TIME TO VOTE ELKMONT

Cast your vote below for the Applebee's Neighborhood Athlete of the Week! Elkmont has a nominee for this week. The winner will be announced on Saturday's Tailgate Talk and picks up a gift card from Applebee's! Last day to vote is DECEMBER 28 by 5 pm.

LINK TO VOTE
*Scroll down to the bottom of Applebee's Page
HAVEN KIRBY

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

Start of Christmas break from school, I slept longer last night than I have in a while! I don’t know if every teacher/coach does this but almost every night for years I have had the same type of dreams where I have my team at some location and we are trying got get to a meet. Locations change...faces change ...(one night Jimmy Fallon was my star runner) but I am always responsible for getting kids somewhere they are supposed to be.

I’ve often woke up and told Leigh we are always in a hotel/condo and I am panicking trying to get them all together. As teachers and coaches I think that’s where our minds are. Trying to keep our kids focused and get them to their destination is the main priority. Getting them to where they need to be so that they can become the best possible; seems to be ingrained. 

Had the last faculty Christmas party with the absolute best people in the world yesterday. I looked around and realized how much love and respect I had for each person sitting in that room. They care more than any group of people I have ever been associated with. The children at Elkmont Elementary are lucky indeed! I’m really gonna miss all of my co-workers. We have the best laughs daily! Good, good people! Been a great run with a lot of fun, some success, and a lot of great life- long friends made!! Time to see what dreams will hold for me for a few more years! Have a good one!

AWARD WINNING SIXTH GRADE PATRIOTS

Congratulations to Corder Hobbs and Mallory Monroe, both 6th graders at Elkmont High School for winning Patriots Pen Essay Contest for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. The ceremony and  dinner was December 18.  Corder received first place; Mallory received third. Hopefully, we'll be reading their essays soon.  It would be great to read something uplifting considering the national news.

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

Christmas is close. School is about to be out for a while. People are buying gifts, preparing food, and making plans. Today as the small kids watched the Polar Express and the bigger ones went to the Monaco to watch the Grinch, I was given some free time. I sat and reflected on the years and the students who I’ve been associated with. Many over the years, many Christmases in those years. I’ve seen the generosity of people who have given presents to those less fortunate. I’ve also seen people give of themselves. 

 

Heard stories today that many of our kids had their first visit to Bridge Street to see the fountain, to see the decorations. Many sat in their first movie theater ever. Bikes, clothes, toys serve their purpose; experiences move souls. Never forget a kid I coached who had never stayed in a hotel until he was with me at the Alabama State Track Championships. His eyes lit up at 16 years old and he asked , “Is it like on TV?” when he found out we were going to Disney the next year. 

Love to watch their faces when the wonder of seeing something new comes over them. Just a simple “you look nice” can give a kid a boost he or she may need. As we think about “giving” this Christmas, we need to remember experiences are a gift. Making someone feel good is a gift. We may forget what someone gave us, but rarely forget how someone made us feel. Good day for a lot of kids at Elkmont Elementary today! Don’t need a lot of money to give someone something! We can all make someone feel good. One person at a time !!! Have a good one.

A GIFT FROM HOPE

An Elkmont waitress is honoring her late son with an open invitation for anyone without family to join hers for a home-cooked Christmas meal.
Hope Gibson, who works at Ole Gin House Barbecue in Elkmont, and her family know firsthand what it's like to enter the holidays missing a key member. Her son, Landon, died at age 12, four years ago, and this will mark their fifth Christmas without him.

For the first three of those Christmases, they donated to other families with sick children. Last year, about two weeks before Christmas, Gibson said she saw a segment on TV about meals for homeless individuals in Huntsville, and it sparked an idea for Elkmont.

"I was like, 'We need to do something,'" she said. "So, I called my mom and said, 'Do you think we could plan a dinner in two weeks?'"

She said her mom laughed off the idea, saying she couldn't do it but Gibson was welcome to. Two weeks later, Ole Gin House Barbecue opened its doors to anyone in the area who was without family on Christmas Day."We had about 50 people who came in to eat," Gibson said.

They had a good time, but Gibson's crew had prepared for many more than 50 — around 200. So, they packed the food in to-go plates, loaded it up in her mom's van and set off. "We went door-to-door with to-go plates and handed them out to people who wanted food," she said. Members of Elkmont Volunteer Fire Department helped deliver the meals to people the firefighters knew were homebound.

This year, Gibson and her family are gearing up to do it again, and she hopes even more people will turn out for the meal, which starts at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Dec. 25. Gibson said Ole Gin House's owner has donated two hams and kitchen space for smoking meats, while Gibson has purchased 11 turkeys and four hams.Her mom makes dressing from scratch. Her husband and daughters also help with preparations. Gibson said the menu will also include green beans, corn, gravy, cranberry sauce, desserts, rolls, tea and water.

"I'm not going to turn anyone away," she said. "If they're home by themselves on Christmas Day, they can come by and eat." She said her friends also volunteer to help, and customers have donated money to a jar she puts up during her shifts at the restaurant. For those who wish to donate online, a Facebook fundraiser is also set up at https://bit.ly/ElkmontChristmas. The meal will last until the food is gone — even if that means hopping back in her mom's van and going door-to-door for another year.

Athens News Courier Link

ANOTHER CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOU

Things are starting to wind down in Elkmont and we can start enjoying the best time of the year.  Friends and family are on each of our calendars this week.  Hill Spirit will be sharing lovely music videos as a gift to you during this wonderful week.

 

*be sure to make it full screen
* change video quality to HD - beautiful visuals
*ENJOY


Look for your next gift tomorrow

ALL COUNTY VOLLEYBALL TEAM - ELKMONT

The Athens News Courier released its 2018 All County Volleyball team.  This team was voted on by the Limestone County high school volleyball coaches.

Kayla Menefee, Shelby Norman, Paige Robinson, Maggie Gant and Alli Griffis made the All County team. These Lady Devils had successful individual seasons and the volleyball coaches of the county took notice.

FIRST TEAM

Kayla Menefee: Elkmont

Shelby Norman: Elkmont

Paige Robinson: Elkmont

SECOND TEAM

Maggie Gant: Elkmont

 Alli Griffis: Elkmont

Photos provided by Down Home Portraits, our local sports photographer

BARRY'S CORNER - LIVING IN ELKMONT

OK....you know how I feel about the "elves" that show up this time of year. Today a little girl got out of her car and couldn't wait to tell me what her spry little um..friend had done. 

She looked up at me and said " you know my elf on the shelf?" "She froze my underpants". She said she left a note that said "I see London, I see France, you've got frozen underpants!" Then she said "And you know what?" "I had to wear them because mama realized they were my only clean pair!" Those elves leave a lot to be desired! Have a good one!

WORDS TO LIVE BY

Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant and he got it. The pay was really good and so was the work condition. For those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.

His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he supposed to work.The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees.“Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!”

Very motivated by the boss words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he could only bring 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees.

“I must be losing my strength”, the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.

“When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” the boss asked.
“Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees…”

Reflection:
Our lives are like that. We sometimes get so busy that we don’t take time to sharpen the “axe”. In today’s world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but less happy that ever.
Why is that? Could it be that we have forgotten how to stay “sharp”? There’s nothing wrong with activity and hard work. But we should not get so busy that we neglect the truly important things in life, like our personal life, taking time to get close to our Creator, giving more time for our family, taking time to read etc.
We all need time to relax, to think and meditate, to learn and grow. If we don’t take the time to sharpen the “axe”, we will become dull and lose our effectiveness.
Author: Stephen Covey

BRENDA CAROL INMAN BLACK - OBITUARY

Brenda Carol Inman Black, age 69, of Athens, Alabama, passed away Sunday, December 9, 2019 at the Decatur Hospital. Brenda was born Dec. 19, 1948 in Limestone County to James W. “Red” Inman and Thetus Howard Inman. She graduated Clements High School in 1967 and later from Florence State University, “now University of North Alabama” with a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education. She taught school at Reid Elementary and later Elkmont Elementary where she retired after 30 years of teaching. She was a member of Hobbs Street Church of Christ.
She loved her grandchildren and she will be greatly missed by her family and many friends.

Visitation will be Tuesday, December 11 from 6-9pm. Services will be held December 12 at 2pm, at Spry Funeral Home Chapel with Bill Irby officiating and burial following in the Limestone Memorial Gardens.

She is survived by her husband of 45 years, Danny Black of Athens; son, Heath and wife Kellie Black of Athens, mother, Thetus Inman of Athens, sister, Jane Stanford of Athens, aunt, Irene Inman, two grandchildren, Ryland and Hudson Black, all of Athens; many nieces and nephews. 


Pallbearers will be Stan Bates, Steve Bates, Joe Bates, Marcus Hobbs, Randy Blacklidge and Jim Hudson.