| Friday, July 30, 2010 | Opelika, Alabama |
Vol. 2, No. 40 |
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Special to the Opelika Observer |
| Pictured in the back row: Coaches Paul Hunt , Brent Milner, Billy Jones; middle row: Tyler Robertson, Landon Hunt, Brook Brannon, Taylor Jones, Dalton Jenkins; front row: Carter Milner, Chandler Lawrence, Cade Blackmon, Jalen Miller and Trever Williams. |
Big Dogs finish as runner-up
Special to the Opelika Observer
The Opelika Big Dogs finished their 2010 baseball season as runner-up at the 2010 USSSA Global World Series held in Orange Beach, Ala.
The Big Dogs season record finished at 42 – 23. In the championship game, the Big Dogs were defeated by Voo Doo Baseball from Mandeville, La.
The Big Dogs led the whole game and were ahead 6-4 with one out in the bottom of the 6th before surrendering three unearned runs to take the loss.
Big Dogs played in 16 tournaments in 2010. They won first place in Auburn August Age Up Tournament, Auburn May Match Up and won the Alabama State Championship in the 10 u AAA division.
The Big Dogs also had five runnerup finishes during the 2010 season.
Big Dogs would like to thank everyone who helped sponsor them for the 2010 season.
The 2010 roster included: Taylor Jones, Opelika; Carter Milner, Opelika; Jalen Miller, Opelika; Cade Blackmon, Opelika; Dalton Jenkins, Opelika; Trever Williams, Opelika; Landon Hunt, Dadeville; Tyler Robertson, Wetumpka, Brook Brannon, Wetumpka and Chandler Lawrence, Wetumpka.
Back To School
By Lisa Salsman
Executive Editor
Well, folks, it's time for the kids to head back to school again. This, admittedly, is my favorite time of year. It's not really because I don't like having my kids at home - I do. However, I really look forward to a fresh new school year and new challenges for them.
One of the hardest parts for any parent can be back-to-school shopping. Knowing what to buy and what to leave in the chaotic aisle is key to a good start. There are lists available at opelikaschools.org for students attending Opelika City Schools. Otherwise, check to see if your school has a website or offers their supply lists elsewhere.
Another important thing to check on is the rules for backpacks. We have this information on Page 12 in this week's Observer, as well as other important back-to-school information, so be sure to check it out.School Day Hours
Primary Schools
7:40 a.m. – 2:25 p.m.
Intermediate Schools
7:45 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Opelika Middle School
7:50 a.m. – 3:05 p.m.
Opelika High School
7:55 a.m. – 3:20 p.m.
Opelika Learning
Center
7:45 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Board of Education
Offices
7:30 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.
Immunizations
Beginning with the 2010-2011 school year, a dose of Tdap vaccine will be required for students ages 11 or 12 entering the 6th grade. This requirement will escalate by one successive grade each year for the following six years to include sixth through twelfth grades, beginning fall of 2016. For more information, contact the Lee County Health Department or your local physician.
Emergency Information
All upcoming 3rd graders, 6th graders and 9th-12th grade students in the Opelika City Schools are required to update their emergency information prior to the first day of school on August 9, 2010. For more information, see the school website at http://www.opelikaschools.org/index.php/news-and-events. If you have questions, please contact your child’s school.
Team Assignments & Schedules
Team Assignments for 2010-2011
All OMS team assignments will be posted on the
cafeteria windows Aug. 5, at 5 p.m.
OMS 7th and 8th Grade Schedule pick-up
7th and 8th grade students are invited to OMS on
Aug. 6, at 2 p.m. to pick up their schedules before
the first day of classes. Students will be directed to
the appropriate team areas to meet the team teachers
and pick up the schedule.
Open House Dates
Carver Primary
School: Aug.10: 6 p.m.
Morris Avenue
Intermediate School:
Aug 12: 6 p.m.
Northside Intermediate
School: Aug.16: 6 p.m.
Southview Primary
School: Aug. 17: 6 p.m.
West Forest
Intermediate School:
Aug. 19: 6 p.m.
Opelika Middle
School: Aug. 23: 6 p.m.
Opelika High School:
Aug. 24: 6 p.m.
Opelika Learning Center:
Aug. 30: 8 a.m.-3
p.m.
Jeter Primary School:
Sept. 16: 6 p.m.
Opelika City Schools Meal Prices
Primary & Intermediate:
Breakfast $1
Lunch $1.50
Middle School:
Breakfast $1
Lunch $1.50
High School:
Breakfast $1
Lunch $1.75
Visitors (All Schools):
Breakfast $1.75
Lunch $2.75
Rules & Information
Only clear or mesh backpacks are allowed in the Opelika City Schools. School Supply Lists are available at each school or online at www.opelikaschools.org.
Opelika’s Referendum: What you should know before you vote!
By Jan Gunter
City of Opelika
On Tuesday, August 10 th registered voters of the City of Opelika will be asked to go to the polls and vote on a special referendum. There will only be one question on the ballot for this referendum. It will be the only question decided on by the public on August 10 th .
The question is this:
“Shall the City of Opelika, Alabama, be authorized to acquire, establish, purchase, construct, maintain, lease and operate a cable television system for the purpose of furnishing cable service to subscribers?
“Yes ( ) No ( )”
Why is this question being put to a voter referendum? Because the City of Opelika is required to do so by the State of Alabama law (Alabama Code §11-50B), which obligates municipalities wishing to offer cable/internet/voice services to do three things:
- Submit a signed petition with the signatures of a certain percentage of registered voters of the municipality (who are required to sign their names and give their addresses on the petition.)
- Hold a public hearing on the proposed referendum between 30 and 60 days after the official submission of the signed petition. (This will take place on Tuesday, August 3 rd , at 7:00 p.m. during the Opelika City Council meeting, which is held inside Opelika's City Hall, located at 204 South 7 th Street.)
- Conduct a vote on the proposed referendum no later than 60 days after the official submission of the signed petition.
The City of Opelika administration created the petition using the exact wording dictated for municipalities to use directly in the Alabama Code §11-50B, and set out to get enough signatures from the public, beginning on June 2 nd , 2010, as required by Alabama law. We needed only 246 signatures. We received 411 signatures in just a little over 24 hours' time – far more than enough to satisfy the petition requirements - and filed the petition on Thursday, June 3 rd , which meant we had no need to do a community-wide push for the effort, since we had far more than enough signatures on the initial requirements of the Alabama Law.
The question some might ask is “Why is the City of Opelika looking into going into the Cable television business? The answer is simple: competition for Charter Communications. The City of Opelika administration fervently holds onto the idea that competition in the free market brings high quality services at competitive rates! The winners are the consumers!
For the last decade the City of Opelika officials (Mayor Gary Fuller and Mayor Barbara Patton before him) have held meetings with various Cable TV providers, urging them to come into the Opelika market and give competition to Charter Communications which right now has a “monopoly” on the Cable TV services offered to our community.
Unfortunately, the answer has been the same from the various cable companies over the years which the city has tried to lure into our community: “It's not worth our time, effort or capital expenditures to come into such a small market share.”
And that's why we have been diligent in this mission – to bring competition to Charter Communications – because for years complaints about Charter Communications have been one of the most frequent complaints from citizens to the mayor's office: complaints like, 1) the prices Opelika citizens are charged for what our area gets as compared to what is offered to other communities right down the road from Opelika, and 2) the poor customer service many Opelika residents receive when they have questions or need repairs for their existing services. The mayor's office also receives many “calls for help” from other citizens who live in neighborhoods within the city limits where there aren't any cable services offered at all (and won't have them anytime in the near future if this referendum fails, because Charter Communications does not have any plans to build out into many of these neighborhoods without any cable TV services).
And so, the City of Opelika has decided that with a YES VOTE on the August 10 th referendum we can offer ALL of Opelika's citizens Cable / Internet / Voice services at competitive rates, and actually give a better quality product than is currently offered by any cable TV / Internet / Voice provider, because with Fiber to the User (FTTU) we will be able to offer the consumer true high speed internet services and more HD TV capabilities. ( The FTTU system will also be used to add value enhancing smart grid services, like outage reporting so you do not have to make a phone call, and automated restoration during outages which will reduce the amount of blinks seen in the home.)
Will Opelika residents have to switch to this new cable network? Absolutely not! If you are satisfied with the services you are currently receiving, then by all means stay with Charter Communications! However, for those citizens who are not satisfied with their current services – and for those citizens who would like to have ANY cable services at all, then with a YES VOTE on AUGUST 10th, Opelika will be able to offer them choices they do not have at this time! The City of Opelika encourages all citizens to VOTE YES and give true competition to Charter Communications!
Civic Club Spotlight: Opelika Exchange Club
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Photo by Daniel Chesser |
| Pictured above from left to right: Bill Hester, Joe Higgins, Robert Heath, John Nichols, Bill Chance, Jim Sadler, Clarence Cook and Earl Sumners. |
By Daniel Chesser
Opelika Observer
A group of men fellowship every Thursday night at LaFayette Park to exchange ideas on how to better their city and honor the people living in it.
The Opelika Exchange Club's main focus has been community activities for the past 66 years.
“One of the big things we do each year is the Dixie Youth Barbeque in April,” said John Nichols, current club president. “We also do the fair that serves five counties in the area each year.”
The barbeque benefits the local little league baseball teams.
The club acknowledges a worthy citizen with the Book of Golden Deeds Award.
“We try to honor somebody in the community that does unheralded events and doesn't get credit for it,” Nichols said. “We try to find those people and we also do the firefighter of the year and police officer of the year.”
An essay contest on Americanism is also promoted by the club each year to honor the boy and girl of the year in the Opelika area, according to Nichols.
In the Fall the Exchange Club runs the concessions for the Lee County Fair at LaFayette Park near Opelika High School.
“The fair is in its 63rd year,” said Jim Saddler, member since 1976. “It's all about the kids.”
