Bucs sweep state indoor titles for 2nd straight year

By KYLE PARMLEY

The Hoover High School indoor track and field team completed the clean sweep for the second year in a row, winning the Class 7A boys and girls state championships Feb. 4 at the Birmingham CrossPlex.

Hoover dominated both meets. The boys team scored 134 points, more than double runner-up Vestavia Hills’ 61 points. Huntsville finished third and Hewitt-Trussville was fourth.

The girls team scored 111.5 points to beat Chelsea by over 30 points. Hewitt-Trussville was third and Foley placed fourth.

The Bucs medaled in nearly every event, winning several of them along the way. On the boys side, Jay Avery won the 60-meter dash in 6.96 seconds and also won the triple jump by reaching 47 feet, 0.75 inches. Dallas Beck took home the top prize in the 400-meter run, posting a time of 49.09 seconds. The boys also won the 4x400-meter relay, as the team of Beck, Zachary King, Collin Pate and Charles Crowder ran the race in 3 minutes, 23 seconds.

Gabrielle Washington finished off an incredible indoor season, winning the girls 400 in 55.87 seconds. Nyel Settles won the high jump, clearing 5-4. D’Asya Harold won the triple jump, reaching 37-0.25. The girls dominated the relay events as well. The 4x200 team of Taylor Canada, Daisy Luna, Jebreiya Chapman and Washington set a state record with a 1:39.05. The 4x400 team of McKenzie Blackledge, Luna, Canada and Washington won in 3:53 as well.

Also medaling for the boys were Khaalid Ruffin (second in 60), Denver Cash (second in 60-meter hurdles), RJ Torbor (third in 60-meter hurdles), DeMarion Gardner (second in 400), Avery (second in long jump), Collin Pate (second in pole vault), Connor White (third in pole vault) and Bradley Shaw (third in shot put).

The 4x200 team of Jordan Woolen, Beck, King and Gardner was second.

Plenty of girls reached the podium as well.

Washington was second in the 60, Amyah Ellington was third in the 60 hurdles, Luna was second in the 400, Blackledge was second in the 800, Laurin Mack was second in long jump, and the 4x800 relay of Blackledge, Catherine Wallace, Langley Jung and Sarah Hertz finished third.

Cannon Peters (fourth in 800), Woolen (fourth in high jump), Owen Jung (fourth in high jump), Toshi Yamamoto (fifth in shot put), Torbor (fourth in triple jump), and the 4x800 team of Zachary Cooper, Zander Dakis, Elijah Joseph and Matthew Harden (fourth) all gained points for the boys team.

Gaining additional points for the girls team were Chapman (fourth in 60), Paige Momern (sixth in 60 hurdles), Wallace (eighth in 800), Isabella Maple (fifth in pole vault), Becca Guerard (seventh in pole vault) and Nicolette Lewis (sixth in shot put).

Lila Hunter, Ava Sparks, Sarah Hertz and Kendyl Mitchell also competed for the Bucs.

Spain Park was also represented at the state meet. Keith Warner was one of several runners to surpass a state record in the 1,600, as he finished fourth in 4:16.83.

The girls 4x400 (Delaney Vickers, Remy Richards, Sydney Baker and Chloe Finocchiaro) and 4x800 (Vickers, Finocchiaro, Richards and Mackenzie Colbaugh) teams each finished fifth. Baker (eighth in 400) and Vickers (fifth in 800 and eighth in 1,600) earned points for the girls individually as well.

The boys 4x800 team of Warner, Kenneth Bishop, Garrett Bishop and Zane McPeters placed sixth as well. Christian Johnson, LaCoria Nelson, Stopher Walls, Zavier Long, Isaac Battles, Alex Smith and Wesley Vice also competed for the Jags.

Crime Stats

CONTINUED from page A1 past year,” Derzis said. “If we were a corporation, we would be handing out large bonuses to everybody.”

Hoover police also were able to make arrests in 60% of their robbery cases in 2022, compared to a national violent crime clearance rate of 32.5% (for 2021), Lowe said.

Weapons law violations in Hoover were down 24% from 95 in 2021 to 72 in 2022, while burglaries dropped 9% from 129 to 117, thefts of vehicles fell 7% from 130 to 121 and assaults were down 2% from 848 to 827.

Of those assaults, 678 were simple assaults, 86 were cases of intimidation, 28 were felony domestic violence cases, 25 were other felony assaults, 5 were discharges of firearms into an occupied dwelling, 3 were child abuse cases and 2 were throwing or shooting a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle.

Overall, the number of crimes reported in Hoover in categories reported to the FBI increased 4%, from 4,016 crimes in 2021 to 4,184 in 2022. Arrests were up 7% from 2,753 to 2,935.

COUNTERFEITING, FORGERY AND FRAUD

One of the biggest increases was in counterfeiting and forgery cases, which rose 61% from 75 to 121.

Some of that increase comes from in-person counterfeiting and forgery, but a lot more criminals are victimizing and scamming people using technology, Lowe said. Many times, it’s over the phone or through email, and unfortunately, a lot of times the victims are elderly people, he said.

Fraud offenses — which include impersonation, swindling, stealing through false pretenses and credit card fraud — remained relatively stable in 2022, but there were still 430 fraud offenses reported in Hoover for the year.

Derzis said a lot of phone scams originate outside the United States, sometimes with 150 to 200 people in the same room making phone calls to rip people off. “All it takes is a very, very small percentage of those phone calls to make somebody’s life miserable here,” sometimes stealing $10,000 to $50,000 from people by gaining their personal and/or financial information, he said.

There is little the police can do against those international scam operations, he said.

Common scams include outdated warranties and people claiming that there is an arrest warrant out for the victim and demanding some sort of payment to avoid prosecution, he said.

People need to remember that reputable companies, organizations and the Internal Revenue Service generally won’t make calls to you and ask for your personal information over the phone, Lowe said.

Derzis said it’s hard to believe some people agree to buy gift cards to resolve an alleged problem or stay out of trouble, but unfortunately they do. People should contact the police if they have any doubt instead of paying money or sending gift cards, he said.

Drug Offenses

The number of drug offenses rose 20% from 543 in 2021 to 650 in 2022, with the largest increase coming in marijuana cases. The number of marijuana possession cases rose 33% from 208 to 276.

Lowe said a lot of the increase in drug cases could be attributed to officers being more proactive and observant in traffic stops and encounters with the public.

Police Capt. Keith Czeskleba said there’s probably the same amount of marijuana out there now as there always has been, but police found it more often in 2022 because they were making more traffic stops. In early 2021, police still were limiting the number of officer-initiated encounters with the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Czeskleba said.

In 2022, there also were 187 drug equipment violations, 173 cases of controlled substance possession, 7 controlled substance distribution cases, 3 cases of drug trafficking and 2 cases of promoting prison contraband.

Derzis noted that there were 10 drug overdose deaths in 2022: seven from fentanyl, two from an unknown substance and one from a sedative or opioid. That was fewer deaths than in the past several years, and most of the people were generally 30 to 40 years old, Derzis said.

Meanwhile, the number of drug overdose victims saved increased (by about 10) to 49, the chief said. Of those, 26 were heroin overdoses, 12 were fentanyl overdoses, and the rest were an overdose of some sort of opioid combination, he said.

The majority of those rescues were the result of someone administering Narcan to the victim, whether it was someone with the victim, police or paramedics, Derzis said.

A lot of politicians and health care professionals have been advocating to make drug-testing strips more available to people so they can determine if their drugs are laced with fentanyl, Derzis said. That’s

Hoover every day,” he said.

Homicides And Sex Offenses

Hoover had four homicides in 2022, up from two the previous year. Police made arrests in each of the cases, with the defendants still awaiting trial.

The first occurred Jan. 29, when 25-year-old Madison Shea Pilkington was found dead in her apartment at The Halston apartment complex off Old Rocky Ridge Road. Evidence indicated she died as the result of an assault, and police charged her boyfriend, 32-year-old Cortez Lenard Warren of Hoover, with murder.

The second homicide happened Aug. 3 at the Marathon gasoline station at 5423 U.S. 280, when 19-yearold Sophia Nicole Zeigler was shot to death during an argument. Police charged an acquaintance of hers, 24-year-old Skylar Jacquel Dorsey of Trussville, with capital murder.

The final two homicides of 2022 happened Oct. 1 at The Park at Hoover apartment complex when two women, 39-year-old Lauren Anne White and 24-year-old Blakeley Meachelle Nelson, were shot to death. Police charged an acquaintance, 21-year-old Daxton Elliot Keith of Alabaster, and 20-year-old An’Ton Je’Ho Ram Lewis of Birmingham with capital murder.

There were 20 sex offenses reported in 2022, including 14 rapes and 2 cases each of sodomy, fondling and sexual assault with an object. Domestic violence offenses declined 11% from 522 to 463, but the number of other types of domestic incidents increased 12% from 409 to 460.

Auto Burglaries

Derzis said he was pleased to see the number of auto burglaries decline slightly from 371 to 361, but particularly happy to see the number of guns being stolen from vehicles decline. Hoover police in March of last year launched a “Lock it or lose it” campaign after having 113 guns stolen from vehicles in Hoover in 2021 and 480 guns stolen from vehicles over the previous five years. As of December 2022, the number of guns stolen from vehicles was down by more than 50%, the chief said.

“That to me is very significant,” Derzis said. “I think the citizenry has been listening. … That’s not to say we still don’t have UBEVs [unlawful breaking and entering of vehicles] or don’t have unlocked cars, but maybe people are at least taking their guns inside.” a great idea to save people, but “I have yet to hear one say ‘Maybe it’s not a good idea to do illegal drugs,’ or ‘What are we doing to try to get people off of them?’” Derzis said.

Derzis said a lot of the credit for decreased crime belongs to the public because people are calling police when they see suspicious things and responding to requests for help in solving crimes.

Police have to deal with the effects of the drug epidemic, he said. “People who are addicted to drugs commit crimes, but nobody wants to talk about that.”

Also, almost all the drugs coming into the United States today are coming from Mexico, Derzis said. “There is no border security right now,” he said.

Hoover police are doing the best they can to combat illegal drug activity, but border security is primarily a federal issue, he said. That said, “what takes place at that level is affecting people in the city of

The department’s social media team does a fantastic job sharing what’s happening and soliciting feedback, he said. Since 2014, the department’s number of followers has increased from 5,000 to 42,000 on Facebook, 3,000 to 15,000 on Twitter, zero to 3,900 on Instagram and zero to more than 32,000 on Nextdoor, Derzis said.

Recruiting officers to work in the department is more challenging than it once was — as it is for police departments across the country, Derzis said. However, the city recently increased starting pay rates to $57,304 for people not yet certified as officers who have to go to an academy and a range of $60,174 to $66,352 for those already certified. Officers can be paid up to $88,920.

The higher pay has helped increase interest, Derzis said. “We’re certainly doing everything in our power to attract the kind of caliber of people we want to hire,” he said. “We’re looking for the best possible candidates.”

Hoover’s

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But the Federal Reserve throughout 2022 steadily raised short-term interest rates in an effort to control inflation. The result was that the average 30-year mortgage rate edged up from 2.75% in December 2021 to 4% in March, 5.25% in May and 7% in October, according to Freddie Mac.

The higher rates pushed some potential homebuyers out of the market, slowing down sales for both new and existing homes.

Inflation and higher prices for building materials also likely slowed the market down, said Jonathan Belcher, president of Signature Homes, which had nearly three-quarters of the closings for new homes in Hoover in 2022.

The cost of lumber in 2020 and 2021 was 37% above historical averages, according to the National Association of Home Builders. Other building materials such as concrete, gypsum and steel also saw rapid price increases during that time.

The price per square foot for new home construction in Hoover rose by one-third, from $159 per square foot in 2018 to $211 per square foot in 2022, MLS data shows.

The cost for existing homes also has escalated. The average price for an existing home in Hoover rose from $317,037 in 2018 to $453,696 in 2022, MLS data shows. That was a steep price increase on a square-footage basis as well, rising from $118 per square foot to $169 per square foot over four years.

Strong Demand

While the number of sales was down for 2022, it’s not because of a lack of demand, according to Thad Lowery, the broker for the ARC Realty office in Hoover.

“Signature Homes — they can’t build houses fast enough,” Lowery said. “We still have a backlog of buyers.”

There’s a particular need for housing for first-time homebuyers, such as townhomes and smaller single-family houses, he said. Signature Homes is trying to meet that demand with plans for 120 townhomes just off U.S. 280 near Meadow Brook and entry-level housing options in the new Everlee community between Lake Cyrus and Ross Bridge, he said.

“They’re going to sell every one of them before they break ground,” Lowery said.

One of the key factors in the Hoover housing market is the low inventory, both Belcher and Lowery said. As of January of this year, there was only about a onemonth supply of new homes on the market for sale in Hoover and less than a month’s supply of existing homes, MLS data shows.

“That is so healthy in terms of the strength of the housing market,” Belcher said. “There’s still a large demand.”

The biggest reason more homes have not been built in Hoover in the last two years is supply chain issues, Belcher said. At one point, there was a 20-week wait to get windows, he said. Now, that’s down to about eight or nine weeks, he said.

The average new home inventory for the Birmingham area is four months, and the goal is to have a five-month or six-month inventory, Belcher said.

Fewer than 10% of the homes

Signature Homes has been building in recent years have been speculative homes (built before a buyer decides to purchase them), he said. Generally, that’s more like 25%, he said.

The demand for existing homes also is strong. At the beginning of this year, there was less than a month’s supply of existing homes for sale on the market, MLS data shows. The low inventory is a big reason that prices escalated like they did.

Some of the price increases in recent years were crazy, said Gwen Vinzant, a realtor with RealtySouth who has been in the business about 35 years. Some home prices went up $100,000 in one year, she said.

But as interest rates have risen, scaring off some potential buyers, some sellers have started reducing prices, Vinzant said. “We’re kind of getting back to a normal rate of buying,” she said.

Lowery agreed that the market has started to settle down. There still are a lot of competing bids for houses, but they are no longer seeing the “insanity” of people paying $20,000 to $30,000 over list price and buying a house without an inspection to win a bidding war, he said.

Buyers have a little more power than they did a year ago, but prices as a whole still are increasing, which is good for sellers, he said.

He described it as a “closer to normal market,” but “we could still use more inventory to make it more normal.”

One of the big things driving demand right now is the coming of age of the millennial generation, particularly people in their early 30s, Lowery said. “It’s a huge group, and they want to buy houses.”

They’re now out of school, working, making money, starting families and want to find houses, he said.

Hoover is a big draw to many of these people because of its school system, restaurants, shopping and other amenities, he said. Plus, its proximity to Birmingham is a positive, he said. “You can live in Hoover and not have to drive so far.”

The Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills and Homewood housing markets are always strong, but “I think Hoover’s just as strong in its own way,” Lowery said.

Vinzant works out of RealtySouth’s Inverness office but helps clients buy and sell homes throughout the metro area and said Hoover tends to get a lot of people who are relocating from outside the Birmingham area because of all its amenities.

Belcher said his company has benefited from sales of age-restricted homes, noting that 300 of the homes that Signature has sold in the past 36 months were restricted to people ages 55 and older. Those homes sold very quickly, and more of that type housing is planned for Everlee.

New Home Stats

Of the 332 new home closings in Hoover in 2022, Signature Homes built 240 of those (72%), according to MLS data shared by Signature. Embridge Homes had 57 homes close in Hoover, and RealtySouth had 12 new homes close in Hoover, the data shows.

The community in Hoover with the most home closings in 2022 was Lake Wilborn (138), while there were 66 each in Blackridge and Knox Square, 24 in Lake Cyrus, 20 in The Preserve, 12 in Spencer Preserve, five in McGill Crossings and one in Greystone Farms, MLS data shows.

The average price of a new home in Hoover in 2022 was $630,016. The most expensive homes on average were in Blackridge ($918,000), Greystone Farms ($725,000), McGill Crossings ($695,415), Spencer Preserve ($642,086), The Preserve ($625,403), Lake Cyrus ($559,333), Lake Wilborn ($544,387) and Knox Square ($539,448).

Future Outlook

Marty Gilbert, Hoover’s building official, said it’s still hard to tell how 2023 will turn out for homebuilding in Hoover. A lot of that will depend on interest rates, he said. The last half of 2022 was slower in terms of applications for

Equities and let Terra Equities do the finishing work for tenants, Belcher said.

As for Everlee, Signature expects to deliver 50 to 60 homes there in 2023, including both townhomes and detached single-family homes, he said. The company is starting with homes priced in the high $200,000s to mid-$400,000s in the Everlee Village Center and this spring will begin single-family detached homes priced from the $400,000s to $600,000s, he said.

Signature also this spring plans to break ground on a 27,000-square-foot amenity building in Everlee that will include a pool, pickleball courts, coffee shop, brewpub, fitness center, golf simulators and party rooms, Belcher said. “It’s going to be unreal.”

Signature Homes should still be building in Blackridge about four more years and Everlee 10 to 12