June

Long considered MIA, soldier’s remains return for burial

The remains of U.S. Army Master Sgt. Olen Berry Williams arrived at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport June 6 on a flight from Hawaii, where they had lain at the National Military Cemetery since Williams was declared Missing In Action following the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea on Dec. 12, 1950.

An Honors Detachment from Fort Rucker helped transfer the remains to Martin Funeral Home in Clanton, which handled funeral services at Evergreen Cemetery in Verbena on June 9.

Williams’ case was re-opened in 2012, and DNA samples provided by relatives led to the identification of his remains.

After 63 years of bearing the Missing in Action (MIA) classification next to his name, Williams is accounted for and received a proper memorial and burial in June from surviving family members who contributed to his long-awaited identification.

The U.S. military identified Williams’ remains in April with biographical information and DNA samples from his niece Dot Justiss and her daughter Tammy Richardson, both of Wetumpka.

Justiss and Richardson provided information and DNA samples for matching to Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command (JPAC), which conducts global search, recovery and laboratory operations to identify unaccounted-for Americans from past conflicts in order to support the U.S. Department of Defense’s personnel accounting efforts, according to its website.

Justiss said the Williams family has an annual reunion and dedicated their reunion three years ago to Olen Williams, a family member they always kept in mind and in their hearts despite his unknown whereabouts.

“We dedicated the family reunion to Olen, and everybody brought information on him,” said Justiss, whose mother was Williams’ sister. “Even though he wasn’t here, we always remembered him at the family reunion every year.”

Justiss, 68, said her last memory of Williams is from a family dinner at her grandparents’ house. She was 6 years old, and he was about to leave for war.

“We visited before he left,” Justiss said. “I remember getting the letter saying he was MIA, and momma cried.”

Born on March 20, 1913, in Autauga County, Williams was declared Missing in Action on Dec. 12, 1950, during the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea.

Since he did not return as a prisoner of war, and his remains were not recovered at the end of the war, Williams was declared Killed in Action (KIA) on Dec. 31, 1953.

He was the son of Louis B. and Elizabeth Williams of Chilton County.

Other surviving relatives include Earl Taylor of Clanton, and Amy Taylor Meredith and Sharon Orrender of Louisville, Ky.

Williams and 2,504 of the 3,288 U.S. Army soldiers attacked were listed as MIA.

Williams’ unidentified remains were found on the eastern side of the Chosin Reservoir and sent back to the U.S. by the Chinese government on Sept. 15, 1954.

His remains, along with those of other unidentified servicemen, were buried at the National Military Cemetery in Hawaii.

Detached rail car damages road

A train that was derailed at the West Fraser plant off Highway 22 in Maplesville June 6 resulted in no injuries but blocked traffic for nearly five hours and damaged parts of the road.

At about 2:30 p.m., a cable attached to three stationery rail cars full of wood chips snapped, causing the rail cars to roll back far enough for one to roll into the road, tearing up about 4 feet of pavement.

The Maplesville Police Department responded to the incident.

Police Chief Todd Ingram said no other vehicles were involved.

“Nobody was hurt,” Ingram said. “It was good that once it did hit the road, there were no cars coming at that time.”

Domestic dispute ends in deadly shooting

A man, 62, has been charged with murder in a deadly shooting on June 9 in the Lily Hill community.

The Lily Hill man faced a murder charge in the first degree and a domestic violence charge in the first degree in the death of a woman, 52, of Clanton.

The shooting happened around 5 p.m. on June 9 in Lily Hill after two Chilton County Sheriff’s deputies had responded to a disturbance call on June 9.

Chilton County Sheriff Chief Deputy Shane Mayfield said the two individuals involved in the incident were dating and got into a fight during the early morning hours June 9 at Westlyn Avenue in Clanton. The fight escalated to the Lily Hill community in Verbena.

“Deputies responded to a call about a disturbance,” Mayfield said. “They went down to the man’s home and found no physical injuries or no threats made.”

Mayfield said the deputies were on the scene serving as the “peacemakers” between the couple.

After working to calm both parties down, deputies allowed the woman to go back inside the residence.

Mayfield said the deputies did not perceive the situation to be dangerous and when man asked to go inside to retrieve his cigarette lighter, no one thought it would be a problem.

Once inside, with one deputy standing in the exterior doorway of the home, the man retrieved a shotgun from behind a door and shot and killed the woman.

The second deputy was outside at the time of the shooting filling out the police report.

Mayfield said the man was taken into custody at the scene and was charged on June 11.

M&M Farms sets record with top peaches for sixth straight year

Mark Knight of M&M Farms has perfected the art of growing good peaches.

Standing under the sweltering June sun on June 29, Knight stood next to his basket of softball-sized Lucky 13 variety peaches, basking in the glow of his sixth straight win of growing Peach Auction first-place baskets.

“It is quite the honor,” Knight said. “I was surprised they went for so much in the auction but I am very pleased with the result.”

During the 66th year of Chilton County’s annual Peach Auction, Knight’s basket was purchased by the Chilton County Farmers Federation for $4,100, the highest amount paid for the first-place basket since 1996 and the third-highest total in the history of the auction.

Wendell Kelley with the Farmers Federation purchased the peaches and said the Farmers Federation likes to buy the first place baskets.

“I haven’t tasted one of the peaches yet; they are too expensive,” Kelley said laughingly.

Following is a list of the top five baskets, growers and winning bidders:

•First place: Peaches grown by M&M Farms, sold to the Chilton County Farmers Federation for $4,100.

•Second place: Peaches grown by Jerry Harrison, sold to Peoples Southern Bank for $1,600.

•Third place: Peaches grown by Todd’s Produce, sold to Kubota Tractor and Mickey Bates for $1,700.

•Fourth place: Peaches grown by Seth Knight with Knight Farms, sold to SunSouth Tractor for $1,000.

•Fifth place: Peaches grown by Jimmy Harrison, sold to The Clanton Advertiser for $800.

The Peach Auction was one of several events being held June 29 for the final day of the 2013 Chilton County Peach Festival.