BY DANIEL SCHMIDTTHE OBSERVER AUBURN — The Sept. 1 Auburn City Council meeting abruptly ended nearly two hours after it began amid finger-pointing over who was to blame for the fallout surrounding the redevelopment of two aging apartment complexes.Two weeks after approving the redevelopment of Lemans Square and the Chateau apartments — which primarily house lower-income residents — the Auburn City Council heard the pleas and ire of those...
Owner closes store ahead of decision BY MICHELLE KEYPUBLISHER OPELIKA — The Opelika City Council adopted the city’s fiscal year 2027 budget and revoked the business license of Top Shelf Alternatives during its Sept. 1 meeting. Top Shelf license revokedThe council held a public due process hearing on the revocation of Top Shelf Alternatives' business license during the meeting.OPD Capt. Marty Paulson testified that on five separate occasions,...
Becky Brown was recognized during the first football game of the 2026 season as she prepares to retire after 20 years as public relations director for Opelika City Schools. An Opelika High School and Auburn University graduate, Brown has spent two decades helping tell the story of the school system through periods of growth, leadership changes, facility projects, athletic success and countless school and community events. Her work extended well...
Annual fundraiser brings local teams together to support adult literacy programs BY VANESSA ECHOLSFOR THE OBSERVER LEE COUNTY — Lee County’s new spelling champions are a department chairman and an English teacher. But these spelling wizards aren’t in middle or high school. They are this year’s winners of The Great Grown-Up Spelling Bee, sponsored by the Lee County Literacy Coalition.For the second year in a row, Doss Buckalew and Heather...
BY SAM VISETHE OBSERVER EAST ALABAMA — Integrea Mental Health, the regional community mental health provider headquartered in Opelika, has been awarded an $867,545 grant through the Alabama Rural Health Transformation Program.The funding is part of a statewide rollout announced by Gov. Kay Ivey on Aug. 24, distributing more than $144 million across 138 grants to healthcare institutions in all 67 Alabama counties. The program, administered by...
BY MICHELLE KEYPUBLISHER LEE COUNTY — The Lee County Commission opened its Aug. 31 meeting by recognizing a group of employees and citizens credited with helping save the life of a woman who suffered a medical emergency inside the county’s driver’s license office on Monday, Aug. 24.Probate Judge Jere Colley said Grady Latimore first noticed something was wrong with the woman while she was sitting in a chair in the office. After she collapsed,...
Community
BY MICHELLE KEY PUBLISHER OPELIKA — When Worthy2 founder Kathryn Guthrie was repeatedly told the organization needed to host a gala, her response was simple: absolutely not. “I said, ‘Fine, we’ll have an Ungala,’ and there it was,” Guthrie said....
CONTRIBUTED BY AU/OP ELKS LODGE ALABAMA — Twenty-five years after Sept. 11, 2001, Elks Lodges across the United States, Puerto Rico, the Philippines and the Panama Canal will come together to remember, honor and never forget. Through...
BY ANN CIPPERLY THE OBSERVER OPELIKA — The Lunch Break Lecture Series at the Museum of East Alabama will continue Sept. 16 at noon with Melissa Gatlin presenting a program with stories and historic photographs from her upcoming book, “A Guide to...
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