SHINING THE LIGHT ON SELMA AND DALLAS COUNTY, ALABAMA August 1, 2019 | Volume 4, Issue 27
www.selmasun.com
BACK TO SCHOOL
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Solve Selma’s budget stalemate, solve Selma Residents have been standing up and speaking out at City Council meetings and behind the scenes, begging the mayor and city council to communicate with one another and agree on issues. But there’s really only one issue that needs to be solved that could end this seemingly never-ending stalemate, and that’s the budget. City leaders have locked horns for the last year over whether the city can operate under a $17 million budget. The City Council thinks it can, considering they’ve approved that amount consistently for years. The mayor thinks it’s not enough. In fact, he’s so sure he laid off 69 employees at the end of 2018 saying the city couldn’t cover their payroll. It’s coming up on budget season again, and Mayor Darrio Melton plans to, once again, propose a budget of $22 million, claiming that’s what it takes to provide services, cut grass, pay employees, etc. City leaders have the opportunity in the next few weeks
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as budget hearings are held to hammer out what is needed to run the city of Selma. Is it $17 million? $22 million? Or perhaps somewhere in between. Therein lies the compromise the city of Selma so desperately needs to move past this political standoff and become the city is it destined to be. Residents: Attend these budget hearings. Ask for the services you want. Be realistic about what services your city can afford. City leaders: Be real about the numbers. Accept that revenue may not be enough to support spending and consider ways to generate more revenue or make cuts. If neither side can agree, the city needs to admit they need help and bring in an unbiased, third-party financial expert. Approving a collaborative budget for 2019-2020 could break the city free of this stifling discord and move Selma forward before having to wait for an election to change the decision makers in power.
Karrigan Watts, age 9, and Ranaldo McCoy, age 10, show off the bookbags they received. More than 800 celebrated going back to school at the Michael Johnson 93-90
Foundation Family Fun Day and Back to School Giveaway 2019 on Saturday
at the YMCA of Selma-Dallas County.
READ MORE ON PAGE 2.
Morgan sixth grader’s TV baking appearance moved up to Aug. 5 Brooke Waters to compete on the Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship BY FRED GUARINO Selma Sun Staff
Selma’s Brooke Waters competes on Aug. 5 in the Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship.
Fame, a $25,000 prize, culinary school and life as a bakery chef could be in the future for Brooke Waters, who will compete for the title of Kids Baking Champion on The Food Network on Aug. 5 Brooke, an 11-year-old sixth grader at John T. Morgan Academy, said the show was filmed in the early summer in Los Angles. As with all television contest shows, Brooke was sworn to secrecy about the outcome of the competition or even what dish she prepared. Brooke said she liked to watch The Food Network and just decided to apply for the Kids Baking Championship competition. She said she received a phone call telling her she had been chosen to appear on the show. “I was very excited,” she said. Brooke told the Selma Sun she always liked to “help out with baking” and had seen the Kids Baking Championship on TV. She said after that, “I just started watching YouTube videos, and I just went from there.” She said she bakes lots of things, but her favorite thing is to decorate cakes. “I usually make a lot of cakes, but I like to bake blondies, brownies and macarons, cookies and different things,” she said. Her mother, Kellee, said she and her husband, Terry, are
just “super proud” of Brooke “for following though and having the confidence in herself to even apply for the show.” Brooke is something of a miracle herself. Kellee said Brooke was born at 27 weeks, weighing 2 pounds, 3 ounces. She stayed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit for nine and a half weeks. Kellee said she and her husband are thankful for the technology and all the doctors and NICU nurses and everyone who helped take care of her. “We and thankful to God that she is just normal and healthy,” Kellee Waters said. Brooke said her favorite subject in school is “probably math because baking has a lot of math in it.” She said she wants to go to culinary school and own a bakery when she grows up. The Kids Baking Championship will premiere on Aug. 5 and will air on Mondays until mid-September. According to The Food Network, The Kids Baking Championship will test the skills of nine talented young bakers, including Waters, who range in age from 10 to 13, in difficult dessert challenges to see who will measure up in the competition. Only one will take the cake and the sweet grand prize of $25,000, a feature in Food Network Magazine, and the title of Kids Baking Champion. Valerie Bertinelli and Duff Goldman will host the show.
“Viewers will be amazed by the baking abilities of this fresh batch of young bakers as they work through exciting new challenges featuring the latest dessert trends,” said Courtney White, Food Network president. “Duff and Valerie add to the fun as they throw surprising curveballs, setting the bar even higher.” Throughout the season, the kid contestants show off their skills and creativity as they whisk through new confectionary challenges, from hedgehog poke cakes, to intricate pie art and to giant doughnut cakes. The classic imposter dessert challenge returns, as well, with a new surprising international twist, and the bakers will also have to tackle other delectable desserts including creative out-of-this-world cakes, sweets, and scrumptious snacks. On the premiere, the bakers must use art as inspiration to create two-layer splatter cakes. Each baker must also choose a paint can to reveal what fla-
vor their cake must be, such as chocolate chip, lemon, coconut, red velvet, and banana. The baker that crumbles under the pressure will be eliminated. The championship will conclude as one talented baker will rise to the top in the grand finale. In addition to Brooke, Kids Baking Championship competitors are: Trevin Alford of Washington, Ind., age 13; Tori Church, Nashville, Tenn., age 12; Sophia Elrod, Nashville, Tenn., age 10; Tarek Husseini, St. Louis, Mo., age 13; Taylor Pusha, Roanoke, Va., age 12; Dharma Sabapathy Austin, Texas, age 11; Brady Stewart, San Angelo, Texas, age 12; Sophie Tate, Stansbury Park, Utah; age 12. Fans can relive the most dramatic, creative, and adorable moments with video and photo highlights at FoodNetwork.com/ KidsBakingChampionship. Baking tips and other features are available at #KidsBakingChampionship.
The air date for the Kids Baking Championship, previously announced as Monday, Aug. 12, has been changed to Monday, Aug. 5 at 8 p.m. on the Food Network.
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