By Anna-Claire Terry
Staff writer
Mayor Gary Fuller recognized and expressed appreciation for teachers of the year at the Opelika City Council meeting on Tuesday. Teachers honored were:
Angie Walters, Jeter Primary; Shellie Flenniken (not present), Carver Primary; Amanda Boswell, Morris Avenue Intermediate; Mende Hunter, Northside Intermediate; Grace Harris, West Forest Intermediate; Ann Johnson, Opelika Middle School and Don Shirley, Opelika High School.
City council President Eddie Smith said there are plenty of teachers in Opelika doing a great job that did not get recognized, but the important thing about the people who were recognized is that they were selected by their peers.
“The teacher of the year (award) is very important to us because the quality of education in the city of Opelika is top priority,” Smith said. “We thank Dr. Neighbors, and we thank those teachers that are in the classroom making a difference every day.”
Fuller also announced Opelika High School had a 2014 graduation rate of 92 percent, the highest graduation rate in Lee County.
Requests for the 2015 Women’s Hope Walk the Walk on April 11 and Relay for Life Event on April 24 were approved.
In a public hearing, an agreement was reached for Golden State Foods, headquartered in Irvine, Calif., to invest $40-45 million in Opelika by constructing a facility in Opelika Industrial Park. The facility will create 173 jobs.
Dr. Kevin Royal was appointed to the Board of Education, effective April 1 2015. Royal will assume an existing term that expires on April 1, 2017.
Resolutions approved were:
-designation of city personal property as surplus and authorization for disposal;
-vacating and abandonment of sanitary sewer easement;
-special appropriation of $1,000 to Boy Scouts of America; and
-agreement with Opelika Industrial Development Authority for the mitigation of wetlands area.
The next Opelika City Council meeting will be March 3.