YEAR IN REVIEW: Dallas Academy damaged in fire, Letterman visits, schools go off state intervention

Published 6:24 pm Friday, December 29, 2017

The Times-Journal has been looking back at the top stories of 2017. Here’s a look at memorable stories from October-December:

TREASURER PLACED ON LEAVE

Selma City Treasurer Ronita Wade was placed on paid administrative leave in early October, where she remains. She was after she was fired by Mayor Darrio Melton and then reinstated by the Selma City Council. After being placed on leave, Wade filed a complaint alleging sexual discrimination.

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YMCA DEDICATES SOCCER FIELD

The YMCA of Selma and Dallas County dedicated its onsite soccer field on October.

DALLAS ACADEMY SET ON FIRE

The old Dallas Academy building was partially burned in a series of fires set on the morning on Oct. 15. No one was injured in the fires, which occured mostly in abandoned buildings. The Dallas Academy building, which housed the city ceramics program, local Boy Scouts and other offices has yet to reopen.

WOMAN KILLED IN NIGHTCLUB ENTRANCE

A 20-year-old Selma woman was killed early on the morning of Oct. 22 after someone opened fire at the entrance of a nightclub with a high-powered rifle. Shykereya Leggett, an innocent bystander, was killed in the shooting. A 31-year-old man was also injured. Two men, Juanonio Cosby and Kenneth O’Neal Ingram, were later charged with murder.

DRIVER CRASHES THROUGH ABC STORE

A cashier was injured in November after a driver crashed through the front window of the ABC store on Marie Foster Street. The driver said he thought he was pressing the brake instead of the accelerator.

AMERICAN APPAREL WINS CONTRACT FOR UNIFORMS

American Apparel, which owns a plant in Selma, was awarded a $48 million Marine Corps contract to produce combat utility uniforms. The announcement was made in early November.

BOJANGLES OPENS IN SELMA

Customers stood outside and waited in the drive-thru line for more than 30 minutes ahead of the grand opening of the Bojangles’ Famous Chicken ‘n Biscuits near Walmart.

LETTERMAN VISITS FOR NETFLIX DOCUMENTARY

Longtime Late Night host David Letterman visited Selma in November while working on a new documentary for Netflix. While in town, Letterman ate at several local restaurants, including the Tally Ho and Lannie’s and walked across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with Georgia Congressman John Lewis.

EDMUNDITIES MISSIONS MARKS 80 YEARS OF SERVICE

Edmundite Missions marked its 80th anniversary with a special mass and gala in November.

HISTORIC HOME BURNS

One of Selma’s oldest homes, the Lee-Bender-Butler House, which was built around 1850, was partially burned in a blaze in mid-November. The damage was most severe in the attic of the home.

WIFE, HUSBAND DIE IN MURDER-SUICIDE

A missing mother was found dead Nov. 28 in the trunk of a car not far from her home on Dallas County 540. She had been reported missing along with her two daughters. The girls were later found safe at a relative’s home in Birmingham. Mary Timmons Scott, 35, died from a gunshot wound. Her ex-husband, Greg Scott, was found dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound outside a funeral home in Birmingham.

COUNCIL, MAYOR DISAGREE ON RAISES

 

The Selma City Council and Mayor Darrio Melton disagreed if the city had money to fund employee raises, essentially Christmas bonuses in December. The council passed a resolution to pay the raises if money was available. Melton said the city didn’t have the funds.

CREDIT UNION LIQUIDATED

Riverdale Credit Union was liquidated in December and its assets were taken over by a Louisiana company following several months of conservatorship.

SCHOOLS GO OFF STATE INTERVENTION

Selma City Schools officially left state intervention in December after almost four years.