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USPS Operation Santa now open for letter adoption
New team option, expanded online catalog make fulfilling kids’ and families’ holiday wishes easier Special to the News On Monday the U.S. Postal Service announced that USPS Operation Santa is now open for letter adoption for the 2025 holiday season. As of Monday, individuals, families, workplaces, and community groups can go to USPSOperationSanta.com to adopt…
Read MoreThe chalkboard in my kitchen
We have this place in our kitchen. It’s a wall. It used to be a door, some 102 years ago, when the house was built. There used to be stairs outside this kitchen door, leading to the backyard. But the doorway has been sealed off. Now it’s just a big blank space in our kitchen.…
Read MoreLewis returns to Alabama as director of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries
By David Rainer Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources After several years away, Chris Lewis has returned to Sweet Home Alabama to become the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ (ADCNR) Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries (WFF) director, who will supervise the division’s 315 employees. “I am glad to have Director Lewis onboard,” ADCNR…
Read MoreFocusing on happier times, being thankful
There has been a lot happening with politics, government, the shutdown, the reopening, etc. If you are like me, most of it makes you angry. It is blatantly obvious many representatives in Washington, D.C., are in the job for the wrong reasons. It doesn’t matter who they hurt or how they negatively affect their citizens…
Read MoreCaution on the road: ALEA reminds motorists to stay alert as deer movement increases statewide
Special to the News The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) is reminding motorists to use extra caution on Alabama’s roadways this time of year, as deer activity and vehicle-versus-wildlife crashes increase significantly during the fall and early winter months. According to crash data from ALEA’s Highway Patrol Division, troopers investigated 1,652 vehicle-versus-wildlife crashes statewide in…
Read MoreFull November SNAP benefits being released
Special to the News The Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR) received notification yesterday morning from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) that the federal government has reopened and that, “State agencies must take immediate steps to ensure households receive their full November allotments promptly.” “It is about time Congress did…
Read MoreTwo ordinary farmers
Lavina, Calif. – It was an average day. A sunny September morning, with highs approaching the 100s. Hot enough to melt commercial truck tires and sauté small woodland creatures on the pavement. (But it’s a dry heat.) It was a rural area. Hundreds of acres of almond trees. The scent of organic fertilizer filling the…
Read MoreADOC K-9 arrests four on contraband charges at Fountain
Special to the News On Wednesday, November 5, staff at Fountain Correctional Facility reported an attempted contraband incident to Alabama Department of Corrections K-9. Agents immediately responded and made a traffic stop on suspects Jamarion Sanders, Austin Jones and Devon Walton. They were detained, interviewed, and ultimately arrested on the following charges: Trafficking fentanyl Trafficking…
Read MoreWhen crappie won’t bite, Tennessee River has great alternatives
By David Rainer Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources What do you do after you plan a trip to north Alabama to get in the fall crappie bite and you’re greeted with bluebird skies the day after a cold front? You make lemonade, and the Tennessee River lakes have just the right recipes. Capt.…
Read MoreThe prettiest butterfly
What if our souls were like butterflies? Yours and mine. Two butterflies. You and me. Soul mates. And just like butterflies, we were a little bit different from each other? Each with different colors. Different symmetrically patterned wings. Uniquely shaped and sized. What if our two individual spirits were no longer bound in caterpillar form?…
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