Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs believes his city could be looking at more than $10 million in damages due to last week's storms.
By Bob Gathany
bgathany@al.com
Monday night's severe storms did major damage at Mitch Smith Chevrolet in Cullman as baseball-sized hail severely damaged 380 new vehicles. Security camera video shows the large hail taking out car windows and exploding as it hits the pavement.
According to owner Sharon Smith, only three or four vehicles on the lot out of nearly 400 did not have any damage. Some of the most expensive vehicles, such as Corvettes, were stored in the company's service bays but there was not room for many other vehicles.
The hail started about 7:10 p.m. and lasted almost 20 minutes. The dealership had closed early for the day due to the storm warnings so there were no employees at the property during the storm.
The company cannot sell any of the vehicles until after insurance appraisers make their assessment but they are already getting calls asking about purchasing vehicles at discounted prices due to the damage.
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CULLMAN COUNTY, AL (WBRC) -
Assessments are still being done, but Cullman Mayor Woody Jacobs believes his city could be looking at more than $10 million in damages due to last week's storms.
Jacobs says the damage stretches from one end of the city to the other, with the southern end getting the worst of it. He says it’s likely the hail did more damage than the tornadoes, especially to roofs and cars.
The good news is there weren't any reports of any serious injuries. Still, some of those hailstones that fell were baseball size or larger. That was a surprise to most who live there.
"Just talking to some of the adjusters, one I met with yesterday, was from Fort Worth, Texas and from what they've said, this is the worst hail storm east of the Mississippi, ever,” Jacobs said. “This is uncommon for this area to get this widespread of hail.”
Jacobs says on Tuesday, EMA officials will get with county and city officials to, again, go over what they're seeing and really assess how widespread this damage is, how much it will cost. He says there's certainly quite a way to go before they get back to normal.
Several businesses along Cullman’s busy Cherokee Avenue remained closed Monday due to the storm damage.
That included several stores in the Marketplatz Shopping Center, like TJ Maxx, Cato's and the AMC Movie Theatre.
At the Golden Corral down the street, crews are hard at work repairing the roof, which was severely damaged with baseball-sized hail.
The holes allowed rain to pour inside, and that damaged the carpet, tiles, and lights.
When asked to rate the severity of damage on a scale of one to 10, Kitchen Manager Donna Smith didn’t hesitate to give an answer.
"A 10. We've never been closed this long. We've had some freezers pop and been closed for a day, but this has been pretty bad,” Smith said.
But being closed hasn’t mean a break for employees.
"We've had some employees who've helped clean. Other stores have taken employees in so they don't lose money, so it's been a team effort from all of us."
Smith says they hope to reopen by Wednesday night, Thursday at the latest.
SMITHTOWN, Long Island (WABC) --
Flames swept through a historical mansion on Long Island on Monday night.
The 11,000 square foot Ebo Hill mansion was gutted by a fire in the town of Smithtown in Suffolk County.
The mansion dates back to 1843 when it was built for the Smith family, who are the founders of Smithtown.
It was recently purchased and was in the process of being restored.
The cause of the fire is still unknown. Would not be surprised if it was set on-fire to collect the insurance money.
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While a prospective buyer for the maligned Ebo Hill property in Smithtown has already begun landscaping around the ramshackle historic mansion this week, the property's owner said the sale is not exactly a done deal.
"I did sell it, or I would like to say 'yes, I sold it,'" said building owner Richard Longobardi, who also owns All Towne Realty Group in Smithtown. "Until the fat lady sings, I haven't sold it."
According to Longobardi, prospective buyer Frederick Greaves has not entered into a contract with him yet, though as a sign of good faith Greaves has been paying for certain rehabilitation costs related to the property, including landscaping.
"He wants to buy the house; we're very serious about selling the house," Longobardi said. Though he would not comment on the asking price, the owner told Patch in July 2012 that he wouldn't take less than $1 million.
The Ebo Hill property has been asn eyesore for years, a crumbling mansion that many people told us they'd love to see restored.
Originally, the land was owned by Obadiah Smith, the great-grandson of Smithtown founder Richard Smyth. The property passed through later generations of the Smith family, with the house that stands there now being built in 1856.
Greaves, a Lindenhurst man, has been emailing Patch for months about his intentions to restore Ebo Hill after learning about the state of decay at the house through one of our articles. He confirmed that a deal is in the works to buy the mansion.
Landscapers on the property on Wednesday said they have been working there for two days, mostly clearing a host of downed trees in the backyard that were toppled by recent storms.
"I'm really interested to see how it all turns out," said one worker.
MASON, Ohio --
Kraft Heinz Food Company is facing a fine of more than $100,000 after an employee lost part of a finger at the company's Mason facility.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Kraft Heinz for machine safety violations, officials announced Friday. OSHA has proposed penalties of $109,939 for the company.
An employee suffered a partial finger amputation while clearing a machine jam, according to the Department of Labor.
OSHA inspectors found the company failed to implement energy control procedures to prevent equipment from accidentally starting, to install adequate machine guards and to train employees on the use of energy control procedures.
A Kraft Heinz spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company has 15 days to comply, request a conference with OSHA or contest the findings.
COLUMBIA, Mo. -
Nelson's Tree Service, LLC has until next Wednesday to respond to a citation issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Scott Allen, a spokesperson for OSHA, said the company was issued a serious violation March 7 after investigating reports that an employee fell from a tree while working in January.
Allen said Nelson's Tree Service can either agree to pay the $3,880 fine or request an informal meeting with OSHA to discuss the citation.
It's the second serious citation issued against the tree trimming company since August 2016, when an employee was killed on the job after being hit by a falling tree limb and crushed by a falling tree. The company was fined more than $17,000 for the deadly incident.
Allen said details about the latest investigation couldn't be discussed as it is still considered open.
A postal delivery driver was killed in the Pinckney area when she was crushed by her delivery truck. Michigan State Police Lieutenant Mario Gonzalez spoke with Michigan News Network about the incident.
“The incident happened Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. and it was the homeowner discovered her,” Gonzalez said. “They were at the house and then they just happened to come out and find her.”
Gonzales says it appears the driver got out of the truck to make a delivery when it began rolling down the driveway. The 56-yr-old woman attempted to climb back into the truck when she became pinned against a guardrail.
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LYNDON TOWNSHIP, Mich. — Authorities say a mail carrier has died after being pinned by a U.S. Postal Service vehicle that rolled down a driveway in Michigan.
State police say 56-year-old Tracy Sylo of Pinckney died Wednesday in Washtenaw County's Lyndon Township while delivering a package to a home.
Police say the mail truck was parked at the top of the driveway of a home that sits on a hill about 45 miles west of Detroit. The vehicle rolled and struck the mail carrier, pinning her between the vehicle and a metal guardrail.
A statement from police says Sylo died at the scene. The death is under investigation and police are working to determine why the truck rolled.
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LYNDON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) - Michigan State Police say a USPS mail carrier was killed when she was hit by her own truck delivering mail on Wednesday afternoon.
According to police, the mail carrier was on Blind Lake Rd. in Lyndon Township, northwest of Ann Arbor, around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.
She was delivering a package at a resident with the USPS mail truck parked at the top of the driveway. For reasons not known at this time, the vehicle rolled down the driveway, struck the mail carrier and then pinned her between the truck and a guardrail.
The woman, identified as a 56-year-old Tracy Sylo, of Pinckney, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Obituary for Tracy Sylo
Sylo, Tracy Lynn
Pinckney, Michigan
Her Legacy… Tracy Lynn Sylo, 56, passed away March 21, 2018. She was born on January 24, 1962, in Ann Arbor, Michigan to Paul Presswood and Patricia West. Tracy married the love of her life, Michael Peter Sylo under the grapevines in the backyard of St. Paul Lutheran Church, on June 24, 1985, in Hamburg, Michigan. She will be remembered as a loving beautiful wife and best friend who took care of everyone. She was full of energy and loved to go on many boat rides with her family and grandchildren. She was the perfect wife and sister in law to her husband and his family. Tracy loved playing the lottery and cards, she kept Michigan lotto in business. She is going to be greatly missed by all she knew and loved.
Her Family… Tracy will be missed by her husband, Michael; her children, Dan (Billlie Jo) Sylo, and Chelsea (Jesse) Rybak; parents; Patricia (GG) West, and Paul Presswood; sibling; Kelly (Mike) Wade, Karen Shepp, and Rusty (Patty) Presswood; grandchildren; Camden Rybak, Madison Sylo, and her mother; Christine Tracy; sister in laws; Diannia (Tom) Bull, and Karen (Anthony) Clark, also many nieces and nephews who she loved dearly.
