Bradley and Polk counties operations chief Dewey Woody Jr. radios to emergency personnel as they search a large log jam near the Delano Rd. Bridge.Second child's body recovered
DELANO, Tenn. - Polk County, Tenn., authorities and members of a grieving community have found the second of two children who went missing along with their father earlier this month on Conasauga Creek here.
County EMA director and West Polk Fire and Rescue Chief Stephen Lofty said the body of 7-year-old Helana Alley was found at 10:35 a.m. Tuesday about 2,000 feet from where she, her 6-year-old brother Lazarus and her father, Nick, last were seen after their canoe capsized and dumped them and three others into flooded waters.
On Jan. 16, Nick Alley and five of his children were in the canoe on Conasauga Creek. Three children escaped the floodwaters, but Alley and the other two children did not. Rescuers found Lazarus' body Thursday, and the community held a funeral the following day.
Lofty said searchers Tuesday were using poles to probe the water and tracking dogs to continue the search for the children's father.
Perdue won't run for Senate
ATLANTA - Former Gov. Sonny Perdue won't run for the U.S. Senate in 2014.
The Republican confirmed his intentions in a statement Tuesday, four days after Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss announced he will not seek a third term.
Perdue, 66, left the governor's office in 2011 after two terms. He said in his statement that he's disappointed over the dysfunction in Washington, D.C., but that now is not the time for him to re-enter the political arena.
Truck in pond held missing man
TRUSSVILLE, Ala. - Authorities say a body found inside a truck submerged in a Trussville pond has been identified as a Margaret, Ala., man.
The Jefferson County coroner said 41-year-old Michael Carroll was identified Monday by dental records. WBRC-TV said Carroll had been missing for almost a year.
Carroll's body and his vehicle were found Saturday afternoon as firefighters were removing another abandoned vehicle from a small lake at the intersection of Camp Coleman Road and Highway 11.
Trussville police said it appears Carroll's truck entered the water at a high rate of speed.
He had not been seen since Feb. 5, 2012, when he left his brother's house to go to work.
Legislation could stop nepotism
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - A state senator plans to introduce a bill that would strengthen the state's ban on hiring or promoting an employee based on family ties.
The proposed legislation by Republican Sen. Arthur Orr, of Decatur, prohibits all state employees from being hired or promoted based on family relationships. Orr said the current law has loopholes and that his measure would end the practice known as nepotism.