M adison RECORD THE
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PUBLISHED EACH WEDNESDAY
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 29, 10, 2020 April 2020
THEMADISONRECORD.COM
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NEWS
Dr. Ed Nichols takes over as superintendent Tim Holtcamp named MCS school board president By STAFF REPORTS
Movie Night! Trash Pandas to host “On-Field Movie Night� on Friday. Page 3A
Congratulations! Madison Academy holds graduation for the Class of 2020. Page 3A
What Fun! Fun scenes from the Trash Panda Black Party. Page 5A
EDUCATION
Cyber Academy Scholarships Clark, Warren receive Air Force Junior ROTC Cyber Academy Scholarship. Page 6A
Staff Member of the Year Lisa Parkes’ retirement from Bob Jones coincides with ‘Staff Member of the Year’. Page 6A
Senior Spotlight Area high school seniors highlighted in our ongoing series. Page 7A
SPORTS
There were plenty of fireworks to celebrate the first major event at Madison’s new $46 million Toyota Field. Rocket City Trash Pandas fans got a chance to see the new stadium up close Saturday night. The Minor League team hosted their first block party event, complete with baseball park food and fireworks. They plan to host similar events for fans to enjoy while they wait for baseball action to resume. See story and more photos on page 5A.
Work to widen part of I-565 expected to start this week By STAFF REPORTS
New Coach Alternative Baseball Club names Tyler Wright head coach. Page 1B
Baseball Camps Trash Pandas hosting baseball camps. Page 1B
MADISON – Madison City Schools officially has a new schools superintendent. The Board of Education approved a three year contract last week for Dr. Ed Nichols to lead Madison City Schools. He replaces Robby Parker, who retired Feb. 28. Madison Mayor Paul Finley, Madison Council President Steve Smith and Madison County Commissioner Steve Haraway attended last week’s school board meeting to welcome Dr. Nichols. Mayor Finley also awarded a city coin to the district’s assistant superintendent Eric Terrell. The commemoration is awarded individuals who make a positive impact to the community in some way. Finley said Terrell served admirably as interim superintendent, guiding the school system through the COVID-19 shutdown. “I don’t think you could have come in at a tougher time,� he said. Mayor Finley said Terrell’s leadership included making some tough calls that in the end helped minimize the spread of COVID-19 in the community. The school board meeting also marked a leadership change in the board. Tim Holtcamp took the gavel as school board president following Ranae Bartlett’s leadership these past several years. Luis Ferrer assumed Holtcamp’s role as vice president of the Board. Bartlett has one year remaining of her second five-yearterm. Holtcamp was just reappointed to his second five-year term. Board members all welcomed Dr. NichSee NICHOLS Page 2A
MADISON – The Interstate 565 widening project that eventually will make it easier to travel between the Decatur area and Madison County is expected to start this week, a state official said. Clint Baker, an Alabama Department of Transportation design engineer, told the Decatur-area Metropolitan Planning Organization last Tuesday that Reed Construction crews were putting up warning signs last week for the $14.3 million project.
The project will resurface about 6 miles of I-565 from just west of Exit 1 (Interstate 65) to just west of Exit 7 (County Line Road). Much of the widening will use existing shoulders to expand the highway to three travel lanes in each direction. “They plan to start (work) on the west end near Interstate 65 and move east,� Baker said. ALDOT spokesman Seth Burkett said Reed plans to start work in the eastbound lanes. He said the plan is to keep two lanes of See I-565 Page 2A
Traffic travels toward Decatur on Interstate 565 on Tuesday near the exit for Mooresville.
Madison Library to reopen June 15
Protest held in Madison over fatal 2019 shooting
By STAFF REPORTS
By STAFF REPORTS
MADISON – The Madison Public Library will reopen its doors to the public on Monday, but with limited occupancy to encourage social distancing. Officials with Huntsville-Madison County Public Library (HMCPL) say this is phase three of the library’s reopening plan. “After surveying nearly 2500 of our patrons, we found the thing they missed the most about the library was browsing the shelves. See LIBRARY Page 2A
MADISON – Last week was marked with protests over the tragic killing of George Floyd while he was being arrested in Minneapolis. While the demonstrations in Madison County were mostly confined to Huntsville, there was one protest in Madison -- this one for Dana Fletcher. Fletcher was shot and killed by Madison police on Oct. 27, 2019 at a Planet Fitness. The officers involved have since been justified in the shooting by an investigation from the Madison County Sheriff’s Office and District Attorney. See FLETCHER Page 2A
Play Ball!
CLASSIFIEDS FIND JOBS INSIDE: There are plenty of jobs within today’s classifieds pages. See page 4A.
INSIDE Record ............ 2A Editorial........... 5A Education ........ 6A Sports ............. 1B
Business ......... 3B Kids................. 5B Church ............ 6B Lifestyles ......... 7B
The Madison Public Library will reopen June 15 after being closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
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Co-Ed softball league registration now open - season begins June 29. Page 2B