HUNTSVILLE, Ala-

A WW11 veteran's home was destroyed by a fire around 10:30am Saturday morning.
The house belongs top Mel Johnson who shared the home with his wife and daughter.

A lawn crew noticed the smoke and called the fire department.
With quick work from Huntsville fire department, they were able to get the blaze under control…but not before many of the family's belonging were charred.

The Johnson’s neighbors are all offering their support.

“As of right now, we do know that they are insured, which is a great thing. And believe it or not, their insurance agent lives right next door to them so the process was started very quickly,” said neighbor Justin Crisler.

Florence Freshman Center student Shea Shockley has been busy the last few weeks sewing an Easter dress for someone in need.

"I'm grateful to have everything that I have like the clothes on my back and the roof over my head, so just doing something for someone that probably doesn't have all those things, is something very special," said Shockley.

She along with more than 40 other fashion design students at the school have sewn 50 dresses to send to girls in Africa.

Consumer Science Teacher Lisa Arnett said that the recycle-redesign project stemmed from an organization in Michigan called "Little Dresses for Africa".

"These little girls don't have multiple dresses to choose from on a daily basis," said Arnett.  "They usually only have one pair of clothing and that garment is probably tattered and torn."

The dresses are made out of simple pillowcases.  Each student was able to pick out a pillowcase and decorations that matched their style and personality. 

"It makes me feel really good that I'm doing something for someone else," said Shockley.  "I'll probably never get this chance every again, so it makes me feel really good that I got to help someone out."

Although this was the first year the class made the pillowcase dresses, Arnett said that this definitely will not be the last.

"A lot of these girls have never seen a sewing machine," said Arnett.  "So this is the first time that they are even learning to sew, and to not only learn the skills to sew, but to sew for a purpose was a great experience for a lot of the students."

Decatur, AL- The tough Alabama Immigration law may soon get even tougher. A revision to House Bill 256 was presented Thursday and legislators aren’t backing off the controversial law, they are making it stricter.

“It makes language that’s ambiguous more clear there’s some penalties that are a lot tougher. There are some things that were uncertain and causing confusion that we have been able to cleanup,” explained State Representative Phil Williams.

People who aren’t happy with the original bill,  much less the revision, were in Senator Arthur Orr’s office today voicing their concerns.

“We just believe this is an ill-hearted bill and a law that needs to not be implemented,” said Rosa Calderon. She is with a group called All Races United and has been working to see the law overturned. During the meeting Calderon says she presented the argument that the new law has significantly damaged Alabama’s economy.

“Wayne’s Farm has a lot of Hispanic workers, my parents have been working there over 18 years, and he is losing his workforce. It’s not necessarily because they are illegal, it’s because some of their relatives may be undocumented and they are not going to risk being in this state.”
And business owners were also with the group speaking to Orr. Scott Brannan is a business owner and employees legal immigrants. He says through the years he has found that immigrants are very good employees.

“Hispanic folks, all they want to do is come out and work, get their checks and take care of their families. A lot of the other folks I have worked with they just want a paycheck they really don’t want to do the work,” he explained.

One of the revisions gives officers the authority to not only check the status of someone they pull over, but their passengers as well. The revision does however remove the provision that the status of children must be verified before they can attend school. Williams says the legislature is standing behind the law because it’s what’s best for Alabama.

“It’s not going to go away. We have a problem in Alabama that the federal government has failed in immigration reform so it’s leaving the states on their own to try to figure out how will we deal with this.”

It has been a great week, but many people are still suffering with allergies and some rain would be welcomed.

Today at 4 pm we will be talking about Earth Day. Megan from Nexus Energy Center will be here to tell us about a lot of events going on to celebrate. There will be an event at UAH on April 20th and the next day, April 21st going green will be continued at Hays Nature Preserve. Check out www.nexusenergycenter.org for more.

The Huntsville Botanical Garden is ready to help you fill your gardens. The plant sale is coming up in just a few weeks. April 19-22nd at the Garden will be transformed for the sale. Members get a preview day on April 19th and the public is welcome the 20-22nd. Log on to www.hsvbg.org for the details.

Burritt on the Mountain is calling all kids to come participate in an Easter Egg Hunt. April 7th starting at 10:30 kids of all ages will get search for eggs filled with goodies. Tickets are $2 for members and $1 extra on admission for non-members. Check out www.burrittonthemountain.com for more.

See you at 4!

ATHENS, Ala (WAAY) - As the Limestone County Commission continues to try to find a way to pay for storm cleanup, residents are being urged to make this weekend a D-I-Y debris removal event. 

The County Transfer Station on Highway 72 is allowing storm victims to bring their debris to the center, free of charge this Saturday. Items will be sorted. Anything that's salvageable will be donated to local thrift stores, the rest will be either recycled or placed in the dump. 

Residents are asked to bring photo I.D. to move the process along. There are some items that cannot be accepted, however. That list includes appliances with compressors (such as freezers, refrigerators, air conditioners and air compressors) and each visitor is limited to just four tires.

The transfer station is located on Hwy. 72 West, just before reaching 7-Mile Post Road on the north side of the road. The Transfer Station is a tan metal building set back from Hwy. 72.

It'll be open at 7:00 a.m. on March 31st.

A local animal shelter fears for the safety of two stolen puppies.

Earlier this week, a couple that looked to be in their 20's showed up at the Florence-Lauderdale Animal Shelter and claimed to be interested in adopting two puppies.  Shelter officials let them take the animals for a walk, but they never brought them back.

"My first thought was maybe time got away from them and they would come back," said Debbie Rappuhn, the volunteer pet care director at the shelter.  "But they never returned and we still have not heard from them."

Now Rappuhn fears that the puppies might be used for dog-fighting or sold to a research company.

"If the person absolutely fell in love with the dogs and couldn't afford an adoption fee, I'd rather them talk to me about it and we'll see what we can work out," said Rappuhn.  "They might can do a foster until they have the money, but to just walk off with the dogs and us not know about the dogs, that concerns us a lot and we will find them."

Rappuhn said that now they will have to start taking precautions and will be using security cameras to prevent this from happening again.

"We've never had this happen ever," said Rappuhn.  "Now, we're going to be leery of everyone who comes in to try to help, which is unfortunate.  We really shouldn't have to worry about someone coming down to help us, but now it causes us to take a second look."

She said that they plan to start asking for people to leave their driver's license if they want to take a dog for a walk.

The puppies stolen go by the names of Hans and Sans.  If anyone has seen them or has any information, please call the shelter at (256) 760-6676.

Some Colbert County students celebrated the simpler life on Thursday.

Nearly a hundred students representing three chapters of Future Farmers of America gathered for the 10th annual Ag Day.  

During the event at Longhorn Arena in Tuscumbia, students from Colbert County, Cherokee and Colbert Heights high schools showed off some of the skills they've learned in their agriculture programs.  The students competed in building construction, safe tractor driving, livestock judging, forestry and ag computers.

"There's a huge skills shortage," said Colbert County Career Tech Director Steve Stayton.  "We're not producing enough people in the workforce with marketable skills, and we want to explain to these students and future students that this is very important."

The winners of Thursday's events will go on to compete in the District FFA Competition at Wallace State next month.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - The Opry Mills shopping mall in Nashville formally reopened Thursday after being shuttered for almost two years because of flooding from the nearby Cumberland River.

The 1.2-million-square-foot mall at the site of the old Opryland USA theme park has been closed since May 2010. A dispute over insurance coverage delayed restoration work at the venue adjacent to the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center and the Grand Ole Opry House.

An estimated $200 million in repairs have been done. A few tenants have already reopened or, like Bass Pro Shops, never closed or shut down briefly. There are a dozen or so new stores.

The mall means nearly 3,000 jobs for Middle Tennessee. It draws some shoppers from nearby counties, and gets some business from Nashville's 1 million yearly tourists.

The 12-year-old mall, with 140 retailers, is owned by Simon Property Group. There are three other major shopping malls in or near Nashville; two others have failed.

ATHENS, Ala (WAAY) - Accused murdered Jamie Pigg made his first court appearance on Thursday, in front of Judge James Woodroff. 

Pigg is accused of attacking his grandmother, 69 year old Barbara Delaney, with a hammer in the backyard of the home the two shared. Delaney was also shot during the attack. Pigg reportedly ran to Decatur, where he was captured about an hour after the attack. Delaney survived and was air lifted to Huntsville Hospital, where she later died.

Pigg appeared on a closed circuit video hookup from the Limestone County Jail inside Judge Woodroff's chambers. The judge set Pigg's bond at $100,000 and appointed attorney Harlan Mitchell to represent Pigg. No plea was entered Thursday. That may come during Pigg's next court appearance on April 10th.

FLORENCE, Ala (WAAY) - Florence Police have arrested and charged a 21 year old man with Rape and Sodomy, two weeks after his brother was arrested for the same crime.

Investigators say 21 year old Keith Lamar Beckwith-Boddie was found hiding in a restaurant bathroom Wednesday when they went to serve an arrest warrant on him. Boddie is accused of sexually abusing a 7 year old girl several times beginning in June of 2006. 22 year old Brian Beckwith was arrested on March 16th. The attacks reportedly happened at the Beckwith home on Fairgrounds Road.

The victim is 12 years old now, and didn't report the abuse until last year. Florence Police were notified of the accusations and began an investigation, turning their findings over to a Lauderdale County Grand Jury.

Bail was set at $130,000 for Beckwith-Boddie, who was still in the Lauderdale County Detention Center.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - A Thursday execution was halted for a man set to die for the 1982 murder-for-hire of a Muscle Shoals businessman, but his legal battle is far from over.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied Alabama's request to reconsider the stay of execution for Thomas Douglas Arthur, who has maintained his innocence for more than 29 years on death row.

The stay was granted after a three-judge panel overturned a judge's ruling to stop Arthur's appeal, which contends Alabama's lethal injection procedure is cruel and unusual.

The court has yet to rule on a motion to have the full 11th Circuit re-examine the decision to allow the appeal.

If the court declines, Arthur will be allowed to appeal his death sentence.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala (WAAY) - The Huntsville Havoc are in a do or die situation Friday night.

The Southern Professional Hockey League's current format has the #8 seeded Havoc playing the #1 seeded Augusta Riverhawks in a best of three series. Wednesday night, the Havoc put up a tremendous effort in Georgia, leading the game 3-2 in the last minute of the game. However, Augusta Neil Graham was able to tie the score with just 12 seconds remaining, sending it to overtime. Captain Matt Auffrey won the game for Augusta with about 5 minutes left in overtime.

Havoc captain Glenn Detulleo wasn't deterred by the loss. "Going on the road in that situation, facing the first place team, if you'd said going into the game we'd have one shot to win the game in overtime, I think we'd all take it." Detulleo told WAAY 31 on Thursday. "So, that's the attitude we had. Obviously, we're a little disappointed but between periods we just set it aside and got ready to go to the overtime period."

Goalie Mark Sibbald agrees. "We played well all game." he said. "We definitely had changes to put them away, we had a little bit of a breakdown and they capitalized. It was defiitely a shock, and it was heartbreaking at first, but I think if you look at the bigger picture, we played with them for 60 minutes. We dominated a lot of the game. If we lost by three or four goals, I think we'd be in a lot different mindset."

Now, the Havoc must come out on top Friday night, or their season will come to an end. 

The teams will meet at 7:30 at the VBC with the Havoc's season on the line. Win, and they go on to a third and final game in Augusta. Lose, and it's all over.

"Players at this level love pressure." Detulleo said. "I think our team is that kind of team and these guys are looking forward to the opportunity to send the series back to Augusta. We want the crowd to be loud. If we played the game we played Wednesday night, if we do that in our building, the crowd would love it. I think if we get the crowd behind us, I think we have a great chance."

Sibbald says that this season has been a roller coaster, but they're playing with a purpose now. "We're playing for a new coach who we believe in." he said. "If you look back a couple of years ago, we lost our first game of the playoffs the year we won, and we rattled off some really big wins. I know our group has the confidence in each other and looking forward, I think were just going to build on last night."

PRINCETON, NJ (WAAY) -  A new study produced by Gallup shows Mississippi is the most religious state in America, with Utah and Alabama not far behind.

The study was conducted throughout 2011, asked 353,492 adults in all 50 states and the District of Columbia how they'd describe themselves. Their options were "Very Religious", "Moderately Religious" and Nonreligious".

In Mississippi, 59% of respondents said they were "very religious", with another 30% falling under the "moderately religious" category, and only 11% saying they were nonreligious. In Utah, 57% said they were very religious, 15% moderately so, and 28% not religious. And in Alabama, 56% put themselves in the "very religious" category, 29% said they were moderately religious and 16% were non-religious. Louisiana and Arkansas rounded out the top five.

The nation as a whole was 40.10% very religious, 28.30% moderately religious and 31.50% nonreligious.

The five least religious states were (from 46-50) : Alaska, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. The full survey can be viewed here. 

Keys : we’ve all got them. Keys make us feel safe, we like to think they're the difference that protects us from the bad guys who’d love to get inside.

But what if I told you that you can throw away your house keys...and be more secure than ever?

"It’s a platform that allows you to control your doorlocks, your lights, your thermostat, your cameras all logged into a PC on a website. Or for your iPhone or iPad." Matt McGovern from Nexia Home Security says the concept isn't new. We've had keyless entry for cars for decades now. What is different, is the smartphone interface.

It's set up where if a homeowner puts their code in, it sends you a text or email. So you always know who's coming and going in your home.

There's also a video display that will give you a chance to physically see whois there. It can be set up so anytime you put a code on a door lock, it will trigger the video to record for 10-15 seconds. There's a screen that shows which doors are locked or unlocked, and you can control the locks through a laptop or smartphone.

"A mom who wants to know when her kids get off the bus and put their code in. or someone who travels a lot they have that piece of mind of what’s going on. "

The system can also control a thermostat... and blinds if you want to make it look like someone’s home.

This high-tech home security system is a trend among all of the major lock companies. And if you still want the security of using keys, the system does offer a backup that uses traditional house keys.

Would you want something like this? Tell us about it on our Facebook page.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - State legislators return to Montgomery this week following their spring break.  They face a laundry list of controversial issues, from the prepaid college tuition program to health insurance coverage for abortions.  Also on the table is a bill on charter schools, which some lawmakers have been trying to implement for years.

 

Alabama is one of ten states where charter schools are illegal.  These are schools that are publicly funded but don't have to go by public school rules, including teacher tenure.  The purpose is to give families more schooling options beyond zip-code-based school zones. 

 

Nationally, charter school performance has been mixed, but here in Alabama, a group of lawmakers feel legalizing them could help education in the state, which by some statistics ranks 49th overall. 

 

We spoke with the bill's sponsor, State Representative Phil Williams of Madison.  He addressed some criticisms of charter schools, including the argument that they'll snatch funds from public schools.  He says, "Charters are just public schools, so when you hear they're taking money away from the public schools, the money follows the student."

 

Last week, the legislature held a public hearing on the bill.  Generally, Williams says many parents support it, while a number of educators are opposed.  The Ways and Means Education committee plans to vote on the bill this Wednesday.

HUNTSVILLE, AL - With Easter a week away, one Huntsville salon is once again donating its services to underprivileged children.

From 2PM until 6PM on Monday, April 2nd, Black Pearl Select Salon will offer free  haircuts to boys who are 12 and under.

This is the 16th year the salon has provided free cuts for the community.

Black Pearl Select Salon is located at 2908 Meridian Street in Huntsville.
       
For more information, call (256) 536-3133.

KANSAS CITY, MO - The National Weather Service hopes to raise awareness about the importance of heeding weather warnings by testing out a new kind of alert that's aimed to scare people into seeking shelter.

NWS officials say studies conducted after deadly tornadoes in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in April 2011 and Joplin, Missouri in May 2011 found that most people didn't heed the initial warnings about the oncoming storms.

They also say people in tornado prone areas have become desensitized by frequent false alarms and don't always pay attention to the first warnings.
 
Now, NWS offices in Missouri and Kansas will start sending out what they call "impact-based" warnings.

These warnings describe how much damage a storm could cause.

Among the messages in the new warnings: "COMPLETE DESTRUCTION OF ENTIRE NEIGHBORHOODS IS LIKELY" and "MASS DEVASTATION IS HIGHLY LIKELY MAKING THE AREA UNRECOGNIZABLE TO SURVIVORS."

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The spirit of Easter was in the air Saturday as hundreds of kids got to take a train ride with the Easter bunny.  The festive one-day event was hosted by the North Alabama Railroad Museum, which offers rides on its historic, 1940's era train throughout the year.

 

On each of the train's five trips Saturday, kids got to meet two Easter bunnies, one outside and one on the train.  They also received a small gift once the ride was through.  Organizers hope families will appreciate the history of the train as well. 

 

Museum Historian Hugh Dudley says, “Since we don't have any more passenger trains available here for them to ride, we think this is a good thing, they enjoy a little bit of history and they know what a real train is all about."

 

The Railroad Museum also hosts a Santa train ride for kids during the winter.

A second Wal-Mart is possibly in the works for Florence but not before the company jumps through several hoops and meets guidelines from the state.

A recent traffic study was reviewed by the Alabama Department of Transportation and has been submitted back to the planning commission this week.

ALDOT made eight stipulations that Wal-Mart must meet before the state grants official approval.  

Wal-Mart is hoping to build a stoe on thw est side of Cloverdale Road just north of Cox Creek Parkway.  However, many residents, including Coy Bramlett who lives in a nearby subdivision, have voiced concerns about the plans.

"They're coming and sitting down within our neighborhood," said Bramlett.  "We didn't build and buy there because of a Wal-Mart.  We already have a Wal-Mart three and a half miles from here and two Wal-Marts in this town, it's just not big enough."

One of the main stipulations in the traffic review is that an access road must be made on Cox Creek Parkway, relieving some of the congestion on Cloverdale Road.

City spokesperson Phil Stevenson said that the study also addressed other traffic concerns.

"It appears that the traffic study will answer most, if not all question composed by citizens at the first planning commission meeting," said Stevenson.  

The following stipulations will be submitted to the Planning Commission's Technical Committee for review.

1. A revised site plan indicating a 100 foot buffer along the north boundary of the proposed development.
2. Access to raodway from extending from the retail site south to Cox Creek Parkway.
3. Traffic signal at Wright Drive.
4. Traffic signal at proposed main entrance to the retail development.
5. Expansion/Revision of the Cloverdale Road approach to Cox Creek Parkway to include dual left turn lanes for eastbound traffic.
6. Ingress/Egress at the proposed outparcels is restricted to right-in-right out only for southbound traffic.
7. No direct access from outparcels to Cloverdale Road.
8. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: The ALDOT has instructed the developer's engineers to submit drawings regarding needed adjustments to the CVS entrance on Cloverdale Road.

"It can run in to a significant amount of money, but that's the cost of doing business," said Stevenson.  "It's a busy roadway and in order to present a safe environment, these are things that just have to be done."

Bramlett said, "The traffic now I think will be under control, and that was one of our biggest concerns, but there are several other issues with the site itself that we're still worried about. Now, the main concern is the cemetery located on the land.  Other concerns are no impact study has been done.  I don't know where all the runoff water is going in to the creeks and it's going in to our streams and the water we drink.  There hasn't been an noise impact study."

Bramlett said he's also worried Wal-Mart will put smaller stores in the area out of business.

"I would like to see them deny the rezoning and have Wal-Mart move down the road to the edge of the city on Cox Creek Parkway.  It's a lot more convenient for them," said Bramlett.

A public meeting with the technical committee will be held to discuss the traffic study soon.  Then, it will go before the city council for final approval for annexation and rezoning.

FLORENCE, Ala. (WAAY) - Hans and Sans, the two pit-mixed puppies reported stolen from the Florence/Lauderdale Animal Shelter earlier this week are back home.

According to officials at the shelter, the person who took the animals got into contact with them after WAAY 31 aired the story of the stolen dogs Thursday night. The person arranged to drop the dogs off with a volunteer. The shelter says they won't press charges.

We're told that one of the dogs has been adopted. The other, and several other great animals, are still looking for a new home. If you live in the Shoals and want to adopt an animal from the shelter, call (256) 760-6676, or visit the offices at 702 East College Street in Florence.

PHENIX CITY, Ala. (AP) - Law officers are searching for a trio of inmates, including one prisoner who was convicted of murder, who broke out of an eastern Alabama jail.

Authorities say the three prisoners escaped from the Russell County Jail Thursday night.

Sheriff Heath Taylor says all three inmates should be considered dangerous. Authorities say the other two inmates were being held on burglary, theft and drug charges.

Police in nearby Columbus, Ga., said they were assisting Alabama authorities with the search by issuing warnings to its officers to be on the lookout for the three.

Justin Hysmith, lives just outside Phenix City, said officers were walking down his street around 7 a.m. Friday holding shotguns, and a helicopter had been circling the area since 5:30 a.m.

The Ledger-Enquirer of Columbus identifies the men as Adam W. Barringer, 30; John Curtis Hendrix, 27; and Charles Smith, 41,

UPDATE 2:30 p.m. - The Ledger-Enquirer reports that Smith has been captured. Hendrix and Barringer remain on the loose.