LOOKING BACK: July 29, 2019

50 years ago this week

• Dr. Douglas E. Jones was appointed dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Alabama.

• Black candidates won control of the Greene County Commission and Board of Education in a special election, which black leaders said would mark the beginning of black control in a number of Alabama counties.

• Ann Hill, a teacher in Monroeville and Reform native, was missing; her car was found in Prattville. The woman’s body was found after she had been missing for two weeks in a shallow grave near Prattville.

• Former Alabama star quarterback Kenny Stabler quit the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League ”because there’s not much sense in staying in it if I wasn’t enjoying it.”

• A bus driver in the center of dispute that resulted in the closing of a local bus company resigned. The man was involved in a confrontation on his bus that led to the arrest of two black women. A boycott of the bus line was subsequently threatened by all-black Tuscaloosa Citizens for Action Committee unless company officials fired or suspended the driver.

• Deaths this week included retired circuit court bailiff, D.D. Bennett, 68.

25 years ago this week

• The Greene County Bboard of Education voted unanimously to offer the position of superintendent to Joseph Dantzler, at that time assistant principal at Tuscaloosa County High School.

• Tuscaloosa City Councilman Harrison Taylor said his “report card” gave the city a failing grade in minority hiring at City Hall.

• Dog racing at Greenetrack, the greyhound racing facility in Green County, came under pressure from other types of gambling. The newest threat was the Silver Star Hotel and Casino in Philadelphia, Miss., only a 90-minute drive from Tuscaloosa.

• Two Central High School-East graduates were named recipients of the seventh annual Eddie B. Thomas Scholarship. David DeRon Collins and Bobbie Wells would each receive $500 to continue their educations at the institutions of their choice. Collins planned to attend Auburn University and major in pharmacy. Wells would attend the University of Alabama; she planned to major in computer science and engineering.

• About 50 people representing the Summerfield subdivision told state highway officials they supported an eastern bypass around Tuscaloosa, but opposed the route that would put it in their neighborhood.

• Goody’s was set to open in the McFarland Mall.

• A plan by University of Alabama officials to raise parking fees to $45 over the following four years had staff members and clerical workers saying it was not fair to have to pay so much just to go to work.

• Willie Pearl Watkins Rice, chief clerk in the Sumter County Probate Office, was the nominee for probate judge and had no Republican opposition in the November general election, so unless an independent qualified by August 31, she would be running unopposed for the office.

10 years ago this week

• Claiming an “abuse of discretion,” the University of Alabama appealed to the National Collegiate Athletic Association, arguing that the committee of Infractions’ order to vacate 21 wins by the football program should be reversed. The appeal was regarding penalties from the textbook disbursement scandal; the appeal called the punishment excessive, especially since the university discovered, reported and corrected the violations.

• Construction of the long-awaited Tom Bevill Reservoir in Fayette County would start in September, resulting in the creation of a new 1,977-acre lake within three to five years.

• Hale County Circuit Judge Marvin Wiggins asked the Court of the Judiciary for leniency, saying that he did not willfully violate ethics rules when he failed to recuse himself from a voter-fraud investigation that involved three of his relatives. The court reprimanded Wiggins and suspended his pay for 90 days, but ruled that he can return to the bench. Attorney General Troy King asked for tougher sanctions against the judge.

• Former University of Alabama football coach Gene Stallings would be honored for his efforts to improve the lives of children at the seventh annual Founders Award dinner in Birmingham.

• The Tuscaloosa Police Department would be able to hire 12 police officers, funded through more than $2 million of federal stimulus money.

• Last month’s 2 percent increase in proration of the state’s education budget would force the Tuscaloosa County School System to borrow money to make payroll in September.

• The post office in Leland Shopping Center in Alberta was one of nearly 700 in danger of closing as the United States Postal Service struggled to make ends meet.

Five years ago this week

• The major tenants of a proposed retail shopping center, The Shoppes at Legacy Park, were Bed Bath & Beyond, World Market, Dick’s Sporting Goods, PetSmart, The Fresh Market and DSW Shoes.

• The Women’s Center at Greene County Hospital in Eutaw would start accepting patients the following week, meaning that women in the county would no longer have to drive to Tuscaloosa or Pickens County to get a mammogram or bone density test.

• Tuscaloosa businessman Danny Ray Butler was sentenced to serve 36 months in federal custody after the man pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and three counts of bank fraud earlier in the year.

• Police intensified efforts to find a teenager Destiny Shaetzle, 13, reported as a runaway by her parents. The girl was found later in the week and was admitted to the hospital for observation.

• After three decades with The Tuscaloosa News, sports writer Andrew Carroll put down his pen.

• As the Crimson Tide took the field for the opening of fall camp, it did so as the No. 2-ranked preseason team in a vote of 62 head coaches.

• Alabama gymnast Kin Jacob was named the Capital One Division-1 Academic All-American of the year.

• The Alabama Power Co. would cut its workforce in half at its Plant Greene County by 2016, as it eliminated coal-burning units there.

• Plans for a new downtown Cadence Bank and upgrades to the Kress building’s exterior were approved by the Tuscaloosa City Council. The former S.H. Kress building houses the Pants Store and once housed Spiller Furniture. Planned renovations include an external staircase for six planned condominium units. The Cadence Bank was planned for 2020 University Blvd., where developers intended to demolish the existing building that once housed the Ray, Oliver and Ward law firm and construct a two-story bank and office building in its place.

One year ago this week

• Lulu, an infamous University of Alabama dog who had roamed the campus for two years, selected Kevin Mount, joined him and his dog, Carter, in his apartment and settled in as part of the family.

• Finishing touches were added to the new $16.4 million Arcadia Elementary School. The 80,000-square-foot building will house around 570 students when it opens on Aug. 8.

• Glenn Putyrae was made the new head coach of the University of Alabama rowing team.

• The Rotary Club of Tuscaloosa presented the Tuscaloosa City School System with a $100,000 donation to assist with the reading program at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary School.

• The Holt Lock and Dam was undergoing extensive renovation and repair work including the installation of new downstream lock gates that are 80 feet high.

• The Tuscaloosa County Emergency Operations center opened.

• A familiar restaurant was returning to Tuscaloosa with a slightly new name. Schlotzsky’s became Schlotzsky’s Austin Eatery and was set to reopen the following week.

• The Alabama football team would begin the 2018 college football season at No. 1 in the USA Today/Amway coaches’ poll.

• Andre’ Harris, a driver for Bambarger Wrecker Service, recently rescued a child from a burning vehicle when he came upon an accident scene on Alabama Highway 171.

• Deaths this week included longtime community activist Deloris Warrick at 68. Also, longtime food columnist Prudence Hilburn died at 82.

Compiled by retired News librarian Betty Slowe.