Home Builder Developer - Interior Renovation and Design

Kalispell

In 2019, Kalispells planning and building department had a strong year for residential and multi-family permits, establishing what seemed like a relatively high bar at the time.

Then came 2020.

We pretty much doubled multi-family and residential this year, Kalispell Development Services Department Director Jarod Nygren said on Dec. 31. Unless things change, well stay on pace with this year into the next year. COVID didnt affect growth in the valley. It actually sped it up.

In the past year, the department issued building permits for residential 312 units, which includes single-family homes, duplexes and townhomes. The department also issued permits for 156 multi-family units, which are apartments. The 2019 totals were 160 residential and 84 multi-family.

I suspect in 2021 well see more than 156 (multi-family units), Nygren said.

The activity was more than the department was anticipating, in part driven by newcomers. But a lot of the new permits were simply projects that have been planned for years and are now coming to fruition, an accumulating response to the issues of low housing supply and high demand that have been prevalent in Kalispell for years.

Growth is part of it, but its also pent-up demand we had 0% vacancy before 2020, Nygren said. The reality is that we could have built a lot more housing units just to keep up with the demand without all the new people moving here.

Since at least 2018, the planning department has known that about 1,000 new multi-family units altogether would be coming over a period of years. The 2020 trend of more units reaching the permitting phase is expected to continue in 2021, which means a lot of construction occurring on new apartments throughout the city, especially along Two Mile Drive and in north Kalispell.

We planned for it all and knew it was coming in 18, 19, but it really came this year, Nygren said.

Using planners baseline average of 2.5 people per unit, the combined 468 single-family and multi-family units permitted last year equates to housing for roughly 1,200 people. More available housing can help alleviate growing rent costs.

It certainly helps the supply, which helps keep the rental market in control, Nygren said. When youre hovering around 0% vacancy, the rental rates can continue to go up. Building new units also allows people to move around and opens up other units that might be older and maybe can be more affordable.

Commercial was also a little stronger in 2020 than the planning department expected, led mostly by office space and some retail. The areas behind Costco, on both the east and west sides of the bypass, continue to build out with professional office spaces and, to a lesser extent, retail.

Residential and commercial combined, Kalispells building department in 2020 issued $125.7 million in permits, which are indicators of forthcoming construction.

Once theyre permitted, they break ground quickly, Nygren said.

The long-awaited Kalispell Parkline Trail is going to bid this winter and will not only finally break ground in late spring or early summer, but will be completed in calendar year 2021, Nygren said, calling it straightforward single-season construction.

Weve been talking about it long enough that people are wondering if it will ever happen, but it will be finished by this time next year, Nygren said in late December.

The trail will replace the railroad tracks through the heart of town and open up development opportunities along the corridor, with ample interest already pouring in. Nygren said considerable demolition and work through the federal Brownsfields program, which facilitates the assessment, cleanup and reuse of contaminated properties, was completed over the last year.

Those sites are now open for redevelopment, Nygren said. Hopefully well see those take off this next year. There are a lot of developers with a lot of different ideas.

Before even breaking ground, the project has attracted development, including SunRift Beer Company setting up in its location off Main Street specifically to be situated along the trail. Other projects include the transformation of the former CHS Country Store on U.S. Highway 2 into office spaces and the expansion of 4th & Zuri.

Trail features such as a splash pad will be driven by private grassroots efforts, similar to the citys dog park and the bouldering feature at Lawrence Park.

Whitefish

Up the highway, Whitefish experienced a similarly busy year in residential permits and expects yet another robust construction year in 2021, led by both multi-family and single-family units.

It was just a banner year for housing, and I definitely dont see things slowing down from a building perspective, Whitefish Planning and Building Director Dave Taylor said. Theres a ton of people moving in and building.

Unlike Kalispell, Whitefish has a limited supply of large land tracts for major subdivisions, not to mention high-priced land, so single-family residence activity is predominantly driven by individual property owners building their own custom homes rather than developers constructing spec houses on multi-lot layouts.

Most of it is infill projects, which is what our growth policy called for, Taylor said.

Whitefish permitted 91 single-family residences in 2020, which Taylor called a healthy number, even if its slightly less than 2019, when 95 permits were issued. But combining that figure with other forms of housing, such as townhomes, duplexes and apartments, the total number of permitted dwelling units last year was 296.

Thats the most dwelling units weve seen in a decade, Taylor said.

One single-family residence development bucking the trend is Trailview, where developers are building a community of 58 homes along Monegan and Voerman roads aimed at providing more affordable but high-quality workforce housing.

In lieu of widespread single-family subdivisions, developers are staying busy with apartment, townhome and multi-use projects, including downtown mixed-use buildings with ground-level retail and upstairs condos. One development that continues to move forward at a sustained pace is the Alta Views townhome community near North Valley Hospital, for which 32 building permits were issued in December alone.

Columbia Falls

The city has been experiencing a transformation in recent years, both commercially and residentially, a trend that held up in 2020 and is expected to continue in 2021.

It was such a busy year, Columbia Falls City Manager Susan Nicosia said. During COVID, building and planning never slowed down. If anything, it accelerated.

Nicosia said only about 100 empty lots remain within city limits, predominantly residential.

Weve definitely been filling out in the city, Nicosia said.

While the changes in Columbia Falls have elevated property values and prices for homebuyers, a rapidly growing inventory of apartments has aimed to provide lower-cost workforce housing, led by The Highline Apartments, an expansive multi-family project on Bills Lane that has completed 180 units to date.

Highline is always full, Nicosia said, adding that multi-family in general has been filling out pretty nicely.

It definitely helps the housing market, she said.

Similar to Whitefish, Columbia Falls is welcoming more mixed-use projects into its downtown corridor. One in the works is a multi-phase project developed by Mick Ruis on Nucleus Avenue and Fifth Street. The first phase, currently underway, involves demolishing a building on the north end of the property to make room for a new three-story structure with retail on the ground floor and 48 residential units.

The second phase of Ruis project will involve the old Citizens Bank structure, which will either be remodeled or torn down.

Both residential and commercial remodels have been active as well, Nicosia said, while construction is plowing forward on the suite of school projects funded by a $37 million bond package approved by voters in October 2019.

While retail is coming in on the commercial side, office spaces have been particularly active. For one, Glacier Medical Associates (GMA) and Orthopedic Rehab Physical Therapy spearheaded a makeover of the Cedar Palace, where a multi-tenant medical campus opened in November.

Another healthcare addition is North Valley Hospitals new physical therapy building.

Thats a really nice addition to the downtown corridor, Nicosia said.

Beyond City Limits

The Flathead County Planning and Zoning Office saw elevated activity on multiple fronts last year for projects in county territory.

Pretty much everything is on the upswing, Landon Stevens, a planning technician with the planning and zoning office, said.

The office received 23 requests for major subdivisions in 2020, up from 14 in 2019, which Stevens called quite an increase. Major subdivisions are those with six lots or more.

The county planning office was also busy with lakefront requests for features such as docks, walkways and buoys. The jump from 81 lakefront requests in 2019 to 107 last year represents a 32% increase.

That speaks to the increase in activity of newer lakefront owners and overall increase in lakeshore activity, Stevens said, adding that there are about a dozen or so primary residential lakes under county purview. I would say that because of the influx of people here, a lot of the folks are seasonal or new owners.

The county saw continued high interest in administrative conditional-use permits to operate vacation rentals, commonly marketed on websites such as Airbnb and VRBO. Forty vacation-rental applications came through in 2020, down from 53 in 2019, and those are only properties outside of city limits. Vacation rentals inside the boundaries of local communities have boomed in recent years as well, especially during the pandemic.

People come here and want to live here and potentially profit off their property with the amount of tourists and visitors, Stevens said. Thats been a big theme weve been seeing in the office.

mreece@flatheadbeacon.com

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Residential Development Expected to Keep Booming - Flathead Beacon

Published 7 January 2021

Allanwater Homes has announced the launch of a new development which will see it build in East Lothian for the very first time.

Allanwater Haddington, situated in the Letham Mains area of the market town, will offer a selection of energy efficient, three and four-bedroom bungalows, together with three bedroom linked villas.

Several brand new designs exclusively designed for this new development - will make their debut at Allanwater Haddington, including the Tay three-bedroom detached bungalow, the Clyde and Spey, other three-bedroom detached bungalows, and the Devon, a four-bedroom detached bungalow.

Added to the mix is another recently launched home which has proved very popular at other Allanwater Homes developments across Scotland the three-bedroom Sidlaw villa.

Specification wise, Allanwater Haddington features the housebuilders new as included specification which includes Twyford Sanitaryware, Stainless Steel kitchen appliances with Induction Hobs, thermostatic showers, USB charging points, and monoblocked driveways.

Also planned to launch in 2021, is an additional new development in Chryston, near Glasgow, another brand new geographic area for Allanwater.

A sales consultant has been given a more unusual first assignment to help sell his old high schools classrooms.

Nicholas Levinson, 37, a former pupil of Boroughmuir High School in Edinburgh, attended classes while the school was based in its former home, the famed early 20th century building at Viewforth and one of the citys most prized school buildings which has been renovated into 87 apartments.

Now, thanks to working with CALA Homes (East), which is behind Boroughmuirs historic renovation, the Edinburgh native has a rare chance to revisit his youth, each and every day he works from the on-site sales office and show apartment.

While protecting and subtly enhancing the impressive exterior to the Grade B-listed building, the developer is transforming the former classrooms inside into a range of one to four bedroom mezzanine apartments.

Nick, who now lives in Trinity with his partner, said: When I take people around the different properties and tell them I was a pupil here, they usually ask me straight away which classroom or part of the building an apartment is. The transformation is incredible, its just so different on the inside to what it was when it was a school its nice to see the building in its best light now.

One of my favourite plots so far is Plot 75 on the top floor, as it has huge vaulted ceilings beyond six metres and original feature beams. It was formerly a chemistry classroom. Youd never believe what its become.

Nick is also keenly awaiting to see inside Plots 86 and 87 when they are completed, which will become two four-bedroom apartments and the largest properties at Boroughmuir. They are being built in a space that was the old school library.

Nick added: Ive had a couple of old classmates contact me, the building is quite well known in Edinburgh so theres been a lot of buzz and excitement around it. The feedback were getting from clients and visitors has been excellent, theyre amazed at how the architect has ambitiously used the space and how bright and spacious the properties feel.

The apartments themselves are so impressive, with high spec and the city views from some of the homes on the second floor are something else I spent many hours daydreaming, looking out those windows!

Coming back has been quite nostalgic, seeing what we are achieving with the refurbishment has been really nice on a personal level. Its also great to see the area of Bruntsfield has changed as well it is now one of the citys hotspots for independent shops, restaurants and bars its certainly not the area it was when I was at school.

A Fife quarry could continue for another 40 years after major expansion plans were approved.

The operators of Goathill Quarry, near Donibristle, want to extract a further eight million tonnes of hard rock by extending south into a hillside.

The site produces crushed aggregate used in road building.

It also makes large stone blocks and has secured an order for armoured stone for a stabilisation project on the River Tay.

Two commercial units are being proposed for the car park of a vacant pub/restaurant on the southern edge of Glasgow.

An application has been lodged for the site in Corselet Road at Nitshill Road, at the former Darnley at the Mill venue, last used by Cook and Indis World Buffet.

Permission is being sought by Harlequin Leisure Investments for one retail unit and one food/drink takeaway in the front car park area.

The buildings total footprint would be 300 square metres. There would be 15 car parking spaces.

Lochmaben-based roof tile manufacturer Russell Roof Tilesis celebrating the dedication and long service of three employees who have a combined long service of 40 years.

The deserving staff who have been awarded the accolades include Bruce Laidlaw (production director) for 20 years, William Riddell (production operator) and Charlie Graham (production operator) who have both worked at Russell Roof Tiles Lockerbie site for 10 years.

In 2020, 11 members of the team were presented with awards ranging from 10 to 30 years.

Andrew Hayward, managing director at Russell Roof Tiles, said: Were delighted in these challenging times to have such a dedicated team across our sites, our Long Service Awards not only recognise the hard work they have put in over the years but also says thank you for the commitment to Russell Roof Tiles.

We look forward to being able to continue celebrating our hardworking staff over the next few years across all sites.

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Building Briefs - January 7th - Scottish Construction Now

SEATTLE, Jan. 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Porch Group, Inc. (Porch or the Company) (Nasdaq: PRCH) (Nasdaq: PRCHW), a leading software and services platform reinventing the home services industry, has been invited to present at the 23rd Annual Needham Growth Conference being held virtually on January 11-15, 2021.

Porch management is scheduled to present on Monday, January 11 at 2:45 p.m. Eastern time, with one-on-one meetings to be held throughout the conference. The companys presentation will be webcast live and available for replay here.

For additional information or to schedule a one-on-one meeting with Porch management, please contact your Needham representative or Gateway Investor Relations at (949) 574-3860 or PRCH@gatewayir.com.

About Porch Group, Inc. Seattle-based Porch Group, the vertical software platform for the home, provides software and services to more than 10,500 home services companies such as home inspectors, moving companies, real estate agencies, utility companies, and warranty companies. Through these relationships and its multiple brands, Porch provides a moving concierge service to homebuyers, helping them save time and make better decisions on critical services, including insurance, moving, security, TV/internet, home repair and improvement, and more. To learn more, visit porchgroup.com and porch.com.

Investor Relations contact:Gateway Investor RelationsCody Slach, Matt Glover(949) 574-3860PRCH@gatewayir.com

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Porch Group to Present at the 23rd Annual Needham Growth Conference on January 11, 2021 - GlobeNewswire

Key Glockcomes in hot for the new year with the new single "Off the Porch" and its accompanying music video.

The Memphis rapper keeps it cool and low-key for the visual, which features him in a dark room surrounded only by a yellow sports car, a matching yellow bike and a mic that catches on fire once he's done spitting. He flexes his chains, including one featuring Homer Simpson that blinks after he lets him hit his blunt, and compares his drip to that ofLil Uzi Vert. "Diamonds dancing on me like Uzi, choppa keep Bruce Lee, pullin' up too deep," he raps in the first verse.

He released two back-to-back mixtapes last year, Yellow Tape in January andSon of a Gunin May via Paper Route Empire. His 2019 joint album with mentor Young Dolph,Dum and Dummer,reached No. 5 onBillboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart andNo. 8 on the Billboard 200.

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Key Glock Spits a (Literally) Fire Banger in 'Off the Porch' Video - Billboard

CHARLOTTE, NC. Security camera video shows three thieves stealing packages and porch furniture from Louis Gillards home on Rozzelles Ferry Road in the Wesley Heights neighborhood. It happened around noon on December 23rd. Gillard says the brazen burglars struck his house five times in a 45 minute period.

You can just see that they did not care. Do not care about getting caught, they did not care about a single thing except for larceny, says Gillard.

Gillard was visiting family in Florida when his phone pinged.

I received an alert from my ring doorbell that there was a visitor, a person detected at my front door. Didnt think much of it. I thought it was maybe a delivery or package or UPS guy and ignored it.

He says the next day, he reviewed the video.

And then I noticed that my porch furniture had been stolen. A sectional as well as a daybed mattress as well as all the pillows that are associated with it were all taken.

Gillard called the police. According to the police report $2,000 worth of furniture was taken.

If they were really in that much need, they couldve knocked on my door and I wouldve handed out money, food whatever they needed. But to rob me and acting that way its just inhumane.

Gillard says the two responding officers told him theyve seen similar cases in NoDa and Plaza Midwood.

Of people taking porch furniture, brazenly in the middle of the day with their face on camera and that they fit the description and fit the items that were stolen.

WCCB asked CMPD if this incident was connected to others. A spokesperson says its too early in the investigation to tell.

Read more from the original source:
Thieves Steal Thousands Of Dollars Worth In Porch Furniture - WCCB Charlotte

At the start of a new year, Im not so much about resolutions as I am about words.

My inner word nerd is compelled to look back at the year just ended to see how language has evolved, based largely on events of the year. This is also the time when lexographers and groups of linguists, historians, grammarians and others interested in language evolution publish their Words of the Year lists.

It is geek-heaven time for those of us who savor the written and spoken word.

Surprising to not a single person on the planet, the chosen words of 2020 all center around COVID-19, though some of the runners-up widen the net to include other society-shaking events of the year.

Its all pretty grim stuff this year, so let me start with the one-and-only lighter popular-culture item I could find. Oxford Dictionaries noted the word Brexit saw an 80% drop in usage this year, while Collins Dictionaries included in its runners-up list the word Megxit, which is described as the withdrawal of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, the duke and duchess of Sussex, from their royal duties.

My favorite sources are the Oxford Dictionaries and the American Dialect Society, but Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com, Cambridge, Collins and others also have their selections most based on how often the words have been looked up or how their usage reflects the mood and focus of the past year. Oxford also has a Childrens Word of the Year, based on essays written in a BBC 500 Words story writing competition (136,000 kids submitted entries this year).

For the first time Oxford did not select just one word or phrase, describing 2020 as a year which cannot be neatly accommodated in one single word and announced instead its words of an unprecedented year.

Oxford noted that one of the most remarkable linguistic developments has been the emergence of scientific terms in general conversation as we all have become armchair epidemiologists. Among Oxfords words and phrases of 2020 are Coronavirus, COVID-19, Following the Science, Pandemic, Shelter-in-Place, Face Masks and Key Workers, among others.

Oxford also noted spikes in the use of words such as Impeachment, Mail-In, Back Lives Matter and QAnon. Looking farther back, Oxfords Word of the Year for 2019 was Climate Emergency; it was Toxic in 2018.

The childrens writing competition sponsored by Oxford and the BBC revealed Coronavirus as the Oxford Childrens Word of the Year. Brexit was the winner last year and Plastic the year before. The stories ran the gamut from realistic to prophetic, hopeful to sweet. One girl, aged 8, wrote in her entry: That night I had an interesting dream, a magical sparkling unicorn came and whispered to me the secret ingredients of the cure for the Coronavirus.

The American Dialect Society chose COVID for its Word of the Year. The word didnt exist a year ago, said Ben Zimmer, chair of the dialect societysNew Words Committee, and now it has come to define our lives in 2020.

Some of the runners-up considered by the 13-year-old organization were also fascinating, such as Doomscrolling, the habit of obsessively scanning social media and websites for bad news. The American Dialect Society also selected key words in a variety of individual categories. Before Times, the time before the beginning of the pandemic, was considered Most Useful; Abolish/Defund was deemed the Most Significant Political Word. And its Euphemism of the Year was Essential (workers, labor, businesses), used for people, often underpaid, who are actually treated as expendable because they are required to work and thus risk infection from coronavirus.

Pandemic was chosen by both Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com, each citing the phenomenal increase in dictionary searches of the word (Merriam-Webster showed a 115,806% spike in dictionary traffic for Pandemic).

Collins Dictionary selected Lockdown, while Cambridge chose Quarantine, also noting that the word has experienced an expansion of its original meaning to include a period of time when people are not allowed to leave their homes or travel freely. Also on Collins Word of the Year short list was BLM (Black Lives Matter), Coronavirus, Key Worker, Furlough and Social Distancing.

In a New York Times article last month, 20 words were suggested as best capturing what it felt to be alive in 2020 most, of course, centering in COVID-19 and its effects. Most notable was Black Lives Matter. Also Contact Tracing, Essential Workers, Flatten the Curve, Super-Spreader, Voter Fraud, Wildfires and Zoom.

NYTs two almost whimsical choices were Blursday, whatever day of the week it might happen to be being hard to decipher since the passage of time has become so unreliable, and Virtual Happy Hour, a kind of socializing online or, as the writer put it, we just kind of drunk in front of our computers a whole bunch.

Sad to say, gone are the years when the defining words were such sweet things as Geek, Tweet, Selfie and Binge Watch.

I think 2020 and the words that popped out from it were best described by Oxford Dictionaries president Casper Grathwohl, who said: Ive never witnessed a year in language like the one weve just had Its both unprecedented and a little ironic in a year that left us speechless, 2020 has been filled with new words unlike any other.

Go here to see the original:
Front Porch: Take guess on 2020s words of year new vocabulary sprang up around COVID-19 - The Spokesman-Review

When I heard theChaseTheMoney producer tag onKey Glocksnew single Off The Porch, I knew we were in for an eerie, bassy banger. The Memphis rapper floats over the beat, delivering relaxed but menacing bars about being Mr. Glock, and taking you to school, riding 10 speeds before upgrading to coupes, and my favorite line, Heater on my side, dont test my cool. In the video, Key Glock furthersthe yellow imageryof his 2020Yellow Tapeera, surrounded by a yellow coupe and bicycle. Glock raps into a dangling mic and after he delivers his last bar the mic bursts into flames, naturally.Off The Porch, follows upKeyGlocks May release ofSon Of A Gunand JanuarysYellow Tape.Hip-Hops foremost purveyor of blunt-force punchlines,KeyGlocknever stops grinding. Coming through with two heavy-hitting projects, stacking flex after flex with wit and panache, 2020 findsKeyGlockone of raps most locked in and consistent.

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Key Glock Jumped Out the Porch and Jumped in the Booth (Prod. Chase The Money) - RESPECT.

A silver van pulls up to a coronavirus testing site in the parking lot of La Familia, a daycare and family services center in Fort Collins. Cristina Diaz and her coworker hand fluffy, pink unicorn stuffed animals to the kids in the backseat. They load boxes of rice, milk, and masa flour into the back.

Diazs big brown eyes peek out above her black face mask, which has Cristina written across it in red cursive. She oversees Larimer and Weld Counties as the regional coordinator for Project Protect Promotora Network. These promotores community health liaisons educate Latino residents, mostly Spanish-speaking migrant workers, about COVID-19.

In the past, promotores have worked with public health departments to reach underserved communities on issues from smoking cessation to cervical cancer. Through federal CARES Act funding, and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, this group launched in September to get the word out on virus prevention and care.

Promotores oftentimes lack formal medical training, but they are well-connected in their communities. Diaz, for example, has served on the boards of Northern Colorado nonprofits. Until recently, she was a social worker. Today, her strategy is to first draw people to the testing site with food boxes.

And then say, Hey, by the way, we have COVID testing right here. Do you have any of these symptoms? Do you know anyone? So they're going to leave here and they're going to go home like, Hey, I just went and got this food box and I got tested. And then we're going to have more people here this afternoon, Diaz explained with a laugh.

Leigh Paterson / KUNC

Going where people live and work

Working conditions, living situations and language barriers are among several factors that have led to high infection rates among Latinos in Colorado. These promotores are stepping up to educate people who have not been reached by mainstream information sources.

Its overwhelming as an English speaker, Diaz said. So I can even imagine, you know, as a Spanish speaker and even though Spanish speaking, not all of them tend to be literate. You can't just be like, Oh, here's a form. Read this, you know, share it with your family. If they are sharing it with their family, they're probably sharing it with their 8-year-old or 12-year-old. And then all of a sudden, it's the job of the 12-year-old to educate the family on it.

Promotores across the state are providing workers with winter clothing, masks and hand sanitizer by going to where they live and work: farms, warehouses and mobile home parks, for example. Project Protect Promotora Network has worked with the CDPHE on COVID-19 testing events, as was the case at the site in Fort Collins.

In their work, these promotores hear about needs that go beyond the coronavirus, relating to internet access, childcare and housing. In addition to language and literacy barriers, many Spanish-speaking workers are scared or distrustful of the government.

You dont know how to ask for help so you prefer dont do it, explained Soraya Leon, a promotora who lives in Greeley, where the majority of coronavirus cases are concentrated in the county.

Leigh Paterson / KUNC

At the testing site in Fort Collins, wearing two masks and a face shield, Leons breath fogged up the clear plastic shield; condensation dripped down the inside.

As a promotora who began doing this work in November, Leon has heard confusion and disbelief about the virus. But, when she talks to workers about it, she said they listen in part, because when Leon divorced her American husband, she became undocumented and needed help herself.

I was there, I was in the same situation, Leon said. I know what you feel when you have issues.

The Weld County Department of Public Health and Environment has worked with promotores in the past, but not specifically on coronavirus prevention. The department was unable to do a recorded interview for this story but in an email, a spokesperson outlined what they have done, from putting out messages on billboards, posters and social media, to interviews on Spanish-language radio.

I think it has contributed

Dr. Mark Wallace, the former chief medical officer of Weld County, believes communication issues have contributed to the high infection rate among Latinos in Weld County.

"I think potentially, in the beginning, was more impactful, that lack of clear communication, Wallace said. I think it is less of that today since we've been struggling with this for as long as we have So there is that fundamental level of awareness because we're doing a better job of communicating in a way that is linguistically and culturally aware.

Wallace is now the chief clinical officer at Sunrise Community Health, a group of clinics in Northern Colorado; around half of their patients identify as Hispanic or Latino. He explains that since the beginning of the pandemic, the medical community has gotten better at talking through what terms like isolation and quarantine mean in daily life, for example. Now, he is beginning to think about the next communication issue: the vaccine.

It's likely to have some similar challenges, I'm not going to be pollyannaish about it, Wallace said.

Polling has shown around 60% of Coloradans are planning to get the coronavirus vaccine. Numbers were slightly lower among Blacks and Latinos. Wallace thinks it will be people like his bilingual medical assistants who will be most effective at getting the word out.

Leigh Paterson / KUNC

The next challenge? Vaccine communication

I'd say if the Pope got a COVID vaccine, that would go a long way, Dr. Michelle Barron, the senior medical director of infection prevention for UCHealth, said with a laugh.

She also hopes that her mom, who is from Mexico, will get the vaccine and then tell her friends.

That would be the gossip. Oh! Did you hear Nora got the vaccine? Oh, we should go get our vaccine too!... That, I think, is the power, Barron said.

Barron said that community members and health workers like promotores are important pathways for information, but that this issue of communication is complex.

The messaging that we're putting out there may work for 80% of our population, but what do we do differently for those 20%? she asked.

At the state level, the CDPHE intends to reach marginalized communities through its Champions for Vaccine Equity initiative. The nonprofit Immunize Colorado launched a Vaccine Equity Task Force in September.

Both the CDPHE and Weld Countys health department plan to work with promotores on vaccine education. Cristina Diaz, the promotora heading up the food boxes event in Fort Collins, expects the Project Protect Promotora Network will do this sort of work, but she predicts challenges.

You know, it's hard to get them here just to do the COVID testing, so I cant imagine a vaccine, Diaz said.

This is part two of KUNC's series, "Over-Infected, Under-Resourced: COVID-19 Hits Colorado Latinos Hard." Click here for more stories.

Read more:
When COVID Info Doesn't Reach Everyone, These Trusted Messengers Step Up To Help In Hard-Hit Latino Communities - KUNC

Az Business Angels magazine has cast a spotlight on the nonprofits, individuals, business leaders, and organizations that are making the biggest impact on our communities with its second annual Az Business Angels Awards.

We want to engage the nonprofit leaders of Arizona in order to learn more about their missions, the causes they support and the people who work tirelessly to serve them, says AZ Big Media Editor in Chief Michael Gossie. Equally important, we want to pay tribute to the leaders of Arizonas for-profit community who sit on boards, donate time, support company community initiatives and give back through various means to the nonprofit community.

The Az Business Angels Awards are sponsored by WaFd Bank Arizona, itself one of the most philanthropic and compassionate companies in the state.

When the first issue of Az Business Angels was launched in 2017, its mission was to challenge business leaders and companies to match their skill sets and desire to give back to the community by working with nonprofits that desperately need the help, Gossie says. The magazine was created to give new hope to nonprofits and inspire businesses and business leaders to make a difference and to make it their unconditional mission to connect, volunteer and give back to the communities they serve. Now, we get to honor those organizations and individuals at the Az Business Angels Awards.

From hundreds of nominations, the judging committee for the Az Business Angels Awards narrowed the very competitive field of nominees down to finalists in 11 categories and selected for the 2020 Az Business Angels Awards. Here are the finalists and winners.

Andy Abraham, Burch & Cracchiolo

Andy Abraham is a leader at Burch & Cracchiolo, and is a dedicated community advocate and volunteer. He has led and continued his firms spirit of community volunteerism and support through the B&C Star Teacher Program which awards a teacher with $500 every month to spend on anything they need. He has also had his firm support numerous nonprofit organizations, donate office furniture, and spends many hours volunteering with student lawyers every month.

Scott Jenkins, Quarles & Brady

Scott Jenkins serves ona number of committees at Quarles & Brady, but is also involved with the Volunteer Lawyers Program of Maricopa County and was voted as one of the top 50 Pro Bono Attorneys by the Arizona Foundation for Legal Services & Education. He is a member of the Arizona Thunderbirds, and serves on the board for the Waste Management Phoenix Open, the Fiesta Bowl Committee, the board of Junior Achievement and the board of Cactus-Horizon Little League, where he coaches one of the teams.

Chris Maderazzo, Canyon State Electric

Chris Maderazzo is co-CEO and CBDO (Chief Business Development Officer) of Canyon State Electric, and a leader in the Scottsdale 20/30 Club. He has coached and inspired others to raise philanthropic funds and has personally been responsible for raising over $400,000 since he got involved, which has gone to supporting local childrens charities. He also leads CSEs philanthropic committee which supports local organizations in the Valley and volunteers for many of these charities.

Trevor Wilde, Wilde Wealth Management

Trevor Wilde is the co-founder and manager of Wilde Wealth Management and serves on the board of Child Crisis Arizona and Junior Achievement. He has frequently volunteered and raised over $150,000 for Child Crisis. He also founded Wilde Wealth Managements Wilde for Arizona Community Outreach Program, which raises resources and funds for various childrens charities in Arizona. Since its creation a few years ago, its raised over $250,000.

Meet the WINNER HERE.

Stephen Attwood, president, Society of St. Vincent de Paul

For the last six years, Steve Attwood has served as the president of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Attwood is an extremely thoughtful leader who has gone above and beyond during this season to make sure he is leading his organization well and making the best choices possible. He leads with a kind and thoughtful spirit, and has been able to and will continue to make a lasting impact on St. Vincent de Pauls community.

Nancy Padberg, president and CEO, Catholic Education Arizona

Nancy Padberg is a servant leader of Catholic Education Arizona, the No. 1 School Tuition Organization in Arizona and the 32 schools they represent. She has done an incredible job leading the way in raising funds for a tax credit that provides scholarships for low-income students. Her organization has provided over $269 million to over 100,000 students so they can attend Arizona Catholic High Schools, which have a 99 percent graduation rate.

Jeri Royce, president and CEO, Esperana

Jeri Royce has led and inspired Esperana for the last three years and notably through the COVID-19 pandemic. Royce has been able to inspire confidence in her teams through her collaborative, positive and decisive leadership, which has also led to Esperana creating innovative and sustainable new programs. Royce has overseen the distribution of food and supplies to hundreds of low-income Latino families and the creation of educational videos in Spanish.

Veronica Shorr, regional director, Arizona Community Foundation Yuma

Veronica Shorr was able to help start a movement and unite their community in Yuma through her involvement with #YumaStrong sign project. She donated her own time and resources and was able to help create community unity, raise funds for the Arizona Community Foundation, and help a local business in one fell swoop at the start of the pandemic.

Cassandra Switalski, executive director, Miracle League of Arizona

Cassandra Switalski has managed to minimize the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Miracle League of Arizona that would have otherwise caused it serious harm. Switalski has remained committed and positive, and currently she is leading the organization in finding support and fundraising to make their programs safe to start back up, which is especially important since individuals in the community they serve are often immuno-compromised.

Meet the WINNER HERE.

Cannon & Wendt Electric

Each year Cannon and Wendt Electric hosts a community-wide fundraising event known as Supporting Our Heroes in collaboration with the 100 Club of Arizona. The event raises money for families of first responders who are seriously injured or killed in the line of duty. Several law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and other health and safety organizations attend to educate the attendees on health and safety procedures and a silent auction is held. In 2020 over $40,000 was raised to provide wash-down kits for firefighters in Northern Arizona facing wildfires.

Casino Del Sol

Casino Del Sol is incredibly active within their community of Southern Arizona. They host an annual charity golf tournament that, over the last five years, has raised over $220,000 for a number of nonprofit organizations. The casino hosts an annual diaper drive to support tribal communities and each year their head chef prepares a holiday meal for families staying at the Ronald McDonald House in Tucson. Casino Del Sol employees often participate in charity walks and many have served on nonprofit boards and committees.

Desert Financial Credit Union

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Desert Financial Credit Union has invested nearly $700,000 to various COVID relief programs including four food banks, Valley of the Sun United Way, the family hardship fund at Phoenix Childrens Hospital and Flagstaff Medical Center. They partnered with the Arizona Cardinals to donate laptops to a Title 1 school, gifted $10,000 worth of gift cards to families transitioning to homeschooling through their Random Acts of Kindness program, provided box lunches to grocery workers and raised a total of $160,000 for their Taking Care of Our Own fund.

GoDaddy

GoDaddys signature program Empower focuses on equipping entrepreneurs in underserved communities with the training, tools and resources that they need to be successful. Their charitable giving program has funded STEM teacher education programs in Arizona and is partnered with both Teach for America and the Arizona Science Center to recruit new teachers to the state and provide them with computer science education. So far in 2020, theyve been able to fund the training of 40 teachers who work in underserved communities.

UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare and its parent company UnitedHealth Group have committed $80 million to COVID relief efforts to date. They donated $500,000 alone to the Arizona Food Bank Network, a private, nonprofit organization that serves all 15 counties in the state via a network of nearly 1,000 food pantries and organizations that address food insecurity. UnitedHealthcare awarded over $100,000 in Empowering Health grants to three community-based organizations to support COVID relief and was nominated by global nonprofit Points of Light as a Civic 50 honoree.

Meet the WINNER HERE.

ACCEL

ACCEL is a nonprofit organization that serves children and adults with developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder, cognitive disabilities and behavioral disorders. ACCEL serves 500 individuals with school campuses in Phoenix and Tempe and satellite campuses in Buckeye and Tonopah. With virtual learning taking over this school year, students with developmental disabilities tend to struggle. The teachers at ACCEL are doing an incredible job of making sure their students continue to receive high quality special education despite the challenges of online learning.

Family Promise Greater Phoenix

The first nonprofit of its kind in Arizona, Family Promise Greater Phoenix is an organization that rescues primarily first-time homeless families and their pets. Amid increased demand for their services this year due to the pandemic, the organization reworked their day centers to be shelters for up to 12 families at once. They received donations from community members and other organizations and were able to continue graduating families from the Family Promise Program consistently since the beginning of this year.

Mission2Alpha

Mission2Alpha is a volunteer-based organization that is committed to community service, service to the military and service to first responders. Through a variety of fundraising endurance events, such as their annual 400-mile bike ride from Scottsdale to San Diego, the organization raises awareness and much needed financial support for local military, veteran and first-responders in need. Working together with other charities, Mission2Alpha has raised over $1 million and prides itself on deploying resources swiftly and efficiently.

Payson Senior Center

The Payson Senior Center is a community-based organization whose goal is to assist local senior citizens in achieving and maintaining self-sufficiency with dignity. They provide a wide range of community and home based services in order to best serve their seniors. Since the beginning of the pandemic theyve expanded their meal program to serve over 900 meals a week, provided essential toiletries, gifted goody bags and made frequent happy check phone calls to their seniors who were homebound.

St. Joseph the Worker

St. Joseph the Worker is a Phoenix-based nonprofit employment agency that provides access to computers, phones, a printer, resume assistance, strategies to explain gaps in employment, interview coaching, professional clothing, hygiene supplies and bus passes for reliable transportation to and from interviews for more than 5,000 homeless people across the Valley. Theyve successfully launched the states first ever mobile employment support as a way to help better serve the community amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

Meet the WINNER HERE.

American Heart Association

The American Heart Association has been pushing for innovation and progress in the field of heart-related illnesses for almost 100 years. They fund research that grows medical professionals understanding of heart problems and determines ways to treat them. They also advocate and educate for healthy living and CPR to help extend and save lives.

Dont Be a Chump! Check for a Lump!

In 2009,Holly Rose performed a self-examination and found a lump which turned out to be breast cancer. Through the months battling the cancer, Rose received many acts of kindness, and she wanted to give back to her community, so she co-founded Dont Be a Chump! Check for a Lump! The organization advocates and encourages women to perform self-examinations so cancer can be found early, and they also have a program that provides wigs to women going through chemotherapy.

Home Assist Health

Home Assist Health is an organization that cares and provides for those suffering from the hardships of aging, recovering and disabilities in our community. They provide services that help people with long-term care and help around the house or running errands, simple housekeeping, as well as people to help with more personal assistance such as bathing, transportation and other needs. They also have habilitation services to help people grow in socialization or motor skills.

The Singletons

The Singletons is an Arizona based nonprofit organization that focuses on helping single parent families with a member who has been diagnosed with cancer. Their programs offer a wide range of services that can help with simple necessities, such as supplying detergent, toilet paper, paper towels, to helping with specific bills, to providing food for families that dont have time to cook, and even hosting support groups for people in these devastating situations. Their kitchen is able to provide thousands of meals a year and have already served more than 1,500 this year alone.

Valleywise Health Foundation

Valleywise Health Foundation is the nonprofit partner of Valleywise Health and lately focuses on raising funds for a few of its key programs, such as a burn survivors program, community programs and education for health professionals. In the last year, theyve exceeded their goals at their fundraising events, benefiting the Arizona Burn Center and COVID-19 relief at Valleywise locations. They also led a campaign which resulted in many meals, masks, face shields and other medical supplies being donated to Valleywise.

Meet the WINNER HERE.

Arizonas Children Association

Arizonas Children Association has been serving Arizona and its children for more than 100 years. Their goal is to make every home with a child as suitable, safe, loving, and equipped as possible, especially through difficult times. With services available in every county in the state, they help over 40,000 children every year through their large array of services and programs, including foster care, trauma support, family preservation, parenting and family education and youth mentorships.

The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Valley

The Boys & Girls Club is an organization that focuses on providing after-school and summer programs for children that include programs fostered toward arts, sports/fitness, becoming a leader, and character building. They also are able to help the kids grow academically, personally, and health-wise with these programs. They help kids foster better work ethics and prepare them for college, engage in their community and build up their character, encourage them to eat healthy, and prepare for real life after they finish their education.

Free Arts for Abused Children of Arizona

Free Arts has focused on helping children who have experienced trauma, neglect or homelessness for the last 24 years. Thousands of children experience these types of problems every year and arent equipped to healthily engage or express them. Free Arts equips kids to overcome and cope with their past experiences in a safe environment through their mentorship program, professional artists class series, collaborative art days and summer camps.

Make-A-Wish America

Make-A-Wish America seeks to grant the life-changing wishes of critically-ill children. When a child is diagnosed with a critical illness, they can be referred to the foundation which will do what they can to bring that dream to life. They believe that the joy and hope these wishes bring can cause strength, hope, and transformation in the children as well as their family and community. Even in the time of the coronavirus, they are working hard to make around ten wishes come true everyday.

Room For Joy

Room For Joy tries to strengthen the healing of children diagnosed with critical illnesses by renovating their bedrooms into a fun and exciting new place. Room for Joy has completed over 50 bedrooms since it was founded in 2005. They are recommended children from local hospitals, and when they take on the project, the family has a staycation while volunteers from Room for Joy renovate the bedroom over the weekend.

Meet the WINNER HERE.

Arizona Humane Society

Arizona Humane Society has been serving the Valley and its pets for almost 60 years. They offer medical and behavioral programs and other initiatives that save thousands of pet lives a year, and their animal hospital and other medical programs help save the lives of even more animals. They also offer resources for pet owners so that they can take the best care of their pets and make the best decision in any other situations that might arise.

Arizona Animal Welfare League

Arizona Animal Welfare League is one of the largest and oldest shelters in the Valley that isable to help over 4,000 animals a year with their services. AAWL visits other shelters that might euthanize their animals and bring them to their own facilities and connect with people and have them adopt the pets so they can have a home. They also have a network of foster parents for animals who are too young or recovering to be adopted.

Lost Our Home Pet Rescue

Lost Our Home Pet Rescue has been helping the lost and vulnerable animals in the Valley since 2008. Aside from having a rescue program for abandoned or surrendered pets, they have a temporary care program, pet food bank, low-income boarding for pets, and a partnership with the Sojourner Center. When COVID hit this year, they quickly made procedures to continue operations andhad a record month in April with 105 adoptions.

Phoenix Herpetological Society Sanctuary

The Phoenix Herpetological Society Sanctuary is a nonprofit organization that takes in native and non-native animals for rehabilitation and conservation education. They take in reptiles, most of which are pet-trade animals that have been confiscated from or abandoned by their owners. They also educate people and children on the environment and how to take care of it in its already endangered state.

Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center

Southwest Wildlife Conservation Center focuses on helping wild animals that have been abandoned or hurt by taking care of them and rehabilitating them to resume life back in the wild. They receive and treat animals that have been injured and take care of orphaned baby animals that need constant care. They take the time to make sure baby and adult animals are healthy and equipped to take on life by themselves before releasing them.

Meet the WINNER HERE.

Freddie Dobbins, Jr., SRP

Freddie Dobbins, Jr., has volunteered at the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Valley for thirty years, also volunteering at Gregorys Fresh Market and the African American Cultural Committee. At the Boys and Girls Clubs, he has served on numerous committees and has consistently procured thousands of dollars a year in support for the clubs. Dobbins believes in kids and their potential and has been an indispensable leader to them and to the community and received the RP Karl F. Abel Volunteer Recognition Award in 2019.

Virginia Fargo, Stearns Lending

Recipient of the MLK 2020 Living the Dream Award from the City of Phoenix, Virginia Fargo has spent a lot of time volunteering and serving her community. For over a decade she has been involved with the Black Board of Directors project and is a member of the Southwest Veterans Chamber of Commerce. She volunteers and fundraises for these organizations and others in her community, as well as supporting other causes and working full time in her community.

Shari Mollencopf, Friends of Pima Animal Care

Shari Mollencopf is one of the most dedicated volunteers Pima Animal Care has ever seen. She volunteers at their facility 40 hours a week, leading a team of volunteers that distributes animal food to the community. She inspires the people around her to become better employees and volunteers and is always trying to make Pima Animal Care the best organization it can be. She pushes for donations and fundraising when its needed and was one of the first volunteers to return when PAC allowed volunteers back after the pandemic.

Amy Obney, Helping Hands of Yuma

In October 2018, the board of Helping Hands of Yuma decided to close the organization for financial reasons. That was when Amy Obney stepped up and asked the board if she could try to raise the money. They agreed and she was able to quickly raise all of the funds necessary and put together a new board for the organization and has since become the executive director. In the coronavirus pandemic, she has sought and found ways to safely serve their community. No matter the circumstances, Obney has been dedicated to Helping Hands and to Yuma.

Meet the WINNER HERE.

Arizona Community Foundation and Print Zoom

The Arizona Community Foundation in Yuma teamed up with Print Zoom, a local commercial printer, to create and distribute #YumaStrong yard signs as a way for community members to come together during the coronavirus pandemic. The foundation also started a COVID relief fund to support local nonprofits so they can continue their work amidst the pandemic. The publicity from the collaborative yard signs brought some much needed business to Print Zoom, as well as additional donations to the relief fund.

BestCompaniesAZ and Career Connectors

BestCompaniesAZ and Career Connectors have been working together for more than a decade to connect jobseekers with quality hiring companies and job resources.Together theyve served over 42,000 people and have been featured at The White House by the Department of Labor as a model to follow job program. Since March 2020 theyve added a section to their website that serves as a portal to all hiring companies in Arizona at no cost to the user and host weekly virtual events for job seekers in order to offset the negative impact coronavirus has had on the job market.

CHASSE Building Team and Heidis Village

Last year CHASSE Building Team collaborated with the Virginia B. Jontes Foundation to break ground on Heidis Village, a $20 million specialty animal shelter. Comprised of nine buildings including play yards, walking paths, a grooming facility and full medical suites to provide on-site veterinary care, Heidis Village is built to foster a community where animals are treated with respect, dignity and compassion. The shelter has room for up to 250 dogs and 200 cats and works in conjunction with other animal rescue organizations throughout Maricopa County.

FirstBank and Arizona Gives Day

FirstBank has been the presenting sponsor of the annual Arizona Gives Day fundraiser for eight years. Arizona Gives Day is a 24-hour online giving campaign whose funds go towards supporting a variety of local nonprofit organizations. In order to raise awareness for the campaign each year, FirstBank employees will pose as essential workers and give it forward, asking those they help to consider doing the same on Arizona Gives Day. FirstBank has also partnered with the Phoenix Suns to further promote the fundraiser and, to date, theyve raised over $23 million.

Vitanya Brain Performance Centers and Heal the Hero Foundation

Vitanya Brain Performance Centers and Heal the Hero Foundation have developed a national initiative called The Phoenix Operation which works to reduce mental health crises amongst veterans and other vulnerable groups. Vitanyas programs have been proven to reduce suicidality, depression, anxiety and stress in its clients, as well as improve their resiliency and sleep quality. Heal the Hero has begun owning and operating Vitanya franchises in order to provide more grants and scholarships and to generate profits that can be further reinvested into the community and into the Phoenix Operation.

Read the rest here:
Here are the winners of the Az Business Angels Awards - AZ Big Media

The majority of headlines in 2020 were about the COVID-19 pandemic, but progress was made in Walker County regarding a number of issues. Communities came together in times of tragedy, and we celebrated the lives of those lost. Here's a look back at the year we will never forget.

Since this time last year, nearly 140 people lost their lives in Walker County due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The disease, caused by a coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2, was initially reported at the end of December 2019 in Wuhan, China, and started to spread across the world. Walker County's first case of COVID-19 wasn't reported until March 19.

The year brought a number of struggles as the world learned more about the disease and grappled in responding to it. Businesses closed temporarily around the country in an effort to mitigate the spread; some specialty medical clinics closed for a few weeks and elective procedures were delayed; occupancy limits were set in stores; sports were delayed; local schools went virtual in March to finish out the remainder of the 2019-20 school year; court hearings were delayed; Walker Baptist and area senior living facilities prohibited visitors; a mandatory face mask ordinance was eventually issued by the state; and many other changes impacted daily living for all.

At the close of 2020, over 5,000 cases of COVID-19 had been reported in Walker County and over 100 deaths had occurred. Statewide, over 350,000 cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed, resulting in nearly 5,000 deaths.

A number of people were elected to office for the first time in 2020, while others will continue their years of serving Walker Countians.

Steve Miller defeated incumbent Jerry Bishop to be the new chairman of the Walker County Commission, while James Borden was elected to serve residents in District 3. All other commission seats faced no opposition.

David O'Mary remained mayor of Jasper. Petey Ellis was elected to an eighth term as mayor of Sumiton, and Randy Stephens will go on to serve a third term as mayor of Dora.

Other elected mayors include Jeremy Pate (Cordova), April Herron (Carbon Hill), Bubba Cagle (Parrish), and Sonya Smith (Sipsey). Cory Franks was elected to remain mayor of Oakman, and Eldridge Mayor Bobbie Jean Dodd and Kansas Mayor Earnie Darty also remained in office. Dodd, however, passed away this month.

Brad Ingle defeated Teia Harris to remain chairman of the Walker County Board of Education. Dr. Joel Hagood resigned as superintendent of the board in December to take a new position as president of Bevill State Community College. Dennis Willingham was named interim superintendent of the school board.

Henry Allred was again elected as district judge for Walker County.

Despite pleas from area agencies and leaders, Walker County ranked below the state and national average in responding to the 2020 Census.

According to data last reported on Oct. 28, the self-response rate in Walker County for the 2020 Census was 59.2 percent, compared to the state's self-response rate of 63.6 percent.

Jasper's self-response rate was higher than the state average at 65.4 percent. Other self-response rates are as follows: Dora, 59.5 percent; Sumiton, 61.8 percent; Parrish, 44.2 percent; Oakman, 50 percent; Carbon Hill, 43.4 percent; Kansas, 37.7 percent; Nauvoo, 48 percent; Sipsey 30.1 percent; and Eldridge, 50.8 percent.

The national self-response rate is 67 percent.

Ultra-fast Internet is now a reality in Jasper.

Technology company C Spire worked all year in Jasper to make fiber Internet available in the city, and some of the first customers in Jasper began receiving the Internet service this month.

Jasper is the first area in the state where customers are using C Spire services. Trussville, Helena and Tuscaloosa will also be getting C Spire.

The need for fast, reliable Internet became more evident this year as the COVID-19 pandemic forced some to work from home.

Having fiber Internet offered in the city is said to increase home values and make Jasper more competitive in recruiting business and industry.

Other areas in the state and in Walker County may have Internet access in the future thanks to The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act which provided funding to states a portion of which can be used for decision-making related to broadband access.

Storms and tornadoes swept through Walker County on Easter Sunday, destroying homes and causing other damage.

Two EF-1 tornadoes were reported in Walker County one in Carbon Hill and another in the Copeland Ferry community of south Walker.

A Carbon Hill resident described the winds as "horrific," and many homes were destroyed or damaged around the city. The Nauvoo Mobile Home Village sustained significant damage, as well as residences along Nauvoo Road.

Dugouts, netting and fencing were heavily damaged at Carbon Hill High School as a result of the tornado. Some of the school's roofing was also damaged.

Significant damage occurred to homes on Rainwood Lodge Road in the Copeland Ferry area of Quinton, blocking access to the road for some time. It took days to restore power to residents in the community.

Other areas dealt with flooding and some damage from the Easter storms. Flooding destroyed a home in Cordova, washed away a road in District 4, and other homes across the county were damaged from downed trees.

No fatalities were reported as a result of the severe weather in Walker County, but more than 30 people died in the Southeast as a result of the storms.

The Walker County Commission responded to the concerns of citizens about deteriorating roads around the county and had several paving projects completed in 2020.

Local resources and the Rebuild Alabama Act provided funding for the paving projects.

In District 1, a number of roads were resurfaced, and other projects were completed on Bird Farm Road, Whittemore Road, and Lamon Chapel Road. Paving was also done on Fall City Road.

In October, the Alabama Department of Transportation announced that Carbon Hill/Nauvoo Road will be widened and resurfaced in District 2 a $1.16 million project that will take three months.

District 4 saw work on Bryan Road, and Mandy Williams Road was paved and repaired after flood damage in early 2020.

Repaving occurred on Old Birmingham Highway in District 3, but few road improvements occurred elsewhere in the district.

The commission has announced a number of road projects that will occur in 2021 at a cost of approximately $300,000 in each district.

Carbon Hill's now-former mayor Mark Chambers topped the Daily Mountain Eagle's year in review in 2019 for his anti-LGBTQ rant, and Chambers again made headlines for his views in 2020 that eventually resulted in his resignation.

Chambers resigned as Carbon Hill's mayor on June 27, following comments he made on Facebook that quickly circulated. In a conversation on the social media website, Chambers said he was selling Alabama Crimson Tide photographs and voiced his disdain for the team's political views. He said, "(W)hen you put Black lives before all lives they can kiss my ***."

Alabama football coach Nick Saban and team members had recently shared a video to promote the Black Lives Matter movement prior to Chambers' remarks.

Following the resignation of Chambers, council member April Herron was appointed as the city's new mayor a seat she continues to hold.

In addition to losing Chambers, the Carbon Hill council also lost a council member.

Robert Warren was taken into custody in March and faced manslaughter charges in the disappearance of Lisa Benton Clements. She was reported missing on Feb. 24 and her body was later found when Warren led authorities to her body in Greene County in March.

Warren's charges were later upgraded to murder and abuse of a corpse. Clements reportedly died due to head trauma.

The Walker County Commission, in partnership with the Walker County Sheriff's Office, made a concerted effort to clean up the county in 2020.

Correction officers had inmates picking up litter in all parts of Walker County, with Sheriff Nick Smith saying that people would be held responsible if their names were found on documents in littered trash.

In February, District 1 Commissioner Keith Davis put the litter problem into perspective, saying that since October 2019, 1,400 large bags of litter had been collected in his district alone.

"I'm glad to have people out here picking up litter," Smith said, "but the only way to make it better is for people to take responsibility and stop throwing their trash out."

The threat of contracting COVID-19 did not stop people from protesting around the country for justice and equal rights.

George Floyd, a Black man, died in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25, after a white police officer held a knee to Floyd's neck during an arrest for nearly nine minutes an act that killed 46-year-old Floyd. Following Floyd's death, protests (many of which turned violent) were held around the country.

The protests were in response to police brutality toward the Black community and were centered around general inequality that still plagues the nation.

In early June, a protest of about 50 people occurred in downtown Jasper. It remained civil, and members of the Walker County Sheriff's Office and Jasper Police Department attended.

Protests were also made around the country to remove Confederate monuments, viewed by some as a blatant display of the terrible past that African Americans have had to endure, according to text from a petition to remove the Confederate monuments in Jasper.

The monuments remain in the city, and gun and pistol permit sales increased in the county as a result of the protests.

As 2020 comes to a close, many around the world have had to say goodbye to loved ones, friends, and community leaders, and Walker County was no exception.

Many deaths this year occurred due to COVID-19 over 100 in Walker County alone. Others battled cancer or other illnesses, and some passed away suddenly.

Most recently, Eldridge mayor Bobbie Jean Dodd passed away shortly after the death of her husband, Hoyt "Booty" Dodd. Gene McDaniel, well-known as "Mr. Nauvoo" in Walker County and for his work in the mining industry, passed away in October.

Martha Tittle, a longtime member of the Eldridge Town Council, passed away in October.

Longtime Cordova dispatcher Pete Eustice passed away in November; Saragossa firefighter Donald Downs died this month; WWII veteran Doris Banks died in late September; and veteran and former assistant Walker County District Attorney Jay Snow passed away this month.

Following the death of local 16-year-old Tuff Coleman, a fund was established in his name to help people in the community, and area 4-year-old Wyatt Spann passed away in January following a battle with brain cancer.

Former Carbon Hill Mayor James William Pee Wee Richardson passed away in November.

Cordova native Lewis Manderson, who pledged $500,000 in rebuilding efforts following the April 2011 tornadoes in Cordova, passed away in May.

Longtime Sumiton firefighter Rickey Lee Woods passed away in October from COVID-19.

A number of the aforementioned appeared in the "Sweet Memories" column of the Daily Mountain Eagle that began mid-year as an opportunity for people to share stories of their loved ones and celebrate their lives.

So many dearly loved in Walker County passed away this year more than we can list here. Tributes to some and their obituaries can be found in the Daily Mountain Eaglearchives.

The Daily Mountain Eagle said goodbye to one of our own this year, the beloved columnist and reporter Rick Watson, who passed away unexpectedly on July 16 at the age of 69. Most well-known as a writer and advocate for East Walker, Watson was also a veteran, songwriter and beekeeper.

In a year that has been filled with heartache, it is in Watson's honor that we encourage everyone to appreciate each chapter in life and always value every day as "living the dream."

Read more:
Walker County's top 10 stories of 2020 - Daily Mountain Eagle