Latest news with #Cochran
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Interim Birmingham deputy chief of patrol operations appointed
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — The Birmingham Police Department's new interim deputy chief of patrol operations was revealed Monday. Cpt. Raymond Cochran has worked for the BPD for 36 years, according to the city. He has been the commander of the narcotics division, crimes against property division, tactical operations division and south and west precincts. Brighton City Councilman Jerome McMullin charged with releasing video of double homicide during active investigation He recently served as the acting deputy chief of patrol operations. Cochran's appointment from Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin comes after deputy chief Onree Pruitt retired. Cochran, a Miles College graduate, is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm and Operation Enduring Freedom. The city also announced that Edmond Hanks, who was appointed interim assistant chief of police in November, retired Friday. The vacant post will not be filled immediately, according to the city. Michael Pickett has worked as chief of police since April 1 after assuming an interim title in November. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Pair charged for kidnapping 2-year-old in south Charlotte, court documents show
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Two people are facing multiple charges after allegedly kidnapping a 2-year-old in south Charlotte. Around 5:33 p.m. on May 26, police responded to a call for service in the 7900 block of Shady Oak Trail near South Blvd. Police on the scene were told that two people had taken a child without the consent of the legal guardian. Details are sparse at this time, but according to court documents, 36-year-old Donnel Cochran and 50-year-old Tanika Barnes were arrested for taking the toddler for the 'purpose of holding them in involuntary servitude.' It is unclear if the suspects are related to the toddler. Queen City News is tracking CRIME in your area 🚨 >> Barnes was charged with first-degree kidnapping and felony conspiracy and given a $5,000 bond. Cochran was charged with possession of a firearm by a felon, first-degree kidnapping, felony conspiracy, felony possession of cocaine, two counts of assault by pointing a gun and carrying a concealed weapon. According to court documents, Cochran was issued a $250,000 secured bond. Reports show that Cochran had a SCCY CPX-2 9mm black handgun in his possession as well as cocaine. He had previously been convicted of robbery with a dangerous weapon. Cochran was convicted in 2011 for the robbery. Barnes and Cochran are due back in court on June 17. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Firefighter released from the hospital following fire that destroyed an Ace Hardware
The firefighter who was injured during an emergency response in Orange Park Friday night has been identified. The Orange Park Fire Department said Firefighter Cochran suffered a heat-related medical emergency while working alongside Clay County Fire Rescue and several other agencies. 'Our firefighters worked tirelessly in extreme conditions to contain and extinguish the blaze,' said OPFD. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] The fire destroyed the family-owned Hagan Ace Hardware on Blanding Boulevard. Officials said they got the fire under control just after midnight, but the road remained shut down until nearly 9 A.M. Saturday morning. OPFD announced Saturday afternoon that Cochran had been released from the hospital and is expected to make a full recovery. No employees or customers were injured. 'We could not be prouder of the men and women of the Orange Park Fire Department who answer the call without hesitation, fully aware of the risks to their own safety,' said OPFD. Their courage, commitment, and professionalism are unwavering." The cause of the fire has not yet been identified, and the State Fire Marshal is investigating. A representative for Hagan Ace Hardware said Friday night that the location was their headquarters and housed its administrative offices, along with important company documents. The company had the following message for the community Saturday: 'THANK YOU. THANK YOU. THANK YOU! The outpouring of love and support has been amazing. This building wasn't just a 'store' for us. For the past 45 years it has been our 'home base', a place we have created some of our best memories at Hagan Ace. It's so wonderful to see it has been a place of joy for so many of you too. 'As we navigate through this… please be patient with us. Because our main computers run through headquarters our other locations might experience a few hiccups in the coming days. We thank you in advance for your understanding." For the breaking news updates as they happened and videos of the fire, read the original story here. [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Chicago Tribune
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
‘Be great.' Alexia Franco takes that to heart. The Chesterton senior wants to be great for her teammates.
Chesterton's Alexia Franco recalls something that one of her travel softball coaches said. The words continue to resonate with her. ''You don't want to be just good, you want to be great, because there's too much average in this world,'' Franco said. 'As a softball player, that's really important — or as any athletic player in general.' Franco has been putting those words into practice this season. The senior center fielder is batting .347 with a team-high eight doubles, the first two homers of her four-year starting career, 10 RBIs, a team-high 26 runs scored and a team-high five stolen bases after Chesterton topped Merrillville in a Duneland Athletic Conference game on Thursday to close the regular season. 'I've been hitting a lot more this year,' Franco said. 'I've been consistent. I've been focusing more on little things in my batting. On top of that, defense-wise, I've always been a really good defensive player, I'd like to say. 'But it's just been a lot more fun this year. I like being with this group of girls. It's been really nice playing center field with them. The girls are really positive, and they really help keep the team up.' Franco and the Trojans (11-11, 8-6) will play Valparaiso in the semifinals of the Class 4A Chesterton Sectional on Wednesday after the DAC rivals split two games during the regular season. Chesterton has posted its most victories since going 14-7-1 in 2019, the last time the team won a sectional championship. 'We can win sectionals,' Franco said. 'We're doing really well up to this point, and it's definitely within our reach. We have to stay consistent. We don't want to let that 'want to win' die down. 'I've just been going in with a good mental attitude. I like being at practice. I like being around my teammates. I want to do good for not just myself. I want to do good for them. I want to be a team player and do my best out there and really bring all that I can to this team.' Franco has been at the forefront as the Trojans have pushed forward under first-year coach Erin Cochran. A 2001 Chesterton graduate, Cochran played for LouAnn Hopson, the late Indiana Softball Hall of Fame member who founded the program in 1984 and led it for 35 seasons. 'As a senior, she has been a great leader out there,' Cochran said of Franco. 'She is very positive with everyone. If someone starts to feel negative, she always wants to bring them up and get back into the game. One-hundred percent, she's been our best leader.' Franco debuted for Chesterton as a shortstop but shifted to the outfield during her freshman season. She actually grew up as a catcher. 'I was catcher up until I was around 14 years old, and then bad knees and all,' she said. 'They put me in the outfield, and that was my first time playing out there. I'm pretty quick, and it worked out really well, and I've loved it ever since. I love playing center field.' Franco, whose younger sister Emilia is a freshman on the junior varsity team, intends to study dentistry at Indiana University Northwest and become either a dentist or a hygienist. She has already gained experience in the field during the past two years through a program that includes classes at Portage and an internship at a dental office in Chesterton. 'I get to assist the dentist or the hygienist,' Franco said. 'I get to help them suction or perio charting, which is gumline charting, stock and sterilize instruments. A lot of things.' Franco does a lot of things for the Trojans too. 'She's done a great job for us this year,' Cochran said.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
UWA football's Scott Cochran taking new job, addiction recovery one day at a time
LIVINGSTON, Ala. − The night before the West Alabama football team began its offseason workout program, Scott Cochran couldn't sleep. The new coach had just taken the job in February, and worry had gotten the best of him. For Cochran himself, worry isn't a strong enough word. "Terrified," said the former Alabama strength and conditioning coach. Advertisement It had been almost exactly a year since he'd been a coach, having left Kirby Smart's staff at Georgia following a relapse of the opioid abuse that seized control of his life more than a decade earlier. And for the first time in a year, as soon as his UWA players convened for their first workout, Cochran knew he'd be yelling, because that's what coaches do. He had no illusions about coaching the Tigers with a soft voice; it wasn't going to happen. But it was Cochran's booming yell that caused the migraines which landed him his first prescription for pain killers in 2012. His yell was the root of the addiction that had wrecked the life he'd spent the last year trying to rebuild. And he was genuinely frightened that yelling at UWA's first workout would trigger a migraine. But no headache followed. TIDE CONNECTION: Scott Cochran adds two more Alabama football champions to West Alabama coaching staff Advertisement COCHRAN'S PLAN: 'They'll learn to love it': What Scott Cochran brings to West Alabama football "I thought 'Maybe it was because it was an easier day, but the next day, Tuesday, is really hard from a coaching standpoint – you're 60 minutes full go the whole time demanding their best – so I went two nights without much sleep," Cochran said. "And I still didn't get a headache." His yell was his signature at Alabama, driving players to strain for one last rep in the weight room and driving his remarkable popularity at the same time. With legendary coach Nick Saban's coaching staff turning over annually, Cochran was the constant who built a brand on his trademark yell: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, YEAH!" Crimson Tide fans knew his face and his name because they first knew his yell. An unmistakable, gravelly voice that boomed even when he wasn't trying. The migraines that came from it, however, were overwhelming, and Cochran eventually became addicted to Fentanyl. Now, he tells his story to anyone − his next speaking engagement is in Birmingham next month − who needs to hear it. Advertisement "Fentanyl kills 200 Americans a day," he said. "That's like a 737 plane crashing every day. And they're not doing it on purpose. These are accidental overdoses. It's poison." Today marks 100 days since Cochran took over the Tigers program, and he's imploring his players to take it one day at a time, just as he is. He'd once accidentally called Alabama safety Landon Collins by the wrong name in Collins' first week as a Crimson Tide freshman, and never shook the embarrassment from it. He set a goal of learning every player's name within those first 100 days, and achieved it around Day 70. The program he wants at UWA, just like his recovery, is an every-day build. Behind one end zone at Tiger Stadium, construction is underway on a new locker room and team meeting room. Relaxing in the UWA athletic complex with Tiger, a goldendoodle he's dubbed as the program's new live mascot, Cochran views the daily progress on the facility as a metaphor for both himself and his program. "Success for us isn't going to be about winning a national championship," he said. "That's a goal, of course, but success comes by the day." Advertisement Cochran, 46, remains the president of the American Addiction Recovery Association, an advocacy group he helped launch last year in the wake of his departure from Georgia. Among its undertakings is the Purple Project, which is intended to encourage addicts to be open about their problems and fearless about asking for help under the slogan "Eliminate the Whisper." At odds against recovery, he says, is the social pressure people feel to overcome their addictions alone, which is rarely effective, and Cochran wants the Purple Project to encourage addicts to view asking for help as a strength rather than a weakness. It will culminate in September, National Recovery Month, with what Cochran hopes will be a widespread use of purple helmet decals, mouthpieces, and other football items available through the AARA web site. As of today, Cochran says his yelling has miraculously stopped causing migraines. He uses a bullhorn now, and can even wire his voice through the jumbotron audio on the football field, even though he sometimes catches himself yelling into both amplifiers. And if the headaches ever return? "Advil's just going to have to work," he said. "And I haven't even used Advil yet." Advertisement Donations to The Purple Project or the American Addiction Recovery Association can be made at Tuscaloosa News sport columnist Chase Goodbread. Tuscaloosa News columnist Chase Goodbread is also the weekly co-host of Crimson Cover TV on WVUA-23. Reach him at cgoodbread@ Follow on @chasegoodbread. This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: West Alabama football coach Scott Cochran juggles new job, opioid recovery
