Local News
Schools, towns prepared for potential bad weather
By Tiffany Green“I don’t like this,” said seven-year-old Bailie Vaughn, as she covered her head during Wednesday morning’s tornado warning.
Diane Law, secretary at East Elementary School said all children remained safe during the storms.
“We have a safety plan in place that we go by,” she said. “Each class is assigned a specific area so they know where to go and what to do.”
Law said the school has a tornado drill every three months to prepare for cases like Wednesday’s storms.
“We used to use the hallways, but we had someone from the EMA come in and suggest safer areas where the children could go,” she said. “It is actually better than the hallways. All the areas are interior areas of the school.”
She said the teachers did a good job of keeping the children calm.
Severe weather blew through Cullman Wednesday morning, leading to city and county schools dismissing at 1 p.m. and the cancellation of after school events.
South Vinemont’s new storm shelter was used for the first time since its opening last week. Mayor Melba Patton said at least 20 people used the shelter during the storms.
“We had about 20 people and an infant in the shelter,” she said.
Patton is glad to have the shelter for the safety of her community. Vinemont now has two tornado shelters, one at the main Vinemont fire station and another one at the Providence fire station.
“We are sorry to have such bad weather but glad to have the accommodations for our citizens,” she said.
Patton said after driving around the community, she did not see any damage.
Jose and Nayre Albarran were waiting for the severe weather to pass with their mother and baby sister.
They were happy to have the safety of the shelter.
“We heard the sirens and came,” 8-year-old Nayre said.
“We like having it,” 9-year-old Jose said. “My mom picked us up at school and brought us here.”
Joanne Jones, Good Hope town clerk said the storm shelter at the town hall is always open when the weather is bad.
“We make sure it is unlocked when bad weather is pending,” she said. “There were several cars there this morning and I’m sure some were using the storm shelter.”
Baileyton mayor Johnny Dyar said storms got bad in the area, but he has not had any reports of damage.
“It got pretty rough out here with the winds and rain, but we haven’t found any damage yet,” he said.
‰ Tiffany Green can be reached by e-mail at tgreen@cullmantimes.com or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 221.
- Local News
-
-
Baileyton receives grant for electrical problems at park
The town of Baileyton has received the Land and Water Conservation Grant from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA).
-
Smith Lake residents split on water plans
Residents on Smith Lake seem to be spilt which secondary water source would be best for Cullman County.
-
Signing on
Four local water authority representatives signed contracts Tuesday to join with the city of Cullman’s Duck River dam reservoir project.
-
Couple arrested for chemical endangerment of children
Cullman County Sheriff’s deputies arrested two Berlin residents Saturday for allegedly keeping meth and syringes near two children.
-
Accreditation answer coming by early 2010
The Cullman County Board of Education took a step closer to district accreditation this week, though it will be next year until they know if their request is approved.
-
Robots fight to win
Holly Pond High School freshman Jordan Dover was excited when she had the opportunity to get involved with the Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST) robotics competition.
-
ServSafe Program becomes mandatory Jan. 1, 2010
The Cullman County Health Department is sponsoring a ServSafe food safety class Nov. 17-20 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at Grumpy’s Pizza.
-
Holly Pond trying to save students from addiction
If Karen Rowell can reach just one student, she will be satisfied.
-
Water on the brain
The City of Cullman and the Cullman County Commission have their own proposals for a second water source for the area, and neither group has shown signs of relenting to the other’s plan.
But after Monday, that could change. -
City OKs junk rules
Cullman residents with very high grass and “junked up” property could soon be fined, as the city council has now adopted a revamped nuisance ordinance.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Baileyton receives grant for electrical problems at park
