PE facility could open by homecoming
If all goes well, students at Andalusia High School will get to break in their new physical education facility just in time for homecoming.
Superintendent Ted Watson said the building process has been plagued by bad weather and some change orders have backed up the process.
“I’m hoping we can be in there for homecoming, which is in three weeks,” he said. “It’s certainly not where we wanted it to be, but we are making process.”
Andalusia head football coach Brian Seymore said Tuesday it’s still up in the air on when his team will be able to use the new facility.
“I don’t know when the final inspection day is, but it seems like they’re getting closer and closer,” he said.
And until the building passes final inspection, Watson said the building doesn’t technically belong to the school system.
“We get into all kinds of liability issues there,” he said. “So, we can’t have any classes or teams use the facility until then.”
Still, Seymore said the players and coaches are getting excited about it.
“It’ll be a nice facility,” he said. “It’ll be a big deal, not just for the football program, but school-wide – band, flag girls and that’s what it’s for. I think it’ll be pretty neat. A lot of folks will have a chance to utilize it.”
Andrew Garner, Kendra Bolling contributed to this report.
Those looking for some cool, but healthy snacks are in for a treat at “Yo’ Craving” yogurt bar on the Square in Andalusia.
Covington County native Rhonda Bullion held a soft opening on Tuesday for her new business.
“I wanted to open something for the health conscious people around here,” she said. “We carry Honey Hill yogurt, which is the No.1 yogurt.”
Bullion said the frozen yogurt contains viable counts of live active cultures.
Yo’ Craving offers a variety of flavors including cheese cake, birthday cake, dreamy dark chocolate, Tahitian vanilla, cookies and cream, cupcake, peanut butter and strawberry sensations.
Toppings include chocolate, white chocolate, Ghirardelli chocolates, raspberry, kiwi-lime, mango, lemon zest and cinnamon syrups; fresh strawberries, blueberries and cantaloupe. Candy pieces like Snickers, Reese Cups, Skittles, M&Ms, and more are a hit, and for cereal lovers, there’re Cocoa Pebbles, Fruity Pebbles, Fruit Loops and Golden Grahams.
And there’s a streamlined process for getting your frozen treats – choose your flavors, top it, weigh and pay, and enjoy. Cost is 47 cents per ounce.
“We’re taking suggestions for flavors and toppings,” she said. “We’re going to have the ooey-gooey cinnamon bun coming soon, and we’ll be adding more toppings.”
Bullion said they plan to add music and television later, and free wi-fi is available.
“We’ll also be adding top your own funnel cakes,” she said. “Coffee and cappuccino will come winter time.”
Bullion said she recently left the retail world in Florida, where she was in marketing and operations, to give back to her hometown.
“I was born and raised here, but left after graduation,” she said. “I wanted to bring something back to my hometown and create some jobs.”
Bullion said she wants to create a place that is fun for all – “old and young.”
Bullion said Tuesday’s soft opening was an “exceptional day.”
Additionally, she said she’d like to network with local schools to provide fundraisers to help them raise funds for projects or uniforms.
Hours are Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. until 11 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 6 p.m.
Forecasters are watching as Tropical Storm Issac, which could become a hurricane as early as today, makes its slow approach toward the U.S.
Today, the storm with its 45 mph sustained winds is expected to cross Puerto Rico, and while it’s too early to tell where landfall will occur, local residents are being urged to watch the storm’s development.
“At this point, it doesn’t look like the storm is a threat to Covington County,” said county Emergency Management Agency Director Susan Harris. “But, as always, I will not turn my back on it. It’s worth watching. And like usual, we encourage the public to prepare because you never know.”
It’s advice being taken to heart in Andalusia, where the first storm response planning meeting was planned for Thursday morning.
There is still a lot of uncertainty about the storm’s path. The storm’s center was expected to move over the Leeward Islands on Wednesday evening, and forecasters said it is expected to hit the Dominican Republic as a hurricane early Friday. It is then expected to hit Cuba as a tropical storm. Computer models showed it making landfall somewhere in South Florida by late Sunday or early Monday.
If the area misses the bullet on this storm, there’s another lurking behind Isaac, as the NHC said another tropical depression formed over the eastern tropical Atlantic on Wednesday, about 860 miles west-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. It was packing winds of 35 mph and will take the name Joyce if it becomes a tropical storm.
Today, Gov. Robert Bentley will hold a news conference to discuss the launch of new “Ready Alabama” initiatives aimed at increasing statewide disaster preparedness.
The initiatives encourage people across the state to plan ahead for natural disasters. On Thursday, leaders will discuss additional efforts to empower the public with information that will help with preparations.
U.S. Rep. Martha Roby (R-Montgomery) spent most of the day in Andalusia on Thursday. She met with the Soil and Water Conservation, Andalusia Regional Hospital, toured the new cancer center, and toured SaeHaeSung.
Come Monday morning, the roadways will be filled with yellow school buses as area students return to the classroom, and motorists are urged to exercise caution and patience when getting the students to school on time.
Buses will be out in full force beginning at 6:30 out in the county, 6:40 a.m. in Andalusia and 6:45 a.m. in Opp.
“We have nine bus routes, and we bus elementary and middle school students, so about 800 children,” said Andalusia City Schools Transportation Director Bob Harry.
Covington County Schools Transportation Director Donnie Franklin said there are 49 routes among the schools.
Opp City Schools Transportation Director Shawn Short said the system has nine routes.
“The biggest thing for us is people not stopping,” Franklin said. “There were several situations where there were near-misses. If the stop sign is out, you must stop, unless it is a four-lane and there is grass between the lanes, like on Hwy. 84 going to Opp.”
Short agreed.
“We want to remind people to just be on the look out for buses and to watch for signals and be on the look out for children,” he said.
Both Harry and Franklin reminded residents that in the coming weeks, bus drivers and students alike will be getting used to the new routes, and residents are urged to be extra cautious.
“A lot of times, we have new students being picked up,” Franklin said. “On farm-to-market roads, we need to be mindful that there may be a stop that we may not be accustomed to. Please slow down and be mindful that at anytime a bus could be stopping.”
Harry said another issue that affects bus routes is distracted drivers.
“People texting and talking on the phone is dangerous,” he said. “When they are in school zones, they need to pay attention. It’s very important.”