Alabama Living WEC January 2013

January 2013 • POWERING YOUR COMMUNITY

Wiregrass Electric Cooperative

Helping Pay the Way

Wiregrass Electric has

recently started its Energy Efficient Loan Program

Lending a Hand

WEC teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to help a Samson resident improve her home and lower her power bill

THEN AND NOW www.wiregrass.coop

Alabama’s ‘Riviera’ Rural Post Offices: uncertain future?

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Vol. Vol. 66 66 No.1 No.1 January January 2013 2013

Lıvıng

CEO

Michael McWaters Co-Op Editor

Cary Hatcher Alabama Living is delivered to some 420,000 Alabama families and businesses, which are members of 22 not-for-profit, consumer-owned, locally directed and taxpaying electric cooperatives. AREA cooperative member subscriptions are $3 a year; non-member subscriptions, $6.

Alabama Living (USPS 029-920) is published monthly by the Alabama Rural Electric Association of Cooperatives.

Periodicals postage paid at Montgomery, Alabama, and at additional mailing office.

POSTMASTER send forms 3579 to: Alabama Living, P.O. Box 244014 Montgomery, Alabama 36124-4014.

Alabama Rural Electric Association

AREA President Fred Braswell Editor Lenore Vickrey Managing Editor Melissa Henninger Creative Director Mark Stephenson Art Director Michael Cornelison Advertising Director Adam Freeman Advertising Coordinator Brooke Davis Recipe Editor Mary Tyler Spivey ADVERTISING & EDITORIAL OFFICES:

340 TechnaCenter Drive Montgomery, Alabama 36117-6031 1-800-410-2737 E-mail: advertising@areapower.com www.areapower.coop

7 Save Money

by Improving Your Home!

Lowering your power bill doesn’t have to be complicated. Wiregrass Electric offers simple tips to keep the cold out this winter.

12 Redneck Riviera stars in historian’s book The Rise and Fall of the Redneck Riviera looks at the evolving history and culture of the Gulf Coast, from Mobile Bay and Gulf Shores to Panama City.

16 Rural mail delivery faces unsure future The Postal Service’s restructuring has left the fate of Alabama’s rural post offices, as well as those in other states, uncertain.

NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE:

departments

National Country Market 611 South Congress Ave., Suite 504 Austin, Texas 78704 1-800-626-1181 www.nationalcountrymarket.com www.alabamaliving.coop

Alabama Living

JanuaryTOC.indd 42

Spotlight 10 Power Pack 20 Worth the Drive 22 Alabama Gardens 24 Alabama Outdoors 26 Cook of the Month 29 Fish&Game Forecast 38 Alabama Snapshots 9

USPS 029-920 • ISSN 1047-0311

Printed in America from American materials

ON THE COVER

Recently, WEC employees, including Jessie Ingram and Deanna Albritton, teamed up with Habitat for Humanity to help a Samson resident improve her home (Page 6).

Crew members from Wiregrass Electric recently returned from Virginia where they helped with the devastation left

by Hurricane Sandy (Page 8).

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Wiregrass Electric Cooperative

CEO’s Comments

Few changes for 2013

Board of Trustees

Michael S. McWaters

CEO of Wiregrass Electric Cooperative Kip Justice District 6 President

Danny McNeil District 4 Vice President

Debra E. Baxley District 1 Secretary

Donna Parrish District 2

John Clark, Jr. District 3

Tracy Reeder District 5

Donald Ray Wilks District 7

Greg McCullough District 8

Nolan Laird District 9

4 january 2013

Jan WEC Alabama Living.indd 4

I

f you read my column in the December issue, you may remember that — at the time of my writing — I didn’t know the outcome of the election due to the magazine’s printing deadlines. Well, it’s the last week in November as I write this and, like you, I know for certain who won the race to become president of the United States. Whether the election results left you jubilant or downhearted, there is one thing for certain — very few things have actually changed.

What do I mean? Well, first and foremost, we are still the greatest country on Earth, and you and I still live in one of the best regions of that country. We are still surrounded by family and friends who love and support us, and we still have many opportunities — and even luxuries — that millions of the people around the world could only dream of. If you are able to actually read these words, if you can see them clearly because of the light in your home or office, and you’ve eaten at least one good meal today, consider yourself blessed: too many people will go to bed tonight malnourished, illiterate and impoverished.

Yes, these are uncertain times, with things like government regulations and fiscal cliffs to worry about. But I want to begin 2013 on a positive note by saying I am extremely excited about the coming months. And not just because of the blessings I mentioned above.

I am also excited about the position and condition of your cooperative. Over the past few years, your leadership at Wiregrass Electric Cooperative has made some decisions that have, at times, been difficult — but every one of those decisions was made in the best interest of the cooperative as a whole. And we are now seeing the direct benefit of those decisions.

For example, we committed to a rigorous

right-of-way maintenance program that has taken a great deal of time to develop and implement. Today, we have completed a whole cycle and are seeing fewer outages caused by trees and undergrowth. We devoted the resources to install a complex outage management system, and now we have more control over our system than ever before — which means outages happen less frequently and are restored faster. We invested time and money into converting our old metering system to the Auto-Meter system; payback of that investment has happened faster than anyone could have hoped, as it’s brought tremendous time- and money-saving benefits to WEC. These are just a few examples to illustrate why I’m excited about 2013 and beyond for Wiregrass Electric, its members and the region we serve. Your cooperative is on sound financial footing. We have technology in place that enables us to operate efficiently, thereby controlling operating costs (the only part of your monthly bill we actually control).

We have a board of trustees made up of men and women who believe in WEC’s mission and want to do what is right for the future of this cooperative and its members. And we have been blessed with some of the greatest employees you will find at any cooperative in the country — men and women committed to doing what it takes to take care of you.

I know 2013 will be no different in that we’ll still face challenges as a cooperative, as an industry and as a region. But I truly believe that with our employees, our technology, our financial strength and our leadership, WEC is in the best possible position any company could hope to be in to meet those challenges.

Thank you for your support of WEC. Let’s work together to make this a great new year for the Wiregrass region! A

www.wiregrass.coop

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Your Cooperative Contact Information

Undeliverable Capital Credit refund checks available for pickup As a cooperative, Wiregrass Electric does not earn profits like private corporations. Instead, WEC is member-owned, and as a member you are entitled to a share of the margins earned by selling electric services. We refer to these margins as capital credits, and they reflect each member’s ownership in WEC. When these funds are not needed for dayto-day operations, WEC issues a capital credit refund. The cooperative mailed these checks to our members; however, several of those checks have been returned undeliverable.

We have posted the names from all undeliverable checks on our website (www. wiregrass.coop) and at all WEC offices. If you did not receive a capital credit refund this year, please check these sources for your name.

If your name is listed, please call 800239-4602, or come to the Hartford office for instructions on how to claim your check.

You will need some documentation to claim a check: You must provide a valid driver’s license or state-issued ID if you are the member of record.

If the member of record is deceased, you must provide a death certificate plus one of the following: 1. Letters of Administration, or 2. Letters of Testamentary, or 3. If you do not have item 1 or 2, please provide evidence that you are the legal and authorized representative of the estate.

This information must be presented at WEC’s Hartford office. If you have any questions, please contact us at 800-239-4602. A

Need help paying for college?

Apply for the Electric Cooperative Scholarship!

Wiregrass Electric Cooperative offers a scholarship opportunity to help high school seniors achieve their goal of attending college.

Area high school seniors who are a dependent of a WEC member have an opportunity to apply for a $1,000 scholarship through the Electric Cooperative Foundation.

Each year, the foundation awards scholarships to deserving seniors from each cooperative represented. Any eligible high school senior entering an accredited learning institution as a full-time student may apply.

Seniors may receive an application from their high school guidance counselor, at any WEC office, or online at www.wiregrass.coop.

Alabama Living

Jan WEC Alabama Living.indd 5

The deadline for completed applications will be in March 2013. Please see next month’s Alabama Living for the exact date! A

Business Phone: 1-800-239-4602 (24 hrs/day) Office: Mon. – Fri. 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

(Samson closed 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.)

Toll Free Outage “Hotline” 1-888-4-MY-OUTAGE 1-888-469-6882 (24 hrs/day) Website www.wiregrass.coop Find Wiregrass Electric Co-op on Twitter (twitter.com/wec2) and on Facebook

Payment Options

BY MAIL Wiregrass Electric Cooperative, Inc. Department 1340, P.O. Box 2153 Birmingham, AL 35287-1340 WEBSITE Payments may be made 24 hrs/day by Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, and E-Check on our website at www.wiregrass.coop.

PHONE PAYMENTS Payments may be made any time by dialing 1-800-239-4602.

NIGHT DEPOSITORY Available at each office location.

IN PERSON Mon. – Fri. 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

Hartford 509 N. State Hwy. 167 Hartford, AL 36344 Samson 13148 W. State Hwy. 52 Samson, AL 36477 Closed from 12 p.m - 1 p.m.

Ashford 1066 Ashford Highway, Ashford, AL 36312 Dothan 6167 Fortner St. Dothan, AL 36305 For questions regarding sanitation service, call Houston County Sanitation Department at 334-677-4705.

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Wiregrass employees continue commitment to their community by participating in

Like WEC on Facebook for a chance to win $50 If you click to “like” Wiregrass Electric Cooperative’s profile on Facebook during the month of January, you will be automatically entered into a drawing for $50. Finding WEC on Facebook is easy, and becoming a fan will allow you to see important updates about your cooperative whenever you check your Facebook account.

Here’s how to enter:

1

Open www.facebook.com in your browser or on your smartphone.

2

On the top of the page, enter “Wiregrass Electric Co-op” into the search bar and press enter.

3

At the top of our page, next to the words “Wiregrass Electric Co-op,” press the “Like” button.

That’s it! If you are a WEC member, you will be entered into a drawing for $50! The drawing will be held Feb. 15, and the winner will be announced on Facebook and in Alabama Living!

6 January 2013

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World Habitat Day On Oct. 1, Wiregrass Electric Cooperative and Wiregrass Habitat for Hu m an it y te am e d up again to improve the life of someone in the community.

Throughout the day, WEC employees helped Willa Ree Davis of Samson make improvements to her home, including upgrading the doors, caulking windows and upgrading insulation.

“My electric bill runs so high because of the way this house is made,” says Davis.

“If there is any way to reduce the amount of electricity WEC employees helped Samson member Willa Ree Davis improve her home by making it use less I use, that would help me electricity. tremendously.” Davis is currently caring for her granddaughter from the elements and to reduce the Christin after the death of her daughter amount of energy required for heating last year. Her husband, Grover, has and cooling. Improvements up to $3,000 Alzheimer’s disease. may be made per household to correct “They’re wonderful people at issues such as drafts or inadequate Habitat,” says Davis, “I feel that they are insulation. called by God to want to help people.”

“The insulation you use can make The theme for World Habitat a large difference in your home,” says Day 2012 was “Many Homes, One Deanna Albritton, energy services Community,” which focuses on decent, consultant at WEC. “It can save you affordable housing and the vital role anywhere from $10 to $50 a month it plays in community development. depending on what type you install.”

WHD 2012 was aimed at showing “Wiregrass Electric is proud the importance of energy-efficient, to partner with Habitat to bring affordable housing to a neighborhood’s improvements to our members’ progress. homes,” says Brad Kimbro, director of WEC has already partnered with member services for WEC. “Through Habitat for Humanity over the last our Weatherization Program, members two years to bring the “Habitat are able to make improvements that Weatherization Program” to its will reduce their energy use, thereby members. This program assists qualified reducing their electric bill and making homeowners in making improvements their living conditions more comfortable to protect their home and its interior at the same time.” A

www.wiregrass.coop

12/18/12 9:17 AM

Energy Tips

Save money on your power bill with these simple fixes from Wiregrass Electric Winter can mean cold nights and more electricity used to keep the house warm. If you do not want to be surprised by your winter electric bills, take these steps to keep your energy use in check. Just a few small changes made over a weekend can save you money on your electric bill — not just this winter, but all year long.

For more tips, visit our website and download our Energy Savers Booklet (www.wiregrass.coop/myservices/ conservation.aspx), or if you would like a trained expert to perform a free home inspection, call Wiregrass Electric at 800-239-4602.

and many of the other suggestions in this article.

Make sure windows and doors are properly sealed with weather strips.

This helps keep warm air from escaping your home and keeps the cold air out. The less your heating system has to run, the less electricity you will use each day.

Change the air filters throughout your home.

Check the insulation in your home.

Insulation stops the transfer of air between warm and cool spaces. If you want your house to stay warm, you need insulation to help keep the heat inside your home. Many older homes were built without proper insulation, so this energy tip is especially important if you live in a home built before 1980. To find out exactly how much insulation you need, go to our website at www. wiregrass.coop and click on “Access My Account.” From there, click on “Home Energy Calculator.” After entering a few details about your home, you will get detailed information about insulation

be controlled remotely through an app on your smartphone.

Your energy bill goes up whenever your central unit has to work harder to pump air throughout your house.

A clogged air filter will block the circulation of air. Changing the air filter is the easiest way to stop that from happening. Many HVAC manufacturers recommend that you replace them once a month. A great way to remember this is to change your filter every time you get your monthly WEC statement.

Install a programmable thermostat.

Program the thermostat to keep your home a few degrees cooler than usual while you’re away from your home, and then set it to warm up when you arrive home each evening. This way, the unit will not use as much energy while you are at work. Some thermostats can even

Use Ceiling Fans.

Turning on the ceiling fans in every room can greatly reduce the amount of electricity used to regulate the temperature of your home. In the winter, fans keep the warm air lower (where you are) and help the cool air escape. While it’s true that you must use electricity to run these fans, they take far less power than a large central conditioning unit. Just be sure to switch their rotation back in the spring!

Get your chimney cleaned out.

E ach winter, thousands of fires are caused by people using a fireplace with an obstructed chimney. Don’t put your family at risk.

Call to have this taken care of before you start using the fireplace this winter. Once you are able to start it safely, a fireplace can help reduce the amount of electricity you use to heat your home. To find a trained chimney sweep, visit the Chimney Safety Institute of America at www.csia.org. A

Alabama Living january 2013 7

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WEC Happenings

WEC assists Virginia Cooperatives in wake of

Hurricane Sandy Wiregrass Electric linemen work every day to make a difference across our area. Recently, they were able to make a difference hundreds of miles away. In the wake of mega-storm Hurricane Sandy, WEC sent a serviceman and a fourman crew on Oct. 27 to Rappahannock Electric Cooperative and Prince George Electric Cooperative in Virginia to help restore power.

“With the help of your crews, along with other cooperatives and contractors, REC was able to restore power to more than 24,000 members in a timely and efficient manner,” says Kent Farmer, CEO of Rappahannock Electric Cooperative. “Thanks to the additional assistance, we completed the task within four days.”

Cooperatives across Virginia and up into New York and New Jersey called on crews from across the country to assist in restoring electric service even before Sandy was moving up the East coast.

The Alabama Rural Electric Association (AREA) coordinated assistance from 21 crews of 137 men from 16 of Alabama’s electric cooperatives.

“That’s the great thing about cooperatives — we really live up to our name,” says Lenore Vickrey, vice president of communications for AREA. “Everyone pitches in. We all work together on this, and these guys know each other.”

“We send crews to help out our neighboring states whenever there is a disaster,” says Jerry Sorrells, manager of

Thank you to the members of of WEC’s line crew who assisted those without power in Virginia: Jeff Harper, Johnny Hudson, Tim Sanders, Bobby Shelley and Mark Croom.

operations at WEC. “We always know it could be us dealing with a hurricane next. WEC’s crew members are a dedicated group that want to help in whatever way they can to get the lights back on for the people in Virginia and further north.” A

Your High School Junior could earn a FREE trip to Montgomery or D.C.!

Wiregrass Electric Cooperative is searching for outstanding high school juniors to represent our area at the Washington Youth Tour in June and the Montgomery Youth Tour in March.

Week-long, all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C., June 14 - 20 Montgomery Youth Tour is a three-day trip to our state’s capital with tours, leadership workshops and entertainment, March 5 - 7 Meet elected officials, hear speakers, meet teens from across the state or country and take part in many exciting activities.

Deadline for entry is Jan. 15, 2013!

“Through Youth Tour, my son Antany was able to make so many friends with people that, otherwise, he never would have met. He came away with experiences that will last the rest of his life. It’s a phenomenal opportunity. I’d encourage everyone to apply!”

- Kesha Hollinger

To be eligible, at least one parent or legal guardian must be a member of Wiregrass Electric Cooperative

For information and application:

8 January 2013

Jan WEC Alabama Living.indd 8

PICK UP

EMAIL

at any WEC office

wec@wiregrass.coop

CLICK

www.wiregrass.coop (and click to visit us on Facebook!)

www.wiregrass.coop

12/18/12 9:17 AM

Spot Light

In January

Jan. 25-27

Pike Piddlers gather for storytelling The Pike Piddlers Storytelling Festival begins Friday, Jan. 25 with supper and stories at the We Piddle Above left: Audience members laugh during a performance at the Pike Piddlers Around Theater in Brundidge and continues with Storytelling Festival. Above: Donald Davis, the “Dean of Storytelling,” gets into his three storytelling concerts (10 a.m. and 2 and 6:30 performance at the We Piddle Around Theater. p.m.) at Troy University’s Trojan Center Theater in Troy. The festival features four of the country’s top storytellers, including Donald Davis, “the Dean of Storytelling.”

Storytelling concerts include pre-show music by popular old-time music bands. Admission for supper event is $25. Other concerts are $10. For more information, call 334-670-6302, or visit www.piddle.org.

Jan. 4-Feb. 17

State park preps for ‘Eagle Awareness’ Eagle Awareness Weekends will be Jan. 4 to Feb. 17 in Guntersville and will feature live bird of prey shows with guest speakers from all over the southeast, and field trips to a bald eagle nesting site as well as other nature-based trips.

There also will be an informative orientation program/apple cider social with live music and food at Lake Guntersville State Park Resort. Call 256-571-5440 or visit www.alapark. com/lakeguntersville/EagleAwareness/ for more details.

Alabama Food book available for purchase The Alabama Food book is now available for purchase and features more than 225 restaurants and profiles 11 of the state’s award-winning chefs including Chris Hastings, Frank Stitt, James Boyce, Chris Lilly, Wesley True, Bob Baumhower, Lucy Buffett, Chris Dupont, James Lewis, Nick Pihakis and Patricia “Sister” Schubert.

Alabama Living

The hardcover book also has sections devoted to farmers markets, u-pick-it farms, food festivals, and Alabama wines and craft beers. Alabama Food is the official book for the Alabama Tourism Department’s “The Year of Alabama Food” promotion. It is available at the Governor’s Mansion Gift Shop, The Goathill Museum

Store inside the Alabama State Capitol in Montgomery, Books-AMillion and at Amazon.com.

The retail price is $20. january 2013 9

Power Pack

A ‘raise’ for people who receive Social Security benefits

By Kylle’ McKinney

As we ring in a new year, we can expect to see a number of changes. Social Security is no exception; in 2013, people who receive Social Security or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments will see their benefits increase.

Beginning in 2013, a 1.7 percent costof-living adjustment (COLA) was applied to all Social Security and SSI payments.

The average monthly Social Security benefit for a retired worker in 2013 is $1,261 (up from $1,240 in 2012) and the average monthly Social Security benefit for a disabled worker in 2013 is $1,132 (up from $1,113 in 2012). These changes were reflected in SSI payments dated Dec. 31, 2012 and Social Security payments dated in Jan. 2013.

For people who receive SSI, the maxi-

mum federal payment amount has risen to $710 (up from $698).

Other Social Security changes in 2013 are worth noting. For example, a worker now pays McKinney Social Security tax on up to $113,700 of annual income (up from $110,100 in 2012). A worker earns one credit after paying taxes on $1,160 in earnings in 2013 (up from $1,130). As always, a worker may earn a maximum of four credits each year and a person generally needs 40 credits (or ten years of work) to be eligible for retirement benefits.

The Retirement Earnings Test Exempt Amount for 2013 is $15,120/yr (up from $14,640/yr in 2012). Note: One dollar in

benefits will be withheld for every $2 in earnings above the limit. In the year an individual reaches full retirement age the earnings limit for 2013 is $40,080/yr (up from $38,880/yr in 2012). Note: Applies only to earnings for months prior to attaining full retirement age. One dollar in benefits will be withheld for every $3 in earnings above the limit. There is no limit on earnings beginning the month an individual attains full retirement age.

To learn more about these and other changes, visit the Social Security website at www.socialsecurity.gov, and read our fact sheet about the changes at www. socialsecurity.gov/pressoffice/factsheets/ colafacts2013.htm.

Kylle’ McKinney, SSA Public Affairs specialist, can be reached in Montgomery at 866-593-0914, ext. 26265, or by e-mail at kylle.mckinney@ssa.gov.

Emerson ‘honored’ to serve as new NRECA CEO The National Rural Electric Association (NRECA) Board of Directors has announced that U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-Mo.) will assume the role of NRECA CEO effective March 1. Emerson will be the fifth CEO in NRECA’s 71-year history.

“We conducted an exhaustive search to identify the very best individual to lead a great association,” says NRECA Board President Mike Guidry of Louisiana. “We found that person in Jo Ann Emerson. Her background as a member of Congress and a trade association executive—coupled with her extensive knowledge of the issues facing electric cooperatives and rural America—make her eminently qualified to lead NRECA and represent the interests of its members. The respect she has from both sides of the aisle and her proven ability to bridge political and policy divides and find common ground will serve us well.”

Emerson, first elected to the U.S. 10 january 2013

House in 1996 from Missouri’s 8th Congressional District, most recently served on the House Appropriations Committee and as chairman of the Financial Emerson Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee, which has oversight of the U.S. Treasury, the Internal Revenue Service, and various independent federal agencies, including the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Communications Commission, the General Services Administration, and the Small Business Administration. In addition, she has taken a leadership role on agriculture, health care, and government reform issues during her congressional career and won recognition for her work on energy, including being presented

with the NRECA Distinguished Service Award in 2006.

Along with her committee posts, Emerson also serves as co-chairman of the Tuesday Group, a council of House GOP centrists; is a member of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly; and holds a position on the board of the Congressional Hunger Center.

“Without reliable, affordable electricity delivered by electric cooperatives serving thousands of communities, millions of Americans would be left without the energy that brings economic opportunity, unsurpassed quality of life, and the promise of growth in the future,” says Emerson. “NRECA is committed to the electric cooperatives of this great nation, and works hard every day to improve the quality of life for their consumermembers. I am very honored to join an outstanding organization to work on their behalf.”

www.alabamaliving.coop

State’s severe weather tax holiday set for February Alabama will observe its second severe weather sales tax holiday during the last weekend of February. From 12:01 a.m.

Friday, Feb. 22, until midnight, Sunday, Feb. 24, the state of Alabama will waive its four percent sales tax on certain items needed to prepare for severe weather emergencies.

Because Alabama experiences tornado season from March to August and hurricane season from June to November, having the tax holiday in February comes at an ideal time for Alabamians to stock up on emergency supplies. The state’s first severe weather sales tax holiday occurred in July. Beginning in 2013, the holiday will be the final weekend of February each year.

Many of the items Alabamians can buy tax free during the three-day tax holiday can be found on recommended lists of supplies that every home or office should have on hand in case of a weather emergency. The American Red Cross recom-

mends all residents or businesses have an emergency kit that includes a flashlight; a battery­powered or hand­crank radio, such as a NOAA Weather Radio; extra batteries; a first-aid kit; cell phone charger; two-way radios; a manual can opener; plastic sheeting; duct tape; and tools and supplies for securing your home, such as tie-down kits, bungee cords or rope. The Federal Emergency Management agency recommended list includes those items, plus a fire extinguisher, among other items.

During the sales tax holiday weekend, the state’s four-percent sales tax will be waived on the items mentioned above plus other common emergency supplies that cost $60 or less as well as portable generators valued at $1,000 or less.

City and county governments also have the option to waive their sales taxes on the covered items, which could bring the total savings for consumers to as much as 10 percent, depending on where they shop. The deadline for cities and counties to inform the state if they plan to opt into the sales tax holiday is Jan. 22.

Alabama retailers are required to participate in the state’s sales tax holidays and cannot charge any waived sales taxes on the items that are legally tax-exempt during a tax holiday.

Where to find out more: An easy resource for consumers to find out more about the severe weather sales tax holiday is: www.alabamaretail.org/ alabamasalestaxholiday/.

Wild game: A healthy (and less expensive) choice

By Frank Allen Area Wildlife Biologist, Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries

Much of the meat on Alabama dinner tables used to be wild game that was harvested for the family. As the cost of living continues to increase, some people find financial relief by lowering their grocery bill with the addition of nature’s bounty.

Rabbits, quail, turkeys, doves, deer, waterfowl and squirrels are just a few examples of wild game that can be harvested, stored and prepared for meals.

Abundant game, coupled with liberal hunting seasons and bag limits, allows endless opportunities for hunters to fill the freezer. Wild game offers a healthy alternative to domestic animal products because they are generally lower in fats and higher in protein, vitamins and minerals. Sound ethics demand that a hunter eats what he harvests and to do

Alabama Living

otherwise would be both unethical and a missed opportunity for a dining delight.

Animals found in nature provide wholesome, nourishing food, but they should be handled and preserved carefully to retain quality. One reason Alabamians now consume more meats that are slaughtered, dressed and packaged by someone else is because we are inexperienced in preparing wild game. Freezing, curing and smoking, drying, canning and sausage-making are all viable options. When someone claims they don’t like the taste of game meat, it’s probably because they have not had correctly cared for and properly prepared wild game. Countless resources are available online to assist hunters with game care, preservation, preparation and recipes.

Even though wild game meats are generally more nutritious and safer than domestic meats, natural resource managers recommend not consuming any ani-

mal that shows signs of unusual behavior or any sign Venison is low in fat, making that may this venison chili a healthy addition to the family menu. indicate a diseased Recipe available at www. animal. outdooralabama.com.

Food from the wild is not exposed to inoculants, hormones or preservatives. Some game meat is higher in dietary cholesterol than domestic meats, but the combination of lean muscle tissue, fewer calories, less saturated fat and significantly higher percentage of cholesterol-reducing polyunsaturated fatty acids makes wild game meat a heart-healthy choice.

For additional information, email frank.allen@dcnr.alabama.gov.

january 2013 11

Author captures history and evolving culture of the Gulf Coast “The best guide yet to a geographic region that is also a cultural state of mind.”

– Howell Raines, author of My Soul is Rested

By Lenore Vickrey

W

hen chilly winter days keep you that that’s what it’s called,” Jackson says. says, really started after World War II. Beindoors, what better way to warm “In some cases, it’s just like tourist attrac- fore then, Orange Beach and Gulf Shores up than to read a book about Ala- tions that have always been there. It’s been had survived “on fishing and a trickle of bama’s Gulf Coast? Jacksonville State Uni- manipulated. Like at Lulu’s (the popular tourists from not too far away, vacationers versity history professor Harvey H. Jackson coastal restaurant owned by Lucy Buffett, who came down to swim a little, fish a little, III has published an affectionate look at that sister of Jimmy Buffett), they’ve got ‘red- drink a little, eat raw oysters, buy somevery area, The Rise and Decline of the Red- neck caviar’ on the menu, which is really thing tacky at a local shop and generally neck Riviera, that examines the history and a type of salsa, but Lulu’s is anything but do things they could not do back home.” culture of the stretch of coast from Mobile redneck.”

But after the war, more people came, Bay and Gulf Shores to Panama City.

“Part of what the book is about is how bringing with them the culture of the postA native of Grove Hill in Clarke County, people, in a sense, tried to disassociate war rising middle class who coordinated Jackson had an early love for the beach area themselves from the name,” Jackson told their trips with their children’s vacations. that began during childhood visits, “Efficiencies and cottages were especially popular, for restaurants were and today he considers it his second few, and to most visitors they were home. His affection comes through places for the occasional treat, not for in the 300-plus page work that, as reviewer Theresa Shadrix notes in The every meal. So they came loaded with Jacksonville News, will make you want groceries, and many a family lived the to go to the Alabama coastline “even week on fried bologna sandwiches if you’re not a redneck.” and what they caught in the Gulf.”

Jackson first read of the term As the tourist economy grew, the “Redneck Riviera” in the New York season between Memorial Day and Times in 1978, when writer Howell Labor Day became a lucrative time Raines of Birmingham wrote a story for local businesses. By 1960, the migration of students on spring break about how former Alabama and then had begun, fueled by the release of pro-football quarterbacks Kenny Stabler and Richard Todd spent their “Where the Boys Are” in movie theaters that year. What was once hunoff-season on a “stretch of beach that dreds of students had grown to thousome Alabama wags call the Redneck sands invading the beaches, and the Riviera.”

Little girl plays in the sand at Gulf Shores , circa 1970s. coast saw yet another tourist season The term itself had been in use in Courtesy Alabama Department of Archives and History born. the Orange Beach area for years, Jackson says, and the story goes that there was WELD, a Birmingham newspaper. “On To accommodate the expanding toura local musician and lounge owner named the other hand, you’ve got people who are ist market, more and more motels were Madison “Shine” Powell who sang a song tremendously proud of it and very affec- built, Jackson says, usually one or twoabout it. Jackson was later told that Stabler, tionate about it. You’ve got developments stories high with less than 100 units with a frequent patron at Sam & Shine’s, himself like Sandestin, which advertise, ‘You’ve a café or bar. They were close to putt-putt coined the phrase and then Powell wrote heard about the Redneck Riviera. Well, it golf, an amusement park or the “Hangout” the song. Murky as the history of the term is no more.’ Then you’ve got places like the “where in the summer teenagers danced may be, it has endured. Some Gulf Coast Flora-Bama, the Green Knight in Destin and short-lived romances flourished.” There residents like it, while others resent it, and and a number of other places that have al- was a “nest of honkey-tonks that included that diversity of opinion is illustrative of ways sort of thrived on the redneck, sort of the Pink Pony Pub at the Gulf Shores end outlaw-ish image.” and the Flora-Bama at the other.” what the book explores.

The “rise” of Alabama’s Riviera, Jackson This was the “Riviera” that Raines found “Everyone pretty well accepts the fact

12 JANUARY 2013

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The Hangout was one of many Gulf Shores structures damaged by Hurricane Frederic in 1979. Cour tesy

of the Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Man uscr ipt Library, Univ ersit y of Sout h Alabama

in 1979, was The Gulf Shores Hangout, shown here before Hurricane Frederic hit Book and a popular spot for teenagers. Courtesy of the Doy Leale McCall Rare Manuscr ipt Library, Universi ty of South Alabama

Signs welcoming “snowbirds” to Gulf Shores, 1974.

Courtes y of the Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscr ipt Library, Universi ty of South Alabama

1960s Gulf Shores beach scene from the postcard collection of the Alabama Departm ent of Archives and History.

The annual Mullet Toss is a favorite Gulf Coast event.

Alabama Living

cottages of Shores beach, 1948. Typical beach Girls from Grove Hill, Ala., at Gulf ke Coun ty Demo crat Clar the of tesy Cour nd. that era can be seen in the backgrou

JANUARY 2013 13

in 1978, and Jackson says, “There was no more beautiful place on the planet.”

Readers have told him some of their favorite parts are the chapters about spring break that reminded them of the fun they had as teenagers. “They’d been on spring break, they understood that,” he says. “A lot of people also identified with the two bars I mention that were typical of the area, the Green Knight and the Flora-Bama. In the ‘70s and ‘80s there was a sort of ‘redneck chic’ associated with them.”

Then came the storm

A year after Raines wrote about the region in the New York Times, on September 12, 1979, Hurricane Frederic hit the Alabama coast with 120 MPH winds and a record storm surge. “Much of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach washed away,” Jackson remembers. “After the hurricane, coastal folks learned what is now general knowledge. Storms destroy, but they also clear the ground for builders to build.

That is what happened on Alabama’s redneck Riviera.”

Credit was easy to obtain and banks were all too happy to help Baby Boomers who wanted their little piece of sand, Jackson says. Developers built condominiums and resort hotels and in less than 20 years, the coastline had vastly changed as Gulf Shores and Orange Beach became the destination for more than 1 million tourists. Many of them were, and still are, “snowbirds,” northern residents seeking warm weather in the winter at prices less than they’d have to pay further south. Condo and cottage absentee owners liked winter income from

rentals, and in many cases the “snowbirds” have come to resemble those same middle class southerners who arrived on the beaches after World War II. Jackson notes that the presence of the snowbirds “were just one more indication of the slow and steady reinvention of the redneck Riviera, a change characterized by the emergence of more sophisticated resort communities filled with upscale second homes and high rise condominiums, along with the economic infrastructure to support and entertain owners and renters.”

The building boom didn’t last, of course. Jackson notes towards the end of the book that the economic recession hit the coastal real estate market particularly hard as speculative investors quit investing and the condo market collapsed.

Yet as prices fell, bargains began to pop up and real estate companies have begun to note the “return of more traditional clients,” Jackson says, perhaps signaling a return to the Redneck Riviera of old. He quotes Sheila Hodges of Meyer Real Estate in Gulf Shores who notes, “Baldwin’s coastline has always been a blue-collar vacation spot, and we’re seeing those buyers returning.”

Good reviews

Reaction to the book has been very favorable, Jackson says. “All the reviews have been good and no one’s called me up and said, ‘You sorry son of a gun.’”

He’s done several booksignings in Baldwin County and even corresponded with folks who found themselves in photos in the book. He’s not particularly kind to

developers in some of the chapters, and was nervous when one came up to him at a booksigning. “But he told me, ‘you got it right on the nose!’”

In the spring of 2010, Jackson was just about ready to wrap up his project, putting the finishing touches on what he thought would be the final chapter on a Supreme Court case involving renourishing the beach. But on April 20, an oil rig off the Louisiana coast exploded and sank, spilling millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf. Jackson’s book was delayed a year, as the final chapter now had to deal with the effects of the BP spill on the region, its economy, its people and their lives.

It wasn’t a chapter he wanted to write, but it had to be included as part of the evolving history of the region. But sales have gone so well that the book is in its second printing. A paperback edition is due out this spring.

And it would be just fine with Harvey Jackson if, the next time he strolls down the beach on Alabama’s coast, he sees row upon row of beach chairs whose occupants have their noses stuck in his book. A The Rise and Decline of the Redneck Riviera is available at bookstores, through the University of Georgia Press at ugapress. org, or at amazon.com.

The book’s author, Hardy Jackson, is professor and eminent scholar in history at Jacksonville State University.

Courtesy gulf shores /orange beach tourism

Left: Winners at the Baldwin County Speckled Trout Rodeo, sponsored by the Gulf Shores Lions Club, in 1951.

Center: Young girl atop a surfboard on Alabama beach, circa 1960-1970; 20 years later, high-rise condos, right, were a fixture.

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Alabama Living

january 2013  15

I

The Future of Mail Delivery in Rural America

By Marilyn Jones

16 JANUARY 2013

Alabama’s first VPO opened in Lester at the Barn Feed and Seed.

t seems hard to believe that an institution such as the U.S. Postal Service would be in dire financial straits. But, just like any other business, when income is less than operating costs, something has to give. In the case of mail delivery, what “something” will the American public have to do without?

According to Sandy Scott, a postal spokesperson based in Birmingham, USPS has lost much of its revenue to e-mail, electronic bill pay, online advertising, texting and instant messaging. The Postal Service processed and delivered 213 billion pieces of mail in 2006. In 2011 this total fell to 168 billion.

With declines not showing any signs of slowing and the fact that an average of 2,328 delivery points are added to its delivery network every day, you have the perfect storm. “Simply put, we’re delivering less mail to more addresses,” says Scott.

The Postal Service receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

“The Postal Service ended fiscal year 2012 (October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012) with a net loss of $15.9 billion, compared to a net loss of $5.1 billion for the same period last year,” she says.

So what does this mean to rural customers?

The Postal Presence

One of the proposals the Postal Service has on the table to help its cash-strapped business is five-day delivery. Saturday is thought to be the best day to eliminate carrier delivery because of its lower delivery volume and the fact most businesses and households surveyed in a national Gallup Poll indicated Saturday would be the least disruptive day to eliminate mail delivery.

Although the Postal Service has operated as an independent business since 1972, moving to five-day delivery is dependent on Congressional approval.

“Five-day delivery will help us continue to provide affordable service to the American people,” Scott says.

The good news is although there would be fiveday delivery, post offices would remain open six days a week. Rural customers also have the advantage of rural letter carriers. They are considered a post office on wheels providing nearly every service customers can get at a post office from stamps to purchasing money orders.

The Postal Service also is moving forward with a plan to keep rural post offices across the nation open by revising operating hours based on customer use.

Known as Post Plan, the process is a multi-phased approach over the next two years to be completed in September 2014. Affected customers will receive surveys and be invited to meetings to discuss their options prior to being notified when their post office hours will change.

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Nationwide, 4,336 post offices will be reduced to six hours a day; 6,870 post offices to four hours a day; and 1,975 post offices to two hours a day. Projected annual savings once the plan is implemented in the fall of 2014 is $.5 billion.

In Alabama, there are 254 small post offices on the Post Plan list; however, this is a preliminary list that requires additional review, analysis and verification, and is subject to change. This number reflects the fact the state is ranked 23rd in total population and has a proportionate number of post offices to serve its customers.

“In addition to preserving rural post offices, this is also part of the plan to return the organization to financial stability,” Scott adds. Access to the retail lobby and to post office boxes will remain unchanged, and the town’s ZIP Code and community identity will be retained.

The Postal Service also continues to pursue establishing Village Post Offices (VPO) in the communities affected by these changes. VPOs are located within existing businesses — convenience stores and other local establishments — and are managed by the proprietors. By being located inside conventional businesses and other places residents already frequent, VPOs offer Postal Service customers time-saving accessibility, and in most cases, longer hours than regular post offices. VPOs offer a range of postal products and services — the ones most used by customers — including post office boxes and stamps sales.

In addition to maintaining a retail network of more than 31,000 post offices, the Postal Service also provides online access to postal products and services through usps.com and more than 70,000 alternate access locations such as Walmart, Staples, Office Depot, Walgreens, Sam’s Club and Costco.

“Meeting the needs of postal customers is, and will always be, a top priority. We continue to balance that by better aligning service options with customer demands and reducing the cost to serve,” says Postmaster General and CEO Patrick R. Donahoe. “With that said, we’ve listened to our customers in rural America and we’ve heard them loud and clear — they want to keep their post office open.”

Throughout Alabama, rural residents depend on the Postal Service to deliver their letters, magazines and packages.

Alabama Living

Elkmont Rural Carrier Richard Posey picks up mail from a blue collection box at the Barn Feed and Seed in Lester.

JANUARY 2013 17

Citizens volunteer to ensure good water for all

By John N. Felsher

A

fter ending a career in the U.S. Army that took him all over the world, Dick Bronson retired as a colonel and moved to the shores of pristine Lake Martin

near Alexander City more than 30 years ago. While enjoying the outstanding recreational opportunities offered in eastern Alabama, the colonel also noted something he didn’t like – textile dye wastewater overloading a municipal wastewater treatment plant and entering the lake.

McDowell Environmental Center staffers Tyree Shelton and Lexi Hinchey get certified to test water chemistry on the banks of Clear Creek.

18 january 2013

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PhotOS BY ALABAMA WATER WATCH

Citizens in Blountsville learn to monitor water with Sergio Ruiz-Cordova of AWW.

“When we moved to the lake, we saw an environmental problem proach to train citizens to monitor conditions in their local waters. and tried to address it through normal channels,” Bronson recalls. Alabama has some of the best water in the country. Most of our “The plants had a permit to do what they were doing at the time, water is in relatively good shape, but unfortunately, we also have but we felt that what they were doing was not proper. We went to problems in some areas.” the city council and mayor before going to the Alabama Department Since 1992, AWW trained about 6,000 volunteers to conduct sciof Environmental Management. Several lawsuits went through the entific water quality monitoring. Coordinated by Auburn University, these volunteers across the state sample waters near their homes and court system before it was ultimately solved to our satisfaction.”

A group of citizens formed Lake Watch with Bronson as presi- periodically upload data to the AWW website. dent. Eventually, the group grew to about 300 members focused on “Our goal is to have a citizen monitor on every water body in Alabama,” Deutsch says. “Almost all of the major preserving water quality in Lake Martin and lakes in the state have at least one active waassociated streams. Eventually, Lake Watch ter monitoring group. We’ve conducted more members linked up with Alabama Water than 1,500 water quality monitoring workWatch (AWW), becoming charter monitors shops and hold about 70 to 90 sessions per working to change how the plants discharged year throughout the state. Workshops are free water into the lake. and earn continuing education credit with “Alabama Water Watch was the catalyst Auburn University.” for our scientific knowledge,” Bronson says.

These monitors physically and chemically “AWW was looking for a group to be trained test water several ways to determine pollution as water monitors. We became the first group Wendy Seesock trains Huntsville levels and sources. They test for the presence they trained as monitors.” citizens to do water chemistry testing. of harmful bacteria and evaluate the system Established in 1992 to improve both waPhoto courtesy of the Huntsville Times ter quality and water policy through citizen health by monitoring such biological indicamonitoring and action, AWW trains volunteers to serve as monitors tors as aquatic invertebrates while looking for long-term trends that all over Alabama. The organization also collects and disseminates may affect that lake or stream.

“We promote understanding of water quality issues by teaching water quality data from state waters. Alabama contains 40 major lakes and numerous small systems. About eight percent of the sur- citizens of every background to do simple, but credible scientific face water in the 48 contiguous states runs through the more than water monitoring,” says Mona Dominguez, AWW monitor coordinator. “We currently have nearly 400 active monitors at more than 77,000 miles of Alabama streams.

“Alabama Water Watch is a national model for citizen involve- 2,500 sites. Our database has more than 70,000 records that tell us ment in watershed stewardship,” says Dr. Bill Deutsch, the program Continued on Page 33 director. “We use EPA-approved plans with a community-based apAlabama Living

january 2013 19

Worth the Drive

Jimmy’s ‘New Orleans’ Style

Chef Jim Sikes

Go & Eat Jimmy’s 104 South 8th Street, Opelika 334-745-2155 www.jimmysopelika.com

Opelika

Jennifer Kornegay

20 january 2013

A

few decades ago, unless you were from coastal Georgia or South Carolina, you’d probably never heard of shrimp and grits. Then, this once rustic, regional dish started popping up on menus in fine dining establishments, and each chef put his own twist on the traditional version. Today, restaurants of every size, shape and style have added this tasty combo to their offerings, and with “everybody doing it,” it’s now far easier to find average (or just plain bad) renditions of this dish than really good ones. What was formerly something quite special has become a bit commonplace. But not at Jimmy’s restaurant in Opelika; at Jimmy’s, shrimp and grits is delicious again.

Tucked on a side street in downtown Opelika, Jimmy’s is owned by Jim Sikes, and he’s also the chef. He’s been in the food industry for years, but Jimmy’s, which opened in 2005, is his first restaurant. The Opelika native loves his hometown. “I love the small town feel here,” he says.

He also appreciates his many loyal customers and shows it. “I love interacting with people; that’s my favorite part of my job. And I love to give my customers what they want, so I can make things not on the menu and accommodate food allergies or other needs.”

Jimmy’s has a New Orleans theme, complete with framed Mardi Gras posters lining the walls in the intimate space and even a few purple, green and gold bead strands draped over posts at the wellstocked wooden bar.

You’ll find nods to NOLA on the menu, but there are other options, too.

Sikes wanted to pay homage to the Big Easy and its culinary legends, but being an Alabama boy, he kept some good ol’ deep South comfort foods in the mix as well. “It’s a nice variety,” he says. “We’ve got some things that are more upscale and

then some that are very down-home.”

Meals begin with a basket of warm mini corn muffins served with butter (room temperature, so soft and spreadable) as well as a tangy tomato salsa. What follows that is up to you. At lunch, you could try the chicken and waffles; crawfish boudin; fried catfish or country fried steak with veggie sides like black-eyed peas; oyster stew; the crawfish cardinal over rice; or shrimp and grits. Dinnertime offers pasta Mardi Gras, creole cioppino, crawish etouffee, Jimmy’s Special Sirloin and, again, shrimp and grits. Pair any of these dishes with a bottle of wine from Jimmy’s extensive, Wine Spectatorawarded list.

Sikes couldn’t pick a favorite dish, but his customers can and do, every day. “The gumbo is ordered a lot, but the shrimp and grits is the most popular thing we serve,” he says. And with good reason.

It’s not a Cajun or creole dish, but Sikes has added a little New Orleans to the low-country classic with some creole seasoning on the shrimp and hefty chunks of spicy Andouille sausage in the sauce.

In the lunch portion, six large shrimp, cooked just right, rest on a bed of cheesy grits covered in a blanket of the rich, sausage-laden sauce. The grits are creamy, but still retain some texture. A few fresh scallions add color and an additional pop of flavor. Fresh fruit on the side cuts the richness and helps stave off caloric guilt.

Serving shrimp and grits is certainly not on the culinary cutting edge, but the version of this dish coming out of Jimmy’s kitchen is too good and too popular to ever lose its spot on the menu. It’s so good in fact, that it, along with the rest of Sikes’ food, earned the eatery a spot on “Opinionated About Dining’s” Top 25 Regional Restaurants list, putting it in a category with some of New Orleans’ renowned food havens like Galatoire’s and Antoine’s. A www.alabamaliving.coop

Alabama Living

january 2013  21

Power Plants

Lucky 2013!

Follow these tips to get your garden in shape for the new year

By Katie Jackson

It may be the year 2013, but that doesn’t mean this can’t be a lucky year in the garden (and elsewhere), especially with a little thoughtful planning. With that in mind, here are 13 ideas to get the year off to a great start. q Begin a gardening journal. Use it to capture your 2013 gardening dreams and plans as well as keep records of what works or doesn’t work this year. q Already have a gardening journal?

Sit down this month in a warm, cozy spot and read it, then use those notes and experiences to make plans in your new journal. q Clean up your act. Picking up in the garden and in your garden work and storage areas will help you get ready for the coming year and work off some of that pent-up gardening energy. q Be a bookworm. Settle in with a book or how-to manual on a gardening subject that intrigues you. Some of the best Alabamaspecific information can be found in Alabama Cooperative Extension System (ACES) publications, many of which are free.

22 january 2013

(My current favorite that I refer to all year long is their Alabama Smart Yards publication, which can be found at www.aces.edu.) q Plant something. Believe it or not, winter is a great time to plant lots of things such as dormant trees and shrubs, spring-flowering bulbs, pansies in your window boxes, kitchen herbs in pots and seeds for early spring vegetables. q Water, but wisely. Not all plants need winter watering, but newly installed landscape plants can especially benefit from a boost of moisture, especially if the fall and winter months have been dry.

Guidelines for watering plants can be found at gardening centers, online and through your local ACES office. q Go back to school. This is a great month to attend gardening workshops, short courses, sign up to become a Master Gardener or join a garden club. q Stay fit. Walking, doing a few free weight curls and stretching will help you become or stay strong for the spring gardening season. q Wash windows. Clean windows let in sunshine and give you a clear view of your winter landscape, which will brighten your days—literally and figuratively. q Spoil your soil. If you haven’t already done so, get a soil test for your spring garden plots and lawn, then use the

results to amend your soil and make it super soil in 2013. q Coddle those houseplants. Keep them watered, dusted and trimmed so they will look extra beautiful now and into the coming year. q Baby the birds. Keep your bird feeders and baths filled, clean out existing birdhouses and put up new bird housing “developments” for those spring nesters. q Share yourself with others. Consider volunteering at or starting a public garden in your neighborhood or at a local school or other community facility. What better way to make 2013 a lucky year for you and those around you? A Katie Jackson, who recently retired as chief editor for the Auburn University College of Agriculture and Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station is now a fulltime freelance writer and editor. Contact her at katielamarjackson@gmail.com.

January Gardening Tips d Start a compost heap or turn existing ones. d Service lawn mowers and other motorized lawn care equipment. d Sharpen mower blades, saws and pruning tools. d Order seeds and plants for spring gardening. d Store garden chemicals safely and securely. d Bring forsythia, jasmine and quince cuttings inside to force into early bloom. www.alabamaliving.coop

Alabama Living

january 2013  23

Alabama Outdoors

Dogs make late season squirrel hunts exciting

By John N. Felsher

M

inutes after leaving the truck kennel, the dogs barked excitedly several hundred yards away. We rushed to the scene to see three dogs jumping and barking frantically under a tree as a squirrel ran along a branch above them.

Most squirrel hunters typically walk quietly through forests, pausing every few feet to stop, look and listen. Periodically, they sit on logs to scan trees for movement or listen to the sound of acorns dropping, branches shaking or tiny claws scratching rough bark.

Squirrel hunting with dogs offers a vastly different experience.

“Hunting squirrels with dogs is totally different than hunting without them,” explains Mark Beason who learned to hunt behind squirrel dogs while following his grandfather in the woods. “When hunting with dogs, it’s a matter of watching what the dog does. Hunting squirrels with dogs is more like a dove hunt, more of a social activity.

Dog hunters don’t need to be quiet or still.

People can go hunting with several friends, talk and enjoy a really great time. In my opinion, hunting squirrels with dogs is the best way to involve youth in the outdoors.”

We followed dogs through the forests with them sniffing for squirrel scent. When they found something they liked, the dogs barked raucously. When dogs “tree” a squirrel, they excitedly jump and bark at the base of the tree where they believe the squirrel hides.

“It’s amazing what dogs can smell,” says Chester Thompson, a champion squirrel dog trainer. “The dogs do the work and find the scent. People don’t need to keep quiet. They John N. Felsher is a professional freelance writer and photographer who lives in Semmes, Ala. He’s written more than 1,700 articles for more than 117 magazines. He co-hosts a weekly outdoors radio show.

Contact him through his website at www.

JohnNFelsher.com.

24 january 2013

Chester Thompson, a champion dog trainer, and Clayton Draime show off some squirrels Clayton shot with the help of Thompson’s dogs while hunting in southern Alabama near Mobile. Photo by John N. Felsher

just listen for the dogs to bark. Each dog has certain habitats and traits. I can tell by the bark and the wagging of its tail what the dog is smelling. From 200 yards away, I can tell if it’s barking on a cold scent or a hot scent.”

Not every “alert” resulted in a squirrel in the bag. Sometimes, dogs alerted on a tree where a squirrel traveled and disappeared long before we arrived. Frequently, dogs indicated a squirrel in a tree, but we couldn’t find it. Sometimes, we knew the squirrel hid in the tree, but it gave us the slip so we moved on to other prey.

Late season offers the best time to hunt squirrels with dogs. By late winter, squirrels spend considerable time on the ground foraging for fallen acorns and other morsels.

That puts scent where dogs can find it. In addition, after the leaves fall, squirrels find fewer places to hide in bare branches.

However, even in a tree devoid of foliage, these gray ghosts of the forest can virtually disappear with ease. Masters of camouflage, their gray to brown fur blends in easily with tree branches, bark and shadows. Frequently, they jump into holes or crouch down in tree forks or other crannies. A good pair of binoculars helps detect squirrels hiding high in a tree. Often, they circle behind branches or tree trunks to put as much wood between

themselves and the hunters as possible.

“Many people think hunting squirrels with a dog should be easy, but it can be extremely challenging,” Beason says. “Squirrels are cagey animals. They camouflage well and can be hard to spot even when treed by a dog.”

To start training pups, handlers begin with dogs having good bloodlines. Many dog aficionados can trace the ancestry of their animals much better than they know their own family histories. A champion squirrel dog with a good bloodline might cost several thousand dollars.

“I won’t just take any dog,” Thompson says. “I try to find the best blooded dog with good intelligence. That gives the dog a good start. It’s born with the ability to hunt. Squirrel hunting is in its blood. That makes training it easier. Then, I take it into the woods and wear out a lot of shoe leather.”

At about eight weeks old, Thompson exposes a pup to squirrel hides or tails. To make it follow scent, he takes a hide or a dead squirrel and drags it across the ground before putting it in a tree. Then, he watches to see if the pup follows the scent and barks at the base of the tree.

“If it will bark at the hide or dead squirrel, it might become a hunter,” Thompson predicts. “Then, we take the pup hunting with a good trained dog. The pup mixes with trained dogs and the dogs actually help train each other. Sometimes, we catch a live squirrel and let the pup look at it. We let it loose in front of the dog and it gets excited.”

In Alabama, squirrel season runs through Feb. 28, 2013, with a limit of eight per day.

Not all public properties allow hunting with dogs. In addition, seasons and regulations may vary on some public properties, so check the law before hunting anywhere. Contact Thompson at 337309-0908 for more information. A

www.alabamaliving.coop

Alabama Living

january 2013  25

Alabama Recipes

Breakfast

Cook of the Month: Tammi May, Baldwin EMC Crockpot Breakfast Casserole 1 32-ounce bag frozen hash brown potatoes 1 pound bacon, diced, cooked and drained (or 1 pound ham, cubed) 1 medium onion, diced 1 green bell pepper, diced

11/2 cups cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded 1 dozen eggs 1 cup milk 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon pepper nonstick cooking spray

Spray bottom and sides of crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Place a layer of frozen potatoes on bottom of crockpot followed by a layer of bacon, onions, peppers and cheese. Repeat the layering process 2 or 3 more times, ending with a layer of cheese. Beat the eggs, milk, salt and pepper together. Pour over the crockpot mixture, cover and turn on low. Cook on low for 8 hours. Prepare before you go to bed and wake up to breakfast waiting for you!

This crockpot recipe was so incredibly simple. I swear the hardest part was dicing the bacon before frying. I put all the ingredients together in the crockpot, set it on low at around 10 p.m., and at 6 a.m. it was golden and bubbly. Very savory and tasty.

In the November issue, we inadvertently left out the name of our Cook of the Month.

Linda Bragwell of Franklin EC won the $50 prize with her wonderful recipe for Orange Creamsicle Cake.

Don’t forget to send in those recipes for our upcoming themes below. If you follow Alabama Living on facebook, you will get a sneak peak each month at the winning Cook of the Month recipe, as well as other fun things. Happy New Year!

You could win $50!

March April May

Upcoming recipe themes and deadlines are: Under 5 Ingredients Deadline: January 15 Canning Deadline: February 15 Diabetic Favorites Deadline: March 15

Please send all submissions to: Recipe Editor, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL 36124. Or e-mail to: recipes@areapower. coop. Be sure to include your address, phone number and the name of your electric cooperative.

26 January 2013

Editor’s Note: Alabama Living’s recipes are submitted by our readers. They are not kitchen-tested by a professional cook or registered dietician. If you have special dietary needs, please check with your doctor or nutritionist before preparing any recipe.

Bird Nest Breakfast

4 slices of sourdough bread 4 fresh eggs butter

4 tablespoons olive oil salt and pepper

In a large skillet heat up 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Take 4 slices of sourdough bread and place on a flat surface. Use a shot glass and press down on the center slice of bread and remove the small circle of bread. Spread butter on both sides of the bread that now has a hole in it and place them in the skillet. Crack an egg one at a time and place it into the circle of each bread slice. Add a pinch of salt and pepper across the yolk and cook for 2 minutes on each side.

Kirk Vantrease, Cullman EC

Maple Steel Cut Oats

2 cups steel cut oats 9 cups water 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup chopped pecans

½ cup brown sugar ½ cup maple sugar milk butter

Combine 2 cups steel cut oats (not oatmeal), 9 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook on low in a crockpot overnight. In the morning, check for consistency, add water if needed. Stir in 1 cup chopped pecans, ½ cup brown sugar and ½ cup maple syrup. Simmer an additional 15 minutes. Serve with milk and butter.

Makes eight hearty servings.

Janie Whelton, Baldwin EMC

Country Breakfast Quiche

2 pie shells 1 pound mild sausage 1 small – medium tomato chopped 1⁄3 cup chopped onion

8 large eggs 2½ cups grated sharp cheddar cheese salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook sausage and onions in skillet until browned and cooked through. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs, tomatoes, salt and pepper together. Drain sausage, if needed, and add sausage and cheese to egg mixture. Stir or whisk gently until mixed and pour into 2 pie shells. Bake until filling is set – about 30 minutes.

Lynn Potter, Franklin EC

Alabama Living

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january 2013 27

Melt-In-Your-Mouth Banana Pancakes 1½ cups uncooked quick oatmeal ¾ cup powdered milk 1½ cups water (or use 1½ cups milk instead of the powdered milk and water)

1 cup self-rising flour 2 tablespoons sugar 2 eggs ½ cup vegetable oil 2 very ripe bananas

Mix oatmeal and powdered milk. Add water and stir. Stir in dry ingredients. Stir in eggs and oil. Mash bananas on a plate with a fork and add to the pancake batter. Pour ¼ cup batter per pancake into an oiled skillet on medium heat. Cook until browned on both sides.

Cook’s note: I developed this recipe when I needed to use up an over-ripe banana. My husband said they about “melt in your mouth.” We have them almost every Saturday morning along with Conecuh Hickory Smoked sausage and fruit. For just the two of us, I use ½ cup oatmeal, ¼ cup powdered milk, ½ cup water, 1⁄3 cup self-rising flour, 2 teaspoons sugar, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 egg, and one very ripe banana. (Now I purposely let a banana get extra-ripe just for our Saturday breakfast.

Once it gets to the desired ripeness, I throw it in the fridge until Saturday. It might look kind of brown on the outside, but the banana flavor just gets better.) To make it gluten and dairy free, substitute a non-dairy milk and your favorite gluten-free pancake mix for the self-rising flour.

Martha Joy Troyer, Southern Pine EC

Breakfast Sausage Cups

BLT Fries

6 cups cooked hash brown potatoes, adding salt and pepper to taste 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped ½ cup chopped red onion, sauteed 7 slices bacon, crisp cooked & crumbled

2 cups Monterey Jack cheese, shredded and divided 1 or 2 sliced tomatoes ½ cup sour cream 1½ teaspoons horseradish

1 tube biscuits (10 1 egg count) any type grated ½ pound sausage cheese (cheddar is (browned and great) drained) ½ cup evaporated milk Using un-greased muffin tin, place 1 biscuit in each cup and press lightly to fill completely with dough. Fill each cup with browned sausage. Combine milk and egg in a bowl. Add 1 tablespoon over each sausage cup.Top with grated cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for approximately 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 and lightly butter a 9x13 baking dish.

Spread half the cooked hash brown potatoes in the dish.

Layer the spinach, onion, bacon and one cup of Monterey Jack. Top with remaining potatoes, cheese and the sliced tomatoes. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes until slightly bubbly and cheese is melted. Mix well the sour cream and horseradish in a bowl and set aside to serve on the potatoes, if desired.

Linda Langenbahn, Baldwin EMC

Victoria Motyka, Baldwin EMC

28 January 2013

Editor’s Note: Alabama Living’s recipes are submitted by our readers. They are not kitchen-tested by a professional cook or registered dietician. If you have special dietary needs, please check with your doctor or nutritionist before preparing any recipe.

Around Alabama Enterprise- Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder

Tables indicate peak fish and game feeding and migration times. Major periods can bracket the peak by an hour before and an hour after. Minor peaks, half-hour before and after. Adjusted for daylight savings time. a.m. p.m.

Minor Major Minor Major

JAN. 14 06:16 04:16 12:01 08:31 15 08:31 04:46 01:16 09:31 16 09:46 05:16 02:31 10:16 17 10:46 06:01 03:31 11:01 18 11:31 06:31 04:31 11:46

19 - - 07:01 12:01 05:16 20 07:31 12:31 12:46 06:16 21 08:01 01:01 01:31 07:01 22 08:16 01:46 02:16 08:01 23 08:46 02:16 09:01 03:16 24 02:46 09:16 10:31 04:16 25 03:16 09:46 - - 05:31 26 01:01 10:16 - - 06:46

27 - - 10:46 - - 08:01 28 07:46 05:16 12:01 09:01 29 09:31 05:31 01:31 09:46 30 10:16 05:46 02:46 10:31 31 10:46 06:01 03:31 11:01 FEB. 1 11:16 06:16 04:16 11:31

2 11:46 06:31 - - 05:01

3 07:01 12:01 12:16 05:31

4 07:16 12:31 12:46 06:16

5 07:31 12:46 01:16 06:46

6 07:46 01:16 07:31 01:46

7 08:01 01:31 08:16 02:31

8 02:01 08:16 09:16 03:01

9 02:16 08:46 10:46 04:01 10 02:31 09:01 - - 05:16

11 - - 09:46 - - 06:46

12 - - 11:01 - - 08:01 13 09:01 04:46 01:01 09:16 14 10:01 05:01 02:31 10:01 15 10:31 05:31 03:31 10:46 16 11:16 05:46 04:31 11:31 17 11:46 06:16 - - 05:31 18 06:46 12:01 12:31 06:16 19 07:01 12:46 07:16 01:16 20 07:31 01:16 08:01 01:46 21 01:46 07:46 09:01 02:31 22 02:16 08:16 10:16 03:16 23 02:31 08:31 - - 04:16 24 12:46 08:46 - - 05:46

25 - - 09:16 - - 07:16 26 10:01 05:01 - - 08:31 27 09:46 05:01 01:16 09:31 28 10:16 05:01 02:46 10:01

Alabama Living

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Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder will perform at the Enterprise High School Performing Arts Center on January 17, at 7 p.m.

Ricky Skaggs is a recognized master of one of America’s most demanding art forms, January 9 • Chatom, 2013 Mardi Gras 10 a.m.

6th annual parade with floats and bands.

Contact: Chatom Town Hall, 251-847-2580 14 - end of March • Foley, Bee Keeping Class will meet every Monday night for 10 weeks from 6 - 8 p.m.

Register at the door.

Contact Roger Bemis at 251-213-0168 or email at bemisRoger@Yahoo.com 27 • Jackson, 25th Annual Indian Artifacts Show Jackson Community House, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.

View actual stone tools used by Native Americans and sell or exhibit your own artifacts.

Admission: Free Must call to reserve an exhibit table: Bimbo Kohen, 251-542-9456 26 • Pell City, Larry Marshak’s “Tribute to the Platters” at the Pell City Center, 7-9 p.m.

Paying homage to the original members of the group and lead singer, Tony Williams.

Tickets: Pell City Center box office, 205-338-1974 or visit Monday-Friday 10 a.m.-3 p.m. www.pellcitycenter.com

Jan. 17

bluegrass. He has brought the genre to a greater level of popularity in the past few years and continues to lead in bringing vitality to country’s most down to earth art form.

Join the Coffee County Arts Alliance with Gold Corporate Sponsor Enterprise Medical Clinic at the Enterprise High School Performing Arts Center for this very special performance. Support is provided by the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts. For information, call 334.406.2787 or visit www.CoffeeCountyArtsAlliance.com Tickets are available at these locations: David’s Westgate Beauty Salon, 334-4061617 in Enterprise; The Framery, 334-3477800 in Enterprise; New Brockton Florist, 334894-6737 in New Brockton; Bradley Florist and Gift Shop, 334-897-3422 in Elba; Wildflowers Florist & Gifts, 334-897-3010 in Elba; The Printing Press, Inc., 334-566-4060 in Troy; MaFoosky’s Deli, 334-598-3030 in Daleville 25 • Dothan, Party for the Park Landmark Park – Stokes Activity Barn, 1-5 p.m. Whole hogs, racks of ribs and Boston butts will be prepared outside the barn. Individual tickets: $30. Tables of 8: $240.

Take out racks of ribs: $25, Boston butts: $25 (take out may be pre-ordered) Admission: open to public 18 & 19 • Montgomery, “Embrace Grace: Welcome to the Forgiven Life!” Eastern Hills Baptist Church. An area-wide, nondenominational, women’s conference featuring award-winning speaker and author Liz Curtis Higgs. Tickets: $15 in advance, $20 after Dec. 31, $25 at the door (includes 3 sessions and brunch on Saturday) Information and tickets: 334-272-0604 www.ehbcwomensministry.com February 8 • Orange Beach, 7th Annual Mystical Order

of Miram, Orange Beach Blvd., begins at 6:30 p.m. Family-oriented Mardi Gras parade begins at Wintzell’s and ends at Perdido Dunes Resort.

Participant information contact: Tabatha Parker, 251-269-2712 or miramsparadechairman@ yahoo.com www.mirams.info

To place an event, mail to Events Calendar, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL 36124; e-mail to calendar@areapower.coop. (Subject Line: Around Alabama) or visit www.alabamaliving.coop. Each submission must include a contact name and phone number. Deadline is two months prior to issue date. We regret that we cannot publish every event due to space limitations.

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January 2013 29

12/17/12 10:36 AM

Market Place Miscellaneous HELP LINES FOR ALABAMA FAMILIES MORTGAGE BEHIND???

Call (888) 216-4173 OWE BACK TAXES???

Call (877) 633-4457 DISCOUNTED DENTAL Call (888) 696-6814 CREDIT SCORE COACH Call (888) 317-6625 NONPROFIT DEBT HELP Call (888) 779-4272 careconnectusa.org A Public Benefit Org METAL ROOFING $1.79/LINFT – FACTORY DIRECT! 1st quality, 40yr Warranty, Energy Star rated. (price subject to change) 706-383-8554 WALL BEDS OF ALABAMA / ALABAMA MATTRESS OUTLET – SHOWROOM Collinsville, AL – Custom Built / Factory Direct - (256)490-4025, www.andyswallbeds.com, www. alabamamattressoutlet.com AERMOTOR WATER PUMPING WINDMILLS – windmill parts – decorative windmills – custom built windmill towers - call Windpower (256)638-4399 or (256)638-2352 CUSTOM MACHINE QUILTING BY JOYCE – Bring me your quilt top or t-shirts. Various designs offered – (256)735-1543 KEEP POND WATER CLEAN AND FISH HEALTHY with our aeration systems and pond supplies.

Windmill Electric and Fountain Aerators. Windpower (256)6384399, (256)899-3850 BOAT FLOOR & TRANSOM REPLACEMENT, fiberglass repair, gelcoat renewal, houseboat repair – Cole BoatWorks (334)318-1986 FREE BOOKS / DVDs – Soon government will enforce the “Mark” of the beast as church and state unite! Let Bible reveal.

The Bible Says, POB 99, Lenoir City, TN 37771 – thebiblesaystruth@ yahoo.com, (888)211-1715 NEW AND USED STAIR LIFT ELEVATORS – Car lifts, Scooters, Power Wheelchairs – Walk-In Tubs - Covers State of Alabama – 23 years (800)682-0658 18X21 CARPORT $695 INSTALLED – Other sizes available - (706)383-8554 DIVORCE MADE EASY – Uncontested, lost spouse, in prison or aliens. $179.00 our total fee. Call 10am to 10pm. 26 years experience – (417)443-6511

Business Opportunities START YOUR OWN BUSINESS! Mia Bella’s Gourmet Scented

30 january 2013

Products. Try the Best! Candles / Gifts / Beauty. Wonderful income potential! Enter Free Candle Drawing - www. naturesbest.scent-team.com

gaslog fireplace, deep water, covered dock - Pictures, http:// www.vacationsmithlake. com/ $75 night - (256) 352 5721, amariewisener@gmail.com

REALISTIC HOME BUSINESSES – How to select, start and operate your home business. Over 80 businesses detailed from actual owners. Many require only a small investment. Low to high tech. Perfect gift. www. patsbookshop.com

COTTON ROW in DETROIT, AL – Quiet country get-away! 45 minutes from Tupelo, MS – (662)825-3244 LM

PIANO TUNING PAYS – Learn with American Tuning School homestudy course – (800)497-9793

Vacation Rentals PENSACOLA BEACH CONDO – Gulf front, 7th floor balcony, 3BR / 2BA, sleeps 6, pool – (850)572-6295 or (850)968-2170 APPALACHIAN TRAIL – Cabins by the trail in the Georgia Mountains – 3000’ above sea level, snowy winters, cool summers, inexpensive rates – (800)284-6866, www.bloodmountain.com FT. WALTON BEACH HOUSE – 3BR / 2BA – Best buy at the Beach – (205) 566-0892, mailady96@yahoo.com MENTONE, AL – LOOKOUT MOUNTAIN – Billiard table, Jacuzzi, spacious home, sleeps 14 – www.duskdowningheights. com, (850)766-5042, (850)661-0678.

HOUSE IN PIGEON FORGE, TN – Fully furnished, sleeps 6-12, 3 baths, creek, no pets – (256)997-6771, www.riverrungetaway.org GULF SHORES / GATLINBURG RENTAL - Great Rates! (256)490-4025 or www.gulfshoresrentals.us, www.gatlinburgrentals.us

PIGEON FORGE, TN: $89 - $125, 2BR/2BA, hot tub, pool table, fireplace, swimming pool, creek – (251)363-1973, www. mylittlebitofheaven.com

CRUISE the BAHAMAS and FLORIDA KEYS on a private 47’ Leopard Catamaran – www. playinghookycharters.com – Captain James (251)401-3367 for more information

GATLINBURG / PIGEON FORGE – 2 and 3 BEDROOM LUXURY CABINS – Home theatre room, hot tub, gameroom – www. wardvacationproperties.com, (251)363-8576

PLAY GOSPEL SONGS BY EAR - 10 lessons $12.95. “LEARN GOSPEL MUSIC”. Chording, runs, fills $12.95 Both $24. Davidsons, 6727AR Metcalf, Shawnee Missions, Kansas 66204 – (913)262-4982

PANAMA CITY BEACH CONDO – Owner rental – 2BR / 2BA, wireless internet, just remodeled inside and outside – (334)790-0000, jamesrny@graceba. net, www.theroneycondo.com GATLINBURG, TN – Fond memories start here in our chalet – Great vacation area for all seasons – Two queen beds, full kitchen, 1 bath, Jacuzzi, deck with grill – 3 Night Special - Call (866)316-3255, Look for us on FACEBOOK / billshideaway GULF SHORES, GULF FRONT – 1BR / 1BA, free Wi-Fi, king bed, hall bunks – Seacrest Condo, Owner rates (256)352-5721, amariewisener@gmail.com

PIGEON FORGE, TN CABINS – Peaceful, convenient setting – (251)649-3344, (251)649-4049, www. hideawayprop.com

PIGEON FORGE, TN – 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath house for rent $75.00 a night – Call Bonnie at (256)338-1957

ORANGE BEACH CONDO, 3BR/3BA; 2,000 SQ.FT.; beautifully decorated; gorgeous waterfront view; boat slips available; great rates - Owner rented (251)604-5226

GULF SHORES / FT. MORGAN / NOT A CONDO! The original “Beach House” on Ft. Morgan peninsula – 2BR/1BA – Pet Friendly, NonSmoking – $695/wk, (256)418-2131

GREAT LAKE LIVING, LEWIS SMITH LAKE - 3BR/2BA, 2 satelite TV’s,

Travel

CARIBBEAN CRUISES AT THE LOWEST PRICE – (256)974-0500 or (800)726-0954

HELEN GA CABIN FOR RENT – sleeps 2-6, 2.5 baths, fireplace, Jacuzzi, washer/dryer – www. cyberrentals.com/101769 (251)948-2918, email jmccracken@ gulftel.com

GATLINBURG – DOWNTOWN LUXURY CREEKSIDE CONDO – 2BR / 2BA, sleeps 6 – aubie12@centurytel. net, (256)599-5552

GULF SHORES CONDOS – 4.7 miles from beach, starting prices $54,900 – www.PeteOnTheBeach. com, click Colony Club – (251)948-8008

GATLINBURG TOWNHOUSE on BASKINS CREEK! GREAT RATES! 4BR/3BA, short walk downtown attractions! (205)333-9585, hhideaway401@aol.com

GULF SHORES COTTAGE – Waterfront, 2 / 1, pet friendly – Rates and Calendar online http://www.vrbo.com/152418, (251)223-6114

PIGEON FORGE VACATION RENTAL CABINS – Cozy Cabins by Owner – (865)712-7633

Real Estate Sales

THINK SNOW! Visit one of our beautiful mountain condos in Gatlinburg. TIRED OF SNOW? Visit us in GULF SHORES or DAYTONA BEACH. Call Jennifer in Scottsboro at (256)599-4438 or click on www.funcondos.com TWO GULF SHORES PLANTATION CONDOS – Excellent beach views – Owner rented (251)223-9248

Musical Notes

PIANOS TUNED, repaired, refinished. Box 171, Coy, AL 36435.

334-337-4503

Education BECOME AN ORDAINED MINISTER correspondence study. Founded in 1988. Free info. Ministers for Christ Outreach, 6630 West Cactus #B107-767 Glendale, Arizona 85304. http://www. ordination.org FREE BIBLE CORRESPONDENCE COURSE – write to 23600 Alabama Highway 24, Trinity, AL, 35673 WWW.2HOMESCHOOL.ORG – Year round enrollment. Everybody homeschools. It is just a matter of what degree – (256)653-2593 or website

Critters ADORABLE AKC YORKY PUPPIES – excellent blood lines – (334)3011120, (334)537-4242, bnorman@ mon-cre.net CHIHUAHUA PUPPIES. Tiny, registered, guaranteed healthy, raised indoors in loving home, vet records and references.

(256)796-2893

Fruits / Nuts / Berries - 1 GROW MUSCADINES AND BLACKBERRIES , half dollar size – We offer over 200 varieties of Fruit and Nut Trees plus Vines and Berry Plants . Free color catalog.

1-800-733-0324.

Ison’s Nursery, P.O. Box 190, Brooks, GA 30205 Since 1934 www.isons.com

www.alabamaliving.coop

How To Place a Line Ad in Marketplace Closing Deadlines (in our office): March 2013 Issue Deadline - January 25 April 2013 Issue Deadline - February 25 May 2013 Issue Deadline - March 25 -Ads are $1.65 per word with a 10 word minimum and are on a prepaid basis -Telephone numbers, email addresses and websites are considered 1 word each -Ads will not be taken over the phone. You may email your ad to hdutton@areapower. com or call (800)410-2737 ask for Heather for pricing.

-We accept checks, money orders and all major credit cards Mail ad submission along with a check or money order made payable to ALABAMA LIVING, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL 36124 – Attn: Classifieds.

Alabama Living

january 2013 31

Market Place

We currently are enrolling for gout, blood pressure, COPD, type II diabetes, and low back pain with constipation studies.

Fundamental Research

(251) 967-5214

32  january 2013

www.alabamaliving.coop

cials to establish an entirely new designation called Treasured Alabama Lake. On Dec. 28, about water quality in Alabama. We encour- 2010, Gov. Bob Riley signed an executive age citizens to use their understanding of order creating the designation and declarwater data to educate other citizens, protect ing Lake Martin the first lake so designated.

“We knew the lake was clean,” Bronson and restore watersheds and to advocate for says. “We just didn’t know how clean it was. changes in water policy.”

Like Bronson and his group at Lake Mar- The AWW folks gave us the credibility to be tin, AWW helped others solve problems in able to speak in scientific terms and show their areas. For instance, if local monitors people how clean the lake is so we could find a bacteria problem in a city lake, they convince the authorities it’s worth protecting. might work with municipal officials to de- The Treasured Alabama Lake classification termine the source of the problem and take raises the bar for water quality standards and gives the lake more protection.” corrective action.

Alabama Water Watch relies heavily “It’s not just collecting data,” Deutsch explains. “We have to interpret data to deter- upon volunteers to accomplish its mission. mine if the water quality is getting better or It also receives money from various federal, worse and why. People take the information state and private sources. However, with the we gather and use it to educate people in fiscal situation at both the state and federal levels, much of that their communities, funding evaporated restore and protect recently. Concerned water and affect state citizens can help by policy.” joining the AWW Sometimes, citiAssociation and zens use AWW data make tax-deductible not to correct a probdonations. lem, but to highlight “Our job is to tell good news. Citizens the AWW story and living near Wolf provide support for Bay on the Gulf of the program so that Mexico in Baldwin people in Alabama County wished to AWW Director Dr. Bill Deutsch understand the valupgrade their water demonstrates how to incubate E.coli quality classification. samples to a group of visiting Haitians. ue that AWW has to the future of the Volunteers with the Wolf Bay Watershed Watch successfully used state,” explains Michael Kensler, the associaAWW data to convince state authorities to tion president. “Water is an irreplaceable reupgrade the bay to Outstanding Alabama source. AWW provides a service to the state Water status, the highest classification level. that no one else does to help people under“Getting the classification upgraded to stand what’s going on with water resources Outstanding Alabama Water provides the in Alabama.”

The association currently lists about 200 bay with extra protection against new sources of pollution and helps promote the area members. People can join for as little as $25 a year. For more details on how to join, visit for tourism,” Dominguez explains.

Similarly, Bronson’s group wanted to up- www.alabamawaterwatch.org/get_involved. grade Lake Martin. When they determined For more information on Alabama Water that the OAW classification rules did not ap- Watch, call 888-844-4785 or 334-844-9323. ply to reservoirs, they convinced state offi- Online, see www.alabamawaterwatch.org.A

Continued from Page 19

Citizens come from all over the state to participate in a Stream Bioassessment workshop on Saugahatchee Creek in Loachapoka.

Water Use Classifications The Alabama Department of Environmental Management classifies waterways into seven Water Use Classifications.

1. Outstanding Alabama Water: The highest classification for waters with exceptional recreational or ecological significance.

2. Public Water Supply: Can be used for drinking water or food processing if treated and filtered.

3. Swimming and Other Whole Body Water-Contact Sports: Safe for swimming and other recreation.

4. Shellfish Harvesting: Safe for people to gather shellfish and crustaceans to eat.

5. Fish and Wildlife: Adequate to support fish, aquatic life and wildlife.

6. Limited Warmwater Fishery: Can be used for agricultural irrigation, livestock watering and industrial cooling.

7. Agricultural and Industrial Water Supply: Best used for agricultural irrigation, livestock watering and industrial cooling.

A new designation, Treasured Alabama Lake, pertains to lakes that meet exceptional standards for cleanliness, water quality and nutrient enrichment.

Fo r m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n o n water classifications, see www. alabamawaterwatch.org/resources/ general_faqs.html/title/what-arethe-different-alabama-water-useclassifications. january 2013 33

Our Building Blocks of Energy Efficiency Do you want a lower energy bill? Wiregrass Electric Cooperative is proud to announce new programs to help you make your home more energy-efficient!

STEP 3

Loan Program

Helping you pay the way to a better home and a lower power bill.

After you’ve completed one of our free Energy Audits and gotten an idea of the types of repairs you’ll be doing, you may need some assistance with covering the cost. To help, Wiregrass Electric is proud to announce its Energy Efficient Loan Program.

Through our partnership with PowerSouth and Regions Bank, WEC has recently begun offering our members access to low-interest loans to help make the improvements that will ultimately increase the energy efficiency of their home and lower their power bill.

To find out more about this program, or any of the other offerings from Wiregrass Electric, visit our website at www.wiregrass.coop or call us at the number below.

STEP 1

Energy Audit

STEP 2

Certified Contractor

STEP 3

Loan Program

STEP 4

Heat Pump Rebate

Get started on the building blocks of an energy-efficient home!

Call Wiregrass Electric Cooperative today at 800-239-4602

Jan WEC Alabama Living.indd 34

12/18/12 9:17 AM

Has your phone number changed?

Don’t keep us in the dark!

Update your WEC account information today to be entered to win a $100 cash prize!

W

iregrass Electric Cooperative’s toll-free Outage Reporting System makes it easy to report an interruption in service. By calling our automatic reporting system, you are able to report any outage without worrying about busy signals or being placed on hold. In order for the system to work, however, WEC needs your correct contact information.

Without your current phone number, we have no way of contacting you if there is a problem with your account requiring immediate attention. When we send a broadcast message with important service information for a particular neighborhood, you will not receive the message. And most importantly, our automated Outage Reporting System will not be able to link your account with your phone number

when you call to report an outage.

We will be unable to track your outage, which could make response times slower. With your home and cell numbers on file, our system will use Caller ID information to immediately identify your account when you call to report an outage.

With the press of a few keys, you’ll be able to verify the information and complete your report in a minute or less.

Our system will then use the information from you and others affected to efficiently track and respond to the outage.

See the simple instructions below to update your account information today! Also, when you update your information, you will be automatically entered into a drawing on March 1 for $100! A

Updating your account information is easy: ONLINE

BY PHONE

or

Use the convenient update form on our website at www.wiregrass.coop.

1-800-239-4602

Connect with our Member Care Team or Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system.

Please help your electric cooperative serve you better.

Update your account today.

Alabama Living january 2013 35

Jan WEC Alabama Living.indd 35

12/18/12 9:17 AM

Our Sources Say

How Smart Are We?

A

re Americans the smartest people in the world? Just look at all we produce. Didn’t we invent the computer, telephone, television, light bulb, airplane and so many other things critical to society? Didn’t Al Gore invent the Internet? Doesn’t that mean we are smarter than other people in the world?

PowerSouth makes a substantial investment in developing jobs in the communities our distribution members serve.

We are deeply involved with the Alabama and Florida economic development communities, investing in efforts to provide a better quality of life for the people we serve. When asked, “What is the most important element of economic development?” my answer is always and emphatically, “A quality education.”

Without an understanding of fundamental subjects, knowledge of how the world works, outstanding technical skills and a grasp of business concepts, people will not be successful, cannot compete in a global economy, and will fall short of obtaining the lifestyles they want for themselves and their families.

Just how smart are we? The Program for International Student Assessment finds that America’s top suburban schools are in the middle of the global pack. American 15-year-olds with at least

Gary Smith is President and CEO of PowerSouth Energy Cooperative 36 JANUARY 2013

one parent with a college education are 42 percent proficient at math, compared to 75 percent in Shanghai and 50 percent in Canada. The Global Report Card finds that American suburban schools do not perform nearly as well as those in Finland and Singapore. Worse, American urban and rural schools perform much more poorly than suburban schools. If you are reading this article, it is very likely the children in your community fall far short in education compared to many other countries. In fact, the Southern Education Foundation finds that many school systems in rural Alabama graduate less than half the students who start in kindergarten. If true, that record is as disturbing as it is embarrassing.

Our adult education record is equally poor, with the percentage of American adults with college degrees ranking 14th out of 29 countries surveyed. Russia, Korea, France, Norway and others rank higher in the percentage of adults holding college degrees than the U.S. A large number of college degrees held by Americans are in the softer areas like business management and not in the technical or production sciences.

If studies are correct, American schools are failing students and communities. We are falling behind other countries in preparing our young people for a successful future. Our youth are not receiving the education and experience necessary to find and hold the types of jobs that will support a family in an information-based economy. This is certainly the case in the rural South as low-

end, labor-intensive jobs disappear.

We have done a poor job of educating our children in the rural South. It is easy to push blame onto school administrators and teachers, and some of the blame should fall there. However, there is plenty of blame to lay at the feet of politicians who do not provide public support or funding for education; businessmen like me who are not forward-thinking enough to provide infrastructure for education to create good employees for the future; and parents who leave the critical job of educating their children to others.

But our greatest shortcoming is apathy about education. Most of us don’t think about education often, and when we do, we don’t care very much about it.

We don’t think it is important to us. If we don’t get serious about education soon, our communities, states and country will fall behind in the contest of global competition. Our jobs will be exported, our lifestyles will decline and our communities will die.

What can be done? First, define what a quality education truly is. Don’t take my word or an education official’s word for it.

Find out what other states and countries are doing in education. Second, become involved in education in your community and insist that our children have the same opportunities as the children in suburban areas and other countries to obtain a quality education. Third, care about the education and future of our youth. It is the only chance they have.

Thank you for reading. I hope you have a good month. A

www.alabamaliving.coop

Alabama Living

january 2013  37

Alabama Snapshots 1 2

5 3 7

4

Making my favorite recipe Submit Your Images! march Theme:

“My old motorcycle”

Send color photos with a large self-addressed stamped envelope to:

Photos, Alabama Living, P.O. Box 244014, Montgomery, AL, 36124.

Rules: Alabama Living will pay $10 for photos that best match our theme of the month. Photos may also be published on our website at www.alabamaliving.coop. Alabama Living is not responsible for lost or damaged photos.

Deadline for march: January 31

38 january 2013

1. Harry Gerbige and mother Lucille, ago 90, make fried apple pies submitted by Harry Gerbige, Woodville 2. Gabriel McLemore “tests” his cupcake recipe submitted by Chad McLemore, Decatur 3. “Nana” Betty Cook and granddaughters Kayla and Erica Williams bake Christmas cookies submitted by “Papa” Don Cook, Foley

4. Hallie Caroline Bennett makes biscuits from scratch submitted by Brooks and Whitney Bennett of Slocomb 5. L u c i l l e B a l l m a k e s banana pudding for her grandchildren submitted by Becky Garrison, Danville

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Southern Occasions Make someone’s New Year special!

COOKBOOK Winter Warm-Up 1 pound ham shanks 4 bunches collard greens, rinsed, trimmed and chopped 4 pepperoncini 1 15-oz jar of roasted peppers, cut into strips

½ teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon olive oil 1 pinch ground black pepper to taste 2 cloves garlic 1 cinnamon stick

Fill a large pot about half-full with water. Place the ham shanks into the water, and as many of the greens as you can fit. Bring to a gentle boil. As soon as the greens begin wilting, start transferring the greens to a slow cooker.

Alternate layers of greens with the ham shanks and roasted red peppers until the slow cooker is full. Top with pepperoncini. Stir in the baking soda, olive oil, pepper, garlic cloves and cinnamon stick. Cover and bring to a boil on high. Reduce heat to low and cook for 8 to 10 hours.

Remove cinnamon stick before serving.

Here’s just a sample of the delicious recipes you’ll find inside!

Anjanette Fluharty, Joe Wheeler EMC

Southern Occasions

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