Freedom Fest Photos — A6 & A7 AJGA Golf Photos — B2
SUMMER SWING
JULY 11 | FEDORAS
IN THIS ISSUE BUSINESS NEWS A3 | SOCIETY A9 | OBITUARIES A14 | COMICS A16 SPORTS B1 | POLITICS B9 | PUBLIC NOTICES B12 | PUZZLES B14
2022 — APA DIVISION D GENERAL EXCELLENCE DESIGNATION — 2023 COVERING LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA Vol. 15, No. 39 Opelika, Alabama Thursday, July 06, 2023
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Opelika's Freedom Festival Sticks the Landing PHOTO BY ROBERT NOLES / THE OBSERVER
Lee County DHR Director Retires After 41 Years of Service
Jan Burke, Lee County Director of Human Resources, is retiring after 41 years.
[when I was] growing up, but I knew little about it,” Burke said. “When I moved here with Randy, we never reconsidered leaving. It never crossed our minds.” Soon, Burke began her
career with the Alabama Department of Human Resources. After spending a year as a child welfare worker, she moved to working with adult services and was eventually
promoted to a supervisory position. Then, Burke became the program supervisor before taking on the role as assistant director of human See BURKE, page A2
Summer of Fun — A5 | Submit Your Photos
PHOTO BY HANNAH GOLDFINGER / THE OBSERVER
LEE COUNTY — When an important figure in the community retires, it is a typical bittersweet goodbye. But few will be missed as much as Jan Burke, the now-former director of human resources of DHR in Lee County. Burke was born and raised in Tallapoosa County, where she attended Tallapoosa Academy in Dadeville. In 1982, she earned her master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Alabama — “the other school,” as she called it. Marrying her husband and Opelika local, Randy, convinced her to make this neck of the woods her home, she said. “I came to Opelika
PHOTO CONTRIBUTED TO THE OBSERVER
BY LIVI WELCH FOR THE OBSERVER
Kid's Market Filled Courthouse Square
Children were invited to participate in the inaugural Kid’s Market this past Saturday at Courthouse Square. A market just for young entrepreneurs.
BY HANNAH GOLDFINGER HGOLDFINGER@ OPELIKAOBSERVER.COM OPELIKA — On Saturday afternoon, children of all ages gathered together at courthouse square in Opelika for an afternoon of art and
entrepreneurism. At noon, the grassy area was filled with tables, booths and lots of homemade goodies. Children were invited to participate in the inaugural Kid’s Market — a place for younger See MARKET, page A3
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