Much of Alabama was hit by storms and severe weather last night, and at least two tornadoes touched down in various parts of the state.
Eldridge, Alabama was reportedly hit by a tornado around 8 p.m. last night according to Walker County Emergency Management director Harry Markham. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries.
Limestone County Emergency Management director Rita White says a second tornado hit near Ardmore about an hour before. There have been no reports of damage or injuries associated with that tornado either.
Another tornado hit New Hope, Mississippi, between Columbus and the Alabama state line, damaging at least a dozen homes and tearing down trees. Two other tornadoes touched down in southeast Louisiana.
Alabama Power says nearly 2500 customers in the Montgomery area lost power at some point last night, and a Mississippi utility is reporting more than 12,000 of their customers were left without power due to the severe weather.
Alabama Democrats are pouncing on yesterday’s decision to bring Articles of Impeachment to remove Governor Robert Bentley.
Republican lawmaker Ed Henry’s motion comes at the same time Bentley’s top advisor, Rebekah Caldwell Mason tendered her resignation.
All of this stems from former Law Enforcement Secretary Spencer Collier. A day after being fired by Bentley, Collier accused the governor of having an affair with Mason and of interfering with a law enforcement investigation.
Alabama House Minority Leader Craig Ford says Bentley should follow in the footsteps of Mason and step down himself.
“The Governor continues to state that the people elected him and he cares about Alabama. If he cares about Alabama, he'll resign before this has to take place. This needs to happen and it needs to happen sooner rather than later.”
Representative Henry hopes to have the Articles of Impeachment ready for legislators when they return to Montgomery next week.
Today is the last day for people to enter to be a part of the 2016 Alabama Senior Olympics.
The games start in April and are open to anyone 50 years and older. People can participate in nineteen sports ranging from swimming to horseshoes to basketball. This year, the Alabama Senior Olympics will be moving from Montgomery to Birmingham.
Ronnie Floyd is the state coordinator of the Alabama Senior Olympics. He says the move will help the city prepare for the U.S. National Senior Games being held next year.
“We were going to move just part of them up there, but they said ‘Move as many as you can that you can get venues and volunteers for in hopes that we can use some of those same venues and call on some of those volunteers to help us with the 2017 games.’“
Floyd also mentioned the games are a good way for people to stay in shape doing something they enjoy and socialize with other people.