Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, AL) articles from August 2007

Montgomery Advertiser (Montgomery, AL) archives from August 2007

Prattville store offers breath of fresh air.
August 31, 2007... Byline: Marty Roney Aug. 31--PRATTVILLE -- A new Prattville business is catering to airheads of a different kind with the city's first oxygen bar. Susan Kelley opened The Water Store a month ago. Located in Pratt's Mill Shopping...

Growth fuels school expansion.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Josh Barker Aug. 30--Stanhope Elmore High School is growing, and school officials say athletics can help lead the charge. The school's increased enrollment caused last year's jump to Class 6A in athletics -- the state's...

City looks to upgrade Cramton Bowl.
August 30, 2007... Byline: Tim Gayle Aug. 30--Cramton Bowl will be lit up tonight, filled with Jefferson Davis High School fans rooting on their beloved Volunteers in their season opener against Dothan High School. But the noise, and the lights won't...

Whitewater Festival will flow again Saturday.
August 29, 2007... Byline: Teri Greene Aug. 29--The Coosa River Whitewater Festival is set to roll down the river once again. The popular event was canceled last summer because of low water levels on the Coosa, but it will regain its flow on Saturday...

Elmore County gets $123,100 grant.
August 28, 2007... Byline: Cyril Josh Barker Aug. 28--WETUMPKA -- The state is giving Elmore County more than $100,000 to help families and children. Three organizations -- the Alabama Parent Education Center, the Elmore County Alabama Cooperative...

Improving graduation rates focus of programs, funds.
August 28, 2007... Byline: Kenneth Mullinax Aug. 28--Two state-funded pilot programs will go into effect this school year to help local students who are at risk of dropping out. The Preparing Alabama Students for Success (PASS) Initiative is designed...

Wal-Mart holdup attempt fails.
August 28, 2007... Byline: Kenneth Mullinax Aug. 28--Police are searching for a man who attempted to extort money from a local Wal-Mart. He then threatened to destroy the store with a bomb. An unidentified male entered the Chantilly Parkway Wal-Mart...

Grants save energy, help poor.
August 28, 2007... Byline: Cosby Woodruff Aug. 28--Some tri-county homeowners soon will get improvements on their homes, paid for by more than $80,000 in grant money from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The weatherization improvements...

Navistar needs more volunteers.
August 27, 2007... Byline: Marty Roney Aug. 27--PRATTVILLE -- Officials with the upcoming LPGA Navistar Classic are looking for 80 to 100 more volunteers to help with the event. The event, set for Sept. 25-30 at Prattville's Capitol Hill course, will...

Rosa Parks may help Tuskegee preserve history.
August 26, 2007... Byline: Rick Harmon Aug. 26--It was less a book signing at the Rosa Parks Library and Museum than it was a cultural delegation. Tuskegee Mayor Johnny Ford did have his new book, "Let Me Speak to the Mayor: The Autobiography of Johnny...

Wetumpka moves into new City Hall.
August 23, 2007... Byline: Josh Barker Aug. 23--A long-standing problem for Wetumpka city officials has been solved for the next 30 years, said mayor Jo Glenn. Wetumpka City Hall closed Wednesday so that employees and elected officials could move to a...

Access to toll bridge guaranteed for emergency vehicles.
August 22, 2007... Byline: Kenneth Mullinax Aug. 22--In April, an ambulance carrying a patient in critical condition was stopped on the Emerald Mountain Expressway to pay a $3 toll before operators would allow it to continue to the emergency room. The...

State's snapdragons hold potential profits.
August 20, 2007... Byline: Rick Harmon Aug. 20--It may not be a snap, but Auburn University researchers said that with some work, snapdragons could be the state's newest cash crop. AU professors Wheeler Foshee and Raymond Kessler have been working on...

Methadone clinic proposal angers district attorney.
August 19, 2007... Byline: Marty Roney Aug. 19--WETUMPKA -- District Attorney Randall Houston has written the governor in an attempt to head off a proposed methadone clinic in Clanton. He believes the center will worsen drug and crime problems in the area,...

School gets new practice facility.
August 18, 2007... Byline: Josh Barker Aug. 18--Football players and wrestlers at Montgomery Catholic Prepatory School are celebrating a new addition to the athletic program this fall. Local lawyer Julian McPhillips donated money to the private school...

Fees for hunting, fishing licenses set to increase.
August 17, 2007... Byline: Marty Roney Aug. 17--Gary Rogers has a Post-It note stuck to the dash of his pickup, reminding him to buy a lifetime hunting license before the month runs out. Starting Sept. 1, hunting and fishing license fees go up in the...

Arise floats lending model.
August 17, 2007... Byline: Francis X. Gilpin Aug. 17--AUBURN -- Community activists who wanted to start a business here to compete with payday lenders are finding that lining up short-term financing for the working poor isn't easy. But The Arise...

Publix may be next store to commit to Prattville.
August 17, 2007... Byline: Marty Roney Aug. 17--PRATTVILLE -- Publix at High Point Town Center? The shopping mall's developer says yes, the grocery chain says not so fast and the mayor won't comment. Right now, the Florida-based Publix has four...

Big first day at Bass Pro.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Marty Roney Aug. 16--PRATTVILLE -- Seven minutes after the doors opened Wednesday night at Prattville's Bass Pro Shops, fire officials closed the turnstiles because the sprawling 185,000-square-foot megastore had reached its...

A.D. Banker offers Montgomery County classes.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Rick Harmon Aug. 16--Steve Lewandowski, a securities licensed education director with sales and training experience in insurance, will teach A.D. Banker of Alabama's 12-hour continuing education classes in Dothan, Montgomery,...

Senate's quest for taxpayer-funded insurance fails.
August 16, 2007... Byline: Francis X. Gilpin Aug. 16--A state board that oversees public employee health insurance voted Wednesday to turn down Alabama state senators who want taxpayer-subsidized free or reduced-rate coverage. But the State Employees...

Bass Pro traffic snag likely in Prattville.
August 15, 2007... Byline: Marty Roney Aug. 15--PRATTVILLE -- Prattville officials are bracing for the mother of all traffic jams today, as more than 10,000 people are expected to attend the opening of Bass Pro Shops. The party kicks off at 6 p.m., the...

Arise blasts enforcement of landlord-tenant laws.
August 15, 2007... Byline: Francis X. Gilpin Aug. 15--An advocacy group for the poor, citing a recent case in which a Montgomery apartment complex where residents had to go without water for six weeks this summer, said Alabama not only needs better laws...

Thousands cram area for technology forum.
August 14, 2007... Byline: Cosby Woodruff Aug. 14--Montgomery's largest convention will have area hotels bursting at the seams this week, a Chamber of Commerce official said. More than 5,000 visitors are expected for the Air Force Information...

Alabama Christian Academy unveils new facilities.
August 13, 2007... Byline: Teri Greene Aug. 13--It's a 65-year-old school that has thrived largely through grassroots efforts, and the latest building expansion at Alabama Christian Academy is no different. The Montgomery private school officially...

Bass Pro countdown hits high gear.
August 12, 2007... Byline: Marty Roney Aug. 12--PRATTVILLE -- A crowd of 10,000 is expected for a party that starts at rush hour and will no doubt tie up traffic for miles. Bass Pro Shops opens its new store Wednesday night and Butch Gardner is an...

Bankers open trust company.
August 10, 2007... Byline: Cosby Woodruff Aug. 10--AlaTrust's three founding officers wanted more flexibility than the corporate world offered, so the trio decided to go on their own with an independent trust company. Clinton Berry, John Steiner and...

Hyundai compact hatchback will join growing trend in '08.
August 10, 2007... Byline: Cosby Woodruff Aug. 10--Hyundai Motor America will introduce its Elantra Touring model in early 2008, the company has announced. The Touring will be a five-door vehicle and will offer extra safety and technological features....

New auto dealer says it's Just Right.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Paul W. Sullivan Aug. 9--Prospective used car buyers now have even more choices in Montgomery. On June 26, Just Right Auto Sales started filling up its lot located next to the McGough dealership on East Boulevard. The...

Farmers told to lobby Congress.
August 9, 2007... Byline: Francis X. Gilpin Aug. 9--Alabama farmers don't need low-interest loans in the wake of the worst drought in a century, said a state official. They need help. Agriculture Commissioner Ron Sparks urged Montgomery-area...

Center aims to make it simple to apply for small business loan.
August 8, 2007... Byline: Cosby Woodruff Aug. 8--Frances Doxie spent Tuesday at Alabama State University's Small Business Development Center finding out how to apply for funding to open a day care center and music academy. Doxie was one of about a...

Prattville to have earlier trash pickup.
August 8, 2007... Byline: Marty Roney Aug. 8--PRATTVILLE -- The rising temperatures mean Prattville's sanitation workers will be rising earlier. Beginning Thursday, routes will begin one hour earlier, at 6 a.m. The change, which covers garbage and...

Demand soars for Tide tickets.
August 7, 2007... Byline: Tim Gayle Aug. 7--TUSCALOOSA -- A seat at an Alabama football game always has been a hot commodity, but the hiring of Nick Saban as head coach has ticket sales sizzling. The demand is so great, in fact, that university...

Shop marks 50 years of beauty.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Paul W. Sullivan Aug. 6--When Allena Curry Norman chose a career in hairdressing instead of nursing in the 1950s, she made a permanent decision. That love for fixing hair has led to 50 years in the business, if you don't...

ClefWorks music festival hits high note.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Robyn Bradley Litchfield Aug. 6--When violinist Benjamin Sung dreamed up the idea for ClefWorks, a new chamber music festival in the Montgomery area, he really had no idea how well it would be received. But he was blown away...

Sales tax holiday a success.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Robyn Bradley Litchfield Aug. 6--Shops and parking lots were packed Sunday as thousands of Montgomery-area families stocked up on binders, crayons, glue, clothing, shoes and other items during the back-to-school sales tax holiday....

Plan aims to teach officials how to teach financial responsibility.
August 5, 2007... Byline: Rick Harmon Aug. 5--Showing the poor how to manage what little money they have is what Catherine Flowers believes is a key to ending poverty. Every day, she sees so many who might have a better life if they only knew how to make...

3-D mapping service adds Montgomery, other state sites.
August 5, 2007... Byline: Rick Harmon Aug. 5--Maps of Alabama's four key cities are now in 3-D on the Web -- probably years before they would have been -- and it's because of the cutting-edge, high-tech security work the state is doing. ...

School system pleases new Autauga board member.
August 2, 2007... Byline: Marty Roney Aug. 2--PRATTVILLE -- Autauga County's newest Board of Education member is spending a lot of time on the road, riding around visiting schools. Bob Crane, 62, was sworn in last week to fill the term of Art...

ASU gets $4.9 million for scientific research.
August 1, 2007... Byline: Cosby Woodruff Aug. 1--Alabama State University has been awarded a $4.9 million grant to establish a center for nanobiotechnology research that one day could help block certain kinds of respiratory diseases, aid in the treatment...