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The Northport Gazette

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17/12/2025

Many athletes are captivating to watch compete in their respective sport. This captivation continues outside of the sport though, allowing a platform for these athletes to speak on matters close to their hearts. For former University of Alabama and Dallas Cowboys football player Tony Dixon, it is speaking on growth, mental health, and much more. To do so, Dixon uses his podcast, Tony Dixon and Friends, and his book, Beyond the Glass: A Life of Purpose and Impact. In doing so, Dixon and his peers work together to spread a message of awareness, acceptance, and alignment.

Before becoming a pro athlete, Tony Dixon began at Pickens County High School, where he excelled in basketball, baseball, marching band, and the classroom. Football was his primary passion, earning All-State honors as one of the top athletes in the country. After graduation, Dixon would attend UA, where he would compete as a defensive safety. In 2001, he was selected in the second round of the NFL Draft, going to the Dallas Cowboys, where he would play for five seasons before retiring.

Following retirement, Dixon would jump into corporate America, climbing the ladder at the PepsiCo Foundation. From there, Dixon would begin his own foundation, and eventually reconnect with two longtime friends, Eric McCalpine and Kecalf Bailey. In 2024, the three began working on an idea for a podcast that would discuss topics like mental health, resilience, fatherhood, legacy, and authenticity. That idea would come to fruition in 2025, and speaking to Gazette Staff, the three friends all shared their hopes in making an impact.

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11/12/2025

The Tuscaloosa County School System is one of the largest school systems in the State of Alabama. With that, TCSS is continuously monitoring the progress within its schools, always looking for ways to better the education for its students. Recently, the state report card for schools and systems across the state came out, revealing scores for some of Northport’s own schools and for TCSS, which had a rise in its grade from last year.

The grades come from the Alabama State Department of Education, which releases the Alabama State Education Report Card, coming from the 2024-2025 school year. These reports were revealed back in November, with TCSS being the beneficiary of a rise in grades. The overall score of the school system is an 84 or B grade, which is a singular point bump from last year. The past two years has seen an overall five-point gain for TCSS, with none of its schools dropping a full letter grade score.

The report reveals the totals for TCSS and its thirty-five schools. A total of 18,195 students attend the schools across the county, with a 92.44% graduation rate within the system. Other notable statistics from academic indicators show a 60.76% in academic achievement, 94.22% in academic growth, and a 37.33 in English language proficiency. Accountability indicators show an 11.8% in chronic absenteeism and a 85.93% in career and college readiness.

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10/12/2025

Christmas time is in full swing here in the City of Northport, and with it comes some of the beloved holiday events that are free for all to enjoy. Among those is Dickens Downtown, an event that has spanned over three decades in Downtown Northport, and this year’s event was one to remember.
Each year, Downtown Northport is closed for traffic, as Main Avenue is turned into a Christmas wonderland for the night.

Dickens Downtown allows residents and visitors to Northport to come and enjoy some festive fun, with no cost for attendance. The event is inspired by Charles Dickens and his “A Christmas Carol,” as attendees are invited to come dressed in their best Victorian era clothing. This year’s event was a bit chilly, but the crowd did not mind, with many attendees packing the Northport street.

This year’s event held some of the favorite attractions that are available each year. This includes the famous snow machine at the intersection of 5th Street and Main Avenue, musical performances along the street, the train carrying families around Main Avenue, visitors such as Queen Victoria and Father Christmas, a live nativity scene with animals, open houses for the local businesses in Downtown, and vendors making hot chocolate and delicious food for attendees to enjoy.

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05/12/2025

Back in August, the Tuscaloosa County School System lost its superintendent, Dr. Keri Johnson, after she resigned and moved to another school system. TCSS, which is one of the largest school systems in the State of Alabama, holding over 19,000 students, immediately jumped into action, opening the job for applicants in September. In a release from the school system, they said:

“The Tuscaloosa County School System is seeking highly qualified candidates for the position of Superintendent. Candidates must be committed to student achievement and building on the current educational foundation and accomplishments achieved and established over the past several years.”

In October, finalists for the position were announced. This included several applicants from TCSS, such as principals and support staff. Interviews for the finalists took place at the beginning of November, then on the 20th, TCSS came to a decision, announcing Dr. Daniel Bray as the newest superintendentof the school system.

Dr. Bray was one of five finalists for the position. He currently serves as TCSS’s Director of Secondary Curriculum and Instruction, which has worked as since 2021. Bray also served as the principal of Brookwood Middle School, assistant principal at Hale County High School, and as a classroom teacher. Prior to his work in education, Bray worked in finial planning and wealth management. He holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, Policy, and Technology Studies, Master of Consumer Sciences in Financial Planning, and Bachelor of Science in Commerce and Business Administration; all secured at the University of Alabama.

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Photo from TCSS

03/12/2025

Each year on Thanksgiving week, Farm-City week takes place, celebrating the important work done by farmers across the country who play a vital role in America’s economy and more. With the week comes the Kiwanis Club of Tuscaloosa and their annual banquet, celebrating the week and selecting the farmer of the year, with the 72nd winner being John Lang.

Wayne Ford of the Kiwanis Club of Tuscaloosa led the presentation at the banquet, and explained the importance of the week, stating that without farmers, there would be nothing to eat.

“Farm-City Week is when you get your rural and city people together and see how each work together,” Ford said. “Years ago, there was a negative stigma on farming; they thought they just worked in the dirt, but without farmers, we wouldn’t have anything to eat. Our farmers are the backbone of our country. If we didn’t have our farmers to take care of us, we would have a tough time. It is nice to have money and nice to have gold, but gold won't feed you, and food will. We want to appreciate our farmers for all they do for us here and across the country.”

Ford then introduced John Lang, this year’s honoree of the prestigiousaward. Lang, born in 1948, grew up in Texas, where he worked on a cattle farm as a child. Lang was notorious for his work, and also “bareback riding,” earning money in competitions for doing so, with Ford calling Lang a “true Texan.”

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26/11/2025

Thanksgiving week is one of the best weeks for sports. There are the NFL games throughout the weekend, college basketball tournaments, and of course rivalry week in college football. These college football matchups are historic and provide fans an opportunity to get bragging rights over their opposing fan bases, though some of these rivalries have a bit more on the line than just pride. For the Alabama Crimson Tide football team, this year’s Iron Bowl versus the Auburn Tigers will decide the fate of the Tide’s post season.
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While the rivalry itself carries a lot of meaning, the game has had its fair share of more impact on the postseason in recent years. In 2013, the Tigers famously toppled the Tide with the “Kick-Six”, keeping Bama out of the BCS National Championship. In 2017, Auburn upset Bama, threatening the push the Tide out of the playoff picture. Then in 2019, a shootout between the teams led to a 48-45 loss for Bama, which pushed us out of championship contention. Notably, all of these losses have come on the road in Auburn, which many fans have said holds some form of bad luck. I buy it. While we have won the last five meetings, every game between Bama and Auburn at their place has been a nail biter, despite however good or bad the Tigers have been coming into the game. It is their Super Bowl, and they would love nothing more than play spoiler to DeBoer and the Tide team who must win to secure a playoff spot.

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Photos from Alabama Football

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