News

Triple-A says increased tensions in the Middle East, plus reports of increases in retail sales and fewer-than-expected unemployment claims, helped push oil and gas prices up slightly last week. The average price of regular gas in Alabama is three-31 a gallon, up four cents from last week. According to gas-buddy-cot-com, the price of regular in Albertville ranges from three-19 to three-39 a gallon.

Authorities say an Etowah County man has been indicted on a capital murder charge in the death of his one-year-old daughter. 35-year-old Stephon Lindsay is accused of killing 20-month-old Maliyah Lindsay in March. The girl’s body was found at the end of a dead-end road days after she was last seen by her mother. Police have said the girl might have been killed by a dagger or sword, and relatives say the 35-year-old Lindsay believes in satanic worship. No trial date is set; Lindsay is being held without bond in the county jail in Gadsden.

Etowah County officials are preparing to host a conference focusing on elder abuse and financial exploitation of seniors. The eighth annual Elder Abuse Awareness Day summit is set for Wednesday morning at the Senior Activity Center in Gadsden. Jon Costa, of the Council on Aging of Etowah County, tells the Gadsden Times more than 200 cases of elder abuse, neglect or exploitation in Etowah County are reported to the Department of Human Resources each year.

A man from Rome, Georgia, drowned at Little River Canyon Park in DeKalb County on Saturday. Park Ranger Larry Beane says 19-year-old Ricardo Perez and friends were trying to swim across Little River, but he slipped under the water at Martha’s Falls. He was eventually found just before 9 PM in nine feet of water. The National Park Service warns against crossing the Little River because of the underlying force of the water generated by movement down the rocky falls and ledges.

A two-sport star at Jacksonville State is turning pro before his senior year. 21-year-old Coty Blanchard, a standout in baseball and football, has chosen baseball, signing a contract with the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. The Rays picked Blanchard in the 15th round of the Major League Baseball draft. He will now head for West Virginia to join Tampa Bay’s Rookie League team, the Princeton Rays.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for an area of north Alabama, including Marshall and DeKalb counties. More thunderstorms are forecast for today as passing upper disturbances continue to impact the region. Gusty winds up to 40 miles an hour and brief heavy rainfall are possible in the stronger storms that might develop. Thunderstorms are expected to become more widespread this evening with multiple rounds of heavy rainfall and possible flooding in creeks and low-lying areas.

It’s a 15-day suspension for the police chief of Gadsden. The Civil Service Board voted to suspend Chief John Crane for his relationship with a man convicted of murdering his mother. Officials say he knew Justin Denson personally and visited him monthly in the Etowah County jail for religious reasons. They say Crane also bought Denson a suit to wear to court, and put money in his commissary account. The Gadsden Times reports Michael Rasmussen, who represents Nita Denson’s niece, asked the board to remove crane from his position as police chief.

A 64-year-old man pleaded guilty in Blount County Circuit Court Thursday to 10 charges of sex crimes against four children under the age of 12. Wade Andrew Underwood Junior of Locust Fork was sentenced to 20 years in prison for each of four sodomy counts, 20 years each for two rape counts and 10 years each for four sex abuse counts. Underwood was indicted in January of last year after an investigation that began with a complaint from one of the victims; the three other victims were then discovered.

Republican Del Marsh of Anniston will run again for a seat in the Alabama Senate next year. The Anniston Star quoted Marsh’s spokesman as saying–quote–”He is seeking re-election.” No other Republicans or Democrats have announced as candidates. Marsh was first elected to the Senate in 1998; he has served as president pro tem since 2010.

The Albertville Recycling Plant and the Albertville and Boaz rotary clubs are among those collecting school supplies for children in Uganda. The books, desks, chairs and more are going to the Rotary Club of Greater Huntsville, which will fill a 40-foot long container holding 40-thousand pounds of supplies. It will be shipped to rural government schools in the East African country later this month.