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(09/16/13 9:24pm)
After flying planes with the Navy and teaching R.O.T.C. at Auburn University, Council member Dick Phelan took on the mission to make important decisions on behalf of Ward 6 on City Council.
Twelve years ago, Phelan's involvement with the Auburn Veterans Committee helped familiarized himself with Mayor Bill Ham and the city manager at the time.
Phelan said he thought they were doing a great job with the city, but he wasn't as pleased with his City Council member. He decided to give City Council a try and ran for the position.
"I thought I was going to have one other opponent and I had three other opponents that ran," Phelan said. "At the time I didn't know what I was getting into."
To win the position, Phelan had to have the majority of votes cast. He had to win by at least 50 percent.
He said his strategy was to talk to the people he knew and have then talk to people they knew. With all his time involved with the federal government, he understood how people spent money at the federal level and he wanted to make spending more efficient at the local level.
"I have spent a lot of time doing this now and when you do something like this, you do it because of your commitment to the community," Phelan said. "You don't do it for any other reason. You really have to have a desire to do things people want you to do."
Phelan grew up and went to high school in Iowa. In the late '50s, Phelan said there were military drafts, so if he didn't go to college he would probably get drafted.
He decided to go to the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. He graduated in 1964, and flew planes for approximately 27 years.
"It was a little different than it is now, because back then they only had males," Phelan said. "The first year was a little bit rough. I enjoyed it. I got to travel all over the world, not only with the Naval Academy but also when I was flying."
In 1988, the Navy brought Phelan and his wife, Edna, to Auburn University to teach R.O.T.C. until 1991 when he left the Navy.
"I found a place I wanted to stay for a while after I got out," Phelan said. "I just enjoyed the town, and I enjoyed the students. There is always something to do at the University. You can do a lot of other things you really don't have the opportunity to do other places."
The past 22 years, Phelan has worked with Wilson Investment Group as a financial adviser along with his work with City Council.
Phelan said when he moved to Auburn he noticed there were some portables outside the junior high school, and he wanted to improve the Auburn school system. Since then the population has increased from 25,000 to 50,000, and the school system has had to accommodate the increase.
"There are a lot of times when you think we did something worthwhile," Phelan said. "Everybody doesn't always feel that way, but you feel like you made a decision that if you were outside looking in, you would agree with it."
In 11 months, City Council will hold another election for members, and Phelan said he has not decided if he will run again or not.
"Auburn is just a nice community to live in," Phelan said. "I do feel that everyone who serves on City Council, as long as I have been here, have all done it for the right reason."
(09/15/13 3:45pm)
Auburn ended its 10-game SEC losing streak with a wild come from behind, 24-20, victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.
"We talked before the game that it could come down to the end. A lot of these games with Mississippi State have, and I said we've got to find a way to win," said head coach Gus Malzahn.
With 1:56 to go in the game Auburn had the ball on its own 12-yard line trailing Mississippi State 20-17.
"The atmosphere was we've got the ball and we're going down and score," said receiver Quan Bray. "No less than three (points) we were trying to win the ball game."
And that's exactly what the offense did.
Auburn drove the ball 88 yards and scored the game-winning touchdown with a Nick Marshall 10-yard pass to tight end C.J. Uzomah with 10 seconds left in the game.
"It was unbelievable," Uzomah said. "When I caught the ball I looked up and saw everybody on their feet and I could not hear one thing, everybody was jumping on me and all I could hear was the 80,000 roaring."
Marshall finished the winning drive going 6-for-8 for 66 yards and 19 yards rushing. "Coach told me to just go out there and be cool calm and collected, and don't rush anything," Marshall said. "I just took his word and took with the defense gave me and executed."
Also coming up big on the final drive was true freshman receiver Marcus Davis who caught four of Marshall's six passes on the final drive.
"Marcus is a guy that, he's a freshman, but he's not playing like a freshman," Malzahn said. "He's really stepped up and you'll see him on the field more."
The victory ended Auburn's 10-game SEC losing streak. Auburn's last SEC victory came against Ole Miss in 2011.
"Yeah, you know we did not talk about that one time," Malzahn said. "We just talked about this year. You know, a new start, a new beginning, a new day, and our guys really bought into it. When you win your first SEC game, it gives you great momentum, and I'm really proud of our guys, and the way they got that done tonight."
Even though the team was not worried about ending the losing streak it still feels good for them to be 3-0.
"Especially coming off last year going 3-9 and this year we've already won three games, it feels real good," Bray said. "We just have to take this and run with it and come back tomorrow and think about LSU."
(09/04/13 3:13am)
The City Council met Tuesday, Sept. 3 to discuss Havana Dreamin' requesting an alcohol license, and Exhale's request to operate as a cigar and hookah lounge. "They died because a lack of action," said David Dorton, city director of public affairs. "The Havana Dreamin' one is two issues, even though they are both dealing with smoking. Havana Dreamin's issue was that they wanted to add alcohol to a smoking lounge."Havana Dreamin', 2328 S. College St. suite 12, sought approval for an alcoholic beverage license, but the license was denied after being granted approval to operate as a retail tobacco shop in January.Zamil Ali of Exhale, the cigar and hookah lounge, requested approval to operate as a tobacco specialty shop, or operate as a cigar or hookah lounge. Exhale is located at 221 N. College St. in the College Edge Overlay District. At the Aug. 6 meeting, both Havana Dreamin' and Exhale's requests were tabled in order for the Council to research the businesses' compliance of the City's smoking ordinances."The problem the Council saw with that was we've told bars that they can't smoke anymore," Dorton said. "So if you allow a smoking lounge to add alcohol to the smoking lounge, then that might be inconsistent with rules bars have to abide by."Three citizens approached the Council to discuss the potential harms of smoking, while Havana Dreamin' owner, Rick Payne argued for the approval of the alcohol license. "I think the hookah bar goes back to the issue of what do they want the smoking ordinance to allow, and the idea that we are going back and being consistent in how we apply all of these rules," Dorton said. "And really do they want to allow any type of smoking establishment, I think is part of the discussion."
In other business:
Katie Robinson from the planning department was named employee of the month.
The Mayor awarded five service pins and plaques. Stephanie Spraggins with the finance department and Audrea May with the public works department were awarded pins for their five year service to the City. David Carr with the public safety department and Marty Beckwith with the public works department were honored for their 10 years of service.
City Manager Charles Duggan announced vacancies in the Auburn City Public Library board, cemeteries advisory board and two vacancies in the industrial development board.
The Council approved alcoholic beverage licenses to Halftime Sports Bar and Grill on 154 and 156 N. College St.
The Council approved with unanimous consent the establishment of a stop sign in the Shelton Cove Subdivision.
Approved closing City streets for the Historic Pine Hill Lantern Tour and the Downtown Trick or Treat in October.
Approved Zazu's, 149 E. Magnolia Ave., request for an outdoor cafe permit.
Approved fixed costs for cutting overgrown lots at 804 Cahaba Drive and South College Street parcels.
Approved non-educational tax abatements for Pyongsan America Inc and toolCare U.S. International.
Approved conditional use of an accessory road for Oly's Automotive Detailing located at 465 Opelika Road. The item originally appeared in the August 20 City Council meeting where it was tabled to ensure the correction of zoning violations.
Approved Boykin Center tenants leases
Approved the purchase of 60 Motorola two-way radios at a cost of $59,145.
Approved purchase of two 60-inch Exmark mowers, three weed eaters, two edgers and one backpack mower at a total cost of $21,968.25
Approved drainage and utility easements at lot 2-C of the Samford Glenn Subdivision and two easements for the Northeast Parallel Outfall Sewer Project.
Approved nomination of Anna Hovey on the Mental Retardation Board.
(08/28/13 10:20pm)
With a little more than 72 hours left until the kickoff of Saturday's game against the visiting Washington State Cougars, head coach Gus Malzahn released his team's two-deep depth chart Wednesday afternoon.
Most of the names at the top of the depth chart are ones Auburn fans expected to see, but there were a few surprises on the first two-deep of the season.
Junior defensive end LaDarius Owens, who was recruited by Gene Chizik's staff to play linebacker, will start on the line this Saturday over senior Kenneth Carter and true freshman Carl Lawson. Owens will line up opposite senior end Craig Sanders, who is starting in place of the injured Dee Ford.
Another surprising starter is senior Chris Davis. The cornerback was expected to have a starting role in the secondary, but he has also received the nod at punt returner over junior wide receivers Quan Bray and Trovon Reed.
Other notable names that were confirmed as starters Wednesday include sophomores Josh Holsey and Patrick Miller. Holsey has made the move from cornerback to safety in Ellis Johnson's new defensive scheme, and Miller has emerged as the winner of the three-way battle for the starting right tackle.
Auburn has seven seniors listed as starters for Saturday's game. In terms of youth, the Tigers have 11 true or redshirt freshmen on the two-deep depth chart.
Here is the official depth chart from Auburn Athletics (Starters listed in CAPS):
(08/28/13 3:32am)
Six Auburn football players landed spots on the All-SEC preseason teams. The players honored were senior Steven Clark, junior Reese Dismukes, senior Dee Ford, junior Tre Mason, senior Cody Parkey and junior C.J. Uzomah.
The SEC football coaches voted for the preseason All-SEC teams and were not allowed to vote for any of their own players.
Of the six, four were named to the second team and two were named to the third team.
Clark, Dismukes, Mason and Parkey made the second team and Ford and Uzomah made the third team.
After Mason's breakout 1,002-yard sophomore season last year, he was the first non-quarterback to lead Auburn in total offense since Bo Jackson in 1985. Mason is expected to lead Auburn tailbacks in carries this season, with Cameron Artis-Payne and Corey Grant also getting touches in the backfield. Mason was also named to the Doak Walker Award preseason watch list, which is given to the best running back in college football at the end of the season.
Dismukes, going into his third season as a starter at center, is expected to guide this year's offensive line. He has been commended on his leadership throughout preseason practices by coaches and teammates. Dismukes was also named to the Rimington Trophy preseason watch list, which is awarded to the best center in college football.
"(Dismukes) is like a coach on the field," offensive lineman Shon Coleman said.
Parkey is going into his third year as starting placekicker. Last year, he was a perfect 27 for 27 for PATs and 11-14 on field goals, with a career-long 46-yard in the Clemson game. Parkey was named to the preseason Lou Groza award watch list for the second consecutive year, which is given to the best placekicker in college football.
Clark has already had a successful career as starting punter for Auburn and has one more season to potentially win the Ray Guy award for the best punter in college football. In 2011, Clark was the first Auburn punter in school history to be a finalist for the Ray Guy award and also earned first team All-SEC honors. Last season Clark was one of 10 punters in the country to be a semifinalist for the Ray Guy award and only five of his 70 punts were returned.
"We feel like we have the best kicker and punter in the country," coach Gus Malzahn said.
Uzomah has played tight end, wide receiver, on special teams and even threw a touchdown to Philip Lutzenkirchen against Georgia in 2011. Since Uzomah's role is likely to increase, this could be Uzomah's breakout season now that he is the clear starting tight end and was named to the John Mackey award preseason watch list, which is given to the best tight end in college football.
"He came back this fall and has been a good surprise for me," tight ends coach Scott Fountain said. "He's a better hand down blocking tight end, he's a better h-back for us in the backfield and we all know he can split out and do that type stuff. He's more of a complete guy that can do all of the things we ask to do in this offense and that's hard to find."
Although Ford will not start the season at defensive end because of a knee injury, he is expected to come back as one of Auburn's best pass rushers. Last season, he had 34 tackles and six sacks. Ford was named to the Chuck Bednarik Award preseason watch list, which is given to the best defensive player in college football.
(08/27/13 3:16pm)
We all know college is expensive and students are usually broke.
Jokes about students eating cereal and ramen for breakfast, lunch and dinner are runof-the-mill.
I'm pretty sure Taco Bell was created by college kids just trying to make the last few dollars in their bank account last all the way through finals week.
But by tweaking some small lifestyle choices, college life doesn't always have to break the bank.
#1 Shop with coupons & rewards
Kroger is amazing about sending coupons for free grocery items every month or so if you sign up for their Kroger Plus rewards card.
You also get discounted prices as a Kroger Plus Card member, and can download digital coupons so you won't spend your Sunday clipping coupons like a TLC show maniac.
Winn-Dixie also offers 5 cents off every gallon of gas with their rewards card, which may not sound like much, but you're going to wish you saved that little bit when all you want is a candy bar from Outtakes and you're scraping the bottom of your book bag for spare change.
Deal sites such as Groupon.com, LivingSocial.com, and Slickdeals.net offer huge discounts on normally expensive services like oil changes and eye care.
#2 Take the bus
I know taking a bus isn't as fast or convenient as just zipping to campus, but honestly, are you going to find a parking spot anyway?
Spare yourself the headache that is C-Zone and save a few dollars in gas by hopping on the Tiger Transit.
#3 Get an on-campus job
There are plenty of great, flexible jobs available within a wide variety of University departments and locations on campus. Jobs can range from as little as 10-25 hours per week, and you are often able to choose your schedule and work around your classes and other activities.
On-campus jobs look great on resumes, help you meet people on campus and provide a little extra spending money.
#4 Dine in
I'll admit, I love eating out just as much as the next person and on top of being a pretty terrible cook, that leads to a lot of calls to Jimmy Johns and trips to Moe's for a quick dinner.
But after tips, gratuities and delivery fees, you end up spending much more than you would spend on a dinner made at home with groceries purchased with coupons (tip #1 anyone?).
It will take more time to prepare, but you'll save a decent amount of cash and sharpen a useful life skill in the process.
Sites such as Pinterest.com often have copycat recipes for popular restaurants and for you amateur cooks, free apps like How to Cook Everything by Culinate, Inc. take you step-by-step through even the mostbasic cooking techniques.
#5 Go with water
Of course, there are plenty of occasions that warrant splurging on dinner out.
When you do decide to hit your favorite pizza joint, don't get a $3 soda on top of your meal price and stick with good old ( free) H2O.
Most drinks offered, such as sodas and sweet tea, are high in calories anyway. Why not save yourself the few dollars all the while making a healthier choice?
Your wallet and waistline will thank you.
(08/09/13 5:31pm)
Anytime a program has a new head coach you are going to have some new players surface you have never seen before.
It could be an incoming freshman or it could be a veteran player that fits into the new system better than the old.
Well Auburn is no different, at every position on the offensive side of the ball Auburn fans can be expecting to see some new faces step up and take on a role in Gus Malzahn's offense.
Some of the older players you can be expecting to see have more of a role this season are junior tight end C.J. Uzomah and red shirt freshman Shon Coleman.
Coleman signed with Auburn in 2010, but had to put his football career on hold after being diagnosed with leukemia shortly after he signed with Tigers.
After beating cancer and returning to the field Coleman still had an uphill battle if he wanted to return to the star player he had been in high school.
He had to return to playing weight, get in shape and knock off the rust from not playing for so long.
But offensive line coach J.B. Grimes said on Friday that Coleman has finally returned to the player he once was.
"Shon Coleman is a really really good talented guy he just hasn't played football in a while and he's rusty," Grimes said. "He's a great kid and I really think he's got a bright future here as an offensive lineman. He is really coming on."
Uzomah, who has played a lot during his time at Auburn, has been a pleasant surprise to tight ends coach Scott Fountain so far in practice.
Malzahn's offense asks a lot of the tight end. He must be able to put his hand down and block, play h-back in the backfield and split out wide and play receiver. Uzomah is one of the few who can do all of these things. Something he could not do in the spring.
"He came back this fall and been a good surprise for me," Fountain said. "He's a better hand down blocking tight end, he's a better h-back for us in the backfield and we all know he can split out and do that type stuff. He's more of a complete guy that can do all of the things we ask to do in this offense and that's hard to find."
The young players who have impressed so far have been freshman running back Jonathan "Rudy" Ford and freshman receiver Tony Stevens.
Both were big pick-ups in last years signing class, and so far they have been as good as advertised.
"Rudy has done well, he has really good speed. I would say he's probably one of the faster players on our team," running backs coach Tim Horton said. "I can see him playing for us as a freshman and making some plays for us. Very pleased with his progress."
Stevens has impressed other players and coaches so far in practice even though he has been nursing a hamstring injury.
His hamstring is better now and if he can stay healthy this fall then Stevens should see playing time.
"Tony has been good. He has been everything that we thought he would be," receivers coach Dameyune Craig said. "We just want him healthy, so he can have a chance to compete and play full speed. He's shown flashes and he's gained about 10 pounds since he's been here so we are expecting some big things out of him."
Only time will tell if these players will be as good on game day as they have been on the practice field, but so far it seems like they will be.
(08/05/13 3:21am)
The defining characteristic of new Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn and his famed Hurry Up, No Huddle offense is wide-open speed.
On Sunday, Malzahn said the pace of practice picked up as his players strapped on their shoulder pads for the first time in fall camp.
"We got a lot of reps today," Malzahn said. "It was very physical. I told our players at the end of practice that today was going to give us a lot of good information as far as evaluation."
Malzahn said Sunday's practice was divided into three groups--the two-deep depth chart from spring camp and a third group made up of newcomers.
"I just told (the players) that they are competing every day," Malzahn said.
Malzahn specifically mentioned a three-way competition at right tackle between Patrick Miller, Avery Young and Shon Coleman. Like the pace of practice, Malzahn referred to the position battle, along with the rest of the battles across the field, as "wide open."
The position battle that has most Auburn fans talking through the first three days of fall practice, the competition for the starting quarterback job, was also discussed on Sunday evening.
Malzahn said all four competing quarterbacks--Kiehl Frazier, Jeremy Johnson, Nick Marshall and Jonathan Wallace--rotated with all three groups. The newcomers to campus, junior college transfer Marshall and true freshman Wallace, got reps with the offense's veterans.
One of those returning offensive players, C.J. Uzomah, said he was impressed with the quarterback play during Sunday's practice.
"I think (the quarterbacks) looked really well today," Uzomah said. "They warmed up well, and we had a lot of individual periods with them. Once we got our timing down in seven-on-seven, one-on-one and team periods, they looked spectacular, really."
Like the quarterbacks, Uzomah says several other skill players are rotating with different groups--and in some cases, different positions.
"We're trying to learn big picture," Uzomah said. "I think that will help us in the long run."
The constant shifting and up-tempo nature of Sunday's practice could also be found on the defensive side of the ball, according to linebacker Kris Frost.
"We're all getting a lot of reps," Frost said. "We're all flying around the field, trying to get adjusted to everything. We feel like we know everything better than we did in the spring, and we're all getting better individually and as a team."
Two members of Auburn's squad were out on Sunday. Cornerback Demetruce McNeal missed his third straight day of practice with an injury. The team has not released any details about McNeal's injury, but Malzahn said on Friday he expects the cornerback to make a quick recovery.
Freshman punter Jimmy Hutchinson, who joins the Tigers after being rated the No. 1 high school punter in the country, missed his second day of practice in order to attend his father's funeral service on Sunday night. According to reports from Hutchinson's hometown in Georgia, Jim Hutchinson, 49, died last Wednesday.
(07/25/13 5:28pm)
It was a busy week for football recruiting with the Tigers hosting more than 500 recruits for the final summer camp of the year, gaining five commitments from top prospects around the nation.
(07/24/13 8:34pm)
On a global scale, there are just less than 1 billion people fighting hunger. On a national scale, there are approximately 13 million. And right here in Alabama, there are 214,200 households that are food insecure.
Food scarcity surrounds us everywhere we go. However, with the exception of the winter holidays, most carry on with their lives ignoring the empty stomachs and subsequent health hazards that plague millions. In fact, many will launch their body across their living room in hopes of grabbing the remote and changing the channel before those Sally Struthers' commercials have taken hold.
However, in east Alabama, Lee County specifically, hunger has created a movement that has organizations sprouting up and jumping at the chance to get involved and battle hunger. Students, adults and even the elderly have begun working together in order to help feed their community. It is not a position of power that motivates these individuals to help, but a basic instinct.
"It's our duty as humans to help each other out," said Tim King, adviser for student organizations at Auburn University.
King's belief is mirrored by many throughout the community, as evidenced by the hundreds of volunteers at the many donation locations.
Even in an area where most financial problems stem from large University loans and not from smaller grocery bills, Hunger is still widespread.
"I think it is easy to forget because it is so picturesque [at the University] and so many students don't need to worry about their next meal," King said. "But students have said that they see other college students coming in and getting food, so it's one of those things people often don't think about, but it is happening."
Among the many organizations King oversees, he is adviser to The AU Food Pantry. This project developed and run by students creates safe and private environment for students in need. The application to benefit from the pantry is simple and non-invasive. It is more of a record keeper for King and Katherine Hettinger, co-adviser to The AU Food Pantry, to see who is making use of the project.
Working with The AU Food Pantry is another organization, Campus Kitchens. A university branch of the original D.C. Kitchens, Campus Kitchens works to feed not only university students, but also those in the community. The organization was an idea of the hunger studies minor capstone class and is advised by Jennifer Commander, vista volunteer.
More than 30 percent of students in the Auburn/Opelika area are on the assisted lunch plan, eating a free or reduced lunch. Often the breakfast and lunch provided to them by the school are their only meals for the day. And some students may go from Friday afternoon to Monday morning without anything to eat.
Campus Kitchens partnered with professional golfer Jason Dufner and his wife, Amanda, in pursuit of success for the project Blessings in a Backpack. Campus Kitchens chose two elementary schools in the Auburn/Opelika Area, Yarborough Elementary and Carver Elementary, where more than 90 percent of students were on the free or reduced meal plan. The Dufners fund the local branch of Blessings in a Backpack, which allows Campus Kitchens to partner with Kevin Mortar of Walmart and assemble bags for students to take home for the weekend. The weekend bag includes a can of pork and beans, a can of SpaghettiOs, a packet of popcorn, applesauce, two packets of oatmeal and two granola bars.
"We had so many teachers coming back to us saying that they were noticing a drastic difference in how kids were behaving on Monday," Commander said. "They had much higher attention rates and more energy and weren't as lethargic, and they think it's because the food has been helping them."
A widespread misconception of those who benefit from food banks is they are all on welfare or they are looking for a free ride. Elsie Lott, Director of the Community Market explains that isn't always the case.
Lott said the application process to be a client at The Community Market is thorough so as not to allow any abuse of the system. Because she believes the need of all her clients, Lott works to stock the shelves with not just discarded cabinet items that most people donate, but with coveted brand named goods as well.
The Market works unlike most food banks. Once a client is accepted he or she is awarded either 75 or 100 pounds of food per week. However, the family can have unlimited produce and bread. Lott only weighs the meat and packaged items. Clients have a wide variety of choices and with shopping carts donated by local grocery stores, one would hardly notice the market was a food bank. There are even sections of the store devoted to personal hygiene care and infant supplies.
"I want it to feel like a real grocery store," Lott said. "This is a last resort for people, but why does that mean that because they've hit hard times they can't celebrate with a cake or that their kid can't enjoy the same Capri Sun as a kid who isn't struggling."
Even full-time students set aside their free afternoons and weekends to help out.
"Sometimes when I'm really busy, I think that I don't have time to go, but then I'll pass by the market and remember all the good it does. All of a sudden, I have time to volunteer," said Perrin Tamblyn, senior in nutrition and dietetics and frequent volunteer at The Community Market of East Alabama.
The movement to end hunger in east Alabama is a force to be recognized. Hundreds of students across the University's campus and across the county are teaming up to fight food scarcity and are hoping to bring their movement to a global level.
Cary Bayless, a member of the committee of 19, an organization to fight hunger, said he feels confident that awareness is key.
"Awareness is everything. If people don't know how serious food insecurity is, they won't be motivated to join the battle," he said.
(07/13/13 1:00pm)
For Dale Katechis, founder and owner of Oskar Blues Brewery, the bathtub is only the second strangest place he's ever put craft beer.
Many bar-goers and hop-heads in Auburn know the story of Katechis.
A 1992 Auburn alumnus, Katechis began brewing beer in 1990 in a trailer off Wire Road after getting a home brew kit for Christmas.
Then he began perfecting it.
Katechis' experimental brew became popular with a local home brewing club, and he eventually started brewing larger quantities of beer in his bathtub. Katechis earned a degree in finance from Auburn and moved to Colorado where he started Oskar Blues restaurant. That restaurant became a brew pub, that brew pub expanded into a brewery, and like a beer poured too quickly into a glass, Katechis' success was soon foaming over the rim.
Oskar Blues' rise to pub prominence from a home-brewing kit is remarkable enough; however, Katechis was not just trying to get into the business. He was trying to change it entirely.
In a market where product is heavily judged by the pack- age, Katechis began canning his prized pale ale in 2002, a head-scratching move consid- ering the top beers at the time were all sold in bottles.
"Nobody was doing it at the time," Katechis said. "Cans were frowned upon. The consumer in our industry believed it was an inferior package for craft beer, mainly due to the fact that large domestic brewers that were brewing lager-style beers (were canning) their beer. And craft brewers believed that in order for beer to be high quality, it had to be in a brown bottle only because that's the only vessel a craft beer had been served in other than a keg."
That bathtub brew, now known as Dale's Pale Ale, is the flagship beer of Oskar Blues, and although it's no longer made in the tub, it's recipe has not changed much, according to Katechis. Dale's Pale Ale was named the Top American Pale Ale by the New York Times in 2005 and won a gold medal at the 2010 world Beer Championships.
It was also named world's Best Canned Beer by Details Magazine.
Since first releasing Dale's Pale Ale, Oskar Blues has introduced six more beers. All of them are aggressively hopped, all of them come in cans, and all of that is good for the beer, according to Katechis.
Now he's trying to pour a pint of that knowledge for the consumer.
When beers were first mass-produced, many craft breweries favored green glass bottles. And yet, if a beer sat in those bottles for too long, it would acquire what Katechis called a "skunky taste" as a result of too much sunlight.
Brown bottles then took over the industry and are still a staple of many craft brewers today. However, Katechis argues that cans are the superior way to store beer.
"Brown bottles eliminated a lot of that light," Katechis said. "Well aluminum cans eliminated all of it. It was just the perception that we had to get over."
Since finding this out, he has begun a "debugging process" to show America that a great beer can be bought in a can.
"We decided to dispel that myth once we decided that cans were actually a superior package due to the fact that the beer had never seen sunlight, and the dissolved oxygen levels were lower, and the package was more environmentally friendly than a bottle," Katechis said. "The modern-day aluminum can has always had the water-based lining inside to keep the beer from sitting on metal. The package was really draft-like, and our job once we learned that was to educate the consumer that that was the case, and that's when we began this mission in 2002."
The Hound tavern and restaurant in downtown Auburn was the leading seller of Oskar Blues products in Auburn in 2012, according to owner and beverage director Matt Poirier.
Poirier said Katechis is a pioneer, and he has seen a similar consumer perception problem with wine.
"People have known for years that screw-tops are better for the wine," Poirier said. "They preserve it better. There's no loss of quality. The cork is more likely to fail. All kinds of things can go wrong with the cork. But for hundreds of years, it's been the cork. The idea is that screw-top wines are cheap wines and can't be good. Same thing with cans. Cans have been Budweiser and Bud Light, beers that aren't necessarily known for their quality."
In addition to blocking almost all sunlight and oxygen, the cans' size and shape makes them easier for retailers to store, all the while holding the same amount of beer as a heavier glass bottle.
These days, it seems Katechis' message is catching on.
"A lot of the big guys are following suit now," Poirier said. "A lot of the old-guard craft beer companies are now turning to cans."
And why not?
The modern day can is not only better for the brewery's bottom line, it's better for the beer and all who drink it.
Oskar Blues just recently celebrated its "Canniversary" honoring 10 years of mass producing its beers solely in kegs and cans. The brewery also just opened a new branch in Brevard, N.C. Despite this success, however, Katechis said he will continue to fight America's "brainwashing."
Needless to say, neither his passion nor his beer show any signs of going flat.
(07/12/13 1:00pm)
When World War I is mentioned, images of soldiers battling it out in the trenches come to mind for many.
Although their introduction became a turning point in the war, the first military airmen and their aircrafts are usually neglected in people's knowledge of World War I.
Members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Auburn University and other guests recently reminded people of the war's top flying aces at one of the institute's summer Brown Bag Lunch programs at the Clarion Inn & Suites.
John Tidwell, longtime OLLI member and popular lecturer, gave a brief history of aviation's role in The Great War before entertaining those in attendance with stories of over a dozen of the war's famous airmen.
Tidwell said he first became interested in a lecture on this subject while doing online searches about World War I, which began almost 100 years ago.
"While reading and thinking about the terrible tragedy of 'The War to End All Wars,' I wondered what role aircraft played in the conflict," Tidwell said. "Most of us have limited our knowledge to trench warfare, and I think it's time for us to look at what happened in the air--who the heroes were, where they came from, what kind of training they had and who designed and developed the planes that were used by both sides."
Tidwell began his lecture with a quote from Orville Wright, who invented the airplane with his brother Wilbur in Kitty Hawk, N.C.
"The sky is about to become another battlefield that is no less important than the ones on land and sea," Wright said in 1909, just six years after the brothers' first successful flight. "We had better get accustomed to this idea and prepare ourselves."
Tidwell then turned his attention towards other military aircraft pioneers such as French icon Roland Garros, who came up with the idea for a metal propeller.
The lecturer received a lot of feedback from his audience when he talked about the United States' late involvement in the war. Thirteen months after American planes first arrived in Europe, the war was over.
"This is what brought World War I to a screeching halt," Tidwell said.
The main portion of Tidwell's lecture was on the flying aces, those airmen who shot down five or more enemy planes during the war. While Tidwell spent time on legendary aviators such as Germany's Manfred "The Red Baron" von Richthofen and England's Lanoe Hawker, he focused on Eddie Rickenbacker, America's top ace in WWI.
Rickenbacker, who was a mechanic and race car driver before entering the Army, had 26 aerial victories in the war. He was later awarded the Medal of Honor and became a consultant for the U.S. military in the next World War.
Two audience members noted Rickenbacker had a connection to the University. Former history professor David Lewis wrote a biography on Rickenbacker, and the University libraries--ranked third in the United States for aviation history--have a large amount of information on the late flying great.
Tidwell, who ended his lecture by answering several questions from the audience, said he was pleased with the feedback he received.
"I want to share this information that I am interested in--I'm not trying to show people how smart I may think I am," Tidwell said. "I want to stimulate (the audience) so much that they'll say, 'I've got to learn more.'"
OLLI will continue its Brown Bag Lunches July 15 and 22 with programs on the 20th anniversary of the University's Rural Studio and Philip Henry Gosse's Letters from Alabama.
The institute is a membership program mainly for those interested in continued learning during their retirement years, but there are not any age or academic requirements to join.
For more information about OLLI or the remaining Brown Bag Lunch Programs, contact Linda Shook at 334-844-3105 or email olli@auburn.edu.
(07/12/13 5:15am)
Auburn senior Stephen Darby played in his first World Series of Poker event in Las Vegas June 16, and walked away as a winner.
While the event that Darby placed in is a part of the World Series of Poker, it was not the main event, which has become famous after being aired on ESPN.
"The most common question I get when I tell people I played in the World Series is 'Oh, the $10,000 event?'" Darby said. "I have to explain to people that it's called the World Series of Poker because it's literally a series. There are around 70 tournaments and I played in the 28th one, which was a $1,000, no-limit Texas Hold 'em tournament with 2,108 entries."
Darby placed 187th out of the 2,108 entrants and walked away with $1,935 for his effort.
216 entrants made the money in Darby's event, and he said that at the end of day one, the entire room knew how close they were to cashing in.
"Everyone was watching the table next to us, and as soon as we saw the last guy get knocked out we knew we had made the money," Darby said. "So everyone in the room started celebrating and clapping when they announced that we were in the money."
Chris Authement, a longtime friend of Darby's and a semipro poker player, has cashed in twice at WSOP events. Authement said that cashing at tournaments like these is no small feat.
"It's a great feeling for everyone in the room, and everyone feels a little bit better after hours of nonstop poker," Authement said. "But that's certainly not the end all be all. We all do this to win, but cashing for your first time is certainly a special feeling."
While Darby said that cashing in at his first WSOP event was a dream come true, the friends he made during the tournament was just as satisfying.
"I sat next to a professional (poker player) at one of my tables," Darby said. "He let me watch the British Open with him on his iPad. That table was really rowdy. Everyone was joking around and having a good time."
Darby also met some Auburn fans during his time in Las Vegas.
"I met a fellow Auburn fan at my second to last table. He kind of mentored me on a couple of our breaks and texted me the next day to wish me luck because he didn't make it," Darby said. "I met another Auburn fan later and we talked about Auburn football. He was telling me about some poker games in Atlanta and invited me to drive over from Auburn to play in an American Legion game there. I met some really good people on my trip."
Darby's road from his hometown of Andalusia to playing beside professional card players in Las Vegas started at an early age.
"Ten years ago they started playing the World Series Main Event on TV and I was just instantly mesmerized. We set up a game that weekend at a friend's house, and we would play no-limit tournaments with nickels and dimes," Darby said. "After that, the games became a lot more frequent. We moved from dimes to quarters and quarters to dollars pretty quickly."
When Darby reached the age to legally gamble, he started playing in casinos.
"When I turned 18 I started going to the dog tracks in Florida, because you can (legally) play poker at dog tracks down there. I would play the $200 buy-in games," Darby said. "Then I started playing online, where I won back to back tournaments one night for $1500 a piece."
Darby plans on playing in three WSOP events next year. Meanwhile, he will enter in tournaments around the South to prepare himself.
"I hope to play in a tournament in Hollywood, Fla. at the beginning of August. They also have a big series in Biloxi (Mississippi) in January that I plan on entering, and I plan on going to a World Series of Poker circuit event in New Orleans next year right before the World Series starts," Darby said.
Darby is pursuing a double major in political science and economics with a minor in psychology. After graduation in May 2014, he hopes to begin a career practicing law.
"I hope to get into law school in the D.C., Maryland, and Virginia area," Darby said. "As far as long term, I want to work for a big law firm for a couple of years, and then dedicate my service to people who cannot afford adequate representation."
(06/30/13 3:14am)
Last week while watching the epic game seven of the NBA finals, one could not help but notice the awesome championship atmosphere that surrounded the game.
Miami's fan base became a part of the championship run, witnessed it first hand and then celebrated on their home court.
This raises a question. Should the college football national championship be played on college campuses, giving one team home field advantage?
It would not be hard to accomplish, even with the new The College Football Playoff starting in 2014.
The two semi-final games could be played in the traditional bowls, and then have the highest ranked team host the national championship game.
Simple, right? To quote ESPN college football analyst Lee Corso, "Not so fast my friend."
It is not that easy. There are negatives to this scenario.
The biggest issue is small college towns like Auburn, Clemson, S.C., and Athens, Ga., can't accommodate all the media, game sponsors and fans that would swarm into these towns for the game.
Also, the weather, even in the South, is not the best in January when the game would be played. Most players and coaches welcome playing in a dome stadium or a town with great weather like Los Angeles or Miami, instead of Ohio State or Michigan.
It would also give the home team an advantage by being able to practice and watch film in their own facilities, while the visiting team would have subpar accommodations right before the biggest game of their season.
Even with these negative points it still makes a lot of sense to have the championship game on a college campus.
A major benefit would be making the game easier to attend for fans, at least for the home teams fans. While a lot of Auburn fans traveled to Arizona in 2011, many did not, especially students.
Imagine what it would have been like for Auburn to have won the national championship game in Jordan Hare Stadium? It would have been an unbelievable atmosphere that many more Auburn fans would have been able to experience.
BCS game attendance has struggled the past few years. Having the national championship game on campuses would probably solve that problem.
Imagine the huge economic boost it would have given Auburn and the state of Alabama to host a national championship game.
Not to mention the economic boost of being able to host national championship games in 2010 and 2011. Both years Auburn and Alabama were ranked No. 1 before the national championship game, giving them home field advantage.
While this is a nice thought, it will never happen.
There is too much money being spent by the four BCS bowls (Orange, Rose, Sugar and Fiesta bowls) for the game to be moved to college campuses.
However, the national championship game should be moved to college campuses.
The positives out weigh the negatives.
College football is great because of the college campuses, stadiums, traditions, fans and most of all the students.
None of these things are being represented in the biggest game of the year.
(06/28/13 12:45am)
A group of nine current and former Auburn swimmers are competing this week in the Phillips 66 USA Swimming National Championships in Indianapolis for a chance to swim in the 2013 FINA World Championships.
Rising seniors Olivia Scott, Haley Krakoski and Zane Grothe joined by rising sophomore Jillian Vitarius are the four current Auburn swimmers competing in the meet.
Incoming freshman Kyle Darmody will also be competing against his future Auburn teammates as a member of the SwimMAC Carolina team. Darmody is rated as a top-ten national recruit from the class of 2013. The Charlotte, N.C. native chose the Tigers over family ties to the University of Texas where his older brother swims.
Former Auburn swimmers, including three former Olympians are also competing in the qualifying meet this week. Winner of a London 2012 gold medal, Tyler McGill is a top seed in the 50- and 100-meter butterfly. Two-time gold medalist Mark Gangloff will compete in multiple breaststroke events along with Mikah Lawrence. Karl Krug, a 2012 Auburn graduate, will compete in the sprint freestyle competitions.
The Phillips 66 USA Swimming National Championships are held June 25-29 at the IUPUI Natatorium in Indianapolis, home of the 2013 NCAA Swimming and Diving Championships.
The finals in both the men's and women's 200-meter butterfly and 100-meter freestyle were on Tuesday, June 25. In the men's 100-meter freestyle Darmody finished in 12th with a time of 50.13, followed by a 50.42 by Krug placing him in 27th.
In the women's freestyle, Scott placed 34th following a 56.71 time. Scott did not qualify for the finals in the women's 200-meter butterfly event.
The FINA World Championships will be in Barcelona, Spain July 24-Aug. 4. The top-two competitors in each event will qualify for the U.S. National team.
(06/20/13 9:00pm)
Unless you are a professor, a member of the administrative staff, or have a building named after you or your family, parking on campus is a task best left to fools and madmen.
Parking services has no qualms about issuing tickets with inflated values. They'll even put a wheel lock on your car if you have more than two tickets, despite the fact it keeps your vehicle in the forbidden space longer. Sure, the people who work for parking services, the ones who give out the tickets, are only doing their jobs. It's not their fault parking on campus is an atrocity. They need to work like everybody else.
Don Andrae, manager of parking services and member of the Traffic and Safety Committee, said, "We've lost 3,000 spaces in five years... There are only 10,000 spaces for 26,000 students and 6,000 faculty."
The Traffic and Parking Committee, comprised of students, faculty and staff, definitely deserves some of the blame. They started the process of change claiming they wanted to make things better, and they came out giving us the metaphorical finger.
Yet, we bought it, and we're still buying it. We've allowed parking enforcement and regulation to become a big business. So we deserve the rest of the blame.
"I would be the first to admit that we have a problem. But we have to work together to satisfy student requirements," said Andrae.
Perhaps it's complacency, perhaps most of us just like giving money to the University, the answer isn't clear. What is clear is the current parking system is a quagmire of arbitrary space designations and unfair policing of those spaces. Do we need so many A and B lots? What's wrong with driving on Mell Street. between 7:30 a.m.-5 p.m.? Why can A and B permit holders park in C lots?
Registration for 2013-2014 permits begins July 1. You could pay the $60 for a C or $160 to be put in the lottery for a PC permit, or you could send the Traffic and Parking Committee an email demanding change. You could even say you won't purchase a pass until the cost for a permit is lowered to its 2010 price of $30 for a C permit. If you feel like it, remind them tuition has been increased, and there is less money to go around. After all, that's what this all about: money.
"We don't make any money from tickets," Andrae said.
According to Andrae, the current parking system has caused a reduction in the amount of money brought in by tickets, money which is put into the University's general fund, and that is a sign of the systems effectiveness.
For the 2011-12 academic year, Parking Services had a revenue of $611,000 from tickets. As opposed to the current 2012-13 academic year in which they only received $426,729.
"If anything, I should be hearing from the upper administration for losing money," Andrae said.
There are most certainly not enough spaces to go around. But controlling those spaces with a bureaucratic enforcement agency only serves to demean those of us who have to commute because they can't wait on a bus that takes thirty minutes to go just a few miles. We are more than willing to work with the Traffic and Parking Committee, but it has to show initiative too.
Having five students on your committee does not accurately represent the larger student voice. Asking us to rely more on Tiger Transit when the busses are anything but reliable is not right. They say they are always working to improve, so let's keep them on task.
(05/25/13 2:14am)
Although hundreds of miles away from Auburn, the tornado that hit Moore, Okla. on Monday, May 20 was far too close to home for Carson Stroud, junior in aviation management.
(05/16/13 12:01am)
It's 10 minutes before show time in the Eagle Eye TV office, and things are not going according to plan for the staff of "Wake Up, Auburn!"
(05/01/13 6:44pm)
Auburn coach Gus Malzahn went into spring practice with three goals for the football team on his mind: to get the team's edge back mentally and physically after last season's demoralizing campaign, for the team to have a basic understanding of the new offense and defense, and to develop a depth chart with two players at each position.
(04/24/13 7:21pm)
On Wednesday, April 10, Azeem Ahmed, a junior in finance and economics, was included in a list of 62 students receiving the Harry S. Truman Scholarship this year, making him the first recipient from Auburn University since 1985 and the third since the creation of the scholarship.
