Village Living
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July 2011 |
neighborly news & entertainment for Mountain Brook
Mr. Glenn Rice -pg 6
Tornado Fundraiser - pg 14
Singing heart to heart By MARY NOBLES HANCOCK While most high school students are still figuring out what they want to do with their lives, rising Mountain Brook High School senior Catherine Smith knows what she wants to do and is doing it already. Smith has been singing ever since she was four in the choir at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church and recently released her first album, Heart to Heart, available on iTunes. Heart to Heart consists of five original songs. “It’s definitely country,” she said of her music, “but with its own little twist. It has a down-to-earth feel with a touch of pop.” Smith has worked with Mason Music Studios to produce her album and collaborated with Sarah Mason on writing the songs. “The ideas for my songs come mostly from personal experiences,” Smith said, “but they are also inspired by stories I have been told and events I have watched unfold.” The album took a little over three months to complete, and now that it is out, she plans to send it to contacts in the music industry, while still writing and singing new songs.
July Features • Editor’s Note
4
• City Council
5
• S.T.O.R.M. Relief
7
• Vacation Bible School
9
• Village Sports
10
• Kari Kampakis
13
• Community Garden
15
• School House
18
• Business Spotlight
20
• Restaurant Showcase
21
• Calendar of Events
22
• Around the Villages
23
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Volume 2 | Issue 4 | July 2011
Tenth annual Market Day has French roots By MADOLINE MARKHAM
with her audience on a personal level.” Smith also credits her mom for being her biggest supporter. “She constantly encourages me to write music and go
There’s a reason people start calling Mountain Brook Village stores in the spring to find out the date of Market Day. When the white tents go up, they know it’s time to brave the heat for the European-style sidewalk and tent sale. The sales, up to 75 percent off or more, draw in shoppers from surrounding states as well as regular customers looking for a deal. The event will be held Saturday, July 23, 8 a.m.- 5 p.m. this year. “There are lots of new faces in the village and people browsing around,” Frank Davies of Little Hardware said. “For us it’s as big if not bigger than Christmas,” said Patricia Murray of Table Matters. “We try to keep it fun and exciting. What we do will be a surprise this year.” The Lingerie Shoppe has an alley sale with bras up to 75 percent off in a back room accessible down the alley next to the store. Little Hardware hosts a cooking demonstration and serves refreshments and
See SINGING | page 12
See MARKET DAY | page 22
High school rising senior Catherine Smith released her first album this year. Photo courtesy of Wesley Shaw.
Among her varied musical influences is country singer Leann Rimes. “[She] began her musical career when she was a young teenager and is my inspiration,” Smith said. “She is a strong woman whose music expresses her emotions and connects
Potential Montclair Walmart grocery opposed in Crestline
A Walmart Neighborhood Market, like the one in Homewood on Palisades Blvd., is under discussion to be built on Montclair Road near Crestline. Photo by Keith McCoy.
By MADOLINE MARKHAM Walmart has discussed developing a Walmart Neighborhood Market grocery store on the five acres adjacent to Beech Circle, and Crestline residents are concerned about the prospect. The city of Birmingham property is located across from Trinity Medical Center on Montclair Road. “There is no agreement in place now,” said Sonny Culp, real estate broker for the property and Senior Vice President of Graham & Company. Culp, a Crestline resident, said he could not confirm who the party interested in development is, but he acknowledged that it has leaked out from other sources that it is Walmart. “The neighborhood wishes to maintain the character of this area as it is and not to allow the kind of development that exists east of this area on Montclair Road to move
into this area,” said Crestline Neighborhood Association President Sandra Storm. Emails have circulated raising awareness of the issue among residents and asking neighbors to voice their opinions. A “No Wal-Mart in my Crestline Area” Facebook group had 239 members as of mid-June. “We would consider buying [the five acres], I but don’t think Birmingham would consider selling,” Mayor Terry Oden said. “It’s an income producer for them.” The property was previously athletic fields for the old John Carroll Catholic High School campus and is currently zoned for medical and office use. The five acres, along with the 16 next to it, have been for sale for almost three years. Arlington Properties, the developer
of Hallman Hill in Homewood, has an agreement to purchase the other 16 acres to build more than 200 high-end apartments. The proposal has been met with favor by the surrounding neighborhood associations, Culp said, and is pending to be rezoned for residential use. Regardless of the five acres’ buyer, Arlington Properties is concerned about who their neighbor will be. They have negotiated for and received complete approval of restrictions on the five acres. The property will never be able to be used for a variety of things including a secondhand store, liquor store, bowling alley, skating rinks, flee markets, arcades and any development that sells of pornographic materials or creates
See WALMART | page 22
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