WEST ALABAMA TUESDAY BRIEFING
It is Tuesday, July 11, 2023, and the National Weather Service in Birmingham is telling us we will have a mostly dry day today with the exception of scattered showers south of a Livingston to Demopolis line this afternoon and evening.
For most of West Alabama today will be mostly sunny with daytime high temperatures in the upper 80s to low 90s. Tonight, skies will be mostly clear to partly cloudy tonight with overnight low temperatures ranging from the mid 60s to the low 70s.
Topping the News:
9-month-old Harlow Freeman had been missing since just before 7 last night but was found alive this morning. She was asleep in a car that was stolen in the Walker County town of Parrish when her father stopped briefly at a friend's house.
Harlow’s mother, Bethany Smith, posted on Facebook that her daughter was in her car seat in the back of an SUV when it was stolen. She had begged for the person who took the car to return her baby, no questions asked.
The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency has cancelled the Amber Alert triggered by the child's disappearance.
The new school year begins on August 9th and the Tuscaloosa City School System is still attempting to hire some 30 more teachers. Tuscaloosa likes systems across the state have been plagued with a chronic certified teacher shortage since COVID19 struck. The city has hired 100 new teachers for the new school year.
Pickens County officials are leading a town hall this morning discussing a proposal to reopen the emergency room at the shuttered Pickens County Medical Center. Currently emergency patients must be transported to Tuscaloosa or Columbus, MS and resident Kristin Faulkner tells news partner ABC3340 that time can be the difference between life and death. The town hall is at the Pickens County Service Center in Carrollton.
The Church of the Highlands, the mega church with one of its 22 Alabama campuses in Tuscaloosa, has opened a new multi-million-dollar center for pastoral recovery. The Lodge at Grants Mill is located on the main campus in Irondale and is for pastors that have had difficulties at other churches. The program has drawn some skepticism after a pastor in the program was the center of sexual assault allegations while working at the main church.
14-year-old Haley Johnson is home recovering after being struck by lightning at a Saturday softball game in Vance. She was rushed to a hospital after lighting hit a pole in a tent she was inside between games.
National Weather Service Birmingham Warnings Coordination Meteorologist John DeBlock cautions us to remember an old axiom, when you hear the thunder roar, go indoors. Alabama is 5th in the nation in the number of annual lightning deaths.
In Sports:
Congratulations to Crimson Tide women’s team golfer Benedetta Moresco who won the low amateur at Pebble Beach in the U-S Women’s Open this past weekend. The native of Italy just wrapped up her third season at Bama.
As Townsquare Media reported earlier this year, the Alabama High School Athletics Association is having difficulty recruiting game officials. There are currently just over 6,900 officials but the association would like to bring on some 1,000 more to make scheduling easier and reduce the amount of travel for game officials.
High school athletics associations nationwide have had difficulty recruiting new officials and retaining experienced ones due to abusive treatment by some fans, players and coaches.
Pay for officials has been increased, $110 to $120 a game.
Tonight, is the MLB All-Star Game in Seattle. Eight Atlanta Braves were selected to the team, the most in franchise history. Three Braves will be starters: Ronald Acuna, Jr. in right field, Sean Murphy at catcher, and Orlando Arcia at shortstop. Gametime is 7:00pm Tuscaloosa time.
Have a terrific Tuesday!!
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