In Focus with Carolyn Hutcheson

When an EF-2 tornado ripped through Selma on January 12th, homes, businesses, and historic structures were destroyed.  Candi Duncan, treasurer of the Selma-Dallas County Historic Preservation Society, gives Carolyn Hutcneson, In Focus host, an eyewitness overview of the damage.

After the January 12th tornadoes that tore through several Alabama counties, Monde Donaldson, Vice-President of the Better Business Bureau Educational Foundation, talks with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host, about how storm chasers and those who impersonate disaster officials can re-victimize survivors.  This Better Business Bureau serves central and south Alabama. 

On The Exchange from In Focus, economist Judson Edwards, Dean of the Troy University Sorrell College of Business, talks with host Carolyn Hutcheson about the high prices for consumer goods.  Diesel fuel costs and supply chain issues are still adding to inflation.  Edwards' podcast is "The Double Dome," where two heads are better than one!

On January 12th, an EF-2 tornado ripped through Selma, destroying structures in the historic city.  As storms moved east, an EF-3 tornado hammered rural Autauga County, leaving seven people dead and others injured.  Kyle Gassiott, Troy Public Radio's Operations Manager, jumped in the car and covered the story for NPR and TPR.  He talks with In Focus host Carolyn Hutcheson about what he witnessed in Selma and Autauga County.

In Part Two of the In Focus visit to the Rosenbaum House, designed by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright in Florence,Alabama, Site Director Jeff Ford talks with Carolyn Hutcheson about the family who lived there.

Jeff Ford, Site Director for Florence, Alabama's Rosenbaum House, talks with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host, about architect Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian designs, comparing them with today's Tiny House movement in an uncertain economy.

A new historic marker at the Pike County Counthouse will be unveiled on Jan. 13th.  John Reynolds, who leads the SCOPE 50 organization, a project of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, talks with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host, about the successful efforts to register more than 1000 black voters in Troy and Pike Counties in the 1960s.  He shares memories of being hired as a young adult by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who gave him the charge to read Gandhi's book on nonviolence and commit his life to its civil rights philosophy.  Mon., Jan. 16th, is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Workforce development is a priority to keep Alabama's economy thriving, but the challenge is attracting and educating young adults to fill those jobs.  Dr. Jim Purcell, Executive Director of the Alabama Commission on Higher Education, talks with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host, about how Alabama compares with the rest of the nation in meeting industry needs, while its population is graying.

In 1959, the Camellia became Alabama's first designated official state flower.  Charles Mitchell, President of the Lee County Historical Society and member of the Auburn - Opelika Men's Camellia Club, talks with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host, at the Loachapoka Pioneer Park, about camellias and the gardens at the historic park.  Charles Mitchell is a soil agronomist, retired from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and Auburn University.

Joseph Borg, Director of the Alabama Securities Commission, kicks off the New Year with a discussion with Carolyn Hutcheson, In Focus host, about inflation and a possible recession.  He shares advice about saving for Santa's visit in 2023 without the stress.