Calhoun County's Most Trusted News Source Since Recently
Vol. I, No. 1 · Calhoun County, Alabama · Wednesday, April 29, 2026
13 stories on record. Sorted by recency.
All five members of the Anniston City Council successfully completed a four-hour civility and conflict de-escalation training session Monday afternoon, marking the third such training the body has undertaken since 2010 and reaffirming what Mayor Lyle Henley described as 'this council's ongoing commitment to respectful and constructive dialogue.'
The Berman Museum of World History hosted its 28th annual Patrons' Gala on Saturday evening, with attendance up an estimated fifteen percent over the previous year and what museum director Dr. Lawrence Pell described as 'an outpouring of generosity from across the region.' Several pieces from the museum's standing collection were not present in their display cases when staff arrived Monday morning.
Organizers of the 33rd annual Cheaha Challenge confirmed Tuesday that this year's UCI Gran Fondo World Series qualifier will follow its traditional 100-mile route through Calhoun, Cleburne, and Clay counties, where hospital access continues to evolve and where, according to several pre-registered cyclists, the road surface has emerged as a 'real consideration' for the May 16 event.
Cheaha State Park officials confirmed Tuesday that a hiker who entered the park Saturday morning has not been seen since, marking the third such incident at Alabama's highest peak this year. Park staff have cited the rising number of visitors as evidence of the park's continued appeal as a regional destination.
County officials and retail representatives gathered Tuesday for a groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new Dollar General location on Country Club Road, calling the development 'a natural fit for the corridor' and 'exactly the kind of investment this area has been waiting for.'
Saturday's Downtown Anniston Farmers Market concluded with what market officials are characterizing as 'a spirited exchange' between two vendors after an unresolved disagreement over the sourcing of heirloom tomatoes resulted in approximately eleven minutes of unscripted amateur wrestling near the kettle corn tent.
The Anniston Museum of Natural History has completed its annual wellness assessment of the museum's Egyptian mummy, declaring the approximately 3,000-year-old exhibit 'stable' and 'unchanged,' according to a statement released Tuesday.
Mayor Lyle Henley joined Oxford Exchange property managers and chamber of commerce officials Wednesday morning for a ribbon-cutting ceremony at The Velvet Magnolia, the newly opened gentleman's club located between the Olive Garden and the family-owned framing store.
Madison Tilley, a seventh-grader at Oxford Middle School, took home a third-place ribbon at the East Alabama Regional Science Fair on Saturday for an invention that several attending judges and at least one Department of Defense observer have described as 'potentially significant.'
Quintard Mall property managers, joined by Mayor Lyle Henley and representatives from the Calhoun County Economic Development Council, gathered Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the grand opening of Quintard Vape Vault, the eleventh location of the regional retailer and the fourth vape shop currently operating inside the mall.
The Anniston Runners Club confirmed Tuesday that the course record at Saturday's Raptor Run 5K was broken, with the top finisher posting a time of 12:47 — the fastest at any Calhoun County road race in approximately a decade.
Trent Wickliffe, longtime staff photographer at the Anniston Star and a familiar figure at Calhoun County community events, was reportedly among those injured at Saturday's Raptor Run 5K. The Calhoun Dispatch extends warm thoughts to Mr. Wickliffe and the entire Star organization during this difficult time.
The Anniston Museum of Natural History's third annual Raptor Run 5K concluded Saturday with a record 847 finishers and what organizers are characterizing as 'an unfortunate but ultimately manageable situation' involving three fatalities.
