2007: The year in review

By Scott Wright

CENTRE — Another 365 days and 53 issues of The Post have come and gone in 2007, and it's time for our annual look back on the stories that made our front page this year and how they affected the lives of people in and around Cherokee County. We'll recap some of the big stories from the past year below; if you'd like to read any of these articles they are all available in the news archives at The Post Online.

Our Jan. 1, 2007 issue headlined with the story of increased construction on and around Weiss Lake, the 30,000-acre man-made reservoir owned and operated by Alabama Power Co. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Thereasa Hulgan announced in the article that she spend around $40,000 on 75,000 copies of a promotional magazine to pitch the area's drawing points to residents of a five-county region north of downtown Atlanta.

“This area hasn't been discovered like some other places have, and the people who get here first are really going to like this area,” said real estate developer Curtis Costley, who completed construction of a high-rise condominium in Cedar Bluff earlier this year.

The following week, longtime Circuit Clerk Carolyn Smith made the front page. Her retirement after 40 years of public service in Cherokee County had a lot of folks at the Cherokee County Courthouse dabbing their eyes and wishing her well in her retirement.

On Jan. 15, we reported that the Centre-Piedmont-Cherokee County Regional Airport was nearing completion. F&M Bank President James Beall, who also serves as the chairman of the Airport Authority, announced the completion of an additional 1,300 ft. of runway that brought the total length to 5,500 ft. Beall said the total amount spent on the airport up to that time was around $7.27 million.

The following week, the growth around Weiss Lake that we reported three weeks earlier was in the news again, in the form of a complaint from Cedar Bluff resident Ron Blankenship, who ran into opposition from Alabama Power officials when he tried to build an extra room onto his recreational vehicle. Because Blankenship's property lies partially inside the flood easement, he was limited in what he could build and wanted some answers about what he felt was inconsistent application of the rules and regulations by Alabama Power.

The last week of January, we reported on the nursing home in Centre changing its name to Cherokee County Health and Rehabilitation, in order to try and inform the community of the services the facility offers besides just housing the elderly.

“We're all trying to get away from an institutionalized setting to more of a home-like setting,” Operations Administrator John Boggs told The Post.

Water issues would turn out to be the story of the year in Cherokee County, and in February we reported that Alabama Power had no plans to immediately implement a proposed rise in the wintertime water level of Weiss Lake. The following week, Feb. 19, we reported that Cedar Bluff had failed to properly enforce FEMA-mandated flood ordinance that would have prevented the erection of permanent structures inside the 100-year flood plain.

We followed up the next week with an exclusive interview with Centre attorney Shane Givens, who told The Post property owners with structures inside the flood plain will find it difficult to wage a successful battle against Alabama Power. Givens interpreted a 1963 Alabama Supreme Court ruling that effectively gives the company carte blanche when it comes to their easement.

The Cedar Bluff alcohol lawsuit was back on the front page on March 5. Attorneys for the town asked the Alabama Supreme Court to toss out a lawsuit filed by Cedar Bluff resident William Geral Greene which seeks to end alcohol sales in the town. The case is still pending.

We also interviewed architects with the Gadsden-based firm McElrath and Oliver, PPC, who confirmed that plans to begin construction of a $22 million satellite campus of Gadsden State Community College in Centre we on-time. The facility is currently beginning to take shape alongside Highways 9/68 in north Centre.

Later that month, we reported on the tragic story of the owners of the Bay Springs Motel in Centre, who decided to sell out and move to Texas after Billie O'Brien was killed in a car accident at a still-dangerous intersection on the Chesnut Bypass in Centre.

We kicked off the month of April with a feature article on Centre Fire Chief Kevin Ware, who celebrated his first year as the city's first-ever full-time firefighter.
The word “drought” finally made headlines the following week, on April 9. The Post reported that Weiss Lake was being filled early in anticipation of a dry summer. Also that week, we reported that new Cherokee County Sheriff Jeff Shaver went to the County Commission to ask for a raise for his deputies, which he received a few months later.

We also reported that Superintendent of Schools Brian Johnson had officially declared any plans to consolidate Cherokee County schools “off the table” after he saw the results of an independent analysis of the school system. Two weeks later, Johnson again made the headlines with news he planned to seek a special election to extend several millage taxes that would allow the school system to borrow $15 million to construct, among other things, a new Centre Middle School.

Growth in the county was back in the news in May, as we reported on the completion of a new condominium in Cedar Bluff, The Overlook. In that same issue, we reported that the City of Centre planned to approve designs for the 2,000-seat multi-purpose sports arena on the GSCC campus in Centre.

The next week (May 21) The Post reported that Superintendent Johnson had received the approval of county commissioners to hold a special election; the date was set for August.

Liberty Day, the day-long Independence Day in Cedar Bluff, was held for the 15th consecutive year, and we helped spread the word of the festival on the front page of the June 4 edition.

Two weeks later, we were back on the drought story, reporting that the first of what would become several no-burn orders had been handed down from the state. The June 25 issue also featured a human interest story about local businessman Neil Lea, who owns a car restoration business in Centre.

By the first week of July, the effects of the drought had become so significant across the Southeast that Alabama Power was starting to warn residents of coming low water levels. Our headline read, “Winter pool by July 27,” and featured exclusive interviews with the Army Corps of Engineers and Alabama Power System Operations Supervisor Charles M. Stover, who said “we're looking at a worst-case scenario … where some may be forced to do without.”

Later that month, we followed up with the news that Gov. Bob Riley, Rep. Mike Rogers and others had secured the release of additional water from Lake Lanier in northwest Georgia to help alleviate the problem of the rapidly falling water level in Weiss Lake. On July 30, we announced that Alabama Power had announced plans to cut the level of hydroelectric power it would generate at its dams along the Coosa River, including Weiss Dam, in an effort to preserve as much water in the system as possible.

A feel-good feature on Little River Canyon topped our Aug. 12 edition, and we followed up on Johnson's efforts to pass that millage extension the following week. In that same issue we featured another drought story, a press release from Alabama Power warning that Weiss Lake could reach winter level “within two weeks.”

On Aug. 27, we featured long-time Union State Bank employee Sue Hurley on the front page. Hurley, 80, retired from the banking institution after 61 years on the job.

Brian Johnson was back in the news in September, announcing plans to get started “by the weekend” on clearing off a 66-acre site where a new middle school would be constructed. A few days earlier, 87 percent of voters in Cherokee County had approved his plan to extend five separate millage taxes that would provide borrowing power to build the new school.

Animal control made the headlines on Sept. 10, with the news that the County Commission was working on an ordinance to try and control strays and other dangerous animals. The county went back to the drawing board after a series of public meetings pointed out flaws in the original 14-page proposed ordinance. The following week, we reported the stories of several county residents who have been victimized by strays and hoped the county passed some sort of animal control soon.

On Sept, 24, we reported on the plight of several local tourism-based businesses that had suffered significantly due to the ongoing drought conditions.

We kicked off the month of October with a reminder about Centre's annual October Fest; a week later we were back on the drought again, reporting that Gov. Riley had announced he was willing to resort to legal action to force the Army Corps of Engineers to release more water from reservoirs in Georgia. On Oct. 15, we reported on minimal efforts by local water suppliers to try and encourage conservation efforts in the face of the drought.

On Oct. 29, the regional airport was back on the front page. Authority chairman Beall said more federal money was needed to complete construction of the facility, located on Highway 9.

Georgia got a little more water in the latest round of the war over water, as we reported on the front page on Nov. 5, after the Army Corps of Engineers decided to reduce flows from lakes Lanier and Carters in northwest Georgia. On Nov. 12, we reported that plans were in place to begin construction of the new middle school by April 2008.

The following week, we featured longtime Centre volunteer firefighter Hobart Reed, 84, who officially resigned from the Centre Fire Department after 60 years on the job. “I retired as chief in 1997,” Reed told The Post. “But I just can't seem to stay retired.”

December was a slow news month until Southern Bank was robbed (front page, Dec. 24 issue). So, we spent some of our precious front page space touting our annual Post Photo Patrol Contest. Again this year, we gave away $1,500 in cash to three winners. First place was won by Ronnie Ivey ($1,000), second place went to Lorri Ivey ($350) and third place went to young Dylan Cunningham ($150). We'll be giving away another $1,500 in prizes in 2008, so don't forget your camera and a copy of Cherokee County's No. 1 weekly when you take your vacation.