YEAR IN REVIEW 2015: January

Police arrested Michael Anthony Netherton, 28, and Cody Lynn McCaulou, 20, for kidnapping after an altercation between them and a female ended with a police pursuit on foot near Budget Inn on Highway 43 in Russellville and the surrounding area.

Two men charged with kidnapping

An altercation between two males and one female ended with a police pursuit of two suspects on foot near a local motel and the surrounding area. Police were called to the Budget Inn on Highway 43 on the afternoon of Jan. 12 in response to a domestic violence report. The manager of the business witnessed two males attacking a female in the parking lot and made the call from her room at the motel.

Russellville Police Chief Chris Hargett said the responding RPD officer witnessed the men attempting to force the woman into the car with them, which is when a foot pursuit ensued.

Hargett said the woman was picked up in the Shoals area and brought to Russellville by Michael Anthony Netherton, 28, and Cody Lynn McCaulou, 20. According to Hargett, it was apparent that the woman was then being held against her will.

The foot pursuit, which lasted just a few minutes, brought in at least one Alabama State Trooper, numerous Russellville police officers and investigators and at least one Franklin County Sheriff’s deputy.

Both men were charged with first degree kidnapping, resisting arrest and attempting to elude an officer. Netherton was also charged with providing a false identity to an officer in an attempt to obstruct justice.

The two were indicted in April of this year.

RCS Superintendent Rex Mayfield announces retirement

Russellville City Schools Superintendent Rex Mayfield announced his retirement during the Jan. 22 school board meeting. Mayfield said he was confident the board would make a good decision when finding a replacement for him.

“The system is in great shape monetarily,” Mayfield said. “There are a lot of challenges with this position, but the board and all of the faculty members at all of the schools make the job a lot easier because they do such a good job.”

Mayfield worked for more than 34 years in the Russellville City School System and became the first Russellville High School graduate to become the RCS superintendent when he landed the position in 2011. Mayfield has been an educator since 1981 and became an assistant principal at RHS in 1995. He held that position for six years before being promoted to principal of the school for the next seven years before landing in the administrative offices.

Mayfield was honored at a reception in September for his many years of commitment to the school system. Numerous colleagues and community members spoke warmly of Mayfield’s contributions.

“We were very fortunate to be able to hire Rex. This school has been richly blessed from that day on,” said former RCS superintendent Wayne Ray. “He was such an asset to our school … He lived by example. Kids watched him and emulated him.”