Cullman Today, Monday, Oct. 5

0:09 Good morning, Cullman. Thank you for tuning in to Cullman today. I'm your host, Crystal Corley, and today is

0:15 Monday, October 5th. We have a lot to look at in local news today, including

0:19 two Cullman women killed in separate crashes Thursday. A $15 million development planned for

0:26 3rd Street Southwest, and a look at Hanceville’s new budget. All this, plus sports, weather, and more. But for now,

0:32 let's dive into the top stories happening in Cullman today. We begin with sad news from Thursday as

0:41 two Cullman women lost their lives in separate crashes. Around 1:00 that afternoon, 73-year-old

0:48 Melinda Chandler was killed in a three-vehicle wreck at the intersection of Alabama Highway 69 and County Road

0:54 747 in the Simcoe community. State troopers say she was pronounced dead at the scene.

1:01 Then around 9:20 that night, 69-year-old Donna Butler was struck by two vehicles on 2nd Avenue Northwest, US Highway 31,

1:09 in downtown Cullman. She later died at the hospital. The Cullman Police Department's Traffic Homicide Unit is

1:16 investigating. Our thoughts are with both of their families. Next up, a $15 million commercial

1:23 development is planned for 3rd Street Southwest. The Cullman City Council has approved an

1:28 agreement with First National Bank, which plans to build a bank and community room at 201 3rd Street

1:34 Southwest. The rest of the nearly 4-acre site is set aside for future retail.

1:40 Under the agreement, the city will cover 80% of the cost of a required turn lane

1:45 on Highway 278, and the bank will pay the remaining 20%. The city says the project should bring

1:53 new business, jobs, and tax revenue to an underdeveloped part of downtown. Retail tenants and construction dates

2:00 have not been announced. To finish out our top stories, the city of Hanceville’s new budget is in place.

2:08 The 2026-27 budget projects about 5.46 million in revenue and 5.17 million in spending,

2:16 leaving a projected surplus of about 289,000. Sales tax makes up the biggest share of

2:23 revenue at about 2.79 million. On the spending side, public works gets about 1.52 million, including 200,000

2:33 for paving. The fire department is budgeted about 1.14 million, including money toward a

2:40 fire pumper truck, and parks and recreation gets nearly 990,000, including 343.100 for new fencing.

2:51 And that's our top stories for today. We'll take a quick break and be right

2:55 back with sports. Hello and welcome back. Now it's time to

3:20 find out what's going on in the world of sports. We start with Thursday night

3:23 football. Cullman fell at Jasper 31 to 6. Carson Stansel scored the Bearcats only touchdown on a 1-yard run before

3:32 halftime. Cullman is now 2 and 4 and travels to Gardendale this Thursday. And West Point tied things up and even

3:40 led Brooks in the first half, but the Lions pulled away after halftime to win

3:45 47 to 21. Max Patterson threw two touchdown passes to Carter McAfee. Friday night, number two Addison stayed

3:55 perfect, blanking Bell Green 59 to zero. It's the Bulldog's fifth shutout of the

4:00 season and they're now seven and 0. Cold Springs suffered its first loss of

4:06 the season, falling to Gordo 35 to 13 in a battle for the first place in the

4:11 region. Cooper Johnson ran for a touchdown and Brandon Chastain hit Eli Voss for another.

4:18 Good Hope rolled past Sardis 47 to 6 with Riker Hancock scoring three touchdowns. The Raiders are five and one

4:26 and unbeaten in region play. Fairview scored 23 points in the second quarter and held off Brewer 37 to 27.

4:36 And Meek shut out Waterloo 46 to zero, scoring all 46 points in the first half.

4:43 Elsewhere, Addison beat Vinemont 35 to 12. Hokes Bluff beat Pond 37 to 12. And

4:50 Susan Moore beat Hanceville 61 to 18 on Hanceville’s homecoming night. Turning to volleyball, West Point is the

4:59 county is the Cullman County champion again. The top-seeded Warriors dropped the first set to Fairview Thursday

5:06 night, then won the next three to take the match three to one and claim their

5:11 second straight county title. West Point is now 31 and six and has won 16 in a

5:17 row. Lacklin Chaddix is named tournament MVP. In the JV championship, Fairview swept top-seeded Good Hope to win the

5:26 county title without dropping a set all tournament. And congratulations to Hanceville’s Kerrigan Moore, who received the

5:33 Samantha Perdue award. It honors a senior volleyball player for academics, character, leadership, and dedication to

5:40 the sport. And that covers sports for today, but make sure to check the Cullman Tribune

5:45 each day for the latest in sports coverage from around the area. We'll be

5:49 back after this message. >> Still refreshing three different pages to find one score? There is a better

5:59 Friday night plan. Follow local football scores, schedules, and team pages at CullmanScoreboard.com. Your team, your town, your scoreboard.

6:08 CullmanScoreboard.com from the Cullman Tribune. >> Hello and welcome back to Cullman today. Now it's time to speed things up with

6:21 your four and four, four stories in under four minutes. First up, Mayor Woody Jacobs has

6:29 proclaimed October Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Cullman. Representatives from The Willow Path joined the mayor for the proclamation.

6:38 The Willow Path has served Cullman County since 1991 offering emergency shelter, counseling, legal advocacy, and support for

6:47 survivors. The group is asking everyone to wear purple on Thursday, October 22nd, National Wear Purple Day. Learn

6:55 more at the willowpath.org. Next, Cullman Oktoberfest 2026 is in the books and it got off to a big start

7:03 Thursday. Oktoberfest opened with a ribbon cutting beneath the festival archway at Depot Park. Costumed mascots greeted families

7:12 at the gate while stilt walkers in German dress roamed the grounds. Kids enjoyed a double-decker carousel and a

7:20 110-ft Ferris wheel. At opening ceremonies, Miss Oktoberfest contestants took the stage in flower crowns.

7:27 Elizabeth Smith took the title. Then came the main event, the tapping of the

7:31 keg. With the crowd packed in front of the stage, the first keg was tapped with

7:36 a wooden mallet officially kicking off four days of celebration. Friday morning, the spotlight turned to

7:43 our seniors. Friday belonged to the seniors. Senior Day filled the community beer garden

7:49 with many guests dressed in dirndls and flower crowns. Seniors packed the long tables under the

7:55 shade with live music all morning long. A group of women in dirndls took to the

7:59 dance floor, kicked up their heels as the crowd cheered them on. The Good

8:04 Bellas kept the polka music going. Then came the highlight as Miss Senior Oktoberfest contestants lined up in

8:11 dirndls and crowns of fresh flowers. With a walker decorated with pink streamers, the new Miss Senior

8:16 Oktoberfest, Beverly Turner from West Point, received a blue sash, flowers, and a certificate.

8:24 And finally, a Cullman tradition that goes back more than 50 years. At Sacred

8:28 Heart Catholic Church, the Altar Society cooked up its annual German dinner on Wednesday using the same recipes since

8:35 the 1970s. Volunteers served bratwurst from L. W. Bräutigam Meats, and guests filled the

8:41 Family Life Center. It's the society's biggest fundraiser of the year with sauerkraut, German potato salad, and

8:48 homemade desserts. Burgermeister Edgar Veigl and his family even stopped by. We'll take a quick break before we look

8:55 at the weather ahead and remember the members of our community we've lost. We'll be right back after this.

9:33 Welcome back. Let's take a moment to pause and remember the members of our

9:36 community who have passed away this week. Charlotte Ann Milton, 79 of Vinemont, passed away Thursday, October 1st.

9:48 Visitation is today from noon to 2:00 p.m. at Cullman Funeral Home Chapel with

9:52 a funeral service to follow. Burial will be at the Blair Methodist Cemetery. Jane Suggs, 91 of Cullman, passed away

10:01 Thursday, October 1st. Visitation will be tomorrow from noon to 2:00 p.m. at Cullman Heritage Funeral Home with a

10:07 funeral service to follow. Burial will be at the Ethridge Baptist Cemetery. Donna Jo Butler, 69 of Cullman, passed

10:16 away Thursday, October 1st. The family will gather tomorrow at 5:00 p.m. at Hansville Funeral Home with a

10:21 celebration of life to follow at 6:00. William Lee Campbell, 81 of Hayden, passed away Saturday, October 3rd.

10:30 Visitation is tonight from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Hansville Funeral Home. The funeral service will be tomorrow at 2:00

10:36 p.m. at the funeral home with burial at Fairview West Cemetery. Lindsey Brooke Asso, 40, passed away

10:45 Wednesday, September 30th. A celebration of life will be held today at 2:00 p.m.

10:49 at Arab Cemetery. William Howard Goddard, 95, passed away Friday, October 2nd. A graveside service

10:57 will be held today at 1:00 p.m. at Bethany Baptist Church Cemetery in Crane

11:01 Hill. Our thoughts and prayers go out to their friends and families. Now, let's take a look at today's

11:11 weather forecast. Today will start mostly cloudy then gradually turn sunny with a high near

11:19 82. North to northeast winds 5 to 10 mph and tonight clear and cool with a low

11:26 around 53. Tomorrow is sunny with a high near 83. Tomorrow night mostly clear with a low

11:33 around 52. And that concludes another edition of Cullman today. Thank you for joining us.

11:41 We'll be back bright and early tomorrow morning at 6:30 a.m. Until then, I'm

11:45 Crystal Corley and this is Cullman today. Have a good one, Cullman.