WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ELKMONT

Visit Elkmont Baseball Blog for Baseball and Softball News

Click here for school announcements:

Who knows?  It hasn't loaded from the school website in several weeks.  Hopefully they will get it fixed before Spring Break.





February

24  Count your Blessings


25    
Elkmont High School Varsity Baseball 

*Athens Bible School Preseason Tournament - Elkmont Red Devils will be hosting Danville High School.  Lost 8 - 6

JV vs Danville; follows varsity game 

MUSIC TO ENJOY

Elkmont Pickin' & Grinnin' Mondays     

6:30 pm - Downtown Elkmont Depot   

Live Music and Dancing

Bring your own chair

Players and Dancers Welcome   

For info:  931-427-6296  

Speedy Spud Feet reminding all couch potatoes that training for 5K race is today.  Time: 5:30 pm  Location:  Elkmont Rural Village Office.  Don't be late or the potatoes will be rolling down the trail.

Elkmont Middle School Softball vs Monrovia @ Elkmont, double header
First game:  W   4 -1;   Second game:   L  5 - 1

          

26 Elkmont Varsity Baseball@ Fairview - First Pitch @ 4:30
*Athens Bible School Preseason Invitational Tournament


JV @ Fairview; follows varsity game

Elkmont Middle School Baseball - CANCELLED
*Westminister Preseason Tournament- Elkmont @ Westminster; will play the two games rained out last week

Elkmont Softball JV @Ardmore, double header; first pitch 4 pm

27



28
CANCELLED - Elkmont High School Varsity Softball - Opening Day
*Tanner @ Elkmont - First pitch 4:30 pm

Couch Potatoes unite - 5K training starts at 5:30 pm; Elkmont Rural Village

CANCELLED - Elkmont Middle School vs ABS @ Elkmont; first pitch @ 4 pm

March 

1
Elkmont Varsity Baseball vs Clements @ Elkmont; first pitch - 4:30; second game - 6:30 pm

JV@ West Limestone (DH), first pitch - 4:30 pm


2
Couch Potatoes Training; Downtown Rails to Trails @ 10 am

FACEBOOK IS SPYING ON YOU - THIRD WAY

A billion people worldwide use Facebook to share details of their lives with their friends. Trouble is, they also might be unintentionally divulging matters they consider private—to friends…coworkers, clients and employers…marketing companies…and even to competitors, scammers and identity thieves.

The third way Facebook could be compromising your private information is the LIKE button and  this is how to protect yourself…

3. Facebook “like” buttons spy on you—even when you don’t click on them. 
 Each time you click a “like” button on a Web site, you broadcast your interest in a subject not just to your Facebook friends but also to Facebook and its advertising partners.

But if you’re a Facebook user and you visit a Web page that has a “like” button, Facebook will record that you visited that page even if you don’t click “like.” Facebook claims to keep Web-browsing habits private, but there’s no
guarantee that the information won’t get out.

What to do: One way to prevent Facebook from knowing where you go online is to set your Web browser to block all cookies. Each browser has a different procedure for doing this, and you will have to re-enter your user ID and password each time you visit certain Web sites.

Alternatively, to eliminate cookies created during a specific browser session, you can use the “InPrivate Browsing” mode (Internet Explorer), “Incognito” mode (Google Chrome) or “Private Browsing” mode (Firefox and Safari).
There also are free plug-ins to stop Facebook from tracking you, such as Facebook Blocker (www.Webgraph.com/resources/facebookblocker).

BAILEE ROBINSON - SENIOR NIGHT AT UAH

How time flies!!!  Bailee Robinson, one of the best basketball players to attend Elkmont High School is finishing up her college career at UAH this Saturday with Senior Night. 

  UAH will be playing Shorter. The game starts at 5 pm, so be there early for senior night activities.  Look for Bailee in her number 1 jersey if you go to the game

Bailee Robinson   Position: Guard   Class: Senior   Hometown: Elkmont, Ala.   Previous School: Wallace State CC   2011-12:  Started 29 games while   appearing in all    30 contests for the Lady Chargers … Ranked third in the Gulf   South Conference in free throw percentage (79.4 percent),    fourth in 3-point field goal percentage (39.2 percent) and 3-     point field goals made (49) and assists (69) … Featured the third-best scoring average on the team as she tallied 10.7 points per contest … Registered double figures in 18 contests … Scored a season-high 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds at West Georgia (1/7) … Connected on 11 of 12 free throw opportunities while collecting a season-best nine boards against West Florida (1/14) … Knocked down three treys and scored 13 points in GSC Tournament championship contest against West Alabama (3/4).

Prior to UAH: Attended Wallace State Community College … Member of the 2011 ACCC State Championship team … As a freshman, named to the All-Conference team and led the conference in assists … As a sophomore, named to the All-Conference and All-Tournament teams while also being award the MVP honor for the conference tournament … Earned All-America Honorable Mention accolades as a sophomore … As a sophomore, led the squad in scoring with 14.2 points per game, assists (2.61/game), steals (2.11/game), three-point percentage (65-of-156, 41.7%), free-throw percentage (73-of-89, 82%) and minutes played (28.4/game) … Posted 3.3 rebounds per game and shot 45.9 percent from the floor as a sophomore. Prep: Attended Elkmont High School and was coached by Steve Bates and Jeff Davis … Named 3A Player of the Year as a senior … During freshman through senior years, named to the All-County and All-Area teams … As a junior and senior, earned All-Region and All-State accolades … Earned All-Area honors as an eighth-grader First Team honors … Holds the varsity school record for most points scored, 2,180… Played in the North-South All-Star Game … Graduated third, academically, in class and received the Bryant Jordan Student-Athlete Scholarship … Volunteered with Operation Christmas child and Habitat for Humanity.

FINDING MISS DAISY - SUCCESSFUL

DAISY is back in Elkmont.  Chad Farmer found her on Easter Ferry Rd and brought her home Chad had been coon hunting and she was at Easter Ferry bridge.

Her puppies are thrilled to see her too.

WEEK 2 - SPEEDY SPUD FEET

Elkmont's Couch Potato to 5K group (Elkmont Trail Blazers) completed week 2 training with a 2 mile trail run this past Saturday on the trail in downtown Elkmont! EVERYBODY is doing fantastic - despite some minor injuries common to new runners!

We started week 3 training on Monday night and increased the actual run time to double what we had been doing! Our next workouts are tonight (Thursday) and Saturday morning.

Will we be running in the snow? Although I doubt we will experience it this evening or even on Saturday, there is nothing more peaceful than running on fresh fallen snow! Especially with the winds are still and traffic is at a minimum.

The Elkmont Trail Blazers are all registered for the goal run on April 6 - the Chick-fil-A 5K! I can't wait to see them all run!

FACEBOOK IS SPYING ON YOU - SECOND WAY

A billion people worldwide use Facebook to share details of their lives with their friends. Trouble is, they also might be unintentionally divulging matters they consider private—to friends…coworkers, clients and employers…marketing companies…and even to competitors, scammers and identity thieves.

The second way Facebook could be compromising your private information is the Facebook apps and this is how to protect yourself…

2. Facebook apps steal personal details about you—even details that you specifically told Facebook you wished to keep private. Third-party apps are software applications available through Facebook but created by other companies. These include games and quizzes popular on Facebook such as FarmVille and Words with Friends, plus applications such as Skype, TripAdvisor and Yelp. 

Most Facebook apps are free—the companies that offer them make their money by harvesting personal details about users from their Facebook pages, then selling that information to advertisers.

Many apps collect only fairly common information, such as age, hometown and gender, that probably is not secret. But others dig deep into Facebook data, even accessing information that you may have designated private, such as religious affiliation, political leanings and sexual orientation.

What to do: Read user agreements and privacy policies carefully to understand what information you are agreeing to share before signing up for any app. The free Internet tool Privacyscore is one way to evaluate the privacy policies of the apps you currently use (www.Facebook.com/privacyscore). 

You also can tighten privacy settings by clicking the lock icon in the upper-right-hand corner. Select “See More Settings,” then choose “Apps” from the left menu. Under “Apps You Use,” click “Edit” to see your privacy options.

MY FIRST THREE WEEKS IN THE 2013 SESSION - DAN WILLIAMS

Budget hearings were incorporated into the first two weeks of the 2013 session. There is not enough money to cover all of the requests.

Tax revenues to the state and interest paid on state deposits determine the availability of funds in the Education and General Fund budgets. Currently, the fiscal 2013 Education budget is in better condition than last year, and is not expected to be prorated.

The fiscal 2014 Education budget revenue projections show an additional $200 million would be available over and above current spending in the fiscal 2013 Education budget. The state hopes to use these additional funds to lower classroom divisors, fund school library enhancement, and give teachers a cost of living adjustment of 2 percent to 3 percent.

The 2013 General Fund budget is on target to collect required revenues to fund current budget obligations and at the moment are not expected to be prorated for the first time in many years. The 2014 General Fund budget may be a bit better than 2013, but everyone should expect it to be extremely tight. We hope the 2014 Education budget is at least slowly recovering.

We passed HB94 on the second legislative day to require the Legislature to repay all money transferred from the Alabama Trust Fund to the state General Fund pursuant to Amendment 856 (Sept. 18) to the Alabama Constitution. The General Fund will begin repayment in fiscal 2014 to the Alabama Trust Fund with annual payments required and final payback due by fiscal 2026.

The Alabama House, on day two, also passed the Alabama Informed Voter Act HB95 to approve ballot language that will explain in layman terms the effect of a vote for or against a ballot proposal.  

The House passed three significant pieces of legislation in week two:

• HB101, the Red Tape Reduction Act, requires an Alabama Agency Administrator to provide notification to the public of proposed rule and regulation changes, and requires a business economic impact statement prior to adoption of a rule that is determined to have an adverse impact on a business in Alabama.

• HB102, the 21st Century Workforce Act, authorizes a $50 million dollar bond issue to provide funds to local boards of education to purchase career and technical education equipment. Funds will be available for existing programs and certified programs that are developed in the future. Career tech education for students in the Limestone County system and the Athens City system is one avenue to quality jobs in the areas of pre-engineering, building science, nursing, industrial maintenance, and welding.

• HB84, the Local Control School Flexibility Act of 2013 relating to public K-12 education, is an effort to inspire creativity and innovation in Alabama schools. The Bill allows local school boards and their superintendents to seek regulation flexibility from the state superintendent.

The Flex Bill as passed by the House requires a local public hearing prior to submitting a flexibility contract proposal to the state Board of Education. A school system may not seek flexibility or a waiver from the Alabama ethics law, state retirement benefits, or health insurance benefits for system employees.

A school system may not pay a current or future employee less than that employee would earn under the state Minimum Salary Schedule nor may a system force a current or future employee to involuntarily relinquish their tenure rights or rights obtained by reaching a non-probationary employment status. The School Flexibility Act cannot be used to authorize the formation of charter schools in Alabama and requires the state Superintendent to make a decision on proposed flexibility contracts and innovation plans within 60 days of submission.

The education organizations that support the Flex Bill include: Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools, Alabama Association for School Boards, School Superintendents of Alabama, A+ Education Partnership, Association of School Business Officials, the Alabama School Superintendent, and the Business Council of Alabama. There has been much misinformation and rhetoric in regard to the Flex Bill in an effort to kill this legislation.

The third week of the session was very productive in passing the bills that are on the Republican “We Dare Defend Our Rights” agenda:

• HB57, the Women’s Health and Care Act, was carried by Rep. Mary Sue McClurken. This bill requires the same standards in treatment and care in Alabama abortion clinics that are required in other medical clinics in Alabama.

• HB108, the Religious Liberty Act was carried by Rep. Lynn Greer allows small businesses to refuse to pay for contraceptives and abortion inducing drugs, based upon the business owner’s religious beliefs.

• HB110, the Medicaid Fraud Act was carried by Rep. Jim McClendon. This bill will increase the efficiency of the state Medicaid program by improving the ability of the Attorney General’s office and the Medicaid Agency to pinpoint, investigate, and prosecute instances of fraud and abuse.

• HB109, the Health Care Compact bill was carried by Rep. Mike Ball and will allow Alabama to become the fifth state to join the Interstate Compact. This will allow our Medicaid Agency to do a better job of running our state Medicaid program with less federal involvement.

We have now passed almost the entire Republican agenda that we promised to deliver during this session. The exception is the Alabama Firearms Protection Act that we will take up when we begin next week.

— Republican Rep. Dan Williams represents Alabama’s 5th House district, which includes Athens and Limestone County.

FACEBOOK IS SPYING ON YOU - FIRST WAY

A billion people worldwide use Facebook to share details of their lives with their friends. Trouble is, they also might be unintentionally divulging matters they consider private—to friends…coworkers, clients and employers…marketing companies…and even to competitors, scammers and identity thieves.

The first way Facebook could be compromising your private information is the new Timeline and this is how to protect yourself…

1. The new Timeline format exposes your old mistakes. Timeline, introduced in late 2011, makes it easy for people to search back through your old Facebook posts, something that was very difficult to do in the past. That could expose private matters and embarrassing photos that you’ve long since forgotten posting.

What to do: To hide Timeline posts that you do not wish to be public, hold the cursor over the post, click the pencil icon that appears in the upper-right corner, then click “Hide from Timeline” or “Delete.”

MICHAEL SMITH/ CLARA FOS ENGAGEMENT

Shelley and Michael Underhill of Athens announce the engagement of their daughter, Clara Nichole Fos, to Christopher Matthew Smith, son of Chris and Wendy Smith of Elkmont.  The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Linda H. Prine of Athens.  She is a 2010 graduate of Athens High School and studied phlebotomy at Calhoun Community College.  She is employed by MedWest Community Healthcare as medical tech/phlebotomist.

The prospective groom is the grandson of Viola Turner and Alice Smith, both of Elkmont, and the late Sterling Turner and Michael Smith.  He is a 2009 graduate of Elkmont High School and was trained in machine tool technology. He is employed by Turner Medical as a machinist. The wedding is planned for April 6 at Sandlin Road Church of Christ in Elkmont.

JUDY ANN CLARK PACK - OBITUARY

Mrs. Judy Ann Clark Pack, 67 of Athens, Alabama passed away Tuesday, February 26, 2013 at her residence.

Funeral service will be Thursday, February 28, 2013, 1PM at Spry Funeral Home Chapel with Donald Terry.

Burial in the Athens City Cemetery

Visitation will be 6-9PM on Wednesday at Spry Funeral Home.

Born February 3, 1946 in Limestone County, AL
Baptist Faith
Retired from General Motors

Preceded in Death by Husband: Douglas Pack
Brothers: Bobby Clark & Charles Clark
Sisters: Mable Kidd, Mary Dugger, Lorene Conley

Survivors:

Daughter:
Terri Garlen and husband John - Elkmont, AL

Son:
Stephen Pack and wife Tonya - Athens, AL

Brother:
Kenneth Clark - Athens, AL

Sister:
Marie Pitts - Athens, AL

Grandchildren:
Dalton Pack
Haley Pack
Jared Taylor
Eddie Garlen

Pallbearers:
Tim Clark, Keith Clark, Randall Townsend, Lance Pitts, David Kidd, Johnny Cooper