News

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor At the Attalla City Council meeting on Monday, October 7, Attalla Mayor Larry Means presented Jack’s employee Cory Gilliam with a proclamation. Gilliam was working at Jack’s when Jessica Battles ran into the restaurant with her baby, E.J. Kilgro. Only a month old, baby E.J.’s skin had turned blue and

By Kaitlin Fleming, Staff Correspondent Michelle Gattis was just 47 years old when she was diagnosed with Stage 1 Breast Cancer. After a routine mammogram, Gattis was diagnosed on June 25, 2012. With Stage 1 Breast Cancer there are multiple treatment options, such as a lumpectomy, a single mastectomy, double (bilateral) mastectomy, hormone therapy, radiation therapy

By Sarrah Peters News Editor During downtown Gadsden’s First Friday event on October 4, the Gadsden Museum of Art will be the happening place to be. The museum is welcoming the Alabama Bicentennial traveling exhibit titled “Making Alabama.” The exhibit was created through a partnership with the Alabama Humanities Foundation, the Alabama State Bicentennial Commission

By Sarrah Peters News Editor On September 29, The Factory will hold Flip and Flutter from 4 to 6 p.m. The event will benefit children and families affected by childhood cancer. All of the funds raised will go to Smile-A-Mile, a non-profit that helps children with childhood cancer in Alabama by holding camps for affected

By Sarrah Peters News Editor In 2002, Colonel Parker Ray Tinsley, inspired by the success of World’s Longest Yard Sale and the U.S. 11 Antique Alley Sale, started the U.S. 411 Yard Sale, in part to bring people to the area. “We want to bring folks in to see our beautiful lakes, rivers, parks, mountains

By Sarrah Peters News Editor On Tuesday, September 16, about a dozen contractors and subcontractors met at the Etowah-Gadsden Chamber of Commerce for a pre-bid conference for the Etowah County Mega Sports Complex. The meeting was mandatory for contractors, landscapers and irrigation and turf specialists who plan to enter a bid for the construction of

By Kaitlin Fleming Staff Correspondent A local woman received a surprise reception and volunteer award on Friday, Sept. 13. Jessica Brown was chosen as a winner in AARP’s national Show Your Love volunteer contest and soon will embark on a week-long cruise as part of her award. The contest aims to inspire volunteers to go

By Sarrah Peters News Editor Rozlyn Greene, a Glencoe fourth-grader, passed away on Thursday, September 12 after battling leukemia. Greene returned home on August 9 after receiving several rounds of chemotherapy and was welcomed back by the Glencoe community. But although Greene has passed on, the community is not ready to stop rallying around her.

By Sarrah Peters News Editor On Wednesday, September 11, the City of Gadsden Beautification Board held its annual 9-11 Memorial at Patriots Park, located at the corner of Broad and Fourth streets in downtown Gadsden. Gadsden Beautification Board Chairperson Pat Sherman welcomed everyone to the event. Gadsden City District 1 Councilwoman Dr. Cynthia Toles gave

By Sarrah Peters News Editor On Wednesday, September 11, Mike Lutzenkirchen of the Lutzie 43 Foundation spoke to the students of Gadsden City High School. Mike is the father of Philip Lutzenkirchen, an Auburn football player that was part of the 2010 National Championship winning season. Philip had a brief stint in the NFL with

By Sarrah Peters News Editor On Tuesday, September 10, the Gadsden City Council introduced its proposed 2020 city budget. The proposed budget includes an increase for the city’s fire and police department’s pay. The city is currently 16 staff members down in the police department, and the city’s finance director Lisa Rosser said that she

By Sarrah Peters News Editor On Wednesday, September 4, Honda Manufacturing held a luncheon at The Venue in Gadsden to celebrate its economic impact in Alabama and its five supporting counties in the region, including Etowah County. According to an economic impact study conducted by the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University

By Sarrah Peters News Editor On Friday, August 30, more than 1,075 fifth grade students in Etowah County and Attalla school systems kicked off the Super Citizen Program. On Tuesday, September 3 about 550 second grade students in the Gadsden City School system followed suit. Students participating in the event waved flags and wore paper

Name: Victoria Paige Sims Where were you born and raised? “26 years in Fort Payne.” What is your occupation? “Car sales.” What made you decide to work in your field? “I love the customer service end of working with the public. Its not about the vehicle, it’s all about the customer! I jumped into this

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor On Saturday, September 7, the Carver Community Revitalization Committee will host a Tailgate Throw-Down at Carver Square, located at 1030 Tuscaloosa Avenue, from 5 to 9 p.m. Every first Saturday of the month, the Carver Community Revitalization Committee plans an event for its community. “This group, the Carver Community Revitalization Committee,

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor The Theatre of Gadsden will host performances of “The Miracle Worker” on the weekends of September 13-15 and September 20-22. The performances will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. The production tells the true story of Annie Sullivan and her student Helen

Name: Teia Blevins Where were you born and raised? “Fort Payne.” What is your occupation? “Car sales.” What made you decide to work in your field? “My entire career life has been in sales. I enjoy learning about and being around cars, so selling them just makes perfect sense.” Tell us about your family and

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor On Tuesday, August 13, the City of Gadsden celebrated two new improvements in the city. At 9 a.m., city officials hosted a ribbon cutting for the grand opening of the Alabama City Center. The project was the second phase of renovations for the former General Forrest Middle School. The first renovation

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor On a return trip from Birmingham, Melanie Kilgo noticed an empty building off Hwy. 77 and Hwy. 59 next to the Petro truck stop. Already in the restaurant business as owner of Lola and Runts and Lola’s on the River, Melanie felt drawn to the site and chose the site for

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor On Saturday, August 3, in the wee hours of the morning, 65 students and chaperones loaded a bus in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, on the outskirts of Kansas City. The students, incoming seniors from Summit Christian Academy, were headed to Gadsden to do a yearly mission with Breakaway Ministries led by Eddie

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor On Saturday, August 10, the second annual Smoke in the Park Barbecue competition will be held at E.C. Wilson Park, located at 313 Nancy Carrol Avenue in Glencoe. The money raised will go to the Glencoe Fire Department’s Christmas for Kids program. The Glencoe Fire Department has been doing the Christmas

Name: Tiffany L.Gladden Where were you born and raised? “I was born at Decatur General in Morgan County, Ala., but raised in Etowah County.” What is your occupation? “I am a middle school teacher at Emma Sansom. I have been teaching 18 years.” What made you decide to work in your field?  “I decided I

Caption: At the Gadsden Public Library’s annual Harry Potter Birthday Celebration on Wednesday, July 31, children were able to build their own potions necklaces using water, food dye, oil and glitter. By Sarrah Peters, News Editor On Wednesday, July 31, people of all ages had a magical day at the Gadsden Public Library during its annual Harry

Eight years ago, Gadsden-Etowah Habitat for Humanity introduced the community to dragon boat racing with its Dragon Boat Festival. This year the festival will be held on August 17. The opening ceremony will be at 8:45 a.m. and races begin at 9 a.m. Dragon Boat racing originated in China over 2,300 years ago. A worldwide

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor The Boys and Girls Clubs of Gadsden/Etowah County received a financial shot in the arm on July 25. The Etowah County Football Preview Show at the Mort Glosser Amphitheatre raised money for club programs. According to Boys and Girls Club Director Sonquez Williams, the money raised will be used to support

Rainbow City is pleased to announce the building of a road in its city limits to greatly enhance the flow of school traffic on Lumley Road for Rainbow Middle and John Jones Elementary Schools. The new road, which will cut through the property recently acquired by Rainbow City from the Etowah County Mega Sports Complex

Name: Kristi Kent Where were you born and raised? “Gadsden. I have lived here all of my life.” What is your occupation? “Well, I just recently decided to make a career change in my life. I worked for over 20 years in Home Health and Hospice and recently decided to go into Real Estate and

By Kaitlin Fleming Staff Correspondent Quenyana White, her sons David and Da’lon, as well as friends, family and sponsors for Habitat for Humanity broke ground on the nonprofit organization’s 55th house on Tuesday, July 23. Steve Scharfenberg, the president of Habitat for Humanity, said that ground breaking ceremonies for these homes are always celebrations. “It’s

By Kaitlin Fleming Staff Correspondent The annual World’s Longest Yardsale will start in Gadsden at Noccalula Falls Park on August 1 and end in Hudson, Michigan on August 4. The 690-mile-long bargain hunt began 32 years ago, and since the beginning of the event, travelers and hagglers have been hitting the road in search of

Name: “Deborah Steward” Where were you born and raised? “I was born in Harlingen, Texas, but my family moved to Gadsden when I was still an infant.” What is your occupation? “I am a Title Insurance Agent/Closing Agent with Elite Title Services, Inc. in Rainbow City. We close real estate transactions for Etowah and surrounding