine, and we’re happy that2021 will hopefully be the end ofCOVID-19 in Mobile County,Alabama.”

More UWA Reach grant ... from frontTuscaloosa County School Sys-tem, and University CharterSchool. Schools within thesesystems were selected based inpart on their designation as qual-ified opportunity zones.

“We look forward to partner-ing with UWA’s Project REAChto attract more teachers to Mo-bile County Public Schools, par-ticularly in some of our schoolsthat have experienced a shortageof teaching applicants,” saidMCPSS Superintendent ChresalD. Threadgill. “This is an inno-vative approach to tackle the na-tionwide teacher shortage. Thiswill give us the opportunity totrain and get to know theseteachers during their 14-monthresidency and to ultimately hirethem. It is a program that willtruly benefit our students.”

“At Tuscaloosa CountySchools, we’re honored to be apart of the newly awarded Proj-ect REACh grant with UWA,”said Superintendent Keri C.Johnson. “We are excited to havethis opportunity to recruit and re-

tain quality teachers while alsoreceiving valuable professionaldevelopment through the grant.We look forward to participatingin this program as we continue topartner with UWA to recruit, re-tain, and support teachers.

“University Charter School isvery excited to add this innova-tive component to our existingpartnership with UWA,” saidHead of School, Dr. JJ Wedg-worth. “Like many schools inAlabama, UCS faces challengesrelated to the rural teacher short-age, and Project REACh pro-vides a unique solution that willcreate a high-quality teacherpipeline into our rural class-rooms. This will positively im-pact student outcomes and makea lasting impression on our com-munity.”

The initiative is designed toimprove the achievement of K-12 students, reducing theachievement gaps in literacy,mathematics, STEM and com-puter science. By preparingteacher mentors who are skilled

in working with clinical residentsto improve their practice, hostschools’ capacity to provide highquality clinical experiences forpreservice teachers will result inincreased teacher effectiveness.The residency program will es-tablish and design a clinically-rich teacher preparation programgrounded in evidence-basedpractices.

New teachers will benefitfrom a sustainable induction pro-gram in their first two years ofteaching, followed by a retentionprogram for certified careerteachers.

The United States Departmentof Education, Teacher QualityPartnership program, funded$6.5 million (50 percent) of the$13 million UWA ProjectREACh grant award; UWA andother non-Federal funds matchthis funding.

To learn more about UWA’sProject REACh, email projec-treach@uwa.edu or call ProjectDirector, Susan Hester at 205-652-5426.

The sign does not mention the reason the Sumter CountyCourthouse was shuttered Monday through Wednesday, Jan.18-20. Other counties contacted their local media to alertthem to their reasons for closing so they could post the noticeon social media. Some counties ignored the Federal Bureauof Investigation’s bulletin and opened their courthouses to thepublic.

More vaccine is here ... from frontcreating an obstacle to patientcare. When vaccines becomemore available, information willbe provided about vaccine avail-ability for additional groups.

Residents who are veryhigh-risk and frontline healthcare providers, including clinicaland non-clinical providers suchas transportation, in-home, andmental health care facilities, areincluded.

The vaccine is not mandatory;however, experts say it can helpprevent disease and reduce thedisease severity, especially thosewho are in a higher risk group.  Ifyou live,  work, or socialize withanyone who is at high risk, youare encouraged to get vaccinated.

ADPH has no specifictimetable for when members ofthe general public can be vacci-nated.       The public is encour-aged to continue to practice themeasures needed to help reducethe transmission of COVID-19.

According to reports, theSumter County Health Depart-ment began giving the coron-avirus vaccinations Monday, Jan.18 to local healthcare workersand residents 75 years old andolder.

The schedule for vaccinationsin Sumter was released bySumter County CommissionChairman Marcus Campbell.The clinic is at the Health De-partment in Livingston on thefollowing dates and times.

Jan. 18 from 9 a.m. until 12noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.; Jan.20 from 9 a.m. until 11 am.; Jan28 9 am until 11 a.m.; Feb. 4from 8:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.;Feb. 11 from 8:30 a.m. until11:30 a.m.; Feb. 18 from  from8:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m.; Feb25,  from 8:30 a.m. until 11:30a.m.

You may call the local HealthDepartment number at 205-652-7972 or call 855-556-5333 to setup a time to have your vaccina-tion if you are in the first groupof medical workers and residents75 years old and older. If you renot in this group, please do notcall. The facility is located at1121 N. Washington Street inLivingston.

A press release dated Wednes-day, Jan. 13 from ADPH read inpart:  The Alabama Departmentof Public Health (ADPH) isaware that the COVID-19 Vac-cine Hotline is experiencing dif-ficulties. Staff continues workingto expand vaccine scheduling ca-pabilities at the call center. Atpresent, there are no more ap-pointments available at countyhealth departments, but the callcenter will take your contact in-formation and add it to a waitinglist. Callers will be contacted assoon as more appointments areavailable.

The demand for the COVID-19 vaccine continues to exceedsupply as there are more than

326,000 health care workers andnearly 350,000 people in Ala-bama who qualify for a vaccinebecause they are 75 years old andolder. Hotline personnel areworking to schedule persons inthe 75-plus age group, law en-forcement officers, and firefight-ers for immunizationappointments beginning January18.

General information aboutCOVID-19 is available throughthe COVID-19 Information Hot-line number, 1-800-270-7268,and at alabamapublichealth.gov.

COVID-19 StatsSumter County - Jan. 20

ADPH District West CentralDifference in 14 Days

New Cases 29New Deaths 0Lab Test Counted 496Cases, Deaths as of Jan. 20Total Cases to date 896Died 26Lab Test Count 4,096

From Bama TrackerCases positivity rate

Positive Test rate 20.17%14 Day Positive Test 5.85%7 Day Avg. Test 16.71%ADPH website list 39,504hospitalizations statewidewith 221,961 presumedrecoveries statewide

ThankYou

for supporting theRecord -Journal

tinued support andconcern for our citi-zens. The future isbright for SumterCounty, and we areexcited to partnerwith Enviva goingforward. Again,Thanks! Enviva! Forcoming to SumterCounty,” said Mar-cus Campbell, Chair-man of the SumterCounty Commis-sioners.

As the county andEnviva wait for thecompletion of the forthcomingEpes plant, Enviva has and willcontinue to support the localcommunity. To date, Envivahas volunteered, donated, andfundraised for several local or-ganizations, programs andevents, including: Epes Day,Sumter County Board of Edu-cation, Sumter OpportunityHead Start Program, Universityof West Alabama, the localBoys and Girls Club, The Uni-versity Charter School, and theAlabama Forestry Association,to name a few.

“Enviva is committed toSumter County and we lookforward to the day we can offi-cially call it home,” said RickFrederick, Community Rela-tions Manager for the Gulf Re-gion at Enviva. “As anextension of the local commu-nity, we will continue to partnerwith Sumter County leadersand organizations to betteridentify, execute and deliver onthe specific needs of the com-munity.”

As of 2023, the ongoing op-erations at Enviva’s proposed

Epes plant areexpected to cre-ate a reoccur-ring, annualeconomic im-pact of $265million. Theplant initiallywill be con-structed to pro-duce 750,000metric tons peryear with thepossibility to ex-pand to its fullproduction ca-pacity of

1,150,000 metric tons of woodpellets per year in the future.Once fully operational, the newplant would create approxi-mately 90 full-time jobs andsupport more than 240 indirectjobs (including logging, trans-portation, and local services).Furthermore, construction ofthe facility is expected to createmore than 400 cumulative jobs(directly and through contrac-tors).

Now officially part of thecommunity, Enviva continuesto build long-lasting relation-

ships with area landowners,loggers, sawmills, and variousforest product facilities tosource and purchase fiber in a

sustainable manner. The worldis in need of more renewableenergy and Enviva has thetrack record, the resources, and

the know-how to successfullydeliver this important benefitglobally.

Thursday, January 21, 2021 The Sumter County Record-Journal Page 3-A

Backhoes, dump trucks, bulldozers and other heavy equipment are set to move dirt in PortEpes.

current time at 12 midnight forall residents to be off the streetsof Livingston.

Chief Tolliver began the dis-cussion by asking the mayor andcouncil if they wanted to “keepthe curfew at 12 midnight orchange back.”

The council had told Tolliverat a meeting in December theywould address the curfew timeagain at the “first of the year.” Inthe summer the curfew time was10 p.m.

Livingston City AdministratorJames “Bird” Dial said the cur-few changed on the night of NewYear's Eve to 1 a.m., "but we arenow back to 12 midnight time."

Mayor Tartt, addressing ChiefTolliver, said, “I’m going toleave that up to you. We maywant to do it gradually, but I’mgoing to leave that up to you fornow, unless you tell me any dif-ferent, we’ll leave it on [at 12midnight] until springtime.

Ambulance reportRaymond Schendel, who was

present, was congratulated by theMayor and Council after beingpromoted to Captain in the Liv-ingston Fire and Rescue Depart-ment.

City Administrator and actingFire Chief Bird Dial said of thepromotion, “We talked to the Al-abama Fire College, all theseother departments, and they allsaid it was a well-deserved pro-motion and to do whatever youcan to keep Raymond employedin the Fire and Rescue Depart-ment.”

The following letter was ad-mitted into the record in supportof Captain Schendel.

The letter read: December 18, 2020Livingston Fire and Ambu-

lance1304 North Washington StreetLivingston, Alabama 35470To all employees of Liv-

ingston Fire and Ambulance De-partment:

I'm pleased to inform you ofthe promotion of your fellowemployee, Raymond Schendel,from Sergeant to Captain at Liv-ingston Fire and Ambulance.The decision was made after re-ceiving several letters of recom-mendation from members of ourcommunity and experts in thefield. This promotion comes at atime when our fire and ambu-lance department has sufferedturnover, budget cuts, and uncer-tainties amid a global pandemic.Raymond Schendel has taken alead role within the departmentto help guide us through theseuncertain times.

As Captain, he will continue

to provide the leadership, strongwork ethic, knowledge, and ex-pertise in his service to the citi-zens of Livingston. His 17 yearsof experience and credentials, in-cluding his flight paramedic cer-tification and the sole critical carelicense within the department areassets to the City of Livingstonand Livingston Fire and Ambu-lance. I encourage you all to joinme in congratulating RaymondSchendel on his promotion toCaptain. Thank you for yourcontinued service to the City ofLivingston.

Bird DialCity Administrator/Interim

Fire ChiefCOVID-19 Report

Captain Schendel then gavethe ambulance report, which in-cluded a report on how theCOVID-19 pandemic had af-fected the Livingston Fire andRescue Department financially.The report was not made avail-able to the press.

Schendel asked the mayor andcouncil to contact him about anyquestions they had about the re-port.

AFG GrantSchendel continued, “We

were also awarded another AFG[Assistance to FirefightersGrant] for $51,300.”

Schendel said the AFG grantwas actually for $51,050 but wespent $51,300. “They [FEMA]want you to go a little over [onspending].” The cost to the citywas $4,996, and FEMA paid therest at $48,619.05, Schendeladded.

An AFG grant is an Assis-tance to Firefighters Grant(AFG) and is one of three firegrant programs from the Depart-ment of Homeland Security(DHS) and the Federal Emer-gency Management Agency(FEMA). AFG focuses on en-hancing the safety of the publicand firefighters with respect tofire and fire-related hazards.

The funds the city put in wasabout ten percent in a matchinggrant. Mayor Tartt exclaimed,“We’ll  make a ten to one tradeany day.”

Raymond said the tools pur-chased with the grant were bat-tery operated Hurst toolsdesigned to work underwater.

Ambulance questionsAdministrator Dial said he

had been approached about whythere were two ambulances an-swering calls in the city at thesame time. “What is the reason-ing behind that?” Dial asked

Schendel responded, sayingthat it amounts to the availabilityof personnel at the time of thecall.

He said during most daysthere is only one paramedic onduty almost all the time. The twoambulances serve two purposes.After the paramedic arrives anddetermines what level of care isneeded for the patient, then theymake a determination as to howthe patient will be transported:either in the ambulance with theparamedic or one with a lowerlevel of professional services onboard.

“This keeps response timedown versus going back to the

station and answering anothercall,” the captain explained.

Schendel said the two ambu-lances cuts down on responsetime and gives the patient thequickest medical help possible inthe city. “After 4 p.m. we go to athree-man crew and only use oneambulance,” he said.

Councilwoman Iola Williamsasked, “Can you just use a radioto call back and ask the secondunit to come to the scene?”

Schendel responded, “Younever know what you are goingto get [health situation of the pa-tient.] We don’t want to delay pa-tient care by radioing back to thebase when I can have men avail-able at the scene. We take them[ambulances] but we take themto provide the best quality andquickest service to the patient.”

Williams said the LivingstonAmbulance service “didn’t useto do that [send two ambu-lances].”

Schendel said he believes it isnecessary when only one full-time paramedic is on duty.

Mayor Tartt injected, “The in-formation we receive from E-911 dispatchers, could be morehelpful with a better descriptionof what the caller is needing inpatient care. If we could get moreinformation about the patient up-front the better we’ll know whatto send.”

Schendel said, “A lot oftimes  they give information, andit’s totally different when we getthere.”

Tartt then ended the conversa-tion with a light-hearted joke,“I’ll go ahead and tell you tobring Bird, the dog and bringeverybody when you come tomy house [If I make a call to911.]”

Tartt’s remarks drew laughterfrom the council and those pres-ent.Thanks to City EmployeesAt the close of the meeting,

Councilwoman Williams askedto be heard.

She said she wanted to thank

the sanitation, police, firefighters,and ambulance crews for a jobwell done.

“The street and sanitationcrews worked so hard with thatgarbage in the rain and sleet. Ihate garbage. I thank them forthe job they do.”

She also thanked the PoliceDept., Ambulance, fire and cityhall employees.

Mayor Tartt added, “We’vebeen blessed for a long time withdedicated employees. We’ve gotas good a crew as we have everhad in a long time. All of our em-ployees do the thankless jobs andwe appreciate all the employ-ees.”Remember Tommy LittleAdministrator Dial asked that

the public be aware and remem-

ber the family of former city em-ployee Tommy Little after hispassing two weeks ago.

“I worked with and was afriend of Tommy Little, whoworked in the City of Liv-ingston’s Utility Department for40 years. One week after retire-ment he passed away. Please re-member the family at this timeand keep them in your prayers.”

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Airports and aircraft are cleaner than ever and masks are required.

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”

“

More Enviva begins construction in Epes ... from front

More Livingston council hears ambulance concerns ... from front page

JOB ANNOUNCEMENT Billing Clerk

Sumter County Water Authority has an immediate opening for full-time “Billing Clerk”

Job Summary: This position includes varied general office and clerical work in utility billing, account maintenance, payment processing, person to person interaction with customers as well as by phone. We are seeking an individual who possesses good interpersonal skills, organized, ability to work in difficult situations, troubleshoot basic customer issues such as leaks, high consumption, bill due dates and make appropriate suggestions to resolve issues on a daily basis. Additionally, candidate must be bondable, able to operate computer billing and collection system, maintain filing system, and operate a calculator, well versed in the use of Microsoft Word and Excel, as well as other assigned duties. Typing test will be given.

Applications can be picked up at Sumter County Water Authority, 400 AL-28, Livingston, AL 35470, last day applications will be accepted, January 29, 2021 @ 4:45 p.m.

Publisher’s$22 Coupon

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Paul WarrenAlford

Paul WarrenAlford, 82,passed awayon January 14,2021 at hishome in De-

catur, Alabama after an extendedillness. Paul was born in Gads-den, the oldest of two childrenof the late Jack Warren Alfordand Martha Elizabeth CauseyClayton. As a young boy, hemoved to York, where hismother’s family lived and spenthis childhood years attending

schools in York. His grandfatherwas a conductor for the railroad,and Paul’s home bordered therailroad tracks, so he loved todrink Coca-Cola and watch thetrains go by. He later moved toGadsden to spend time with hisfather’s family and worked at hisfather’s restaurants, Jack’s Ham-burgers and the Dairy King. Heespecially enjoyed making maltmilkshakes for customers. Hewas very involved in the BoyScouts of America and achievedthe rank of Eagle Scout. In highschool, he played several musi-cal instruments including thetrumpet, French horn and drums,

and was named to the AlabamaAll-State Band for his Frenchhorn talent. Paul was awarded aband scholarship and continuedhis education at the University ofAlabama where he received de-grees in Statistics and Account-ing. While at Alabama, he was amember of Theta Xi Fraternitywhere he served as President hissenior year. He played theFrench horn for the Million Dol-lar Band under the leadership ofColonel Carlton K. Butler andserved as Band Manager for

many years. He continued to beinvolved with the Million DollarBand long after graduating, serv-ing at one time as President andTreasurer for the Million DollarBand Alumni Association andattending numerous band re-unions where he played duringthe halftime show at Alabamafootball games. He was asked toserve as the guest conductor forthe Million Dollar Alumni Bandduring one of the Alabama foot-ball games. After graduation,Paul joined the Air NationalGuard and completed his basictraining at Lackland Air ForceBase in San Antonio, Texas. Heserved as an Airman 2nd Classin the 225th Radio RelaySquadron in Gadsden, Alabamafor many years before transition-ing to Reserve duty. Paul movedto Birmingham and began work-ing as an Accountant. He methis wife Jean Colvin and theywere married in 1963. Afterpassing the Certified Public Ac-countant examination, he pur-chased an accounting practice inDecatur. He initially practiced byhimself, later became partnerswith Gene McKenzie and prac-ticed as Alford & McKenzie, andwas finally joined by Ray Bree-den, practicing as Alford,McKenzie & Breeden until heretired. Paul and Jean raised theirchildren Allison and Jack in De-catur. Paul was a strong Chris-tian and an active member ofWestmeade Baptist Church formany years, serving as a Deaconand chairman of the buildingcommittee for the new sanctuary,working with the Royal Ambas-sador (RA) program and singingin the choir. He loved to sing inthe Christmas cantatas that West-meade presented every year. Heand Jean transferred to First Bap-tist where he was also very in-volved as a Deacon and in thechoir. He was active in manycivic causes and served on nu-merous boards in the Decaturarea. One special interest was hisinvolvement with OperationHome. Paul and Jean travelledall over the United States and theworld. Paul was so proud of thefact that he travelled to all 50states. Some of his favoriteplaces to visit were Australia, Is-rael, Austria, Germany, Italy,England, Ireland and Hawaii.Paul and Jean also loved tocruise on the Princess Cruise lineand made many trips to theCaribbean, the Panama Canaland Alaska. Paul had a love forall things aeronautical. He ob-tained his pilot’s license and pur-chased his first airplane: aMooney. Paul flew his family allover the South. A special high-light in his flying career occurredduring a vacation to Hawaiiwhen he was allowed to land anairplane on Hickman Field, ad-jacent to Pearl Harbor U. S.Naval Base. Paul treasuredspending time at his home onSmith Lake where he spentcountless hours boating, water-skiing and fellowshipping withfamily and friends. His lakehome was the site for many Sun-day School class parties andfamily reunions. His best friend,the late Tommy Whitehead, pur-chased the lake house next doorand the two of them were insep-arable. Above all, Paul lovedmeeting and talking with people.He took advantage of almostevery opportunity he had to meetsomeone new and discover theirstory. He met with homeboundchurch members and helpedwith their mail or drove them onerrands. Whether it was theproduct of his upbringing in asmall town or a simple thirst forknowledge, he never met astranger. Paul is preceded in death by

his brother Frederick Roland“Buddy” Alford. He is survived by his wife of

57 years Jean Colvin Alford; hischildren Allison Alford Ingram(Michael) of Montgomery, andJack Warren Alford (Pam) ofDecatur; and 5 grandchildren:Sarah Kate Ingram, Emily In-gram, Elizabeth Ingram, ClaireAlford and Anna Alford.There will be a private family

service, followed by interment atRoselawn Memorial Gardens. Acelebration of life ceremony maybe held at a later date if COVID-19 Pandemic conditions im-prove. In lieu of flowers,memorials may be made to theBuilding Fund at First BaptistChurch of Decatur, 123 ChurchSt., N. E., Decatur, AL 35601.

Betty Sue Hughes BoydBetty Sue Hughes Boyd, 84,

of Tuscaloosa, passed away onJanuary 13, 2021, at DCH Re-gional Medical Center. A grave-side service was held at 2 p.m.Sunday, January 17, 2021 atTuscaloosa Memorial Park withPastor Kevin Thomas officiatingand Tuscaloosa MemorialChapel Funeral Home directing.She was preceded in death by

her parents Fred B. Hughes andMildred Odell Hughes, and herson William H. Boyd, Jr. (Bill).Survivors include: husband

William Harvey Boyd, Sr.(Billy); daughter Julie BoydJackson (Lance); grandchildrenWilliam Harvey Boyd, III,(Billy), Jonathan McAbee Boyd,Alexander Boyd Jackson, Su-sanna Elizabeth Jackson, and Ju-lianne Grace Jackson; sister AnnHughes Peterson; brother FredB. Hughes (Charlene); sister inlaw Betty Boyd Rushing; severalnieces and nephews.Betty Sue was a 1954 gradu-

ate of Tuscaloosa High School.She was a cheerleader. Marriedto William Harvey Boyd Sr.(Billy) for 63 years as of Decem-ber 29, 2020. She was presidentof Junior League of Tuscaloosa,and president of Mystic MardiGras Club. She worked hand inhand in the family business. Shewas an active member of ForestLake United Methodist Church.She was a loving wife, mother,and “Grandma.” She nevermissed an event her children orgrandchildren participated in.Her entire life was her family.She was always a class act andthe sweetest lady to everyoneand could always put a smile onyour face. She was the ultimateSouthern lady. She was a bless-ing for everyone that knew her.She was kind, generous, andleaves a remarkable legacy forher family to carry on for years.She loved going down to thefamily farm and enjoying dinnerwith family and friends at Dia-mond Jim's restaurant in Liv-ingston. She absolutely loved tosit on the front porch of thefarmand the back porch of the lakehouse at sunset and watch thewater “sparkle like diamonds” asshe always sparkled and lit up aroom when she entered. Her fa-vorite thing was watching theyellow butterflies during theirseason. The yellow butterflysymbolizes the soul is now atpeace. She also grew to love herand her husband's dog Benelli;you could often find them sittingon the sofa in her sunroomwatching television together.Pallbearers will be: William

Harvey Boyd, III, (Billy),Jonathan McAbee Boyd,Alexander Boyd Jackson, LanceJackson, Brett Copenhaver, andStan Pate. Honorary pallbearersare: past and present employeesof Billy Boyd Realty and Con-struction lnc., Homebuilders As-sociation of Tuscaloosa,Tuscaloosa Association of Real-tors, Dr. Arti Pandey, Dr. AnandPandey, and the entire Pandeyfamily, Dr. Phillip Bobo, Dr.Steve Allen, Entire ICU DCHMedical Staff, Luke Standeffer,Brian Kendrick, special nursesFarris Terry, Ferra Cox and LisaHeravi. Special friends: MerlineSpivey, Jennifer Robin Hayes,Madelyn and Bert Jones, Car-olyn and Stephen Durel, Beckyand Britt Brittain, Ron Henry,Jeff Englebert, Maggie Conner,Ella Smith, Chris Mcilwain,David Fernandez, Lewis McAl-lister, Leslie Drucker, JeanneCampbell, Gina Powell, Dr.Barry Darden, Kim Sartain,Genae Pugh, Stefanie andMichael McGuire, Vickie andBobby Snow, Sondra and Ed-ward Richardson, Bill Trick,Fred Trick, Hal Corbin, ChadGore, Jack Evans, Dianne andHowell Jackson, Brooks Copen-haver, Mimi McCool, Suzanneand Terrell McCool, Jack Bal-

lard, Joe Rice Jr., AnthonyParker, John Davis Baird, BeckyPradat, Michelle and MarleyParker, Darron and Leah Cross,Jerry Greene, Suellen Johnson,Angel Green, Jennifer Dunkling,Penny and Lee Pake, Hugh andGinger Underwood, Suzie andJimmy Duncan, Jimmy Godfrey,Jimmy Duren, Renea and Bal-lard Henson, Haleigh Plott, Jo-hanna Shirley, Kim TownsendGladney, Mark Gober, LauraLeigh Thompson, Kim and BoBuford, Hayley Sansing,Michael Hendley, Carol LeeCross, Kimber Williams, KarenMcAbee Boyd, Ronnie andShirley Whitaker. Life longfriends and neighbors from HighForest, Jimmy Oswalt, Tom Oz-ment, Cecil Ozment, Annetteand Richard Shelby. In lieu offlowers please make donation toForest Lake United MethodistChurch or one's favorite charity.

Marcella Ann ChessGraveside service for Mar-

cella Ann Chess, 50, was heldWednesday, January 13, 2021 at11 a.m. at St. Thomas A. M. E.Zion Church Cemetery, Ward,with Pastor Linda Sims-Lilly of-ficiating.Marcella was born March 25,

1970 to Willie C. and GeraldineC. Law in Butler. She departedthis life peacefully on January 7,2021 at UAB Hospital in Birm-ingham. She was preceded indeath by: grandfathers, R. C. Ca-pers, Prince McCray; grand-mothers, Thelma Capers, SusieMcCray; sister, Monica Ruffin;and brother, Willie Harris.Marcella leaves to cherish her

memories: a loving fiancéWilliam Winn of Ward; a sonDe’Airreus (Elijaheh Riley)Philon of Norcross, GAa,; par-ents, Willie C. and Geraldine C.Law of Ward; two sisters Aretha(Greg) Bryant of Chelsea, Bev-erly Dubose of Livingston; onebrother, David (Tracy) Harris ofMosinee, Wis.; a brother-in-lawReginald Ruffin of Wilsonville;two special nephews D’JonBryant of Calera, Gabriel Ruffinof Wilsonville; a special child-hood friend Shelia FitchWilliams of Birmingham; and ahost of aunts, uncles, nieces,cousins, friends, and co-workers.The celebration of life service

was rendered by Weatherly-Studdard Memorial FuneralHome, Inc., Butler.

Mr. Robert Edward “Junior” Harris, Jr.

It is with deepest sorrow thatLavender’s Funeral Service an-nounces the passing of Mr.Robert Edward “Junior” Harris,Jr., 39 of Northport, on Friday,January 15, 2021 at DCH Re-gional Medical Center inTuscaloosa. Visitation will beThursday, January 21, 2021from 2-5:30 p.m. at Lavender’sFuneral Service. The homegoing celebration will be Friday,January 22, 2021, at noon atMount Hebron Baptist Church,2463 Franconia Rd., Aliceville.The body will lie in state in thechurch one hour prior to theservice. Internment will be inMount Hebron Baptist ChurchCemetery. Rev. Marcus Wright,pastor of Mount Hebron BaptistChurch, will be the Eulogist.*FOR THE HEALTH &SAFETY OF EVERYONE, Al-abama 6 Feet Distancing Regu-lations Applies To This FuneralService. MASK WEARING ISREQUIRED. SEATING WILLBE LIMITED. Lavender's Fu-neral Service, Aliceville, 205-373-2420, directing.Survivors are the Harris and

Williams families.Mrs. Bernice

Jones McDonaldMrs. Bernice Jones McDon-

ald, 56, of Gordo, on Saturday,January 16, 2021 at DCH Re-

Page 4-A Sumter County Record-Journal Thursday, January 21, 2021

Cont...page 7-A

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Obituaries

PUBLIC NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICE PUBLIC NOTICENOTICE BY CONTRACTOR

OF COMPLETION OF PUBLICIMPROVEMENTS

In accordance with Chapter 1, Title39, Code of Alabama 1975, notice ishereby given that, Dexter Fortson As-sociates, Inc., of 5511 Powder PlantLane, Birmingham, AL 35022, hascompleted the contract for construc-tion of the SCADA System Replace-ment & Upgrade, GMC ProjectNumber: CMGM-180016, for theSumter County Water Authority, Liv-ingston, Alabama, Owner, and hasmade request for the final settlementfor said contract. All persons havingmade any claim for labor, materials, orotherwise in connection with this proj-ect should immediately notify Good-wyn, Mills and Cawood, Inc., 2660EastChase Lane, Suite 200,

Montgomery, AL 36117.Kenneth Fortson

Dexter Fortson Associates, Inc.5511 Powder Plant LaneBessemer, AL 350224tc/1-21, 29,2-4, 11

NOTICE OF COMPLETIONC & H Construction Services,

LLC. hereby gives notice of comple-tion of contract with The Alabama De-partment of Transportation on Project# HRRR-6019(250) in SumterCounty. This notice will appear forfour consecutive weeks beginning Jan-uary 21, 2021 and ending on February11, 2021. All claims should be filed atP.O. Box 2252 Daphne, AL 36526during this period.

4tc/1-21, 28, 2-4, 11

STATE OF ALABAMASUMTER COUNTY

IN THE PROBATE COURTFILE NO. 2020-31

IN RE: THE ESTATE OFANNIE PEARL JOHNSON, DE-

CEASED. NOTICE OF APPOINTMENT Letters of Administration of said

deceased having been granted to the

undersigned on the 30th day of De-cember, 2020, by the Honorable WilliePearl Watkins-Rice, Judge of the Pro-bate Court of Sumter County, notice ishereby given that all persons havingclaims against said estate are herebyrequired to present same within thetime allowed by law or the same willbe barred.

VERA JOHNSON WARD, Ad-ministratrix of the Estate of ANNIEPEARL JOHNSON 7005 Hwy 17,

York York, AL 36925 3tc/1-21, 28, 2-4

MORTGAGEFORECLOSURE SALE

Default having been made in thepayment of the indebtedness securedby that certain mortgage executed byArthur L. Brown, deceased to Mort-gage Electronic Registration SystemsInc. as nominee for CountrywideHome Loans, Inc., dated February 27,2004 said mortgage recorded in theOffice of the Judge of Probate ofSumter County, Alabama, in Book284, Page 923. Said mortgage wassubsequently sold, assigned and trans-ferred to LoanCare, LLC. Under andby virtue of the power of sale con-tained in said mortgage, the under-signed, LoanCare, LLC, will sell atpublic outcry to the highest bidder forcash, in front of the main entrance ofthe Courthouse in the City of Liv-ingston, Sumter County, Alabama onFebruary 2, 2021, during the legalhours of sale, all of its right, title, andinterest in and to the following de-scribe real estate situated in SumterCounty, Alabama, to-wit: LOT NUM-BER 5 OF BLOCK E, BIGBEESUBDIVISION PLAT NUMBER 3,OF THE CITY OF LIVINGSTON,SUMTER COUNTY, ALABAMA,ACCORDING TO THE MAP ORPLAT OF SAID SUBDIVISION ASTHE SAME APPEARS OFRECORD IN THE JUDGE OF PRO-BATE SUMTER COUNTY, ALA-BAMA, IN MAP BOOK 7, PAGE

63-A. SUBJECT TO EASEMENTSFOR PUBLIC ROADS AND PUB-LIC UTILITIES AND THE PRIORRESERVATION AND/OR CON-VEYANCE OF THE OIL, GAS ANDOTHER MINERALS LOCATED IN,ON OR UNDER SUBJECT PROP-ERTY, IF ANY. Property Street Ad-dress for Informational Purposes: 220Willow St Livingston AL 35470 Saidproperty will be sold "AS IS". NOREPRESENTATION OR WAR-RANTY, EXPRESSED OR IM-PLIED, IS MADE AS TO THETITLE OF SAID PROPERTY. Saidproperty is subject to any title deficien-cies including but not limited to: anyoutstanding ad valorem taxes - includ-ing taxes which are a lien but not yetdue and payable, any matters whichmight be disclosed by an accurate sur-vey and inspection of the property, anyassessments liens, encumbrances, zon-ing ordinances, restrictions, covenants,and matters of record superior to theMortgage first set out above. Saidproperty will be sold subject to theright of redemption of all parties enti-tled thereto. Alabama law gives somepersons who have an interest in prop-erty the right to redeem the propertyunder certain circumstances. Programsmay also exist that help persons avoidor delay the foreclosure process. An at-torney should be consulted to help youunderstand the rights and programs asa part of the foreclosure process. Thissale will be made for the purpose ofpaying the same and all expenses ofthis sale, as provided in said Mortgageand by Alabama law. This sale is sub-ject to postponement or cancellation.**This is an attempt to collect a debtand any information obtained may beused for that purpose.**

LoanCare, LLC, Mortgagee orTransferee Jonathan Smothers

ALAW One Independence Plaza,Suite 416 Birmingham, AL 35209Attorney for Mortgagee/Transferee20-012223 A-4728697 01/07/2021,

01/14/2021, 01/21/2021

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gional Medical Center,Tuscaloosa. Lavender's FuneralService, Aliceville, 205-373-2420, directing. There was nopublic viewing of Mrs. BerniceMcDonald at Lavender's FuneralService. The body of Mrs. Ber-nice Jones McDonald was cre-mated. Survivors are the McDonald

and Jones families.Mrs. Bernice Jones Mc-

DonaldMrs. Bernice Jones McDon-

ald, 56, of Gordo, on Saturday,January 16, 2021 at DCH Re-gional Medical Center,Tuscaloosa. Lavender's FuneralService, Aliceville, 205-373-2420, directing. There was nopublic viewing of Mrs. BerniceMcDonald at Lavender's FuneralService. The body of Mrs. Ber-nice Jones McDonald was cre-mated. Survivors are the McDonald

and Jones families.Timothy Pearson

Service for Timothy Pearson,57, was held Saturday, January16, 2021 at 11 a.m. at SouthernChoctaw Football Stadium,Gilbertown, followed by a pri-vate interment.Timothy Pearson was born on

January 17, 1963 to the union ofClamas and Essie Pearson inQuitman, Miss. He departed thisearthly life on January 8, 2021Tim joined Mt. Moriah BaptistChurch at an early age and at-tended regularly. He graduatedfrom Southern Choctaw HighSchool in 1981. After graduation,he immediately joined theUnited States Marine Corpwhere he served for 11 years.While serving his country, he ac-cepted Christ and started his bib-lical studies at Liberty BibleInstitute where he received hiscertification in Christian Min-istry. After leaving the military,Tim returned home to Melvin,and began his career with the U.S. Postal Service where he re-tired after 20+ years of dedicatedservice. He began preaching in1993 and served as Pastor of Mt.Moriah Baptist Church inMelvin, for the last 15 years.Tim leaves to cherish his

memories: a loving wife of 34years Melony Pearson; threechildren Amber Adams(Redrick) of Lisman, ShaquillePearson of Tuscaloosa, andShannon Pearson; one grand-child Amari Adams; two broth-ers Clamas Pearson, Jr. (Debra),Mark Pearson (Yulette), both ofMelvin; one sister Betsy (Leah)Pearson of Birmingham; and ahost of beloved nieces, nephews,and friends.The celebration of life service

was rendered by Weatherly-Studdard Memorial FuneralHome, Inc., Butler.

Sim PearsonGraveside services for Sim

Pearson, Jr., 80, of Lauderdale,Mississippi, were Monday, Jan-uary 18, 2021, at 11 a.m. at theSalem Baptist Church Cemetery,Toomsuba, Miss., with Rev. RayHopkins officiating.Mr. Pearson passed away Sat-

urday, January 16, 2021, at An-derson Regional Medical Center,Meridian, Miss. He was bornJune 11, 1940, in York, Ala. Heand his wife have been residentsof the Dalewood Community forover 15 years.He is survived by his wife of

45 years Brenda Fuller Pearson;son Kenny Pearson (Lisa);daughter Dawn Cooper (Jeff);brothers Walter Pearson (Deb-bie) and Charlie Pearson; sister,Dorothy Bucklew; grandchil-dren Jeffrey Cooper, BrittanyPearson, and Lynsey Cooper;great grandchildren, Kolten andKhloe Cooper; and host of niecesand nephews.He was preceded in death by

his parents Sim Pearson, Sr. andMinnie Octavia Jowers Pearson;sisters Maurine Ratcliff, MinnieIrene Jones, Mary ElizabethPearson; brothers Robert EarlPearson, Willie T. Pearson,Tommy Pearson, Ed Pearson; M.O. Pearson, J. W. Pearson, andBill Pearson.Pallbearers: Jeffrey Cooper, C.

W. Jones, Daniel McKinley,Jerry Havard, Chris Rutledge,and Jeff Cooper. Visit bumpers-funeralhome.com to sign the on-line register and postcondolences to the family.

Arrangements by Bumpers Fu-neral Home of York

Emmitt Summerville, Jr.Emmitt Summerville, Jr.

graveside service will be Satur-day, January 23, 2021 at theGainesville community ceme-tery at 11 a.m.

Nell E. WhiteGraveside services for Nell E.

White of Mobile were 2 p.m.Saturday, January 16, 2021 atPippen Cemetery, Eutaw.Smith's Mortuary, Boligee di-recting.

William Don WilbornGraveside services for Mr.

William Don Wilborn, 80, ofCuba, were Sunday, January 17,2021, at 2 p.m. at the Clay Me-

morial Cemetery in Cuba withBro. Ed Stallings officiating.Mr. Wilborn passed away, Fri-

day, January 15, 2021, at his res-idence. He was born May 14,1940, in Sumter County, Ala.Survivors include his wife

Frances B. Wilborn of Cuba; sonLee Wilborn (Dona) of Ameri-cus, Ga.; two grandchildren andtwo great grandchildren.He was preceded in death by

his parents John WilliamWilborn and Miriam TimsWilborn. Visit bumpersfuneral-home.com to sign the online reg-ister. Bumpers Funeral Home ofYork will be in charge ofarrangements.

Thursday, January 21, 2021 Sumter County Record-Journal Page 5-A

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ObituariesLivingston Line

Keep warm on thesefreezing days, y’all

By Claire SmithWishing all of you who have

lost loved ones recently are be-ginning to replace sadness withsweet memories of the past. Ourthoughts and prayers are withyou all. Happy birthday to all of you

who are celebrating your birth-days this week. To those of youwho are celebrating anniver-saries we wish you happy daystogether. Thinking about R. T. and Lisa

Floyd and all of their familytoday. Lisa’s mother passedaway last week. God be with youall. Recently several members of

Debra Elliott’s family have hadCOVID. Many prayers that theyare well by now and that nobodyelse in the family has been sick.Many prayers have gone up forKirk, Fran and baby Atlee. Hop-ing that they are all well by thistime. Gordon and Edith are finally

moving to Birmingham tomor-row. (This is Saturday). Theyhave planned on this move eversince Thanksgiving. I really hateto see them leave the home that.They wished for for so manyyears. But Edith told me thateven though they really wantedto stay that it was time. Theirhealth has made this move nec-essary. God bless y’all, myfriends; we will miss y’all socome back to see us often. Had a real good time last

Thursday when Laci came tospend the day. Sally and Jon tookKalee to Birmingham to an ap-pointment Many praises thatKalee had a good report and a

great appointment. Laci and I en-joyed visiting with Mrs Donnaand Mr. Jim, and appreciate themso much for their help. So happyto see Donna looking so good.Thankful that she is doing wellnow. Why, Donna, I had to do adouble take. You looked so verymuch like your daughters. Soyoung looking. Two of my great grandsons

have enjoyed hunting with theirdaddy and granddaddy, Tommy,this season. You will see picturesof them and a sample of theirdeer. Tyler and Wyatt love somuch doing things and being to-gether. And they love that hunt-ing. The entire town were sad-

dened by the death of Mrs.Shirley Anderson. Bless hersweet heart, Mrs. Shirley passedaway suddenly. She will be re-membered by so many. Shewalked past many people in herlife. The little children and every-body who works at UniversaryCampus School loved her dearly.We, along with all of her friendsand family, miss her already andwill always remember this lovelylady. Little Miss. Bailey Boland fell

on her practice bars and brokeher arm. Bailey we hope that youwill be good as new very soon,and back to your dancing andgymnastics. Annie and Ty had a big time

visiting Big Mama and BigDaddy recently. Big Mama Sallycouldn’t stop talking about thosesweet babies being with them. “In order to be old and wise

you must be young and stupid.”

Pucket brothers enjoy hunting together.

By Kelly SpinningAs some of you may know,

my husband is completely deafin his left ear and unfortunately,he is now losing some hearing inhis right ear. Naturally he wantsto do everything he can to savehis “good ear,” and he is takingsteps in that direction. In themean time he is having to learnhow to listen in a whole newway. As a pastor, it is his job tolisten to people. That’s prettyhard when you can’t hear. But hedoes an amazing job. He listenswith his face. I heard that phrasethe other day, and it really struckme. It was used in the context ofus losing our communicationskills due to having so many dis-tractions these days. I know thatmany times someone will betalking to me, and I am listening,but I am also distracted by thetext that I just got on my phone,or an e-mail notification. I amvery ashamed to admit that Ihave been guilty of not evenlooking at someone when theyare talking to me. Even thoughthat is very rude, I can still hearwhat they are saying. This is notthe case for my husband. Be-cause of his hearing loss, he muststop what he is doing and look atsomeone when they are talkingto him. He must really concen-trate on not only the words he

thinks he hears, but what thatperson is really trying to say tohim. So, he has had to adjust theway he uses his “listening” skills,but I have had to adjust the wayI talk to him. I have always beena multi-tasker. I tend to talk tosomeone while I am doingsomething else, or yell at themfrom across the room. I can’t dothat with him. I must either standright next to him to speak, ormake sure he is looking at me sohe can read my lips if he needsto. That is a very hard thing forsomeone like me who can’t stayin one place for long. Needless to say, this has been

a challenging journey for both ofus as we continue to learn the im-portance of true “hearing” andtrue “listening”. Sometimes inmy husband’s attempt to hearme, he guesses at what he thinksI have said. Ninety -nine percentof the time he repeats somethingridiculous, and I turn and walkaway. But I think we are allguilty of that. We think we hearone thing and react to it, but don’ttake the time to really listen. So,I am really trying to learn hownot only speak so people willhear me, but also listen with myface. There will come a daywhen that next text or Facebookcomment will no longer becomeimportant. What is important arethe relationships we build andmaintain with each other. So,take the time to not only hear, butto listen to the people and thingsaround you. In doing so, we mayfind that words aren’t alwaysneeded.

Simple Words

Listen

Early Bird: America’s belovedPurple Martins return to AlabamaIn a sure sign that spring is not

far behind, the first Purple Mar-tins of the year have been spottedin Alabama. The birds were seen on Janu-

ary 15 in the city of Headland bya Purple Martin enthusiast – oneof many people throughout theeastern and central United Stateswho track and report on thebirds’ annual migration on behalfof the Purple Martin Conserva-tion Association."The first Purple Martin ar-

rivals of the season are always anexciting event,” said Joe Siegrist,President of the Purple MartinConservation Association.“Tracking the migration is notonly fun, it also provides us withvaluable information that helpsinform our research andstrengthen our efforts to makesure we’re doing everything pos-sible to sustain the population ofthese amazing birds.”North America’s largest

species of swallow, Purple Mar-tins winter in the rainforests ofBrazil before making up to a7000-mile migration north intothe eastern United States andCanada. The annual migration is a tes-

tament to the martins' resilienceas well as the unwavering dedi-cation of thousands of ‘martinlandlords’ who maintain multi-compartment nest 'condos' thatare essential for the birds' sur-vival. Once widespread in ruralAmerica, this species, that eats

billions of flying insects annu-ally, has been disappearing at analarming rate, experiencing a lossof one-third of its populationover the last 50 years. “The decline seems to be the

combination of a few factors:nesting habitat loss, competinginvasive species, decreasing preyavailability, and climate change,”said Siegrist. “Over the majorityof the Purple Martins’ range, theyare unable to nest naturally anylonger. Human-provided nestboxes are the only thing keepingthe species alive east of theRocky Mountains.”Siegrist says the very survival

of the species is due in large partto scores of dedicated conserva-tionists who invest their time,money and hearts into maintain-ing housing for the martins. “The landlords provide critical

shelter for the martins,” Siegristsaid. “In return, they are re-warded with a family-like bondwith the birds who return to thesame colony year after year likeclockwork.” To follow alongwith the Purple Martins’ migra-tion and learn more about howyou can help conserve this treas-ured bird, visit www.purple-martin.org. In addition, peopleinterested in learning more abouthow to attract and care for PurpleMartins can receive a free book-let by contacting the Purple Mar-tin Conservation Association byemailing info@purplemartin.orgor calling 814-833-7656.

Page 6-A SCRJ Thursday, January 21, 2021South Sumter Happenings“What the world needs... is love”

By Lenora Delaine-BrownHello, hello, hello! How in the

world are you today? Very well,I do hope. Count it a blessing thatyou are still alive with a portionof your health and activity ofyour limb, ears to hear, eyes tosee, a voice to talk, just to namea few. And for that, we are thank-ful. If there be something goingon with you, take it to God inprayer. Because, if He can't fix it,nobody can. Ok? It's anothergreat day in the neighborhood,and I'm sure glad to still be in theneighborhood. Aren't you? I haven't seen my friend, Betty

Moore, in a while, so if you seeher, tell her I'm asking about her.We usually meet up at a restau-rant. I guess she's doing morecooking, now. So good to seeMarie Green and Gerlinda YatesThursday before last, and Chris-tine Deloach last Sunday. Hop-ing Melba Young is feeling goodtoday. So glad to hear that Max-ine Johnson is still improvingday by day and to hear that she istiptoeing around a little bit. Takeit easy “Miss Maxie”. I hope myfriend, Christine Fluker, is drink-ing hot chocolate or coffee, be-cause it's been too cold to eventhink about ice cream. I hope allis well with her, Robert andRegina today. So good to talk toJuanita Wallace the other day.Hey, if you didn't wish BettyDrummond a happy birthday onMonday before last, January 11,please give her a call. Betty andT. C. were in a contest to see whocould get the most calls. Al-though time is up, still call her. T.C. answers the phone and keepstrack of the wishes. Guess who isgoing to win? Betty missed a lotof calls because she was still inthe bed. Trenia, her daughter,called from Mobile to wake herup. Quita came and spent a cou-ple of days with me and Mamalast week. I hated to see her gobecause she loves to cook. Jeanette Lowery celebrated

her birthday with her family andfriends on Zoom on Mon., Jan.18. She thanked all for joining inwith her to make her day a happyone. She made a deliciouschocolate cake for herself. Me,Mama and Aunt Eliza enjoyed it. A special birthday wish to my

little neighbor, Corderall La-Corey Lord, who turned 1 yearold on Mon., Jan. 18. He's the“star” on Altman St. Our heartsare saddened over the passing ofso many of our family membersand friends and also the deaths ofso many other people. We are sosorry to hear of the recent passingof Mrs. Ruth Johnson and Mrs.Fannie Mae Jemison. Our con-dolences are extended to their en-tire families. We are alsoextending our deepest sympathyto the families of: Joe Coleman,Leroy Austin, Emmitt Sum-merville, Jr., Mary Clark-Cox,Connie Pope, Delores Baskin,James Brown, Geneva Maye-Chaney, William Maye, ShirleyAmerson, Freddie Woodard,Charles Rogers, Leo “Fat” Hub-bard, Bennie Web, Jr., DaisyCarter, and Marcella Chess. Letus keep these, and all bereavedfamilies everywhere, in ourthoughts and prayers .Happy anniversary to Mr. and

Mrs. Ralph Randolph on 1/26.Happy birthday and belatedbirthday wishes to: Kylie CalissMitchell, Alexis Townsend 1/14;Mary Sue Otis 1/15; CorderallLaCory Lord, Annie Pearl Jack-son, Jeanette Lowery, RosieGaines, Mary Dubose-Artis,Teleatha Williams 1/18; DoraTucker, Jack Jemison, Diana W.Delaine 1/19; Everette Roberts1/20; Doris Ann Walton, Glenese(Easter) Deloach 1/22; Demetris“Meek” Johnson, Gary Busby1/23; Larry Strickland 1/24;Annie Portis, Glenda DuBose,Harold Evans, William Lucky,Marvin Lindsey 1/25; ReginaldWalker, Rhonda Hatcher 1/26;and Ed Stallings 1/27. If I missedyour birthday, happy birthday toyou, too. Also, in memory ofAnnie Lindsey-Gyp on 1/1,Johnny Barnes on 1/19, Tommie“Bubba” Smith, Jr. on 1/21, andCarolyn “Noon” Cook on 1/22.Gone, but not forgotten. Thinking of: Mattie Chaney,

Alean Bell, Alex Spencer, ElizaDelaine, Louise Alexander, Nel-lie Richardson, Charles Richard-son, Odet Delaine, FrancesRumley, Eddie Croom, SarahDelaine, Indiana Turner, MaryJane Taylor, W. C. Delaine, Max-ine Johnson, Bernice Delaine,Ethel Webb, Rev. and Mrs.Richardson Wilson, Marie Daw-

son, Flora Archie, Rev. and Mrs.Charles H. Delaine, GracieJones, Jean Springfield, Mr. andMrs. Arthur Lee Delaine, ErmaBollar, Thelma T. Delaine, Mr.and Mrs. Nick Slaughter, WilleEva Pearce, Rev. and Mrs. lzeaBlanks, Josephine Austin, MaeRose Evans, Josephine Turner,Christine Johnson, Ruby Camp-bell, Mr. and Mrs. Ezell Pringle,Doris Haney, Joann Moody, MaeElla Ward, Renee Pringle, Beu-lah Clayton, Nancy Dennis, Mr.and Mrs. Johnny Patrick, Rev.Jimmy Johnson, Rickey Delaine,Laura Graves, Ezekiel Pearce,Mr. and Mrs. Sonny Duke,Melva Lue Delaine, Vera Jones,Liz and Mike Springfield, DebraMyers, Mamie Portis, Rev. Wal-ter Ball, Tylene Norcross, Mr.and Mrs. T.C. Drummond, JeanMcAboy, Ora Spears, DoraTucker, Alberta Herlong, OnnieLee, Mr. and Mrs. Aubrey DeanDelaine, Vickie Turnipseed, Rev.and Minister Willie D. Burton,Warriene Fox. Cleveland andKatherlean Brown, Mr. and Mrs.Clarence Scott, Bobbie Good-win, Domani Bollar, EssieThomas, Demetris Thomas,Rosie Pleasant, Mary Speight,Dr. and Mrs. David 0. Jones,Elder and Mrs. John Thomas,Jean Hunter, Leon Toole, Mr.and Mrs. Roger Johnson, Rev.and Mrs. Wayne Davis, GeorgiaPortis, Mr. and Mrs. MiltonWhitfield, Rev. and Mrs.Micheal Howard, Julian Hamp-ton, Marie Mccorkle, LorainHall, Lessie Drummond, InezRadcliffe, Bobbie Pope, Margar-ent Amerson, Rev. and Mrs.Micheal Chaney, Onnie ·Ruffin,Paulette Ward, Rev. and Mrs.Charlie W. Moore, Rosie Moore,Laura Moore-Hicks, YolandaWashington, Beverly Johnson,Tommie Campbell Mr. and Mrs.George Hale, Rev. TyroneThomas, Virginia Coleman,Enoch Harrison, Rev. AkivaBurton, Bonnie Delaine, MichaelStephens, Essie Denson, RossMobley, Mr. and Mrs. LonziePortis, Jr., Beatrice Johnson, Mr.and Mrs. George Hearn, Jr.,Dorothy Walker, Soyna Jemison,Mr. and Mrs. Drexel Delaine,Tameka Mumford, Rev. andMrs. Jared Gibbs, Wanda Amer-son, Adell Carlisle, Terry Wal-lace, Rev. Joyce McCoy, AgnesDew, Ruby Moss, DarlaSpencer, Pat Minus, Mr. andMrs. Darrow Jones, BerniceHughes, Rosie Holder, Rev. andMrs. Melvin Lard,Carolyn Ivory,Martha Lindsey-Harris, Earnes-tine Reed, Mr. and Mrs. FredWalker, Joyce Paige, Shirley P.Clayton, Betty Jo Miller, Rev.and Mrs. Chris Holcombe, Mr.and Mrs. Travis Portis; Althes-tine Gerald, Veronica Drake, Mr.and Mrs. James Wallace, Rev.and Mrs. Wesley Winston, Mr.and Mrs. Leo Fields, Oliver Bal-lar, Lucius Black, Mr. and Mrs.Nelson Hughes, T-Cora Robin-son, Mr. and Mrs. James Dailey,Lillie Willis, Bishop and Mrs.Willie Davis, Maxine Donald,Rev. and Mrs. Willie Harrison,Lillie Noble, Mr. and Mrs.Lowry Gayle, Mary Grant,Bessie Sims, Rev. and Mrs. Ken-tray Sims, Roxie Hall, MaryParker, Dorothy Scott, BettyMaye, Louise Moss, GloryaJackson, Rev. and Mrs. JonathanByrd, Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Jack-son, Eleanor Threadgill, LeroyLarkin, Mary Ann Vann, JimVann, Alice Vann-Harris, MarvinLindsey, Mr. and Mrs. AnthonyCross, Mary Jo Square, EleanorRandolph, Mr. and Mrs. WillieDuBose, Dorothy Wilson, CallieJackson, Clevan Tucker, Mr. andMrs. Johnny Larkin, ElmamieAdams, Joyce Lowery, Mr. andMrs. Stonie Pritchett, JuanitaWallace, Johnny McBorden,Janelle Taylor, Christine Bell,Mr. and Mrs. Earl Larkin, IolaWilliams, Marlon Widemon,Ada Jones, Travis Brown, HattieB. Love, Dorothy Delaine, DaisyIvory, Willie Scott, Ella Ander-son, Wille Boyd, Mr. and Mrs.Bernard Hill, Jackie Weatherly,and Mr. and Mrs. James Eades. Again, keep check on our

family members and friends andespecially our elderly members.Do what you can to keep themfed, warm and safe. One day, someone might have

to check on us. Until next time, be blessed, be

encouraged and be as safe as youpossibly can. Mask - up, people. Remember, “What The World

Need Now Is More LOVE. Stickwith love; hate is too great a bur-den to bear.”

STATE OF ALABAMA SUMTER COUNTYNOTICE is hereby given that a bill substantially as follows will be introducedin the 2021 Regular Session of the Legislature of Alabama and application for

its passage and enactment will be made:

Thursday, January 21, 2021 Sumter County Record-Journal Page 7-A

The Alabama Historical Com-mission and the Alabama Trustfor Historic Preservation arepleased to announce the 2020Places in Peril, a program thathighlights significant endangeredproperties. Since 1994, the Ala-bama Historical Commissionand the Alabama Trust for His-toric Preservation have joinedforces to sponsor the program tocall public attention to a selectnumber of Alabama's threatenedhistoric and archaeological sitesto bring awareness to significanthistoric places that suffer fromneglect, lack of financial support,or are threatened with demoli-tion.

Places in Peril seeks to rallylocal and statewide support to el-evate these sites, facilitate theirpreservation, and assure they re-main in their communities foryears to come. Endangered prop-erties can be saved and returnedto their places as treasured land-marks. Places in Peril has helpedsave many important landmarksthat may otherwise have beenlost. Over the course of 25 years,the program has highlightedmore than 250 resources.

Sites on the 2020 Places inPeril listing include Union HighSchool, Monroeville (MonroeCounty); Bonneau-Jeter Hard-ware, Elba (Coffee County); Fite& Fite Law Office, Hamilton(Marion County); Harris PlaceMorning Star N Cemetery, Cuba(Sumter County); John LooneyHouse, Ashville (St. ClairCounty); Thompson ChapelA.M.E. Zion Church, Opelika(Lee County); Uchee MethodistChurch, Hatchechubbee (RussellCounty); and West Blocton The-ater, West Blocton (BibbCounty). The Places in Peril listis published on the Alabama His-torical Commission website andwill be featured in the spring2021 issue of Alabama Heritage.

“Places in Peril is an im-mensely valuable program to el-evate and streamlinepreservation efforts for sitesacross our state that are under thethreat of demolition or deteriora-tion. These campaigns have beensuccessful in saving cherished

places for future generations,”said Lisa Demetropoulos Jones,Executive Director, AlabamaHistorical Commission and StateHistoric Preservation Officer.

“The Places in Peril programis a perfect opportunity to inspirecommunities to rally together tosave vulnerable structures. Notonly are these places worth sav-ing, their stories are too,” saidEddie Griffith, Alabama Histor-ical Commission Chairman.“Over the years that Places inPeril has highlighted the plight ofthreatened properties, theirrecognition through this programhas inspired their restoration car-rying their stories forward to fu-ture generations of Alabamians.”

"The Alabama Trust for His-toric Preservation is pleased tocontinue its partnership with theAlabama Historical Commissionon this important project,” saidKatie Randall, Vice President,Alabama Trust for HistoricPreservation. “We realize nowmore than ever the importance ofsaving places that represent allAlabamians, places that tell thewhole story of our state, espe-cially those that represent thelives of the marginalized and thehistorically disenfranchised. Byrecognizing the most endangeredplaces in our state and bringingtheir stories to light, we hope toadvocate for a better and moreequitable Alabama for all."

Nominations for Places inPeril are accepted on an annualbasis; any type of building, ruin,site, or place can be eligible fornomination. Places in Peril haslisted theaters, schools, caves,jails, churches, and houses. Theapplication requires brief, butclear answers to a handful ofquestions regarding a property’ssignificance, threat, and the des-ignation of a local contact andlocal advocacy group with thecapacity to leverage the supportand coverage provided by thelisting. Property owner permis-sion and current, good qualityphotographs of the property arealso required. The nominationperiod for Places in Peril 2021will open on May 1, 2021, to co-incide with National Historic

Preservation Month, a nation-wide movement to celebrate andpromote historic places and her-itage tourism.

Harris Place - Morning StarNorth Cemetery Dove Road,Cuba, Sumter County

The Mississippi Band ofChoctaw Indian Nation held theproperty now known as HarrisPlace – Morning Star Cemeteryfrom 500 B.C. until 1830 whenit was transferred to the UnitedStates Government as part of theDancing Rabbit Creek Treaty.Richard Harris established thiscemetery after he moved to Ala-bama before the Civil War. Thisfamily cemetery includes burialsfrom the Harris, Grant, andBourdeaux families, as well asthe enslaved peoples who diedwhile held in captivity. HenryClay Wallace, born in 1858 toenslaved parents Mose andBetsy Wallace, purchased sev-eral hundred acres of land be-tween 1922-1927, including theHarris Place cemetery. Wallaceobtained the tract of land with thecemetery because his deceasedparents and other family mem-bers were buried there. Undernew ownership, the cemetery’sname was changed to MorningStar Cemetery, although many inthe community still refer to it asthe Harris Cemetery. Over theyears, the cemetery has suffereddamage due to the harvesting oftimber. Sadly, many graves havebeen lost due to overgrown veg-etation, missing monuments, andother funerary objects that as-sisted in identifying loved one’sgraves. The unknown burials anddeferred upkeep over the yearscontinue to threaten the ceme-tery. The Alabama HistoricalCommission listed the cemeteryin the Alabama Historic Ceme-tery Register on January 28,2019 and has also provided stategrants for locating unmarkedgraves and to erect fencing.

For more information aboutthe Alabama Historical Commis-sion, or Places in Peril, pleasevisit www.ahc.alabama.gov, orcontact Jake Williams atjake.williams@ahc.alabama.gov.

The Alabama Historical Commission and the Alabama Trust forHistoric Preservation list eight Alabama properties included in2020 Places in Peril ListHarris Place - Morning Star North Cemetery Dove Road, Cuba, Sumter County listed

Black Belt Adventures urgeshunters to donate venison

By David Rainer, Alabama Depart-ment of Conservation and

Natural ResourcesHunters Helping the Hungry

has provided more than a half-million pounds of ground veni-son to those in need in Alabama,and the Alabama Black Belt Ad-ventures Association (ALB-BAA) is encouraging hunters tomake a special effort to donateharvested deer to the programduring the Martin Luther King Jr.holiday weekend of January 15-18.

Hunters Helping the Hungry(HHH) started in Alabama in1999 through funding derivedfrom the Alabama Conservationand Natural Resources Founda-tion, which is chaired by ChrisBlankenship, Commissioner ofthe Alabama Department ofConservation and Natural Re-sources (ADCNR). The Founda-tion pays processors in Alabama$1 per pound for the groundvenison, which is then donated tofood banks and charities in Ala-bama.

Commissioner Blankenshipand Pam Swanner, ALBBAADirector, said the impact of theglobal pandemic has greatly in-creased the need for donations ofprotein-rich venison for thoseimpacted by the virus.

“We know this past year hasbeen difficult for many, and wehope this targeted weekend willassist in providing healthy, or-ganic ground venison to familiesin need all across the Black Beltregion,” Swanner said.

“During this time of year, andespecially with the impact ofCOVID-19, we couldn’t think ofa better way to encourage sports-men and women to utilize thisfree program to support the areasin which they go afield.”

Commissioner Blankenshipsaid Alabama’s deer herd pro-vides a bountiful resource thatcan be shared in this time ofneed.

“I think Hunters Helping theHungry is a great program,”Commissioner Blankenship said.

“We have such a healthy pop-ulation of deer in our state. A lotof landowners need to harvestmore does off their property tokeep the deer herd in balance.

When the freezer is full, this agreat opportunity to manageyour deer and donate the har-vested animals to Hunters Help-ing the Hungry, which thendonates the venison to the foodbanks to help those in need. Wewant to make sure there is nowaste in the harvest of these deer.

“With the COVID situationand food banks being relied onby a lot of people to provide theirprotein and sustenance, it’s agreat opportunity for deerhunters in the state to make surethose food banks are stockedwith good meat to help the peo-ple in those communities.”

Because the processing fee ispaid by the ACNRF, there is nocost to the hunters.

“All they have to do is dropthe deer off at one of the partici-pating processors with a GameCheck confirmation number, andthe processor takes care of thedeer and sends it to the foodbank,” Commissioner Blanken-ship said. “It’s a win-win foreverybody.”

Currently, eight processorsare participating in the HHH pro-gram within the Black Belt with15 food banks participatingwithin the region.

The participating processorsare Buckster’s Deer Processingin Montgomery County, Green’sDeer Processing in ClarkeCounty, M & S Wildlife Servicesin Choctaw County, NicholsDeer Processing in DallasCounty, Richey’s Deer Process-ing in Hale County, John’s DeerProcessing in Lee County, Mill-iron’s Deer Processing in RussellCounty, and Venison LLC inWilcox County.

For a full list of participatingprocessors and food banks

statewide, please visithttps://www.outdooralabama.com/programs/hunters-helping-hungry.

Paying the processing fee forHHH donations is only one ofmany benefits ACNRF provides.

“The Foundation does a lot ofgood work to help promote hunt-ing, fishing and wildlife manage-ment in the state,” CommissionerBlankenship said. “Scholarshipsare provided at the University ofAlabama and Auburn Universityin different disciplines. We pro-vide seed and other materials foryouth dove hunts around thestate. We help support the AdultMentored Hunting Program. Alot of things that come throughthe Foundation really support thework of the Alabama Depart-ment of Conservation and Natu-ral Resources, especially thosethings that encourage people tobecome hunters and fishermenand get out and enjoy the out-doors.”

The Foundation has also beenimpacted by COVID-19, limit-ing the methods it can use forfundraising.

“The Foundation receivescontributions from interestedpeople throughout the state, butthe biggest fundraiser is the Gov-ernor’s One-Shot Turkey Hunt,”Commissioner Blankenship said.“Due to COVID, we were notable to have the hunt last year,and we won’t be able to have itin 2021. But we’re counting on2022 to be the best AlabamaGovernor’s One-Shot TurkeyHunt ever.”

Commissioner Blankenshipsaid individuals, companies orgroups that want to donate to theFoundation can contact theADCNR Commissioner’s officeat 334-242-3486.

Commissioner Blankenshipalso serves on the ALBBAAboard, which he said is a verynatural partnership between theBlack Belt group and the Foun-dation.

“The ALBBAA accentuatesthe great hunting we have in theBlack Belt region and tries tohelp people in that area throughthe natural resources, which areso abundant in the Black Belt,”he said. “I really enjoy the workof the ALBBAA to promotethose counties in the AlabamaBlack Belt. Most of those areashave smaller cities and smallcommunities where hunting,fishing and outdoor recreationare a big part of the way of lifethere and a big part of the econ-omy. The more people we bringto that region of the state, themore it will help with economicdevelopment and economic re-sources for those counties. I re-ally appreciate the workALBBAA does in the less popu-lated but very important areas ofour state.”

The Black Belt includes thefollowing counties: Barbour,Bullock, Butler, Choctaw,Clarke, Conecuh, Crenshaw,Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lee,Lowndes, Macon, Marengo,Monroe, Montgomery, Perry,Pickens, Pike, Russell, Sumter,Tuscaloosa and Wilcox.

The ALBBAA’s mission is topromote and enhance outdoorrecreation and tourism opportu-nities in the Black Belt in a man-ner that provides economic andecological benefits to the regionand its citizens.

Visit www.alabamablack-beltadventures.org for more in-formation on the outdoorsopportunities and cultural her-itage in the Black Belt.

Those who donate a deer tothe HHH program during thedesignated food drive and tag Al-abama Black Belt Adventures onFacebook or Instagram will beentered into a random drawingfor an antler mount from Foster’sTaxidermy Supply in Mont-gomery.

William Herndon harvested this 202-pound, 10-point in LeeCounty.

Kinley Rodgers bagged this beautiful buck in MontgomeryCounty.

Grant Holley is all smiles after taking this buck in GreeneCounty. Photos courtesy of ALBBAA

Times that matter the most,

seem so far away.

We know that during these uncertain and troubling times, the sun will rise, family and friends will be together again, and we will be stronger than ever. As your local, community newspaper we will continue to be here in the days ahead as a friend you can count on. We’re proud to be the number one most trusted source for local news and information in Alabama. You can depend on us to continue to bring reliable reporting on news that affects our community.*

We’re here for you.Your newspaper ag here

Ad sponsored by the Alabama Press Association

*Pulse Research, October 2019

Sumter County Record JournalVisit

Sumter County Record Journal online at

www.recordjournal.net for videos, outdoors stories, and so much more!

BELLAMYMorning Star Baptist ChurchRev. Micheal Howard, pastorFriendship Baptist ChurchPastor: Rev. Melvin LardLamkin Memorial Church, BellamyRev. Randy Price, pastorWord of Life ChurchRev. Russell Handy, pastor

BELMONTMt. Carmel Baptist ChurchBelmont, Rev. Wesley WinstonOld Belmont Baptist ChurchBelmontPalestine Baptist ChurchRev. Willie Evans, pastor

BOYDHadden Presbyterian ChurchBro. Mike Spencer, pastorOld Mt Olive PBCRev. Dewayne CharlestonShiloh Zion Baptist ChurchMinister Edmond Bell, pastorCentral Chapel P. B. ChurchRev. Greg Watkins, pastorGreater Mt. Olive Primitive BaptistChurch, Bro. Robert Burton, Pastor 652-1121

COATOPAChristian Valley Missionary BaptistChurchWillie A. West, pastorChristian Valley Baptist ChurchRev. Wayne Smith, pastorBethel Pine Baptist ChurchRev. Floyd O. Bell, pastorBrewersville United MethodistChurchPastor Chris Walker Dug Hill Primitive Baptist ChurchRev. John H. Wright pastorMt. Pleasant Baptist ChurchRev. Tommy C. BrownMt. Tabor Baptist ChurchRev. James McDonald, pastorOak Grove Baptist ChurchRev. Willie J. Ivory, Sr.

CUBAFull Gospel Holiness Church

Elder HoustonBrown, PastorGrant’s Chapel Methodist ChurchRev. Izea Blanks, Jr.Cuba Presbyterian ChurchRev. Chris Kiepe, pastorCuba Baptist ChurchRev. Mike McKee, pastorMt. Olive Baptist ChurchRev. C. L. Walk, pastor Zion Hill Missionary Baptist ChurchRev. Christopher Wayne DavisMorning Star Baptist ChurchRev. Willie D. Wilson, pastorCuba Church of God in ChristRev. Willie Sealy, pastorPine Grove Baptist ChurchWillie D. Burton, pastor 392-7311Mt. Zion Baptist ChurchRev. Willie HarrisonGod United Spiritual KingdomEvangelist Katie LakeChurch of God HolinessEd. Tatum, PastorPraise Nation Worship CenterRev. Dwayne Watson, Pastor

EMELLESun Light Baptist ChurchRev. Derric Jones, pastorBrown’s Chapel Baptist ChurchstNew Jones Baptist ChurchRev. Coley Rogers, pastorMary Winston Baptist ChurchRev. Leon R. Fitch, pastorJerusalem Baptist ChurchRev. Henry J. Rush, 601-743-5044St. Peter Baptist ChurchRev. Herman Evans, Jr.West Union Baptist ChurchRev. D. Crockett, pastorMt. Zion Baptist Church

EPESCedar Grove Presbyterian ChurchRev. Tim Craddock, pastorNew Mt. Nebo Primitive BaptistRev. L. C. Eatman pastorMiller Hill Baptist ChurchRev. Samuel Gulley, pastorEpes Baptist ChurchEpes

Epes Methodist ChurchRev. Ray Boyd, pastor, 652-6564Epes First Baptist ChurchRev. Chris HolcombeJones Creek Baptist ChurchRev. John Meeks, pastor

GAINESVILLEAntioch Witness ChurchRev. Glenn Harris, Sr., pastorGainesville Presbyterian ChurchRev. Carl Sudduth, pastorGainesville Baptist ChurchRev. Carl Sudduth, pastorSt. Alban's Episcopal ChurchFather Richard R. LoschGainesville Methodist ChurchRev. Carl Sudduth, pastorSpring Valley Baptist ChurchRev. Johnny McDonald, 652-2473Antitoch Baptist ChurchRev. James Foy, Sr.New Bethel Baptist ChurchRev. Dr. Frank D. RogersFirst Baptist Church of GainesvilleRev. Demetrius Williams, pastor

GEIGERSouthern Star Mennonite ChurchMin. Alan Nichols, 205-652-2687; Min.Derek Koehn 601-917-4100Soul Chapel United Methodist Rev. Tommy Wilson., pastorGeiger United Methodist ChurchWilson Kendrick, Jr., pastor, 455-2687New Mt. Calvary Baptist Church455-2101Pastor Gerry “Chris” Parker, pastor

LIVINGSTONWord of Life ChurchRussell H. Hardy, pastorFirst Baptist Church of LivingstonRev. Charlie MooreJohnson Baptist ChurchRev. Samuel Harris, pastorLivingston First Baptist ChurchRev. Thomas Fletcher, pastor 652-2512St. James Episcopal ChurchFather Richard R. LoschSt. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church

Rev. Larry ShinnickIn Abundance Tabernacle ofDeliverancePastor Juanita LardFirst Presbyterian Church, LivingstonDr. Lesley Ann Earleswww.firstpreslivingston.orgLivingston Church of GodJoe Bristow, pastor, 205-310-7286Livingston Church of ChristBr. Jack White, pastorLivingston United Methodist ChurchLiving Word ChurchPastor Byron P. Franklin, Sr.New Prospect Baptist ChurchRev. Felix Jones, pastorMorning Star Baptist ChurchRev. Tyrone Thomas, pastorPine Grove Baptist ChurchRev. Kentray Sims, pastorShady Grove Baptist ChurchRev. John Powell, pastorMt. Nebo Primitive Baptist ChurchElder L. C. Eatman, pastorMt. Pilgrim Primitive Baptist ChurchRev. Greg Watkins, pastorShiloh Baptist ChurchRev. D. Crockett, pastor 652-2710Mt. Zion A. M. E. Zion ChurchRev. Shirley Martin. pastorFaith Christian Center, Inc.Pastor Percy L. Craine 652-4934Westly Chapel C.M.ERev. Roberts Dees, pastorBrewersville UMCRev. Darryl Roberts

PANOLAZion Valley Baptist ChurchRev. Marvin Earl Washington, pastorMt. Pleasant Baptist ChurchRev. Douglas NewtonRome CME ChurchRev. Willie FlemmingMt. Tabor Baptist ChurchRev. John Meeks, pastorGreater Salem A.M.E. Zion ChurchRev. Arthur Gilliam, III, pastorGalilee Baptist Church

Rev. B. NelsonLittleSt. John Baptist ChurchRev. James A. MaddoxPanola United Methodist ChurchPastor Tim Alexander

SILOAMSiloam Baptist ChurchPastor Brad Campbell, 652-7949

SUMTERVILLESumterville Baptist ChurchRev. Drew RamsayBethel Presbyterian ChurchRev. Drew RamsaySumterville Missionary BaptistChurchRev. Ben T. Broaden, pastor

YORKThe Pentecostal Church of GodElder Fred Summerville, Jr., pastorFirst Baptist Church of YorkRev. Jonathan Byrd, IIIWesley Chapel CME Rev. Clarence LuciousRocks Chapel Baptist ChurchRev. Albert Presswood, pastorSmith Chapel Baptist ChurchRev. Richard Wilson, pastorPresent Help Christian AssemblyPastor Gregory ChinnFourth Creek Missionary BaptistChurchRev. Mitchell CarterMt. Powell Baptist ChurchRev. Wesley Winston, pastor205-392-7544York Baptist ChurchRev. Leon Ballard, pastor, 392-4876Truevine Fellowship ChurchRev. Willie Davis, pastor, 392-7894York Church of ChristYorkFirst Pentecostal ChurchRev. Jimmy Barmore, pastor, 392-4806Covenant Presbyterian ChurchRev. Garet Aldridge, pastor, YorkMount Hermon Baptist ChurchRev. W. J. Sims, pastorYork United Methodist Church

Rev. Darryl Roberts, 392-4801Hixion Baptist ChurchRev. Ronald Chaney, pastorNew Hope Baptist ChurchRev. A. C. Washington, Sr., pastor, 392-4536Oak Grove Baptist ChurchRev. P. S. Jenkins, pastorMt. Pleasant Baptist ChurchRev James Patrick Granger, Jr.Eastern Star Baptist ChurchRev. Charles Delaine, pastor, 392-9680Mt. Zion Rev. E.L. CharlestonLillies Chapel A. M. E. ZionRev. Lester M. Core, pastorGrant’s Chapel C.M.E.Rev. Paul Holt, PastorApostolic Outreach CenterVernon McGrew, pastor, 392-7511Abundant Life ChurchConnith Robinson, pastorYork Primitive Baptist Church Minister Loria Thomas, pastor

WARDGaston Valley BaptistRev. L.C. Knighton, pastorSaint Matthew BaptistPastor Author GrahamUnion Chapel C.M.E. ChurchWard Baptist ChurchSt. John Baptist ChurchRev. Doc Pettis Lockett,392-4799Cokes Chapel Methodist ChurchRev. Darryl Roberts

WHITFIELDBlack's Bluff Missionary BaptistChurchAl Smith, pastorEbeneezer Missionary Baptist ChurchChristopher Holcombe, pastor

KINTERBISHBeulah Baptist Church

OTHERFirebrands For Christ Ministries, Inc.Pastors Richard and Lucinda White

Free On-line ExerciseClasses offered by the Area

Agency on AgingThe Alabama Tombigbee

Area Agency on Aging realizesthat COVID19 has made it moredifficult to participate in healthyhabits such as exercise classes orattending fitness centers. To sup-port area seniors, we are offeringTai Chi for Arthritis and FallPrevention to you in the privacyof your home.    There is  nocost for the program, howeveryou must be 60 years of age orolder to participate and you mustregister for the class in advance.What is Tai Chi? Tai Chi is oftendescribed as “meditation in mo-tion”. This mind-body practice,which originated in China, hasvalue in treating or preventingmany health problems. And youcan get started even if you aren’tin top shape. In this low-impact,slow-motion exercise, you gothrough a series of motions asyou breathe deeply and natu-rally, focusing attention on youbodily sensations. The move-ments are usually circular andnever forced, the muscles are re-laxed rather than tensed, and thejoints are not fully extended orbent. Tai Chi can be easilyadapted for anyone, from themost fit to people confined towheelchairs or recovering fromsurgery. Although Tai Chi isslow and gentle and doesn’tleave you breathless, it ad-dresses the key components offitness – muscle strength, flexi-bility, balance and conditioning.To register, go to the AAA web-site www.atrcaging.com tocomplete the form online. Youwill need WiFi,or internet accessand a computer with camera andsound  to participate in thisZOOM formattedprogram.  The certified instruc-tor will assist you, if needed,

prior to the first lesson in settingup your computer to be able toparticipate.   This is a 16-sessioncourse.  We ask that you committo 2 sessions a week for 8 weeksto benefit in full from the course.Class Schedule:  Ongoing – youmay join at any time.  Classeswill be offered on Tues. andThurs. at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.When registering select theTuesday/Thursday Class andchoose the time of either 11 a.m.or 2 p.m. Please make surewhen registering that you in-clude your email address alongwith your class time selection.For more information, callEvette Woods or Jennifer Daileyat 334-682-5206.

SBA Physical DisasterLoan Deadline is Feb. 8 For

Hurricane ZetaThe U.S. Small Business Ad-

ministration (SBA) encouragesbusinesses of all sizes, privatenonprofit organizations, home-owners and renters to apply fora physical disaster loan beforethe Feb. 8 deadline. To dateSBA has approved 78 low-inter-est disaster loans totaling$2,030,400 for survivors in Al-abama affected by HurricaneZeta on Oct. 28 - 29, 2020. Any-one in the declared counties inAlabama with damages causedby the disaster should apply fora physical disaster loan by thedeadline. The disaster declara-tion covers Clarke, Dallas,Marengo, Mobile, Perry, Wash-ington and Wilcox counties inAlabama which are eligible forboth Physical and Economic In-jury Disaster Loans from theSBA. Small businesses andmost private nonprofit organiza-tions in the following adjacentcounties are eligible to applyonly for SBA Economic InjuryDisaster Loans: Autauga, Bald-win, Bibb, Butler, Chilton,Choctaw, Greene, Hale, Lown-des, Monroe and Sumter in Al-abama;. In accordance withhealth precautions for the Coro-navirus (COVID-19), the SBAwill not establish a field pres-ence to assist survivors. How-ever, SBA will continue toprovide first class customerservice and conduct outreachvirtually with webinars, skypecalls, phone assistance and step-by-step application assistance.As a result, SBA has opened aVirtual Disaster Loan OutreachCenter/Business Recovery Cen-ter (VDLOC/VBRC) to helpsurvivors apply online using theElectronic Loan Application(ELA) via the SBA’s securewebsite at DisasterLoan.sba.govand there are virtual customer

support representatives availableto assist applicants with com-pleting the online application.The VDLOC/VBRC informa-tion: Virtual Disaster Loan Out-reach Center/Business RecoveryCenter (VDLOC/VBRC) Open:Monday - Sunday (7days/week) Hours: 8 a.m. – 8p.m. (Eastern Time) Email:FOCE-Help@sba.gov Phone:(800) 659-2955 Survivorsshould contact the Disaster As-sistance Professionals at (800)659-2955 to schedule an ap-pointment for immediate one-on-one assistance in completingtheir applications. Requests forSBA disaster loan program in-formation may be obtained byemailing FOCE-Help@sba.gov.The SBA will conduct extensiveoutreach to ensure that all im-pacted by the disaster are af-forded the opportunity to seekassistance. Businesses and pri-vate nonprofit organizations ofany size may borrow up to $2million to repair or replace dis-aster damaged or destroyed realestate, machinery and equip-ment, inventory, and other busi-ness assets. Applicants may beeligible for a loan amount in-crease up to 20 percent of theirphysical damages, as verified bythe SBA for mitigation pur-poses. Eligible mitigation im-provements may include a saferoom or storm shelter, sumppump, French drain or retainingwall to help protect property andoccupants from future damagecaused by a similar disaster. Forsmall businesses, small agricul-tural cooperatives, small busi-nesses engaged in aquacultureand most private nonprofit or-ganizations, the SBA offersEconomic Injury Disaster Loansto help meet working capitalneeds caused by the disaster.Economic Injury Disaster Loanassistance is available regardlessof whether the business sufferedany physical property damage.Disaster loans up to $200,000are available to homeowners torepair or replace disaster dam-aged or destroyed real estate.Homeowners and renters are el-igible up to $40,000 to repair orreplace disaster damaged or de-stroyed personal property. Inter-est rates are as low as 3 percentfor businesses, 2.75 percent fornonprofit organizations and1.188 percent for homeownersand renters with terms up to 30years. Loan amounts and termsare set by the SBA and are basedon each applicant’s financialcondition. Applicants may be el-igible for a loan increase up to

Need a church announcement in the paper? Email it to scrjmedia@yahoo.com, fax to 205-652-4466or bring it by 210 S. Washington St. in Livingston. No announcements will be taken over the phone.Due to space constraints, SCRJ will no longer be running church phone numbers in the paper.

West Alabama Mental Health

CenterServing Choctaw, Greene, Hale,Marengo and Sumter Counties

www.wamhc.orgAccess to Care/Emergency1-800-239-2901

C o m m u n i t y E v e n t s

We have 11 open spots for the lowest pricedisplay ad you can get weekly in the paper.*

Call Marsha Glenn470-373-3040

and ask for a church page ad. * Ads are $10.50 for one 1.5 column x 1” per week

with a 6 month run.

LOCAL CHURCHES

Join us for lunch after church

M&M Market39329 AL Hwy 17 ~ Emelle, AL 35459

205-455-2820

Livingston Auto PartsBumper to Bumper

111 S. Washington St.Livingston, AL 35470

205-652-2516

DIRKS CONSTRUCTION, INCEugene Dirks and Sons

RESIDENTIAL BUILDING AND ELECTRICAL WORK(205) 499-1228

Gaddy Electric & Plumbing145 Industrial Park Drive

Demopolis, AL334-289-2822

Bumpers FuneralHomeHwy. 11 South York 392-508124 Hour Info Line 392-9777

SOUTHWESTPAPER SALES INC.

Kelly Stephens, PresidentP.O. Box 360 • Livingston, AL

McInnis MortuaryMary R. and Eric J. McInnis,

OwnersLivingston Eutaw

(205) 652-9138 (205) 372-9328

25000 AL Highway 28 Demopolis, ALOffice: 334.289.3100Fax: 334.289.3165

Serving West Alabama AND East Mississippi Since 1984

LEGACY HOSPICE OF THE EAST344 Franklin Avenue

251.843.5355Serving Sumter, Greene, Perry,Choctaw, Marengo, Clarke, & Washington counties.

Doric South Monuments1460 West Jackson StreetDemopolis, AL 36732(334)-289-3310

York Elderly ApartmentsFacilities for Persons Age 62 and Over

Highway 17 North, York, AL392-5291/800-669-977 /TDD 800-927-9275

TRN LW BR, LLCP.O. Drawer V, Livingston, AL

FAX (205)652-2267 Phone (205)652-9688

205-373-2420

www.LavendersFuneralService.comProfessionally Serving Families Since 1947

Gandy Funeral Home9807 Alabama Hwy 14Eutaw, AL 35462

(205) 372-4493 Fax: (205) 372-0976Always Call Where One Call Does It All

Member FDIC

Equal HousingLender

P.O. Box 969 Livingston, AL652-9636

Sumter Health & RehabilitationCenter, LLC

1505 E. 4th Avenue York, Alabama205-392-5281

205-652-9595108 Lafayette

St.

205-725-8118583 4thAvenue

York

Guidelines for Submitting your

Church/Community Announcements

These are free as long as thereare no personal messages and the

event is not being charged for (loveofferings do not count). Pleasekeep the announcement to one

paragraph with who is presentingthe event, what the event is, date,time, where it will be held and

contact information.Email them to

scrjmedia@yahoo.com

The front office is closeddue to COVID-19.

We can not take anything overthe phone due to company policy.

ODOM CHEVROLETStill Open For Business!

105 Constantine St., Eutaw, 205-372-4538mark_odom@bellsouth.netwww.odomchevrolet.com

Continued on page 6-A

Page 8-A Sumter County Record-Journal Thursday, January 21, 2021

By Jeanette Ingram“The good news of Jesus is

too wonderful to keep to myself,Father. May I live the gospel andshare it with others throughoutmy journey with the Lord.”

Sending birthday wishes to:my sister Diana I. Brown, myneice Lee Lee Ruffin, TracySpencer, Annie M. Lightfoot,Laudria Brown, Rob Brown, Or-lando Thompson, Sr., Thad Rus-sell, II, Cierra Donald, MichaelLard, Lin Lewis, Debra Turner,Tyrone Moss, Brenda Harris,Loretta D. Henderson, Rev.Muchael Barton, Julia Wrenn,Dewayne Weatherspoon, DreDrish, Eldora Dent, Sam Hines,Mekesha L. Scott, Cheryl D.Handy, Tonya Graham, LaTonyaHudson, Brenda Ormond, Stan-ley Bell, Mary Sanders, VivianL. Sims, Frankie M. Evnas, GlenHisha and Glen Hodges,Michael Howard, II, Helen Ray.

In loving memory of: Marvin“Pumkie” Oakley. Gone, but notforgotten.

Another good Sunday schoollesson, “Jesus: The Bread ofLife,” John 6:25-40. As believerswe need to always maintain aneternal perspective. In John 6:25-40, Jesus encouraged the peopleto shift their focus from satisfy-ing their physical hunger to gain-ing spiritual food that wouldresult in eternal life. Jesus di-rected their attentions heaven-ward, to trusting Him as the truebread of life.

Bellamy community sendsheartfelt sympathy to the fami-lies of: Ruth Johnson, Mary J.Clark-Cox, William Maye,schoolmate Dorothy Wallace,Marcella Chess, Louise Alexan-ders in the loss of her brothers,the mother of the late CrystalBell Smith, and to all breavedfamilies.

Still praying for our brothersand sisters: my father CharlieEvans, Barbara N. Ward, WalterRice, Carrie Branch, GarrettWilliams, Willie M. and WayneWoodard, Min. David Ingram,Sandra Bias and family, HenryEvans, Clark/Cox family, Rev.Jimmy Johnson, Rev. JohnWright, Augusta Rogers, AmberWade, Donald Wright, Sr., EddieP. Dawson, Ella Connor, MinnieDunigan, Susie Alston, LillieDunn, Betty and Pat Moore, LelaPowell, Woodrow Campbell,Bessie Sims, Pastor Michael andMarilyn Howard, Tori Wiley,Carrie Graham, James, and Dor-netha Moore, Rev. Tyrone

Thomas, Brenda Carter, ElmerStallings and family, Roslyn B.Mills, Irene and Georgia Lee,Grodie Hall, Jamie Ash, Rev.Charles and Mattie Delaine,Sarah Delaine, Ruby Washing-ton, Shani Brown, Evie Wrenn,Roxie Hall, Bill Coleman, Fran-cis Holer, Mattie T. Russelle,Emma Fortner, Donna Loyd,Ben and Juanita Watts, AlexSpencer, Eunice Triggs, JoycePaige, Wanda Amerson, RubyMoss, Min Mary Campbell,Robert Curry, JosephineHoward, Beresa Glover, BobbyWilliams, Vincent “Skeet”Lawrence, Rev. Richard andOlivia Wilson, Josephine Web-ster, Carolyn Turner, Mary J.Ward, Mary Maye, Dorothy C.Lake, Vickey Jenkins, James In-gram, Mae R. Evans, MattieChaney, Minnie Bradford, Aldo-nia Smith, Mildred Evans, AnnieH. May, Margaret Grim, Rev.Edward and Gloria Culbert,Rosie and Roosevelt Giles,Frankie Hines McNealy, DannyOliver, Ketty Meeks, SarahWilliams, Margie Simmons, Al-thestine Gerald, Cecil and NancyRatcliff, Ray McVay, Sr., Geraldand Ann Chambless, CassandraVawters, Narciss Ward, LizzieDubose, Maxine Johnson, DoraTucker, Hester Nelson, RufusMobley, Maxine Donald, Ericand Mary McInnis, Jessie P.Horn, Katie Law, Anita Lan-drum, Julius Hampton, DorneWatkins, Russell Wimbley,Enoch “Teefoot” Harrison, Moseand Rose Wimberly, EuniceNorwood, Emma Clark,Lorenzo Brown, II, TeresaMaye, Bernice Blakley, LucindaFarmer, Gwen Lard, AnnieMinor, Rev. James and ShirleyMcDonald, Alex and DoraCampbell, Dr. David and LauraJones, Flora Archie, Min. Darrelland Patricia Jones, Frank Alston,Willie “Dunnie” Watson,Dorothy Moore, ChannieMatthews, Rose Harris, MaryGunn, Min. Anthony andClydesa Pearce, Dec. Leroy andDiana Brown, Deloise Brown,Mrs. Beville, Julius Vawters,Paul Collins, and to all sick andshut in. Continue to check on theelderly. Stay safe and keep pray-ing that God will heal the land. Ifyou have any church events,birthdays or anniversaries callme at 205-609-7744.

“We are the best place we canimagine when we go to God inprayer.”

By Madoline ThurnOoh-h-h-h! It makes me so-o-

o-o mad! I sit down to Sundaylunch with my favorite brand ofpotato chips.

A long time ago, that particu-lar brand of ice cream I like, wehad to go way out to a big west-ern state to get it. But eventuallythe ice cream maker finally dis-covered our very near, conven-ient only-around-the-curvegrocery store. Very convenientnow. And that not-so-commonbrand of potato chip; we had totravel to a very-far-away yankeestate to acquire them. Well, aSouthern bakery – fryer? pro-ducer of potato chips kind of bor-rowed the recipe. Now they areproduced kind of locally. Veryconvenient. It's very inconven-ient to have to go way up to Yan-keeland every time I run out ofpotato chips.

Anyway these wonderful po-tato chips that I like – I don't likethose that are as prolific as gnatsand mosquitoes, that are locatedon shelves in every store in theworld. So, when I stock up I don'tshare.

So. I had opened my lunch, lo-cated my novel, found my place– the playful cat had pulled thebookmark out. And began toread. It's a sweet novel, about amother who quietly worriesabout her children. I can relate tothat. The way she copes with herworries (plural, she has morethan one child) is to drive toofast; well, faster than the law stip-ulates we can drive, anyway. Ican relate to that. So, she getsspeeding tickets. I can relate tothat.

Her daughter is graduatingfrom high school and goingaway to university. And mom isquietly suffering from postpar-tum depression. Like, is herdaughter mature enough to han-dle the decisions that she willface without the mom's wisdom(nagging)?

The inexperienced daughterhas just announced, whilecooped up in the car with hermom who is driving her to uni-versity, (she really must be inex-perienced; what college-age kidwould ride with a parent?), thatshe thinks she will sleep with herboyfriend; 'sleep' being euphe-mism for – well, you know.

Nah, nah, it's not one of thoserisqué, steamy books that has anx-rated picture on the front. LikeI said, it's about a mother con-cerned about her daughter in acomical, light-hearted way. Re-

m emb e r ,the old 'sev-enty' is thenow new'fifty.' Like

when our kids came through thekitchen and nonchalantly states,“I think I'll join the group and ex-perience some weed.” You don'thave a clue what he's talkingabout, but mother wisdom tellsyou that it's not something heshould be doing.

At precisely the moment Ifound my place and took my firstbite. Remember, it's Sundaylunch, I'm relaxing; haven't had a'Mom, I need' phone call fromthe offspring, then the phonerings. I knew it, one of the off-spring, not wondering if I'm hav-ing a good lunch.

It wasn't. Ooh, this age of in-convenience we live in! Before Icould barely say hello, this voiceinterrupted, “We're beginning akickoff campaign---” I slammedthe phone down. If I had been inthe car I would have begun driv-ing too fast. If I hadn't been, al-ready.

You know, hospitals and otherbusinesses have what is knownas the privacy act. If you don'tknow the social security numberand genealogy for the last eightgenerations of the person you'recalling about, they won't revealone word, except to inform youthat they can't divulge any infor-mation.

Why can't we all have a pri-vacy act? Why are people al-lowed to interrupt our lunch – onSunday, yet – to try to sell ussomething, or to beg for ourmoney? If I need, or want, some-thing I go the store and buy it.And if I choose to make a mon-etary donation or contribution, itwill be to my choosing. And ifyou interrupt my relaxing Sun-day lunch, it won't be you. Ex-ception: if you are a friend andreally, really need help – why I'llclose up my potato chip bag,slam my book closed, and I'll beright there.

But don't call me right in themiddle of my Sunday lunch – orany other time – to tell methey're kicking off a fundraiserto save the mosquitoes on theTombigbee River.

Ooh! If that hadn't been arecorded message I would haveloved telling him what fun Iwould have had kicking him offto – wherever.

20 percent of their physicaldamages, as verified by theSBA for mitigation purposes.Eligible mitigation improve-ments may include a safe roomor storm shelter, sump pump,French drain or retaining wall tohelp protect property and occu-pants from future damagecaused by a similar disaster. Ap-plicants may apply online usingthe Electronic Loan Application(ELA) via the SBA’s securewebsite at DisasterLoanAssis-tance.sba.gov. To be consideredfor all forms of disaster assis-tance, applicants should registeronline atDisasterAssistance.gov ordownload the FEMA mobileapp.

If online or mobile access isunavailable, applicants shouldcall the FEMA toll-free helplineat 800-621-3362. Those whouse 711-Relay or Video RelayServices should call 800-621-3362.

Businesses and individualsmay also obtain information andloan applications by calling theSBA’s Customer Service Centerat 1-800-659-2955 (1-800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing), or by emailingdisastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Loan applications can alsobe downloaded at sba.gov.Completed applications shouldbe mailed to: U.S. Small Busi-ness Administration, Processingand Disbursement Center,14925 Kingsport Road, FortWorth, TX 76155.

The filing deadline to returnapplications for physical prop-erty damage is Feb. 8,. Thedeadline to return economic in-jury applications is Sept. 10.

CommunityEvents Cont...

Need to submit a story? Email us at scrjmedia@yahoo.com.Find guidelines at www.recordjournal.net

APC-H2H 01/2021

We’re here to

help.

We’re here to help during difficult times.Contact us at: • AlabamaPower.com/HeretoHelp • 1-800-245-2244 or 1-888-430-5787 for businesses • At a local business officeWe offer payment options for those struggling to pay their bills.Let’s work together on a solution.

Townsend Community ReviewA tribute to the legacy of Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr.

By Linda Robinson The national holiday that we

celebrate Dr. Martin LutherKing, Jr., day is the 3rd Mondayin January, January 18. Reflect-ing on Dr King’s legacy and themessage is more important nowthan ever. Dr. King’s vision, withthis faith, we will be able to worktogether, to pray together, tostruggle together and to stand upfor freedom together; knowingthat we will be free, one day!This will be the day when all ofGod's children will be able tosing with a new meaning. “Mycountry tis of thee, sweet land ofliberty, of thee I sing. Land wheremy father died, land of the pil-grim's pride, from every moun-tain side, let freedom ring.” Theholiday provides a unique oppor-tunity to teach young people tofight evil, not people, and to getin the habit of asking themselves,“What is the most loving way Ican resolve this conflict?” On Dr.Martin Luther King, Jr.’s holidayyoung people learn about thepower of unconditional love,even for one’s adversaries, as away to fight injustice and defuseviolent disputes. It is a time toshow them the power of forgive-ness in the healing process at theinterpersonal as well as interna-tional levels. Martin LutherKing, Jr. Day is not only for cel-ebration and remembrance, edu-cation and tribute, but above alla day of service, all across Amer-ica. “I have a Dream.” Keepingthe dream alive. Learning it, liv-ing it, and sharing it. Stay fo-cused on God. In last week’sarticle in the story about the C. I.A., Children In Action group andtwo year old baby girl KensleyBryant, who loves singing too,they are the grandchildren ofPastor Joyce McCoy. Ms. Se'Deryka Allen is the goddaughter

of Sis. Janelle Watkins. A poemwas spoken by Ms. Shania Jack-son and scripture was by Ms.Arieanna Carter, little MissTamara Williams, little MisTamia Williams and Arina Carr.Tiara Brown did not say a prayer;these babies are the grandchil-dren of Sis. Rachel Nelson. If Ileft your child’s name out pleaselet me know. Thanks. Happy an-niversary to: La' Vel and AlicePrioleau and on 1/14. Happy andbelated happy birthdays to: MarySue Otis 1/15, baby GirlPromyes Lawson 1/15 (she is thegranddaughter of Emma Lawson“Tiny”), little Miss. KaylaBarnes 1/18 (she is Duke and BetBarnes granddaughter), Rev.James Sheffield 1/18, ChristineJones 1/19, Jessie James Brown1/20, Veronica Brown 1/22,Alexia Townsend 1/14, Ja' BariBrassfield, Nick and NicoleMassey 1/13, Betty Drummond1/11, Debra Drish, Carrie Gra-ham 1/8. I hope everyone hadmany blessings on their specialoccasion. In loving memory ofMrs, Louise Zachary Reynoldswho passed this earthly day on1/20. Mary and Eric J., I did getthe chance to meet your mother,but the love y'all express over theair ways, with your Gospel Sun-Rise families make everyoneseems very close. I can not sayhow much love you shared withone another, only God knowsand you. Sis Louise ZacharyReynolds is truly missed and I'msure she lives within your heart.Gone, and never forgotten byfamily members and friends.Continue to pray for all the pa-tients in the hospital and nursinghome to be strengthened, Re-member all bereaved families inyour thoughts and prayers. Al-ways keep the faith!

Of Crud and CrumbsOh! If only I could!

Round and About BellamyAnother good Sunday school lesson

SCRJ wants your weird, wacky, unusual, and cool outdoor photos! Espeially those hunting photos.

Email them to scrjmedia@yahoo.com. and not only will werun them in the paper, but we’ll also showcase them on the web-site on the Outdoors page. Please send the orignal photo with abrief description of who, what, when, and where. Please don’tsend documents or message them to our Facebook page.

Thursday, January 21, 2021 Sumter County Record-Journal Page 9-A

Spring Is the Timeto Sell Your House

SCRJ January display advertising

special

Run 2x2 businesscard size or larger, for 4 consecutiveweeks, and get afifth run FREE. A value of $27 to$875.30.

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School NewsSchool News Email your school news and events to Kasey DeCastra, SCRJ Community Editor, atscrjmedia@yahoo.com. They run in the order they come in for free!

Page 10-A Sumter County Record-Journal Thursday, January 21, 2021

“Way to go UCS spelling beewinners! You all did an amaz-ing job. Congratulations toTaylor Sisa (elementary) andWyatt Dial (middle) for win-ning your divisions! Big con-gratulations to Taylor Sisa forbeing the overall winner inour UCS spelling bee! Thankyou Annie Granec for organ-izing everything. Thank youto Libba Reed, Audrey Poole,Dusty Prine, and MegginMayben for all your helpmaking it successful!” See more photos @universitychar-terschool

UniversityCharter SchoolSpelling Bee

“Fourth grade students inMiss Metzler’s class areworking on Main Idea thisweek and practiced by creat-ing Main Idea Tables. This

helps them remember that main ideas always need details to support them!”@universitycharterschool

Main Idea Tables in MissMetzler’s class

(Right) “Introducing the newmedical students of Univer-sity Hospital! Mrs. Alsabrook’sthird grade students have be-come medical students atMrs. Alsabrook’s UniversityHospital! They are dividedinto medical teams specializ-ing in different human bodysystems. They are taskedwith creating an online clinicto educate the public on howto improve and maintain thehealth of each body system.Keep checking here for up-dates from these medical stu-dents as they research,create models, design web-sites, and educate the publicon how to maintain ourhuman body systems!”

@universitycharterschool

University Hospital

Lady Blazerswin over Leroy

By Kasey DeCastra, SCRJ Community News Editor

Blazers varsity girls basketballteam won  against Leroy on Jan.16, 36-8, in a non-area game athome in Livingston.

The Blazers play AL Johnsonon Thursday at 5 p.m. in an awaygame and Keith in another awaygame on Jan. 26 at 5:30 p.m. forthe next area game.