The Wright brothers

from Madison Living Sept 2020

A look at Madison

August 15 ON-FIELD MOVIE NIGHT & OVERNIGHT FAMILY CAMPOUT

Starting at 5:30 p.m.

Watch a movie on the giant HD videoboard and enjoy a night under the stars at Toyota Field. Gates will open at 5:30 p.m. Showtime is set for 7 p.m. Overnight Admission is $22 and includes movie access, sleepover admission, popcorn and Pepsi voucher, commemorative patch and continental breakfast. non-overnight admission is $10 for adults, $8 for kids 12 & Under and kids 2 & under are admitted free. There is no charge for parking. Go to www. TrashPandasBaseball.com/events for information and directions to the stadium.

APOLLO WHEN WE WENT TO THE MOON

Exhibit Now Open ‘Apollo: When We Went To The Moon,’ chronicles the timeline from the beginning of the Space Race to the collaborative culture of the International Space Station program and beyond. Experience the best of technology and exploration through the eyes ofthe engineers and in the boots of the astronauts who took us to the moon 50 years ago. Enjoyan Apollo 11 launch experience and explore artifacts and media memorabilia highlighting the turbulent nature of this pivotal era in our history.

...

Paul Finley

Mayor City of Madison T The year 2020 is over halfway through and without question it is a year we will never forget. Each day brings change and new challenges. Throughout this time our Madison team has continued to achieve multiple positive accomplishments that support our goals of controlled growth, economic development, infrastructure improvements and connectivity, communication and transparency, and blanket support for our Madison City schools. Looking back, there’s plenty making us proud to work for the Madison community.

Even through COVID-19, Madison remains economically strong. Sales tax is up 10% from last year, and our General Fund has already collected 83% of budget sales taxes for the year. Toyota Field has hosted COVID-cautious events 26 of the 30 days in June.

Imagine the excitement when Trash Panda baseball games are added to the mix next year. Tom Browns, Champy’s, Culver’s and Goodland Pour House have joined the ranks of favorites like Main Street Cafe and Old Black Bear giving us more options for dining out.

Infrastructure projects take time to plan and approve, but we are now seeing crews hard at work to complete the Hughes Road and Sullivan Street widening projects to help ease traffic flow in congested areas. Madison also secured a $2,000,000 ALDOT grant to improve the Wall Triana/I-565 intersection which will improve our highest accident area. The Wall Triana multi-use path is complete, as well as the Palmer and Gooch sidewalk projects. Greenways extensions continue as our Public Works team is in-process of extending the Mill Creek Greenway.

While we work internally to get the job done, our offices have continually shared project status updates through solid communication. Our residents are always engaged, keeping up with our current events through madisonal.gov and our other social media platforms. Our website is updated daily, and we offer easy access to report issues or discuss any Madison-related concerns. My office is open to anyone who would like to schedule a sit-down meeting, with at least two hours each two weeks designated for one on one interaction.

Our School System has prevailed through this difficult time with teachers and staff going above and beyond during distance learning and planning for an unprecedented school year. The property tax referendum has allowed us to start both our new elementary and middle school projects, relieving crowded halls and classrooms. Council has implemented and is following a Growth Policy designed to manage growth and support our school system. The recent school bond refund of over $1,000,000 will also support needed infrastructure projects at the new schools. Newly appointed Superintendent Dr.

Ed Nichols, Assistant Superintendent Eric Terrell, and Board President Tim Holtcamp have been a pleasure to work with while we navigate 2020.

This update only touches the surface of a comprehensive list of achievements our team has accomplished together for our community. I am so proud to serve as your Mayor and work with our City Council and this fantastic team of employees who are all extremely dedicated to Madison’s success. Wishing our community good health and happiness through the remainder of the year!

-Mayor Paul Finley

SCHOOL&SPORTS

THE WHITE BROTHERS A family’s coaching tradition brings two brothers to lead rival high school football teams

STORY BY BOB LABBE PHOTOS BY JOSHUA BERRY

TThe White brothers, Laron and Kelvis, are a complete scope of personalities - passionate, loving, respectful and family oriented - but most of all, they are competitive.

“We both want to win, but I always want to beat my big brother and it’s been that way since we were growing up,” said Kelvis, 42, of his four-year older brother.

Laron is entering his fourth season as head coach of the Sparkman Senators in 2020 while Kelvis has taken the similar position in his first season for rival Bob Jones. The two schools have been heated rivals as long as locals can remember and with the fact this year’s battle scheduled for October 2 will pit the brothers head-to-head, look out for a family gathering.

“The last and only time we met in a game was in 2016 when I was head coach at Tanner and Kelvis was at Mae Jemison, some of our family sat on the home team side, while others switched sides at halftime,” said Laron who lost to his younger in that lone meeting.

The sons of Louis and Mollie White were born in Colbert County Hospital and grew up in the small community along highway 20 in Courtland where the west-east train cuts through town. Their father won four state titles during his 1975-1998 tenure as head coach of the Class 1A Chiefs. He is a member of the Alabama Hall of Fame and saw both of his

sons play for him, play in college and become head coaches in their own rights.

Hearing the thunderous train at all hours of the day and night along with the sounds of Big Nance Creek, which was named after a Cherokee chief, also makes it treks through the small Lawrence County town, Laron and Kelvis were your typical young lads playing with friends and doing set chores at their home located on highway 33 on the outskirts of town among the country side and plentiful woods. They also had the honor of being the sons of a legendary coach of the local team where they accompanied him on most trips and hung out like shadows at both practices and games.

Their experiences easily influenced them to follow in their father’s footsteps while their mother was also an educator at the local school teaching first grade. Kelvis said he wanted to be part of what his father was doing with football and always wanted to grow up to be a member of the Courtland Chiefs.

“My father spent a lot of time with his players and heavily figured into molding their lives, but he didn’t put pressure on us although we spent a lot of time with him in the film room, cleaning up the field house and taking those bus rides with the teams,” said Kelvis.

Both brothers played heavily in the success of the teams

at Courtland and signed with the Alabama Crimson Tide as lineman. Laron was head coach at Tanner High for 14 seasons where his teams made the state playoffs each year while winning two state titles and posted a record of 148-30. At Sparkman he is 19-13. Kelvis was head coach at Dothan High for eight years and Huntsville’s Mae Jemison for four seasons. His overall coaching record is 64-65.

The White brothers spend many hours together with their families as Laron and his wife, Kathy, have three sons, including senior Karon who has committed to sign with Appalachian State. Kelvis and his wife, Chris, have two children. Family gatherings are large and, yes, the subject of football comes up in conversation on many occasions.

“We bounce ideas off each other as we’re always try- ing to find a way to be successful so we share ideas as we mostly talk football culture,” said Kelvis.

“Our families are close. For many years Kelvis and I didn’t see each other except during the Christmas holi- day,” said Laron. “Christmas is always a big time for our large family as we usually have four days straight of cel- ebration.”

As the older brother, Laron seemed to always have his younger brother hanging around, but each of them had their own group of friends due to the difference in age. Kelvis was more outgoing and became a fan of Au- burn University. When it was time for Kelvis to choose a college, his mother committed for him to join Laron

Feel Better. Enjoy Life.

Medical and Surgical Specialists of the Head and Neck HEARING•BALANCE • ALLERGY

1218 13th Avenue SE Decatur•256-355-6200

at Alabama. “Yes, I became a converted Alabama fan,” admitted Kelvis. Once on campus Kelvis was a freshman and Laron a senior for the Crimson Tide. The one year in Tuscaloosa was the only time they were officially on the same team.

It’s not uncommon to see the brothers attending their brother’s children’s sporting events and their wives are good friends besides being sisters-in-law.

Growing up with parents who were prominent among the Courtland community, walking a fine line was always important for both Laron and Kelvis. The expectations were high and with success plentiful in the White home, the brothers became very competitive in their quests as head coaches and that spirit continues in 2020 and will come to a heighten frenzy this fall when the Bob Jones Patriots host the Sparkman Senators in what will be a heated rival contest between two schools- and two brothers.

“We’re brothers here to serve our players and I’m glad to do this alongside him,” said Laron. “We beat Bob Jones last year for the first time in a decade and the game should be a showcase type contest this season. I know Kelvis’ team will be ready. I’m proud of him.”

#BuildByBreland

Louis White won four state football championships as the Courtland High School coach and had a 181-83 record in 24 seasons. His two sons, Laron and Kelvis, now carry on that family coaching tradition.