Catching Up...

While we may have been almost silent, we have not been still. Delaney Childers of Sipsey, generously gave us one acre of land on the Mulberry Fork. This property will become Childers’ Landing, a kayak rest stop. Our vision is that it will be place where boaters of all types can pull over and enjoy the river. We received a $5000 CAWACO RC&D grant which enabled us to get some much needed work done with heavy equipment. Some Alabama Power guys also helped us remove some debris left over from the April 27, 2011 Tornado Outbreak. As we make progress on this front, we will post updates. We have started a fund raiser for this project, selling t-shirts that commemorate Black Warrior Town, the Muscogee Creek Settlement that was situated around The Forks. We hope you buy one or two.

Of course, we are still pursuing justice from Tyson Foods. As you are probably aware, the State of Alabama has sued the food giant. In Dennis Pillion’s AL.COM article he quoted the Alabama Attorney General’s office regarding the purpose of the state’s lawsuit, “…to see the State made whole for the damage done to our environment and to see the affected communities adequately compensated for their unique and devastating losses.” I cannot tell you how proud I am that our state is standing up to this Goliath.

In the mean time, I and one of my river-teacher friends had the privilege of introducing some of our fellow educators to the lower Sipsey Fork. Although our first trip began with someone flipping a kayak in 55 degree water, our experiences were a much needed salve in a time of upheaval and uncertainty. I will speak more about this later.

Forgive me friends, for my long absence. As an educator during these times of Covid (from March 2020 until now), the act of spending more time in front of a computer has been difficult. I am, perhaps, finally getting a handle on recreating my entire career online.

I look forward to our future progress.