Mayor's weekly letter
Friday, December 21, 2007 – Friday, December 28, 2007
I send greetings to you from the mayor’s office. I hope you have
had a great Christmas, and that your family is getting ready for
the New Year to overtake us. I haven’t made any new year’s
resolutions as of yet, but I am going to do so. It is time I
tried to do better about a lot of things, and most of mine
should relate to my family. The next letter I send out will be
in 2008. I can’t believe how fast time is passing. This New Year
will bring up a lot of activities in our community. The year
will be full of elections since it is the year we will elect our
next President. Our city’s government, the Council and Mayor
will also be up for election in the summer. There will be a lot
of projects on-going in the area that will make Athens a better
place to live.
Friday evening was quiet for Kay and I. We had a busy day and
were glad to have some quiet time.
Saturday morning and all day was sort of lazy for me. I did go
out and get a few last minute things. We also went to the
grocery store to stock up for our Christmas dinner.
Saturday night we went to the Von Braun Civic Center’s North
Hall to attend the Lead Out for the Phi Beta Sigma Sorority. Our
grand daughter, Kaleigh Aldridge, is a member, and this is the
big night for these young girls and their escorts to be
showcased at their best. I think all the young ladies were
beautiful, and they really had handsome escorts. They were all
decked out in their formal finery, and were introduced to the
guests that included friends and family. A large crowd of people
from Athens attended the event, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
While we were there, we heard about Jessica Elkins illness at
the Lead Out. Jessica is a classmate of Kaleigh, and she and her
family attend Church at First Baptist in Athens. Her sister,
Emily, was in the sorority Lead Out. Jessica had been carried by
med-flight to Birmingham earlier today because she had become
seriously ill. No one was sure what had caused her illness, but
spinal meningitis had been mentioned. Everyone is very concerned
about her and hopes she will recover quickly from her illness.
Our family later stopped at I-Hop for breakfast at 11:30 p.m. We
all enjoyed the time together, and made a few plans for
Christmas. The food was good and I don’t remember the time when
we got home.
Sunday morning we attended Sunday school and Church. We heard at
Church that Jessica’s condition had worsened, and that she had
been diagnosed as having spinal meningitis. She has been placed
on a ventilator to assist with her breathing. Prayers were said
for her, and I know many more will be. Jessica’s parents are
Talbot and Michelle Elkins. Michelle is the daughter of Jerry
and Barbara Smith who are life-long residents of our community.
These are good people, and I hope you will pray for their little
girl.
We had lunch at home, and went to Whitney’s house to visit with
all of Allen’s family that had come up from Moulton. His Mom,
Brenda, his sisters, Angie and Donna, and all their families
were there to visit. What a great bunch of folks. We really
enjoyed visiting with them. Allen’s Dad, Bobby Aldridge, passed
away three years ago, and this was the first time we have seen
all of them together since his funeral. Bobby’s brother, Kenny
was there, and I noticed how much he resembled Bobby. We stayed
until they all left for home and enjoyed our time together.
Sunday night we were not having Church services, so Kay and I
decided to go to Decatur and see the Christmas lights in the
older residential areas of the city. We called Al and Susan Todd
to ride with us. They had just come back home from the Jackson,
Tennessee, area, where they were raised. They had visited family
there and were waiting for their children to begin arriving at
their house tomorrow. The lights were beautiful and many of them
had received awards for their displays. Several of the houses
used brightly colored drapes on their outside lighting displays,
and it looked very well. There were so many beautiful wreathes
that I don’t know how they ever decided which ones were the
best. I always look forward to seeing these lights in Decatur.
Monday morning we slept late, and did not do a lot this morning.
We did get out in town for a while and went by Giovanni’s for
lunch. We saw Dr. Jerry Bartlett, his wife Jill, and their
daughter, Heidi and her husband. They are living in Brussels,
Belgium, and are home for a Christmas visit.
Wade and Betty Batts came in and had lunch with us. We see them
all time at Church, but this was the first time we have visited
in a while. Wade grew up at Ripley, and Betty grew up down below
Birmingham. They are good folks and are enjoying their family.
Wade’s family and mine have been friends for more than one
hundred years. They all lived down in the Forks of the River.
The Forks is where the Tennessee and Elk Rivers merge.
Monday night Kay and I attended the Vespers service at First
Baptist. There was a big crowd there with many visitors. The
music and service was focused on Christmas, and what Christ had
come to the world to do for us. The service began with Lauren
Cox and her daughters, Debbie and Beverly, singing a Christmas
song, a cappella, and Wade Batts sang, ”O Holy Night” . I
enjoyed the service and was glad we took time to attend. Prayer
was offered for Jessica tonight, and the news about her
condition is not good. I know a lot of folks are praying for
her. Folks at Church had designated times for friends to sign up
to be praying specifically for her.
Mark and Phyllis Whitt came by tonight for a cup of coffee and a
short visit after we came back from the Vespers service.
Tuesday morning we went to Whitney’s house to see her kid’s
Christmas. They were really celebrating, and torn paper and
boxes were everywhere. Alex was riding a new bicycle, Asa was
playing a new guitar, and Kaleigh was counting up her gift
certificates. They had eaten early and Whitney said they had
been awake since around five o’clock.
We went back to our house and Kay cooked us some breakfast. Alex
and Asa suddenly showed up and were ready to eat again. They
were in high gear, and it wasn’t hard to see that they would
need some extra calories to carry them all day.
We stayed around home all day, and took a ride late this
afternoon. We rode around town to see what was happening, and to
see Christmas decorations. We noticed that there are a lot of
houses for sale in town. That seems to be true in every
community.
Daniel and his family came over tonight and we had our family
Christmas. It was good to have all of them there, and later my
sister, Joan and her family came by for a Christmas visit. She
and Jimmy are still working on our Mama’s house, and hope to be
moving in soon.
Wednesday morning things were slow at work, but the City was
open for business, and everything seemed to be running ok.
I had lunch at home with Kay, Charles, and Whitney. She had our
grandsons, Luke and Asa with her. Alex and Kaleigh had gone home
with Daniel, Kara, and Jillian for a visit. We had a good lunch
which consisted of leftovers from our Christmas dinner.
When I got back to work, Susan Clayton, Jessica’s aunt, who
works for us, had been called to Birmingham because Jessica had
taken a turn for the worse. They were sure she had suffered a
stroke. Kim, Penny, and Dawn who works with Susan, are planning
to go to Birmingham after work to be with Susan.
I met this afternoon with a businessman to discuss a proposal to
the city. This is an interesting one and the Council will be
considering it soon. Evan Thornton, our Financial Director, and
his wife Jennifer, have a nice trip planned. They are going to
Gulf Shores this afternoon for a week. Evan and the kids will
stay in Gulf Shores while Jennifer, her Mom, and other family
members take a cruise to a Mexican resort. I told Evan that it
sounds like a better trip for Jennifer. He suggested that Kay
and I come to Gulf Shores, and Kay could keep the kids while he
and I played golf. I told him I didn’t think I would even
mention this to Kay.
I called Susan as I was leaving the office. She said the family
had just been informed that Jessica had been determined to have
no brain functions. The family will have to make a decision
about removing her from life support. I called Whitney and told
her about it. She and Kaleigh are planning to attend a prayer
vigil at First Baptist tonight for Jessica.
Kay and I had a quiet dinner at home tonight. Whitney called me
about nine o’clock. They had been to the prayer vigil and had
received word that Jessica had passed away. All the kids from
Church are devastated as you can imagine. Kaleigh and Jessica
were the same age and in the same class. They have been part of
a group of young ladies who have been friends for a long time.
This tragic loss of Jessica is going to affect them greatly. I
feel so much for Jessica’s Mom and Dad, her sister and brother.
I remember how my family was affected when my brother died many
years ago. My heart is also broken for Barbara and Jerry, her
grandparents. Losing their dear child so quickly is going to
hurt this good family so much. Their family is a strong,
close-knit group of folks, and they have great faith. I know
they feel now that they cannot survive this tragic loss of a
child, but they will, and they need your prayer, encouragement,
and understanding.
Thursday morning I slept later than usual. Things were a little
slow today at the office. I did talk with two Councilmen today
about several items of business of the City.
Kay and I carried Vonnette Harper to lunch at Ruby Tuesdays. She
is recovering from back surgery from two or three weeks ago, and
she seemed glad to get out of the house for a while. She is the
wife of Police Chief, Wayne Harper, and they are good friends of
ours. Wayne was not able to go to lunch with us because of
pressing business with his Department. We enjoyed being with
her, and catching up on her kids and grandkids. Their daughter,
Annette, and her husband will be leaving the United States
Marine Corps early next year to begin their civilian life again.
They have several options they are considering, and we hope they
will be able to be closer to home than they have been in several
years. Wayne and Vonnette do not need to travel too far to see
the grandkids.
I attended the exit conference for our Gas Department Audit this
afternoon. The audit shows that our Department is in good
financial condition, and is efficiently operated by Steve
Carter, and his staff of good folks. This past year is one of
the best we have ever had. Our Department added about 800
customers last year. We hope to take in more customers this
year. We serve Athens, a good part of Limestone County, Elkmont,
Ardmore, and into Tennessee.
Kay and I went to Mark and Phyllis Whitt’s home tonight for
dinner. This dinner has become traditional with our families,
and we all look forward to it every year. Our son, Daniel, and
his family could not attend this year, and Charles was working.
Whitney was out of town with a girl friend shopping. Our number
was down, but we enjoyed being with them, and their new grand
daughter, Stella, was the center of attraction. The entire Whitt
family was there and we enjoyed a delicious array of food.
Friday morning I was awakened early by the thunder and storm
that came through. I am glad to see a good storm, and I hope it
will last a long time and refresh our diminished water supply.
We were slow at the office, but I had conversations with
citizens and employees about the city’s business. We have been
having sewer problems at the Athens/Limestone Public Library,
and it has been closed for a while last week, and the same thing
happened today. We have not determined if the problem is
confined to the pipes in the building, or maybe in the outside
lines. This is a major problem for our citizens when we have to
shut down, but we cannot leave the public building open to large
numbers of folks without bathroom facilities. Buzz Estes and his
staff are assisting us with the problem.
I received word this morning that Mr. Charles Clem passed away
last night at Huntsville Hospital. He had surgery there
recently, and I think it was heart related. Mr. Clem was a
retired businessman who served the community for many years. His
Dad was Mr. Greer Clem, who operated a service station on the
corner of Jefferson and Washington for many years. The Clem
brothers, Charles and Melvin, both had automotive related
businesses, and each has a fine family. Charles’ son, Charlie,
is one of our policemen here in Athens. Mr. Clem’s wife, Gloria,
was one of our teachers when I was a student at Athens High
School. We extend our sympathy to this fine family.
We received work that Jessica’s family will have a visitation
tonight from five to nine at Spry Funeral Home. The funeral will
be held at the Athens High School Gym on Saturday at 2:00. The
family will receive guests at the Gym from 1:00 until 2:00. Our
community’s Christmas has been a good one, but our usual good
feelings and times have been tempered greatly due to the sudden
illness and death of Jessica during this week. We seem to be
able to take the death of an adult is stride as a normal part of
life, but the death of a child just doesn’t seem to be natural.
Jessica slipped away, surrounded by a host of people who loved
her and tried every way to save her. I think our community and
her family are thankful of the support given to them during this
time. I hope all the other children, around the world, who
passed away during this season, was as loved and appreciated as
she.
Take care and I’ll see you next time. mayordan
