Murphy High band plans pep rally, JJP makes repairs as tornado cleanup continues

MOBILE, Alabama -- As Day Four wound down after the Christmas Night tornado, neighbors and business owners continued cleanup efforts, and several folks even had some good news to report.

Over at the Loop, Sahmi El-Farkh was working on his windows and roof at his hair salon, Amadeus Art of Hair and Beauty, which took a hard hit, as did Cantrell Photography next door. He was hoping for dry weather in the next few days so that he could complete more patches on the roof.

In Midtown, members of the Joe Jefferson Playhouse Board of Directors are hopeful that repairs can be finished in time to open their January show, "Wait Until Dark." The theater, at 11 S. Carlen St., built in 1961, lost its HVAC units in the storm, and its roof was damaged from the terra cotta tiles that were blown from buildings down the street at Murphy High School.

Right now, the theater is seeking generators so that the show will go on, according to Danette Richards, president of the board of directors. If all goes as planned, "Wait Until Dark" will run Jan. 11-27.?

Angie Gulledge with the Murphy High School Band Boosters reported a successful fundraiser on Saturday morning, raising $653 with sales of school T-shirts, car flags and MHS 75th anniversary Christmas ornaments. (The ornaments are sold out, but if you'd like to buy a T-shirt or flag, email her at agulledge@thebeehive.us.)

The Mighty Marching Panthers will perform a pep rally concert at 6:15 on Jan. 2 at Mobile Civic Center before the start of the Murphy High parent meeting, Gulledge said. The concert was the brainchild of her daughter, Lily Gulledge, 13, whose older brother, Tripp, plays in the band.

The Gulledges live near Murphy and headed over to the campus to see the damage right after the storm struck.?

"It was awful," said Lily, who's in eighth grade at Phillips Preparatory School and plays percussion in the band. "I'm going to be in the Murphy band next year," she said.?

Her original idea was to have the concert in Murphy's practice field, but the campus is now a construction site and closed to visitors.

The pep rally is not supposed to be a fundraiser, Lily said, but of course donations will be welcome. For details, visit the "Rebuild Murphy Pep Rally" Facebook page.

"Everyone should come," she said, promising that the concert will include the tunes dear to Panther hearts -- the Alma Mater and "I'm So Glad," along with "Amazing Grace."

Source: http://blog.al.com/live/2012/12/murphy_high_band_plans_pep_ral.html

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