Tri-City Ledger -

The 2020 Regular Legislative Session has resumed after a six-week hiatus due to the coronavirus shutdown of the state and nation. The session must end by May 18, 2020. The only thing they will do is pass barebones budgets. The most important and...

After about two months of national crisis, the Chinese virus pandemic seems to be giving way to paranoia and power lust. Make no mistake, COVID-19 is a very real threat; it is certainly contagious, viciously attacks the respiratory system, and is...

Closing down the American economy has a real and enormous effect on the lives of countless Americans. Layoffs and job losses are devastating for individuals, families, and communities. In good times, it generally takes three to six months for...

This is a true story told by my Smith side from back when I was a young child. One of the favorite stories always brought out and shared at our Smith Family gatherings. My Dad was born in 1902 and said he was about the age of ten years. He well...

Fred Beth Balkcom, 88, of Brewton, died Friday, May 1, 2020, following a brief illness. Mr. Balkcom was born Jan. 20, 1932, in Pensacola and relocated to Barrineau Park, Fla., before moving to Brewton in 1970. A U.S. Army veteran and member of...

Infant Axel Brian Casey died Sunday, April 26, 2020. A private family graveside service was held at 2 p.m., Saturday, May 2, at Union Cemetery with Rev. Cavin Cawthon officiating. Burial followed with Williams Memorial Chapel Funeral Home directing....

William Lloyd Cash, 72, of Semmes, Ala., died Thursday, April 27, 2020, at Providence Hospital in Mobile. Mr. Cash was born in Brewton, Ala., Jan. 1, 1948, and had been a resident of Mobile for 38 years. Board-certified with OSHA, he was a...

Curtis Lee Chavers, 91, of Brewton, died Tuesday, April 28, 2020. Mr. Chavers was born in Brewton and had been a lifelong resident of the Brewton area. Self-employed as a farmer, he earned the Farmer of the Year Award. A graveside service was held...

Samuel Wilson Coale, Jr., 88, of Brewton, died Thursday, April 30, 2020, in a Pensacola hospital following a brief illness. Mr. Coale was born Feb. 12, 1932, in Monroeville, Ala. and became a lifelong resident of Brewton. A U.S. Air Force veteran...

Desmond Deshun “DD” Dirden, 43, of Atmore, died Saturday, April 25, 2020. Mr. Dirden was a native of Atmore who attended Escambia County High School. A member of Abundant Life Church of Deliverance, he had worked at Swift Lumber Company. A...

Ann Elizabeth Johnson, 80, died Monday, April 27, 2020, in Birmingham, Ala. Mrs. Johnson was a native of Atlanta, Ga. who grew up in Andalusia and Birmingham and had resided in Milton, Fla. for the past five years. A member and ordained deacon of...

Margot Ida Kay, 84, of Brewton, died Friday, May 1, 2020, following a brief illness. Mrs. Kay was born April 13, 1936, in Germany. She was a former resident of Crestview, Fla. and Gulf Breeze, Fla. before moving to Brewton. Of the Protestant faith,...

Eloise Lacy, 76, of Century, Fla., died Saturday, April 18, 2020, at a Pensacola health care facility. Mrs. Lacy was born Nov. 7, 1943, to Herman and Ila Mae Nelson Lacy in Jay, Fla. Owner and operator of Victone Cleaners in Flomaton, she was of the...

Barbara Nell Martin, 79, of McDavid, Fla., died Wednesday, April 29, 2020, at Century Health and Rehabilitation Center. Mrs. Martin was born Jan. 8, 1941, in Dallas, Texas and had been a resident of the McDavid community since 2012, coming from...

Peggy Boutwell Mitchell. 64, died Friday, May 1, 2020, in Colquitt, Ga. Mrs. Mitchell was a native and lifelong resident of Atmore. Of the Baptist faith, she was a retired waitress. The funeral was held at 2 p.m., Wednesday, May 6, at the...

Hoover Lovelace Parker, 91, of East Brewton, died Thursday, April 30, 2020. Mr. Parker was born June 29, 1928, in Escambia County, Ala. A 1946 graduate of W.S. Neal HIgh School, he opened Big Bear Supermarket in East Brewton in 1966, later known as P...

John Lewis “Moon” Powers, Jr., 63, died Tuesday, April 21, 2020, at Mobile Infirmary Health Center. Mr. Powers was born Feb. 1, 1957, to John Lewis, Sr. and Addie Lee Powers, in Atmore. A 1975 graduate of Escambia County High School, and later...

James “Donnie” Reed, 60, of Bay Minette, died Friday, May 1, 2020. Mr. Reed was a native of Oregon and former resident of Stockton, Ala. who had resided in Bay Minette for the past 18 years. A 1978 Repton High School graduate, he was a chemical...

Lucresha Brantley Shams, 53, died Friday, May 1, 2020, at a Pensacola hospital following a brief illness. Mrs. Shams was born April 16, 1967, to Larry and Annette Davidson in Brewton and became a longtime resident of Pensacola. A 1985 W.S. Neal...

Curtis Columbus Welch, 76, of Bratt, Fla., died Monday, April 27, 2020, in Bratt, Fla. Mr. Welch was born Oct. 27, 1943, to Gary C. and Laura Levins Welch in Perdido, Ala. He was a farmer for most of his life. A graveside service was held at 11:30...