Health tips from Russert tragedy.

C1
Armys next robots will swarm like ants to support a soldier. D8
WE BREAK MORE NEWS AT TUESDAY / JULY 1 / 2008

10 Stars make Southern League All-Star team. D1

Classifieds: 532-4222

The annual Fourth of July fireworks extravaganza hosted by the Exchange Club of Greater Huntsville has a new address this year Bridge Street Town Centre. B1
The once-neat line of tents shown below was a twisted mass of metal and canvas after the storm passed.

Local

Photo courtesy of Blake Mathis

Mayoral battles are featured as qualifying opens today for municipal offices in Huntsville, Madison and elsewhere. B1

The state Supreme Court sets a July 31 execution date for an inmate who came within a day of being executed last year for a 1982 contract killing. B3

State

In pre-July 4 speeches, Barack Obama, John McCain and their supporters give their views of patriotism. A7

Nation

The collision of two medical helicopters in Arizona is the ninth such accident this year, and 16 people have been killed. A8

Nothing that we could have done

Tent owner likens wind to tornado that skips around neighborhood
By NIKI DOYLE
Times Staff Writer niki.doyle@htimes.com

TRAGEDY AT AIRSHOW 2008

AARON JOSIAH MILLER

Child, parents made the sweetest family you could ever hope to see
By PATRICIA C. McCARTER
Times Staff Writer patricia.mccarter@htimes.com

Only son loved Braves and T-ball

World

The Pentagon is charging a Saudi Arabian with organizing and directing the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, and will seek the death penalty. A3 Three men held at Abu Ghraib prison file a suit claiming they were tortured by U.S. defense contractors there. A3

Business

Dow + 3.50

Nasdaq S&P 500 - 22.65 + 1.62

Huntsville-based Avocent is cutting 110 jobs worldwide; about 20 will be in Huntsville, but there will be a net gain of about 20 local positions as work from other sites is transferred here. D8 Huntsvilles Margaret Hoelzer qualifies for the 100meter backstroke finals at the U.S. Olympics swim trials. D1

Sports

The owner of the tents that fell during Sundays air show said he personally supervised the installation of the tents and described the incident as a freak weather circumstance. In my opinion, its like a tornado when it takes out two or three houses but leaves one standing, said Steve Whitman, owner of All Needz Rentals. The microburst had no warning. There was nothing that we could have done to improve the stability of the tents. Whitman said Monday night that one side of the tents was secured with 3-foot-long stakes driven as far into the ground as they would go, and the other side was anchored by 55-gallon drums of water. Some tents were secured with only stakes while others had only water barrels, but the wind didnt discriminate. The tents that toppled were pulled up on the sides with the stakes, and some tents with the same construction stakes on one side and barrels on the other didnt budge, Whitman said. My family was under the tents and, if I thought there was any danger at all, I would have had tried to evacuate my family and others, yet it happened so fast, there was no warning, said Whitman, who has a daughter the same age as Josiah Miller, who was killed. Myself, my family and my company employees are grieving the loss of Josiah Miller. MywifeandIalsohavechildrenand cannot imagine the devastation and

Aerial photos courtesy of Blake Mathis

The line of white tents, lower right, before the storm hit.

Air show official says this is the worst accident hes heard of. A4 Eyewitness accounts. B1 Emergency workers quick response came from preparedness. B1 What can be done that might prevent another storm tragedy? Editorial, A6

In todays Times

Airport officials mum

Huntsville International Airport authorities declined Monday to release additional information or comment on the tent collapse that killed 5-year-old Aaron Josiah Miller. Spokeswoman Laura Gipson said airport authorities are withholding that information for now out of respect for the family. More information may be released today, Gipson said. The staff of Huntsville International Airport wishes to express ourdeepestcondolencesandsympathies to the Miller family, Gipson said in a written statement.

On the Net:

Stories, photos, and video at: blog.al.com/ht/airshow

grief that his parents and family members are going through at this time. Whitman said he also provides professionaltentinstallationforeventssuch Please see 'NOTHING' on A5

Margaret Hoelzer

Microburst killed 11 in 1984 capsizing

Paddlewheel vessel was overturned by violent wind during SCI picnic
Times Staff Writer john.peck@htimes.com

Full weather, C8
Forecast: Sunny, mild. High today

Low tonight

Whats inside
Abby/C2 Bridge/C2 Business/D6 Classifieds/E1 Comics/C3 Crossword puzzles/C2, E7 Cryptoquote/C2 Deaths/B3

86 59

By JOHN PECK

Few in Huntsville had ever heard of amicroburstuntilapaddlewheelvesselwascapsizedbyonenearDittoLanding. Eleven passengers drowned, in-

fromacrossthecountrytostudythecircumstances including Tetsuya Fujita, the University of Chicago meteorMicrobursts hard to measure, and ologist who devised the standard for come and go suddenly. A4 measuring the strength of tornadoes and discovered microbursts and their cluding some children of SCI workers link to plane crashes. taking part in a company picnic. Earlyreportsthatatornadomayhave The company-leased vessel, a two- swamped the SciTanic were replaced story, 100-foot sternwheeler, was eeri- withtheofficialdiagnosis:amicroburst. ly named SciTanic. Please see CAPSIZING on A5 The1984eventdrewweatherexperts

In Todays Times

Aaron Josiah Miller was more than what history will remember him to be. Yes,heisthetragicfaceofHuntsvilles Airshow 2008, where a violent storm uprooted tentsSunday afternoon and fatally toppled a 5,000pound piece of air conditioning equipment on the boy. Butbefore he was that, he was just a beloved, impish 5year-oldwho couldntwait Josiah Miller had a to start wall-size mural of Atk i n d e r - lantas Fulton Stadium garten, who in his room. loved the Atlanta Braves so much his parents put a wall-size mural of Fulton County Stadiuminhisredandbluebedroom,who played his toy guitar as he sang Johnny Cash songs. He was and is the only son who will ever be born to Amie and Jason Miller. Complications after his birth determinedthat, and his parents who were just 20 and 23 when he was born poured everything they had into him. Amie stayed home with him in their new and nice brick home in the Limestone County part of Madison, teaching him everything he needed to know to be prepared for school. They were attached at the hip, said Amies mother,MartaNewbyofMeridianville. Oh, she is going to miss him so much. They did everything together. And Jason, too. They made the sweetest family you could ever hope to see. The last game of his inaugural T-ball seasonthisspring,Josiahturnedadouble play, an unusual feat in a childs first year of playing ball. His mothers tears stopped long enough Monday evening to recall that moment. Hecaughtalinedrivefromthepitchers mound, and he tagged a runner out at second, said Amie, 25. I was the dugout mom for that game, and he ran to me and said, I did good, Mom! Give me a hug! Please see SON on A5

Editorials/A6 Horoscope/C2 Life/C1 Lotteries/A2 Movies/C7 People/C2 Sports/D1 Sudoku/E3 Television/C8

Blind soldier determined to serve

Special Forces captain lost sight fighting in Iraq
By KEVIN MAURER
The Associated Press

Huntsville, Alabama Vol. 99, No. 101, 40 pages Contents 2008, The Huntsville Times

FORTBRAGG,N.C.When Capt. Ivan Castro joined the Army, he set goals: to jump out ofplanes,kickindoorsandlead soldiers into combat. He achieved them all. Then the mortar round landed five feet

officer serving in the Special Forces the small, elite units famed for dropping behind President Bush signs a war-funding bill. A3 enemy lines on combat misIraq opens bidding for opsions. eration of its oil fields. D6 Asexecutiveofficerofthe7th Special Forces Groups headaway, blasting away his sight. quarters company in Fort Once youre blind, you have Bragg, Castros duties dont dito set new goals, Castro said. rectly involve combat, though they do have him taking part in He set them higher. The Associated Press justabout everythingthatleads Notcontentwithjuststaying I dont want them to take pity over me or give me something in the Army, he is the only blind Please see BLIND on A5 Ive not earned, Castro says.

In todays Times

The Huntsville Times, Tuesday, July 1, 2008 A5

TRAGEDY AT AIRSHOW 2008

flight squadron. When his parents told him they were taking him to the air show Sunday which was their Continued from page A1 sixth wedding anniversary to see the Blue Angels in flight, he He didnt just play well. He reached that rung of excitelooked the part, too. ment achievable only by 5-yearBefore each game, the sandy- old boys en route to see their hehaired, blue-eyed boy put on his roes. uniform and stood on the tub in his parents bathroom so he And then, the unthinkable. could get a fullHis dad tried length look at his to catch it, said uniformed self in They (Josiah and Josiahs Mamaw. the mirror. Butamancant his mother) were catch something Hed complete thatweighs5,000 his conversion to attached at the hip. pounds, no matballplayer with a ter how hard he pack of Big Oh, she is going to tries, no matter League Chew how much hed bubblegum.Hed miss him so much. rather it was him stick a big wad in beneath the mahis mouth and They did everything chinery. then share the rest with his together. And Jason, And thats teammates. (his dad) too. when Josiah He was terriMiller became Photos courtesy of the family fied of Chuck E Marta Newby part of a sad his- Josiah Miller visiting the Blue Angels display at the Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla. Cheese and the Josiahs grandmother tory, though his Easter Bunny; he celebrity should loved trains and have been for family and music something else. and watching planes land at Huntsville International AirLike how he could sit rapt port. through an entire Braves games From staff reports croburst damaged a tent Sunday at the show HelovedtheBlueAngels,too. on television or how he knew all at Huntsville International Airport. On a recent visit to Orange of the words to Folsom Prison A seven-year-old Madison boy injured at He was among 12 people hospitalized with Beach, his parents drove him to Blues or how he could exist alAirshow 2008 was in serious condition Mon- injuries from the incident; the 11 other victims Pensacolas National Aviation most solely on McDonalds day night at Huntsville Hospital. have been released, according to hospital Museum so he could look at the Chicken McNuggets. Matthew Pepper was injured when a mi- spokeswoman Sue Esslinger. display of the Navys precision Anything but what it is.

Nothing Son

Continued from page A1

as Panoply and the Black Arts Festival. Hes put up hundreds of tents during his912 yearsinthebusiness but has never seen an accident like this, he said. Within seconds, about 400linearfeetoftents had fallen. Just 40 feet down, the wind loosened the stakes on another set of tents but they held fast, he said. The air-conditioning units were sitting on the ground outside the tents, but the powerful wind managed to blow one unit on top of 5-year-old Josiah Miller, killing him at the scene. Whitman said his thoughts are prayers are withMillers family,anddescribedFridays accidentas oneofthemosttragicmoments of his life. I keep going back and thinking, What could I have done? What could I have done? And theres nothing.

Boy, 7, hurt at show in serious condition

Capsizing
Mick Roney, left, and Homer Hickam helped recover bodies.

Continued from page A1

The weather forecast on the day of the SciTanic called for partly cloudy skies with a 30 percent chance of showers, a highnear90andclearandcooler that evening with temperatures in the lower 60s. The SciTanic accident is one of several destructive incidents in the Huntsville area attributed to a microburst, a weather phenomenon characterized by extreme wind shifts and unpredictability. A 250-ton crane at the intermodal facility at Huntsville International Airport was top-

pled by a microburst in July 1993.Violentwindspushedthe giant wheeled crane down a track at 30 mph until it collapsed when striking a bumper stop. TheroofofasouthHuntsville apartmentcomplexwasripped apart by a microburst in July 2003, displacing 38 residents. LocalauthorHomerHickam

wellremembersthatJulydayin 1984 when the SciTanic was blown over in the Tennessee River near Hobbs Island. Hickam was at Ditto getting ready to go water-skiing when the weather suddenly turned wicked. He was flying earlier in a Cessna and returned to the Redstone Arsenal Airfield because of a sudden wall cloud. Thethreateningweatherquicklydissipatedsohekepthisriverouting plans for the afternoon. When I got down to Ditto, I was there only a few minutes whentherewasthissuddentorrential downpour and high winds, Hickam said Monday. Hickam reflected on the ordealalongwithCityRecreation Services worker Mick Roney, who helped Hickam that day

diving for victims. Thestormwentawayjustas quickly as it came in, Hickam said.Someonestartedscreaming that there was a passenger boatthathadoverturnedonthe river.Myfriendswiththespeedboatweracedoutofthereand found the SciTanic upside down. Roney was also at the marina tending to his boat. It started out nice and pleasant and it justblewinrealquickbeforeyou knew it, he said. Roney took shelterinhiscar,emergingminutes later after the squall had passed. Thats when he noticed several boats racing out of the marina ignoring the no-wake zone. A marine police officer asked him to hop in the patrol boat after Roney told him he

had lifeguard credentials and hadmedictrainingintheArmy. Hickam, then a NASA employee and scuba diving instructor, and Roney, then a lifeguard and swim coach, were among the first to arrive at the capsized SciTanic. Acquaintances through swimming circles, they soon found themselves tag-teaming inthewaterinafrantichuntfor survivors. With Hickam in scuba gear and Roney using goggles and freediving,thepairswaminand outofthedarkenedriverboatto free bodies and look for miracles. Hickamkickedoutawindow and severely cut his arm while clearingoutthebrokenglassfor access.

Together, they began pulling out victims and swimming them topside to rescue workers on the overturned keel. Roney said Hickam soon warnedhimnottoentertheupside down boat. He said the floors werent madetobeceilings, Roneysaid. Roney said the SciTanic accident and his having seen two microburst-like events make him keenly aware of the danger of microbursts. They can come up with no warning,hesaid. Youwonder, sometimes. When I find myself out on the river or in an open area and a storm blows in, you wonderifitwillberightonyou.

The Associated Press

Capt. Ivan Castro runs alongside Spc. Robert Garner, left, while holding a tether with Sgt. Zane Platt for guidance during morning physical training in Fort Bragg, N.C.

Blind

Continued from page A1 up to it. I am going to push the limits, the40-year-oldsaid.Idont want to go to Fort Bragg and show up and sit in an office. I want to work every day and have a mission. Since the war began in Iraq, morethan100troopshavebeen blindedand247othershavelost sight in one eye. Only two other blindofficersserveintheactivedutyArmy:oneacaptainstudying to be an instructor at West Point, the other an instructor at the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. An 18-year Army veteran, Castro was a Ranger before completingSpecialForcestraining,thegruelingyearlongcourse many soldiers fail to finish. He joined the Special Forces as a weaponssergeant,earnedanofficers commission and moved on to the 82nd hoping to return one day to the Special Forces as a team leader. Then life changed on a rooftop outside Youssifiyah, Iraq, in September 2006. Castro had relieved other paratroopers atop a house after a night of fighting. He never heard the incoming mortar round. There was just a flash of light, then darkness. Shrapnel tore through his

body, breaking his arm and shoulder and shredding the left side of his face. Two other paratroopers died. When Castro awoke six weeks later at the National NavalMedicalCenterinBethesda, Md., his right eye was gone. Doctors were unable to save his left. The Blinded Veterans Association estimates 13 percent of all combat hospital emergency proceduresinIraqhaveinvolved eye injuries and more than half of the soldiers with traumatic brain injuries also suffer some visualimpairment.Thatmakes them the third most common injury behind post traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries in Iraq. What he is doing is a strong example that blind individuals can lead exciting and meaningful careers, said Thomas Zampieri, director of government relations for the association. After 17 months in recovery, Castro sought a permanent assignmentintheservices Special OperationsCommand,landing dutywiththe7thSpecialForces Group. He focuses on managerial tasks while honing the groups Spanish training, a useful language for a unit that deploys regularly to train South American troops. Though not fully independent, he spent a weekend before starting his job walking around

the Group area at Fort Bragg to know just where he was going. Hecarefullymeasuredthesteps from car to office. Obviously, he cannot do some things that a sighted person can do. But Ivan will find a way to get done whatever he needs to get done, Col. Sean Mulholland said. What I am most impressed with, though, is his determination to continue to serve his country after all that hes been through. Castro works out regularlyat thegymandruns,hislegspowerfulandmuscular.Andthough hehasaprostheticrighteyeand his arms are scarred by shrapnel, his outsized personality overshadows his war wounds: Nobody escapes his booming hellos, friendly banter and limitless drive. HerantheBostonmarathon this year with Adm. Eric T. Olson, commander of the U.S. Special Operations Command. Last year it was the Marine Corps Marathon. He wants to compete in the Ironman triathlon in Hawaii and graduate from the Armys officer advanced course, which teaches captainshowtoleadtroopsand plan operations. Iwanttobetreatedthesame way as other officers, Castro said. I dont want them to take pity over me or give me something Ive not earned. Castro is married and the father of a 14-year-old son.

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