Douglas Dean Gray

Douglas Dean Gray, age 94, of Greensboro passed away at Hale County Hospital on February 11, 2026. He was born June 26, 1931. Services were held graveside at Oakwood Cemetery on Sunday, February 15 at 1:00 pm with the Reverend Arthur Thomas officiating and Rockco Funeral Homes directing. Dean is preceded in death by his...
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Janice Lawson

Janice Latrice Jenkins Lawson was born June 19, 1966, in Wayne County, Detroit, Michigan, to Katherine Carr Jenkins and James Clark. She passed away on Wednesday, February 4, 2026. She later moved to Greensboro, Alabama, in 2015 to be closer to her children. She resigned in Moundville, Alabama, in 2025. Janice accepted Christ at an...
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Annual state severe weather sales tax holiday is Feb. 20-22

Alabama’s annual Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Feb. 20, and runs through midnight Sunday, Feb. 22. During the three-day holiday, shoppers can purchase qualifying emergency preparedness supplies without paying the state’s 4 percent sales tax. Eligible items priced below $94 include: Batteries Flashlights Lanterns Weather radios Cell phone chargers...
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Carolyn Bailey Payne

Carolyn Bailey Payne was born on February 28, 1936, and died on January 10, 2026, at the age of 89. A longtime Hale County resident and veteran educator, Mrs. Payne served for many years as principal of Skyland Elementary School in Tuscaloosa and later as headmaster of Southern Academy in Greensboro. A Celebration of Life...
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Cooking in the Black Belt

We’re early enough in the history of this column that it seems fitting to go ahead and rip off one of many bandaids that need to be addressed. For all my personal distaste for disclaimers, I feel it necessary to start off with a very important one to keep in mind going forward: I’m not...
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