Judge retiring after 54 years

OZARK, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama judge is getting ready to retire 54 years after she started working for the Dale County Probate Court as a teenage clerk.

The Dothan Eagle reports that Judge Eunice Hagler will step down after 2012 because Alabama law prohibits judges from seeking election past age 70.

Hagler started her career as a clerk in the probate judge's office in 1958, when she was just 18. In less than two years she was appointed chief clerk and held that position for nearly four decades.

Then-Gov. Don Siegelman appointed Hagler as probate judge in 1999 following the death of Judge Floyd Johnston.

Hagler says she looks forward to spending more time with family - and to throwing away her alarm clock.