PINEY FLATS - Dr. John Doke Sherrill III, age 71, of Piney Flats, Tennessee, passed away Sunday, December 27, 2020. Dr. Sherrill was born July 3, 1949 in Birmingham, Alabama
War veteran takes command of helicopter regiment
Terry Brown
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Sgt. Matthew Gunter / New York Army National Guard
Lt. Col. Matthias Greene receives the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Assault Helicopter Regiment flag from Col. Michael Charnley, 42nd Combat Aviation Battalion commander, during a change of command ceremony in Ronkonkoma. Sgt. Matthew Gunter / New York Army National Guard
New York Army National Guard Lt. Col. Matthias Greene, a veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, has taken command of the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Assault Helicopter Regiment, which includes a unit at the Aviation Support Facility at the Albany International Airport in Colonie.
Top 10 environmental stories of 2020 in Alabama
Updated Dec 31, 2020;
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Well, almost nothing. Here’s a rundown of the biggest non-COVID environmental stories in Alabama in 2020.
Longest North American snake breeding in Alabama again
Conservation advocates in the state celebrated a victory early this year, when biologists confirmed that the longest snake native to North America is breeding again in the state.
And what a snake it is. The eastern indigo snake used to rule Alabama’s longleaf pine forests as the apex predator, reaching lengths of up to nine feet, and feeding on copperheads and rattlesnakes.
The species is federally listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, but had been all but wiped out from Alabama until biologists began reintroducing the snakes captured elsewhere into protected longleaf forests in the state.
Search in Africatown: Researchers to look for graves of former slaves and descendants from the Clotilda
Updated Dec 28, 2020;
Posted Dec 28, 2020
The Africatown Welcome Center is pictured on Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, in Mobile, Ala. At the time, the welcome center was housed in a mobile home across from the Old Plateau Cemetery. The new center will be located in the same spot, but it will be much larger (approximately 18,000 square feet) and serve as a tourist attraction. That project is being funded by RESTORE Act money. But before the project can move forward, an excavation is required to determine if any graves are located on the property.(Mike Kittrell/mkittrell@al.com)
The University of Maryland, College Park team used this prototype cabin to investigate the design of minimal cabin volumes for deep space exploration missions. (Credits: University of Maryland, College Park)
WASHINGTON (NASA PR) The 2020 Moon to Mars eXploration Systems and Habitation (X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge supports NASA’s efforts to develop technologies and capabilities that will enable future human missions to the Moon, Mars, and other solar system destinations.
In collaboration with the National Space Grant Foundation, NASA awarded nearly $310,000 to 11 university teams for the development of studies, concepts, and technologies that could support the agency’s deep space exploration capabilities. Awards ranged from $15,000 to $50,000, and funded projects that support NASA’s efforts to study sustainable and affordable space exploration and engage the next generation of talented scientific thinkers and engineers.