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Neighborly news & entertainment for Hoover
May events guide
Volume 2 | Issue 8 | May 2014
May 2014 • A1
IT’S TIME TO TAKE A vacation FROM CLEANING. Give yourself a break, call the cleaning service most recommended to family and friends.
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871-9338 www.MAIDS.com
Referred for a reason.
New lanes, lines and pavement
From plant sales to races for a cause, there is plenty to do in Hoover this month.
Entertainment page B4
Genuine kindness
The Alabama Department of Transportation’s resurfacing project on U.S. 31 will run from Columbiana Road down to the Shelby County line. Photo by Jeff Thompson.
U.S. 31 widening, resurfacing project to begin this month By JEFF THOMPSON What began in 2012 as a resurfacing project on U.S. 31 in Hoover is now moving forward, albeit with a much larger scope. Brian Davis, Division 3 engineer
Thanks to a generous gift from an anonymous Hoover donor, one family’s life has been changed for the better.
Community page A22
INSIDE Sponsors ...........A2 City .....................A4 Business ............A12 Community .......A16
Entertainment ...B1 School House .....B8 Sports ..................B11 Calendar .............B13
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Birmingham, AL Permit #656
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with the Alabama Department of Transportation, said last month that construction on the widening and resurfacing of U.S. Highway 31 could begin as early as May 1. The project includes repaving the highway from Vestavia Hills city
limits at Columbiana Road down to the Shelby County line at the Cahaba River. It will also, most exciting for holiday shoppers, add lanes around the Riverchase Galleria. Davis said the project’s initial
scope was expanded in 2013 to include a full turn lane at the I-459 interchange for drivers intending to go west on the interstate toward Tuscaloosa.
See U.S. 31 | page A23
Preserving memory, creating legacy How a fallen soldier’s family turned its grief into healing By REBECCA WALDEN One evening in spring 2010, Hoover residents Tom and Charon Rivers looked out their window to see two Marines approaching their doorway. Their hearts sank as they were told their son, Thomas, had died while serving in Afghanistan. “After that, our lives were just devastated,” said Charon. “We didn’t know what to do.” The Rivers chose to give back. In their grief, they assembled care packages for those who had been with Thomas. By February 2011, the Rivers created S.O.S., Support Our Soldiers, with the tagline, “Supporting those who are serving, who have served, and honoring those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.”
See SUPPORT | page A23
Charon Rivers, pictured with her daughter, Rachel, holds a picture of her son, Thomas, who died while serving in Afghanistan in 2010. Photo by Jeff Thompson.