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April 21, 2023 | Vol. 2 Iss. 16
Covering Your Community
MHS grad flies high
Cassidie Poll competes as Drury University STUNT team member. page 6
MORGAN COUNTY NEWS Since 1929
NEWS BREAK 13-year-old freed from claw machine In Charlotte, North Carolina, a 13-year-old boy had to be freed from a claw machine after he climbed inside hoping to grab a prize, according to the Carowinds Amusement Park. Officials were alerted Sunday afternoon that the boy was inside a park claw machine containing plush prizes, according to a spokesperson for the park south of Charlotte. The medical response team unlocked the machine and the boy was able to get out, she said. He was treated and released from first aid to his guardian. The boy has been banned from the park for one year for attempted theft, Weber said.
Montana bans TikTok
A MUDSLIDE SUNDAY night brought down snow and debris. The overall estimated size of the slide was 200 feet wide and 150 feet high.
Photo courtesy of Mountain Green Fire Protection District
Mudslide comes down the hillside, pushes against home By Becky Ginos MOUNTAIN GREEN—Residents were evacuated from two homes in the Mountain Green Highland subdivision Sunday night when a mudslide came down the hillside and pushed against one of the homes. Residents at a neighboring home were also advised to evacuate. “We were alerted about the slide on Friday,” said Mountain Green Fire District Chief Brian C. Brendel. “There
was a little bit Friday then a little more on Saturday but the worst happened Sunday about 9:30 p.m.” Neighbors and firefighters tried to dig several drainage trenches in an attempt to relieve water buildup, he said. “The whole community responded, it was awesome. It didn’t really work though as the hillside slipped.” People were trying to move belongings out of the house, said Brendel. “I shut down the operation mainly for safety issues. It was pretty hectic but
we got most of the belongings out of the house. I set up an incident command and limited it to firefighters in the house.” Every garage and trailer was full of stuff, he said. “People offered up any storage space they had. It was wonderful.” Brendel said he also advised the neighbors adjacent to evacuate. “We didn’t know what could happen. The
MUDSLIDE on page 2
Flooding begins in Morgan County By Linda Petersen
A
lthough spring runoff has just begun, Morgan County has already experienced some flooding. Last Tuesday, April 11, about nine homes on Highway 66 around 2800 South in Porterville were impacted by run off from the mountainside behind them beginning around 4 p.m. Ditches above the homes designed to trap flood waters were overwhelmed and the water cascaded down between the homes, Fire Chief Boyd Carrigan said. Highway 66 was closed in both directions between 2700 South and Richville Lane until around 11:30 p.m. while fire crews and volunteers sandbagged the area in efforts to divert the flood waters across the highway. Motorists were instructed to use Morgan Valley Drive as an alternate route. At that time, most of the road was opened, but a small stretch of the road remained closed overnight from Tuesday
FLOODING on page 2
Montana became the first state in the country to ban the social media app TikTok from all personal devices, sending the bill to Governor Greg Gianforte’s desk. If the governor signs the bill, it will take effect in January 2024. The bill would prohibit app stores from selling the app within the state boundaries, and would penalize them, rather than individual users. TikTok is seen by some security analysts as a threat, due to its data-mining potential and Chinese authorship. The bill likely faces a number of first amendment challenges if passed.
U.S. reached its debt limit in January House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has outlined a proposal to raise the nation's credit limit for one year to address the “ticking time bomb” of the debt ceiling in exchange for significant spending cuts and GOP policy changes to federal assistance programs. The U.S. reached its debt limit in January. Negotiations have stalled between McCarthy and President Biden, with Biden calling for a clean increase of the debt ceiling not tied to a debate about spending.
18,000 cows killed in explosion, fire at Texas dairy farm A fire spread quickly through the holding pens of a west Texas dairy farm last week, where thousands of dairy cows crowded together waiting to be milked, trapped in deadly confines. After subduing the fire officials were stunned at the scale of livestock death left behind: 18,000 head of cattle perished in the fire at the South Fork Dairy farm near Dimmitt, Texas – or about 20% of the cattle slaughtered in America on any given day, according to USA Today.
Study shows COVID in pregnant women could affect boys’ brain development
AN APRIL 11 FLOOD affected nine homes in Portersville. Morgan County Fire & EMS led the clean up the next day.
Courtesy photo/ Morgan County Fire & EMS
Getting COVID while pregnant could affect your son's brain development, according to a study looking at more than 18,000 children born in Massachusetts. It revealed that boys, not girls, were twice as likely to show developmental disorders like speech, language and motor function delays in the first 18 months of life.