Good morning West Alabama! It is Friday, October 25, 2024.

Friday Morning Observations:

Now is not the time to do any burning outdoors. A Fire Danger Advisory is in effect for Greene, Hale, Lamar, Marengo, Pickens and Sumter counties in West Alabama and 16 other counties statewide.

The Alabama Forestry Commission says warm and dry conditions leading into November raises the risk of wildfires, especially in those areas affected by drought and pine beetles, which is most all of West Alabama counties.

In the past 30 days, 201 wildfires have burned more than 2,700 acres across the state. About half of that happened in the past seven days. This morning there are more than 50 active wildfires burning across Alabama. 13 of those fires are in West Alabama, five of those are in Lamar County.

The culprit for the fires is the active and widening drought across the state. Today Tuscaloosa and Jefferson counties will break the 1927 record for the most the second most consecutive days without measurable rainfall in October at 27. If the drought continues through the end of the month, as it is predicted to, we will break the record for the longest dry period which was recorded in 1924.

According to the National Climate Center it will not be until the early days of November before there is a chance for measurable precipitation and that is not more than a Slight Chance.

It may be tempting to burn those leaves, but the Alabama Forestry Commission points out that small fires can get out-of-control quickly. The Fire Danger Alert will not be withdrawn until there is measurable precipitation.

Weather:

The Forecast

Today
Sunny, with a high near 88. Calm wind becoming southwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight
Clear, with a low around 55. Calm wind.
Saturday
Sunny, with a high near 86. Calm wind becoming northwest around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Saturday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 57. Northeast wind around 5 mph.
Sunday
A 20 percent chance of showers after 1pm. Otherwise, mostly sunny, with a high near 80. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph in the afternoon.
Sunday Night
Mostly clear, with a low around 56.
Next Week

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Topping the News:

Tuscaloosa County Circuit Clerk Magaria Bobo is denying a claim of voter suppression made by the Tuscaloosa N-AA-C-P Chapter. Chapter President Lisa Young claims some who applied have not received absentee ballots despite Election Day being a week from this coming Tuesday. Bobo denies the delay is intentional from her office and points to slow mail service as the culprit.

Because Bobo is a candidate for re-election, she has recused herself from election duties but continues to work from her office.

Read More: Tuscaloosa’s NAACP Sounds Alarm Over Issues With Absentee Ballots & More


Pickens County is down to one ambulance in service for its 20,000-plus residents. In a social media post the Aliceville Fire Department stated the county and several municipalities do not have the funds available. Several Pickens County residents have died while waiting for an ambulance.


The University of Alabama raised an all-time high amount of money from donors this fiscal year, with more than 60,000 people pledging over a quarter billion dollars to the Capstone.

In a Thursday news release, UA said they raised more than $261 million in charitable gifts and pledges in Fiscal 2024, which ended on September 30th.

The jaw-dropping amount eclipsed last year's $226 million total, which was a record-high amount.

Read More: Donors Give Quarter-Billion in Gifts to UA, Breaking Fundraising Records


A 2005 Ford Explorer stolen in Tuscaloosa was recovered in Rainbow City near Gadsden after a chase. Police there noticed a vehicle travelling with no lights around 1:00am yesterday morning, leading to the chase. The driver of the stolen vehicle lost control and wrecked. The driver was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.


TPD is looking for the suspect(s) who chained an ATM machine to a pickup truck and ripped it from an Alabama One Credit Union building.

Read More:  Tuscaloosa Police Seek Bandits Who Chained ATM to Stolen Truck in Heist Attempt


Funeral services for Jasper Mayor David O’Mary will be this after at Jasper 1st Baptist Church. Visitation begins at noon with the service at 2:00pm. O’Mary died Tuesday afternoon. The 72-year-old was in his second term as mayor.


Bids are currently being sought for an $800,000 grant Transportation Alternative Grant will be used by the City of Centreville for sidewalk improvement.

The sidewalk will begin at River Bridge, run west on Walnut Street to the stop light by the Taco Bell, pass the high schools and end at U.S. 82.

Work is expected to be completed by August next year.


Jeremiah’s Garden, a non-profit that donates thousands of pounds of food annually, is sponsoring “Music in the Garden”. It will be held 1:00p.m. until 5:00p.m. tomorrow afternoon at 606 James Harrison Parkway with music, raffles, vendors, kids' games and activities. There is a $5.00 entry, $3 for children under 10.


Four candidates will be introduced as finalists for UA Homecoming Queen at tonight's pep rally and bonfire on the Quad at 6:30p.m. One young lady will then be announced as the queen while the other three will be members of her court.

The finalists are:

  • Hannah Adams, a senior majoring in political science and public relations from Birmingham.
  • Lauren Crawford, a senior majoring in kinesiology from Sinking Spring, PA.
  • Reagan Labiak, a senior majoring in criminal justice and political science from High Point, N.C.
  • Allison Pope, a senior majoring in creative advertising from Edmond, OK.

This year's Homecoming theme is "New Era, Same Standard."

The annual homecoming parade, which runs through downtown Tuscaloosa and the UA campus, will begin at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. The big game with Missouri kicks of at 2:30p.m. at Bryant-Denny Stadium.



Topping Sports News:

Alabama Heisman winning QB Bryce Young will start Sunday at quarterback for the Carolina Panthers against the Denver Broncos after Andy Dalton sprained the thumb on his right throwing hand during a car crash on Tuesday in Charlotte.

Young has been benched since early season poor performances.


 

Friday West Alabama High School Football Schedule:

  • F. Shields at Marengo
  • Sweetwater visits Southern Choctaw
  • Pickens Academy hosts Francis Marion
  • C. Hatch travels to Choctaw County
  • University Charter welcomes Linden
  • South Lamar is at Lynn
  • Pickens County is home to Marion County
  • Aliceville hosts Sulligent
  • Greene County is home to Vincent
  • Lamar County hits the road to Isabella
  • Tuscaloosa Academy travels to Coosa Christian
  • Hale County pays a visit to Dallas County
  • Greensboro is at Thomasville
  • Sumter Central is on the road to Wilcox Central
  • Gordo travels to Carbon Hill
  • Bibb County is home to Pleasant Grove
  • Holt hosts American Christian
  • West Blocton gets a visit from Tarrant
  • Northside is home to Demopolis
  • Sipsey Valley welcomes Selma
  • Central hosts Hueytown
  • Paul Bryant travels to Brookwood
  • Hillcrest visits Oak Mountain
  • Tuscaloosa County is home to Hewitt-Trussville

The NFL recently handed former Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams a two-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing drugs.

This isn't the first time Williams has been suspended by the league, previously earning a four-game suspension for breaking the NFL's rules on gambling in 2022 after betting on non-NFL games.

Read More: Former Alabama WR Accepts Two-Game Suspension


Click TuscaloosaThread.com throughout the day for the latest West Alabama news, sports and weather. Better yet, download the app.

Have a wonderful UA Homecoming weekend and ROLL TIDE!!

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