In Tuesday’s municipal election, Opelika voters chose all incumbents in the mayoral and city council races and added a new name in Ward 2. A run-off election will be required for Ward 3. Mayor Gary Fuller, as well as city council members Patsy Jones for Ward 1 and Dr. William Lazenby for Ward 5 were re-elected Tuesday. Larry Gray won the Ward 2 seat. Ward 3 candidates Lucinda Samford Cannon and Joey Motley will face each other in a run-off election Oct. 7.

LaFaye Dellinger was re-elected to serve her third term as Smiths Station mayor winning Tuesday’s municipal election 250 to 87 over K.C. Belcher.

LaFayette’s mayoral race isn’t over yet. Incumbent Mayor Robert C. Finley and challenger Matthew Hurst will face off in a runoff Oct. 7.

Lee County investigating sex abuse in Phenix City

Gary Fuller, Patricia Jones, Larry Gray, William D. Lazenby won their races in Opelika’s election. Lucinda Samford Cannon and Joey Motley are in a runoff for Place 4

Incumbent Oscar Crawley won the mayoral race in Lanett’s municipal elections Tuesday, which saw an estimated 39 percent voter turnout, according to the city clerk’s office.
“I congratulate Oscar,” said opponent Bill Owens, who came in third with 14.7 percent. “He’s got four more years.”

Leak wins re-election in Valley.

David Waldrop was re-elected to the District 1 seat of the Notasulga City Council 51 to 22 over Richard Lumpkin in Tuesday’s city election. In District 2, Terry Broach defeated challenger Lewis Jarrell 50 to 36 to retain her seat on the city council.

Mayor Frank Tew and council members Coy Bennett Bass Jr., Baxter G. Garner and Robin T. Collins ran unopposed. 

Americans felt better about the economy in August, as a barometer of sentiment posted the biggest boost in two years amid falling gas prices

Alabama 4-H, the state’s oldest youth development organization, will begin a year of celebration Friday, Aug. 29, to honor the thousands of youth, volunteers and alumni who are Alabama 4-H. 

“Book and Buffet: An Evening with Rheta Grimsley Johnson” Aug. 28
at AU’s Jule Collins Smith Museum

The following are incident reports from the Valley Police Department:

The following are incident reports from the Lee County Sheriff’s Office:

Alabama students are taking more Advanced Placement classes than ever before, thanks in part to state funding over the past two years that’s encouraged participation.

Three men who authorities initially feared were plotting to assassinate Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention are facing only gun charges — signaling they never posed a real threat.

Opelika police reports

With Labor Day around the corner, many hard working folks across East Alabama are looking forward to a day of rest.

Residents of Opelika are deep-rooted with community pride. They care about the education their children receive and the facilities they receive it. They care about opportunities for local industry and the revenue that’s generated and goes back into the city.

Students in this tiny district started school Monday wondering which teachers might be toting firearms. Several parents said they had no idea that employees of the K-12 school were allowed to carry concealed guns on campus until recent publicity about the school board’s policy, approved quietly last fall.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Fay spread over a wide swath of the South on Monday, bringing heavy rain and wind from Georgia to Louisiana. Floridians, meanwhile, continued to mop up floodwaters created by the storm that stuck around for a week and made a historic four landfalls, dumping more than 30 inches of rain.

The Census Bureau on Tuesday reports new numbers on poverty, income and health insurance — an annual snapshot of the economic well-being of American households.

Rapidly growing Hurricane Gustav headed for a collision with impoverished Haiti on Tuesday. The storm was also on track to slice along the south coast of Cuba during the week — possibly growing into a perilous Category 3 hurricane with 115 mph (185 kph) winds by the weekend as it enters the Gulf.

Authorities in Shelby County say four men are jailed without bond in connection with the slayings of five men who were found in an apartment. The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrests on Monday. Each suspect was charged with two counts of capital murder.

Bollywood producers set to release a film called “Hari Puttar: A Comedy of Terrors” are working to fend off a lawsuit filed by Warner Bros. that claims the movie title hews too closely to their mega-famous boy wizard franchise.

While Hillary Rodham Clinton urges her supporters to heal a fractured Democratic Party by lining up behind Barack Obama, his Republican opponent is asking voters to remember Clinton’s own criticism that Obama isn’t ready to take that 3 a.m. phone call.

By focusing on letters, Wall Street is “trying to make a desperate situation look sort of technical - ’It’s not that much of a fuss, the big boys can take care of it, don’t you worry,“’ said Wall Street historian Charles Geisst. “Except the big boys here, their trousers are getting a little short, I’m afraid.”

No bull: Somehow, cattle seem to know how to find north and south, say researchers who studied satellite photos of thousands of cows around the world. Most cattle that were grazing or resting tended to align their bodies in a north-south direction.

Flags flew at half-staff in Opelika, and police officers wore black bands across their shields Monday. 

Residents need to be ready for storm season

Opelika voter turnout predicted to be higher than previous election