What's in a name? Rachael Scarborough King Star Staff Writer Published: August 21, 2006 What did you call the neighborhood where you grew up? If it was something like Ten Island, Duke, Chosea Springs or Iron City, chances are you hear that name less and less these days. As some smaller communities have been annexed into cities or swallowed by sprawl, the individual, often quirky names they were...
No need for speed Rachael Scarborough KingStar Staff Writer Published: August 18, 2006OHATCHEE - It's a familiar sight for school administrators: Teenage drivers hopping in their cars at the end of the school day and tearing out of the parking lot, blithely speeding past school zone signs in their haste to leave. Ohatchee High School officials hope to slow student drivers down by revoking parking permits for those...
Anniston City Schools Foundation will hold high-tea fund-raiser Rachael Scarborough KingStar Staff Writer Published: August 16, 2006For anyone who has ever dreamed of returning to the era of high tea and white gloves, the Anniston City Schools Foundation may provide the chance at its fund-raiser Saturday. The foundation will hold a benefit at the Classic on Noble restaurant featuring tea, a table-setting contest and a fashion show.Catherine Chappell,...
A ghost town Rachael Scarborough KingStar Staff Writer Published: August 15, 2006OHATCHEE - In the 1930s, '40s and '50s, Ohatchee's downtown square was a bustling place, with a café and soda fountain, two grocery stores, a drug store, a doctor's office, the town hall - and a movie theater known for playing films deemed too explicit for Anniston's theaters. Ohatchee didn't have censors, meaning that the theater could...
Rachael Scarborough King Star Staff Writer Published: August 13, 2006 Six hundred million dollars sounds like a lot of money, and it is - in 2003, it seemed like the answer to the people of West Anniston's prayers when lawsuits over PCBs contamination were settled for that amount. But divide $600 million by 21,600 plaintiffs, and the astronomical figure starts to come down to Earth. Take away 40...
Mock crime scene sharpens police skills Rachael Scarborough KingStar Staff Writer Published: August 11, 2006OHATCHEE - Police in Ohatchee rushed to the site of the old fire department Wednesday and discovered a bullet-riddled car and a trail of blood that led to a chaotic scene inside. Sort of.The entire "crime scene" was staged by the Ohatchee Police Department and Jacksonville Crime Lab, although the drivers rubbernecking on Alabama...
23 rooms added to reduce wait times Rachael Scarborough KingStar Staff Writer Published: August 9, 2006Emergency rooms are notorious for long waits and crowded conditions. Regional Medical Center in Anniston hopes to reduce the amount of time patients have to spend in those conditions with 23 new private rooms for patients.The new rooms, 11 of which opened July 24, are intended for patients who do not need surgery...
Kids are ready for kindergarten ... but are Mom and Dad ready? Rachael Scarborough KingStar Staff Writer Published: August 7, 2006Maren Russell, 5, is excited to enter kindergarten, where she will learn to read and write and, most of all, have the chance to use as much glitter as she wants in her arts and crafts projects. "They use lots of glitter in kindergarten," her mother, Polly Russell,...
New expansion to ease growing pains in Alexandria schools Rachael Scarborough KingStar Staff Writer Published: August 3, 2006ALEXANDRIA - Jill Marsh's sons have felt the space crunch at Alexandria Elementary School. Marsh said her older son, who is entering fifth grade this fall, has special needs and works with physical and occupational therapists."There were a lot of the times when the physical therapist and the occupational therapist would...
West Anniston Foundation program takes on obesity, diabetes Rachael Scarborough KingStar Staff Writer Published: August 2, 2006Southerners have a reputation of liking to eat a lot - especially fried, fatty foods. That tendency could be putting their lives at risk.As the nation continues its battle with obesity - more than 65 percent of adults are classified as overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention -...