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STAFF PHOTOS | DUSTY COMPTON

TOP: Tuscaloosa County High School Bass Fishing Club members Hudson Williams, 8, Andrew Calvin, 15, and Will Hannah, 15, demonstrate their fishing skills at the first Tuscaloosa Sportsman’s Expo at the Bryant Conference Center on Friday. The expo, which features more than 50 vendors, continues today from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Jessica Robertson from A&E’s “Duck Dynasty” will be at the expo today to meet people and sign autographs.

ABOVE: Patrons and vendors line the floor. MacKenzie Meissner, 4, right, checks out the ATVs.

Congress-woman Terri Sewell, right, talks with Iola Wilson dur-ing a town hall meeting at the McDonald-Hughes Community Center in Tuscaloosa on Friday. Sewell, D-Birmingham, spoke about se-questration, stu-dent loans and job creation.

STAFF PHOTO |

DUSTY COMPTON

Sewell: Congress must compromise By Stephanie Taylor

Staff Writer

The American public should encour-age lawmakers to work together, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell said at a town hall meet-ing in Tuscaloosa Friday morning.

“We as elected offi cials will only do better if you demand that we do better,” she said, prompting applause from about 200 people in the audience at the McDonald Hughes Center in west Tus-caloosa. “You have to promote the change that we want to see.”

Sewell, D-Birmingham, spoke about sequestration, student loans and job cre-ation before taking questions from

the audience.She said several times that progress

won’t be made in the country until law-makers agree to compromise.

“Extremism is fl ourishing on both sides of the aisle,” she said. “When you have a district that has a lot of needs, it is unacceptable to sit on either side, sit-ting and yelling at each other and have nothing happen. I would rather a little something happen from compromise...than to be on either side and have noth-ing happen. But that’s where we are right now.

“Gridlock in Washington is so perva-sive that we can’t come to terms with

Congresswoman visits Tuscaloosa to talk about unemployment, student loans

Luring kids into

loving nature

By Angel CokerSpecial to The Tuscaloosa News

The Black Warrior River chapter of Fishing’s Future will host its sec-ond Family Fish Camp from 9 a.m.-3p.m. July 20 at The Retreat on Lake Tamaha in Holt.

The camp is for children ages 6 to 16 and their parents. The event is free, but participants must register online at fi shingsfuture.org. Direc-tions can also be found on the site.

The University of Alabama Fly Fishing Club began Fishing’s Fu-ture’s Black Warrior River chapter as its philanthropy project, said Pam Allison, event coordinator.

Matthew Allen, a master angler who is the club’s former president, said Trout Unlimited, a nonprofi t conservation group, connected the club with Fishing’s Future, a non-profi t organization focused on con-necting kids with nature through fi shing.

“It’s all about getting them together and giving them something to do with their parents,” Allison said.

The chapter’s inaugural event at-tracted about 20 kids and their par-ents in May. Allen said more kids registered, but rain cut the event short.

Tickets go on sale for two Amp shows

TUSCALOOSA | Tickets are now on sale for a pair of August shows at the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, 2710 Jack Warner Parkway.

Tickets are on sale for the Aug. 27 Backstreet Boys concert with with opening act DJ Pauly D. Prices will be $20, $39.50, $59.50 and $75, with all seats reserved.

Tickets are also on sale for the Aug. 10 Old Skool Summer Fest, fea-turing Bell Biv Devoe, Salt-N-Pepa, Avant, Doug E. Fresh, Rob Base and DJE-Z Rock. Prices range from $20 to $59.50.

Tickets for both shows will be available at www.ticketmaster.com, the amphitheater box offi ce, or by phone at 800-745-3000. For more, see www.tuscaloosaamphitheater.com.

Family event celebrates Mexican culture

NORTHPORT | The Kentuck for Kids’ Around the World program will celebrate the arts and culture of Mexico on July 20.

Families will see a performance by Ballet Folklorico Corazon Azteca and children can make Mexican-themed arts and crafts and take a swing at a water-balloon pinata.

The event will be from 1-3 p.m. at the Kentuck Art Center’s Court-yard of Wonder, 503 Main Ave. in Northport.

Admission is free, but registration is recommended. Call 205-758-1257 or email kentuck@kentuck.org to register.

Shelton State hosting young drivers program

TUSCALOOSA | The Tuscaloosa BFGoodrich plant will sponsor a daylong program on Aug. 3 that will teach young drivers safety skills.

The Tire Rack Street Survival pro-gram, which will be held at Shelton State Community College’s Martin campus, is open to 15- to 21-year-olds who have a driver’s license or a driver’s permit.

The program features classroom learning along with hands-on driv-ing lessons using the students’ own vehicles.

Instructors will help guide stu-dents through real-world driving situations, including practicing on a skid pad and a slalom. Students will drive on a private course, which will allow them to learn in a safe and supervised environment.

Registration is $75. To register or to get more information, visit www.streetsurvival.org.

Teen rescued after surviving 100-foot fall

GADSDEN | Authorities say a teen-ager has been rescued after surviv-ing a 100-foot fall off a rock ledge in northeast Alabama.

The Etowah County Sheriff’s Of-fi ce says the youth was alert and talking after the rescue early Thurs-day, and his injuries didn’t appear to be life-threatening.

Authorities say a 14-year-old boy was walking with a group in woods near a rock ledge when he slipped and fell about 100 feet down a steep bank .

AU vets euthanize buffalo that wandered to home

SMITHS STATION | Auburn Uni-versity veterinarians have eutha-nized a buffalo that wandered loose in Smiths Station.

Lee County Sheriff Jay Jones told the Opelika-Auburn News that a res-ident called around 9:30 a.m. Tues-day to say there was a buffalo in her yard. Deputies responded to make sure the buffalo wouldn’t block traf-fi c or harm anyone.

The buffalo’s owners called Au-burn’s large animal clinic to get help with the situation. The school said in a statement that a veterinarian went to the scene to tranquilize the buffalo, but it never became sedated enough to be handled safely. The animal’s owners decided it should be euthanized because it was a dan-ger to people and property.

Jones says the owners of the buf-falo have kept the animals on their property for nearly 40 years.

TOWNAND AROUND

Fishing’s Future hosting youth camp

July 20 in Holt

Meetings aim to invigorate Alabama’s Democrats

By Phillip RawlsThe Associated Press

MONTGOMERY | Democrats are orga-nizing multiple training sessions in Ala-bama to try to reinvigorate a party that has fallen to minority status in state gov-ernment.

A new organization, the Alabama Dem-ocratic Majority, has announced a “grass-

roots convention” Aug. 3 in Birming-ham.

“It’s our coming-out party,” said Brad-ley Davidson, the group’s executive direc-tor.

Davidson served as executive director of the Alabama Democratic Party until April, when he stepped down and joined former Alabama Democratic Party Chair-man Mark Kennedy in starting the Ala-bama Democratic Majority. They split from the state party and started a new ef-fort to rally Democrats after the Alabama Republican Party took control of every branch of state government and made ma-

jor gains in county courthouses, which had been the backbone of the state Dem-ocratic Party for many years.

The Alabama Democratic Majority is calling its event at the University of Ala-bama at Birmingham’s Heritage Hall a “grassroots convention.” Davidson said it

August convention part of start for new faction

FAMILY FISH CAMPWhen: ■ 9 a.m.-3 p.m. July 20Where: ■ The Retreat on Lake

Tamaha in HoltAdmission: ■ Free. To register,

visit www.fi shingsfuture.org

“It’s our coming-out party.”

Bradley Davidson, Alabama Democratic Majority

executive director

ALABAMA DEMOCRATIC MAJORITY: http://demmajority.com

DEMOCRACY FOR AMERICA: http://democracyforamerica.com/trainings/159-campaign-academy-in-birmingham-al

ALABAMA DEMOCRATIC PARTY: http://aldemocrats.org/

ONLINE

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