Archives
 By  Staff Reports Published 
11:40 am Wednesday, March 12, 2008

All signs point to spring

By Staff
Jonathan Willis
All the signs are here that winter may finally be over.
Sure, we are just a few days removed from the largest snowfall we got this winter (although it was here for only half a day) and there is still a nip in the air, but the signs are out that spring is here.
Area baseball teams are in full swing, if you will pardon the pun, and boats are starting to hit the water again.
Sometimes it's hard to believe.
It seems like just the other day that we were busy buying Christmas gifts, now, here we are planning vacations and looking for summer clothes.
Sure, there are all the traditional signs of spring that we all like to talk about, things like flowers blooming, birds chirping and so on and so on.
I knew spring was here on Monday when I got a message from Russellville Middle School football coach Larry Gilmer.
Coach Gilmer asked that we put a brief in the paper about an upcoming player/parent meeting concerning spring practice.
That is always the point in which I know spring is here.
The only problem I have with that is the fact it gets later each year. I remember my first spring practice with Coach Gilmer.
We started in mid-February when it was freezing cold.
So I have always tied spring with football.
I consider winter to be that period of time from the end of one college football season to national signing day.
Now, here we are three days from spring practice in Tuscaloosa.
Auburn and some other SEC schools have already hit the field.
Spring practice has always been something to get us through for a little while.
There are some great things like the Masters, the NCAA tournament, baseball spring training and maybe the best of all, the end of the NBA season, in the spring.
So sports fans, it's time to sit back, relax and enjoy a great time of the year.
At least for about another month.

Also on Franklin County Times
Russellville to host MLK march on Monday
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
January 14, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — The Franklin County Martin Luther King Memorial Scholarship Committee is planning its annual commemoration march, which this year will ...
Career tech programs return to remodeled RHS building
Main, News, Russellville, ...
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
January 14, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Students at Russellville High School returned from winter break last week to a newly remodeled and expanded Career Technical Education ...
Dowdy sentence delayed
Main, News, Russellville
By Brady Petree For the FCT 
January 14, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — The sentencing of Brandy Dowdy will have to wait until another day after her defense attorney suffered a “medical emergency.” Dowdy’s s...
MLK march is about ‘keeping the dream alive’
News, Russellville
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
January 14, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — The Rev. B.J. Bonner was 11 years old in the summer of 1963 when the civil rights movement reshaped the South and communities across Al...
FCREA finalizes 2025, looks ahead to 2026
Columnists, Opinion
HERE AND NOW
January 14, 2026
There are moments in our meetings that stay with you long after the chairs are folded and the dishes are washed. One of those moments came in November...
This year, let’s resolve to be more involved
Columnists, Opinion
January 14, 2026
Stop eating desserts. Go to the gym every day. Read 50 books this year. Learn a language. Start my retirement savings. Every year we make our resoluti...
RHS track looks ahead to state meet
High School Sports, Russellville Golden Tigers, Sports
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
January 14, 2026
RUSSELLVILLE — Russellville High School track athletes have posted multiple top 10 and top 20 section finishes this season, along with podium performa...
Vote of Red Bay budget delayed until February
News, Red Bay
María Camp maria.camp@franklincountytimes.com 
January 14, 2026
RED BAY — City councilmembers will vote next month on the 20025–26 fiscal year budget. Mayor Mike Shewbart told the council last week the budget was n...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *