Happy NCAA Division III Week from Alabama’s only NCAA Division III institution – Huntingdon College in Montgomery. This week, Huntingdon joins the over 400 other NCAA Division III institutions across the country in shining the spotlight on the uniqueness of this classification of intercollegiate athletics. Huntingdon proudly sponsors 21...
Morning listeners! This morning's selection also has a trivia question...Anyone know whose father was the lead singer of this 1973 hit song by the Main Ingredient? Here's a hint...the son is a very well-known movie star whose most famous line to-date is, "Show me the money!" from the 1996...
Readers who frequent the Cullman County Public Library System share reviews of some of their recently read books.
Submission date: July 11, 2023
Reviewer: Heather Allen
Title: “Devolution”
Author: Max Brooks
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Thoughts about the book: I can read this book again and again! There are so many layers. A...
I am the former activities director for Westminster Assisted Living. The reason I am writing you is to provide feedback regarding the CHS Band. My daughter is a clarinet player in both marching and symphonic bands for Cullman High School. She also has chronic asthma and sees a pulmonary...
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the shadow of death a light has dawned.” Isaiah 9:2
Polaris is the scientific name for the North Star, and it is the brightest star in the constellation of Ursa Mina. It is the star closest...
In the five years since I became Chancellor of the Alabama Community College System, nothing has been a higher priority than making sure we provide world-class, affordable education and training so our students have the skills to succeed in a constantly evolving economy. During this time, we’ve successfully aligned...
Sports fans, especially college basketball fans, can tell you that March Madness is the nickname of the NCAA Championship Tournament. Basketball, however, is not the only madness that happens in March, and strangely enough, it isn’t always contained in March. This year’s tournament, along with two-remaining SEC teams, will...
“If you have no charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble.”—Bob Hope
HILARITY FOR CHARITY is a perfect example of S.U.N.S. (Smile-Making, Uniting, Neighboring, Spellbinding) GIVING. Now known as, www.WeAreHFC.org, Hilarity for Charity is the brainchild of 21st century comedy legend, Seth Rogen and his...
“Toy Story 4” is the directorial debut for Josh Cooley and is written by Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom. This is the fourth installment of Pixar’s Toy Story franchise dating back to the original in 1995 and returns a huge cast of characters that some of us have known...
Election season produces a familiar pattern.
Bold promises. Absolute declarations. Assurances that sweeping change will occur the moment one candidate takes office.
Then governance begins. And reality intrudes.
At every level of government, candidates speak as if election equals authority. But in most offices, authority is shared. It is negotiated. It is...
Every year when Halloween comes around, everyone has their go-to list of movies they traditionally like to watch. Whether it’s an installment of the "Halloween," "Saw" or "Friday the 13th" franchise, you know what you're going to get and probably have them memorized by now. These are some options...
There’s an extremely antiquated mindset of masculinity that was passed down by our fathers, grandfathers--including our matriarchal figures that have embraced that men have to choose what type of life to live. Men must dominate professionally where money and status often carry more importance over family, spirituality and friendships....
Too Young to Be Seventy—by Judith Viorst*
Deep in my heart I believe I’m
Too young to be seventy.
There are times when I’m wearing my baseball cap and my jeans
That I even can imagine that, glimpsed from the rear, I might be mistaken
For someone who could still be in her...
“Of Women and Salt” by Gabriela Garcia, follows Jeanette, a young woman who is battling addiction and in search of the deeply hidden truths about her family's history. Her desperate quest for answers takes her from Florida to Cuba, Cuba to Mexico, and even further into South America. This...
Carol Berry, left, with Candace Lingo, right
Every story I have done for Community with Carol has been a joy. My guest this week is no different, Candace Lingo, with Cullman County CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), shared so much wonderful information. I was so impressed with her love for...
Cullman Electric Cooperative desperately wants you to believe it cares about the community. Its latest maneuver in corporate benevolence? The "Community Pantry." A pair of wooden boxes meant to house food and supplies completely funded and stocked by the communities they serve. The cooperative helpfully suggests donating boxed macaroni,...
Moving forward...
CullmanSense was launched on Dec. 31, 2010 as a daily e-publication and quickly grew into Cullman's only Monday print publication in less than one year.
On April 1, 2016, CullmanSense acquired The Cullman Tribune, Alabama’s oldest continuously published weekly newspaper.
For the last year, CullmanSense has been the online presence...
“When do we learn that the world, like any diner worth its salt, is open 24 hours a day?”—Daniel Handler
American diners are the perfect place to “open up” and share “The S.U.N.S. (Smile-Making, Uniting, Neighboring, Spellbinding) Joyous Aging” wisdom.
S.U.N.S. DINERS, my selections for each of the 50 united states,...
I recently went to see singer Jackson Browne perform at the Alabama Theatre in downtown Birmingham, and a curious thing happened. After the first song, he looked around and said, “I remember this theatre. What a nice place to play music.” It’s a nice place to do most anything....
For years, residents across Cullman County have endured inconsistent and unacceptable mail delivery. Nowhere has that frustration been louder than in the 35057 ZIP code.
On nearly every print day, customers call our office to report that their newspaper never arrived.
Some go an entire week without delivery, then drive to...
This is the true story of heartache, physical, sexual and alcohol abuse, love, hate, financial burdens and finally, finding joy, happiness and hope.
We trust that you will understand why the names and some of the circumstances had to be changed to protect the privacy and safety of some of...
ODE TO BOOK JOY
Books are magic transportable.
Free libraries make them quite affordable.
It is well-known but still reportable,
Libraries need us to stay supportable.
John Grisham hoped he could make a living as a writer. I wasn’t so sure of his career plan, but I had a...
As the director of the state agency charged with safeguarding Alabama’s environment, I have great respect for and deep appreciation of our state’s wonderful natural resources and rich biodiversity of species and habitats, including many that are unique to Alabama. Protecting human health and those environmental treasures is precisely...
Every September, we say the right words about Suicide Prevention Month. Then October comes, and too often the conversation goes quiet. We can’t afford the silence.
Suicide remains a persistent, preventable tragedy — one that disproportionately claims the lives of men — and prevention has to be a year-round habit,...
Alabama has taken a shocking step backward. In late June 2025, Governor Kay Ivey signed a bill into law that effectively bans the sale and distribution of hemp-derived products like Delta-8 and Delta-10 THC across the state.
After years of slow but steady progress — and millions in tax revenue...
Last week, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed into law S.B. 202, a piece of reform legislation that will enhance the security and integrity of elections in our neighbor state.
While the bill makes numerous changes to the voting process in Georgia, the bill requires proof of identification to be submitted...
I have decided, sometime in my not-as-young-as-I-once-was years, that I don’t like cucumbers. Well, at least I don’t like raw cucumbers. I’ve given them ample opportunities to prove themselves, but they’ve come up short. I’ve even tried cucumber sandwiches. Actually, I have decided the reason I do not like...
Since It was my fourth trip to the watch repair shop, I didn’t have high hopes. I’m sure the little Russian man who owned it would tell me, like he had on my three previous visits, that he couldn’t find the parts to get the wristwatch running – thanks...
Readers who frequent the Cullman County Public Library System share reviews of some of their recently read books.
Submission date: June 22, 2023
Reviewer: Paulette Gentry
Title: “A Corner of the Universe”
Author: Ann M. Martin
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Thoughts about the book: This book caused me to think about how a...
Census 2020 kicked off in March, shortly before the word “coronavirus” entered our everyday vocabulary and upended life as we then knew it. And while the Census is not presently on the forefront of the vast majority’s minds, it is enormously important to Alabama’s future.
Alabama is currently reporting a...
Cullman County Human Trafficking Task Force Chairperson Kathy Wilson, left, with Carol Berry, right (Brittany Howell for The Cullman Tribune)
What is human trafficking? That is what Kathy Wilson explained this week on Community with Carol. Human trafficking is modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud or coercion...
The 1870s founders of Cullman County in the “Hill Country” of north Alabama traditionally celebrated the area’s birth year as 1873. So, 2023 is our 150th birthday celebration even though the town was legally established in 1875 and Cullman County in 1877.
Cullman County offers you these 150, fun and...
“Blessing of the Lost Girls” is J. A. (Judith Ann) Jance’s latest book. As the title indicates, this novel is about missing and murdered Native American women. Few people realize the problem of these missing and murdered women. While a work of fiction, the fact is many missing and...
Vietnam veteran Jim Alderman reacts during a therapy session for combat-related stress at the Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Bay Pines, Fla. Oct. 29, 2015. DoD photo by EJ Hersom
It’s almost surreal that our country is at war half a world away, and we are carrying on...
Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen recently signed a joint letter to President Donald Trump with 19 other conservative secretaries of state urging the repeal of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).
Below is the content of a media release issued by Allen’s office:
This repeal would cut government fees and red...
Dried hydrangeas make beautiful centerpieces. / Loretta Gillespie
If you want to preserve your hydrangeas you must bite the bullet and cut them now, while they are still vibrant and have not started to turn brown. (Some of them turn a pretty copper color, that looks great in fall arrangements.)
After...
Three: One: Six—3/16—Is it just another day on a calendar, a random series of numbers or something much more?
Two years ago, on March 16, 2020, we received instructions to shut down everything involving the gathering of people. Schools, churches, businesses and more shut down in fear of a new...
I know some of you are going to think I’m out of my mind, and maybe I am. I bought tickets to see the Rolling Stones. Yes, the guys who are in their late 70s and early 80s; the guys whose faces have more wrinkles than a cotton shirt left...
From my personal perspective, one of the most wonderful things about having grandchildren (besides being able to give them back) is that we get to choose the names that they call us. I’m certainly glad this is the case, but considering how parents micromanage every aspect of their kid’s...
ODE TO SUMMER
My longtime favorite season is summer.
Though fall, spring nor winter is a bummer.
At 70, this thought’s not a newcomer;
It came decades ago with my first frozen rummer.
“Summer afternoon” according to American-born British writer, Henry James, are the two most-beautiful words in the...
Prescription benzodiazepines can treat several conditions, including epilepsy, panic disorder, and generalized anxiety disorder. However, professionals continue to debate as to whether long-term use of these drugs is medically acceptable. As more information has surfaced regarding these drugs' addictive potential, medical professionals have shied away from prescribing them. Psychiatrists...
There was an article concerning the Alabama Legislature 2021 Session in The Cullman Tribune on January 2, 2021. Garlan Gudger and Randall Shedd commented on whether or not to allow gambling and in which forms it might take. I am concerned that the article did not mention that there...
“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is the ninth film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie as three different Hollywood types in 1969 Los Angeles. DiCaprio plays Rick Dalton, a longtime star of a western TV series in the 50s,...
Today (March 19, 2025) is the 15th legislative day of the 2025 regular session, which marks the halfway point allowed by the Alabama Constitution, and while much work still awaits us, the Senate has already approved several significant measures designed to make an already great state even better.It is...
Cheaha State Park's Callie Thornton takes in the vista at Bald Rock. (Photo by David Rainer)
By David Rainer, Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
From a shaded retreat on John’s Bay in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta to the boardwalk atop the highest mountain in the state, the Alabama State Parks...
Last night we posted a news story about the grand opening of the new Cullman County Democratic headquarters in Cullman. The headline of that story, "Cullman's with Her! Democratic HQ opens in Cullman," has been met with fury and vitriol the likes of which is, frankly, disturbing.
The point of...
When it comes to writing, I have always enjoyed getting things done. I love the feeling that comes when I have completed a piece and feel satisfied by the result. Everyone has something that provides that little release. You are proud of whatever it is that you have accomplished...
We’ve all seen the commercials that gave birth to the catchphrase, “Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” Since the 1980s, it has been on television, shirts, hats, songs and just about everywhere imaginable. If people were like Weebles, when we fall getting back up would not be...
Change is a largely evolving concept. Occasionally, we are swept up in this giant wave of newness and gives us a feeling of being dipped into ice water. Initially, when submerged in freezing water, the human body has what is known as a “cold shock response.” The lungs immediately...
Ah, Christmas.
This writer has never seen the community of Cullman pull together so tightly until wreaths are strung amid streetlights, the Warehouse District is beset in Edison bulbs and the sound of Christmas classics follows you everywhere you go. The entire tone of our town switches from a busy...
This is the true story of heartache, physical, sexual and alcohol abuse, love, hate, financial burdens and finally, finding joy, happiness and hope.
We trust that you will understand why the names and some of the circumstances had to be changed to protect the privacy and safety of some of...
There comes a moment, sometimes quietly and sometimes after damage has already been done, when you realize your level of self-respect was never where you believed it to be.
I learned that recently, not through a single event, but through patterns I kept excusing. Low self-esteem mixed with depression has...
ODE TO THE “E WORD”
Isn’t it a sweet surprise
That play is a workout in disguise.
Chic gym clothes can never glamorize
The boring drudge of exercise.
S.U.N.S. SILLYASS FITNESS is serious-not-solemn exercise with goofy grins, funny grunts and a LAFF EVRY DAY.
“The JOYrontologist” recommends: Don’t work out…play!
Sitting is killing more Americans than...
Does it break your heart that Khloe Kardashian sold her house for a mere $5.49 million? Or that her net worth of $20 million allows her to purchase a new home for $7.2 million?
What is heartbreaking about this is that half of those figures could put underprivileged children through...
Tribune Column: Funny Things from Yesterday
Today’s article is not a funny, but a sad loss of a dear friend
Rudene and I met a couple in Frankweiler, Germany, Basil and Ingrid Holmes, and they became very dear friends to us. We met in 1987 when we twinned Cullman and Frankweiler...
This is a theme I’ve been promoting since I arrived in Montgomery.
I firmly believe in the Christian principle, “We are to serve, not be served” and that should be the goal of elected officials and those working in public service.
Just like all businesses, restaurants, corporate America and even our...
Decorating with food is fun and although some vegetables can become very complicated, others like the ones I’m about to show you, are relatively simple.
Artichokes are an architectural marvel. They come tightly woven but with a little preparation you can safely maneuver to the inside of the vegetable that...
If you are looking for American-made products this year, here are some ideas that might help you fill those stockings!
The New York Times dubbed zkano founder Gina Locklear the "Sock Queen of Alabama," and for good reason. The organic sock company is located in Fort Payne, which was known as the Sock Capital of the World until...
Ah, yes it’s the time of year when politicians and those with political aspirations fill out paperwork as they prepare for the upcoming election cycle. It’s also a perfect opportunity to bring those candidates and elected officials together for traditional debates to find out where they truly stand and...
You know him. You’ve sung about him, watched him on TV and probably even worn his likeness on an ugly Christmas sweater. But how much do we really know about Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?
I recently scored the interview of a lifetime, a sit-down with the most famous reindeer of...
F-WORDS are not used frequently enough. At least that’s true for some F-WORDS. There are so many FABU F-WORDS, I’ve FINAGLED them into two fragments, 25 in this installment and 25 MORE F-WORDS in the next.
To fortify your familiarity with the four basic facets of “The S.U.N.S. (Smile-Making, Uniting,...
Farming Feeds Alabama, but our state’s farmers also help feed the world.
That’s why the Alabama Farmers Federation is urging Congress to ratify the U.S.-Mexico-Canada (USMCA) trade agreement.
Canada and Mexico are our first and third largest export markets. This agreement not only preserves our partnership with these neighbors, but it...
Continued from www.cullmantribune.com/2025/07/06/column-south-dakota-is-amazing
Almost 221 years ago, in 1804, Lewis and Clark headed west under the commission of President Thomas Jefferson, to see what we had bought in the Louisiana Purchase. In the fall of that year, the explorers had made their way westward to what would eventually become North...
Last weekend, the City of Cullman was bustling as Oktoberfest celebrations were happening in Depot Park and the Cullman County Fair Parade made its way through town. While both were beautifully organized and tons of fun, it was the annual event taking place Saturday night at Oliver Woodard Stadium...
Death comes to everyone and we all realize that devastating fact. However, there are some deaths that are extremely brutal, and difficult to ever understand. I’m talking about deaths caused by drunk driving! The story I’m referring to happened to the Wilson family on a beautiful Sunday afternoon when...
Following is an opinion/guest editorial piece- Part 2 of 3: The American Church – What are the causes of decline?- submitted by Pastor Tom Fillinger, IgniteUS Ministries- info@igniteus.net.
See part 1 here.
Identifying ‘cause’ is always challenging. There is seldom a single causal factor when dealing with an organism as complex...
It happened 50 years ago, on Saturday, June 14, 1975. I remember that day so well that it almost seems like it was last week, or at most the week before that! I remember that it rained that day, but it stopped prior to the wedding. As the song...
