May 27—May 27, 1949, in The Star: Carrying out fire protection plans it made some time ago, the Oxford City Council last night approved the installation of 14 fireplugs and 6,500 feet of six-inch water main for a total cost of $16,000. Mayor Hemphill Whiteside said every house inside the city limits of Oxford will be in reach of a fireplug when the project is completed. There will also be a plug installed in Hobson City, with the residents of that community playing for the addition. Up to now there’d been no fire protection available in Hobson City. The work of installing the water main will begin in a few days and continue for several weeks. Other improvements to the town include the marking of streets by using easily read signs mounted on posts.

May 27, 1999, in The Star: In November 1998 Calhoun County voters overwhelmingly approved a local amendment that would give Anniston an elected school board. In January, the Alabama Attorney General’s office urged then-Gov. Fob James to not proclaim the amendment’s passage. State officials say the amendment must repeat its journey from the floor of the state Legislature to voting machines throughout Calhoun County before Anniston officials can begin thinking about a school board election. An arcane technicality in the tabulation of county residents’ votes vs. city residents’ votes is partly to blame for the roadblock in the execution of the will of the people. Unfortunately a fundamental rule in elections of this nature is that the vote of county residents must be taken into account, even though the issue doesn’t concern them. Welcome to Alabama.

Assistant Metro Editor Bill Edwards: 256-236-1551. On Twitter @bedwards_star.