Spencer Chapel AME Church will host Colorama May 25 at 2 p.m. The church is located at 718 NE Main St. in Fulton. The church pastor is the Rev. LaDarrell Thames. Every memorial day at 3 p.m. local time, Americans from coast to coast pause to remember those who gave their lives in service to our country. “Taps Across America” is a way to honor those service members. Musicians from all backgrounds join in a synchronized nationwide sounding of Taps, uniting the country in a shared moment of honor, remembrance and reflection. Again this year, trumpet players from the Flying...

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Clarke Prep golfer Brody Bradford, a sophomore, recently fired 3-under par to win the two-day AISA state golf individual championship at Auburn’s Pines Crossing Golf Course. It is the best a golfer from Clarke Prep has ever fared. Already, Bradford has received some inquiries about his future in golf after high school. There are several colleges Bradford would enjoy playing for, according to Clarke Prep Golf Coach Bill Weide. Weide noted Bradford’s work ethic was special. “Yes, his work ethic is incredible,” Weide said. “He will spend hours working on different aspects of his game. “I believe his greatest strength...

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Micah Caster, a Division I basketball player at the University of Louisiana Monroe, is coming home to host a free camp for young athletes in Southwest Alabama in late May. Born and raised in McIntosh, Caster grew up surrounded by basketball. He started playing at just 3 years old with STARZ Youth Sports, and later attended Jackson schools, while his father Marcus Caster coached at Jackson High School. Although proud to wear the Aggies jersey, Caster was always torn because his mother is a graduate of McIntosh High School. His heart has always belonged to both towns. Caster made history...

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Ivey Griffin kept up with the news and happenings of Thomasville and Clarke County -- and much of the rest of the region -- even after he was sidelined to his porch in Oak Hill in Wilcox County. The owner of WJDB Radio had a network of friends -- and their cell numbers. He’d sometimes call me three times a week to tell me something or to hear anything I knew. He always had more news than me and often with tantalizing background details. I wasn’t the only person he called; likely as soon as he hung up with me,...

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You would have to be living under a rock to not be aware that two of our state’s metropolitan areas have a serious problem with violent crime. Montgomery and Birmingham have become crime-ridden war zones that resemble third-world countries like Mexico, run by drug cartels. The rampant, open-ended violence and cavalier murders in Montgomery and Birmingham leapt so high in 2024, that people who still lived there were scared to come out of their homes for fear of being shot. Even their homes were not safe places, a good many small children were reported murdered from stray bullets in Birmingham,...

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Early Years John Gerald Bradford Jr. was born on March 8, 1941, in Grove Hill, Ala., to Gladys Kennedy and John Gerald Bradford Sr. He grew up in a close-knit small-town community where childhood days were filled with friends, outdoor adventures, and strong values. John often reminisced about those early years, sharing stories of the friendships and community support that shaped his character. Education and Career John attended Clarke County High School in Grove Hill, Ala., and went on to pursue higher education at Auburn University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Forest Management. Paying for college was...

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The Bible has some good thoughts. Psalm 62:8 says, “Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.” Our eternal God understands our everyday life, and when we suffer grief, he understands. Remember that Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). Grief is the way God intended for us to deal with loss. It is nature’s way of healing a broken heart. Jesus himself wept when he received news one day that his close friend Lazarus had died. There is no correct timetable for grief work. Each person must be allowed...

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Darius Slayton is not from Jackson, but his mother is, and that’s reason enough for the seven-year NFL veteran wide receiver to host the Slayton Skills Camp in her hometown. The camp will be June 28 for 9th-12th grade boys, from 8-11:30 a.m., at Jackson High School’s Legion Field at Simpkins Stadium. Check-in will begin at 8. This camp is free to the first 100 people signing up at www.lhrhfoundation.com/s kills-camp. Parents can register with their child's first and last name. Pamela Slayton, Darius’ mother, graduated from Jackson High School in 1980. Darius, who grew up in Atlanta, is having...

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A swirling summer storm once left me stranded in the darkness with dozens of bewildered children. My fellow camp counselors and I had decided to surprise our campers with a pajama party in the lodge on the final night of camp. But the real surprise wasn’t the disco ball strung from the rafters or the karaoke contest. It was the raging wind and rain that severed tree limbs and snapped power lines, leaving us huddled in a blackout. Most kids eventually surrendered to sleep — but not the fretful one beside me. “I hate this place,” she murmured with a...

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THOMASVILLE -- Thomasville grocery store owner Robbie Norman never envisioned he’d be as interested in thoroughbred horses as he is in making sure there are enough heads of lettuce, bunches of bananas and ground chuck at Super Foods. “I’m just an accounting nerd,” he said, “so I sit up here and look at grocery prices all day.” When he was 11, he regretted ever putting his feet in the stirrups after getting thrown off his brother’s horse twice. “I was riding and somebody came down the road and started honking the horn and he got to bucking and running through...

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