These are some stories from the 9/12/12 version of Tennessee Valley news update (633, 733, 833am, 304, 404, 504, 604pm) …
HUNTSVILLE, AL (WHNT) – Want to be part of Huntsville’s history? The Huntsville Madison Count Veterans Memorial is offering you that opportunity. Supporters are collecting military artifacts to put in a time capsule that will be buried at the memorial. You have two more dates to contribute artifacts. If you have something you believe would be appropriate for the time capsule, please bring it either September 15 or September 22 to Smith Storeit Storage Facilities at 1014 County Road in Huntsville. The hours are 10 AM to 2 PM both days. Individuals are encouraged to bring their items which reflect the military service and contributions to and for Madison County veterans. For more information visit HuntsvilleVeteransMemorial.org. Those items selected as most reflective will be placed in the Huntsville Madison County Veterans Memorial and interred at the base of the Memorial’s Alabama flag for 50 years during the Memorial’s Dedication Ceremony on November 17.
MONTGOMERY, AL – Tuesday’s referendum on whether to take money from a trust fund to boost state spending will cost the state about $3 million that could have been saved if the issue had been put on the general election ballot Nov. 6. Some Republicans said holding a special election Tuesday on that single issue made sense because, if voters reject the transfers, Gov. Robert Bentley could call legislators into special session to adjust spending before the 2013 fiscal year starts Oct. 1. Voters on Tuesday will decide whether to rewrite the state constitution to make special transfers of $145.8 million a year for three years from the Alabama Trust Fund to the state General Fund, a major source of state money for prisons, Medicaid, courts and other non-education functions.
HUNTSVILLE, AL – (AP) A former biology professor accused of pulling a gun from her purse and opening fire at a faculty meeting pleaded guilty yesterday to killing three colleagues and wounding three others at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 2010. Amy Bishop pleaded guilty to one count of capital murder involving two or more people and three counts of attempted murder during a hearing in Huntsville. Prosecutors agreed to recommend a sentence of life without parole for the capital charge, and three life sentences for the attempted murder charges. Sentencing will follow a brief trial on Sept. 24 before Madison County Circuit Judge Alan Mann.
MONTGOMERY, AL – (AP) Former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman has reported to a minimum security federal prison in southwest Louisiana. U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokesman Chris Burke said the 66-year-old Siegelman turned himself in yesterday afternoon at the federal prison at Oakdale, La. Siegelman previously served nine months at Oakdale before being released while his conviction on bribery and other charges was being appealed. The former Democratic governor released a lengthy statement shortly before arriving at the prison in which he blamed his conviction on Republican operatives trying to block him from serving a second term as governor.
HUNTSVILLE, AL – (WLRH) Flags flew at half-staff at Alabama's Capitol, and people paused statewide to remember victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks 11 years after they occurred. Huntsville fire stations turned on their fire engines’ lights and sirens yesterday to mark the anniversary. Police in Decatur took time to salute people killed in the attacks. Alabama National Guard members are among the U.S. troops still based in Afghanistan 11 years after the attacks. The Guard has called more than 18,000 people to active duty since 9/11.
MOBILE, AL – (AP) Scientific testing has confirmed a link between oil from the massive BP spill and tar found on Alabama beaches after Hurricane Isaac. Auburn University researcher Joel Hayworth says a chemical analysis showed that tar balls collected after Isaac were associated with the type of oil spilled after the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig in 2010. Auburn researchers collected about 15 pounds of tar balls after the storm, and officials from Gulf Shores and Orange Beach picked up still more.