40 years ago

september 2, 1981

By Friday, the new $337,000 Marion County Law Enforcement Center was serving as surrogate home to eight people. The three-story structure is affixed to the old Marion County Jail and was completed Aug. 19.

The annual “soap game” football scrimmage will be held Friday on the gridiron at Marion Sports Complex. Admission will be by a bar of soap. “Please, no Lava,” the players ask.

Delano O’Dell of Florence has been named full-time deputy with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department. The appointment will increase the number of sheriff’s officers to four, with one part-time deputy.

Produce Derby entries this week include Kentucky Wonder beans that climb on fences, bell peppers, and “burpless” cucumbers, produce of Mrs. Lawrence Winkley’s garden; twin “Patty Pan squash grown on one stem in the garden of Mrs. Benard Stromberg of rural Florence; and 5-pound cantaloupes, grown by Mr. and Mrs. Francis Jirak from hybrid seeds and shown by their seven-year-old grandson, John Jirak.

A major break in the main water line leading from Florence’s city springs to the town’s standpipe left the community without water for portions of Thursday night and all day Friday.

Pictured as they prepare to receive a spike from Lady Warriors volleyball coach Jeff Brewer are senior starters Kris Kelsey, Jami Shirley, Mary Medina, and Sherry Snelling. Brewer and assistant coach Pat Jackson predict an improvement over last year’s 11-10 season.