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Recent Blog Posts
Toomer's Oaks get new soil by AnnistonStar
Feb 25, 2011 |  0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend
The two live oaks at Toomer’s Corner in Auburn can now grow their roots in new soil. Auburn University spokesman Mike Clardy confirmed Thursday that the old soil has been removed and new soil has put down. Read the full story from The Opelika-Auburn News.
Bessemer man charged with auto burglaries in Hueytown while wearing ankle monitor for previous break-ins by AnnistonStar
Feb 25, 2011 |  1 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend
A Bessemer man broke into several vehicles in Hueytown earlier this week, despite wearing an ankle monitor related to previous car burglaries, police said. Marcus Bell, 20, was booked into the Jefferson County Jail this afternoon on four counts of breaking and entering a vehicle. Hueytown ...
Gadsden officials: Suspicious device found in Walnut Park home not bomb by AnnistonStar
Feb 24, 2011 |  0 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend
The Gadsden Police Department’s bomb squad responded Wednesday afternoon to a house in Walnut Park after the resident found what first was believed to be some type of bomb. A portion of Howell Circle was blocked by police vehicles after the squad responded. A bomb squad technician dressed i...
Ala. treasurer warns PACT needs more cash by AnnistonStar
Feb 24, 2011 |  1 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend
State Treasurer Young Boozer said Alabama's prepaid college tuition plan will need another big infusion of cash from the state government if all 41,000 participants are going to get the tuition they were promised.  The Legislature appropriated $548 million last year for the financially trouble...
Huntsville's Paul McDonald makes Top 24 of 'American Idol'; next week is live voting by AnnistonStar
Feb 24, 2011 |  0 comments | 8 8 recommendations | email to a friend
Calling him quirky but talented, Huntsville native Paul McDonald was thrust into the national spotlight Wednesday night when "American Idol" judges Randy Jackson, Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler sent him to the Top 24 of the show in Hollywood. McDonald, 27, a Huntsville High and Auburn grad...
Theodore man gets life in prison for photographing nude 2-year-old girl by AnnistonStar
Feb 24, 2011 |  0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend
A federal judge today sentenced a repeat sex offender to life in prison for taking photographs of a nude 2-year-old girl.  Dressed in an inmate jail uniform, Bernard “Pete” McGee looked straight at U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade and said nothing. Because of a prior sex offense against child...
Alabama banks lost $451 million in 2010 by AnnistonStar
Feb 24, 2011 |  0 comments | 8 8 recommendations | email to a friend
State chartered banks in Alabama lost a combined $451 million in 2010, according to data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The state's performance was hurt by Alabama's largest banks. Banks with more than $100 million in assets lost a combined $457 million for the year, while banks w...
Man gets 27 years for Playstation robbery by AnnistonStar
Feb 24, 2011 |  0 comments | 5 5 recommendations | email to a friend
A Dothan man received more than 27 years in prison on Wednesday for the theft of a Playstation game system at gunpoint.  Assistant Houston County District Attorney David Holmes said Circuit Court Judge Michael Conaway sentenced Donald DeShawn McClain to 27 years and six months in prison for a ...
Toomer's Corner trees: Auburn, Alabama student presidents plan symbolic trees on each campus by AnnistonStar
Feb 23, 2011 |  0 comments | 11 11 recommendations | email to a friend
A week after officials announced that Auburn's iconic Toomer's Corner oaks had been poisoned, student leaders from the University of Alabama and Auburn University announced a plan to grow trees on each campus to demonstrate unity and mutual respect.  "These trees will be permanent symbols of o...
Before leaving office, Riley transferred $7.9 million to attorney general's office by AnnistonStar
Feb 23, 2011 |  4 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend
Gov. Bob Riley on the Friday before he left office in January transferred $7.9 million to the attorney general’s office to help new Attorney General Luther Strange as he entered office. .art_main_pic { width: 250px; float: left; clear: left; } The $7.9 million in unrestricted funds th...

Today's Events
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Wednesday, 19, 2013
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Pond Spring- The Gener... 3:50 PM
Oxford Farmers market 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM
Join us for the kick-off of Oxford's first...
Oxford Farmers market 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM
Join us for the kick-off of Oxford's first...
Hip Hop Hope Vacation ... 12:00 AM to 11:59 PM
$0 The Living by Faith Ministry will host Vac...
Man charged with robbing victims with sawed-off shotgun
by Rachael Brown
rgriffin@annistonstar.com
Jun 19, 2013 | 74 views |  0 comments | 4 4 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Kelly Tatum
Kelly Tatum
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Police charged a man this afternoon with robbing two people with a sawed-off shotgun Sunday night and charges for involvement in a separate shooting this afternoon could be pending, Anniston police wrote in a press release. Police were searching for Kelly Tatum, 53, of Anniston, this week as the robbery suspect, Anniston police Capt. Allen George wrote in the release. A 58-year-old man and a 36-year-old woman were visiting friends Sunday night at a home on the 1700 block of Cobb Avenue. The victims told police another man, with whom they were acquainted, opened the door holding the weapon, Anniston police Sgt. Chris Sparks told The Star this week. The suspect, Sparks said, told everyone he was going to rob them and fired shots into a window. The man was robbed of $400 and the woman had $600 taken, according to a police report. No one was injured during the incident. Sparks said the suspect fled in a car before police arrived. This afternoon, police were dispatched to 15th Street and Dooley Avenue after a home was shot into and gunfire was exchanged between two vehicles, the release said. George said no one was injured during the shootings. Tatum was discovered by a warrants investigator on the 2500 block of Paul Street standing outside a red Ford Explorer with a broken rear window, the release noted. Tatum was armed with a shotgun, according to the release, but he dropped the weapon when he was confronted by the investigator. Tatum was apprehended and charged with two counts of first-degree robbery, a felony, and resisting arrest, a misdemeanor. Tatum could face additional felony charges for involvement in today’s shooting, the release said. Tatum was in the Anniston City Jail this afternoon. Bond and a court date have yet to be set. Staff Writer Rachael Brown: 256-235-3562. On Twitter @RBrown_Star.
Joe Medley's In My Opinion: So this is what an overexposed freshman looks like
by Joe Medley
jmedley@annistonstar.com
Jun 19, 2013 | 101 views |  0 comments | 7 7 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy last season as a redshirt freshman. (Associated Press photo)
Johnny Manziel won the Heisman Trophy last season as a redshirt freshman. (Associated Press photo)
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It’s easy to trash Johnny Manziel after the off-season he’s had since becoming the first freshman to win the Heisman Trophy. Off-field headlines have many sizing him up as a one-hit wonder. With that in mind, he tweeted Sunday some unspecified “bull----” has him eager to leave College Station, Texas, where his school is based. Then he deleted the tweet and seemed to clarify. “Don’t forget that I love (Texas) A&M with all of my heart, but please please walk a day in my shoes,” he tweeted. The last year in his shoes has, appropriately, been more of a scramble than a walk. He went from not having played a collegiate down to winning the Heisman in less than four months and did it in the social-media era. The kid who could appear in public with little fanfare a year ago steps out and into twitpic hell, exposed flaws and all. No telling how many of his nearly 367,000 Twitter followers he walks by daily. Consider that Alabama’s AJ McCarron and Katherine Webb have 420,126 combined followers, and Manziel has more than twice McCarron’s 159,337. Alabama coach Nick Saban stands more validated than ever in limiting the public exposure of his freshmen. Contact Sports Columnist Joe Medley at jmedley@annistonstar.com. Read “In My Opinion” in every Anniston Star sports section, written by Star staff members.
HOT BLAST: Getting on track for bike tourism
Jun 19, 2013 | 90 views |  0 comments | 6 6 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Passengers board an Amtrak train during its stop at the Anniston station. (Anniston Star photo by Stephen Gross)
Passengers board an Amtrak train during its stop at the Anniston station. (Anniston Star photo by Stephen Gross)
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One of Anniston's big cycling dreams is for bicycle tourists to take advantage of the city's Amtrak stop, either to enjoy the Ladiga Trail or ride Coldwater Mountain.

The problem is only a few Amtrak routes allow passengers to bring their bicycles on board unless they are boxed up like luggage.

This report, however, finds "Amtrak is seeing increased demand for walk-on bike service across the United States."

The good news for Anniston and bike tourism is, "Steve Kulm, a spokesman for Amtrak, said the agency is looking for opportunities to retrofit train cars to allow more convenient bike transport."


Police: Fake check cashed at Anniston credit union
by Rachael Brown
rgriffin@annistonstar.com
Jun 19, 2013 | 1179 views |  0 comments | 11 11 recommendations | email to a friend | print
Anniston police were investigating this morning a forged check for more than $1,000 cashed at a local credit union Tuesday afternoon. Anniston police Capt. Allen George said a suspect cashed a check for $1,675 from a physician’s office in Gadsden at the Alabama Teachers Credit Union on U.S. 431. The check was cashed Tuesday between at around 3 p.m., according to a police report. George said the doctor’s office later called the credit union and told them the check was forged. The doctor’s office told police that a check was never written to the suspect, George said, and that the suspect does not work at the office. George said police were reviewing the credit union’s surveillance today. A suspect could be charged with felony second-degree possession of a forged instrument. Staff Writer Rachael Brown: 256-235-3562. On Twitter @RBrown_Star.
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