General News
Ranking the all-time best Alabama high school football coaches
EDITOR’S NOTE: Each week, AL.com will explore the best of high school sports in Alabama. We hope you join the conversation.
The 2024 season will go down as the golden age of high school football coaches in Alabama. Eleven of the state’s 31 winningest coaches – including the men who occupy the top three spots – were active last season.
Read MoreAlabama native struck gold with ‘Love Will Keep Us Together’ 50 years ago
In 1975, there was no escaping the hit song “Love Will Keep Us Together” – not that anyone was trying to. The catchy pop tune was No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and played frequently on the radio.
“Love Will Keep Us Together” was recorded by the duo The Captain and Tennille, made up of Montgomery native and Auburn alumnus Toni Tennille and keyboardist Daryl Dragon. The song won a Grammy for Record of the Year and it was the top-selling single of 1975.
It was a last-minute addition to the duo’s first album of the same name.
In her book “Toni Tennille: A Memoir,” Tennille wrote that the first time she heard her voice on the radio she was singing this song.
“I remember when I first heard it on KHJ – the biggest top-40 radio station in Los Angeles – while driving down Ventura Boulevard,” she wrote. “When I heard my own voice coming through the speakers, I nearly drove the car off the road. I was so excited that I had to pull over into a service station to compose myself!”
The Captain and Tennille backstage at Birmingham’s Boutwell Auditorium on June 9, 1977.Birmingham News File
Montgomery roots
Tennille was born Cathryn Antoinette Tennille in Montgomery on May 8, 1940, to Frank and Cathryn Tennille. The family lived on Felder Avenue at one point and Tennille graduated from Sidney Lanier High School, according to her memoire.
Her father owned a furniture store and served in the Alabama Legislature from 1951-1954. Her mother was host of a local TV show, Tennille told The Montgomery Advertiser in 2016. “My mother had her own live TV show called ‘The Guest Room’ doing interviews in the late 1950s on WSFA,” she said. “She used her maiden name, Cathryn Wright, and was born for the camera.”
Tennille got her talent for music from her father.
“My first mentor in music was my father,” Tennille said in a 2016 interview with blogger Richard Skipper. “He was a big band singer in the late 1930s. He sang with Bob Crosby and His Bobcats. Daddy had to leave show business that he loved so much and go back home to Alabama and take over the family business.”
The Captain and Tennille sign autographs at Birmingham’s Boutwell Auditorium on June 9, 1977.Birmingham News File Photo
Frank was also a founding member of the Auburn Knights orchestra in 1930, playing banjo and contributing vocals. Toni would later join the orchestra as a vocalist when she was a student in the late 1950s.
Fame in California
Tennille spent only two years at Auburn, leaving school in 1960 to move with her family to Los Angeles.
In 1971, she met Daryl Dragon, who would become her musical partner and husband. Dragon had been touring as keyboardist for the Beach Boys and was on a break when he met Tennille, according to the “Billboard Book of Number One Hits.”
“It wasn’t love at first sight,” she said when interviewed for the book. “I don’t believe in that. There was some kind of really strong vibration because I knew when I looked at him, in some way he would be important in my life.”
The couple had been performing at the Smokehouse in Encino when they made a demo that landed them a contract with A&M Records, the same company where The Carpenters were signed.
They were one song short for the debut album when a producer played a song for them that changed their lives. The producer had them to Neil Sedaka’s recording of “Love Will Keep Us Together” and “Toni Tennille fell off her chair,” Sedaka says in the book “We Found Love, Song By Song.”
The Captain and Tennille performing in Birmingham’s Boutwell Auditorium on June 9, 1977.Birmingham News File
The knew immediately this was the song for their album.
The success of the album led to newfound fame and the couple hosted the TV variety show, “The Captain and Tennille,” for one season in 1976. The duo went on the have many more hits, including “Muskrat Love,” “Lonely Night (Angel Face)”, “Shop Around” and “Do That To Me One More Time.”
They were married for 39 years before divorcing in 2016.
Read MoreDear Abby: My father gave me a gift I gave him. Should I be concerned?
DEAR ABBY: Last year, I gave my dad a cool flashlight for his birthday. It was rechargeable and had a feature that made it work as a lantern. He seemed excited about it and later told me again that he’d been using it.
Abby, this week, my dad gave the flashlight back to me as a gift. Not only that, he went on and on about how thoughtful he was in “finding” this unusual gadget for me! He kept asking if I liked it. I said, yes, I thought it was cool, which is the reason I gave it to him last year. He didn’t seem to understand what I was saying and repeatedly asked me to tell him how much I appreciated the gift. I decided not to make a big deal about it, but I think both our feelings were hurt.
Is this kind of forgetfulness a sign of something bigger I should be worried about? He does the typical old man thing of repeating stories from the good ole days, but this sort of outright forgetting is new. — REGIFTED IN WASHINGTON
DEAR REGIFTED: Yes, in addition to repeating stories about the “good ole days,” something like this IS cause for concern. If your mother is still in the picture, mention to her how out of character this was of your father. Ask if she has noticed any changes. If she has, suggest that when he sees his doctor for his next physical, he is evaluated neurologically to be sure nothing is wrong. If he lives alone, discuss this with your siblings, if you have any, and suggest that “someone” accompany Dad to his next medical appointment.
Read more Dear Abby and other advice columns.
Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.
Read MoreMiss Manners: We were invited to a baby shower via text message
DEAR MISS MANNERS: Some relatives and I were told of a baby shower for a distant cousin. No formal invitations were sent; we were invited by word of mouth and received a gift registry link by text message. After that, some of us received an invitation via text, while others did not.
No one in the family really knows the couple, who live out of state. They will not even be present at the shower: We are told they are attending “virtually.” When the couple visited our state several months ago, they did not have time to meet any extended family members, nor attend another baby shower in person at that time.
We feel like this shower is just a tacky gift-grab. Do we have to attend? Do we have to send a gift?
GENTLE READER: Why do you even ask?
Miss Manners finds it curious that people who are presumably inured to scams from strangers are intimidated when it comes to social connections, however tenuous.
Why would you want to give presents to people you hardly know, and who have shown no interest in knowing you? Are you afraid that if you ignore their gift demands, they will turn you over to a collection agency?
Please send your questions to Miss Manners at missmanners.com, by email to [email protected], or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
Read MoreAlabama police would have greater immunity from lawsuits, prosecution under ‘back the blue’ bill
Alabama legislators plan to rewrite the state law on civil and criminal immunity for police officers, an effort that Gov. Kay Ivey said is part of a larger initiative to “back the blue.”
A bill by Rep. Rex Reynolds, R-Huntsville, a former Huntsville police chief, will be up for discussion Wednesday in the House Judiciary Committee.
Ivey and Republican leaders in the Legislature say bills to support law enforcement and fight crime are important goals for the legislative session that started last week.
“To back the blue, we will provide law enforcement with enhanced legal protections that allow them to carry out their duties courageously and effectively – without fear of Monday morning quarterbacking in the courts,” Ivey said during her State of the State address.
State law and court precedents already provide immunity for police officers unless they act “willfully, maliciously, fraudulently, in bad faith, beyond his or her authority, or under a mistaken interpretation of the law.“
HB202, by Reynolds, would repeal the existing law and establish a new form of legal protection for police.
Reynolds said the new law would be more clear and specific.
Police acting within their discretionary authority would be immune from civil lawsuits unless they act “recklessly without law enforcement justification” or take actions that “violated a clearly established state or federal statutory or constitutional right of the plaintiff.”
Courts would automatically put cases on hold while they consider whether to dismiss them because immunity applies.
Reynolds’ bill also applies to criminal accusations against police, such as cases involving use of physical force.
HB202 says police are justified in using and immune from criminal prosecution for “the use of physical force against a person in the performance of conduct within his or her discretionary authority unless the use of force violates the person’s constitutional rights to be free from excessive force.”
Under the bill, a police officer accused of excessive use of force would be entitled to a pretrial hearing to determine whether immunity applied. The case would be automatically stayed, or put on hold, until the court decided on immunity.
“It simply pauses the situation. And the officer has a right to a hearing and to determine if in fact his actions taken fall within the scope of his duty, within policies in the manner in which they were trained,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds said the pre-trial hearings would be similar to those used under Alabama’s “stand your ground” law, which provides immunity for citizens who use force against another person in self-defense under certain conditions.
“If a citizen claims that they’ve fired a weapon in their defense, then they have a right to a hearing to determine if in fact the situation, the circumstances, provide for that law,” Reynolds said. “Well, this does the same thing.
“You have a hearing of facts and circumstances. And for a judge to determine whether this immunity law applies to that situation.”
Reynolds said he worked with the governor’s office on the bill. He said he is still open to possible changes in the legislation but he said the goal is to make the law more clear.
“When they are covered by this law,” Reynolds said. “Where they have immunity and where they do not. We clearly lay out both sides.
“We clearly say if they have violated someone’s constitutional rights and they did this outside the scope of their duty, then they are not covered by this law.”
Alabama police have faced criminal prosecution in several high-profile cases in recent years.
A Montgomery police officer, Aaron Cody Smith, was convicted by a jury of manslaughter in 2019 for the fatal shooting of Gregory Gunn after a pursuit in 2016. A judge sentenced Smith to 14 years.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall intervened last year and entered a plea deal with Smith that allowed Smith to be released from prison for time served.
Montgomery District Attorney Daryl Bailey, who prosecuted Smith, said he was disappointed by the early release. Marshall said he believed Smith deserved a new trial but said the early release was a fair outcome to the case.
Before his trial, Smith had claimed immunity under the “stand your ground” law but a judge ruled against him after a hearing.
Former Huntsville Police Officer William Ben Darby was convicted of murder by a Madison County jury in 2021 and sentenced to to 25 years in prison.
Darby shot and killed Jeff Parker on April 3, 2018, after Parker called 911, threatening to shoot himself in his own home.
An appeals court overturned Darby’s conviction, and he was released from prison after serving about 20 months. Darby pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter in 2023.
Decatur Police Officer Bailey Marquette was indicted for murder last year for the September 2023 shooting of Stephen Perkins outside Perkins’ home.
Reynolds said he was not commenting on those cases or relying on any specific cases as reasons for his bill.
“I’m not going to use individual cases in Alabama to discuss them or to use that in support of this bill,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds, elected to the Legislature in 2018 after a 35-year career with the city of Huntsville, said the legislation is intended to help build trust and support for law enforcement and help cities hire and retain police.
“We certainly feel like over the years that there has been an atmosphere of distrust and lack of support for law enforcement,” Reynolds said. “And yes, that has an impact on the profession and our ability to recruit officers. And this is exactly what the title says, it’s back the blue.
“But then again, we also very much spell out that if they don’t act in accordance to their duties and their training and their policies then they are subject to both civil and criminal liability and prosecution.”
Read MoreRock star’s private jet collides with parked plane in Arizona; 1 dead, others injured
One person was killed and others were injured when a private jet owned by Mötley Crüe singer Vince Neil collided with another jet Monday afternoon at the Scottsdale Airport in Arizona, authorities said.
Neil’s jet was landing at the airport when it veered off the runway and collided with another parked plane, Neil’s representative Worrick Robinson, IV, said in a statement. There were two pilots and two passengers on Neil’s plane, but he was not among them.
“Mr. Neil’s thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved, and he is grateful for the critical aid of all first responders assisting today,” Robinson said.
The arriving jet veered off the runway and collided with the Gulfstream 200 jet that was parked on private property, according to Kelli Kuester, aviation planning and outreach coordinator at the Scottsdale Airport. It appeared that the left main landing gear of the arriving jet failed, resulting in the collision, she said.
Kuester said four people were on the arriving jet, which had come from Austin, Texas, and one person was in the parked plane.
Two people injured in the collision were taken to trauma centers and one was in stable condition at a hospital, Scottsdale Fire Department Capt. Dave Folio said. He said they were working to recover the body of the person killed in the collision.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to everybody involved in this,” Folio said.
The runway has been closed and will remain closed “for the foreseeable future,” Kuester said.
Scottsdale Mayor Lisa Borowskysaid in a statement that she is closely monitoring the situation and is in touch with the airport, police and federal agencies.
“On behalf of the city of Scottsdale, we offer our deepest condolences to those involved in the accident and for those who have been taken to our trauma center for treatment,” she said. “We will keep all affected by this tragedy in our prayers.”
The airport is a popular hub for jets coming in and out of the Phoenix area, especially during big sports weekends like the Waste Management Phoenix Open golf tournament, which attracts huge crowds just a few miles away.
The Scottsdale collision comes after three major U.S. aviation disasters in the past two weeks. A commercial jetliner and an Army helicopter collided near the nation’s capital on Jan. 29, killing 67 people. A medical transportation plane crashed in Philadelphia on Jan. 31, killing the six people on board and another person on the ground. And last week a small commuter plane crashed in western Alaska on its way to the hub community of Nome, killing all 10 people on board.
Read MoreMiss Manners: People keep dismissing my chemotherapy symptoms
DEAR MISS MANNERS: I am undergoing chemotherapy treatment. Several times, when asked how I am feeling, I have mentioned some side effects from chemo — only to be answered with, “Don’t you think that’s just your age?”
These are not symptoms that normally happen as people get older. Why do people feel that they have to offer an alternative explanation as to why someone feels bad?
Another time, while having lunch with friends, I had to get up twice to go to the bathroom. When I returned to the table the second time, one of the people asked me, “Do you have a problem?”
Really! What is wrong with people?
GENTLE READER: No filters, for one thing. People feel they must say something, even to the extent of monitoring one’s number of bathroom trips.
But Miss Manners acknowledges that there is also the less blameworthy impulse to offer comfort — not just sympathy — when there is no real comfort to be offered. That is why the afflicted are bombarded with amateur medical advice and bogus silver linings.
Please send your questions to Miss Manners at missmanners.com, by email to [email protected], or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
Read MoreState gun bill, federal DEI bill, Finebaum’s move: Down in Alabama
If you’re into national defense or space — or a potential combination of the two — you’ll want to check out today’s podcast. We talk with reporter John R. Roby about what recent announcements from President Trump might mean to North Alabama.
The rest of today’s report follows. Thanks for reading,
Ike
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defense-space-and-alabama-under-trump-ii/id1256660459?i=1000691059587
Proposed expanded firearm restrictions
A bill in the Alabama Senate would extend firearm restrictions to more people who have been charged with a crime, reports AL.com’s Heather Gann.
The bill is from state Sen. Will Barfoot, a Montgomery Republican.
Currently, state law prohibits people from possessing a firearm if they’ve been convicted of a violent crime or a misdemeanor offense of domestic violence — or if they have a protective order against them for domestic abuse or are of unsound mind.
Barfoot’s bill would also prohibit possession by those who’ve been charged with the above crimes even if they haven’t been convicted.
There are a couple other things the measure would do. It would:
- increase the penalty for discharging a firearm into an occupied building or other designated space from a Class B felony to a Class A felony.
- allow the parole board to revoke parole and courts to revoke probation for subjects who are found in possession of firearms.
Backing Trump’s play
U.S. Senator from Alabama Tommy Tuberville is sponsoring a bill to put President Trump’s DEI executive order into law, reports AL.com’s Howard Koplowitz.
The president’s order dismantled diversity, equity and inclusion programs in federal departments and agencies. As we’ve learned more with each White House administration, the next president can step right in and remove Trump’s order.
For example, theoretically, before we check out of this life we might be able to vacation on the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of America, the Gulf of Labor, the Gulf of Reagan, the Gulf of Coexistence and the Gulf of Denali. Just depends on who gets to be president along the way.
What Tuberville’s Dismantle DEI Act would do is to codify the DEI order so that Congress would have to act to take it away. The bill was also introduced in the House of Representatives by Republican Congressman Michael Cloud of Texas.
A prep football legend
Citing unnamed sources, AL.com’s Ben Thomas reports that UMS-Wright head football coach Terry Curtis is expected to announce his retirement this morning.
It would end one of Alabama’s most prolific high school coaching careers. Curtis won 284 games and eight state titles over 26 years with the Bulldogs. And he was already a decade into his career when he took the UMS job. He previously coached at Shaw and Murphy, his alma mater.
Overall, he finishes with record of 361-105. The 361 wins place him second all-time in state history, only two wins behind Central-Clay County’s Danny Horn.
And how’s this for consistency? Curtis had only four losing seasons: His first year at each of his three schools, and also this past fall, when UMS was 6-7 but reached the state quarterfinals.
Hey, Paul: Welcome back
Paul Finebaum is an Alabamian once again, reports AL.com’s Mark Heim.
Finebaum was a sports columnist for the Birmingham Post-Herald and the Mobile Press-Register before hosting the Paul Finebaum Radio Network from 2001-2012. He left Alabama when the SEC Network launched “The Paul Finebaum Show” out of Charlotte, N.C. According to ESPN, Charlotte will continue being the home for the show.
But for Finebaum and his wife, Linda, the personal residence is now in Mountain Brook.
According to the Birmingham Business Journal, Finebaum’s 12,000-square-foot home was listed at a shade over $5.1 million.
More Alabama News
Born on This Date
In 1947, former Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore of Gadsden.
The podcast
We talk missile defense, space and Alabama’s potential role under President Trump with AL.com reporter John R. Roby.
You can find “Down in Alabama” wherever you get your podcasts, including these places:
Read MoreMiss Manners: “I thought about inviting you, but I didn’t”
DEAR MISS MANNERS: What do you say to someone who says they were going to give you something, “but …”?
Two things that have actually happened to me:
1. I came home and my mom said, “By the way, are you hungry? I did cook you some dinner, but I ate it.”
2. I met a friend for lunch and she said, “Did you know I hosted a tea party? I thought about inviting you, but I didn’t.”
In both instances, it would’ve been better if nothing had been said. I would’ve been none the wiser.
In both instances, I said nothing in response. What would Miss Manners have said?
GENTLE READER: “I’m thinking about thanking you, but I probably won’t.”
Please send your questions to Miss Manners at missmanners.com, by email to [email protected], or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.
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