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THE SOUTHERN TORCH / FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 2020 / VOL. 6, NO. 35 / $1.00
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SOUTHERN TORCH TURNS 7
By Marla Jones Managing Editor
marla@southerntorch.com
RAINSVILLE, Ala. — It is a big day for Southern Torch! Starting a media company from scratch, seven years ago, has been an uphill climb. We have thoroughly enjoyed the ride and look forward to the days ahead. We are so excited
about our new downtown building located in Fort Payne and we are so excited about our continued growth. Check out a sneak peek at some of the progress on our future home! Our best days are ahead of us. We are so thankful for our loyal
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Here's a sneak peek at our brand-new bulding in Fort Payne! We can't wait to share it with you! (Marla Jones | Southern Torch)
check out this edition of southern torch for a little something extra: our 2020 football edition!
DeKalb Holds Municipal Elections By Zach Hester Reporter zach@southerntorch.com DeKALB COUNTY, Ala. — On Tuesday, citizens around DeKalb County made their voices heard by voting in their respective town’s or city’s municipal elections. For video coverage sponsored by PuroClean and Cable Time, please visit Southern Torch on Facebook. Here are the full results of Tuesday night’s election: • COLLINSVILLE No elections were held in the Town of Collinsville as all incumbents went unopposed. Current Mayor Johnny Trafenstedt, as well as Councilmembers Kathy Jelks (district 1), Donna Jones (district 2), David Bowen (district 3), Janet Osborn (district 4), and Jeff Chandler (district 5), will hold on to their respective offices for another four years. • CROSSVILLE
In the race for Crossville Mayor, Roger “Dino� Richards defeated incumbent Tera Fortenberry by a slim margin of five (5) votes. The following people were elected to the Crossville Town Council: Nelson Ferrell (incumbent, place 1), Misty Spence (place 2), Larry Colvin (place 3), Lisa D. Collins (place 4), and
Steven Smith (place 5). • FORT PAYNE In the race for Mayor of Fort Payne, City Council President Brian Baine went unopposed and will serve a four-year term. In the city’s at-large council election, Walter Watson was the only candidate who reached the threshold of 50% to avoid participation in a runoff election. He will
return to the Council in November. The final four (4) places on the Fort Payne City Council will be decided by a runoff election to be held on October 6, 2020. According to City Clerk Andy Parker, the “Local Act� legislation passed by the City of Fort Payne states that the city follows the state formula for
determining 50%, which is taking the total number of votes and dividing it by the number of positions in play. Therefore Watson will automatically take one seat on the Council since he crossed that threshold. The other eight (8) candidates vying for the last four seats are Phillip Smith, Johnny Eberhart, Randall Ham, Wade Hill, Lynn Brewer, Charlene Magbie, Roger Ingle, and John Smith. • FYFFE In the race for Mayor of Fyffe, incumbent Paul Cagle defeated challenger Jonathan Bartlet. The following people were elected to Fyffe Town Council: James Spears (incumbent, place 1, unopposed), Katy Woodall (incumbent, place 2, unopposed), Gerald Green (incumbent, place 3, unopposed), Chris Graben (place 4), Dale Wooten
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Rainsville Goes Wet
By Marla Jones Managing Editor
marla@southerntorch.com RAINSVILLE, Ala. — Tonight, citizens voted to pass legal alcohol sales in the City of Rainsville. Earlier this year, a handful of Rainsville citizens gathered nearly 500 required signatures to petition the Rainsville City Council to place the issue on the ballot. At the June 15 meeting, the Rainsville City Council passed Resolution 6-15-2020 to have the wet/dry referendum placed on the Municipal ballot for this year. In the 2014 election, Rainsville residents voted down alcohol sales, 770-741. This year, the vote passed 838 to 712. Rainsville, a population of just over 5,000, joins Fort Payne, Henagar, and Collinsville which allows alcohol sales to those 21 or older.
RAINSVILLE MAYOR INVESTIGATES LEAK
By Marla Jones Managing Editor
marla@southerntorch.com RAINSVILLE, Ala. — After footage of a recent traffic stop was released by Southern Torch, Rainsville Mayor Rodger Lingerfelt ordered an investigation of the Rainsville Police
Department. Lingerfelt hired a private investigator and called upon the Alabama State Bureau of Investigation (ABI) to determine if the leak was from the Rainsville Police Department. After the private investigation was
completed, it was determined that only two copies were made by the department. One copy was forwarded to the 9th Judicial Circuit District Attorney’s Office and the other copy was given to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office according to a statement made by
Lingerfelt. Southern Torch reached out to Lingerfelt and Rainsville Police Chief Kevin Smith to ask some follow-up questions. Smith said he was instructed to forward media requests to
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