Green Bay News

MADISON (AP) – Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson is telling a federal court judge that she should be allowed to continue the work of chief justice that she’s done for the past 19 years.

Abrahamson made the arguments in court filings made Monday and Tuesday in her ongoing lawsuit against the other justices and state.

Abrahamson argues a constitutional amendment allowing the justices to elect who is chief justice can’t be implemented until her current term is over in 2019. But four of the other six justices went ahead last month and chose Justice Patience Roggensack as chief justice.

Abrahamson says in an affidavit filed Tuesday that it was her understanding, and the understanding of voters, that if re-elected in 2009 she would continue serving uninterrupted as chief justice.

MADISON (AP) – A company in charge of providing transportation to doctors’ appointments for low and moderate income people in Wisconsin was late or never showed up thousands of times in less than a one-year period, an audit released Tuesday showed.

The nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau’s audit said Medical Transportation Management, a company the state paid $56.1 million to provide non-emergency medical trips for Medicaid recipients in the 2013-2014 fiscal year, needs to do a better job getting people to appointments on time.

The audit said the state’s contract required 99.7 percent of MTM’s trips to be complaint free, but the company only met that standard three months between August 2013 and June 2014. The audit found MTM did not arrive for a scheduled trip 4,154 times and drivers were more than 15 minutes late 55,320 times.

Some Medicaid recipients indicated in complaints filed with MTM that their health care providers stopped seeing them because they missed too many appointments, the audit said.

Additionally, more than 14 percent of calls placed to MTM’s call center in June 2014 were abandoned before they were answered, the audit said.

The general manager of MTM’s Wisconsin office did not immediately return an email from The Associated Press seeking comment. The national office of MTM also did not immediately return an email.

• Click here to read the full audit

The audit proposed a series of recommendations to improve performance, including additional requirements for the call center and establishing standards for how many trips per month will be permitted where the driver never shows up or is more than 15 minutes late. The audit also recommended that a plan be developed requiring MTM to meet new, stricter performance standards and report weekly to DHS.

Department of Health Services Secretary Kitty Rhoades said the recommendations will be implemented.

“The Department is committed to ensuring a positive overall member experience,” Rhoades said in a letter of response to the audit bureau.

During the 11-month period reviewed, MTM provided 2.3 million trips to a business, clinic, hospital or doctor’s office where services were to be provided to about 69,300 Medicaid recipients, the audit found.

The audit bureau did a survey of 5,000 Medicaid recipients who had used the transportation service at least once between January and June 2014. It found that 87 percent were satisfied or very satisfied with the services provided, while more than 40 percent said they missed appointments or had to reschedule because drivers were more than 15 minutes late.

The audit was ordered by a bipartisan group of state lawmakers in response to complaints they heard about the service.

Assembly Democratic Minority Leader Peter Barca said the audit shows that the program is in need of “serious overhaul.”

Sen. Rob Cowles, the Republican co-chair of the Audit Committee, said he hoped the audit would result in better services and more aggressive resolution of complaints in the future.

“While there are obviously some areas for improvement, overall this program has seemed to provide reasonably suitable transportation services,” Cowles said.

MILWAUKEE (AP) – The Milwaukee Police Department is working with a data recovery vendor to secure video interrogations of possible hundreds of suspects that were lost in a major computer malfunction.

A statement posted on the department’s website says the data became in accessible in January due to a hardware malfunction. It says the district attorney’s office is aware of the specific cases where the data will not be available until the recovery is complete.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says he was told about the situation just days ago. Alderman Joe Davis tells WITI-TV he also did not know about the computer malfunction until now and he wants the Public Safety Committee chairman to hold a hearing on the matter. .

An internal police memo says emergency funding was secured to pay recovery costs described as “fairly staggering.”

NEW YORK (AP) – ESPN’s NFL wild-card game will also air on ABC this season, with the league looking to expand the audience a year after it televised a playoff matchup on cable for the first time.

The same broadcast will be shown on partners ESPN and ABC in January, the networks said Tuesday.

ESPN added a wild-card game last season under the NFL’s new TV deals. As with “Monday Night Football,” simulcasts aired on local channels in the two teams’ home markets.

Now anyone with a TV will be able to watch. ESPN is in about 81 percent of U.S. homes with televisions.

Last season’s wild-card matchup between Carolina and Arizona on ESPN averaged nearly 21.7 viewers, down 21 percent from the same time slot on NBC a year earlier for a far more dramatic game between the Colts and Chiefs.

ESPN produces the sports broadcasts that air on ABC, these days keeping many of the biggest events on the cable network. January’s wild-card telecast will be the first NFL game in a decade on ABC, the former home of “Monday Night Football.”

NEW YORK (AP) — Major League Baseball pumped up security for its game balls this season in the wake of the Tom Brady flap.

Starting this year, an MLB representative watches the baseballs while a clubhouse assistant carries them from the umpires’ room to the field.

And if the supply runs low during the game, an MLB security person is now sent to retrieve more from the umps’ room.

In the past, a ball boy or ball girl did those jobs alone.

“We can’t deflate ’em,” current Yankees and former Brewers pitcher CC Sabathia said Sunday. “It’s precautionary, I guess.”

MLB said many changes in the policy for ball security and storage were discussed by equipment managers last December at the winter meetings, before Brady and the New England Patriots were accused of deflating footballs in the AFC championship game.

MLB said it was aware of the Patriots’ situation as it put the new procedures in effect.

Brady was suspended for four games by the NFL on Monday for his role in the scandal. The Patriots were fined $1 million and also lost two future draft picks.

“Obviously, there’s not as much that you can do to baseballs,” Los Angeles Angels pitcher C.J. Wilson said. “I mean, you can’t change the density of the baseball at any point — unless you dunk them in water. Then they’re going to be 9 ounces, and everyone’s going to blow their arms out.”

Game balls weigh between 5 ounces and 5 1/4.

“If you’re playing on turf and a guy hits a screaming one-hopper to the shortstop, it’s going to have a huge scuff on it. Certain pitchers can create an advantage with that, so that’s why they throw those baseballs out,” Wilson said.

Hoping to avoid a seamy situation, MLB sent a memo to all 30 teams before opening day with a nine-step procedure on ball handling. Along with the policy on storage — around 70 degrees, about 50 percent humidity — there were guidelines on chain of command.

Home teams store the new balls during the season, and the umpires’ clubhouse attendants usually rub up about eight dozen for each game.

When they’re taken to the field, an MLB authenticator follows them. That person is a current or former member of law enforcement hired by an outside company to document balls and other game-used items, often to be sold or given to charities.

If the ball supply is running out, a Resident Security Agent gets more. The RSAs also have police backgrounds and are hired by MLB.

The plate umpire keeps several new balls in a pouch. When he needs more, he signals to the ball boys and ball girls. The ump puts each one in play, occasionally tossing out a ball before it ever gets into the game.

“I’d say a ball averages only two pitches, and not too many things can happen when you foul a pitch into the stands,” Wilson said.

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AP Baseball Writer Howie Rumberg contributed to this report.

GREEN BAY (AP) — Proceeds from ticket sales to watch Brett Favre’s induction into the Green Bay Packers’ Hall of Fame on the Lambeau Field video boards will benefit his charity — Favre 4 Hope.

Green Bay Packers fans wait in line May 12, 2015, to buy tickets to watch Brett Favre’s Packers Hall of Fame induction and number-retirement ceremony via the scoreboard at Lambeau Field. The July 18 ceremony at the Lambeau Field Atrium is sold out, but the Packers are offering tickets to watch it inside the stadium seating bowl, to be followed by an appearance by Favre inside the stadium. (WLUK/Gabrielle Mays)

Those tickets at $4 a piece went on sale at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The banquet and ceremony will be held in the stadium atrium on July 18. More than 1,600 will attend that sold-out event.

Favre will make an appearance in the stadium bowl that evening where fans will gather to watch the ceremony on the TundraVision screens. There’s a limit of eight tickets per order. They’re available through Ticketmaster.

The former Packers quarterback’s name and number will be unveiled at Lambeau during a home game against the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving.

FOX 11’s Gabrielle Mays is talking to fans who are buying tickets for the ceremony. Hear from them tonight on FOX 11 News at Five.

MADISON (AP) – A look at some of the key figures in the case of Tony Robinson Jr., the biracial 19-year-old who was shot and killed by a white police officer in Madison in March. The shooting came amid a string of incidents around the country over the last year involving white officers killing black men, adding to growing tension and distrust between the black community and police.

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TONY ROBINSON JR.

Tony Robinson (Submitted photo)

Tony Robinson Jr. graduated from Sun Prairie High School last year. The son of a white mother and black father, Robinson stood 6-foot-4 and loved to play football. According to his mother, Andrea Irwin, he was preparing to try out for a semi-pro team.

He was arrested in April 2014 in connection with an armed robbery and ultimately sentenced to probation. A presentence report described Robinson as an impulsive risk-taker who faced a choice between the gang world and a middle-class lifestyle.

Police said they received calls on March 6 that Robinson had assaulted two people and was running in traffic. Madison Officer Matt Kenny found Robinson in an apartment house and opened fire after Robinson attacked him, police said. Robinson was unarmed.

Irwin has said her son made mistakes like any other teenager.

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OFFICER MATT KENNY

Kenny, 45, has worked as a Madison police officer for 13 years, according to his personnel file. The file includes 46 accolades, mostly from supervisors who commended him for saving lives and relied on him to train recruits and peers in first-aid and firearms. The file includes one reprimand for accidentally leaving his gun in a public bathroom in 2007.

He earned the Medal of Valor after he shot and killed 48-year-old Ronald Brandon in 2007. Brandon was standing on his porch waving a realistic-looking pellet gun at officers in what police described as a “suicide-by-cop” attempt.

Police Chief Mike Koval has described Kenny, who also served as a U.S. Coast Guard medic, as a consummate professional.

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POLICE CHIEF MIKE KOVAL

Madison Police Chief Mike Koval appears at a press conference on Saturday, March 7, 2015, in Madison, where he released the name of the officer involved in the shooting of 19-year old Tony Robinson on Friday night. Robinson was shot after assaulting Officer Matt Kenny, Madison Police Chief Mike Koval said. (AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal, Steve Apps)

Koval holds a journalism degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he dressed up as Bucky Badger during football, basketball and hockey games for three years. He also holds a law degree from William Mitchell College of Law. He served as an FBI agent and a recruiting sergeant for the Madison Police Department before he became chief in 2014.

He struck a conciliatory tone immediately after Robinson’s death, hoping to avoid the riots that shook Ferguson, Missouri, in the wake of a police shooting there last year. Hours after Robinson was killed, he prayed with Robinson’s grandmother in the family’s driveway.

His tone shifted, though, as Young, Gifted and Black – the group leading protests over Robinson’s death – mounted repeated street protests. He wrote on his blog that officers have shown poise and restraint during the protests and called Kenny a “caring, conscientious individual.”

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In this Feb. 26, 2013 file photo, Dane County, Wisconsin, District Attorney Ismael Ozanne speaks in a Madison court. (AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal,M.P. King, File)

DANE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY ISMAEL OZANNE

Ozanne, who is biracial but identifies as black, began his career as an assistant Dane County district attorney in 1998. A decade later, then-Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, picked him to help lead the state Department of Corrections, where he helped implement Doyle’s early release program. Two years later Doyle named him district attorney in Dane County. He won election in 2012, running on promises to reduce racial disparities.

He launched a bid for attorney general last year but failed to win the Democratic primary.

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YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK COALITION

The coalition has been leading protests against what its leaders consider state violence against black people since last year, railing against police in Ferguson, Missouri, for killing Michael Brown and demanding Dane County officials drop their jail renovation plans, end solitary confinement and release 350 black inmates. They also want police to stay out of black neighborhoods.

Now the group wants to see Kenny fired and charged with homicide. They’ve demanded the United Nations investigate Robinson’s death, saying Ozanne is part of a corrupt criminal system that targets blacks.

The coalition’s tactics center on marching in downtown streets and disrupting traffic during the evening rush hour. Officers arrested a number of protesters last month after they blocked one of Madison’s thoroughfares for eight hours.

The group plans to rally Wednesday morning outside the apartment house where Robinson died. Organizers want people to leave work and school and join them for what they’re calling “Black-Out Wednesday,” the kickoff to the “Black Spring,” a national black liberation movement.

Some physical evidence in the murder case against Mastella Jackson will be allowed at trial, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday.

Jackson is charged with the murder of her husband, Derrick Whitlow, at a Grand Chute hotel on Feb. 21, 2012. A status conference is set for July 29.

A judge suppressed several of her incriminating statements, which prosecutors did not contest on appeal. However, prosecutors did seek to overturn a decision banning some of the physical evidence. The appeals court agreed.

“Here, even if police had never spoken to Jackson and had never violated her rights under Miranda, they still would have obtained a warrant to search her residence and would have inevitably discovered the crucial physical evidence linking her to Whitlow’s death,” the court wrote.

“We therefore reject Jackson’s argument that the inevitable discovery doctrine does not apply in this case because police intentionally violated her Miranda rights. We acknowledge that the officers’ actions during the interrogation of Jackson were reprehensible. We do not in any way condone their conduct. However, for the reasons discussed above, we nevertheless conclude suppression of the physical evidence that was derived, in part, from the officers’ misconduct is not an appropriate remedy because the evidence would have been inevitably discovered using lawful means,” it added.

Marinade:

¼ cup salad oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons dehydrated onions
1 tablespoon oregano
2 9 ounce pork steaks

Directions:

Combine above ingredients and marinate pork steaks for 2 hours, grill pork steaks and serve with sautéed potatoes and top with 2 fried eggs.

MADISON – The state Legislature’s budget committee will continue the process of accepting, rejecting or changing Gov. Scott Walker’s two-year budget proposal during a meeting Tuesday at the state Capitol.

Joint Finance Committee members are scheduled to vote on funding for a number of areas, including public broadcasting and the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

The governor has proposed to cut $2.8 million a year from the budget of the Educational Communications Board – the agency that oversees Wisconsin public broadcasting.

The governor’s office says the board should be able to make up for cuts through grants, gifts and private donations.

ECB leaders say the cuts would impact online educational programs for schools and the maintenance and repairs of public broadcast towers and transmitters.

Gov. Walker laid out a nearly $70 billion two-year spending plan in February. Lawmakers expect to continue working on revising and passing the plan through the middle of June. The new budget cycle begins July 1.

FOX 11’s Andrew LaCombe will have a complete story from today’s meeting tonight on FOX 11 News at Five.

CORTLANDT, N.Y. (AP) – Police say a school bus driver was driving drunk with 35 students on board when she sideswiped a utility pole in suburban New York.

It happened Monday as 56-year-old Mary Coletti was taking students to Walter Panas High School in Cortdandt.

Authorities say she sideswiped the pole around 7 a.m.

They say her blood-alcohol level was above the legal limit of .08 percent.

A few students suffered minor injuries.

Lakeland School District Superintendent George Stone tells The Journal News Coletti’s bus driver’s license has been revoked.

Coletti was arraigned Monday and sent to jail on $1,000 bail. She’s due back in court May 18.

It’s unclear if she has an attorney.

GREEN BAY –  Some little girls like frilly pink tutus. Other little girls might want to dress up in a spacesuit. One of them is much easier to find.  And that’s one of the messages author Melissa Atkins Wardy will share today at the YWCA’S Women of Vision Luncheon at Lambeau Field.  Wardy is the author of “Redefining Girly: How Parents Can Fight The Stereotyping and Sexualizing of Girlhood, from Birth to Tween.”  She is also the founder of Pigtail Pals and Ballcap Buddies (PPBB) which helps parents fight against gender stereotypes.

Wardy joined us on Good Day Wisconsin along with YWCA CEO Kathy Hinkfuss.  Funds raised at the luncheon will go toward the YWCA’S Women’s Empowerment Center which helps meet the economic needs of low-income women through job training and job search support. Hinkfuss also talked about the center’s TechGYRLS program, an after-school program for young girls in grades 3-8. It’s a fun, hands-on program that promotes critical thinking and better understanding of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math fields).

SUPERIOR, Wis. (AP) – A hotel in Superior was evacuated and the bomb squad was summoned after a suspicious device was left at the front desk.

Police say a man brought a black cylinder wrapped in a T-shirt into the hotel Monday about 4 p.m. and said it was for one of the guests. Officers couldn’t find the man who dropped it off or the person for which it was intended.

Because of concerns that it might be an explosive, the hotel was emptied and about 20 nearby homes were evacuated. The Marathon County bomb squad responded and determined the device was some type of low frequency transmitter and not an explosive. The evacuation order was lifted about 11 p.m.

NEW YORK (AP) – Verizon is buying AOL for about $4.4 billion, advancing the telecom’s push in both mobile and advertising fields.

AOL owns The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, Engadget, MAKERS and AOL.com.

The acquisition gives Verizon an entryway into the increasingly competitive online video space.

Verizon Communications Inc. said Tuesday that it will pay $50 per share for the company in cash, a 15 percent premium to AOL’s closing price on Monday.

CHICAGO (AP) – President Barack Obama has decided to build his presidential library on the South Side of Chicago, where his political career began.

The Barack Obama Foundation announced early Tuesday that a bid by the University of Chicago was selected over rival proposals by the University of Hawaii, Columbia University in New York and the University of Illinois at Chicago.

The bid had been viewed as a favorite because of the Obamas’ ties to the school and community. Obama and the first lady worked at the school and they have a home nearby.

People with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press and other media nearly two weeks ago the University of Chicago would get the nod.

The city took recent action to secure public park land for the library.

TOWN OF EATON – A fishing event is Making a Difference near the Denmark area.

FOX 11’s Emily Deem spent Tuesday morning with members of Wings Over Wisconsin to learn more about the events.

Wings Over Wisconsin is a non-profit conservation group.

The group will be hosting a free Kid’s Fishing Event this Saturday.

It will take place from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.  Everyone is welcome to come and fish for the whole day.

Click here for directions and more details for the event.

LITTLE CHUTE – Little Chute’s biggest attraction is getting ready for its grand opening on Saturday.

After more than 15 years, the Little Chute Windmill will open to the public with tours and a dedication ceremony.

The Windmill stands at more than 100 feet tall and its 1850s design is generally found in the Netherland’s North Brabant province.

In addition to tours, visitors can also check out the ‘Pannenkoek’ Breakfast  at the HOV Senior Service Club at Civic Center from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. A time capsule will also be buried at noon.

There will also be an open house from 1 p.m.to 3 p.m. for the newly constructed and renovated Village Hall.

FOX 11’s Pauleen Le spent the morning learning more about the event.

For more information on the Windmill and the grand opening event, click here.

 

GREEN BAY- Expect a mostly cloudy, windy and cool Tuesday with a high near 55 and a chance for a few showers Tuesday morning.

Winds will be west and northwest at 10 to 25 mph gusting to 30.

It’ll be chilly Tuesday night as the low drops to near 34 and winds diminish to 5 to 10 mph.

Some areas are under a Frost Advisory.

We’ll see a lot of sunshine Wednesday as an area of high pressure settles on the state and temperatures will top out near 58 with east and southeast winds at 5 to 10 mph.

Click here for Director of Meteorology Pete Petoniak’s full forecast.

MADISON- A Wisconsin prosecutor is set to announce whether a white police officer who killed an unarmed biracial man in Madison will face criminal charges.

Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne plans to announce at a Tuesday afternoon news conference whether he’ll charge Officer Matt Kenny. Ozanne isn’t expected to take any questions.

Police say Kenny shot 19-year-old Tony Robinson in an apartment house in March after Robinson attacked him. Kenny was responding to calls that Robinson had assaulted two people and was running in traffic.

Police have released few other details. The state Justice Department investigated the incident under a state law that requires outside agencies to review officer-involved deaths.

The shooting sparked several protests, all of them peaceful.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – Emergency responders searched through splintered wreckage Monday after a line of tornadoes battered several small communities in Texas and Arkansas, killing at least five people, including a young couple who died trying to shield their daughter from the storm.

The couple, both in their late 20s, died when a twister hit their mobile home late Sunday in the Arkansas town of Nashville.

Michael and Melissa Mooneyhan were trying to protect their daughter when the parents’ trailer flipped over and “exploded,” Howard County Coroner John Gray said.

“I had wondered if they were in an enclosed space like a hallway or a bathroom just sheltering the little girl when it hit,” Gray said. “It’s a miracle that little girl survived.”

The girl, who is about 18 months old, was taken to the hospital and later released to relatives.

“That poor little girl is never going to know them,” Gray said. “But she’s young enough that she’ll never remember what happened.”

The two parents met when they were teenagers attending different high schools and were married in April 2004, before they even graduated.

Polly McCammack, who also lives in Nashville, is Melissa’s third cousin. A week ago, she said, the close-knit family lost their grandmother who “practically raised” Melissa and her siblings.

“The family has been hit hard. They’re strong, but it’s almost like to the point you’re afraid to breathe,” McCammack said.

Michael Mooneyhan worked in the deli department of the local Wal-Mart. Melissa was a stay-at-home mom doting on their daughter.

“That baby was definitely their life. They considered her their greatest blessing. You couldn’t find two parents who loved a child more,” McCammack said. “She’s going to grow up knowing family and knowing love.”

Family members went to the site of the destroyed home looking for mementos, toys and other things they could salvage for the little girl, McCammack said.

National Weather Service investigators confirmed a tornado with a preliminary EF2 rating and winds estimated at 125 mph touched down in Nashville, meteorologist Travis Washington said.

The county’s tornado sirens were sounded for so long during Sunday’s first tornado warning that the battery was drained, Howard County Emergency Management Coordinator Sonny Raulerson said.

When a second warning was issued for about 16 miles south of Nashville, the sirens could not be sounded, Raulerson said.

In neighboring Texas, a tornado pummeled the small city of Van, damaging or destroying 50 to 100 homes and the local schools, according to Chuck Allen, fire marshal and emergency management coordinator for Van Zandt County.

Authorities confirmed two deaths.

For much of the day, eight people were still unaccounted for in Van, population 2,600, about 70 miles southeast of Dallas. But by late Monday night, Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Jean Dark said everyone on the missing list had been accounted for. However, she said that just to be safe, cadaver dogs were checking the area.

Officials confirmed that the tornado was an EF3, with winds from 135 mph to 140 mph, Allen said.

Rescuers went door to door. Damage was widespread, with trees uprooted and numerous homes and buildings flattened or ripped apart.

At least 42 people were injured, according to two East Texas hospitals. Four patients were in critical condition.

James Crawford and his wife, Thelma, rode out the storm in their mobile home in the area with some of Van’s worst damage.

They were in bed and did not have time to run, she said. All she could do was roll over and give her husband a bear hug while they held on.

Thelma Crawford said she believes their home lifted off the ground a bit, then came back down.

“We’re like family in that neighborhood,” she said. “When one of them gets hurt, I hurt.”

In some cases, the fronts of homes were sheared off, revealing living room furniture tossed in a jumble. Houses were spray painted with an X to indicate they had been searched by emergency workers.

Kimberli Shane held a muddy hand to her forehead as she watched friends and neighbors salvage furniture from the home she rented.

“All I could really hear was the house pulling apart,” she said. “And my son saying, ‘Oh no, it’s right over us.'”

Preliminary reports indicate 20 to 25 tornadoes formed Sunday in South Dakota, Iowa, Oklahoma and Texas, according to meteorologist Greg Carbin of the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

The storm system was expected to slowly move east. Thunderstorms were forecast from Texas to the Great Lakes region.

“This is certainly not an atypical system for spring where you’ve got the remnants of winter but the onset of summer,” Carbin said.

The same storm system dumped 11 inches of rain in some places and caused widespread flooding. Firefighters in Corsicana, 60 miles southwest of Van, recovered the body of a driver who had ventured into the floodwaters after his vehicle stalled in a swollen creek.

The heavy rain caused a huge sinkhole to open up in Granbury, some 40 miles southwest of Fort Worth. The 40-foot-wide sinkhole swallowed the parking lot of a supermarket and damaged water and sewer lines beneath, WFAA-TV reported.

Farther north, in Lake City, Iowa, a suspected tornado tore the roof from a high school as about 150 students, family and faculty attended an awards ceremony inside Sunday night.

Dave Birks, girls’ basketball coach at South Central Calhoun High School, said people were able to flee to the basement and locker room area about two minutes before the twister arrived.

“The lights went off, and everyone’s ears kind of popped,” Birks said, adding that school windows were blown out and insulation was scattered nearby. He also said the high-jump pit from the school’s outdoor athletic complex was missing, and hurdles were scattered everywhere.