Jim Smith, who served for 11 years on the Utilities Board of the City of Andalusia, was remembered this week as an excellent boss, a born leader, and a person who made friends wherever he went.
Smith, who served for 20 years as CEO of Southeast Alabama Gas District (now Southeast Gas), died this week.
A native of Greenwood, S.C., Smith studied electrical engineering technology at Southern Technical Institute in Marietta, Ga., before launching what would be a 42-career in public utilities. He had managed the Fitzgerald, Georgia, municipal utility system for eighteen years when he was named assistant manager of the Southeast Alabama Gas District in Andalusia in 1984. Three years later, he took the helm as CEO.
Mayor Earl Johnson, who eulogized Smith at a celebration of life service on Thursday, said he was serving as general counsel of the gas district when Smith moved to Andalusia and the two became fast friends.
“Jim was a leader,” Johnson said. “No matter where you went, Jim knew people. He rose to the top of every organization he was a part of, including some national organizations.”
Johnson recalled that members of the 60s musical group the Swinging Medallions, whose most famous hit was “Double Shot (Of My Baby’s Love)” were from Smith’s hometown.
“He knew those guys and stayed in touch with them,” Johnson said. “One time we were in Atlanta, and he got a phone call from one of the band members. We met up for dinner that night, and I guarantee you, we had a double shot of fun.”
Greg Henderson, who worked with Smith at Southeast Gas for nine years and succeeded him as CEO, said as a boss, Smith delegated authority and let people make mistakes.
“He would you enough rope to pull yourself up or hang yourself,” Henderson said. “He was also very patient. He could sit in a meeting for three hours, listening, and not say a word. That’s probably why he was a great turkey hunter.”
His friends described him as a passionate outdoorsman.
Both Johnson and Henderson recalled that if Gas District business took them to Birmingham, the trip home inevitably required stops to check hunting property somewhere.
“He’d stop and look for turkey tracks when it wasn’t even turkey season,” Johnson said.
Henderson said, “We’d be coming back from a meeting in Birmingham, and he’d want to show me the hunting property. We literally pulled off the Interstate late one Friday in the summer, still in dress shirts and ties, jumped on four wheelers, and rode around to look at a food plot. Then we went back to work.”
Seth Hammett was Smith’s across-the-street neighbor for 38 years.
“He could not have been a better neighbor,” Hammett said.
The two took several outdoors-related trips together, the most memorable of which was an 8-day trip to Alaska when they were joined by their sons. Smith, known for being “frugal with his own money, and everybody else’s, too” planned the excursion, which included traveling the backroads of the state in a rented van, camping, eating food they packed, and taking in incredible sights.
“It was a wonderful trip,” Hammett recalled.
Smith maintained a perfect attendance record in Rotary for 50 years.
“Jim and I went to Rotary clubs all over this country,” Henderson said. “If we went somewhere on business, he’d check to see if there was a Rotary meeting anywhere around, we’d go to it. We met a lot of interesting people that way.”
Local pharmacist David Darby, who got to know Smith as a fellow Rotarian and fellow member of First Presbyterian Church, recalled how loyal and supportive Smith and his wife, Danna, were and are.
“There’s always been a thing at the church that members don’t send each other Christmas cards,” Darby said. “When Harco had sold and Laura and I were first putting this pharmacy together, right after Thanksgiving, we got a card in the mail from the Smiths.
“I thought that was odd because we didn’t do cards,” he said. “But when I opened it up, there was a stack of prescriptions and a note from Danna that said, ‘When you get (the pharmacy) open, fill all of these.’ They had literally had their doctors write new prescriptions so they could be our first customers.”
Johnson said in his eulogy of Smith that he spent many hours traveling with Smith, and most of those were spent telling stories and jokes and laughing.
“After a while, he’d look at me and say, ‘Boy, you ain’t right. I’m going to get you checked out.’
“I had Jim checked out,” he said. “And he was right. He was what we should all strive to be.”
Smith is survived by his wife of 61 years, Danna; his daughter, Amy; son, Cam; five grandchildren and one great-grandchild. For complete obituary information, click here.
Sgt. Gregory “Al” McGraw, Jr., was recognized Monday night as the Andalusia Police Department’s officer of the year in a program hosted by Opp AMVETS Post 23.
APD Police Chief Paul Hudson and his command staff selected McGraw for the award, which was presented by Capt. Brett Holmes, who supervises APD’s criminal investigation division, where McGraw has worked for the past three years.
McGraw began his law enforcement career as a corrections officer at the Covington County Jail in 2012. He later became a patrol officer and graduated from the Northeast Alabama Law Enforcement Academy. He was soon promoted to criminal investigations in the sheriff’s office.
“There, Al worked under the direction of Captain Mike Irwin, who Al still credits with helping him establish a strong investigation background,” Holmes said. “Mike and I are former partners at the District Attorney’s Office and often argue about who should receive the most credit for Al’s successes.
“Andalusia Police Chief Paul Hudson was so impressed with Al’s work, he hired him directly into APD’s criminal investigation division in the Summer of 2021,” Holmes said.
“Since that time, Al has taken on any and every type of case thrown his way,” Holmes said. “From financial exploitation to murder, Al approaches each case with the same consistent effort and methodical approach.
“In October of 2022, Al took the lead in the murder of 22-year-old Treyvous Cobbins. Over the next ten months, Al and his partners spent every extra moment of their workday putting together a very complex case that spanned from Covington County to nearby Conecuh, to even Kentucky, Ohio and Texas.
“I can attest that working certain aspects of a case that takes you outside of your jurisdiction adds many new difficulties,” Holmes said. “However, Al never wavered. He drove hundreds of times to Evergreen collecting evidence and chasing witnesses, took plane rides to other states conducting interviews, and hunkered down in his office countless hours watching and documenting video.”
Ultimately, McGraw arrested five individuals for the murder.
“One of those individuals has been indicted for capitol murder and, to my knowledge, that is the first capital murder indictment in Covington County in almost 20 years,” Holmes said. “One of the five defendants has already pleaded guilty and the other four remain incarcerated with no bond after Al testified in an Aniah’s law hearing for each defendant.”
Holmes said the work McGraw did on that case alone was enough to earn him the officer of the year award. However, he said, McGraw also handles other difficult cases.
“Al also handles the lion’s share of our sex crimes at APD,” Holmes said. “In the two years he has led that unit, he has cleared every single sex case reported with an arrest or as unfounded. He also has a 100 percent conviction rate in those cases, thus far.”
Outside of his regular duties, McGraw is also a member of the Covington County Incident Response Team. He was recognized in 2020 by Sheriff Blake Turman for showing bravery in the line of duty when he and his team members took fire from an individual inside a house.
“Al was able to take action which neutralized the threat, and no one lost their life,” Holmes said.
McGraw also is a firearms instructor, speaks frequently in local schools, is a member of the Covington County Child Advocacy Center Multi-Disciplinary Team, and is the parttime chief in Lockhart.
Another of McGraw’s hobbies is keeping himself in good physical condition through weight training.
“As a result of that, Chief Hudson has assigned Al to work with new cadets hired by APD to ensure they meet the physical requirements to not only succeed at the police academy but excel,” Holmes said. “I have been lucky enough to assist Al in some of those training sessions and I submit to you that he does much more than train these young men and women physically. He also spends that time talking to them about what it is like to be a police officer and the pressures that come along with the job. He is truly a mentor to each he works with.
“More importantly, Al is a good son, a good husband and a good father,” Holmes said. “I am sure of that by how proudly and openly he talks about his family.”
Holmes said he knew when he learned McGraw had been selected for the honor that he would be uncomfortable receiving it.
“Not that he doesn’t appreciate the honor, but right now he is sitting here thinking how all the things I have said were, or are, a team effort and not solely him,” Holmes said. “If there ever was a person that is a ‘We over me’ individual, it is this guy.”
After being presented the award, McGraw said he would not be any of the things he is without three important components in his life.
“I appreciate all those kind words by Captain but I wouldn’t be, nor would I have accomplished, any of those things without God, my family, and my co-workers,” McGraw said. “I can’t thank you all enough for this recognition.”
AMVETS Post 23 hosts the recognition dinner each year, and recognizes full-time officers chosen by department heads. Others honored Monday night included Officer Michael Holland, Opp Police Department; Sgt. Kaleb Piland, Florala Police Department; and Deputy Michael Cheshire, Covington County Sheriff’s Office.
Retired Andalusia Police Captain Jamey Wismer was the keynote speaker for the event, the group’s seventh, and spoke about what it takes to be a police officer. Wismer delivered a powerful message and spoke of his love of law enforcement and what an impact it had on his journey as a husband, father and Christian.
PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, a generation & transmission cooperative serving the Utilities Board of the City of Andalusia’s wholesale power needs, officially dedicated the new, state-of-the-art Lowman Energy Center (LEC) in a special ceremony on March 22.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey attended the event to celebrate the 710-megawatt natural gas facility, which began commercial operation on Sept. 20, 2023.
“History is being made today,” Ivey said of LEC’s completion, referencing LEC’s status as one of the most efficient power plants in the United States. “America’s future is dependent upon its access to abundant industry, including electricity. Economic development and thousands of new, good-paying jobs, both here in Alabama and for our neighbors in Florida, are directly tied to projects like the Lowman Energy Center.”
Mayor Earl Johnson, who also serves on PowerSouth’s Board of Directors, was on site to celebrate the dedication of the plant, which replaces the historic coal-fired Charles R. Lowman Power Plant that had operated for 51 years.
“LEC is a tremendous accomplishment for PowerSouth and a blessing for our area,” Johnson said. “The power it generates will supply our members around-the-clock, especially on cold winter mornings or extremely hot summer afternoons when other generation sources may not be available. Natural gas is also abundant and, for the most part, affordable, so LEC will help to keep down our members’ electric bills as much as possible.”
PowerSouth’s President & CEO, Gary Smith, said the plant will be a workhorse in supporting the cooperative’s mission to provide reliable and affordable power to its members.
“LEC is not only very efficient, but it also has access to a very good, affordable gas supply,” Smith said. “PowerSouth has 20 members in Alabama and Florida, and I want to thank them for their confidence and support in allowing us to move forward in building this plant. It will be there for them to serve their wholesale power needs for decades. We are excited about LEC, and excited about the future.”
Collectively, PowerSouth provides power to the City of Andalusia and 19 other distribution members, and these members supply safe, reliable, affordable power to more than a million end-of-line members.
The City of Andalusia will be closed on Friday, March 29, 2024, in observance of Good Friday.
Friday's garbage routes will be picked up on Monday, April 1, 2024, along with Monday's routes. Please have hobos out early.
On a recent afternoon, Andalusia Animal Shelter manager Kayla Robbins received more than 50 messages to her personal Facebook account in the time it took her to drive from her in-laws’ home to her own.
All of the messages were from people who wanted to adopt a French bulldog or “Frenchie” from the shelter.
Unbeknownst to Robbins, the Animal Shelter’s Facebook page had been hacked, and the hackers had removed her as an administrator and proceeded to post photographs of coveted dogs, along with a link where those interested were encouraged to make a “refundable” deposit.
It was all a scam.
“In the nine years I’ve worked here, we’ve never had a Frenchie,” Robbins said.
When she realized what had happened, she quickly attempted to spread the word on Facebook through her personal account, and created a new one for the Animal Shelter. She believes the hackers began their work months before this successful takeover.
“Months ago, I got an email one day that said somebody had been added to page as an administrator,” she recalled. “There are only two of us who work here, so I clicked on a link and removed the new administrator.”
Shortly after Christmas, she received similar emails about a dozen or so people being added as administrators of the page. Again, she attempted to remove them.
Since the hackers locked her out of the shelter page, she has reported the incident to Facebook daily, as have other City of Andalusia employees. Facebook has offered its assistance in recovering the page.
The Andalusia Animal Shelter does have a new page, as social media has proven effective in helping find homes for shelter animals.
“If I had a different way to notify the public when we have animals up for adoption, I would use it,” she said.
The Animal Shelter uses software that requires workers to create unique identification numbers for animals, and those animals are uploaded to Adopt-A-Pet and Petfinder, which are websites that create nationwide databases of adoptable animals.
While the Andalusia Animal Shelter does charge adoption fees, it does not accept deposits online. Robbins encourages anyone who is confused about which page is the “real” one to call the shelter with questions at 334-222-8705.