WEATHER BLOG: Weather radio programming today

Submitted by Lonnie Liebner, Community Web Producer

Thursday, May 23rd, 2013, 3:29am

WEATHER BLOG: Weather radio programming today

By Jeff Castle

The WAFF 48 Storm Team is going to be out programming your weather radios today. We'll be at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville from 3pm until 7pm. We will NOT have weather radios for sale at this location, so if you need a weather radio you'll need to pick one up ahead of time. Bring those radios by our tent set up in the parking lot and we'll get them set up for you for free!

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Woman sues city, railroad company after wreck

Submitted by WAFF Web Staff

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013, 5:15pm

Mary Hunter Avenue and Cedar Hill Drive in the city of Scottsboro

SCOTTSBORO, AL (WAFF)- A woman struck by a train while crossing the railroad tracks in Jackson County earlier this month has now filed suit against the city and the railroad.

She is still recovering from her injuries in Huntsville since she was flown there earlier this month and faces a lot of rehabilitation.

It happened May 8th near Mary Hunter Avenue and Cedar Hill Drive in the city of Scottsboro.

Attorneys for Sheila Elliott filed suit Tuesday on her behalf against Norfolk Southern Railway, the city of Scottsboro, and the train's conductor. The suit claims it was negligence that caused the accident.

Attorney Brent Parker said trains must follow federal law in operating.

The suit claims proper signage was not installed, and he has witnesses who say the conductor failed to blow his horn upon arriving at the intersection.

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YouTubery: 'Delicious' drive-in fare

Submitted by Chase Erwin, WAFFstaffer

Wednesday, May 22nd, 2013, 12:36am

Ah, the drive-in movie. Sadly, I never got to experience the magic of going to the drive-in growing up, even though there was one nearby. So, in an attempt to live vicariously through past generations, I punched up the trusty YouTube in order to see what kinds of '50s and '60s drive-in nostalgia I could find.

The clip above is one of many compilations of intermission films, most of which direct patrons to the concession stand, or Refreshment Center, if you like. The food on offer is... well... I'm sure it was food, once.

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Flat Rock resident empathizes with OK victims

Submitted by WAFF Web Staff

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013, 5:29pm

Strickland Building Supply (Source: Susan Wright)

FLAT ROCK, AL (WAFF)- People in Alabama know all too well the devastating damage and deaths that tornadoes can bring.

Few know what it's like to have to deal with it twice, but some residents in Jackson County do.

One woman's business was hit in 2003 only to have another tornado come back to affect her family again in 2011.

In 2003, nearly $1-million worth of damage was done when a tornado struck Strickland Building Supply located in Flat Rock.

Eight years later, to a much lesser extent, the building was struck again.

Owner Susan Wright said the 2011 tornado also struck her home doing more than $10,000 in damage.

Wright understands what the people of Oklahoma are dealing with.

The business today is rebuilt, but back then Wright said, like Oklahoma, her focus was on the local elementary school, which was just down the road.

Fortunately for Flat Rock, their elementary school was not affected.

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Deadly respiratory illness in AL stumps CDC

Submitted by WAFF Web Staff

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013, 5:01pm

HOUSTON COUNTY, AL (WAFF)- There is a mystery brewing in south Alabama. An illness has hospitalized several people, killing two of them.

It is something that leaves the patient struggling to breathe.

The Alabama Department of Public Health is putting everyone on notice about a mystery illness. Epidemiologists are conferring with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about a cluster of respiratory illnesses.

The origin of the illness is unknown, but it is striking people in the Houston County area. So far, seven people have been hospitalized with fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Two of those patients have died.

Lab specimens have been collected and are being studied. For now, both the Public Health Department and the CDC are recommending hospitals use respiratory protocol when dealing someone with such an illness, meaning masks and gloves.

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Jackson County woman arrested for burglary, theft

Submitted by Amanda Jarrett, Community Producer

Tuesday, May 21st, 2013, 12:05pm

Jackson County woman arrested for burglary, theft

Jackson County Sheriff's Deputies arrested a Pisgah woman for a theft and burglary in Flat Rock.

Investigators say Madonna Lynn Gant, 41, broke into a building and stole property from a building on County Road 697.

Deputies booked Gant into the Jackson County Jail in Scottsboro. Investigators say she's being held for a probation violation.

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Trio arrested for string of burglaries

Submitted by Bliss Bowman Wade, Digital Content Director

Monday, May 20th, 2013, 2:36pm

HUNTSVILLE, AL (WAFF) - Three people were arrested after a string of burglaries in Jackson and Madison Counties.

According to investigators, 32-year-old Anthony Ray Metcalf, 27-year-old Laura Anne Rogers of Fayetteville, Tennessee, and 45-year-old Robert Dale Jarvis of New Market were arrested at the Knights Inn in Huntsville on several charges of burglary and theft.

Jackson County investigators said the trio were caught on video burglarizing a home in the 200 block of County Road 8 in Woodville on May 8th. They were driving a car with a Mississippi license plate that was rented from a business in Huntsville.

The victim reported a loss of about $9,600 worth of property. Investigators recovered all of the stolen property, except a circular saw, from a Huntsville pawn shop.

After searching other pawn shops, investigators recovered more stolen property that connected the suspects to more burglaries in Madison County.

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