Region digest

Friday, January 1, 1904

Few tornado aid grants approved

The Federal Emergency Management Agency says fewer than one in five Alabamians who applied for federal disaster aid after the April 27 tornadoes has been approved for a grant so far.

FEMA released the figures Wednesday. It said it has issued grants to nearly half of the applicants in Joplin, Mo., which was devastated by a tornado on May 22. That's compared with 18 percent in Alabama.

In Mississippi, which was hit by the same storm as Alabama three months ago, FEMA has approved one-quarter of grant requests.

Emergency management officials say each disaster is different, with variables such as extent of insurance coverage and demographics influencing the numbers.

Registration to apply for FEMA grants and Small Business Administration disaster loans from the Alabama storms ended Monday.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.

Lottery winner to get big check

A Tunnel Hill resident who won $1 million playing the Georgia Lottery will receive an oversized check today in a presentation at a Favorite Market here, according to a news release from the Georgia Lottery Corp.

The winner's name has not been released.

TUNNEL HILL, Ga.

City dedicates Civil War marker

Tullahoma dedicated a Civil War Trails marker Thursday.

The marker notes that in January 1863, after the Battle of Stones River, Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Tennessee fortified Tullahoma to protect a supply depot and his headquarters. Tullahoma also served as the Army's medical center, with divisional and general hospitals.

The Tennessee Civil War Trails is part of a multistate heritage tourism program that creates driving tours of Civil War sites. Three hundred such markers are being placed across the state.

Tennessee had more Civil War battles on its soil than any other state except Virginia.

TULLAHOMA, Tenn.

Deal reached to save soda shop

A landmark soda shop in Nashville will be able to keep serving milkshakes and other fare after the owners reached a last-minute deal to keep the shop open for another five years.

The Elliston Place Soda Shop has been a fixture in the neighborhood near Baptist Hospital since 1939, but owners had said earlier they would have to close the doors Saturday because of an increase in rent.

Co-owner John Kimery told WKRN-TV in Nashville on Thursday that he and property owner Jim Crossman did not want to see the restaurant close and they came to an agreement to keep it open for at least another five years.

Fans of the meat-and-three restaurant include former Vice President Al Gore and country music stars whose pictures line the restaurant's walls.

NASHVILLE