SUMMARY: Fourteen-year-old Lucas Garrard, a freshman at Enterprise High School, won first place in the Alabama Black Belt Adventures Association’s 2025 Road Trip Photo Contest with a photo taken at his sister’s softball tournament. His image received the most online votes, earning him a $100 gift card. Second place went to Shelby Favre York for a photo at Prairie Creek Campground, winning $50, while Barbara Sims took third place with a picture of her grandson in Conecuh County, winning an ALBBAA merchandise gift basket. ALBBAA recently launched the Best Fish Photo Contest, running through September 30, open to fish caught in Alabama’s Black Belt counties.

Read the full article

The post Enterprise High School student wins ALBBAA’s Road Trip Photo Contest appeared first on www.alreporter.com

SUMMARY: Mobile voters will face changes in polling locations for tomorrow’s election due to new district maps and annexations adding over 19,000 residents. Mobile has 37 voting sites, with 13 different from four years ago, caused by redistricting or site availability. Over 29,000 residents have shifted districts, requiring them to confirm their polling place at alabamavotes.gov. For example, District 5’s location moved from Holy Cross Lutheran Church to Dauphin Way. Polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Municipal elections use some state polling sites, so voters should verify locations. WKRG News 5 will cover over 100 races, including mayoral contests, with updates on WKRG.com and the WKRG-plus app.

Tens of thousands of Mobilians will head to the polls on Tuesday, but many voters could find themselves voting in a new district and at a different location than before.

Source

by Anna Barrett, Alabama Reflector
August 25, 2025

An Alabama child contracted measles while traveling outside the United States, the Alabama Department of Public Health said Monday. 

ADPH said in a statement the 5-year-old living in north Alabama was not vaccinated against the viral respiratory disease. The child did not attend a day care or school and their siblings were vaccinated in accordance with official guidelines on the vaccine. ADPH was not able to find out why the infected child had not been vaccinated.

Symptoms of the disease can take seven to 14 days to present after infection, and can be particularly dangerous for infants and young children.

It is the first confirmed case of measles in Alabama since 2002. Measles is a highly contagious disease, and ADPH officials have for years expressed alarm at the state’s dropping Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccination rates. In 2023-24, the rate among kindergartners was 93.8%, below the 95% rate the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers necessary to achieve herd immunity.

Dr. Karen Landers, ADPH’s chief medical officer, said in the statement that unvaccinated people, if exposed, have a 90% chance of becoming infected, and infected people can spread the disease several days before becoming symptomatic. 

“Measles follows a pattern in which the child first develops fever, cough, runny nose, and watery/red eyes, then a rash develops. Persons can start spreading the virus up to four days before symptoms appear, and those with weak immune systems can spread the measles virus longer,” Landers said. 

The case comes a week after Texas, where a measles outbreak originated earlier this year, announced the outbreak was over. State Health Officer Dr. Scott Harris said at the ADPH monthly meeting that there had not been any cases in Alabama, but there were two cases where the patient had passed through Alabama.

“We think that the largest outbreak in the country is over, although there’s still several jurisdictions still have active outbreaks, because it’s been less than 42 days,” Harris said Thursday.

ADPH in March investigated possible measles exposure in the state after an unvaccinated child who traveled through Alabama tested positive for measles, but did not report any cases.  A Lee County child who showed measles-like symptoms earlier this year tested negative for the disease.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 1,375 confirmed cases of measles this year as of Aug. 19. In 2024, there were 285 cases. 

This story was updated at 2:53 p.m. to update a timeline on the infected child’s siblings’ vaccination status.

Alabama Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Alabama Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Brian Lyman for questions: info@alabamareflector.com.

The post Child in north Alabama has measles, says Alabama Department of Public Health appeared first on alabamareflector.com

Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Centrist

The content presents factual information about a measles case in Alabama, focusing on public health data and official statements without expressing political opinions or advocating for a particular policy stance. It emphasizes the importance of vaccination based on health guidelines and CDC recommendations, maintaining a neutral tone throughout. This balanced reporting aligns with a centrist perspective, prioritizing public health facts over political framing.