Tuscaloosa's Friday Digest

1) The Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency is receiving a $25,000 grant to help fund its Community Emergency Response Team program.

EMA Director Nick Lolley tells us CERT trains volunteers to help those impacted by a disaster in the early going before first responders can arrive on the scene. CERT trains volunteers in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue and basic first aid. Contact the Tuscaloosa County EMA to volunteer.

2) This coming Monday, November 7, Tuscaloosa County EMA and Tuscaloosa's VA Medical Center are teaming up to provide free programmed weather radios to veterans who live in Tuscaloosa County.

The event will be held on the VA’s campus at Liberty Park from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. The NOAA radios are linked to the national weather alert system and broadcast important information during emergencies.

“This community outreach event provides our veterans with the capability to receive the earliest possible warning of approaching severe weather so they may take appropriate action for their own safety and that of their families," stated Tuscaloosa County EMA Director Nick Lolley.

"Supporting the health and welfare of those who bravely served our country should be an ongoing top priority.”

The radios provide automatic weather warnings and watches in Tuscaloosa County directly from the National Weather Service based in Birmingham. The radios continue to operate for several hours in a power outage with battery backup using standard AA batteries. Individuals wishing to support this event may sponsor a single weather radio for 30 dollars. For more information or to make a donation, call Tuscaloosa County EMA at 205-349-0150.

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3) 50 jobs will be available at the Tuscaloosa VA tomorrow, Saturday, October 29.

Openings range from registered nurses and police officers to housekeeping aides. VA leaders are offering up to $10,000 in bonuses for RNs, LPNs and police officers if they commit for one year. The jobs fair begins at 9 a.m. Saturday morning in the sports atrium at the Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center.

4) Two constitutional Amendments on the November 8 General Election ballot will authorize the Alabama Public Service Commission to regulate privately owned sewer systems in Tuscaloosa, Jefferson and Shelby counties.

Tuscaloosa County republican state representative Rich Wingo sponsored the legislation earlier this year after residents in the Lakeview and McCalla communities have long complained that the privately owner system there being guilty of price gouging.

9 Tuscaloosa Restaurants and Businesses that Closed This Year

Tuscaloosa has bid adieu to several area restaurants and businesses this year, from the much beloved to the utterly infamous. With more than half the year behind us, here's a look at 10 businesses that have permanently closed their doors in 2022.