West Alabama Thursday Briefing

Good morning West Alabama. It is Thursday June 27, 2024.

Yesterday afternoon's thunderstorms prompted a Severe Thunderstorm Watch and several warnings. Despite torrential rainfall and high winds no structural damage was reported across the area.

The storms did leave scattered power outages. Crews are still working this morning to restore service to some 600 customers, 300-plus which were in Tuscaloosa County. Most power is expected to be back on by late morning.

While there are chances for afternoon thunder-boomers again today, the National Weather Service believes the majority of the activity will be south of the I20/59 corridor. A few wind gusts could reach 40-to-50mph.

As a heads-up, heat indices are expected to rise next week so expect the National Weather Service to issue "Heat Advisories" beginning as early as Sunday.

Also, a tropical wave is expected to continue to develop as it moves over the Caribbean. It is too early to pay attention to storms tracks as models are all over the place. Some take the storm into Central America, others as far east as the Bahamas. A few take it into the Gulf of Mexico late next week. So don't worry about it impacting your 4th of July plans.

The Forecast:

The Weekend

Rain and a few thunderstorms likely at times throughout the weekend. Highs will be in the mid 90s, lows in the mid 70s. The weekend will not be a complete washout.

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Topping the News:

The Holt Lock has been closed by the Army Corps of Engineers due to a safety risk resulting from aging infrastructure. A crack in one of the sections that forms the lock walls has deteriorated over the last few years forcing lock closure until USACE can develop a plan to resolve the issue. The closure could last months, impacting river commerce.

West Alabama Democrat Congresswoman Terri Sewell joined other U.S. Senate Democrat leaders in marking the 11^th anniversary of the landmark Shelby County vs Holder. The ruling struck down key components of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Sewell said the results are obvious, it rolled back minority voting rights.

Sewell is the main sponsor of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act to restore the voting provisions struck down by the court ruling.

A hearing is set for Tuesday in a lawsuit against the embattled state medical cannabis commission. The court wants to hear how the commission reached its behind closed doors decision in allocating licenses.

Funding has been authorized by the Tuscaloosa City Council for a statue honoring the four Tuscaloosa young men who lost their lives in that tragic crash of a Marshall University Football Charter flight on November 14, 1970, in West Virginia.

Four former Druid High School players Freddy Clay Wilson, Larry Sanders, Joe Lee Hood and Robert James Vanhorn were among the 75 on board who lost their lives when the Southern Airways flight slammed into a mountain on approach to Huntington WV. The aircraft was just one mile short of the runway.

The plan is for the statue to be placed outside the new Benjamin Barnes YMCA branch being built on MLK Blvd. However, some family members don't believe that site is prominent enough.

READ MORE: FAMILIES OF TUSCALOOSA’S MARSHALL U PLANE CRASH VICTIMS WANT PROPOSED STATUE MOVED

Toping Sports News:

Alabama Football continues to bolster its linebacker room with a commitment from top-100 linebacker Dawson Merritt from Stillwell, Kansas.

READ MORE: Alabama Lands Top 100 LB

Not only has 2024 College Baseball World Series runner-up Texas A&M lost their head coach Jim Schlossnagel. they have now had 11 of the best players hit the transfer portal. The coach is headed for the Aggies arch-rival University of Texas.

Schlossnagel is drawing the ire of many for lying when asked if he was going to leave College Station, just one day before he left. He also was rude to at least one reporter who asked about it.

Now A&M has to totally rebuild a team that many though would be a major contender for next season.

The Southeastern Conference will officially welcome Texas and Oklahoma to the conference on Monday. The SEC Network will mark the occasion with live broadcasts from the "40 acres" in Austin and the OU campus in Norman.

On Sunday, the network will be live from Austin with SEC Now: Live from Texas from Bevo Blvd., starting at 6 p.m. ET. Laura Rutledge and Peter Burns will host SECN’s studio coverage with perspectives and insight from Jordan Rodgers, Roman Harper, Paul Finebaum, Marty Smith and Jimmy Dykes. 

On Monday, the party crosses the Red River to Norman, Okla. as the Sooners celebrate their first official day in the SEC. Programming begins at 3 p.m. with The Paul Finebaum Show live from Party at the Palace, and continues at 7 p.m. inside Oklahoma Memorial Stadium with a special SEC Now: Live from Oklahoma, hosted by Dari Nowkhah — an OU alumnus — and Alyssa Lang. Joining the pair from OU are Paul Finebaum, Sooner great Dusty Dvoracek, Haylie McCleney and Daymeon Fishback. 

We often cover the passing of politicians, celebrities and other prominent citizens. It is always a sad moment. Today it is even more difficult because it is one of our own here at Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa we bid farewell. 

86-year-old Toliver Jim Kell, Jr. of Northport left this life for an eternal life with our Lord yesterday at Hospice of West Alabama. He was much more than a co-worker but a great friend to me and so many others. He was a good man.

I first met ‘JK the DJ' when he was at The Big 610 WSGN in the 60s at the height of the golden days of Top 40 radio. I visited him and the other WSGN "Good Guys" many times in their penthouse studios atop the City Federal Building in downtown Birmingham. We remained good friends ever since. 

Jim often filled in on air for the personalities at Townsquare Media, bring back memories of "the day" and he had the personality that made him a great sales representative for the stations.

I will miss our conversations about our passion for radio so many shared experiences in the business and life itself. 

A celebration of Jim's life will be conducted at 11:00 a.m. tomorrow morning at Magnolia Chapel North with Bro. Scott McCown officiating. Private burial will be in Cleveland Church of Christ Cemetery in Berry. Visitation will be one hour prior to services at Magnolia Chapel North.

So long for now JK. You will be missed but we will meet again.