Carrollton’s inaugural Music Festival Fundraiser kicked off at on Sunday, August 25, 2019 with Jesse Reece performing at 3 p.m ., Chance Britt at 3:30 p.m., Overtime at 3:50 p.m., Allen Russell at 4:30 p.m., and Starburst at 5: 30 p.m. Confederate Railroad guitarist, and Carrollton native, Rusty Hendrix was also on hand to play with the music groups as well. “We are very thankful for Rusty Hendrix coming back home to Carrollton to put on this event,” Carrollton Mayor Mickey Walker said.

The Town of Carrollton Beautification Committee will hold a Music Festival Fundraiser on August 25, 2019 from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. with all proceeds going to benefit Carrollton’s future city park and walking track. This will be a well-lit facility and will include playground equipment, a picnic area, along with a memorial flag area to honor all military. Carrollton Mayor Mickey Walker said he plans on breaking ground on the new park this fall.

Ken Lucas moved to Aliceville in 1998 and hassince became a fixture in the
community as a volunteer. Lucas volunteers with the Veterans of Foreign War (VFW) posts in Pickens County and is a member of the American Legion, among other things . He recently won an award for Volunteer of the Year at the Aliceville Chamber of Commerce Banquet.

Mr. Ken, as he is known in the community is also a World War II veteran who is retired from the Army. Pickens County Herald Editor Brian Hamilton recently sat down for an interview with Mr. Lucas.

Gordo, Ala. — Pickens County Primary Care and Ginn Group Consulting (GGC) are pleased to announce the opening of a new SMART Clinic at Gordo High School serving both Gordo High and Gordo Elementary School. A second SMART Clinic will eventually be phased in to operate at GES.

The Aliceville City Council held their Council Meeting on  July 24th at 6 p.m. at Aliceville City Hall.
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Marva Gipson.  Councilman Terrence Windham held the opening prayer.  The minutes from the previous meeting were approved by the council members.
There was no old business presented during the meeting.    

Executive Director of Aliceville Chamber of Commerce, Edgar Pruitt, said that declining population in Aliceville and Pickens County started in 1980 and every year since then, the county is averaging a 9-10% decline. Pruitt says that when you look at the makeup of the population, Pickens County has become an aging population. In a decade, a significant amount of the baby boomer generation will either die or become incapacitated. He explains that an aging population needs infrastructure to support that population such as the hospital.  

After a chase led to an arrest with one found dead in Aliceville on Friday, July 19, 2019, a suspect was finally named and charged in connection with two murders.
Fred Sommerville, 47, of Ardmore, Ala., was charged on Monday with Attempt to Elude Police, Theft of Property, Abuse of a Corpse, and Reckless Endangerment through the Pickens County Sheriff’s Department. In Ardmore, Sommerville faces a capital murder charge related to the two deaths.

On Tuesday, July 23, 2019, the Pickens County Commission held a brief meeting to vote on several items on their agenda.  
Commissioner Bobby Bain opened the meeting with an invitation to any citizen requests.  Mr. Wayne Davis with YouthBuild then stood and asked the committee if they had taken an opportunity to discuss the parcel that he had previously asked the county to donate to his organization.
“A few days ago they came in and asked about a space of land, can we get a follow up on that,” Davis said.

The Pickens County Board of Education met on Tuesday, July 23, 2019. The meeting began with prayer and remembering Pat Irvin's family in prayer.
Mr. Irvin was a long time employee of the Pickens County Board of Education and served the county as a Vocational Agriculture Teacher. The agenda was approved.

July 16, 2019 was the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing.  In commemoration of the anniversary of the Apollo Landing, I sat down with Gordo residentJohn Williams, who worked for McDonald Douglas, an aerospace manufacturing corporation.
Williams was contracted at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas as a Flight Operations Engineer from 1976 to 1979.