Oxford man convicted of killing horses

Brandon Kyle Salers

An Oxford man has been convicted on two counts of killing livestock after fatally shooting two horses last year.

It took a Talladega County jury about 15 minutes to find Brandon Kyle Salers guilty of both of the Class C felonies.

Last year, Renee Rice found two of her horses, Penny and Twinkle, shot to death in her pasture on McIntosh Road. That's in a part of Oxford that extends into Talladega County.

Twinkle, a paint horse, belonged to Rice's seven-year-old daughter, and evidence suggested it suffered for awhile before it died of its wounds.

Salers is now in the Talladega County Jail on $10,000 bond. He's set to be sentenced April 14 in Talladega. He could get one to 10years in prison for each count.

Post Office Delays

Due to the Winter Storm, some postal operations in northern Alabama will open late.

Post Offices with the first three ZIP Code digits beginning with 355, 356, 357, 358, and 359 are scheduled to open at 10 a.m.  Post Offices with the first three ZIP Code digits 362 (with the exception of Piedmont, AL) will open as scheduled. The Piedmont Post Office is scheduled to open at 10 a.m.

Business and residential customers in the impacted ZIP Codes will receive mail delivery, but their letter carrier may arrive later in the day.

Travel Advisory

Most roads in Calhoun and Etowah Counties now are considered passable, but there still could be some problems on secondary roads after temperatures dipped to the lower 20s overnight.

EMA Officials say Some snow still could be on less-traveled roads and there could be some melting snow that has refrozen.

That possibility prompted school officials to Delay or cancel classes for Today.

Road conditions appear to have been worse in the northern and western parts of Etowah County, in the Walnut Grove and Altoona areas and in some areas near Sardis City and Mountainboro. However, roads with shady areas and those in the mountainous areas also had a lot of problems.

Friday Delays and Closings

Attalla City Schools - closed

Blount County Schools - closed

Calhoun County Schools - 3hr delay

Cherokee County Schools - closed

Cleburne County Schools - 2hr delay

Etowah County Schools - closed

Gadsden City Schools - closed

Oneonta City Schools - closed

Snead State Comm. College - closed

St. Clair County Schools - 2hr delay

Steele Junior High - closed

Westbrook Christian School - closed

12th Street Baptist Preschool - closed

Kinder Garden Rainbow City – closed

Albertville City Schools: Closed

Episcopal Day School (Gadsden): Closed

Piedmont City Schools: 3 hour delay

Jacksonville Christian Academy: 3 hour delay

Etowah County Jury Reporting Changed due to weather

The Etowah County Judicial Building was closed Thursday, and jurors who had been scheduled to report Thursday morning have been instructed to appear at 8:30 a.m. next Tuesday.

Jurors who were supposed to have reported Wednesday morning already had been informed they should report at 8:30 a.m. Monday. Jurors scheduled to report Today are expected to report as instructed, at 8:30 a.m. Any changes in plans for jurors will be posted on the county website, and jurors will be notified.

A large jury pool had been assembled for the capital murder trial of Joyce Hardin Garrard, charged in the February 2012 death of her granddaughter Savannah Hardin. Etowah Circuit Judge William Ogletree discussed potential weather problems in a hearing Tuesday, when forecasts had begun to predict substantial snow. He told attorneys the primary concern was safety for jurors.

Although the trial is expected to be lengthy, Ogletree told attorneys there was “no hurry” in starting it.

Family pleas for help in locating missing Blount County woman

Felicia Weaver

A Blount County family is pleading for help in finding their missing loved one. Felicia Weaver hasn't been seen or heard from since Feb. 5th. That same day the family's home caught fire.

Around 2:30pm was the last time Michael Mullins heard from his mother. About an hour later the family's home was engulfed in flames. Weaver had been home alone on Jack Cole Road in Hayden.

The area has been searched by cadaver dogs. Mullins says he was told the fire was not intentionally

set, but there's no word on how it started. The family says they are frustrated with the efforts of the sheriff's department. Felicia Weaver is known as Lisa to her friends. The family has set up a facebook page to help get the word out about any new developments.

If the weather clears this weekend, the family plans to conduct their own search of the area.