VillageLivingOnline.com
January 2013
Village Living Volume 3 | Issue 10 | January 2013
neighborly news & entertainment for Mountain Brook
My father, the hero A story of a boy, an ambassador and how both saw the war
A campaign against cancer
By JEFF THOMPSON
Mountain Brook resident Ren Fortier, above, authored Before the Fields of Crosses in 2003 to preserve stories of his father, left, as an American emissary and member of the global intelligence community, during World War II. Photos courtesy of Ren Fortier.
“The war is going to start,” Ren’s father said. Ren knew it was true. Only hours ago he had stepped off a train from Paris, where the 15 year old had been attending a Boy Scout camp. His days of bicycle riding near the Normandy beaches had been cut short by the call from his father – Lt. Col. Louis J. Fortier. Fortier wanted his son to come home quickly and wouldn’t say why on the phone. But now, Ren knew. His train delivered him to Belgrade, Yugoslavia in August 1939 – back to the lush American Embassy with his mother, sister and father, the U.S. Military Attache to Yugoslavia. In those days, there was no Central Intelligence Agency, but there was a global intelligence community and Col. Fortier held a membership. Germany invaded Poland on Sept. 1, just days after Ren arrived, and Col. Fortier knew it was coming. He also assumed France would be next, and the country wasn’t ready.
While Crestline kindergartner Slade Anderson is away in Memphis receiving treatment for leukemia, Mountain Brook residents are showing their support by hanging crosses in his honor on doors and mailboxes. Photo courtesy of the Anderson family.
Crosses for Slade page 6
Island dining
See HERO | page 14
Residents await decision on Cherokee intersection By JEFF THOMPSON
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Birmingham, AL Permit #656
With the comment deadline in the rearview, Mountain Brook residents are hoping they were loud enough to prevent drastic changes to the intersection of U.S. 280 and Cherokee Road. The site is one of 26 intersections targeted by the Alabama Department of Transportation in a November 2012 pitch to reduce congestion on 280. The plan is to remove the signal on the eastbound side of the highway and extend the grass median through center of intersection. Doing so would eliminate both direct travel across the intersection and left turns from both sides of Cherokee Road onto U.S. 280. The proposal drew public outcry and received attention from local officials. As a result, ALDOT extended the submission deadline for comments by a week and launched a website where concerned residents could view engineering drawings for each intersection that may be altered. The proposal covers a nine-mile stretch
Big Sky Bread Company owners Jeff and Patti Pierce have opened a new casual eatery with an island feel. Find more about the menu at Steel Drum Grill inside. Photo by Jeff Thompson.
Food page 13 Alabama Department of Transportation has proposed altering the intersection at Cherokee Road and Highway 280. Photo by Jeff Thompson.
from Hollywood Blvd. to Doug Baker Blvd. “I think what we would like to see accomplished is a safe alternative,” said Ali Powell with safety280.com, a recently launched information site about the proposals. “Nobody driving down that road wants people making dangerous U-turns in front of them.” Like Powell, many have voiced concerns that driver safety will be-
come a serious issue if the signal is removed at that intersection. “They’re asking drivers coming from Cherokee Road to turn onto 280 with no signal protection during rush hour, merge left through three lanes traffic at moving full speed, move into a turn lane and perform a U-turn into more traffic moving at full speed with-
See ALDOT | page 11
INSIDE Sponsors .......................4 City ................................ 7 Faith .............................. 9 Food ............................. 13 Business ...................... 14
Community ................. 16 School House ............. 19 Sports ......................... 22 Calendar ..................... 23
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