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THE SOUTHERN TORCH / FRIDAY, JANUARY 3, 2019 / VOL. 6, NO. 1 / $1.00
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THIS WEEK IN SPORTS
THIS WEEK IN BUSINESS
THIS WEEK IN POLITICS
THIS WEEK IN COMMUNITY
• Fyffe Wins Don Webb Invitational • Class 2A Region 7 All-Region Football Team
• See who's featured in our business spotlight! • No Expiration Dates
• Go Inside the Statehouse with Alabama Political Columnist, Steve Flowers
• The Parker Three Perform at Kiwanis • See what's going on in our upcoming events!
TOP STORIES OF 2019 Ernie Willingham
Named Class 2A 1. Southern Torch Cranks Up the Radio Coach of the Year • ENJOY LOOKING BACK ON OUR TOP FIVE STORIES OF 2019 •
By Nick Jones President Published on February 12
RAINSVILLE, Ala. — Southern Torch, Inc. is thrilled to announce its agreement to purchase the assets of KEA Radio, Inc. which includes two FM radio stations currently based in Scottsboro. The radio
stations are WKEA-FM 98.3 and WMXN-FM 101.7 with coverage areas including DeKalb, Jackson, and Marshall counties as well as the other northeast Alabama counties. In August, the two stations rebranded as 98-3 Wild Country and 101-7 The Torch, respectively.
“We are unbelievably excited about the potential to grow our audience and put Southern Torch into a better position to serve this region of the state,� said Southern Torch General Manager Eloise Smith. Southern Torch, Inc. has continued to publish its weekly newspaper in
the DeKalb county area and grow its regional online audience alongside the current radio coverage map. The coverage map for the two FM stations reaches the outskirts of Huntsville to the west, South Pittsburg, Tenn. to the north, Summerville, Ga. to the east, and Gadsden to the south.
2. REVEALED, 3. Alabama Passes REPRIMANDED, Gas Tax Increase RESIGNED By Marla Jones Managing Editor Published on March 7 RAINSVILLE, Ala. — At this week’s meeting of the Rainsville City Council, the Council went into executive session. Shortly after, the Council announced that they had received the resignation letter of Northeast Alabama Agri-Business Center (Ag Center) Director Mike Sweat. The Council unanimously voted to accept. Allegations of misuse of funds at the Ag Center surfaced in January when the Southern Torch reported an exclusive investigative report that revealed misuse of public funds associated with the Ag Center. The report followed a review of financial documents
By Zach Hester, Reporter • Published on March 13 obtained from the City and the Public Building Authority (PBA), the entity that owns the Ag Center. Sweat’s resignation comes amidst controversy regarding the misuse of funds at the Ag Center. Following the initial report of misuse of funds, Councilmember Bejan Taheri confirmed that Sweat was in fact disciplined for his alleged misuse of funds with employment probation, reimbursement and a written reprimand. Sweat’s final day on the job was Tuesday, March 5, 2019.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — After passage through the Alabama House of Representatives and the State Senate, Governor Kay Ivey signed the Rebuild Alabama Act into law. This is the first time that the gas tax has been raised since 1992. The Rebuild Alabama Act will raise fuel taxes by ten cents per gallon over the next three years and includes additional tax measures like annual fees for electrical and hybrid vehicles. The bill passed the House by a margin of 83-20 and by the Senate, 28-6. When signing the bill, Governor Ivey stated, “What the members of the Alabama Legislature have done today is to improve Alabama’s infrastructure for generations to come.� The bill will raise the gas tax from 18 cents to 24 cents beginning in September 2019 with two cent raises per year in 2020 and 2021. Beginning in 2023, the gas tax will be adjusted annually according to the national highway construction cost index.
• STORIES 4 & 5 ARE CONTINUED ON PAGE 3 •
• Happy New Year from all of us at Southern Torch!
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Willingham was named the Class 2A Coach of the Year. He is pictured here with Managing Editor Marla Jones.
By Marla Jones, Managing Editor marla@southerntorch.com COLLINSVILLE, Ala. — Collinsville Head Football Coach Ernie Willingham was recently named the Alabama Sports Writers Association Class 2A Coach of the Year. Willingham led the Panthers to a 12-2 record and to their fourth state semifinals appearance, in the Panthers 100th year of high school football. Willingham graduated from Collinsville High School. He served as head basketball coach at Appalachian from 1984-1991 and 1993-1998, head basketball coach at Albertville from 1991-1993, and has been head football coach at Collinsville since 1998. He has led the Panthers to seven playoff appearances.
Fire Destroys Officer's Home
By Marla Jones, Managing Editor marla@southerntorch.com FORT PAYNE, Ala. — On Christmas Eve, the home of Fort Payne's own Sgt. JC Brown burned with all contents lost. Since then, donations have poured in to the Fort Payne Police Department and to a GoFundMe. "We are so very thankful and grateful to God to be alive," said Brown. "Each and every prayer, donation, call, text message, and offer of some type of help or support hasn't gone unnoticed. I pray that God blesses each and every one of you for your kindness." If you would like to make a donation, please visit their GoFundMe page or drop donations off at the Fort Payne Police Department.
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