A Wiregrass-based convenience store chain is expanding into Dale County, with support from Gov. Kay Ivey and state economic development officials.
Gov. Ivey announced Monday that the City of Daleville has been awarded a $120,000 Community Development Block Grant, which will be used to prepare land for a new Robert’s Grocery location near U.S. Highway 84 and Alabama Highway 85. The City of Daleville will contribute an additional $53,000 in local matching funds toward the project.
“This grant will pave the way for an Alabama-born business to grow and prosper while providing additional jobs and commerce for the city of Daleville,” Gov. Ivey said.
Robert’s Grocery currently operates locations in Wicksburg and Taylor, employing approximately 42 people. The new Daleville store is expected to create 15 additional jobs and represents a $5.7 million investment by the company.
Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs Director Kenneth Boswell said the project will improve access to groceries while generating new revenue for the city.
ADECA will administer the grant using funds provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The 100 block of Bracewell Avenue is closed due to an emergency water main repair.
Motorists are urged to avoid the area and use alternate routes while crews work to complete repairs. The roadway will reopen once the repair is finished and the area is deemed safe.
More updates will be shared as they become available.
A Douglas man was arrested and charged with theft by taking after allegedly stealing 18 vehicle wheels from a local wrecker service, according to a report from the Coffee County Sheriff’s Office.
Richard Blake Jewell, 31, of Douglas, is accused of taking 18 wheels without tires with the intent to sell them. Authorities say officers with the Broxton Police Department initially responded to the complaint but determined the incident occurred outside city limits. The case was then turned over to Coffee County deputies.
Deputies later made contact with Jewell and discovered the wheels inside his truck. Investigators returned to the scene of the reported theft, where Jewell returned the wheels to the business, according to the report.
The owners of the wrecker service requested to press charges, and Jewell was arrested and charged with theft by taking. The wheels were valued at approximately $450.
Jewell was booked into the Coffee County Jail and later released. No further information has been released at this time.
The Tuscaloosa Police Department K9 Unit is receiving new bulletproof and stab-proof vests thanks to a donation from Vested Interest in K9s Inc., a national nonprofit dedicated to protecting law-enforcement K9s.
Tuscaloosa Police currently have five K9s — Baki, Leo, Meri, Nailz, and Thomas — who assist officers in detecting narcotics, explosive materials, and apprehending dangerous suspects.
K9 handler Zac Aldridge said the added protection provides peace of mind for handlers who routinely send their partners into high-risk situations.
“Our department has put a lot of effort into our vest and our protection, and to be afforded the same for him is just a massive relief,” Aldridge said.
Aldridge’s K9, Baki, specializes in apprehension work, meaning he is often deployed to track and subdue some of Tuscaloosa’s most dangerous suspects.
“There is a certain degree of concern — where’s my buddy at, what’s he doing, is he okay?” Aldridge added.
According to Sgt. John Busby, the K9 apprehension program resumed in 2020. Until now, K9s entering homes or assisting in fugitive apprehensions had no ballistic protection.
“The biggest benefit is knowing that whatever we send the dog into, he’ll come out,” Busby said. “Having that extra protection is huge.”
Each vest is both bullet-resistant and stab-resistant and is valued at nearly $2,000.
Since its founding in 2009, Vested Interest in K9s Inc. has donated more than 6,200 protective vests to police K9 units across the country. The nonprofit relies entirely on donations to continue its mission of keeping working K9s safe.
An 11-year-old boy from Hueytown has died after suffering complications from a severe case of the flu, according to family members.
Jace Watkins was hospitalized at Children’s of Alabama just days before Christmas after being diagnosed with the flu. Family members say Jace’s condition quickly worsened, and he was admitted to the intensive care unit.
According to relatives, Jace began experiencing seizures and at one point stopped breathing. He remained in critical condition in the ICU as doctors worked to stabilize him.
Late Tuesday night, Jace’s condition deteriorated further. Family members said he developed significant swelling of the brain that did not subside, preventing adequate oxygen from reaching his brain. His grandfather, Scott Parsons, described the situation as overwhelming and heartbreaking.
Family members previously told WBRC that Jace did not have any major underlying health conditions.
“He was a premature baby, but other than that, he’s had inhalers and stuff, but that was years ago,” said Jace’s aunt, Sabrina Parsons. “He was telling everybody he was fine. He felt fine. Then he started throwing up that night, and later he had a seizure.”
Jace was a fifth-grade student at Hueytown Intermediate School, where classmates and staff are mourning his loss.
Statement from School Administration
The principal of Hueytown Intermediate released the following statement regarding Jace’s passing:
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our students, Jace Watkins. Our hearts go out to his family, friends, classmates, and teachers during this incredibly difficult time. We will continue to support our school community as we grieve together.”
Counselors are expected to be made available to students and staff as the school community processes the loss.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall has joined a 21-state coalition of attorneys general in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in support of a Florida law aimed at preventing sexually graphic materials from being made available to students in public-school libraries.
The brief challenges a recent ruling by a federal district court in Florida that determined the law likely violates the Free Speech Clause of the First Amendment and temporarily blocked the state from enforcing it.
In their filing, the coalition argues that decisions regarding which materials are placed in public-school libraries constitute “government speech” under the First Amendment. As such, the states maintain that schools are not constitutionally required to provide sexually explicit content to K-12 students.
“It should be common sense that the First Amendment does not require public schools to fill their library shelves with graphic books depicting sex acts,” Marshall said in a statement. “But we are at the point where such commonsense interpretations have to be spelled out in legal briefs, so we are proud to help Florida defend its law and we call on the Eleventh Circuit to quickly correct the decision of the district court.”
The brief was led by Arkansas and includes attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee.
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals is expected to review the case in the coming months
