Sun Neighborly news & entertainment for Hoover
Volume 5 | Issue 5 | February 2017
UNCOMMON STAR Jags’ Mary Katherine Tedder views clutch moments as just another chance ‘to be great’
By KYLE PARMLEY
S
omething is different about Mary Katherine Tedder. There is a quiet intensity that burns deep inside, a competitiveness that drives her, an unwillingness to lose in anything, whether it is the softball state tournament or a ping-pong match with her coach. Spain Park High School’s runner-up finish in the state softball tournament last season was a great accomplishment for the program, but the loss in the championship game was the “worst feeling in the world” for Tedder. Losing that trivial ping-pong match was not nearly as crushing, but it still bothered her. That competitive fire burns like a blowtorch, especially in big moments. When the bases are loaded in the final inning, Tedder isn’t shaking at the knees or having a case of the sweaty palms. “It’s just another opportunity to be great,” she said.
See TEDDER | page A30
Mary Katherine Tedder deflects the spotlight any chance she gets, but there’s no denying that she is a powerful force on and off the softball field. Photo by Todd Lester.
Building community, 1 step at a time By JON ANDERSON
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Tupelo, MS Permit #54
Alex and Gay Cotten love to take their dogs out for a stroll on the sidewalks in Hoover’s Bluff Park community. They have done it almost every day since moving to Bluff Park from Altadena in September, Alex Cotten said. While they’re out walking, they encounter parents pushing baby strollers and people on bicycles, scooters and skates, they said. “That’s what we want to see,” Gay Cotten said. They think the new sidewalks in Bluff Park have been a great addition, helping them get to know their neighbors better.
“I think that’s the kind of stuff that brings that younger market in,” Alex Cotten added. New Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato also is a big fan of sidewalks and said expanding the city’s sidewalk network is an important part of his vision for the city. “Sidewalks just change the dynamic of a neighborhood,” Brocato said. In the past, the city has relied heavily on federal funds for sidewalk projects because the federal government will pay 80 percent of the cost for qualifying projects.
INSIDE
See SIDEWALKS | page A28 Sponsors .............. A4 News...................... A6
Chamber............... A11 Business .............. A12
Janet Riddle and her son, Joel Riddle, take a stroll on sidewalks in The Preserve. Photo by Jon Anderson.
Community ........ A22 Events ................. A24
School House ...... B8 Sports .................. B13
Real Estate.......... B21 Calendar ............. B22 facebook.com/thehooversun
Giving Back
Break for Laughs
Bluff Park United Methodist Church gives back to the community through a variety of service projects.
A convenience store on Valleydale is a hub for early morning chats and laughter for community members.
See page A19
See page B1