2017-08-24
Fulfills dream of seeing a total eclipse
Robert Pickard never gave a thought about having to drive 300- plus miles to see Monday’s total eclipse of the sun; he was going. And, so, on Monday he was in Andrews, N.C. —331 miles from Grove Hill, where he witnessed the event. He and a friend, Collin May, were on one of the main streets of the little town […]
How a monument controversy was resolved locally
Editor’s NotesAll of the current furor over Confederate monuments and the horrible violence in Charlottesville, Va. prompted memories of how Clarke County successfully dealt with a war memorial monument controversy 15 years ago. I write this as a front page personal column, something I’ve never done before, because it involves my memories of the event as well as my opinion. Given […]
‘Would you look at that!’
Looking up MondaySmall clusters of people gathered here and there in Grove Hill, across Clarke County, the state and much of the nation Monday and cocked their heads heavenward to watch an unusual occurrence — an eclipse of the sun. Observers used special eclipse sunglasses and some used welding shields to observe the phenomenon. A few old cardboard box “pin-hole cameras” were […]
PANTHERS?
A story a few weeks ago on the possibility of Alabama panthers sparked a lot of stories from people who have seen them in Clarke County. These photos were submitted. At top left, a security camera in Billy Finch’s gravel pit off of Highway 43 near Tompkins Baptist Church shows what appears to be a mother cat and two cubs. […]
The lights are still out and chaos still reigns in Motes’ third ‘Apocalypse’ book
The saga of a family dealing with chaos following the destruction of the nation’s electrical grid continues with the third book in Jeff Motes’ “Once Upon An Apocalypse” series. “Gathering Home,” is the title of the latest book by electrical engineer Jeff Motes of Salitpa. His first book in the series was published in 2015 and details how civilization falls […]
Grew up in Gosport, murdered in Madison
A man who grew up in Gosport and graduated from Clarke County High School in 1974 was killed at a construction site in Madison, in north Alabama, in an apparent robbery last week. The victim is Van Johnson, 61, of Riverdale, Ga., near Atlanta. He was in Madison working on a renovation project at a Publix grocery store. He was […]
Johnson
Van Johnson, 61, a native of Kent, Ohio and a resident of Riverdale, Georgia was born Sept. 30, 1956 to the late Claudia Johnson. He died Aug. 14, 2017. Van was raised in Gosport under the loving care of his maternal grandparents, the late Lem Johnson and the late Willie Mae Hollins Johnson. He was a 1974 graduate of Clarke […]
Scott
Everything is moving by the power of God! On November 18, 1953, to be exact, a bouncy, baby boy was born to the late Daniel Scott Sr. and Margaret Rivers- Scott in the Walker Springs community of Jackson, Alabama. Their youngest of six children was named John Lee Scott, affectionately known to many as “Bang”. The steps of a good […]
Bettis
Lorena Brown Bettis, 91, of Jackson answered the Master’s call Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2017 at River Chase Nursing Home in Gautier, Miss. She was born March 13, 1926 to Della and Joe Brown in Jackson. She was a faithful member of the St. Union Baptist Church prior to her health failing, Lorena was a loving, kind and humble spirit that […]
