Alabama News

After losing four seniors in this position over the offseason, Auburn football’s linebacker corps will look completely different in 2025.

The Tigers signed three freshmen and brought in two FBS transfers, adding to the team’s young group of linebackers already on the roster.

“I think they are young but very, very talented,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said during the spring football period.

Here’s a look at Auburn’s linebackers going into fall camp this week:

Players

*Demarcus Riddick — Sophomore

Robert Woodyard Jr. — Junior

*Caleb Wheatland — Senior, Maryland transfer

Xavier Atkins — Sophomore, LSU transfer

Bryce Deas — Freshman

JJ Faulk — Freshman

Elijah Melendez — Freshman

Antonio Melendez — Sophomore

Cole Grandberry — Sophomore

William Grier McDuffie — Redshirt freshman

*Indicates projected starter

What to know

Riddick’s 27 total tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, a pass deflection and a forced fumble last season have coaches excited about his sophomore year.

“Demarcus Riddick is going to be special,” Freeze said. “Landing [Caleb Wheatland] in the portal will bring some maturity in the room and will bring up the young guys.”

Wheatland spent three seasons at Maryland, tallying 100 total tackles and seven and half sacks during that time. In 2024, he made 42 tackles and four sacks with the highest coverage grade on the team among players with 100 or more coverage snaps, per Pro Football Focus.

However, Woodyard has also spent three seasons with the Tigers, playing in 10 games moving up from the scout team in 2024. He finished last season with 17 tackles and 3.0 tackles for loss.

LSU transfer Atkins came to Auburn after spending only one season in Baton Rouge, where he played 31 snaps across five games and recorded three total tackles.

Atkins will be one of many young linebackers fighting for playing time at Auburn in 2025, joining freshmen Melendez, Faulk and Deas.

Melendez and Deas saw significant playing time with Auburn’s second and third teams during the spring. JJ Faulk is the younger brother of starting edge Keldric Faulk and was named the ASWA Class 2A defensive player of the year as a high school senior.

“I like Elijah Melendez. He’s a strong guy, fast guy,” Woodyard said back in April. “He’s been putting on film lately. I feel like he’s going to be a very big factor for us moving forward.”

Despite the lack of experience this group has heading into fall camp, Auburn coaches believe the current depth will stay competitive against SEC opponents.

“It takes a little time to build it, and we’ve been doing that. Certainly, I wish we would have won more games a few times, but the future is very bright in my eyes,” Freeze said during SEC media days.

Jerry Humphrey III covers Auburn sports forAL.com. You can follow him on X at @Jerryhump3or email him at [email protected].

Matt Roloff, star of hit show “Little People, Big World,” announced on his Instagram that he and longtime partner Caryn Chandler have ended their two-year engagement.

“Caryn and I have decided to part ways and end our engagement. Life’s a continued journey and this is the right step for us at this time,” Roloff posted to Instagram. “We remain amicable and will always appreciate the many wonderful memories we share.”

“Little People, Big World” is a TV series with 25 seasons. It first aired on TLC in 2006.

The show follows the Roloff family, who live on a farm in Oregon, showcasing their daily lives with dwarfism.

Matt and Amy Roloff, both of whom have dwarfism, originally starred in the series alongside their four children, twins Jeremy and Zach, and Molly and Jacob.

Roloff and Chandler’s relationship began shortly after his divorce from Amy Roloff.

Roloff and Chandler first met in 2017 at Roloff Farms, where Chandler worked as a manager. They got engaged in April 2023, according to People Magazine.

“Your support means the World to me and I’m committed to moving forward with positivity and trust in the path ahead,” Roloff posted to Instagram.

When describing wide receiver Layton Pohl, New Hope football coach Michael Harper had four words to describe the athlete’s work ethic.

“All gas, no brakes,” he said.

New Hope’s 1,200-yard rusher last season is one of a handful of key veterans that will return for Harper, who is set to enter his second year as the program’s head football coach.

Despite falling short of their goals last season with a 3-9 record, Harper and his staff were still encouraged by the culture that was established in his first year and what can be built upon moving forward.

“We were able to establish our culture and get to continue to build on that culture,” the coach said. “We wanted to build a culture of positivity and discipline, and I feel like we’ve gotten to the positivity: we feel like we’re drawing close together as a team, and we’re positive with each other. With encouragement, building each other up, we’re getting there. As far as discipline, just little things like keeping the locker room clean, picking up, making sure we pick up the field, things like that, we’re working there.”

“We talk a lot about being good people, not just being good football players, and we’re getting there. We’re there as far as good people, but we’re really learning and developing on how to be and what it really means to be a good person. We’ve got that.”

A rising senior for New Hope, Pohl and his team almost immediately saw the culture shift when Harper was announced as head coach just two months ahead of last year.

“Whenever coach Harper came, the first couple months in, everybody really bought into what he was doing and everything got way better,” Pohl said. “Everybody’s happy now, positive, everybody’s picking each other up and it’s just way better. It’s a way different team than what we had.”

Pohl is one of many players for New Hope who hope to continue the culture established last season, along with starting quarterback Lucas Terry.

“Anytime you return your quarterback, it’s definitely a good thing,” Harper said. “He’s another year in the system, and he’s really understanding it’s not just what everybody’s doing on what what play and what he’s supposed to do on a certain play, but he’s understanding when to deliver the ball on time, when to get us in the right play, what the what the defense is doing.”

The quarterback also lauded Harper for the job done in his first season as head coach.

“The culture is definitely a lot better,” Terry said. “We’re a lot closer as a team, way more positive. There were a lot of negatives throughout last year, and we just had to put all that aside and be a lot more positive.”

Along with the duo of returning playmakers and three offensive linemen, athletes from New Hope’s basketball and baseball teams are giving football a try this season.

“We’ve got three guys that started at one point last year: two that were full-time starters, and then one guy started a couple of games last year, so we’re pretty experienced up front, too,” Harper said of the offensive line. “Our starting left tackle, Ethan Layhew, he’s going to play at the next level. We’re really excited about the group that we have coming back.”

While scoring plenty of points last season — four games of at least 48 points and three games with over 60 — Harper has encouraged his team to take the step in becoming a more complete football team up and down heading into 2025.

When describing wide receiver Layton Pohl, New Hope football coach Michael Harper had four words to describe the athlete’s work ethic.

“All gas, no brakes,” he said.

New Hope’s 1,200-yard rusher last season is one of a handful of key veterans that will return for Harper, who is set to enter his second year as the program’s head football coach.

Despite falling short of their goals last season with a 3-9 record, Harper and his staff were still encouraged by the culture that was established in his first year and what can be built upon moving forward.

“We were able to establish our culture and get to continue to build on that culture,” the coach said. “We wanted to build a culture of positivity and discipline, and I feel like we’ve gotten to the positivity: we feel like we’re drawing close together as a team, and we’re positive with each other. With encouragement, building each other up, we’re getting there. As far as discipline, just little things like keeping the locker room clean, picking up, making sure we pick up the field, things like that, we’re working there.”

“We talk a lot about being good people, not just being good football players, and we’re getting there. We’re there as far as good people, but we’re really learning and developing on how to be and what it really means to be a good person. We’ve got that.”

A rising senior for New Hope, Pohl and his team almost immediately saw the culture shift when Harper was announced as head coach just two months ahead of last year.

“Whenever coach Harper came, the first couple months in, everybody really bought into what he was doing and everything got way better,” Pohl said. “Everybody’s happy now, positive, everybody’s picking each other up and it’s just way better. It’s a way different team than what we had.”

Pohl is one of many players for New Hope who hope to continue the culture established last season, along with starting quarterback Lucas Terry.

“Anytime you return your quarterback, it’s definitely a good thing,” Harper said. “He’s another year in the system, and he’s really understanding it’s not just what everybody’s doing on what what play and what he’s supposed to do on a certain play, but he’s understanding when to deliver the ball on time, when to get us in the right play, what the what the defense is doing.”

The quarterback also lauded Harper for the job done in his first season as head coach.

“The culture is definitely a lot better,” Terry said. “We’re a lot closer as a team, way more positive. There were a lot of negatives throughout last year, and we just had to put all that aside and be a lot more positive.”

Along with the duo of returning playmakers and three offensive linemen, athletes from New Hope’s basketball and baseball teams are giving football a try this season.

“We’ve got three guys that started at one point last year: two that were full-time starters, and then one guy started a couple of games last year, so we’re pretty experienced up front, too,” Harper said of the offensive line. “Our starting left tackle, Ethan Layhew, he’s going to play at the next level. We’re really excited about the group that we have coming back.”

While scoring plenty of points last season — four games of at least 48 points and three games with over 60 — Harper has encouraged his team to take the step in becoming a more complete football team up and down heading into 2025.

New Hope will open the season at home against Class 3A Ohatchee on Friday, Aug. 22, before opening Class 4A, Region 8 play at D.A.R. the following week.

“Everybody knows that we scored a lot of points last year,” Harper said. “We’ve just got to take the next step and not just build on what we did on offense, but we made some improvements on defense throughout the year and just continue to build on that. The group we have understands the expectations that have been established by not just me, but our coaching staff as a whole.

“I feel like there’s a trust there, that the players trust us, we trust them, we know who we can trust. We know who the hard workers are. We know who the good athletes are. I mean, this time last year, I was still learning players’ names. So, I really feel like we’re going to take this year and build upon the culture we established.”

“Everybody knows that we scored a lot of points last year,” Harper said. “We’ve just got to take the next step and not just build on what we did on offense, but we made some improvements on defense throughout the year and just continue to build on that. The group we have understands the expectations that have been established by not just me, but our coaching staff as a whole.

“I feel like there’s a trust there, that the players trust us, we trust them, we know who we can trust. We know who the hard workers are. We know who the good athletes are. I mean, this time last year, I was still learning players’ names. So, I really feel like we’re going to take this year and build upon the culture we established.”

Dear Eric: My husband is one of eight siblings. A few live on opposite sides of the country, but they do remain in contact, and we all get together occasionally.

One of my brothers-in-law is married and has a stepdaughter.

The stepdaughter became engaged, and we were told that since she was paying for her own wedding, they had no say in the invite list and we all may receive an invite or not. Mind you this daughter was invited to any event we had, including my kids’ weddings. At my daughter’s wedding she responded that she was coming but was a no show.

The save the dates went out and we were not invited along with one sister-in-law. Everyone else was invited and attended. I feel excluded and snubbed. I have been dwelling on this way too much but don’t understand.

There were never any words or any rift. My brother-in-law who is the stepfather is close with my husband. When I spoke to a few of his siblings, I was told she wanted a small wedding (there were 150 people that went) and I should be happy because of the expense of the hotel.

I was going to have a 70th birthday party for my husband but have decided to have a quiet dinner with my kids and grandchildren.

I would also like to have no contact with them moving forward and I told my husband this. He feels I’m too sensitive, which added salt to the wound. He can have any relationship he wants with them, but I want out, personally.

Am I in the wrong? I just can’t see myself in their company and feeling comfortable.

– Excluded

Dear Excluded: You have every right to feel the way you do. And, to your point, it seems pointed to invite six out of the eight siblings. But – and this is a big but – the family is large, even without considering the niece’s mother’s family, the father’s family, her friends and the family of the person she married.

Even with 150 guests, options start to narrow. So, grant her a little grace.

And, more importantly, don’t take her wedding invite list out on her parents. They told you they didn’t have any control over the invites and it’s best to take that at face value. While you’ve been kind to the niece, you and she don’t have as close a relationship as you do with others in the family. That’s OK. It’s also OK to have bruised feelings about it. You reached out your hand and she didn’t reach back and that can hurt.

It also sounds like other members of the family are trying to offer comfort and sympathy by telling you you didn’t miss anything. Try to accept that.

And then try to let it go, for your sake and for your husband’s. Going no contact with branches of the family, who also didn’t have control over the invites, is only going to hurt him.

Read more Asking Eric and other advice columns.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at [email protected] or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.

There are things you’d expect to find inside an Irish pub in the English seaport city of Liverpool. A Cajun restaurant probably is not one of them.

Nonetheless, thanks to two entrepreneurs with Alabama ties, the Liverpudlian menu now includes some of the staples of Gulf Coast life: gumbo, po-boy sandwiches and red beans & rice with Andouille sausage.

After months of international effort by Reggie Pulliam and Adam Williams, SuSu’s New Orleans Kitchen opened in June. It’s a full-service restaurant that operates inside a large bar called Molly Malones.

How that came to pass is, for Louisiana native Pulliam, an exuberant tale chock-full of good omens, chance meetings and lucky stars falling into alignment. On a more practical level, it starts with him selling an insurance agency he operated in Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. That afforded him the opportunity to indulge his love of soccer, specifically the Liverpool-based Everton Football Club.

He’d had an interest for years, thanks to the fact that Everton had fielded some American players such as Joe-Max Moore and Tim Howard, legendary for once scoring from his own goalkeeper position. Now he and his wife, Cassie, were able to travel and see the team play more often.

During a European train ride, the idea blossomed in a brainstorming session fueled by “a second bottle of prosecco:” He’d bring Cajun cuisine to Liverpool in a restaurant named for his mother, Susan, aka SuSu. He started scribbling menu ideas on a napkin.

A few days later after he and Cassie had settled into their favorite Liverpool hotel, the Titanic, he started bouncing the notion off of the locals. Again and again and again, he said, he just happened to make chance connections with people who could help nudge his crazy notion toward feasible reality. Finding that an available kitchen inside Molly Malone’s was a particular boon, he said: It cut down the risk and expense of opening a free-standing restaurant.

As things snowballed, he partnered up with Mobile native Williams, a chef who’d grown up visiting relatives in Louisiana, where he began to learn about Cajun and Creole cuisine. Pulliam had experience in the restaurant industry too, so they made a formidable team.

They understood that while they might not be starting from zero, they would be introducing some unfamiliar flavors to the market.

“There are already a couple of vaguely New Orleans-themed options there,” Pulliam said. “There’s even a Popeyes. The Popeyes over there is huge. Every time we went by the Popeyes in Liverpool Center — think of the French Quarter — the line was out the door. So we were doing a lot of market research and asking people inside and outside of Popeyes, like, what do you think about Popeyes? And our market research was telling us we have to educate people on New Orleans and Louisiana. They don’t associate Popeyes with Louisiana, New Orleans. They associate it with America.

“We’d ask, ‘When I say New Orleans food, what’s the first thing that pops in your mind?’ They’d say ribs and steak. So a lot of people don’t have the correct concept of New Orleans food.”

The menu they came up with seems to balance accessibility with authenticity. From the appetizers onward, some items clearly reflect that New Orleans heritage (boudin balls, “SuSu’s Famous Shrimp Bread,” po-boys) while others don’t (Buffalo wings, cheesy fries, smashburgers).

“All our meat is smoked before we cook it,” said Pulliam. “We found a butcher to make Andouille sausage for us. And we have a big smoker back there. So we smoke all our sausage, all of our chicken, all our pork, all the wings are smoked before we prepare them. They’re full of flavor.”

“The overall and overwhelming reaction is, people are loving the food,” he said. “People are having flavors that they never had. You know, you walk through the dining room and you see people, like, just nodding their heads as they’re eating, which is a great sign.”

At the same time, he said, there have been a few surprises.

“You know, Liverpool’s a port city,” he said. “We were surprised at the lack of people eating seafood. We thought shrimp po-boys and oyster po-boys would be our huge sellers. And they’re not. They’re not. We do have a debris-style roast beef po-boy that we put on the menu that is our number one seller. And then we have a fried chicken po-boy that we toss with what we call jazz sauce. Jazz sauce is like Buffalo hot, tempered with butter so it’s not super spicy. It’s got a little kick, with garlic and Parmesan. We take those chicken tenders, we toss them in there, we put them on a po-boy and they’re loving that, too. But we were surprised at the lack of people eating seafood.”

SuSu’s gumbo and jambalaya, similarly, are made with chicken and sausage. A menu option called the “holy trinity” lets you sample those along with the red beans & rice, an unusual twist on familiar terminology.

“The red beans is probably, in my very biased opinion, our best dish,” said Pulliam. “It’s an 18-hour dish. We soak the beans overnight, we boil them three times, and then we cook them with the andouille sausage, the ham hock, for about five hours.”

It makes for some interesting perspectives. One early review came from a TikTok food critic known as “the Scouse Ghetto Gourmet,” who sampled his way through the menu shortly after the venue opened. The clip, which features an appearance by Pulliam, also can be seen on Instagram. The gourmet describes jambalaya as being “like a USA version of paella.”

Funny as it sounds, he’s … not completely wrong there. It just depends on how you look at it.

The response so far has raised Pulliam’s hopes that he’ll be able to expand SuSu’s to other locations, he said. He’s laying the foundation. SuSu’s is certified under a “Living Wage” program, which requires a base pay at a certain level above minimum wage. He plans to implement profit-sharing as soon as the startup becomes profitable. “We want to grow organically so our employees learn the culture, learn our ‘whys’ about what we do,” he said. “And then they can have their own SuSu’s restaurants when we expand.”

In the meantime he sounds like he’s having fun, and why wouldn’t he be?

Williams has been running the show since the opening; Pulliam has been stateside, focusing on some of his other ventures. But plans call for him and his family to return in late September and stay for a month, giving Williams a break.

“We live about a nine-minute walk from the restaurant,” he said of a flat that he and Williams rent. “Every day that we go to our restaurant, we’re walking right by the Cavern Club, which is where the Beatles got their start. We’re about 50 steps away from the Cavern Club.”

“Liverpool is known as a party town,” he said, praising the city’s energetic arts and entertainment scene. “Similar to New Orleans in America.”

It’s been a good summer. The best may be yet to come.

“It’s still not gumbo weather over there yet,” said Pulliam.

Dear Eric: My wife and I are a white couple in our mid-70s. We have numerous Black friends and acquaintances we see frequently at our church and workplace. Everybody is very cordial, and our conversations share insights into each other’s goings-on (family, friends, et cetera).

What is discomforting to us is we are often addressed as “Miss Jane” and “Mr. John” rather than simply Jane and John. We’re sure all intentions are respectful. We hate to think there is a racial element involved and hope it is just a matter of cultural mannerisms. We don’t notice this “title” formality with one Black person to another, even among those in our age bracket. We don’t want to be rude if addressing this issue would be somehow offensive.

Any thoughts on this?

– Informal Request

Dear Request: Don’t be afraid to ask people to call you what you’re most comfortable being called. For instance, “It would mean so much if you’d just call me John; it’s how I know we’re friends.” Something short and sweet like that.

It’s unclear to me whether the formality is related to your particular region, a particular subculture or even your standing in your community. Or all of the above. But, if you’re noticing that these honorifics aren’t universally applied, it stands to reason you have the power to do away with them without being thought rude.

Now, if your friends and acquaintances protest, that’s an opportunity for you to dig a little deeper, with respect. “Would you mind telling me more about why you’d feel more comfortable with Mr. John rather than John?” And then listen to what they have to say. Even if you don’t agree with the reasoning, it might give you insight into how you’re seen and how you and your friends can better see each other.

Read more Asking Eric and other advice columns.

Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at [email protected] or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Every day until Aug. 29, Creg Stephenson is counting down significant numbers in Alabama football history, both in the lead-up to the 2025 football season and in commemoration of the Crimson Tide’s first national championship 100 years ago. The number could be attached to a year, a uniform number or even a football-specific statistic. We hope you enjoy.

It was on a December night 83 years ago in Knoxville, Tenn., that the conference Alabama would come to rule in football was born.

Following a meeting at the Farragut Hotel, it was announced that 13 schools that had been part of the Southern Conference would split off and form their own league. The new organization was of course the Southeastern Conference, made up of Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, LSU, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Sewanee, Tennessee, Tulane and Vanderbilt.

John J. Tigert, president of the University of Florida and chairman of the Southeastern Conference committee, announced the split — which was amicable, by all accounts — via a statement to the media on Friday, Dec. 9, 1932.

“The real reason for this organization is a desire to form a conference of institutions in the same geographical territory,” Tigert’s statement read in part. “… We the undersigned members courteously present our resignation.”

The other 10 schools — Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Military Institute, Virginia Tech and Washington & Lee — remained in the Southern Conference. In turn, the first six of that group would join with Wake Forest to form the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1953 (Virginia came aboard a year later).

Though Georgia, LSU and Tennessee were already or were becoming national football powers at the time, Alabama proved to be the class of the SEC from the beginning. Coach Frank Thomas’ Crimson Tide went 7-1-1 and won the first conference football title in 1933.

Alabama began the season with a 34-0 victory in Tuscaloosa over Atlanta’s Oglethorpe University on Sept. 30, then played Ole Miss to a scoreless tie in its SEC debut in Birmingham. The Crimson Tide recorded its first win in the new conference a week later, blanking Mississippi State 18-0 in Tuscaloosa.

Then came a 12-6 victory at Tennessee before the team’s lone loss of the season, a 2-0 non-conference defeat to Fordham at the Polo Grounds in New York on Oct. 28. Alabama went a perfect 4-0 in November, beating Kentucky 20-0 in Birmingham, Virginia Tech 27-0 in Tuscaloosa and then winning 12-9 at Georgia Tech and 7-0 at Vanderbilt.

Alabama’s 5-0-1 SEC record gave it the SEC title, with LSU finishing second at 3-0-2 in league play. The Tigers’ 7-7 tie with Tulane on Dec. 2 handed the Crimson Tide the outright conference championship.

Guard Tom Hupke was an All-American on Alabama’s first SEC team, while end Don Hutson played like the future star that he was. But perhaps the breakout performer on the team was halfback Millard “Dixie” Howell, a Hartford native who was a “triple threat” in the Crimson Tide’s Notre Dame box offense — equally adept as a runner, passer and punter.

Howell ran for 659 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry in 1933, and passed for 174 yards on just 12 completions. He averaged 42 yards per punt and led all scorers in the state of Alabama with 54 points, the latter of which was noted in a rather florid Associated Press report from Dec. 2.

“King football, ready to make his exit until next September, leaned forward from his throne today and tapped Dixie Howell of Alabama on the shoulder to make him knight of the high score in Alabama’s ‘big five,’” the report read. “For the Tide flash scampered across the goal line on Turkey Day for the winning touchdown, and ran his year’s mark to 54.”

The ruggedly handsome Howell, who also played baseball, was named athlete of the year at Alabama for 1933. He was an All-American in 1934, leading the Crimson Tide to a 10-0 record and a Rose Bowl victory over Stanford — a game in which Howell ran for two touchdowns and threw for another to fellow All-American Hutson.

Though Hutson enjoyed a Hall-of-Fame career in the NFL, Howell played only briefly as a professional in football and spent eight years in the minor leagues in baseball. He was later head football coach at Arizona State and Idaho, and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1970, just a few months before his death from cancer at age 58.

“I have seen more than 100 All-American football players in action, including Red Grange,” legendary Birmingham News sports editor Zipp Newman wrote upon Howell’s death. “And I never saw a more perfect all-around threat in action than Dixie Howell. … He was as fine a defensive safety as he was a passer, runner and punter.”

Sewanee went winless in its first eight seasons in the SEC, and left the conference to move to a lower division in 1940. Georgia Tech departed in 1964, followed by Tulane two years later.

The SEC remained a 10-team league from 1965-91, after which Arkansas and South Carolina joined on. Missouri and Texas A&M came aboard in 2012, with Oklahoma and Texas arriving in 2024.

In that time, Alabama has won or shared in 30 SEC championships in football, more than any other two teams combined. Georgia is second with exactly half that number (15), followed by Tennessee (13), LSU (12), Florida (9), Auburn (8), Ole Miss (6), Kentucky (2) and Mississippi State (1).

Vanderbilt is the lone charter member still in the league who has never won an SEC football championship. None of the members who have joined since 1992 have either, though Texas is considered by many to be the favorite this year.

The Longhorns would have to win every SEC championship until 2044 to equal the total Alabama began compiling way back in 1933.

Coming Tuesday: Our countdown to kickoff continues with No. 32, a great Alabama star of years ago who is largely forgotten today.

DEAR ABBY: My daughter-in-law is scheduled for surgery in a few weeks. She will need to take a leave of absence from her teaching job. When she put in her request to the principal, he wanted to know what kind of surgery she was having. At first, she told him it was personal and she would prefer not to say, but he continued to harass her until she told him. She was embarrassed because it’s a female-related procedure.

I told her what he did was unprofessional and it’s possibly illegal (HIPAA) for him to ask such a question. In her contract, she’s allowed to take an LOA for personal reasons. How do you think she should have handled this situation? — LEAVE OF ABSENCE IN THE EAST

DEAR LOA: I think your daughter-in-law handled the grilling as best she could. But understand that the principal had no right to pry into her medical needs. What he did was ethically and morally wrong.

If he wanted a note from her doctor explaining her need for time off for surgery, he could have requested it. The details of the procedure were none of his business. If she is suffering emotional distress because of his harassment, she should consult a lawyer.

Read more Dear Abby and other advice columns.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

Hot enough

To remind us all that this has been a fairly normal July, we’re now in a heat wave that could bring you the highest temperatures you’ve seen this year, reports AL.com weather reporter Leigh Morgan.

Between now and Wednesday, Alabama could make its first serious foray into triple digits. The heat index will top a hundred and push 105-110 almost everywhere the next two days.

Much of Central and North Alabama were already under a heat advisory through Tuesday evening.

So hydrate, find some shade, try to stay out of the midday sun, and maybe keep an extra shirt or two in the truck.

Come Thursday, the heat might back off just a little, closer to 90 than 100 in most places.

Saturday’s Blue Alert

You may have received a Blue Alert on your device Saturday. That is sent when a law-enforcement officer is shot, the suspect is at large, and authorities believe there is a danger to the public.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency issued the alert seeking a suspect in the shooting of a Scottsboro police officer, reports AL.com’s Tandra Smith.

Daniel Victor McCarn was taken into custody later Saturday.

Early Saturday morning Scottsboro police responded to a domestic call. According to police, McCarn fled in a vehicle, leading to a police chase. They said he crashed, left his vehicle, and opened fire on police, striking one officer.

The Clarion Newspaper reported that injuries to the unnamed officer were not life-threatening.

A really long manhunt

A man indicted in 2008 in Jefferson County on child-sex charges who’s been on the lam ever since was arrested by U.S. Marshals down in Sarasota County, Fla., reports AL.com’s Carol Robinson.

Authorities said that during those 17 years more than 30 task-force officers and senior inspectors worked the case to search for Jay Kloss.

Kloss was 50 years old when he disappeared from Birmingham and 67 years old when he was arrested on Friday. Investigators used age-progression photos from the FBI’s Birmingham Field Office to match him up with recent photos. They said developments broke in the case nearly a year ago, and this month they confirmed his identity.

Authorities said the arrest took place without incident.

Democrats and Republicans

The old adage says that even at the national level that “all politics is local.”

Former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Tip O’Neill was known for using that one, although it predates him by at least a few decades.

And it’s often not an unhealthy thing for representatives to maintain a connection with state leaders or consider how an issue is going to play back home.

But now we’re years down the road, and national left-right politics permeate our lives. It’s also really, really easy to follow. It’s what everybody’s talking about on TV and social media, it’s easy for us to cast ideologies in terms of good an evil and, frankly, it just makes for sexier news and analysis than your average city council meeting.

In some ways, when you’re talking local politics, you might start to suggest that “all politics is national.”

It’s not a brand-new thing in Alabama, but AL.com’s John Sharp has a report out that shows left-right politics is reaching into more places you wouldn’t expect.

Bryan Taunton is running for mayor in Sylacauga. He said he doesn’t remember, when he ran previously, ever being asked whether he was conservative or liberal, but this time around voters want to know his position on national politics.

In Baldwin County, the officially non-partisan city-level elections are inching toward … partisan.

Republican groups have organized candidate forums, the Baldwin County Democrats have endorsed candidates in Bay Minette and Daphne, and a Fairhope council candidate has included the GOP elephant symbol on his campaign visuals.

Is the trend good or bad? That’s your call. Nonpartisan elections, supporters point out, cost less with the lack of primaries and primary run-offs and reward public service over stated ideology.

Baldwin County GOP Chair Kathy Morelock, however, points out that issues extend beyond development and traffic. Voters want to know where candidates stand on social issues that are both national and local, she said, and those voters understand how the parties typically align on those issues.

Indeed, in Fairhope and other places around the state there is an ongoing debate over where to draw the lines on sexual material in the children’s section of libraries.

Quiz answers

You can join us on the Down in Alabama podcast and take the quiz in person. Just email [email protected] with the word “quiz” in the subject line and we’ll try to put you on the schedule. We record via internet on Thursday afternoons.

Here’s how readers did on Friday’s Alabama News Quiz:

Overall results

• Five out of five: 19.0%
• Four out of five: 29.4%
• Three out of five: 28.2%
• Two out of five: 16.0%
• One out of five: 6.7%
• None out of five: 0.7%

Some residents of this small Alabama town are still struggling with extensive home repairs two years after a violent hailstorm.

• Camp Hill (CORRECT) 51.4%
• Carbon Hill 24.4%
• Oak Hill 13.2%
• Spring Hill 11.0%

This establishment — a first for Alabama — is expected to open in Florence late next year.

• A Hard Rock hotel (CORRECT) 81.3%
• An In-N-Out Burger 13.0%
• A LegoLand 4.2%
• An Arnold’s Drive-In 1.5%

According to a WalletHub study, what is the “most stressed” among Alabama’s larger cities?

• Birmingham (CORRECT) 66.8%
• Montgomery 13.2%
• Huntsville 10.5%
• Mobile 9.5%

Immigration-enforcement arrests have been increasing statewide — but most noticeably in this two-county area.

• Mobile and Baldwin (CORRECT) 81.4%
• Jefferson and Shelby 11.1%
• Limestone and Madison 4.5%
• Houston and Geneva 3.0%

This week marked the 125th anniversary of the birth of this Alabamian, whom some consider America’s quintessential “flapper” of the Roaring 20s.

• Zelda Fitzgerald (CORRECT) 55.8%
• Tallulah Bankhead 38.9%
• Louise Fletcher 4.0%
• Kay Ivey 1.3%

What’s in a Name?

Escambia County

A geographic peculiarity with Escambia County is that it shares the name of another county right over the state line in Florida. Florida’s Escambia County was organized first, although Florida wasn’t a state yet, in 1821 and covered half of what would become the Sunshine State. Escambia County, Alabama, was formed from parts of Baldwin and Conecuh counties in 1868.

The only obvious part of the name’s origin is that it comes from the Escambia River, although that waterway is known as the Conecuh River in Alabama.

Conecuh and Escambia — the counties, rivers and words — seem to cross over a few times in this story.

As to the origin of the word Escambia, there are different theories depending on from which American Indian tribe’s language the theorists believe it was derived.

Let’s start with the Choctaw. William A. Read’s “Indian Place Names in Alabama” offers theories that involve the Choctaw word oski (for cane) and either amo (to gather) or ambeha (to be in). As some have interpreted, it would’ve meant “canebreak” or a thicket of cane.

Meanwhile, Alabama’s Escambia County, on its website, credits the Creek Indians with naming the river “Shambia,” which means clearwater.

Let’s add one more theory: The Florida archives include a description and history of Florida’s Escambia County that was written in the 1930s. It suggests that “probably” the county received its name from the river, which received its name from — according to the description — a Spanish word “cambrir,” which it said means “to barter.”

We’re really doubting that one.

If we get to pick one, I’m going with the Choctaw words meaning canebrake. That’s an entirely reasonable word for a river, particularly one in this region in the 19th century.

And what about “Conecuh,” the county from which Escambia was created and the river that flows into the Escambia?

Again, there are several theories. I’ll mention this one: It comes from the Creek words for “canebreak.”

I think we might be on to something there.

More Alabama News

Born on This Date

In 1984, Houston Texans head coach and former Crimson Tide All-American DeMeco Ryans of Bessemer.

The podcast

There’s so much noise in the college football system these days, so much “loud, annoying and inarticulate” claptrap, it’s easy to miss it when someone says something truly noteworthy.

We interrupt this column for a noteworthy shout-out. In his latest thoughtful blog post, my old boss Tom Arenberg used the phrase above in quotes to describe rodeo clown Pat McAfee. Spot on as usual, Tom.

The opposite of loud, annoying and inarticulate would be quiet, refreshing and insightful. College football media days aren’t famous for public displays of subtle erudition, but Dabo Swinney authored such an upset last week at the ACC gabfest.

Going into his 17th full season at Clemson, coming off a surprising playoff appearance, Swinney has constructed a team that looks capable of winning his third national championship. The first question directed at the winningest coach in ACC history referenced the program’s “perennial expectation of national championship or bust.”

At Alabama, Swinney played in and coached as an assistant at such a program. At Clemson, he’s built one so the question didn’t come out of left field. He started his response this way: “Well, I think we’ve earned that through consistency.”

He then supported his thesis with an amazing true fact that had escaped me and, I suspect, a large majority of college football observers. Last season’s 10-4 finish meant that Swinney and Clemson have won nine or more games for 14 straight years (and only once in that run did they fail to reach 10 wins).

As he pointed out, only three other programs in major college football history can say the same: Nebraska under Tom Osborne, Florida State under Bobby Bowden and Alabama under Nick Saban. That’s it. That’s the exclusive, extraordinary list.

“We’re not perfect,” Swinney said, “but we’re incredibly consistent.”

For the record, Nebraska won at least nine games in every one of Osborne’s 25 seasons. FSU under Bowden won at least 10 games for 14 straight seasons. Saban and Alabama reached 10 wins for 16 straight years.

That’s the kind of elite company Swinney has reached. Consider what he and Clemson accomplished last season. He passed Bowden for the most career victories by an ACC coach and did it at FSU on Bobby Bowden Field. When Clemson walked off SMU with a game-winning field goal, Swinney earned his ninth ACC title and improved to 9-1 in the ACC Championship Game.

How many SEC titles did Saban win at Alabama? Nine. What was his record in the SEC Championship Game with the Crimson Tide? 9-1.

Saban went 25-8 in postseason games at Alabama. Swinney is 21-10 in those pressure-cookers. Only two coaches beat Saban and Alabama twice in the postseason: Swinney and Urban Meyer.

If Clemson wins at least 16 games over the next three seasons, a remarkably low bar, Swinney will pass Osborne, Saban, Bob Stoops, Meyer, Joe Paterno and LaVell Edwards for the most wins by a major college football coach in his first 20 years. More likely, Swinney will hurdle those giants on that list sometime in 2026.

Did we mention that he’s only 55 years old?

You are welcome to downplay the numbers, as people did during and after Bowden’s stellar career, because Swinney has climbed this mountain through the ACC. No, it’s not the SEC, despite the company line pushed by the likes of Rhett Lashlee.

You also are welcome to notice that Clemson has won at least one postseason game – conference championship, playoff or bowl – for 14 straight years, something no other program has done. Ever. Among those victims: Ohio State three times, Alabama, Oklahoma and Notre Dame twice each and LSU.

At the moment, Swinney is one of three active coaches who’s won a national championship along with Kirby Smart and Ryan Day. Swinney and Smart are the only ones with two big rings, and they’re engaged in another, more mythical competition.

Who’s the best former Alabama assistant turned head coach? With 180 career victories, nine conference championships and two national titles, it has to be Swinney. He tutored under Gene Stallings and learned his lessons well.

Don’t be surprised if, come December, Swinney has Clemson back in the playoff hunt for another banner. He didn’t make a lot of noise at ACC Media Days, but though Pelham’s favorite son can be loud and annoying when the mood strikes, he did articulate some facts about his program that spoke volumes.

As did this compliment from another ACC coach: “We’re all learning from Dabo.”

Who said that? North Carolina coach Bill Belichick.