West Alabama Wednesday Briefing
It is Wednesday April 17, 2024.
Congratulations to the Big Oak Ranch! 50 years ago, for Alabama Football Star John Croyle had a dream to develop a home for boys. There was a farmhouse and the willingness to serve. Now. a half century later, lives of more than 2,000 boys and girls have been changed for the better.
The Big Oak Ranch helps children who have been abandoned, neglected or abused and putting them into a loving Christian home.
The ranch is now run by Croyle's sun Brodie, also a former Crimson Tide Football star. Brodie has helped the facilities to continue to grow with Ascend Village. It’s a living and learning space that serves as a launch pad for Big Oak kids from 18 to 24 years old looking to make the transition into the real world.
The Forecast:
Southern governors are fighting back against the UAW. Gov. Ivey has joined governors of the five other states with non-union automakers in issuing a warning that unionization efforts at the plants could lead to plant closures and damaging the south’s resurgent economy built on luring foreign automakers to build giant plants across the south. The Volkswagen plant begins 2-days of voting on a union today and workers at Tuscaloosa County’s Mercedes plant have requested a vote.
Blaming the lack of revenue from bingo halls, the City of Eutaw is cutting back work hours. Beginning today, city hall street crews will only work until noon on Thursdays and Fridays. In a written statement, Greene County Sheriff Joe Benson states that Eutaw failed to request the funds.
In West Alabama's only primary runoff race Tuesday, Steve Miller drew 75% of the vote in defeating former State Senator Charles Bishop in the Walker County Commission Chair GOP primary runoff.
TPD is still searching for the driver of a vehicle that struck and injured two women on Culver Road near Spades Lounge and fled early Saturday morning. One of the women required CPR and both were transported to DCH. The dark colored Dodge Charger or Challenger likely has front end and windshield damage.
A series of shootings, several fatal, involving youth have plagued Tuscaloosa since the first of the year. Concern was voiced by a local pastor who asked the Tuscaloosa City Council at their meeting last night what she can do to help. Mayor Walt Maddox told her a community problem must be solved by the community. Mental health experts say anger management training must be a priority with youth.
Alabama lawmakers have eight days left in the session to pass legislation that would enable Alabamians to vote on gaming and a statewide lottery. A conference committee to try to negotiate a compromise on gambling legislation was appointed yesterday. The two chambers remain apart on whether to allow sports betting, multiple casinos and a lottery in the state.
Although there have been days where severe weather was expected this spring, ABC3340 Chief Meteorologist James Spann says tornadoes have been a rarity in West and Central Alabama so far this year. The national Weather Service in Birmingham has issued only four tornado warnings since the first of the year, a real rarity.
The NWS Field Office in Tallahassee, FL has issued 48 tornado warnings, St. Louis has posted 25 warning. However, the Nashville area has seen no tornado warnings.
April is the peak of the spring primary severe weather season of March, April and May.
Topping Sports News:
The 12th ranked Alabama Baseball Team followed a series win this past weekend over then #1 ranked Arkansas. This weekend, beginning Thursday, the Tide will face the new #1, Texas A&M.
However, last night in the midweek sandwich game Bama was bested by UAB 5-2.
The Alabama women's basketball team officially welcomed guard Zaay Green to the 2024-25 team head coach Kristy Curry announced Tuesday. As a 2018 McDonald's All-American starter, Green joins the Crimson Tide from the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff where she played in 55 games with the Lions after originally signing with Tennessee.
Alabama men's basketball has now lost two forwards from the Tide's Final Four run from just two weeks ago. Sam Walters, who was a 6-foot-10 piece of Alabama's rotation in 2023-2024, decided to leave the Alabama program just a couple of days ago. Now, a starter from Alabama's Final Four appearance has decided to move on as well.
Nick Pringle, a senior from Alabama's Final Four run, has also decided to enter the transfer portal late on Tuesday night, according to On3 Sports.
Read More: Alabama Starting Forward Enters Portal | https://tide1009.com/alabama-starting-forward-enters-portal/?utm_source=tsmclip&utm_medium=referral
Have a wonderful Wednesday.