Dear Editor: I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, “If you see it in The Sun, it’s so.” Please tell me the truth, is there a Santa Claus? — Virginia O’Hanlon

Back in August 1965 a group of Coffee High School students began talking about the need for a YMCA in Florence. Their interests aroused support within the community, and soon the first home of the Shoals YMCA was opened on Tuscaloosa Street.

Superintendents in the Shoals don’t believe a statewide ban on cell phone use during the school day is needed, and the Alabama Association of School Boards agrees.

Thus far, Alabama’s two U.S. senators — Sen. Tommy Tuberville and Sen. Katie Britt — have been generally supportive of President-elect Donald Trump’s picks to staff the top-level posts of his administration — even when those choices come with some baggage.

As we delve deep into the Christmas season — and the reason for the season — one particular Biblical saying comes to mind: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

Need for shelter

In April 2017, Florence City Council members approved a $4,675 contract with LBYD Engineers of Huntsville to perform a structural engineering survey of the nearly 40-year-old downtown parking deck.

The Thanksgiving holiday is behind us, the stores are filling with shoppers, and the Christmas decorations that have been up for nearly a month no longer seem so out of place.

Let your opinion be heard

Small Business Saturday is an annual event that takes place nationwide on the Saturday following Thanksgiving to encourage more holiday shopping at small businesses.

As most of us settle down to celebrate Thanksgiving, we recall the stories we’ve heard since early childhood about the first Thanksgiving taking place in 1621, when the Plymouth colonists celebrated their first harvest of crops and a year of survival.

Go to Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s official United States Senate web page, and you see him identified as “Coach Tommy Tuberville” then, in much smaller type, “U.S. Senator from Alabama.”

Angel tree time

It’s pretty common for politicians to have buildings named for them. Ronald Reagan has an airport in the nation’s capital. The late U.S. Rep. Tom Bevill, who represented Alabama in Congress for 30 years, was so good at bringing home the bacon, he even has buildings named for him in districts…

The tragic accident which claimed the life of a Florence man Sunday morning was the fifth pedestrian fatality of the year.

Exercising our rights

Veterans Day ceremonies to be held Monday in Florence, Sheffield and Tuscumbia will pay homage to those who have served, or are currently serving, in a branch of the military.

Helping the homeless

Asked by prominent Philadelphia resident Elizabeth Willing Powel what kind of government the framers of the U.S. Constitution had come up with, “a republic or a monarchy,” delegate Benjamin Franklin is said to have replied, “A republic … if you can keep it.”

Shoals-area children will make their annual costumed trek through neighborhoods on Thursday evening, so it’s a good time for urge parents to make safety a priority this Halloween.

Dancing for healing

It’s understandable if you raised an eyebrow when you saw the headline “Alabama lawmakers getting 4.25% pay increase in 2025” in Wednesday’s TimesDaily.

Replacing a live mascot at a university or college shouldn’t be a snap judgement.

Campaign hits $75M

A proposed local amendment on the Nov. 5 ballot would allow homeowners ages 65 or older to be exempt from increased property taxes if the value of their homes increases.

Northwest Shoals Community College said its enrollment this semester is the highest it’s been since 1992.

Honoring first responders

Thursday’s groundbreaking for the long-awaited Lauderdale County Agricultural Center had to be a highlight moment for State Sen. Tim Melson (R-Florence).

Federal funds

When working smoke alarms are present in your home, the risk of dying in a home fire is cut by 60%, according to the latest National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) research.

Parents and guardians of school-aged children are routinely seen near their homes awaiting the arrival of a school bus to either pick up or drop off their child.

Wes Allen, Alabama’s secretary of state, knows how important poll workers are. He’ll be the first to tell you they are the lifeblood of America’s election system.

Some military veterans in the Shoals continue to express concerns about the Military and Veteran Affairs Office at the University of North Alabama.

In the days since the Sept. 4 shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, that left two students and two teachers dead, there have been a rash of threats targeting area schools.

It seems the Literacy Act is helping the students in our state.

Rollin’ down the river (trail)

The city’s new parking deck is scheduled to open at the end of the month.

The election story coming out of Venezuela is eerily familiar. Polling showed that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez should have won the election against socialist dictator Nicolas Maduro by a two-to-one margin. But Maduro announced a tiny margin of victory and continues to destroy the e…

The rains over the Labor Day weekend were a welcome relief for some parts of the Shoals area. Heading into the weekend most of Lauderdale and Colbert counties were experiencing severe drought conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor for Alabama.

Using art to learn basics

Excerpts from a speech by President Jimmy Carter on Labor Day 1980 in Tuscumbia:

The basic ingredient shared by all five women nominated for this year‘s Shoals Woman of the Year award was a genuine desire to improve their communities and to better the lives of those living here.

Expanding

THE ISSUE: City officials and Project Say Something representatives have been grappling with the Confederate monument and contextual marker issues since 2017. It’s time to put aside small differences and vote to allow the marker to be place at the corner of Court and College streets.

High school football returns to the Shoals this week with games slated for both Thursday and Friday nights.

Getting started