UA names new wheelchair basketball coaches
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 14
Former University of Alabama wheelchair basketball players Elisha Williams and Ford Burttram will coach the Crimson Tide’s women’s and men’s teams, respectively, according to an announcement made Wednesday on the university’s Adapted Athletics Facebook page. Their new roles begin following next month’s national championships. Williams, who makes the move from assistant coach for the Alabama women’s wheelchair team, played at Alabama from 2010-13. She was a key player on Alabama’s 2011 women’s national championship team. She played stand-up college basketball at San Jose State. A member of Canada’s national team for the 2012 London Paralympics, she has extensive international playing experience. Ford, who will take over the men’s team as head coach, played on Alabama’s first men’s wheelchair basketball team and has served as an assistant coach at Alabama the last five years. He helped the Alabama women to the 2010 national championship and the ment to the 2013 national championship.
‘Unchaining Alabama’ slavery display to open Thursday at UA
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 12
The opening event for “Unchaining Alabama,” as research project by a University of Alabama student into slavery’s history at the Capstone, will be Thursday in the Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library after being rescheduled because of winter weather last week. The event, originally planned for Feb. 6, will be at 5:30 p.m. in A.S. Williams III Collection on the third floor of the Gorgas Library and kicks off a month-long display based on work by UA senior Benjamin Flax, who is researching UA’s ties to slavery as part of an independent research project supervised by history professor Josh Rothman, director of UA’s Summersell Center for the Study of the South. Flax and Rothman will discuss exhibit and the overall conversation about slavery at UA during a short talk Thursday.
UAPD Officer Named as Law Enforcement Officer of the Year
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 13
Five local law enforcement officers were honored today for their outstanding service. It’s all part of the Exchange Club of Tuscaloosa’s 2013 Officer of the Year awards. Officers from Tuscaloosa, University of Alabama, and Northport police departments as well as the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Department and the Alabama Department of Public Safety were all recognized by Attorney General Luther Strange during this afternoon s meeting.
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Feb. 13
Tuscaloosa pooch wins Best of Breed at Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 13
Brenna Potash’s roommate at the University of Alabama loves houndstooth and all things crimson. And when Potash says “Roll Tide,” her roommate responds by barking twice. Potash’s off-campus roommate is a 2 1/2-year-old bluetick coonhound named Julep, who earned Best of Breed on Monday at the 138th Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at New York’s Madison Square Garden. “She knew she had won,” said Potash, a 22-year-old UA senior from Peachtree City, Ga., who is majoring in consumer sciences. “She was just barking and wagging her tail. Some dogs get scared with all the lights and cameras, but she’s been tailgating (at football games in Tuscaloosa), so it didn’t bother her.” Potash said she bought Julep from a dog breeder in Ohatchee, a city in northeast Alabama. Although she’s been a show dog handler since she was 9 years old, Potash said she was just looking for a pet when she chose Julep.
Miss UA pageant to be held Saturday night
Tuscaloosa News – Feb. 13
The 2014 Miss University of Alabama competition will be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Bama Theatre, 600 Greensboro Ave. The Miss University of Alabama program is an official preliminary competition for the Miss Alabama and Miss America organizations and is sponsored by the University of Alabama National Alumni Association. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students and seniors, $5 children age 10 and younger. Tickets can be purchased at the Bama Theatre box office beginning at 5 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call Carol Wright, director of the Miss University of Alabama program, at 205-454-8622.
UA Faculty Use Technology to Help Students Make Up Missed Work from Winter Weather
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Feb. 13
Snow days have certainly accumulated for college students here in Tuscaloosa, and the question now becomes, how will those snow days be made up? WVUA’s Chelsea Barton joins us live from the newsroom with more … College students missed several days of class due to the inclement weather, but they’re not catching as big of a break as you may think. … “We don’t stop teaching and students don’t stop learning when we have winter weather” … UA student Russell Jones couldn’t physically make it to his class yesterday because his son’s school was closed. He and his professor improvised by bringing him into the classroom via face time.
MSNBC commentator and Alabama grad Joe Scarborough isn’t ruling out 2016 presidential bid
Al.com – Feb. 13
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough said he’s open to making a run for the presidency in 2016. Scarborough, an Atlanta native and 1985 graduate of the University of Alabama, said he “won’t rule out” making a bid for the office, adding “we’ll see what happens.” “I’ve always said and I’ve always been open about the fact that the greatest job I ever had and the greatest honor I’ve ever had was being in the House of Representatives,” the former Florida congressman said. “It was an absolute thrill and I had to get out because I had young children to raise and I wanted to be back home in Pensacola. No, I’ve always said I wanted to get back in. It’s just a matter of time. We’ll see what happens,” Scarborough said in a Politico report.