Selma Sun Spotlight: Bike cops return to Selma, Ebenezer celebrates 100th anniversary

Selma Sun Spotlight: This Week’s Top Stories

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Transcript:

TODD

A federal community policing grant will be used to bring bicycle patrol back to Selma, according to Chief Kenta Fulford. He said the $550,000 grant from Congresswoman Terri Sewell will fund the department’s Community Police in Peace effort. Fulford was a bicycle cop for part of his carer, and says that being on a bike makes it much easier to approach citizens. He says if they are sitting on their porch, you can ride right up to them and talk to them. Fulford says this is important because officers and citizens getting to know each other fosters better relations, which helps fight crime. When the officers are seen as friends and not as adversaries, citizens are more likely and more comfortable coming forward with information that helps the police fight crime. Fulford has chosen the Trek Powerfly 4 bike, a ten-speed trail bike that can be peddled in traditional style but also has an electric motor that will power it when the officers are not pedaling.

CINDY

Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church hosted a Centennial Celebration the 27th and 28th to commemorate the church’s 100th anniversary. It started with a Centennial Outdoor Festival on the church grounds Saturday filled with food, music, and games and culminated in a celebration Sunday with a Centennial Worship Service, filled with former members and a program that took church members down memory lane. The service high point was a powerful sermon by Dr. Anthony Darrington of Detroit, who is a Selma native and former member of Ebenezer. Rev. James Perkins, pastor of Ebenezer says the service was the icing on the cake. Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church is historically known for its former pastor, the late Dr. Frederick D. Reese, who was one of the Courageous 8 who led the historic Dallas County Voters League and signed the letter that brought the late Dr. Martin Luther King and the late Congressman John Lewis to Selma during the Voting Rights Movement of the 1960s.

TODD

Marion Military Institute will have a public ground breaking for it’s new dining hall Sept. 7 at 11:30 a.m. Suzanne McKee, Vice President for Institutional Advancement says this is the first new construction that MMI has seen in 30 years since the Ireland Athletic Complex and is an enormous step forward for this historic college. he facility was designed by Davis Architects of Birmingham and will be built by Amason Construction. It will be constructed where the tennis courts were formerly located. The new dining hall will seat 500 people and will feature a special event space, private dining area and state of the art kitchen. Construction should be completed by Fall 2023. The former dining hall will be converted into an up-to-date uniform department and bookstore.

CINDY

TicketSmarter is now the official ticket provider for the upcoming HBCU Pigskin Showdown scheduled for December in Marion. TicketSmarter CEO Jeff Goodman says they are thrilled to support this exciting event that consistently develops some of the nation’s top talents. HBCU Pigskin Showdown Executive Director Chris Williams added they are excited about partnering with TicketSmarter and that in the second year, a number of nationally recognized partners have been developed and TicketSmarter is one of those. The game will be featured nationally on Peacock and CNBC at 1 p.m. on Dec. 17.

TODD

The Alabama Department of Transportation is planning to replace the bridges over Blue Gurth Swamp on AL-14 near Selma. The project that will close the road and detour traffic to AL-41 (U.S. 80) and AL-140 around the area where the bridge is located. A public information meeting was held on Aug. 23 at the Burnsville Fire Department building to hear comments. Some resident have raised concerns on line about the construction time, which is estimated at 18 months. The post said that the detour is too long for residents to take as construction progresses. The post also clains that the information meeting was not widely advertised and that it was attended by few people. Although the meeting is past, comments can still be submitted online where project maps and contact information can be seen.

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