The Clarke County Democrat Podcast

Child Abuse Prevention Month is being marked in Clarke County with 188 blue and white pinwheels in front of the county courthouse in Grove Hill. The pinwheels represent the 188 children served last year by the Regional Child Advocacy Center, which provides services to children in Choctaw, Clarke and Washington counties. Article Link

As I thought about writing my column this week, I realized we are entering May, which means graduation season is here. There will be awards programs, banquets, senior walks, baccalaureate services and graduation ceremonies. For many families, May will be filled with pride, tears, memories and a few nervous thoughts about what comes next. This year, graduation feels even more personal to me. My old...

Like the Alabama State Senate, the state House of Representatives will have very little turnover. State legislative seats are becoming analogous to congressional seats when it comes to incumbency. More than 80% of the Legislature is unopposed. The partisan makeup will be largely unchanged, with Republicans retaining a 75% supermajority. Leadership continuity will be strong between this quadrennium...

I have been watching YouTube a lot lately. You can find most anything on there. You can learn how to hang wallpaper, fix the display on your car, pack more efficiently for a trip, research places you plan to visit and watch cooking demonstrations to perfect dishes. I have watched some of all these things. In the winter, I put a yule log on my television and play classical music. YouTube is a handy...

NOW-MAY 1 The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce is seeking vendors for upcoming First Friday events. Vendors may offer homemade and baked goods, fresh lemonade and drinks, retail and boutique items, handmade crafts, artisan goods, specialty products and other unique finds. Those interested may register at www.jacksonalabama.org. The first event will be May 1 and feature the Cruise-In. APRIL 30 The...

Thomasville rolled past visiting Hillcrest-Evergreen 12-2 and 13-3 to sweep the Class 3A first-round baseball playoff series on Friday. The Tigers (19-8) will host Providence Christian (11-15) in a second-round series beginning with a doubleheader Friday at 5 p.m. A third game will be Saturday at 11 a.m. if needed. In the opener, Isaac Parten allowed two runs on seven hits with 10 strikeouts in fi...

No. 8-ranked Orange Beach hammered Jackson 12-0 and 20-1 Friday to sweep the Aggies from the Class 4A baseball playoffs. In the opener, the Makos scored 10 runs in the first inning and never looked back. Starter Lance Moseley took the loss, giving up nine runs on three hits in 2/3 of an inning. Carlos Barientos recorded the lone hit for Jackson, which finished 11-17. In Game 2, Orange Beach again...

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Have you ever known someone who thinks they know everything and refuses to believe they need to be taught anything? I have known a few people like that over the years. Truthfully, every time I start thinking about folks like that, I get reminded of myself. One of my earliest lessons came when I was about 5 years old. My dad was building our first new home. Because my dad was a contractor and his f...

I have been thinking a good bit about death this week. Our church pianist died in her sleep Sunday night after playing for church Sunday morning. It was a real shock to those of us who took for granted she would always be here. Her death appeared to be from natural causes. That is the way I want to go — just go to sleep and not wake up. Still, she was only 61. That is a mighty young age in this da...

This is a big election year in Alabama politics. All constitutional state offices and all legislative seats are on the ballot. All 35 State Senate seats and all 105 House seats will be decided. Alabama is one of the most Republican states in America and that is reflected in the State Senate and State House. Republicans hold supermajorities in both chambers. In the Senate, there are 27 Republicans...

NOW-MAY 1 The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce is seeking vendors for upcoming First Friday events. Vendors may offer homemade and baked goods, fresh lemonade and drinks, retail and boutique items, handmade crafts, artisan goods, specialty products and other unique finds. Those interested may register at www.jacksonalabama.org. The first event will be May 1 and feature the Cruise-In. APRIL 25 Boys...

Jackson headed into the Class 4A playoffs with some momentum after winning two games last week. The Aggies (10-14) visit Orange Beach (19-14) in a best-of-three first-round series beginning with a doubleheader Friday at 5 p.m. A third game, if needed, is Saturday at 1 p.m. • Jackson 3, S. Choctaw 0 On April 14, the Aggies scored all three runs in the first on Kylin Gates’ bases-loaded walk and sac...

No. 4-ranked Clarke Prep extended its winning streak to eight games on April 14 with a doubleheader sweep of Hooper Academy and Crenshaw Christian Academy. • Clarke Prep 13, Hooper 1 Brooke Brasell was 4 for 4 and winning pitcher Kady Thomas allowed three hits and an unearned run in five innings. Addie Hicks had three RBIs to lead the Gators’ 18-hit attack. Clarke Prep broke the game open with a s...

Dunning Cemetery in Dixons Mills will host Decoration day on April 26. A potluck lunch will be hosted by Central Baptist Church. Drop off dishes at Central before attending. The cemetery service begins at 11 a.m. Attendees will return to Central after the service for lunch. For more information, call Melvin Dixon at 334-456-1155. Spencer Chapel AME Church will host a Women’s Day program April 26 a...

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Have you ever been driving down the highway minding your own business when the vehicle in front of you suddenly whips into a driveway with no blinker at all? No warning. No signal. No clue. Just a sharp turn that makes you hit the brakes and wonder if they learned to drive from a cereal box. Then there is the driver with the blinker on for 10 miles. Click. Click. Click. At that point you are not e...

My bruises have not yet disappeared from my fall last week. One thing it has taught me is not to be vain about my appearance. The bruises were not all gone by Easter. I sing in the choir, and we had a big anthem prepared for the holiday, so I knew I needed to be there. I did what I had done for the theater in New Orleans. I put on a pair of sunglasses and went. I looked like a cross between Ray Ch...

This will be a strong political year, with several interesting and competitive races. However, there is only one truly hotly contested open congressional seat in Alabama. The state’s other six incumbent congressmen are expected to cruise to reelection, either unopposed or with only token opposition. That is not unusual in modern politics. Defeating an incumbent member of Congress is extremely diff...

NOW-MAY 1 The Jackson Area Chamber of Commerce is seeking vendors for upcoming First Friday events. Vendors may offer homemade and baked goods, fresh lemonade and drinks, retail and boutique items, handmade crafts, artisan goods, specialty products and other unique finds. Those interested may register at www.jacksonalabama.org. The first event will be May 1 and feature the Cruise-In. APRIL 17-18 T...

TUSCALOOSA — In its first formal appearance before the public since being emasculated by Indiana in the Rose Bowl, Alabama gave no clues that it could be a great football team based on what transpired in Saturday’s A-Day game. The running game still needs a lot of work. With a completely new offensive line, it was still alarming that the Tide couldn’t hammer the ball into the end zone inside the 5...

Coleman Pilkington was 3 for 3, Hunter Norwood had two hits and four RBIs and Christian Draper threw a two-hitter to lead Thomasville to an 11-1, five-inning romp over visiting Dallas County on April 7. Pilkington tripled in the fifth inning and singled in the second and fourth. The Tigers scored twice in the first and added five runs in the second, including RBI singles from Pilkington and Draper...

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