JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - The FBI says two bodies have been found in Mississippi during the search for a missing Tennessee woman and her three children, but the identities are not known.

FBI spokesman Joel Siskovic said the bodies were found late Friday night or early Saturday morning in Guntown, Miss., in a residence associated with the man charged with abducting Jo Ann Bain and her children. The spokesman wouldn't say if the bodies were children.

The missing girls are 8-year-old Kyliyah Bain, 12-year-old Alexandria and 14-year-old Adrienne. They were last seen April 27 in Tennessee.

Siskovic says 35-year-old Adam Mayes is suspected of abducting them and is considered armed and dangerous. He was last seen Tuesday in Guntown. He's been described as a family friend.

Authorities had said that Mayes could be in Mississippi but that he has ties to other states.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- Michael Sutterfield of Stevenson, Ala., is a fighter.

The 15-year-old is deaf, suffers from Complex Partial Seizure's and has a Hydracephulus Shunt. Michael was born premature with meningitis, cysts on the front lobe of his brain and a bacterial infection which caused damage to the ventricles and other areas of his brain.

But it’s baseball brings out the best in him.

“Michael is a huge baseball fan,” his mother Debbie Guess said. “He's played since he was four years old.”

Baseball is the one thing that he can do that makes him feel like he's not any different than all of the other kids.

When the Huntsville stars heard Michael’s story, they did not hesitate to help. Stars’ general manager Buck Rogers invited the young man to Joe Davis Stadium.

Saturday night, Michael got to meet the players and was given an official Stars jersey and batting practice cap.

“It's a good feeling to lift his spirits and get him out here,” Huntsville Stars first baseman Hunter Morris said. “We want to make him feel part of our team, our group. I hope he enjoys being out here as much as we enjoy having him.”

After given the Stars gear, Michael immediately asked Morris to autograph his new souvenirs. It was also such a thrill for Micheal to throw out the first pitch and deliver the line-up card to home plate.

“He's a pretty spectacular kid,” Guess said. “The doctors didn't expect him to live pass the first night.”

Michael spent his first three months in the hospital as a baby. Now it’s all smiles and fists bumps with professional baseball players.

HARTSELLE, Ala. - A labor of love. A playground for children with special needs is a step closer to completion.

The John Mark Stallings SNAP Playground in Hartselle is moving into its final phase. SNAP is short for special needs accessible playground.

Morgan County has about 17-hundred children with special needs.

The swing area and splash pad are just two of the main attractions already finished.

Construction on the remaining work is slated to begin in the fall.

"The next increment that we have money for is building the entry way which is really the marquis of the entire playground," SNAP project manager Bob Francis told WAAY 31 FirstNews. "And now we have a contractor who is putting together the final proposal for the rubberized playground."

The playground is dedicated to the memory of Gene Stallings' son. John Mark Stallings lived 46 years with Down Syndrome.

So far, donors have contributed about a half-million dollars for the playground.

It's a joint effort by Hartelle's Civitan, Kiwanis, Lions and Rotary clubs.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - As Alabama prepares to observe the first anniversary of deadly tornadoes last April 27, the Legislature has approved the creation of a tax-free weekend for buying disaster preparedness supplies.

The bill by Republican Rep. Bill Poole of Tuscaloosa cleared the Senate 28-0 and the House 87-0 Thursday. Gov. Robert Bentley signed the bill into law.

The bill specifies that the tax-free weekend will occur July 6-8 this year and the last full weekend in February in subsequent years. It waives the state's 4 percent sales tax on many items, including batteries, cellphone chargers, portable radios, waterproof sheeting, generators, bungee cords, duct tape, and non-electric food storage.

Legislative fiscal experts predict the bill will reduce the state's sales tax collections by $4 million annually.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WAAY) - 70% of Earth is covered in water. So no matter where you go, with the exception of a desert, water of some kind is close. It might be water you can’t drink, but it can charge your cellphone.

The PowerTrek is the world's first water powered electronics charger. You just fill a lid and it starts to work. "When you put the water in, there’s a glorified spring in the lid, so when you end up closing the lid, the water goes in here...” explains PowerTrekk's Graeme Esarey. The water passes through an area that separates the hydrogen from the oxygen, passing the hydrogen into a port, into a fuel cell membrane, creating electricity.

Sure there’s a lot of science in here, but all you need to know is that once the water goes in, electricity comes out.

"It’s used today to power satellites." says Esarey. "It’s used today to power aid stations in remote locations.” And now, the technology is so small, it can power a cellphone. It's portable enough to be taken on hikes, mountains, boating, anywhere you can’t find a wall charger."

"I can take it from zero to 100 in the same time that it would if you were plugged into the wall - about 2 hours."

The device promises to charge anything that uses a USB connection. And if we’ve come this far with clean energy, who knows where water can take us next?

Thhe charger costs $130, the power pucks are about $3.

OAKLAND, Ala. - One man was shot and killed by his girlfriend Saturday night at a manufactured home in the western Lauderdale County community of Oakland, authorities said.

The name of the victim nor his girfriend were immediately released.

The man was apparently shot once at the trailer on Lauderdale 229. The shooting was reported just before 6:30 p.m., authorities said.

Law enforcement officials said the woman told investigators that she and her boyfriend were struggling over control on the gun when it accidentally fired.

No charges had been filed as of 7:45 p.m.

Phil Campbell, AL- When the sun rose over Phil Campbell on April 28^th, the entire landscape had changed.

“That day after it as just like a nightmare, a dream,” said storm survivor Cindy Keller. 

Keller and her husband James were in their truck when an EF 5 tornado blew into town. Keller survived, her husband did not. James was one of twenty-eight victims in Phil Campbell on April 27th.

“We were in the tornado up on Broad Street and that’s when the debris came through and took his life that day,” Keller remembered.

The days that followed brought to light the true devastation the community suffered. Homes, businesses, and the school all destroyed.

“It destroyed 450 structures and did several million dollars worth of damage,” said Mayor Jerry Mays, “as a Mayor you don’t know what kind of weight you have got on you shoulders and you just ask the good Lord to give you the strength to get you through it.”

The EF 5 tornado took 28 lives in Phil Campbell on the 100^th anniversary of the town’s founding; Mayor Mays says in the years to come his town will continue to recover and hopefully prosper once again.

And in the spirit of remembering the past but looking to the future hundreds from the town turned out Saturday to pay their respects to the lives lost by dedicating a park and memorial to the victims. In the center of the park, a fountain and a memorial listing the names of those lost.

And the town is beginning to recover, homes have been rebuilt, businesses have once again opened their doors and work will soon begin on the new high school.

“We are waiting on the government to get through studying the historical significance of our 1934 gymnasium and our old high school before we can start tearing them down because we are going to have a new high school,” explained Mays.

And with the new beginning for the town, a place to come and remember the day that changed Phil Campbell forever.

Huntsville, AL-The Huntsville Police Department's Domestic Violence Unit is investigating a case of torture and willful abuse of a 5-month-old girl at a home in the 2200 block of Brookline drive.
 
Dr. Harry Hobbs, spokesman for HPD, says a black female brought the 5 month old to Huntsville Hospital for medical care. Doctors became suspicious of the mother’s story when the baby’s injuries did not seem to coincide with her claim. The baby had injuries to her arms and legs. Hospital officials called DHR and the baby was taken to a safe place.
 
The mother is being held for questioning and the investigation is ongoing.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY)  - Many tornado survivors face physical evidence each day that April 27th changed their lives.  It could be living in a new home, passing bare twisted trees in the neighborhood, or staring at an empty seat at the dinner table.  For many of them, this past year has been an emotional journey.

 

Fear, panic and prayer all ran through Nicole Burns' mind as she huddled in the hallway of her home, clinging to her family for dear life.  She recalls, “At that moment, I just wanted to take my three people and find the safest place that I could find and just hold them, because that's all I cared about was me and my family."

 

When it was over, Burn's Phil Campbell home was demolished.  Survivor's guilt set in as she realized several of her neighbors didn't make it.  As she and her family sifted through the rubble over the next few days, that guilt turned into sadness and grief.

 

Burns says, “There was a moment on Saturday that I was pulling one of my husband's shirts that had been wrapped around a barbed wire fence, and I was trying to meticulously unwrap it and try to salvage it, and it hit me that I was a tornado victim.  That's not supposed to be, and it was just a real knock in the head, and I had to kind of sit down and go, wow."

 

Psychologist Dr. Patrick Quirk says natural disasters don't only wreak havoc on homes, businesses and schools, but also strike within those who are impacted.

He explains, “You've experienced a traumatic event, and it's stuck in the emotion centers of your brain…In a way, it's like a part of ourselves continues to live in that moment continuously."

Those critical moments: questioning whether they'll live through the storm, then realizing the scope of the destruction, elicit a wide variety of reactions. To demonstrate this, we took a look at WAAY31 stories shot right after the storms. A common theme among survivors is turning to God.

On May 2nd, 2011, survivor Brian Reeves recalls what went through his mind when the storm struck a few days earlier: "We looked up and there were four different boards leaning across the roof of the bathroom in perfect shape of two crosses and it was just like God had His hand over us through the whole ordeal."

Quirk says, “When people can make sense of their experiences and feel like there's something else with them, working with them, to me that's a very functional thing to do."

Other survivors sensed a shift in their outlook on life. After the deadly tornadoes, Hackleburg tornado survivor Angelleah Markham felt thankful for her second lease on life: “I used to say I hate my life and I wish I was dead and all this but I prayed and said no please don't let it come back."

Quirk explains, “Adversity has great value. The only way we grow as people is to move through adversity."

Burns also changed her perspective on life, particularly when it comes to possessions. The mother of two explains, “My priorities have changed a lot because things aren't so important anymore. We set aside time last summer to do family vacations and making those memories, because that's something you can't lose."

Beyond initial reactions, the storm's impact is long-lasting. A year later, Nicole's two children are still swept with panic and stress when a loud noise, or anything, brings back memories of the storms.

Fifteen year-old Chris Burns says, “Jets fly over every day, and I'll be sitting in class and you can hear it's very loud, and I still jump."

His younger sister Danielle adds, “Instead of just having a normal thunderstorm, I go to the worst possible thing."

Quirk says these are symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, commonly experienced by survivors. He says PTSD doesn’t usually go away on its own: “You really do need some kind of therapeutic intervention to get that resolved, otherwise it's likely to stay in your nervous system and become a more and more complicated issue, where you become more depressed over time, and develop other kinds of anxiety problems. So if you've had a severe trauma, we just aren't made in a way that allows us to resolve that completely."

The storm's one-year anniversary could be the biggest reminder of all, but with it, comes the opportunity for healing.

Thinking about the future, Burns says, “We're still trying to figure out normal, and but I don't feel like a victim anymore, I feel like I'm a survivor, and you move forward. The new milestones that happen, parks being built and families moving home, those things you celebrate."

Alabama's Department of Mental Health is reaching out to anyone experiencing grief and emotional stress around this one-year anniversary. Project Rebound offers free and anonymous counseling and assistance. To get started, you can call their hotline at 1-800-639-REBOUND.

SYLVANIA, Ala. (WAAY) - Dekalb County suffered North Alabama's highest death toll. Thirty five people were killed another 100 were injured.

On April 27th David Hairston lost one of the most precious things in his life. His 90 year old mother Violet was killed after an EF-5 tornado destroyed her home in Hennegar. "We were very close, and I miss her a lot" Hairston said. "In less then a minute it was all over. So she didn't have time to be scared or hurt much. So in some sense that's a blessing".

Hairston says her house was only yards away from his. Since that horrific day David Hairston has leaned on his family and his church to help with his grief. He's the pastor of the Hennegar Baptist church. "I would not have had her to have went out this way. To come out of my house which was not completely torn down to find her house 150 yards from my house completely gone just as clean as the floor nothing left. And finding her under the floor I would not have had that for nothing in the world to have found her that way" Hairston said.

On April 27th 300 homes in Dekalb County were destroyed. One of the hardest hit area's was this neighborhood in Sylvania. The storm wiped out dozens of houses leaving only concrete foundations.

It took months for work crews to clean up all the damage in the neighborhood. Many residents vowed to rebuild their homes, but only a few did. Weeks after the storm hit dozens of volunteers from a religious group known as "Carpenters For Christ" helped to rebuild the Mountain View Baptist Church in Sylvania. The sanctuary is now brand new.

Many other area's took a beating that day in dekalb county including the Plainview school in Rainsville. The school built a safe room on school grounds that can house more then 600 students or those in the community if another storm hits the area. On April 27th the tornado damaged the school and county sports coliseum. Student Courtney Mcgaha was killed that day. Principal Ronald Bell says if another storm hits, the school will be ready. "Well it is peace of mind, you take a look at the destruction a tornado can cause and its a good feeling to know that you can go into a room and feel in safe in it" Bell said.

A memorial honoring the Dekalb County tornado victims will be dedicated Saturday. It's located outside the county coliseum in Rainsville. The memorial is made up of two large granite murals that bear all 35 names of those who died.

MADISON COUNTY, AL - People say time heals all wounds. But for Cindy Mitchell, the loss of her daughter is still raw.

"The pain is just unbelievable. It is unbearable at times," says Mitchell.

39 year old Shannon Sampson's life was taken by the EF-5 tornado that ravaged East Limestone county on April 27th, 2011. Mitchell says when her daughter left home that afternoon, she never imagined it would be the last time she would see her alive. 

"She said I'm going to go check on Gran Gran. I'll be back. She never made it back."

With no cell phone service, Mitchell says she lost contact with her daughter. Early the next morning, she got the worst phone call of her life.  

"I got a call saying my mom was in the hospital, she was in critical condition, that her house had been hit and that I needed to go find Shannon," says Mitchell. "I put me on some boots, grabbed me some work gloves. I figured I was going to have to dig her out."

But by the time she arrived, emergency crews had already discovered Shannon's body.

Through tears, Mitchell admits, "A part of me died that day. I just feel like I'm not whole anymore."

Mitchell says Shannon was trying to get from her car into her grandmother's home off Orville Smith Road. Witnesses say the home was hit head on by the tornado, and exploded into thousands of pieces. Shannon's body was discovered under debris. Her grandmother, was thrown from the home and sustained serious injuries. In just two weeks, she underwent nearly a dozen surgeries to try and save her legs. 

Since Shannon's death, Mitchell says she often struggles to find a reason to keep living. 
 
"It would have been very easy for me to go to bed and pull the covers up over my head and stay there. But I couldn't," she says.  

A few months after their daughter's death, Cindy and Ken Mitchell began work on Gilwood Park. They say the labor of love has helped them heal.

"Instead of going to bed I get my work gloves out and I come over here and I do something. Usually pulling weeds," Mitchell says. "This is therapy because you have no idea how easy it would be to just go shut the door, shut the world off and to just give up." 

The Mitchell's say this park isn't just about Shannon. They say more than a dozen victims of the April 27th tornadoes have a special place here. Whether its a bench, a picnic table or a swing, they say those victims haven't been forgotten either. 

"I hope that a little bit of all of them are here. Each one. I didn't personally know any of the others that got killed. But I do know that grief that their family is going through and I want each family to know that their loved one has a spot here," says Mitchell. 

A swing in the corner of the park bears the name of a Tanner couple. A bench; the names of a Grandfather and his 15 year old granddaughter. Dozens of lives, cut short by the fury of the April 27th tornadoes. 
 
"I think that she's grateful that she's sharing this with the others that were killed also," says Mitchell. 

The park is filled with bits and pieces of the life Shannon spent with those who loved her including a flower bed for each of her sisters and the three children she left behind and a swing set for the granddaughter Shannon never got to meet. There are also whimsical animals modeled after ones Shannon loved as a child and a ferris wheel seat for the daughter the Mitchell's say was always a kid at heart. 

"God gives me little glimpses and she's always smiling. Always," says Mitchell. "I know she's looking down and she's saying you know momma I like that. That's pretty cool, I like that." 

There is even a place for Shannon's beloved dog "Bubba."

"She loved him dearly. He was in her arms when she was killed.and he survived. I have no doubt that she was protecting him. No doubt whatsoever," says Mitchell. 

The couple says their hearts ache everyday for their daughter. But, in the end they have faith that they'll one day get to hold their baby girl again.
 
"He does have a plan. His plan was to take her home," Mitchell says. "I do know that I'm going to get to see her again and spend eternity with her. I'm just thankful that she let me be her mom." 

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WAAY) - Alabama backup quarterback Phillip Sims has left Tuscaloosa.

The former Parade All-American was in a heated battle with AJ McCarron at the beginning of the 2011 season to replace Greg McElroy behind center. In the end, McCarron won out and led the team to their 14th national title.

Sims saw playing time in 8 games last year, threw for a total of 163 yards and no touchdowns.

It's unclear where Sims will be transferring to.

ATHENS, Ala. (WAAY) - Early morning drama on the tracks in Limestone County.

According to city officials, a CSX train conductor spotted a trestle fully engulfed in flames around 3:00 Friday morning. However, by the time he saw it, he was unable to stop the massive diesel, and was forced to go forward, hoping the trestle wasn't so badly damaged that it would buckle under the weight of the train.

The conductor went ahead, through the burning bridge over Swan Creek, and made it through to the other side. Fire crews rushed to the scene and spent several hours putting out the fire.

The trestle is about 100 feet long and was build in 1972. CSX officials are inspecting the damage, determining what to do next. Trains are being diverted to other lines until any needed repairs are made and CSX engineers are satisfied with the bridge.

UPDATE 3:55 p.m. - Athens Police now say that the fire was the result of foul play. Three people were stopped in the area by an officer responding to the scene. One of them - 18 year Samuel Seth Morris - was arrested and charged with 2nd Degree Arson and Criminal Mischief. 

in this digital age, ... when we want something done ... we want it done now.
but, there's a place in huntsville that's bringing back the "time-intensive" art..... of print making.

"I found that when I graduated I could no longer make work. My focus was in print making and I just didn't have access to the machinery," said Rachel Lackey of the Green Pea Press.

So with a little help from her friends Rachel started up the Green Pea Press at Lowe Mill Arts and Entertainment Center in Huntsville.

"We do entalio print making, relief, etching, letter press and screen print. We try to have workshops so that people who are interested can learn more about the processes," said Tyson Stinson of the Green Pea Press.

"Seeing other artists who walk in and go Oh My Gosh there's presses here, I can do work again. That's really fulfilling, but also having new people come in and watching them fall in love in the process."

Besides the weekly workshops, Green Pea Press takes T-shirt orders, does wedding invitations and cards of all types. You can hire them to do it or you can customize even more by getting involved in the design and production yourself.

"People are really wanting to go back to those hands on kind of things, like our forefathers and foremothers were doing."

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - The Alabama Legislature has voted to ban texting while driving.

The bill by Republican Rep. Jim McClendon of Springville cleared the House 95-0 and the Senate 28-0 Thursday. It now goes to the governor for signing into law.

The bill prohibits sending text messages, instant messages and e-mails while behind the wheel. It provides exceptions for contacting emergency services and for using global position services.

The bill includes a fine of $25 for a first offense, $50 for a second offense and $75 for a third or subsequent offense.

The Governors Highway Safety Association says 37 states already prohibit texting while driving, including two of Alabama's neighbors: Georgia and Tennessee.

FLORENCE, Ala. (WAAY) - A woman is recovering after being stabbed in the arm, according to our news partner - the Times Daily. 

The incident happened around 11:30 Thursday morning on North Crown Street. She drove away from the scene and met an ambulance a few blocks away and was rushed to Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital.

The attacker fled the area and was chased by several law enforcement agencies, finally being caught in Tuscumbia.

Neither the suspect nor victim has been publicly identified.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) - A 28 year old man is behind bars after an early morning break-in at a Huntsville school.

It happened just before 2:00 Thursday morning at the Academy for Academics and Art on Poplar Avenue. According to police reports, school security officers saw a man entering classrooms and stealing property on a surveillance camera.

Huntsville Police responded and a K-9 unit found the suspect in the school's auditorium. Jerrelle Gladden was arrested and charged with Burglary. He's awaiting bond.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) - A Huntsville City Schools employee with a history of trouble is now facing DUI charges.

Huntsville Police arrested 46 year old Jeffery Ellis Wednesday night after he was involved in an accident. He was taken in on suspicion of driving under the influence. His bond has not yet been set.

Seldon is a Career Technical Educator at the Seldon Center, which caters to 6th-12th graders.

In October of last year, Ellis was suspended 20 days without pay for unprofessional behavior at the school. Officials say he provoked a fight in that incident.

UPDATE - Huntsville City School Superintendent Dr. Casey Wardynski is reviewing the matter and will make a decision on how to handle the situation in the near future, according to a schools spokesman.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) - A woman wanted in Tennessee for Criminally Negligent Homicide was arrested late Wednesday afternoon in north Alabama.

US Marshals tracked 25 year old Heather Davis to a home in Madison County. Marshals raided the home and took her into custody at gunpoint.

She's being brought back to Maury County, Tennessee to face charges in connection with her boyfriend's death.

UPDATE - WAAY 31 has learned new details about Davis' case.

According to the Maury County Sheriff's Department, Davis called 9-1-1 on February 1st, 2012 to report her boyfriend, Jonathan Vernon, wasn't breathing. Vernon was pronounced dead when paramedics arrived. An autopsy named a prescription medication overdose as the cause of death.

Investigators believe that Davis contributed to Vernon's death and presented the case to a Grand Jury. The Grand Jury handed down an indictment on Criminally Negligent Homicide charges.

DECATUR, Ala. (WAAY) - Decatur Police have arrested and charged a man following an early evening shooting on Lakewood Drive.

The incident happened just after 7:00 p.m. Near the Sunnybrook Drive intersection. Police learned that one man, Javonne Sears, was shot multiple times. He was rushed to Decatur General Hospital in a private vehicle where he went into surgery. The shooter had fled the scene by the time officers arrived.

Witnesses told investigators what they saw, and the search for the gunman began. A description of the suspect's vehicle went out and a short time later, it was discovered on Kelly Avenue. Four people were taken into custody, including James "Jamie" Travers II. As the investigation went on, police began to believe Travers was the assailant, and charged him with Drug Possession, Tampering with Evidence and Assault.

ROGERSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) - Rogersville Fire Officials say an abandoned home was a complete loss after a Wednesday evening fire.

The flames were first spotted just before 7:00 p.m. at a home on County Road 70.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Firefighters from Rogersville, Anderson, Clements, Elgin and Center Star were all involved in fighting the blaze.

WAAY 31 viewer Ron Threet captured the efforts to fight the fire on his cell phone and sent video to us. If you see news happening, send your pics or videos to newsroom@waaytv.com - or use our mobile app, available no on iTunes, Blackberry and Android.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAAY) - The April 24th Runoff election settled more than two dozen local races in north Alabama, but one remains in dispute.

The District 3 Republican race for the Madison County Commission between Eddie Sisk and Joey Parker is too close to call, with Sisk leading Parker by just 32 votes.

On Wednesday, the Madison County Republican Party agreed to have a recount. It'll take place on May 2nd.

However, Sisk is claiming victory. "I'm still the winner. I've talked to the Republican Party and they've declared me the winner and I feel like I'm the winner." Sisk told WAAY 31 on Wednesday. "I'm just going to keep going and I've got a Democrat to run against so I've got to keep my campaign going and its not going to concern me."

Parker is waiting to see how the recount shakes out. "There's still hope out there and we're just waiting to see." Parker told WAAY 31. "We're here to fight for our supporters. They've worked so hard over the last six months and when you work as hard as we've worked and there is almost four thousand votes and it comes down to you've gotten beat by just 32 votes... It's a very hard pill to swallow."

Huntsville, AL- Former Oakwood University Dean Alma Fogle York spent much of her life educating others; until she was tragically killed February 9^th. Spokesman Tim Allston says the faculty, staff, and students at Oakwood took the news hard.
 
"When Dean York had died, had been tragically killed in a car accident, we were shocked. As a matter of fact in many respects we are still shocked,” he said.
 
York was struck by a car at the intersection of Pulaski Pike and Stringfield, at the time no charges were filed, but now Huntsville police have opened a negligent homicide case against the driver.
 
"As a University, because we are Bible based, we believe that justice will always prevail and we pray for justice at every level," said Allston.
 
Dean York was affiliated with Oakwood University, a Seventh Day Adventist University, for 15 years and now they have established an award in her honor.
 
"The Alma Fogle York Community Engagement Award, citing people in the community who give of themselves for the sake of the community at large."
 
He says the University is working to preserve her memory, honor her life, and hopefully see justice served in her death.
 
“Charges are going to be filed and there will be a hearing and there will be a jury and a judicial process. We are very pleased because we very much believe in the laws of God and also, where appropriate, the laws of man.”

The case has been given to the District Attorney's Office. The name of the driver has not yet been released.

PHIL CAMPBELL, Ala. (WAAY) - It was over in the matter of seconds, but the impact that the EF-5 tornado had on the small town of Phil Campbell is still being felt a year later.

Around 3 p.m. on April 27, 2011, an EF-5 tornado tore through Phil Campbell, destroying homes and businesses and taking lives.  The tornado's path was 132 miles long and up to 1.25 miles wide with winds exceeding 200 miles per hour.

"I've lived here all my life and I could be walking down the street and I would be lost," said Phil Campbell Mayor Jerry Mays.  "There were no landmarks left.  Everything was gone.  Everything had been blown away and totally destroyed."

Omar Mojica, a 7th grader at Phil Campbell school, was thrown from his home during the tornado.  

"There was this weird sound like a jet engine or train and everything was flying around and my ears popped," said Omar.  "Something hit me in the head and I passed out.  When I woke up, my youngest brother was there and there was a red truck driving by and two guys got out to help us.  I asked them not to leave my side because I was afraid something else was going to happen, so that guy stayed with me."

Omar was taken to Russellville Hospital then transported to Birmingham's Children's Hospital. As a result of his injuries, doctors had to amputate part of his leg. He woke up to learn that his mother, Claudia Mojica, and 9 year old brother, Edgar Mojica, had been killed.

Omar said that he often remembers the good times he shared with his brother and mother.

"It's been really difficult. I have a lot of memories, but I have to be strong," said Omar. "I know they're gone now, and I can't do anything about it but just keep going on with my life."

Omar said that he didn't expect to be walking around by himself without crutches on a prosthetic leg only a year later, but is very thankful for his progress.

"I'm really lucky to go through an EF-5," he said. "There's not a lot of people who make it through that type of disaster. I'm really lucky that God spared my life."

Twenty-seven people in the Phil Campbell area didn't survive the storm that day.

"At one time we had 12 bodies in a makeshift morgue in the back of our rescue squad," said Mays.  "It was very, very depressing.  Very sad.  Some of them were almost unrecognizable because they were torn up so bad. When the intensity afterwards took over, it just made you want to throw up your hands, but you had to keep going and keep fighting and keep digging for people."

Mays said that he's so thankful for the volunteers that came in that night to help with search and rescue or it could've been a lot worse.

As the road to recovery began, hundreds of volunteers swarmed the area the very next day.  They've continued lending a helping hand to those in need ever since.

"We're fortunate enough to have neighbor helping neighbor and strangers helping strangers," said Mays.  "For instance, the Mennonite Disaster Group out of Pennsylvania have come in and built 20 houses by themselves in the Phil Campbell area.  That's just one organization, but they've been a leader.  If I had to list all the church groups that's come in and helped Phil Campbell, I would be here for a long while.  I don't know what we would've done without all these kind people.  They have been our most valuable asset in Phil Campbell, there's no doubt about it."

FEMA granted the town $3.8 million for debris removal and millions more to rebuild the 450 homes and businesses destroyed.

Portions of Phil Campbell High School were severely damaged as well. The junior high wing, band room and a majority of the auditorium were wiped out. However, school started back last fall in mobile units.

"I think the students have a new appreciation for weather and weather forecasting for sure," said Principal Cindy Davis. "They've also learned that life goes on after tragedy. That you do memorialize and remember things, but the episodes and events take on a new special meaning. There is cause for celebration and there's a time to mourn, but you do pick up the pieces and move forward."

Although the school is using borrowed facilities and equipment, the sports and band programs have been very successful this year.

"The tornado has not been an excuse," said Davis.  "They've looked at it as an opportunity.  I know a lot of people were affected very deeply because of the storm, but to turn that in to a positive and look for the silver linings has been a true blessing for me to witness."

The school will soon be demolished and starting this summer, a new building will be built in its place.

"The fact that we're getting a new school building is one of the most exciting things, because the school is the center of our community here," said Mays.

Hays said that although there's still a lot of work to be done, Phil Campbell is coming alive once again and will be better than it was before.