Skip to main content

Nearby Communities

State Edition

National Edition

Stay in the loop with what's happening in Florence

Never miss out on local news and events that matter to you.

🌱 Remembering Florence's Donnie Fritts and his life in music

Florence, Alabama Patch AM: a 5 min read

Cheers Florence! We’re back, helping you stay up to date with what’s happening. Let's take on the day together! ☀️

In today's newsletter:

  • Remembering Florence's Donnie Fritts and his life in music
  • Florence hospital earns five stars for inpatient diabetes care
  • Mars Hill fifth graders turn leadership lessons into community help

Also on today's calendar: Ribbon Cutting Hummingbird Laser & Design and 5 more events.

Today's riddle: What are the two sides of a circle? 🤔 (Answer below!)

Weather forecast:

  • Wednesday: Times of sun and clouds, with a high of 69 and low of 48 degrees.
  • Thursday: Clouds and sun, temps: high: 61, low: 38.
  • Friday: Mostly sunny and cool, with a high of 53 and low of 31 degrees.

📰 News we're reading

1. Donnie Fritts born November 8, 1942 (blogspot.com) — Florence-born Donnie Fritts helped shape the early Muscle Shoals sound before building a long musical partnership with Kris Kristofferson. This birthday remembrance traces his beginnings in local bands, his songwriting and recording career, and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame recognition he received in 2008. Fritts died in 2019 at 76.
   

2. North Alabama Medical Center earns five-star rating for diabetes care (rocketcitynow.com) — North Alabama Medical Center in Florence has earned a five-star Healthgrades rating for treating hospitalized patients with diabetes. The rating draws on patient outcomes, including risk-adjusted death and complication rates, rather than patient reviews. It follows other recent recognition for the hospital's infection prevention, colon cancer surgery and stroke care.
   

3. LEAD Team's charity drive is successful (timesdaily.com) — Fifth graders at Florence's Mars Hill Bible School helped turn an elementary-school donation drive into 15 boxes of supplies for the Chadwick Foundation, which supports adults with special needs. Their leadership team organized and packed toiletries, cleaning products and craft supplies. The foundation's CEO said the donations would last a while.
   

4. Aniah's Law hearing delayed for Florence murder suspect (timesdaily.com) — A hearing on whether to hold Florence murder suspect Rayshon Isaiah Thompson without bond has moved to Friday at 2:30 p.m., following his attorney's request. Thompson faces charges in Saturday's smoke shop shooting that killed Joshua Darren McClain and injured another person. The judge will consider detention under Alabama's Aniah's Law.
   

5. Florence woman charged with domestic violence for assaulting ex-NFL QB husband (rocketcitynow.com) — Florence resident Debra Darby Todd faces a felony domestic violence charge after allegedly striking her husband with pliers during an argument Monday night. Shoals Insider identified him as former NFL quarterback Richard Todd, though the court complaint does not name him. She is being held on $30,000 bond, with a court date pending.
   

📸 Around Florence

Show off your photography skills and the sights around town! Click here to submit your Photo of the Day to Patch AM!

🗓 Upcoming Events in Florence

Add your event to our calendar and newsletter!

★ Featured events ★

Want to see your event featured? Click here!

Other local events

📣 Florence Shout Outs!

Want to say something great about someone in town? Click here to submit your Shout Out to Patch AM! It's free!

🗓 Events Nearby

    Wednesday November 11
  • Basketball (BG, VG) at Huntsville
    Lauderdale County High School Killen, AL 35645
    6:00 pm
    • Thursday November 12
  • Jr High Basketball vs Sheffield
    Rogers High School Killen, AL 35645
    4:30 pm
  • Literacy Parent Night at McBride
    Highland Park Elementary School Muscle Shoals, AL 35661
    5:30 pm
  • Paint Your Own Holiday Greeting Cards →
    Tennessee Valley Museum of Art, 511 W. Water St., Tuscumbia
    6:00 pm

Have we missed something on our calendar? Add an event yourself! As always, before attending confirm event details to ensure accuracy.

Want to see your business here? Click here to connect with local customers.

💬 Chatter

What your neighbors are talking about on social media

  • Show us your smile!
    ADPH's Oral Health Office is having the 10th Annual Share Your Smile With Alabama Photo Contest. Your child must be in third grade and live in… (Nextdoor )
  • National Nurse Practitioner Week is November 8-14.
    Nurse Practitioners are on the frontlines of health care, increasing equitable access to quality care. ADPH would like to thank all our NP colleagues… (Nextdoor )
  • Gap posted a job opening for Seasonal Retail Sales Associate - Cox Creek in Florence. Apply here.
  • pOpshelf posted a job opening for ASST STORE MGR - 21 and older only - in FLORENCE AL S08730 in Florence. Apply here. You can search for other jobs near Florence here.

Ok Florence! So now you're in the loop about what's happening today. Thanks for reading, and see you in your inbox next time! Oh -- and if you like what you're reading, invite a friend to Patch AM!

-- The Patch AM Team

P.S. The answer to today's riddle: "What are the two sides of a circle?" — The inside and the outside ! (Thank you James M. for sending it in!)
Got a good riddle for PatchAM? Submit it here!

👉 Help make Patch AM better

We use a combination of real people and machines to tell you what’s happening around town. Learn more about Patch AM.

Share to NextDoor     Share to Facebook

Stay in the loop with what's happening in Florence

Never miss out on local news and events that matter to you.

Stay in the loop with what's happening in Florence

Never miss out on local news and events that matter to you.