A second piece of equipment from World War II — a T-34 Mentor trainer — is on the way to the Morgan County Veterans Memorial Park in Priceville.

Priceville Town Clerk Kelly Dean said the aircraft is scheduled to land at Pryor Field today. It may not land until 6 p.m.
The Department of the Navy is donating the plane, which is being flown from Corpus Christi, Texas.

In March, Redstone Arsenal donated an M60 Army tank to the memorial. L-3 Communications of Jacksonville, Fla., will get the plane ready for display.

Ground was broken for the memorial at Alabama 67 and Willowbrook Street on July 4, 2011. The opening is scheduled for Veterans Day.

Priceville Elementary School has been selected by the Council for Leaders in Alabama Schools as a 2012 CLAS Banner School.

The honor is extended to schools that demonstrate outstanding programs and service to students. Ten schools were chosen to receive the award.

Principal Dr. Anne Knowlton plans to attend an awards luncheon in Montgomery April 24 to accept the award.

“We’re excited about this,” Knowlton said, “and we’re glad to see our teachers and students recognized for what they do every day.”

Superintendent Bill Hopkins nominated the school and Knowlton submitted the application that was judged by a committee of distinguished school leaders.

Priceville Elementary mission is to educate students, both academically and socially, instilling positive life skills that will enable them to become responsible students and adults.

The school is one of 678 Leader in Me schools in the world. The faculty is trained in Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and incorporates these life skills into daily instruction. Student is taught that they possess leadership skills and are given opportunities to lead as often as possible.

They participate in various leadership roles within the school. Some serve as greeters to welcome fellow classmates to school each morning. Student Ambassadors are charged with welcoming visiting guests and speaking during special events.

A Principal Pal’s Committee was formed for students to serve as advisors to the principal and assistant principal. They meet periodically through the school year to offer suggestions for school improvement.

The school also offers 45 different clubs for students to join and participate in during the year. Students choose a club at the beginning of each school year and attend once a month, culminating in a service project.

The Council for Leaders in Alabama was founded in 1969 by a small group of school leaders to provide targeted professional development and support for Alabama’s pubic school administrators.

Priceville Town Council met briefly in regular session Thurs., Jan. 26, acting on five separate matters.

The governing body authorized Mayor Melvin Duran to negotiate the acquisition of a 15-foot drainage easement from SN&H Properties, the new owners of The Terrace at Priceville. A 15-foot easement is existing on property owned by the town.

A resolution was passed to accept the streets for maintenance and upkeep in the Old River Crossing Subdivision.

Approval was granted for the payment of bills totaling $98,404.33 for the month of December 2011.

The Council also appropriated $500 for the purchase of candy for the town’s annual Easter Egg Hunt and agreed to spend $4500 to replace the bases on the softball and baseball playing field in Veterans Park.

Mayor Duran announced that the auditing of the town’s financial records is up-to-date. after receiving a good report in January on the audit for fiscal 2010-2011.

Priceville’s mayor and town council members will receive salary increases totaling $12,500 during the next four-year term, beginning Nov. 5, 2012.

The increase was approved by ordinance at a town council meeting Jan. 12.

The new salary schedule will see the mayor’s pay ($11,000) jump $500 per year to a maximum of $13,500 in 2016.

Each council member will also receive $500 more per year, reaching a maximum of $11,500 in 2016.

Under state law elected municipal officials are prohibited from increasing their own salaries; however, they are allowed to increase the pay of officials serving in the next term.

The mayor and council will be subject to reelection next August.

The council acted on other matters as follows:

• Approved the payment of bills totaling $190,786.64 for the month of December 2011.

• Approved moving the Thur., Feb. 23, 2012, council meeting to Priceville Elementary School. There will be no work session.

• Approved $2,100 for registrations, lodging and other travel expenses for the mayor, town council and town clerk to attend the 2012 Winter Convention of the Alabama Municipal Association in Birmingham May 18-22, 2012.

• Approved $300 for the FY 2012 North Alabama Mayor’s Association dues.

• Approved lodging and travel expense for Paula Hensley, librarian, to attend the APLS Administration meeting in Montgomery Jan.18-19.

• Approved $1,224.76 for scheduled generator maintenance at the municipal building from Advanced Generator Technologies LLC.

• Approved allocation of $1,762.04 to Priceville Junior High School for the purchase of Career Choices software.

• Approved $65 for the purchase of a 1/4 page advertisement for the town of Priceville at the Morgan County Sheriff’s Rodeo.

• Approved $100 for membership dues for Magistrate/Court Clerk Kelly Dean in the Alabama Municipal Court Clerks and Magistrates Association.

• Approved $200 for the purchase of 1,000 hanging bags for the police department to leave with residents that need to put their 911 addresses on their mailboxes.

• Approved $50 registration fee and other travel expenses for Michael Bell, wastewater operator, to attend the Pumper & Grinder Expo in Indianapolis, Ind., Feb. 26 – March 2.

• Approved $1,400 for the scheduled maintenance of three generators for the pump stations and a portable generator from Advanced Generator Technologies LLC.

• Approved $275 registration, $179 lodging and other travel expenses for Michael Bell, wastewater operator, to attend the 34th annual Technical training Conference in Montgomery March 12-14, 2012.

Priceville Town Council voted to issue general obligation warrants totaling $415,500 for the purpose of constructing a two-lane street and developing the Morgan County Veterans Memorial at its meeting Dec. 20.

The bond issue is being handled through the Alabama Municipal Funding Corporation and Branch Banking and Trust Company of North Carolina. The bonds will be retired over 15 years at a fixed interest rate of 3.35 percent. The first payment will be due June 1, 2012.

An ordinance authorizing the bond issue was approved by a 4-0 vote after the rules were suspended to give immediate consideration. Councilmen Sam Heflin and Larry Waddell were absent from the meeting.

In a separate but related move the governing body appropriated $60,000 for the purchase of monuments for the memorial.

A ground breaking for the memorial was conducted July 4, 2011, and extensive groundwork has since been done with the help of the Morgan County Commission.

“We have pads in place for the Fallen Soldier monument and the Armed Forces Memorial as well as two pavilions and military equipment displays,” said Councilman Tommy Perry. “Now we’re working on the base for the parking lot. With the help of the county commissioners we’ve been able to get an estimated $100,000 worth of in-kind service work done. Our next priority is a fundraising campaign, seeking support from corporations, civic service organizations and individuals.”

He said plans are to have the estimated $600,000 memorial ready for a grand opening next Veterans Day.

The sale of brick pavers to individuals and families is one of the fundraising projects already under way. 4-inch by 8-inch pavers are offered at a price of $75 each while 8-inch by 8-inch pavers are $125 each. They may be purchased either as a memorial or an honorarium and will be placed around the Armed Forces memorial. Applications are available at the city clerk’s office.

Perry said the black granite monuments for the memorial are mined in Indonesia and are being ordered from Clark Memorial Co.

The road project, which links Marco Drive with Bethel Road, is also under way. It is designed to allow residents living north of Highway 67 to reach the municipal building without having to get on the highway.

“This is a safety issue that we’re pleased to put on a fast track,” Mayor Melvin Duran said. “When the new street is opened, it will be a lot easier and safer for people to reach the storm shelter in the municipal building in event of a tornado warning.”

Priceville residents turned out by the hundreds Saturday afternoon to get a sneak peek at a new Christmas season thanks to the 19th annual Priceville Christmas Parade.

The colorful event brought out shoulder-to-shoulder crowds of onlookers on both sides of a circular, mile-long route that included Bethel Road, Greenfield and Skidmore Streets and Faye Drive. For nearly an hour, they watched and listened as more than 50 parade units passed by.

“The weather is ideal for this time of year and we have more units in the parade than I can remember,” said Priceville Mayor Melvin Durand. “We’re especially pleased to have the high school band and the combined JROTC units from Priceville and Brewer High schools participating.”

A feature of the parade was amateur float competition. There were a dozen entries.

A float consisting of a red Santa’s sled filled with adults and children won first place. It was sponsored by Nunnelley Storage. Winning second place was a float sponsored by Boy Scout Troop 275. A float that featured a decorated Christmas tree, a Santa and a fireplace with hung stockings was judged third. It was sponsored by the Morgan County Art Guild. All of the winners received cash prizes.

One of the floats, which was entered by the American Legion, left onlookers reflecting on the sacrifices made by military personnel serving overseas. It featured a simple Christmas tree, an Army uniform and had a sign that read “Not Everyone Is Home for Christmas.”

Many of the riders in the parade units stayed busy waving to the crowd and distributing candy to kids along the parade route.

Santa also garnered a big share of attention as he rode on the back of the town’s No. #1 fire engine and threw candy to kids who were standing by.

Bringing up the parade’s rear were about 30 horses and riders.

Joyce St. John’s love for driving Morgan County students to school prompted Priceville Elementary fifth-grader Mauriene Clark to write an essay about her.

And Clark’s essay made such an impression on a group of judges that they chose St. John as the 2011 Children’s Choice School Bus Driver of the Year.

Bucky Law, representative of Transportation South, the Thomas Built Buses dealer for Alabama, said St. John was chosen over entries from the United States and Canada. She is the second Alabama driver in the past three years to win the award.

St. John received a $1,000 Visa gift card. Mauriene got a $1,000 education savings bond and a laptop computer. Both got jackets and lunch boxes. Law presented their prizes Tuesday night at the Morgan County school board meeting.

St. John, 71, who retired after 42 years in June but continues to drive as a substitute, called the honor the “perfect ending for my career.”

The daughter of Morgan County Commissioner Jeff Clark, Mauriene wrote in her essay that her mom, four siblings and herself had ridden on St. John’s bus. St. John took care of Mauriene’s little sister, Lacey, after her brain surgery to remove a tumor.

“She made it so much fun, my brother was a car rider and wanted to ride the bus so badly, mom let him,” Mauriene wrote.

School system Maintenance and Transportation Director Hank Summerford, one of at least seven supervisors during St. John’s tenure, said she had a great driving record and kept a disciplined bus.

“She’s like a grandmother or mother hen to those students,” Summerford said. “She takes care of them as if they are her own.”

Mauriene wrote St. John taught the students manners, teaching the boys to let the girls get off first.

“She hardly ever sends kids to the office (for getting in trouble) because she teaches them right from wrong,” Mauriene wrote.

Superintendent Bill Hopkins Jr. said St. John is an example of the positive impact a bus driver can have on students.

St. John said driving a bus is something that makes her happy. She reminisced about driving the bus she rode to school when she first started. She said the buses today are more dependable and safer than when she began.

“My son always said the way to keep me happy is to give me a yellow vehicle with a diesel engine to drive,” St. John said.

You can read Mauriene Clark’s essay online at www.thomasbus.com/_pdf/contest/2011-entry-joyce-st-john-by-mauriene.pdf

PRICEVILLE —The Town of Priceville is selling memorial bricks to help raise money to build the Morgan County Veterans Memorial.

Councilman Tommy Perry announced at the Priceville Town Council meeting Oct. 12 that they are selling four-inch by eight-inch bricks for $75 and eight-inch by eight-inch bricks for $125. The memorial bricks will have inscriptions for memorials or any other short messages.

“You can let it be a memorial to anyone. It doesn’t matter whether they were in the military or not,” Perry said.

Mayor Melvin Duran added that the messages should be within reason.

“We do reserve the right to approve those messages before they are inscribed on the bricks,” Duran said. “But most everything within reason will be accepted.”

On July 4, the town broke ground on the memorial and has been looking for funding to begin construction on the facility.

Duran said they are looking for donations of money and in-kind work to get the project completed.

“We need about $200,000 of in-kind donations,” Duran said.

In other business, the council:
• approved paying the town’s bills totaling $71,703.51.
• paid $150 in dues to the Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association for fiscal year 2012.
• will pay $102.74 in lodging and travel expenses for city librarian Paula Hensley to attend the APLS Administration meeting Oct. 19-20 in Montgomery.
• accepted the low bid of $54,028.54 from Flagship Contracting Services, LLC for the force main sewer serving Shoal Creek Road.
• approved the donation from Reliance Insurance for the 753 Bobcat F-series loader.
• will spend $11,000 to begin construction on a road that will connected Marco Drive to Bethel Road. This money will help to pay for drainage.

PRICEVILLE — Two businesses and a church on Shoal Creek Road are in line for sewer service.
The Priceville Town Council on Thursday approved the low bid of $54,028.54 from Flagship Contracting Services of Athens to extend sewer 1,100 feet from Alabama 67.
Libby’s Catfish and Diner at Alabama 67 and Shoal Creek Road, ESD Truck Driving School at 1436 Shoal Creek Road and Nature’s Trail, a church under construction at 1408 Shoal Creek Road, earlier annexed into Priceville in order to get sewer.
Town Engineer Sonny Wright said three residences located across the road have not yet requested annexation.
“The line only goes down just past Horse Center Road, which leads to Celebration Arena,” Wright said.
Three other companies submitted bids. They are Benchmark Construction of Albertville, $61,540; C&J Contracting and Plumbing of Russellville, $61,982.50; and Crimson Eagle of Tuscaloosa, $82,580.24.

Genetically altered bugs are on the loose, and robots designed and built by local engineers are the solution to the problem.

They’re not really engineers, just high school and middle school students competing in the annual Tennessee Valley Boosting Engineering, Technology and Science robotics competition. And the bugs aren’t real, either.

But the 21 teams from North Alabama and southern Tennessee competing Friday and Saturday at Calhoun Community College are known for their competitiveness. Competitors guard the secrets of their robots like Apple guards its next iPhone.

Using materials such as PVC pipe, wood, a motor and a remote control supplied by BEST, the students are creating robots that will pick up the bugs and earn points for placing them in containment zones.

Sarah Grace Mitchell, chief executive officer at Decatur-Austin Robotics Coalition, said the competition is easier this year because teams aren’t penalized for putting the wrong object in the wrong spot.

But it will be difficult because the bugs are different shapes. A 6-inch diameter Styrofoam ball represents a fly. A fly with a black ribbon is four points and one with a red ribbon is eight points.

A Hexbug, a small battery-powered toy that vibrates, represents a cockroach and is a 12-point value. These vibrations move the bug around, making it more difficult to catch.

A sock filled with kidney beans represents a termite. Its value is 16 points.

Students can earn 28 points for adding bug food, represented by a tennis ball.

Savanna Earnest, chief executive officer of the Priceville High School team, said the course requires a robot designed with an arm that reaches high and away from its body. That has created stability issues they have to solve.

The Decatur-Austin tandem has been one of the best over the years.

This is Austin High School’s 10th year competing in BEST, and its fourth year as a combined team with Decatur High.

Last year, Decatur-Austin finished second in the national competition in Orlando, Fla. The team will not get a chance to return because there is no national competition this year.

“We’ll just have to do our best to win here and in Auburn,” Mitchell said. Auburn will play host to the South BEST regional competition.

Matthew Clark, chief executive officer at Decatur Heritage Christian Academy, said his second-year team will benefit from the experience. He said he understands how it feels to be a new team like Brookhaven, Cedar Ridge and Oak Park middle schools.

“We didn’t know what we were getting into last year,” Clark said. “We didn’t know anything about the kits, materials or even the general rules of BEST.”

Six weeks to prepare

The teams have worked nights and weekends for six weeks to prepare for the competition. Decatur Heritage senior Tyler Cambron said he enjoyed the design process and experimentation. His team has been through five or six arms in search of stability and quick ways to gather the bugs. Each team must keep an engineering notebook that details its design and building process. These details and robots are closely guarded secrets until the competition.

Decatur-Austin sponsor Susan Haddock said most of the students who work on the robots have engineering aspirations. Some are headed down the career-tech route because they enjoy tinkering.

“Robotics is really challenging and it gives me a creative outlet for my engineering,” Mitchell said.

“It looks good on a resume, too, when you’re trying to get an engineering scholarship,” Decatur-Austin teammate Zachary Blunier said.

Marketing portion

But not every team member is technically savvy. BEST also features a marketing, display and presentation portion that is scored on par with the robot competition.

Decatur-Austin’s national showing last year was because of a first place in this portion of BEST. Priceville High has done well through the years in marketing/presentation.

“The most important thing is to be confident and professional throughout the presentation,” Mitchell said.