On Monday, state and local officials will unveil signs renaming Hwy. 55 in memory of the county’s only Congressional Medal of Honor winner, Sgt. Rodney J. Evans, who died in Vietnam.
The Covington Veterans Foundation, the City of Andalusia, City of Florala, and Covington County Commission worked with Rep. Mike Jones Jr. to get the designation approved in the Alabama Legislature.
Signs will be unveiled on Hwy. 55 near Florala at 8:45 a.m. Monday, and at 9:30 a.m. near the Covington County Schools’ track facility. Members of the Evans family also are expected to attend.
Sgt. Evans died one day after his 21st birthday, on July 18, 1969, in Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam. He was serving as a squad leader in a reconnaissance sweep through heavy vegetation to reconnoiter a strong enemy position. As the force approached a well-defined trail, the platoon scout warned that the trail was booby-trapped. Sgt. Evans led his squad on a route parallel to the trail. The force had started to move forward when a nearby squad was hit by the blast of a concealed mine. Looking to his right, Sgt. Evans saw a second enemy device. With complete disregard for his safety, he shouted a warning to his men, dived to the ground and crawled toward the mine. Just as he reached it, an enemy soldier detonated the explosive and Sgt. Evans absorbed the full impact with his body. His selfless action saved his comrades from probable death or injury and served as an inspiration to his entire unit.
President Richard Nixon presented the award to his family at the White House on April 22, 1971, “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.”
Following the unveilings, the City of Andalusia will host a Memorial Day ceremony at 10 a.m. at the Covington Veterans Memorial on the campus of City Hall.
Two of Evans’ platoon members were asked to speak at the ceremony, but are currently unable to travel. Circuit Judge Ben Bowden, who serves as president of the Covington Veterans Foundation, will share remarks and memories the two men sent.
The Andalusia City Council this week approved a partial sales tax rebate for up to six new, nationally-known retail tenants at the Covington Mall expected to generate 150 jobs and $18 million in annual retail sales.
Amendment 725 to the Constitution of Alabama 1901 authorizes certain municipalities in Covington County, including Andalusia, to participate in economic development.
City Administrator John Thompson said a similar agreement was approved in early 2020, when the owners of the Covington Mall, LLC, brothers Michael and Shaun Jackson, were on the brink of making announcements about major retailers. However, those plans were postponed by the pandemic.
“Their tenacity has paid off,” Thompson said. “They were in the final stages of lease negotiations, and this is the final piece of those negotiations.”
According to the agreement, the City will rebate 3 percent of the sales taxes collected for the largest retailers for five years, and 2 percent of the sales taxes collected by the smaller retailers for five years. The rebate will be payable to Covington Mall, LLC, to help offset its development cost in preparing for the retailers. Local sales taxes are 3.5 percent, and state law prohibits the abatement or rebate of the half-cent sales tax earmarked for education.
Mayor Earl Johnson encouraged council members to support the agreement.
“We are basically getting nothing in sales taxes from what we all know as the Covington Mall at this time,” he said. “This development will generate substantial sales taxes, increased ad valorem taxes and new business licenses.”
A formal announcement of the retailers planning to locate here is expected this summer.
Lee Greenwood will perform a free outdoor concert in Andalusia this summer, in conjunction with the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall’s stop here.
The Andalusia Area Chamber of Commerce, City of Andalusia, CCB Community Bank and Covington Veterans Association jointly made the announcement this week.
The concert will be the final installment of the 2022 July JAMZ summer concert series, and will be held on the lawn of Springdale in downtown Andalusia. CCB Community Bank is sponsoring the event as part of its 75thanniversary celebration.
“We are thrilled to have this iconic performer visiting Andalusia,” Mayor Earl Johnson said. “I don’t know of a community that is more patriotic than Andalusia. To have the opportunity to have Lee Greenwood perform ‘God Bless the USA’ in the shadow of our beautiful Covington Veterans monument and the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall will be a wonderful expression of that patriotism.”
The City of Andalusia and Covington Veterans Foundation (CVF) are jointly hosting the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall. CVF founder and board chairman John Vick, who also serves as chairman and CEO of Southern National Corp., parent company
of CCB Community Bank, said the event and the concert further CVF’s mission of honoring veterans and promoting patriotism.
“In my opinion, we could not have put together a better event,” Vick said. “The staffs at CCB and the Chamber of Commerce have worked really hard to put the concert together, and we think it will be a great event not just for the county, but the entire region.”
CEO Michael Andrews said, “CCB has a long history of giving back to the Covington County community. We are pleased that we can continue that tradition with our sponsorship of this event as we celebrate our 75thanniversary.”
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Laura Wells said, “I can’t think of a better person we could have had perform for this event than Lee Greenwood. Traditionally, July JAMZ has showcased local talent, but we are excited to have the opportunity to bring more people to our community with this special concert.”
The Three Notch Ramblers - Scott Rogers, Phillip McClung, Jeff Sellers, Jacob Sellers, and Richard Moore - will open for Greenwood.
The Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall will be displayed at the Covington Veterans Memorial, located behind the Andalusia City Hall, from Thursday, July 28, through Sunday, July 31. Greenwood will perform at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 28, at Springdale Estate. There is no admission charge for either event.
The City of Andalusia’s Department of Leisure Services is offering all churches and individual teams the opportunity to participate in an Adult Co-ed Softball League.
The league will play ASA Co-ed Adult Softball League rules. There will be a church league and a competitive league. You may choose what league your team wants to be in.
The fee will be $250. per team, and each team can have up to 20 players listed on their team rosters.
If you are interested in forming a team, please fill out the roster in the attached document and return it to Johnson Park or mail it to 706 Carson Street, Andalusia, AL 36420 by June 10th, 2022. Dues will be due by the end of registration or your team will forfeit the right to play. We are striving to revive our adult athletics in the City of Andalusia and encourage everyone’s support!
REQUIREMENTS
- Team jerseys with jersey numbers BEFORE the first game
- No one will be allowed to play a game unless they are listed on a league roster
- NO METAL CLEATS
For additional information, contact Brandi Hendrix at Johnson Park.
Phone: 334.222.2714
Email:
Walmart will reinvest $6 million in a 12-week renovation and upgrade to its Andalusia store which begins this weekend, local manager Jared Lickteig told the Andalusia City Council Tuesday.
“This is a full-blown remodel that starts Sunday night, April 10, and will be completed by June 24,” Lickteig said. “The $6 million reinvestment includes all-new fixtures and the newest technologies.”
A similar renovation recently was completed in Troy, and is currently underway in Enterprise he said. The store will remain open throughout the renovation project, he said, although some areas of the store may be closed at time.
The project will begin in the grocery section, where customers will soon see wider aisles. Increases in online grocery shopping means the company is installing new coolers and freezers for that process, creating an easier traffic pattern for shopping those areas in-store, he said.
The changes will give Walmart the capacity to increase the number of online grocery orders it can accommodate in a day from 280 to 595.
“We’re averaging 150 orders a day, with 270 orders a day in peak times,” he said.
The pet section will move to the current infant section, he said, and the store’s departments will shift accordingly.
The local store broke the $100 million mark in total sales last year, he said, adding that sales increased 14 percent last year, and continue to increase this year.
The local store also acts as a fulfillment center for Walmart.com, he said. As a result, the local store has increased inventory and additional products, he said.