dave
04-08-2003, 00:46 AM
Tornadoes coming 2-for-1 in Marengo Co.
<p>If you were awake Sunday night,(like me), you finally found something on television to watch besides the war. At around 3:25 a.m., the national weather service put out the first tornado warning for Marengo County. This warning went past, dragging a hellish thunderstorm behind it. Around 5:30 a.m., all seemed to have calmed down. Then at 5:45 a.m., all hell broke loose once again. This is the first time the weather sirens in Demopolis went off. Being at a health facility, I was greeted with a phone call from 911, telling me a tornado is “on it’s way”. At around 6 a.m. I got another call from 911 saying a twister is “at the Plaza Golf Carts, and heading into Demopolis. At this time you can hear weather, police and apparent ambulance sirens going off all over the area of the hospital. At about 7 a.m., it was all over, except for the flooding in the streets. No one has mentioned damage or injury related to the storms as of now. There was reported flooding and a road closed in the Livingston area. Rain is expected to continue until Thursday.</p>
Council supports war on paper.
<p>The Demopolis City Council passed resolution supporting the troop’s mission to bring freedom to Iraq, and backed President’s decision to attack. This “resolution” is really nothing more that a public display of support for our military. Councilman Thomas Moore feels (correctly) that any city employees called away to war should receive some income from the city until they arrive back home. This is being looked into. Other political leaders have had problems passing similar resolutions in Montgomery and Washington. One reason may be why we are fighting right now. When we started, it was because of Saddam’s unwillingness to give up weapons of mass destruction, and his potential threat to America possessing these weapons. Now it’s about freeing Iraq from the Regime. Either way, it needed to be done, and the troops deserve support regardless.</p>
Demopolis citizens come up with ideas…
<p>At the public meeting on improving Demopolis, some ideas got thrown by the public. One of the ideas put forth was a Wal-Mart Supercenter. This struck me as funny, since we could have had one when they built the “Hometown” Wal-Mart you see on 80 now. If the same politicians who are asking for your opinions now had listened back then to the same public, most of what the public wants now could be already here. Most of the ideas put forward are for places to go; either to eat, shop, or play. Though all these facilities would make the quality of life better in Demopolis, they will never happen until the population can grow in Demopolis. In the current state, there are no jobs available for potential workforce’s to move in to. The leaders of our community have to realize that infrastructure and education are the keys to growing a community. If we 4-lane 80 from Montgomery to Mississippi, and 4 lane 43 from Memphis to Mobile, the industry looking for plant sites will see us as the jewel of the Black Belt. If we can get a junior college in Demopolis, we’ll attract students from all over the region, creating a workforce in the area needed to attract more industry. Once the basics are taken care of, everything else will fall into place. </p>
<p>If you were awake Sunday night,(like me), you finally found something on television to watch besides the war. At around 3:25 a.m., the national weather service put out the first tornado warning for Marengo County. This warning went past, dragging a hellish thunderstorm behind it. Around 5:30 a.m., all seemed to have calmed down. Then at 5:45 a.m., all hell broke loose once again. This is the first time the weather sirens in Demopolis went off. Being at a health facility, I was greeted with a phone call from 911, telling me a tornado is “on it’s way”. At around 6 a.m. I got another call from 911 saying a twister is “at the Plaza Golf Carts, and heading into Demopolis. At this time you can hear weather, police and apparent ambulance sirens going off all over the area of the hospital. At about 7 a.m., it was all over, except for the flooding in the streets. No one has mentioned damage or injury related to the storms as of now. There was reported flooding and a road closed in the Livingston area. Rain is expected to continue until Thursday.</p>
Council supports war on paper.
<p>The Demopolis City Council passed resolution supporting the troop’s mission to bring freedom to Iraq, and backed President’s decision to attack. This “resolution” is really nothing more that a public display of support for our military. Councilman Thomas Moore feels (correctly) that any city employees called away to war should receive some income from the city until they arrive back home. This is being looked into. Other political leaders have had problems passing similar resolutions in Montgomery and Washington. One reason may be why we are fighting right now. When we started, it was because of Saddam’s unwillingness to give up weapons of mass destruction, and his potential threat to America possessing these weapons. Now it’s about freeing Iraq from the Regime. Either way, it needed to be done, and the troops deserve support regardless.</p>
Demopolis citizens come up with ideas…
<p>At the public meeting on improving Demopolis, some ideas got thrown by the public. One of the ideas put forth was a Wal-Mart Supercenter. This struck me as funny, since we could have had one when they built the “Hometown” Wal-Mart you see on 80 now. If the same politicians who are asking for your opinions now had listened back then to the same public, most of what the public wants now could be already here. Most of the ideas put forward are for places to go; either to eat, shop, or play. Though all these facilities would make the quality of life better in Demopolis, they will never happen until the population can grow in Demopolis. In the current state, there are no jobs available for potential workforce’s to move in to. The leaders of our community have to realize that infrastructure and education are the keys to growing a community. If we 4-lane 80 from Montgomery to Mississippi, and 4 lane 43 from Memphis to Mobile, the industry looking for plant sites will see us as the jewel of the Black Belt. If we can get a junior college in Demopolis, we’ll attract students from all over the region, creating a workforce in the area needed to attract more industry. Once the basics are taken care of, everything else will fall into place. </p>