It’s been 27 years since I’ve started the new year in Alabama.

I hadn’t lived in January statewide since the second semester of my senior year at Stillman College in 1992.

I’m looking forward to what could be an interesting year in Dallas County.

Right off the bat, we already have things lined up for the first month of 2019:

-Former Selma city Attorney Jimmy Nunn will be sworn in as the Dallas County Probate Judge on Jan. 12 at Wallace Community College-Selma.

-Mike Granthum officially takes over as Dallas County Sherriff on Jan. 15.

-Malika Rose-Fortier will be officially sworn in as State Senator, replacing her father, Sen. Hank Sanders.

-I’m curious to see how the city observes Martin Luther King Day, which falls on Jan. 21. Selma played a key role in the Civil Rights movement between 1954 and 1968, which ended with King’s assassination on April 4, 1968.

Several questions surround the city of Selma for the New Year.

-How long will the layoff last for the 68 laid-off city of Selma employees?

-Will the financial crisis burdening the Queen city continue or does it resolved?

-What will come of the situation with city Treasurer Ronita Wade and the three Selma Police Department (SPD) officers: Toriano Neely, Kendall Thomas and Jeffrey Hardy?

The sports scene in Dallas County has a lot of storylines.

I’m anxious to see which boys’ teams and girls’ teams in basketball make a run at the state tournament in March. We could have several teams play their way into March Madness because Region play begins this week.

Baseball season should be interesting, especially at Morgan Academy. The Senators have three Auburn baseball signees: David Ducote, Gunnar Henderson and Brayton Brown.

On talent alone, I expect the Senators to win a state championship.

Stay tuned, we should have an interesting 2019 in the Black Belt Region.