AREA SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT STARTS TOMORROW

The Elkmont Lady Devils have finished their regular season and are ready to begin the Area 15 Softball Tournament.  Games start tomorrow - best of luck to our softball team.

Area 15, at West Morgan

Thursday

West Morgan vs. Madison Academy, 2:30 p.m.

Elkmont vs. Westminster Christian, 4:30 p.m.

LUNCH AT THE ANNUAL BOSS HILL STEW

Boss Hill held his community goat and chicken stew that drew 1500 people a year. The colas were iced down in a trough. The goat, chicken and beef stews were heated in waist-high black kettles while men stirred them with something akin to a boat paddle. Political signs sprouted like dandelions along a roadside. It was the place to be the first Wednesday in May for more than 30 years. After Hill's death, Greg and Marcus Hobbs decided to continue the tradition of their uncle.

The tradition continued today under bright skies.  After the tornadoes and storms earlier this week, it was an opportunity to take a break from the thoughts of sadness in our community.  Many took a "breather" from helping those in Clements to come and grab a bite to eat before heading back to work. The stews and desserts were great as they normally are. Special thanks to all those that worked to make the annual Boss Hill Stew possible. 

EHS FLEET FEET AT SECTIONALS

The Elkmont track team headed to the 3A – Section 3 meet at Mountain Brook High School last weekend and our athletes came on strong!
Friday night was full of excitement as our 4x800 teams took to the track.  

The girls (Jensen Pugh, Tori Pressnell, Hannah Hanback and Sammi Jo Pressnell) qualified for the state meet with a 3 place win, shaving 27 seconds off their time and setting a new school record with a time of 11:33.80!  Impressive race by all 4 of these young ladies!

The excitement didn’t die there.  The boys race was next and the team (Chance Bailey, Chase Prater, Tyler Helms and Nick Shelton).  The competition was tough and the boys ran hard to also qualify for the state meet with a time of 9:18.36.

The Elkmont boys dominated in the distance events.  The 1600M (1 Mile) was won by Adam McMahan with a time of 4:44.53.  Tyler Helms finished 3rd with a time of 4:59.12 and Chance Bailey was right on his heels in 4th place with a time of 4:49.53.  These 3 young men took 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the 3200M (2 Miles) run as well.  
Adam 10:29.36; Tyler 10:32.93; Chance 10:39.2.  
New personal records for all three of them in both of these events.  Adam McMahan also took 1st place in the 800M run with PR of 2:09.41
Ameia Davis ran strong and qualified for the State meet in the 100M and 200M sprints running her season best time of 14.48 and 30.8, respectively.

Our final group to qualify for state is our boys 4x100 team (Josh Ferrazas, Nick Shelton, Jake Armstrong and Noah Sharp)!  They ran a season best time of 50.65.

A summary of events and Elkmont performances:
Girls 100
Ameia Davis 14.48
Nikki Ristau 15.62
Taeleur Walts 17.09

Girls 200
Ameia Davis 30.08
Mia Farris 33.68
Stephanie Clem 33.97

Girls 400
Jensen Pugh 1:10.79
Stephanie Clem 1:20.69
Mia Farris 1:24.98

Girls 800
Sammi Jo Pressnell  2:57.07
Tori Pressnell 2:57.45
Lema Gemke 3:10.59

Girls 1600
Samantha Pressnell 6:14.84
Hannah Hanback 7:03.05
Lena Gemke 7:19.08

Girls 4x800 11:33.8

Boys 100
Jake Armstrong 12.72
Noah Sharp 12.89
Luke Little 14.21

Boys 200
Josh Ferrazas 26.97
Jacob Ezell 27.37
Luke Little 28.32

Boys 400
Jacob Ezell 1:03.56
Riley Cook 1:17.61
Braden Long 1:22.87

Boys 800
Adam McMahan 2:09.41
Nick Shelton 2:20.43
Christian Green 2:38.03

Boys 1600
Adam McMahan 4:44.53
Tyler Helms 4:59.45
Chance Bailey 4:59.03

Boys 3200
Adam McMahan 10:29.36
Tyler Helms 10:32.93
Chance Bailey 10:39.20

Boys 4x100 50.65

Boys 4x800 9:18.36

Boys Javelin
Luke Little 90’5”
Jake Armstrong 78’11”
Alex Armstrong 45’3”

Boys Long Jump
Alex Armstrong 11’ 7 ½”
Braden Long 9’ 7 ½”

We want to wish those qualifying for state the best of luck this coming Friday and Saturday in Selma!

TIPS TO HELP STORE YOUR STUFF - SECOND PART

The Hill Spirit posted the first part of this article earlier this week.  Be sure to read it first: THINKING ABOUT WHERE TO PUT YOUR STUFF 

You never now what trials will appear in your life.  Having extra money saved, and food and water can help you weather those "storms".  There are people you know that follow this advice. Dave Ramsey talks about this. Even the federal government has recently started to preach about being prepared.  For those of you who have started to think about what is needed to be stored in your home, one big question that you need to think about is...... TIGHT STORAGE

Ideas for storing in tight or limited space

“Home can be a heav’n on Earth...” except when you are dealing with storing home storage in tight, cramped spaces. Here’s a summary of ideas for storing in tight spaces: 

Bedrooms: You can store cans on their sides under beds. Line them up in rows, according to categories such as fruits, meats, vegetables, etc. Put them under the bed on one side, and pull them out on the other for easy rotation. Don’t forget to write the date of purchase on the tops so you know how quickly you are going through your food rotation. Using plastic containers with wheels can also aid in easily moving the stored cans in and out from under the bed. If you are using boxes to store #10 cans from the storehouse, you may also try putting your bed on risers to store them easily under the beds as well.

Kitchens: Easily conserve space in the pantry (and other

closets for that matter) by using heavy duty Velcro, securing one side to the door & the other side to what you need to store. You can also use a pantry door shelf that hooks over the top of the door to hold many small items. Another idea would be to transform unused portions into more cupboard space. Even the addition of a 6” deep cupboard is enough to store plenty for your 3-month pantry.

Closets: The addition of short book cases along the back of your closet can maintain room enough for clothes to hang on hangers, as well as adding some space to store cans, water, and even some hygiene items. Coat closets can easily convert to a deep pantry with a few pieces of cut wood, while storing your coats in your regular closets. Lining the top shelf of your bedroom closets with water bottles is a convenient way to store water in a dark room, while

limiting the clutter that ends up on that shelf over the years.

Misc. Creative Spaces: Built-in shelves

around the house might be better used by adding an inexpensive curtain rod and a curtain to cover it, and storing your canned goods behind there. Under the stairs is another convenient place to store bulk items such as buckets and boxes so you can move your Christmas storage to the attic... you know, where your food storage shouldn’t be. The shelves up high in the utility room are perfect for extra soaps, toilet paper, etc.

Furniture: If you have a handy person around, there are helpful videos online that can assist in building a storage sofa. You can also use this similarly to build a storage bench to sit at the table with. A tall basket or barrel can be used as an end table with a round piece of plywood and a table cloth. 

SPECIAL ALERTS AND NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATEMENTS

Update:

Tornado Watch Now - Tuesday, Apr 29, 10:00pm 

ALABAMA COUNTIES INCLUDED ARE:
BIBB BLOUNT CALHOUN CHEROKEE CHILTON COLBERT CULLMAN DEKALB ETOWAH FAYETTE FRANKLIN GREENE HALE JACKSON JEFFERSON LAMAR LAUDERDALE LAWRENCE LIMESTONE MADISON MARENGO MARION MARSHALL MORGAN PERRY PICKENS ST. CLAIR SHELBY SUMTER TALLADEGA TUSCALOOSA WALKER WINSTON 

Athens Utilities has about 16,000 customers without power, Customer Relations Manager Amy Golden said. We serve more than 47,000 in Limestone County. These outages are scattered but many are west of Athens where the most damage is being reported.

We have more than 100 utility poles down, with 86 being on U.S. 72, according to Mayor Ronnie Marks.

Kelli Powers, CEO of Athens-Limestone Hospital, said less than 20 have been treated for storm-related injuries. Most injuries have been lacerations. One patient was sent on to Huntsville Hospital. Still only two confirmed deaths, according to Sheriff Mike Blakely and Powers.

There are trees blocking many streets in Athens and out in Limestone County and power lines down, especially the Coxey community west of Athens. Crews are still trying to get to damaged areas.

People are being asked to not get out to sight see and wait on coming out to offer help. We are in search and rescue mode right now, and we need to keep roads clear of heavy traffic so that emergency crews can clear debris and get to damaged areas.

Civil Emergency Message
Now - Tuesday, Apr 29, 6:00pm
 
...CIVIL EMERGENCY MESSAGE FOR LIMESTONE COUNTY...

THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE IS TRANSMITTED AT THE REQUEST OF THE LIMESTONE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY ATHENS AL.
DUE TO THE EXTENSIVE SEVERE WEATHER THAT IMPACTED LIMESTONE COUNTY LAST EVENING...LIMESTONE COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT REQUESTS THAT ALL NON ESSENTIAL PERSONS STAY OFF THE ROADS THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON. RECOVERY EFFORTS CONTINUE AND TEAMS NEED ALL AVAILABLE ROADWAYS TO ACCESS DAMAGE AREAS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY. IN ADDITION TO THE STORM DAMAGE DEBRIS...DOWNED POWER LINES CONTINUE TO POSE A DANGEROUS HAZARD TO MOTORISTS AND PEDESTRIANS.
 
Closings:
Redstone Arsenal
Limestone County Schools

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM 2 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE THIS EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STATEMENT

 
* FLASH FLOOD WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF ALABAMA AND SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...IN ALABAMA... COLBERT...CULLMAN...DEKALB...FRANKLIN AL...JACKSON... LAUDERDALE...LAWRENCE...LIMESTONE...MADISON...MARSHALL AND MORGAN. IN SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE...FRANKLIN TN...LINCOLN AND MOORE.

* FROM 2 PM CDT THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE THIS EVENING
 
* MANY LOCATIONS RECEIVED BETWEEN 3 AND 5 INCHES OF RAINFALL WITH THE MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF THUNDERSTORMS THAT AFFECTED THE AREA YESTERDAY EVENING AND EARLY THIS MORNING. WITH AN ADDITIONAL INCH TO TWO INCHES OF RAINFALL EXPECTED LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING...ADDITIONAL FLOODING CONCERNS WILL QUICKLY ARISE.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
 
A FLASH FLOOD WATCH MEANS THAT CONDITIONS MAY DEVELOP THAT LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. FLASH FLOODING IS A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION.

FORECAST:
After a calm morning another afternoon of stormy weather is expected across the area.  The coverage of severe weather may be less than Monday but the threats remain the same with a few tornadoes, damaging wind gusts, hail and flooding rains all possible. 

Storms are expected to flare back up ahead of a cold front after 2pm.  The threat for severe weather won't last as long as yesterday with the strongest storms moving out of the area by 9pm.  Temperatures today will be in the low 80s.  The chance for rain and storms is around 60%. 

Rain will wind down overnight.  Lows will be in the mid 50s.  An early morning shower is possible on Wednesday with dry weather expected heading into the afternoon.  Temperatures tomorrow will be cooler with highs around 70.  
 

STORM UPDATE - ELKMONT

Once again those of us on the Hill Top were spared from tornado damage.  As is often the case when the projected tornado path is on a beeline toward Elkmont, the storm will turn to the east and go south of us.  If you look at the paths of various tornadoes since 1951, they either disappear before they get to us or stay south.  

We do have our share of cleaning up to do today after yesterday's storms but ours is the occasional downed tree, limbs, or flooded basements.  The Hill Spirit has six inches of rain in a bucket that was left outside.  We also had big hail yesterday. It was reported that our fire department had baseball size hail.

Last Night's Pictures from Ardmore:

Our hearts and prayers go out to all our family, friends and neighbors in the Clements area. 
Photo Gallery Link

Civil Emergency Message For Limestone County.

The following message is transmitted at the request of the Limestone County Emergency Management Agency Athens Al.

Due to the extensive severe weather that impacted Limestone County last evening, Limestone County Emergency Management requests that all non essential persons stay off the roads through this afternoon. Recovery Efforts continue and teams need all available roadways to access damage areas throughout the county. In addition to the Storm Damage debris, downed power lines continue to pose a dangerous hazard to motorists and pedestrians.

THINKING ABOUT WHERE TO PUT YOUR STUFF?

Since we have Elkmont folk who try to have extra stuff at home like earlier generations did or are big coupon money savers, such as the coupon patrol, the big question is .....

SO LITTLE SPACE... SO MUCH TO STORE

You never now what trials will appear in your life.  Having extra money saved, and

food and water can help you weather those "storms".  There are people you know that follow this advice. Dave Ramsey talks about this. Even the federal government has recently started to preach about being prepared.  For those of you who have started to think about what is needed to be stored in your home, one big question that you need to think about is......

“WHERE DO I PUT IT ALL???

Since most homes are created pretty unequally, let’s start with some of the basic, “DO NOT” suggestions. 

DO NOT store food or water directly on concrete or cement slabs. Chemicals may leach through your containers, and into your food/water. An easy way to remedy this is to raise it off the slab/floor using wood, shelving, spare scraps of carpeting, etc. It is best though to raise it so that air may circulate around it better, whenever possible. 

DO NOT store food/water in the heat. A sun porch may seem like a great spot for a few extra items of food storage. However, it will significantly decrease the shelf life, not to mention the nutrient content of your food. 
 
DO NOT store food in the attic. Once again, heat is not good for food/water storage. The unpredictable environment which the attic provides is insufficient to adequately store your food & water, which you are faithfully spending your time and money to build up.

Look for tips on where to store that stuff later this week.
 

A POWER OUTAGE TIP



Soda bottles in freezer can save your food

  

Take a couple of clean soda bottles, and fill them 2/3 full with water. Place them in your freezer. Soon enough, they’ll freeze solid – when a power failure occurs, these giant pieces of ice will keep the food in your freezer cold that much longer, and ultimately, you’ll be able to use them as fresh water after they melt. A bottle of ice that big also makes a great ice pack in case of sprains, breaks, or bruising.

I had a friend ask about a possible power outage and how to keep her food frozen in the freezer. If it is full and you don't open it, the food will stay frozen for up to a week, depending on the size of the freezer. If it isn't full, you can fill it up quickly by picking up enough ice to do the job. Ice is cheap. However, the time to do it is before the power outage, not before.

ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT TORNADOES?

 Tornado Preparation Tips
      The Wizard of Oz gave us technicolor, Dorothy and Toto, and “there’s no place like home.” It also gave a few of us nightmares about flying monkeys and green witches, as well as a good look at why tornado preparation is so important.  READ MORE

Here is a  list of 30 Steps To Being Prepared for Anything.  This list makes "getting prepared" easy. To download this FREE resource, CLICK HERE
 

LINDELL "SLEEPY"McCOWN - OBITUARY

Name:
Lindell "Sleepy" McCown
 
Dates:
Birth date: May 2, 1946
Death date: April 23, 2014
 
Obituary:

Lindell "Sleepy" McCown, 67 of Ardmore, Tennessee died on Wednesday, April 23, 2014, at Athens-Limestone Hospital in Athens, Alabama.
Born Thursday, May 2, 1946 in Athens, Alabama, he was the son of the late Henry Alton "Slick" McCown and the late Effie Martin McCown. He was a lifelong resident of the Ardmore area.

Surviving are son, Kevin (Donna) McCown of Elkmont, AL, daughter, Melanie (Rodney) Willoughby of Athens, AL, brothers, Jimmy McCown of CA, Bobby McCown of Athens, AL and Larry Joe McCown of Duck River, TN, grandchildren: Peyton McCown, Kade McCown, Collin Wray, Ryan Wray, Caitlin Crowe, Makenzie Crowe, and Case Willoughby, and one great-grandchild: Lilly Anna Wray.

Funeral services was at 2:00 PM on Saturday, April 26, 2014, at Ardmore Chapel Funeral Home, Ardmore, Alabama with Bro. Doug Colwell officiating. Burial was in Gatlin Cemetery, Ardmore, AL.

WATCH THE SKIES THE NEXT FEW DAYS

FLASH FLOOD WATCH

Now - Tuesday, Apr 29, 7:00am

...FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM MONDAY EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING...
THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH CONTINUES FOR
* PORTIONS OF ALABAMA AND SOUTHERN MIDDLE TENNESSEE...INCLUDING THE FOLLOWING AREAS...IN ALABAMA...COLBERT...CULLMAN... DEKALB...FRANKLIN AL...JACKSON...LAUDERDALE...LAWRENCE... LIMESTONE...MADISON...MARSHALL AND MORGAN.

* FROM MONDAY EVENING THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING

* A SLOW MOVING STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL BEGIN TO AFFECT THE TENNESSEE VALLEY EARLY MONDAY...WITH A MORE SIGNIFICANT ROUND OF HEAVY RAINFALL EXPECTED LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY MORNING. TOTAL RAINFALL AMOUNTS BETWEEN 3 AND 5 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE BY TUESDAY MORNING...WITH ISOLATED HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE.

* FLOODING IN URBAN AREAS...LOCATIONS IN LOW LYING AREAS OR IN AREAS OF POOR DRAINAGE WILL BE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE TO FLASH FLOODING. SMALLER CREEKS AND STREAMS ACROSS THE AREA WILL LIKELY BECOME OVERWHELMED WITH THIS MUCH RAINFALL IN THIS SHORT PERIOD OF TIME.

An outbreak of severe thunderstorms with the potential for damaging straight line winds, strong tornadoes, large hail, significant lightning and flooding rain is looking more likely Monday into Tuesday for all of North Alabama and parts of southern Tennessee. Storms to our west will be in a weakening state as the arrive early Monday. Along the line, a few areas may still be strong to severe with damaging wind gusts and/or a brief spin-up. Otherwise, heavy rain and some hail will be possible. 

After midday Monday, we will see new thunderstorms develop. These storms could quickly become severe and track NE at 40-50mph. Damaging winds, large hail, tornadoes and significant lightning will be possible with any of these storms. More storms are possible Monday evening and overnight into Tuesday morning. These storms could produce more severe weather and increase the flash flooding threat. Rainfall totals through Tuesday afternoon could exceed 5" in some spots. 

More showers and storms are possible along the actual front Tuesday afternoon and night before things finally wind down Wednesday morning with cooler air moving in.

ARNOLD F. BROOKS - OBITUARY

Name:
Arnold F. Brooks
 
Dates:
Birth date: April 2, 1940
Death date: April 21, 2014
 
Obituary:

Arnold F. Brooks age 74 of Elkmont, passed away Monday, April 21, 2014 at Decatur Morgan Hospital. Mr. Brooks was born April 2, 1940 in Limestone County, AL to Luther brooks and Lillian Bullington Brooks.

Services will be Thursday, April 24, 2014 2:00 p.m., at Limestone Chapel Funeral Home with Bro Cecil Norman officiating. Visitation will Wednesday, April 23, 2014 from 6:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Burial will be in Evans Cemetery.

Mr. Brooks was a member of the Baptist Church. He was retired from Pilgrim Pride Company and a United States Army Veteran.

Preceded in death by a son, Glen Brooks; granddaughter, Cheyenne Brooks; parents, Luther and Lillian Brooks; brothers, Nathaniel Brooks, Eugene Brooks and Leon Brooks; sisters, Francis Cox, Bessie Pugh, Susie Moore; son, Glen Brooks; granddaughter, Cheyenne Brooks.

Survived by his wife, Patricia Ann Brooks of Elkmont; son, Eric Brooks and wife, Teresa of Elkmont; daughter, Patty Ivey and husband, Larry of Athens; three grandchildren Keith Brooks, Dakota Brooks and Tori Kraus; brother, Jack Brooks and wife, Linda of Elkmont; sister, Annie Pugh of Athens.

Pallbearers will be Joe Tennison, Bud Hill, David Dollar, Steve Moore, Jackie Brooks, Daniel Coffman, Jeremy Colwell and Marcus Brooks.

ELKMONT SPRING BAND CONCERT

The Hilltop was alive with the sound of music last night.  The Elkmont Beginning and Concerts Bands did a terrific job.

Elkmont Thoughts:
*The BEST band director I've had for the past 6 years. From starting beginning band in 6th grade to finishing marching band in 12th grade. He has always been there for me and my family when I needed someone to talk to or just cry. I may have not been in concert band a few years but he talked me back into getting back with them and I'm so glad I did. I'm going to miss those Friday night lights and crazy band practices and competitions with them !!!

*We were treated to an awesome concert today from the EHS Sixth Grade Band and the Concert Band. We truly have some musically talented kids at Elkmont. They sounded AWESOME! Well done, guys!


Awards voted on by band:  
Top senior female - Brianne Hargrove
Top senior male    - Quetarris Williams.