Friday, January 13, 2017
Local News Briefs
Local News Briefs
Ballard on Samford’s Dean’s list
Zeigler asks Bentley not to set special U.S. Senate election
Ruth A. Ballard of Alexander City was named to the fall 2016 Dean’s List at Samford University. Samford releases dean’s lists after the close of the fall and spring semesters each academic year. To qualify for the dean’s list, a student must have earned a minimum 3.5 grade point average out of a possible 4.0 while attempting at least 12 credit hours of coursework. Dean’s List is the highest academic recognition given by the school at the end of each semester. Samford University is Alabama’s top-ranked private university and one of the nation’s top Christian universities. U.S. News & World Report ranks Samford fourth among regional universities in the South, and the university is widely acknowledged as a leader in liberal arts and professional school education.
Smith, Staples honored at Berry College
Matt Smith of Goodwater and Franklin Staples of Dadeville have been named to the Berry College Fall 2016 Dean’s List The Dean’s List honors students who posted an academic average of 3.5 or better on a 4.0 scale while carrying a class load of at least 12 hours during the semester. Berry College, located in Rome, Georgia, is an independent, coeducational college recognized nationally for the quality and value of its educational experience. College leaders from across the country chose Berry College as the nation’s number one “Up-And-Coming” liberal arts college, according to the 2014 U.S. News Best Colleges rankings.
Local students receive academic honors at Troy
Troy University is pleased to announce students who have been named to the Chancellor’s List for the Fall Semester and Term 2 of the 2016/2017 academic year. Local residents who made the list include: Cody Johnson of Camp Hill, Jeffrey Ransom of Tallassee, Matthew Anderson of Alexander City, Ryan Fuller of Kellyton, Kathryn Gray of Kellyton, Shelley Macon of Alexander City, Forrest Solomon of Tallassee and Brittany Taylor of Wadley. Full-time undergraduate students who are registered for at least 12 semester hours and who earn a grade point average of 4.0 qualify for the Chancellor’s List. The Fall Semester includes students at the Troy campus. Troy University is a public, historic, international university with more than 145,000 alumni. Students choose TROY for its quality academic programs, reasonable costs and availability of financial aid, outstanding faculty, and flexible in-class and online class offerings. +
Gov. Robert Bentley’s plan to set a special election to fill a U.S. Senate seat in the 2018 election cycle would be a “double violation” of state law, according to State Auditor Jim Zeigler. On Wednesday, Zeigler asked Bentley to set the special election “forthwith,” complying with the Alabama Code. A vacancy in the U.S. Senate representing Alabama will occur if Sen. Jeff Sessions is confirmed by the U.S. Senate as U.S. Attorney General. An interim Senator will be appointed by Bentley. He then must call a special election to fill the remainder of Sessions’ term, which ends in January 2021. Bentley said last week he will set the special election the same date as the 2018 election. Zeigler says that violates Section 36-9-8 of the Code of Alabama in two ways.
Cathy Higgins / The Outlook
Outlook honored for coverage Horseshoe Bend teacher Felicia Williams presents Outlook Editor Mitch Sneed with the Citation Award from the Association of Career and Technical Education, Family and Consumer Science Division Thursday for the paper’s coverage of activities and initiatives in consumer science education.
Of Destin and a famous musician’s different destiny
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his space has previously addressed the fascinating – and to some folks, lamentable – evolution of Destin, Florida, and other areas of the Gulf Coast as viewed by those of us who recall childhood vacations to those then-sparsely populated locales in the ‘50s and ‘60s. And a recent business trip to conduct several interviews in what is now known as the Emerald Coast area validated the stupendous growth along Highway 98 and elsewhere. This time, I went on a straight shot down Highway 331, since two of the interviews were in Santa Rosa Beach, located at the Highway 98/331 intersection. I hadn’t traveled that route in at least 14 years. And a harbinger of what was to come was an erstwhile spot in the road known as Freeport. Located just north of Choctawhatchee Bay, Freeport used to be a community where a vehicle southbound on 331 would turn left at State Highway 20 and go east for less than a mile before turning right to head across the bay. And that was about it. Now, Freeport has modern shopping centers located on both highways. The anchor unit on one is a huge Publix grocery. Several other shopping strips have all sorts of stereotypical retail tenants – a small Chinese restaurant, cell phone/electronic gizmo stores, a vape shop, etc. Heading west into Destin was also, er, impressive. Starting in Miramar Beach, gigantic buildings are encountered pretty much all the way to the bridge that separates Destin and Okaloosa Island. As is the case in other locales such as Gulf Shores, cynics would opine that they look like concrete beehives. There’s a new facet of the
WILLIE MOSELEY Columnist
Sandestin resort called Grand Boulevard that appears to be a city unto itself. The factory outlet shopping center in the same area as Sandestin now appears to be about three times larger than it was about a decade and a half ago. It was the off-season, of course, but traffic was still somewhat sluggish at times. All of the interviewees I had to see are permanent residents of the area. One of them has had a unique life that included a unique career shift. He’s now retired. Originally from Topeka, Kansas, Dave Hope was the original bass player in the legendary rock band that was named after his home state. He was heard on the band’s biggest-selling albums in the ‘70s, including the quintupleplatinum “Leftoverture” (which included the mega-hit “Carry On Wayward Son”) and the quadruple-platinum “Point Of Know Return” (which included hits like “Dust In The Wind” and the title track). Archival photos show the bassist onstage or in a group photo sporting a handlebar mustache and a cigarette dangling from his lips (“I was a chain smoker back then”). But for all of the adulation and success, Hope tired of the temptations and tribulations of being in a rock band, as did Kerry Livgren, one of the guitarists. They formed what most observers would call a “Christian rock” band called AD, but Hope clarified, “We just wanted to be in a band with Christians.”
While that musical initiative didn’t last long, Hope’s quest regarding his faith was ongoing, and he eventually moved from Atlanta to Destin. “My daughter was a couple of years old, and I realized I didn’t want to raise her in a major city,” he said. “We happened to vacation here and found it was a small community and a good place to raise a kid.” Hope found a job with a local church and his involvement in positions such as youth pastor increased to the point that the parishioners encouraged him to pursue a higher position in ministry. He only had a high school diploma, but pursued the appropriate studies and passed the appropriate tests, and was ordained as an Anglican priest. He also still occasionally sat in with Kansas (usually on encores of “Carry On Wayward Son”) and played on two songs on the band’s 2000 album, ‘Somewhere to Elsewhere”. Hope remained at the same church until he retired. Obviously, he’s more astute about the growth of Destin and surrounding area, having been active in that community for many years. And Dave Hope has maintained his personal integrity about his musical career and his spiritual career, and he still participates in local combos as well as continuing to serve at his church. It seems rare and gratifying to encounter someone who’s maintained his values and succeeded in two very different lines of work. Willie Moseley is a former editor and a regular columnist for Tallapoosa Publishers Inc.
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Former Mosses mayor pleads guilty to felony ethics charges
Attorney General Luther Strange announced the filing of an Information and subsequent plea of guilty entered by Walter S. Hill, former mayor of the Town of Mosses in Lowndes County, on a felony ethics violation for using his office for personal gain in the total amount of $25,370. on Jan. 6. Hill resigned the day before he pled guilty to the felony ethics violation in Montgomery County Circuit Court. Hill was previously convicted of misdemeanor ethics charges in 2014, and remained in office. Due to these felony charges he resigned last week rather than being removed automatically from office. “Mr. Hill has committed flagrant abuses of the public trust and taxpayers’ money for too long,” said Attorney General Strange. “It is extremely important that this case has resulted in him no longer being in office.” The Information filed by the Strange’s Special Prosecutions Division charged Hill with unlawfully directing money, in the form of checks drawn on the town’s bank accounts, to himself. Specifically: Hill used Town of Mosses funds to make his child support payments that were processed by the Department of Human Resources in Montgomery County. He then created fraudulent records in an attempt to conceal his theft, issued unauthorized paychecks, reimbursed himself for property lost in a fire. Hill faces a potential penalty of two to 20 years’ imprisonment for his ethics violation, which is a Class B felony. Hill’s sentencing has been set for Feb. 15.
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A single-vehicle crash today, Jan. 11, has claimed the life of an Auburn teen. Craig Allen Hensarling, 18, was killed when the 2006 Toyota Sequoia he was driving left the roadway, struck a bridge pylon and caught fire. Hensarling was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash occurred at 2:30 p.m. on Interstate 85 between the 23- and 24-mile markers. Nothing further is available as Alabama State Troopers continue to investigate.
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