The Bizopbama Newsletter

2012-02-21T09:31:00.000-08:00

In sports, fame is usually reserved for athletes and occasionally commentators, but one teenage Alabama basketball fan has been catapulted to celebrity status because of a phenomenon entirely different.

It's something that has been dubbed “The Face,” and its owner, 19-year-old Jack Blankenship said it all started in the seventh grade.

“We created this exaggerated face, and it became a big joke with all my friends,” Blankenship said.

Now a freshman studying engineering at the University of Alabama, Blankenship said he figured it would be funny to bring an oversized cut-out of his face to a Crimson Tide basketball game.

Typically, fans will bring cut-outs of their favorite players to games, but Blankenship brought himself making “The Face.”

Blankenship said he never intended to amuse anyone but his friends. It was an inside joke that got out, he said. In a big way.

It began, Blankenship said, when a photo of him holding up “The Face” popped up in the Birmingham News Feb. 15 asking, “Is this the SEC basketball photo of the year?”

Blankenship said he began receiving a multitude of text messages, emails and phone calls from friends and family about the picture and was contacted by a writer for ESPN's “Page 2” blog within the same day.

He is scheduled to appear on a segment of The Today Show in New York City Tuesday morning, he said.

Producers for the show reached out to Blankenship via his YouTube channel, he said.

Blankenship said he was also planning to attend a Knicks' game Monday night in New York with “The Face” in tow.

Ideally, his fame will lead to more interest in the UA basketball program and Crimson Chaos, the student organization for Alabama basketball super-fans, Blankenship said.

He also said he hopes this sort of good-natured humor will deter the student section from yelling obscenities and negative comments at the opposing team.

Blankenship said he would be lying if he said all this media attention wasn't interfering with his studies.

Dealing with all of the attention from family, friends and the media is “the hardest thing I've ever had to do, but I am just 19,” he said.

Blankenship said he isn't sure what's next for him, but he isn't too worried about it.

“I'm just happy to have 15 minutes of fame,” he said, “I'm not asking for more.”

The Bizopbama Network: Reopening some programs; more to come

2012-02-15T13:29:00.000-08:00

The Bizopbama Network: Reopening some programs; more to come

New Storms hit Alabama

2012-01-24T06:25:00.000-08:00

This system was in north Tuscaloosa County this time as it hit Coker and Lake Tuscaloosa. In addition, it proceeded to North Jefferson County to Center Point and Trussville which the intersection of I59/I20 to Atlanta and Chattanooga. Additional outbreaks was west 82 to Montgomery in a town of Maplesville and Clay County.

There were 2 people killed and 100 injured including 400 homes lost. This is minor compared to the April 27th outbreak; no comparison.

Mark Kendrick was awakened early Monday to the sound of the roof being torn off his house on Koffman Spur Road.

“He heard the roof crackling as it was coming off the house,” said his wife April Kendrick. “He jumped out of the bed and yelled for me to wake up. I pulled the covers and my pillow over my head until the crashing was over.”

Wooden beams, sheetrock and pictures fell to the floor. The couple made their way barefoot across broken glass to a safer part of the house until the storm blew over the area.

The Kendricks' home off U.S. Highway 171 in the northern part of Tuscaloosa County was one of a few that were damaged in the storms early Monday morning that turned deadly as they moved east across the state.

The severe weather produced tornadoes that caused serious damage in the Oak Grove, Center Point, Clay and Trussville areas of Jefferson and St. Clair counties. A 16-year-old girl in Clay and an 82-year-old man in Oak Grove were killed.

Winds also ripped the roofs from a home on Gray Drive in the Mount Olive community, said Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office spokesman Sgt. Andy Norris.

Trees were reported down on Alabama Highway 140 and Holman Church Road, U.S. Highway 171 and Crawford Road, U.S. Highway 43 and Paul Howell Road, Union Grove Road in Romulus and Lary Lake Road. Power lines were down in the 13000 block of Upper Columbus Road and the 14000 block of Koffman Ranch Road. Structural damage was reported at Groundhog and Lock 17 Road near Jefferson County.

The storms that hit areas around northern Lake Tuscaloosa, Coker and Elrod are believed to be a tornado that was part of the same system that hit Jefferson County, said James Spann, chief meteorologist for ABC 33/40. The tornado that hit Jefferson County was declared an EF3 Monday.

“We were blessed able to get out with both of our lives,” April Kendrick said. “That's the most important thing. The rest of it, the stuff, it doesn't matter.”

The Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office sent two department helicopters and pilots to assist Jefferson County officials with search and rescue and damage assessment Monday morning.

Tuscaloosa city officials said Mayor Walt Maddox reached out to mayors within the storm-affected areas to offer support, and the Tuscaloosa Police Department is on stand-by to help if requested.

The Tuscaloosa Fire and Rescue Service's Technical Rescue Team offered assistance to the Gardendale Fire Department, but as of Monday afternoon, the offers have not yet been accepted.

“At this time we have not received any requests for assistance,” said Heather McCollum, secretary for the Office of the Mayor.

The Chilton County town of Maplesville instituted a dusk-to-dawn curfew through this morning, and some roads there remained closed through Monday.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Department also set up checkpoints at entrances to areas that were heavily damaged. Spokesman Randy Christian said only residents and immediate family were being allowed in.

State Attorney General Luther Strange released a statement Monday afternoon saying that Alabama's law against price gouging is now in effect. He said the law kicked in Monday morning when the governor declared a state of emergency.

Highlights of the BCS National Championship Game

2012-01-11T14:38:00.000-08:00

Click here for the highlights

A great distraction for the tornado torn community of Tuscaloosa

2012-01-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

Redemption.
After what seemed like a death sentence loss to LSU in the regular season, it is what fueled the Alabama Crimson Tide to a 21-0 shellacking of the Tigers in the BCS National Championship Game rematch in New Orleans Monday night.
And after a tumultuous college football season preceded by the devastation of the April 27 tornado, that's what brought hundreds of the Tide faithful to cheer on their team's return Tuesday afternoon in the pouring rain.

Video

It's the word that 16-year-old Alexis Gravlee
couldn't help but repeat beneath the Tuscaloosa Regional Airport terminal.
"Everybody said we didn't deserve to be here right now," she said. "Obviously we did."
"We creamed them."
The University of Alabama football team arrived back in Tuscaloosa on two flights Tuesday afternoon with a 14th national championship in tow. The first plane touched down around 1:15 p.m. The second arrived about 10 minutes later.
Most players and coaches quickly disembarked before boarding a charter bus. But a few, including head coach Nick Saban and defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, visited with fans huddled behind a fence near the tarmac.
With the heavy burden of rebuilding that the Tuscaloosa community has faced for the majority of the past year, Saban said he hopes the community and fans enjoy the victory and understand how much their support means to the team.
"The spirit of this team is something that I hope inspires everybody," he said. "I hope this gives everybody a lot of hope for the future... We want to thank all the folks that have supported this team so much. It means a lot to our players."
Gravlee and her father Don made the hour-long drive from just outside Birmingham to cheer on the Tide.
"Us getting down here is a just a fraction of the price these players paid. We couldn't make it to New Orleans for the game so we figured the least we could do is be here when they got back," Don Gravlee said.
"I just take my hat off to Coach (Jim) McElwain. We hope he does well at Colorado State and for the players that are leaving, we just want to say thank you for all you did for this university and this community."
Alexis Gravlee said the trip and the wait in the rain was worth it.
"It was an amazing experience to be here with everyone and to see that we're not the only crazies out there," she said.
Helen and Mike Barnes cheered on the Tide's return with their son Michael, 11. The family said they drove an hour and a half to congratulate the players on beating the odds.
"We're here to celebrate," Helen Barnes said. "The loss in the regular season was really tough and after all the controversy with Oklahoma State we finally did it."
"It just felt like all season everyone was against Bama to win it," Mike Barnes added. "And for us to win it in the way we won it, for us to just dominate like that, it was special."
But mom and dad weren't the only ones fired up despite the rain. Eleven-year-old Michael worked to excite the crowd gathered near the tarmac with shouts of "Roll Tide" and a pretty good impression of Bama strength coach Scott Cochran's famous cry of "Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
"LSU has nothing on us," he said.
Though most UA students were making their own return trip to Tuscaloosa Tuesday for the start of the spring semester, Ryan Jones, Jessica Vaughn and Lindsay Lindsey were at the airport to greet the Tide.
"This is my second year at the university so it's my first national championship and I just wanted to come out and show my support," Jones said as rain dripped from the bill of his Alabama cap.
When the three were asked if there was anything special about this championship, Lindsey was quick to answer.
"The fact that LSU didn't score any points," she said.

No doubt it this time. LSU shutout 21-0

2012-01-10T13:52:00.000-08:00

The Alabama Crimson Tide shut out a very good LSU team. LSU, which beat the likes of Oregan, West Virginia, won the SEC and defeated Georgia in the title game was sliced and diced as if for a Cesar's Salad.

Alabama, behind 5 field goals, a 34 yard TD run by Trent Richardson a solid passing game and LSU, which was held to 92 yards total offense was beaten solidly and soundly. This gives Alabama a "no doubt about it" win.

Here we go again!!!!

2011-12-05T15:51:00.000-08:00

TUSCALOOSA | The game the University of Alabama has longed for since early November is set.

After a restless Saturday night and a long day of nervous anticipation, UA coaches, players and fans learned Sunday night that the Crimson Tide will play for the Bowl Championship Series national title – and against a familiar foe.

The Crimson Tide will play LSU in the BCS National Championship Game on Jan. 9, 2012, in New Orleans.

“I’m very, very pleased and happy for our team to get the opportunity to play in the BCS National Championship Game again,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said.

“And I really do think these are two great football teams, and it will be a great football game.”

The game will have a lot of hype to live up to. The first meeting between the schools, ranked No. 1 and 2 at the time, was billed as the Game of the Century. LSU won 9-6 in overtime at Bryant-Denny Stadium on Nov. 5.

Now they are ranked No. 1 and 2 again, and will be playing for college football’s greatest prize.

Alabama seemed on a steady course to play LSU again in the national title game after winning out its last three regular-season contests, capped by a 42-14 victory at rival Auburn two weekends ago. UA had climbed back to No. 2 in the BCS standings heading into the final weekend of the season.

LSU soundly defeated Georgia to claim the Southeastern Conference championship, clinch its spot in the title game and a unanimous No. 1 ranking, but while Alabama sat idle without a game, Oklahoma State made a major move. The Cowboys, ranked No. 3 going into the weekend and trailing UA by a wide margin, crushed Oklahoma, 44-10.

Oklahoma State also benefitted from Clemson’s upset of Virginia Tech for the Atlantic Coast Conference championship, because Virginia Tech had been ranked above OSU in the two polls that factor in the BCS standings that decide the national title matchup. By midnight, BCS watchers began to wonder if Oklahoma State might jump Alabama and take UA’s spot opposite LSU in New Orleans.

Alabama held on in the final BCS standings by the slimmest of margins. UA led Oklahoma State by .0839 going into the weekend in the BCS point system, and emerged with a .0086 lead in the end.

“It goes without saying that No. 3 Oklahoma State made a real run at the top this weekend,” said Bill Hancock, executive director of the BCS. “This year the difference between No. 2 and No. 3 was the closest ever under our existing rankings formula.”

Saban was alerted that Alabama was in the championship game before the television announcement. UA players learned at their banquet in Birmingham.

“We did not tell the team,” Saban said. “And actually (I) got (word) from ESPN right before we went on the air, and our players really learned about it at the banquet when we piped the ESPN show to them.”

While Alabama celebrated its berth in the championship game, detractors who don’t want to see two SEC teams play for the title, or who don’t want a rematch, weren’t happy to see Alabama chosen over Oklahoma State.

“We are excited for the SEC,” Hancock said. “Obviously it’s been an exceptional year for them. I get asked a lot about whether two teams from the same conference should be in the championship game. And the answer is: absolutely. If they are ranked No. 1 and No. 2, they should be in the championship. Clearly they are in all of the polls that were released today.”

New Orleans, a short drive from the LSU campus in Baton Rouge, La., and a familiar venue to Alabama football fans, can expect to be overrun with supporters of both schools.

“Well, I can tell you this: anytime we have LSU come into the game, it magnifies the challenges about tenfold,” said Paul Hoolahan, executive director of the Sugar Bowl, which is hosting the game. “Add to that bringing Alabama into the mix, and it’s going to be an extremely challenging situation to meet the needs of both those schools.”

Tide does power play with defense faltering

2011-11-20T17:10:00.000-08:00

Maze misses on this one. A.J. McCarron threw for 3 TD's and Trent Richardson rushed for a seasonal record 20 TD's in the route of Georgia Southern 45-21. Who is Georgia Southern? They were the national champion of class AA in the FBS.

TUSCALOOSA | Georgia Southern ran wild against major college football's top defense, racking up more points against No. 3 Alabama than anybody else has this season.

Photo Galleries

Bama beats Ga. Southern

The Tide wasn't at its dominating best against Georgia Southern and the well-executed triple option attack that bears little similarity to what Alabama is accustomed to facing.

Yet Richardson, a Heisman Trophy candidate, kept piling up the stats in a game that never offered him much of a breather. He ran 32 times, caught a 4-yard touchdown pass and broke Shaun Alexander's school single-season mark of 19 rushing touchdowns.

"It means a lot," Richardson said. "I didn't even know I did, but they told me I did. I talk to Shaun all the time. He's like a big brother to me."

Mark Ingram, the Tide's 2009 Heisman winner, was on hand thanks to the New Orleans Saints having their bye this weekend.

Richardson was still running well into the fourth quarter in a game that was expected to be a low-stress tuneup for the Iron Bowl at Auburn.

That triple option of Georgia Southern, meanwhile, burned the nation's top defense.

"They put forth a tremendous effort against maybe the best football team in America," Monken said. "Our kids fought them tooth and nail all the way through."

The Tide seniors set a school four-year mark for wins with No. 46. They're hoping to compete for a second national title, a bid that keeps gaining momentum with losses by previous unbeatens Oklahoma State, Stanford and Boise State.

"You're excited to see things like that of course because at Alabama we play for championships, that's what we do," defensive end Damion Square said. "So you're excited to see things like that, but right after that, you've got to realize we've got a game to play like today."

AJ McCarron completed 14 of 19 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns for Alabama. He threw his second touchdown to tight end Brad Smelley with 44 seconds left after Georgia Southern used up its final two timeouts.

Great to have LSU on our side in some things.

2011-11-08T13:01:00.000-08:00

NEW ORLEANS -- After a devastating tornado ripped through Tuscaloosa, Ala., in April, two rivals are joining forces to offer a helping hand. While there is trash talking between the LSU Tigers and the Alabama Crimson Tide off the field, the two rivals are pitching in to help the recovery from the deadly tornado. The tornado killed more than 40 people in Tuscaloosa and left thousands of people with nothing. The tornado was over a mile wide and had wind speeds exceeding 260 mph. It is estimated that the tornado stayed on the ground for a record-breaking 300 miles across Alabama and Georgia. The group Tigers for Tuscaloosa started by Louisiana United Way, said it wants to change that. “United Ways from around the state have gotten together to get donations of winter clothing items for families that were affected in Tuscaloosa in April,” said Michael Williamson with United Way of Southeast Louisiana. With the winter season fast approaching, winter clothing will be a necessity for those who lost their possessions. "Folks can visit us at 2515 Canal St, drop off those new items, winter hats, scarves, gloves. Those types of things for adults and children,” Williamson said. Williams said the organization believes this is a way to pay it forward. "In New Orleans after Katrina, folks from all over the country and all over the world and folks from Tuscaloosa and all over Alabama helped raise funds and assist with our rebuilding work. We figured this is an opportunity to help repay them,” he said. The effort will culminate on Nov. 5 when the LSU Tigers head to Bryant Denny Stadium to face the Alabama Crimson Tide. Anyone wishing to help with the Tigers for Tuscaloosa effort can donate at any United Way office.

And a special thanks to Notre Dame University

Tuscaloosa, 6 months after the tornado!

2011-10-27T12:48:00.000-07:00

TUSCALOOSA | When one of nature's most powerful storms struck Tuscaloosa just after 5 p.m. on April 27, lives, homes and businesses were torn apart in about six minutes.

Six months later, it's clear that a full recovery will take more than oversized dump trucks and federal checks.

Across the city, from neighborhoods to business districts to church aisles, Tuscaloosans are striving to put the pieces back together, to make things even better, perhaps, than they were before the storm. Here are the stories of some city residents who have been at the center of that effort.

A slow start

Laurie Hubbard was cooking supper for her family when the wind began to howl.

She didn't want to leave the lasagna unfinished when her husband, Ray Jr., summoned her away from the kitchen and into the downstairs area of their split-level home at 12 Terriwood.

But she went anyway, in bare feet and shorts, and the house went dark before she reached the stairs.

With their three sons between them, Hubbard and her husband huddled in a small, darkened hallway under a spare twin mattress that she had wanted for months to be removed from the house.

Then the house began to shake.

“It wasn't 30 seconds later that we started to hear the roar,” Hubbard said, “and it was less than two minutes before the tornado was actually over us.

“And then, all (of a) sudden, there was light. And I knew the house was gone.”

They emerged, unharmed, to find the Forest Lake residence they'd called home for the past 12 years obliterated.

Their dog, Jubilee, was trapped under a pile of bricks but was soon freed. The family cat, Shivers, disappeared for a month but also returned intact.

Despite the total loss of their 1960s-era home, the Hubbards knew they were insured, and they held firm to the conviction that they wanted to return to Forest Lake.

They assured themselves that today, six months after the catastrophe, they would almost be ready to move into their newly constructed home.

But they're not. In fact, thanks to a seemingly never-ending series of bureaucratic hurdles, construction hasn't even begun.

“Every single thing has been hard,” Hubbard said.

The headaches began when they learned their insurance company would not give them enough to easily replace the 36-page list of items they'd lost.

Then they were told the tree stumps that the storm had uprooted were too large, and special arrangements would have to be made to have them removed.

When it came time to have plans for a new house drawn up, Hubbard said they went through “thousands” of versions before they found one they liked.

But a surveyor found that their plans for a partial underground basement with a fortified safe room would not be approved because a portion of their irregularly shaped lot fell within a flood zone.

So the house was redesigned once more and now, almost six months after the storm, they can finally start to rebuild.

The city's Zoning Board of Adjustment on Monday approved a variance for the Hubbards, allowing the back porch to extend almost five feet closer to their back lot line than the zoning code allows.

Hearing a tornado tear their home apart was its own kind of terror. But the six months of confusion and frustration that have followed has been its own kind of horror story, Hubbard said.

“As a mother, I just want my children to have their house back. We feel so displaced,” she said. “This has been like stretching the storm out (over six months).

“We just want something to go right and easy.”

Change for the better

Despite the approaching darkness, John Wedgeworth refused to leave the wreckage of his Rosedale Court neighborhood after the storm had passed.

He had survived the tornado by huddling in his bathtub, but he emerged unharmed to a world he didn't recognize.

“When I opened the front door,” Wedgeworth said, “it looked like someone had dropped a bomb in Rosedale.”

The sounds of car alarms and people screaming pierced the air, but it was the overwhelming smell of natural gas that made Wedgeworth spring into action.

But before he could get his tools and turn off the gas line at his home, he heard a neighbor's cry for help across the street.

“I heard a man saying his wife and children were trapped, so I had to go and help dig them out,” Wedgeworth said. “It was heartbreaking because it was just little children.

“Some of them were bloody, but got them out.”

That led him to another wrecked apartment, and then another and another. All told, Wedgeworth helped free six tornado survivors.

He also helped recover the body of Shena Hutchins, 26, from the rubble of a Rosedale residence.

“I knew her from the neighborhood,” Wedgeworth said of Hutchins, “and I had just spoken with her that morning.”

Wedgeworth wasn't finished searching when authorities began to clear Rosedale and sent the newly homeless to a Red Cross shelter at the Belk Activity Center in Bowers Park.

Wedgeworth said he stayed behind because he was worried that more people might be trapped in the rubble. It was that concern, together with his commitment to the place he called home, that made him keep watch over Rosedale that night.

That same commitment also led him to volunteer when he was asked to help his hometown recover from the storm.

Wedgeworth is one of 10 residents selected by Mayor Walt Maddox and the Tuscaloosa City Council to serve on the Citizens Advisory Committee.

“It's my neighborhood, and I wanted to take pride in my own neighborhood,” Wedgeworth said. “This is a chance for us to make a change — something better — and not just for me, but for the future.”

This panel was established to review, critique and modify — if necessary — Tuscaloosa Forward, the city's master plan for recovery, before it went before the City Council for a final vote.

Now, the committee is reviewing the codes and ordinances that will be used to put the Tuscaloosa Forward plan in place.

Wedgeworth said his involvement with the committee led him to listen and then voice the needs and wishes of those planning to return to Rosedale. This includes the addition of two community centers within the redesigned Rosedale that he said came from hearing seniors ask for such facilities.

How often the City Council calls on the Citizens Advisory Committee in the months to come remains to be seen, but Wedgeworth said he's willing to remain active as long as he's needed.

“It's giving the Rosedale community a chance to voice what they want,” Wedgeworth said. “Being on this committee, and someone asking me to be on this, that meant a whole lot to me to be able to represent my community as a whole.”

A voice for many

As pastor of a church that has operated for almost 90 years, the Rev. Leander Jones understood the devastating effects on Alberta that were brought by the April 27 tornado.

He also saw, in the weeks and months of recovery that followed, that this area of Tuscaloosa — one of the hardest hit by the EF4 twister — had no one group to speak out on its behalf.

Now, six months later, Jones is among a group of 12 Alberta church pastors who are trying to change that.

“There are no greater stakeholders in this area than the churches. We've been in Alberta City, all of us, for close to — or more than — 100 years,” Jones said. “Rebuilding from the storm of April 27 is in our vital interest.”

Kelvin Croom, a retired educator who now serves as senior pastor of College Hill Baptist Church, is also part of the group that, he says, is trying to find a way to unify the various voices of this part of Tuscaloosa.

Croom and his fellow pastors believe such organization begins in the churches and could lead to a better and more prosperous Alberta.

“We've got to have somebody sitting at the table representing Alberta City,” Croom said.

He commended the efforts of the City Council to craft a new master plan and zoning ordinances for the tornado-affected zone, but believes Councilman Kip Tyner, who represents Alberta as part of District 5, could use the support of his constituents to make sure Alberta doesn't get left behind.

“We need those who are living and sleeping there to come together and have a voice about what's happening in Alberta City,” Croom said. “The main thing is, we're trying to establish a vehicle by which to get the word out.”

Jones said that finding a way to speak for a community that encompasses so many racial, educational, generational and socio-economic backgrounds will not be easy, but he's confident that communication and compromise will help.

“How do we bring all of these disparate groups together with all the ... diversity that's going to be inherent and bridge all the gaps that separate them? That kind of becomes the rub,” Jones said. “But I think — prayerfully and hopefully — it can be done, because all will have a stake in that community and, if it's done properly, (Alberta) can truly become a city.”

Croom believes societal barriers can be overcome to bring about a rebirth in Alberta, but it has to come soon, because they won't have another opportunity for a very long time.

“We've got one shot to do this thing right,” Croom said, “because whatever is put in place as a result of (the City Council's) efforts will be in place for a very long time.”

Tuscaloosa comes to Forest Lake rescue!

2011-10-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

TUSCALOOSA | City leaders took the first steps on Tuesday to clean the tornado debris that remains in the centerpiece of the Forest Lake neighborhood.

A unanimous vote by the City Council’s Finance Committee approved the funding for the estimated $300,000 worth of work that will be needed to clean the limbs, trees and other refuse from the man-made pond called Forest Lake.

While the City Council is expected to approve the committee’s recommendation next week, the work hinges on the approval of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service .

The local office of the conservation service has submitted an application for reimbursement to the agency’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., city officials said. If approved, the federal agency would fund 75 percent of the work.

Kent McCray, district conservationist for the conservation service office on Skyland Boulevard, could not be reached Tuesday for comment. But Robin Edgeworth, co-commander of the city’s Incident Command, which is overseeing City Hall’s response to the April 27 tornado, said the efforts to clean Forest Lake could falter if the federal agency denies the request.

Until then, city officials will move forward on performing a task that they believe is crucial to the physical and emotional health of city residents.

“I think once we can have that debris removed, it will be a good psychological boost,” Mayor Walt Maddox said.

If approved, Edgeworth said barges could be brought in to float away larger objects, but the depth of the lake may not allow for this method because the work will require a partial — if not complete — draining of the lake to clear the debris.

“Lowering the lake was a part of the project,” Edgeworth said.

Maddox said efforts were made to get federal contractors hired by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to clear out the lake. However, Federal Emergency Management Agency, which funded the bulk of the costs associated with the city’s tornado debris removal, said that government work crews would only clean out public bodies of water.

Assuming the Natural Resources Conservation Service approves the reimbursement, the city will be required to fund the work up front before the money can be repaid. Maddox and Councilman Lee Garrison, who chairs the city’s Finance Committee, agreed that tapping the city’s reserves could be required.

However, the mayor also said that he was unsure when conservation officials in Washington would decide whether to fund the project.

“I’m uncertain of the timetable,” Maddox said, “but this is the first step in getting Forest Lake cleaned.”

Residents of Forest Lake first learned of the city’s plans to try to help clean out the privately owned lake in August during a town hall meeting hosted by the Forest Lake Neighborhood Association.

On Tuesday, George Harris, vice president of the association, said he welcomed the efforts by City Hall and said a cleared Forest Lake would help heal the emotions of those who call this area home.

“People would feel better,” Harris said. “Driving by there and seeing it like that is pretty depressing.”

Thursday is deadline for property demolition assistance

2011-09-13T19:39:00.000-07:00

TUSCALOOSA

Owners of 32 properties in the city have agreed to have the remains of their storm-damaged structures demolished by government work crews.

Other property owners within the tornado-affected zone have until Thursday to submit an application to City Hall for demolition of damaged property.

The clock is also ticking for owners who do not need assistance in demolishing their structures but have yet to have the debris cleared from their property.

Officials with the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Sept. 21 is the last day that contractors with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will remove debris from the city's rights-of-way. After that date, the cost to haul away debris will fall on the property owner.

John Brook, co-commander of the city's Incident Command, which is overseeing City Hall's response to the storm recovery, said talks are under way with FEMA to extend the Sept. 21 deadline.

“We're working on options, but ... if (residents) are going to demolish it themselves and get it to right-of-way, they need to get it done as soon as possible,” Brook said.

FEMA spokesman Jim Homstead said this deadline was agreed upon by FEMA, the state and the Corps of Engineers, but added that debris removal efforts could continue at the local level.

“Tuscaloosa residents should follow the direction of their local officials when it comes to debris removal,” Homstead said. “FEMA is and will continue to be in constant contact with the Alabama Emergency Management Agency and local officials to meet the debris removal and other recovery needs of the Tuscaloosa community.”

Homstead said Monday that, statewide, an estimated 99 percent of debris left by the April 27 tornadoes had been cleared. Tuscaloosa also is nearing that mark, and the director of the city's Environmental Services Department said last week that an estimated 95 percent of debris had been cleared.

The demolition votes that are going before the City Council tonight were requested by the individual property owners under a recently announced debris removal program funded primarily by the federal government.

Each property owner submitted an application for the work, which has been approved by FEMA, but Brook said the City Council's vote was scheduled as a precaution.

“It's one of those things that we don't know for sure if the state is going to require (the council's vote), but we're going to let it go through the City Council just to make sure,” Brook said.

Residents who also want federal contractors to help clear debris from their properties have until Thursday to submit an application to City Hall. Applicants will be required to provide photo identification, proof of ownership (such as a deed or tax record) and the insurance policy on the property, if one exists.

Once the Thursday deadline passes, the City Council may take additional steps to clear remaining structures that were damaged or destroyed by the EF-4 tornado.

The state attorney general and Department of Public Health have issued statements and opinions indicating that local governments have the authority to condemn and demolish buildings with or without the owner's permission if they pose a nuisance or threat to public health.

Property owners who still have questions or concerns are asked to call City Hall.

“We want to encourage them — whatever their question is — to come in and let us help them work through it,” Brook said.

Homstead said Monday that, statewide, an estimated 99 percent of debris left by the April 27 tornadoes had been cleared. Tuscaloosa also is nearing that mark, and the director of the city's Environmental Services Department said last week that an estimated 95 percent of debris had been cleared.

The demolition votes that are going before the City Council tonight were requested by the individual property owners under a recently announced debris removal program funded primarily by the federal government.

Each property owner submitted an application for the work, which has been approved by FEMA, but Brook said the City Council's vote was scheduled as a precaution.

“It's one of those things that we don't know for sure if the state is going to require (the council's vote), but we're going to let it go through the City Council just to make sure,” Brook said.

Residents who also want federal contractors to help clear debris from their properties have until Thursday to submit an application to City Hall. Applicants will be required to provide photo identification, proof of ownership (such as a deed or tax record) and the insurance policy on the property, if one exists.

Once the Thursday deadline passes, the City Council may take additional steps to clear remaining structures that were damaged or destroyed by the EF-4 tornado.

The state attorney general and Department of Public Health have issued statements and opinions indicating that local governments have the authority to condemn and demolish buildings with or without the owner's permission if they pose a nuisance or threat to public health.

Property owners who still have questions or concerns are asked to call City Hall.

“We want to encourage them — whatever their question is — to come in and let us help them work through it,” Brook said.

Homstead said Monday that, statewide, an estimated 99 percent of debris left by the April 27 tornadoes had been cleared. Tuscaloosa also is nearing that mark, and the director of the city's Environmental Services Department said last week that an estimated 95 percent of debris had been cleared.

The demolition votes that are going before the City Council tonight were requested by the individual property owners under a recently announced debris removal program funded primarily by the federal government.

Each property owner submitted an application for the work, which has been approved by FEMA, but Brook said the City Council's vote was scheduled as a precaution.

“It's one of those things that we don't know for sure if the state is going to require (the council's vote), but we're going to let it go through the City Council just to make sure,” Brook said.

Residents who also want federal contractors to help clear debris from their properties have until Thursday to submit an application to City Hall. Applicants will be required to provide photo identification, proof of ownership (such as a deed or tax record) and the insurance policy on the property, if one exists.

Once the Thursday deadline passes, the City Council may take additional steps to clear remaining structures that were damaged or destroyed by the EF-4 tornado.

The state attorney general and Department of Public Health have issued statements and opinions indicating that local governments have the authority to condemn and demolish buildings with or without the owner's permission if they pose a nuisance or threat to public health.

Property owners who still have questions or concerns are asked to call City Hall.

“We want to encourage them — whatever their question is — to come in and let us help them work through it,” Brook said.

U of A helps to cope with April 27th disaster

2011-09-04T11:33:00.000-07:00

TUSCALOOSA

On the evening of April 27, the Quad on the University of Alabama campus was quiet, empty.

Above it sat dark clouds that minutes ago had given birth to a tornado that gashed a six-mile path of destruction through Tuscaloosa.

Ten blocks away, on the streets of Forest Lake and Cedar Crest, UA residents and UA students walked in a daze door-to-door calling out among the remnants of houses for friends and neighbors.

Fast forward a little more than four months later and those same students, residents and neighbors and many more from across the country and state were on the Quad, walking from tent to tent with calls of “Roll Tide” in the hours before the Crimson Tide took on Kent State University on Saturday. Shortly before the Million Dollar Band struck up the first bars of “Yea Alabama,” members of the Italian Tailgaters lounged in the shade of their tent marked with an Italian flag on the Quad enjoying some Italian sausage, Italian potato salad and Italian cheesecake.

“And a little Italian vino of course,” said Tony Alfano, who, with her husband, Frank, started the Italian Tailgaters nine years ago. “We’ve been waiting for this day since we closed down last year.”

The Alfanos, who hail from Birmingham, said they are proud of how Tuscaloosa has progressed since the storm and are happy to see the town buzzing with excitement over the Tide again.

“Just to think about it, I get chill bumps,” Tony Alfano said. “It’s the most devastation I’ve ever seen.”

2011-09-01T11:32:00.000-07:00

15th Street, Tuscaloosa, AL

JOPLIN, Mo.
The stories are separated by almost 600 miles and four state lines, but the similarities that two massive tornadoes brought to this Midwestern town and Tuscaloosa are startlingly similar.

The April 27 tornado in Tuscaloosa and the May 22 twister in Joplin tore across some of the most densely populated portions of both cities, leaving behind a nearly 6-mile gash of wreckage and destruction in each city.

And both are seeing national attention to their plights fade in the wake of more recent disasters, particularly the devastation brought by Hurricane Irene to the East Coast.

In an attempt to learn different methods and explore ideas for rebuilding, a seven-member delegation from Tuscaloosa City Hall traveled Wednesday to Joplin to share information and discuss successful approaches with the leaders of a city facing its own recovery crisis.

Once the day’s meetings were over, Mayor Walt Maddox said the trip achieved what he hoped it would.

“I think the most important part of the mission was accomplished,” Maddox said, “and that is that we work together to secure federal supplemental aid from Congress.”

Maddox spent much of the day discussing the effects of the storms with Joplin City Manager Mark Rohr, an Ohio native who has been leading the day-to-day operations of Joplin for almost seven years.

They talked about death tolls, destroyed buildings and volunteer response. They compared notes — and frustrations — on dealing with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and on how best to address the loss of homes for the poorest in their communities.They both spoke of the power they felt seeing a community come together to pull itself out from the rubble.

Things are improving!

2011-08-05T13:12:00.001-07:00

This series of photos shows the cleanup process in the Cedar Crest neighborhood near 15th Street in Tuscaloosa over the past three months.

Tuscaloosa residents still recovering

2011-07-24T09:29:00.000-07:00

TUSCALOOSA

Even though she was in her house when the tornado hit it on April 27, Lou C. Smith did not fully understand what happened until she returned to her empty lot last week.

"I wanted to come down and see where it was," Smith said of her house. "I can understand now."

At 98, Smith won't return to her life before the EF4 tornado ripped through Tuscaloosa County on April 27. Not only did it destroy her Forest Lake home of nearly 60 years and just about everything in it, the tornado forced Smith to move to a nursing home, where she will likely remain for the rest of her life.

She just started walking again, and has trouble remembering things about that day. Family members say it was hard for her to connect pictures of the destruction to her home. Still, Smith is grateful to the strangers, hospital staff and family who helped save her.
"The good Lord is keeping me for something," she said.

For people like Smith, the tornado was a wrecking ball, an experience that has been especially hard to overcome for those near the end of their lives.

For some, it was a fatal blow.

"For people who are old or frail, any kind of change is stressful, and the older you are, the harder it is to bounce back from stress," said Patricia Parmelee, psychologist and director of the University of Alabama's Center for Mental Health and Aging.

Even under normal circumstances, relocating, whether to another town or into an assisted-living facility, can be a strain for people who are elderly, but the sudden loss of a home or normalcy from something as abrupt and destructive as the tornado may be too much stress, Parmelee said.

Robin Edgeworth is co- commander of Tuscaloosa City Hall's Incident Command Team, which is overseeing the cleanup and recovery efforts from the tornado. She said city staff knew in the earliest days that the elderly would be hit particularly hard by the tornado.

"We knew that those people were a group of people that we were going to have to pay close attention to and try in whatever way the city could to minimize the effect the storm had," she said. "Of course, it's really difficult for the city to do anything other than remind the public to be mindful of those in your family and your neighbors that were impacted that are in the elderly population."

William Robert McPherson Jr., 85, wasn't as fortunate as Smith. Also a resident of Forest Lake, McPherson suffered injuries when his house fell on top of him and his caretaker, but he was released from the hospital the day after the tornado. He had contracted pneumonia from getting wet during the storm and, already frail, succumbed to his illness. He died May 29.

"I think he'd be alive if it wasn't for the tornado," said Jack Norris, McPherson's nephew. "It was just a traumatic experience."

The tornado didn't spare La Rocca Nursing Home in Alberta, but no residents or staff were killed during the storm. However, several of its residents, possibly 10 or more, died in the following weeks. Some families say the tornado is responsible, and city staff have added one former La Rocca resident, Leota Elaine Jones, 97, to the list of 44 tornado-related deaths. It is the only family of former La Rocca residents to notify the city of a death.

Jones died May 24 at Forest Manor Nursing Home, where she was transferred after the storm.

She and McPherson are the only two people on the city's storm fatality list who didn't die directly from injuries sustained in the storm. Edgeworth said there are probably more, but a person is only added to the fatality list if family or friends notify the city, since staff members are not reviewing death certificates or obituaries to find possible storm-related deaths.
"We knew that early on that there were going to be fatalities that were going to be related to the storm that would not be people who sustain injuries, and I think that's true of any disaster," Edgeworth said.

Jones' daughter, Millie Christian, said what happened after the tornado, more so than the storm itself, proved too much for her mother.

"My mother was elderly, but she wasn't ready to die," Christian said. "It was very traumatic. She went from sitting up and having dinner and wanting to go shopping to not being able to sit up in bed and not eating."

Christian and her family watched as Jones virtually stopped eating or drinking, and what she described as Jones' will to live deteriorated.

Christian said some residents at La Rocca sustained life-threatening injuries simply because even the most minor injury can be serious for people who frail and elderly. But it was the night without electricty, along with the dislocation from La Rocca, a tiring journey in a school bus on April 28 along with other residents, that left Jones fatigued and dehydrated, Christian said.

She blames the staff at La Rocca for not getting residents out sooner. Lyman Hardy, whose family started and owns the nursing home, said in a statement that his staff was trained for disasters and responded appropriately. No residents died in the storm, he said.

"Just like all nursing homes, we care for people who are frail and elderly with multiple, complex medical conditions," Hardy wrote in an email. "We've learned that some of our former residents have passed away in recent weeks. We certainly mourn their loss along with their family and friends because we developed relationships with each one while they were in our care."

Hardy declined further comment.

Fay Rice, whose husband, Colvin "Corky" Rice, lived in La Rocca the night of the tornado, doesn't blame the staff at the nursing home for her husband's death, but is sure the tornado is the reason her husband died.

"It was due to the trauma of the tornado, and it certainly wasn't anything that La Rocca did or didn't do," Rice said.

Like Christian, she said the night after the tornado and the grueling transfer to another nursing home on the bus through debris-filled streets was a lot for her husband and other residents to handle.

"It was physically too much for somebody in poor health," Rice said.

Rice said she has not called the city to ask that her husband be added to the list of storm fatalities.

Parmelee, who researches elderly care and mental health, said the storm left people of all ages with a sense of loss of control over life, but it's a feeling that can be acute for the elderly who are further stressed by having to depend, willingly or not, on others to make decisions for them. Families with elderly members struggling after the storm can help by giving the elderly an active voice in decision-making, and try to return as much as possible to a normal life, she said.

"It's not surprising to hear stories like this, but it's heartbreaking," Parmelee said. "Unfortunately, there is not a lot we can do about it."

Disaster hit Tuscaloosa; Bizopbama is back up!

2011-06-30T08:43:00.000-07:00

On April 27th, 2011 two tornados reeked havoc in Tuscaloosa. It shut my internet and phone service down for two months; it will take a while to get back in the swing of things. This situation caused a major disruption unlike anything I have seen and it will take months, even years to recover.

On this day there were 232 tornadoes in the southeast and Tuscaloosa absorbed a 40% property loss throughout the entire southeast. The northeast tornado cut a path 1/2 to 1 mile wide through an estmated 24 miles across Tuscaloosa. I was located 2-4 square acres south of ground zero of Alberta City. The business district looked like a nuclear bomb hit it, literally. The University of Alabama and downtown was spared. More to come.

Concert cancelled; refunds made available

2011-04-16T10:59:00.000-07:00

The country rock group, Sugarland, had to cancel their concert in the new amphitheater in Tuscaloosa due to the tornado outbreak Friday. Refunds were made available to the public. During the outbreak, Sugarland was protected at the unlikeliest of places. Try the basement of the Tuscaloosa City Hall. They took it in good stride.

Tornados hit Tuscaloosa Hard; clean up takes place

2011-04-16T10:50:00.000-07:00

TUSCALOOSA

A wave of strong storms causing at least one tornado swept across West Alabama on Friday causing damage in 20 Tuscaloosa neighborhoods.

More Photos:

Tuscaloosa Storm Damage

TWITPICS: Tuscaloosa tornado damage

In a news conference at City Hall on Friday night, Mayor Walt Maddox announced that he would sign a declaration of disaster that will assist the city in applying for federal and state assistance as well as contracting crews in the cleanup of the massive amounts of debris left in the storm's wake.

Maddox said the first reports of damage came in to City Hall at 3:15 p.m. and though he didn't have an exact number of homes with structural damage, he said “I imagine it's in the dozens.”

“Miraculously,” Maddox said, “we've had no reported injuries. I think a lot of that has to do with the notification by the National Weather Service. They do a great job ... and it looks like a lot of people took advantage of the warning.”

DCH Medical Center spokesman Brad Fisher said the hospital had seen one person who was in a traffic accident in Greene County, but he said it was unknown if the injury was weather-related.

The medical center, which is designated as the major trauma center for West Alabama, activated its emergency management center Friday afternoon before the storm arrived. It was deactivated at 4:45 p.m.

School systems all over central and West Alabama released students early as a precaution.

About 18,000 people statewide were without power at 10 p.m., according to the Alabama Power Co. About 9,000 customers were without electricity in West Alabama, according to the utility, with about 6,000 of those customers in Tuscaloosa County.

Gov. Robert Bentley said late Friday night that one person was killed in the storms in Marengo County and that multiple injuries have been reported in Sumter, Greene and Marengo counties.

The governor declared a state of emergency for all Alabama counties. Tornadoes touched down in the counties of Monroe, Greene, Marengo, Sumter, Tuscaloosa and Choctaw, the governor said in a statement.

In Marengo County, emergency management director Kevin McKinney said trees were toppled in a rural area southwest of Linden after a possible tornado moved through the county around lunchtime.

“There are some trees on some houses, a roof off a house,” he said.

Maddox did not have a clear estimate on the cost of cleaning up the damage caused by the storm but said the figure should start in the $10,000 range and could expand to “hundreds of thousands dollars.”

The process of cleaning up the debris will begin today. Maddox said it will likely be a lengthy process as the city must work with Alabama Power to ensure downed power lines have been removed before clearing debris.

“The process could even delay trash service, but our focus will first be on the 20 neighborhoods affected,” he said.

Maddox said the storm that hit Tuscaloosa moved in a straight line from the southeast to the northeast across the city and, though it is unknown whether there was more than one twister, a tornado touched down in two areas: first on Alabama Highway 69 South near Shelton State Community College around 3:30 p.m. and then again in a large area near Plantation Road roughly five miles north off 69.

Ken Ryan, 50, did his best to get out of the storm's path but ended up driving right into it. He and his family live in Brookwood, which was forecasted Friday afternoon to see a severe part of the storm. Ryan decided to take his family to his father-in-law Bobby Davis' house on Plantation Road.

The tornado came howling up Plantation Road toward Davis' house, but Ryan said the twister never touched down. He said he saw it hovering above the ground down the street before taking cover.

“I looked out the window and started seeing the limbs start swirling, so we all hit the closets and bathrooms,” he said.

“You could see it,” said Davis, 76. “We were in the house and had the closets ready for them to get in. I hollered ‘It's here!' and we took off for the closets and I closed the door and all I could hear was a roar. And it didn't last very long.

“Thank God it didn't get on the ground here is all I can say.”

Friday's storm followed a path eerily similar to the Dec. 16, 2000, tornado, an F4 monster with winds of up to 260 mph that killed 11 people, injured 95 more and caused millions of dollars in property damage as it ripped through the Taylorville community, barreled along Skyland Boulevard into Woodland Forrest and crossed Interstate 20/59.

Fears of similar destruction Friday quickly receded, although damage in the area was extensive.

A cluster of eight of the 20 neighborhoods affected is near the area between U.S. Highway 82 and Old Montgomery Highway. Another cluster of six impacted neighborhoods lies between Loop Road and Veterans Memorial Parkway. Another heavily impacted area was Five Points.

An apparent tornado damaged the Motel 6 on Highway 82 and struck Speedy Oil Change on Alabama Highway 69, blowing the plastic out of large signs and leaving roads crisscrossed with power poles and trees in places. Sam Packwood told the Associated Press that he and his son saw what appeared to be a twister drop out of the sky near Bama Mini Storage, where he works.

“It was a dark funnel coming down,” Packwood said in a telephone interview. “The sirens went off and all; it was pretty exciting for 20 or 30 minutes. I hope nobody got hurt.”

As of 7:30 Friday night, all three shifts of Tuscaloosa Police Department officers were on duty directing traffic and patrolling neighborhoods with no power to ensure there was no looting.

David Hartin, director of the Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency, said Friday night that most of the damage from the storm was within the Tuscaloosa city limits and was aware of only a couple reports from the county.

“I know that a volunteer reported, and I don't have any damage report from this, a tornado in Jena coming into Tuscaloosa County on County Road 2,” Hartin said. “And there were trees down on Lot 9 Road near Fosters/Ralph.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Local restaurants provide space for artists to display work

2011-03-06T17:41:00.000-08:00

Next time you dine out in Tuscaloosa, you might find yourself with a feast for your eyes as well as a feast for your palate.

The once bare walls of several restaurants in Tuscaloosa have been transformed into art galleries displaying the work of local artists. And restaurant owners love the trend, because it livens up their spaces and allows artists a chance to display their masterpieces in nontraditional venues.

In most places, the art is tagged and labeled for sale, complete with information on how to get in touch with the artist. The idea is to give patrons who may not otherwise visit local art galleries the opportunity to experience the arts.

Chase Langefeld, whose whimsical art hangs in Little Italy Pizzeria on University Boulevard, said she believes the art scene in Tuscaloosa is lacking, mainly because many locals aren’t interested in visiting galleries.

Langefeld, a senior political science major at the University of Alabama who paints on wood, canvas and scrap material, incorporates mixed medias, acrylic and occasionally the unexpected permanent marker.

She said she hopes Little Italy’s customers leave with more than an appreciation for pizza after seeing her work. Langefeld said surprising people with art is a great way to get people interested, and she’s received extensive feedback from diners who did not expect to find an art gallery in a pizza parlor.

“If a few more people get interested in art after viewing some of my work, I would be happy,” Langefeld said.

Hunter Adams, a University of Alabama law student, was instrumental in getting Langefeld’s work, as well as that of two other local artists, Ben Gordon and Jack Batchelor, displayed at Little Italy. Adams works on the side as an art representative.

“Most people aren’t going to think about going to an art gallery, but when the art is right in your face, you’re going to look at it,” Adams said.

Adams said that while many restaurant owners are slow to the idea of hanging art for sale in their businesses, there are benefits for the owners and the customers.

“It’s free art that makes their places more interesting, and customers love it,” Adams said.

Tuscaloosa native Evon Hinton also displays his locally inspired paintings in Little Italy. Hinton said his ultimate pursuit is to brighten up local shops and eateries.

“I just like to cheer up some sad souls and put a little piece of art in their day,” Hinton said.

Hinton, 46, derived his love of painting from his father, a Haitian immigrant. Hinton said his father married in the South, but later returned to his home in Haiti. His father died in last year’s earthquake that devastated much of Haiti, and Hinton said he seeks to keep his father’s spirit alive through his artwork.

“My father never got the chance to share his art with the world, so before I leave this planet, I want people to see what’s inside of me,” Hinton said.

Gail Faulkner is an avid supporter of the arts, as well as the owner of Chloe’s Cup on University Boulevard.

Faulkner decided to dress the walls of her coffee shop and eatery with the work of local artists shortly after opening the cafe.

“It was important to me to showcase and sell artwork in the space. It adds to the atmosphere while getting the customers involved,” Faulkner said.

The cafe currently showcases the work of Tuscaloosa native and University of Alabama graduate Tish Blackwood. Faulkner was introduced to Blackwood through a friend.

“I visited her home to pick some pieces for the shop and found it to feel like a gallery in and of itself,” Faulkner said.

Blackwood together gathered a selection of photographs shot locally that she re-rendered with a computer tablet and stylus. At first glance, the photographs appear like any other photograph, yet a closer look reveals an uncanny amount of detail all done by hand.

“The places I travel become my inspiration. I take pictures wherever I am,” Blackwood said.

Chloe’s Cup also participates in Art Night on the first Thursday of each month. This month, University of Alabama students displayed ceramic sculpture pieces.

Local textile artist Linda Bell gained attention at Chloe’s Cup prior to being featured at the Bama Theatre’s Greensboro Room Gallery in early February.

“Local places like Chloe’s Cup can act as stepping stones to larger venues like the Bama,” Faulkner said.

Deborah Hughes received a bachelor of fine arts in painting and graphic design from the University of Alabama. Her nature paintings are currently on display at Manna Grocery and Deli on McFarland Boulevard.

Frances Drennen, one of the owners of Manna Grocery, features Hughes’ work in the deli area of the natural foods haven. Hughes is a landscape painter and the founding member of SCAPE, Southern California Artists Painting the Environment. Her paintings at Manna Grocery are described in an artist’s card in the cafe as “a direct observation and visual dialogue with her chosen environment.”

Hughes’ artwork has also been featured at the Bama Theater and the Kentuck Gallery.

Drennen said Manna Grocery has been displaying the work of local artists for more then 10 years and tries to rotate the artwork every couple of months.

“The artists like it because it gives them a place to show their artwork,” Drennen said. “We just like it because it adds something nice to the walls.”

Gov. Bently threw out first ball; Spring baseball is alive at UofA.

2011-02-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

Alabama's David Kindred (13) hands Gov. Robert Bentley the ball after Bentley threw the first pitch to Kindred before a game against Alcorn State at Sewell-Thomas Stadium in Tuscaloosa Friday.

TUSCALOOSA | The University of Alabama baseball team made easy work of Alcorn State on Friday night in a 11-0 win in its season-opener at Sewell-Thomas Stadium.

But for all the runs UA posted, there was only one double into the outfield gap, and none of the majestic home runs that normally send fans who watch from the grass outside Coleman Coliseum scrambling for souvenirs.

An aberration for the normally high-scoring college game?

Or signaling of the future?

If new NCAA standards for bats are as effective as many expect, the latter may be the case. The NCAA made an offseason adjustment to the BBCOR (Bat-Ball Coefficient of Restitution) rating on its bats. It was meant to create a deadening effect on batted balls, making the metal bats used in the college game perform more similarly to the wooden models used in the professional ranks. The intent of the change: a safer game.

“I think we're going to have to see it over 20, 25 games to really see how it's going to react,” said UA coach Mitch Gaspard. “Tonight, the balls we squared up jumped pretty good. (Josh) Rosecrans drove a ball to center, and (Taylor) Dugas hit a ball deep that probably would have gotten out of the park before (the change). That's going to take a little time to really see how it's going to play out.”

In UA's win Friday, only a few balls even reached the wall — much less went over it — and one of those came on an error in right field when Alcorn State's Kilby Perdomo misplayed a ground ball for a two-base error.

Preseason reaction around the nation from coaches and players alike has been predictably negative, particularly among power hitters whose place in the lineup may be somewhat reliant on home run production. UA clean-up hitter Rosecrans (2-for-4, two RBIs) said he is hopeful a new shipment of bats will perform for the power hitters in the UA batting order.

“The ones we got in the fall weren't very good, but Nike got some new ones out now,” Rosecrans said. “We got some new ones about a week ago that are a lot better. Balls are starting to fly now.”

Fewer home runs is only one by-product expected from the new bat standard.

Less scoring would mean less strain on pitching arms, and a reduction in the length of games. It also could be a welcome change to programs that place more of a premium on other aspects of the game, such as defense, bunting and baserunning.

“That's a big part of our offense. Even last year we spent a lot of time with the short game,” Gaspard added. “We've got fair team speed, but I think we have a chance to be a high-execution team that can do a lot of things handling the bat. You'll see more of that. We like to do a lot of things early in the game to try to create a lead.”

UA starter Adam Morgan didn't need much help from new bat standards Friday night.

The left-hander didn't allow a hit until the fifth inning, and even that was a close call, an infield single on a slow-rolling groundball to second base.

Morgan (1-0) was lifted in the sixth due to a pitch count of 65-70.

“I love the new bats,” Morgan said with a laugh. “It's an equal playing field. Everybody has them. You're not going to see as many home runs as in years past. There is going to be more hit-and-run, bunting, stealing, stuff like that.”

Relievers Charley Sullivan, Adam Windsor and side-arming right-hander Nathan Kennedy combined for three-plus innings of scoreless relief to preserve a shutout.

UA and Alcorn State begin the second game of the three-game series at 2 p.m. Saturday.

2011-02-14T10:03:00.000-08:00

TUSCALOOSA | A new building sparked a new beginning for the University of Alabama women’s basketball team Sunday.

UA women return to Foster
The Crimson Tide won its first game at Foster Auditorium, 64-59, against the Florida Gators.

The win also signified the Crimson Tide’s second Southeastern Conference victory.

“I don’t know if I can exactly put it (what the win) means to me right now,” Alabama coach Wendell Hudson said. “I started talking about (Foster Auditorium) before I took over the program because I thought the atmosphere would be great for women’s basketball. It was definitely a moment in time, that you only have certain amounts of these types of moments, and I was glad to be a part of it.”

It was a moment that almost didn’t happen. The Tide trailed at halftime, 24-34.

“I didn’t think about the moment at halftime,” Hudson said. “I was thinking about Florida and how to get this group to realize that they weren’t playing very well.”

The first half started promising, with Alabama scoring the first basket on a field goal by Alabama freshman forward Kaniesha Horn.

The Tide kept it close until the Gators held Alabama at 13 points for nearly five minutes.

With 4:32 left if the first half, Alabama trailed 20-30 after Florida freshman guard Jaterra Bonds nailed three free throws. The Tide tried to battle back before halftime, but the physical Florida defense bested Alabama.

“The last thing we told them in (the locker room) during halftime was this next 20 minutes needs to be our 20 minutes,” Hudson said. “We needed to relax, hope we shoot the basketball and block out. And I think we did a much, much better job the second half. Florida had us down so much the first (half) but I think we really evened it out in the second.”

The Tide offense wasted no time in “evening up ” as Alabama senior forward Tierney Jenkins scored the first points of the second half in the first 34 seconds.

Alabama tied the game at 35-35 just four minutes later after junior guard Erika Russell made two free throws.

Russell, who went 0-for-6 from the field in the first half, came alive in the second half.

“(Erika Russell) really had a nice half for us,” Hudson said. “She played really good. You look at the scoring and you can’t have one person doing all the scoring. Now we have three people kinda playing and scoring for us.”

The score was tied two more times until a basket by Alabama senior guard Varisia Raffington and 3-pointer by freshman guard Jasmine Robinson put the Tide up top, 44-39.

Alabama took control after that and maintained the lead until the end.

“Our defensive intensity by far (increased second half), we just didn’t want them to get any baskets and we just wanted to protect the rim.” Jenkins said.

Jenkins, who was a perfect 8-for-8 at the free-throw line, was the leader for the Tide with 18 points, eight rebounds and nine steals. Horn and Russell each scored 12 points.

“This is really big for women’s basketball and program and it felt really good to get the win,” Jenkins said.

And while the victory is sweet, Hudson knows his team still has a lot to overcome.

“This is one of these games where it is really simple: home-court advantage,” Hudson said. “We didn’t get off to a great start but I think we really turned it around once we got the crowd back involved in the basketball game. The atmosphere was high and our players fed off of it. But we made some of the same mistakes and things we have always done.”

The Tide travels to Auburn on Thursday.

THE MOM STOP: Vacation plans inspire my coupon quest

2011-02-11T19:42:00.000-08:00

My New Year’s resolution is to save money at the grocery store.

And I’ve thrown myself into this resolution like no other resolution I’ve made before. I think it’s because my list of resolutions is exactly one item long this year. How better to inspire focus? Oh, I know: Disney World!

I am save save saving so I can, ahem, I mean, so my children can experience Harry Potter at Universal Studios. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter up close and personal? It’s too good to be true. And I’m willing to scrounge up every 75-cent cereal coupon and 55-cent butter coupon to get there.

It looks like I’m not the only one saving money with coupons in the new year. Coupon classes are all the rage. They are taught by coupon experts in churches and halls and private homes. A coupon class in Northport this past week drew 60 eager attendees. Moms on Tuscmoms.com, West Alabama’s online parenting community, have been signing up all month to attend a class. And moms nationwide are gleefully listing their savings on Facebook.

I wanted so badly to be one of them.

So a few weeks ago, I found myself in a mom’s living room with more than a dozen other women. We listened and took notes while fellow mom and couponer extraordinaire Tara Whitaker, who writes a blog called Southern Savings and Deals, taught us how it’s done. She claims she has cut her family’s grocery bill by about 75 percent. Two hours later, I left exhilarated.

Hogwarts, here I come!

Little did I know, the world of couponing is full of high highs and low lows and the race to save money is a marathon, not a sprint. This is because it takes time to change your whole shopping mindset.

Here is what this rookie learned last week when I tried to apply my new knowledge.

I learned to buy personal items at drug stores. My highest high of the week was spending less than $10 on a box of 56 diapers that usually costs more than $20. Score!

I learned it’s not enough to simply have coupons. For optimal savings, you need to use a coupon on top of a good sale. And then you “stack” the coupons (a store coupon paired with a manufacturer coupon). I haven’t yet perfected the “stack.” And I was annoyed when I got so caught up I didn’t buy stuff I needed.

But I was positively giddy when I used coupons on buy-one-get-one-free deals

(BOGOs). And printing coupons at home and handing a whole pile of them to the cashier was satisfying, too. I saved $25.

My lowest low was learning the hard way to keep my coupons in the car. One day I was heading to the store with my kids when I realized I left a really good coupon on my kitchen table.

I couldn’t bear the thought of shopping without it, so I drove home to retrieve it, only to discover I couldn’t even use it. Grrrr.

After all that, I still spent the usual $200 my first time out, which did nothing to boost my coupon confidence.

If I do meet Harry Potter this spring, maybe he can cast a money-saving spell on me. Until then, I’ll keep trying.

Kristi Palma is the editor of www.tuscmoms.com, a website where moms in West Alabama can share advice, stories, plan activities and more.

Little did I know, the world of couponing is full of high highs and low lows and the race to save money is a marathon, not a sprint. This is because it takes time to change your whole shopping mindset.

Here is what this rookie learned last week when I tried to apply my new knowledge.

I learned to buy personal items at drug stores. My highest high of the week was spending less than $10 on a box of 56 diapers that usually costs more than $20. Score!

I learned it’s not enough to simply have coupons. For optimal savings, you need to use a coupon on top of a good sale. And then you “stack” the coupons (a store coupon paired with a manufacturer coupon). I haven’t yet perfected the “stack.” And I was annoyed when I got so caught up I didn’t buy stuff I needed.

But I was positively giddy when I used coupons on buy-one-get-one-free deals

Kenny Chesney set to open Tuscaloosa Amphitheater

2011-01-23T18:05:00.000-08:00

It's a smaller venue than the country superstar generally plays, but not an indication that his star is fading. Chesney has won Billboard Touring Awards, based on ticket sales, as Best Package Tour for the last five years. He's played NFL stadiums, won four consecutive Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year Awards, had 20 No. 1 hits, including the recent “The Boys of Fall,” and sold more than 27 million albums.

It's another star atop the Christmas tree for creators of the Tuscaloosa Amphitheater, who first met almost three years ago on Christmas Eve in Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox's office to discuss the feasibility of building such a venue.

“I think it clearly shows the determination of our city and Red Mountain Entertainment (the Birmingham-based agency which books and consults) to make this a first-class facility,” Maddox said. “It's not just that Kenny Chesney is a big star, but that he crosses genres, which is important to us in building a diverse lineup. And it's especially showing faith in a smaller facility such as ours.”

Chesney has played Tuscaloosa several times before, in a more intimate setting, the old Jupiter Bar & Grill. He brought the opening dates of several tours here as a kind of warm-up, announcing shows at the 500-seat venue just days beforehand. Crowds lined up around the block to get in.

“I think (booking Chesney) might have something to do with a good relationship with the city, but also the opportunity to open this new, first-class facility,” Maddox said.

Gary Weinberger of RME said they'd pursued Chesney for more than a year, after he played The Wharf at Orange Beach, another venue that the group books.

“We told (Chesney's management) about the place, and just worked on it for several months,” Weinberger said. “This is what we do. We book 150 concerts a year,” matching up artists who are on the road with times, locations and venues that can handle the seating demands and meet the artists' asking prices.

“Certainly this is one of the smallest venues Chesney will play on his new tour,” he said.

The opening concert is a special case. Not all acts booked for the amphitheater will be of such superstar status; Birmingham's own amphitheater is nearby, and with about 7,500 seats available, it won't be possible for Tuscaloosa to get the biggest names, at least not at a ticket price patrons could afford to pay.

“But we wanted to make a statement for the opening by booking one of the biggest, if not the biggest, touring acts in America,” Weinberger said.

The official announcement was made Thursday night at a dedication ceremony for box holders, sponsors, media and those who worked on the project, led by Maddox and Weinberger from the stage where a 30-foot decorated cedar had been erected.

“Three years ago Gary and I met in my office to discuss the potential for an amphitheater,” Maddox said. “Tonight we're taking those discussions close to reality. It feels really good.”

In many ways, reality has exceeded early dreams, he said, with the 2 percent lodging tax paying off the project at minimal cost to taxpayers. “It's more than we imagined three years ago.”

Other acts for the inaugural season will be announced as dates are confirmed. Chesney's people gave special permission to announce the Tuscaloosa date this early.

“This is just Dec. 16,” Weinberger said. “By mid-January, the end of January, we're going to have a plethora of artists to announce.”

Tickets will go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday Jan. 22 for the Tuscaloosa stop on Chesney's 2011 “Goin' Coastal” tour, slated for Thursday March 31. Prices and outlets will be announced later.

2011-01-19T17:28:00.000-08:00

Despite a game plagued with turnovers, the Alabama Crimson Tide (11-7, 3-1 SEC) managed to pull a 68-66 victory over the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats (14-4, 2-2 SEC) Tuesday night in Coleman Coliseum, making the Tide a perfect 10-0 at home this season.

The atmosphere was charged in the packed Coliseum, and the Tide fought hard for its win. Sophomore Ben Eblen had only three points in the game, but they were perhaps three of the most important points of the game.

In the first half, Eblen scored a layup off a turnover to tie the game for the first time at 15-all. Then, with slightly more than two seconds left in the game and the Tide up by one, he stole the ball on the Kentucky side of the court and was fouled immediately.

Eblen made the first free throw, and though he missed the second, the two-point lead was enough to put the pressure on Kentucky, and it was enough to seal Alabama’s victory.

“At the end, Ben was in great position there, very alert to come up with the steal,” said head coach Anthony Grant. “I’m just very happy for him to have the opportunity to step in and impact the game the way he did.”

Going into halftime, Alabama was leading 37-30 after the team finally managed to break its three-pointer dry spell. Thanks to hitting 4-of-10 in the first half, the Tide took its first lead in the half with 10 minutes to go, and though Kentucky tried to come back, Alabama’s three pointers kept putting the lead out of reach.

Breaking the dry spell was senior Senario Hillman, pulling the team to within two with a three-pointer, and then the layup by Eblen to tie it up was followed by a layup by JaMychal Green to give the Tide the lead after Kentucky had led by as many as six.

After the Wildcats relinquished the lead, they did not get it back.

Five minutes into the second half, Alabama led 50-32, having gone on a 13-2 run after halftime. The Tide’s scoring percentage at that point in the half was just better than 71 percent, while the defense held Kentucky to just 14 percent, with the Wildcats going 1-of-7.

“We just knew that we had to come out aggressive,” Green said. “We knew we couldn’t be laid back, so when we got laid back, they came back. We fought hard, we stayed together and we had key stops to get this win.”

Kentucky used a full-court press throughout the second half, forcing turnovers and cutting the Tide’s lead. The turnovers pushed Alabama to foul more, and Kentucky was in the bonus just under the 10-minute mark.

Though Alabama had 19 turnovers that resulted in 24 Wildcat points, the team was able to hold on for its biggest win so far this season.

“We got muscled,” said Kentucky head coach John Calipari. “They muscled us.”

Next up for the Tide is an SEC road matchup against the Auburn Tigers Saturday with tipoff set for 5 p.m. Alabama’s next home game is Jan. 29 against LSU with tipoff at 7 p.m.

Our Veterens Hospital making some changes

2010-12-22T11:01:00.001-08:00

I always issue a welcome back to myself; sorry I have been away, but my business has totally conumed me. Promise to pay attention.

The VA, inwhich we take great pride in is doing a makeover, read on.......

TUSCALOOSA | The Tuscaloosa Veterans Affairs Medical Center has renovated an under-utilized atrium area, turning it into what it calls its “serenity gardens,” a place for veterans seeking a quiet place to relax.

The indoor space features a winding brick pathway lined with water fountains, plants and hidden areas with sofas and reclining benches where veterans can take a quiet moment for themselves. The Tuscaloosa VA officially opened the space at a ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday.

“We wanted a place of sanctuary and serenity,” said Alan Tyler, director of the Tuscaloosa VA. “We wanted a place where someone could come and chill out, where someone suffering in the throes of (post-traumatic stress disorder) could come and find comfort and peace. A place where veterans can pray and search for their souls.”

Air Force veteran Ashley King said she was excited about using the space to get away from the stresses of everyday life.

“For me, I’m in the work therapy program and there is so much going around day to day,” said King, who has PTSD. “It’s going to be nice to have a place where I can go and relax. It’s awesome.”

Having a therapeutic environment is important in therapy, said Rebecca Meyer, associate chief nurse for mental health.

“The greatest benefit is that it will be a place for them to go either individually or in groups, and it will be a peaceful, relaxing time away from things,” Meyer said.

The VA also plans to use the space to hold group meetings on stress management and relaxation techniques. There is an adjoining cafe space where the VA also plans to offer cooking classes for veterans.

In January, the space will be used to display artwork as part of the traveling “Heads Up Alabama” event, in which artists create works depicting mental health issues.

Previously, the space was designed as a garden area, but it held only simple, outdoor benches and few plants.

The Tuscaloosa VA spent about $45,000 on the project, contracting with local companies to enhance the space. Teresa Johnson of The Plant Lady was hired to do the landscaping.

“It was important, since it is a hospital setting, that we chose plants that were nonpoisonous and could handle a little abuse,” Johnson said. “It really is a serenity garden. With the water trickling and the calm music, you’ll be asleep in only minutes.”

Reach Lydia Seabol Avant at 205-722-0222 or lydia.seabolavant@tuscaloosanews.com.

Previous Page12Next PageBuzz up!

Airshow brings 125,000 fans to Tuscaloosa

2010-05-08T06:57:00.000-07:00

Barry's note: Think Alabama Football is big? Listen to this; Heard it on the radio. The airshow by the marine corps and the army takes 300 applications each year and approves 32. Tuscaloosa, first time in history, has a repeat performance from last year. For the airshow, Tuscaloosa, as a non-military community is the largest turnout in the country. We expect 125,000 to attend.

In addition to two college graduations, University of Alabama and Stillman College and a baseball game, Florida and Alabama, makes this, perhaps the greatest influx of visitors, of all time in Tuscaloosa. That's is, ahem, the equivalent of 2 1/2 Alabama football games folks. We will be busy this weekend.

TUSCALOOSA | While many will be watching today's Tuscaloosa Regional Air Show with wonder, some of the performers will be reliving their youths.

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Among them will be Mark Robinson, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, who will piloting one of the AH-1F Cobra helicopters as part of the Sky Soldiers Precision Flight Demonstration Team.

“It makes me feel young,” said Robinson, 55, when asked why he continues to do the volunteer flights after four years of performing. “It's a unique way to go out and just experience life.”

The son of a career Air Force father, Robinson joined the Army when he was 18 years old. A year later, he was piloting the Cobra helicopter.

In his 30-year military career, Robinson has flown the Cobra, Chinook, Huey and Apache helicopters as a pilot and as an instructor.

He flew combat missions with the Apache in the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989 — the first live battle to use Apaches, he said — and again in the first Gulf War in 1990-91.

But despite mastering the sophistication and brawn of more modern war machines, Robinson said he favors the technological simplicity of the Cobra.

“I like the Cobra better than any helicopter I flew,” Robinson said.

Unlike the airplane acrobatics that will be on display today and Sunday, the Sky Soldiers' performance, which involves tight maneuvers and harrowing approaches, complete with simulated battles and pyrotechnics, will take place entirely in front of the grandstand.

To Robinson, the Sky Soldiers' demonstrations are more than just entertainment.

“It keeps the legacy of Army aviation alive,” he said, “and shows people what the military can still do.”

Founded in 2006 as one of three aerial demonstration groups of the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation in Atlanta, the Sky Soldiers Precision Flight Demonstration Team is made of up military veterans who volunteer their time to carry on the founding principles of the U.S. military.

The group said its pilots have accumulated more than 85,000 flight hours in military aircraft and 7,000 combat flight hours, and its members have earned 10 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 9 Bronze Stars and 168 Air Medals.

But the Sky Soldiers aren't just putting on a show this weekend. Part of their group is also allowing attendees to take their own helicopter ride.

For $50 a person, riders can take a 10-minute trip in a UH-1 Iroquois — also known as the Huey — helicopter.

The two Hueys that will be used were built in the 1960s and used in the Vietnam War. The fronts of each bear reproduced unit art and were painted by members of the individual units, said Mike Holland, a retired Army colonel, Vietnam veteran and chief pilot for the Army Aviation Heritage Foundation.

While the mission of the Huey rides and Cobra demonstrations are about keeping the heritage of Army aviation alive, the pilots say they also have fun.

And that, Robinson said, is why he'll be in the air this weekend.

“It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and a chance to do the same thing I was doing when I was 19 years old,” Robinson said. “Except no one's shooting at me now.”

TIDE reloads: Defend National Title

2010-04-17T07:01:00.000-07:00

TUSCALOOSA | A fact as plain as day: It gets hot in a football stadium in the South, especially when there’s a crowd.

But how hot? With the blessing of athletics department officials, a University of Alabama professor and student hope to measure the temperatures inside Bryant-Denny Stadium during football games, making it possible to issue warnings when weather conditions make for a troublesome hot spot.

“People know they are going to be uncomfortable when they go into a stadium. That’s definitely an expectation,” said David Brommer, a climatology professor in the UA geography department. “Numbers might not mean that much to people, but for emergency responders — they’ll know it’s not just hot, but it’s a situation where you might need to be aware that there is a perfect storm of conditions.”

If the data pans out, it’s possible that Brommer, who provides forecasts for UA athletic events, could help the university issue a heat index warning for the stadium on certain days, alerting fans to stay hydrated and paramedics inside to have water at the ready for those prone to heat-related medical problems.

This is a study mostly for the fans, Brommer said.

“Athletes can handle it,” he said. “Fluctuations on a nice day aren’t going to have much influence on an athlete as opposed to a regular person who might not be in that good of shape.”

Brommer and UA junior Barrett Gutter placed sensors throughout Bryant-Denny for the Crimson Tide’s game against LSU last season, which was played Nov. 7. Gutter, who led the project, presented his findings on the LSU game at an undergraduate research conference at UA on Thursday.

About 2 p.m., just before kickoff, the temperature outside the stadium was 72 degrees. Inside at field level, the temperature was closer to 80 degrees, according to the data.

And though the sun sets behind the west side of the stadium — meaning the Crimson Tide bench got shade first during the afternoon game — the UA side was hotter most of the game. During team warmups, the UA bench was about 5 degrees hotter than the LSU bench.

At kickoff, head coach Nick Saban and team were in a pocket of 80 degrees, while the LSU team was standing in 75 degree air. By the end of the game, with the sun set, the difference was negligible. The temperature on the UA side was 68 degrees while the LSU side was 65 degrees.

Outside at 6:15 p.m., though, it was

53 degrees.

The reason the UA bench was hotter that afternoon is simple: The sun rises over the east stands, beaming on the western side of the stadium much earlier than the east stands. Even after the sun sets, the concrete and metal stadium is still heated, said Gutter, a New Orleans native.

“There’s a lot of energy still stored that has to get out,” Brommer said.

People make a difference, too, and initial data shows a spike in humidity. Although they have not dissected the humidity data, it’s clear a hot day in the stands can be a stifling experience.

“You’re basically looking at the structure and the people trapping the heat inside,” Brommer said.

Next season, they will collect more data to get a better picture.

“It’ll be interesting to compare games throughout the season,” Gutter said. “I don’t think it would be as much difference (between the two sidelines.)”

Gutter began working with Brommer after expressing interest in his project, and they hope to eventually publish their findings in an academic journal.

Reach Adam Jones at adam.jones@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0230.

Animal shelters abundent in Tuscaloosa

2010-04-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

Beth Lester, a senior at the University of Alabama, plays with Bama, a 4-year-old Shih Tzu at the Tuscaloosa Metro Animal Shelter. The shelter is one of three local agencies participating in a new program in which adoption fees will be waived in March for some dogs and cats older than 3.
By Stephanie Taylor Staff Writer Published: Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 3:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at 11:38 p.m.
People hoping to adopt a pet often go straight for the puppies and kittens.

Participating agenciesMetro Animal Shelter
Humane Society of West Alabama
T-Town Paws

It makes sense, said Metro Animal Shelter director Judy Hill, because families often want the pets to grow up with their children or want to start training an animal with a blank slate.

“A lot of older dogs and cats are looked over for that reason,” she said. “It's a shame, because they're a lot less work.”

The animal shelter, the Humane Society of West Alabama and T-Town Paws will participate in a program in March called 3 For Free, in which adoption fees will be waived for select dogs and cats older than 3.

Adult animals can be less demanding on a new pet owner's schedule and are often calmer than a young puppy or kitten. The older animals are usually housebroken, have been spayed or neutered and have already had shots that young pets require.

The program will begin March 1. At Metro, all eligible animals will have shamrocks on their cages to indicate that they are older than 3 and can be adopted for free, Hill said. People still must submit an adoption application for approval before they can adopt an animal.

Hill said that about a third of animals at the shelter are older than 3. Hill said she hopes the program will help get animals adopted that otherwise would be euthanized.

The no-kill Humane Society charges a $75 adoption fee to help cover the veterinarian costs for the shelter animals, and an additional $100 refundable deposit if people adopt an animal that has not yet been spayed or neutered.

Reach Stephanie Taylor at stephanie.taylor@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0210.

Footnote: There is a free service in Tuscaloosa to find our little friend a home and it is on 11th street.

You are where you grew up

2010-04-06T17:59:00.000-07:00

Tuscaloosa- I have decided to put on a series of pics and news items for you to be more acquainted with me. I might be considered a poster boy for Tuscaloosa and no, I am not getting any financial assistance for this; and I probably should.

I am a firm believer of representing myself with Tuscaloosa as both go hand in hand.

These news item will be presented over the weeks and months ahead. When you see the demonstrations you will see what I am about.

Enjoy,

Till we meet again,

Barry

Bizopbama turning to gifting, exclusively.

2010-03-23T19:09:00.000-07:00

Tuscaloosa- After reevaluation of our exposures, we found it amazing of the responses we have recieved in our gifting programs. It was so astounding we found it necessary to include our advertising to this subject, exclusively. Apperantly, this is a very acceptable opportunity to the public; they see the opportunity to really help someone else and that's OK with us.

Our affiliates have been relegated to our affiliate rotators, where as, the gifting programs are primary on our minds and will be the only things that will be advertised on Bizopbama! The process for changeover should be done in 2-3 weeks.

For more information, you can go to The Bizopbama Network (www.bizopbama.com). The links are located in the peapicking section.

Bizopbama to endure life changing event!

2010-03-09T05:10:00.000-08:00

Change is good no matter how much it kills you. I remember a philosopher saying that, I don't remember who! Bizopbama is going to receive Phase one of Phase five in their investments.

Up to now we have been investing a bare minimal of money for the purpose of maintaining a base of membership. In the near future, that is about to change.

Of course, things are always subject to change and I don't expect any to take place. In other words, the 10.6 million exposures a day is going to turn into 10.6 million and hour!

It is a bit premature, but I think it is fair to let you know what kind of direction we are going. It also gives you a chance to recruit business owners into our membership and take advantage of our Bizopbama Showboat and gain our additional advertising. They are applied when they purchase a OTO package.

When our paid advertising kicks in, after our "Summit in Boise" in the summer, the free pro membership, Bizopbama Showbaoat; everything will be changed and the prices of Bizopbama and Bizopbama Ads

Phase1 of the Bizopbama capitolization near completion

2010-02-23T03:13:00.000-08:00

As you may know, Imperia Investment has announced to their membership issuance of their debit card next month. This is the first of 5 phases for Bizopbama to complete their initial capitalization. We expect the rest to come true by the end of the year.

For those that have invested we think Imperia will go this way. In accordance of their email last night:

By midnight Feburary 26th, all TEP trading will end

On Feburary 28th, Members will have the opportunity to select the bank they want to handle the money.

From Feburary 28th to March 1st- the members area will be closed.

On March 1st, instructions will be given on debit card issues. We are assuming that the banks will contact us directly for signature card issues and finally the issuance.

The bank will have the responsibility of getting the cards out. I also assume the Imperia Investment will take no part in it, their are probably oblivious to this.

Yes it is true there was a risk and as I learned early on, there is always a risk until we get card in hand, but as the days passes, we will soon realize the fruition of reality.

Gifting on the way for Bizopbama!

2010-02-19T06:51:00.000-08:00

Tuscaloosa- After 8 months of affiliate marketing, Bizopbama will change gears and take amother approach; gifting.

Out of all the companies out there selling whatever they sell. You would feel hardpressed to find one that publicly gives back to the public. Gifting does that and we like so much, more in principle than in practicalities.

Gifting is the simple process of giving to another human being and getting it in return. That's it. Ever gave a friend a $10.00 Gift card from Walmart. True, Walmart gets something out it, but the principle is there. That is the art of gifting, and it is perfectly above board and legal.

I gave my niece $10.00 for groceries last Christmas. It was Christmas if I needed an excuse and it is a gifting process, but to tell you the truth, at the time, I didn't care. All I knew is that they needed the money.

In the near future Bizopbama will be advertising some programs and encourage you to take advantage of them. In this day of hard economies, this is tailor made. Gifting has always been with us but for some reason nobody has really taken the bull by the horns. We will. Some don't advertise for it which baffles me.

That's them not us. Ours cannot be corrupted because we will have a monitor on it. So stay tuned for more information. It is a start up process and it will take time.

Barry

Headline - Team Angel Hits Gifting

2010-02-10T06:18:00.000-08:00

This is a gifting promoted by Dean hart. Most gifting programs opens and closes abruptly due to misdeeds by people who literally screw up the works. This gifting program is administered by a monitor. All payment go through Dean so he can make sure that doesn't happen. To inquire more of the program contact me at 205-310-2801. Start your calls by this weekend. Dean is working out the bugs and should be set by then

Item One- summertime ads and world ads had been down recently. Carl McCrow is on top of it to get them up again. These ads ad exchanges play a vital role in Bizopbama advertising and we are glad it is getting prompt attention. In case you didn't know it Carol is one of our major advertising contributors and we are pleased to have her on board.

Item Two- Bizopbama formally The Lynx Bulletin Board, at that time, was pursuing an investment campaign. We have since stopped primarily because the lack of enthusiasm on the home companies advertising and when they are closing it makes no sense in continuing. Some are invested and here are some updates.

Petrol stocks- Certificates are delivered by email this month. Once converted to stocks the are valued in thirty days. Some say they will go from $10.00 to $30.00 a share, I am told

Imperia- Select the account you want on the 26th of February and complete the signature card on the 27th. They will update further payout procedure on the 27th.

GPP- Payout on the 28th of February, however may have to renegotiate the amount.

Dinartrade- www.dinartrade.com (still can purchase). Awaiting Iraqi elections followed by some legislature procedures on their part. U.S. Government should revalue the Dinars by the end of March

UAE- Payout sometimes in April

The Bizopbama Newsletter

The Bizopbama Network: Reopening some programs; more to come

New Storms hit Alabama

Highlights of the BCS National Championship Game

A great distraction for the tornado torn community of Tuscaloosa

No doubt it this time. LSU shutout 21-0

Here we go again!!!!

Tide does power play with defense faltering

Photo Galleries

Great to have LSU on our side in some things.

Embed this Video

Tuscaloosa, 6 months after the tornado!

Tuscaloosa comes to Forest Lake rescue!

Thursday is deadline for property demolition assistance

U of A helps to cope with April 27th disaster

Things are improving!

Tuscaloosa residents still recovering

Disaster hit Tuscaloosa; Bizopbama is back up!

Concert cancelled; refunds made available

Tornados hit Tuscaloosa Hard; clean up takes place

Local restaurants provide space for artists to display work

Gov. Bently threw out first ball; Spring baseball is alive at UofA.

THE MOM STOP: Vacation plans inspire my coupon quest

Kenny Chesney set to open Tuscaloosa Amphitheater

Our Veterens Hospital making some changes

Airshow brings 125,000 fans to Tuscaloosa

TIDE reloads: Defend National Title

Animal shelters abundent in Tuscaloosa

You are where you grew up

Bizopbama turning to gifting, exclusively.

Bizopbama to endure life changing event!

Phase1 of the Bizopbama capitolization near completion

Gifting on the way for Bizopbama!

Headline - Team Angel Hits Gifting