Tuscaloosa Memorial Day Plans + Crimson Tide Baseball Update

TGIF T-Town! Let's breeze through this Friday morning and get you on to the weekend!

First, today's weather:

Tuscaloosa can expect a slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 p.m., then more rain and possibly a thunderstorm between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. The high today will be near 88°

Patch Pick

I said goodbye to a dear friend on Friday and one of Tuscaloosa Patch's very first supporters as Ryan Perry, 27, was laid to rest. Apart from him meaning so much to his friends and family, Perry was an assistant football coach at several west Alabama schools, leaving a mark on our community that will not soon be forgotten. I could have never been RP1 had you not been my RP2.

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Here are the top 5 stories today in Tuscaloosa

1. The Northport City Council is mulling over a proposal from Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox, as his office has taken the lead on a push to restructure funding for Tuscaloosa County Park & Recreation Authority (PARA). Look out for an in-depth story on this from me today.

2. Tuscaloosa Disabled American Veterans Chapter No. 1 brought another championship home, Khara Gibson-Taylor reports, winning several awards during the 2021 Veterans Department of Alabama Annual Conference. (WVUA 23 News)

3. Former astronaut James Halsell Jr. entered a plea deal Thursday on two felony counts of manslaughter and two felony counts of assault DUI following a 2016 crash that killed Niomi Deona James, 11, and Jayla Latrick Parler, 13, Savannah Bullard reports. He will now serve four years in prison, and 10 years on probation. (Tuscaloosa Thread)

4. Alabama baseball (31-23, 12-17 SEC) dropped its first loss in the SEC Tournament Thursday in a 7-2 decision to Florida at the Hoover Met. The Crimson Tide will now take on Tennessee at 10 a.m. Friday in an elimination game after Alabama upset the Volunteers in extra innings Wednesday. (More)

5. The City of Tuscaloosa plans to honor those who died serving our country with a Memorial Day program Monday at 9 a.m. in Veterans Memorial Park that will also function as a coronavirus vaccination clinic for veterans and their families. (Tuscaloosa News)

A note from me: A big thank you to all of my dedicated readers, supporters, work colleagues, friends, family and loved ones during this week as content on Patch has obviously been sparse and erratic. Losing a friend is never easy, but I've been reminded every day in the last week just how much I have and am beyond grateful for it.

- Ryan

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com