The newly chartered Black Belt Community Foundation had hoped to announce selection of an executive director by April 1. Instead a final decision will likely be made at the board’s April 12 meeting in Selma.

Board chairwoman Dr. Carol Zippert, publisher of the Greene County Democrat who chairs a six-member committee conducting the search, said the focus on candidates has been narrowed to a small group and that the search committee may well recommend more than one candidate to the board from which to choose on April 12. The search is being conducted with assistance from consultants – MGT of America based in Tallahassee, Fla.

The decision on office location has been made.

The proposed office site in the 600 block of Lauderdale Street was the subject of intense controversy recently when the State Parole and Probation Office signed a 10-year lease to move into the facility located in Old Town, in a residential neighborhood.

The impasse between the agency and neighborhood residents was broken when the parole board elected to move into a property on Broad Street downtown and the Black Belt Community Foundation chose the site for its office space. Zippert said that the site committee of the foundation board had been authorized to proceed with the securing of a lease on the property.

News reports indicated that citizens and elected officials welcomed the location of the Black Belt Community Foundation office in the neighborhood.

The Black Belt Community Foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to raising funds to enhance

the life of citizens living in the Black Belt.

For information, call (205) 372-0525.