Andalusia’s Pic-N-Sav grocery store will open in its new location Wednesday.
The grocery store, which is currently located in the Covington Mall, is the last tenant to fill the old Walmart building on the West Bypass.
Beverly Armstrong, head cashier, said the new store features an array of new items, as well as an expanded deli.
“It’s bigger and better,” Armstrong said of the new store. “The deli will also feature sliced meats and cheeses, as well as the same great food.”
Store hours are 7 a.m. until 9 p.m., seven days a week.
The current location in the Covington Mall will also remain open, she said.
“But, it won’t offer the deli, meats or produce,” she said. “It will be kind of like a superette or a mini-mart.”
Construction is on schedule for the Church Street Cultural Arts Center, which will become the home of Andalusia Ballet.
Andy Wiggins, director of planning and development for the City of Andalusia, who is overseeing the project, said the renovation is closer to being done than it appears from the street.
The electrical work is done, he said, and the HVAC systems are working. The interior walls are boasting paint, and on Thursday afternoon, Ingram Construction, the general contractor for the renovation, was marking the area in front of the school where commemorative bricks will be laid.
The City of Andalusia and the Andalusia Ballet are partnering for the project, in which the ballet will contribute $500,000 for the restoration project and will be the managing tenant once the project is done.
Meryane Martin Murphy, artistic director of the Andalusia Ballet, said last week she is hopeful the ballet can begin fall classes in the new facility.
The Ballet will occupy the main floor of the building, which will include a large ballet studio, smaller classrooms, dressing areas, offices and a board room, as well as Gigi’s Tutu, a boutique owned and operated by Ellen Foreman. A portion of every sale from Gigi’s will go to the Andalusia Ballet.
The basement floor of Church Street School will be used for storage, and the third floor can be developed for additional tenants in the future.
A week after asking customers of the local water system to voluntarily not use water outdoors for three days, Mayor Earl Johnson yesterday afternoon asked residents to cooperate with an odd/even watering system.
“Due to extreme drought conditions in Andalusia and extraordinary pressure on our infrastructure, we ask that our citizens water lawns, wash cars or do any other outdoor watering on odd and even days that correspond with citizens’ last names,” Johnson said. “If one’s last name begins in the letter A through M, please limit all outdoor water use to even calendar days. If one’s last name begins with an N through Z, water only on odd days.”
In addition, the city is asking everyone refrain from outdoor water use on Sundays.
Johnson stressed that the restrictions are not meant to cause alarm.
“These measures are precautionary and not intended to alarm anyone, but if current conditions persist, we may face more serious water restrictions,” Johnson said.
“Andalusia is not running out of water, nor are we endangering our capacity to produce water. However, extreme drought and high temperatures have caused water usage to drastically increase which necessitates our planning for a prolonged period.”
The extreme use is overtaxing pumps used to refill the wells, he said.
“If we burn up a pump, then we could have a real problem.”
Johnson said he is hopeful that Thursday afternoon’s thunderstorms signal a return to a more normal weather pattern. As of Monday, only an inch of rain had fallen in Andalusia or Opp this week.
“Hopefully, we will soon return to a more normal weather pattern and receive rain on a regular basis,” Johnson said. “Until then, we have no choice but to take precautions. We greatly appreciate everyone working together to ensure that our system remains functioning at optimum levels.“
Earlier this week, the City of Andalusia instituted a voluntary odd/even outdoor watering system to conserve water in this summer’s drought.
Those whose last names begin in the letter A through M, are asked to limit all outdoor water use to even calendar days. Those whose last names begin in the letter n through z, are asked to limit all outdoor water use to odd calendar days. All residents are asked to refrain from outdoor watering on Sundays.
City Clerk John Thompson said the city also is reducing its water consumption.
“Our projects are cut back to no more than every other day, and not on Sundays,” he said. Some of the city’s landscaping will be watered on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, while others will be watered on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“There is nothing like a drought to make you appreciate water,” said Janet Wofford of the Clean Water Partnership. Wofford was busy setting out five gallon buckets to collect rainwater Friday afternoon so that she could follow the city’s new guidelines and still water her flowers.
In light of those new limits, she offered these tips for outdoor water conservation:
• Water lawns, gardens, and flowers during early morning hours when temperatures and wind speed are lowest. This will reduce loss due to evaporation.
• Mulch gardens/flowerbeds with pine straw, leaves, grass clippings, etc; this will retain moisture, plus it helps control weeds which compete with plants for water and nutrients.
• Attach timer to sprinklers or garden hoses — an unattended garden hose can pour more than 600 gallons in just a few hours.
• Wash your vehicle on grassy areas rather than on your driveway or street—this serves multiple purposes, the grass gets the use of the water while at the same time filtering the gas and oil contaminants from runoff.
• Repair or replace leaky faucets/garden hoses.
• Always “recycle” water rather than pouring down drain—use to water plants/grass.
• Harvest rainwater using buckets or a rain barrel.
Wofford plans to hold a “make and take” rain barrel workshop in Andalusia this summer.
For more information, contact her at 334-222-3271 or .
Turnout at Thursday’s blood drive at Andalusia Regional Hospital was enough to make Red Cross officials rethink how they plan to schedule drives in Covington County.
Megan Jefferson, blood services account manager for the RC Alabama and Gulf Coast region, said a total of 18 people came to donate. She said of those, 14 were able to give blood.
“Normally, we don’t see that many people, so we were very pleased with the way things turned out,” Jefferson said.
She said previously that 17 donors were needed to keep the Red Cross coming back for future drives at ARH.
That goal was met, and Jefferson said she and hospital officials believe they’ve found a way that while reducing the number of drives, will increase the number of donors.
“One thing I didn’t realize is that Covington County, specifically Andalusia, has such a small population,” she said. “I typically try to schedule three drives in a month. We think by cutting that to two drives, that will allow more people an opportunity to give.”
Jefferson said donors are required to wait 56 days between donations.
“With the drives so close together, it didn’t give people time to recover,” she said. “So, that really opens the window a bit, by cutting the number.”
She said of the 47 active accounts in Covington County, less than half are successful drives that produce more than 21 units each time. She hopes that number will now increase.
“And as always, we are sending out a plea for blood donations,” she said. “It’s summer, so the need is there. It’s hard for us to get donors during the summer months because people are on vacation, are busy and such. But, on the flip side, it’s also the time when blood is needed the most due to accidents.
“So please, give when you have the opportunity,” she said.
Other upcoming blood drives include one on Sat., June 25, at Covington Mall from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m., and on Tues., June 28, at Southside Baptist Church-Andalusia, from 2 p.m. until 6 p.m.
Donors must be at least 17 years old, healthy and weigh at least 110 pounds.