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Falling bricks injure 2 Tuscaloosa firefighters

Source: MGN Online

TUSCALOOSA, AL (WBRC)- Two Tuscaloosa firefighters were taken to the hospital with minor injuries after bricks fell on them while they battled a house fire Thursday morning.

The firemen, identified as Lt. Darrel Harbin and Phillip Lewis, were putting out a fire in the Laurel Woods subdivision around 5 a.m. when an upper portion of a wall collapsed.

Bricks rained down on the firefighters and hit them in the head, said Travis Parker with the Tuscaloosa Fire Department. Thankfully both firefighters were wearing helmets.

Harbin and Lewis were treated for minor injuries and have both been released. Harbin said he has a concussion and cervical sprain from the incident.

Copyright 2013 WBRC. All rights reserved.

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Man arrested on rape charge in Tuscaloosa

Putu Darmika Setiawan (Photo: Tuscaloosa County Jail)

BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC)- The Tuscaloosa Police Department says they have arrested a man in connection to a rape investigation.

Officers responded to DCH Hospital on Thursday morning around 6:30 a.m. on a report of a sexual assault. The victim told officers that she and other friends were at the suspect's residence. The victim fell asleep and awoke to the suspect assaulting her. The victim was able to pull away from the suspect and left the scene to get help.

Investigators interviewed witnesses and the suspect. Information gained during the investigation led to the arrest of Putu Darmika Setiawan on the charge of 1st degree rape. He was placed in the Tuscaloosa County Jail on a $50,000 bond.

Copyright 2013 WBRC. All rights reserved.

Tuscaloosa leaders approve $4.5 million park upgrades

Tuscaloosa city and county parks will benefit from the upgrades. Source: WBRC video

TUSCALOOSA COUNTY, AL (WBRC)- The Tuscaloosa County Commission has approved an expensive makeover for several area parks.

Local leaders hope the upgrades to parks in city limits and the county will attract tourists. The $4.5 million improvements could mean more football and soccer fields as well as adding lights for night games.

Some commissioners worried about spending money for something they felt would benefit the city more than the county. Originally, the cost would be split evenly between the city of Tuscaloosa and the county. Leaders now agree that the city will pay 75 percent of the cost.

One county commissioner hopes the upgrades will it easier for the area to compete for tournaments.

"Really it was a quality of life project in my mind. And I think it's going to be beneficial. It also has the added benefit we hope of bringing in extra tourism dollars by attracting tourists and tournaments," commissioner Stan Acker said.

Alabama found lacking in computer science students

BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC)- With more job opportunities than any other college major these days, computer science is hot. The Bureau of Labor says there will be up to 800,000 new jobs in this area by 2020. So, why are fewer than 100 students in Alabama learning about this field?

"I'm always surprised that we have to go out and advocate for computer science education," computer science teacher, Carol Yarbrough said.

Whether it makes sense or not the computer science industry is in need of some good publicity. And who better to be the face of it than a Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and a few of their very successful friends. They are a part of a short film on the site code.org. It's advocating the need for computer programming education specifically teaching high school students how to write code.

"We heard there was a lot of folks in industry putting an effort to raise the awareness of computing," University of Alabama professor, Jeff Gray, said.

Crime Stoppers Poker Run 2013 info

Crime Stoppers Poker Run 2013

Fundraiser for Tuscaloosa County Crime Stoppers

Saturday, May 18 Bank of Tuscaloosa parking lot – 2200 Jack Warner Parkway

Check in begins: 9:30 am

$25 per bike, includes meal for driver and one raffle ticket passengers ride free, $5 for extra meal

Meals provided by Pottery Grill

Shirts $15 raffle tickets: $1 each or 6 for $5

Call with questions: Sgt. Brent Blankley (205) 248- 4845

Judge: Saban's daughter to get records in lawsuit

Kristen Saban

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - A Tuscaloosa County judge is ordering the University of Alabama's counseling center to turn over records sought by the daughter of Alabama football coach Nick Saban in a lawsuit.

A judge says the counseling service must release information about Sarah Grimes, who sued Kristen Saban last year over a fight.

But the records won't be open to the public, and the judge says anything that isn't used in court must either be returned to the counseling center or destroyed.

The university opposed the subpoena.

Grimes sued Kristen Saban last year over injuries she says occurred during a fight between the two women in 2010. The coach's daughter doesn't deny there was a fight, but she blames the 23-year-old Grimes.

The women were members of the same sorority at Alabama.

Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast,
rewritten or redistributed.

Tuscaloosa sex offender check yields 17 arrests

Most suspects are charged with failing to register. Monica Renee Dixon faces a charge of failing to register a juvenile sex offender. (Photo: Tuscaloosa PD)

BIRMINGHAM, AL (WBRC)- Tuscaloosa police conducted a city wide check of all sex offenders living within the city limits last month. From that investigation, 114 sex offenders were checked, 22 were found in violation and 17 were arrested. The arrests were made by U.S. Marshals and juvenile division investigators.

Most of the suspects found to be in violation have been charged with failure to register as a sex offender.

One of the suspects, Monica Renee Dixon was not a sex offender, but has been charged with failing to register a juvenile as a sex offender.

These are the suspects arrested so far:

Monica Renee Dixon, 38 years old, was charged with Parent Failure to Register Juvenile.

Kendrick Lamar Robinson, 22 years old, was charged with Failure to Register: Youthful Offender.

Ruondrike Lamorie Peoples, 35 years old, was charged with Failure to Register.