News

Memorial service planned for ABC24 meteorologist, Mark Walden

Wednesday, April 10th, 2013, 5:32pm

MEMPHIS, TN- (WMC-TV) - A local television station is grieving the loss of its chief meteorologist, who was also an active community member, father, and husband.

According to ABC 24, Mark Walden died in his home over the weekend from natural causes. He was 38 years old.

"Our ABC 24 family is deeply saddened by the passing of chief meteorologist Mark Walden," said ABC 24 General Manager Ardyth Diercks in a written statement. "He was highly respected among his colleagues and served this community as a gifted meteorologist and through his generous work with local charities. He touched our lives and will be greatly missed."

Walden joined ABC 24 in 1999.

News Director Lisa Lovell said in a news release that Walden was highly respected among his colleagues as a talented meteorologist with a passion for weather and keeping the community safe and informed. He also proudly served with numerous charitable organizations

View Comments | Post a Comment

Permit approved to upgrade Liberty Bowl

Submitted by WMCTV Web Staff

Monday, April 8th, 2013, 3:18pm

MEMPHIS, TN- (WMC-TV) - The building permit to renovate the Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium to bring it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act is approved. The upgrades are expected to cost $9,120,307.

The Memphis City Council previously approved a $12 million plan to upgrade stadium with the expectation of being reimbursed by the federal government. The deal was reached to avoid a lawsuit, which was threatened by the Department of Justice if changes were not made within one year.

The list of violations for the stadium spanned 23 pages.

Currently, people who use wheelchairs face 187 access violations. They cannot see over the concession stands, cannot reach some paper towel dispensers, and some water fountains are also out of reach. They are also limited to one area of the stadium.

View Comments | Post a Comment

Church Health Center celebrates 25 years

Submitted by Ursula Madden on Saturday, April 6th, 10:29 pm

MEMPHIS, TN- (WMC-TV) - Celebrating 25 years of helping to heal the community's working poor, the Church Health Center put its faith on display with a conference dedicated to faith community nursing.

Hundreds of people from all over the country and as far away as the Philippines are learning how to become better faith community nurses, by making sure their church members get healthy.

Jan Earlenbaugh-Gaddis made the trip from Indianapolis.

"Knowing that church is bigger than our congregation, that it's broader, it's about the joy, it's about hope, it's about healing, it's about bring people into whole health," said Earlenbaugh.

One of the high points of the Church Health Conference is the Friday night banquet featuring key note speaker, Ambassador Andrew Young.

Young shared his memories of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 45 years after King's assassination, and how faith and healing go hand in hand.

View Comments | Post a Comment

Restaurant Iris celebrates 5th anniversary

Submitted by Andy Wise, Chief Consumer Investigator/Andy's Restaurant Scorecard

Friday, April 5th, 2013, 2:36pm

Restaurant Iris celebrates 5th anniversary

There's not enough wall space in Chef Kelly English's restaurant to post all the accolades he and Restaurant Iris have earned since 2008: "Best Restaurant," "Best Chef," "Editor's Choice," "Best Bet Outside Louisiana," etc.

Tuesday, April 2, English and his staff celebrate five years of treating Midtown to one of the best restaurants in the Mid-South.

Restaurant Iris is holding an invitation-only fifth anniversary celebration at the restaurant, 2146 Monroe Ave., Sunday, April 7. "With an expected guest list approaching 500, the soirée will include music, food and drink for foodies and media, both local and national," said Natalie Cunningham of Green Line Marketing, publicist for Restaurant Iris.

I am honored to be invited, but in an ironic twist, I must attend a wedding this weekend in Oxford, MS, where Chef English attended Ole Miss!

View Comments | Post a Comment

'Heart of Memphis' to celebrate city

Submitted by Lauren Squires on Friday, March 29th, 6:35 pm

MEMPHIS, TN- (WMC-TV) - With a KKK rally planned for downtown over Easter weekend, the city wanted to showcase the best of Memphis through an event called the Heart of Memphis.

Tiger Lane's atmosphere will brighten the city Saturday. It will be full of food trucks, a farmers market will be present, and there will be a classic car show. It is all an attempt to celebrate Memphis and its diversity.

It did not look like much Friday, but come Saturday it will transform.

"Celebrate each other, we are a city that loves one another. We're a city that gets along, we're a city that's diverse, we're a city that culture and arts are who we are," said the chief of staff for A C Wharton, Bobby White.

The same day as a planned KKK protest downtown, White and several Memphis city leaders are inviting everyone to Heart of Memphis.

View Comments | Post a Comment

VA opens new legal clinic

Submitted by Michael Phillips

Thursday, March 28th, 2013, 5:25am

The Veterans Administration opened a new clinic in Midtown Memphis Tuesday.

This time the services will be for legal help instead of medical.

Here is a list of legal services available:

Landlord/Tenant
Outstanding Tickets/Fines
Criminal Law
Family Law
Expunging Criminal Record
Child Support
Consumer Law/Consumer Fraud
Mortgage Crisis
Driver’s License Revocation

The Legal Clinic will be held from noon to 2:00 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the VA's off campus site at 1407 Union Avenue, 8th Floor, Suite 815.

Attorneys serving Veterans in the Legal Clinic do not serve as the Veteran's representative in their actual court case in a court of law.

The sole purpose of these attorneys is to provide advice as an act of good will to the men and women who have given much in their service in the military, but who now need legal help.

View Comments | Post a Comment

Burglary suspect shot during alleged break-in

Submitted by WMCTV Web Staff

Wednesday, March 27th, 2013, 3:42pm

MEMPHIS, TN- (WMC-TV) - A burglary suspect was taken to The MED after police say he was shot trying to break into a home.

The reported break-in happened on the 1400 block of North Parkway in Midtown.

The street was blocked off Wednesday afternoon as police surrounded Diana Wong's home.

"I was just sitting in class and got a couple phone calls from my mom," she said. "I've never had any problems before."

She continued, "This is the first time anyone's tried to break in."

By the time police showed up on the scene around 11:30 a.m., someone inside the home already shot the man reportedly trying to break in.

"You know, I'm just sitting here doing regular housework and all of a sudden there's an ambulance and someone comes out on a stretcher," said Jessica Mejia, who lives nearby. "It's just mind blowing."

View Comments | Post a Comment