The City of Andalusia’s Adult Activity Center and Senior Nutrition staff members are seeking sponsors for their annual Praying Hands program.

The staff organizes the gift drive for senior citizens each fall, making sure that no seniors are forgotten at Christmas.

Adult Activity Center director Sonja Godwin said she and other staff members have asked clients who might be in need to complete questionnaires about their Christmas wishes.

“Typically, we ask people to come by and pick up an information sheet on a senior from our Praying Hands tree,” Godwin said. “This year, we are seeking helpers to make Christmas special for at least 56 individuals, all of whom are 60 years or older and many of whom are homebound.”

The AAC staff is asking adopters to participate in one of two ways.

“You can call our office at 222-6891 to choose your praying hands revealing a senior’s wishes,” Godwin said. “We ask that you spend no less than $40 per person.”

Alternately, she said, individuals can make a financial contribution and the AAC staff will shop for the senior adults. Gifts should be dropped at the Adult Activity Center no later than Friday, November 18.

For additional information, call Godwin at 222-6891 or email her at .

The Andalusia City Council last week approved a $25.07 million budget for the fiscal year ending 2023, which begins on Oct. 1.

Mayor Earl Johnson told council members that city officials took a conservative approach in developing the budget.

“We are budging revenue at the current fiscal year’s actual revenue,” the mayor said, adding that there has been consistent growth in Andalusia’s sales tax receipts each year, which totals a 30 percent growth over the last eight years. Year to date, local sales tax collections are up approximately 7 percent over last year.

The new budget includes pay increases approved in the current fiscal year for first responders and public works.

“You will recall that department by department, we have approved pay increases where we are getting work done with fewer employees,” Johnson said. “This includes the police department, fire department and public works.”

Expenses for the coming year include an approximately $1 million increase in debt services, based on the council’s goal of working aggressively to reduce the city’s long-term debt.

“Outside of these two significant items, we are projecting only a 3.6 percent increase in expenses,” the mayor said. “As a council, you have challenged our department heads to keep expenses down, and they continue to do that. I think you’ll agree that this is a modest increase when we consider current inflation levels.”

The budget was unanimously approved.

In other business, the council:

·        Accepted a bid of $145,389 from Kone, Inc., to replace the elevator in the Andalusia Public Library.

·        Accepted a low bid of $434,675 from Marty Robbins Roofing Co., Inc., of Dothan, to make roof repairs on four city-owned buildings, including the Andalusia Police Department at 102 Opp Avenue; Andalusia Farmers Market at 256 Historic Central Street; 206-210 South Cotton Street; and 222 South Cotton Street.

·        Appointed Chase Shelnutt to the City Recreation Board.

·        Appointed Bobby Johns to the Board of Zoning Adjustments.

The Andalusia City Council last week approved plans and expenses for the 2022 Christmas in Candyland that include the addition of a second train for Santa and friends, a cocoa ball pit, and more snow than ever.

Chamber Executive Director Laura Wells pitched the plans to the council in two separate meetings, and said the Chamber plans to repurposed the original train engine purchased for Candyland. That engine proved not strong enough to pull all of the cars added to the train ride, and was replaced with a stronger train engine. The Chamber is adding a “Santa’s sleigh” car to the original train engine, which will be used to parade Santa, Elsa, and other characters into Candyland.

This year, the Chamber will work with Meredith’s Miracles, which will provide characters to perform shows each weekend, Wells said.

The plan also includes a new Cocoa Ball Pit, an attraction for younger children. The large cup of “cocoa,” which is about 2 feet tall, will be filled with balls reminiscent of ball playgrounds at fast food restaurants, and will look like a huge cup of cocoa. The cup handle will be a slide.

The Chamber also plans to replace the tubes of the Polar Bear Slide, add snow to the slide  and to the skating rink, and add digital signage.

The council approved a budget of $101,894, much of which will be offset by the sales of sponsorships.

This year marks the 9^th year of Christmas in Candyland, which drew more than 70,000 visits in 2021, as well as state and national media attention. Since its inception, retail sales have increased 29 percent in Andalusia in the month of December.

Christmas in Candyland opens on Friday, December 2, and will be open each Friday, Saturday and Sunday through Sunday, Dec. 18. In the week leading up to Christmas, the venues will be open from 1 p.m. until 5 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, December 19, 20 and 21. The final day of Candyland will be on Thursday, Dec. 22, when the venues will be open from 1 until 9 p.m., with fireworks planned for 9 p.m.

For complete schedule details, visit www.christmasincandyland.com.

The Andalusia High School Scholarship Foundation’s Outstanding Graduate Committee will honor five outstanding graduates in a ceremony in the Andalusia City Hall auditorium at 11 a.m. Friday. 

• Dr. Claude Burnett, Class of 1988, is a colonel in the U.S. Army. He currently serves as Deputy Commander of the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, where he also is chief of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

• Sam Craven, Class of 1964, practiced law in Louisiana from 1972 until 2000, specializing in civil litigation. He earned a master in divinity from the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest and was ordained as a priest in 2004. He served Episcopal churches in Texas until his retirement in 2016.

• Sam Nichols, Class of 1965, spent his 37-year career as a teacher, coach and administrator in Alabama public schools, and was superintendent of Dothan City Schools at the time of his retirement. He also was a proud Marine veteran of Vietnam. Sadly, he died last spring of lung disease related to his military service and exposure to Agent Orange. His daughter will accept the award in his behalf. 

• Margo Russell, Class of 1961, has exhibited and sold art across the Southeast, and worked as an art administrator. But her most lasting contribution has been as an art teacher in public schools, as a faculty member at institutions of higher learning and in private lessons taught to hundreds of children in Andalusia.

• Dr. Lee Wilson, Class of 1993, is using cutting edge techniques in the pursuit of better outcomes and quicker recoveries for his orthopedic patients. He has been in private practice in Gadsden since June of 2011, and currently is a partner at Northeast Orthopedics.

• Tami Glover McGee also was selected for inclusion this year, but the award will be deferred to next year, as she is part of NASA’s Artemis I launch and was unable to travel to Andalusia this week. 

The public is invited to attend the induction ceremonies at 11 a.m. in City Hall Auditorium on Friday. A private luncheon for inductees and their families will follow the ceremony.