THE SOUTHERN TORCH / FRIDAY, APRIL 2, 2021 / VOL. 7, NO. 14 / $1.00
Rainsville Arrests Man for Rape
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Mayberry Returns to Valley Head
TWEET SPORTS
• Fyffe Breaks Record at Track Meet • Area Champs • Alabama All-State Honors
COMMUNITY
In March, the Rainsville Police Department arrested and charged James Barlow Calfee with first-degree Rape. (Submitted Photo)
• DeKalb Master Gardeners to Hold Annual Plant Sale • Upcoming Events in DeKalb County
By Southern Torch Staff admin@southerntorch.com RAINSVILLE, Ala. — According to Rainsville Police Chief Michael Edmondson: The Rainsville Police Department (RPD) has charged and arrested James Barlow Calfee of Landover, Tenn. with first-degree Rape. According to an arrest report provided by the RPD, in October 2018, a female victim reported she had been forcefully raped in the Rainsville City Park by an unknown suspect. Following the encounter, the victim was able to video the suspect with her phone. A DNA sample was obtained and sent to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for analysis, where the assailant was identified as Calfee. The collected sample matched Calfee's sample from a first-degree Robbery charge in Washington state, where he had been serving in prison. The sample, along with the video of the suspect, led to a warrant being obtained for Calfee's arrest and entered into the National Crime Information Center (NCIC). At the time, Calfee's whereabouts were unknown.
POLITICS
The Town of Valley Head will once again transform into Mayberry after being forced to cancel the special event last year. (Submitted Photo)
By Zach Hester Reporter zach@southerntorch.com VALLEY HEAD, Ala. — After being canceled last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Town of Valley Head is planning to revive their annual “Memories of Mayberry” festival next month. This year’s festival will be held on Saturday,
May 1, beginning at 9 a.m. with all proceeds benefitting the Valley Head Fire Department. “We are excited to welcome Memories of Mayberry back to Valley Head,” said the event’s coordinator, Adele Phillips. “Everything is coming together with quite a few vendors, plenty of attractions, a cruise-in, and so much more!”
“There is no admission fee and plenty of parking, we’re just praying for no rain,” Phillips concluded. Memories of Mayberry began in June 2017 with then-Mayor Lamar Bray and the Town Council transformed the Town of Valley Head into a replica of Mayberry, the fictional community depicted in The Andy Griffith Show
and Mayberry R.F.D. This year’s event will include live entertainment, arts and crafts, great food, raffles, vendors, and so much more! Pickers are also welcome. Memories of Mayberry also features two food-related contests. For Aunt Bee’s Pie Baking Contest, pies
> See VH, P2
• Alabama's Mask Order to Expire Next Friday • Column: Inside the Statehouse
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CRIME • DCSO Dismantles Two Meth Labs in Three Weeks • No Bomb Threat at Bailey Bridges
Crossville to Receive New Bleachers By Marla Jones Managing Editor marla@southerntorch.com
RAINSVILLE, Ala. — The DeKalb County Board of Education met on March 25 at 12 p.m. due to the possibility of severe storms moving through the area. Crossville School will soon see new visitor bleachers, installed by Boatner Construction in the amount of $774,000. Covington Flooring
> See CRIME, P5
Company has agreed to make necessary gym floor repairs in the amount of $30,000. Covington will provide a warranty on the gym floor. The DeKalb County School System will have a security update, complete with new cameras for all the schools. The contract will be awarded to Howard in the amount of $973,381.88
> See BOE, P5
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