The Mission To Bring Blues Legend Big Mama Thornton Home To Dale County

By Adam Kamerer

 

The Wiregrass Blues Society held Fields to Fame: The Path to Influence, an educational event honoring Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton, at the Carver Museum in Dothan on the evening of Saturday, April 2 and again at Mt. Olive Baptist Church in Ariton on Sunday afternoon. The event was made possible by a grant from the Alabama Humanities Alliance.

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Ozark Leisure Services Athletics Sees Huge Post-Covid Growth

By Adam Kamerer

The Covid-19 pandemic has stifled leisure activity for the past two years, but as the pandemic wanes, leisure sports in Ozark are making a strong comeback. More than 600 children are registered for leisure sports this year, up from 290 registered players in 2021 -- more than double last year’s numbers.

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First Ozark UMC Receives $500,000 Donation, Renames Learning Center in Honor of Donor

By Gail Berry

First Ozark United Methodist Church (FUMC) recently announced a major fund drive to enlarge its childcare facility, a move that will be a boon to the entire community. The church is that much closer to reaching its $1.8 million goal after an accounting meeting held March 6 saw the donation of $500,000 from longtime church member and Ozark native, Dr. Oliver Kingsley. Senior Pastor Jason Thrower announced $1.5 million has been raised through donations and pledges.

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Stanley Smith Selected for Alabama Folk Heritage Award

By Adam Kamerer

Stanley Smith, a Sacred Harp songster from Ozark, has been selected as an honoree of the Celebration of Alabama Arts, to be held in Montgomery at the Alabama Shakespeare Festival on May 18. Smith will be awarded the Alabama Folk Heritage Award for his contributions to Sacred Harp singing.

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Ozark Hosts 16th Annual Crawdad Festival

By Adam Kamerer

Thousands of people gathered in downtown Ozark for the 16th Annual Crawdad and Music Festival on April 2.

Although the weather threatened to rain at times, clouds and the occasional stray sprinkle didn’t keep the crowds away. “I think we had the largest crowd ever at an event on the square,” says Ozark Mayor Mark Blankenship. “I think we have a few things to tweak, but we were really pleased.”

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Local High School Seniors Win Resume Contest

Colson Collier (Ariton High School), Riley Jordan (Carroll High School), Jaci Denny (Dale County High School), Ma’Kiyah Galloway (Daleville High School), and Elizabeth Harrell (GW Long High School) were recently named the school winners of the PowerSouth Energy Cooperative/Southeast AlabamaWorks Resume Contest.  Local sponsors of the contest were Quality Fab, Inc., Carroll High School, Fuqua Bankston Funeral Home, All In Credit Union, and P5 Renovations. Each winner was awarded $100 from sponsors. 

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Adam Enfinger Running for Dale County Commission

By Adam Kamerer

Supporters packed into the Pinckard Lunch Box for a meet and greet with Adam Enfinger on Saturday, April 9. Enfinger is launching a campaign to run for Dale County Commissioner, District Three.

Enfinger’s campaign provided free hot dogs and cookies to attendees. Enfinger was joined by his wife and children. The Pinckard Pageant Queens made an appearance, and the event opened with the national anthem sung by Junior Miss Newton Corrine Wallace.

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Carroll Girls Beat Long, Boys Win Region Games

The Lady Eagles defeated GW Long 10-1 on Senior Day. Senior Shelby Weeks got the scoring started with the first of her two goals of the day.  Emmy Ganey then scored the first of her two goals of the day to give Carroll the 2-0 lead.  The Rebels cut the lead to 2-1 with a goal by Carley Pritchett assisted by Bea Anderson.  

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L. A. Hicks Is Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Ozark's Youth of the Year

By Adam Kamerer

The Boys’ and Girls’ Club of Ozark-Southeast Alabama has selected Lanorion “L. A.” Hicks as their 2022 Youth of the Year honoree. 

Hicks started working with the Boys’ and Girls’ Club about a year ago, because one of his siblings attends the program. “I really love working with kids. I want to be a person for them that I didn’t have growing up,” says Hicks.

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Dale County EMA Director Speaks at Coffee & Conversations

By Adam Kamerer

Willie T. Worsham has been Dale County’s EMA director since February 2021, but he’s no stranger to emergency management. With 24 years’ experience as a meteorologist, Worsham served as Fort Rucker’s EMA director for 16 years.

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OFD Battles Fire In Downtown Tight Spot

By Adam Kamerer

Ozark Fire and Rescue responded to an unusual and tricky fire on Monday, April 11.

A little after 3 p.m., bystanders reported smoke rising from buildings off of West Reynolds Street. Arriving quickly on the scene, firefighters weren’t quite sure what they were dealing with. Initial concerns were that a fire had broken out in either Live at Harlow’s! or at Fannie’s Restaurant, but firefighters checked out both buildings top to bottom and confirmed there was no active fire in either location.

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Carroll Soccer Scores Big Wins

The boys’ and girls’ soccer teams at Carroll continue to get wins. The boys defeated Andalusia 5-1 Tuesday night to move one step closer to an area title. Devin Weaver scored three times while Brayden Gilbert scored twice to lead the boys.

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OHA Recognizes John Runkle and Others at 9th Anniversary Dinner

Special to The Southern Star

The Ozark Heritage Association honored OHA Board member, John Runkle for his years of dedicated service to the restoration and maintenance of the Holman House. OHA hosted a dinner marking the 9th year since the Association was organized and to recognized key individuals in the accomplishment of its goals on Tuesday, April 12. 

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Blues in Schools Preludes Wiregrass Blues Festival

By Christina Faulkner

In their desire to educate and share the history of Blues in the South, the Wiregrass Blues Society hosted Blues in Schools at Harry N. Mixon Intermediate School in Ozark on Tuesday, April 19. 

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Biden to Visit Troy Weapons Plant

According to a press release from the White House, President Joe Biden is expected to visit Lockheed Martin’s Pike County plant Tuesday, May 3. 

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Dale County Basketball All-stars, Coaches/Players of the Year Announced

By: Brandon Faulkner

The 2021-2022 Dale County Basketball All-stars and Coaches/Players of the Year were selected April 20, 2022. The Boys’ and Girls’ All-Star team selection consist of two players from each the Boys’ and Girls’ teams from high school in Dale County. One player and one coach were selected for Coach/Player of the Year in the Boys and Girls Division.

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Hounds Hunting with Heart Holds Dog Show and Fundraiser

By Christopher Mobley

The people of Ozark spent this past sunny Saturday enjoying outdoor activities and all for a good cause! The Hounds Hunting with Heart fundraiser was sponsored and presented by the Heart of Dixie Coon Hunters Association, with all of the proceeds from the event donated to Vivian B. Adams School. 

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Sahara Moreno to Represent Alabama in Regional Gymnastics

By Christina Faulkner

Sahara Moreno of Ozark is one of 32 gymnasts representing Alabama in the upcoming Region 8, Level 8 Gymnastics competition in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The competition will begin tomorrow, April 29 and continue through Sunday, May 1. Moreno qualified for regionals as a member of United Gymstars out of Dothan during a competition last March in Foley, Alabama. 

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Boys and Girls Club Holds Successful Steak and Burger Dinner and Auction

By Christina Faulkner

The Boys and Girls Club of Ozark -Southeast Alabama hosted the 25th Steak and Burger Dinner and Auction at the Ozark Civic Center on Thursday, April 14. While this is the nonprofit organization’s 27th year in operation in Ozark, the annual event celebrated its 25th year after the pandemic kept donors from gathering to support the B&GC in 2020 and 2021. 

Jessica Moore told the gathered audience the world has learned lessons through the global pandemic that paused most fundraising efforts for nonprofits. 

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