Fairhope Now | 08.10.2026 | Local Boy Gets Life-Changing New Vehicle

Monday, August 10, 2026

Happy Monday, Fairhope!

A local boy is getting a wheelchair-accessible vehicle thanks to the generosity of a nonprofit, and we think that's the kind of news that deserves to lead a Monday. Meanwhile, back-to-school season is bringing more than new backpacks this year: More details on the proposed split of Fairhope schools from the county system and the beloved K-1 School restoration is just about finished. 

Your Monday Funny: What did the buffalo say when he dropped off his kid for the first day of school ??? Bison.

— Joy Davis, Anne Dorman, & John Oldshue

A Fairhope child living with muscular dystrophy has received a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, thanks to a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping families in need. The gift opens up new possibilities for independence and community connection.

The $6.1 million exterior restoration of the historic K-1 school on Church Street should wrap up by mid-September, with interior work on the first floor following in October.

The City of Fairhope is evaluating whether to establish a municipal school system and wants your input. Three public meetings are scheduled for August 18, August 23, and September 9 at 5:30 p.m. in City Council Chambers. Visit fairhopeal.gov/community/city-school-consideration to review studies, FAQs, and take the community survey.

Volanta Park is getting some infrastructure love today with a new sidewalk and gravel parking area under construction. Good news for ballfield visitors and park-goers.

“I’m 92. I was born in 1934 in Montrose aided by a midwife who came over before dawn to assist.  When we first moved to our big house that was built around the 1860s, there was no running water, no indoor plumbing, no electricity, and no telephone."

Hues Salon and Wellness Team Picture

Chelsey Hues didn’t set out to become a hairstylist. At 16, she was simply looking for a trade school, and hair happened to be the option available to her. But entrepreneurship had already been part of her personality for years—her first business venture came at age 9, when she sold snacks to construction workers in her neighborhood. After attending cosmetology school and working in salons, Chelsey realized she wanted more control over her environment and eventually opened her own business. She came to Fairhope in 2010, and what started as a career in hair has grown into something much bigger.

The road to becoming a business owner wasn't always easy. When COVID shut down her Daphne salon, Chelsey reopened in a cottage at her home. Around the same time, the intersections at both ends of the street where she had opened her new location were closed for more than eight months. “I had to fix my attitude,” she said. Instead of letting circumstances dictate the outcome, she began looking for solutions and connected with the High Performance Salon Academy, where she learned to pivot, seek out resources, and lean on other professionals. That experience changed the way she approached business and eventually led her to develop her own philosophy: if she finds a solution to something difficult, she wants to share it with someone else. That mindset is reflected in her salon's “all ships rise” approach, where decisions are made with the client, employees, and business in mind.

Today, Chelsey's involvement in Fairhope extends well beyond the salon. A strawberry fundraiser led her to meet people working with local organizations and eventually introduced her to New Profit, which helped inspire her nonprofit initiative, Be a Day Maker. Her salon also participates in a “trade in, trade up” program in partnership with Baldwin Family Village, giving clients a way to pass along items they no longer need. She is also developing a butterfly garden designed to highlight community partners and organizations that she believes more residents should know about. For Chelsey, being a business owner in Fairhope has become less about simply running a successful salon and more about finding ways to help the people and businesses around her succeed, too.

Check out Chelsey's salon, Hues Salon and Wellness, located at 19 North Church Street Suite B in Downtown Fairhope.

Source: Editor

Should Fairhope create its own city school system? Two separate studies examined the idea but reached very different conclusions about whether it would be financially feasible. Here’s where the studies differ—and what the decision could mean for local students, schools and taxpayers.

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