The Montgomery Advertiser from Montgomery, Alabama • 1

mm mji mm wrm mm mm montgomeryadvertiser.com SATURDAY May 2, 2009 75 cents 1829: Rodeo To live as Jesus did Obama wants quick action on Souter replacement 4B i. will be herein Priest heeds monastic 2010 3 M-co imty calling Bran il 10 are set to close But officials aren't committing to keep the annual event in the Capital City past next year By Cosby Woodruff cwoodruff6gannett.com The Southeastern Livestock Exposition Rodeo will return to Garrett Coliseum next year, but the event's organizers declined to make an extended commitment to keeping the rodeo in Montgomery. Organizers said they looked, closely at other arenas, particularly venues in Birmingham and Huntsville, before deciding that Garrett is the only location in Alabama that meets the needs both for the rodeo and the associated youth livestock of I 4 -Ill Contributed St. Benedict's Abbey in Atchison, where Father James Dean has applied to become a monk. By Kym Klass kklassGgannettcom Father James Dean is about to give up his church and all his personal possessions and he is content.

The pastor of Our Lady Queen of Mercy Catholic Church is in the process of becoming a monk. Ordained as a priest in 1991, Dean said there is obedience in the monastic life. You go without. You do with less, "you are citizens of the heavenly city." "I've always had a desire to be poor, but I have never lived that," he said. "We'll see how that goes." He says it is a further deepening of his calling.

He plans to enter a world where bells call him to prayer. Where silence is encouraged in certain areas at certain times. Where all living is done to glorify God in the same way of life he said that Jesus lived and acted. The 47-year-old hopes to be at St. Benedict's Abbey in Atchison, by mid-August, and believes this is his calling because of "the camaraderie with other men who are seeking the kingdom of God, or to follow God's will." "I'm not as disciplined as I need to be," he added.

"Like in the times you have to like going to bed earlier. And I believe that as we have more discipline, focus and support, that we'll do better in everything we do." Dean, who is in the application process in his monastic journey, believes "that communal life, with its challenges and supports, will help me in striving to reach this end for which we are all made." He was bcrn in Montgomery, and attended Catholic schools for 10 years here. He was heavily involved m.M., 1 By Cosby Woodruff cwoodrurfegannett.com The final three Bruno's grocery stores in Montgomery and Prattville are slated to close under a plan submitted by a prospective buyer in bankruptcy court. Wholesalers, a New Hampshire-based chain, offered to buy 31 of the remaining 56 Bruno's and Food World stores at a bankruptcy auction. It plans to liquidate the other 25 stores, which includes those in the Montgomery Prattville market, according to a plan that the buyer submitted on Thursday.

Corey Owens, a spokesman for the United Food and Commercial Workers Union that represents Bruno's workers, confirmed the list reflects the buyer's intentions at the auc-, tion. "It is an accurate reflection of a proposal made by he said. He insisted that the list is not final, and Bruno's have a hearing before a bankruptcy judge on Monday. Bruno's stores at 1635 Perry Hill Road and 9168 EastChase Parkway and a Food World in Prattville will close, according to the list. Officials at Bruno's and did not respond to requests for comments Friday, but Bruno's issued a statement that confirmed the tentative agreement with "I am pleased that we were able to come to an agreement with Southern Family that not only preserves jobs at our store locations but also delivers more value to our creditors than other potential outcomes would," Jim Grady, chief restructuring officer for Bruno's, said in a prepared statement.

"We are grateful to all of our teammates for their hard work, our customers for their loyalty and our communities for their support to Bruno's throughout this process." Southern Family Markets is a Birmingham-based affiliate of Liquidation is more and more the result of corporate bankruptcy, even for those companies that file Chapter 11 hoping to reorganize, according to Michael Floyd, a professor at the Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. "That is more a factor of market conditions than of legal conditions," he said. "The reality is, they are just not viable as they previously existed. Nobody wants to come in here and run Bruno's as it was." Floyd said as the credit market has tightened, bankruptcy financing called debtor in possession has all but dried up. He also said Bruno's found itself in a bigger bind when the bankruptcy court recently refused to void a contract between the grocer and its union.

Neither Bruno's nor announced a schedule for when the affected stores may close. It 4, 'iSk A Julie Bennett Advertiser Father James Dean, pastor of Our Lady Queen of Mercy Catholic Church in Montgomery. in the Auburn Campus Min- seph Seminary College in istry while a student there. Covington, where he re-He left Auburn in 1984 and went into seminary at St. Jo- Priest Page 6A show.

Still, Garrett is stretched thin by the growing ranks of students showing cows and horses. The rodeo pressed for improvements, especially to the barns used by the youngsters. Billy Powell, the rodeo's executive director, said the group will evaluate its options again following the 2010 rodeo, which is scheduled for March 11-13. Keeping the livestock show affiliated with the rodeo was a high priority for the group, which met Friday to decide the rodeo's fate. "None of the other places had room for a livestock show," he said.

"The livestock show has grown, and we are maxed-out on having space to expand our junior event." More than 200 students from 39 counties showed livestock during the rodeo in March, according to the rodeo's executive committee. Nealy Barrett, the rodeo group's president said members looked seriously at a potential move. "We discussed a lot of options," he said in a prepared statement. "Changing the venue and even changing the host city for our rodeo was discussed at length." It is likely to be discussed again a year from now if the rodeo organizers can't find a way to increase ticket sales and to expand the livestock show. "We have got to see what happens in 2010," Powell said when asked about the rodeo's extended future.

"We have got to make it pay, and we have got to do some things, to improve the bottom line." Powell said the event has not lost money but is not making what organizers think it should. The reason appears to be declining ticket sales. Organizers said a decade ago they would sell up to 35,000 tickets for the three-day rodeo. Now, they say they are lucky to get 20,000. Powell said there is increasing competition for entertainment dollars, and he insisted an upgraded venue would help.

"We need-to get dead serious about getting funds to make this facility what it needs to be," he said. Don't let flu scare ruin weekend, official says OnthewebS- montgomeryadvertiser.com jng flu cases Related stories 8A, 9A. 4B, 1C I lll.llMllll.mM 'Ha1 "Ht 1 "'8" HBaWWW HI iJ Hl.i.lJililil.lWj 'l I By Markeshia Ricks mricksegannett.com With festivals and outdoor gatherings popping up around the state this time of year, Alabama's top health officer is urging the state's residents to enjoy their weekends and exercise some common sense. State Health Officer Donald Williamson said in a Friday news briefing on the H1N1, or swine flu, outbreak that healthy people shouldn't shy away from outdoor festivals and other public gatherings like baseball games and church. "The reality is that it is not appropriate at this point for the Department of Public Health to cancel large group gatherings," Williamson said.

"The disease is mild and the symptoms are similar to what we see with seasonal influenza. It's unnecessary to take more draconian measures than that right now." That's good news for even planners. Big events are coming up in the tri-county area this weekend, including the Prattville CityFest and the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Flimp Festival. Both events draw thousands each year, and planners don't expect things to be different this year. Lara Lewis, marketing and public relations director for the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, said the Flimp Festival typically draws about 3,000 people.

The Flimp Festival, which started Friday with the Chalk Art contest, also is celebrating its 20th year. "We're very glad that our state health officer is telling people it's OK to go and enjoy the weekend," Lewis said. "We put on a wonderful festival and we don't think our attendance will be down this year." Prattville Mayor Jim Byard Flu Page 6A Mickey Welsh Advertiser Montgomery Mayor Todd Strange washes up with antiseptic hand gel at City Hall after several cases of the gel were delivered Friday. INDEX TODAY'S A Gannett Newspaper 28 pages Volume 182, Number 122 2009 The Advertiser Co. For home delivery 877-424-0007 Toll free 00 School news on your cell phone TextMASCHOOLS to 44636 (4INF0).

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