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Newspaper
Decatur Daily
Location
Decatur, Alabama, United States of America
Date
Dec 24, 1976
Page
2
The Fannie Ash family of Cedar Lake received an unexpected Christmas when a truckload of toys was delivered Thursday by Kathleen Ash and Fraternal order of Police volunteers. Hershel Ash smiles at a donated bicycle while Cynthia, Cynthiaa and other children share in the gifts provided to local needy families.
A Cedar Lake neighborhood home with a broken roof and lean walls becomes a beacon of cheer as seven local police officers deliver Christmas toys clothes and food from a Fraternal Order of Police caravan. The Ash family Hershel Kathleen Michael Cynthia Phillip and their mother Fannie receive gifts at the sparsely furnished house.
Rescue squads planned to drag the Tennessee River today in search of James Freddy Porter a 23 year old Decatur man missing since Sunday Morgan County Sheriff Van Ward said Porter was last seen driving in Decatur his car found on the I 65 bridge over the river. High waves halted river searches Thursday but responders were to resume by 9 a m and no evidence suggested Porter jumped from the bridge. Porter's relatives have been contacted and Ward said they have done all they can to locate him.
In Northeast Decatur, thousands of candles along residential blocks create a communal Christmas display. The Longleaf Estates neighborhood has led the tradition for years, with hundreds of residents from various town areas driving through the candle lined streets.
Inside By Lee Sentell of the candles. Seem rental property which was dark the first night was il luminated the next two nights as the idea spread. Organizers were impressed with the response though block chairmen could not contact all residents before candles were ordered. Jim Odum said the event would be repeated next year. About 80 percent of hundreds of houses lit sidewalks. Churches contributed carols on front porches. Carols drew walkers despite freezing weather.
The American Association of Medical Assistants Morgan County Chapter donated several pieces of recreational equipment to the Morgan County Juvenile Detention Home as a Christmas project. The photo shows from left Kathy Clifton Sherlene Strickland Merv Michael chief probation officer in Juvenile Court and Louise Seibert association chaplain.
The Decatur Daily reprints Francis P Church's 1897 Virginia O'Hanlon letter and editor's reply praising faith and imagination. It extols Santa Claus as real through love, devotion, and the power of belief, arguing children and adults alike need wonder. The piece frames Santa as enduring beyond time and skepticism.
The Weather Service projects a 70 percent chance of rain for Christmas Day across the Tennessee Valley. Today will be mostly sunny with afternoon highs around 50 in Decatur Alabama, while a South Plains storm system will bring cloudiness and rain to Alabama by tonight and into Sunday. Lows range from the low 30s in North Alabama to the low 40s in the south, with temperatures about 10 to 15 degrees warmer than this morning.
Local river reading at Keller Memorial Bridge registered 17.08 feet with sea level at 551.38. Temperatures ranged from 23 in the early morning to mid 50s by afternoon, with a 70 percent rain chance expected Christmas Day and highs near 50 through Saturday.
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