The South Alabamian News Podcast

State Sen. Greg Albritton (R-Atmore) is seeking the votes needed to pass a comprehensive gaming package that includes Class II casinos, sports betting, a statewide lottery and regulatory commissions to oversee and enforce its activity, according to a report by Alabama Daily News. Albritton is again leading the charge in the Alabama Senate after voting against the gaming bill approved by a House and Senate conference committee last year. In 2021, the Senate passed gaming legislation, but it fell short in the House. In 2022, a gaming bill was introduced in the Senate but passed neither chamber. In 2023, no...

Article Link

Grove Hill— The Clarke County grand jury recently issued 103 true bills, or criminal indictments, out of 151 cases presented. Of those, 115 are felonies. Twenty-four cases were continued for further investigation or because witnesses were not available. Drug-related charges appeared to make up most of the indictments coming from the Feb. 3 session, ranging from possession and use to trafficking. Other indictments included thefts, burglaries, assaults and firearms violations. Several recommendations related to the county jail and courthouse were made. Grand jurors said a jail nurse should be provided daily, malfunctioning locks should be repaired or replaced, the salary...

Article Link

The City of Jackson on Tuesday welcomed the second of two firetrucks that have been purchased and added to the fleet. The truck was parked outside during the city council meeting but will not be put into service until required training is performed, which the council expects to happen no later than April. During the meeting, Mayor Paul South told the council that three key infrastructure projects are advancing. South said a contractor assured him tremendous progress should come on the Kimmel Lake project in the next 60 days despite recent rain. South said the drainage project at Wildwood was...

Article Link

While watching our teenaged son play four years of high school basketball games years ago, we both noticed an absolute truth. Our son could not seem to grasp that he wasn’t able to block every shot that was put up by the opposing team. He obviously believed that it was his God-given job to stop any player headed to the goal. Of course, you know what happened. He got his five allowable fouls in about, um, the first 15 minutes of play. Then according to basketball rules, the referees would be obliged to ask him to leave the floor and...

Article Link

Three Clarke County students were among the 1,500 fall 2024 graduates from Mississippi State University. Tanner Smith of Grove Hill received a bachelor’s degree in university studies, Haven Collins of Thomasville received a bachelor’s of science cum laude in education and Valerie Hill of Thomasville received a master’s of science in education.

Article Link

GROVE HILL — Clarke County will soon have expanded emergency services thanks to a partnership with Newman’s Ambulance Services. The Clarke County Commission on Tuesday unanimously voted to place Newman’s Ambulance Service on the EMS rotation for all areas of Clarke County and for Newman’s to be dispatched by Clarke County 911. Newman’s business development manager Mike Sandell came before the commission with the request. He said the company is looking to put in an EMS station next to Grove Hill Memorial Hospital and provide facility transfers. “We understand this is an issue with getting patients transferred down to hospitals...

Article Link

Three bills in the Alabama Legislature would increase the pay for Clarke County commissioners and the sheriff and allow expenses to be paid to the county coroner. A fourth bill would allow fees to be collected for various services provided by the sheriff ’s office. All but the fees for the sherif f ’s office would take effect immediately if passed. The fees would take effect on July 1. Commission pay One bill would provide an expense allowance of ,000 for the balance of the current terms of the five county commissioners. When new terms start, salaries would be increased...

Article Link

Remember when cool was cool? High school and Hollywood were cool. Substance had nothing to do with cool. Popularity is the key to cool. It’s not necessarily what somebody has. Many times it’s what cool people don’t have unlike all of the rest of us. Most of us are not cool. We’re just regular folks. Cool took a left turn in the first decade of the 21st century. Traditional was boring. Cool was exciting even when it violated traditional standards. LGBTQ+ was born cool. LGBTQ+ challenged tradition and values. That was cool. Anyone who challenged LGBTQ+ was automatically not cool...

Article Link

Thousands gathered in Selma on Sunday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday. The 33rd annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee honored the civil rights foot soldiers who endured brutal attacks on March 7, 1965, while advocating for voting rights for Blacks. Marchers began their pilgrimage at Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church, retracing the historic route toward the Edmund Pettus Bridge. At noon, a large crowd assembled at the foot of the bridge, where foot soldiers walked ahead of elected officials and community leaders. The marchers continued past the bridge to the site where, 60 years earlier, state troopers and local law...

Article Link

JACKSON—For Abriel Goulding, a Black student at Jackson High School and the 2025 Miss Teen Selma Jubilee winner, the 60th anniversary of Bloody Sunday was far more than just another beauty pageant competition she is accustomed to attending. It was a moment to step into history, reflect on the ongoing fight for civil rights and connect with the legacy of those who had come before her. “I felt honored to be a part of it,” Goulding said. “I had already won the local Miss Pink Ice pageant but when I learned more about the Miss Selma pageant and the jubilee,...

Article Link