Cooking in the Black Belt
If you thought my canning days were through, well, maybe you need to start canning to get a taste of my own medicine. Yes, by the time you’re reading this, I will have successfully seen my way through all fourteen days of the fourteen-day pickles. Yet, what I’ve been lacking in cucumbers and tomatoes has... Read More
Mattie Cora Rollins Howard
Mattie Cora Rollins Howard, 80, of Greensboro, died Sunday, July 19. Funeral services will be held Saturday, July 25, at 1 p.m. at St. Matthew AME Church in Greensboro, with Rev. Kervin Jones officiating. Burial will follow in Weaver Cemetery, Greensboro. She will lie in state for two hours prior to the service. Public viewing... Read More
Back-to-school ‘Prep Rally’ set for Saturday at Newbern Library
Hale County families are invited to the FREE Newbern Back-to-Learning “PREP” Rally on Saturday, July 25, 2026, from 3:00–6:00 p.m. in Newbern, Alabama. Hosted by the Town of Newbern and the Newbern Library, the event will feature: Free backpacks and school supplies (while supplies last) Teacher care kits Community resources Food Family fun Educational activities... Read More
Black Belt Birding Festival returns next weekend, July 31 through Aug. 2
The sixth annual Black Belt Birding Festival lands in Greensboro and across the region next weekend, July 31 through Aug. 2, bringing three days of guided field trips, art, music and history to eight Black Belt counties. The festival, presented by Alabama Audubon with Alabama Black Belt Adventures, opens Friday, July 31, at 5 p.m.... Read More
GPD seeks suspect in first-degree rape, assault
The Greensboro Police Department is asking the public to be on the lookout for a man wanted on charges of first-degree rape and first-degree assault in connection with crimes in Greensboro. Colby Raybon Peebles, 33, is described as a white male, 5 feet 9 inches tall and about 135 pounds, bald with blue eyes. Police... Read More
The Greensboro Lions Club
The Greensboro Lions Club met on July 8 with special guest Philip Day of PED Services to honor and thank him with a special plaque for the outstanding work he did restoring the lights on the baseball and softball fields at Lions Park, saving the city a great deal of money in the process. The... Read More
Ala. Power goes to court over 500-kV line near Lock 5
Editor’s Note: This story continues the Watchman’s series on energy development in Hale County and the Black Belt, including the $221 million EG Saturn solar farm near Newbern. This week: Alabama Power goes to court to survey a 722-acre farm in the path of its planned Lock Five to S. Bessemer transmission line, and, elsewhere... Read More
Classifieds Week of July 23, 2026
Classified Ad Rates MINIMUM RATE (In Hale or Perry County) — $20.00 per insertion, 20 words or less. All words in excess of 20, $1.25 per word. Payable in advance of publication. MINIMUM RATE (Outside Hale or Perry County) — $20.00 per insertion, 20 words or less. All words in excess of 20, $1.25 per... Read More
Legal Notices Week of July 23, 2026
Legal NoticeSTATE OF ALABAMANOTICE OF MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE SALEAND SALE OF PERSONAL PROPERTYCOUNTY OF HALEUNDER §7-9A-604(2) OF THE CODE OF ALABAMA Default having been made under the terms of a loan secured by a security agreement and that certain mortgage executed by McNatt Farms, an Alabama general partnership on the 19th day of May, 2023 to... Read More
Vincent Russell
Vincent Lee “Vince” Russell, 66, of Kansas City, Mo., died suddenly January 17. He was born July 8, 1959, to Isaac and Ruth Russell at Craig Air Force Base near Selma. Russell lived most of his life in Kansas City, where he graduated from Southeast Senior High School in 1977. He served three years in... Read More