Serving the greater NORTH, CENTRAL AND SOUTH BALDWIN communities Fairhope residents paint rocks for positivity PAGE 5 City votes to establish resource The Onlooker officer PAGE 3 JUNE 14, 2017 | GulfCoastNewsToday.com | 75¢ Children meet a chocolate skunk at library’s summer reading event Are solar panels coming to Foley? Riviera Utilities in early talks early stages, DeBell and his core team at Riviera have already begun seeking out of bringing solar to the city locations that may be used for the solar array. By JESSICA VAUGHN “I just wanted to introduce this idea, [email protected] we’re not looking for any action today,” DeBell stressed. “We have to negotiate FOLEY — Could Foley soon be home some agreements on who’s going to own to a new array of solar panels? That is what, how the agreements are going the hope of Tom DeBell, the General to work, and what land it’s going to be Manager and CEO at Riviera Utilities. on. But as to what our message is with DeBell came before the Foley council on this project, it’s that we want to be the Monday, June 5, to introduce the idea of local leader in doing this, and I see this placing an array of solar panels at a yet as a great opportunity for us to partner undecided location. between Riviera, the city, and bring the “I just wanted to introduce this con- schools into it.” cept to you,” DeBell began. “We’ve got If the panels were to come, AMEA an opportunity to get the community would do an array like the one that they solar, and the good news about it is we set up in Montgomery, which is a 50KW can do it at practically no cost to us.” array. Though a small array, approxi- Riviera purchases its power through mately the equivalent of 10 Honda gen- Alabama Municipal Electric Author- erators, it would be the start of bringing ity, otherwise known as AMEA, who solar energy into Foley, and a means have recently set aside funds for this SEE SOLAR, PAGE 2 project. While the process is still in the Memorial in the works for training jet pilot Lt. Awood By JESSICA VAUGHN unpopulated area. As a result, no one [email protected] else came to any injury or harm in the accident. FOLEY — On Jan. 28, 1983, Lt. Com- The Foley Police Department has mander Michael Awood flew a train- initiated the steps to place a memorial ing jet out of Pensacola. It is believed dedicated to Awood near the crash that the jet had come out of repairs, site, to commemorate his memory and and Awood was taking it up on a ultimate sacrifice. PHOTO BY JOHN UNDERWOOD test run. He radioed for help around “He lost his life in service of his On Tuesday, June 6, activities kicked off at the Robertsdale Public Library with animals from the time that he flew over the Foley country,” said Deputy Chief Thurston the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. Courtney Wise, the zoo’s program animal keeper; and assistant Jill area, and soon after he crashed in the Bullock. “Although via a trainer jet, Normand presented four animals on Tuesday, a ferret; a milk snake (not to be confused with wooded area south of Juniper Street Lt. Awood was still in performance of its poisonous cousin, the coral snake); a chinchilla; and a chocolate skunk, which was specially and Riviera Boulevard. He lost his his duties, and we want to recognize bred in captivity as a pet. The zoo has two chocolate skunks, Wise said, Pepe (shown here) and life in the crash, and though the fine Milton. “It turns out that they did not make great pets,” Wise said. And because their scent that with a memorial.” glands were removed (their main line of defense) and their natural color was bred out, they details of the accident are unknown, Prior to the planning of the memo- could not be turned out into the wild. Representatives from the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo will what is known is that Awood did not rial, the police department reached be on hand at the library with more furry friends every Tuesday in June as part of the library’s eject from his plane, as he could have Summer Reading Program. done, and the plane went down in an SEE AWOOD, PAGE 2 DEATHS PAGE 18 Marjorie Mae Burch Mary M. Burkhardt Plans approved for new pylon OWA sign along Hwy 59 Billy Roy Clarke By JESSICA VAUGHN them to OWA, the Foley Event and a directional that turns OWA development, keeping the Voncil Taylor Statom [email protected] Center, and the Sports Tourism people into the property. It will traffic on the highway moving Faust Complex. get drivers back to the Foley and clear. Lillie Myrle Flowers FOLEY — Gloria Boatwright “This will be at the median Event Center and the Sports The sign will also have an Harriet Lipton with Foley Holdings LLC at- that is at Highway 59,” Boat- Tourism Complex.” electronic board, which will be tended the May 15 Foley coun- Theron R. Mozingo Jr. wright said. “It is between Foley Holdings LLC has been used for multiple events that cil meeting to discuss the plans Southern Chevrolet and where working closely with the city will be happening in the new George J. Noffsinger for a proposed pylon sign that the Ryan’s Steakhouse used to officials and the Engineering developments. Velma Cozette Phillips is being prepared for the city. be. We’re proposing that it will Department to make something “The electronic board will Knolton Robinson The sign will be to grab driv- be a 45-foot-tall sign that will that will pull the traffic off be used for events that we’re ers’ attention and to help direct have OWA, an electronic board, Highway 59 and back into the SEE SIGN, PAGE 2 INDEX Gulf BALDWIN LIVING, 5 OUT & ABOUT, 22 Coast CLASSIFIED, 24 PUZZLES, 8 Media HEALTH, 20 SPORTS, 11 VOLUME 109 • ISSUE 22 LEGALS, 25 TV LISTINGS, 14 1 SECTION • 32 PAGES OPINION, 9 2 • The Onlooker • June 14, 2017 • Gulf Coast Media that the team at Riviera is excited to share. technical side, if you’re talking about inter- SOLAR They hope to tie the project into other com- facing between governmental energies, it’s CONTINUED FROM 1 munity purposes and make it a community got the governmental side, there’s a lot of to both introduce and educate the citizens demonstration, where people can ask ques- pieces here.” about solar energy. tions and see the array up close. The team hopes that the timing of the “We want to get as much public exposure “We want to set up a website where we construction will coincide with the begin- out of this as possible,” said DeBell. Due to can detail every step of this thing, includ- ning of the next school year, which would that fact, the team at Riviera has been fo- ing costs,” said DeBell. “Then we can moni- make including the career tech courses cusing on locations that will be both visible tor the output of it, maybe put a real-time feasible. and accessible to the public. So far, they link to the output so people can see what DeBell hopes to have the site chosen by have as many as four potential sites that an array like this puts out during the day. the end of summer, and from there, he PHOTO SUBMITTED they are inquiring into. Then if someone has an interest in solar hopes to be the first in line to receive the Riviera Utilities hopes to bring solar panels The first possibility is the location on the they don’t have to go through all the ex- solar array from AMEA. to the Foley area, like the array AMEA built in pense of putting one on their house right “We don’t have a lot of experience in corner of Section Avenue and North McK- Montgomery, Alabama, pictured. enzie Street (Highway 59). The challenge on now.” this, and we need to get moving. This is the that property would be with drainage, so tion is we could extend this concept further Aside from the public exposure the solar time, this is an opportunity for us to do it,” while the visibility would be ideal the team than just community solar, and maybe we array would receive, DeBell also hopes to DeBell said. “AMEA is going to do this at must investigate further to see if the loca- could tie in some electric vehicle charging include the schools in the process as well. each of its 11 members, and I’d really like tion will hold. stations,” DeBell said. “If the array was He has spoken with Russ Moore, principal to be first. I’m pushing this along because Another location under consideration is right next to the roadshow, maybe we could of Foley High School, and plans to speak in I’d love for this to get off the ground before the empty lot beside the Foley Dog Park. As use it, and implement some battery banks more detail at a later date once the location anybody else.” of now, the city has claimed that they do and power the lights at the roadshow, do has been chosen. Once the array went up, it would provide not have any immediate plans for the spot, something that’s a little forward thinking.” “I thought this was a great opportunity the city experience in the process of solar which leaves it an open opportunity for the The other advantage would be the for the career tech side in the high school,” power, and would pave the way for more ar- solar array.