Spanish Fort to rename Highway 225 to American Patriots Way

SPANISH FORT, Ala. (WALA) - Spanish Fort is moving forward with renaming its stretch of Highway 225 to honor those who have served in the military. The city council is expected to pass a resolution at its meeting Monday night, April 6, 2026.

County and state leaders stood with the Spanish Fort mayor and city council in support of renaming Highway 225 to American Patriots Way. The move is a way for the city and county to show appreciation for military veterans present and past.

Historical significance

The Highway 225 corridor has military significance dating back to the country’s earliest years. The only known Revolutionary War soldier known to be buried in Baldwin County, Lieutenant Zachariah Godbold, rests in Saluda Hill Cemetery. Saluda Hill overlooks the Alabama State Veterans Memorial Cemetery, where 4,935 internments have been made since it opened in 2013, including one Monday. Blakely State Park and the US Colored Troops Heritage Trail are also along this path.

The move to rename the highway was started by Dr. Barry Booth, a champion for local veterans. City, county and state legislators got onboard.

“Long story short, when Dr. Booth calls you, you don’t say no, so I’m happy to support this and do everything,” said Rep. Matt Simpson (R-State House Dist. 96). “For everything he’s done for our community and for our veterans and for our patriots, it’s important for me to see this through for Dr. Booth.”

Elected officials from the local and state level announced the name change at Spanish Fort City Hall. Mayor Brad Bass said there will be educational background on the area that people traveling through will be able to look up after seeing the new highway signs.

“I know with Blakely, Representative Simpson and our delegation has worked on some new stuff at Blakely that will be coming soon so I think if we could tie all that in together it would be a good thing,” Bass said. “From an educational standpoint, not just for our local folks but for folks that travel 225 for vacation and travel from all over the country year-round.”

For veterans who call Spanish Fort home, like 40-year veteran and retired U.S. Army General Mike Sumrall, the name change is a point of pride.

“If you’ve served with the men and women that serve our country, then you understand the sacrifice they make to do that and for the community to stop and say we appreciate it and we recognize what you’ve done for our country, it’s a big deal,” Sumrall said.

Dr. Booth was unable to make it to the announcement. Baldwin County and the state will introduce their own resolutions favoring the change Tuesday. It will not be a ceremonial name change but an actual renaming of the road from US Highway 31 to Interstate 65.

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House set to vote Tuesday on sex ed reform banning contraceptive demonstrations, sexually explicit images

MONTGOMERY — The House of Representatives is set to vote on legislation to significantly alter sex education in the state of Alabama on Tuesday, when lawmakers return for the final week of the 2026 legislative session.

The bill was on the calendar for a floor vote last Thursday; however, leadership motioned to adjourn before completing the day's full docket of bills, promising to bring all unaddressed legislation back to the floor on the following Tuesday.

Senate Bill 209, sponsored by State Sen. Shay Shelnutt (R-Trussville), and carried by State Rep. Susan Dubose (R-Hoover) in the House, would transform the state's sexual education teaching in K-12 schools.

The legislation will undoubtedly draw significant backlash from House Democrats, who have bucked similar efforts by Dubose in years past.

Under current law, any program or curriculum in a public K-12 school that includes sex education or reproduction must emphasize abstinence as the only effective protection against unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. SB209 would require any curriculum or program to exclusively teach sexual risk avoidance and encourage abstinence from all sexual activity.

The legislation would also ban any sex ed teaching for children from kindergarten through the fourth grade.

The curriculum would prohibit the use of sexually explicit images, demonstrating the use of contraceptives, providing referrals or information on how to procure contraception or abortions, and the use of services or education from any individual or organization that does not endorse sexual risk avoidance or that advocates for or performs abortions.

"It's going to stop the teaching of comprehensive sexual education. There's some inappropriate things being taught to our students that we don't want taught. We want it to be scientifically-based," Shelnutt said after passing the Senate in February. "We want it to be based on what's best for our students. Sexual abstinence is the best and only 100% way to avoid unwanted pregnancies and STDs. That's the main focus of what we want taught to our students."

The legislation would also require parents to be notified of the curriculum and its contents, and would provide parents with the option to have their children opt out of the program.

House set to vote Tuesday on sex ed reform banning contraceptive demonstrations, sexually explicit images