INSIDE THIS ISSUE - Rain wins in Trash Pandas 2024 season ending game; other events on tap for Toyota Field
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Students arrested as school districts respond to threats
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By MARIA RAKOCZY maria@themadisonrecord.com
A dream come true
Robin Dauma has fulfilled her dream that has remained persistent for decades. She now owns a bookstore that includes retail buys at Blue Apple Books and South & Pine. Page 5A
MADISON – Last week was a chaotic time for schools across North Alabama. Ten students from five different school systems in the Tennessee Valley were arrested last week. Authorities say these charges stem from threats targeting schools. Amid threats on social media, local schools took precautions, including Sparkman High School that went into lockdown,
in the wake of a deadly school shooting in Georgia. Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols released a video late last week stating that officials do not believe Madison city schools are in danger from these threats at this time. “We’ve had a series of social media things that have gone on, but none of them have been substantiated toward Madison city schools. In fact, many of them are in other districts and other
Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols released a video last week addressing the threats.
Honoring the lost lives
The city of Madison is cracking down on distracted driving. The city joins Huntsville and the state of Alabama in passing measures to crack down on cell phone use while driving. Page 5A
By MARIA RAKOCZY maria@themadisonrecord.com
A memorial service and stair climb were held at Toyota Field last Wednesday to mark the anniversary of the 9-11 terror attacks. The event was attended by area first responders. Photo by GraciAnn Goodin
Rocket City Invitational
On Sept. 21, the City of Madison will be packed with instrumental musicians, color guards, dance squads and auxiliary teams for the excitement at the 2024 Rocket City Marching Invitational. Page 6A
First responders, citizens honor lives lost on 9/11 A memorial stair climb was held at Toyota Field last week By GRACIANN GOODIN graciann@themadisonrecord.com MADISON - Wednesday, September 11, people gath-
RAD
Women in Madison can gain confidence and understand defensive moves in a class that Madison Police Department is offering. Page 6A
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ered at Toyota Field for the first annual stair climb in the Huntsville-Madison area in remembrance of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Prior to the climb, Madison Fire & Rescue and the Madison City Police Department presented a brief memorial service, complete with an honor guard ceremony. The faces of the 343 service members who gave their lives during the 9/11 terrorist attacks flashed across the
jumbotron behind first base throughout the memorial. The service maintained a respectful and reflective mood as the American flag was lowered to half-mast, the national anthem was sung, the police officers’ and firefighters’ prayers were read, and a moment of silence was observed. Madison Fire & Rescue Deputy Chief Brandy Williams led the service’s proceedings. She See STAIR CLIMB Page 3B
MADISON - The former director for the city of Madison’s human resources Megan Zingarelli was appointed city attorney at the Madison City Council meeting last week. Zingarelli replaces previous city attorney Brian Kilgore. Zingarelli formerly held the position of city attorney before Kilgore. She was first appointed to the position in 2017 after serving as an intern in 2014, an assistant to the city attorney in 2015, and interim city attorney in 2016. She has served as Director of Human Resources since 2023. “Thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to serve the city as city attorney again. I’m very grateful and very excited for the work we’re going to be doing together,” she remarked to the city council. As Human Resources Director, Zingarelli spearheaded the new compensation and benefits package for city employees that is slated for the fiscal year 2025 budget. The city contracted Evergreen Solutions, LLC out of Tallahassee, Florida to conduct a compensation study which resulted in See CITY COUNCIL Page 7A
Madison ranks top district in state for National Merit Semifinalists By GREGG PARKER gregg@themadisonrecord.com MADISON – Students in Madison have given an encore performance for the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. Once again, the Madison City Schools district is home to the largest number of National Merit Semifinalists in the State of Alabama. MCS has 38 semifinalists, the most of any school system in the state. Furthermore, these
students account for the most semifinalists that MCS has ever produced. James Clemens has 20 semifinalists, while 18 semifinalists attend Bob Jones. “That combined total is the most of the 141 Alabama school districts statewide, regardless of size,” MCS Public Relations Manager John Peck said. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation conducts the National Merit Scholarship Program. This program is an
annual academic competition for recognition and college undergraduate scholarships. Established in 1955, National Merit Scholarship Corporation is a privately financed not-for-profit organization that operates without government assistance. The competition is open to all U.S. high school students who meet published participation requirements. Scholarship winners are chosen based on their abilities, skills and accomplishments — without regard to gen-
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states,” said Nichols. “But we still investigate them.” He also outlined how the district is prepared to respond to a real active shooter situation, “If we have the slightest inclination that there is a threat, first of all, we would lockdown a school. We would bring all hands on deck to that school and other schools around us to lockdown. We would also alert you, as parents and staff. We have not had a threat like that,’” he said. See THREATS Page 3A
Zingarelli appointed city attorney, leads effort for city employee pay increases
New ordinance
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der, race, ethnicity or religious preference. (nationalmerit.org) Semifinalists from James Clemens are Luke Alverson, Nirban Bajaj, Andrew Bendickson, Ethan Brewer, Isaac Caldwell, Renee Drayton, Arjunsingh Gaikwad, Andrew Gohlich, Oviya Gowder, Yooyeon Hwang, Alexander Kulkarni, Bailey Lintz, Christopher Lobo, Jason Mahdi, Urvi Mysore, Hannah Park, Sahishnu Saha, Sivaneyan Sezhian, Manasa Vadapalli and See MERIT Page 7A