Thursday, Feb 02, 2023
Covering Lee County, Alabama
An award-winning publication created 'For local people, by local people.' Vol. 15, No. 17
Opelika, Alabama
One of Auburn’s Firsts
AUBURN — After growing up during segregation and attending a training school in Auburn, John Lockhart bounded past segregation and racism to become the first Black sergeant, lieutenant and captain in the Auburn Police Division. Lockhart grew up in Auburn from the age of 10. His parents died when he was young, but a sister lived in the Loveliest Village on The Plains, so Lockhart came to live with her. While young, Lockhart attended the Lee County Training School, which he said was the only “high school” available to Black students at that
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER
BY HANNAH LESTER HLESTER@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM
John Lockhart, right, accepts a Lamplighter Award from Auburn Mayor Ron Anders at the mayor's 2022 State of the City Address.
time. “In 1957, I believe it was, that’s when Drake High School was built,”
he said. “That was the first actual high school (for Black students to attend) because, back
then, most of the schools in Lee County and surrounding counties for Black people were called training schools. It was not high schools. “So I asked the question — why were they training schools and not high schools? And the answer I got was some people thought that Black people could not be learned, they could be trained. So they called those schools training schools.” Lockhart said he doesn’t know whether this was truly the thinking of the time or not, just that this was the answer he received. Following graduation from Drake High School, Lockhart played football at Tuskegee Institute on a partial scholarship. HowSee LOCKHART, page A3
Opelika Planning Commission Elects New Officers OPELIKA — On Tuesday, Jan. 24, the Opelika Planning Commission held officer elections. Lucinda Cannon was elected chair, and John Sweatman was elected vice chair. Following the election, Cannon and Mayor Gary Fuller presented outgoing Chairman Lewis Cherry with a plaque expressing appreciation for his 18 years of service on the commission. He served as chairman for the past six years. “Lewis, a longtime friend, was my first appointment to the Planning Commission in February 2005,
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER
CONTRIBUTED BY THE CITY OF OPELIKA
Pictured left to right are Mayor Gary Fuller, outgoing Chairman Lewis Cherry and new Chair Lucinda Cannon.
after I became mayor in October 2004,” Fuller said. “Opelika has experienced
unprecedented growth during Lewis’ time on the commission, especially the past six
years while he served as chair. See CANNON, page A3
Lee County Listener Keeps You in the Loop
SAM DICHIARA AND GARRETT MARTINEZ BY DANIEL LOCKE FOR THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — Are you looking for an efficient way to keep up with all the latest happenings in Lee County? How about a way to learn about the people and businesses who call Lee County home? Look no further than the Lee County Listener. The Lee County Listener is a podcast hosted by Sam DiChiara and Garrett Martinez, two local residents who both have a deep connection to the area. “Garrett and I host, write and promote the Lee County Listener, which is sponsored by Key Media and The Observer,” DiChiara said. “We are a local news and community podcast that has a different community business on every week.” “The Lee County Listener is a project devoted to telling the story of
Lee County,” Martinez added. “It does amaze me, constantly, the diversity of people and their interests and skill sets that end up here. We think this is worth documenting, so the podcast does that.” From Auburn University to some of Alabama’s most unique businesses, Lee County is home to a wide variety of interesting things that are near to the hearts of those who call this area home. “I love that the podcast gives me an easy excuse to talk with people whom I already find interest in speaking with,” Martinez said. “For this reason or that, it seems odd to go up to say, a local business owner or community leader, and ask for an hour of their time just to pick their brain. With the podcast, we get to do that every week.” “I really love getting to know some very interesting people in Lee County See LISTENER, page A3
CONTENTS
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OPINION ................. A4 ENTERTAINMENT ...... A7 RELIGION .............. A12 OBITUARIES ........... A13 COMICS .................. A16
SPORTS ................... B1 POLITICS ................. B9 PUBLIC NOTICES ..... B10 CLASSIFIEDS .......... B14 PUZZLES ................ B15