ALTON F. SCHRIMSHER - OBITUARY

 

Alton F. Schrimsher, age 85 of Athens, AL passed away on Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at Athens Limestone Hospital. Mr. Schrimsher was born on July 12, 1932 in Limestone County to Charlie and Grace McMunn Schrimsher. Mr. Schrimsher was a member of New life Assembly Church. He loved to sing with the “Nursing Home Singers” and enjoyed fishing, hunting and gardening. He was an avid Alabama football fan. Mr. Schrimsher enjoyed blue grass music and attending the Fiddler’s Convention. Above all, he loved his family. He was preceded in death by his parents; brothers, Edward, Thomas and Ellis Schrimsher and sister, Donna Mae Carroll.

Mr. Schrimsher is survived by his wife of 32 years, Shirley Schrimsher of Athens, AL; children, Debbie Vaughn (John) of Rogersville, AL, Dale Schrimsher (Joan) of Elkmont, AL, Terri Buckley (John) of Grant, AL and Karen Sandlin of Moulton, AL; step-children, Kathy Harris (Dale) of Eva, AL, Wanda Odell (Larry) of Danville, AL, Linda Putman (Lloyd) of Athens, AL and Charles “Eddie” Edmondson (Donna) of Decatur, AL; 22 grandchildren, 30 great-grandchildren, 2 great-great grandchildren; sister-in-law Joyce Schrimsher and several nieces and nephews.

Services for Mr. Schrimsher will be at 2:00PM Saturday, March 31, 2018 at Limestone Chapel Funeral Home with Bro. Robinson, Jason Parnell and Drew Schrimsher officiating. The family will receive friends from 11:00-1:45 prior to the service. Burial will be in Fairview Baptist Church Cemetery.

Pallbearers will be Kent Schrimsher, Drew Schrimsher, Jamey Waits, Chris Miller, Mitchell Hallmark and Jeff Sparks. Honorary pallbearers are Ross Rainey, Tom Hines, Jeremy Wilkes and Austin Hallmark.

DEBRA DIANE ANDREWS - OBITUARY

Debra Diane Andrews, 58, of Toney, died Wednesday, March 28, 2018, at Athens-Limestone Hospital. Mrs. Andrews was born May 26, 1959, in Limestone County. She was a member of the Holiness Church and she was a homemaker.  

Funeral is 11 a.m. Saturday at Spry Funeral Home, with Buddy Payne officiating. 
Burial is in Wesley's Chapel Cemetery.  
Visitation is 6-9 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.

Survivors include her husband, Freddy Andrews of Toney; daughters, Lisa Andrews of Elkmont, Christina Andrews of Toney; son, Joseph Andrews of Madison; brothers, Morris Alexander of Ardmore, Jeano Alexander of Hazel Green, Nolan Alexander of Athens; sister, Theresa Bradley of Athens; five grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

WHAT'S HAPPENING IN ELKMONT THIS WEEK?

30 GOOD FRIDAY

SENIOR CENTER - CLOSED

ELKMONT SCHOOLS
ELEMENTARY 

Hat Day tomorrow for $1 All proceeds go to support our Special Olympics athletes at the upcoming Special Olympics event next week!

HIGH SCHOOL
BASEBALL@ HOME
*Varsity vs Tanner; 4:30 PM
*JV vs Tanner; 6:30 PM 

SOFTBALL @ ELKMONT
*Varsity Tournament
*Middle School Tournament

COUNTY SOCCER TOURNAMENT @ELKMONT
*5 PM - East vs Elkmont girls championship
*7 PM - East vs Tanner; boys championship 


31
ELKMONT SCHOOLS
BASEBALL
*Varsity @ ABS; 3:30 PM
*JV @ ABS; TBA 

SOFTBALL @ ELKMONT
*Varsity Tournament
*Middle School Tournament 

ELKMONT YOUTH LEAGUE OPENING DAY
 *Opening ceremonies start at 2:00pm

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

 

Keeper of the glasses, director of traffic, keeper of necklaces, old broken crayons and “rare” rocks and pretty “flowers”. Fidget spinner haters and lovers of Velcro! Not shoe tie-ers!!!!!’ Free hug givers, bathroom cleaners, and referees. Tattle Tale receivers and judge and jury. Great listeners of kids' stories and great secret Keepers😉 ( won’t believe what they say about you if you won’t believe what they say about us!). First responders and makeshift nurses. Not quite the favorite and loved by others...Elementary PE teachers! We’ve been a team for 18 years. More like family! As the years move on and things change we still manage to have fun and have fun with the kids! Been blessed with a great coworker, Regina Clem! Just a little while longer ....😀! Have a good one!

BILLY WAYNE THOMAS - OBITUARY

Billy Wayne Thomas, age 68 of Athens, passed away Monday at Athens Limestone Hospital. Funeral service was Wednesday, March 28, 2018 at 2 p.m. at McConnell Memorial Chapel with Doug McCurry officiating. Visitation was Wed. from 1-1:45 p.m. Burial was in Roselawn Cemetery.

Mr.Thomas was born March 20, 1950 in Limestone County to Roy Lee Thomas and Mary Iona Miller Thomas. He is preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, Donald Lee Thomas, Robert Glen Thomas, two sisters, Lola Brown and Dorothy Ann Thomas.

Survivors include his wife, Betty Thomas, one son, Roy Wayne (Pam) Thomas of Elkmont; two daughters, Belishia Carol (Nick) Chambers of Athens; Leslie Ann Smith of Athens; three grandchildren, Chelsea Carol Morris, Tyler Baxter Morris, Mattilynn Leeann Weigart, one great-grandson, Conner Lee Kelso and one sister Betty Sue Foster.

Pallbearers will be David Beckham, Jimmy Rucker, Brandon McGee, Jordan Foster, Tim Foster and Scottie Taylor.

BACK TO THE BASICS - HOW DO YOU DO THAT?

The Hill Spirit believes that being able to take care of yourself is extremely important.  The Hill Spirit gets enough messages from the Elkmont folks to know that there are many who feel the same way.   From time to time, blog posts are about how to do that. Today, TSP has a great episode to share with folks, especially those new to being prepared.  It  discusses things at the basic level and frankly the starting out level.

Podcast Intro from Jack:
Funny quick story here, when I started The Survival Podcast and coined the phrase modern survivalist in 2008 I was advised by many well meaning people to use the term Prepper and rebrand as say the Modern Prepper Podcast or something.  Why?  Survivalist was considered scary, tin hattish, new world order obsessed, etc.
I stuck to the following, this is what modern survivalist means.

• modern – of or relating to the present or recent times as opposed to the remote past
• survival – the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances
• ist – a suffix that means to specialize in

So modern survivalist means – one who lives in the present here and now and specializes in creating a life that will allow them to continue to live a good life in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances.
Now do you see why I ask, “why isn’t everyone a survivalist”?  Frankly if you are raising a child is this not what you would want for them?  Would you not want to raise a young adult that can continue to thrive “in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances”.  If that is what you’d want for your kids, don’t you think  you should set a good example?  Now of course the funny thing is Prepper is just as maligned and considered “crazy” today as survivalist due to stupid nonsense like “Doomsday Preppers”.

Join Me Today As We Discuss…  CLICK HERE FOR LINK
*jump ahead to about 7 minutes to skip the intro/housekeeping part

• Yes modern survivalism is just common sense
• Not long ago preparedness was considered a virtue in America
• The story of the grasshopper and the ant, the original one
• Setting up basic redundancy, some really simple first steps
  • A basic black out kit
  • A 72 hour kit
  • A basic documentation package
  • Protocol and procedures and the differences between the two
  • Basic food storage
  • Basic water storage
  • Basic situational awareness
  • Basic financial management and debt elimination
  • The most important thing, a survival mind set
• Where to go from here

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

Tough day. Yeah , yeah I know....everyone has them. Not really complaining....well may be a little, but there are things happening with our children that have me wondering about the future. Kids and young lives are not commodities. They are not numbers on a spreadsheet and they are not deserving of the injustice that some people and some who hold power in education want to lay on them. Programs that work, in which time and money have been spent on training teachers are in jeopardy in this state. It is so discouraging to see decisions being made by people who claim to be stakeholders but have no experience in a classroom or any education setting. 

I have been in the business a long time. Education has become less of a preparation for "real" life and more of a business where hard work and discipline are not rewarded and political wrangling is ruling the planning of instruction and holding our teachers and students back. Educators hands are tied through paper work, lack of ability to discipline children and ever changing programs and useless rhetoric. 

 

The positive (and I do try to remain positive) is the dedicated professionals who I work with daily and the efforts put forth to do the "right" thing while adhering to the rules. I know a lot of work places have the same problem. Policy makers who have no understanding of day to day realities. The difference is we are working with the souls of children. Living and breathing individuals who will make up our future. Be aware! Have a good one!

 

COUNTY SOCCER TOURNAMENT AT ELKMONT

The six Limestone County schools will be battling for boys and girls soccer supremacy next week during the third annual Limestone County Soccer Tournament, March 26-30 at Elkmont High School. Teams will be seeded based on last year's tournament results. The East Limestone girls and Elkmont boys are the defending tournament champions.

Monday: Quarter-Finals
Girls
*Elkmont 5, Clements 0
*West 3, Ardmore 2

Boys
* East Limestone 11, Clements 0
*Tanner vs Ardmore

Tuesday: Semi-Finals
Girls
3:30 pm - East Limestone vs West Limestone
8:00 pm - Tanner vs Elkmont

Boys
5 PM - Second seed West Limestone vs East Limestone
6:30 PM - First seed Elkmont vs winner of the Tanner/Ardmore
 
Friday: Championships
*5 PM - girls championship
*7 PM - championship game

LAUGHING WITH DONNA

A salesman dropped in to see a business customer. Not a soul was in the office except a big dog emptying wastebaskets. The salesman stared at the animal, wondering if his imagination could be playing tricks on him. 

The dog looked up and said, “Don't be surprised. This is just part of my job.” “Incredible!” exclaimed the man. “I can't believe it! Does your boss know what a prize he has in you? An animal that can talk!”

“No, no,” pleaded the dog. “Please don't! If he finds out I can talk, he'll make me answer the phone as well!”

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

I use a lot is of “techniques” to mentally make it through a hard climb during a race. Different scenarios run through my head as I’m trying to breathe (live actually) and keep pushing forward. Today as I was climbing a pretty steep hill(cliff), I was going through my regular mantras of “Barry you can do this” to “that little woman just did it” to “its better than Kona ice day at school!” I was pushing up when it hit me like a ton of bricks... “let it lead”. Once you let it lead and power through, there’s no other way to go but up! 

Whatever hill we may be climbing, if we let the trail lead us, it will take us where we need to be. If we’re standing in a valley trying to get out, look for the trail and let it lead you to the top. More than likely others have been where you are and have worn the path. Just have to find it and “let it lead”. Love those trails. Great life lessons learned out there. Have a good one!

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT..... ITS ALWAYS GOOD TO READ DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES

We have the left media, we have the right media but there is another still...

Authoritarianism, or criminal government, can never feel free from fear as long as millions of people own guns, hence the long-term effort to disarm us. Almost all national politicians want Americans completely disarmed, even if few admit it, though they have done all possible to impress upon the public mind that private arms possession for any reason is un-American and not in the "public interest" because guns are "dangerous." Their debate is twisted nonsense, but people believe it.

The politicians realize that mass forced confiscation will not work. It would result in the deaths of thousands of federal agents, if they could find enough of them to attempt such a thing. Nor have efforts at soft confiscation — requiring self-reporting and voluntary surrender of arms and accessories suddenly deemed illegal — been anything more than marginally successful in recent years.

The truth is, the local sheriffs, rank-and-file police and military members are by-and-large pro-gun, and their families and friends are as well. For the most part, they would be loath to join federal agents in a forced confiscation program, though as we saw in the Katrina aftermath there are mindless drones who will follow confiscation orders without question. But most would likely join citizens in resisting such efforts. The result would be a bloody mess.

So the elites have employed their propaganda machine, to great effect. Vast swaths of ignorant people have swallowed the notion that certain weapons — based only on appearance, form and function — are inherently more dangerous than others. Other anti-gun propaganda is used in pushing for the fix-NCIS bill (which is a bill ostensibly designed to make it a law that government agencies must abide by the law, but which will encourage governments to place people into the system over silly things like unpaid traffic tickets) and for banning people on the "terror watch list" from possessing guns. Both of these laws abuse the notion of due process and would work to unlawfully disarm people based on government error, innuendo and false charges.

The topic of mental illness has jumped front and center in the gun debate in recent days in wake of the Valentine's Day massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas school in Parkland, Florida. Even many well-meaning conservatives have fallen prey to this trap and are advocating for laws to remove guns from people without due process under so-called "red flag" laws. A bill has been introduced to provide federal incentives — i.e., federal dollars — to encourage states to confiscate guns for the most sophistic of reasons. So-called "conservative" lawmakers have signed on.

Even psychiatrists admit that the classification of mental illness often relies on subjective criteria and that diagnoses for mental health conditions never rely on brain scans and blood tests. Conclusions of mental illness stem from observed behaviors and any behavior that seems outside what is accepted as normal at the moment can later be labeled abnormal — and therefore a mental illness — on a whim.
For several years a push has been underway to label religious adherents as mentally ill. In 2006, biologist Richard Dawkins published his book The God Delusion, in which he characterizes belief in God as delusional. Dawkins cites the definition of a delusion as "a persistent false belief held in the face of strong contradictory evidence, especially as a symptom of a psychiatric disorder."

In 2013, Kathleen Taylor, a neurologist at Oxford University, said in interviews that recent developments suggest that we will soon be able to treat religious fundamentalism and other forms of ideological beliefs potentially harmful to society as a form of mental illness. She maintains that religious fundamentalism may one day be treatable and that religious people will one day be able to be "cured."

Taylor admits that the scope of what could end up being labelled "fundamentalist" is expansive. She continued: "I am not just talking about the obvious candidates like radical Islam or some of the more extreme cults. I am talking about things like the belief that it is OK to beat your children. These beliefs are very harmful but are not normally categorized as mental illness. In many ways that could be a very positive thing because there are no doubt beliefs in our society that do a heck of a lot of damage, that really do a lot of harm."

Last year, the journal Neuropsychologia released a study that purported to show that religious fundamentalists are brain damaged. It claimed its research determined that religious fundamentalism is, in part, the result of a functional impairment in a brain region known as the prefrontal cortex.
There are millions of gun owners in America who consider themselves Christian. Now we have atheists in places of influence and power declaring ad hoc that Christianity is a mental disorder that can and should be cured.

The day is soon coming where a person's Christianity will get him labeled as mentally defective and therefore ineligible to possess weapons.
The gun control problem is a mind control problem. The authorities know full well that they, with all their high-tech weapons, cannot subdue a determined people with private arms. Therefore, they use all manner of spurious persuasion to get you to give up your arms and to exert hostility toward others who won't. Same old divide and conquer.
Be careful what you wish for.
Yours for the truth,

Bob Livingston
Editor, The Bob Livingston Letter™

REX HENRY NORMAN - OBITUARY

Rex Henry Norman, 51, born September 21, 1966, passed away on March 20, 2018 at Eldorado, Indiana.  He lived at Fain Road, Elkmont for many years and was a graduate of Elkmont High School. Rex was a loving father, husband, brother and friend to all. He is preceded in death by his parents Carl and Era Mae Norman.


He is survived by his wife Sharon Rakas Norman of Eldorado, his daughter Kelsey Norman of Harvest, AL and his son Connor Norman (grew up in Elkmont) of Florence, AL along with several brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. 

Visitation will be from 12:00pm until 1:30pm at Spry Funeral Home in Athens, AL on Saturday, March 24th, 2018 with the funeral immediately following. Rex will be laid to rest at Pettusville Cemetery in Elkmont, Alabama.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT - A DIFFERENT PRESPECTIVE

We have the left media, we have the right media but there is another still...

The ideal of political authority is to create a public mind that is a mirror image of the pretense of government. This is a perfect crime against human liberty.

The first cause of government is and can only be suppression of our human nature and loss of our identity as human beings and individuals. Hence, government authority and propaganda seek to fade the individual into group consciousness. Altruistic philosophy and self-denial is the government propaganda used in this process.
Governments must destroy the identity of the individual and subvert him to the mass conscience and control by the state. Carefully chosen words by the establishment are the basis of mass mind control leading to acceptance of force. Until the people accept collectivism under some pretext, they are not docile and completely subdued.
Words are created and repeated, which expands the collective psyche to accept and repeat some more. People who freely use those terms are not in control of their own thinking process.
Totalitarian regimes are successful when they have created a system of conventional wisdom in which their subjects acquire and remain in a state of confusion. This confusion is achieved when individuality is completely surrendered to the collective and reality is distorted by propaganda that creates two opposing thoughts which the masses accept as fact. George Orwell called this doublethink.
Orwell described it in 1984 this way:

To know and not to know, to be conscious of complete truthfulness while telling carefully constructed lies, to hold simultaneously two opinions which cancelled out, knowing them to be contradictory and believing in both of them, to use logic against logic, to repudiate morality while laying claim to it, to believe that democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy, to forget whatever it was necessary to forget, then to draw it back into memory again at the moment when it was needed, and then promptly to forget it again, and above all, to apply the same process to the process itself—that was the ultimate subtlety: consciously to induce unconsciousness, and then, once again, to become unconscious of the act of hypnosis you had just performed. Even to understand the word—doublethink—involved the use of doublethink.

The power of holding two contradictory beliefs in one's mind simultaneously, and accepting both of them… To tell deliberate lies while genuinely believing in them, to forget any fact that has become inconvenient, and then, when it becomes necessary again, to draw it back from oblivion for just as long as it is needed, to deny the existence of objective reality and all the while to take account of the reality which one denies—all this is indispensably necessary. Even in using the word doublethink it is necessary to exercise doublethink. For by using the word one admits that one is tampering with reality; by a fresh act of doublethink one erases this knowledge; and so on indefinitely, with the lie always one leap ahead of the truth.

The more the individual is diminished into crowd consciousness, the easier to develop the psyche of self-sacrifice to the state. Self-sacrifice means a willingness to surrender your rights for some fictional notion of "safety," die in foreign wars or a willingness to transfer your labor and wealth to the government under the fiction of income tax, Social Security tax, or inheritance tax. All governments use this psychological phenomenon to their advantage. 



This phenomenon was on display last Wednesday (March 14) when students across the country walked out school in a protest against "guns" and for "school safety." No doubt every tyrant in history gave a rousing "Huzza!" and all the Founding Fathers wept at the demonstration of hive mind collectivism on display. It was one of those rare times in American history when so many have at one time clamored so loudly to have their rights stripped from them outright.

Following are some examples of doublethink that are common today:

Anyone under 21 is mentally and emotionally incapable of purchasing or owning a weapon. High school students should direct our policies on gun control.

President Donald Trump is a dictator and a tyrant. Trump and Congress need to buck the NRA and take away our guns.

President Donald Trump is a dictator and a tyrant. Trump and Congress need to buck the NRA and take away our guns.

President Donald Trump is a dictator and a tyrant. Trump and Congress need to buck the NRA and take away our guns.

Police are over-militarized and violent and are disproportionally targeting minorities. Only police should have guns.

"Children" should stay on their parents' health insurance until age 26. Pre-teen and teenaged children are capable of choosing their own "gender" and deciding to have an abortion without parental consent.

Russia is our enemy. Russia is backing the NRA and wants more Americans to be armed.

We are the most conditioned, programmed beings the world has ever known. Not only are our thoughts and attitudes continually being shaped and molded, our very awareness of the whole design has been erased. Few question anything.

One important thought here: A person's IQ or education level has absolutely nothing to do with his perception of reality. Higher education is higher brainwashing. Sometimes it seems that the more education, the bigger the fool.
The only escape from tyranny is mental freedom — a transition from the unconscious to the conscious mind. Mental freedom precedes physical freedom. Mental freedom is not a figment of idealism or philosophy. It delivers peace of mind and unlimited prosperity to the individual right under the nose of oppressive government. To escape oppressive government is to escape the thought system into which we are born.

We need to be aware of the power of doublethink and how the authorities (seen and unseen) use it if we are to strive for a transition back to consciousness and self-realization. Political doctrines which offer automatic answers and lifetime guidance without the effort of using our conscious minds and individual self-esteem are false. They are ploys for power over our lives and our total existence, including our earned assets and wealth. It is all mass hypnosis that we have mistaken for political and mental freedom.

Yours for the truth,

LAUGHING WITH DONNA

One summer evening during a violent thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small boy into bed. She was about to turn off the light when he asked with a tremor in his voice, "Mommy, will you sleep with me tonight?"

The mother smiled and gave him a reassuring hug. "I can't, dear," she said. "I have to sleep with Daddy."

A long silence was broken at last by his shaky little voice: "The big sissy."

ELKMONT NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS

There are so many stories of the wonderful people who have been there to help each other during this time of cleaning up and rebuilding.  The following is an example of those stories about neighbors helping each other in their time of need.

What an awesome community we live in...we are so blessed to have such wonderful family, friends, and coworkers who truly care about our family. We could not have accomplished what we did today without you all! Thank You from the bottom of our hearts for all of the food, help, messages, texts, visits, and phone calls today. I'm especially impressed with our kids friends who showed up today to lend a helping hand...it's says a lot about you young folks...glad our kids have you! We are forever grateful! Much love to all!

Marcus Hobbs 

If I lived a hundred more years,I don't think I could ever show my family's appreciation to our community of friends. When we look out the door and see cars lining the road for a quarter mile to lend assistance to me and my neighbor,it brings tears to my eyes. I hope I can one day be the friend and neighbor to yall if ever needed. Thanks to everyone for the many things you have done for us in our time of need. Love to all....."Mayor" Jamie Dawson.

THE OFFICIAL WORD ABOUT OUR TORNADO MONDAY

NWS Huntsville Damage Surveys From North Alabama
Elkmont-Ardmore Tornado (Limestone County)
Rating: EF2
Estimated Peak Wind: 125 mph
Path Length (statute): 23.54 miles
Path Width (maximum): 350 yards
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0
Start Time: 06:08 PM CDT
Start Location: 4 SW Lester / Limestone County / AL
End Time: 06:46 PM CDT
End Location: 3 ESE Ardmore / Limestone County / AL

Summary: The tornado initially touched down just east of the Lauderdale-Limestone county line near the intersection of Union Hill Road and Shelton Road. Nearly all of the damage in northwest Limestone County consisted of snapped or uprooted trees, in a swath extending across Salem Minor Hill Road, Leggtown Road, and the Elk River. Significant tree damage was noted along Alabama Highway 127 and Veto Road north of Elkmont, where likely hundreds of trees were snapped or uprooted. It was in this area where the tornado reached its maximum path width of 350 yards.

The tornado continued east-northeast, narrowly missing the Saturn I rocket at the Alabama Welcome Center on Interstate 65. Tree damage continued on Hardiman Lane east of I-65, but roof damage also occurred to single-family homes. Similar damage was observed on Puckett Lane and Oak Grove Road.

There is evidence (both from radar and ground surveys) to suggest that the tornado had multiple vortices between Oak Grove Road and Valley Drive, as there are two distinct damage paths in this area. Again, much of the damage was to trees and roofs of single-family and manufactured homes, as well as small sheds and barns.
The most severe damage by far occurred along Alabama Highway 251 and Gatlin Road, where one or two houses had their roofs and roofing structures almost completely torn off, and several more had most of their shingles torn off. Fortunately the residents had taken shelter in a nearby basement and none were injured.
The tornado weakened quickly, snapping and uprooting trees as it moved across Mitchell Loop, Old Schoolhouse Road, and Alabama Highway 53. No evidence of damage was found east of Highway 53.

SOURCE LINK: DAMAGE SURVEYS

---

MUSICAL HERITAGE FOUND IN ELKMONT

The Decatur Daily had an article about the music that rings from the hills of North Alabama.  Well worth sharing again, Click on LINK 



HIGHLIGHTS:
To define the music of north Alabama is to tell the story of blues, country, bluegrass, rock, opera, gospel, folk and soul. “Music evolved in rural places in Alabama as a way to tell stories and share emotions. Alabama’s culture, which includes music and literature and other forms of art comes from the tragedy and triumphs of our people,” state Tourism Director Lee Sentell said when the Year of Alabama Music launched. 

With a heritage that includes Grammy Award winners, Hall of Fame inductees and Grand Ole Opry members, the Tennessee Valley’s songwriters and musicians have molded and continue to inspire generations of artists.

“Growing up in Limestone County kept me close to the earth and developed in me an appreciation for the simplicity of music. It also kept me from getting too citified,” said songwriter Roger Murrah, a member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Notable area musicians include the country brother duo The Delmore Brothers of Elkmont. Alton and Rabon Delmore, who were born in Elkmont and grew up singing with gospel quartets, performed at the Grand Ole Opry from 1930-37. The Country Music Hall of Fame inducted the duo as members in 2001.

MORE ABOUT THE DELMORE BROTHERS

MARY SUE PUGH - OBITUARY

Mary Sue Pugh, 86, of Athens, passed away Tuesday, March 20, 2018, at her residence.  Mrs. Pugh was born Feb. 3, 1932, to Rex Lauderdale and Ada Roosevelt Mears Lauderdale.  With a large family in Elkmont and Athens, she will be missed by many. Preceded in death by her husband, Hershel Pugh; one brother; and two sisters.

The funeral will be 11 a.m. Friday, March 23, at Limestone Chapel Funeral Home, with Tony Wales and Davey Johnson officiating. Burial will be in Pettusville Cemetery. Visitation will be 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 22, at the funeral home.

She is survived by
Daughters:
Sandra Allfrey and husband, John, of Elkmont
Linda McCrary and husband, Jim, of Elkmont

Sons:
Ray Pugh and wife, Emily, of Elkmont
Tommy Pugh and wife, Lisa, of Elkmont

Grandchildren:
Heather Crutcher and husband, John, Staci Ebert and husband, Mark, Jeremy Pugh and wife, Miranda, Michael McCrary and wife, Kaitlyn, Sharon Murphy and husband, Shane, Alisha Rocheville and husband, Tim, Andy Pugh, Holly Pugh and Samuel Pugh; 

Great-grandchildren:
Bailey Crutcher, Abbie Crutcher, Meleah Crutcher, Caleb Crutcher, Lawson Ebert, Mallory Ebert, Dawn Pugh, Gabriel Pugh, Autumn Pugh, David Murphy, Dillon Murphy, Riley McCrary, Wyatt McCrary, Justina Pugh, Jasmine Horne, David Petty, Howard Petty and Tiffany Jackson

Brother: Carl Lauderdale and wife, Virginia  of Elkmont

Sister: Annie Lou Goodin of Elkmont

Several nieces, nephews, family and friends. 

Pallbearers will be Michael McCrary, Andy Pugh, Samuel Pugh, Lawson Ebert, Mark Ebert and John Crutcher.

WHAT! TORNADOES IN ELKMONT?

Hill Spirit has been asked, "What happened? I thought we weren't supposed to get tornadoes." We are indeed blessed to live in the safer part of Limestone County and still are.  However, tornadoes can happen anywhere.   There seems to be a golden zone but it is contained within the Elkmont town limits (white dotted line). There has only been one official touchdown in that area and that was in 1982 and was a F1(green line) at that.

click on photo to make it larger

The tornadoes that do set down in the higher areas of Limestone County, west of I-65, have been the garden variety ones between F0 - F1. Yesterday's may have been an F2. Our major storm damage is usually done by straight line winds which are more dangerous than people realize.

As our community clears away the structure damage, the downed trees and restores power, think about our county to the east and south.  They face this much more often than we do and the damage is greater. We are indeed fortunate to live in the Elkmont area.

Take stock of what happened yesterday and start to plan for the next time.  It could be tornadoes, straight line winds or ice storms but it will happen in our community at some point. Take advantage of the resources available (the internet is your library) and get started now for the next time.

Links:
Tornado Tracks since 1951
April 14 -How to Be Prepared Event 
My Family Won't Go Hungry


There are some sub-sections on this blog that can be of help. Look under labels for Being Prepared and Provident Living.  However, one of the best ways is to know your neighbor and be there to help.  It was fantastic seeing how many people were checking on others within an hour of the storm. Local chainsaws, equipment and manpower has been working to help their neighbors since yesterday.  They didn't wait to see what official organizations or government would do.


 

NEED HELP WITH TAXES?

RSVP offers free income tax assistance for low-income, disabled or elderly taxpayers now through April 12. Those who need assistance can visit First Baptist Church Ministry 56 Building at 105 E. Bryan St. on Mondays or Thursdays from March 1 until April 12. Walk-ins only allowed. Appointments available Wednesdays only at Ardmore Public Library in Ardmore, Tennessee. To schedule an appointment in Ardmore, call 931-427-4883. More information: RSVP, 256-232-7207.

DAMAGE AROUND ELKMONT

The storms of yesterday left a mark on our community of Elkmont. Hill Spirit hasn't read about any damage within the town limits on the Hilltop. However, our neighbors to the north did, as straight line winds and a tornado hopped across through Veto, Pettusville and Thatch before landing in Ardmore. A few reports sent in by our Elkmont folks from yesterday.

Elkmont Police Chief Donnie Johns was caught by a tornado as he was patrolling the Elkmont community this evening on highway 127. As you can see, trees fell around him. Donnie has been a friend of mine for as long as I can remember and now, we are co-workers at ASU. I'm thankful that the only damage was to his patrol vehicle.

Mark White

It went up thru Ardmore. Nathan goes Hwy 53 to work at GNC and this morning he said there was tons of damage and it looked like it went towards Hazel Green. 

Miranda Reunion 

We did get hit. We are OK; our house is OK; the pig shed is gone. All of our other structure seem to be fine. There’s a few trees down there; going down to clear one off the road. I’m fixing the beehives and hope to save as many as I can.

Sarah Capps 

My husband is trying to get to our nephew on Veto Road; it's impassable.  Damage in Pettusville also; trees down, logging equipment mangled.  He said it is rough.

Ginger Todd

By the Grace of God our house is still standing but the tornado hit us directly and took down every tree and everything else in my yard. A few busted windows in the house and on Jim's jeep but praise God, we are ok! Sorry kids.....looks like we lost our nice new bus for awhile.  

Crystal Dawson 

 

Power still out in some places:

Please avoid the following areas due to trees down, power lines and structure damages to homes and buildings .

First responders are working in these areas:
Siniard and Vivians Rd.
Walnut Grove Rd.
Leggtown Rd.
Happy Hollow Rd. and Turkey Creek
Veto Rd. and Compton Rd.
New Bethel and Shipley Hollow Rd.
Pettusville Rd.
Upper Elkton Rd.
Bethel Rd.
Clem Rd.
Putnam Rd.
Thatch Rd.
Moorseville and Upper Ft Hampton Rd.
Moorseville and Sweet Springs Rd.
Hwy 251 between Gatlin and Pinedale Rd.
Hwy 251 and Valley Drive
Oakgrove Rd and Sweet Springs Rd
Gatlin Rd. and Mitchell Loop

ARTICLE LINKS

Athens News Courier:

Homes Suffer Damage 

Working to Restore Power

 

Decatur Daily:

Severe Storms Cause Damage

March 19 Storm Aftermath

ELKMONT GOLF SCRAMBLE

The Elkmont Volunteer Fire Department is having its first annual 4 man golf scramble fundraiser on March 24 at Southern Gales with a tee time of 8:30 am.   If you love golf and want to support a great group, this is your opportunity to do both at the same time.   Last day for pre-registration is March 19th.  If you have not pre-registered, please contact Christopher Carter or any other fire department members to get a registration form. Biscuits for breakfast and hamburger or hot dog will be provided to all pre-registered teams.

If you have a business or would just like to help, we are selling sponsorships for $50.00 a hole. If interested please contact Susan Pylant at 256-431-0277 or Facebook message.

For Tournament Info:
ELKMONT FIRE DEPARTMENT GOLF TOURNAMENT

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

 

You may see a house when you look at this painting. I wish you could see what I see...feel what I feel may be a better phrase. Growing up here at my grandparents shaped me. The love they showed me filled me up. The two people who lived here worked harder than anybody I know. The relationships of my cousins and friends shaped me and my perspective and still counsels me today when troubles arise. The feeling of knowing I mattered and my needs were met physically and spiritually. Yeah..I really wish you could feel what I feel when I walk through that door in my minds eyes...home. They’ve been gone a long time. The house has been gone a long time. I get homesick a lot of days. When troubles weigh me down I go back to this house on the corner and “visit” a while. This hangs in mom’s room at the lodge. Nice to “visit” today ! Have a good one!

ELKMONT FOLK BELIEVE IN HELPING OTHERS

We have so many organizations and people who serve as the Lord's hands in Elkmont.  Here are a few featured in articles on Shannon Hunter and her participation in FCCLA at Elkmont High School, Pam Grubbs Hertenstein of Elkmont and Brenda Calvert and their Genealogy Classes at the Athens Public Library and some great, inspirational quotes to help us all feel more service-minded.

LAUGHING WITH DONNA

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex was staring up at the large plaque that hung in the foyer of the church. The plaque was covered with names, and small American flags were mounted on either side of it. The seven-year-old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside him and said quietly, "Good morning, Alex."

"Good morning, Pastor," replied the young man, still focused on the plaque. "Pastor McGhee, what is this?" Alex asked. "Well, son, it's a memorial to all the men and women who have died in the service." Soberly, they stood together, staring at the large plaque. Little Alex's voice was barely audible when he finally managed to ask, "Which one, the 9:00 or 10:30 service?