The Madison Record - March 2, 2022

SPORTS: Youth home run derby hosted by Rocket City Trash Pandas at Toyota Field

M adison RECORD WEDNESDAY March 2, 2022

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Madison City Schools vote to lift matrix mandating masks

INSIDE

Multi-county chase Madison man led authorities on a chase that included four counties Sunday night before being stopped in the Bankhead National Forest.

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By JOHN FEW john@themadisonrecord.com

COMMUNITY The James Clemens Jets made school history by making their way to the Class 7A Final Four Basketball State Tournament. The Jets defeated Oak Mountain in the regional finals to advance to the school’s first Final Four appearance.

Could the lights go out?

Could Russian hackers make the lights go out in Huntsville and Madison?

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EVENTS

James Clemens Jets headed to Final Four Boys basketball team wants to make history

By BOB LABBE bob0873@yahoo.com

James Clemens Theater

From the repertoire of the bard, James Clemens Theatre has chosen to feature a work of William Shakespeare for its spring production.

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SPORTS

New manager The Rocket City Trash Pandas, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Angels, today announced the onfield coaching staff for the 2022 season, led by new Manager Andy Schatzley.

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FIND JOBS INSIDE: There are plenty of jobs within today’s classifieds pages.

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INSIDE Records ............ 2A Events............... 5A Education ......... 6A Sports .............. 1B

Business ........... 4B Kids .................. 5B Church.............. 6B Lifestyles .......... 7B

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HANCEVILLE - Open the history books of James Clemens athletics and you’ll find a fantastic placement of the 2021-2022 boy’s basketball team as the squad has made the school’s first ever appearance in the AHSAA Final Four Basketball State Tournament.

The Jets advanced to the elite spot in the post-season playoffs by winning the Northwest Regional in Hanceville with a hard-fought 59-55 victory over Oak Mountain.

“Our players did a tremendous job all season long of buying in on what we wanted

to do with this team as they want to etch their place in school history,” said Frankie Sullivan head coach of James Clemens.

The No. 10 ranked James Clemens Jets are set to face No. 1 ranked Baker of Mobile in the Final Four semi-final game on March 3. The top-ranked Hornets are 31-3 and bring tremendous guard play into the contest against the 19-9 squad from James Clemens.

“We will need to contain their guards and limit their possessions as they the heart of their play,” said Sullivan.

Against Oak Mountain, James Clemens trailed 3529 at halftime, but a surge of outscoring their opponent 3020 in the second half pushed the Jets to victory. Sullivan was excited to see his bench play come on like he hoped as the Jets scored 13 points from bench players compared to just two points by similar play-

ers for Oak Mountain. As for top scorers, senior Jordan Frazier (6-4, 160) was tops with 22 while freshman Simon Walker (6-2, 170) added 13.

“We played 10 players and most of them played tremendous defense for us, especially John Paul Gilmore (6-5, 180, Jr.) and Keenan Walker (6-3, 195, Sr.),” said Sullivan. “We’re just all proud to be where we are.”

Sullivan indicated this is where his team set their goal as they lost to Oak Mountain a year ago in a similar position.

This season, his squad was not complacent and played that way all season long.

“I want to thank my entire coaching staff for making help this happen and our administration for giving me this job to begin with,” added Sullivan.

“Our coaches don’t receive enough credit and our players know they are being led by a great group of coaches.”

MADISON – Masks became optional Thursday in Madison schools. The Madison City Schools Board of Education voted early Wednesday morning to lift the current mask matrix that has required students wear masks at school.

The move comes as other school districts throughout the state are also lifting their mask mandates, including Madison County Schools, after recent COVID cases began a steady decline.

Masks will continue to be worn on school buses because they are subject to federal regulations.

Masks have been required at Madison City Schools throughout most of the school year. A COVID matrix approved by the school board last fall set conditions when schools can move away from the mandate to a “masks optional” status, but the rise in cases from the Omicron variant kept schools from relaxing the mandate since the beginning of the second semester last month.

“We have said all along that we would monitor the COVID situation and make adjustments if necessary,” Madison City Schools Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols said after the vote. “The Board and I believe now is that time. Currently, the COVID positive number in our district is below 1 percent at .29%. In the last few weeks, we have seen a tremendous drop in the community rate of both positive tests and hospitalizaSee MASKS Page 8A

Construction delays push Journey Middle School opening to 2023

By STAFF REPORTS news@themadisonrecord.com MADISON - Journey Middle School will not open this August as planned due to construction delays that will push completion into late fall.

The Madison City Board of Education agreed at its Feb. 24th meeting to reschedule the opening to the 2023-2024 school year. The decision comes after a survey of Journey-zoned parents representing grades 6-8 overwhelmingly showed a preference to wait for the next full school year rather than try a

mid-year opening.

“The parent survey was a good tool that said to us that it would be better for teachers, students and staff to wait so everyone could have the full middle school experience,” said Board President Tim Holtcamp. He was referring to logistical difficulties in athletics, elective and curricular offerings with partial occupancy and delayed move-in..

Construction on the 1,200-student, 170,000 square foot middle school began in early 2021 with a targeted completion date this July. Progress has been disrupted by supply chain and labor is-

Construction continues on Madison’s newest middle school. Journey was slated to open at the beginning of the 2022-23 school year, but those plans have been pushed back a year. sues related to COVID and also bad weather. In January, the school district’s construction management team reported a revised completion date of Sept.

2, which has now been moved to mid October.

Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols sent a survey to parents who were rezoned to Journey, laying out opening options if moving in months after the school start.

The parent survey resoundSee JOURNEY Page 8A

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2A • THE RECORD

March 2, 2022

Around the Capitol

Permitless carry one step closer

By BETH CHAPMAN MONTGOMERY - Last week the House of Representatives voted 6537 on House Bill 272, which will allow Alabama citizens to carry concealed handguns without a permit.

Rep. Shane Stringer from Mobile County has 3 decades of law enforcement experience. His bill omitted the requirement that gun owners acquire a permit to carry a concealed handgun on their person, in their bags and in their vehicles in HB 272. With its passage, the bill will now be sent upstairs to the Senate for a vote.

Pistol permits would still be accessible from each county sheriffs’ office for other purposes. Such purposes would be the reciprocal agreements with other states and carrying guns in restricted areas. For instance, if you choose not to have a license in Alabama and you travel

AFTER

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The Decatur Heritage Christian Academy boys basketball team advanced to the state’s Final Four last Tuesday with a come-from-behind victory over a dogged team from Faith Christian School in Anniston.

It wasn’t supposed to be that way. Not only was Faith Christian a tougher challenge than expected, they weren’t even expected to be there. Faith Christian advanced because Oakwood Adventist Academy in Huntsville forfeited.

Oakwood and Faith had been scheduled to play Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Oakwood Adventist is a private Seventh-day Adventist School, and Seventh-day Adventists observe the traditional Jewish Sabbath, which starts at sunset Friday and ends at sunset Saturday. Oakwood Adventist requested that the Alabama High School Athletic Association reschedule the game to a time after sunset, but the AHSAA refused.

Rather than violate their religious principles, the team from Oakwood Adventist decided to forfeit the game. But they still traveled to the tournament to cheer on Decatur Heritage later that evening. The two teams had already played each other three times during the season, with DHCA taking two of the three.

“It was great to have them here,” Decatur Heritage senior Brayden Kyle said Saturday. “They have a great team and it was great to have their support.”

The Oakwood team also has great character, which it displayed in choosing principle over expediency. But they never should have had to choose in the first place. The AHSAA should have found a way to accommodate the pri-

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vate religious school. And the organization should have known it might have to make an accommodation. It’s not as if Oakwood Adventist advancing to the regional semifinal was a surprise to anyone.

The NCAA once had what was known as the “BYU rule,” which allowed scheduling adjustments in the NCAA basketball tournament for Brigham Young University, which doesn’t play on Sundays for religious reasons. An attempt to do away with the BYU rule raised an uproar, and the NCAA relented. It now has an even broader rule allowing for religious accommodations.

These are the sorts of adjustments we have come to expect in an increasingly pluralistic country with a tradition of religious toleration.

Alabama High School Athletic Association accommodates religion all the time: It doesn’t schedule games on Sundays. Even Wednesdays, a traditional Bible study night in the Deep South, is usually light on nighttime high school sports.

It is only fair for the AHSAA to make reasonable accommodations for teams from religious schools that have a different day of the week as their holy day.

Now Gov. Kay Ivey has gotten involved, writing a letter to the AHSAA seeking answers for its treatment of Oakwood Adventist. So far, the AHSAA’s only comment, coming before Ivey’s letter, is that it expects games to be played when scheduled.

That will not do. If the NCAA can juggle schedules to accommodate religious minorities, so can the AHSAA. High school sports are of, by and for the kids.

They do not exist for the convenience of the organizers.

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Madison Weather with Steve Norris

Beautiful week and weekend ahead

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By STEVE NORRIS MADISON - This is going to be a beautiful week for us to enjoy with sunny and dry weather and a steady warming trend all the way to the weekend. Many afternoons will see highs in the upper 60s to mid-70s. Enjoy the weather coming up because I expect rainfall will go back to way above normal from March 6 through 13. March is normally one of our wetter months of the year.

February was a wet one as rainfall

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Madison County Record is published each Wednesday by Madison Publications, LLC, P.O. Box 859 Madison, AL 35758.

John Few Editor 256-772-6677 john.few@madisoncountyrecord.com Gregg L. Parker News Writer gregg.parker@madisoncountyrecord.com Bob Labbe Sports Writer bob0873@yahoo.com

finished around three inches above normal and temperatures were two degrees above average. Rainfall averaged eight inches near Huntsville. Very soggy conditions as we go into the spring planting season for area farmers and gardeners. The storms that moved across the Hazel Green area last Tuesday. Feb. 22, downed some trees and power lines and produced quarter-sized hail. Those storms were tornadic at times.

Drop me an email anytime at weather1@charter.net.

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BEFORE

tutional right to carry a concealed handgun without having to pay for that right by purchasing a pistol license.

Some of the cons are that sheriff’s departments will no longer have a big percentage of their budgets which they need to run their departments. Also, they will be more endangered because they won’t know who is and is not a law-abiding citizen carrying pistols.

I have a 5-year pistol permit, and I carry a handgun. I will continue to carry a handgun and will do so legally whatever that requirement may be. I’m just ready to know what it is. That too, is my constitutional right.

Beth Chapman is Alabama’s former State Auditor and 51st Secretary of State. She now owns and operates Beth Chapman & Associates, LLC. This is her weekly column “Around the Capitol” .

Editorial: High school sports should accommodate religion

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to Georgia and are stopped by law enforcement, you would be ticketed for not having a permit. This reason alone is enough to continue to get a permit for those who travel much.

“Permitless Carry” has become a catch phrase in the political arena with the Democrats and Republicans split on the controversial issue.

Much of law enforcement is split on it too, with many of the state’s police chiefs and sheriffs having opposed the bill. Those officials say the permits are an important safety precaution for law enforcement officials.

Others say criminals don’t have gun permits so why does it matter if law-abiding citizens do? Maybe because it helps the law enforcement officials know the difference in the two?

One of the pro arguments is if the bill passes, law-abiding citizens will be allowed to exercise their consti-

March 2, 2022

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Madison man leads law enforcement on multi-county chase Sunday night

By STAFF REPORTS john@themadisonrecord.com MADISON - Madison man led authorities on a chase that included four counties Sunday night before being stopped in the Bankhead National Forest.

Michael Heath Hand, 45, of Madison, was the driver of a vehicle that fled after Falkville police attempted a traffic stop in Morgan County on Sunday at about 5:30 p.m., leading to a chase that went through Cullman and Winston counties before ending in Lawrence County, according to the Morgan County Sheriff’s Office.

During the chase, according to the Sheriff’s Office, which assisted in the pursuit, a woman jumped out of the

pursued vehicle and baggies and syringes were thrown from the vehicle.

The woman was not injured and the discarded items were recovered, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

Hand faces nuHand merous charges, the Sheriff’s Office said. He also has two outstanding felony warrants in Morgan County and outstanding warrants with Cullman and Limestone counties.

He was taken into custody by Falkville police and transported to the Morgan County Jail.

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Michael Hand of Madison was finally stopped in the Bankhead National Forest after a multi-county chase.

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LIVING

March 2, 2022

Participating in the drone demonstration were, from left, Jake Meslo, Dan Parker, Matt Sloane, Casey Calamaio, Azita Amiri, Kim Budisalich, Jarmel Poole, Darlene Showalter and Pam O’Neal.

UAH researches whether future rural healthcare can be delivered by drones

By JIM STEELE The University of Alabama in Huntsville Getting vital healthcare services and supplies can be a challenge for rural patients because of the long distances involved and because smaller communities lack doctors, nurses and clinics.

So, the College of Nursing at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System, and the UAH Rotorcraft Systems Engineering and Simulation Center (RSESC) Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Program began to wonder if drones might be a better way.

The effort is led by Dr. Azita Amiri, an associate professor of nursing, and Casey Calamaio, an RSESC research engineer.

For six years, Dr. Amiri has chaired the 40-year-old Nursing and Aerospace Committee, perhaps the only such collegiate committee in the nation.

“We have been working on several projects in utilizing drones in telehealth,” Dr. Amiri says.

Drone delivery could be ideal, as it keeps patients at home and avoids any constraints in rural infrastructure on the way. UAS provide a unique platform for short-range delivery of time-sensitive payloads.

Using drones for delivery of healthcare services is well documented in humanitarian relief efforts or during significant natural disaster events in rural locations across the globe.

The UAH collaborators recently tested drone delivery technologies and approaches for nursing education on campus, with an eye to refining the system for use in the rural United States.

Led by Dr. Darlene Showalter, the simulation involves a pregnant woman at risk for preterm labor who arrives at a rural hospital. Reflecting real life, the hospital has encountered supply-chain issues associated with the global COVID-19 pandemic and has limited capabil-

ities and staff. Nurses perform a focused preterm labor assessment and receive a prescription for fetal fibronectin (fFN) and betamethasone, but neither is available in the rural agency.

Using a drone, an urban clinic sends the medicine and a fetal fibronectin (fFN) testing kit. fFN is a protein produced during pregnancy that’s used to predict risk for preterm delivery and betamethasone is vital for maturing fetal lungs in the event of preterm birth. uah nursing drone delivery demonstration Upon receipt, the nursing staff at the rural hospital immediately unloads the supplies, performs the fFN test and sends the specimen back to the urban clinic via drone.

“This simulation was designed to promote creative and viable decision-making by nurses,” Dr. Showalter says. “We are equipping our students to collaborate and think through real-life issues that serve as obstacles to healthcare equity. I am grateful for the faculty of the maternity course, who quickly embraced this innovative learning opportunity for their students.”

“This simulation model can also be used as a pilot for medical services delivery in our hospital systems in Huntsville,” Dr. Amiri says. “Our team is now working on a simulation where we have a case of an overdose in a rural area, and a drone is used to deliver the life-saving medication naloxone to reverse the effects of opioids.”

Both the obstetric and overdose simulations are designed to bring nursing students to the table in the planning and implementation of solutions to make an impact in the health of the community.

Helping Dr. Amiri and Calamaio lead the simulation were nursing professor Dr. Pamela O’Neal, clinical associate professors Dr. Showalter and Dr. Kim Budisalich, and nursing instructor Jarmel Poole. A local industry partner with expertise in public safety UAS, Skyfire

UAH and Skyfire Consulting personnel test drone delivery of medical supplies on the UAH campus.

Consulting, provided an aircraft and medical payload to the team for the demonstration.

“This demonstration provided a simple scenario to test unmanned aerial delivery solutions in a campus environment,” Calamaio says. “We also had a chance to identify areas with radio frequency interference in urban environments, considerations for UAS traffic management, and to discuss effective ways to introduce UAS in the local medical community.”

A custom payload bay made of Kydex, a thermoplastic acrylic-polyvinyl chloride material, and standard ruggedized cases that are widely used by emergency services were tested on the UAS. “This prototype payload for medical supply delivery paves the way for more rigorous testing to see how transportation on a UAS affect different medicine containers, samples, and in particular, liquids with specific temperature or vibration sensitivity,” Calamaio says. “The demonstration builds off the UAS Research Program’s expertise in disaster response and

emergency services research with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).”

There are 57.2 million people living in rural areas, based on the 2020 U.S. Census. That’s 17.3% of the population.

“Limitations in healthcare services in disadvantaged communities lead to delay in diagnosis, as well as inconvenient patient and physician experiences,” Dr. Amiri says. “They also lead to reduced medication adherence, poor diagnostics for treatment and universal healthcare issues, such as antibiotic resistance.”

In Alabama, which covers 50,744 square miles with a 2020 estimated population of 5,024,279, there are 1,146,765 people living in rural areas, or 23% of the population, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service.

“In addition, citizens in rural areas are more likely to experience health disparities,” Dr. Amiri says. “People have to travel 30-40 miles to reach a clinic or a health center in many rural areas.”

About 2 years ago, her committee connected with the RSESC and “we noticed the strong capacity and capabilities of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Programs at UAH,” she says.

“We’re trying to connect nursing, aerospace, and Unmanned Aircraft Systems and use it in the systems in healthcare to improve nursing care and patient outcome.”

Current FAA regulations and rules limit U.S. drone package delivery functions. Walmart has tested drone delivery of COVID-19 testing kits, but it provided service only to patients who lived within a onemile radius of the designated supercenters to adhere to FAA regulations that the drone must be visible while flying.

“Significant coordination with the FAA to safely implement a rural UAS delivery system is required,” Calamaio says. “Challenges in assured operational safety and regulatory compliance need addressing before UAS are used as delivery mechanisms on the scale to tilt the medical supply chain in a significant way.”

Global Ties Alabama hosts Hungarian delegation in visit to America

By STAFF REPORTS news@themadisonrecord.com MADISON COUNTY – Washington D.C., Birmingham, Hoover and Huntsville were stops on the itinerary for a delegation from Hungary, which Global Ties Alabama hosted recently.

Office of International Leadership, an agency of the U.S. Congress, sent the delegation of Hungarian elected individuals and staff officials to Huntsville during Feb. 11-19. The group included five business professionals, bicultural facilitator and an interpreter.

Before arriving in Huntsville,

the participants completed an orientation in Washington D.C. Delegates had policy meetings with members of the U.S. Congress, including Congresswoman Terri Sewell, representing District 7 in Alabama.

In Alabama, delegates collaborated on best practices “for a bird’s eye view into Alabama’s state and local government and policy,” Jacquelyn Gates Shipe said. Shipe serves as Chief Executive Officer of Global Ties Alabama.

The Hungarian visitors met with legislative leaders, the Mayor of Birmingham, city councils and staff in Birmingham and Hoover, Associate

Justice of Supreme Court of Alabama and leaders in the Birmingham metro area.

The group also met to hear about community policing including legal framework, funding, sustainability and the importance of ethics in business development. The Hungarians also attended an overview of Birmingham’s homeless conditions and the city’s available services.

As Global Ties Alabama has coordinated in years past, the delegation stayed in homes of residents who served as hospitality hosts.

With headquarters in Huntsville, Global Ties Alabama or

GTA promotes global peace through citizen diplomacy.

GTA was founded as the International Services Council of Alabama in 1965 as an outreach of the Huntsville Rotary Club. The club welcomed international military trainees to Redstone Arsenal and connected them with the community.

In the late 1960s, the U.S. Department of State designated GTA to implement the International Visitor Leadership Program for Alabama. GTA designs personalized programs of study for emerging international leaders that American embassies select and send to

Alabama by the U.S. Department of State.

Programs reflect the professional and cultural interests of the visiting leaders, while supporting the foreign policy goals of the U.S. Department of State. Global Ties Alabama promotes international relationships through citizen diplomacy and enriches Alabama’s education, commerce and global awareness.

Global Ties Alabama’s office address is 4920 University Square, Suite D in Huntsville.

For more information, call 256-532-3560, email GTA3@ MadisonCountyAL.gov or visit globaltiesalabama.org

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COMMUNITY

March 2, 2022

Mayor Finley to speak at Newcomers meeting March 10

By STAFF REPORTS news@themadisonrecord.com

Could Russian hackers mess with our area?

By JIM STEELE The University of Alabama in Huntsville

Yet Russia has the power to cyberattack, or more commonly those working independently with Russian encouragement do.

“Hackers can make the lights go off,” says Dr. Morris.

“Redstone Arsenal is a Federal Center of Excellence with a great deal of research and development, logistics and supply, intelligence and law enforcement activity,” he says. “This makes Redstone Arsenal, businesses in the area and even our home networks high-value targets. Our home networks are targets because our family members work at Redstone or at local companies involved in the high-value target areas.”

Suspected Russian hackers have been tied to some of the largest attacks in the U.S. since 2020. The SolarWinds attack in 2020, for example, hit federal government agencies. Ransomware attacks shut down a major fuel pipeline and caused

“They don’t necessarily want to take out our critical infrastructure now,” Dr. Morris says. “But, if we go to war or if they want to send us a message, they want to be able See HACKERS Page 8A

Is it

TIME

Dr. Tommy Morris says Redstone Arsenal, businesses in the Huntsville area and even home networks are high-value targets.

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Don’t use the same password for all accounts, and install a virus scanner on your computer and make sure it runs. Don’t click on links in emails.

A tremendous amount of work and money has been directed at defending critical U.S. infrastructure from attack, Dr. Morris says. Those efforts include development of cybersecurity standards, deployment of solutions in many places and development a robust cybersecurity industry, as well as a robust incident response capability.

“However, we have far more computers than cybersecurity professionals to bring cybersecurity best practices to all corners of our networks,” he says. “Because of a shortage of cybersecurity professionals many systems remain vulnerable to attack even though we know how to defend them.”

Hackers penetrate systems in attacks like SolarWinds, or they use email attacks or social media attacks. Lower-level Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems can make easy targets, though much has been done to strengthen the security in the last five years.

“SCADA systems are computers and networks that control electric power, water treatment and distribution, gas pipelines, factory automation and other critical infrastructure,” Dr. Morris says. “SolarWinds, email attacks and other penetrations allow attackers to look around and pivot to access high value targets they find inside networks.

Once they are in, they can install back doors and come back with later attacks.”

One example is an attack attributed to Russia against Ukraine at Christmas in 2015.

“Attackers sent an email with a MS Word document attached. The Word document included malware that installed a back door,” says Dr. Morris. “A spear phishing attack was used to send this bad email to employees of a Ukrainian electric utility. When that email attachment was opened, it installed the back door.

Attackers used the back door to turn off power to

disruptions at JBS, one of the country’s largest meat plant operators.

Usually the hackers can’t be openly linked to the Russian government because it could compromise intelligence sources, but they operate with its consent and perhaps even its encouragement, and they seem to have an affinity for large U.S. systems.

The electrical grid isn’t the only way Russian linked hackers might be able to play havoc, Dr. Morris says.

“One attack that has grown in recent years is attacks on money transfers. Banks send money electronically with systems developed a relatively long time ago,” he says.

“These systems are vulnerable and criminals have been able to steal large amounts of money.

Since many of the recent sanctions are financial in nature, Russia and their proxies could attempt to steal money by attacking these financial transfer systems.”

Ransomware is the type of attack most likely to affect small business and individuals.

“Criminals run ransomware operations to encrypt any computer’s data they can find,” Dr. Morris says. “They charge ransom to give you your data back. Sometimes they have no intention of giving your data back.”

Such attacks are disruptive at a minimum, he says, and could be a way for a country to attack another nation’s individuals.

“Another threat that is growing is attacks on cryptocurrency like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, etc. wallets,” he says.

Wallets are the electronic storage areas for cryptocurrency owners.

“If you are dabbling in cryptocurrency, be careful,” Dr. Morris says.

“This theft is extremely hard to trace and there are no protections such as you might get from a credit card company or from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for a bank account.”

Protecting yourself from cyberattack is mostly about using good cyber hygiene and not being an easy target, he says. Start off by using complex passwords and changing your passwords regularly.

for a

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HUNTSVILLE - Could Russian hackers make the lights go out in Huntsville and Madison?

That’s just one cybersecurity question that’s top of mind in this national defense-oriented city, the home of Redstone Arsenal, following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of United States sanctions.

Huntsville is used to being one of Moscow’s top nuclear warfare targets since the Cold War. In the current conflict it’s possible Huntsville could be a direct Russian target, says a local expert who has been tracking Russia’s cyberattacks against Ukraine, but not probable.

“Russia attacking U.S. critical infrastructure in a way that affects our society seems unlikely to me because we would know where the attack came from and we might respond in kind,” says Dr. Tommy Morris, interim chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of the Center for Cybersecurity Research and Education at The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH), a part of the University of Alabama System.

“Cyberattacks are not governed by mutually assured destruction like nuclear bombs. Nations use cybersecurity attacks because they are inexpensive and generally nobody dies,” he says. “If a nation attacks critical infrastructure and causes loss of life, directly or indirectly, that would hopefully not be tolerated.”

hundreds of thousands of customers over Christmas.”

In the U.S., what other countries want to do inside SCADA systems is implant back doors and logic bombs.

MADISON - Mayor Paul Finley will be the speaker at the Madison Newcomers & Neighbors meeting on Thursday, March 10.

He will give an overview of what’s happening now and in the future of Madison.

The meeting will be at the Hogan Family YMCA in Madison with social time beginning at 9:30 a.m. and the speaker promptly at 10 a.m.

All current residents and newcomers are always welcome. For information contact Martha Heard at 256-772-9721.

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6A

EVENTS

March 2, 2022

James Clemens Theatre to present ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

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MADISON – From the repertoire of the bard, James Clemens Theatre has chosen to feature a work of William Shakespeare for its spring production.

The Jets actors will present “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the James Clemens Auditorium on April 7-9. Tickets went on sale last week.

“We are very excited to perform one of Shakespeare’s finest works with our excellent cast,” Director Amy Patel said. Patel and Clint Merritt, who is serving as Technical Director, are drama instructors at James Clemens. Ashley King, Lee Bennett and Mason Overcash are designing art for the production.

The cast has three categories of actors on stage: * Magicals – Sadie Libby, Puck; Joey Crider, Oberon; Elizabeth Swaine, Titania; Alura Withrow, Fairy; Lorelei Mueller, 1st Fairy; Kenn Anderson, 2nd Fairy; Alyssa Triolo, Peaseblossom; Lillie Verge, Cobweb; Ipek Unal, Mote; Ashley King, Mustardseed; and Alanna Swenson, Natalie Meder, Julia Sloan, Claire Landers, Sara Marshall, and Caroline Patterson, who portray Fairies. * Royals – Brody Millsaps, Theseus; Carly Parker, Hippolyta; Alex Butler, Egeus; Cailen Davis, Philostrate; Adam McDougal, Lysander; Lee Bennett, Demetrius;

Berea Baptist Church will host The Sound for a southern gospel singing on March 18 at 7 p.m. The concert is free, but a love offering will be received. The church is located at 16779 Lucas Ferry Rd in Athens.

Michaela Robinson, Hermia; and Grace Hur, Helena. * Players – Landon Rendon, Quince; Romeo Grant, Bottom; Connor McDougal; Flute; Matthew Chastain, Snout; Simon Tsikalas, Snug; and Stephen Cope, Starveling.

The setting for “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is Athens and its adjacent forest. The city represents a civilized life with respect for authority, while the forest is wild and chaotic. The play opens with Egeus bringing a legal dispute before Theseus. As Duke of Athens, Theseus is the city’s chief legal authority, and he is tasked to uphold the law.

Attempting to follow the law, Theseus that Hermia must obey her father and marry Demetrius – not Lysander. With its unruly environment, the forest is ruled by fairy mischief, and social norms disinte-

GO.SEE.DO

a look at the area’s upcoming events

HMA 31ST ANNUAL GALA March 1– 5 Huntsville Museum of Art - hsvmuseum.org Considered one of Huntsville’s premiere events, the Huntsville Museum of Art’s Annual Gala, presented by the Gala Committee, is a tangible force aiding the Museum in its effort to bring people and art together in our community. The Annual Gala consists of three separate events which each offer unique cultural activities to attract a variety of patrons, both young and old. These three events are tied together by the month-long Gala Art Exhibition! This year’s featured artist is Deborah R. Hill. Leading up to the 31st Annual Gala, the silent auction art, trips, parties and treasures will be on display in the galleries and available for immediate purchase.

FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN 2022 March 5 – 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Burritt on the Mountain burrittonthemounatin.com A day of Open Hearth Cooking, Blacksmithing and Fires Burning throughout the Historic Park! Always a favorite with our visitors, you won’t want to miss Burritt’s Fire on the Mountain on Saturday, March 5th, from 10 am – 3 pm. Our historic cooks will transport you back to the 1800s as you see, hear, and smell their work as they prepare historic recipes over our open fires and cast-iron cook stove. In addition, our blacksmiths will be firing up the forges throughout the historic park to demonstrate this fascinating skill. Please join us for this memorable day in the historic park! Included with regular admission.

BTL PRESENTS THE BLUE MAN GROUP March 4-5 VBC Mark C Smith Concert Hall www.broadwaytheatreleague.org More than 35 million people around the world have experienced the smash hit phenomenon that is BLUE MAN GROUP and now it’s your turn! BLUE MAN GROUP premieres

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grate, shown by increasing chaos for the Athenian lovers, along with Titania and Nick Bottom. When Athenian law and order fails, forest mischief ultimately succeeds.

(Sparknotes) Show times will be April 7, 8 and 9 at 7 p.m. In addition, a 2 p.m. matinee will be presented on April 9.

Tickets cost $15 for adults or $10 for students, senior citizens and military.

To buy tickets, visit showtix4u. com. In the “Find an Organization” box, type “James Clemens Theatre,” and then click the link to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” On the next window, click the time on the performance day that you want to attend.

For more information, call 256216-5313, email jamesclemenstheatre@gmail.com or visit Facebook/ James Clemens Theatre.

in Huntsville, AL for a limited engagement on their new North American tour. It’s everything you know and love about BLUE MAN GROUP—signature drumming, colorful moments of creativity and quirky comedy—the men are still blue but the rest is all new! Featuring pulsing, original music, custom-made instruments, surprise audience interaction and hilarious absurdity, join the Blue Men in a joyful experience that unites audiences of all ages.

ELEVATE THE STAGE: COLLEGE GYMNASTICS MEET March 6 VBC Propst Arena, 700 Monroe Street www.vonbrauncenter.com Gymnastics teams from Auburn University, University of Georgia, University of Alabama and University of Arkansas compete in this thrilling meet.

SEC BASEBALL: AUBURN V. TENN TECH March 8 Toyota Field - 500 Trash Panda Way www.milb.com/rocket-city Auburn enters the 2022 season with a strong mix of returning and new Tigers. The incoming class of over 20 new Tigers was ranked number eight in the country by Perfect Game Baseball. Under the direction of Head Coach Butch Thompson, in 2019 the Tigers reached the College World Series for the first time since 1997. In the event of inclement weather on March 8, the game may be postponed to March 9. $5 AFTER 5 Thursdays 5-8 p.m.

Huntsville Museum of Art - hsvmuseum.org Enjoy $5 admission every Thursday from 5 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Huntsville Museum of Art. Explore the Museum’s latest exhibitions or visit favorites from the Museum collection during this weekly event. Some evenings will also include live performances from local musicians.

STICKWORK BY PATRICK DOUGHERTY • Opens March 4 • Huntsville Botanical Garden • hsvbg.org Stickwork by Patrick Dougherty has captivated audiences around the world with its whimsical architecture and immersive designs made entirely from natural materials. Now, this novel art form is coming to the Huntsville Botanical Garden with a brand new installation of massive scale. Tucked away in the Garden and built from locally sourced sapling branches, the giant sculpture will twist and turn to create an interactive installation for visitors to explore freely. Like a portal to another world, Stickwork will offer guests of all ages a chance to play, imagine, and find inspiration in nature.

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THE RECORD • 7A

IMPRESSIONS CHAMBER MUSIC CONCERT • March 20 • 4 p.m. • Asbury Church • www.weareasbury.com The community is invited to kick off the 2022 music season at Asbury with Impressions, a relaxing chamber music concert on Sunday, March 20, ushering in a spirit of beauty and hope in what continues to be a challenging season for many. The free afternoon concert will be held in the Building 2 Sanctuary on Asbury’s Madison Campus. It will highlight a collection of pieces from French Impressionists including the Piano Trio and Reflets dans l’eau by Debussy, and others by Ravel, Faure, and Tailleferre.

THE ANNUAL ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE March 12, 11 a.m. • Downtown Huntsville Here is another positive sign things are moving back to normal from the COVID pandemic.

The 45th Annual Ellen McAnelly Memorial St. Patrick’s Day Parade is returning after being canceled for the past two years. It has been set for Saturday, March 12, at 11 a.m. and will be held in downtown Huntsville. Visit IrishSocietyNA.org/parade.php for more information.

The parade’s Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/HSVStPats

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8A • THE RECORD

March 2, 2022

Journey

Continued from page 1A

ingly spoke in favor of a full opening even if that meant waiting until the next school year. That opinion was shared across all grade levels: 63 percent of parents of rising 6th graders, 80 percent of rising 7th grader parents, 68 percent of rising 8 grader parents.

The district will now proceed with middle school course registration for the 2022-2023 school year. Information will be released from middle schools in the

Masks

coming days about registration information, student visits, and parent meetings.

“While I regret this delay, I look forward to the day when our students are enjoying this wonderful new school,” said Dr. Nichols. “I am also thankful for the citizens of Madison that supported the tax increase that enabled us to meet the growth of our community with Midtown Elementary and Journey Middle School.

Continued from page 1A

tions. These factors lead us to believe that we can make this transition to a more normal operational routine in our schools.”

The decision also comes after nine parents banded together in a lawsuit against Madison City Schools earlier this month in order to get the district’s mask requirement lifted permanently.

According to Shema Rizo, one of the parents in the suit, they believe school administrators should not have been legally able to require their children to wear masks in the first place. The status of the lawsuit in light of today’s development is unknown at this time.

According to suit, Rizo’s son started getting headaches after wearing a face mask at school, and he also uses a doctor-prescribed inhaler. She has been in routine contact with MCS Superintendent, Dr. Ed Nichols, seeking an exemption from the mask requirement for her son. but has been denied. She said many students are suffering from anxieties after being made to feel that they could potentially kill someone if they took their mask off at school.

The only school district in Madison County that still has a mask mandate in place is Huntsville City Schools. A teacher with the school district who is running for Congress praised the decision by the Madison school board, and called on Huntsville to do the same.

Andy Blalock, a republican candidate for Alabama’s Fifth District, had called on students to stay at home on Friday in protest if the mandates were not reversed.

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“I am thrilled for the students that Madison City Schools has dropped their mask mandate. They understand that masks hinder learning and should be mask optional. We need to keep the pressure on so that Huntsville will join the rest of the world in common sense.

Our kids need to be able to learn without being masked up,” said Blalock. “As a teacher, I see it firsthand how kids are not as focused and how the masks are constantly in the way.”

The masking issue has deeply divided parents and the community for months.

Dr. Nichols made the choice to move to masks optional shortly after school began last fall, but reversed his decision after saying it was brought to his attention he did not have the authority to make the determination without the school board’s approval. The board then decided to keep the mandate in place, and later approved a mask matrix requiring certain conditions be met before the mandate could be lifted. Both decisions brought heated school board meetings with parents arguing for and against the mandate.

Nichols said the school district will respect those that want to continue to wear a mask and those that choose to not wear a mask. “Hopefully, we can soon put COVID behind us and get more normalcy back in our lives. I certainly appreciate and respect those of you that have sent me messages and concerns based on this issue. It is obvious from these messages that all of us care for our community and our school children.”

Continued from page 5A

to attack later.”

U.S. technical advancement also makes the country vulnerable to cyberattacks.

“Russia has in the last 10 years launched many cyberattacks of many types against Ukraine,” Dr. Morris says.

“Ukraine has developed good cyberse-

curity response capabilities, in cooperation with cyber defenders worldwide.”

Generally, Ukraine has bounced back from the worst attacks in a few days.

“This is at least partially because their society is not as dependent on the internet as we are,” Dr. Morris says.

“The United States may not be so lucky.”

‘Mad Movie-A-Thon-O-Rama!’ to present “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman”

By STAFF REPORTS News@themadisonrecord.com MADISON – Madison Public Library’s staff is introducing a new series of movies that will give thrills and chills . . . as the audience laughs out loud.

“Mad Movie-A-Thon-ORama!” is the guilty pleasure for campy, horror films that balance almost equal amounts of comedy with scares that go bump in the night.

Showing films as goofy as the series’ title, Mad Movie-A-Thon-O-Rama! will present another flick next week.

The library will show “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman,” on March 10.

They will follow that up with “Gorgo,” on March 24.

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is a 1958 independently made American science fiction horror film directed by Nathan H. Juran (credited as Nathan Hertz) and starring Allison Hayes, William Hudson and Yvette Vickers. It was produced by Bernard Woolner.

The film’s storyline concerns the plight of a wealthy heiress whose close encounter with an enormous alien in his round spacecraft causes her to grow into a giantess, complicating her marriage which is already troubled by a philandering husband.

Attack of the 50 Foot Woman is a variation on other 1950s science fiction films that featured size-changing humans: The Amazing Colossal Man (1957), its sequel War of the Colossal Beast (1958), and The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957).

At 6:15, a library staffer will give a brief talk about the film. The movie will start at 6:30 p.m.

Madison Public Library is located at 142 Plaza Blvd.

For more information, visit: www.hmcpl.org.

Pushing Rewind

By BECKY MILLER God’s Lemonade Stand Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Luke 7:48 Generation Z maybe has not heard the term rewind like we who grew up with the VHS tapes saying “Be kind rewind” but basically it is returning to start.

You may have done something so awful you wonder how you could ever be forgiven. Good news. God is a good good God and extends grace and mercy for those truly repentant. No matter what.

The devil will try to make you feel like it can’t be possible that for instance you murdered someone and actually god would wipe your slate clean.

Redemption is there for those whose hearts are truly repentant. How about you? Are you ready to go to God and say you are sorry and truly be set free and on a redeemed course of life?

PRAYER: Lord I thank you that no matter what you love me and forgive me if I come to you with a contrite heart. Use me Lord to reach out to those having a hard time believing this. In Jesus’ name.

Amen.

God’s Lemonade Stand is written by former Madison resident Becky Miller. Her daily devotions appear on a Facebook page entitled God’s Lemonade Stand or at www.godslemonadestand.blogspot.com.

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LA GRAN RIVIERA

WEDNESDAY

C oming Soon to Madison!

Schatzley named new Trash Pandas manager

INSIDE SPORTS

All-Stars Game Twenty-four high school seniors have been selected to represent Alabama in the 32nd annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Basketball Classic to be played Saturday, March 12 at Mississippi College in Hinds, Miss. Page 3B

Coaches Kenny Hook, Michael Wuertz return to Rocket City Trash Pandas

By STAFF REPORTS news@themadisonrecord.com MADISON – The Rocket City Trash Pandas, in conjunction with the Los Angeles Angels, today announced the on-field coaching staff for the 2022 sea-

son, led by new Manager Andy Schatzley.

“I think the Trash Pandas are the best-run affiliate in baseball, and I am honored and beyond excited to get there and get started,” Schatzley said.

Back for their second season with the Trash Pandas will be Hitting Coach Kenny Hook and Pitching Coach Michael Wuertz. Making their Rocket City debuts with Schatzley will be Coach Dann Bilardello, Strength and Conditioning Coach Henry Aleck, and Athletic Trainer Will Whitehead.

“Kenny, Michael and I have worked in spring training and

Andy Schatzley has become the second manager for the Trash Pandas. instructional leagues together and I love them,” Schatzley said. “And then when you

throw Dann into that mix, that makes it even better for us as a See TRASH PANDAS Page 2B

UAH Softball

Chargers complete series sweep of Union

John English Madison Academy student-athlete John English is a go getter. He’s an All-Star football player, a state champ in track and field, carries a 3.71 grade point average in the classroom, and, if that’s not enough, he also works an average of 20 hours a week in his attempt to put money away for college. Page 3B

By STAFF REPORTS news@themadisonrecord.com

SCHOOLS

Robotics Competition The Robotics Team, nicknamed Mad Rockers, from Bob Jones and James Clemens high schools is practicing for two upcoming challenges in this advancing field. Page 4B

KIDS & CHURCH

Special Weekly Pages Check our weekly Kids and Church pages with games and activities for kids, and area church listings.

Pages 5B and 6B

More than 250 youngsters ages 7-14 participated in the Home Run Derby recently held at Toyota Field and hosted by the Rocket City Trash Pandas. Photo by Lucas Dolengowski/Rocket City Trash Pandas

Youth home run derby held at Toyota Field

By BOB LABBE bob0873@yahoo.com MADISON - The Rocket City Trash Pandas recently held a “double header” by hosting a pair of events simultaneously at Toyota Field.

In preparations for the upcoming 2022 season, the Trash Pandas held a four-hour Job Fair inside the SportsMED Stadium Club for individuals seeking game day employment opportunities. Jobs were available in different departments of the team and stadium operations includ-

ing concessions, production, housekeeping, ushers, ticket takers and bartenders.

The Saturday event also included the Dick’s Sporting Goods Skills Challenge and Home Run Derby. Over 250 youngsters, ages 7-14, participated in the event held on the baseball field, which is home to the Trash Pandas.

Coaching experts put the participants through a variety of baseball drills to improve each participant’s skills of baseball. Those drills were held prior to the actual Home Run Derby.

To accommodate the young participants and to provide each with the opportunity to actually hit a home run over the same fences as the professionals, home plate was set up further out into the outfield grass making for a much shorter and more manageable distances for those taking to the contests. A pitching machine was used to toss the ball at the awaiting hitters.

The competition was broken down into two age groups.

In the 13-14 age division, the final results showed KaSee HOMERUN Page 2B

HISTORY

History with John Rankin Check out this week’s history column from Madison’s historian John Rankin and discover the city’s interesting past.

Page 7B

Taking swings for the fences was the idea behind the Home Run Derby recently held at Toyota Field. Youngsters ages 7-14 took their talents in an attempt to knocking a homer over the same fences as the Rocket City Trash Pandas.

Photo by Lucas Dolengowski/Rocket City Trash Pandas

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ALBERTVILLE - The University of Alabama in Huntsville softball team took both games of the Sunday doubleheader against Union, winning 3-2 in walk-off fashion in eight innings and 10-4 in the nightcap to sweep the series. UAH improves to 11-4 (3-3 Gulf South Conference), while UU falls to 5-11 (2-4 GSC).

UAH is back in action on Wednesday when the team travels to Montevallo for a non-conference doubleheader that is slated for a 2 p.m. start.

UAH 3, Union 2 A Kaylee Vaught groundout in the seventh tied the game, and Jada Thompson doubled in the eighth with an error allowing Heather Thompson to score on the play and give the Chargers the walk-off victory – their third of the season at Sand Mountain Park.

The win comes despite being outhit for a second straight game, this time by a 7-4 margin, but Megan Shurtz would limit the damage by stranding 10 Union batters in the contest.

In moving to 4-1 on the season, Shurtz went the distance in the circle allowed just the two runs while striking out a UAH season-high eight batters.

Two of UAH’s hits were for extra bases as Lila Young also had a double in addition to Henderson’s, and Thompson and Lawren Hayes were the owners of the Blue and White’s other hits.

Union scored a run in each of the second and third innings to go up 2-0, sand the Chargers would cut their deficit in half when Alaina Hampton grounded out to score Henderson in the fourth, and UAH would tie the game in the seventh when Vaught earned her team-leading 17th RBI of the season on the productive grounder.

After Shurtz stranded a pair

See UAH SOFTBALL Page 2B

2B • THE RECORD

March 2, 2022

The UAH Chargers celebrate there win on Sunday. They will play again this afternoon at 2 p.m. in Montevallo.

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UAH Softball

of runners in the top of the eighth, Kiara Akles was hit by a pitch and lifted for the pinch-runner Thompson, and Henderson then stepped up and smacked an 0-2 pitch into left, with a throwing error on the play allowing Thompson to scamper all the way home from first to give UAH the win.

UAH 10, Union 4 The Chargers pounded out nine hits in the nightcap compared to the seven Union recorded, and it was a pair of big innings late that provided UAH with the comfortable margin of victory.

Henderson was 2-for-3 with a pair of walks, scoring three times

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leb Karraker win the Home Run Derby by hitting five homers. Second place was taken by Rafer Jones with four dingers while Jack Sims was third with three home runs. In the 12-under age group, Cameron Martin lit up the facilities smashing six homers to grab first place. Tied for second place with three homers each were David Raddin, Connor Newton and Cole Troutman. Tied

while also getting a strikeout, and Layton Murphy tossed the final five frames, scattering six hits and striking out three while giving up four runs of which just three were earned.

Murphy is now 4-3 on the season.

Hampton’s double in the second gave the Chargers an early 1-0 lead, but Union would score three times in the fourth to go in front 3-1.

Hayes cut UAH’s deficit in half by scoring Nutt with a single in the bottom half of the fourth, and the Chargers would go in front with three runs in the fifth to retake the lead before putting up a five spot in the sixth after Union got a run of their own in the top half.

for fifth place while pounding two homers each were Leland Riddle, Jackson Fanning, Colter Mullins, Camden Tidwell and Jack Smotrys.

For more details about possible employment with the Trash Pandas during the upcoming 2022 season, visit the Trash Pandas on line at www.trashpandasbaseball.com.

The Double-A franchise of the Los Angeles Angels will start its

season on April 8 in Birmingham before the season home opener against the Pensacola Blue Wahoos on Tuesday, April 12. With current labor discussions occurring in Major League Baseball and its season possibly being delayed, fans of the Trash Pandas have been reassured the 2022 campaign will not be impacted by the current MLB lockout.

Trash Pandas

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Homerun

and driving in a run in the game, and she is now .438 on the season and riding a four-game hitting streak.

Shelby Booker, Akles, Hampton, Mackenzie Nutt, Hayes, and Sadie Thompson all notched an RBI in the contest as the offensive effort was balanced up and down the lineup card.

Both Henderson and Hampton had a double in the contest, and Vaught picked up her third triple of the season.

The double for Hampton is her team-best seventh of the season.

Jessie Cole started the contest for the Chargers in the circle and allowed just one hit in two innings

group.”

The second manager in Trash Pandas history, Schatzley enters his third season in the Angels organization after guiding High-A Tri-City in 2021.

In his role with the Dust Devils, Schatzley managed future Trash Pandas standouts such as infielder Brendon Davis, closer Kolton Ingram, as well as starters Cristopher Molina, Ryan Smith and Davis Daniel. In 2020, Schatzley was tabbed to manage the Rookie-Level Orem Owlz in his first professional season before the minor league season was cancelled.

Prior to joining the Angels, Schatzley spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas from 2011-19. In that role, he acted as the Associate Head Coach and recruiting coordinator while his on-field titles included hitting coach, infield instructor, and third base coach. In 2019, he helped guide the Bisons to a 3421 record, the best record during his tenure at Harding.

In 2013, he was the head coach of the Outer Banks Daredevils of the Coastal Plain League, a summer wood bat league for collegiate players. He also served as head coach of the El Dorado Broncos of the Jayhawk League from

2009-10.

Schatzley, 37, came to Harding from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas where he worked as an assistant in 2011. During the 2009-10 seasons, he was a Graduate Assistant at Lubbock Christian University.

He played collegiately at Pratt Community College (2004-06) in Pratt, Kansas and Lyon College (2006-08) in Batesville, Arkansas.

He earned a master’s degree at Lubbock Christian University in organizational leadership in 2010.

Hitting Coach Kenny Hook is back in 2022 after directing a powerful Rocket City offense in 2021 that launched a Double-A South best 152 home runs, with six players reaching double digits.

Hook enters his third season with the Angels after spending the previous six in the Texas Rangers system, including a stint as manager of Rookie-Level Spokane. Hook, 46, played independently for parts of five seasons from 19972002.

Pitching Coach Michael Wuertz, 43, also returns to Rocket City in 2022 after leading a pitching staff that finished second in Double-A South with 1,112 strikeouts in 2021.

Under the direction of Wuertz, 10 former Trash Pandas pitchers climbed the ladder and made their

MADISON LIVING THE GUIDE • AROUND TOWN • CHAMBER CONNECTIONS • OUT & ABOUT • SCHOOLS

March 2022 madisonlivingmagazine.com

THE FIREBIRD Huntsville Ballet to present The Firebird, a spellbinding story of heroism and love

DYLAN DRYER 465505-1

James Clemens track standout pushes ahead, even against the toughest of life’s obstacles, to find a way to succeed

BLACK DOG GROUNDS & SOUNDS Couple finds groove in sounds and grounds

GETTING BACK TO NORMAL Alexander’s Martial Arts stays in form for student progress, plans to resume in-person classes

MRS. MOLLY’S SIDEWALK LIBRARY The pandemic leads Dr. Molly King to create a unique sidewalk library for spring break and summer reading

Madison Living 1

Look for the March issue of Madison Living soon. You can find it in area businesses or go to madisonlivingmagazine.com

MLB debut for the Angels last season. Before joining Rocket City in 2021, Wuertz spent three of the previous four seasons played with High-A Inland Empire, where he was scheduled to be the pitching coach in 2020. He spent the 2018 season with Rookie-Level Orem.

As a player, he pitched for eight seasons between the Chicago Cubs (2004-08) and Oakland A’s (2009-11), posting a 21-11 record and 11 saves with 444 strikeouts over 414.1 career innings. In 2009, he led all American League relievers with a career-high 102 strikeouts, becoming the third A’s reliever after Hall of Famers Rollie Fingers and Dennis Eckersley to fan 100 in a season.

Coach Dann Bilardello, 62, brings a wealth of playing and coaching experience to his first season in the Angels organization. Playing primarily as a catcher from 1978-94, Bilardello hit .204 with 18 home runs, 91 RBI, and 79 runs scored in 382 MLB games over eight seasons between the Cincinnati Reds (1983-85), Montreal Expos (1986), Pittsburgh Pirates (1989-90), and San Diego Padres (1991-92).

During his career, Bilardello was a teammate of Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Andre Dawson, and Tony Gwynn. He was also a first-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1978.

After his playing career, Bilardello earned a Pioneer League Championship in his managerial debut for the Great Falls Dodgers in 2002. He stayed in the Dodgers system from 2002-04 before spending a season in the Red Sox organization in 2005.

From 2006-09, he was a minor league catching instructor in the Cardinals organization before moving back to the dugout in 2010. He remained in the Cardinals system through 2020, managing Rook-

ie-Level Batavia (201012), Low-A Peoria (2013), High-A Palm Beach (2014, 2017-20), and Double-A Springfield (2015-16). Bilardello won a Florida State League Championship for Palm Beach in 2017.

Making the jump to Rocket City from Tri-City with Schatzley is Strength and Conditioning Coach Henry Aleck. He previously spent time in the Philadelphia Phillies organization with High-A Lakewood in 2018. Prior to that, he worked at the University of Texas at Austin as a Strength and Conditioning Coach in the Longhorns athletic department. He earned his master’s degree in applied exercise science at Concordia University and an undergraduate degree from Texas Christian University.

Athletic Trainer Will Whitehead heads to the Trash Pandas after spending 2021 with High-A TriCity in his first season in the Angels organization.

He previously spent 11 years in the Colorado Rockies system. Before starting his professional baseball career, Whitehead worked as an Athletic Trainer for both the Winter X Games and the Texas Tech University baseball team. He graduated from Texas Tech University Heath Sciences Center with a master’s degree in athletic training after earning his undergraduate degree from Stephen F. Austin State University.

Rounding out the Trash Pandas coaching staff will be Game Planning Strategist Ryan Santos and Video Assistant Andrew Hansford.

The 2022 Trash Pandas season is not impacted by the current MLB lockout. The season begins on April 8 at Birmingham before the home opener at Toyota Field on April 12 against Pensacola.

March 2, 2022

THE RECORD • 3B

MA’s Libby Privett to play in Alabama All-Stars vs. Mississippi All-Stars game

By BOB LABBE bob0873@yahoo.com MADISON - Twenty-four high school seniors have been selected to represent Alabama in the 32nd annual Alabama-Mississippi AllStar Basketball Classic to be played Saturday, March 12 at Mississippi College in Hinds, Miss. Twelve boys and 12 girls were chosen to play for Alabama with Madison Academy’s Libby Privett chosen as one of Alabama’s dynamic dozen.

The 5-foot-7 guard for the Lady Mustangs has been on the varsity squad for six years including the 2020 team that lost in the Class 5A State Championship game to Charles Henderson 50-48 and one season earlier in 2019 when the

Lady Mustangs fell to Central Tuscaloosa 68-65. She was a young player for the Mustangs in 2017 when Madison Academy won the Class 4A State Championship “Her inner drive and competitive heart is going to take her far at the next level and in life,” said Krista Baldwin head coach of Madison Academy. “She has had some incredible success as a Lady Mustang in the stat column and post accolades, but her approach to life and the tasks at hand make her stand out.”

Privett was a Third-Team AllState selection in 2021, but suffered an ACL injury last summer, which required surgery and put her on the sideline for most of the 2021-2022 season. She was not on the court

until the final eight games of the campaign, but still was regarded as one of the finest players in the state.

She signed a college scholarship to attend Wofford College.

“Our younger players got to see someone take an unfavorable situation and find solutions through hard work and it wasn’t easy for her,” said Baldwin. “I got to see first-hand the pain and emotions she fought through. Her hard work, dedication and reliance on the Lord brought her back just in time for Senior Night.”

Alabama’s girls won last year’s game over Mississippi 102-70 while the Bama boys dropped a 93-91 thriller to Mississippi. Alabama holds a 17-14 edge on the girl’s series while the boys hold a slim 16-15 lead.

Two-sport athlete works his way to state championships and college scholarship

Libby Privett of Madison Academy has been selected among the 12 to represent Alabama in the upcoming Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Basketball Classic. The senior Lady Mustang has signed with Wofford College.

Madison Academy senior athlete John English recently won the Indoor Track State Championship in the shot put. He has won two consecutive state titles in the shot put throws. exceptional as he’s been clocked at 4.69 seconds in the 40-yard sprint.

Nicknamed “Big John” by the Mustang’s coaching staff, English has always been a large individual and was usually the biggest kid on his block and was mostly chosen first for pickup games while growing up. He played recreational football, baseball and basketball as a youngster before deciding on mostly football when entering school athletics.

“I’ve always suffered from asthma, but that is not as bad as it once was,” said English. “I also injured my shoulder playing football, but that healed after going through extensive physical therapy.”

English would love nothing more than earn his college degree in mechanical engineering. He’s working as a cashier and stocker at Dollar General located on Old Madison Pike near Slaughter Road. Not only is the money helping him prep for college, but he knows working makes him more responsible as a young adult. The 18-year old doesn’t want to stop with what he has now, especially in athletics.

I’m looking now for the outdoor track season and let’s see what I can do there,” added English, who also throws the discus for the Mustangs.

“Once I enter the circle for the shot put I cancel out all distractions and concentrate. I have this technique

John English is a two-sport athlete for the Madison Academy Mustangs. He’s a defensive end on the football team and a state champion track athlete.

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MADISON - Madison Academy student-athlete John English is a go getter. He’s an All-Star football player, a state champ in track and field, carries a 3.71 grade point average in the classroom, and, if that’s not enough, he also works an average of 20 hours a week in his attempt to put money away for college.

“Partaking in two sports has been very tough on me as many times it’s been difficult to get my school work completed,” said English. “My parents have been very strict on making sure my school work does not suffer. I appreciate their leadership.”

The senior for the Mustangs was a two-way starter for the football team playing defensive end and tight end.

He recently signed a partial athletic scholarship with Berry College of Rome, Ga. where he was recruited to play defensive end for the NCAA Div. III program. “I chose Berry due to the connection I instantly had with the coaches,” said English, son of Bo and Adrienne English.

The talents of the 6-foot-2, 220-pound athlete have crossed over to track and field where he recently won his second consecutive Indoor Track Shot Put State Championship. His gold medal performance of 48-feet, .75-inch was the lone first place performance by the four local schools of the Madison area.

“I love the shot put and I feel it’s very difficult to master,” said English. “It’s all in the technique more than physical strength. With each day I throw I feel as I’m getting closer to mastering the shot out.”

Many think he may have already conquered the beast.

This school year is the first at Madison Academy for English as he and his family moved to Madison from Hazel Green where he played both football and participated in track for the Trojans. Last year as a junior, English won the same Indoor Track State Championship with his personal best throw of 50feet, 1.5-inches. “My head coach at Hazel Green convinced me to try the shot put as the event would help my explosiveness and movement with my hips and legs for my play as a defensive lineman,” added English.

“I have a good explosiveness off the line and have caused a lot of quarterback hurries and sacks. I feel I’m strong enough and have the correct technique to push back offensive linemen.”

As a senior at Madison Academy he was a team captain and had enormous growth in the weight room.

He has topped out at 295 pounds on the bench press and 450 pounds in the squat. His foot speed is also

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By BOB LABBE bob0873@yahoo.com

where I move back my left foot back three times before I throw. The foot placement seems to help me with my power and also relaxes me.”

He drives a 2004 Jeep Cherokee and can always be seen driving into and out of the confines of the Madison Academy campus, or the parking lot of Dollar General. Both locales are building a stronger, more productive young man who can arrange his life with multiple schedules and be successful at each one.

UAH splits doubleheader Sunday vs. Union ALBERTVILLE - The University of Alabama in Huntsville baseball team split a Gulf South Conference doubleheader against Union on Sunday with the Bulldogs winning game one 4-0 before the Chargers took the second 6-5. UAH moves to 6-8 (2-3 GSC), while UU is now 6-6 (2-3 GSC).

bined for the shutout and four hits allowed to top the Chargers 4-0 on Sunday.

Garrett Bodine and Carson Villalta each notched a double in game one of the doubleheader to lead the offense.

Kody Keiser started on the mound for the Chargers, working 6.0 innings with two earned runs allowed, zero walks and four strikeouts. His record drops to 0-2 in 2022.

Union 4, UAH 0 The Bulldogs took the series-opener as Union’s pitching staff com-

UAH 6, Union 5 The Chargers wrapped up the GSC doubleheader with a 6-4 win

over the Bulldogs, as Jeff Hunter led the UAH offense overall in the game, going 2-for-4 with three RBI and one triple.

Bodine drew a team-high three walks and scored two runs out of the lead-off spot.

Connor Brooks made the start on the mound in game two, as he tossed 6.0 innings with five runs allowed, zero walks and four strikeouts. His record improves to 2-1 with the win.

Will Hotalen picked up his first save of the season after finishing the game off in the seventh.

Check us out at themadisonrecord.com

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By STAFF REPORTS news@themadisonrecord.com

4B

SCHOOLS

March 2, 2022

AFJROTC at Bob Jones plans ‘20th Anniversary Celebration Bash’

By GREGG PARKER Gregg@themadisonrecord.com MADISON – An upcoming event will combine components of a birthday party, an anniversary observance and a party for success when the Air Force JROTC unit at Bob Jones High School hosts its “20th Anniversary Celebration Bash.”

Throughout this school year, the unit has been hailing the milestones of its 20 years with observances, but the fun will escalate on April 30 for the on-campus celebration.

“Celebrating 20 years as an Air Force JROTC unit is a huge accomplishment. We would like to celebrate all former cadets who helped make the AFJROTC program into

the top-tier program it is today,” USAF Maj. (retired) Dr. Melissa Lacey.

Lacey works as an aerospace science instructor at Bob Jones.

“AFJROTC units are evaluated annually for viability — meaning each unit has to maintain enrollment of 100 cadets or a minimum of 10 percent of the overall student population,” Lacey said.

“There are other areas which could cause a unit to close — funding, lack of district support, lack of instructors, lack of designated facilities. Thankfully, this has not been an issue for us here in Madison City Schools.”

Since 2002, more than 1,600 students have enrolled in AFJROTC at Bob Jones. Eight teams

now are functioning in archery, marksmanship, CyberPatriot, Drill Team, Honor Guard, Sabre Team, orienteering and Aerospace Team.

Currently, the unit is trying to contact as many AFJROTC alumni as possible. Former AFJROTC cadets can email bj.afjrotc@gmail. com, and the unit will mail an invitation to attend the 20th Anniversary Celebration Bash.

USAF CMSgt (retired) Ellis Clark and students serving on the Anniversary Committee have worked on the bulk of the planning for the celebration. Clark also teaches aerospace science.

“The day of the celebration will consist of welcoming all alumni, paying

The Bob Jones Air Force JROTC Drill Team. honor to our founding cadre, USAF Lt. Col. (retired) Randy Herd and USAF MSgt (retired) Renaldo Beatty, as well as games and competitions,” Lacey said.

“We will provide a meal, but we are still seeking sponsorship,” Lacey said.

During the past 20 years, the four veterans who have served as cadre for Bob Jones AFJROTC

are USAF Lt. Col. (retired) Randy Herd, USAF MSgt (retired) Renaldo Beatty, Clark and Lacey.

For more information, email bj.afjrotc@gmail. com.

At the 2022 All Girls State Chess Championship, individual winners in the K-6 Section were Sophia Jerez, first place; Kylie Zou, second; Samsara Rajbhandari, third; Emerson Phillips, fourth; Anna Ai, fifth; and Kate Meyer (not pictured), Christina Yang and Sarah Peter, tied for fifth-place medals.

All Girls State Championship sets new attendance record Mad Rockers, the robotics team at Bob Jones and James Clemens, is working on their robot for contests in Searcy, Ark. and Huntsville.

Mad Rockers finalize components for competition robot for April FRC events

By GREGG PARKER Gregg@themadisonrecord.com MADISON – The Robotics Team, nicknamed Mad Rockers, from Bob Jones and James Clemens high schools is practicing for two upcoming challenges in this advancing field.

Mad Rockers will compete in the Arkansas Regional Competition in Searcy, Ark. on April 1-2 and the Rocket City Regional Tournament in Huntsville at the Von Braun Center on April 8-9, Jonathan Bailey said. A teacher in Bob Jones Engineering Academy, Bailey sponsors the robotics team.

Both events are part of FIRST Robotics Competition or FRC. The game, or challenge, for this year is called “Rapid React.” The game changes every year to give the teams a new challenge, Bailey said.

“FIRST, an international robotics competition, focuses on preparing students for STEM careers and follows principles of gracious professionalism,” Bailey said. “Teams from all over the world compete together at regional events.”

Making FIRST unique, alliances form for three different robotics teams. “Teams are forced to coop-

erate while they compete. FIRST coined the term ‘Coopertition’ to describe this aspect of the competition,” Bailey said.

Alabama has 50-plus teams.

More than 40 teams will enter the Rocket City Regional. “Robotics is somewhat popular but has been difficult to market since COVID-19,” Bailey said.

The team’s seniors are Team Captains Colby Bong and Malachi Allen, Senior Marketing Captain Alex Underwood, Senior Safety Captain Diane Pham, William Goins, Jonathan Gunasekaran, Riley Skillen and Dalton Shurtz.

Team juniors include Junior Software Captain Jeremiah Yang, Cyrus Boak, Williams Hu, Elise Adams and Alex Moultrie. The only sophomore is Aleks Vukosalvljevic. The team’s freshmen are Mitchell Okafor, Mason Puhalovic, David Gunasekaran, Elizabeth Lee and Donovan White.

“We use an engineering design process to design and build our robot, (starting) by analyzing rules for the game,” Bailey said. “Then, we brainstorm ideas and generate different concepts for the robot.”

With some ideas, the team prototypes different systems and assigns (students) to concurrently

engineer different robot parts. Assembling the robot, the team tests and tweaks different systems.

The robots’ major tasks in 2022 are shooting large balls into a high goal and climbing a set of bars.

Bob Jones has built a chassis, is finalizing two other robot systems, developing a faster loader and preparing for the Chairman’s Award.

Rapid React is based loosely on a transportation theme. Robots load ‘cargo’ (dodgeball-sized tennis balls), high or low. Robots score double points ‘driving’ themselves during the 15-second autonomous period.

FIRST robots are advanced and can cost up to $5,000, in addition to the kick-off kit. “Robots use a Roborio as the robot’s brain, radio, power distribution panel with fuses, motors and controllers and other systems,” Bailey said.

Bailey sees robotics’ potential as an academic class with problem-solving, geometry, physics and computer science. However, he hopes the competition team stays extra-curricular to keep the “bridge” between Bob Jones and James Clemens.

For more information, visit frc-events.firstinspires.org/2022/ ALHU.

ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS North Alabama celebrates the return of minor league baseball

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T Travel l tto th the ends d off th the galaxy l without leaving the Rocket City

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Congratulations to the St. John Paul II Catholic High School Falcon Theatre Troupe on their success at last weekend’s annual Alabama Thespian Festival. Throughout the weekend the Falcons competed in individual events, participated in workshops, and got to watch many shows. Lilly Butler, Caden Lones, Zoe Patin, and Bridget Yee we’re chosen to perform their group acting scene for the ATF Showcase. Bridget Yee won a superior rating for her solo musical piece, Gianna Blanco and Nyah Lang won a superior rating for their musical duet piece, and Victoria Hibbs was selected as President for the 2022-2023 state thespian officer board.

attractions, parks and greenways, shopping and dining, entertainment, festivals, music and fun!

Photo by the U.S. Space & Rocket Center

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Check out “Explore Huntsville-Madison”. It explores many of the fun attractions, natural wonders, events, entertainment, shopping and dining opportunities in our area. You can view it online or download a pdf version at www.themadisonrecord.com. It can also be found in several hundred locations in the greater Huntsville area.

By GREGG PARKER Gregg@themadisonrecord.com MADISON – Some players imagined themselves working for the company that sponsored the 2022 All Girls State Chess Championship.

“Immediately upon entry into the Hexagon building, the girls were impressed and thought this would be a cool place to work,” Ranae Bartlett said. Bartlett is Executive Director of Madison City Chess League.

“The skills that chess players develop are very transferrable to the STEM fields, so it just makes sense for companies like Hexagon to sponsor events like this championship,” Bartlett said.

The competitors set a new attendance record for the All Girls State Chess Championship. Competing in three sections, 56 girls entered the tournament. “This (new record) would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors: State Senator Arthur Orr and Hexagon, the tournament site” at 305 Intergraph Way in Madison, Bartlett said.

The K-3 section had the most competitors with 22 girls. Individual award winners were Esinam Tettey, first; Alice Zou, second; Avyaktha Subramania, third; Cora Newberry, fourth; and Annabelle Hsu, fifth.

The teams’ battle led to these results: * Rainbow Elementary School – First place with Cora Newberry, Annabelle Hsu, Hannah Kuang, Sarah Rytting and Natalie Doe. * Mill Creek Elementary School – Second place for Esiname Tettey, Avyaktha Subramania and Janvi Jinva. * Horizon Elementary School – Third place with Alice Zou, Lilia Baker, Zoey Mulloy, Jade Brooks and Kylie Harden.

Individual winners in the K-6 Section were

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(starting with first and descending) Sophia Jerez, Kylie Zou, Samsara Rajbhandari, Emerson Phillips, Anna Ai and tied for fifth-place medals, Kate Meyer, Christina Yang and Sarah Peter.

Team results included these schools: * Horizon — First place with Sophia Jerez, Kylie Zou and Samsara Rajbhandari. * Discovery Middle School – Second, Christina Yang and Kate Meyer. * Columbia Elementary School – Third with Emerson Phillips, Tiegan Eastman and Rose Polpanich.

In the K-12 Section, individual winners were Emily Jiang in first, Sarvagna Vlidandla, Advitiya Kana, Shreya Sunil, Constance Wang and tied for fifthplace medals for Nirvana Rajbhandari and Oviya Gowder.

These teams placed in the tournament: * Bob Jones High School – First place team with Constance Wang, Rachael Ehrman, Swetha Jakka, Maanasi Limaye and Mable Danh. * Discovery – Second place for Nirvana Rajbhandari, Caroline Wang, Abby Chan and Lily Harper. * James Clemens High School – Third place with Shreya Sunil and Oviya Gowder. Tying for five team points and narrowly missing out on a team trophy were Liberty Middle School team members Sahithi Mynamplly, Isabelle Park and Isabelle Bao. “After the tournament, parents shared how much fun their daughters had and how energized they were to continue playing.

That’s one of the greatest benefits of holding an all-girls event, because, most of the time, girls are noticeably outnumbered by boys in chess tournaments,” Bartlett said.

For their championship ‘swag,’ the girls received a hoodie jacket with the contest’s logo.

March 2, 2022

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7B

MADISON HISTORY with John Rankin

March 2, 2022

“True Tales” of Gladys True - Part 10

By JOHN P. RANKIN Madison Historian MADISON - {Gladys’ book continued…} Along about this time, Mr. Williams, who I told you was the rich man in town, got a radio. We used to go up to his house to listen to the radio. We were all invited on Saturday night, sometimes only the children went, sometimes our parents also went. When we were traveling on the road, we felt safe because nothing ever happened to any of us. I always wanted to go on Saturday night and hear Smiling Ed McCall sing. He had a beautiful tenor voice. In later years we used to listen to Burl Ives. We loved to listen to the Grand Old Opry. Mama named her cow Mama Maybelle. As the calves came along, she named them after the Carter girls that sang with Mama Maybelle. I am sure the Carter Family would not be pleased about that, but my mother had a good sense of humor and did not mean it as a slur against them. She loved their music.

On the Fourth of July each year as I was growing up, we had a big picnic at my grandmother’s. It was held out in the orchard, and every family brought a picnic lunch and white table cloth. We had ham and chicken cooked every way in the world because that was the kind of meat we had available. Aunt Amanda, who lived near Paint Rock, was the last one to come because she had to wait for the train to come. She brought the ice {from the train delivery}. I was grown before I had a glass of lemonade without sawdust in it. In those days ice was shipped and packed in sawdust. The big debate was: do you wash all the sawdust off and lose half of the ice, or put up with some sawdust on the ice? {This was also the case with Madison’s ice house beside the Roundhouse.} Most of the time they left some sawdust. She also brought the lemons. I have never understood about the lemons. We always had lemon pie and lemonade, but I do not know how we got them other than at the store because we could not grow them here.

The July 4 picnic at the McFarlen’s was something to behold! I am so sorry someone did not think back then to bring a Kodak camera to make a record of these. This was held in a big apple orchard with the limbs full of leaves. Uncle Jim had mowed the pasture and orchard. It was just beautiful. I am going to ask at the next family reunion if anyone has a picture of this scene and the pretty tables there. We always had nice cakes.

My mother baked coconut cakes, and she put pieces of candy on top. Everybody brought their best. The kids got to eat along with the grownups. When I came along, the men ate first, the women ate next, and then the children ate what was left. I ate at the third table. When we ate at my grandmother’s, there never was any chicken left. I was used to eating the pulley bone, and having fun making a wish with it. But at most big events we went to as a family, there was never any chicken left.

Another thing I remember from my childhood was when we went to church.

When we needed to use the bathroom, we had to go home. We did not have a toilet on the church grounds. Now I think that is funny, but the kids behaved much better in church in those days. I remember that we had a large map the size of a door on the wall in our church. Our teacher, Mr. Robertson, would talk to us about where Jesus walked and show it on the map, giving us all the details.

Of course, we did not retain everything we were told as children, but I would have given anything to have had a map like that when the recent Saudi Arabian War was going on. All of that area was on that map in great detail. Our church had a nice piano. In fact, I think we just sang from the pews in the Presbyterian Church. In the Baptist Church, they had a choir loft, and they could really sing.

These next stories are about my mother’s father, who I loved and referred to as “Dad Ardis.” He had a blacksmith shop, and was very much ahead of his time in many ways. Dad Ardis, my step-grandmother, and Aunt Clater, lived next door to the Baptist Church. When the windows of his home were open and the windows of the church were open during services, you could hear the choir singing. They really had a good choir. Dad Ardis did not mind me playing around his blacksmith shop. He let me pump the bellows, and taught me many things. The bellows were instrumental in keeping the fire burning. He had to have a fire going all the time when he was working in his shop. The fire was not a blazing fire, and he used really fine coal, the kind you would sweep out of the coal box. The fire smoked most of the time until you used the bellows and kept it going.

When people would come along and want their mules or horses shod, Dad Ardis would look at the animals’ feet. He had pieces of metal material that he used to make the horseshoes. The metal was in different lengths, and he would stick

them down into the coals of fire and get them red-hot. I would pump the bellows, which moved air onto the coals, making it a very hot fire, but still not blazing.

Dad Ardis would use long tongs to pull the metal out of the fire when it got redhot, and then he would put the metal in a barrel of water to cool down. The steam would rise, and the metal would sizzle and make a lot of noise. It has been a while since I have looked at a horseshoe, but as I recall, he would then beat down the metal into size and shape, and make holes for the nails that held the shoe on the horse. The shoe was left to completely cool after it was sized to fit the particular animal’s foot.

Dad Ardis wore a leather apron. He had a very sharp knife with a handle on each end of the blade which helped him prepare the hoof of the animal he was working on. If the horse needed more than one shoe, he made one, and then fitted each individual foot with this same procedure. When he was putting the shoe on the horse’s hoof, he kept his back to the horse with the foot he was working on held up at a man’s working level. He could then clean and blade off the hoof smoothly, and put the nails through the metal shoe so the animal’s hoof was protected. He nailed the shoe to the hoof at an angle with horseshoe nails, and then bent the end of the nails up and around, which held the shoe on the foot. This process included taking the old shoe off, getting out the old nails, and feeling that hoof as he went along to be sure it was smooth. The metal nail did not go into the tender part of the horse’s foot; it went into the thick hoof, which is like our fingernails. Most horses did not object, but sometimes he would get a wild one. Then he would take the shoe and horse outside.

Dad Ardis and his neighbor, Mr. Wilbourn, designed a water system for their homes and for the blacksmith shop.

There was a mountain on one side as you came into town, and up on that mountain between Dad Ardis and Mr. Wilbourn’s property was a spring. This was a remarkable feat for the time. People did not have “running water” at this time. Everybody had wells, and they drew up water and carried it wherever they needed it. These two families cut long cedar logs and made a “V” cut in the middle of those logs, joining them in such a way that the logs would carry water from the spring on the mountain down to their two families below. They routed the water to their homes, barn lots, and the blacksmith shop. There was a tremendous wooden barrel that caught the water in the backyard. It trickled down all day into the barrel, which had a hole and a pipe leading out of it that took water to the trough at the barn lot. From there, the water traveled by pipe to the blacksmith shop. Dad Ardis had to have that water to cool the horseshoes. The water never froze in the wintertime because running water does not freeze.

The Wilbourns used their water for an operation like the “Bed and Breakfast” businesses today for travelers. Dad Ardis also raised goats, and I would help him with them. He had plenty of water, and there was grass all around. They liked to climb the mountain. Dad Ardis had made a stile for the goats to climb up. We do not see these as a rule now, but will read about them in poetry and stories of long ago. There was a platform at the top where they could stop before they started down the other side. I think today about my little dog, Rags, who will not go down steps. If a goat would not go down the stile, the other goats just pushed him off. They were anxious to get back home and get water. As a child, I used to wonder if those goats drank out of the cedar logs as the water came down, but we just did not worry about that. We did not boil the water before we drank it, we had plenty of vegetables to eat, and we were all very healthy back then. We did not have all the snack food that is prevalent now, and I think I was better off as a child, comparing nutrition with today’s menus.

In the wintertime sometimes baby goats would be born at Dad Ardis’. He sometimes had more baby goats than he had mama goats to feed them, so he would bring them inside, fix a bottle for them, and let me feed the babies. They would bring them in the house to take care of them until they could make it. We ate the goat meat, and Dad Ardis tanned their hides to sell. He had goat skin rugs and lap robes. I wish I had one now just for sentimental reasons. Dad Ardis was a hard worker and a hustler, and very innovative, as witnessed by the water system and other things he did. He had a surrey with the fringe on top. This was a very fancy carriage that you see only in movies today. Granddaddy’s had lights on it in case you were coming home after dark. These were kerosene lanterns on either side up where the driver was.

Can you imagine getting dressed up to go somewhere and traveling in this pretty surrey with the fringe on top, pulled by

Momma Maybelle & The Carter Sisters at the Grand Ol’ Opry .

Radio of the 1920s.

Grinding juice from sorghum cane, and cooking sorghum syrup.

Surrey with fringe on top.

Stile for passage over fence or wall.

a horse? The kerosene lamps were dangerous as could be, if you did not handle things right, but we never did set the surrey on fire. Dad Ardis would let me play on it, and as best I can remember, it did not have rubber tires. I really loved to go to his home and blacksmith shop.

It was located across the street from the post office where my mother worked. My mother did not worry about me as long as she knew where I was.

Since my mother worked at the post office, she did not always have time to fry chicken for picnics like some of the other mothers. She would put Vienna sausages and potted meat in my lunches. Mrs. Johnson used to bake bread and sell it. Sometimes I would pick up raisin bread, and Mama would get upset with me because I would eat the raisin bread while I was walking home, just pinching it off. She also made plain bread that we sliced as we needed it. That homemade bread was so good! As I have said, my granddaddy was a hustler -- a smart, inventive businessman back then. Today they are known as entrepreneurs.

Another one of his sideline businesses was making molasses. I used to help him with this endeavor. He was not a farmer, but he had probably leased the land to raise a field of sugar cane. His son, Uncle Harvey, worked at ACIPCO, the American Cast Iron Pipe Company, in Birmingham. Uncle Harvey had made a large metal pan to hold the sugar cane juice which is cooked down to make the molasses. Dad Ardis had rocks piled up with a fire in the center and this big metal pan on top. The pan had juice cooking in it, and when it was ready a drain spout or pipe turned the juice into buckets standing nearby.

We packed our lunch and left early in the morning, and they worked on this all day. He took a pair of mules, and one mule at a time was hooked up to turn the grinder of the sugar cane. They went around and around in a circle. The juice came out as the sugar cane was pushed through the grinding rocks and into the vent pipe that funneled the juice to the cooking vat. It was quite an operation.

There was a pond nearby, and I always took fishing gear and would play all around. Sometimes I took a friend with us. Sometimes we helped feed the cane into the grinding part. They ground the cane all day, and left it in little brown jugs if they did not get through by night.

Nobody ever bothered those jugs. There was no crime back then in the area we lived in. You boiled the juice, and it would foam up. It was a beautiful amber color.

Another one of my jobs was to scoop off the foam until it stopped foaming.

We had long-handled shovels to do this.

After it quit foaming, I could play again.

We cooked the syrup until it was perfectly clear, and it saved Dad Ardis a lot of time when I went along to help him skim the foam and watch the syrup. The final product was called sorghum, and it is still called this today. He would put out all the fire and load up the syrup to take home. He kept this stored in the blacksmith shop, and sold it by the bucket.

People enjoyed this sorghum molasses with real butter on their pancakes. When I was growing up, we called pancakes “fritters.” We also made molasses candy.

You cooked the molasses until it would spin a thread and then removed it from the heat. As soon as it cooled enough to handle, you would pull it and make taffy.

8B • THE RECORD

March 2, 2022

Scholastic Art & Writing Awards commend Bob Jones students’ creativity

By GREGG PARKER Gregg@themadisonrecord.com MADISON – The respected organization, Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, has commended student artists at Bob Jones High School.

Founded in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards are the nation’s longest-running, most prestigious educational program for creative teenagers. The initiative supports student achievement in the visual and literary arts.

This program has an impressive legacy of being the first to acknowledge creative talent and is today’s largest source of scholarships for creative teens, according to Robin

Lakso. Lakso teaches Art I, Art III and Advanced/ Advanced-Placement Art. Jenny Norton and Austin Smith also are art teachers at Bob Jones.

Students who earn the Gold Key Award are recognized with celebration ceremonies and exhibitions in each region. Gold Key entries are automatically considered for national awards, including Gold Medal, Silver Medal with Distinction, Silver Medal and scholarship awards. The Silver Key also lauds the student’s creation and fall under the Gold Key framework.

These students at Bob Jones won the highest-ranked awards: • Makala Alexander – “the edge,” Gold Key in

digital art.

• Patrick Nicholson – “Sculpture of Prey,” Silver Key for his drawing/ illustration talent.

• Hannah Southward – “Lovely Tea,” Gold Key for mixed media.

• Madison Tanner – “Hog Hunt,” Gold Key for digital art.

• Emily Duong – Earned Gold Key for flash fiction “Euphoria in Doses” and Silver Key for critical analysis with her writing piece, “Women in Prison Need More Solutions.”

The contest is open to teenagers in grades 7–12, for 13-year-olds and older and those who live in the United States, U.S. territories and military bases, along with Canada.

Since the program’s in-

Makala Alexander at Bob Jones High School received the Gold Key from Scholastic Art & Writing Awards for her digital art piece, “the edge.” ception, the awards have fostered creativity for millions of students, including renowned alumni who have gone on to become leaders in their fields.

These celebrities include Stephen King, Kay WalkingStick, Andy Warhol, Robert Redford and Ken

Burns.

Bob Jones students competed against peers in the Southeast Region ranging from Washington D.C. to Louisiana. They are competing against public, private and fine arts schools.

The winners of art and writing will be judged

at the national competition for all winners from across the country and any American school overseas. Students can win up to $10,000 in scholarship money at the national level.

For more information, visit artandwriting.org.

Snapshot Several schools in Madison were creative last week in how they celebrated “Twosday” (2-22-22). Some celebrated with tutus, ties, and tennis shoes, while others wore special t-shirts. For some it was a fun day of learning with STEM activities and lessons related to the number 2, for others, it meant tacos! Here is a look at how some of the schools marked the special date.

Columbia Elementary School car line

NEW CNP COORDINATOR FOR MADISON CITY SCHOOLS - Madison City Schools has a new Child Nutrition Program coordinator to run the school district’s meal services. Cameron Clark, supervisor of CNP, replaces Marty Tatara who retired last month. Clark has been supervisor since 2019. He previously served as a Dietetic Tech at Huntsville Hospital and did an internship with the MCS Child Nutrition Program when he was finishing his studies.

Clark holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition Sciences from the University of Alabama and a Master of Science in Nutrition Services from the University of Alabama in Birmingham. He was approved for the position at the Feb. 24 Madison City Board of Education meeting. Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols and board members commended Clark for the promotion. Clark thanked Ms. Tatara for entrusting him as an intern and mentoring him when he worked as supervisor. His wife, Ella, works in special education at Discovery Middle School. ABOVE: Cameron Clark is pictured second from right. with are (L-R) Assistant Superintendent Eric Terrell, Superintendent Dr. Ed Nichols and at the far right, MCS Director of Operations John Jones.

Heritage Elementary School (above and below)

OUT OF THIS WORLD! - UAH Engineering students presented their moon buggy project to the Bob Jones High School Engineering Academy last week. Students were able to ask questions, try out the moon buggy, and ultimately, build their own mini moon buggy.

Midtown Elementary School (below)

Madison City Schools and Madison City Council of PTAs are working to present the second workshop, “Mental Health Matters for Families, Part 2: A Deeper Dive,” on March 30. The event will open at 5:30 p.m. in Zompa Auditorium at Bob Jones High School. This series started in September 2021. Any family seeking support can attend free of charge. For information, visit Facebook/Mental Health Matters.