Village Living November 2015 by Starnes Media

Village Living Volume 6 | Issue 8 | November 2015

neighborly news & entertainment for Mountain Brook

Sid STRONG Mountain Brook, world rally around teen in hospice care By ANA GOOD Sid Strong. Those words echo through the walls of the Ortis family home in Mountain Brook’s Crestline Village. They echo through the halls at Mountain Brook High School, where Sid is a 10th grader, and on the T-shirts of his classmates. Purple and yellow bows adorn Mountain Brook’s mailboxes— the colors of Sid’s LSU Tigers—proof that for Sid, Alabama and Auburn allegiances will just have to understand. The weekend of Oct. 17, the meaning of those words ampliﬁed when Sid’s mother, Lynn, shared the news that her 16-year-old son might not make it home from Children’s of Alabama. The cancer had spread. Things didn’t look good, but one by one, an army of supporters rallied around Sid. Sid’s story has impacted not only neighbors and classmates, but people around the world. His father, Scott, however, said he doesn’t think his son fully understands the magnitude of that. “It’s been interesting to watch him through all of this,” said Scott. “He sees himself as a regular 16-year old, with friends he likes to hang out with and activities he likes to do.”

Photo courtesy of Lynn and Scott Ortis.

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A4 • November 2015

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Photo of the Month

The Spartan band takes the ﬁeld during halftime of the Mountain Brook-Oak Mountain game on Oct. 9. Photo by John Perry.

Editor’s Note By Jennifer Gray This month, All In Mountain Brook is hosting a parenting conference. All In was formed as a non-proﬁt to enhance and protect the youth of Mountain Brook. The fact that such a group exists in our community is saying a lot about the people who live here. Parents, neighbors, friends and grandparents who all value our kids, the choices they make and the resources available to those who guide and inﬂuence them. This conference will offer multiple workshops that parents can attend. Topics will range from substance abuse, social media, preparing your child for college, building parent-child relationships and others. No matter the age of your kids, there should be something for everyone. The details are listed inside. Well, November means Thanksgiving, turkey, dressing, pumpkin pie and all of those nostalgic favorites. Sometimes, if you are like me, you maybe eat just a tiny bit too much around the end of the month. No worries! There are several runs this month that will help you indulge without needing to go up a size. The Birmingham Botanical Gardens is hosting the Dirt Dash and the LJCC is hosting their annual Sam Lapidus run. Maybe grab a group of friends and walk the races even if you aren’t a runner.

Even though the Christmas decorations have been in stores since the beginning of October, things really get going this month. If you are already feeling that holiday spirit you might want to take advantage of getting some shopping done early at the annual Junior League Market Noel. Or if decorating is more on your mind, then go ahead and order a beautiful wreath or garland for your home from Red Mountain Garden Club or PreSchool Partners – who, by the way, has the freshest trees for sale as well. In the sprit of shopping local, come out and take advantage of the all the unique and fun stores in our villages for all of your shopping needs. Really, you don’t have to leave Mountain Brook to check everyone off of your list. The Village open houses are a fun and festive way to get the job done. Most of all, this November, take a moment to reﬂect on what you are truly thankful for. It’s most likely not the job we have, the house we own or the car we drive. Although those things are nice, it’s the people we work with at that job, the ones who live within that house, or the kids or friends we drive around in our car. Offer up a prayer of thanks because when everything else is stripped away, those relationships are what matter most.

Village Living Publisher: Community Editor: Managing Editor: Design Editor: Sports Editor: Page Designer: Community Reporters: Staff Writer: Associate Editor: Copy Editor: Graphic Design: Advertising Manager: Sales and Distribution:

Contributing Writers:

Contributing Photographer: Intern: Published by:

Dan Starnes Jennifer Gray Sydney Cromwell Kristin Williams David Knox Cameron Tipton Ana Good Erica Techo Jon Anderson Emily Featherston Lucy Ridolphi Louisa Jeffries Andrew Anderson Matthew Allen Warren Caldwell Don Harris Michelle Salem Haynes Brittany Joffrion Rhonda Smith James Plunkett Kari Kampakis Steve Irvine Chris Megginson Jesse Chambers Frank Couch Sam Chandler Starnes Publishing LLC

School House Contributors: Catherine Gasque - Cherokee Bend, Trish Hand - Crestline, Kathleen Woodry - Brookwood Forest, Elizabeth Farrar - Mountain Brook High School, Shaun FlynnMountain Brook Elementary, Collins Clegg - Mountain Brook Jr. High Contributing Photographers: Image Arts

Contact Information: Village Living 1833 27th Avenue South Homewood, AL 35209 313-1780 Dan@VillageLivingOnline.com Please submit all

articles, information and photos to: Jennifer@VillageLivingOnline.com P.O. Box 530341 Birmingham, AL 35253

For advertising contact: Dan@VillageLivingOnline.com Legals: Village Living is published monthly. Reproduction or use of editorial or graphic content without prior permission is prohibited. Village Living is designed to inform the Mountain Brook community of area school, faith, family and community events. Information in Village Living is gathered from sources considered reliable but the accuracy cannot be guaranteed. All articles/photos submitted become the property of Village Living. We reserve the right to edit articles/photos as deemed necessary and are under no obligation to publish or return photos submitted. Inaccuracies or errors should be brought to the attention of the publisher at (205) 370-0732 or by email.

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A6 • November 2015

City Crestline Scout House returns

Parks and Rec department releases new handbook By ANA GOOD

Girl Scouts celebrate the opening of their new house in Crestline with a ribbon cutting on Oct. 4. Photo courtesy of the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce.

By ANA GOOD Mountain Brook’s Girl Scouts ﬁnally have their house back. On Sunday, Oct. 4, Girl Scouts past and present gathered at the newly renovated Crestline Scout House for a ribbon cutting ceremony hosted by the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce. The house, in its entirety, was picked up and moved to its new location at 55 Vine Street, about a half-block from its previous location. The move was the result of the Piggly Wiggly’s return to Crestline Village. Developers bought the plot of land to accommodate parking spots for the new store and made a deal with the house’s owners to ﬁnd them a new home. Troop Leader Elan Morosini said everyone was excited to get back in the house, one that has been enjoyed by thousands of Mountain Brook Girl Scouts since 1952. “There is a lot of sentimental value attached to the house,” said Morosini, who has helped lead the same group of girls for the past six years. “Years

and years of memories for many generations of Girl Scouts.” The old house found new life with a series of repairs made that brought the house back up to code. The house now features a yard, a new porch and updated landscaping as well as other cosmetic changes inside. Morosini, who was never a Girl Scout herself but watched her younger sister grow through the organization under the troop leadership of her mother, said she became involved when she had a child of her own. The Crestline Scout House, she said, is open to all the Girl Scouts of Mountain Brook. In the past, parts of the house have also been rented out to help free up the cost to the Girl Scouts. “The community needs this house,” said Morosini. “The Girl Scouts need this house. It’s exciting to have a space were girls can come and forge friendships, go on adventures and be considerate, courageous and strong. We are very excited for the community to come take a look and see what a lovely treasure they have in their neighborhood.”

The Mountain Brook Parks and Recreation department released its newest handbook available to city residents on Oct. 5. Parks and Recreation Superintendent Shanda Williams said she delivered the new handbooks, complete with all new information, to several city ofﬁces. The newly updated handbook, said Williams, was a necessary one. “The old version was a bit outdated,” she said. “The previous superintendent has since retired, we added Cahaba River Walk to our park offerings and [we] have a new building address. All of that information needed to be updated.” The handbook, approximately 30 pages in all, contains information on each of the city’s parks and length totals for all of the walking trails, as well as park rules and rental information. Also included are an assortment of maps of the trails, parks and complexes that outline parking spots, bus stops and playground locations. The handbooks are available for free at City Hall, the Chamber of Commerce and the Parks and Recreation ofﬁces, said Williams. Online copies are available at mtnbrook.org under the Parks and Recreation tab.

VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • A7

City council discusses lighting changes on Brook Manor Drive By ERICA TECHO The Mountain Brook City Council heard a public request for lighting changes on Brook Manor Drive. Residents requested the city’s assistance in placing two decorative streetlights, a project which would cost around $11,000. The decorative lights would replace the current light fixtures. Council Pro Tem Billy Pritchard asked if the decorative lights would better illuminate the road, noting the change seemed to be based in aesthetics. He said bumping up the wattage of the current fixtures could reduce crime, which the residents were also concerned with. “We can get the power company to look at this street too, to look at increased lighting or increasing the wattage,” said City Manager Sam Gaston. Council President Virginia Smith noted the aesthetically pleasing lighting is the preference, but many villages do not have the decorative lighting. “I’m worried about the precedent. If y’all were the only spot within our villages that didn’t have the acorn lighting, then I might be inclined to find some middle ground,” said Council President Virginia Smith, “but presently I am not. …Just looking for more illumination is a way to solve your more immediate need for safety.” The council decided to bring the power company to inspect the lighting and see if illumination could be increased in the area. The next city council meeting is Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. Pre-council begins at 6:15 p.m. In other news, the council: • Discussed an incentive policy for public safety employees. The policy would allow employees to gain educational incentives even though the Personnel Board of Jefferson County has become more restrained in its scope of granting incentive approval. The change would prevent employees from losing educational incentives in the case of a raise. Gaston proposed continuing the discussing to the next city council meeting, and the council agreed. • Held off on a study for a sidewalk along South Brookwood Road. The council decided to

work to limit the scope of the study and discuss it at a future meeting. • Approved funding an erosion plan study for Shades Creek at Mountain Brook Parkway and Overbrook Road. The study will cost around $11,000 and will include plans for armoring the bank in order to ﬁght erosion. • Approved a resolution adopting the FY2016 budget for the Mountain Brook Emergency Communications Distict. • Approved the transfer of $275,000 from the Emergency Communications District operating fund to the city’s general fund. The funds were a reimbursement for E911 dispatch labor costs for FY2015. • Approved the transfer of $75,000 from the general fund to capital projects fund. • Recommended the approval of a liquor license for Miss Dots Crestline, which is opening at 49 Church Street on Dec. 1. • Approved the sale of property surplus. • Approved an ordiance for a stop sign on Randolph Road at its intersection with Fairway Drive. The intersection was previously uncontrolled, and the ordinance also provides for punishment for violations of the stop sign. • Approved an erosion plan study for Shades Creek at Mountain Brook Parkway and Overbrook Road. The study will cost around $11,000 and will include plans for armoring the bank in order to ﬁght erosion. • Approved a resolution adopting the FY2016 budget for the Mountain Brook Emergency Communications Distict. • Approved the transfer of $275,000 from the Emergency Communications District operating fund to the city’s general fund. The funds were a reimbursement for E911 dispatch labor costs for FY2015. • Approved the transfer of $75,000 from the general fund to capital projects fund. • Recommended the approval of a liquor license for Miss Dots Crestline, which is opening at 49 Church Street on Dec. 1. • Approved the sale of surplus property. • Approved an ordinance for a stop sign on Randolph Road at its intersection with Fairway Drive. The intersection was previously uncontrolled, and the ordinance also provides for punishment for violations of the stop sign.

Old Leeds Road and Crosshill Road will have a new left turn arrow. Staff photo.

Left turn arrow coming to Old Leeds-Crosshill By MADOLINE MARKHAM A left turn arrow will be added at the intersection of Old Leeds Road at Crosshill Road. The city council discussed the possibility of having it active in the mornings at its Sept. 28 meeting. Richard Caudle of Skipper Consulting studied the intersection on Aug. 19 and 20 during morning and afternoon traffic times, determining that the only time the left signal would be beneficial is during the peak traffic flow in the morning. Its

addition would also cause minor adverse effects on other approaches to the intersection. The existing trafﬁc signal controller could be programmed to add a green arrow during certain times of the day. Caudle recommended also adding a sign to notify drivers of the times that the arrow would come on. The construction to add the arrow would cost around $7,500. Stone & Sons Electrical Contractors will be contracted for the work.

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Village Living

A8 • November 2015

New movie, music and e-book access service available through library

The Emmet O’Neal Library is now offering thousands of movies, television shows, music albums, eBooks, audiobooks and comics for mobile and online access through a new partnership with hoopla digital. Mountain Brook cardholders can download the free hoopla digital mobile app on their Android or IOS device or visit hoopladigital.com to access titles from major Hollywood studios, record companies and publishers. Users borrow items 24/7, for instant streaming or temporary downloading to their smartphones, tablets and computers. “We’re always looking to expand our digital offerings to become a truly accessible resource for the community,” said Amanda Westfall, reference librarian at Emmet O’Neal Library. “With hoopla digital, we are able to do that in a more impactful way than before. The service grants our patrons 24/7 access to dynamic materials, while eliminating waits and holds. They only need their library card to stay connected and can access this content via the hoopla app or web site – free of charge.” Emmet O’Neal Library is the eleventh library system in the state of Alabama to partner with hoopla digital. Current partners include Hoover Public Library, Vestavia Hills Library and Muscle Shoals Public Library. -Submitted by the Lollar Group

Emmet O’Neal Library. Photo by Keith McCoy.

Council approves two stop signs BY MADOLINE MARKHAM The city council approved two stop signs on Spring Valley Court, eastbound and westbound, at its intersection with North Woodridge Road at its Sept. 28 meeting, along with providing for punishment for violations of it. Also at the meeting, Richard Caudle of Skipper Consulting presented ﬁndings from his study of a potential crosswalk at South Brookwood Road and North Woodridge Road that would connect two sidewalks. Caudle recommended that the city install the crosswalk as well as a raised concrete island in place of the striped island at the intersection. He also said high

visibility markings and advance signage should be installed, but he believes a ﬂashing light will not be necessary to mark the crosswalk. As a third item, Caudle recommended a sidewalk extension on North Woodridge Road to Westbury Place. The 170 feet of sidewalk would cost approximately $10,200 for the materials and to move a utility pole. To extend the sidewalk to Bethune Drive, it would take 2,280 feet of sidewalk, four ramps and 14 driveway crossings. It would have to be designed before obtaining a cost estimate, which would be much higher. Finally, Caudle and Vaughn presented information adding additional guardrails on South Brookwood Road. The cost of its installation

would be around $85,000, which does not include the cost of sidewalk and drainage work that would be needed or the cost of relocating sidewalks. Caudle recommend the city hire a consulting civil engineer to study the project further and provide a cost estimate for it by working with the city, neighborhood and school. Other October council business included: • Discussing a proposed stop sign on Randolph Road at its intersection with Fairway Drive. Chief Ted Cook. Neighbors will be notiﬁed of the new sign, and unless there is opposition, it will be installed. • Discussing a carpet project for the second ﬂoor

of the Emmet O’Neal Library and whether to outsource a moving service. The service would move the books and bookshelves to alleviate the need for the staff to move them while the ﬂoor is carpeted. The project would be higher than the budgeted amount for the project and would have to be rebid. The council agreed the moving service should be used. • Rejecting all bids for a ﬁre pumper that opened on Sept. 8. All bids came in over the $470,000 budgeted, so it will be re-bid with deduction alternatives, which Fire Chief Robert Ezekiel believes will fall within the budgeted amount.

VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • A9

Grand Bohemian Mountain Brook welcomes first guests

Kessler Collection’s President and CEO Richard Kessler stands in the art gallery of the Grand Bohemian Mountain Brook. Photo by Erica Techo.

By ANA GOOD The Grand Bohemian Moun tain Brook, located in the heart of Lane Parke, is officially open. The $35 million boutique hotel welcomed its first guests Wednesday, Oct. 21 as workers added the final touches to the space. The hotel is part of the Kessler Collection and features 100 rooms and a host of amenities including a wine-blending room, cooking school and spa. The hotel’s interior design is largely inspired by its neighbors—the Birmingham Botanical Gardens and Birmingham Zoo. The Kessler Collection’s chairman and CEO, Richard C. Kessler, along with his adult children, is said to play a major role in the hotel’s design—from the selection of the Grand Bohemian Gallery artists, to the specially-designed, hand-woven carpets, handblown chandeliers inside the guest rooms, hand-selected music and bold color palettes. Purple and red—Kessler’s favorite colors, according to National Group Sales Director Shawn Bendig—are found throughout the building, from the brightly eggplant-colored hotel room doors to the oversized whimsical patio furniture. Bendig helped lead a media tour of the space ahead of the hotel’s grand opening. The Mountain Brook hotel—part of the $120 million Lane Parke development— marks the Kessler Collection’s eleventh, joining others in Florida, Georgia, Colorado, New Mexico, and North Carolina. With its high-end hospitality services, Grand Bohemian Mountain Brook looks to be as appealing to out-of-town guests as it is to area residents.

The hotel features 12,630 square feet of meeting space, including a 6,000-square-foot ballroom to accommodate up to 350 people. Weddings and large gatherings have already been booked, said Bendig, set to take place under the Kessler-designed Austrian crystal chandeliers. An elevator ride just outside the ballroom takes guests to an area called “The Habitat,” featuring a rooftop restaurant and bar with indoor/outdoor components, such as fire pits and a rooftop terrace. The cooking school, led by Little Savannah owner Chef Clifton Holt, is beside the main living room. Holt said he hopes to attract kitchen experts and novices alike, all in the name of food. “The classes will be simple,” said Holt, “approachable for all skill levels.” The wine tasting and wine blending room is also located in The Habitat, open to groups and individuals looking to learn about the wine-making process before personalizing and labeling a blend of their own. Peter Keil artwork lines the walls throughout most of the guest areas, many of which are on sale. Keil’s art, along with a host of other Kessler Collection artists can also be found for sale in a gallery located right by the hotel’s underpass. A Poseidon Spa, a feature of Kessler hotels, includes four treatment rooms and easy first-floor access for hotel guests and spa-only visitors alike. The hotel, cooking school, spa, wine-blending experience and spa are all currently taking reservations. For more information about the Grand Bohemian Mountain Brook, visit grandbohemianmountainbrook.com.

A10 • November 2015

Village Living

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Now Open Judith Bright held its grand opening in October, with 10 percent of proceeds during the event going to Mitchell’s Place. The jewelry store is located in Mountain Brook Village at 2415 Montevallo Road. 918-3600, judithbright.com

2 Mountain Brook Yoga,

2416 Cantebury Rd., held its grand opening Oct. 14. The store holds yoga Classes and sells a large selection of yoga attire. 253-2408, mountainbrook.yoga

3 Doorstep Delivery, a food

delivery service from over 50 local restaurants and growing in the Over the Mountain area, has opened at 10 Ofﬁce Park Circle. 903-3663, birminghamdoorstepdelivery. com

News and Accomplishments Corporate video production company Vulcan Media will expand to Charlotte, North

November 2015 • A11 Carolina, in January 2016. It plans to hire additional staff members in Birmingham, as well as six video crews in Charlotte. The business is located at 12 Ofﬁce Park Circle, Suite 101. 585-1313, vulcanmedia.com

Hirings and Promotions 5 RealtySouth’s Mountain

Brook Crestline Ofﬁce, 105 Euclid Ave., welcomed Patrick Cornelius and Justin Edwards as new agents. 879-6330, realtysouth.com

6 LAH Real Estate, 2850

Cahaba Road, Suite 200, has hired Jena Standard and Vickie Gleissner as Realtors®. 870-8580, lahrealestate.com

Anniversaries 7 Antiquities is celebrating

ﬁve years in Mountain Brook Village. Nancy McClendon owns the store at 2421 Canterbury Road. 870-1030, shopantiquities.com

Village Living

A12 • November 2015

A family affair Mother-daughter team brings jewelry store to Mountain Brook Village Avani 2408 Canterbury Road 982-4888 avanirupa.com Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. It doesn’t take long to learn where Avani Rupa got its name. The jewelry store, which is moving to a new showroom on Canterbury Road this month, features the designs of Avani Patel and her mom, Rupa Patel. Customers come in to see Rupa or to see Avani for a design, not for a brand, they said. The business started a decade ago with Rupa selling her jewelry creations off her dining room table at home. Eventually she opened Reflections Diamond Jewelry in a Hoover store front before she and Avani adopted a new name and brand his year. Avani had always helped with the business and wanted to be a part of it professionally, but first she studied accounting and business at Birmingham-Southern College, an experience she knew would help her ultimately grow a jewelry business.

Mother and daughter Rupa and Avani Patel design the jewelry pieces in their store, which is moving to Mountain Brook Village this month. Photo by Madoline Markham.

Afterward, Avani pursued joining her mom by way of the Gemological Institute of America in Carlsbad, California, where she studied for a year and earned certifications in Graduate Gemology, Jewelry Design and CAD/CAM. With her GIA certification, Avani brings a unique skill set to the business that was built by grading diamonds for eight hours a day for six months. She creates custom bridal jewelry with certified diamonds and gemstones as well as earrings and necklaces. No two of her creations are the same, as she focuses on quality over quantity. She is also passionate about educating her customers as she works with them on her designs. She walks them through the four Cs — carat, cut, color and clarity — explaining the importance of

using stones with certified authenticity. Outside of this collection of gemstones and diamonds, Avani creates more fun and trendy pieces the store sells. “It portrays who I am — a second generation Indian raised in the South,” Avani said. “It’s chic with American clothes, but you wouldn’t see it in an American store.” Rupa still designs pieces as well. They have a more a classic style than Avani’s but still feature an Indian influence. When designing the new shop space in Mountain Brook Village, Avani wanted it to feel approachable. When you walk in, you will see a beverage center with a seating area where you can discuss designs.

The store will also feature gallery pieces at the front. Display pieces will show off jewelry, the design sketches that guided its creation, photos of the owner wearing it. Avani wants it to feel like an art gallery to show off custom work the shop has done, although they won’t be for sale. Further back in the store, Avani will work with customers in a design area by appointment, and the jewelry will be divided into three sections: solitaires and bridal, high-end customized pieces and everyday chic such as bangles, hoops and pendants. “Just because you are coming in doesn’t mean you have to buy something,” Avani said. “I want to share what we do, and when they feel ready, they will be ready [to buy.]”

VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • A13

Crestline resident recalls 65 years on Fairmont Avenue By MADOLINE MARKHAM Roberta Harkins vividly remembers Labor Day 1949. It was the day she and her husband moved into their home on Fairmont Avenue in Crestline. They had purchased the house for $9,500. “Back then, every house on this street was like it, with two bedrooms and one bathroom,” she recalled. “The road wasn’t paved, and the mud was awful.” Her husband, Walter, had just gotten out of the service and was eager to escape their apartment for a house. They bought their home on 100 percent GI loan. At the time, Canterbury Church hadn’t yet been built, but the A&P grocery store and other businesses had opened shop on Church Street. To the Aliceville, Alabama, natives, it felt like a big city. Back then, Harkins said, young people with children lived up and down the street, and all the moms stayed home, gathering in their yards to watch the kids play. They convened on Wednesday mornings for a sewing club — only those on the street were invited. Block parties were held at the top of the hill, and Walter would host barbecues in their backyard. The Harkins never thought they’d stay in their home for nearly 65 years,

Roberta Harkins holds her bridal portrait, which was taken in 1948, a year before she moved into her current home in Crestline. Photo by Madoline Markham.

but after Walter had a heart attack at 34, they decided they no longer cared if they moved to what Roberta calls “higher ground” like many of their neighbors. Three neighbors — two next door

and one across the street — remained for 60 years, but in the past five, they too have gone, and their houses have been bulldozed to make room for more spacious residences. Over the past 20 years, neighbors have come

and gone along with a flurry of new construction. Running estate sales for three decades, Harkins has found that these days people often don’t know their neighbors anymore.

She developed her “addiction” to the sales in the 1970s and has sold everything from cars to fur coats to porcelain to dogs, retrieving items as far away as Greensboro, Alabama, or New Orleans. Once a man put his hat down, and she sold it right away. Another time the police came to break up a fight among her customers, and yet another time she found $20,000 in cash hidden in a mattress. Harkins was a stickler to prices that experts had advised her to set for stamps, silver and other specialty items. “I’d burn that before I’d let you have it for $50,” she would tell people. Harkins’ house still looks much as it did 65 years ago, with the exception of an additional living room and bedroom they built in 1958 after their second child was born. Its rooms are filled with family antiques and estate sale finds from over the years. Since Walter passed away last year, she spends a lot of time alone even with visits from her two granddaughters and other family members. But each morning, she opens the inside front door, and each morning her neighbor across the street checks to make sure she sees it open. Maybe there is still a glimmer of the neighborly community Harkins remembers on the street after all.

A14 • November 2015

Village Living

MBHS grad creates jewelry from Toomer’s trees By MADOLINE MARKHAM Special jewelry made from the Toomer’s Corner oak trees in Auburn debuted at A-Day on April 18 thanks to the artistry of a Mountain Brook native. Andrea Buchanan Marty, a 1989 Mountain Brook High School graduate, was selected by The Oaks Committee to create jewelry to be sold exclusively through Auburn’s bookstore. “It is amazing to see Andrea take a tree limb from a dead tree and create an exciting piece of jewelry,” said Marty’s mother, Judy Buchanan, who still lives in Mountain Brook. A longtime painter and 1994 graduate of Auburn’s fine arts department, Marty started painting wooden pieces to create jewelry after her second child was born. She was looking to paint something smaller and easier to do on a kitchen table. When news came of the Toomer’s trees’ destruction a few years ago, her husband encouraged her to contact Auburn about using the trees to make commemorative jewelry.

She reached out to her ceramics professor, now the chair of the art department, Gary Wagoner, and eventually Marty began her line. Using oak pieces shipped to her from Auburn, Marty cut them to size and painted them orange and blue hues specified by the university. From there, she sanded them down to reveal more of the natural grain and coated them with a high-gloss resin to make them shine. All the pieces were finished with a stamp of the official Auburn Oaks logo. Necklaces and key chains are in the final collection. Marty originally created more pieces, and student focus groups narrowed them down to those selections. They run from $25-50. At A-Day, 100 pieces sold out in three hours. Marty said she is proud to be part of

a project involving Wagoner and her alma mater. Future Auburn Oaks jewelry can be ordered from University Bookstore at aubookstore.com or by calling 334-844-4241. For more information on Marty’s work, visit the Anchor and Daisy page on Facebook. She also sells her work through Etsy and at a store in Austin, Texas, where she and her family moved last year.

Mountain Brook native Andrea Buchanan Marty created jewelry from the oak trees at Toomer’s Corner in Auburn. Courtesy of Andrea Buchanan Marty.

VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • A15

Community St. Francis to host annual Tamale Sale By EMILY FEATHERSTON More than turkey will be on the menu at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church as it hosts its annual tamale sale the weekend before Thanksgiving. On Friday, Nov. 20 and Saturday, Nov. 21, the church will host the sale in the church’s Parish Hall to support St. Francis Xavier’s Hispanic Ministry. Like last year, Director of Hispanic Ministries Brenda Bullock said tamales can be taken to go, or diners can stay in the hall to enjoy them. In addition to the more than 2,500 tamales they usually make for the event, the church will also have flautas and quesadilla plates for purchase. Proceeds of the sale will help fund the

Spanish-language mass services and other outreach programs the ministry does. Bullock said the setup will be similar to previous years, and the sale will be from 4–7 p.m. on Friday, and from 10 a.m.–7 p.m. on Saturday. Tamales will be priced $8 per half-dozen, and flautas and quesadilla plates will be $5 each. Bullock said there may be other Mexican treats available as well. For more information contact Bullock at 8035421, or hispanicministry@sfxbirmingham.com.

The annual tamale sale helps St. Francis Xavier fund its Spanish-language services and outreach programs. Photo courtesy of St. Francis Xavier.

Students visit State House

Fourth grade students from Crestline Elementary School visited the State House in Montgomery this October. Photo courtesy of David Faulkner.

Fourth graders from Crestline Elementary School visited the State House in Montgomery on Oct. 15. The trip is made each year by fourth grade classes. Rep. David Faulkner, who represented District 46, said the students’ visit is one of his favorite things each year. “This was ultra special for me since I knew and have coached many of these kids,” Faulkner said.

Students were able to be the Alabama House of Representatives and “vote” on legislation to extend summer to six months and go to school for one extra hour each day. “I can tell you these fourth graders knew their stuff about state government, and they were a much better behaved group than the real House is at times,” Faulkner said. -Submitted by Rep. David Faulkner

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Village Living

A16 • November 2015

New movie, music and ebook access service available through library The Emmet O’Neal Library is now offering thousands of movies, television shows, music albums, eBooks, audiobooks and comics for mobile and online access through a new partnership with hoopla digital. Mountain Brook card holders can download the free hoopla digital mobile app on their Android or IOS device or visit hoopladigital.com to access titles from major Hollywood studios, record companies and publishers. Users borrow items 24/7, for instant streaming or temporary downloading to their smartphones, tablets and computers. “We’re always looking to expand our digital offerings to become a truly accessible resource for the community,” said Amanda Westfall, reference librarian at Emmet O’Neal Library. “With hoopla

digital, we are able to do that in a more impactful way than before. The service grants our patrons 24/7 access to dynamic materials, while eliminating waits and holds. They only need their library card to stay connected and can access this content via the hoopla app or web site – free of charge. hoopla digital’s automatic return also means no late fees.” Emmet O’Neal Library is the eleventh library system in the state of Alabama to partner with hoopla digital. Current partners include Hoover Public Library, Vestavia Hills Library and Muscle Shoals Public Library. -Submitted by the Lollar Group

Librarian Matthew Layne shows the Hoopla program to patron Helaine Kanter. Photo courtesy of the Lollar Group.

Game day pajamas available at Junior League holiday market

Mountain Brook residents Martha Ann Livingston and Jane Emanuelsen are bringing their organic cotton game day pajamas for children to Market Noel this year. Photo courtesy of Holly Lollar.

The Junior League of Birmingham’s holiday market, Market Noel, is celebrating its 25th year. The event returns to the Cahaba Grand Conference Center Nov. 19-21. More than 100 vendors from across the country will sell wares to benefit the 34 community projects of the Junior League. Mountain Brook residents Martha Ann Livingston and Jane Emanuelsen are returning to Market Noel this year with their game day pajamas for children. The stepsisters started their organic cotton pajama line, marthie & jane, after they had trouble finding cute Auburn and Alabama pajamas for their kids to wear when they stayed up for late-night games. “As a small business owner, it is exciting for us to return to Market Noel this year,” said Livingston. “It is one of our favorite shows each year.”

General admission shopping for Market Noel is open Thursday 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. A Preview Noel party will be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. It will feature hors d’oeuvres; wine, beer and cocktails; swag bags; a silent auction; live music from Sean Heninger; and a chance to win a piece of jewelry valued at $4,000-5,000 from Diamonds Direct with the purchase of a glass of champagne. While the ladies shop, men can enjoy a Man Cave with a beer and bourbon tasting from Good People Brewing and Dram as well as entertainment from The Lochamy Brothers of the SEC Network. To purchase Market Noel tickets or for more information, visit marketnoel.net. Tickets are also available at the door. -Submitted by the Junior League of Birmingham

VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • A17

Sam Lapidus Montclair Run returns, adds 5K The annual Sam Lapidus Montclair Run will once again take place on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, and will include a 10K, 5K and a Fun Run. The run, hosted by the Levite Jewish Community Center and in its 39th year overall, will for the seventh year honor Sam Lapidus, who passed away in 2008 at age 14 from Ewing’s sarcoma, a rare pediatric bone cancer. Proceeds from the run will benefit the LJCC fitness program and the Alabama Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children’s of Alabama in downtown Birmingham. This year, race organizers at the LJCC decided to add a 5K event, sponsored by the Schaeffer Eye Center. “We thought that by adding a 5K we’d be able to get more participation,” Dan Tourtellotte said. Tourtellottee, who is the director of operations and development at the LJCC, said he hopes the new race will attract those interested in fitness that are not necessarily runners. The 10K and 5K will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the LJCC, with the Fun Run beginning at 10 a.m. Entry fees are $36 for the 10K and 5K, and $18 for the Fun Run, with long-sleeve T-shirts for

Ballet Guild makes annual donation to Alabama Ballet The Ballet Guild of Birmingham presented its annual donation to the Alabama Ballet at its first meeting of the year on Sept. 22. In attendance

LJCC’s annual run is held in memory of Sam Lapidus.

10K and 5K entrants, and short-sleeve T-shirts for Fun Run entrants. Entrants can register in person at the LJCC, by mail or online at bhmjcc.org. For more information, contact Tourtellotte at 879-0411, or by email at dt@bhamjcc.org.

for the Alabama Ballet to accept the donation were Tracey Alvey, artistic director; Roger Van Fleteren, associate artistic director and resident choreographer; Melanie Mooney, executive director; and Mandy McDaniel, PR and marketing director. Rebecca Wise, Ballet Guild president, and Sarah Peinhardt, ball chair, presented the check. The donation represents the efforts, contributions and fundraising by the 2014-2015 Ballet Guild members.

Villages to hold holiday open houses The Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce will welcome the holiday season with its annual holiday open houses in each of the villages. Merchants will offer specials during the day and will extend their normal business hours into the evening. “Each village has its own personality, so each will do its own thing,” said Suzan Doidge, executive director of Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce. “It’s a great way to come out and participate in a gathering of all the members of our community and keep our tax dollars here in Mountain Brook.” Doidge said each year the open houses have grown into bigger events, and she hopes everyone comes out to participate in some way.

The schedule for each village is:

• Thursday, Nov. 19: Crestline Village, 4 p.m. • Tuesday, Dec. 1: Cahaba Village, 4 p.m.

• Wednesday, Dec. 2: English Village, 4 p.m.

• Thursday, Dec. 3: Mountain Brook Village, 4 p.m.

Zoo to host United Way food drive, offer half-priced admission

The Birmingham Zoo is offering patrons a way to give back to their community this fall, and offering savings in exchange for generosity. Visitors who bring a canned or non-perishable food item Nov. 21-22 will receive half-price admission to the zoo. Donations will go to the United Way Community Food Bank, which collects surplus food and provides it to organizations helping those in need. These organizations help more than 500,000 individuals in 12 Alabama counties each year. With a donation, adult guest admission is $7.50, $5 for seniors 65 and older and $5 for children ages 2-12. All admission prices are before tax, and there is a limit of one donation discount per person. Each individual must bring a donation to receive a discount. The zoo invites guests to enjoy the Junior League of Birmingham-Hugh Kaul Children’s Zoo, visit the elephants in Trails of Africa and watch a pelican feeding as part of their visit. For more information, visit birminghamzoo.com and feedingal.com.

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Village Living

A18 • November 2015

Annual Dirt Dash will support gardens The Birmingham Botanical Gardens will host its annual Dirt Dash on Saturday, Nov. 14. The 5K Fun Run and One-Mile Family Walk will support the gardens’ mission to encourage appreciation of plants and the environment. Entries for the 5K are $30 before Nov. 13 and $40 on race day. Entries for the Family Walk are $20 for adults, $15 for ages 7-17 and free for children 6-yearsold and under. Entries include a T-shirt, and entrants can pick up their materials at Trak Shack in Homewood on Nov. 13 from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. or the morning of the

Red Mountain Garden Club members prepares for this year’s sale. Pictured are Pratt Brown of Pratt Brown Landscapes; Kate Newton of Landscape Services; Kimberly Bean, greenery sale chairman; and Amy Ager, greenery sale co-chairman.

Garden Club greenery sale moves to SoHo The annual Red Mountain Garden Club holiday greenery sale, typically hosted at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, is moving this year to Rosewood Hall in SoHo Square. The move is the result of on-going renovations at the Botanical Gardens. The sale will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 2 from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Rosewood Hall is located on the first floor of Homewood City Hall, and drive-up access to the sale will be available. As in previous years, the sale will benefit the

Memorial Garden at the Birmingham Museum of Art and the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Pre-orders are available online until Nov. 20, and there will be many options for walk-up shoppers, including wreaths, mailbox decorations, kissing balls and greenery arrangements. For more information or to pre-order greenery, visit redmountaingardenclub.com, or contact Ginny Hutchinson at 370-4936, or ginny@scribblerpink. com.

race starting at 6:30 a.m. The run will follow the trails through the garden’s most popular areas, with the finish line near the Garden Center. The Fun Run will begin at 8:30 a.m., with the Family Walk start following at 9 a.m. Awards will be presented at approximately 9:30 a.m. For more information on registering and volunteer opportunities, visit bbgardens. org or contact Ragan Stone at 414-3965 or rcox@bbgardens.org.

Gardens to host fine craft show and sale The Alabama Designer/Craftsmen organization (AD/C) will host its 43rd annual fine craft show at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Nov. 14-15. The event will feature artists from across the state who create art from a variety of media, with many types of items available for purchase. The AD/C is a nonprofit fine-arts organization that strives to encourage appreciation and preservation of traditional and contemporary crafts. An all-volunteer group, AD/C craft artists create their own handmade designs with absolutely no factory work.

“The craftsmanship is of utmost importance,” show chair Lynnette Loucks said. The show, which will take place 10 a.m.-5 p.m. both days, will feature works of wood, metal, glass, leather and ceramic, as well as fiber artists, jewelers and even a gourd painter. Admission is $3, with children under 12 free, and Loucks said the pieces are “reasonably priced.” For more information, including a list of AD/C artists, visit alabamadesignercraftsmen.com.

VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • A19

Community Iron Bowl Tailgate Event to Inspire Area Youth at St. Luke’s On Novemand Campus ber 22 Saint Crusade. Today, Luke’s EpiscoCrim performs his comedy pal Church welsketches and comes Alabama serves as a native, Travis Crim, as the keymotivational note entertainer speaker extenfor its Iron Bowl sively for OutTailgate event for back of America, all junior high JH Ranch and and high school other ministries students in the throughout the area. country. Crim, a former Saint Luke’s Youth Minister, University of Alabama footBryan Miller said: “We are ball player, currently lives with beyond excited that we are able his family in to bring such an Southern California working as a amazing perwriter, actor and former to speak to the youth in producer. His Travis Crim. Photo courtesy of Saint Luke’s our community. love of the arts, Episcopal. We are looking and his passion forward to hearfor seeing teens transformed by the life of Christ, has ing his message about how faith can help defined his work. Crim combines Biblical today’s youth face life’s challenges and truths with relevance of today’s youth to struggles.” capture the student culture of their generaAll area 7th -12th grade students are tion. He pulls from years of hands-on min- encouraged to attend this free event on istry experience to connect spiritual insight Sunday, November 22 from 6:00pm to with real-world application in a creative, 7:30pm at Saint Luke’s Church. Wear your often humorous way. team colors for a great Iron Bowl Tailgate! Crim first discovered his talents while For more information, contact Bryan at the University of Alabama as he worked Miller at bmiller@saint-lukes.com. with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes -Submitted by Saint Luke’s Episcopal.

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Preschool Partners to hold tree sale

Preschool Partners is offering pre-orders on Christmas greenery through Nov. 13. Photo courtesy of Allene Neighbors.

Customers looking for real Christmas greenery can pre-order trees, wreaths and garlands through the Preschool Partners now through Nov. 13. The proceeds will go to support families in the program, and a portion of each sale is tax-deductible. Holiday shoppers can order Frasier fir trees, starting at $65 for a 6 to 7-foot tree and going up to $135 for a 9 to 10-foot tree. Round wreaths are $30-45 depending on size, cross wreaths are $36 and garlands are $25 for 25 feet. Preschool Partners prepares at-risk Birmingham

children for kindergarten, and the greenery sale is their annual fundraiser. Greenery can be picked up at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, 3736 Montrose Road, on Nov. 29 between noon and 4 p.m. and Nov. 30 between 4 and 6 p.m. Payment can be made by check or online at PreSchool-Partners.org. Call 951.5151 with any questions or email info@preschool-partners.org. -Submitted by Allene Neighbors.

Village Living

A20 • November 2015

Shops stay open late for Canterbury Road Block Party Canterbury Road in Mountain Brook Village was blocked off for a block party on Oct. 1. Shindigs food truck and live music by Will O’Rear and Brian Felder were in the street, and the stores that line it featured refreshments, special sales and door prizes. “We wanted to plan a fun event to kick off fall and to introduce the new stores,” said Elizabeth

Adams, owner of Ex Voto Vintage. The Village Poodle and Christine’s on Canterbury have both opened recently on the street. Participating stores included Antiquities, Beverly Ruff Antiques and Linens, Christine’s on Canterbury, Ex Voto Vintage, Marguerite’s Conceits, Mountain Brook Yoga, Mulberry Heights Antiques and The Village Poodle.

The block party was held under overcast skies.

Brian Felder and Will O’Rear, The Respectables, belt out tunes for the party. Photos by Frank Couch.

Shops stayed open for visitors to take a look.

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VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • A21

Botanical Gardens holds Judy Nichols places signs in ﬂats of annuals. The Fall Plant sale at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens Saturday Oct. 17. Photos by Frank Couch.

A sign warns shoppers about the dangers of cacti.

Patrons ﬁle into the sale with shopping carts and boxes.

fall plant sale

Phyllis and Jim Riddle describe some of the day lillies for sale.

Mary Phillips arranges native plants before the sale opens.

Patrons line up outside of the plant sale before it opens.

Village Living

A22 • November 2015

Memorializing a hero New book chronicles local man’s efforts to free World War II POWs By MADOLINE MARKHAM

Andrew Hodges Jr. has written a new book about his father’s quest to save POWs during World War II. Photo courtesy of Andrew Hodges Jr.

“We all need good role models who show us the way, and this generation, the Greatest Generation, had some stories to tell.” -Andrew Hodges, Jr.

Andrew “Gerry” Hodges grew up knowing his dad was a hero. Andrew Gerow Hodges Sr. would tell him stories of his time in France negotiating the release of prisoners of war during World War II from the Nazis. But it wasn’t until Andrew Jr., a Mountain Brook resident, wrote a book on his dad, which was released this fall, that he fully understood his story. “You put all the stories together and you see all these tremendous dramas unfold,” he said. “It made me appreciate how much my father went through and how many times he was out there alone.” Andrew Jr.’s book, Behind Nazi Lines: My Father’s Heroic Quest to Save 149 World War II POWs, is now available on Amazon and from Alabama Booksmith and major book retailers. Denise George, a biographer who knew Andrew Sr., coauthored the book, pairing her expertise shaping drama with words with Andrew Jr.’s experience as a writer and psychiatrist specializing in trauma. Andrew Jr. had met many of the people who became characters in his book, many of them at a POW reunion held at Samford University in 2002. “They each had a story,” Andrew Jr. said. “A lot of them were still suffering from PTSD all those years later. They told me things they wouldn’t tell other people because they knew my dad and they knew what I did.”

But the book of course still required extensive interviews and research, many that he conducted with his mother to learn her side of the stories. His father’s story begins and ends in Alabama. He grew up poor in South Alabama and attended Howard College (now Samford University) on a football scholarship. Because of a shoulder injury from football, he was ineligible to serve in the military but wanted to ﬁnd some way to join the war effort. So in 1944 he joined the American Red Cross and before long had left behind his wife, Mary Louise, and 2-year-old son, Andrew Jr., to enter occupied France unarmed alone in a jeep, repeatedly risking his life on a mission to negotiate with Germans to release POWs. At the time hundreds of Allied soldiers were living in brutal conditions in prisoner-of-war camps in the area. “It’s an interesting story because it’s about what one person can do at any given moment in time. [The Germans] admired

him greatly for his courage,” Andrew Jr. said. “He had worked in a small store to support his family, and he learned to deal with people and negotiate with people. [In France] he would take supplies and coats to the prisoners, eventually proposing a POW exchange. He took German ofﬁcers tobacco they couldn’t get. He was charming but he was tough. At one point the Germans wanted ﬁve elite German POWs for one difficult Allied POW. My father immediately got up to walk away calling their bluff and got his man in a one-for-one swap.” As he works to promote the book, Andrew Jr. hopes he will see his father’s story as a movie one day too. “There is a need today for great heroes that fought the great World War,” he said. “We all need good role models who show us the way, and this generation, the Greatest Generation, had some stories to tell.”

VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • A23

Three-time survivor of suicide talks awareness, advocacy By ANA GOOD

to help her deal with the questions, with the pain. After her mother’s suicide, Roberts said she learned to focus on one breath at a time. When the dark thoughts would flood her mind, she learned to shift her focus. She’d force herself to think instead, she said, of her mother’s smile or of her laugh. “The last few seconds of my parents’ life should not define them,” said Roberts.

Mary Turner Roberts still remembers the day she received the first phone call. She was a young girl, 16 years old, when an officer on the other end of the line told her she had to head to the local hospital. Something was wrong with Dad, they said. It was the type of call Roberts would receive not once or twice in her life, but three times. Call One It had begun as a regular Saturday night—Roberts had made plans to go out with her friends. As she walked out the door, Roberts said her father called her over. “He kissed me on the cheek and said goodbye,” she said, in front of packed bleachers at Mountain Brook’s Crestline Field Tuesday, Oct. 13. Roberts was the featured speaker at the most recent AWARE event—a grassroots network where members of the community are encouraged to speak freely about depression, substance abuse, suicide and other issues. At the time, Roberts said she remembers feeling embarrassed about her father asking for a kiss in front of her friends. He wasn’t usually the sentimental kind, she said. Before the night was over, Roberts would understand why he acted differently. She got to the hospital and saw her father was being wheeled down the hallway on a stretcher, her mother and siblings not far behind. She asked her mother if dad had had a heart attack. No, she said. Dad tried to kill himself. “I got to see him,” said Roberts. “I told him I loved him and told him to keep fighting.” Somewhere deep inside, however, Roberts said she knew that was the end. “I became a survivor of suicide at the age of 16,” she said. Roberts spoke freely Tuesday night, stepping away from the podium and closer to the gathered

Mary Turner Roberts speaks about suicide awareness and prevention at an October AWARE event. Photo by Ana Good.

crowd. “I wish I could tell you things were all right after my Dad committed suicide,” she said. Roberts said she dealt with the pain, with the anger—not at her father, but at God—with drinking. “Where was God?” Roberts remembers asking herself. Her mother offered to get her counseling, suggested she talk with someone. It was the stigma that kept her from receiving that help, she said, the fear of being labeled “crazy” for asking for help. “The thoughts that consumed me,” said Roberts, “destroyed me.” Call Two After several years, Roberts said she learned

how to find peace. She married and had two children of her own. But one day, another call came in. She was told to call her mother’s house. Once again, the police answered. Roberts’ mother took her own life at the age of 70 in the same manner, in the same bedroom her father had taken his life years before. “I can’t go through this again,” Roberts told her husband. This time, she had the support of her own family to lean on. “My husband told me, ‘you can and you will,”’ she said. She struggled, at times, with the questions. “Why would my parents do this?” Roberts joined a support group in Tuscaloosa

Call Three and Beyond In 2011, a final call came in: Roberts’ older brother had lost his own battle and committed suicide. He left behind a wife and five children, said Roberts. As a three-time survivor of suicide, Roberts said she knows she has been called to provide a voice. “Suicide thrives on silence,” she said. It is important to educate people on what the look for, she said, on the warning signs of suicide, and teach them that it’s okay to ask—“are you okay?” “The fact that you asked them won’t make them kill themselves,” she said. Because suicide is often linked with impulsivity, Roberts said she is a proponent of measures that may help interrupt an individual from following through. Pills packed in individual bubble packs, for example, or gun safes with a suicide prevention hotline number on them, she said, might just cause a person contemplating suicide to pause and seek help instead. Suicide prevention is a topic Roberts says should not be ignored or shuffled under the rug. In her own home, Roberts said she has spoken to her children about it. When her son found suicidal threats on one of his classmate’s social media platforms, Roberts’ son asked for her help. “Call his mama,” he said. “I think he needs help.” That’s how it should always go, said Roberts.

Village Living

A24 • November 2015

Civitas and strength

English Village statue evokes memory of 1920s architect Philip Morris, Rebecca Moody and Bob Moody were part of the commissioning and installation of the Civitas statue in English Village in 1998. Photo by Madoline Markham.

By MADOLINE MARKHAM After nearly 30 years living in her home, Bob and Rebecca Moody feel like they know Carolyn Cortner Smith. Smith, a self-taught architect from outside Huntsville, designed and built their house on Cahaba Road as well as several around it in the 1910s and 1920s, all of them romantic with lots of stonework and eccentric details. Born in 1894, she lived in the home alone almost 50 years

after her husband died and was known for being very irreverent. A story goes that when Auburn University offered her an honorary architecture degree, she didn’t accept it because the school did not allow women in its program when she had wanted to attend. Legend also has it that in 1920 her car broke down on Cahaba Road, which then served as a route to Florida. She married the man who was sent to service her car and then settled in the area. She allegedly also gave English Village its name,

and supposedly Al Capone stayed in her house when he was driving from Chicago to Florida. Smith’s memory lives on in more than just architecture. The Civitas statue at the corner of Cahaba Road and Fairway Drive in English Village was created to evoke her memory, but not depict her literally. The merchants in the village celebrated her birthday at an open house event, Jazz with Civitas, in September. Philip Morris, a Mountain Brook resident who served as the project manager for the statue,

conceived the idea of a sculpture of a woman inspired by Smith and who would serve as a symbol of “making a place.” Civitas, the Latin word for citizens or a community, became the statue’s name. “It was important that she have more strength than beauty,” Morris said. Starting in 1995, Nimrod Long designed streetscapes to enhance all three villages and had created space for a piece of art on the corner that served as English Village’s focal point. Around that time, the clock tower was built to serve as the symbol of Crestline Village, and English Village needed a symbol of its own. That’s where Morris came in. He chose sculptor James Barnhill to bring his vision to life. Barnhill had created an Echo sculpture for the Southern Living Garden at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and Morris, a longtime editor of Southern Living, was familiar with his work and knew Barnhill was known for his female figures. Morris wanted Civitas to be presented as an architect. In one hand she holds a compass, an architect’s tool, and in the other a miniature of the building that stands behind her. At the base is a miniature of her home and the building where Billy’s is now located. Her flapper-style dress denotes the era in which Smith was designing homes. The objects she holds and sits by not only represent history but also “the civic act of making a place,” Morris said.

VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • A25

(above) The Ray Reach Jazz Trio performed at Jazz with Civitas. (below) English Village merchants held specials and offered refreshments as a part of the Jazz with Civitas event. Photos by Madoline Markham.

“It’s a reflection of how the city of Mountain Brook has done such a great job,” he said. For Barnhill, it was important that she be the right scale for the space and “hold the corner,” Morris said. As a result, she is one and three-quarters of life size, so she would be 9 feet tall if she stood up. A group, including Morris and the Moodys, helped raise around $20,000 to cover the additional costs over the $50,000 the city had budgeted. Civitas was installed and dedicated in 1988, with family members of Smith coming to take part in the celebration. As she nears her 30th birthday, Civitas continues to stand firmly on her corner, commemorating both the history and present of the village. Morris and the Moodys, who both live within walking distance, check on her regularly.

Tonya Jones of Tonya Jones Salon Spa, Suzan Doidge of the Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce and Theresa Bruno of Jordan Alexander Jewelry were part of planning Jazz with Civitas, an event in English Village to celebrate Civitas’ birthday. Photo by Madoline Markham.

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A26 • November 2015

Village Living

You know you are from Mountain Brook when…

You’ve been going to Otey’s since it was Cacky’s.

You have engraved cards on file at Bromberg’s.

Liz Perry Knecht

Anne Rast Yoder

Kate Malone Walthall

Susan Spielberger

You and your child did ballroom dancing.

Your kids like to see your old sixth-grade composite photo at Mountain Brook Elementary.

When your car won’t start and you call Crestline Shell station before you call your husband. Donna Coughlin Huggins

Catherine Cooper Loveman

You stop remembering street names and give directions based on hills, mailboxes and door colors.

You know there are two very distinct pronunciations for The Club.

Mailboxes are decorated for homecoming, rec football/baseball playoffs and all-stars.

LaVonda Keel

Alisa Howard Nadler

You know where the best cherry limeade is made — Gilchrist.

Pratt Austin-Trucks

You know who has a new baby and its gender by the bow on the mailbox, which can only come from Smith’s Variety.

You still identify people by [which Mountain Brook elementary school they went to]. And you are 45.

You smile every time you see a giant inflatable crayon on a mailbox, remembering your own kids in kindergarten.

Christiana Dunn Roussel

Marylyn Wright Eubank

Tricia Muse

10 You learned defensive driving in the Mountain Brook Western parking lot. Annie Damsky

VillageLivingOnline.com APSA-1007_2.pdf 1 8/18/15

11:28 AM

November 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ A27

A PUBLIC NOTICE FROM ALABAMA POWER

TREE CREWS WORKING IN MOUNTAIN BROOK THROUGH EARLY 2016 Alabama Power crews are working in several Mountain Brook neighborhoods, removing trees and other vegetation that threaten the safety and reliability of our electrical system. As part of this process, Alabama Power goes to great lengths to talk with individual property owners. Company representatives are going door to door, leaving notices at locations where work is needed. If you have any questions before crews come by your home, please call Alabama Power at 205-257-2155 and ask for someone in the Vegetation Management Group to contact you. Or you can email us at apcvm@southernco.com. Work in Mountain Brook and nearby areas is expected to continue through early 2016. Also, you can go online to alpwr.co/vm for more information about these safety and reliability measures, as well as resources for property owners who would like recommendations about planting the right tree in the right place.

Thank you for your understanding. We appreciate your business. Vegetation Management Group 205-257-2155 | apcvm@southernco.com

ÂŠ 2015 Alabama Power Company.

A28 • November 2015

What are you

thankful

“I’m thankful for my family and that I have nice friends.” – Ella Rose Sartelle

Village Living

for?

“I am thankful for my lambie that keeps me warm when I sleep.” – John Elliott

First grade, Crestline Elementary

First grade, Cherokee Bend Elementary

“I’m thankful for my family, food and my friends.” – Drew Johnson

Second grade, Brookwood Forest Elementary

“I’m thankful for my little brother.” – Tripp Thuston First grade, Crestline Elementary

“I am thankful for my baby cousin in Seattle.” – Madeline Frerman First grade, Cherokee Bend Elementary

VillageLivingOnline.com

What are you

thankful

“I am thankful for all the people that make up my community.” – Kate Peterson

November 2015 • A29

for?

“I am thankful for my family and the fun experiences we have had.” – Cowan Moorer

Fourth grade, Brookwood Forest Elementary

Fourth grade, Mountain Brook Elementary

“I am thankful for my friends, my family, my house, my mom and my dad.” – Corinne Morrow Third grade, Mountain Brook Elementary

“Thankful for family, friends and faith.” – Anne Carlton Clegg Eighth grade, MBJH

“I’m thankful for family” – Nate Fulmer Eighth grade, MBJH

Village Living

A30 • November 2015

Above: Sid Ortis got to see his favorite team, LSU, play in September after head coach Les Miles contacted him. Photo courtesy of Lynn and Scott Ortis. Right: After Sid’s mother announced his condition had worsened, friends and neighbors held a prayer rally for him at Crestline Field on Oct. 17. Photo by Dan Starnes.

SID

CONTINUED from page A1 When it became clear that there was little more doctors could do for Sid, more than 200 friends and supporters gathered at Crestline Field Saturday, Oct. 17 to pray. Mountain Brook High student and friend Mary Gullage helped organize the prayer rally. “At first it was just a few of us who said we would meet at a coffee shop and bring our Bibles to pray for Sid,” said Gullage. “But then we thought, ‘let’s get the whole grade to join, better yet, the whole community.”’ Gullage, said that even though she isn’t one of Sid’s closest friends, she felt overwhelmingly compelled to try and do something when she heard the news. “He has done so much for our community,” she said, “probably more than he realizes. The

whole community has come together because of him.” Ask about Sid and you’ll hear a familiar tune. Sid is fighting for his life, and yet, people find strength through him. The Ortis’ journey began when doctors diagnosed Sid with osteosarcoma, or bone cancer, in August 2014. After chemotherapy and multiple surgeries, the family believed things were finally wrapping up in February, until an almost accidental full-body scan revealed the heavy news. The cancer was back, and had spread to both lungs, said Scott. In that darkest hour, in the quiet of the night, Scott and Lynn said they learned what their son is truly made of. “I asked Sid if he was worried,” said Scott. “He looked at me and said, ‘I’m not worried. Should I be?” Lynn followed up, said Scott. “Sid, things don’t look good right now. It’s aggressive,” she said.

Sid, in a very calm manner, said Scott, answered back. “I’m in a win-win situation,” said Sid. “If I live, I get to stay here with my family. If I die, I go to heaven. I can’t lose.” Through Facebook, Lynn has shared the family’s journey, it’s bright and dark times, with friends and empathetic strangers. Her Facebook Timeline constantly refreshes, one or two new prayers from friends and strangers continually popping up. On Sid’s birthday, Sept. 2, the reach of his story became evident through a video montage dreamed up by Gullage that quickly took off. Countless celebrities and sports stars— think Florida Georgia Line, Sara Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ingram and Archie Manning to name a few—sent video messages of themselves wishing Sid a happy 16th birthday. A chain reaction from one friend to another resulted in the 15-minute video that aired on the

MBHS morning newscast. Sid’s story has even made ESPN headlines. In March, LSU Coach Les Miles called Sid and prayed with him before inviting him to sit in the coach’s box for the LSU-Auburn game in September. Earlier this week, Miles phoned Sid again after he heard that things had taken a turn. They talked LSU football strategy, said Scott, and Miles reminded the teen that he’s “for him.” On Sunday, Oct. 18, Sid asked to go home. Under hospice care, Sid watched from the window as his army circled his home in prayer. Inside, Sid prayed for everyone else. Sid’s prayer, shared via a Facebook video, focuses on the future. His friends bow their heads around him and he leads. “Dear Lord, thank you for everything you’ve given me and these wonderful friends who have been there with me through the fight,” Sid prayed. “And let them all live prosperous lives once I’m gone, and let everybody stay on the

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November 2015 • A31

Since Sid Ortis’ diagnosis with osteosarcoma, his family has experienced an outpouring of support from around the world. His parents, Lynn and Scott Ortis, have shared their journey on Facebook and receive near-constant messages of encouragement. Photos courtesy of Lynn and Scott Ortis.

path of righteousness and not get away from you. Amen.” Scott said the family only realized the depth of Sid’s faith in the last 14 months. “His faith in God has never wavered,” said Scott. “Sid has been amazingly steadfast on the path, never wondering ‘why me.’” Since Sid has been home, friends continue to pour in, said Scott, laughing and reminiscing. “The main thing about Sid is his sense of humor,” said Wilson Higgins, Sid’s classmate and friend since fifth grade. “He’s always making jokes even in the hardest situations. It hasn’t been the easiest thing, seeing Sid like this, but he’s been so strong. Seeing him and his attitude has helped us all see the good side of everything.” Sid, said Higgins, has also shared with his friends his belief that this is a win-win situation. “I’ve never been around him when he’s been negative and complaining,” said Higgins. He’s always been Sid Strong.” Kaylyn Greene, a senior at MBHS, has been Sid’s ride home from school every afternoon this year. Over the summer, Greene wrote a song for the boy she’s known as a family friend for years.

She played it for him while singing along with her guitar. “We became Sid Strong,” sang Greene, “not worried about tomorrow.” Through her verses, Greene speaks to Sid, telling him he’s helped them all find Jesus again, taught them how to pray and the value of living today. Sid opened up to Greene on the 15-minute drives from school back home, sometimes not talking much, but speaking plenty through his actions. “We’d listen to music and jam out,” she said, remembering those afternoons. There was one song in particular, said Greene, that connected them. “Come Alive [“Dry Bones”] is a song we listened to a lot,” said Greene. “Sid would close his eyes, hold my hand and I’d sing it to him.” Often times, said Greene, Sid would fall asleep while listening to the Christian song. “I believe it was the Lord giving him rest,” said Greene. As she and countless other friends continue to visit Sid at home, one thing remains clear, said Greene.

“He’s still Sid,” she said. “He’s one of a kind, hilarious and full of witty comments. He’s all about making people laugh and smile.” David Faulkner, whose son, Wilson, is a friend of Sid’s, said that perfectly exemplifies the boy he watched grow up on basketball courts, football and baseball fields. “Sid is a great, humble kid,” said Faulkner. “He’s a strong kid who is a fighter.” Faulkner said Sid’s strength, he believes, comes from his strong faith. “What I’ve seen through my son is that it’s very hard for them to watch when something like this occurs seemingly out of order. To see someone their age have to fight like this, knowing it wasn’t an accident, it wasn’t something Sid did, and still know that God is good has been remarkable. Sid’s journey has turned them more toward their faith. As Sid finds strength in God, so do they, as they all try to understand.” Sid’s life, said Faulkner, will continue to have a positive impact on all who know him. “It’s a reminder that life is precious,” said Faulkner. “It’s a lesson for all of us, and especially for his friends. As teenagers, they

sometimes think they are invincible. Sid reminds them to live their life now as God would have them do.” The world, it seems, continues to pray for a miracle. “I still believe in miracles,” said Greene. “Sid is not done fighting. Let’s not act like he is.” The Ortis family, said Scott, will never rule out divine intervention. “Sid has always fought, he will never give up,” said Scott. “He still continues to remind us, ‘I’m not done, I am still here. Don’t count me out.” Scott says his son is at peace with whatever may come, though he absolutely wants to continue to live. Sid is not afraid of dying, said Scott, but he does get sad when he thinks about missing out on high school graduation, going to college, joining a fraternity and teaching his kids how to play sports. His other four children, said Scott, are still processing all that is happening around them. “We don’t know if he has days or weeks to live,” said Scott, “but we know where he is going.”

Village Living B SECTION

School House B9 Sports B14 Faith B20 Calendar B22

NOVEMBER 2015

Sharing support Parenting conference to be offered at MBHS By MADOLINE MARKHAM Classes run daily at Mountain Brook High School, but on Nov. 12, they will be geared for parents. That evening, parents can select three of nine workshops to attend as a part of a new parenting conference planned by All In Mountain Brook. “I think parents have the sense, probably for good reason, that being a parent today is much more complicated than it was when they were kids,” said Dr. Dale Wisely, director of student services for Mountain Brook City Schools. “To be the best parents we can be, we need ideas and knowledge of what is going on in the lives of

our youth.” Last year, All In Mountain Brook was established as a community nonprofit that works in partnership with the school system, city government, worship communities and the business community. At the conference, there will be sessions on substance abuse, led by the Addiction Prevention Coalition, as well as one session that Parenting Programming Committee member Don Menendez said they are hearing more about — sleep deprivation. Dr. Mary Halsey Maddox, a pediatric sleep medicine physician at UAB, will lead the session. “It’s something in a community like ours we get accustomed to, but we have kids that need to

ALL IN MOUNTAIN BROOK PARENTING CONFERENCE

Rabbi Jonathan Miller and his wife Judith Schulman-Miller will be among the speakers at the All In Mountain Brook parenting conference. Photo by Frank Couch.

Mountain Brook High School Thursday, Nov. 12, 5:30-8:15 p.m. Register at allinmountainbrook.org Opening Session: 5:30-5:45 p.m. Session I: 5:50-6:35 p.m. Session II: 6:40-7:25 p.m. Session III: 7:30-8:15 p.m.

get enough sleep,” Menendez said. “I think that will provide a lot of discussion.” Rabbi Jonathan Miller and his wife, Judi Miller, a family therapist, will present on “Setting Limits with Love.” Other programs will speak to

See PARENTING | page B8

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B2 â&#x20AC;˘ November 2015

Village Living

VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ B3

Village Living

B4 • November 2015

LJCC holds annual food festival

The Friedman Family Foundation Jewish Food Festival held at the Levite Jewish Community Center in Birmingham, Ala. Sunday, Oct. 11. Photos by Frank Couch.

(left) Children enjoy the balloon ﬁgures made at the festival.

(above) Ju lian Brook work as a greeter at the festiv s dressed fo al is r the occas ion

(right) ‘Out of the Blue’ an acapella group from Duke University performs at the festival.

Food orders are

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ﬁlled at the festiv

Artist Natal

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VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ B5

Village Living

B6 • November 2015

A NIGHT DARK AND GRIM Costumed children ﬁlled Emmet O’Neal Library on Oct. 16 for the annual Night Dark and Grimm. The event featured games, crafts, prizes and visits from favorite Disney characters such as Aladdin, Peter Pan and Cinderella. The evening ended with a showing of the Aladdin cartoon movie on the library lawn. Teen volunteer Isaac Layne, playing Frozen’s Hans, catches a snowball. Photo courtesy of Rachel Hebert Owens.

Addie Coe, wearing her Cinderella costume and her Mad Hatter hat, catches a ride in her magical carriage (played by her father). Photo courtesy of Rachel Hebert Owens.

Several of the teens who volunteered at the event pause for a moment in their costumes. Photo courtesy of Rachel Hebert Owens.

Rapunzel, played by teen volunteer Bay Stackpole of the Altamont School, draws with Penelope Tucker and a shark. Photo courtesy of Rachel Hebert Owens.

Rachel Owens and Morgan Higgins set up cards for a Queens Croquet game. Photo by Frank Couch.

Daniel Bussey of Birmingham Children’s Theatre, teen volunteer Nicole Vaughan of the Altamont School, and Emmet O’Neal staff Thomas Kulovitz (as Aladdin, Jasmine, and Genie), pose with June Heine (as Anna). Photo courtesy of Rachel Hebert Owens. Teen volunteers Emmett Stackpole (Peter Pan) and Rachel Boyd (Captain Hook) lead a game of enchanted Mother May I? with costumed library patrons. Photo courtesy of Rachel Hebert Owens.

Gloria Repolesk sets up for a game of Queens Croquet. Photo by Frank Couch.

VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 â&#x20AC;˘ B7

Village Living

B8 • November 2015 PARENTING

CONTINUED from page B1 supporting kids’ study skills and getting your child ready to go off to college. Menendez said he also thinks a social media

panel featuring community youth ministers will be of particular note. In addition to the parenting conference, a miniature version is being held for students that day. During a club schedule, students can choose three of eight 20-minute sessions on topics such as how to help friends, preparing for college and getting enough sleep. Some of the speakers will

Parenting Conference Workshops What Parents Need to Know About the First Year in College Presenter: Lee Keyes

The ﬁrst year of college is exciting and challenging for both students and their families. This program will cover common issues, as well as some unexpected landmines that may appear. It will also identify ingredients for a successful and healthy transition to college life.

If the Devil Wears Prada, Am I an Angel for Wearing Old Navy? Helping Your Teen Cope With Social Pressures

Presenter: Alice Haygood Churnock

Waking Up to the Reality of Drugs Presenter: J. Sándor Cheka III

Ten Things to Say to Your Child Presenter: Dale Wisely

In a privileged culture, there may be too much of a good thing. As parents, discuss the importance of raising children to embrace the gifts they are given, while creating a deeper sense of character that establishes identity and self-worth.

Parents will learn about current trends in drug abuse in the community and how they affect youth, warning signs and how they can help their children avoid drug problems. Parents will also receive practical information on creating ongoing dialogue with their kids about drugs, and steps to take if they suspect a drug problem.

We often think of parenting as a set of skills and techniques. By overemphasizing that aspect of being a parent, we may neglect the messages we want to convey to our children. Drawing on more than 30 years as a child and family psychologist, Dr. Wisely will offer 10 examples of things to say to our children.

overlap with the parenting conference. “This is a trial run to be able to offer information to our students and better equip them,” MBHS Principal Amanda Hood said. “During a heavy academic day and heavy academic culture, we do our best to talk about other related topics, but this will provide a concentrated day where we can have some of those conversations.”

“It’s about All In being a support system for parents and providing resources so they can be knowledgeable about issues that are facing teenagers and children in general,” Hood said. To register for the conference, visit allin mountainbrook.org. For additional information, email allinmountainbrook@gmail.com.

Support Your Child’s Study Habits: Grades K-6 (Session I only) Support Your Child’s Study Habits: Grades 7-12 (Sessions II & III) Presenter: Jana Lee

Setting Limits With Love Presenters: Rabbi Jonathan Miller and Judith Schulman-Miller

Social Media & Your Family Presenters: Cameron Cole, Sarah Siebels, Rachel Fry, Mark Williams

Burning More Than Midnight Oil: Sleep Deprivation in Teens Presenter: Mary Halsey Maddox

Support your child’s study habits by exploring different ways children learn and how to play to your child’s strengths. We will also look how brain development affects the way a child learns and recalls information, and how organization is the ﬁrst step to good study habits.

Learn about conversation that builds respectful and loving relationships and dialogue, while, at the same time, creating safety for kids. You will leave this workshop excited and empowered, with speciﬁc skills to navigate the challenges of setting limits.

Parents are increasingly concerned and often bewildered by trends in social media use among youth. In this presentation, our panel will provide an overview of trends in social media among youth and offer concrete suggestions about encouraging good digital citizenship in families. (top left) Cameron Cole, (middle right) Sarah Siebels, (bottom left) Rachel Fry

Health care researchers have established that, in order to function at their best, teenagers require an average of more than nine hours sleep per night, but very few get it. Sleep deprivation impairs academic performance, athletic performance and their ability to avoid accidents, including automobile accidents. In this presentation, parents will learn about the problem of teen sleep deprivation and steps parents may take to address the problem.

VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • B9

School House MBES students collect box tops to buy new books

Mae Helen Toranto, Nate Albert and Luke Long collected the most box tops for MBE’s summer campaign that kicked off the 2015 collection year.

Notice of Non-Discrimination: The Mountain Brook School system does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or age in any of its programs and activities and provides equal access to the Boy Scouts and other designated youth groups. The following persons have been designated to handle inquiries regarding nondiscrimination policies: Dr. Dale Wisely— Director of Student Services (Title VI), Mrs. Sylvia Harper—Personnel Director (Title IX), Dr. Missy Brooks—Director of Instruction (Title II), and Mrs. Shannon Mundy—Special Education Director (Section 504), Contact Information: 32 Vine Street, Mountain Brook, AL 35213, 205-871-4608.

The Box Tops for Education Program at Mountain Brook Elementary is going strong this school year. Program chairs Suzanne Perkins and Ellen Faust are optimistic that the school will reach its fundraising goal of $2,500 by the end of the year. “This is an easy way that students can be directly involved in helping their school,” Perkins said. “By early September, we’d already collected 4,667 box tops, which is $466.70. I’m certain we can reach our goal.”

Each box top is worth ten cents to MBE, which can add up quickly. Last year, the school purchased $1,611.60 worth of new books for its Library Media Center. This year, incentives like iTunes and Snoozys’ gift cards are providing even more motivation for students to clip and save box tops. --Submitted by Shaun Flynn

MBE Boosterthon funds new playground

Second-grade students Kati Ortis, Georgia Jayne Stuckey and Lawson McKnight read in Crestline Elementary’s newly transformed Media Center.

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Family of Services

Mountain Brook Elementary students participated in the Annual Boosterthon Fun Run on Sept. 16. Students were treated to a bubble run or a color run, depending on their grade. High energy music, crazy hair and hilarious costumes dominated the field as students ran laps to raise money. The annual event is the largest fundraiser for the school, raising more than $70,000 in school profit this year. Chair Lydia Pursell and her co-chair, Richelle Simmons, worked to ensure that this year’s fun run was a success. “MBE raised more than $117 per student in school profit,” Richelle said. “The community businesses around MBE provided invaluable contributions this year, including PT Orthodontics as the Platinum Sponsor and The Birmingham Zoo, who provided the decoy van in front of the school.” The $70,000 school profit will be allocated to a new playground. --Submitted by Shaun Flynn

Village Living

B10 • November 2015

Cutting edge computer skills taught at CES Crestline Elementary fourth graders in Amy Anderson’s homeroom are currently learning to write computer code every day for 30 minutes during their Exploration period. Anderson teaches coding using robotic balls called Spheros. The Spheros are controlled via Bluetooth using a computer device such as an iPad. During Exploration, the students use various apps to control the speed, direction and color of the Sphero. Anderson learned about Spheros and how they can be used educationally at the Alabama Educational Technology Conference in Birmingham last summer. Per her request, the Crestline Cougar PTO bought 10 Spheros for Anderson and the other fourth-grade teachers to use with their students. Other Crestline grade level teachers who are interested in using the Spheros in their classrooms will participate in a professional development group for teachers focusing on Spheros and other coding

Smith wins Alabama State Chess Championship

Amy Anderson uses Spheros to teach computer coding to her fourth-grade students at Crestline Elementary School.

resources. Anderson said the students love working with the Spheros and are able to use their own creativity to solve problems. “The amount of problem solving and teamwork that is involved [when working with Spheros] is incredible,” Anderson said. “It is absolutely amazing to sit back and watch the students be so self-directed with their learning.” -Submitted by Trish Hand

Crestline named Blue Ribbon School

Crestline students celebrate the Blue Ribbon announcement. Front row: Jack Chapman, Jack Thomas, Davis Echols, William Carlton and Hinson Estes. Back row: Grace Stewart, Davis Condra, Stephen Springfield, Ann Elise Leonard, James Morano and Ella Kate Wright.

Crestline Elementary has been named a National Blue Ribbon School. It is one of 335 schools U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan recognized in 2015. The award is based on a school’s overall academic excellence or progress in closing achievement gaps among student subgroups. National Blue Ribbon Schools demonstrate all students can achieve to high levels. “This honor recognizes your students’ accomplishments and the hard work and dedication that went into their success,” Duncan said. “Your journey has taught you collaboration, intentional instruction, and strong relationships in school and with your community. You represent excellence — in vision, in implementation, and in results — and we want to learn as much as we can from you. In its 33-year history, the National Blue Ribbon Schools Program has bestowed this award on some 8,000 schools. Shades Cahaba Elementary was the only other Birmingham area elementary school to be recognized this year, and only five total elementary schools in Alabama were recognized. -Submitted by Trish Hand

Riley Smith won the Alabama State Chess Championship in the K-8 division that was held on Sept. 5 at Samford University. He won all five games at the event. Kids from Central Alabama competed in the tournament’s Scholastic division, which includes grades K-12. Riley also competed last year at the USCF National Junior High K-9 Championship that was held in Atlanta and tied for third place in his division winning 4.5 of his five games. He also placed eighth after the tie breaker. There were about 100 people that competed at the state tournament, and at the national tournament there were almost 1,500. Riley first started playing chess in third grade with The Knight School, an after school program offered at each of the elementary schools in Mountain Brook and taught by Dr. David Brooks, PhD. In sixth grade, Riley joined ChessKidsNation. He is now taught by chess coach Balagee Govindan and attends weekly classes in addition to playing online chess. -Submitted by Lori Smith

VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • B11

MBJH Spartan Council leads MS kickball

Ninth-grade MS Kickball Team “Kill That Kick” members Mallie Reed, Thomas Miller, Virginia Wahlheim, Paul Tyson, Whitton Bumgarner, Robert Reed, Sarah Kate Crafton and John Marks.

The Mountain Brook Junior High School Spartan Council has a new focus for its annual fall fundraiser. In the past, it has conducted a canned food drive and the Salvation Army’s Angel Tree project. But now thanks to former Spartan Council member Hamp Sisson, the Council’s new project is the Kick MS Kickball Tournament. In 2012, Hamp and a few of his baseball friends became aware that teammates Liam Powell and Ford Clegg both had moms fighting multiple sclerosis. MS is an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system that interrupts the flow of information within the brain and between the brain and body. Symptoms range from reduced or lost mobility to numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.1 million worldwide. Sisson decided that he wanted start a “fundraiser”

for the NMSS Society to help find a cure for MS. Since its inception, the kickball tournament has raised over $47,000. On Aug. 16 of this year, Sisson passed the torch to Spartan Council member Paul Tyson, and in the most recent tournament, 14 teams of ninth graders participated, raising more than $17,000. The teams generated this money through letter writing campaigns, movie nights, raffles, bake sales, a barbecue dinner and parking receipts from the annual Peggy Faircloth Spartan Day. Tyson and the-ninth grade members of the Spartan Council will now lead the younger seventh-grade students and eighth-grade council members and students in conducting their own tournament on Nov. 1 on the recreational fields at Mountain Brook High School. This students plan to raise at least $20,000 to fight MS. The Spartan Council is selected each year by teacher recommendations and is led by faculty members Larry McCain, Helen Pruet, Derek Dearman, John Phillips, and Mary Riley Ogilvie. The purpose of the Spartan Council is to develop leadership from the student body at Mountain Brook Junior High. -Submitted by Collins Clegg

A visit from meteorologist James Spann Meteorologist James Spann visited third-graders at Cherokee Bend Elementary School recently. Spann’s visit to CBS takes place annually to accompany the grades’ science curriculum on weather. Spann said he truly enjoys the visits. For him, speaking to children and getting them excited about science is one of his favorite things to do in his day. -Submitted by Catherine Gasque

Cannon Mussafer, Hews Goodson and Ivey Patton pose with meteorologist James Spann. Photo by Elizabeth Ritter.

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Village Living

B12 • November 2015

Red and yellow CBS Run

Itty Bitty Kindergarten City at BWF In September, Brookwood Forest kindergartners learned about community helpers. This typically involves the kindergarten team of teachers, Sammye Davis, Heather Cates, Tara Smith and Diane Waud, inviting community helpers to speak to their kindergarten students. This year the kindergarten teachers changed the lesson plan. Instead of listening to community helpers, the kindergartners became community helpers. They built their own city and decided how they wanted to help the community. The project grew into different rooms including an entertainment district with skate parks and zoos. Itty Bitty Kindergarten City provided the students an authentic learning experience.

Cherokee Bend Chiefs were out en masse on Sunday, Oct. 4 for the second annual Red & Yellow Run. Approximately 550 runners participated in this year’s one-mile fun run led by RYR chairs Kam Patton and Virginia Stewart. Mountain Brook High School’s Key Club and Birmingham Belles helped with the run logistics as well as the color station at the finish line. The after party included CBS alumni who enjoyed being spectators to their alma mater’s fundraiser this year. Dinner were catered by Urban Cookhouse, and beverages were provided by The Coca-Cola Company. --Submitted by Catherine Gasque

Third-graders Maddie Freeman and Sohana Caplash after the 2015 RYR. Photo by Fran Lacy.

--Submitted by Kathleen Woodry

BWF holds Ranger Run Brookwood Forest Elementary students arrived at school on Monday to a surprise pep rally, Rangers Ready to Rally! The kids were met by the MBHS band, cheerleaders and the Dorians. The students spent the week leading up to the run focusing on specific character traits each day in order to be “Ranger Ready.” Those traits included: Be True to Yourself, Show Empathy, Use Self Control and Be Trustworthy. Each day the students dressed up to represent the theme of that day. The Ranger Run took place the morning of Oct. 9 on the BWF fields. The fields were marked as an obstacle course for the kids. Fifth-graders get excited for the Ranger Run.

--Submitted by Kathleen Woodry

BWF kindergartners Ann Laney Chew and Brock Wilkinson.

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VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • B13

Spartan Writing Center shows strong start

Board of Education recognizes students’ success at meeting By ERICA TECHO

Student tutors in the Spartan Writing Center. Back row (L-R) Emily Sykes, Emily Bolvig, Paige Berryhill, Hollon Skinner and Henry Kilpatrick. Front row (L-R) Virginia Waters, Lucy Chapman, Marley Barnett and Cece Sims.

Mountain Brook High School’s Spartan Writing Center is beneﬁtting from its collaboration with Homewood High School and UAB. The center, housed in the library, helps students with their writing throughout the writing process. Students staff the Spartan Writing Center, and directors Megan Hastings and Christina McGovern said they are lucky to have gifted and thoughtful students who are able to give each other feedback. Students went through an application and recommendation process to work in the writing center, and nine we selected. “We were looking most for that relational quality in the students,” McGovern said. “We wanted team players.” The writing center begins with a class, where students spend time training for the process of formal tutoring. After weeks of training, students begin training. Since the writing center opened, students have helped with more than 60 writing

assignments. “We are thrilled to offer a place for students to come for peer-to-peer writing help in a relaxed, welcoming environment,” Hastings said. “Also, we have been so pleased with the success of the SWC so far and hope to see it continue to grow and thrive.” One of the student tutors, Marley Barnett, said the best part of tutoring is “working with someone and seeing that spark go off.” Teacher Shannon Marks said the writing center has been a good tool for her students. “The Spartan Writing Center has provided my students with a new platform to collect feedback about their work,” Marks said. “The reﬂective process that they’ve experienced with their peer tutors has been invaluable, and it’s helped build their conﬁdence as writers.” --Submitted by Christina McGovern

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The Mountain Brook Board of Education recognized several students for their excellence at its October meeting. Twelve students from Mountain Brook High School were named National Merit Commended Students, meaning they scored in the top 5 percent nationally on the PSAT. Six students were present at the meeting, and Mountain Brook Superintendent Richard Barlow commended the students for their hard work. “We just want to say congratulations. Doing as well as you’re doing on the PSAT’s and the fact that you’re in Mountain Brook and all the other things you’re involved in, that’s really an accomplishment,” Barlow said. The board also recognized Sean Fredella, a ninth grader at Mountain Brook Junior High, who founded Pedia Trick-or-Treat. He workshopped and built upon the idea during Genius Hour at school. Pedia Trick-or-Treat is a way to raise money for pediatric cancer on Halloween. “I had this idea before we had Genius Hour, and I didn’t think it would ever be more than just an idea in the back of my head,” Fredella said. Fredella’s brother helped come up with the name, and he said the opportunity to discuss the idea with his classmates allowed him to make Pedia Trick-or-Treat become a reality. Community members have the chance to purchase a shirt from Mountain Brook Sporting Goods for $15 to support the cause or to collect money on Halloween. Mountain Brook Sporting Goods gave a $1,000 donation and all proﬁt from the T-shirts is going to pediatric cancer research. Crestline Elementary School was also

recognized at the meeting. CES was one of 285 schools in the state to receive the Blue Ribbon School Award. Principal Lydia King said students at Crestline Elementary have been excited about the award and enjoy celebrating the recognition. “We tried to explain why we won, and 6 and 7 year olds were just so excited to get a blue ribbon,” King said. “We tried to explain that it wasn’t just about a blue ribbon, it was about our great school. So we really looked at it as a celebration of the great things that are happening.” In other news, the Board of Education: Approved personnel recommendations. Approved an amendment to the Medicaid Administrative Claiming (MAC) Participant District Agreement. The amendment reﬂects a renegotiation that will allow Mountain Brook City Schools to receive more money. Last year, the school system received $166,000, and the amendment could allow that to increase by 50 percent. Approved the superintendent’s evaluation which states that Barlow did “well or excellent” in several categories, including educational leadership in the schools, personnel management and community relations. Approved an addition to the Crestline concession building restroom. Heard a student assessment. The assessment covered how Mountain Brook City Schools students are performing on standardized tests. It reviewed scores for the ACT Aspire, EXPLORE, Advanced Placement tests, ASPIRE, the PSAT and the SAT. Students exceeded national averages on all of those tests. The next Board of Education meeting is Nov. 9 at 3:30 p.m. It will be held at Mountain Brook Elementary.

B14 • November 2015

Village Living

Sports

Rachael Reddy rolling with the Tide By SAM CHANDLER

Rachael Reddy is back. Back to running fast. Back to winning races. Back in her home state. After spending one year at the University of Texas, the former Mountain Brook High School distance standout made the decision to transfer to the University of Alabama for the start of her 2015 redshirt freshman campaign. “I just kind of realized that I wanted to be closer to home and to my family,” Reddy said. As indicated by the results, her addition to the Crimson Tide roster has made an immediate impact. After winning the first two cross-country races of her career,

Former Mountain Brook standout Rachael Reddy joined the Tide this season after spending one year at the University of Texas. Photo courtesy of UA Athletic Communications.

VillageLivingOnline.com a pair of victories at the Brooks Twilight Classic on Sept. 6 and at the Oklahoma State Cowboy Jamboree on Sept. 26, Reddy has quickly emerged as the Tide’s top runner. And, behind her stellar performances, the team has vaulted into the nation’s top-30 team rankings for the first time since 1995, earning the No. 29 spot in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Coaches Poll. Considering that this is her first-ever season of cross-country, having competed only in soccer and track during high school, the results have been unprecedented. “I didn’t really know what to expect because I’d never done it before,” Reddy said. “It’s kind of been a shock to me to come away with the wins.” In addition to the national ranking, Reddy has also been recognized as the Southeastern Conference Women’s Runner of the Week (once) and the SEC Women’s Freshman Runner of the Week (twice). But her recent success on the cross-country course is simply a continuation of what she began this summer on the track. One year removed from a premier victory in the 2 mile at the 2014 New Balance Outdoor Nationals, Reddy made a sensational return to the oval this past June. At the 2015 USATF Junior National Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held in Eugene, Oregon, from June 25-28, Reddy raced her way to a national title in the junior women’s 5,000 meters, clocking a time of 16:28.04 in her event debut and qualifying for the Pan-American Junior Athletics Championships. But she didn’t stop there. For the former Spartan star, qualifying

November 2015 • B15 for an international event and earning a spot on the U.S. team still left her unsatisfied. Besides, after redshirting the entirety of her freshman year at Texas, she had eagerly awaited for the chance to return to competition. So, in her first career race as a member of the U.S. team, Reddy dashed to an unprecedented international victory. Crossing the line in 16:23.35, she notched a first-place finish in the 5,000 meter final at the Pan-Am Championships on Aug. 1, winning by more than 12 seconds and setting a new meet record. “I just really wanted to have fun and enjoy the experience,” Reddy said. “It meant a lot to me. I really wasn’t expecting to win.” As evidenced by her string of success, however, Reddy has made winning a habit. Dating back to her 3,200 meter triumph at the 2014 6A outdoor state track meet, she has tallied first-place finishes in each of her past seven races. Now in the thick of cross-country season, Reddy is focused on continuing that success and helping the Tide secure a qualifying spot for the NCAA Championships, slated for Nov. 21 in Louisville. But even in the midst of an elite season — characterized by the flurry of titles, achievements and accolades — Reddy has steadily maintained a humble attitude, thankful for a fresh start in Tuscaloosa and for the endless stream of support she’s received from her teammates, coaches, parents and friends. “I just feel very blessed that I’ve gotten these opportunities because not everybody gets these kinds of chances,” Reddy said. “It’s really been mind-blowing. I’m very humbled by all the support.”

Rachael Reddy, a redshirt freshman, opened up her college cross-country career with a victory at the Brooks Twilight Classic in Memphis on Sept. 6. Photo courtesy of UA Athletic Communications.

Village Living

B16 • November 2015

MBHS Spartan

Sports

football recaps

By DAVID KNOX

MOUNTAIN BROOK

SPARTANS

2015SCHEDULE Date

Opponent

Results

8/21

Jamboree

8/28

Huntsville

16-14

9/4

Hoover *

14-21

9/11

Thompson *

14-21

9/18

Vestavia Hills *

7-37

9/25

James Clemens

14-51

10/2

Tuscaloosa County*

17-16

10/9

Oak Mountain *

14-21

VESTAVIA HILLS 37

10/16

Hewitt-Trussville *

MOUNTAIN BROOK 7

10/23

Spain Park *

10/29

Huffman +

W/L

Hamp Sisson looks to pass against Oak Mountain. Photo by John Perry.

Game 4, 9/18

It’s a fundamental football truth: If you give the opposition too many chances to score, they are going to score. Mountain Brook fumbled three times in the second half, leading to three Vestavia Hills touchdowns in a 37-7 loss to the

visiting Rebels in a Class 7A, Region 3 game. The Spartans (1-3, 0-3), despite struggling in the ﬁrst half, trailed just 16-7 as they opened the second half with the ball. But on two consecutive possessions, Vestavia Hills (3-1, 2-1) forced fumbles and produced touchdowns. “I’ve never been in one of these games where the turnover ratio hasn’t been key and when it rained it just poured, that’s the way

it was,” said Mountain Brook coach Chris Yeager, whose team lost the turnover battle 4-0. “They were ready and they played a great game,” Yeager said. “They played hard and played tough. We turned the ball over, made a lot of mistakes, made too many mistakes. We probably made more mistakes in this game than we’ve made in the whole season. We just have to work and correct them.” Running back Harrison Pyburn rushed 20

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November 2015 • B17`

times for 78 yards and also had two receptions for 60 yard to lead the Spartans on offense. Quarterback Connor Adair completed eight of 16 passes for 141 yards and a touchdown to Sims Herron. “The big thing to me is that we still improve,” Yeager said. “This isn’t the first time I’ve been here, you still have to focus on getting better fundamentally. You just have to go back in and work on the fundamentals, that’s what high school football is all about. And we will, and they will respond.”

down to a play here and a play there,” Yeager said. “It’s a classic high school football game. To me that’s what this is about, it’s about kids learning from the experience.” “I’m like the flea that rides the greyhound that wins the greyhound race,” Yeager said. “I’ve rode a bunch of great teams and have been fortunate enough to be associated with a bunch of great teams and great coaches.”

Game 7, 10/2

OAK MOUNTAIN 21

Game 5, 9/25

MOUNTAIN BROOK 14

JAMES CLEMENS 51 MOUNTAIN BROOK 14 At Madison, Mountain Brook’s offense was shut out for more than 46 minutes of play as the James Clemens Jets ran away with a 51-14 Homecoming win at Madison City Schools Stadium. The loss was the Spartans’ fourth straight, the first 1-4 start since the early 1990s. “We’re used to starting faster. We’ve played from behind before and been good again. I think the whole team expected that, but tonight we dug a hole and kept digging,” Yeager said. “We’re in week five, and you want to improve from week to week … We just need to improve at a faster rate than we’re improving right now.” Mountain Brook was held to one first down in the opening half, but finished the night with 191 yards and six first downs. Unfortunately for the Spartans, only one of those series, the last, resulted in points on offense. Four turnovers and a blocked punt plagued Mountain Brook through the night. Sims Herron, who led MBHS with 67 yards receiving, returned a kickoff 95 yards to put Mountain Brook on the board. Connor Adair was 7-for-17 for 82 yards and four interceptions, while sophomore Hamp Sisson made a brief appearance in the second half, completing all four passes for 33 yards. Joe Donald and Drew Smith led the Spartans’ defense with 11 and 10 tackles, respectively, while Chandler Cox and Will

Mountain Brook’s Sims Herron (84) breaks away from an Oak Mountain defender after catching a pass. Photo by John Perry.

Wetzler had eight apiece. Carroll followed with seven stops and Butler Willbanks had five tackles and two sacks.

Game 6, 10/2

MOUNTAIN BROOK 17 TUSCALOOSA COUNTY 16 Chris Yeager dashed from the sideline, beating most of his team, to the dog pile around the 20-yard line. Mountain Brook players swarmed junior kicker Mason Dillard following a game-winning 30-yard field goal with no time on the clock. The kick snapped a four-game skid and gave the Spartans a 17-16 win over the Tuscaloosa County Wildcats. However, moments earlier Tuscaloosa County’s fans were celebrating what they thought was their first victory of the season on Homecoming after Dillard’s 45-yard field goal try fell 2 yards short. A penalty flag – roughing the kicker – changed everything. “I thought the game was over. I turned around and told everybody to go out and shake everybody’s hand,” Yeager said. “And then everybody is jumping up and down. It was like

a parallel universe, I was thinking, ‘We just lost and you’re jumping up and down.’ I didn’t know it until I saw the expression on the kids’ faces.” Dillard also thought the game was over as he saw his first kick fall short. “I didn’t care about the hit. I didn’t think anything about it,” Dillard said. “I saw the penalty flag and thought it was on us at first, but next thing you know ...” Dillard had new life, 15 yards closer, and drilled it – his first career game-winning kick. “I just saw where it was with the uprights, and it probably wasn’t halfway up yet, and I knew it was in,” he said. “It’s crazy to think I’ve come so far. I went from not starting the season and being down and not knowing what to do. It’s all come together. God has done so much stuff for me, and I couldn’t be thankful for all of the men that are in that locker room.” The win was No. 100 in Yeager’s career and 75th as Mountain Brook’s head coach, an afterthought among the excitement of the Spartan’s first Class 7A, Region 3 win. “I didn’t even think about it. There’s no doubt I’ll remember this one because of everything those kids gave, on both sides. This was a great high school football game. It came

On a night when Mountain Brook recognized members of its 1975 state championship team, the Spartans saw their postseason aspirations this fall come to an end. The mistake-prone Spartans turned the ball over three times while losing 21-14 to the visiting Oak Mountain Eagles in a Class 7A, Region 3 game. The loss dropped Mountain Brook to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the region with only two region games remaining. Yeager didn’t have to search long for a reason why the Spartans lost. “Turnovers made the difference,” he said. “They won the turnover ratio (3-1) and they won the game. That’s usually how it is most of the time in our region.” The Spartans lost three fumbles, two leading to Oak Mountain touchdowns and another killing a Mountain Brook scoring threat. The Eagles had only one turnover on a fumble early in the fourth quarter. The Spartans took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter when Sisson made like Johnny Manziel while scrambling for a 7-yard touchdown. After dropping back on a pass attempt, he rolled to his right to avoid the rush, then retreated back near the 30-yard line before reversing field and making a nifty cutback to find daylight to the end zone. The Spartans also scored on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Sisson to Clay Stearns.

Village Living

B18 • November 2015

Spartans’ Yeager notches 100th win By CHRIS MEGGINSON Mountain Brook head football coach Chris Yeager won the 100th game of his coaching career in dramatic fashion on Oct. 2 when the Spartans edged Tuscaloosa County 17-16 in Northport on Mason Dillard’s field goal on the game’s final play. The win was also his 75th as Mountain Brook’s head coach, but that all seemed afterthought among the excitement of the Spartan’s first Class 7A, Region 3 win. “I didn’t even think about it,” Yeager said of the milestone win. “There’s no doubt I’ll remember this one because of everything those kids gave, on both sides. This was a great high school football game. It came down to a play here and a play there. It’s a classic high school football game. To me that’s what this is about, it’s about kids learning from the experience.” Yeager compiled 25 wins from 1991 to 1994

(above) The Spartans celebrate as their coach talks to them after beating Tuscaloosa County in Northport for Chris Yeager’s 100th win. Photo by Ben Breland.

during two seasons as head coach at West Blocton and two years at Walker High School. His first win was 13-7 at Maplesville High School on Sept. 6, 1991. Yeager replaced Joey Jones as Spartans head coach in 2006. His first win as Mountain Brook coach was on Sept. 15 that season, a 35-21 win over Minor. “I’m like the flea that rides the greyhound that wins the greyhound race,” Yeager said. “I’ve rode a bunch of great teams and have been fortunate enough to be associated with a bunch of great teams and great coaches. It’s just a reflection of being blessed. I’ve got a lot to be thankful regardless of the win-loss record.”

(above right) Coach Chris Yeager paces the sideline during the Mountain Brook Spartans’ game at Tuscaloosa County. (above) Mason Dillard kicks the game-winning photo to left Mountain Brook over Tuscaloosa County on Oct. 2. Photos by Ben Breland.

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VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • B19

MBJH eighth-graders go 27-0,

win Metro Championship volleyball title The Mountain Brook Junior High eighth-grade girls volleyball team capped off an undefeated season by winning the Metro Championship Tournament Oct. 2-3 at Spartan Arena. The Spartans defeated Thompson on Friday’s opening day, then defeated Berry, Simmons and Thompson on Saturday to capture the championship. Ann Vandevelde was selected as the tournament most valuable player and she was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Liz Vandevelde and Grace Carr. The girls ﬁnished with an 11-0

Metro record and a 27-0 overall record, including first-place finishes in the Panther Smash Tournament in Huntsville and the Warrior Strong Tournament at Thompson. This success continues a strong run by the MBJH eighth-grade volleyball program, which has won the Metro Championship six of the past eight years and finished second the other two years. The team is coached by Bruce Henricks. -Submitted by Collins Clegg

Back Row left to right: Lily Rowe, Mary Katherine Fowlkes, Grace Carr, Kathryn Garrison, Claire Chester, Ellie Dayhuff, Kate Amberson, Hollis Clay and Coach Henricks. Front Row left to right: Sarah Catherine Cooper, Ann Vandevelde, Courtney Clark, Hannon Tatarek, Liz Vandevelde, Lauren Walston and manager Lindsay Davis. Submitted by Collins Clegg.

Mountain Brook repeats as Blalock champion, turns eyes toward state tournament By DAVID KNOX The Mountain Brook Lady Spartans captured their second straight Margaret Blalock tournament championship, then focused on area, super regional and, hopefully, state tournament play as the defending Class 7A champs wound down the season in mid-October. Mountain Brook won the 27th annual Blalock Memorial by beating Class 5A Arab 25-15, 25-22 in the ﬁnal.

This tournament donates part of the gate proceeds to the Breast Cancer Foundation of Alabama, and players and fans wear pink in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness month. The 20-team ﬁeld at Homewood featured most of the top teams in the area and across the state. The Lady Spartans opened with a 23-25, 25-19, 15-7 win over Arab, knocked off Bob Jones 25-11, 25-20, defeated Vestavia Hills 25-12, 25-6, and handled Huntsville 25-15, 21-25, 15-10 in the semiﬁnals.

Mountain Brook improved to 49-5 after the tournament. Sara Carr had 68 digs, 64 kills and 17 aces to lead the way. Sara Chandler Mitchell added 11 aces, 140 assists and 39 digs. Payton Selman had 41 kills and 38 digs and Caroline Davies added 43 kills, 14 digs and seven aces. Ellie Ritter chipped in 11 blocks and 13 kills. Defensive specialists Lacy Jeffcoat (57 digs) and Libby Grace Gann (51 digs, 11 aces) were also outstanding for coach Haven O’Quinn’s team.

The Lady Spartans were set to host the Class 7A, Area 6 tournament Oct. 19-20, which was after Village Living’s press date. Mountain Brook faced Hewitt-Trussville and Vestavia Hills squared off with Spain Park. The winners were to meet for the area title, and both the champion and runner-up advance to Super Regional play in Huntsville on Oct. 22-24. The state championship is at Birmingham’s CrossPlex Oct. 28-29.

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B20 • November 2015

Village Living

Faith Life Actually By Kari Kampakis

Parenting your teen in an age of social media As a writer, I love social media. I appreciate the benefits because it’s opened up doors for writers like me by offering a quick, easy and free way to connect with readers. As a parent, however, I have mixed feelings toward social media. I hear stories about kids who have misused it, been hurt by it or made a terrible mistake that went viral, and I panic because I’m raising daughters in a generation that’s still figuring out how to be smart with a smart phone. It’s a complex challenge, to say the least. Parents often say they wish they could do away with social media for kids because the problems outweigh the benefits. While I understand this, we all know it’s not going anywhere. With new apps constantly being introduced, and teens growing increasingly reliant on online communities, we parents are forced to deal with this reality and develop a game plan. Following are five guiding principles we can share with our kids to foster positive habits online. The purpose is to help them develop a filter for what is/isn’t appropriate and discern for themselves how to engage virtually in a way that’s productive and healthy. #5: Remember your reputation is at stake. Every choice you make reveals your character. In this day and age, people get rejected from jobs, colleges, sororities and even athletic teams because of poor judgment online. All it takes is a 5-second mistake to ruin your chances down the road.

Imagine having your heart set on med school but getting turned down because a Google search of your name pulls up posts that show a lack of character. Imagine being passed over for your dream job because when you were 13, you shared questionable pictures on Instagram. What goes on the Internet stays on the Internet. Even Snapchat posts don’t “disappear” into oblivion. To build a good track record online — one that opens doors instead slamming them in your face — show integrity. Never write anything you wouldn’t say in a microphone at a school assembly. Never share a picture (even through Snapchat) that you’d be mortified to see on the front page of your local paper.

kind of followers you attract? Mean and snarky people! When that’s your cult following, it’s only a matter of time before they turn on you. Believe it or not, being kind online can attract a following, too. Our world is hungry for inspiring messages, so use your voice for good. Remember that many people use social media as an escape from a hard day, a hard life or a lonely heart, and even a few uplifting words may offer much-needed hope.

#4: Consider three questions before you post: Is it kind? Is it true? Is it necessary? The key word here is “necessary.” While it may be true that your friend’s back-handspring is off-center, is it necessary to point that out when she posts a video? Do you want to be an encourager or a critic, the leader who lifts people up or the gossip who stirs the pot?

#2: If you aren’t feeling the love, stay off social media. We all get in bad moods, fly off the handle and overact at times. But giving your emotional monster access to a keypad is never a good idea because inevitably you’ll post things you later regret. The Internet isn’t a dumping ground. It isn’t a place to vent, air dirty laundry or call your best friend out for a lie she told. So before you get online, get your head and heart in the right place. Cool off from any anger, jealousy, or frustration you feel and try to act intentionally, not impulsively.

#3: Seek to be kind, not popular. We live in a cruel world, and sadly, you can build a cult following online by creating a snarky persona. As long as you’re funny and make people laugh, you can get away with insults, digs and cutting people down. Being snarky may draw attention, but it won’t make you feel good about yourself. And when you’re mean and snarky online, guess what

#1: Social media should supplement your relationships, not replace them. Recently I heard of a 15 year old who got tons of text messages and Instagram posts on her birthday, but only one phone call. The call came from an out-of-town friend and meant a lot to her because of the personal touch and extra effort it required. Technology makes it convenient to connect with friends, but it can also make you lazy. You

may think you’re maintaining your friendships through digital contact, but without real-life engagement, your relationships will feel shallow and empty. Your friends need to hear your voice singing happy birthday to them, see your face lighting up at the sight of them and feel your arms embracing them. Through personal contact, relationships gain depth. So consider social media a “bonus” in your friendships. Use it to keep up, but not as your primary means of communication. As for us parents, let’s keep our conversation about social media ongoing. Besides monitoring our children’s accounts, let’s also be their ally, letting them know we’re on their team and committed to helping them make wise choices online. We’re all learning as we go. We’re all figuring it out together as technology evolves and new challenges arise. By getting involved early and staying involved while we have the chance to influence our children, we can plant important seeds and hopefully set them up to reap benefits from social media in a world that desperately needs more people using it for good. Kari Kubiszyn Kampakis is a Mtn. Brook mom of four girls, columnist, speaker and blogger for The Huffington Post. Her first book, 10 Ultimate Truths Girls Should Know, is available on Amazon and everywhere books are sold. Join her Facebook community at “Kari Kampakis, Writer,” visit her blog at karikampakis.comor contact her at kari@ karikampakis.com.

VillageLivingOnline.com

November 2015 • B21

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B22 • November 2015

Village Living

Calendar Mountain Brook Events Nov. 1: Mountain Brook Spartan Council 7th & 8th grade kick ball tournament. Raising money for MS. Nov. 1-30: Second Edition Jewish Book Festival. Levite Jewish Community Center. Book sale of Jewish books and authors and Judaica for all ages Contact: mcohen@bhamjcc.org or 205-5109024. Visit bhamjcc.org. Nov. 9-11: Veteran’s Day Discount for military. Birmingham Zoo. In honor of Veterans Day, all active and retired military personnel and their dependents will receive free admission with military identification card. Visit birminghamzoo.com. Nov. 12-22: Oliver! The Musical. Presented by Theatre LJCC. Levite Jewish Community Center. November 12, 14, 19 and 21 at 7:30 pm. November

15 and 22 at 2 p.m. Visit bhamjcc.org. Nov. 13: Children’s Musical Concert Featuring Joanie Leeds and Drummer Dan. 10:30 am, Levite Jewish Community Center. Free. Collection of Shabbat, holiday songs and liturgy for families with young children. Visit bhamjcc.org. Nov. 14: Annual Dirt Dash. Birmingham Botanical Gardens. 8:30 a.m. 5K Fun Run and OneMile Family Walk will support the gardens’ mission to encourage appreciation of plants and the environment. Entry fees $15-$40. Free for children 6-years-old and under. Visit bbgardens.org. Nov. 14-15: Fine Craft Show. Birmingham Botanical Gardens. Presented by the Alabama Designer/Craftsmen organization (AD/C). 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Visit alabamadesignercraftsmen.com.

MBHS Athletics

Nov. 15: Creative Writing Workshop. Levite Jewish Community Center. For kids ages 8-13 with children’s author Dori Weinstein November 15 1:30- 3:30 p.m. $15. Visit bhamjcc.org Nov. 19-21: Market Noel: The Junior League of Birmingham’s holiday market. Cahaba Grand Conference Center. More than 100 vendors from across the country will sell wares to benefit the 34 community projects of the Junior League. General admission shopping Thursday 9 a.m.-8 p.m., Friday 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Visit jlbonline.com. Nov. 19-Dec 3: Annual holiday open houses in each of the villages. Mountain Brook Chamber of Commerce’s. Merchants will offer specials during the day and will extend their normal business hours into the eve-

ning. Nov. 19: Crestline Village, 4 p.m.; Dec. 1: Cahaba Village, 4 p.m.; Dec. 2: English Village, 4 p.m.; Dec. 3: Mountain Brook Village, 4 p.m. Nov. 21-22: United Way Food Drive. Birmingham Zoo. Bring any canned or non-perishable food item and receive half-price admission. Visit birminghamzoo.com. Nov. 22: “Turkey” Round Robin. 2 p.m.- 5 p.m. Levite Jewish Community Center. $40 per couple. Fixed partner mixed doubles but with handicapped scoring system each round. Register online at bhamjcc.org. Nov. 26: Annual Sam Lapidus Montclair Run. LJCC. 10K, 5K and a Fun Run. 8:30 a.m. Entry fees are $18-$36. Visit bhamjcc.org.

Emmet O’Neal Library Events

Nov. 12: Boy’s Varsity Basketball: Mountain Brook v. Northridge, 7:30 p.m.

Call 445-1121 or visit.eolib.org.

Nov. 17: Boy’s Varsity Basketball: Mountain Brook v. Shades Valley, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20: Boy’s Varsity Basketball: Mountain Brook v. Bob Jones, 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12: Girl’s Varsity Basketball: Mountain Brook v. Northridge, 6 p.m. Nov. 17: Girl’s Varsity Basketball: Mountain Book v. Shades Valley, 6 p.m. Nov. 20: Girl’s Varsity Basketball: Mountain Brook v. Bob Jones, 6 p.m.

Adults

Nov. 10: The Bookies book group. Discussing Dead Wake by Erik Larson, 10 a.m.

Children

Wednesdays: Brown Bag Lunch Series. 12:30 p.m. program. Bring a sack lunch. Beverages and dessert provided.

Nov. 11: Library closed.

Mondays: *Toddler Tales Story Time. 9:30 and 10:30 a.m.

Nov. 17: Documentaries After Dark. Film about Arlington National Cemetery, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesdays: Together Story Time. 9:30 & 10:30 a.m.

Nov. 24: Genre Reading Group. Discussing books about animals/pets, 6:30 p.m.

Tuesdays: Library Out Loud. 3:30 p.m.

Nov. 5: Smart Directions @ Your Library presents: Understanding the U.S. Banking System. 7 p.m. Nov. 9: Great Books discussion group. “A Woman of Fifty” by W. Somerset Maugham, 6:30 p.m.

Nov. 26-27: Library closed.

Tuesdays: Evenings @ EOL. 6 p.m. Wednesdays: *Mother Goose Story Time. 9:30 and 10:30 a.m.

JUNIOR LEAGUE OF BIRMINGHAM

NOVEMBER 19-21,. 2015

cahaba grand conference center marketnoel.net

SCHEDULE

Thursday, November 19 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.*

Friday, November 20 9 a.m. - 9 p.m.

Saturday, November 21 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. *Stroller Free: 9 a.m. - 2 p.m.

TICKETS

$12 General Admission $48 Preview Noel* * $36 Market Bliss $24 Rock the Runway $10 Group Ticket** $24 Three Day Must-Have Pass * Valet available for $6 ** Groups of 10 or more