December

Planned industrial park could spur economic development

The growth of Chilton County seemed to be the common theme discussed at a lunch meeting Dec. 11 with economic developers primarily from Birmingham and Montgomery.

The gathering of roughly 30 individuals met near a new industrial park one mile from Interstate 65 Exit 212 named “Chilton Interstate Park,” which is being marketed for future business projects.

Currently, EGS Commercial Real Estate’s Deborah McGill Smith and Mark Byers are marketing the 232 acres of land for sale in hopes the site will be purchased by developers.

Endangered whooping cranes stop in Chilton during migration

Eight endangered whooping cranes stopped in Chilton County on their 1,101-mile journey across the country.

The captive-hatched cranes were being led on a migration from Wisconsin to Florida by ultralight aircraft, acting as surrogate parents.

Each year, the non-profit organization Operation Migration raises a new set of hatchlings and prepares them for migration as part of an effort to bolster the population of the birds, which in the 1940s dwindled to 15.

The cranes departed Chilton County on Dec. 26.