News

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor On Monday, Dec. 10, a retirement ceremony was held for Probate Judge Bobby Junkins at the Etowah County Courthouse. Attendees visited with Junkins, while enjoying photos from Junkins’ life and finger foods. Junkins’ last day will be January 14, when his newly elected replacement Scott Hassell will officially take office. Junkins’

By Kaitlin Fleming, Staff Correspondent Gadsden State Community College hosted the 18th annual Water Festival on Friday, Dec. 7. An estimated 1,400 fourth graders from across Etowah County attended the educational event ran by volunteers from local high schools. The high school students lead the fourth graders around the George Wallace Campus of Gadsden State and

Name: Dustin Watkins Where were you born and raised? “I was born and raised in Etowah County.” What is your occupation? “I work at two different transport companies in Emergency Medical Services as a Paramedic and part-time as an educator in the EMS program at Northeast Alabama Community College. I also give time as a Flight

By Sarrah Peters/News Editor Mistletoe Market is back for its second year with more venders and longer hours. The market will be held Friday, December 7 from 3  to 7 p.m. at the 5th Street Market located at 439 Locust Street, coinciding with the First Friday celebration in downtown Gadsden and Gadsden’s tree-lighting ceremony. “We

By Sarrah Peters/News Editor The Humane Society Pet Rescue and Adoption Center is getting festive for the holiday season. The Humane Society is hosting the 8th Annual Reindeer Run on Saturday, December 15. “This is one of the local race events where participants are encouraged to run or walk with their pets,” said Humane Society

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor This year, CommUnity Thanksgiving, a local Thanksgiving meal that is free to everyone, celebrates its 20th anniversary. This year’s meal will be served at Gadsden’s new facility, The Venue, on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 22. The Thanksgiving feast starts at 10 a.m. and will be open until 2 p.m. The event

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor In July of this year, Gadsden Public Library Director Amanda Jackson left the library after 12 years as director. At the Gadsden City Council meeting on Tuesday, November 13, Mayor Sherman Guyton announced that Craig Scott, appropriately nicknamed ‘Library Guy,’ was the new director of the Gadsden Public Library. “We’re so

Name: Lorrie Strickland Davis Where were you born and raised? “I was born right here in Etowah County and spent four years of my youth living in Orlando, Fla. Living in Orlando was a blast, but we eventually came right back here to Rainbow City and I love to call it home.” What is your

By Kaitlin Fleming Staff Correspondent Etowah County finished a few thousand voters short of reaching the voter turnout that the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election brought. 34,690 ballots were cast on Tuesday (Nov. 6), which was less than half of the registered voters in the county. Straight party voting benefited the Republicans this time around with

By Cole Frederick Staff Correspondent PART 1 Tony Reddick’s journey to becoming the new superintendent of Gadsden City Schools commenced over 1,100 miles away in Massachusetts. Reddick attended high school at the prestigious Saint Sebastian’s School, an all-boys Catholic school located in Newton. Saint Sebastian’s is the top parochial school in Massachusetts and one of

Name: Beth Dayton Where were you born and raised? “I was born in Gadsden. I have lived in four states.   I lived in Tampa, Fla., as a small child and in Virginia, where I attend K-5, first and second grade outside of Washington, D.C. I then moved back to Alabama where I attended Mitchell

By Sarrah Peters News Editor After 32 years, Robert “Bob” Wooten Echols, Jr., attended his last city council meeting as a council member on Tuesday, Oct. 30. Members of the city council, employees of the city and many others took the opportunity to honor Echols for his many years of service, both at the council

By Sarrah Peters News Editor Local students celebrated Red Ribbon Week from Oct. 23 to Oct. 31. Red Ribbon Week is a drug prevention campaign that began in 1985 after the death of DEA agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena. In addition to sporting red ribbons, local students participated in theme days to spread the word of

Several people have asked if it’s possible to vote a straight party ticket and still vote for me for State Senate. The answer is, yes! All you have to do is “Double Bubble.” First, you fill in the bubble next to your political party and then fill in the bubble next to my name in

Name: Morgan Cunningham Where were you born and raised? “I was born and raised in Gadsden and, other than college and law school, have always lived here.” What is your occupation? “I am an attorney.”    What made you decide to work in your field? “My father is an attorney, and some of my fondest

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor On Wednesday, October 17, Darden Rehabilitation Foundation held its annual meeting and award ceremony at the Downtown Civic Center in Gadsden. Darden is one of 26 community rehabilitation programs in Alabama and is number one in the state. The program serves clients with disabilities in five counties: Etowah, Cherokee, DeKalb, Marshall

By Sarrah Peters, News Editor The Love Center’s upcoming fundraiser transforms a popular televised game show into a fun-filled community competition. Community Feud will be held on Thursday, November 15 at 6 p.m. at the newly-opened Venue at Coosa Landing in Gadsden. To find teams, the Love Center Board approached local governing bodies and others and

Name: Katy Chandler Where were you born and raised? “I was born in Gadsden and raised most of my life in Attalla.” What is your occupation? “I am the manager at Sportclips Haircuts of Gadsden.” What made you decide to work in your field? “I have said from the beginning that cosmetology chose me. I

Photo by Kaitlin Fleming: Etowah County Mega Sports Complex Authority Chair Ralph Burke (left) announces the schedule for construction of the Sports Complex as authority member Craig Ford (right) listens on Thursday, October 11. After months of planning and preparation, the Etowah County Mega Sports Complex Authority (ECMSCA) is revealing plans for construction to begin.

By Sarrah Peters News Editor On Tuesday, October 9, City of Gadsden municipal runoff elections were held. In the District 5 City Council race, Jason Wilson beat incumbent Billy Billingsley. Wilson received 520, votes to Billingsley’s 296. “I cannot tell you how much it means to my family to have an opportunity to serve this

By Kaitlin Fleming Staff Correspondent At the age of four, Grace McClellan had a dream that she would one day play professional soccer. Now, the Southside High School senior has gotten one step closer to having her dreams a reality. McClellan has had an opportunity for the past two years to play with an Olympic

By Sarrah Peters News Editor On Friday, October 26, the Humane SocietyPet Rescue and Adoption Center will host a Halloween Bash from 7 to 11 p.m. at the Elks Lodge located at 118 West 1st Street in Gadsden. The event is a costume party, compete with a costume contest with prizes, games, music, catered food

By Sarrah Peters/News Editor On Tuesday, September 25, the City of Gadsden unveiled its newest event space. An open house allowed the public to view the newly-completed The Venue at Coosa Landing at 201 George Wallace Drive. City of Gadsden Public Affairs Coordinator Eric Wright said that they hoped for a few hundred visitors, but

By Sarrah Peters/News Editor Gadsden natives may have noticed the soon-to-open restaurant being built at 943 Rainbow Drive, right in front of the Gadsden Mall. In fact, the construction has caused the main mall entrance to be closed. Locals anticipating the new Longhorn Steakhouse won’t have to wait much longer. Longhorn recently announced that it

Name: Madison Cannon Where were you born and raised? “I was born in Gadsden and raised in Attalla.” What is your occupation? “I am an insurance agent at Hodges-Ford Insurance.” Tell us about your family and pets. “I have a rather small family with my mom and dad and younger brother and sister.” Describe an

(Photo by Sarrah Peters/Messenger: Gadsden Mayor Sherman Guyton presents Cothran’s Bakery owner Chris Cothran with a proclamation in honor of the bakery’s designation as the Sweetest Bakery in Alabama in a national contest held by Dawn Food Products, Inc.) By Sarrah Peters News Editor On Friday, September 14, Cothran’s Bakery celebrated National Bakery Day with some

(Photo by Sarrah Peters/Messenger: The Newman family poses for a photo at the reception honoring Dr. Lucian Newman, Jr.’s 50 years of service at Gadsden Regional Medical Center on Wednesday, Sept. 19. Dr. Newman, Jr. (second from right) is pictured with his wife Jane and their three children, Dr. Lucian Newman, III, Dr. Charlie Newman and

(Submitted Photo: A local youth competes in the last year’s XTERRA Parks of Alabama Trail Run Series race at Noccalula Falls Park.) By Kaitlin Fleming Staff Correspondent Black Squirrel Events is set to host the 2018-2019 XTERRA Parks of Alabama Trail Run Series kickoff race on Sept. 29 at Noccalula Falls Park and Campground in Gadsden.

By Sarrah Peters News Editor The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Wilson-Parris Post 8600 located at 817 Rainbow Drive in Gadsden will host a Vietnam Veterans Appreciation Day on Saturday, September 22 from 2-6 p.m. The VFW post has partnered with the national United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration organization to host events in

Name: Leslie Harp Where were you born and raised? “I was born in Atlanta and raised in Leeds.” What is your occupation? “I’m the Marketing Director and Nurse Recruiter for Gadsden Regional Medical Center.” What made you decide to work in your field? “Working in healthcare marketing was not something I planned or even knew