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LocalThe annual Fourth of Julyfireworks extravaganzahosted by the ExchangeClub of GreaterHuntsvillehas a new address this year–Bridge Street TownCen-tre. B1
Mayoral battles are featuredas qualifying opens today formunicipal offices inHuntsville,Madison andelsewhere. B1
StateThe state SupremeCourtsets a July 31 execution datefor an inmatewho camewithin a day of being exe-cuted last year for a 1982contract killing. B3
NationIn pre-July 4 speeches,BarackObama, JohnMc-Cain and their supportersgive their views of patriot-ism. A7
The collision of twomedicalhelicopters in Arizona is theninth such accident thisyear, and 16 people havebeen killed. A8
WorldThe Pentagon is charging aSaudi Arabianwith “organ-izing and directing” the2000 bombing of the USSCole, andwill seek the deathpenalty. A3
Threemen held at AbuGhraib prison file a suitclaiming theywere torturedbyU.S. defense contractorsthere. A3
Business
Huntsville-based Avocent iscutting 110 jobsworldwide;about 20will be inHuntsville, but therewill bea net gain of about 20 localpositions aswork fromother sites is transferredhere. D8
SportsHuntsville’sMargaretHoelzerqualifies forthe 100-meter back-stroke finalsat theU.S.Olympicsswim trials.D1
Huntsville, AlabamaVol. 99, No. 101, 40 pagesContents © 2008, The Huntsville Times
Abby/C2Bridge/C2Business/D6Classifieds/E1Comics/C3Crosswordpuzzles/C2, E7Cryptoquote/C2Deaths/B3
Editorials/A6Horoscope/C2Life/C1Lotteries/A2Movies/C7People/C2Sports/D1Sudoku/E3Television/C8
What’s inside
Forecast:Sunny,mild.
Full weather, C8
<ä<Dow
+ 3.50Nasdaq- 22.65
S&P 500+ 1.62
High today
86Low tonight
59
Classifieds: 532-4222WE BREAK MORE NEWS AT TUESDAY / JULY 1 / 2008
10 StarsmakeSouthern LeagueAll-Star team.
D1
Health tipsfrom Russerttragedy. C1
Army’s next robots will swarmlike ants to support a soldier. D8
Child, parents made‘the sweetest family youcould ever hope to see’By PATRICIA C. McCARTERTimes Staff [email protected]
Aaron JosiahMiller wasmore thanwhathistorywill rememberhimtobe.Yes,heisthetragicfaceofHuntsville’s
Airshow 2008, where a violent stormuproo t edtentsSundayafternoonand fatallytoppled a5 , 0 0 0 -pound pieceof air condi-t i o n i n gequipmenton the boy.Butbefore
he was that,hewas justab e l o v e d ,impish 5-year-oldwhocouldn’twaitto startk i n d e r -garten, wholovedtheAt-lantaBraves somuchhisparentsput awall-size mural of Fulton County Sta-diuminhisredandbluebedroom,whoplayed his toy guitar as he sang John-ny Cash songs.Hewas and is the only sonwhowill
everbeborn toAmieandJasonMiller.Complications after his birth deter-minedthat,andhisparents–whowerejust 20 and 23 when he was born –poured everything they had into him.Amiestayedhomewithhimin their
newandnice brick home in theLime-stone County part of Madison, teach-inghimeverythingheneeded toknowto be prepared for school.“Theywereattachedat thehip,” said
Amie’smother,MartaNewbyofMerid-ianville. “Oh, she is going to miss himso much. They did everything togeth-er. And Jason, too.“Theymade the sweetest family you
could ever hope to see.”Thelastgameofhis inauguralT-ball
seasonthisspring,Josiahturnedadou-bleplay,anunusual feat inachild’s firstyear of playing ball.His mother’s tears stopped long
enoughMonday evening to recall thatmoment.“Hecaughtalinedrivefromthepitch-
er’smound,andhetaggedarunneroutat second,” said Amie, 25. “I was thedugoutmomforthatgame,andherantomeandsaid, ‘Ididgood,Mom!Giveme a hug!’ ”
Tent owner likens windto tornado that skipsaround neighborhoodBy NIKI DOYLETimes Staff [email protected]
Theownerof the tents that fell dur-ing Sunday’s air show said he person-ally supervised the installation of thetents and described the incident as a“freakweather circumstance.”“In my opinion, it’s like a tornado
when it takes out two or three housesbut leaves one standing,” said SteveWhitman,ownerofAllNeedzRentals.“The microburst had no warning.Therewasnothing thatwecouldhavedone to improve the stability of thetents.”Whitman said Monday night that
one side of the tents was securedwith3-foot-longstakesdrivenasfarintothegroundastheywouldgo,andtheothersidewasanchoredby55-gallondrumsof water.Some tents were secured with only
stakeswhileothershadonlywaterbar-rels, but the wind didn’t discriminate.The tents that toppledwere pulled upon the sideswith the stakes, and sometents with the same construction –stakes on one side and barrels on theother – didn’t budge,Whitman said.“Myfamilywasunderthetentsand,
ifIthoughttherewasanydangeratall,Iwouldhavehad tried to evacuatemyfamily and others, yet it happened sofast, therewasnowarning,” saidWhit-man,whohasadaughterthesameageas JosiahMiller, whowas killed. “My-self, my family and my company em-ployees are grieving the loss of JosiahMiller.“MywifeandIalsohavechildrenand
cannot imagine the devastation and
grief thathisparentsandfamilymem-bers are going through at this time.”Whitmansaidhealsoprovidespro-
fessionaltentinstallationforeventssuch
Paddlewheel vessel wasoverturned by violentwind during SCI picnicBy JOHN PECKTimes Staff [email protected]
FewinHuntsvillehadeverheardofa“microburst”untilapaddlewheelves-selwascapsizedbyonenearDittoLand-ing. Eleven passengers drowned, in-
cluding some children of SCIworkerstaking part in a company picnic.The company-leased vessel, a two-
story, 100-foot sternwheeler,was eeri-ly named SciTanic.The1984eventdrewweatherexperts
fromacrossthecountrytostudythecir-cumstances – including Tetsuya Fuji-ta, the University of Chicago meteor-ologist who devised the standard formeasuring the strength of tornadoesand discoveredmicrobursts and theirlink to plane crashes.Earlyreportsthatatornadomayhave
swamped the SciTanic were replacedwiththeofficialdiagnosis:amicroburst.
TRAGEDY AT AIRSHOW 2008 AARON JOSIAH MILLER
Special Forcescaptain lost sightfighting in IraqBy KEVIN MAURERThe Associated Press
FORTBRAGG,N.C.–WhenCapt. Ivan Castro joined theArmy,hesetgoals: to jumpoutofplanes,kickindoorsandleadsoldiers into combat. Heachieved them all. Then themortar round landed five feet
away, blasting away his sight.“Onceyou’reblind, youhave
to set new goals,” Castro said.He set themhigher.Notcontentwithjuststaying
intheArmy,heistheonlyblind
officer serving in the SpecialForces – the small, elite unitsfamed for dropping behindenemy lines on combat mis-sions.Asexecutiveofficerofthe7th
Special Forces Group’s head-quarters company in FortBragg, Castro’s duties don’t di-rectly involve combat, thoughtheydohavehimtakingpartinjustabouteverythingthatleads The Associated Press
“I don’t want them to take pity over me or give me somethingI’ve not earned,” Castro says.
In today’s TimesAir show official says this is the
worst accident he’s heard of. A4Eyewitness accounts. B1Emergency workers’ quick re-
sponse came from preparedness. B1What can be done that might pre-
vent another storm tragedy? Editori-al, A6
On the Net:Stories, photos, and video at:
blog.al.com/ht/airshow
In today’s TimesPresident Bush signs a
war-funding bill. A3Iraq opens bidding for op-
eration of its oil fields. D6
Huntsville International Air-portauthoritiesdeclinedMondayto release additional informationor comment on the tent collapsethat killed 5-year-old Aaron Josi-ahMiller.Spokeswoman Laura Gipson
said airport authorities are with-holding that information for now“out of respect for the family.”More information may be re-
leased today, Gipson said.“The staff of Huntsville Inter-
nationalAirportwishestoexpressourdeepestcondolencesandsym-pathies to theMiller family,” Gip-son said in awritten statement.
Please see BLIND on A5
Blind soldier determined to serve
In Today’s TimesMicrobursts hard to measure, and
come and go suddenly. A4
Airport officials mum
Please see CAPSIZING on A5
Microburst killed 11 in 1984 capsizing
Josiah Miller had awall-size mural of At-lanta’s Fulton Stadiumin his room.
‘Nothing that wecould have done’
‘Only son’loved Bravesand T-ball
Aerial photos courtesy of Blake Mathis
The line of white tents, lower right, before the storm hit.
Please see 'NOTHING' on A5
Please see SON on A5
Photo courtesy of Blake Mathis
The once-neat line of tents shown below was a twisted mass of metal and canvas after the storm passed.
MargaretHoelzer
He didn’t just play well. Helooked the part, too.Beforeeachgame,thesandy-
haired,blue-eyedboyputonhisuniformandstoodonthetubinhis parent’s bathroom so hecould get a full-length look at hisuniformed self inthemirror.
He’d completehis conversion toballplayer with apack of BigLeague Chewbubblegum.He’dstick abigwad inhis mouth andthen share therest with histeammates.He was terri-
fied of Chuck ECheese and theEasterBunny;heloved trains andfamilyandmusicand watching planes land atHuntsville International Air-port.HelovedtheBlueAngels,too.On a recent visit to Orange
Beach,hisparentsdrovehimtoPensacola’s National AviationMuseumsohecouldlookatthedisplay of the Navy’s precision
flight squadron.When his parents told him
theywere taking him to the airshowSunday–whichwastheirsixth wedding anniversary – tosee theBlueAngels in flight, hereached that rung of excite-mentachievableonlyby5-year-oldboysenroutetoseetheirhe-roes.
And then, the unthinkable.“His dad tried
to catch it,” saidJosiah’s“Mamaw.”Butamancan’t
catch somethingthatweighs5,000pounds, no mat-ter how hard hetries, no matterhow much he’drather it was himbeneath the ma-chinery.
And that’swhen JosiahMiller becamepart of a sad his-tory, though hiscelebrity shouldhave been forsomething else.
Like how he could sit raptthroughanentireBravesgamesontelevisionorhowheknewallof thewords to “FolsomPrisonBlues” or howhe could exist al-most solely on McDonald’sChickenMcNuggets.Anything butwhat it is.
SonContinued frompage A1
The Huntsville Times, Tuesday, July 1, 2008 A5
0000009571-01
TRAGEDY AT AIRSHOW 2008
The Associated Press
Capt. Ivan Castro runs alongside Spc. Robert Garner, left, while holding a tether with Sgt. ZanePlatt for guidance during morning physical training in Fort Bragg, N.C.
up to it.“I amgoing topush the lim-
its,”the40-year-oldsaid.“Idon’twant to go to Fort Bragg andshow up and sit in an office. Iwant to work every day andhave amission.”Since thewar began in Iraq,
morethan100troopshavebeenblindedand247othershavelostsightinoneeye.Onlytwootherblindofficersserveintheactive-dutyArmy:oneacaptainstudy-ing to be an instructor atWestPoint,theotheraninstructoratthe CombinedArmsCenter atFort Leavenworth, Kan.An 18-year Army veteran,
Castro was a Ranger beforecompletingSpecialForcestrain-ing,thegruelingyearlongcoursemany soldiers fail to finish.Hejoined the Special Forces as aweaponssergeant,earnedanof-ficer’s commission andmovedon to the 82nd – hoping to re-turn one day to the SpecialForces as a team leader.Then life changed on a
rooftop outside Youssifiyah,Iraq, in September 2006.Castro had relieved other
paratroopersatopahouseaftera night of fighting. He neverheard the incoming mortarround.Therewasjustaflashoflight, then darkness.Shrapnel tore through his
body, breaking his arm andshoulder and shredding theleft side of his face. Two otherparatroopers died.When Castro awoke six
weeks later at the NationalNavalMedicalCenterinBethes-da,Md.,hisrighteyewasgone.Doctorswereunabletosavehisleft.TheBlindedVeteransAsso-
ciation estimates 13 percent ofall combathospital emergencyproceduresinIraqhaveinvolvedeyeinjuriesandmorethanhalfof the soldiers with traumaticbrain injuries also suffer somevisualimpairment.Thatmakesthem the third most commoninjury–behindpost traumaticstress disorder and brain in-juries – in Iraq.“Whathe isdoing isastrong
example that blind individualscan lead exciting and mean-ingful careers,” said ThomasZampieri, director of govern-ment relations for the associa-tion.After 17months in recovery,
Castrosoughtapermanentas-signmentintheservice’sSpecialOperationsCommand,landingdutywiththe7thSpecialForcesGroup. He focuses on mana-gerial tasks while honing thegroup’sSpanishtraining,ause-ful language for a unit that de-ploys regularly to train SouthAmerican troops.Though not fully independ-
ent,hespentaweekendbeforestartinghisjobwalkingaround
theGroupareaatFortBraggtoknow justwherehewasgoing.Hecarefullymeasuredthestepsfrom car to office.“Obviously, he cannot do
somethings thatasightedper-soncando.But Ivanwill findaway to get done whatever heneeds to get done,” Col. SeanMulholland said. “What I ammost impressed with, though,is his determination to contin-ue to serve his country after allthat he’s been through.”Castroworksoutregularlyat
thegymandruns,hislegspow-erfulandmuscular.Andthoughhehasaprostheticrighteyeandhis arms are scarred by shrap-nel, his outsized personalityovershadows his war wounds:Nobody escapes his boominghellos, friendlybanterandlim-itless drive.HerantheBostonmarathon
this year with Adm. Eric T.Olson, commander of theU.S.SpecialOperationsCommand.Last year it was the MarineCorpsMarathon. He wants tocompete in the IronmantriathloninHawaiiandgradu-ate from theArmy’s officer ad-vanced course, which teachescaptainshowtoleadtroopsandplan operations.“Iwanttobetreatedthesame
way as other officers,” Castrosaid. “Idon’twantthemtotakepity overme or giveme some-thing I’ve not earned.”Castroismarriedandthefa-
ther of a 14-year-old son.
BlindContinued frompage A1
Theweather forecast on theday of the SciTanic called forpartly cloudy skies with a 30percent chance of showers, ahighnear90andclearandcool-er that evening with tempera-tures inthe lower60s.TheSci-Tanic accident is oneof severaldestructive incidents in theHuntsville area attributed to amicroburst, a weather phe-nomenon characterized by ex-treme wind shifts and unpre-dictability.A 250-ton crane at the in-
termodal facility at HuntsvilleInternational Airportwas top-
pled by a microburst in July1993.Violentwindspushedthegiant wheeled crane down atrack at 30 mph until it col-lapsedwhenstrikingabumperstop.TheroofofasouthHuntsville
apartmentcomplexwasrippedapart by a microburst in July2003, displacing 38 residents.LocalauthorHomerHickam
wellremembersthatJulydayin1984 when the SciTanic wasblown over in the TennesseeRiver nearHobbs Island.HickamwasatDittogetting
ready to gowater-skiingwhenthe weather suddenly turnedwicked.Hewasflyingearlier ina Cessna and returned to theRedstone Arsenal Airfield be-cause of a sudden wall cloud.Thethreateningweatherquick-lydissipatedsohekepthisriver-outingplans for the afternoon.“When I got down to Ditto,
Iwas there only a fewminuteswhentherewasthissuddentor-rential downpour and highwinds,”Hickam saidMonday.Hickam reflected on the or-
dealalongwithCityRecreationServices worker Mick Roney,who helped Hickam that day
diving for victims.Thestorm“wentawayjustas
quickly as it came in,” Hickamsaid.“Someonestartedscream-ing that there was a passengerboatthathadoverturnedontheriver.Myfriendswiththespeed-boat–weracedoutofthereandfound the SciTanic upsidedown.”Roneywas also at themari-
natendingtohisboat. “Itstart-edoutnice andpleasant and itjustblewinrealquickbeforeyouknew it,” he said. Roney tookshelterinhiscar,emergingmin-utes later after the squall hadpassed.That’swhenhenoticedseveral boats racing out of themarina ignoring the no-wakezone. A marine police officerasked him to hop in the patrolboat after Roney told him he
had lifeguard credentials andhadmedictrainingintheArmy.Hickam, then a NASA em-
ployee and scuba diving in-structor,andRoney,thenalife-guard and swim coach, wereamong the first to arrive at thecapsized SciTanic.Acquaintances through
swimming circles, they soonfound themselves tag-teaminginthewaterinafrantichuntforsurvivors.WithHickam in scuba gear
and Roney using goggles andfreediving,thepairswaminandoutofthedarkenedriverboattofree bodies and look for mira-cles.Hickamkickedoutawindow
and severely cut his armwhileclearingoutthebrokenglassforaccess.
Together, theybeganpullingout victims and swimmingthemtopsidetorescueworkerson the overturned keel.Roney said Hickam soon
warnedhimnottoentertheup-side down boat.“He said the floors weren’t
madetobeceilings,”Roneysaid.Roney said the SciTanic ac-
cident andhishaving seen twomicroburst-like events makehimkeenlyawareofthedangerofmicrobursts.“They can come up with no
warning,”hesaid.“Youwonder,sometimes.WhenIfindmyselfout on the river or in an openarea and a stormblows in, youwonderifitwillberightonyou.”
CapsizingContinued frompage A1
Mick Roney, left, and HomerHickam helped recover bodies.
Photos courtesy of the family
Josiah Miller visiting the Blue Angels display at the Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla.
as Panoply and the BlackArts Festival. He’s put uphundreds of tents duringhis91⁄2yearsinthebusinessbut has never seen an ac-cident like this, he said.Within seconds, about
400linearfeetoftentshadfallen. Just 40 feet down,the wind loosened thestakes on another set oftentsbut theyheld fast, hesaid.The air-conditioning
units were sitting on theground outside the tents,but the powerful windmanaged toblowoneunitontopof5-year-oldJosiahMiller, killing him at thescene.Whitman said his
thoughts are prayers arewithMiller’sfamily,andde-scribedFriday’saccidentasoneofthe“mosttragicmo-ments” of his life.“I keep going back and
thinking, ‘What could Ihave done? What could Ihave done?’ And there’snothing.”
NothingContinued frompage A1
From staff reports
A seven-year-old Madison boy injured atAirshow2008wasinseriousconditionMon-day night atHuntsvilleHospital.Matthew Pepper was injured when a mi-
croburst damaged a tent Sunday at the showatHuntsville International Airport.Hewasamong12peoplehospitalizedwith
injuriesfromtheincident;the11othervictimshave been released, according to hospitalspokeswoman SueEsslinger.
Boy, 7, hurt at show in serious condition
“They (Josiah andhis mother) wereattached at the hip.Oh, she is going tomiss him so much.They did everythingtogether. And Jason,(his dad) too.”
Marta NewbyJosiah’s grandmother
