Old newspaper excerpts from The Monroe Journal newspaper of Monroe County, Alabama

19 YEARS AGO

APRIL 22, 1999

The 35^th Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force officially began operation April 1.

Sheriff Tom Tate said the purpose of the Task Force is to combine the investigative resources of the participating law enforcement agencies to create a single unit to fight drugs and drug-related crime.

Funding for the new unit came from a $237,000 federal grant administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.

A new season starts Saturday for Monroe County when the Tigers begin play in the Alabama High School Athletic Association 5A state baseball playoffs.

MCHS’s first round opponent is Area 3 runner-up Andalusia. The game is set to start at 2 p.m.

MCHS enters the playoffs with a 20-10 record and a third straight Area 2 championship under head coach Reid Utsey.

(Players on MCHS’s team that year included Jonathan Black, Ben Busby, Trent Eager, Justin Hawarah, P.J. Holley, Curt Hutcherson, Eric Johnson, Jason Moye and Jamie Porterfield.)

The Monroeville City Council agreed to the painting of a mural on the three-foot high wall on the west side of the lake at Whitey Lee Park.

April Poole, who is coordinating the project, said the mural is in memory of Jill Kirkland.

The 280-foot long wall will be painted yellow with butterflies, according to Poole.

In other business on Tuesday night, the council agreed to spend $104 for the repair of the mural at the corner of South Alabama Avenue and East Claiborne Street.

33 YEARS AGO

APRIL 25, 1985

$10-million outlet center to be built: A $10-million manufacturers’ outlet retail complex for Monroeville was announced yesterday, with groundbreaking expected within six weeks.

Plans for Monroeville Outlet Center were announced jointly by Monroe County Probate Judge Otha Lee Biggs, Monroeville Mayor Pro Tempore Bill Owens and Gary Lyle, a partner in the project developer, Manufacturers Retail Outlets, Inc. of Huntsville. The announcement was made Wednesday morning at the office of Plaza Realty, a Monroeville real-estate firm that has done the local legwork for the project.

Monroeville Outlet Center will be built on 20 acres across Drewry Road from the VF Outlet Store.

Monroe Academy’s baseball team has won four of its last five games with help from excellent pitching by Steve Lambert to post an 11-4 overall mark as of Tuesday.

Lambert, a senior right-handed hurler, captured decisions over South Choctaw, Jackson and Sparta academies recently to bring his pitching record to 6-1 on the season.

Junior Patrick Brown picked up the Volunteers’ other win last week with a decision over Glenwood Academy. (Other players on MA’s team that year included Rob Carter, Donald Foster, Ricky Horton, Michael McCrory, Sean Sawyer, Shane Sawyer, Stephen Simmons and Robert Thames. MA’s head coach was Jeff Myers.)

Sherri Marie Vice, daughter of Judy Vice of Monroeville and W.D. Vice of Enterprise, was named Monroe County’s Junior Miss Saturday night in the annual pageant at Patrick Henry Junior College.

47 YEARS AGO

APRIL 22, 1971

Bulletin: Bill Grant, 18-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Grant of Frisco City and star athlete at Monroe Academy, died Wednesday afternoon while participating in at track meet at Selma. Attendants at Vaughn Memorial Hospital said he was dead on arrival at the hospital and that death was apparently due to a heart attack.

No other details were available and funeral arrangements were incomplete late Wednesday afternoon.

Two errors produced three winning runs as Silas defeated the J.U. Blacksher Bulldogs, 4-1, at Silas last Friday.

In the sixth, with one out, Ike Hadley tripled for the first Bulldog hit. Then, with two outs, Jerry Ferrell singled, and Hadley scored.

(Other Blacksher players in that game include Larry McKinley and Howard Hilburn.)

Turberville store burns: Turberville’s Store near Franklin was destroyed by fire Sun., April 18, at approximately 12 noon.

Monroeville Fire Chief Wilbert Pickens said the building was already a total loss when they arrived at the scene.

Chief Pickens said he thought the fire started in the loft of the building, but the cause was undetermined.

Ready for festival Friday night: Excel High School’s first chorus, under the direction of Ben Rackard, will be among the musical groups participating in the Second Annual Monroe County Choral and Band Festival tomorrow, Friday, at 8 p.m. at Patrick Henry Junior College. Also participating will be the Excel High School band, which is directed by John R. Carder.

63 YEARS AGO

APRIL 28, 1955

The City of Monroeville began the task Monday of putting up new street markers at all intersections within the corporate limits of the town.

Chief of Police Alex Stevens is supervising the job which will require about two weeks.

The marking of the streets is one of the steps necessary before Monroeville can obtain city mail delivery.

The Monroe County entry in the Dixie Amateur League, unleashing a powerful 14-hit attack at the State Farm Sunday afternoon, tallied four runs in the eighth inning to break a tie and defeat the State Farm squad, 11-7.

(Leftfielder Les) Prouty tripled after one man was out and scored what proved to be the winning run on (Forrest) Watkins’ grounder to second base.

(Other players on the Monroe team included Al Clenner, Ben Cooper, Reg Cooper, Paul Fowler, Frank Hadley and Curt Wideman.)

Approximately 80 percent of Monroe County first and second graders took the Salk Polio vaccinations Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday it was stated by members of the County Health Department.

County health nurses Mrs. Virginia Owens and Mrs. Louise Kimbrell administered the vaccine, which is furnished by the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, free of charge. There are 540 white and 1,043 colored first and second graders in Monroe County.

The site of tonight’s game between the Monroe County nine and the Jay, Fla. entry in the Dixie Amateur League has been changed from Jay to Monroeville and will get underway at Vanity Fair Park at eight o’clock.

78 YEARS AGO

APRIL 25, 1940

Mr. Gordon Barnes, 25 years old, a teacher in the Frisco City schools, drowned Saturday, on a fishing trip on the Alabama River, near Dixie Landing.

The boat in which Barnes and his three companions were riding, overturned. Barnes, attempting to swim ashore, after holding onto the overturned boat for an hour, drowned, while his companions clung to the boat until they were rescued.

The body of Mr. Barnes has not yet been located.

The seventh anniversary of the Monroe Theatre will be celebrated Sun., April 28, by a birthday party in the theatre lobby. The public is cordially invited by Mr. Bill Hendrix, manager.

Showing on the screen Sunday, as the Seventh Anniversary Picture, will be “Little Old New York,” featuring Alice Faye, Fred MacMurray, Richard Greene and Brenda Joyce.

“Gone With the Wind,” presented at the Monroe Theatre the past Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday, attracted the largest crowds yet seen in the history of this theatre. Mr. W.A. Hendrix, manager of the theatre, stated that approximately 1,900 people attended the show during its four-day run. The attendance at “Jesse James” some time ago had been the largest up to Friday, but the attendance at “Gone With the Wind” doubled that of “Jesse James.”

Mr. Arthur Smith of Mexia died at Carter’s Hospital in Repton Monday night, April 15, as a result of injuries sustained in an automobile accident Thursday night, April 11. Following the amputation of his right arm Saturday night, Mr. Smith grew steadily worse until his death Monday night.