May 13, 2021

The new FCS Parent Resource Center opened at the beginning of May. Falcon families will find that this one-stop-shop can provide emergency resources like clothing, school supplies, and even hygiene products for FCS students in need. Services are referral-based through school principals. Donations of new or gently used clothing can be made by contacting the Florence City Schools Board of Education at (256)768-3000. Go Falcons!

Times Daily Article

The ”Diamonds in the Rough” traveling friends want to invite you to join them. Two upcoming trips are listed below. Trips are open to the public! We look forward to experiencing an adventure with you! Questions? Call Florence Senior Center Director Fran Davis at 256.760.6642 or fdavis@florenceal.org.

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Weeden Elementary School teacher Rachel Graves has been named the District VII Elementary Teacher of the Year. Mrs. Graves is one of 16 outstanding teachers in Alabama named a finalist for the Alabama 2021-2022 Teacher of the Year award. Mrs. Graves is a Resource Teacher at Weeden Elementary School. She has been a teacher with Florence City Schools for 7 years. She coaches the high school swim team, is a member of the AHSAA swimming committee and coaches Special Olympics swimming.

Originally from Franklin, TN, Mrs. Graves moved to Florence in 2009. She received her undergraduate degree in K-6 Collaborative Education and her Master’s degree in K-12 Special Education from the University of North Alabama. Mrs. Graves has been married to her husband, Andrew, for 7 years, and they have one son, Fletcher. They are so glad to be a part of the amazing Falcon Family!

On July 22, 1818, lot number 84 on the town plan created by John Coffee, Ferdinand Sannoner and Hunter Peel was purchased by a group of local Presbyterians. Their first church structure (probably of logs) was destroyed by fire, but by 1824 the congregation was moving forward with the building of a substantial meeting house. The walls, facade and roofline of that building survive today, and the interior of the sanctuary, though altered over the years, reflects it as well. And that is why First Presbyterian Church on East Mobile Street in downtown Florence well deserves the reference as the "Mother Church of Florence." Other denominations of Christendom followed apace, as did Temple B'Nai Israel and the Baha'i Fellowship, among others. So, what is the point? Well, the point is that, clearly, along with governmental, economic, educational and social emphases, Florence has also been guided and developed by an emphasis on the spiritual as well. The faith community has truly been -- and is -- integral to the City's balanced development.

--Billy Warren, City Historian

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