News

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

By Kaitlin Fleming, Staff Correspondent Alabama’s 14th annual sales tax holiday for school-related items began at 12:01 a.m. today, July 19, and ends at midnight Sunday, July 21. This tax break gives shoppers the opportunity to purchase certain school supplies, computers, books and clothing without the Alabama’s four percent sales tax. The following items are tax

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor On Wednesday, July 17, local students got the opportunity to go back-to-school shopping with Dre Kirkpatrick, a Gadsden City High School graduate and former University of Alabama football player who is now a professional cornerback with the Cincinnati Bengals. This is the second year Kirkpatrick’s 21 Kids Foundation hosted the 2019

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor At the Gadsden City Council Meeting on Tuesday, July 16, the City of Gadsden announced that Motus Integrated Technologies, an automotive interior supplier, will be locating its new facility in Gadsden. Motus will invest over $15 million dollars in the community and create over 90 new jobs in the area. “This

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor The Gadsden Kiwanis Club celebrated its 100-year anniversary on Wednesday, July 10 at the Gadsden Museum of Art. Club members and local supporters gathered to reminisce and celebrate the club’s birthday by singing “Happy Birthday” and enjoying a meal and birthday cake. During the festivities, City of Gadsden Mayor’s Assistant Shane

By Sarrah Peters/News Editor On Friday, June 14, hundreds of volunteers worked on projects throughout Etowah County as part of United Way’s 22nd Annual Day of Action. The Day of Action is a campaign where local charities and organizations sign up to get projects done and volunteers come out to work on the projects all

By Sarrah Peters/News Editor The Etowah County Sheriff’s Office hosted its 9th Annual Student Leadership Academy this past week.  Sheriff Jonathon Horton said he was excited to keep the program going, as it offers a great experience to the students who will become leaders in the future. The students participating in the program, which got

Name: Carl Brady Where were you born and raised? “I was born in Gadsden in 1968 at the Holy Name of Jesus Hospital, and was raised on The Mountain near Noccalula Falls.” What is your occupation? “My current occupation is Workforce Program Manager for the East AlabamaWorks Regional Workforce Council. I work with local business

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor This year, Emma Samson Middle School started a camp for students who are English as a second language learners. Marcia Farabee, who spent time working with English language learner camps throughout Alabama, was inspired to start the camp when she returned to working at Gadsden City Schools and realized there was

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor The Gadsden-Etowah Patriots Association is seeking nominations for the Patriots Hall of Fame. Patriots Association member Rick Vaughan said that the organization is looking for people that give back to the community without seeking recognition. “When our founding fathers set this country up, what we are looking for in a patriot,

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor The Humane Society Pet Rescue and Adoption Center is holding a fundraiser concert featuring The Swingin’ Medallions on June 28 at The Venue at Coosa Landing. Doors open at 6 p.m. The Swingin’ Medallions are a swing band that are well-known in the South for their hit “A Double Shot (of

Name: Jared Vaughn Where were you born and raised? “I grew up in the Bellevue Highlands community on the mountain in Gadsden. I attended R. A. Mitchell Elementary School, General Forest Middle School and Emma Sansom High School.  My parents still live in the same house I grew up in to this day.  My family

By Sarrah Peters News Editor Westbrook Christian had an outstanding 2019 graduating class, with 85 percent of the students receiving scholarships. “We keep up with the percentage every year,” said Principal Cindy Greer. “Over the past five years it’s been like 58 percent, 59 percent. Last year’s group, the class of 2018, had 65 percent,

By Sarrah Peters News Editor On Wednesday, June 5, a group of bikers stopped at the Boys and Girls Clubs of Gadsden and Etowah County. University of Dayton Professor Peter Titlebaum, Dwight Matlock and Moshe Bargil embarked on a week-long biking trip the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 1 in

Name: Kara Scheller Where were you born and raised? “I was born and raised here in Gadsden!” What is your occupation? “I am a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, also known as a BCBA, and owner of Coosa Behavioral Services.” What made you decide to work in your field? “I became interested in disabilities, specifically autism,

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor On Monday, May 27, people gathered at Ola Lee Mize Patriots Park at Noccalula Falls inn Gadsden to remember the reason for the Memorial Day holiday: the soldiers who have died fighting for our country. City of Gadsden Mayor Sherman Guyton encouraged people to keep remembering our military and veterans, especially

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor The cast of the Noccalula Experience, an immersive theater performance based on the local legend of Princess Noccalula, has been rehearsing for the last few weeks, and everything is in place to open the show this weekend. The show will be held from May 31 to June 7 on Friday through

By Sarrah Peters News Editor The fifth annual Bash in the Bend will be held Saturday, June 1 at 103 Robert Lee Road in Gadsden. Five years ago, neighbors Jeff Little, Shane Reid and Mark Cassidy decided to host a cookout in Tillison Bend the weekend of Father’s Day on their several acres of property.