DAPHNE, Ala. — The Daphne City Council honored the memory of former Mayor Bailey Yelding Jr. on Tuesday by naming a street after the beloved mayor and coach.

The street, which connects Johnson Road and Profit Drive, will be named Bailey Yelding Jr. Drive. The mayor passed away Jan. 22 of last year.

"I remember when Mayor Yelding called me into his office and showed me five things he wanted to get done," Councilman Ron Scott said. "One of those was to extend Profit Drive over to Johnson Road. It's not a real long road but it is a beautiful road. It is an important road because it connects our fire station, which was another dream of Bailey's, to old Daphne. That road allows us to access that old Johnson Road area to give them better fire coverage. It is very appropriately named for Mayor Yelding."

Councilman Joe Davis III addressed members of Yelding's family who were present at the council meeting. Yelding's children Cedric, Derrick, Erika and Alaric were given "Bailey Yelding Jr. Drive" street signs during the meeting.

"I got to know him for just a very short period of time but I know that I am a better person having known him," Davis said. "I was 37 years old when my dad died. I know that your heart thinks about your dad every day. What I have found is that my dad gets smarter the more I think of him. You can look back on your time with your dad and have some pride in that. I only knew (Mayor Yelding) for a few years but I am a better person because of him."

Read the full story in the Jan. 24 print edition of The Courier.