Teen rushes into burning building to help neighbors

COLUMBUS, GA (WTVM) -
Dozens of families are out of their homes after a fire ripped through their Columbus apartment complex after the fire at the Avalon Apartments off Cusseta Road started around 4 p.m. Thursday.
The cause of the blaze is still unknown, but investigators do not suspect foul play.
Thirty firefighters and multiple trucks dumped gallons of water on the roof of an apartment building for about an hour to put out the blaze.
"I was pushing the doors open.  Not knocking but pushing them open making sure they get out.  I opened up his door where he was.  He was still sitting on his couch, smoke blowing in the house at him," said 19-year-old Jerricho Dyous.
When Dyous saw the fire, he ran inside the burning building, pulled the fire alarm, and ran upstairs to help his friends.
"I know God wouldn't let me get hurt to go up there. He gave me the strength to go up there so I know he is going to give me the strength to come back down," said Dyous.
Lashanda Thomas and her three kids live in one of the destroyed apartments.
"My 19-year-old was there and she doesn't know what happened.  She said that the balcony was on fire, but she said by the time the fire department came it was total--it was out of control," said Thomas.
She says one of her daughters came too close to being in the burning building.
"She was out and when she looked back she said she wasn't even gone like a minute.  She looked back and the balcony was on fire," said the mother.
On Thursday evening, Columbus firefighters said about 18 units total are damaged by smoke and/or water and about four of those have heavy fire damage.
Representatives with the American Red Cross say as many as 75 to 80 people have been displaced after the fire damaged several units at the complex.  The Red Cross has put three families in a hotel and the other families displaced staying with family and friends.
Firefighters say there were no injuries, and Dyous whose home was also damaged says they will make it through.
"If it is messed up God is going to help us out," said Dyous.
Fire officials say they will be on scene throughout Thursday night monitoring for hot spots.

Old Navy department store employee arrested for numerous theft

Press Release

March 9, 2012

The Dothan Police Department recently responded to a felony theft at a local department store. Police arrived on scene at Old Navy, 3500 Ross Clark Circle where loss prevention employees briefed them on their internal investigation which had revealed numerous thefts committed by a current employee. Investigators learned Jillene Neil conducted a series of fraudulent transactions between November 2011 and March 2012 in order to obtain cash, merchandise and gift cards. Neil was charged with theft bringing the case to a close.

·        Jillene Neil, black female, 30 years of age, of Houston Street was arrested and charged with Second Degree Theft of Property with a $2,500 bond.

Ozark Police- Who has been bad

MARCH 8, 2012 THURSDAY:
@ 4:55 am. Domestic Violence 3rd, Assault. Arrow Head Apartments. Victim (Sam Richardson) and suspect (Marilyn G. Anderson) were involved in physical altercation. Suspect struck victim in the back of the head with a hammer.
@ 12:29 pm. Criminal Mischief 3rd. Glenway Dr. Victim (Kathleen Robinson) stated an unknown suspect shot out a rear side window of her vehicle.
ARRESTS:
Marilyn G. Anderson – Domestic Violence 3rd, Assault. 226 Emma Ave. 47 YOA.
Timothy M. Jones – Failure to Appear. 6793 County Rd 33. 35 YOA.
Angela Jacqueline Malin – Disorderly Conduct. 107 Redd St. 55 YOA.
Fredrick Maurice Ware – Failure to Appear. 303 Sharon Ln. 33 YOA.

Huge Solar Flare's Magnetic Storm May Disrupt Satellites, Power Grids

X5.4 Solar Flare of March 7, 2012 CREDIT: NASA View full size image

UPDATE: See SPACE.com's latest news on this massive solar flare event here: Biggest Solar Storm in Years Is Bombarding Earth Now
This story was updated at 1:19 p.m. EST.
A massive solar flare that erupted from the sun late Tuesday (March 6) is unleashing one of the most powerful solar storms in more than five years, a solar tempest that may potentially interfere with satellites in orbit and power grids when it reaches Earth.
"Space weather has gotten very interesting over the last 24 hours," Joseph Kunches, a space weather scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told reporters today (March 7). "This was quite the Super Tuesday — you bet."
 
Several NASA spacecraft caught videos of the solar flare as it hurled a wave of solar plasma and charged particles, called a coronal mass ejection (CME), into space. The CME is not expected to hit Earth directly, but the cloud of charged particles could deliver a glancing blow to the planet.
Early predictions estimate that the CME will reach Earth tomorrow (March 8) at 7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT), with the effects likely lasting for 24 hours, and possibly lingering into Friday, Kunches said.
The solar eruptions occurred late Tuesday night when the sun let loose two huge X-class solar flares that ranked among the strongest type of sun storms. The biggest of those flares registered as an X5.4-class solar storm on the space weather scale, making it the strongest sun eruption so far this year. [See photos & videos of the solar storm]

Typically, CMEs contain 10 billion tons of solar plasma and material, and the CME triggered by last night's X5.4-class flare is the one that could disrupt satellite operations, Kunches said.
"When the shock arrives, the expectation is for heightened geomagnetic storm activity and the potential for heightened solar radiation," Kunches said.
This heightened geomagnetic activity and increase in solar radiation could impact satellites in space and power grids on the ground. Some high-precision GPS users could also be affected, he said.
"There is the potential for induced currents in power grids," Kunches said. "Power grid operators have all been alerted. It could start to cause some unwanted induced currents."
Airplanes that fly over the polar caps could also experience communications issues during this time, and some commercial airliners have already taken precautionary actions, Kunches said. Powerful solar storms can also be hazardous to astronauts in space, and NOAA is working close with NASA's Johnson Space Center to determine if the six residents of the International Space Station need to take shelter in more protected areas of the orbiting laboratory, he added.
The flurry of recent space weather events could also supercharge aurora displays (also known as the northern and southern lights) for skywatchers at high latitudes.
"Auroras are probably the treat that we get when the sun erupts," Kunches said.

A massive X-class solar flare spewed from the sun on March 6, 2012. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory observed the eruption, which looks like a sparkling diamond in this picture.
CREDIT: NASA/SDO

View full size image

Over the next couple days, Kunches estimates that brightened auroras could potentially be seen as far south as the southern Great Lakes region, provided the skies are clear.
Yesterday's solar flares erupted from the giant active sunspot AR1429, which spewed an earlier X1.1-class flare on Sunday (March 4). The CME from that outburst mostly missed Earth, passing by last night at around 11 p.m. EST (0400 GMT March 7), according to the Space Weather Prediction Center, which is jointly managed by NOAA and the National Weather Service.
This means that the planet is already experiencing heightened geomagnetic and radiation effects in advance of the next oncoming CME.
"We've got a whole series of things going off, and they take different times to arrive, so they're all piling on top of each other," Harlan Spence, an astrophysicist at the University of New Hampshire, told SPACE.com. "It complicates the forecasting and predicting because there are always inherent uncertainties with any single event. Now, with multiple events piling on top of one another, that uncertainty grows."
Scientists are closely monitoring the situation, particularly because the AR1429 sunspot region remains potent.
"We think there will be more coming," Kunches said. "The potential for more activity still looms."

The massive sunspot region AR1429 has been particularly active since it emerged on March 2, 2012.
CREDIT: NASA/SDO

View full size image

As the sun rotates, the AR1429 region is shifting closer to the central meridian of the solar disk. From there, flares and associated CMEs may pack more a punch because they are more directly pointed at Earth.
"The sun is waking up at a time in the month when Earth is coming into harm's way," Spence said. "Think of these CMEs somewhat like a bullet that is shot from the sun in more or less a straight line. When the sunspot is right in the middle of the sun, something launched from there is more or less directed right at Earth. It's kind of like how getting sideswiped by a car is different than a head-on collision. Even still, being sideswiped by a big CME can be quite dramatic."
Spence estimates that sunspot region AR1429 will rotate past the central meridian in about a week.
The sun's activity ebbs and flows on an 11-year cycle. The sun is in the midst of Solar Cycle 24, and activity is expected to ramp up toward the solar maximum in 2013.
If you snap an amazing photo of the northern lights sparked by these sun storms and would like to share it for a possible story or image gallery, please contact SPACE.com managing editor Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com.

Dothan Police Department is seeking the help of our local community and media in identifying a man wanted for stealing a vehicle

Press Release

March 8, 2012

The Dothan Police Department is seeking the help of our local community and media in identifying a man wanted for stealing a vehicle. Investigators say a vehicle was stolen from a residence in the 1100 block of North Pontiac Street when the resident left the vehicle unattended while she went inside for a brief moment. Investigators have now received a photograph of the suspect taken by surveillance video of a convenience store he entered shortly after the theft occurred.  Police are asking anyone with information about the case or identity of the suspect to call the Dothan Police Department or CrimeStoppers 334-793-7000.

See attachment, suspect is male subject on the right side of the photograph.

Gregory J. Benton

Chief of Police