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IN THIS ISSUE BUSINESS NEWS A2 | POLITICS A7 | PUBLIC NOTICES A8 | OBITUARIES A14 SPORTS B1 | EDUCATION B7 | FOOD & ENTERTAINMENT B11
Kettle corn king - page A4
2022, 2023 — APA DIVISION D GENERAL EXCELLENCE DESIGNATION — 2024 COVERING LEE COUNTY, ALABAMA
Vol. 16, No. 48 Opelika, Alabama Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024
Your hometown newspaper created 'for local people, by local people.'
www.opelikaobserver.com
Hotel residents ordered to leave facility OPELIKA — “Less than 24 hours’ notice, and now what are we supposed to do?” asked 61-year-old Donald Preston, who along with more than a hundred other residents of the Springwood Hotel in Opelika were forced onto the street Tuesday morning. With tears in her eyes, a young mother nearby stood with her four children while her husband thanked the front desk clerk, saying the family found a place to sleep tonight in nearby Valley. “Thank the Lord we have a car to get there,” he said as he shuffled his family out of the office. Some of the displaced residents sat on the sidewalk, surrounded by suitcases and baskets of clothes, waiting for a ride. Others just paced and shook their heads, saying they have nowhere else to go and no way of getting there. “I’ve got four kids, ages 15, 14, 12 and 9, and I don’t know where we’re going to sleep tonight,” said Dorothy Pennyamon, who has been staying at the Springwood Hotel for the past seven or so months. She said she has no family that is willing to help her, and that she’s gone down the list of phone numbers the school gave her to call for assistance with no results. “Nobody will answer, or they say they don’t have the resources to help us,” she said. “How can this be?” See SPRINGWOOD, page A2
PHOTO BY ANITA STIEFEL | THE OBSERVER
BY ANITA STIEFEL | THE OBSERVER
Donald Preston, standing, and Dorothy Pennyamon were among 120 people abruptly evicted on Tuesday from the Springwood Hotel in Opelika. They, like many others staying at the hotel, said they have nowhere to go and no way to get there.
Raising the Beam PHOTO BY ROBERT NOLES | THE OBSERVER
East Alabama Medical Center held a “Topping Out” ceremony Monday, Sept. 9. A steel beam was placed in the Main Lobby where employees and physicians were able to leave messages and signatures on it prior to it becoming a part of the expansion project to the hospital. The beam was put into place during the ceremony. For more photos turn to A5.
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