Mayor Earl Johnson recently signed a proclamation in support of National Day of Prayer Thursday, May 7, at noon on the Court Square.

The National Day of Prayer is an annual observation held on the first Thursday of May, inviting people to pray for the nation. The observance was created in 1952 by a joint resolution of the United States Congress and signed into law by President Harry S. Truman.

For the community and nation, special areas of prayer will be government, military, first responders, judiciary, education, businesses/media, churches and families.

Those on hand for the signing included (from left) Sheriff Blake Turman, judiciary and law enforcement; Charles Hunter, families; Zondra Jernigan; Lori Couturie’; Steve Carroll, pastor of Sovereign Grace Baptist Church; and Darryl Calloway Sr., families. Seated from left are Betty Carroll, Mayor Johnson, and Lena Boswell, government.

Not shown but helping with the initiative are Steve Bailey, military; Dr. Steven Murrell, first responders; Melissa Nall, education; Ricky Hatcher, churches; and Brother Billy Boles, business/media.

Andalusia is slated to have a new, 62,000 square- foot sporting goods store, thanks in part to an agreement approved by the Andalusia City Council Tuesday.

Dunham’s will locate in the Sanford Station Shopping Center located behind Southern Independent Bank on the east side of Andalusia in space formerly occupied by Dirt Cheap.

The company will make a $5 million investment to open the local store, which is expected to employ 35 to 40 employees. Dunham’s, which first opened in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, in 1937 as Dunham's Bait & Tackle, currently has more than 259 locations in 25 states.

The council entered an agreement with Watson and Downs Investment II, LLC, in which it agreed to rebate 2 percent of the city sales taxes collected there with a cap of $1.5 million.

“This will plug a leak in the local economy,” city administrator John Thompson said, adding that the store will offer many items not currently available here.

The closest Dunham’s location is Ozark, he said.

Mayor Earl Johnson said he visited that store, which is smaller than the one planned here. Johnson said he was impressed with the store.

“It’s like a sporting goods store on steroids,” he said. “They have clothing, shoes, boots, hiking boots, you name it, they have it.”

Johnson said the store fills a retail niche that will help draw shoppers to the local community.

In other business, the council:

• Agreed to surplus five vehicles

• Agreed to make a contribution to the Alabama High School Rodeo Association, which will hold state finals in the Covington Arena June 5-7.

The Covington County Economic Development Commission on Thursday received a $440,220 grant to acquire 110 acres on Hwy. 55 near Red Level for development as an industrial site.

CCEDC Executive Director Jacob Morgan, who works on economic development across the county, said he’s needed a site to promote.
Thanks to the SEEDS program, now he does, he said Thursday. The CCEDC grant was one of 21 State Industrial Development Grants (SIDA) totalling $15.7 million Gov. Kay Ivey announced earlier this year. The grants fall under the Site Evaluation and Economic Development Strategy (SEEDS) program.

“We’ve been working on this for three years,” Morgan said, adding that CCEDC worked with location strategies consultants to determine the best spot to promote.

“We’ve had an army of eyes look at this and say, “This is a very good site,” he said.

Known as the Williams Site, the industrial space is located near River Falls and Red Level.

Greg Knighton, senior project manager with the Department of Commerce, was on hand for the presentation Thursday, as was Greg Blalock, project director for the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama.

Morgan said the property has already caught the eye of officials currently working to locate several companies. It has utilities from Covington Electric Cooperative, the Town of River Falls, and Southeast Gas. It also will have rail access, Morgan said.

“You hear every community say they hope to create jobs,” Morgan said. “Hope without action is never a good strategy. This project represents hope in action. It shows how we take deliberate steps to bring employment to our area and put food on people’s tables. We are not sitting back and waiting for something good to happen. We have acted, made sacrifices and pulled together to make Covington County an even better place to live and work.”

Covington Electric Cooperative agreed to loan the required match of $219,780 to obtain the grant. The county also committed $10,000 to secure an option on the property.