By Scott Mims

Everyone was aglow with the Christmas spirit Thursday night as the city of Jemison held its annual Christmas Tree Lighting at the city Municipal Complex.

Following the lighting of the tree at 6 p.m., members of Girl Scout Troop 7012 sang several Christmas carols, and Jemison High School Blue Regiment Band members performed under the direction of George Martin.

Just south of the tree, in view of the traffic on Highway 31, the youth group of Union Grove Baptist Church presented a live nativity scene.

“We have had a wonderful turnout this year,” said Cheryl English, Girl Scout troop leader and member of Union Grove. “We are proud of our community.”

English gave credit to event coordinator Karen McMinn and everyone who volunteered their time.

Following the outdoor activities, everyone went in the auditorium for refreshments and a concert performance by the JHS Blue Regiment Marching Band. There were also skits by Girl Scouts, storytelling and other activities.

The Jemison Christmas Parade will be Saturday, Dec. 3 at 2 p.m., lining up in front of the high school.

Thorsby’s boys and girls basketball teams opened their seasons Tuesday with disappointing losses at Verbena.

Verbena’s girls’ 34-31 victory over the Rebels was the first for any Devil on the roster, and senior Marqueska Deramus has been playing since she was in the seventh grade.

Deramus led the effort with a game-high 24 points, two of which gave the hosts a 34-28 lead with 1:10 remaining on the clock to ice the game.

First-year coach Nicole Ivey said she is fortunate that seven of her eight players return with varsity experience.

“All eight of them stepped up and played at a higher level than I knew they could,” she said.

Thorsby’s Sharonda Cooper posted a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Like the girls game, the boys game was close and competitive throughout.

THS led by as many as four points, on a Houston Daniel 3-pointer with about 2 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

The game was tied with about 2 minutes left in the fourth quarter when Verbena’s Fred Wright drained a couple of 3’s and T.J. Ray stole the ball at midcourt and finished for a 49-41 lead that the Rebels would not threaten.

The final score was 50-44.

Wright had 16 points for VHS, and Ray had 15 points.

Daniel led all scorers with 17 points.

Thorsby hosts Fayetteville on Thursday.

The Jemison Police Department broke new ground this year by hiring an intern for the first time in its history.

Chris Warren, 25, of Marbury joined the department on Sept. 1 to complete a 540-hour internship for his criminal justice degree from Alabama State University.

“I want to do this to get some type of experience,” Warren said. “Whatever they do, they let me do.”

Warren’s internship was mandatory, but he was able to choose where he wanted to apply.

Chief Shane Fulmer said he was honored Warren chose Jemison and that the department was able to provide the internship he needed.

“A lot of people don’t get that opportunity,” Fulmer said. “It’s been great. He’s been involved and helped us out tremendously.”

Deputy Chief Marc McMinn said Warren has fulfilled many duties of a full-time police officer including data entry, house calls, patrols, wrecks, narcotics, court proceedings, warrants and car maintenance.

“We’ve been blessed to have him up here,” McMinn said. “He has helped us in binds.”

According to Fulmer, the department will continue to offer internships after this year.

Warren said he credits Fulmer and McMinn, as well as Mayor Eddie Reed, Investigator Sgt. Jeff Manasco, Officer Floyd Glass and event coordinator Karen McMinn for giving him a positive work experience.

Warren will graduate in December and plans to join the Police Reserves.

“He sees what the world is really about as far as law enforcement,” McMinn said. “He has done everything we do.”

Warren rides along with officers as much as he can, and although he is not allowed to write incident reports, he frequently helps enter information from reports into the department’s computers.

Warren said he usually works early in the morning until about 4 p.m. every day, and sometimes on weekends.

“People think police officers are bad people,” Warren said. “I guess people don’t know what’s right.”

The Jemison Police Department recently destroyed 25 seized firearms.

“If we can keep one gun from ending up back on the street—in the wrong hands being used the wrong way—then that’s a good thing,” JPD Chief Shane Fulmer said.

The firearms had been seized over the past several years in gun-related offenses, drug arrests and domestic violence disputes, Fulmer said.

He said such a collection usually continues to pile up in a department’s evidence locker.

“We took the extra initiative to have our court condemn the firearms,” Fulmer said. “Once they cleared the court process, we destroyed what we had.”

Deputy Chief Marc McMinn cut the guns into pieces using a welding gun.

Fulmer said that if the guns had not been condemned by the municipal court and then destroyed, there is a chance they would have had to be given back.

“There’s a chance a court could’ve ordered them given back,” he said. “Once you’ve seized guns like that, it’s a given fact that most departments are going to take guns like that off the street. We didn’t want them back in the wrong hands and didn’t want them sitting in the evidence locker from now on.”

By Emily Beckett | Staff Writer

The Rebels’ huddle after their 58-27 loss against R.C. Hatch in Thorsby Friday night was emotional as head coach Billy Jackson thanked his team for their efforts.

“You made my night,” Jackson told his players. “If I never win another game, you made my night.”

Jackson said the loss was disappointing, especially after such a good season last year.

“It seems like we’ve been playing catch-up all year long,” he said.

The Rebels have suffered numerous injuries this season, but Jackson said they’ve never given up.

“You find out what you’re made of in times like this,” he said. “Someone has been in the crosshairs all year long. They’re good kids. They didn’t quit.”

Braden McRae completed 17 of 30 passes for 127 yards with nine carries for 61 yards.

Carlos Campos had five rushes for 27 yards.

Kip Cleckley had six rushes for 81 yards.

Jonathan Spivey had six tackles, Dalton Turner had three and Carlos Campos had three.

The Rebels will travel to Horseshoe Bend Oct. 28 for the last game of their regular season.

By Emily Beckett | Staff Writer

Chilton Christian Academy fell to the Marion Academy Panthers Friday night at home, ending a six-game winning streak.

The final score was 53-38.

Patriots head coach Todd Stephens said the loss will help his players prepare for their playoff game next week, which will determine who goes on to the state championship.

“Losses aren’t always bad,” Stephens said. “It was a good reality check. I think we just overlooked this game.”

Stephens commended the Panthers for their work on the field as well.

“Hats off to that team,” Stephens said. “They played hard, helped us see what we had to work on.”

Junior Chris Lassinger finished with 138 yards and three touchdowns.

Senior Will Hamby passed for 100 yards and had three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns.

Sophomore Carl Mitchell had two touchdowns, a 20-yard reception and a fumble recovery.

Freshman Kevin Kemp secured a 52-yard touchdown reception.

By Scott Mims

The Thorsby skies were as blue as the Swedish flag on Saturday — perfect weather that made for a top-notch Swedish Festival.

This year’s event kicked off with the crowd singing “Happy Birthday” to the town in observance of the 110th anniversary of the founding of Thorsby.

Swedish Festival Committee chairwoman Tracia Bussey said that a record 90-plus booths were set up in Richard Wood Memorial Park — an indication that the event is still going strong.

“It’s exciting,” she said.

Attendance was difficult to estimate, Bussey said, because the festival was spread out across town. Her best guess was between 3,000 and 4,000 attendees. Among them were Ola and Berti Myrvold, residents of Torsby, Sweden; Thorsby’s sister town in the Scandinavian country. Bussey said the couple, who are actually Norwegian, were impressed with the number of young people who attended the festival. Word is that they plan to return next year.

“There were quite a few Swedish guests from Alabama,” Bussey added.

Swedish Fest T-shirts sold out, and copies of a book published last year with historical articles and pictures continued to sell well. The book is still available at Thorsby Town Hall and other locations around town for $10.

Winners of competitions held at the fest were named as follows:

Best-decorated float winners

•First place — Thorsby Mite cheerleaders

•Second place — 4-H Club

•Third place — Thorsby Minor football team

Swedish Fest Car Show winners:

•Best of Show — Jimmy Cummings, 1964 Pontiac GTO

•Top Car — Edward Cornell, 1972 VW Beetle

•Top Truck — Charles Hilyer, 1969 Ford F100

•Top Motorcycle — Dennis Sammons, 1952 Harley Davidson

•Top Car ’99 and up — Jimmy Cummings, 2005 Corvette

•Top Truck ’99 and up — Nicole Hilyer, 2005 Jeep Wrangler

•Top GM — Dirk Lowery, 1968 Chevy Truck

•Top Ford — Dianne Bean, 1968 Mustang

•Top Mopar — Charles Griffin, 1970 Dodge Dart

Best-decorated town storefront winners:

•First place — Hair Design on Main

•Second place — Marcus Insurance/The Money Mart

•Third place — Dari Delite

By Stephen Dawkins | Assistant Managing Editor

Jemison’s comeback ran out of gas, and the Panthers’ playoff hopes took a shot to the gut with Friday’s 36-26 loss to Sumter-Central.

With only one week of region play remaining, the Panthers need a win at Greene County on Oct. 21 and some help in order to qualify for the postseason.

On Friday, the JHS offense couldn’t find its rhythm from earlier in the year, and the defense was pounded by 275-pound running back Terrance Hinson and an even bigger offensive line.

Sumter (6-2 overall, 4-2 region) scored first, on a 10-yard Hinson run to conclude the first possession of the game, and built a 22-7 halftime lead.

Jemison’s only lead came with 1:09 remaining in the first half, when Randy Satterfield’s leaping touchdown reception from quarterback Tre Bryant was followed by a Cruz Martinez extra point.

The visitors responded with a 17-yard scoring strike from quarterback Roderick Harris on a 4th-and-15 play, and with a 5-yard Harris scramble for a touchdown.

Hinson’s 2-point run made the deficit 15 points at halftime.

But Jemison’s Javae Swindle scored on the first play from scrimmage of the second half, a 71-yard run.

Swindle wasn’t as efficient on the next possession, as he needed two runs—of 29 yards and then 32 yards—to reach the end zone.

Martinez added the point after to bring the score to 22-20, but that was as close as the Panthers (5-3, 3-3) would get. A lost fumble on Jemison’s next possession killed the momentum, and Hinson’s powerful runs combined with Harris’ elusiveness wore down the JHS defense as Sumter added two scores to pull away in the fourth quarter.

By Steven Kilpatrick | Shelby County Reporter

The Vincent Yellow Jackets forced seven turnovers as they went on to beat the Thorsby Rebels 40-0 on Friday night.

The loss eliminates Thorsby from playoff contention.

Both teams got off to a slow start, but after punting on their first two drives, the Yellow Jackets finally found the end zone late in the first quarter as ShaCorry Lilly ran it in from 8 yards out to give his team the lead.

On the first play of Thorsby’s opening drive, Tanner Sands intercepted a pass to take the ball back for his Yellow Jackets. On the very next play, Lilly took the ball in from 24 yards out to take a 14-0 lead over Thorsby.

On the next kickoff, Terio Rogers stripped the ball from the hands of the return man and returned it 26 yards for another Yellow Jacket touchdown. The Vincent defense forced punts on every drive following the turnover in the second quarter and scored on the final two drives of the second quarter.

A 76-yard pass from Damauntey Johnson to Terio Rogers and a 64-yard run from ShaCorry Lilly gave the Yellow Jackets a 33-0 lead going into the locker room.

Thorsby got the ball to start the second half. After driving the ball across midfield, the Vincent defense forced yet another turnover, this time an interception by Terio Rogers. This would lead to a clock-grinding, 12-play drive that led to a touchdown run by Micheal Gilham to give Vincent a 40-0 lead.

As Vincent was trying to eat most of the clock in the final quarter, Thorsby was still trying to get on the board. But the Yellow Jacket defense would not let up.

Vincent forced two more turnovers in the fourth quarter, both in the red zone and stopping potential scoring drives.

By JUSTIN AVERETTE / Managing Editor

Tara Caton, a senior at Chilton County High School, is the 2011 Miss Swedish Festival. The 17-year-old is the daughter of Mike and Sherry Caton.

The two-night pageant concluded Tuesday at Thorsby High School. The new Swedish Festival Court will play a prominent role in Saturday’s Swedish Festival.

Joining Caton in her court was first alternate Alyson Childress; second alternate and First Impression winner Hanna Yeargan; third alternate and Photogenic winner Kandice Cleckler; and fourth alternate Brianna Veazey.

The 2011 Junior Miss Swedish Festival is Darian Green. Her court includes (L-R) Laken Hayes, Taylor Mazingo, Madison Gunn and Natalie Peoples. Green also was the Photogenic category.

The Junior Miss Swedish Fest and Young Miss Swedish Fest were also crowned Tuesday.

The 2011 Junior Miss Swedish Festival is Darian Green. She was won that category’s Photogenic category.

Her court includes first alternate and First Impression winner Tayler Mazingo; second alternate Madison Gunn; third alternate Laken Hayes; and fourth alternate Natalie Peoples.

The 2011 Young Miss Swedish Festival is Haylie Patterson. Her court includes (L-R) Kaley Easterling, Zoey Collum, Karly Davis, Kindred Pilling, Samantha Wyatt and Marybeth Porter.

The 2011 Young Miss Swedish Festival is Haylie Patterson. Her court includes first alternate Karly Davis, second alternate Kindred Pilling; third alternate Zoey Collum and fourth alternate Samantha Wyatt. Photogenic winner was Kaley Easterling, and Marybeth Porter was the Viewers’ Choice winner.

On Monday night, Averie Littleton was crowned the 2011 Tiny Miss and Ivie Littleton was crowned the 2011 Little Miss.