Rules are rules and because of that, residents of Talladega County who have been depending on the Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Department now find they have no fire protection.

They are getting the word out early, hoping to discourage driving under the influence. “They” are the Talladega and Sylacauga police departments, who will join 10,000 other Alabama law enforcement officers in a “Labor Day Blitz” aimed at cracking down on impaired drivers.

There is no legal question about the proposed mosque and Islamic Center within two blocks of Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. Its developers have met all city zoning and building regulations, so they can build the mosque if they like.

With joy and tears, the Tyler family of Sylacauga sent their daughter Lauren off to college a few days ago. Her grandmother, Rose Glaze, visiting The Daily Home offices on Friday, said she’d already talked with Lauren twice by phone, and she grew misty recalling how the two had read together when Lauren was a toddler. But she beamed with pride when she recounted her granddaughter’s accomplishments at Sylacauga High School.

Talladega’s historic Courthouse Square boasts a seat of government first constructed in 1836, surrounded by commercial buildings dating back to the city’s early years. Such a historic locale is a fit setting for a museum dedicated to the area’s first inhabitants.

The wheels at the Armstrong-Osborne Public Library in Talladega are about to start squeaking, good and loud.