Cullman sept15 dm

SEPTEMBER 2015

Cullman Electric COOPERATIVE

www.cullmanec.com

Help on horseback Alabama entrepreneurs

MANAGER

Grady Smith CO-OP EDITOR

Brian Lacy ALABAMA LIVING is delivered to some 420,000 Alabama families and businesses, which are members of 22 not-for-profit, consumer-owned, locally directed and taxpaying electric cooperatives. AREA cooperative member subscriptions are $3 a year; non-member subscriptions, $6.

Alabama Living (USPS 029-920) is published monthly by the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives.

Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Alabama, and at additional mailing office.

POSTMASTER send forms 3579 to: Alabama Living, P.O. Box 244014 Montgomery, Alabama 36124-4014.

ALABAMA RURAL ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION

AREA PRESIDENT Fred Braswell EDITOR Lenore Vickrey MANAGING EDITOR Allison Griffin CREATIVE DIRECTOR Mark Stephenson ART DIRECTOR Michael Cornelison ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Jacob Johnson ADVERTISING COORDINATOR Brooke Echols COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR Mary Tyler Spivey ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL OFFICES:

340 TechnaCenter Drive Montgomery, Alabama 36117-6031 1-800-410-2737 E-mail: advertising@areapower.com www.areapower.coop NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE:

VOL. 68 NO. 9 SEPTEMBER 2015

6 Cullman EC Annual Meeting set for Sept. 12 16 ‘DWS’ Alabama connection

Iraq war veteran Noah Galloway inspired millions as a “Dancing with the Stars” contestant. We caught up with him while he was dining on some good old-fashioned Alabama home cooking.

46 Tailgating time

Football season is here and it’s time to pull out the cooler, fire up the grill and try out some of our readers’ favorite tailgating recipes while you cheer on your favorite team.

Four-year-old Savannah Dennard is learning how to walk with the help of Chandalyn Chrzanowski and Ken Furman at Montgomery Area Nontraditional Equestrians,one of six such therapeutic riding centers in the state.

PHOTO: Mark Stephenson

When you see this symbol, it means there’s more content online at www.alabamaliving.coop!

Videos, expanded stories and more!

National Country Market 611 South Congress Ave., Suite 504 Austin, Texas 78704 1-800-626-1181 www.nationalcountrymarket.com www.alabamaliving.coop

DEPARTMENTS

USPS 029-920 • ISSN 1047-0311

40

9 41 46 54

Spotlight Outdoors Fish & Game Forecast Cook of the Month Snapshots

Printed in America from American materials

Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 3

Cullman Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees

Manager’s Comments

Another busy summer Grady Smith President & CEO, Cullman Electric Cooperative

Neil Rainwater

District 1

Lynda Carter

District 2

Robert Tidwell

District 3 (Chairman)

James Fields, Jr.

District 4

Lisa Weeks

District 5

Daryl Calvert

District 6

J. David Hembree

District 7

Chad Alexander

District 8

Sue Reynolds

At-Large

4 SEPTEMBER 2015

It’s still steaming hot outside, which means it’s still summer despite the fact as this issue of Alabama Living reaches your mailbox, school has been back in session for several weeks. The summer months always seem to go quickly at Cullman Electric Cooperative, because there’s usually a lot going on. This year has been no exception.

EPA Clean Power Plan A few days before this issue of Alabama Living was sent to the printer, the Environmental Protection Agency issued its final rules for its proposed Clean Power Plan. The plan calls for carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the energy industry in the United States to be reduced by 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030.

Cullman Electric Cooperative stands with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) and electric co-ops across the country in opposing the EPA’s plan. We believe the rule exceeds EPA’s authority under the Clean Air Act, and is certain to raise the price of electricity.

As an electric distribution cooperative, Cullman EC does not generate its own power, but co-op members will be directly affected by these rules. The Tennessee Valley Authority provides all of the electricity we sell to our members, and as the cost to produce power increases, so does the price you pay for it.

TVA anticipated the EPA’s decision, and has been working for several years to adjust its energy portfolio to be less dependent on coal, which is the primary target of these new rules. The only remaining coal-fired power plant TVA operates in Alabama will be closed by the end of the year. Plans to expand TVA’s production of nuclear energy are moving forward. TVA continues to work with Cullman EC to educate members on ways to save energy. You can learn more online about TVA’s newest home energy efficiency program at www.2escore.com, and

read more about TVA’s energy portfolio at www.tva.com/power/index.htm.

Storms and Power Outages Afternoon thunderstorms are a summer tradition here in the South. We’ve seen plenty of them this year, but the storm that came through on July 14 was bigger and stronger than most. In less than 45 minutes the storm passed completely through our service area from Battleground to Garden City, leaving more than 10,000 members out of power.

When a large power outage happens quickly, the co-op’s phone system can get overwhelmed. We could have 500 phone lines working, and there’s a good chance you still would receive a busy signal when thousands of members call at the same time.

One way to help get your power outage reported quickly is to make sure you call the co-op from the primary phone number listed on your account. It can be a land line or a cell phone. When you call from your primary phone number, our automated system recognizes the number and automatically reports an outage for the address listed on your account.

Turn to page 7 for more details on how to update your primary phone number.

Annual Meeting Cullman EC’s 79th Annual Meeting is Sept. 12, from 8 a.m. until noon at Northbrook Church. Registration cards, voting instructions and ballots were sent to all members last month. Members have until Sept. 10 to return registration cards and ballots by mail, or you can register and vote at the meeting.

See page 6 for a schedule of all the activities and events at this year’s meeting. I hope you will make plans to join us for this special event.

Thanks for reading, and have a great month. A www.cullmanec.com

Cullman Electric Contact Information

HOLIDAY CLOSING Cullman Electric Cooperative will be closed on Monday, Sept. 7, 2015, for Labor Day.

Office locations Cullman - headquarters 1749 Eva Road NE Cullman, AL 35055

Time to update your membership

Addison - branch office 31132 US Hwy 278 West Addison, AL 35540

Cullman Electric Cooperative is extending a special opportunity to members who need to update their account. Starting in August and continuing through Sept. 10, 2015, any member needing to change an account from the name of a deceased person will not be charged.

Cullman EC will waive the $30 origination fee for those living at a residence where the power is in a deceased person’s name. You will simply need to provide appropriate documentation and sign the standard origination forms.

The fee waiver applies only to existing accounts, and only to those transferring accounts from the name

Why update?

• If your spouse has passed away and the account was in his or her name.

• If the account at the home where you live is in the name of a parent, grandparent or other relative who has passed away.

Remember — the fee waiver applies only to existing accounts, and must be completed between Aug. 1 and Sept. 10.

of a deceased person.

To update your account, bring a copy of your bill and a form of identification to Cullman EC’s office, and a member service representative will be happy to help you.

Looking for an easy efficiency upgrade? Additional insulation can make a difference! The Department of Energy estimates you can reduce heating and cooling needs up to 30 percent by properly insulating and weatherizing your home.

Source: energy.gov

Alabama Living

Phone 256-737-3200 Website www.cullmanec.com Find Cullman Electric Cooperative on Twitter (twitter.com/cullmanec) and on Facebook

Payment Options Draft Pay your bill by automatic draft from your checking account or credit card.

Online Payments may be made 24 hours a day by check, credit card or debit card on our website at www.cullmanec.com Kiosks Payments may be made 24 hours a day at Cullman EC’s offices on Eva Road and in Addison. The kiosk located at Hopper’s Family Market in Fairview is available during regular business hours

By Mail Cullman Electric Cooperative Dept 3155 PO Box 2153 Birmingham, AL 35287-3155 Night Deposit Available at both office locations

SEPTEMBER 2015 5

BE SURE TO JOIN US!

2015 Cullman EC Annual Meeting Saturday, Sept. 12 8 a.m. to noon Northbrook Church All members who register and vote (by mail or at the event) enter to win one of 20 $100 power bill credits. All members who register AND attend receive a $15 power bill credit and enter to win the grand prize drawing for a 2007 Chevy Colorado truck.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS 8-11 a.m.: Registration, food, bucket truck rides, kid’s games, health fair and co-op business fair.

9-11 a.m.: Entertainment — Dixie Melody Boys, southern gospel concert.

11 a.m.-noon: Business session begins — election results will be announced.

Drawing for 20 $100 bill credits and vehicle giveaway will be held at the end of the business session.

Cullman EC issues tax refunds to members Cullman Electric Cooperative issued tax refunds totaling $326,279.34 to its members in August. The money represents a refund in certain taxes charged by the State of Alabama. Members whose refunds are $50 or more received a check in the mail, while refunds of less than $50 appeared as a line item credit on the August bill.

The refund is a direct benefit of cooperative membership, according to Jerry Weathersby, Cullman EC’s vice president of accounting and finance.

“Cullman Electric is a not-for-profit, memberowned electric cooperative. As such, it is entitled to a refund of all taxes paid to the State of Alabama on its operating margins,” Weathersby explained.

The amount each member received depends on the percentage of overall revenues represented by each member’s account. Those who use a small amount of electricity, the credit may be a few cents. Large commercial accounts with high electricity demands will see credits of several thousand dollars.

“These refunds are not automatic,” said Cullman EC President & CEO Grady Smith. “We must make an effort to file the proper documentation to request them from the state. But this money belongs to our members, and our Board of Trustees is very proud to make these refunds available.”

Couples conference Patrick and Emily Ray of Cullman attended the 40th Alabama Council of Cooperatives Couples Conference in Orange Beach, AL, July 27-29, 2015. Cullman Electric Cooperative sponsored the Rays to the three-day conference where guests had an opportunity to learn how their local cooperatives can assist them in their everyday life. During the conference, couples gain additional knowledge and insight into the economic and service opportunities afforded by their cooperatives. Thanks, Patrick and Emily, for representing Cullman EC! 6 SEPTEMBER 2015

www.cullmanec.com

Cullman Electric

FASTER POWER OUTAGE REPORTING Make sure your Cullman EC account information is accurate When you call to report a power outage, Cullman EC’s automated phone system uses Caller ID to identify the phone number you are calling from. If that phone number is listed as the PRIMARY phone number on your Cullman EC account, your power outage is automatically updated in our computer system.

What phone number should you list as the primary phone number on your account? The phone number you are most likely to use to report a power outage. It can be a land line or a cell phone.

Make sure your Cullman Electric Co-op How can you update the primary phone number account information on your Cullman EC account? is accurate to ensure faster service when you Option 1 — Use Cullman EC’s Automated Account call. Remember – the primary number on Information System – available 24 hours a day. (Call your account can be 256-737-3200, press 2, then press 1, enter account number, listen to a land line or a cell prompts, then press 9.) phone. Choose the number you are most likely to use when Option 2 — Speak with a Cullman EC Member Service calling to report a Representative. Come by our office or call 256-737-3200 power outage.

(press 3) during regular business hours (Mon.-Fri., 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)

Cullman Electric Cooperative is an equal opportunity provider and employer. If you wish to file a Civil Rights program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, found online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, or at any USDA office, or call (866) 632-9992 to request the form. You may also write a letter containing all of the information requested in the form. Send your completed complaint form or letter to us by mail at U.S. Department of Agriculture, Director, Office of Adjudication, 1400 Independence Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410, by fax (202) 690-7442 or email at program.intake@usda.gov.

Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 7

Cullman Electric

8  SEPTEMBER 2015

www.cullmanec.com

In September

Spot Light

Beer and barbecue The annual PorktoberQue festival, which bills itself as a less-than-traditional Oktoberfest, is coming up, with live entertainment (including live polka music), an indoor biergarten (beer garden), car show, cornhole tournament and barbecue cook-off. Admission is $4 per person per day, and children under 6 are free, but you’ll get in free if you wear lederhosen! All the fun takes place at the Houston County Farm Center, 1701 E. Cottonwood Road in Dothan, from 5-10 p.m. Sept. 25 and 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Sept. 26. The event includes a Kansas City Barbecue Society-sanctioned barbecue competition. Proceeds benefit local schools and non-profit groups. Visit www.porktoberque.com for more information.

Food safety tips

What do freshness dates on manufactured or packaged foods really tell you? These tips are from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System: • Fresh meat and fish are dated with “date of pack or manufacture,” which refers to when the food was packed or processed for sale.

• Dairy and fresh bakery products are labeled with a “freshness, pull or sell-by” date, which refers to the last day the food should be sold.

The date allows you a reasonable length of time to use the food.

• Other foods are labeled with a “use before” or “best-if-used-by” date, after which the food is no longer at its best but can be used safely.

• Yeast and unbaked breads are labeled with an “expiration” or “use by” date, after which the quality of the food deteriorates. But the food would still be safe to consume.

Renew your driver license online

Sand Mountain celebration The 29th Ider Mule Days showcases Sand Mountain’s rich agricultural heritage. Enjoy the big draw of the day, the mule pull, and see draft horses, carriages and antique tractors. There will be arts and crafts, food, children’s games, music and more. The parade begins at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 7 (Labor Day) in Ider Park. A donation of $2 per person over the age of 5 is requested. Call 256-657-4184.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) has updated its driver license system to include online scheduling for appointments at license examining offices, online driver license renewals, self-serve kiosks, digital licensing for smart phones and equipment upgrades at its offices around the state. For more information on these new services, visit www.alrenewal.com.

Want to see more events or submit your own?

Alabama Living

Visit www.alabamaliving.coop to submit an event and view our calendar or email an event to events@alabamaliving.coop.

SEPTEMBER 2015 9

Power Pack

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month; be aware of benefits available Cancer can affect any one of us, at any time. Sadly, thousands of people under the age of 20 are diagnosed with cancer every year, and it remains the leading cause of disease-related death for children. In September, we honor the strength and courage of children who are battling the many forms of cancer, as well as the young Americans who have lost their lives to these terrible diseases.

Social Security provides benefits for children who suffer from many disabling diseases, including some forms of cancer.

These benefits could help with the additional costs of caring for an ill child. The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program pays benefits to disabled children who have limited income and resources.

If you wish to apply for benefits for your child, you’ll need to complete both an application for SSI and a Child Disability Report. The report collects information about your child’s disabling condition, and about how it affects his or her ability to function.

Here are the steps to apply.

Review the Child Disability Starter Kit. This kit answers common questions about

applying for SSI benefits for children, and includes a worksheet that will help you gather the information you need. You can view the starter kit at www.ssa.gov/disability/disability_starter_kits_child_eng.htm.

The SSI program is a “needs-based” program for people who have low family income and resources. SSI has strict limits on the amount of income and assets you can have and still be eligible for SSI. Contact Social Security right away to find out if the income and resources of the parents and the child are within the allowed limits, and to start the SSI application process.

Fill out the online Child Disability Report. At the end of the report, we’ll ask you to sign a form that gives the child’s doctor(s) permission to give us information about his or her disability. We need this information to make a decision on your child’s claim. You can access the Child Disability Report at secure.ssa.gov/ apps6z/i3820/main.html.

Social Security also has an obligation to provide benefits quickly to applicants whose medical conditions are so serious that they obviously meet our strict disability standards.

Alabama Living wins national awards Alabama Living magazine won two Awards of Merit at the annual Willies Awards sponsored by the Statewide Editors Association, a national group of editors of rural cooperative magazines.

Editor Lenore Vickrey accepted the award at the group’s annual institute in August hosted by Ruralite Ser vices in Portland, Oregon.

Freelance writer Emmett Burnett’s article on Johnny Long, longtime band director at Troy 10 SEPTEMBER 2015

Un ive rs it y, won t he Award of Merit for “Best Personality Profile.” The article, “Troy’s Music Man,” ran in the May 2015 issue of Alabama Living.

The January 2015 cover of a Baldwin County family taking a “selfie” at Gulf Shores beach won the Award of Merit for “Best Cover.” The award recognized the work of Creative Director Mark Stephenson for his cover design and freelance photographer Michelle Rolls-Thomas, who

Social Security’s Compassionate Allowances program enables us to identify diseases and other medical conditions quickly that invariably qualify under the Listing of Impairments based on minimal objective medical information. The Compassionate Allowances list allows Social Security to identify the most seriously disabled people for allowances based on objective medical information that we can obtain quickly. Compassionate Allowances is not a separate program from the Supplemental Security Income program.

You can learn more about Compassionate Allowances at www.socialsecurity.gov/ compassionateallowances.

No matter what month it is, Social Security is here to provide benefits those with severe disabilities. If you or anyone in your family needs assistance, visit http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disability. A

Kylle’ McKinney, SSA Public Affairs Specialist, can be reached by e-mail at kylle. mckinney@ssa.gov.

Which Iron Bowl do you remember most?

snapped the photo. The shot featured Tommy Doggett, power systems controller for Baldwin EMC, and his family demonstrating the best place to take a “selfie,” as voted on by readers in the 2015 Best of Alabama Contest.

Was it the 1972 “Punt, Bama, Punt” game when Auburn blocked two Alabama punts to win 17-16? Or was it the 1982 Iron Bowl when Bo Jackson went “over the top” as Auburn beat Alabama 23 to 22?

If you’re an Alabama fan, you might point to the most recent game in 2014 when Alabama got revenge for the 2013 “Kick 6” debacle, beating its rival 55-44 in the highest-scoring Iron Bowl in history.

Or maybe you’d prefer to remember 1985 when Alabama kicker Van Tiffin made a 52-yard field goal as time expired, and Alabama won 25–23.

Did you miss the big game because of a wedding, the birth of your child, or other event? We still want to hear about it! Send your memories by Sept. 30 to agriffin@ areapower.com. We’ll publish a selection of submissions in our November issue. www.alabamaliving.coop

Growing older doesn’t have to mean becoming disabled Aging can come with a variety of health challenges. While we are living longer lives, more people are developing chronic diseases that shorten their lives.

An estimated 133 million adults, almost half the adult population, have a chronic health condition.

Research has shown that people who get regular physical activity, eat a healthful diet, do not use tobacco, and get recommended screenings and immunizations significantly decrease their risk of developing chronic conditions and the disabilities associated with them.

One important step to improve health and help avoid chronic disease is engaging in regular physical activity. Experts say this helps control body weight, lower blood pressure, and strengthen muscles, which in turn makes falls less likely. An increase in muscle mass helps the body metabolize drugs more like a young person does, which means medicines can be cleared from the body more effectively.

Physical activity has also been linked to a decreased risk of dementia. Older adults do not have to join a fitness center to

Letters to the editor VBS bracelets and lanyards Just read your article in Al abama Liv ing on V BS. Marilyn and I have just helped with our VBS at Centre First Baptist. We were t he old gray-haired people that you remembered teaching you.

Marilyn had the third graders and I had “KP” duty in the kitchen. You know it is so sad that for some of these kids, it is the only time they hear anything about Jesus. I do think it is a valuable experience for most youngsters. I have fond memories of making bracelets and lanyards out of different colored gimp.

Enjoy reading your articles.

Ted Bridges, Leesburg Alabama Living

engage in physical activity--less strenuous activities such as walking, gardening, or activities that simply keep them moving is enough.

Studies show that staying at a healthy weight by eating right has benefits that include decreasing the risk of diabetes and certain types of arthritis. One way to have a healthier diet is to eat more fruits and vegetables every day. People who consume at least five cups of fruits and vegetables daily have lower blood pressure, less cardiovascular disease, lower rates of cancer, better immune responses, and are usually leaner and have lower rates of diabetes and obesity.

Health authorities agree that quitting smoking has proven health benefits, even at a late age. Many older adults contend they continue smoking because quitting offers no benefit to them. Strong evidence, however, shows that stopping tobacco use even late in life not only adds years, but also improves quality of life. When an older person quits smoking, circulation improves immediately, and the lungs begin to repair damage. In one year, the

Comments distrespectful I have been reading Alabama Living for many years and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. But the article by Hardy Jackson [“Vacation Bible School ain’t what it used to be,” August 2015] was extremely insulting to me and I’m sure to anyone who has invested many years in working with children every summer in Vacation Bible School.

The comment about the elderly church ladies was so disrespectful. These godly women sacrificed much time to teaching our children about, not “religion,” as Mr. Jackson called it, but Christianity. I kept looking for something positive in his article, but I found criticism to the very end.

I hope I hear something from you as to why you allowed such an article in your “family” magazine.

Brenda Wolfe, Hanceville

added risk of heart disease is nearly cut in half, and the risk of stroke, lung disease, and cancer diminish.

Preventive measures, such as getting a yearly flu shot and being screened for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers, are also important. Keeping an eye on other disease indicators, such as high blood pressure and the early stages of diabetes, can also make a difference in terms of the degree of disability people experience later in life.

The risk of chronic disease increases with age, but growing older does not have to mean becoming disabled. Engaging in healthy behaviors greatly reduces the risk for illness and death due to chronic diseases. Visit adph.org/ for more information. A

VBS times have changed Enjoyed your Vacation Bible School column in the AL electric co-op mag. Times have changed: We had red Kool-aid and oyster crackers for snacks, about 30 kids, and 5 teachers.

Wendy’s church just had snacks that complied with government standards on sugar and salt, peanut/gluten/red dye allergies, thus very expensive, 1200+ kids, and over 400 volunteers. The director could, no doubt, run a Fortune 500 company. My age is showing.

Camilla Payne, Centre

Jim McVay, Dr.P.A., is director of the Bureau of Health Promotion and Chronic Disease of the Alabama Department of Public Health.

Hardy Jackson replies: No disrespect was intended.

If I did not think VBS was doing good work, I would not have been there taking part.

I should add that in my Methodist upbringing, Christianity was considered a religion, so at our Methodist VBS, teaching religion was teaching Christianity.

I was only relating a humorous incident that occurred at our VBS. As for the gray-haired ladies teaching me when I was a lad, they were not shy about saying that they took every opportunity offered them to teach us about Christianity/religion.

I am sorry if I offended you.

The intent was to make you smile.

Let us hear from you! Send letters to letters@alabamaliving. coop, or to Editor, Alabama Living, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL 36124.

SEPTEMBER 2015 11

Therapeutic hors

By Alethia Russell

F

Abby Houchin helps Savannah Dennard walk after her horseback riding session.

PHOTOS BY MARK STEPHENSON

Horses that heal

12 SEPTEMBER 2015

our-year-old Savannah Dennard has a simple command for her equine friend, Spirit: “Walk on!� she chirps, and off they go as Spirit carries his tiny passenger around the covered arena at Montgomery Area Nontraditional Equestrians, or MANE. Savannah, with the help of her instructors, uses the command to maneuver the horse before being dismounted.

And although she had to be carried into the arena just 30 minutes earlier, Savannah, as volunteers hold her hands, now can use her legs to walk away from the horse.

Therapeutic horseback riding, like that provided at MANE, provides relief for people like Savannah who have cognitive, emotional, and/or physical disabilities. Therapeutic riding centers serve people of all ages and disabilities, including those with attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, post traumatic stress disorders, cerebral palsy, obsessive compulsive disorder, and those on the autism spectrum.

Savannah is the youngest student on the roster at MANE, one of six therapeutic horseback riding centers in Alabama. After having open-heart surgery at five weeks old, Savannah was severely developmentally delayed, but her family remains confident that therapeutic horseback riding will improve her development.

When something is fun, it makes it more therapeutic.

Savannah prepares to ride.

www.alabamaliving.coop

orseback riding helps many with disabilities “She’s four and she’s not walking and things like that,” says for them. You may be doing the same stretching activities and Rebecca Dennard, Savannah’s mother. “We just do everything we moving activities as in a therapy session, but you’re doing it for can to help her catch up. MANE is great for that because it’s great a purpose and not just to do it. You do it to stay on the horse, for her core strength, and it also gives her some independence. because it’s fun, or because you’re outside and that makes it so When you have to be carried around, that’s something you don’t much more effective.“ always get. It’s hard when you have a child that’s so far developmentally behind, to have her play with other kids because they’re The healing touch of horses Not only does therapeutic horseback riding benefit the body, so far ahead. So this has been really great for her to hang out with but it also benefits the mind. Patricia people other than family.”

Thorn owns SpiritHorse Therapeutic RidDennard says Savannah has just fining Center at the Mercy Seat in Prattville, ished her first session with MANE and and she began her work in therapeutic is already showing physical and social horseback riding after experiencing a progress. death in her family. She says her love of Participants sometimes arrive at horses helped her through it. the center in a wheelchair, says Abby “Horses have such a healing touch,” Houchin, volunteer coordinator at Thorn says. “I believe people are startMANE, but after riding on the horses, ing to see the prosperity and possibilities they are able to walk out because the for children to have an outlet in this that motion of the horse gives them more they may not have had before. It gives flexibility. them a sense of pride. It gives them “There are physical benefits,” Houchin the ability to call something their own says. “The motion of a horse mimics the that’s a sport, and something to brag walking motion. So often, for people who about because many of them can’t play have lower limb issues, we walk with a sport or join a team. It gives them a them after they ride.”

One of the riding activities used to make The physical benefits range from therapeutic riding more engaging and fun. recreation beyond the therapy itself. It’s quickening of reflexes, better motor planvery unique because you’re developing a ning, muscle strengthening, and reduction of abnormal move- bond between the horse with yourself, the volunteers, and staff ments and spasticity. Gerry Rodgers PT, PCS, a physical therapist in multiple ways.” at Children’s Rehab Services, says one of the reasons he refers Each center has unique programs staffed with trained inpatients to therapeutic riding is because it is beneficial and fun. structors certified by SpiritHorse or Professional Association of “When something is fun, it makes it more therapeutic,” Rod- Therapeutic Horsemanship, International (PATH). The theragers says. “You’re more likely to do it and be more engaged. peutic horseback riding centers in Alabama are all non-profit From a therapeutic point of view, if something is more engag- organizations, and rely heavily on volunteers, sponsors, grants ing, people are more likely to do it and benefit in the long run. and donations to operate. Monetary donations, grants and donaAs therapists, we can come up with exercises that may be good tions of equipment keep the many programs offered at MANE

Abby Houchin and Chandalyn Chrzanowski show off some of the tack specially designed for each horse and rider type at MANE. Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 13

For more information on therapeutic horseback riding centers in Alabama, visit their websites:

Beautiful stalls at MANE are home to the horses awaiting their turn to provide a therapeutic ride.

functioning during their three sessions year-round.

“Most of our income does not come from tuition,” Houchin says. “A lot of our riders are on scholarship, so I would say about 88 percent of our funds are from grants or private donations.

With 44 acres and two full-time employees, there are not enough of us to do everything that needs to be done every day. We rely heavily on the volunteers that we have. We have almost 60 active volunteers now. That doesn’t even count the special volunteer workdays that a church or big group wants to help with and we’ll have a big project for them to do in one day.”

Volunteers always needed

Chandalyn Chrzanowski, equine director at MANE, and Thorn say they always need volunteers and can never have too many.

Thorn says her center needs more adult volunteers, especially after school when the fall session starts. She hopes her center can serve more people as a year-round facility, with the addition of a new parking lot and a covered arena on her wish list.

The goals of participants like Savannah could become more reachable. For Savannah, “walk on” will one day not just be a command in her riding lesson; it will be something she can do on her own.

“The biggest thing we’ve seen is that she’s asking for what she wants. She’s communicating better,” Dennard said. “Her physical therapist has commented that through the legs and the trunk and torso that she’s really developing those muscles and making them stronger. It’s been really great for her confidence too, that she’s been able to ask for things and she tries to walk more and she doesn’t fight so much when you try to take her up the stairs.” A 14 SEPTEMBER 2015

Special Equestrians specialequest.org 1215 Woodward Drive Indian Springs, Alabama 35124 205-987-9462 Equines Assisting Special Individuals easitrc.org 242 Summerville Road, Jasper, AL 35504 205-387-7486 Marianna Greene Henry Special Equestrians Program mgharena.com 29401 AL Hwy. 21 South Talladega, AL 35160 256-761-3364 Montgomery Area Nontraditional Equestrians (MANE) maneweb.org 3699 Wallahatchie Road Watch video of Savannah Pike Road AL 36064 riding Spirit at alabamaliving.coop 334-213-0909

ONLINE

SpiritHorse Therapeutic Riding Center at the Mercy Seat spirithorsetrc.org 1962 Suncrest Drive Pra�ville, Alabama 36067 334-531-7019 Horses Offering People Encouragement (HOPE) hopehorses.org 1301 Convent Road NE Cullman, Alabama 35055 256-841-6290 www.alabamaliving.coop

Best Alabama 16

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It’s back! Once again, Alabama Living readers have a chance to vote on the places and things that make our state great! We’ve got some new categories this year.

So check out the categories, pick one answer for each category, or tell us what’s your choice for the “Best of Alabama”!

Travel 1. Best place to take the family for a weekend getaway. [ ] North Alabama mountains [ ] Gulf beaches [ ] Historic destinations [ ] Your Choice __________________

2. Best uniquely Alabama experience on your bucket list. [ ] World’s Longest Yard Sale [ ] Hiking the North Alabama mountains [ ] Attending the Iron Bowl [ ] Your Choice __________________

Sports

3. Best baseball player from Alabama (past) [ ] Hank Aaron [ ] Satchel Paige

[ ] Willie Mays [ ] Your Choice __________________

4. Best boxer from Alabama (past or present) [ ] Joe Louis [ ] Deontay Wilder

[ ] Evander Holyfield [ ] Your Choice __________________

5. Best Alabama sportscaster/commentator [ ] Paul Finebaum [ ] Eli Gold

[ ] Charles Barkley [ ] Your Choice __________________

6. Best NASCAR driver (past) [ ] Bobby Alison [ ] Neil Bonnett

[ ] Davey Allison [ ] Your Choice __________________

7. Best Olympic athlete (past) [ ] Carl Lewis [ ] Harvey Glance

[ ] Jesse Owens [ ] Your Choice __________________

8. Best public golf course [ ] Grand National, Opelika [ ] Terrapin Hills, Ft. Payne

[ ] RTJ Capitol Hill, Prattville [ ] Your Choice __________________

Entertainment 9. Best singer/songwriter (present) [ ] Lionel Richie [ ] Jason Isbell

[ ] Emmylou Harris [ ] Your Choice __________________

10. Best singer/songwriter (past) [ ] Hank Williams [ ] Nat King Cole

[ ] Percy Sledge [ ] Your Choice __________________

11. Best actor/actress from Alabama (present) [ ] Octavia Spencer [ ] Courteney Cox

[ ] Channing Tatum [ ] Your Choice __________________

People 12. Most influential Alabamian (present) [ ] Condoleezza Rice [ ] Gov. Robert Bentley

[ ] Tim Cook (Apple computer) [ ] Your Choice __________________

History

13. Best historical museum [ ] Alabama Dept. of Archives and History [ ] USS Battleship Alabama [ ] Barber Vintage Motorsports [ ] Your Choice __________________

14. Best learning museum [ ] Gulf Coast Exploreum [ ] McWane Science Center [ ] U.S. Space and Rocket Center [ ] Your Choice _________________

Made in Alabama 15. Best craft brewery [ ] Good People [ ] Back Forty

[ ] Avondale [ ] Your Choice __________________

16. Best Alabama-made snack [ ] Golden Flake chips [ ] Wickles Pickles

[ ] Priester’s pecans [ ] Your Choice __________________

17. Best non-BBQ Alabama-based food franchise [ ] Zoe’s [ ] Momma Goldberg’s

[ ] Chicken Salad Chick [ ] Your Choice __________________

18. Best Alabama-based BBQ franchise [ ] Jim ‘N Nick’s [ ] Full Moon BBQ

[ ] Dreamland [ ] Your Choice __________________

19. Best Alabama-made non-alcoholic beverage [ ] Milo’s Tea [ ] Red Diamond tea

[ ] Barber’s milk [ ] Your choice __________________

20. Best Alabama-made automobile [ ] Hyundai Sonata/Elantra [ ] Mercedes C/M/R/GL/ GLE Coupe [ ] Honda Odyssey/Pilot/Acura MDX

Cast your vote for VOTE ONLINE www.alabamaliving.coop the Best of Alabama Name: ___________________________________ for the chance to win Address: _________________________ City: ___________ St: ___Zip: ________

500

$

Deadline toLiving vote Alabama is Oct. 31, 2015.

Phone Number: __________________Co-op: ______________________________

Mail to: Alabama Living Survey • P.O. Box 244014 • Montgomery, AL 36124 No purchase necessary. Eligibility: Contest open to all persons age 18 and over, except employees and their immediate family members Alabama Rural SEPTEMBER 2015 of 15 Electric Association, and Alabama Electric Cooperatives; and their respective divisions, subsidiaries, affiliates, advertising, and promotion agencies.

Noah Galloway and dance partner Sharna Burgess dazzled audiences on the most recent season of “Dancing with the Stars.”

COURTESY ABC/ADAM TAYLOR

‘Dancing with the Stars’ contestant an inspiration From surviving a roadside bomb in Iraq to making it to the finals on “Dancing with the Stars,” this double amputee Army veteran is an inspiration to all.

By Ben Norman

S

everal Sundays ago, I was eating lunch at the Old Barn Restaurant in Goshen, Alabama, when I noticed a real “cutie” smiling and waving at me across the dining room.

Assuming she had mistaken me for someone else, I ignored her and continued eating.

A few minutes later, we made eye contact again and she was still waving and smiling. I finally recognized her as Jamie Boyd.

My wife and I knew when her she was a young girl growing up in Highland Home, and now she is the fiancée of Noah Galloway,

16 SEPTEMBER 2015

who was a finalist on last season’s “Dancing with the Stars.”

I walked over to give Jamie a hug and to meet Noah. After being introduced and chatting a few minutes, we finished our meal and adjourned to an old church pew on the front porch. “What in the world brings a pair of TV stars like you two to Goshen, Alabama?” was my first question.

“Jamie’s stepdad, W.L. Massey, had been telling us on the phone about this restaurant in Goshen, The Old Barn, that grows their own vegetables and serves them for Sunday lunch,” Noah said. www.alabamaliving.coop

“Being on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ has opened a lot of doors, for which I’m greatly honored.”

COURTESY ABC

“We drove down from Birmingham to give it a try. Man, this is someone has great expectations of you, and you try to live up to some of the best food I’ve eaten. We’ll definitely be back.” them, you will become what you are trying to be.”

Like millions of other TV viewers, I had watched Noah and his Noah was selected as the winner out of more than 1,200 entries partner dance on “Dancing With the Stars” and had heard about in the first Ultimate Men’s Health Guy contest to be on the cover some of the adversities he had overcome. I told him I would like of Men’s Health magazine.

“After I appeared in Men’s Health I started getting calls from TV to interview him and do a story for Alabama Living. “Sure, ask shows. ‘Dancing with the Stars’ asked me to come to Los Angeles. I me anything you want,” he replied.

Noah says he grew up and went to school in Midfield, near told them I couldn’t leave my kids that long. They said, ‘Fine, we’ll Birmingham. “I was going to school at UAB when (the events of) send a dancer to Birmingham to teach you how to dance.’

“Sharna Burgess came to Birmingham and taught me how 9/11 occurred and I just felt I had to do my part. I was 20 years old, in good physical shape and just felt my country calling,” he to dance. She did all the choreographing, selected music, and says. “I joined the Army, finished basic (training), went to jump Sharna remained my dance partner all through the ‘Dancing with school and was in the 101st Airborne Division. I was on my sec- the Stars’ contest. Sharna and Jamie kept encouraging me; both ond deployment to Iraq in an area near Baghdad when my Hum- were great motivators. I thought we would be out after the first vee hit a trip wire and an IED blew show but we made it all the way to the Humvee I was in off the road. I the finals. This is when I asked Jamie lost my arm in the explosion, and my to marry me on the show. It was a leg later. The medics gave me first aid complete surprise to Jamie and even and medevaced me to a hospital in to some of the ‘Dancing with the Baghdad. I was then transferred to Stars’ staff.

Germany and later to Walter Reed “Being on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Hospital in Washington. That’s where has opened a lot of doors, for which I regained consciousness, on ChristI’m greatly honored,” he adds. “Bemas Day.” cause of my appearance on ‘Dancing Noah says the doctors told him he with the Stars,’ I have been asked to would be in the hospital about two be on several television shows, award years. “I said no way, and after nupresentations, and invited to speak to merous surgeries I started traveling many groups.” on weekend leave back to BirmingNoah Galloway is a humble man, ham. In September 2006, less than a not spoiled by newfound fame. “I year from being hit, I was out of the have found that working hard will get hospital. you farther than you ever expected “I was discharged in November to go,” he says. “Just dig down deep 2006, after five years in the Army. and give it everything you’ve got. You Being discharged was one of the can overcome physical and emotional hardest things I had to deal with. The From left, Noah Galloway, Old Barn restaurant owner obstacles that you didn’t think you Amy Chandler, writer Ben Norman and Galloway’s fiancé, first thing was losing an arm and leg, Jamie Boyd, outside the Old Barn Restaurant in Goshen. could.” the second was losing a career that I Noah Galloway should know. He PHOTO BY PATTIE KING had found a home in. I went through went from lying unconscious in a some bad times after discharge. I drank too much, got out of water-filled ditch in Iraq to dancing on a national television show. shape and just deteriorated physically and mentally. One day, I As he says, “You just got to dig down deep.” A just decided I’m not being a good daddy to my three children Ben Norman is a writer from and I’ve got to change.

“I joined the gym, started eating right, and started doing foot Highland Home, Ala. racing, running obstacle courses and other things to get in shape,” he continues. “People were great. They told me I was motivating Noah Galloway is available for them. They were bragging on me and this made me work harder. speaking engagements. Contact “I did this for a couple of years and was invited to do a radio him at noahgalloway.com motivation show on Jan. 4, 2013. This is where I met the girl of Watch Noah propose to Jamie my life. Jamie Boyd had a talk show on the same station. I had here https://www.youtube. just never met such a lovely country girl that was so pretty and com/watch?v=K70a8WumJoQ. bubbly. I got her to go to lunch with me and finally on a date.

We went to a friend’s house to watch television on our first date, For directions to the Old Barn Restaurant contact Amy Chanand then out for dinner.

“She has just been a great inspiration to me. Always telling dler at 334-484-3200 or oldbarnme what great expectations she has for me. Believe me, when restaurant@gmail.com Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 17

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Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 19

State’s entrepreneurs bring big ideas to life

Travis Perry, creator of the Chord Buddy.

Creators, thinkers, dreamers – they develop products and nurture ideas, often born out of a need unfilled. Alabama is home to a number of successful businessmen and women who have brought ideas to life – and made money in the process.

In this issue, Alabama Living highlights four businesses that got their starts in our state and that have continued to operate here, creating jobs and helping to fuel the economy. If you know of an Alabama innovator worthy of an Alabama Living story, email us at agriffin@areapower.com.

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Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 21

Frogg Toggs

Keeping people warm and dry when nature won’t cooperate

By John N. Felsher

Living in one of the wettest, hottest parts of the country, some Alabama outdoorsmen wanted products that would beat the elements without forcing people to hide from nature. So in 1996, they gathered near Lake Guntersville, the largest lake in the state, to found Frogg Toggs.

“Our goal was to keep common folks comfortable outdoors,” says Will Fowler, Frogg Toggs marketing director. “The Frogg Toggs brand started with an idea to provide an affordable, breathable rainsuit to a market that was not being served by available products. We didn’t want to compete with an existing market presence, but go after dollars that had never been spent in the rainwear category before.”

In the past two decades, the company grew into one of the most recognizable allweather apparel brands in the world today, producing lines of lightweight, breathable protective gear for working people. Now employing about 70 people, Frogg Toggs manufactures and distributes a full line of rainwear, waders and other footwear,

Based in Arab, Frogg Toggs makes affordable all-weather apparel.

personal cooling products and accessories made from various materials at prices most outdoorsmen can afford.

“We serve several industries including fresh and saltwater fishing, motorcycle riding, agriculture, hunting, outdoor sports, team sports, running and cycling and general fitness to name a few,” Fowler says.

“To outdoorsmen and women, the name Frogg Toggs means trust, affordability and protection. Designed by outdoorsmen and made to take on Mother Nature, the company was founded on the promise of total

customer satisfaction. To this day, we don’t introduce a product, make a change or commit a resource unless we know it will result in giving our customers even more reason to seek out and purchase the Frogg Toggs brand.”

As the business grew, the company relocated from Guntersville, Ala., to a facility atop Georgia Mountain between Guntersville and Arab. After a few years at this location, the company moved to a 225,000-square-foot warehouse and office facility just outside Arab.

“Being able to locate the Frogg Toggs headquarters in the town that we call home is a blessing to us,” Fowler explains. “Frogg Toggs owes a great deal of its success to its location. Arab, Ala., provides a great labor pool, easy access to major interstates, no traffic congestion, ample recreation opportunities and one of the best school systems in the state with a true small-town atmosphere.”

For more information, call 800-349-1835 or visit www.froggtoggs.com.

Chord Buddy’s national sales strike high note Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt from a story previously published in Alabama Living by Wiregrass Electric Cooperative.

Travis Perry came up with the name for his Chord Buddy guitar-teaching system when he was just 18 years old.

But it wasn’t until the Dothan entrepreneur and musician was trying to teach his daughter to play guitar decades later that he actually set the idea into motion.

Now, Perry has turned Chord Buddy into a multimillion-dollar company with a growing range of products and eight employees. Chord Buddy has appeared in sales spots on QVC, on the reality TV show “Shark Tank” and in another appearance on its companion show, “Beyond the Tank.”

Like training wheels, Chord Buddy uses a device with tabs, allowing students to play chords with just the touch of a tab button.

But as the student gets more comfortable, the tabs can be removed, allowing them to learn the chords and strum at the same time.

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The product went on the market in 2010, but didn’t become popular until Perry appeared on an episode “Shark Tank,” when he pitched the idea to a group of investors.

“Eighteen months prior to ‘Shark Tank,’ we had done $232,000 in sales, which I actually thought was pretty dang good,” he says. “Within 10 months of it airing, we had done $3 million in sales. Now we’re up to about $7 million. That’s what a difference being in front of 10 million people for about 15 minutes can make.”

The product does well in the fourth quarter each year, when people buy it as a gift. To buoy the business in the other three quarters, Perry has branched out into education.

“Ninety-two percent of music educators don’t know how to play guitar,” he says.

So he designed a system that would allow music teachers to teach guitar through the Chord Buddy system.

Perry continues to invent products and create ideas. Sometime this year, two new

products will come out: a guitar cable with a built-in volume control for an acoustic guitar, and the Beat Buddy, a Bluetooth device that allows the guitar to become a speaker and acts as a rhythm-training aid for learning the guitar.

Information: www.chordbuddy.com

Chord Buddy uses tabs to teach students to play chords with the touch of a button.

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Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 23

Cablz Eyewear Retainers

Keeping eyeglasses in place with style

By John N. Felsher

In 2007, Ron Williams, a medical equipment supplier, began to exit a hospital parking deck when the strap on his sunglasses snagged something, flinging the glasses into his face. This nearly caused Williams to wreck. In frustration, he hurled his glasses away from him. They landed on a spool of surgical steel cable that doctors use to anchor bones in place when operating on complex fractures.

At that moment, the proverbial light bulb turned on in his head. “That was the ‘aha moment,’ when I held up the steel cable and thought, ‘I wonder how this would do,’” he recalled. He envisioned making a device that could hold glasses in place, but avoid snagging because the stiffness of the cable would keep it suspended off the back of a person’s head.

A year later, Ron and his wife Holly began marketing their patented coated stainless steel off-the-neck Cablz retainers to active sports enthusiasts such as anglers,

cyclists, paddlers and others who spend considerable time outdoors. In 2009, the company won a best new product award at the ICAST show, the largest fishing industry trade show in the world. Now, the Birmingham-based business sells its products all over the world.

“We started in our garage in 2008 and moved to a 5,000-square-foot office/warehouse in Birmingham in September 2011,” Holly says. “This year, we’re moving to a 9,200-square-foot facility nine blocks from our current warehouse! Alabama is home for me. I grew up in Guntersville. Alabama is a great location to start a business because it’s centrally located in the Southeast.”

At first, all Cablz retainers came in one size and one color -- silver steel cable with black rubber grommets. Introduced just this year, the company now also makes retainers out of fly fishing line and other products. Like the others, this product also comes equipped with patented ball bearing

technology and universal ends that fit most eyeglass frames, but they come in adjustable lengths and varied colors.

“The main thing people like about Cablz is that it stays off the neck,” Holly explained.

“It’s so light weight, low profile and just cool looking. With traditional cloth eyewear straps, anglers get fish juice, bait or sweat on the straps and they start to stink. With Cablz, people finally have an eyewear retainer that doesn’t get hot, sweaty or nasty.”

For more information, call 205-8683662 or visit www.cablz.com.

Award-winning product’s now sold worldwide.

Humminbird Electronics

Finding fish in the depths for more than four decades

By John N. Felsher

In 1971, several entrepreneurs met in Eufaula, Ala., on Lake Eufaula to develop a way to see what secrets the lake held in its depths. Calling themselves Fulton Electronics, they invented the first electronic fishfinding devices, marketed as Humminbird Depth Sounders.

Over the years, Fulton Electronics became Techsonic Industries. The Humminbird brand now falls under Johnson Outdoors, but the company continued to develop many innovative technologies to help anglers catch more fish over the years. Today, people can scarcely find a boat not equipped with some type of electronic depth sounding device.

Current side-scanning technology displays almost look like a movie of the lake bottom.

“For more than 45 years, Humminbird has been blessed to be the leader in fishfinding technologies like patented Side Imaging, 360 Imaging and LakeMaster maps,” explains Jeff Kolodzinski, the Humminbird brand manager. “We have broken grounds in technology not thought possible and the 24 SEPTEMBER 2015

angling community has approved. The vast majority of our input comes from people using our products. Nobody knows better than they do about what they want.”

Still based in Eufaula, the company expanded into making communication, navigation and other electronic devices. Today, the company sells more than $100 million worth of electronics annually in more than 100 nations.

“We stay in Alabama because we have a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Eufaula,” Kolodzinski says. “Over the years, we have put millions of dollars in technological upgrades into the facility. We have trained staff to perform very technical functions in a highly competitive field. Our roots run deep in the community and in the anglers we serve.”

Most recently, Humminbird won its fifth consecutive “Best of Electronics” award during the 2015 ICAST show, the largest fishing industry trade show in the world.

Dealers and outdoors media attending the

show voted its HELIX 7 depth sounder as the best new electronics product displayed at the show.

“Our goal was to combine our leadingedge technologies with solutions to the real-world problems anglers and boaters face each day on the water,” Kolodzinski says. “The result is a bigger, brighter, nearly glare-free screen with numerous proven, fish-catching features and innovations. For more than 40 years, anglers have relied on Humminbird technologies to enjoy their sport. We will remain focused on serving the angling community from our home community of Eufaula.”

For more information, call 1-800-6331468 or visit www.humminbird.com.

Eufaula-based business is boon to fishermen.

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Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 25

Safe @ Home Send your questions to:

Poultry farmers alerted to avian flu threat

Safe at Home Alabama Living 340 TechnaCenter Dr. Montgomery, AL 36117 334-215-2732

www.alabamaliving.coop

By Allison Griffin

S

o far, Alabama has been spared from the outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) that has plagued much of the Midwest and affected 47 million birds.

But animal health officials warn that farmers, both commercial growers and those who keep small backyard flocks, should be mindful of the threat of avian flu and be aware of its potential.

The state Department of Agriculture and Industries has developed a set of biosecurity guidelines to prevent HPAI in Alabama.

The effects of avian flu can be devastating, with a mortality rate of 90 percent for flocks that are infected, says Dr. Tony Frazier, Alabama’s veterinarian.

“That’s very disturbing. Within a couple of days, 90 percent of your birds are dead,” he says. “That’s an enormous impact.” Just one gram of contaminated manure can contain enough virus to infect one million birds, according to the state agriculture department.

The state’s recommended biosecurity measures: • Keep an all-in/all-out philosophy of flock management.

• Restrict access to your property and your birds.

• Thoroughly clean and disinfect equipment and the tires and undercarriages of vehicles entering or leaving the premises.

• Don’t loan or borrow equipment or vehicles from other farms. If you visit another farm or livestock market, change footwear before working your own flocks.

• Provide clean clothing and disinfection facilities for your employees.

• Protect poultry flocks from coming in contact with wild or migratory birds.

• Don’t bring birds onto your farm unless you know the health status of the flock of origin.

• Quarantine any new additions for 21 days before introducing them to your flock.

• Report any suspicious symptoms in your birds immediately.

backyard farmers, who may have a few chickens in the backyard to enjoy fresh eggs, should follow similar procedures: • Don’t go to public auctions or fairs or shows and then commingle with your chickens at home.

• Have dedicated boots and coveralls that only get used when you go out to the chicken pen.

• Don’t mix domestic birds with wild waterfowl. Keep their water resources separate.

• Ask visitors to your home to not go in the chicken pen with street clothes on. Visitors should put plastic boots on before entering the pen.

“It’s unfortunate that it has to be that way, but this is the real deal,” Frazier said.

The safety staff of the Alabama Rural Electric Association (AREA), which represents Alabama’s 22 rural electric co-ops and publishes Alabama Living magazine, has kept a close eye on the avian flu since the USDA began documenting cases in December 2014. Because co-op employees are called on to visit farms with poultry houses, AREA encourages the co-ops to employ the biosecurity measures recommended by the state veterinarian. A

Protecting flocks from migratory waterfowl is important, Frazier says, because those migrating birds are the hosts for the virus. The strain that’s circulating now doesn’t make the birds sick, but they’re carriers of it.

The domestic waterfowl familiar to most of us — ducks and geese that live around golf courses and nature parks — are genetically migratory, but they usually don’t migrate. The concern is that any migrating birds can fly in and share the virus with their domestic cousins.

Frazier said that some of these domestic waterfowl flocks have been tested, and so far they’ve not shown to be infected with the virus.

While the biosecurity measures were created with commercial growers in mind, Frazier said urban and 26 SEPTEMBER 2015

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Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 27

Alabama Literature

ALABAMA BOOKSHELF

In this feature, we highlight recent books either about Alabama people or written by Alabama authors. Summaries are not reviews or endorsements. We also occasionally highlight bookrelated events. Email submissions and events to bookshelf@ alabamaliving.coop.

The Redeemers, by Ace Atkins, G.P. Putnam’s Sons, July 2015, $26.95 With his Quinn Colson novels, New York Times-bestselling author Atkins has established one of today’s most acclaimed literary series in crime fiction. Atkins, a former Auburn University football player and Alabama journalist, has written 17 novels, including Kickback, released in May (which features the late Robert B. Parker’s famous Boston detective, Spenser.) The Quinn Colson books feature ex-Army ranger turned Mississippi lawman Colson, a young hero navigating a world of violence and honor in the fictional, small-town world of Tibbehah County, Mississippi. In The Redeemers, Colson’s nemesis, crime boss Johnny Stagg, has been voted out of his job as county sheriff. But after a book detailing Stagg’s secret dirty dealings is stolen and the new sheriff is killed, Colson is pressed into service to nail Stagg and save the lives of some of the people he loves most.

Other books sent to the Bookshelf Simulacrum, The Oaks Remain, by Julia J. Gibbs. www.theoaksremain.com (fantasy) This is the coming-of-age story of Veralee, who grows up protected on her family’s south Alabama plantation in a dystopian world divided by race and blood. Many have a plan for Veralee, including the mysterious man who materializes from her dreams, but only she can decide which path she will choose.

Duty Driven: The Plight of North Alabama’s African Americans During the Civil War, by Peggy Allen Towns. Author House (local history) Towns, who lives in Decatur, lectures and facilitates workshops on genealogy, local people and historical places.

In My Wildest Dreams, by Larynn Ford. Soul Mate Publishing (paranormal romance) This is the first in a trilogy about a small-town girl who finds the love of her life has a secret.

Diamond in the Dark, by Phyllis Hain. Bancroft Press (memoir) The author’s story of surviving domestic violence and spousal abuse.

Through a Woman’s Eye: The Early 20th Century Photography of Alabama’s Edith Morgan. New South Books (historic photography) An evocative collection of black-and-white photographs made by Morgan of Camden, along with essays that put them in the context of time and place.

Gnome Legends: The Lost Crown, by Steven Moore. Create Space (fantasy) This novel follows a boy king in exile and the court historian who protects him as they journey through a magical world.

The Life and Times of Bob Cratchit: A Background Story to Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol,

by Dixie M. Distler. Create Space (historical fiction) The Alabama author offers this work as an insight into Scrooge’s clerk, Bob Cratchit, and the challenging and inspiring circumstances that shaped his character.

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Around Alabama

SEPTEMBER

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Section to Bryant, Mountain Trails 7th Annual 50-Mile Yard Sale. 5 days covering 8 communities. Contact: Chamber of Commerce, 256-259-5500 or Wanda Wilson, 256-632-2891 or 256-605-7729.

Arab, Arab Community Fair at Arab City Park and Historic Village. Interactive activities in the Historic Village plus lots of food, vendors, and plenty of activities for kids of all ages. Open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Admission and parking are free.

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Mentone, Mad Science and Crazy Art at Little River Canyon Center, 11 a.m. Hosted by the Canyon Center Gift Shop for kids ages 6-10. Mad science days include chemical magic, special effects, bubbling potions, slimes; Crazy Art days will include crazy creations with buttons, strings, recycled materials, dirt paint and more. Admission: $5 per child to cover project supplies; pre-registration required. Contact: JSU Field Schools, 256-782-8010.

7

Montgomery, 45th Annual Labor Day BBQ, Antique Auction and Car Show at South Montgomery County Academy. Silent auction begins at 10 a.m., and car show registration is 9:30-11 a.m.

BBQ plates are served beginning at 11 a.m. and consist of BBQ pork, camp stew, chips, slaw and bread. Camp stew can also be purchased for $10 a quart.

Information: 334-562-3235 or on Facebook at South Montgomery County Academy.

11-12

Cullman, 17th Annual 10-mile Yard Sale on County Road 1545, beginning just off Highway 69 Northeast of Cullman. The two-day event is full of bargains, food, fun and socializing for the community.

Information: 256-737-0604 or mjhamp5@aol.com.

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Cullman, Reverse the Cycle Sprint Triathlon at the Cullman Wellness and Aquatic Center, 7:30 a.m. Proceeds go to support The Link of Cullman County’s efforts in reversing the cycle of poverty through encouragement, education, and employability training. For more information about The Link and to register online go to www.linkingcullman. org/events or call The Link at 256-775-0028.

11-12

Gulf Shores, Bulls on the Beach at the Flora-Bama.

The two nights of high-energy, rock and roll rodeo will feature professional bull riders from across the Southeast including the stars of the reality TV show “Dukes of Cattle” Cody Harris, Bubba Thompson and Booger Brown.

Pine Hill, Depot Day at the Pine Hill Municipal Complex, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Arts and crafts, food, entertainment, children’s activities, car show, Depot Museum and much more. Admission is free. Information: 334-9634351 or Facebook ‘Town Pine Hill (Pine Hill)’.

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Eva, Frontier Days in Downtown Eva. Beauty pageant and Blue Grass Festival on the 19th, a hayride on the 22nd, community singing on the 24th, followed by music on the Square on 25th and 26th. Parade, antique tractor show, car show, craft show and live entertainment.

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Estillfork, 15th Annual Ole Timey Craft and Bluegrass Festival at Paint Rock Valley Lodge and Retreat. Friday, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-8 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Bluegrass music, dancing, food and craft vendors and gunfights in replica Lodge City western town.

Admission is charged. Contact: Eddie or Vivian Prince, 256-776-9411 or theviv@bellsouth.net.

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Titus, 15th Annual Titus Bluegrass Festival at the Titus Community Center. Continuous music will run from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., arts and crafts booths will be set up, and barbeque will be available. Headlining the event is Prattville’s Glory Band; Solid Blue, out of Huntsville; Magnolia Drive from Hattisburg; and Cullman’s Baily Mountain Band. Admission is $5 for age 12 and older, and children are free. Information: email titusbluegrassfestival@gmail.com.

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Dothan, Syrup Making Workshop sponsored by the Alabama Syrup Makers Association. Landmark Park, 8 a.m. Each segment will include hands-on experience and each person will receive a bottle of cane syrup. Lunch is included. Admission: $25 for adults, $12 children 12 and under. To register, call: President, Earl Stokes at 334-494-3037; VP, Thomas Moore at 334-806-6769; Glen Dickerson, 334-790-9235.

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-Nov 1 • LaFayette, Jack-O-Lantern Lane.

Homegrown pumpkin patch, inflatables, gem mining, petting zoo, concessions and country store.

Admission charged. Information: 334-864-0713, 334-869-0554 or www.jackolanternlane.org.

OCTOBER Notasulga, 15th Annual Blue Jean Ball. The annual fundraiser for the Auburn University and Auburn Montgomery School of Nursing will be held “Under the Stars” at Coach Pat Dye’s Crooked Oaks Hunting Lodge. Individual tickets are available for $125 each. Sponsorships start at $1,200 for a table for eight guests.

Reservations must be made in advance. For more information or to order tickets, go to www. auburn.edu/bluejeanball or call 334-844-7390.

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Falkville, Annual Massey School and Community Reunion at Massey Volunteer Fire Department, 2-5 p.m. Anyone who has lived, or currently lives, in the Massey Community or attended the school is invited to attend.

Light refreshments will be furnished.

3

Flatrock, 23rd Annual Flatrock Festival, 10 a.m.

Featuring live music, arts and crafts, handmade quilt raffle, cake auction, barbeque plates with special homemade sauce, petting zoo and cane mill demonstration. Information: Kaye Hall, 251-2300993 or visit padgettaubrey@bellsouth.net.

3

Dothan, A Walk to Remember at Westgate Park.

Alzheimer victims and their families will be honored by one, three, and five mile walks. There will also be memorial and educational displays, refreshments, barbecue plates for $8, music, prizes and more. Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m., opening ceremonies at 7:45 and the walk will begin at 8:30. Contact: Kay Jones, 334-702-2273.

Donate online through PayPal or pre-register for the walk at www.wesharethecare.org.

3

Centre, Centre Fall Festival. Festival begins at 8 a.m. on Main Street with the parade at 10. Arts and crafts, food, antique cars, rides, music and more.

Information: 256-927-5222. www.cityofcentre.org.

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Millbrook, Angel Fest 2015 at St. Michael and All Angels Church, 9 a.m. - 2 p.m. Shop unique arts and crafts, the bake sale and our silent auction. There will be live entertainment, a children’s carnival, concessions and a Boston Butt sale. All proceeds go to help others in the Millbrook and West Elmore County communities.

For vendor information or to pre-order Boston butts call the church office at 334-285-3905 or visit stmichaelandallangels.com/angel-fest/

To place an event, e-mail events@alabamaliving.coop. or visit www.alabamaliving.coop. You can also mail to Events Calendar, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL 36124; Each submission must include a contact name and phone number. Deadline is two months prior to issue date. We regret that we cannot publish every event due to space limitations.

Alabama Living

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SEPTEMBER 2015 29

Lowe Mill offers haven for artists, artisans Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment hums with visitors in search of local food, art, music and handmade goods

By Jennifer Crossley Howard

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his former textile mill-turned-arts hub in the outskirts of Huntsville opens to the public four days a week, while other days are reserved for the 120 artists and business owners to fine-tune their crafts.

While many of America’s forgotten textile mills become loft apartments or sit empty until they fall down, Lowe Mill has been transformed. Three floors of studio and business space house artists as diverse as sculptors, printmakers, photographers and yogis. The public can watch artists work at pursuits as detailed as painted glass and cartography.

Catherine Shearer, owner of Happy Tummy Gastronomic Delights, has been here since the mill reopened seven years ago. Then, there

was no air conditioning, paved parking or outside lighting.

“It’s come a long way since then,” she says, sitting in one of her booths.

“It’s hard work of anyone who’s been a part of it for more than a decade.”

She started in a trailer outside the mill and now she serves a lengthy menu of sandwiches, wraps, vegetarian fare, and sweets from her first-floor restaurant.

Diner-style booths

Rachel Lackey of Green Pea Press at work on her 1914 letterpress.

PHOTO BY LOWE MILL

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and tables and chairs lend a modern touch to an otherwise industrial landscape of exposed beams and concrete floors. Poles throughout the mill bear initials, love for Alabama football and some multiplication.

Though known for rockets and engineering, Huntsville is investing in the arts by supporting Lowe Mill, says Shearer, a Huntsville native.

“This is a facility unlike any other,” she says. “It’s a major thing for Huntsville.”

She attributes its success to Lowe Mill developer and owner Jim Hudson and his son, Jimmy Hudson, who oversaw much of its transition. They modeled the mill after another mill turned arts center, The Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, Va. Lowe Mill calls itself the country’s largest independent center for the arts.

Marcia Freeman, executive director of Lowe Mill, said she thinks every city should have such centers for artists of all backgrounds.

“There’s not a lot of space for visual artists to come together,” she says. “People are coming to me and asking me how they can do this.”

A model for other communities

She said the city of Fayette, Ala. — population 4,619 — adapted Lowe Mill’s arts community by renting studios to local artists.

Downtown Athens, Ala., 20 minutes from Huntsville, began High Cotton Arts in April after touring Lowe Mill. Two city officials from Florence, Ala., a longtime cultural haven in the state, recently approached Freeman about how to begin such an endeavor.

Most artists at Lowe Mill work seven days a week and are required to keep a certain number of studio hours. Shearer uses her closed time to prep food and take care of business.

Rachel Lackey and Martin Blanco spend much of their closed time filling orders for screen prints, letterpress, T-shirts, posters and invitations.

While print struggles in some forms of media, it’s alive and well at Green Pea Press, also on the first floor of the mill. The business, begun by Lackey, started as merely a place for artists to have access to presses. Instead, the press attracted clients eager for handmade products and images in place of slick, digital copies.

Going back to scratch is a major theme at Lowe Mill.

During a summer afternoon, many people peeked through large windows to watch intern Andrea Parham screen print.

“We have a target audience walking in every day so we don’t even have to advertise,” Lackey says.

A recent visitor described watching printers work the presses as being “invited back to the kitchen,” Blanco says.

He joined Lackey in 2012 to handle ever increasing retail sales.

T-shirt, poster, coaster prints are the bread and butter of the business, and the press began on-site event printing this year.

“We’re kind of a backlash to the digital age,” Lackey says. “You see that in all aspects of artisinal food and music and handmade instruments.”

She brushed her fingers across an indented letterpress business card.

“It’s more real,” she says. A More information: lowemill.net

Alabama Gun Collectors Association

FALL GUN SHOW Special Show Feature Honoring

LAW ENFORCEMENT & FIRST RESPONDERS Displays featuring Bomb Squads, Drug Units, K-9 Units, Police Snipers, Fire & Rescue Units & Vehicles Plus Special and Tactical Units Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center (Exhibit Hall) 9th Avenue & 21st Street North

ALGCA.ORG BUY—SELL—TRADE New and used Firearms, Accessories, Optics, Ammo Over 700 Tables Largest Show in the Southeast ARMS – EDGED WEAPONS – ACCOUTREMENTS

Alabama Living

October 3 & 4, 2015 Saturday 9 am - 5 pm Sunday 10 am - 4 pm

Admission: $8.00 Adults – Children under 12 FREE For more information, call 205-317-0948 ALL FEDERAL, STATE & LOCAL LAWS MUST BE OBSERVED. To learn more about the Alabama Gun Collectors Association or to download a membership application, Go to: www.ALGCA.org for more information on how to join more than 2200 current members.

SEPTEMBER 2015 31

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Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 33

What’s In A Name?

You’d Be Surprised

By Robin Ford Wallace

Have you ever wondered how some Alabama towns came by their names?

There’s always a story ...

Arab: When founding citizen Stephen Tuttle Thompson applied for a post office for his new community in 1882, he submitted the name Arad, a Biblical place name he’d also bestowed on his son. The application was misread, the post office was established as Arab, and it was one of those mistakes easier to live with than fix.

Eclectic: Founding father Dr. Marshall Lucius Fielder was a practitioner of “eclectic medicine,” having graduated from the Eclectic Medical Institute in Cincinnati. Eclectic medicine was a 19thcentury alternative to, and revolt against, mainstream doctoring of the time, which featured mercury-based purgatives and extensive bloodletting. “Eclectic” meant that physicians chose from a variety of options whichever seemed to actually help the patient. The movement was founded by a Dr. Rafinesque, who had learned herbal remedies while living among American Indians.

Phenix City: Turns out the city was named not for Phoenix with an O, the mythical bird that regenerates itself from ashes, but for the Eagle and Phenix Mill across the state line in Columbus, Ga. Originally called just the Eagle, this cotton mill was an economic powerhouse on both sides of the border before the Civil War. During the war, it helped produce uniforms for the Confederate army. And ironically, it was just after the war that the Yankees burned it down – they hadn’t heard the news yet. When the mill was rebuilt in 1869, “Phenix” was added to the name to commemorate its own rebirth. What happened to the O? Hey, the owners were running a cotton mill here, not a spelling bee.

Vinegar Bend: Long, long ago, a container of a certain smelly foodstuff burst in transit. A humble little event, but the affected wide place in the road was named in commemoration – and so was a Major League baseball player and congressman. Wilmer Mizell (1930-’99) was actually born across the border in Mississippi, but he grew up on the Vinegar Bend mail route and during his career as a left-handed pitcher, and subsequent three terms representing North Carolina in the U.S. House, he was known as Vinegar Bend Mizell. (Maybe he figured it beat being called “Lefty?”)

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Warrior: In the 1870s, “Warrior Station” was a stop on the L&N Railroad that served the Warrior Coal Fields. The coal fields were named for the Black Warrior River, which itself was named after the Mississippian chieftain Tuskaloosa, who fought against De Soto and for whom, of course, Tuscaloosa is named. “Black Warrior” is, apparently, “taska losa” in Muskogean.

Towns like Loachapoka and Weogu�a also commemorate Alabama’s American Indian history; but so do Ballplay, which refers to the ancient ballgame played by tribes throughout the Americas, and Moundville, named for ceremonial earthworks built there by the Mississippian Culture.

Other town names reflect the role of the railroads: Opp is named for Henry Opp, a lawyer who successfully defended L&N’s expansion into the area, and Sulligent for Mr. Sullivan, the superintendent of the Kansas City-Memphis-Birmingham Railroad, and Mr. Sargeant, the line’s passenger agent. A

Rainbow City: The name comes from Rainbow Drive, or Highway 411, which runs through town, says Janie Jones of the local library. Rainbow Drive was named to honor veterans of the 42nd, or “Rainbow” Division, a World War I cadre of National Guard units recruited from multiple states, so called from a quote attributed to Gen. Douglas MacArthur: “The 42nd Division stretches like a rainbow from one end of America to the other.”

Reform: A note on pronunciation: “Some people say REE-form.

I say Re-FORM,” says Melissa Richardson, a helpful employee at Reform City Hall.

She said the town got its name from the famous wandering preacher Lorenzo Dow. When Dow arrived in the early 1800s to stage a revival, he found a rowdy little settlement without a name and with only a few buildings, but one of them was a saloon.

Residents gathered therein exhibited little interest in salvation, and as Dow disgustedly left town he suggested they call the place Reform because it needed it.

This Dow was a ragged Old-Testament-style voice crying in the wilderness, opposed to slavery, Catholics and Calvinists. He didn’t shave, cut his hair or change clothes – he only owned one set at a time. Some towns chased Dow off with rotten vegetables but in others as many as 10,000 people would show up for his thundering open-air sermons, in which he would scream, beg, cry and crack jokes.

Enterprise: So dubbed by a Baptist minister named Hatcher because it was growing fast enough to challenge Elba as the seat of Coffee County, said Doug Bradley, president of the local historical society. “He suggested the name Enterprise in 1884 because it was an enterprising community,” Bradley says.

The city continued living up to its go-getter name when it not only survived the 1915 boll weevil invasion that wiped out other cotton towns by switching to peanuts, but also became a tourist attraction when it erected in commemoration the Boll Weevil Monument, possibly the only American statue in honor of an insect.

Alabama Living

Do you have an interesting story to share about your hometown’s name? Write us at agriffin@areapower.com

The Boll Weevil Monument in Enterprise.

Alabama Gardens

C

Create a botanical sculpture

Katie Jackson is a freelance writer and editor based in Opelika, Alabama.

Contact her at katielamarjackson@ gmail.com.

36 SEPTEMBER 2015

an something beautiful also be useful? Absolutely, especially in the garden! Take, for example, espaliers.

Espaliering (espalier is a French word derived from the Italian term spalliera, meaning “something to rest the shoulder (spalla) against”) is the technique of growing a woody plant on a flat plane using the plant’s trunk and limbs to form a pattern against walls, fences or other structures or as a freestanding work of botanical art.

The practice of espaliering dates back to ancient times when it was first used to grow fruit-bearing vines and trees in small spaces, such as inside castle courtyards or along crowded medieval streets. By growing these plants against southern or western facing walls and fences and pruning them into an open pattern, early agriculturalists also harnessed more sunshine, which lengthened the plants’ growing seasons and increased fruit yields and quality.

While this cultivation practice is functional, it also affords an opportunity to create something beautiful. An espalier is a great way to enhance the looks of bare outside walls or fences, or you can build a freestanding trellis anywhere in the yard to create an espalier. All it takes is a little bit of forethought, some basic tools and a wee bit of patience.

The first step is to pick a plant to use and the options are numerous. Many fast-growing trees, shrubs and woody vines can be espaliered, including fruitproducing plants such as apple, pear and citrus trees, figs and grape vines as well as ornamental plants such as camellias, gardenias, magnolias, hollies, crape myrtles, roses, jasmine, wisteria and honeysuckle (though choose noninvasive varieties of these last two).

The next step is to pick a pattern for your espalier, and those pattern options are also numerous, ranging from simple T- U- and V-shaped designs to more intricate basket-weave, Belgian fence, step-over, palmate (fan), chevron or candelabra shapes or even less formal patterns such as serpentines or naturalized free-form designs. Once you’ve decided on a pattern, draw it on a piece of

paper, then use that drawing to develop a support system that will be used to train the plant’s shape as it grows.

To create a simple support system, all you need are rust-proof eye-hooks or galvanized or masonry nails and thin galvanized steel or copper wire. Using your pattern, mount the hooks or nails to the wall in a grid then use the wire to link the nails or hooks to one another in the desired pattern. Another option is to erect a freestanding trellis or support system made from wood or pipe in front of a wall or fence. This technique can be a bit more time consuming or may require more tools, but because it allows the plant to grow a bit away from the wall, it can provide better air circulation around the plant and easier access for plant maintenance or to pick fruit if you’re planting a fruiting tree or vine.

Once you’ve set up a support system, plant your chosen shrub, tree or vine six to eight inches away from any permanent structure so the plants’ roots have plenty of room to grow. (For more intricate designs you may want to use more than one plant and you can also use a potted plant as long as the pot is big enough to support the plant’s root system for a number of years as it grows.)

Allow the plant (or plants) a couple of weeks to become established in this new location, then remove any branches that do not fit your design needs. Many experts suggest removing all but two shoots on each branch, then attaching the remaining shoots to the wires with twist ties or string.

Snip off unnecessary shoots a couple of times of year and secure new tender shoots that fit your pattern to the guide wires. (Follow pruning recommendations for your specific plant choice.)

When the trunk reaches the next wire up, allow two side shoots to develop (remove the rest) and attach them to the wires and keep doing this until your espalier is complete.

This is where patience is a virtue, if not a necessity — it may take two or three years before your espaliered plant reaches its perfect form — but the botanical art you create will be well worth the wait. A

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Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 37

Send your questions to: James Dulley

Consumer Wise

Alabama Living 6906 Royalgreen Dr. Cincinnati, OH 45244

You can also reach Dulley online at: www.dulley.com

Understanding home heat loss and heat gain

Q:

I plan to make a few efficiency improvements to my home and hire a contractor for the job. I would like a better understanding of how a home loses and gains heat so that I am not persuaded into unnecessary projects. Can you help?

outdoor temperature drops so that the temperature difference is twice as large, twice as much heat will be lost through the wall.

This is why setting the thermostat lower during winter or higher during summer saves energy.

The insulation level of a home also affects heat loss. If the insulation R-value is doubled, the amount of heat loss is cut in half.

It never hurts to be as informed as possible about the Convection refers to heat flow from a fluid, such as air or water, projects you are considering. Using just a few of the moving over a surface. The heat lost by convection will also double proper terms and displaying if the temperature difference doubles, some knowledge can keep a contractor but it will increase even more as the air from attempting anything unnecessary blows faster. This is what causes a wind or unethical. Keep in mind, you will not chill factor during winter months.

Radiation is heat flow, which moves know if the improvements helped until through space or air. This is how the next year’s utility bills arrive. sun warms us. Just as it warms you, your There are many DIY books about home also loses radiant heat to the outefficiency improvements, which would doors, especially on a clear cold night. be a great starting point. Each home Radiant heat flow is different in that is unique though, so what some books when the temperature difference is dourecommend in general may not provide bled, the heat flow increases by 16 times. the best payback for your specific living On a clear night, outer space is minus space.

460 degrees Fahrenheit, so the heat loss The most common misconception increases dramatically. You may have about a home is that heat rises. Heat noticed how chilly you feel standing by does not actually rise. Instead, heat, a window at night. On a summer afwhich is a form of energy, flows equally ternoon, a black shingle roof can easily in all directions. What does rise is warm reach 160 degrees Fahrenheit, which raair because it is less dense than cool air. diates heat down through the insulation This is important to keep in mind when and the ceiling. determining where, how much and what Now that you have this background types of insulation to use for various arInsulated fiberglass doors reduce conductive heat eas of your home. knowledge, make a list of problem areas, loss and air infiltration. The doors are recessed to The basic types of heat flow, out of further reduce air flow against it and convective such as a persistently chilly room. If the your home during winter or into it dur- heat losses. room is located on the northwest side ing summer, are conduction, convection, of the home, convection losses and air radiation and air infiltration (leakage). Conduction is probably infiltration from winter winds could be a factor. Erecting some the most common type. This is how the handle on a cup gets type of windbreak – a privacy fence or even planting evergreen hot from the coffee, or how heat flows through the wood studs trees – can help. inside the walls.

Since heat moves down as well as up, check the lumber band The amount of heat lost or gained from conduction is pri- joist, which rests on the foundation. If it is not insulated, which is marily a function of the temperature difference (also called ^T) not uncommon, much heat can be lost by conduction moving out between the indoor and outdoor surfaces of an outside wall. If the of it. If this is the case, I recommend insulating the joint. While the insulation is being installed, caulk where the joist rests on the top of the foundation. This spot is often uneven and leaks air.

Installing shades and closing them at night can block the direct radiant heat flow to the cold night sky or from the hot afternoon sun. This is much less expensive than installing new windows.

Have low-emissivity, reflective foil stapled under the roof rafters.

James Dulley is a nationally syndicated engineering consultant This dramatically reduces the radiant heat flow downward on hot based in Cincinnati. summer afternoons. A

A:

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Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 39

Alabama Outdoors

September season gives sportsmen a tune-up

By John N. Felsher

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nveloped in darkness, we waited as various frogs, alligators, birds, insects and other delta creatures added their sounds to the natural cacophony heralding a new day in this warm, humid wetland.

Above us, rapidly beating wings whistled unseen overhead, followed by the sound of something splashing into the pond in front of us. In the distance, faint whistles and high-pitched squeals trumpeted the movements of other birds as small twisting black shapes rocketed over the grass before vanishing into the still dark sky.

As legal shooting hours began minutes later, distant manmade thunder rolled across the marshes and bays, punctuated by loud blasts from closer hunters. After months of waiting, another hunting season had begun with the opening of the September teal season.

During teal season, sportsmen may only shoot blue-winged and green-winged teal.

A harbinger of fall, blue-winged teal migrate much earlier than most other ducks, sometimes arriving on the Gulf Coast by late August. Consequently, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service allows some states to hold special September teal seasons to increase the harvest of this underutilized species.

John N. Felsher is a freelance writer and photographer who lives in Semmes, Ala. He co-hosts a weekly outdoors show that is syndicated to stations in Alabama. For more on the show, see www.gdomag.com.

Contact him through his website at www.

JohnNFelsher.com

40 SEPTEMBER 2015

“For many people, teal season is the kick-off for a new hunting season,” says Jud Easterwood, an Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources waterfowl biologist in Tanner.

“Teal have very long migrations. Some of them go all the way to South America so they leave earlier than other ducks. FreLydia Lohrer shows off a blue-winged teal she killed. Teal season in Alabama is Sept. 12-27, with a limit of six per day. quently, blue-winged teal are long gone by PHOTO BY JOHN N. FELSHER the time the regular duck season opens. Hunters bag mostly Duck hunting in the north blue-winged teal in September, but occa- and on the coast sionally, they bag a green-wing.”

“The prairie pothole breeding areas in Small, fast and tremendously agile, teal the northern United States and Canada often fly in tight flocks maneuvering as looked good this spring so we should have one unit. These unpredictable, incredibly at least the same amount of ducks coming challenging flight characteristics endear down this fall as we did last year,” predicts teal to many waterfowlers. Often, teal fly Seth Maddox, a state waterfowl biologist extremely low and erratically zoom over in Scottsboro. “The Tennessee River Valdecoys. They sometimes appear out of ley is the major duck hunting area in Alanowhere and vanish just as quickly. Fre- bama. Lake Guntersville is a very good quently, waterfowlers look over their de- waterfowl area and holds the most wintercoys and see nothing. Moments later, they ing waterfowl in the state.” notice several “decoys” swimming in the The largest lake in Alabama, Lake Gunpond and can’t figure out how they arrived tersville covers about 69,100 acres and without notice. snakes about 75 miles along the TennesOf course, sportsmen must find teal be- see River through northeast Alabama into fore they can bag them. One day, swarm- Tennessee. On Lake Guntersville, the Jacking clouds of teal might buzz around a son County Waterfowl Management Area particular pond like a whistling tornado. includes several public hunting tracts.

The next day, waterfowlers might only stare These include the 8,507-acre Raccoon at empty skies.

Creek WMA, the 2,069-acre Crow Creek www.alabamaliving.coop

WMA near Stevenson, and the 8,003-acre Mud Creek WMA near Scottsboro.

“The Jackson County area has a variety of waterfowl habitats with everything from flooded agricultural fields to flooded hardwood timber,” Easterwood says. “Raccoon Creek WMA offers some of the best public waterfowling in the state.”

Along the coast, many sportsmen hunt the Mobile-Tensaw Delta, which contains the 42,451-acre Upper Delta Wildlife Management Area near Stockton and the more marshy 51,040-acre Mobile-Tensaw Delta-W. L. Holland WMA at the upper end of Mobile Bay. From north to south, the delta transitions from bottomland hardwood forests pockmarked by numerous streams and lakes to cypress swamps and finally fresh and then brackish marshes. Many open bays and sluggish streams bordered by marshes in the lower delta can hold good teal numbers. Some better waterfowl hunting places include Chacaloochee Bay, Bay Delvan, Big Bateau and Little Bateau Bays.

“People can find many places to hunt in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta in different habitat types,” explains Thomas Harns, a state biologist in Spanish Fort. “Many people hunt north of the Mobile Causeway, but people can also hunt a lot of places south of the Causeway. People can hunt anywhere in Mobile Bay as long as they stay in open water and away from any houses. The waters off Grand Bay Savannah also hold some ducks.”

Hunting teal in September closely parallels waterfowling later in the fall, only warmer and frequently with more bugs.

Sportsmen still need to set up blinds, toss out decoys and remain stealthy. Since teal typically fly at first light or before, hunts seldom last long. On public land, scout three or four places to hunt in case other hunters arrive at a prime pothole first. A pop-up boat blind makes scouting easy and provides a good shooting platform.

During teal season, sportsmen might also encounter some resident wood ducks in timbered tracts or mottled ducks along the coast. Hunters could also see some early migrating shovelers, which also have blue patches on their wings, or other species. Positively identify the bird before pulling the trigger. A Alabama Living

Tables indicate peak fish and game feeding and migration times. Major periods can bracket the peak by an hour before and an hour after. Minor peaks, half-hour before and after. Adjusted for daylight savings time. a.m. p.m.

Minor Major Minor Major

SEP. 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 OCT. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

08:37 09:22 10:22 11:52 ---02:07 03:37 04:37 05:22 -07:07 07:52 08:52 09:52 11:07 ---01:37 03:07 04:07 04:52 05:37 --07:22 08:07 08:37 09:22 10:22 11:37 ---02:07 03:37 04:37 11:22 --08:07 08:52 09:52 10:52

02:07 02:52 03:22 04:07 05:22 06:52 08:22 09:22 10:22 11:07 11:52 06:22 12:52 01:37 02:07 02:52 03:52 04:52 06:07 07:37 08:52 09:37 10:22 11:07 11:37 06:22 06:52 12:52 01:22 01:37 02:22 02:52 03:37 04:37 06:07 07:37 08:52 09:52 10:37 05:37 06:22 07:07 01:07 01:52 02:37 03:22

02:22 02:52 03:22 04:07 02:07 12:22 09:37 10:07 10:52 11:37 06:07 06:37 01:07 01:52 02:22 03:07 03:37 01:07 10:52 09:52 10:22 10:52 11:07 05:22 05:37 12:07 12:37 01:07 01:22 01:52 02:37 03:07 04:07 09:37 12:07 09:07 09:52 10:37 04:52 05:22 12:07 12:52 01:22 02:07 02:52 03:37

08:07 08:22 08:52 09:22 10:22 03:22 04:07 04:37 05:07 05:37 12:07 12:37 07:07 07:37 08:07 08:37 09:07 09:37 02:52 03:52 04:22 04:37 04:52 11:37 11:52 12:22 06:07 06:37 06:52 07:22 07:37 08:07 08:37 01:07 02:22 03:07 03:52 04:22 11:07 11:52 12:37 06:22 06:52 07:22 07:52 08:22 SEPTEMBER 2015 41

Worth the Drive

Turn around! You don’t want to miss the ‘ugly biscuit’

By Jennifer Kornegay

I

t’s not nice to call names, but if you order a biscuit at The Biscuit King’s Fun Barn in Fairhope and think it’s ugly, it’s okay. You can even say so out loud.

Owner Willie Foster won’t mind a bit. He was the first to call his breakfast creations “ugly,” and while the lumpy, odd-shaped, never-really-round mounds won’t win any biscuit beauty pageants, they could easily take the crown in a taste contest. They’re dense yet fluffy, buttery but not greasy, and they’ve got a surprise inside. Depending on which variety you choose, you’ll find eggs, cheese, bacon, sausage, jalapenos or some combination of them all stuffed inside each hand-fashioned puffball of dough.

It all started when Foster was trying to recreate the butter biscuits of his childhood.

He got in his kitchen and started experimenting. When he began, he didn’t know the difference between self-rising and all purpose flour, leading to a few notable failures. Living on a mountaintop in Franklin, North Carolina, at the time, these hard-ashockey-puck and flavorless flops got tossed down the mountainside for the birds (if they’d even have them). It took months and countless batches of biscuits before he hit on a winner.

“I finally got it right, and they were delicious,” he says.

Then, one Thanksgiving, visiting family asked Foster to whip up some of his biscuits for breakfast, and he figured he’d make some eggs and bacon too. “And then I had an idea,” he says. “I thought ‘Why put all that stuff on the side or just between two slices of biscuit? Why not put it all inside the biscuit?’”

So he did; his guests devoured them, and the Biscuit King’s signature stuffed biscuit was born.

Jennifer Kornegay is the author of a children’s book, “The Alabama Adventures of Walter and Wimbly: Two Marmalade Cats on a Mission.” She may be reached at j_kornegay@charter.net.

42 SEPTEMBER 2015

Biscuit King attracts a steady crowd during the week and long lines on the weekend.

He and his wife Nancy opened a small walk-up biscuit counter, the original Biscuit King, in downtown Franklin, and they ran their little spot successfully for about a year.

“Then Nancy’s dad got sick, and we needed to come back to Alabama,” he says.

They moved to Fairhope where Nancy could aid her ailing father and tried their Biscuit King concept on the good people of South Alabama. It worked just as well as it had in Franklin, and after a few years operating out of a convenience store on one of Fairhope’s main drags, they knew they had enough business to open a larger space.

So they did, building their current place on family land off a rural road seven miles outside of Fairhope.

“A lot of folks figured we wouldn’t make it way out there,” Foster says. But if, for some reason, you find yourself on County Road 24, you can’t miss the long, red steelsiding building with a cartoonish couple dancing on its sign. And if somehow you do, a giant sign a mile or so down the road, will implore you to “Turn Around! You just missed the Biscuit King!” Do as the sign says.

Thousands of others have. One group of regulars, local farmers and retirees, shows up every morning, practically every day.

Biscuit King sees a steady crowd during the week, and on weekends, hungry customers are lined up out the door. They’re there for ugly biscuits (definitely not the décor), and they’re prepared to wait, as the biscuits are made fresh every day, from 5 a.m. until closing at 2 p.m., and it takes a little time. If you order two, they’ll each be unique, since

the dough is hand-formed.

“Every one is a little different depending on the set of hands that made them,” Foster says.

Despite its name, The Biscuit King serves more than biscuits, including lunch fare like salads; massive baked potatoes stuffed with cheese, bacon and barbecue; sandwiches and more.

The King does no advertising, relying on word of mouth and a few signs as well as some recent rave reviews in national publications like Garden & Gun to lure people to his realm of big, ugly biscuits.

But when the baking and serving is done each day, running the Biscuit King is about more than feeding loyal subjects. Owning the Biscuit King feeds Foster too. “I am, and always have been, a people person,” he says.

“So I love doing this. It’s really just a ton of fun.” A

Ugly biscuits have a surprise inside.

Pay Homage to the King The Biscuit King’s Fun Barn 9555 County Road 24 Fairhope, AL 251-928-2424 Mon.-Thurs. 5 a.m.-2 p.m.

Friday 5 a.m.-8 p.m.

Sat.-Sun. 5 a.m.-2 p.m.

Fairhope

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Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 43

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Ads are $1.75 per word with a 10 word minimum and are on a prepaid basis; Telephone numbers, email addresses and websites are considered 1 word each.

Ads will not be taken over the phone. You may email your ad to hdutton@areapower.com; or call (800)410-2737 ask for Heather for pricing.; We accept checks, money orders and all major credit cards.

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Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 45

Alabama Recipes

Let’s go TAILGATING!

Fall is on its way, and with the shift in seasons comes the kickoff of college football, the autumn activity that occupies a lot of Alabamians’ attention and energy every year. But our tailgating traditions are almost as important as the play on the field, and a focus on food is the fundamental element of any good pregame party. Use these reader-submitted recipes and our expert tips to cook up a football feast that will score big points with your family and friends.

PHOTO BY ALLISON GRIFFIN

46 SEPTEMBER 2015

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Editor’s Note: Alabama Living’s recipes are submitted by our readers. They are not kitchen-tested by a professional cook or registered dietician.

If you have special dietary needs, please check with your doctor or nutritionist before preparing any recipe.

Cook of the month: Victoria Motyka, Baldwin EMC Cook of the month Victoria Motyka is a regular contributor of recipes to Alabama Living, and has had a few published over the years. An avid cook, she looks forward to seeing the recipes section of the magazine each month. “It’s great getting recipes from the area here.”

She says that because she and her husband live in Kentucky full-time, but have a vacation townhome in Gulf Shores, where they receive the magazine as customers of Baldwin EMC. She didn’t come up with this month’s Sriracha Honey Wings, but she made some tweaks to the recipe she found in Real

Simple magazine.

Though the Motykas don’t tailgate at football games, Victoria says the recipe is perfect for any kind of celebration, especially when folks are gathered around the TV for an event. They are really spicy, she says, but she and her husband like the hot stuff – and since their children, now in college, grew up eating spicier foods, they like it, too.

Retirement for the Motykas is looming, and while they’re not sure where they’ll retire, they look forward to moving to Alabama, where they’ve vacationed for more than 30 years.

Sriracha Honey Wings 4 pounds chicken wings 1/3 cup sriracha sauce ¼ cup honey ¼ cup molasses 2 tablespoons canola oil or olive oil (I use garlic-infused olive oil) Salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Combine in a large, heat-resistant bowl the sriracha, honey and molasses and set aside. Put the wings into a large plastic bag and add oil. Shake the wings until covered. Add salt, pepper and garlic powder and shake again. Pour the coated wings onto two large-rimmed baking pans, being sure not to crowd the wings. Bake, flipping them once, until crispy and cooked through, about 40 minutes.

Pour the hot wings into the heat-resistant bowl containing the sauce and toss until well coated. Serve with celery slices and blue cheese dressing to help quench the heat.

Stay Safe!

Whether you’re tailgating in a tent, behind a truck bed outside the stadium, hosting friends in your backyard or just hanging out in your den, keep these tailgating tips in mind.

Keep it Simple

If you’re tailgating outside, keep highly perishable foods like meats and dishes made with mayonnaise or other dairy products at the correct temperatures at all times. Also keep foods covered as much as possible to prevent contamination from flies and other pests. Have hand sanitizer and wet wipes for easy anti-bacterial clean up that doesn’t require water.

You can go all out on a main dish, but consider adding a few easy-to-eat treats to the menu too.

Small, pick-up items that don’t require utensils (or even plates) work best. Think sliders, skewers with cheese and marinated veggies and small cookies, brownies or mini cupcakes in team-colored liners. Or how about some jazzed up popcorn, with servings already placed in colored paper cups?

Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 47

Beef and Bacon Chili

Tiger Corn Dip

Green Chili

2 cans MexiCorn, drained 1 cup mayonnaise 1 cup sour cream 3 chopped green onions 1 can chopped green chilies, drained 2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese Dash of sugar

1 pound ground beef ½ cup chopped onion One 14 ½-ounce can of stewed tomatoes Two 4-ounce cans green chilies 2 cups diced, peeled potatoes 2 cups water pinch of salt, black pepper, garlic salt (to taste)

Mix all ingredients together and let sit overnight in refrigerator. Serve with Frito Dip Chips.

Maria Riego, Wiregrass EC

Jason’s Poppers About 10 jalapeno peppers Two 8-ounce packages of cream cheese 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1 tomato, diced 1 Vidalia onion, chopped, One 12-ounce pack shredded Mexican cheese 2 packs applewood smoked bacon Split jalapenos lengthwise, devein and seed them with a spoon. In a bowl, mix softened cream cheese, tomato, onion, Worcestershire sauce and Mexican cheese. Put mixture into pepper halves and wrap with bacon. Grill on indirect heat until bacon is done and peppers are soft.

Jason Hollingsworth, Tombigbee EC

48 SEPTEMBER 2015

In a large pot, cook ground beef with onion until no longer pink. Drain. Add all other ingredients and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 45 minutes.

Glenda Weigel, Baldwin EMC

Chinese Slaw 1 package angel hair slaw 1 cup sesame seeds 1 cup almonds, slivered or sliced 2 packages beef Ramen noodles Dressing: 1 cup vegetable oil ½ cup sugar 1 package beef flavoring from the noodles 1/3 cup rice vinegar Mix together and add dressing about 30 minutes before serving. Pair with chicken fingers or barbecue for Saturday football games.

¼ pound bacon 1 ¼ pounds ground beef Two 15-ounce cans chili beans in sauce One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes ½ of a 6-ounce can tomato paste 1 small onion, chopped 1 ½ stalks celery, chopped 1 red bell pepper, chopped 1 green chili pepper, chopped 2 cubes beef bouillon ¼ cup beer 1/8 cup chili powder ½ tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 2 cloves garlic, minced ½ tablespoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon Tabasco ½ teaspoon dried basil ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon sugar ½ teaspoon black pepper ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper ½ teaspoon paprika

In a large pot, brown ground beef and

bacon. Do not drain. Add chili beans, diced tomatoes, and tomato paste. Stir.

Add onion, celery, bell pepper, chili pepper, bouillon cubes, and beer. Stir.

Add chili powder, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, oregano, cumin, Tabasco, basil, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, paprika, and sugar. Stir. Cover and simmer on low heat at least 2 hours, or cook 8-10 hours in crockpot on low. Adjust salt, black pepper, and chili powder to taste.

Maryann Littlejohn, Wiregrass EC

Vidalia Onion Dip 3 large vidalia onions 2 cups sharp cheddar cheese 1 cup mayonnaise 2 tablespoons butter 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 teaspoon hot sauce

Saute onions with the butter. Mix remaining ingredients in 1 ½-quart casserole dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Fabulous with crackers!

Carla Gwin, Clarke-Washington EMC

Susan McConnell, Black Warrior EMC

www.alabamaliving.coop

Hot Spinach and Tomato Dip

Mexican Black Bean Pinwheels

Two 10-ounce boxes of frozen, creamed spinach, thawed One 28-ounce can of Italian-style diced tomatoes, drained ½ teaspoon garlic powder ¼ teaspoon black pepper ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese 1-pound round rye bread loaves (or bread of your choice)

8 ounces cream cheese, softened 1 cup shredded cheese (your choice) ½ cup sour cream ½ teaspoon onion salt ½ teaspoon garlic powder 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed ½ cup salsa 8 medium-sized flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Combine spinach, tomatoes, garlic, black pepper and cheese. Set aside. Hollow out both bread loaves, tearing insides to bite-sized chunks. Bake bread loaves and pieces on cookie sheet for 15 minutes.

Divide dip evenly into both bowls.

Sprinkle 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese on top and bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm with pieces.

Rachel Bostic, Central Alabama EC

In a mixing bowl, blend cream cheese, sour cream, onion salt, garlic powder, shredded cheese and salsa. Set aside.

In a small bowl, crush black beans into a paste. Take each tortilla and spread a thin layer of the black beans. Top with the cream cheese mixture (about 1-2 tablespoons) and spread evenly almost to the sides. Roll up each tortilla and secure, individually, with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight. When ready to serve, remove from plastic wrap, cut the ends off tortillas and discard, and slice into 1-2” rings.

Makes 35-50+ appetizers, depending on how you cut them.

Amethyst Spear, South Alabama EC

You could win

50

$

We welcome your recipes! Please send us your original recipes, developed by you or family members, and not ones copied from a book or magazine. You may adapt a recipe from another source by changing as little as the amount of one ingredient. Cook of the Month winners will receive $50, and may win “Cook of the Month” only once per calendar year.

Share a story about your recipe!

Whether it’s your grandmother’s best cake or your uncle’s camp stew, every recipe has a story behind it. We’ll pay $50 for the best recipe-related story each month.

Upcoming recipe themes and deadlines are: Nov. Dec. Jan.

Brunch Sept. 15 Peppermint Oct. 15 Chili Nov. 15

Submit: See more Alabama recipes on our social media sites!

Ask the Expert!

When it comes to good football food, Alabama restaurateur and a member of our state’s barbecue royalty, Chris Lilly, the pit master at Big Bob Gibson BBQ in Decatur, is the go-to guy for grilling and smoking advice. He shared his tips for creating a fun, friendly and stomach satisfying tailgate experience.

Alabama Living

Online: alabamaliving.coop Email: recipes@alabamaliving. coop Mail: Recipes, P.O. Box 244014 Montgomery, AL 36124

Remember, rivalries are for the games, but around the grill we’re all friends.

Begin with a clean grill. Scrub the grill grates with a stiff wire brush and then apply a thin coat of oil with a paper towel.

Start with a charcoal base and think of adding wood chips as a seasoning as opposed to a main fuel source.

Build a 2-zone fire by situating the hot coals on only one side of the grill and leaving the other side void creating an area for both direct and indirect cooking.

Keep the grill lid closed for thick cuts of meat and open for thin cuts.

Decide how much backyard cooking time you have and then choose the cut of meat.

Apply sweet sauces the last 5-10 minutes of cook time.

For optimum juiciness, let meat rest after grilling. The thicker the cut, the longer the rest time.

Barbecue is more than the meat off the grill; it is an occasion that should always involve your friends and family.

SEPTEMBER 2015 49

50 SEPTEMBER 2015

www.cullmanec.com

Cullman Electric

Smart, savvy electronics for the home

By Tom Tate

Gadgets, gadgets everywhere!

With the current tech explosion, “techies” find themselves in a veritable paradise. Let’s take a look at some really cool and, at the same time, useful gadgets on the market today.

Security for the home and family is a top concern. How about a door lock that you can control from a smart phone? August, Lockitron, Goji, Kevo Lock from Kwikset and others offer such locks.

Installation varies by model, but they provide such nifty features as remote monitoring of lock status, temporary guest/contractor access, multiple users and more. Wifi and Bluetooth are the two networks used.

Smart thermostats like Nest and Lyric get all the press, but practically anything you can imagine in your home can be controlled from that “super computer” nestled in your pocket or purse. A popular website, www.Smarthome.com, offers a variety of products. A search on “smart phone home automation” produced 4,695 results – how’s that for control?

Here is one example. The WeMo line by Belkin allows you to control individual lights and appliances through the use of their little plugs. Insert the WeMo plug in an outlet, connect the light or appliance and then, via your existing wifi network and the WeMo app, you can create schedules and exercise control over your home.

Phillips makes an individually controllable LED bulb called Hue. Using their app, you can control the light level, on/off schedule and color. They even developed a custom scenario for a recent SyFy series to recreate the mood of the series itself.

A bit much perhaps, but pretty cool nonetheless. Yes – you can achieve energy savings and create a party mood all at once.

In addition to controlling various aspects of your home’s operation, and thereby increasing both security and savings, you can monitor it from afar to be sure all is well. When you’re away from home, Smarthome’s Elertus ELRT-107 wifi Smart Sensor comes in handy. This single sensor can monitor temperature and the presence of water (say, from flooding or frozen pipes), among other things. While pricey, it could more than pay for itself in peace of mind and damage avoidance. Couple this with a smart water shutoff and, if you get a leak alert,

you’ll be able to turn off the water to avoid damage—all via the comfort of your smart phone.

If you envied Mr. Spock’s tricorder, check out Lapka. This sleek and elegant set of sensors allows you to measure electromagnetic fields (EMF), radiation, temperature/humidity and even the level of nitrates in foods to be sure they are truly organic. With Lapka, you can be sure your personal space is clean and healthy. All the results show up on the Lapka smart phone app.

How about something for you tinkerers out there? Look no further than www.littlebits.com. littleBits are just that, little bits of technology you snap together to make your own controls. How about a remote garage door sensor? Or a bark monitor? Or controlling a window AC unit via the Internet? All possible with littleBits’ Smart Home Kit. Or, you can build your own smart door lock with an Arduino and some other parts.

From energy savings to security to convenience to fun, the market is full of products and apps that put you firmly in control of your home and how it operates. It’s a gadgetlover’s paradise indeed.

Tom Tate writes on cooperative issues for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 51

Our Sources Say

There’s a relationship between a switch and your lights that most folks take for granted Flip the switch and the lights come on.

But suppose you flip the switch and nothing happens. Suppose electrical demand has exceeded supply. Then what?

The resulting scene would be chaotic, wouldn’t it?

Your electric cooperative and its power supplier, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), devote significant time and resources to make sure that when you flip the switch the lights come on.

Not a simple procedure It’s a complicated process. Accurately predicting future demand for electricity and how to meet it most economically requires consideration of a number of complex factors that usually change over time.

This summer TVA, with input from local power companies and other Valley stakeholders, announced an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to help guide TVA in making decisions about the energy resources used to meet future demand for electricity through 2033.

More like a compass than a global positioning system, the IRP will provide broad direction but not street-by-street instructions.

The IRP examined a variety of economic, regulatory and market-driven scenarios and strategies – both within and outside TVA’s control – to help TVA respond to changing energy demands while continuing to provide reliable power to your cooperative at the lowest possible cost.

Replaces 2011 IRP TVA’s last IRP was in 2011. In the ensuing four years there have been significant changes in the utility industry, including abundant lower-cost natural gas, decreased cost of renewable generation, decreased demand and increased focus on energy efficiency efforts.

The new IRP examined various scenarios that incorporated these changes and for the first time looked at energy efficiency as a generation resource similar to traditional sources like coal and gas to compare future pricing and availability. It reinforced the importance of a power supply that is reliable, affordable and sustainable into the future.

Among other things, the IRP contained these recommendations: • In each scenario considered there is a need for new capacity; • New natural gas capacity is needed in every scenario as early as 2020 in some cases; • There is no immediate need for new baseload (24/7) resources beyond the completion of Watts Bar Unit 2 in Tennessee and power upgrades being evaluated for Browns Ferry Nuclear station in Alabama; • Increased cost-effective energy efficiency and renewable energy levels.

• The TVA Board of Directors was scheduled to consider the proposed IRP last month.

Supreme Court nixes MATS rule Earlier this summer the Supreme Court of the United States voted in a 5-4 decision that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to consider the costs of implementing its proposed mercury and air toxics (MATS) rule in its initial determination to regulate those substances under the Clean Air Act. The case was remanded to the District of Columbia Court of Appeals where the proposal had been upheld in 2014. In the interim the MATS rule will remain in effect pending the appellate court’s reconsideration.

Although the decision became instant political fodder for both supporters and opponents of the MATS rule, it may have little practical effect. The MATS rule took effect in 2012 and many utilities have already made resource planning (see TVA emphasis on energy efficiency and renewables above) decisions based on their ability to meet the new pollution standards.

As if to underscore the limited impact of the Supreme Court decision, the Obama Administration released data noting that the U.S. electricity sector has reached a major milestone.

Coal, the predominant fuel for generation of electricity since the government began tracking fuel sources in 1949, fell to number two behind natural gas in April 2015. The data on power generating capacity shows the country moving steadily away from coal. In fact, during the first five months of 2015 more than half of the new generation added by American utilities was fueled by natural gas and none by coal. A

Phillip Burgess is Communications, Government Relations and Conferences Director for the Tennessee Valley Public Power Association.

52 SEPTEMBER 2015

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Market Place

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Alabama Living

SEPTEMBER 2015 53

Alabama Snapshots 2

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Submit Your Images!

NOVEMBER THEME:

“Let’s Go Camping”

SUBMIT PHOTOS THROUGH OUR WEBSITE: alabamaliving.coop/submit-photo/ OR SEND COLOR PHOTOS WITH A LARGE SELFADDRESSED STAMPED ENVELOPE TO:

Photos, Alabama Living, P.O. Box 244014 Montgomery, AL, 36124 RULES: Alabama Living will pay $10 for photos that best match our theme of the month.

Photos may also be published on our website at www.alabamaliving.coop. Alabama Living is not responsible for lost or damaged photos.

DEADLINE FOR NOVEMBER: September 30

54 SEPTEMBER 2015

My Sports Hero 1. Elijah Fiske and Rashad Johnson, Arizona Cardinal and former Crimson Tide safety. SUBMITTED

BY April Fiske, Troy.

2. Seth White and KT Harrell, Auburn basketball player. SUBMITTED BY Janet White, Ider.

3. Emaleigh and Mason Wirth with former MSU player Dillon Day. SUBMITTED BY Paula Wirth, Robertsdale.

4. Homer the Brave with Peter Howell.

SUBMITTED BY Peter Howell,

Hanceville.

5. Aidan Pelham and Levi Randolph, 2015 Scholar Athlete and Alabama basketball player. SUBMITTED BY Rene Wilkerson, Clio.

6. Autograph session with former Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall.

S U B M I T T E D B Y Ry a n L a c y, Auburn.

7. Brittney Plemons with Tim Tebow.

SUBMITTED BY Mike Plemons, Hartselle. www.alabamaliving.coop

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