March 20, 2014

The Suburban Newspaper for Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and North Shelby County

OVER THE MOUNTAIN

in inside

JOU RNAL otmj.com

th

ursd ay, March 20, 2014

V ol . 23 #6

A Place to Call Home

about town page 6

PreSchool Partners Breaks Ground for New Facility

Zip into spring Morgan Kelly rides the zip line at Red Mountain Park.

Spring breakers can take a zip tour or go hiking or biking on 13 miles of trails.

PreSchool Partners held a groundbreaking ceremony last week for Operation Schoolhouse on Montevallo Road.

Front, from left: Micah Jones, Keundra Scroggins and Katrice Dawson.

Back: PreSchool Partners Board President John Hargrove; Cassandra Given, a PreSchool Partners parent; and Lella Carl Hamiter, executive director of PreSchool Partners.

Photo special to the Journal

Hometown Happenings City Offers Opportunities for Spring Break Fun

Report clears concerns about Hoover Schools work environment

news page 10

Journal photo by Keysha Drexel

By Lynn Grisard Fullman

By Keysha Drexel

If your friends are headed out of town for spring break, not to worry. Birmingham offers so many things to do that your only regret will be that you don’t have enough time.

While avoiding the cost of overnight accommodations and several tanks of gas, you can have a blast right here at home.

There are the usual great sites--the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame, Vulcan Park, Arlington

Rainy weather threatened to put a damper on last week’s groundbreaking for Operation Schoolhouse, but just as the ceremony was about to start, the clouds parted and the sun shone on the former site of McElwain Elementary School on Montevallo Road.

Students sporting sunny yellow T-shirts, teachers, staff members, volunteers and supporters of

Special to the Journal

See spring break, page 19

Derby Darlings: Tragic City Rollers team up for charity

Journal editor

Journal photo by Maury Wald

PreSchool Partners gathered at the future site of Operation Schoolhouse on March 11 to celebrate what the organization’s executive director called “a dream come true.”

“This is such a happy day for us,” Lella Carl Hamiter said. “We’re so happy that we can tell our students that dreams really do come true. That is literally what happened with Operation Schoolhouse.”

PreSchool Partners was founded in 1995 after volunteer tutors realSee PreSchool, page 17

The Beat Goes on Junior League Choral Group Has Been Performing for 50 Years

By Keysha Drexel Journal editor

During the last half century,

the members of the Junior League of Birmingham Choral Group have performed at prestigious venues around the world,

Alice Schleusner takes the microphone for a solo during the group’s performance at the Lovelady Center last week. Betty Drennen, Josephine Pankey and Debbie McCorquodale from left provide backup.

Journal photo by Keysha Drexel

Starr Attraction: After almost 60 years of marriage, Bart and Cherry Starr are still a great team life page 12

including the International Haydn Festival in Vienna, Austria, and several appearances at Carnegie Hall in New York.

But ask any member of the group where her favorite place to perform is, and she will most likely tell you that it is right here in her own community.

“It makes you feel good to be able to bring the joy of music to people in your community that might not otherwise have a chance to experience it,” said Cornelia LaRussa of Mountain Brook just before the group’s performance at the Lovelady

See Choral group, page 15

ArtBLINK Affair: Gala features artistic creations

social page 20

Cultivating Education: Homewood City Schools Foundation hosts Homewood Grown community dinner

schools page 27

cahaba river park update p. 10 • vestavia’s Jamie blair to retire P. 10 • a legacy of love P. 16 • big top bash p. 22 • all otm basketball p. 32

2 • Thursday, March 20, 2014

Opinion/Contents

Living with Lupus

Vestavia Woman Walks to Raise Funds, Awareness

murphy’s law

T ‘It’s your body attacking your body, and it can be brutal. For me, lupus affects my kidneys, joints, skin and thyroid. It is, for the most part, under control at this time but remains a daily struggle.’

Katie Held See story page 8

On otmj.com Browse through more social, news, sports and people photos online and get updates on the latest Over the Mountain events.

Coming April 3

Find out what’s new in home design and construction in our preview of the 2014 Greater Birmingham Association of Homebuilders Parade of Homes.

in this issue About Town People News life

3 8 10 12

Social weddings schools Sports

OVER THE MOUNTAIN

JOU RNAL

20 26 27 32

March 20, 2014

Publisher: Maury Wald Editor: Keysha Drexel Features Writer: Donna Cornelius Office Manager: Christy Wald Editorial Assistant: Stacie Galbraith Sports: Lee Davis Contributors: Susan Murphy, June Mathews, William C. Singleton III, Emil Wald, Marvin Gentry, Lee Walls Jr., Bryan Bunch, Lynn Grisard Fullman Advertising Sales: Suzanne Wald, Julie Trammell Edwards, Tommy Wald Intern: Taylor Burgess Vol. 23, No. 6

Over The Mountain Journal is a suburban bi-weekly newspaper delivered to Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and North Shelby County areas. Subscriptions for The Journal are available for $24 yearly. Mail to: Over the Mountain Journal, P.O. Box 660502, Vestavia Hills, AL 35216. Phone: (205) 823-9646. E-mail the editorial department at editorial@otmj.com. E-mail our advertising department at ads@otmj.com. Find us on the Web at otmj.com.

Copyright 2014 Over The Mountain Journal, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Journal is not responsible for return of photos, copy and other unsolicited materials submitted. To have materials returned, please specify when submitting and provide a stamped, self-addressed envelope. All materials submitted are subject to editorial review and may be edited or declined without notification.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Open Wide

he Winter Olympics are Oh sure, there are things in life over. I loved it all–the skiyou’d rather not see up close or at all ers, the sliders, the jumpers, (Christie Brinkley fabulous at age 60), the skaters. One day I hope to be but most of life is big and wide and there in person, although I’d need beautiful and best viewed with our unto get a parka and a toboggan cap techno eyes. To be fair, I do wear conand possibly a cowbell, but they’re tact lenses, but that’s only so I don’t run certain to go on sale sometime in into walls, and I’ve been known to use the next four years. my Mom Zoom (walking a little closer) Some things are just better experito capture a cute photograph, but that’s enced in person. I learned that at the as techno as I get.

Rose Bowl Parade a few years back, so It’s all about perspective. After our it surprised me to see this year’s head faraway solar eclipse lesson, my science honcho filming the parade with his cellteacher gave us a microscope gander at phone. From a float. As it moved down the parade route. Seriously? A gajillion a drop of pond water where all kinds of Sue Murphy volunteer hours spent selecting just the tiny little multi-legged creatures were right shade of pampas grass to crearound willy-nilly. I never After our faraway swimming ate a 10-foot lion’s mane, boxes and swam in a lake again. boxes of fundraising candy bars sold solar eclipse lesson, The Hubble telescope gives us by ecstatic band members, and the pictures of asteroids far, far away my science teacher lead dog was experiencing the day and makes them look like they’re through a 4-inch screen. gave us a microscope hovering in the treetops. That’s We all do it. At theme parks and gander at a drop of not helpful, either. The space they dance recitals, school pageants and is critical to my sanity. It’s band concerts, we jockey for position pond water where skipped what keeps me from wearing a safety so we can capture the moment with some teeny tiny lens. And yes, it will all kinds of tiny little helmet as I walk to my car.

Bird-watching through binoculars be nice to have the event in video multi-legged creagives you a better look at the indiperpetuity, but unless you have a tures were swimJumbotron in your basement, you’ll vidual feathers, but you miss all that be seeing it, at most, on a 60-inch ming around willy- winging through the trees. A football screen, and I don’t care how many through binoculars shows you nilly. I never swam game pixels you have, it will never, never the kicker’s shoelaces, but you miss be as big or grand or colorful as the in a lake again. the arc through the goalposts, not to real event. mention the passing hotdog vendor, Life is presented in High which means you’ll have to get up Definition, IMAX and panoramic 360-degree views and go fetch one for yourself. every single day. It seems a shame to narrow your I hope the Olympic families experienced the games focus. Years ago, my science teacher had us watch a firsthand in all of their full-on, wind-in-your face glory. solar eclipse through a pinhole reflected in a cardboard I hope when their little Junior finished his schussing or milk carton contraption. Not all that majestic. Now, I sledding, he looked up to see their smiling faces and not realize that a real time view of the eclipse would have just the back of their cell phones. melted our retinas, but this is an event that brought our Neanderthal forebears to their emotional knees.

Just be there. Aloha. ❖

over the Mountain Views

What are your plans for spring break?

“Our family’s going to Point Clear. It’s not usually where we go for spring break, but we are doing something different this year.”

Shannon Haskins Greystone

“I’ll be working, so no spring break this year. I work in medical sales.”

Laura Tudor Hoover

“I have no kids, so I’m constantly on spring break. This year will be no different.”

Mike Moss Mountain Brook

“I will be working during spring break. I work for a state rehabilitation agency in Homewood.”

Roslyn Medlin Hoover

Thursday, March 20, 2014 • 3

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Save the Date

Several small steps

Hoover

Author Time with Meg Waite Clayton March 20, 10 a.m.

Hoover Public Library The Hoover Library will present Author Time with Meg Waite Clayton at 10 a.m. on March 20. Clayton, author of “The Wednesday Daughters,” will Skype with library patrons for an hour-long discussion on her writing. The event is free, but reservations are required. For information or to make a reservation, call 444-7820.

Vestavia Hills

Birmingham

Organizers are getting ready for the April 5 Small Steps to End Childhood Obesity 5K in Birmingham. From left: Amy Eddings, Jessica Wright, Emily Smith, Susan Shields and Rachael Avant.

Small Steps to End Childhood Obesity 5K Photo special to the Journal April 5, 8-11 a.m.

Regions Field The Junior League of Birmingham and the Birmingham Barons will hold the Small Steps to End Childhood Obesity 5K for Kids and one-mile fun run at Regions Field in Birmingham on April 5. The fun run is open to children 12 and younger. Each participant will receive a T-shirt and medal. Parents may walk with their children at no additional cost. Registration must be complete by March 21 to guarantee a T-shirt. Race day registrations will be accepted from 8-8:30 a.m. Awards will be given for overall male, overall female, overall team and age group awards. There will also be a health expo and post-race party.

Registration for the 5K is $30, and registration for the fun run is $10. For more information, visit www.jlbonline.com/5kforkids or call 879-9861. ❖

Bluegrass in Alabama March 20, 10 a.m.

Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest Joyce Cauthen will present a program on bluegrass in Alabama at 10 a.m. on March 20 at the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest. The Alabama Humanities speaker, musician and author will discuss the history of bluegrass music in the state at this free event hosted by the Friends of the Library. For more information, visit vestavialibrary.org or call 978-4678.

Over the Mountain

The Bell Center Month of Giving March 20-26 Jersey Mike’s Subs The Bell Center is teaming up with three Jersey Mike’s Subs restaurants in the Birmingham area for the fourth annual March Month of Giving fundraising campaign. Customers can make a donation to the Bell Center at any area Jersey Mike’s location. The campaign will culminate in the Day of Giving on March 26 when 100 percent of the day’s sales at the Birmingham area Jersey Mike’s restaurants will be donated to the Bell Center. For details, visit www.jerseymikes.com/mog.

by mixology enthusiast David Hornbuckle.

The program is for those 21 and older.

The event is sponsored by the Young Friends Group of the David Hornbuckle Emmet O’Neal Library. The event is free, but space is limited. To register, send an email to amandaw@bham.lib.al.us, visit www. eolib.org or call 445-1121.

Mountain Brook

Vestavia Hills

Church Garage Sale March 21-22 Episcopal Church of the Ascension The Episcopal Church of Ascension will host a church garage sale on March 21-22 at the church, located at 1912 Canyon Road behind Publix. The sale will run from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. on March 21 and from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on March 22. For more information, visit www.

Mixology: Homemade Bitters March 21, 7-8:30 p.m.

Emmet O’Neal Library Standing Room Only will present Mixology: Homemade Bitters from 7-8:30 p.m. on March 21 at the Emmet O’Neal Library in Mountain Brook.

Participants can learn the basics of making their own unique bitters infusions in a lecture and class led

CommUNITY Passover Seder

Share in the Messiah’s Last Supper.

Enjoy your rich Jewish Roots and heritage.

All are Welcome!

Bringing the body of the Messiah together in Unity.

April 19, 2014

♪ Praise & Worship with Messianic Recording Artist ♫

6pm

!

Join Rabbi David and Rebbetzin Leslye Schneier as they lead our Passover Seder.

A full banquet meal will be served with a Seder plate at Messianic Rabbi David and every table.

♫Paul Wilbur♫

Rebbetzin Leslye Schneier

Cahaba Grand Conference Center 3660 Grandview Parkway Birmingham, AL 35243

Ticket Information:

$55 per ticket or Purchase a full table in reserved seating for $550 BUY TICKETS ONLINE: www.shalombirmingham.com For Questions: 205-822-2510 info@shalombirmingham.com

Birmingham

A Messianic Jewish Congregation

To:

Staci

4 • Thursday, March 20, 2014

About Town ascensionepiscopal.org or call 8223480.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Tea Time

Hoover

PAWS in the Gardens March 22, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Aldridge Gardens Aldridge Gardens will present PAWS in the Gardens to benefit the Shelby County Humane Society on March 22 from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. The event will feature dog-friendly demonstrations and vendors. Admission is $10 per dog. For more information, visit aldridgegardens. org.

Homewood

AARP Smart Driver Course March 22, 9:30 a.m.

Homewood Public Library AARP Driver Safety will present a Smart Driver Course with Anne Walker at 9:30 a.m. on March 22 at the Homewood Public Library. The course will provide research-based information to help update driving knowledge and skills. The cost is $15 for AARP members and $20 for others.

Registration is required. To register, call Anne Walker at 637-6100.

Discover Alaska WITH HOLLAND AMERICA

Set sail from Anchorage on the luxurious Oosterdam with staterooms starting from just $599* per person. On this 7-night Glacier Discovery Voyage guests will see the ports of Glacier Bay, Juneau, Ketchikan and more!

Homewood

Humane Society Adoption Day March 22, 10 a.m.

Homewood Public Library The Homewood Public Library is partnering with the Greater Birmingham Humane Society for Adoption Day at the library on March 22. From 10 a.m.-2 p.m., the GBHS Mobile Unit will be in the library’s back parking lot with dogs looking for homes. For more information, visit www.gbhs.org or call 942-1211.

* Offer ID: CID692961. Price is valid for 5/18/14 departure. Rates are per person cruise only. Airfare is at an additional cost. All rates are based upon double occupancy and availability. Select sailings only. Some restrictions apply.

Connecting Home Buyers & Sellers

Mountain Brook

Looking forward to Tea and Talbescapes at Canterbury UMC are, from left: Clayton Walton, Amy Knight, Sara McDonald, Ashley Wood and Shannon Wadlington.

Tea and Tablescapes Photo special to the Journal April 6, 2-4:30 p.m.

Canterbury UMC The United Methodist Women of Canterbury United Methodist Church in Mountain Brook will host the Tea and Tablescapes fundraiser from 2-4:30 p.m. on April 6 at the church. The event will be an afternoon of tea party delights, fellowship, good finds and fashion. Those attending can shop and bid on local treasures to help raise money for the UMW, which supports charities for women and children locally and around the world. A limited number of tickets are available. Tickets are $25 each or $225 for a table of 10. For more information, visit www.canterburyumc.org/tea. ❖ Homewood

Self-defense for Teen Girls March 22, 9:30 a.m.

Homewood Public Library Det. Juan Rodriquez with the Homewood Police Department will teach a self-defense class for teen girls at the Homewood Public Library at 9:30 a.m. on March 22. Rodriquez will teach participants techniques for breaking an attacker’s grasp and other ways to get away from a dangerous situation. Participation in the workshop is free, but reservations are required as space is limited. For reservations or more information, contact Leslie West at lwest@bham.lib.al.us or 332-6620.

in 1963 during the twilight years of the author’s life. Tickets are $20-$30, and student tickets are $10. For more information, visit events.samford.edu or call 726-2853.

Birmingham

Preservation Hall Jazz Band Concert March 28, 8 p.m.

Avondale Brewing Company Avondale Brewing Company in Birmingham will kick off its 2014 concert series on March 28 with a performance by the New Orleans-based Preservation

broadway babes

Birmingham

Wonders of Water March 22, 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Birmingham Zoo In celebration of the National Wildlife Federation’s National Wildlife Week, the Birmingham Zoo will present Wonders of Water on March 22. From 10 a.m.-3 p.m., visitors can learn why animals need water and about the animals that live and play in the water. There will be games, activities and more. The program is free with the price of zoo admission. For more information, visit www.birminghamzoo.com.

Jeff Ireland (left) celebrating with agent Michael Harden

When Jeff Ireland and his wife Shanisty Myers decided to move to Kentucky for career opportunities, it meant selling two homes in Ross Bridge.

“We had a home to sell and so did my in-laws. A friend recommended Michael Harden with ARC Realty, and he was able to sell both homes in under 60 days. We’d gladly recommend Michael and ARC Realty to anyone needing to buy or sell a home.”

– Jeff Ireland 4274 Cahaba Heights Court, Suite 200 Michael Harden • cell (205) 739-9175

•

A Relationship Company

Birmingham, AL 35243

•

205.969.8910

arcrealtyco.com

Hoover

Meet the Artist Reception: Nall March 27, 5-8 p.m.

Aldridge Gardens Aldridge Gardens will host a Meet the Artist reception for Nall from 5-8 p.m. on March 27. The artist, an Alabama native, has studios in Fairhope and France with pieces in several major museums. For more information, visit aldridgegardens. com.

Homewood

“An Evening with C.S. Lewis” April 1, 7:30 p.m.

Samford University The Leslie S. Wright Fine Arts Center at Samford University in Homewood will present “An Evening with C.S. Lewis” at 7:30 p.m. on April 1. The play is set

Madeline Reiss and Susan Swagler are making plans for the third annual Girlfriend Gala.

Photo special to the Journal

Birmingham

Girlfriend Gala April 3, 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Old Car Heaven The Literacy Council of Central Alabama will host its third annual Girlfriend Gala from 6:30-9:30 p.m. on April 3 at Old Car Heaven in Birmingham. The theme for this year’s event is Broadway Babes. Old Car Heaven is at 3501 First Ave. South. Corporate and individual tables are now available for purchase. Call Beth Wilder or Missy Burchart at 326-1925 for more information and to reserve a seat at the ladies’ night out event. Tickets can be purchased at literacy-council. org. ❖

Hall Jazz Band with the Chad Fisher Group as special guest. Doors open at 6 p.m. The show begins at 8 p.m.

General admission tickets are $20 in advance. For more information, visit www.avondalebrewing.com.

Birmingham

Empty Bowls Soup and Bread Lunch April 3, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Bruno Conference Center Magic City Harvest will host the Empty Bowls Soup and Bread Lunch from 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m. on April 3 at the Bruno Conference Center at St. Vincent’s Hospital. For $15, those attending will get a bowl of soup and the chance to sample different breads from area bakeries. They also will be able to select a bowl from more than 800 foodsafe bisque bowls hand painted by local potters, artists, students, churches and ceramic groups. Proceeds will benefit Magic City Harvest, a food recovery program for the greater Birmingham area. For more information, visit www. magiccityharvest.org/emptybowls or call 591-3663.

Homewood

Couponing Strategies with Heather Lebischak April 3, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Homewood Public Library Super couponer Heather Lebischak will go over basic couponing rules and show participants how to put those rules into practice during a free program on April 3 at the Homewood Public Library.

The event will be from 6:30-7:30 pm. in the large auditorium. Lebischak will discuss time-saving ways to find, store and organize coupons and how to

Thursday, March 20, 2014 • 5

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Mountain Brook

guarantee the greatest savings through coupon use. For more information, visit homewoodpubliclibrary.org or call 3326620.

Vestavia Hills

Bards & Brews Poetry SLAM April 4, 6:30-9 p.m.

Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest The Birmingham Public Library will bring its popular poetry performance/ beer tasting series to the Vestavia Hills Library in the Forest on April 4. The Bards & Brews Poetry SLAM will be from 6:30-9 p.m. Bell’s Brewery will provide beer. Music starts at 6:30 p.m.

Poetry performances are from 7-9 p.m.

The event is free. For more information, visit vestavialibrary.org or call 226-3670.

Hoover

Walk for Autism and 5K Race to Solve the Puzzle April 5, 7 a.m.-6 p.m.

Veterans Park The Autism Society of Alabama will hold the Walk for Autism and 5K Race to Solve the Puzzle from 7 a.m.6 p.m. on April 5 at Veterans Park in Hoover. The annual event is one of the organization’s largest fundraisers and helps support the Autism Society’s mission and projects. Pre-registration is $30, and race day registration is $35. For more information, visit http:// walkforautismal.com or call 951-1364.

Hoover

High Country 5K Saturday, April 5, 8 a.m.

Shades Crest Baptist Church The 13th annual High Country 5K Race will be held April 5 at Shades

to 100 local artists will display original paintings for sale in the outdoor setting in Mountain Brook near Crestline Village.

Artwork will be available in a wide range of sizes and prices. Admission and parking are free. The rain date is April 6 from noon-5 p.m. For more information, visit mountainbrookartassociation.com. ❖

33rd Annual Spring Art Festival April 5, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Crestline Field The Mountain Brook Art Association will host the 33rd annual Spring Art Festival at Crestline Field, 32 Vine St., from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on April 5. Up

Rev. Mark Johnson, left, and Katina Reed are making plans for the 13th annual High Country 5K at Shades Crest Baptist Church in Hoover on April 5. Photo special to the Journal Crest Baptist Church in Hoover. Voted the second best race in Birmingham in 2010, this year’s event will kick off at 8 a.m. at the church, 452 Park Ave. There will be a free kids’ fun run at 9 a.m.

The third annual Elementary School Team Challenge for Hoover elementary schools will also be part of the event.

Registration is $20 before March 21, $25 from March 22-April 4 and $30 on the day of the race. Through March 21, family registration is $50. Participants will get a T-shirt, pre-race pasta dinner on April 4 catered by California Pizza Kitchen and a post-race pancake breakfast during the awards ceremony.

Registration is available through www. active.com. Space will be limited. For more information or an application, visit www.facebook.com/ShadesCrestBaptist or shadescrest.org.

2305 harmony lane

Spacious lot with creek running behind.

Nice big house; also a separate garage for all your hobbies.

For more information go to JamesHarwell.com

James Harwell 2011 Sales Associate of the Year

Over the Mountain Office 1220 Alford Avenue • 205.281.4731

S P RM OIRNE GT H APN 1L0 0A, 0N T SALE 00 PLANTS To: From: Date:

James Over The Mountain Journal, 205-823-9646 ph., 2014 SPONSORS: 205-824-1246, fax March

This is your ad proof from the over the mountain Journal for the march 20, 2014 issue. Please contact your sales representative as soon as possible to approve your ad or make changes. You may fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

Present this coupon at the Spring Plant Sale Please make sure all information is correct, and SAVE $5.00 on any $35.00 plant purchase.

including address and phone number!

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Address: ___________________________________________________ If we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

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Email: _____________________________________________________ Coupon expires April 13, 2014. Limit one coupon per customer. Not valid if photo copied.

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P R E V I E W P A R T Y : Thursday, April 10 | 5 - 6:30 p.m.

M E M B E R S -O N L Y S A L E : Thursday, April 10 | 6:30 - 8:30 p.m.

PUBLIC PLANT SALE

Friday, April 11 | 9 - 7 p.m.

Saturday, April 12 | 9 - 5 p.m.

Sunday, April 13 | 11 - 3 p.m.

Former JC Penney at Century Plaza 7580 Crestwood Blvd • Birmingham, AL 35210

205.414.3950

bbg arde ns.org

looking back

growing forward

CELEBRATING 50

YEARS

1963

50 years

2013

6 • Thursday, March 20, 2014

Derby Darlings

About Town

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Tragic City Rollers Team Up for Charity

By Keysha Drexel

W

Journal editor

hen she laces up her skates on March 22 for the Tragic City Rollers’ first bout of the 2014 season, Angela Seale said she’s knows she’ll be doing more than helping her roller derby teammates prevail over the Rollergirls of Rome, Ga. This season, Birmingham’s derby darlings are sponsoring A. Skate Foundation, an organization that brings the fun and freedom of being on wheels to children with autism.

“We folks on wheels,” Seale,

Tragic City Roller Bout

When: March 22, 7 p.m. Where: Zamora Shrine Temple What: The Tragic City Rollers will face off against the Rollergirls of Georgia. For more information: Visit www.tragiccityrollers.com who is also known as Panama Jack You Up, said, “we’ve got to stick together.”

Each year since it was founded in 2009, the Tragic City Rollers derby team has selected a charity to support, Seale said, and this year decided to help the A. Skate Foundation. Funds collected by the Tragic City Rollers

this season will go directly towards A. Skate’s efforts to build a skate park in Homewood.

“This one really makes sense because what A. Skate does is give kids with autism a chance to just be kids,” she said. “They get skateboard lessons, and it doesn’t matter if they’re sitting on the skateboard, rolling on it on their stomachs, whatever.

The point is that they are having fun.”

The skateboarding program through the A. Skate Foundation is provided at no cost to participants, along with skateboard gear and safety equipment.

“The cool thing is that it is not just about the kids learning skateboarding,” Seale said. “They are also getting the occupational therapy they need through the A.Skate program.”

This year, the Tragic City Rollers will have a photo booth set up at all the team’s home bouts at Zamora Shrine Temple, the proceeds of which will also be donated to the A. Skate Foundation, said Rachel “Road Rach” Fallin, the team’s publicity director.

The team will volunteer at A. Skate Foundation events throughout the year and will help the organization build skateboard ramps for its program, Fallin said.

The team will have drop-off sites at its home bouts where Tragic City Rollers fans can donate water and nonperishable snacks for the chil-

Member of the American Dental Association for more than 25 years

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The Tragic City Rollers will open their season with a bout against the Rollergirls on March 22.

dren enrolled in the A. Skate Foundation programs.

But don’t let that willingness to help those in need fool you into thinking that the ladies of the Tragic City Rollers aren’t a force to be reckoned with once they hit the skate track.

“This is not about twirling around the rink and looking beautiful,” Seale said. “You learn to take hits--and give them--and you learn to be bruised and sore and to get out there and do it again the next night. It can be tough, but it is all worth it.”

The team practices at least twice a week at a skating rink in Fultondale during the season, Seale said.

“We will try to squeeze in a third practice during the week, if we can,” she said. “We all take the training very seriously.”

And to make it in the sometimes brutal sport of roller derby, the women of the Tragic City Rollers have to take that training seriously, Seale said.

Roller derby got its start in the banked-track skating marathons in the 1930s and has evolved into an international sport with about 400 allwomen derby leagues worldwide.

Derby teams compete in bouts that are divided into periods called jams. Points are scored when the “jammer” laps members of the other team, which is easier said than done.

Opposing team members will bump, throw elbows and hit the “jammer” to keep her from completing the lap maneuver.

“It’s all about speed. It’s about taking hits and making hits. It’s a lot more athletic than people think,” she said.

It was the athletic component of the sport that first attracted Seale to the roller derby, she said.

In 2006, Seale was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and immediately knew she had to take charge of her health and find a fun way to stay active.

“My father had MS and I saw what it did to him, because he really just sat in a chair and watched movies for the rest of his life,” she said. “I knew I was going to fight, that I was going to do something to get up off the couch.”

Shortly after her diagnosis, Seale began taking adult ballet and tap dance classes.

“I mean, it was good, because

Photo special to the Journal

group. We support each other outside of the derby, too. Whether it’s meeting for tacos and beer on Tuesdays or helping a teammate Photo courtesy James Nicholas move, we know that all we have to do is call and we will have all the help and support we need,” she said.

Besides being good for her physically and emotionally, Seale said being a member of the Tragic City Rollers is just plain fun.

“What’s not to love about it?

You’re competing on a team with your friends wearing a crazy costume under a crazy name,” she said.

Those crazy names are something the ladies of the roller derby give a lot of thought to, Seale said.

“You want it to be something that is personal to you in some way, and of course, it has to sound mean,” she said. “That’s why I’m Panama Jack You Up-it was a way to keep moving, but it because I love anything to do with the wasn’t exactly my cup of tea,” she beach or Jimmy Buffet.” said.

Seale also gives a nod to her In 2007, Seale and her husband, Parrothead status with her jersey Wes, took a trip to Nashville, and she number--5 o’clock. saw fliers all around town promoting Panama Jack You Up shares Nashville’s roller derby team. the Tragic City Rollers roster with “As soon as I saw that flier in Assault E. Señorita, Claw & Order, Nashville, I knew I had found the Road Rach, Vin Lethal, London perfect way to stay active and to Mauling and others--women who challenge myself,” she said. “I came often sport neon-dyed hair, heavy home and did some research and makeup and punk-inspired outfits on found out about the Tragic City the skating track.

Rollers and went to check them out “It’s about expressing your derby the next weekend.” persona, and a lot of girls really have While Seale said she was immedifun with that part,” Seale said. “We’re ately confident that she would enjoy tough girls, but we still want to look being a roller derby queen, she wasn’t good while we’re giving our oppoas sure about her skating skills. nents a beat-down.”

“The last time I skated before I And while they are brawling babes joined the Tragic City Rollers was on the derby track, Seale said many elementary school,” she said. “It’s not people might be surprised to learn like riding a bike where you pick it how “normal” members of the Tragic back up pretty quickly, but that’s what City Rollers really are once they drop practice is for.” their derby personas.

But after a few practices, Seale “We have teachers, police officers, had the hang of being back on skates librarians, nurses, people from all and started to love her newfound walks of life on the team,” she said. hobby.

“We are all just regular girls who “What’s cool is that no one on want to have some fun, kick some the team really grew up doing this. butt and help other people.”

I played volleyball, but like most of The Tragic City Rollers will the other girls, I had never done roller face off against the Rollergirls of derby. We are all learning together, Rome, Ga., at 7 p.m. at the Zamora and we’re there to help each other.”

Shrine Temple, 3521 Ratliff Road And that willingness to help each in Birmingham. Doors open at 6 other applies even after the women p.m. Kids 8 and younger get in free. take off their skates and derby gear, Tickets are $10 online or $15 at the Seale said. door. Season tickets are also avail“These girls, they are my core able. ❖ Angela Seale, also known as Panama Jack You Up, nudges an opponent in a recent Tragic City Rollers bout.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

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people

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Living with Lupus

Vestavia Woman Walks to Raise Funds, Awareness

By Keysha Drexel

W

Journal Editor

Please be our guest at our second annual Open HOuse Thursday, April 3rd, 2014 4pm until 6pm Please join us for generous discounts on all product lines and services, door prizes, free product samples and more!

Food and drinks will be served.

elizabeth s. Martin, MD Danette D. Bentley, MD pure Dermatology & Aesthetics, pC 5346 stadium Trace pkwy, ste 100, Hoover, Alabama 35244 205-682-8022

hen Katie Held was a student at Mountain Brook High School, she had a secret that she kept very well.

Like most teenage girls, she didn’t want to be perceived as different, but the butterfly-shaped rash on her face and extreme fatigue and pain made it difficult for Held to feel like her peers.

“It took me a very long time to accept that I had lupus,” said Held, who is now 30 and lives in Vestavia Hills. “I didn’t tell anyone in high school or in college because it was something that I was in denial about and something I just wanted to avoid. Now, I’m just the opposite. I want to tell everyone about lupus so we can find a way to cure it.”

To that end, Held will participate for the fourth time in the Walk to End Lupus Now at Veterans Park in Hoover on March 29. The Mid-South Chapter of the Lupus Foundation of America will use 90 percent of the proceeds of the walk to increase lupus awareness and education.

Held was just 17 years old when she was diagnosed with lupus. There was no history of the autoimmune disease in her family, and Held sought a second opinion after she was told she had lupus.

“I think part of it was being young and part of it was just being afraid of how it would impact my life. I didn’t want it to limit me in any way, so I just tried to ignore it and live my life how I wanted to live it,” she said.

Held said during the first few years after her diagnosis, she didn’t take her medications regularly and rarely gave herself time to rest on her bad days.

It wasn’t until she was about 21 years old that Held sought answers on how to deal with her diagnosis.

“I think most people were like me when I was first diagnosed--they just don’t know what lupus is or how debilitating it can be,” Held said.

Unpredictable and often misunderstood, lupus is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system becomes hyperactive and attacks normal, healthy tissue.

Lupus causes inflammation, swelling and damage to the joints, skin, kidneys, heart and lungs.

“It’s your body attacking your body, and it can be brutal,” Held said. “For me, lupus affects my kidneys, joints, skin and thyroid. It is, for the most part, under control at this time but remains a daily struggle.”

That struggle means Held takes more than 20 pills a day and gets monthly injections from her doctor. There are days when she is in “head to toe” pain and other days she has to miss work to go to a string of doctor’s appointments.

“My family, the Kraselskys, leases the shoe department inside of Gus Mayer at the Summit,” Held said. “Luckily, my boss, who is my dad, is very understanding when I need a day to rest or to work from home or go to a million doctors’ appointments.”

Held said one of the most challenging things about liv2014 4pm tildisease.”

6pm. ing with lupusJanuary is that it is30, often an “invisible

Friends Katie Held grew up with in Mountain Brook were by her side at last year’s Walk to End Lupus Now event.

From left: Stacy Ladden, Amy Morrison, Katie Held and Gina Paridy. Photo special to the Journal

“You can go in and out of remission. You can have days and weeks where your symptoms flare up and then days where everything seems fine,” Held said. “People say, ‘Well, you don’t look sick.’”

While her outward appearance might not always indicate how tough her battle with lupus has been, Held said she has been changed by the journey in many ways.

“I feel that my personality has changed and how I go about each day has really changed,” Held said. “I cannot do as much as I used to do. I have learned that my ‘normal’ is very different than it used to be.”

Part of her new normal is not all bad, Held said. She said she has learned that she is stronger than she thought she was and that it is okay not to be strong all of the time.

“It was very hard for me to rely on others and ask for help, but I’ve learned that it’s okay,” she said. “To live my life to the best, I surround myself with the most amazing and supportive family and friends who are understanding of what I can and cannot do.”

Held’s friends and families will join her at the Walk to End Lupus Now event and will be sporting their “Team Katie” purple T-shirts.

“There are so many reasons the walk is important to me,” Held said. “I want other people with lupus to look around and realize that we are not alone and that we can fight together to make a difference, to raise awareness and to raise money for research. There are so many people suffering, and we need to find a cure.”

The Walk to End Lupus Now starts at 10 a.m. at Veterans Park, 4800 Valleydale Road. There will also be live entertainment, complimentary food and drinks and fun activities for kids.

For more information, visit walktoendlupusnow.kintera. org or birminghamwalk@lupusmidsouth.org or call 877865-8787. ❖

People Notes Pearce Earns Eagle Scout Rank with Troop 63 A member of Troop 63 at Canterbury United Methodist Church has achieved the highest rank in Boy Scouts.

Thomas Butler Pearce II earned the Eagle rank in September.

He was recognized for his achievement during a ceremony on Thomas Butler Feb. 9.

Pearce III Troop 63 is

under the leadership of Harold Wells Jr. For his Eagle Scout project, Pearce built two basketball courts with retaining nets, repaired and modified a fence and landscaped the court area on the playground of PreSchool Partners, a program dedicated to preparing inner city preschool children and their parents for kindergarten in Birmingham public schools.

During his time in Boy Scouts, Pearce has held leadership positions as quartermaster, assistant patrol leader and twice as patrol leader.

He was elected to the Order of the Arrow in 2008 and earned the World Conservation Award in 2009. Pearce earned 23 merit badges and spent 43 nights camping as a Boy Scout.

A senior at Mountain Brook High School, Pearce runs for the indoor and outdoor varsity track team. He also throws javelin for the varsity team. He is a member of the Interact Club and is logistics chairman for Relay for Life.

Pearce is a certified lifeguard and works as a junior counselor for Camp Mac, a summer camp in the Cheaha mountains.

He is the son of Kathy and Mike Pearce and the grandson of Kathryn Jeffers and Richard Jeffers Jr. of Birmingham and the late Frances Pearce and the late Thomas Pearce Jr. of Greenville, S.C.. His brother, Robertson Pearce, earned the Eagle rank in 2007.

Mountain Brook Resident Earns Eagle Scout Rank Anderson Smith of Mountain Brook recently earned the highest rank in Boy Scouts from the Vulcan District Eagle Board.

Smith was recognized for achieving the Eagle Scout rank at a Court of Honor ceremony on Feb. 2. He is a member of Boy Scout Troop 53 at St. Peter’s Anderson Smith Anglican Church, under the leadership of George B. Elliott Jr. For his Eagle project, Smith replaced a footbridge for a trail at Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve in Birmingham. Because of its location near the preserve’s pavilion, the bridge is often used by walkers, joggers and hikers as well as families and the elderly. The existing bridge had become unsafe.

The new bridge was lengthened and widened, allowing more than one person to cross it at a time. Railings and a bench were added on one side.

In Troop 53, Smith held the position of patrol leader. He earned 24 merit badges. He attended two high adventure trips in Abaco, Bahamas, and at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, N.M., where he hiked 75 miles with fellow scouts.

Smith is a junior at Mountain Brook High School, where he plays on the football team and runs outdoor track. He is an active member of the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church youth group and BigTime Ministries.

He is the son of Helen Catherine and Clinton Smith. He is the grandson of

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Hoover Resident Studying Abroad in Greece McKenna Futrell, a Hoover resident and student at Harding University in Arkansas, left Jan. 15 for a three-month semester to study at Harding University in Greece.

She is living with other students in Porto Rafti, Attica.

water source for several types of owls, overwintering birds and other forest animals.

Smith’s project extends the length of time the pools are full in order to increase the benefits to forest life and allow eggs enough time to hatch.

In Troop 53, Smith held the position of patrol leader and assistant senior patrol leader. He earned 24 merit badges. He attended two high adventure trips in Abaco, Bahamas, and at Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron, N.M., where he hiked 75 miles with his

fellow scouts.

Smith is a junior at Mountain Brook High School where he runs cross country, indoor track and outdoor track. He was selected to the 2013 AllMetro Boys’ Cross Country Team. He is an active member of the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church youth group and BigTime Ministries.

He is the son of Helen Catherine and Clinton Smith. He is the grandson of Mr. and Mrs. William N. Clark and Dr. Henley J. Smith Jr. and the late Mrs. Jane A. Smith. ❖

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Smith Earns Eagle Rank with Boy Scout Troop 53 A Mountain Brook resident was recently recognized for earning the highest rank in Boy Scouts.

William Marshall Smith was recognized for achieving the Eagle Scout rank at a Court of Honor ceremony on Feb. 2. He is a member of Boy Scout Troop 53 at St. Peter’s William Marshall Anglican Smith Church, under the leadership of George B. Elliott Jr. For his Eagle project, Smith did a conservation project for the Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve involving two of the many test mining sites on the mountain. These sites are important to the environment because they are classified as vernal pools, also known as spring pools.

These types of pools are full for only a fraction of the year. Spotted salamanders, bullfrogs and green frogs use the vernal pools to lay their eggs. The pools are also an important

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

u Mountain Brook

u vestavia hills

By Keysha Drexel

Announces Retirement

Work on New Park Could Begin in May Superintendent Blair Journal editor

A project to give Mountain Brook residents a new place to play will move one step closer to fruition by the end of the week, officials said.

The first phase of Cahaba River Park off Overton Road and River Run Road will bid out sometime this week, said Joel Eliason of Nimrod Long and Associates, the firm heading up the project.

“The bid process generally takes four to six weeks, so we could see some dirt being moved out there by the beginning of May,” Eliason said.

Mountain Brook has been working on plans for the 4.7-acre park since the city bought the land for $250,000 from Brookwood Baptist Church in 2011.

In 2012, the city held meetings with neighbors in the area to get their input on the proposed park.

The Mountain Brook City Council voted to put $450,000 in the city’s capital projects fund to pay for the new park.

The first phase of the park project

By William C. Singleton III Journal contributor

This artist’s rendering shows what the Cahaba River Park in Mountain Brook will look like once it is complete. Rendering courtesy of Nimrod Long and Associates

will include landscaping work and creating walking paths on the property, Eliason said.

“We’ll also do a small parking lot off Overton Road and a little bit of a sidewalk that connects under River Run bridge that will eventually connect to the greenway trail that is being planned,” he said.

The project’s first phase would also include improving an existing path that leads to the water’s edge,

Eliason said.

Eliason said the first phase of the park project will also include pouring the foundation for a picnic pavilion that will be built during a later phase.

Once complete, Cahaba River Park will also have a fishing ledge and an outdoor classroom.

“There’s a natural bowl-shaped clearing near the water’s edge that will be a good area for an outdoor classroom,” Eliason said. ❖

u Hoover

State Report Finds No Merit to Complaints

By William C. Singleton III Journal contributor

A State Department of Education report appears to vindicate the Hoover School System regarding complaints about low employee morale and a poor work environment.

Hoover Board President Paulette Pearson earlier this year asked the State Department to conduct an independent investigation into “persistent, often anonymous complaints about the work environment at Hoover City Schools’ Central Office.”

Among those complaints was that employees were ready to walk off their jobs because of the work environment and poor treatment by administrators.

A memo by Warren Craig Pouncey, chief of staff to State Superintendent Tommy Bice, names Andy Craig Hoover School Superintendent Andy Craig and Cathy Antee, chief school financial officer, in particular. Pouncey visited the Hoover school system in February and interviewed several employees regarding the allegations.

“I am of the opinion that the complaints that have been reported as being pervasive throughout the system

are not supported by my findings,” Pouncey’s memo states. “The accusations of employees wanting to walk off their jobs in mass are unfounded.

Quite the contrary, Hoover schools have been able to attract a number of talented applicants for each position vacated.”

Pouncey acknowledges perceptions of the Hoover school system’s poor work environment could be a result of its financial struggles.

The Hoover school system has been running a deficit over the past few years, which resulted in school officials borrowing nearly $17 million from other funds to balance the 20132014 education budget. A majority of the school board voted to eliminate bus service for most of its students starting with the 2014-2015 school year but rescinded its decision following community uproar over the initial decision.

However, school officials have promised more cuts are on the way as they grapple with fewer funds and an ever-increasing student enrollment.

“Due to the lack of adequate financial support from the state and an increased and ever-changing student population, the Hoover City School System has had to take an in-depth and long-term look at its current model of operations…Anytime this occurs the uncertainty of possible outcomes creates a nervousness among people,” Pouncey’s letter states.

Pouncey also vindicates Craig and Antee in his report.

“The office and the staff appear to

be very businesslike and professional in carrying out their duties,” Pouncey states in his memo. “Mr. Craig and Ms. Antee have a vision for what the system will be faced with 10 years down the road.”

Pouncey notes that some employees are disgruntled because of changes the Hoover system is undergoing but states “our interviews overwhelmingly supported that the vast majority of the employees feel like they are treated with respect, and that they can express their opinions even if they differ from their supervisor.”

Pearson welcomed Pouncey’s report with open arms.

“As board president, I am heartened and encouraged by Dr. Pouncey’s report,” she said. “We are grateful for the time and effort Dr. Pouncey and his staff expended to clarify issues that were disserving our school system. “ In other news, the Hoover City Council is taking applications for candidates for a school board position. Pearson has served two five-year terms, and her present term expires in June.

Interested Hoover residents can obtain an application from the city clerk’s office at City Hall. Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. March 21. The council expects to interview candidates and appoint a member to the board by April, Hoover Council President Jack Wright said.

For more information, call the city clerk’s office at 444-7557 or email handleym@ci.hoover.al.us. ❖

Vestavia Hills School Superintendent Jamie Blair plans to retire next year and enjoy a life on the farm.

Blair, who has served the Vestavia Hills school system as superintendent since March 2000, submitted his letter of resignation at a recent school board meeting. His official retirement date is Oct. 1, 2015.

“I’ve served 38 years in education, and I think it’s somebody else’s turn,” Blair said.

The board has started a search for his replacement.

“I wanted to give the board plenty of time to post the position, advertise it and find a good candidate as well as give the new candidate a transiJamie Blair tion period while I’m still on board,” he said.

Under Blair’s leadership, the Vestavia Hills school system continued its rise as one of the state’s best and one of the nation’s top education districts. Its high school has consistently ranked among the nation’s best, according to a U.S. News and World Report study on America’s top high schools.

The school system not only sees 98 percent of its seniors go on to college but sees its seniors receive millions of dollars in scholarships each year. Vestavia Hills was one of the first area systems to integrate technology in its classrooms, and Blair was named Alabama Superintendent of the Year in 2010.

But Blair said he merely stepped into a great situation.

“Vestavia was a great school system long before I got here. I just hoped that I could continue that reputation and help it grow,” he said. “I’ve always said you have to have great students, great teachers and great parents, and I had all three.”

Blair lists the accomplishments of Vestavia Hills students as the thing he’s most proud of. He also cited the system receiving “unitary” status and the recent favorable property tax renewal vote as accomplishments he’s proud of.

In 2007, a federal judge removed the Vestavia Hills school system from a longstanding desegregation order which forced the school district to bus in black students from the Oxmoor Valley area. School officials reached a settlement with Oxmoor Valley parents which allowed their children and siblings to complete their education

in the Vestavia Hills school system, among other concessions. The system was then awarded “unitary” status.

Unitary status is given a school system when a court deems it has eliminated vestiges of segregation.

Blair also referenced the recent 10.5 mill property tax renewal, which Vestavia residents on March 11 supported 1,715 to 163. The tax, which was set to expire in 2017, will remain in place indefinitely. The school system generates about $6.3 million annually from the 10.5 mill property tax. The system also receives other property taxes for education.

“It just shows how this community values a good education,” Blair said.

“Those who have graduated from our school system or had their children graduate or their grandchildren understand this school system is the crown jewel of the community, and if this school system doesn’t thrive you’re not going to get as many people moving in here as normally would.”

Blair’s son, Davis, has also benefited from a Vestavia Hills education.

He is expected to graduate from the University of Alabama in the summer and plans to enroll in graduate school at UA in the fall, Blair said.

“He had a great experience and was able to attend a great elementary school, a great middle school and a great high school. It prepared him so well for college life,” he said. “It has been like a blink of an eye because it seems like yesterday when we were over at (Vestavia Elementary School) West enrolling Davis as a thirdgrader.”

Blair is taking advantage of the state’s DROP (Deferred Retirement Option Program) as he exits. DROP allows state employees who are at least 55 years of age and have 25 years of service to continue working while drawing retirement pay for up to five years. Upon retirement, the employee can withdraw a lump sum

‘I’ve served 38 years in education, and I think it’s somebody else’s turn.’ Jamie Blair,

Superintendent of Vestavia Hills Schools

from a special account that earned guaranteed interest.

“When I entered DROP, that (retirement) started becoming a part of my thinking,” he said. “I’m also ready to do something else.”

That something else is to retire to a small farm he and his wife purchased near Tuscaloosa, he said.

“It’s a deer hunting farm, lots of trees and lots of woods,” he said.

“We’ve already built a barn, and I bought me a bunch of toys like tractors and plows. After I retire, we’re going to build a home there, and that’s where we’re going to live.” ❖

u vestavia hills

City to Issue Car Tags Starting Next Month

By William C. Singleton III Journal contributor

Beginning April 1, Vestavia Hills residents will be able to renew their car tags at the Vestavia Hills City Hall.

A law passed by the State Legislature earlier this year allows Jefferson County cities to issue car

Thursday, March 20, 2014 • 11

news

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

tags allowing residents to renew their tags within the cities they reside instead of traveling to the county courthouse in Birmingham, Bessemer or Center Point and standing in long lines.

Vestavia Hills is the first city to act on the new legislation. Vestavia Hills residents will be able to walk into City Hall and visit the finance department to renew their vehicle

tags. Those seeking driver’s licenses will still have to go to the county courthouse or its other branches for that service.

“This is a service to our citizens,” said Vestavia Hills Mayor Alberto “Butch” Zaragoza. “People who live in Vestavia Hills will be able to come to City Hall and have their car tag renewed and receive new decals for their license plates.”

Vestavia Hills residents will also be able to renew their tags online and have the city process their renewal

over the Internet. The City Council recently approved a contract with Ingenuity Inc. to help the city establish a web-based program to handle renewals online. Any fees the city receives for offering the service must be split with Ingenuity, the mayor said.

Zaragoza said he doesn’t know what the response will be or whether they’ll be crowds of Vestavia Hills residents wanting to take advantage of the new service.

“We really think the staff we have

now should be able to handle it, but only time will tell,” he said.

Vestavia Hills employees helping with tag renewals had to receive training from the state Revenue Department in Montgomery, the mayor said.

Zaragoza said he hopes other cities offer the service to their residents.

Rep. Paul DeMarco, R-Homewood, said other cities are considering offering the service to their residents, including Mountain Brook. ❖

u Homewood

City Council Votes to Pull Hotel’s License

The Homewood City Council voted last week to pull the license of a hotel on Oxmoor Road after officials said the number of crimes reported there had grown to an alarming amount.

The City Council voted 6-3 on March 13 not to renew the business license of America’s Best Value Inn & Suites off Interstate 65.

Police Chief Jim Roberson told council members that the department has responded to 148 calls in 32 months at the hotel for incidents ranging from murder to prostitution to drug sales.

Jvonte McKinslay Hines was shot to death at the hotel in the early morning hours of March 3, 2013.

Roberson called the frequent calls to the hotel a drain on city resources and said officers sometimes respond to more than one call a day at America’s Best Value Inn & Suites.

Sean Patel, the general manager of the hotel, said new cameras and security measures had been put into place at the hotel.

However, City Attorney Mike Kendrick said those measures have been unsuccessful in curbing crime there. ❖

u BIRMINGHAM

evaluator, Charity Navigator, for sound fiscal management.

Also in February, the zoo reported an all-time attendance record for 2013.

Zoo officials said in a news release that 574,176 visitors came to the zoo last year. ❖

Zoo Draws Record Crowds, High Rating The Birmingham Zoo recently received a coveted 4-star rating from America’s largest independent charity

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Starr Attraction

After Almost 60 Years of Marriage, Bart and Cherry Starr Are Still a Great Team

By Donna Cornelius

T

Journal feature writer

wo days before the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers accepted an award off the field.

Rodgers won the 26th Bart Starr Award.

And the trophy’s namesake was on hand to present it.

The Bart Starr Award annually recognizes an NFL player for outstanding character and leadership on the field and in the community. It honors the man who led the Packers to five NFL titles, including two Super Bowl championships. Starr was the NFL’s Most Valuable Player in 1966, was MVP of the first two Super Bowls, was selected for the Pro Bowl four times and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1977.

Starr, who lives in Riverchase, has made character and community service priorities in his own life. The former quarterback knows the importance of teamwork— and not just in sports. He and his wife, Cherry, will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary May 8.

Bart and Cherry met when both were students at Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery.

“We had gone to different junior highs,” Cherry said. “I wasn’t a football fan and didn’t know who he was.”

While Bart may have been a confident athlete, he wasn’t as self-assured around his beautiful brunette classmate.

“He was so incredibly shy,” Cherry said. “Now, he can talk to 1,800 people and give the most beautiful, inspirational speeches. But that shyness appealed to me.”

Bart first sent Nick Germanos, his best friend, to ask Cherry for a date on Bart’s behalf, she said. That approach didn’t go over too well.

“I told Nick that Bart had to ask me out himself,” Cherry said.”

Bart remembered the couple’s first date.

“We went to see a movie at a theater downtown,” he said.

After paying for the tickets, Bart had $1 left over, the Starrs remembered.

“We went to Krystal and got hamburgers for 12 cents and Cokes for a nickel,” Cherry said.

After graduating from high school, Bart might have ended up playing football for an out-of-state school.

“I was committed to the University of Kentucky,” he said. “Bear Bryant was the coach, and I knew Babe Parilli.” Vito “Babe” Parilli was UK’s All-American quarterback.

Cherry, however, had decided to study interior design at Auburn University.

“I was excited about going to Kentucky, but I was smart enough to know that if I was in Lexington and Cherry was in Auburn, I might lose her,” he said.

Bart and Cherry Starr met when both were students at Sidney Lanier High School in Montgomery. The couple will celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary May 8.

Journal photo by Lee Walls Jr

That’s when he made the decision to stay closer to home and play football for the University of Alabama.

“That was the greatest audible of my life,” Bart said, smiling.

Their long-distance courtship continued until 1954, when the two eloped to Columbus, Miss.

“We knew his parents wouldn’t approve of us getting married,” Cherry said.

Taking Germanos along to serve as best man, the couple left to get married wearing casual clothes, Cherry said.

“I took a nice dress, and Bart took a suit, and we stopped at a service station to change and then went to a justice of the peace,” she said. “We got married in May, and I didn’t see him again until August.”

The secret got out when Cherry, who was living in Jackson, Miss., with her parents, got a letter from her new husband.

“My mother went out to the mailbox, brought in a letter from him and said, ‘That silly Bart! He’s addressed this letter to Mrs. Bart Starr,’” Cherry said. “So I confessed.”

The couple later had a formal wedding ceremony conducted by Bart’s minister at Montgomery’s First Methodist Church.

Then they began life as a married couple at UA. “It was hard then for married students to find a place to live,” Cherry said.

Like many of their fellow collegiate couples, the Starrs ended up living on UA’s Northington Campus in old Army barracks.

“There were weeds coming up between the cracks in the living room floor,” Bart said.

“Our house was tiny,” Cherry said. “But everybody there was in the same boat, and we had good neighbors.”

In 1956, Bart was drafted by the Packers.

“I went up first for training camp and to meet the folks in the organization,” he said.

Cherry, who said she’d never even heard of the Packers before the team drafted her husband, joined him later. Just as in Tuscaloosa, finding living quarters was an adventure.

“There were no apartment buildings. A lot of players and their wives lived in the only hotel,” Cherry said.

They ended up renting a small house “that must have belonged to somebody’s elderly mother, because there were about 100 little doilies everywhere,” Cherry said.

Maintaining a strong marriage could be a challenge for players and their wives, the couple said.

“The players went away for training camp, so I was alone for about three months,” Cherry said. “You’re alone an awful lot. The guys had to study films at night, and the wives didn’t travel with the team to away games.”

Bart said having the right attitude is a key to a healthy marriage.

“Attitude is a strong word,” he said.

“Next to God, that’s the strongest word in our vocabulary.”

Cherry said that little things are important, too.

“Be polite to each other and make the other person know he’s appreciated,” she said.

While Bart found success on the field, he and Cherry also wanted to contribute to their community. In 1965, they co-founded Rawhide Boys Ranch near New London, Wisc. The ranch, still in operation today, provides homes and services for delinquent

and emotionally-disturbed adolescents.

The Starrs used a creative fundraiser to jumpstart the facility. Bart had won a pretty snazzy prize for being the MVP of the first Super Bowl : a red Corvette convertible.

“We had an old station wagon at the time,” Cherry said. “And we didn’t have much money. Bart’s first contract with Green Bay was for $6,500. He used to work during the off-season to pay the bills.”

The couple decided to raffle off the Corvette and sold 40,000 tickets for $1 each in just a few days. They used the money to help buy property for the ranch, they said.

After their younger son, Bret Starr, died in 1988, a fund was established in his memory to help the ranch’s residents attend college or get established in careers.

“That fund stays at about $1 million now,” Cherry said.

The Starrs still consider Green Bay their second home, they said, and they returned there four times last year to attend Packer games.

The couple was living in Scottsdale, Ariz., when Bret died. Their older son, Bart Starr Jr., was about to move to Birmingham at the time “and asked us if we’d consider moving here,” Cherry said.

Bart and Cherry have now lived in their Riverchase home for 23 years. They have three grandchildren and three step-grandchildren. Their granddaughter, Jenny, and her 2-year-old son, Bryan, currently are making their home with the Starrs. Cherry turned an area adjoining the kitchen into what she smilingly calls a “giant playpen” for their great-grandson.

The Starrs have been staunch supporters of many Birmingham civic organizations, including the Greater Birmingham Humane Society, and Bart often has piles of footballs waiting for him to sign and donate to charitable causes, Cherry said.

And when Bart celebrated his 80th birthday in February, he shared his special day with Cornerstone School. The party raised money for the Woodlawn nonprofit Christian school of which he’s been a longtime supporter.

“Cornerstone did such a nice job hosting us,” Bart said. “It was really a unique event.”

While Bart’s study and the Starrs’ media room are full of mementos from Bart’s stellar career, one tribute that’s especially meaningful to the couple isn’t in Alabama but at the Packers Heritage Trail Plaza in Green Bay. “It’s a statue that’s not so much about football,” Cherry said. “It’s a little girl reaching up with a book in her hand to have Bart sign it.”

The little girl’s likeness is that of the late daughter of Phil Hendrickson, a Green Bay businessman and former Packers treasurer.

“That statue epitomizes Bart,” Cherry said. “He always had time for the fans— and especially for the children.” ❖

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

life

Thursday, March 20, 2014 • 13

Danberry at Inverness

Danberry at Inverness retirement community has been chosen as one of the nation’s top communities in 2013 on SeniorAdvisor.com, the premier online ratings and reviews site for senior living communities nationwide.

The SeniorAdvisor 2013 Excellence Award recognizes senior living communities that receive consistently high ratings and positive reviews from residents, families, and visitors. “Receiving this des ignation places Danberry in the top one percent of all retirement communities nationwide,” said Danberry at Inverness marketing director, Lori Krueger. “We are so proud that so many—especially our residents— consider us to be one of the best of the best.”

Located in Inverness on Lake Heather, Danberry at Inverness is a senior living community for adults 55 and older with every convenience and amenity imaginable, including a clubhouse with card rooms, a ballroom, indoor swimming pool, creative art studio, salon/ Lori Krueger, marketing director, spa, theater, fitness studio, Danberry at Inverness. innovative wellness programs and much more. Residents enjoy chef-prepared menus and dining with friends in the casual bistro or more formal dining room. Services include scheduled transportation, concierge and weekly housekeeping.

For those in need of a helping hand, 24-hour licensed professional nursing is available on-site in Assisted Living at Danberry, which offers a comfortable and luxurious atmosphere. On-site physical and occupational therapy also are available.

“Our residents will tell you that they wish they’d moved here sooner.

They love the carefree, fun-filled and rewarding retirement lifestyle they find at Danberry,” said Krueger. “And we love serving them!”

Danberry is the flagship senior housing development for the Daniel Corporation and is managed by CRSA®, an LCS® company.

Danberry at Inverness is located on Lake Heather just off U.S. 280 and Valleydale Road in Hoover, 443-9500.

“Our residents will tell you that they wish they’d moved here sooner. They love the carefree, fun-filled and rewarding retirement lifestyle they find at Danberry. And we love serving them!”

Top: The atrium at Danberry is the center of the clubhouse that connects the common areas, providing a place residents can enjoy a cup of coffee or a cocktail with friends before dinner. left: Waterfall at the entrance to Danberry.

Above: Lori Krueger, left, marketing director and Jaclyn Gardner, executive director of Danberry at Inverness.

Veterans benefits have been available since WWII...

Congress is in session – ARE YOUR VETERANS BENEFITS SAFE?

yet there are some in Congress who want to significantly curtail your benefits. If you are a Veteran or the widow of a Veteran, or if you might become a caregiver for a Veteran, please join us for an informative and timely (and free!) presentation on “The Future of Your VA Benefits”.

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Tuesday, April 8 OR Thursday, April 10, 2014 • 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Refreshments and Door Prizes 235 Inverness Center Drive • Hoover, AL The changes that Congress proposes are not yet law but their intent is clear – they want to make it much harder for Veterans and widows to obtain their pensions. Consider applying for your pension now, before it becomes more difficult!

RSVP to (205) 443-9500. Limited Seating.

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Distinctively Different Retirement Living 235 Inverness Center Drive Hoover, AL 35242

www.DanberryAtInverness.com

14 • Thursday, March 20, 2014

life

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Kirkwood by the River Set on 120 acres of virgin forest, Kirkwood by the River feels miles away from the sprawl and stress of the suburbs, yet is minutes to the city’s best shopping, medical centers and cultural venues, and the community stays even closer to the founders’ vision.

Kirkwood began as a non-profit created by the Independent Presbyterian Church to offer continuing care retirement of non-paralleled attention to details and advantages. Open to people of all faiths, Kirkwood has a full time chaplain, and one of the most beautiful stained glass and stone walled chapels found in any community. This spirit of caring is felt in every level of care, from those who prepare the special meals for residents, to the speech and physical therapists, nurses and staff in skilled nursing.

“Please call and join us for an activity in the month of April: Wii Bowling, Dolores Hydock, Red Mountain Theater, Seasoned Readers, Jefferson State Senior Singers, Spring Music Gala, Music and Magic by Hungry Valley Boys.”

Sandi Hall, marketing director, Kirkwood by the River Those who seek out Kirkwood have a spirit for life, discovery and renewal that makes them as unique as the community. Kirkwood fulfills this spirit in trips to the symphony, natural wonders, museums and landmarks that bring residents together in a spirit of fun, and in concerts that bring beauty to everyday life. Please call and join us for an activity in the month of April: Wii Bowling, Dolores Hydock, Red Mountain Theater, Seasoned Readers, Jefferson State Senior

Above from left: Julie Marcus, marketing director, Earnestine Thompson, director of residential services and Jasmine Khaun, marketing and admissions.

Fair Haven Methodist Homes Sandi Hall, marketing director of Kirkwood by the River.

Singers, Spring Music Gala, Music and Magic by Hungry Valley Boys.

“We fulfill your spirit for companionship in our community dining rooms, group activities, library, resident gardens, public spaces, and your spirit for family in continuing care that keeps loved ones close, in an environment that’s closest to the way you would care for them,” says Sandi Hall, marketing director.

“Plan a visit, and discover how this community in the heart of the South’s most beautiful natural surroundings, can fulfill your heart’s desire.”

For information contact Sandi Hall at shall@ kirkwoodbytheriver.com or 205-862-0305.

Kirkwood by the River is located off I-459 near Grants Mill Road at 3605 Ratliff Road, 9562184.

Find Life at

Fair Haven Retirement Community has been serving the housing and health needs of senior adults for more than 52 years. A part of Methodist Homes of Alabama and Northwest Florida, Fair Haven is a fully-licensed, faith-based non-profit offering housing and health services to people age 62 and above, regardless of denomination or faith.

Fair Haven accepts private pay, private insurance, Medicare A and Medicaid. With only a $600 move-in fee for residential accommodations, there are no pricy buy-ins, down payments, or costly tiers of addons for assisted living services.

One of very few continuum of care retirement communities in the area, Fair Haven boasts petfriendly apartments and accommodations that include independent living, assisted living, specialty care assisted living (memory care), comprehensive rehabilitation, nursing care and Alzheimer’s/dementia care. A resident of Fair Haven can rest assured that they have chosen a home with a full range of care options available to them as health needs change.

A partnership with UAB Center for Aging and

the UAB School of Dentistry means that highly qualified geriatric medical personnel are on campus, bringing with them a level of knowledge and professionalism not found at other communities.

Dr. Clare Hays, a certified UAB geriatrician, is the medical director who oversees nursing and rehabilitation at Fair Haven. Dr. Kathleen Fix, another certified UAB geriatrician, holds office hours several days a week in an on-campus clinic at Fair Haven for the convenience of independent and assisted living residents. Because oral health is so important to the overall health of seniors, Dr. Lillian Mitchell from the UAB School of Dentistry leads a team of student dentists in hands-on dental care in Fair Haven’s Oral Health Center.

“We invite you to call for a brochure, or come tour our community and let us show you why Fair Haven is the best choice for retirement living in the Birmingham area,” says Julie Markus, marketing director.

Fair Haven Retirement Community is located at 1424 Montclair Road, Birmingham, 956-4150.

Faith, Respect, Excellence & Joy

where...

Natural beauty surrounds you

The love of God is present

Friendships flourish

Activities are plentiful

We Welcome you to join our family!

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For more information contact: Sandi Hall 205.862.0305 or visit www.kirkwoodbytheriver.com 3605 Ratliff Road | Birmingham, AL 35210 | 205.956.2184

A Ministry of Independent Presbyterian Church Birmingham, AL

At Fair Haven we believe in total care. We can accommodate a variety of health needs under one roof. Our Christian principles drive us to provide quality care with the faith-based loving kindness that people of all faiths deserve.

Call us today to schedule a visit!

(205) 603-8334 www.methodisthomes.org

Thursday, March 20, 2014 • 15

life

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

choral group, From Page One

Center in Birmingham last week.

LaRussa, who has been a member of the choral group for 21 years, is a relative newcomer considering that several founding members are still active and perform for thousands in the community each year. “We have several founding members who are in their 80s and who are still very active,� LaRussa said. “There’s so much to learn from these ladies, so many life lessons they can teach us. I’ve met wonderful friends through this group.�

The Junior League of Birmingham Choral Group is one of the longestrunning Junior League-affiliated choral groups in the nation, said director Amy Murphy of Mountain Brook. “This group is spectacular. I think people would be surprised at the amount of talent in this group and at the quality and intricacy of the music that they perform,� she said.

And Murphy knows a thing or two about talent and quality performances.

A Juilliard-trained opera singer, Murphy has performed and taught professionally for 25 years. She has performed at Radio City Music Hall, Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall and has toured with opera companies both in the U.S. and in Europe.

The New York native owns Amy Murphy Studio in Mountain Brook Village where she teaches voice lessons and recently patented a vocal technique to help people become better singers. Murphy is also an adjunct professor at the University of Montevallo.

Murphy said when she first moved to the Over the Mountain area in 2001, she looked for a way to use her professional experience in music to enrich the lives of others. “In New York, I was involved with the Blue Hill Troupe, a group that raises money for a different charity each year,� Murphy said. “The troupe put on these really amazing shows, Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, really high-quality stuff, so I was glad to find that kind of outreach opportunity when I moved here.�

The choral group is one of the Junior League of Birmingham’s community placements. The placements focus on four areas--education, financial stability, health and safety and crisis intervention--and each Junior League member must be active in one of the placements for 10 years before they reach the “sustainer� designation.

The singers in the Junior League Choral Group include those with active and sustainer designations along with community volunteers who dedicate nearly 100 hours a year to rehearsals alone, Murphy said. “We try to keep the rehearsal schedule pretty tight because we appreciate the time our singers give us each week,� she said.

The Junior League Choral Group has about 65-70 members on the roster with at least 40 regularly turning out for rehearsals and performances, Murphy said.

The group rehearses every week in the auditorium at the Junior League Building on 20th Avenue South in Birmingham and performs about 40

From top: The Junior League of Birmingham Choral Group performs Gershwin tunes during a visit to the Lovelady Center in Birmingham last week. Dana Davis, on the drums and Amy Roberts, on the keyboard, play during the group’s performance on March 11. Members of the choral group dance with the youngest members of the audience during last week’s performance at the Lovelady Center.

Journal photos by Keysha Drexel

“The most rewarding part is when you see someone in the audience who you thought you wouldn’t be able to reach start tapping their toes along to the music, and then you see a little glimmer of a smile and you remember why you love to do this,� LaRussa said.

Amy Roberts of Mountain Brook,

times a year for the sick, ‘This group is elderly, at-risk children and spectacular. I women recently released think people from jail. would be sur“We do a Christmas program in the fall and then we prised at the also do a spring program amount of talent every year,� Murphy said. in this group and “The performance schedule at the quality and can get pretty hectic during intricacy of the the holiday season, and it Amy Murphy, music that they really speaks to their commitBirmingham Choral Group director perform.’ ment that our members make this a priority in their busy mer, so I just kept at it.� lives. We have members from Davis was a member of the Junior all walks of life--doctors, lawyers, League of Birmingham for a couple of Indian chiefs and yes, a drummer.� years before the former choral group The drummer is Dana Davis of director asked her to lend her talents to Mountain Brook, who has been keepthe ensemble. ing the beat for the Junior League of And Davis said she instantly took Birmingham Choral Group for three to the group’s mission to brighten lives decades. through music. “I think we might be one of the “I feel like we go into a lot of only Junior League choral groups places that are forgotten, and we have with a drummer,� Murphy said. “We the opportunity to reach people who call Dana the Peroxide Princess of may feel like they’ve been forgotten,�

Percussion.�

Davis said. “When you see the emoDavis first picked up the drumtions on the faces of the people in the sticks as a child growing up on a farm audience, it touches your heart.� in Odenville in St. Clair County.

Like Davis, LaRussa said she “There was nothing else to do, so enjoys watching the change that can I taught myself to drum,� Davis said. “There was nobody around to tell me it come over audience members when was weird for a farm girl to be a drum- they hear the group sing.

the group’s pianist, said that in the last two years she’s been a member, she has seen firsthand the impact music can have on people who are struggling with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. “They may be losing their memories, but you will see their eyes light up when they recognize the lyrics from a Gershwin tune,� Roberts said. “It warms your heart.�

Murphy said at the group’s performances she has witnessed countless meaningful moments--from watching an Alzheimer’s patient who hadn’t communicated in months sing words to a Christmas carol to singing with the young people at the Exceptional Foundation in Homewood. “We definitely get as much out of the performances as we give,� Murphy said. “You leave each performance exhilarated and exhausted.�

The choral group members weren’t the only ones who were exhilarated by the performance at the Lovelady Center last week.

The group’s performance of “Strike Up the Band� by the Gershwin brothers on March 11 had the audience members--young and old--on their feet. “There’s usually some type of very singular moment when you connect with the audience during a performance, and when that happens, when we’re making quality music and touching people’s lives, well, that’s what it’s all about,� Murphy said.

For more information on the Junior League of Birmingham Choral Group or the Junior League of Birmingham, visit www.jlbonline.com. â?–

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16 • Thursday, March 20, 2014

A Legacy of Love

life

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Longtime Camp Fire Director Lives on Through Efforts of Family, Friends

By June Mathews

Journal contributor

To Kathleen Bruhn, “camp” wasn’t just a place to go during the summer; it was a way of life.

As executive director of the nonprofit youth development organization Camp Fire Alabama for more than 24 years, Bruhn was a passionate advocate for children, believing that every child was entitled to a fulfilling, productive life provided they were willing to work for it.

Bruhn also served as a friend and mentor to Nancy Meadows, current executive director of Camp Fire Alabama, who remembers Bruhn as a leader of vision and action.

“I started working for her part time in the Links-Up Mentoring program over 20 years ago. The program grew, and she asked me to come on full time, so I did,” Meadows said.

“I worked in that program probably 12 or 13 years, and when Kathleen announced her retirement, I was encouraged to apply for her position.

I did, and they hired me. So I’ve been in that position since 2001.

“Kathleen was probably one of my most significant mentors through my early years in Camp Fire, and even after she retired, it was fairly

common for me to call her and run ideas past her or discuss things that went on.

We were pretty close.”

Founded in 1910, Camp Fire was originally an organization for girls Kathleen Bruhn, former executive direconly. More than 100 years tor of the nonprofit youth development later, it has organization Camp evolved into Fire Alabama Bruhn a much larger lost a short battle entity, serving with cancer two years ago. thousands of children–both boys and girls–throughout the state.

Roughly 90 percent of the children and youth are served through local schools; the remaining 10 percent are served through residential and day camp programs at Camp Fletcher.

Other programs include Camp Fire Club, Service Learning, Career Prep, Character Development, Links-Up Mentoring and Self-Reliance.

According to Meadows, Bruhn became interim executive director of the organization in the mid-1980s

Above Left: Camp Fire Executive Director Nancy Meadows and Board President Mitch Bruhn. Above right: The Bruhn family with 2013 Kathleen P. Bruhn Scholarship recipient, Amy Wolf. Photos special to the Journal

when the previous director suddenly resigned. Though Bruhn hadn’t planned to take the job permanently, it proved to be a good fit for her, and she wound up keeping it.

During the following two-and-ahalf decades, Bruhn was instrumental in developing several of the programs the organization still offers today.

“She was always ahead of the curve, always paying attention to what was going on with the kids,” Meadows said. “She had a knack for looking forward and seeing what trends were coming down the pike, and she had us ready. Her foresight was amazing. She was always one step ahead.”

Bruhn lost a short battle with cancer two years ago, leaving behind not only a host of Camp Fire friends but four children--Tommy, Ricky, Mitch and Katie--and their families.

“As a mother, Kathleen lived large,” Meadows said. “She was animated and vivacious, able to lift the mundane chores of motherhood above the mire, infusing laughter and joy into the daily routine.

“She lived in the present with her children. Wherever she was, she was totally there. She made it her business to know their friends, and she was the mother all the kids wanted to be

around.”

And as Bruhn mothered her brood, she also taught them the values of community service and hard work.

As a result, several of her family members have chosen to follow her lead in working with Camp Fire. Son Mitch is president of the organization’s board of directors and was instrumental in establishing in 2012 the Kathleen P. Bruhn Memorial Leadership Open, funded in part by the Bruhn family.

“They have been close to Camp Fire their entire lives,” Meadows said. “And I do believe from a youth development director perspective that children learn what they live. I have always been so impressed with how Kathleen’s family has always stayed engaged with her work. Even after her passing, they continue to be involved in meaningful ways.”

The golf tournament, Meadows said, funds not just camps but all the programs at Camp Fire Alabama.

“We aren’t just camps,” she said, “although the importance of getting kids outside was one of the tenets of our founding in 1910. It’s important that kids experience unstructured play and learn to use their imaginations early instead of constantly being plugged into technology.” ❖

for more information please Call mike wedgworth: 205.365.4344

Shelby County

Kathleen P. Bruhn Memorial Leadership Open April 7 Shoal Creek Country Club Play a round of golf on a course consistently listed as one of America’s best and support the youth development programs of Camp Fire Alabama at the Kathleen P. Bruhn Memorial Leadership Open April 7 at Shoal Creek Country Club. Details and registration forms are at www. campfire-al.org. For more information, contact Allison Wise at awise@ campfire-al.org or 324-2434, ext. 108 or Sarah Hendren at shendren@ campfire-al.org or 324-2434, ext.

109. ❖

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

preschool, From Page One

ized that the elementary age children they were tutoring were starting school without the skills they needed for academic success.

For almost 20 years, PreSchool Partners has served children in north Birmingham by giving them more than 800 hours of instruction during the school year. Students are taught specific academic lessons to get them ready for kindergarten. Their parents also PreSchool Partners Board President John Hargrove said construction will begin soon participate in the program and on the new 12,000-square-foot building at 4447 Montevallo Road South. Capstone learn how they can help their Real Estate purchased the property at no cost to PreSchool Partners. Hoar Construction Company has agreed to serve as the general contractor on the new school at no cost children prepare for academic to PreSchool Partners, Architect Pete Pritchard is also donating his services, and several success. lawyers will be providing pro bono legal services. Journal photo by Keysha Drexel Hamiter said PreSchool lawyers will be providing pro bono ceremony and said she has seen the Partners has never really had legal services, she said. evidence of the program’s success a home of its own, which makes the The new facility will allow in her two children who attended new school even more exciting.

PreSchool Partners to expand its PreSchool Partners when they were 3 “We have shared space, rented program by 60 percent to serve more and 4 years old. space, moved and searched and families, Hamiter said.

“They are both honor roll students finally, our dream to have our own “Operation Schoolhouse will give now, and I don’t know if that would building specifically designed for our have happened if they hadn’t been needs has become possible,” Hamiter involved in PreSchool Partners,” said.

Givens said.

Hamiter said every person Givens said Operation involved with a nonprofit organizaSchoolhouse is a great investment for tion dreams of someone knocking on the entire community. their door and offering to build them “There are so many more children a new facility. in our community who need this pro“For us, that dream came true,” gram, and this new school is going to Hamiter said. “When you work with make a difference in a lot of lives,” 3 and 4-year-olds, you hear a lot of she said. talk about superheroes and for us, the PreSchool Partners Board real superheroes are Mike and Kathy President John Hargrove said conMouron.” struction will begin soon on the new The Mourons purchased the for12,000-square-foot building at 4447 mer McElwain Elementary School Montevallo Road South. building and property for PreSchool “The goal is to be moved into our Partners, Hamiter said. new home by Jan. 1, 2015, which will “Thank you, Mike and Kathy, for coincide with our 20th anniversary,” this incredible gift,” she said.

Hargrove said.

Mike Mouron, chief executive Hargrove said the officials have officer of Capstone Development raised about half of the $2.6 million Cos., said he was intrigued when capital campaign goal they set for he first heard about how PreSchool Operation Schoolhouse.

Partners’ program involves both 2014 Spring Break Capstone Real Estate purchased young children and their parents.

March 24-28 the property at no cost to PreSchool “I became committed to help when I saw firsthand the passion with Partners. Hoar Construction Company has agreed to serve as the general which the faculty and staff approach contractor on the new school at no this important task and learned of the cost to PreSchool Partners, Hamiter great success they have realized over said.

19 years,” Mouron said.

Architect Pete Pritchard is also Cassandra Givens of Birmingham donating his services, and several was on hand for the groundbreaking

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Thursday, March 20, 2014 • 17

LIFE us a facility that is safer and serves the needs of our families better. We will be able to add facets to our program that we don’t currently have, such as a rainy day activity room, parent education rooms, a conference room and offices for all of the staff,” Hamiter said.

Officials said the new facility will

also allow the PreSchool Partners program to become licensed.

“But most of all, it will be a place to call home for the first time in 20 years,” Hamiter said.

For more information on PreSchool Partners or Operation Schoolhouse, visit www.preschoolpartners.org.❖

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VISION We will lead our community to become the healthiest in America. A United Way Partner.

18 • Thursday, March 20, 2014

These Spring Break Destinations Aren’t Far Away

TRAVEL

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Get Up and Go

Top 10 Picks for Spring Break

By Lynn Grisard Fullman Journal contributor

Well, it’s about time that springtime reared its head. I was beginning to think that cold would lurk forever in the Over the Mountain area.

Thankfully, I am seeing signs that warmer days lie ahead. If you’re like me, cabin fever has fueled a desire to get out and explore.

So with spring arriving, I have a few suggestions for some nearby escapes. j Sunny days prompt thoughts of sun, sand and seafood, and fortunately for those of us living in Birmingham, the beaches are nearby.

Along Alabama’s coastline, Gulf Shores and Orange Beach (800-745SAND, www.gulfshores.com) are a playground with golf and mini-golf, paddle boats, amusement rides, laser tag, deep-sea fishing and a zoo that is home to hundreds of animals in their natural habitats. j Slated for March 27-30, the Wharf Boat and Yacht Show (www. wharfboatsshow.com) in Orange Beach will feature more than $90 million in boats and marine products.

Also planned are children’s art classes led by a marine artist, a fashion show, exhibitor displays, seminars and live music. j With 26 miles of manmade beaches, the Mississippi Gulf Coast (888-467-4853, www.gulfcoast.org) is a great destination. Just choose your fun--fishing charters, golf, hiking, biking, casinos, a children’s museum, historic sites, art museums, birding, kayaking, sailing and historic cemeteries. j If you have time to spend five or six hours on the road, plan to visit Pigeon Forge (800-251-9100, www.mypigeonforge.com) in east Tennessee. The problem there is finding time for all that is available--gocarts, mini-golf, a tomb to navigate, waxed figures (including likenesses of Michael Jordan, Michael Jackson, Donald Trump and Jeff Gordon), shows (including music, comedy, murder-mystery and lumberjacks), outlet shopping, WonderWorks with more than 100 hands-on exhibits and

After a long, cold winter in Birmingham, Alabama’s beaches are a welcome escape.

Photo courtesy of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Tourism.

Visitors enjoy a dolphin encounter at Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta.

Photo courtesy of the Georgia Aquarium

the amazing Titanic Museum where author Lee Merideth will sign “1912 Facts about the Titanic” March 22-28. j Opened earlier this year in Montgomery, the Museum of Alabama (334-328-9088, http:// archives.state.al.us) relates the state’s story and showcases Native American artifacts, Civil War arms, photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, geology and natural resources. Children favor the museum’s hands-on gallery and Grandma’s Attic with period costumes to dress in, toys from earlier years and a place to make crafts.

The museum is at the Alabama Department of Archives and History,

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adjacent to the State Capitol, which makes another interesting stopover.

Another Montgomery mustsee, especially for children, is Old Alabama Town, a collection of restored 19th- and early 20th-century structures depicting earlier years in Alabama. j If you really want to be out among nature, venture to Hodges to Rock Bridge Canyon Equestrian Park (205-935-3499, www.rockbridgecanyon.com) that opened in December. The North Alabama park has 27 miles of trails, challenging and leisurely, dotted with waterfalls, a natural-rock bridge and scenic overlooks.

Primitive and full-hookup campsites are available. j Known for its 12-story-high caverns and light-and-sound show, DeSoto Caverns Family Fun Park (256-378-7252, www.desotocavernspark.com) has some two dozen outdoor activities, including a squirtgun maze, gem panning, wall climb, wacky water golf, paddle boats, bumper cars, potty races (yes, real toilets mounted on wheels) and foam falls.

New this year will be pedal gocarts and a redesigned miniature putt-putt golf course. A new zip line is expected to be ready by summer.

The park, a short drive via U.S 280 to Childersburg, will offer discounts on Mondays in June and July. You’ll also find here an RV park and picnic pavilions. j Tuscaloosa (800-538-8696, http://visittuscaloosa.com) has several places worth visiting. Among those are the Paul W. Bryant Museum with photos, uniforms, sports memorabilia, videos of Bama coaches and players and a salute to memorable plays during more than a century of UA football. The Children’s HandsOn Museum of Tuscaloosa is a fun place for newborns to pre-teens. Open since August, the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center salutes the jazz and blues vocalist and pianist who was born in Tuscaloosa. The “Queen of Blues” is considered the most popular black female recording artist of the 1950s.

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Homewood

1. Visit Helen Keller’s home (Tuscumbia).

2. Eat ice cream at the Peach Park (Clanton).

3. Visit Bear Bryant’s grave (Birmingham).

4. Meet animals face to face at Harmony Park Safari Drive-thru Zoo (Huntsville).

5. Mine for gemstones at Consolidated Gold Mines (Dahlonega, Ga.).

6. Chat with the Children’s Zoo Keeper at the Birmingham Zoo (daily, 1:30 p.m.).

7. Spend the night in a cabin at Oak Mountain State Park (Pelham).

8. Look at Hitler’s typewriter at the Hall of History Museum (Bessemer).

9. Visit the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (Huntsville).

10. Traipse Orr Park in search of tree carvings and then visit the Oval Office Replica at American Village (Montevallo).

--Lynn Grisard Fullman

Moundville Archaeological Park includes a reconstructed Indian village, museum, nature trails, campground and temple mound with prehistoric platform mounds. j I cannot overlook my hometown of Chattanooga (423-756-8687, 800-322-3344, www.chattanoogafun. com) where you could spend days enjoying such longtime favorites as the Tennessee Aquarium, Rock City, Ruby Falls, the Incline and the Chattanooga Choo Choo, which is offering spring break packages.

Currently many of the city’s attractions have spring-break specials. Among those is a “keeper kid” behind-the-scenes opportunity at the Tennessee Aquarium and family adventure cruises that depart daily through April 17 from the Chattanooga Pier. Kids can be imaginary conductors for a day aboard a train at the Tennessee Valley Railroad or venture underground as a spelunker on a cavern tour deep inside Lookout Mountain at Ruby Falls.

Or they might be a zoologist at the Chattanooga Zoo, observing some of nature’s wildest creatures. Also available: pirate cruises aboard the Southern Belle Riverboat. j A couple-hour drive from Birmingham, the Georgia Aquarium (404-581-4000, www.georgiaquarium.org) is the world’s largest aquarium habitat that holds the largest collection of aquatic animals. The popular Atlanta attraction offers several animal encounter programs that let you come face to face with several residents in their environments.

Programs are offered with beluga whales, whale sharks, dolphins, sea otters and penguins. And, a tip: If you think you might visit in the future, consider the savings of a season pass.

I could go on, but I want to leave you time to travel. Just remember, before heading out, it’s always wise to call ahead to confirm days and hours of operation. ❖

Thursday, March 20, 2014 • 19

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Antebellum Home and Gardens, the Birmingham Zoo, McWane Science Center, Oak Mountain State Park, Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and Museum, Barber Motorsports Museum and the Botanical Gardens. And those are just quick thoughts.

So get your head out of bed and look what you can be doing while those school doors are closed: If Birmingham’s long cold winter has spurred a desire to be outdoors, then trek to Red Mountain Park that’s laced with 13 miles of hiking and mountain biking trails. Try the park’s zip tour.

Through May 11, McWane Science Center will host a special exhibit, Robots+Us, featuring more than a dozen interactive components exploring inspired robotic technology. Learn how this technology can be used to improve our lives, discover Take a train ride how robots sense the world around at Spring Break them, chat with a friendly robotic Camp at the avatar and see how robot pets vie for Birmingham Zoo our attention in the Artificial Friends Photo special to the Journal pet shop.

Spring break camp at the Birmingham Zoo will provide campers with behindTake a the-scenes tours, train and carousel rides, walking tour animal demonstrations and a one-of-a-kind downtown learning experience. Slated for March and visit the 24-28, the camp will focus on such top“Heaviest ics as “tall tail� animal myths and African Corner on savannah animals.

Earth.�

To get to know your city better, take a walking tour downtown. Visit the Morris Avenue spot where peanuts have been sold for more than a century. From there walk over to the corner of 20th Street and 1st Avenue North to see what was once proclaimed the “Heaviest Corner on Earth.�

Visit sites linked to the civil rights struggles in Birmingham: Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and across the street at Kelly Ingram Park, where protests were staged Journal photo by Maury Wald during the 1960s. Get a better understanding of those events by visiting the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. All three sites are on adjacent corners, so one stop suffices.

Through May 18, the Birmingham Museum of Art will host the first Eugène Delacroix exhibition in the U.S. in more than a decade. With 31 paintings and 18 works on paper, the exhibit offers the chance to see works of the leader of the French Romantic Movement, who was often heralded as “the father of Impressionism.â€?

For more ideas, contact the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau at birminghamal.org or at 458-8000.

Lynn Grisard Fullman is a professional writer based in Vestavia Hills.

Follow her on Twitter @lynnfullman. â?–

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

ArtBLINK Affair Gala Features Artistic Creations

Linda Ellen Price works on her piece at the 2014 ArtBLINK Gala.

From left: Jeff McDonald and Sarah and John McDonald.

A

recent gala raised nearly $400,000 for cancer research and patient services at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center hosted the ArtBLINK Gala 2014 on Feb. 22 at the Kirklin Clinic.

Money raised at the event goes toward the Cancer Center’s Fund for Excellence, which supports high-priority research efforts such as a specific project, launching young investigators in cancer research careers or recruitment of new faculty members. A percentage of the funds raised will support patient and family assistance efforts.

ArtBLINK featured 17 local artists who worked with a variety of media to create masterpieces in 90 minutes for the evening’s silent auction.

Participating artists were Thomas Andrew, Ahmad Austin, Nada Boner, David Boyd, Gary Chapman, Joan Curtis, Kate Merritt Davis, Vicki Denaburg, Randy Gachet, Lila Graves, Darius Hill, Carol Misner, David Nichols, Linda Ellen Price, Michael Swann, Paul Ware and Robine Wright.

“The Cancer Center thrives on the generosity of the community, and especially in these tight economic times when we feel the pinch of federal budget cuts, we rely even more on their support,” said Edward Partridge, UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center director.

“Philanthropic support provides us with the critical seed money to investigate drugs and develop treatments that we can quickly and safely move to our patients.”

ArtBLINK Gala also featured a cocktail dinner provided by Kathy G & Company and dancing to music by The Rock Candy Band. ❖

Barbara and Ed Partridge.

Tony and Dana Davis.

Photos special to the Journal

Ed Partridge, Brook Moor and Betsy Styles.

The ArtBLINK 2014 artists, front, from left: Kate Merritt Davis, Nada Boner, Ahmad Austin, Lila Graves and David Boyd. Back: Gary Chapman, Michael Swann, David Nichols, Joan Curtis, Paul Ware, Vicki Denaburg, Thomas Andrew, Randy Gachet, Linda Ellen Price, Robine Wright and Carole Misner.

Thursday, March 20, 2014 • 21

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Better Basics Birthday

Some 400 Attend 20th Anniversary Event thousands of children Better Basics A nonprofit agency dedicated to has served throughout the past 20 improving literacy commemorated its years.”

20th anniversary on Feb. 20 at The Former NBA and University Club in Homewood. of Alabama basketball star Ennis Better Basics, which provides Whatley was the featured speaker. school-day, after school and summer Whatley, a graduate of Phillips reading programs for at-risk chilHigh School in Birmingham, led the dren, marked the milestone with the Celebrate 20 in ‘14 dinner.

Almost 400 people attended the event which honored the people, agencies, corporations and foundations that have played significant roles in the growth of Better Basics in the organization’s 20-year history.

Bill and Lyndra Daniel accept an appreciation award The Celebrate Karen Kapp.

20 in ’14 event University of Alabama’s basketball raised almost $70,000 to support team to a Sweet 16 appearance in Better Basics’ full range of literacy the 1982 NCAA Tournament before programs in area public schools. playing 10 Last year, Better Basics served more seasons in than 19,000 students and gave away the NBA. almost 40,000 books to children who more photos at Now an might not otherwise have books in inspirational their homes. speaker, he “We are extremely grateful for the struggled outpouring of community support we through school until college, when he received for the 20 in 14 event,” said discovered the importance of reading Karen Kapp, executive director. “It and education, he said. was a wonderful evening celebrating Others attending the birthday bash the achievements of the hundreds of

OTMJ.COM

Kara Myers and Karen Kapp.

From left: Ennis Whatley, Karen Kapp and Kevin Sutton.

Photos special to the Journal

John and Dianna Kelley.

Jeff and Margaret Cox.

included Kevin Sutton, Jeff Cox, Margaret Cox, Joe Schmidt, Cissy Schmidt, Kara Myers and Kym Prewitt.

Miss Alabama USA Jessica Ahlbery also attended the fundraiser.

Gene Hallman served as the event’s master of ceremonies. ❖

Kym Prewit and Karen Kapp.

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22 • Thursday, March 20, 2014

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Big Top Bash Fundraiser Benefits Glenwood Center

Sarah Fulford, David Koonce and Ginnard Archibald.

From left: Anna Lacy McMains, Carrie Pittman, Lindsay Jones and Caroline Goldasich.

Photos special to the Journal

More than 700 people turned out for the 10th annual A Night Under the Big Top fundraiser for Glenwood Autism and Behavioral Health Center.

Glenwood’s junior board hosted the event on Feb. 21 at The Club in Homewood.

The event featured casino games, food, drinks and an extensive silent auction. Those attending also had a chance to visit the VIP room for bourbon tastings.

The Undergrounders provided music throughout the evening.

Those attending included Jennifer Bird, Whit Bird, John Dowdy, Ken Oliver, Joe Carter, Katie Gulas, Giuli Biondi, Stacey Summerville and Erin Clark. more photos at Others attending the fundraiser at The Club were Lauren Seal, Kaley Stephens, Katie Dunston, Rebecca Swann, Anna Thomas, Louisa Stone, Kara Ward and Ashley Tate.

Also spotted at A Night Under the Big Top were Nathan Clark, Gusty Gulas, Caroline Goldasich, Sarah Fulford, David Koonce, Ginnard Archibald, Sarah Lovell, D.G. Pantazis, Sherri Van Pelt, Pete Van Pelt, William Upton and Arden Ward Upton.

The annual event benefits the center’s programs and services for children with autism. ❖

OTMJ.COM

Sherri Van Pelt and Pete Van Pelt.

Louisa Stone, Kara Ward and Ashley Tate.

Sarah Lovell and D.G. Pantazis.

William Upton and Arden Ward Upton.

John Dowdy, Ken Oliver and Joe Carter.

Thursday, March 20, 2014 • 23

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Ballerina Ball Event Combines Valentine’s, Mardi Gras Themes

Members of the Ballerina Club gathered at the Country Club of Birmingham on Valentine’s Day for the group’s annual ball.

The 68th Ballerina Club more photos at Ball featured dinner and dancing in the East Room to the music of the Edd Jones Orchestra on Feb. 14.

Sharron Thomas was the ball chairman. Committee members From left: Mary Rooney, Vicki Lukens and Evelyn Bradley. Photo special to the Journal were Patsy Straka, Tricia Mitchell and Drucilla Rochester.

Margaret and William Howell, a moving disc rounded out the decoraThe ball’s theme combined Nell and Sam Williams, Rusty tions.

Valentine’s Day and Mardi Gras. The and Don Kirkpatrick, Margaret Those attending the annual event color scheme of red, black, gold, purple included club president Vicki and Matt and Bill Howell, Joanne and Art and silver was carried out in the decora- Lukens, Barbara and Cliff Lynch, McConnell, Ball Chairman Sharron tions, which included columns, arches, and Jim Thomas, Kathy and Mike Chris and Alston Ray, Evelyn and plumes and feathers. Black underlay Harrington, Tricia Mitchell and Steve Bradley, Sara and Tommy cloths on the tables were topped with Mike Kulovitz, Leslie Puckett and Moody, Nancy and Bill Stetler, red satin rounds. A twirling ballerina on Carolyn and Richard Waguespack, Les Goins, Patsy and Bob Straka,

Carolyn and Whitt King, Jean and Curtis Liles, Anne and Tom Lamkin, Mary and Michael Rooney, Elizabeth and Merrill Compton, Judy and David Long, Virginia Cobb and John Golightly, Dot Crook and John Creel, Lou Lanier, Jean Shanks, Jan and Robert Posey, Rene Blaylock

and Richard Shoemacker, Nancy Walburn and James Swift, Barb and Bill Morgan, Peggy and Jim Davis, Deb Peeples and Ray Platt, Corine Greer, Janice Zena, Connie Bishop and Charles Bearden, Barbara and George Eisenhart, Harriet and John Maloof and Kathy and Ted Miller. â?–

OTMJ.COM

From left: Mitzi Davis, Dotty Carley and Julia Wilcox.

Three Times the Fun Dance Clubs Host Joint Party

Journal photo by Emil Wald

Those spotted on the dance floor at the joint party included Julia and Charles Wilcox, Dana and Tony Davis, Kathy and Brian Hoskins, Suzanne and Mike Wald, Laurie and Gusty Yearout, Anne and Steve Varner, Cathy and Mell Duggan, LaVonda and Perry Keel, Maura and Will Goodwyn and Olivia Alison and Buddy Palmer.

Also enjoying the evening were Lochrane and Mel Smith, Beverly and Roy Crawford, Sharon and Ed Berko, Laura and David Bryan, Rebecca and Ross Mason and Vivian Lokey Tucker.

Dotty Carley is president of the Fandango Dance Club, Julia Wilcox is president of the ChaCha Dance Club and Mitzi Davis is president of theTo: GoGo Dance Club. â?–

From: Date:

Č

Three local dance clubs recently joined together for a celebration.

Members of the Fandango, ChaCha and GoGo dance clubs hosted a joint party in February in the East Room at the Country Club of Birmingham.

Members and guests entered the room through a pink, red and purple heart made from balloons that was created by Cindy Crowther. The Atlanta Groove Factory provided live music throughout the evening.

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Invites you to Peyton Over The Mountain Journal, PHONE: 205-823-9646 Southern Strokes Art Show FAX: 205-824-1246 Feb. 2014 featuring the artists and their work.

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Lauren Dunn Thank you for your prompt attention.

if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

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24 • Thursday, March 20, 2014

Honoring Harwell

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Red Nose Ball Pays Tribute to Artist

Camp Smile-A-Mile’s 22nd annual Red Nose Ball was dedicated to the memory of Jennifer Harwell, a local artist who lost her battle with cancer last summer.

Four of Camp SAM’s young adult survivors and longtime campers were also honored at the Feb. 22 black-tie fundraiser at the Cahaba Grand Conference Center on Grandview Parkway in Birmingham.

All 900 guests attending this year’s event jumped to their feet to give the young cancer survivors a standing ovation.

Mike Royer of Alabama’s 13 kicked off the evening as master of ceremonies and auctioneer.

Ken Jackson auctioned off items ranging from trips abroad to sports From left: Ken Jackson, Amy and Mike Royer. Photos special to the Journal Sam the puppy and Tonya Jones. memorabilia and art. A black Labrador retriever puppy was auctioned off to a wonderful home.

A seated dinner was followed by live music by The Expandables and dancing.

All funds raised at the 2014 Red Nose Ball will help support Camp SAM’s year-round programs for Alabama children who have cancer or who have overcome the disease.

Those attending the event included John Redmond, Mary Lynn and David Warren, Deana and Jeff West, Jameka Brown, Rosilyn Houston, Georgina and Mark Haladwala, Mary Jane and Winston Gillum, Natalie and Zach Turnage, Rachel and Todd Jordan, Sumner and John Rives and Justin Truelove.

Also attending the 2014 Red Nose Ball were Emily and Sam Heide, Hillary and Ryan Weiss, Fiona and Dr. Ray Watts, Katie and Wesley Britt, Antonio Langham, D’Ann and Bill Somerall, Nell and Todd Fredella, Ellen and Houston Gillespy, Kellie Reece, Savannah Lanier and Bronwyn Meredith and Justin McLaughlin, Dr. Jack Schaeffer and Cardwell.

Brooke and Justin Kaplan.

Others spotted at the event included Ann and Ken Horne, Lana more photos at Cowan, Eric Hoffman, Kenneth Nolen Jr., Tonya Jones and Bryan Combs, Emily and Bob Levine, Cristi and David Dixon, Caroline Dixon, Alex Hodges, Ollie Newton, Justin Truelove, Keith Rains, Kristi Arians, Mary Beth and Bruce Hooper and Cliff Long. ❖ Hunter Latham and Michael Milo.

OTMJ.COM

Garden Art Gathering ACA Makes Plans for Fundraiser

Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama hosted a luncheon on Feb. 18 to announce plans for its 18th annual Garden Art Party.

The luncheon was at the home of Christy Baynes, vice president and event co-chairman.

The Garden Art Party, set for May 10 at Iron City, will be a celebration of Mother’s Day. Two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women, and 70 percent of caregivers are women.

This event has raised more than $2 million for services for respite care and continence supplies for Alzheimer’s patients.

At the luncheon, Miller Piggott, executive director of Alzheimer’s of Central Alabama, shared Ruby’s story.

Ruby attends daycare on an ACA scholarship. Ruby’s daughter moved in with her more than four years ago when she could no longer live alone. Ruby’s daughter’s journey with Alzheimer’s has been challenging, Piggot said.

Baynes discussed plans for the event’s live and silent auctions. Her husband, Allen, will be “auctioned off” as part of the “Dine with the Refs” package. Allen Baynes is a referee with the National Football League, and this popular package offers a pair of tickets to one of his games and includes dinner the night before with the entire officiating crew.

A set of dinner plates painted by patients will also be offered in the auction.

From left: Christy Baynes, Nicole Crawford, Lemeshia Chambers and Jennifer Mancuso. Photos special to the Journal

Bob Straka will serve as auctioneer.

The Baynes’ newly-renovated home on Cherokee Road was the backdrop for ACA’s luncheon. The neighbor’s free range chickens led to the speculation that the party’s theme might be “Down on The Farm.”

Each year artwork created by Alzheimer’s patients from assisted living facilities and adult day care centers is featured at the Garden Art Party.

President Nicole Crawford, who is co-chairing the event, announced plans for a contest to encourage more facilities to participate. The facility that creates the winning artwork will receive five sessions of therapeutic arts programming from VSA Alabama.

Attending the luncheon were board members Chris Blackerby, Rebecca Hamiter, Julie Bryant and Lanette Cook along with Penny Witcher, Starla Marbury, Cheryl Thrasher, Catherine Cato, Karon BrooksHarris, Jennifer Sinelnikov and Lemeshia Chambers.

There are more than 93,000 Alabamians with Alzheimer’s disease.

For each patient, an entire family is affected, officials said. ACA assists families looking for answers and trying to provide care.

Money raised at the Garden Art Party will fund services, programs and research. ACA is providing respite care, scholarships for patients to attend adult day care centers and scholarships for continence supplies to more than 400 patients and families this year.

Tickets for the 2014 Garden Art Party are $95. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.alzca.org or call 871-7970. ❖

Dance and Desserts

Youth Ballet Guild Hosts February Fundraiser

Above: Suzy and Kenny Spencer provide musical entertainment at the event. right: Matthew and Elizabeth Korcz. Photos special to the Journal

Those attending the sixth annual Dessertissements fundraiser in February enjoyed a night of desserts and dancing for a good cause.

The Alabama Youth Ballet Guild hosted the event, which featured romantic desserts and wine and performances by the Alabama Youth Ballet Company, on Feb. 16 at Grebel Dance in Pelham.

The event was aimed at promoting and bringing awareness of the arts, specifically classical ballet and dance, to the community.

Guild officers and members planning and volunteering for the event were Sabrina Murray, president; Paula Macklin, vice president; Eden Roy, treasurer; Lizzie Hudson, secretary; Kenn Davis, Jessica Newman, Mary Frances Vogen, Susan White, Sariah Homan and Felicia Daniels.

The theme for this year’s Dessertissements was Keep Calm and Dance Tango. A highlight of the event was the musical entertainment by Ken and Suzy Spencer, whose daughter Anna, a senior at John Carroll Catholic High

Thursday, March 20, 2014 • 25

social

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Novel Event Author Speaks at Alliance Francaise Meeting

School, also danced.

The event also included silent and live auctions, a performance by the Alabama Youth Ballet’s junior and senior companies, wine and desserts.

The short dance program of classical ballet variations, lyrical and jazz dances was presented while the bids were being tallied. Audience members were then asked to join American tango teacher Priscilla Collums for a fun and engaging lesson in tango.

One special auction item was a pair of pointe shoes autographed by three Pelham graduates who all played football at the University of Alabama--Tyler Watts, Lane Bearden and Michael Proctor. Also up for bid were a luxury condo weekend at Orange Beach, a Brio gift certificate, clothing by Earth Creations, artwork, jewelry and more.

Sponsors for the event were Karyl Rice, pro-tem president of the Pelham City Council; Junior Davis & Associates; Maurice Mercer; Shirley Bailles of Nationwide Insurance and Crystal Wilkerson Photography.

Guests included Amy Patterson Knowles and Grace, Katherine Harper and Ava Grace, Craig Murray with Matthew and Emily and Matthew and Elizabeth Korcz with Nikolas and Thomas.

Others spotted at the event were Winnie Davis with Kennedy and Karrington, Brian Roy with Joseph and Rebecca, Melanie Douglas and Mykell, Bailey and Lila Killian with Claire and Randy and Shawne Sisk with Kathryn-Taylor, who recently competed in the Youth American Grand Prix.

From left: Gerda Carmichael, Fiona Shattuck, Melany Morgan and Annie McCarter.

Photos special to the Journal

Jody Coombs and Marie Claude Fortin.

Serge Bokobza and Sena Jeter Naslund.

Also attending the sixth annual Dessertissements were Amanda Willis-Brice, Amelia Self, Mary Rose Kitchens, Jimmy and Mary Louise Russell, Keith Knowles, Marta Portillo with Ivetthmaria, Janet Rooney and Porter Rooney with Thomas, Lizzie Hudson with

Alice, Thomas and Beth Findlay with Frances Rooney, Rick Goff with Henry, Tinia Bilich, Stephen and Susan White with Shelby, Charlie and Felicia Daniels with Zoey, Deyanira Garcia with Jaylin, Doni Doblado, Lynda Gilbert with Allie and Ana Lejava. ❖

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The Birmingham Chapter of the Alliance Francaise recently hosted a lecture and slide presentation by Birmingham native and bestselling author Sena Jeter Naslund.

The event was held Feb. 8 at Hulsey Recital Hall at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

The subject of Naslund’s presentation was the French artist Elizabeth Vigee-Lebrun, favorite portrait artist of Marie Antoinette. The artist has a major role in Naslund’s latest novel, “The Fountain of St. James Court or, Portrait of the Artist As an Old Woman.”

A reception was held afterward at the home of Alliance Francaise member Marie-Claude Fortin and her husband, Mark McCuiston.

Those attending the event included Dr. Serge Bokobza, president of the Alliance Francaise and chair of the Foreign Language Department at UAB, and Alliance members Melany Morgan, Kim Thomas, Scott Brown, David and Jody Coombs, Rob and Fiona Shattuck, Annie McCarter, Genevieve Blaudeau, Sarina Busutil, Jeanne Classe, Regina Smith, Gerda Carmichael and Bernard and Nancy Moore. ❖

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26 • Thursday, March 20, 2014

WEDDINGS & ENGAGEMENTS

Bair-Thistle

Doctors Steven Lowell Bair and Renée Allen Peacock of Birmingham announce the engagement of their daughter, Callen Jordan Bair, to Mr. William Theodore Thistle II, son of Mr. and Mrs. William Sanford Thistle of Decatur.

The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Murray Willard Bair of Birmingham and the late Dr. and Mrs. Charles Glenn Peacock.

Mr. Thistle is the grandson of Mrs. Margaret Thistle of Decatur, the late

Cox-Higginbotham

Mrs. Alice London Cox and Mr. John Charles Cox of Birmingham announce the engagement of their daughter, Helen Dorsey Cox, to Tyler Ross Higginbotham, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Robert Higginbotham of Birmingham.

The bride-elect is the granddaughter of the late Mrs. Helen Dugger London of Birmingham, the late Mr. John London of Tuscaloosa and the

Mr. William Theodore Thistle and the late Mr. and Mrs. Irving Washington Bankston.

Miss Bair is a 2001 graduate of Indian Springs School in Birmingham and graduated from Princeton University in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in art history. She received a juris doctorate with honors from Emory University School of Law in 2011 and is currently employed by Leitman, Siegel, Payne & Campbell, P.C. The prospective groom graduated as the valedictorian of Decatur High School in 1998. He earned a bachelor’s degree in science from Birmingham-Southern College, summa cum laude, in 2002 and received a master’s degree in tax accounting from the University of Alabama in 2003. Prior to attending law school, he worked as a certified public accountant. He obtained a juris doctorate, cum laude, from the University of Georgia in 2008.

Mr. Thistle is currently employed by Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP. The wedding is planned for March 22 at Highlands United Methodist Church in Birmingham. late Mr. and Mrs. Wilmore Pearson Cox of Birmingham.

Miss Cox is a graduate of Mountain Brook High School and the University of Mississippi, where she received a bachelor’s degree in business. She is a member of Chi Omega sorority and was presented at the Beaux Arts Krewe Ball, the Ball of Roses and the Carnival Memphis.

She is employed with Sterne Agee in Birmingham.

The prospective groom is the grandson of Mrs. Morris Cullen Higginbotham and the late Mr. Higginbotham of Birmingham, the late Mrs. Laura Poe Haupt of Birmingham, the late Mr. Charles Alfred Haupt of Pensacola, Fla., and Mrs. Charles Alfred Haupt of Pensacola.

Mr. Higginbotham is a graduate of Shades Valley High School and the University of Alabama, where he received a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree in accountancy. He is employed as a certified public accountant with JH Ranch.

A May wedding is planned.

Recently engaged or married?

Let us help you spread the word of your good news!

Send your announcement to editorial@otmj.com or visit www.otmj.com and fill out the form under “Forms, Issue and Info.”

Watson-Lukasiewicz

Amy Elizabeth Watson and Adam Macgregor Lukasiewicz were married May 18 at Brookwood Baptist Church. Dr. James Randolph Barnette officiated the ceremony.

The bride-elect is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John DeForest Watson III of Birmingham. The groom is the son of Ms. Kathleen

Blalock-Sanford

Ashley Elizabeth Blalock and Joshua Kyle Sanford were married Sept. 14 at First United Methodist Church in Tuscaloosa. The Rev. Mary Benefield officiated the ceremony.

The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Harry Blalock of Hoover and the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Lyle of Delta, Ms. Dorothy Lyle and Ms. Jeannette Blalock, both of Homewood, and the late Mr. Pugh Blalock.

The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Clapp and Mr. and Mrs. Eddy Sanford of Fayette. He is the grandson of Mrs. JoAnn Hayes and the late Mr. Billie V. Rasbury of Winfield and Ms. Louise Sanford and the late Mr. Jack Sanford of Fayette.

Given in marriage by her father, the bride was attended by her sisters, Abbey Blalock of New York and Shelby Blalock of Hoover, as maids of honor. Bridesmaids were Bevin Lyle Ellenburg and Katie Smith of Hoover, Regan Lyle of Vestavia Hills, Chelsea Aldred of Oxford, Megan Poss of Athens and Amy Sanford of Fayette.

Groomsmen were Eddy Sanford, Carl Clapp, Clark Sanford, James Mcalpin, Brian Guzewicz, Milton Bailey and Jose Martinez.

After a honeymoon trip to St. Lucia, the couple live in Northport.

OVER THE MOUNTAIN JOURNAL

Anne MacDonald and Mr. Peter Jan Lukasiewicz of Toronto, Canada.

Given in marriage by her father, the bride wore a gown of ivory lace

by New York designer Judd Waddell.

The re-embroidered French Alencon gown had a V-neckline with a low V-back and tiny covered buttons at the center back. The fit and flared dress swept to a chapel-length train.

Completing her ensemble was a chapel-length veil of ivory illusion inherited from the bride’s maternal family and redesigned for the bride.

Pinned to the bride’s bouquet was a 100-year-old brooch originally belonging to the groom’s maternal great-grandmother. As “something blue,” the bride carried a handkerchief with blue embroidery that originally belonged to her maternal greatgrandmother and that the bride’s mother also carried in her wedding.

Her earrings were inherited from her paternal grandmother.

The bride was attended by Sarah Elizabeth McKibben and Genevieve Adelle Purcell as maids of honor.

Askins-Robbins

Mr. and Mrs. David Glennis Askins Jr. of Vestavia Hills announce the engagement of their daughter, Jordan Elisabeth Askins, to Christopher Edward Lawrence, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Mark Edward Lawrence of Birmingham.

The bride-elect is the granddaughter of Col. and Mrs. William Kenneth Jordan of Athens, Ga., and the Rev. and Mrs. David Glennis Askins of Cullman.

Miss Askins is a 2008 graduate of Vestavia Hills High School and a 2012 magna cum laude graduate of the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She was a member of Phi Mu sorority, the University of Alabama Honors College, Kappa Delta Pi education honor society, Blue Key and Alpha Lambda Delta honor societies.

The prospective groom is the grandson of Mrs. Raymon Joseph Freeman and the late Mr. Raymon Joseph Freeman Jr. of Clanton and the late Mr. and Mrs. Claude Elton Lawrence of Antioch.

Mr. Lawrence is a 2008 graduate of Briarwood Christian High School and a 2012 graduate of the University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He is a project manager with Forestry Environmental Services in Birmingham.

The wedding will be March 29.

Bridesmaids were Emma Halina Lukasiewicz, Catherine Noel Morris, Sarah Elizabeth Morris, Laura Morgan Sims and Mary Kendal Spires.

The best man was Stephen Cheng Dobeck. Groomsmen were John Wasyl Grunyk, Graham Alexander Hood, Benjamin Matthew Lukasiewicz, Ritchell Roberto Jose VanDams Jr. and John DeForest Watson IV. Ushers were James Austin Hughston, Watson Edward Hughston, Matthew Scott Morris and John Randle Morris. Honorary ushers were Andrew Sparks Watson and James William Watson.

Readers were Halle Harris Lukasiewicz, Julia Sophie Lukasiewicz and Gregory Steven Morris. Greeters and program attendants were Anna Kathleen Hughston, Sarah Kathryn Hughston, Katherine Jean Morris and Rebecca Nan Morris.

After a honeymoon trip to Maui and Kauai, Hawaii, the couple live in New Haven, Conn.

Thursday, March 20, 2014 • 27

schools

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

homewood grown When: April 3, 10:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. Where: SOHO Square What: Homewood City Schools

Foundation fundraiser For more information: Visit homewoodcityschoolsfoundation. com.

The Foundation believes the spirit of the event goes beyond just Homewood City Schools, Kimbrell said.

“The ‘Homewood Grown’ theme can take on a lot of meanings. And

The Homewood City Schools Foundation will host the Homewood Grown fundraiser on April 3. Organizers pictured here at Shades Cahaba Elementary School are, from left: Jill Kimbrell, Rachel Stone, Superintendent Bill Cleveland and Amy McRae. Journal photo by Taylor Burgess

Cultivating Education

Schools Foundation Hosts Homewood Grown Community Dinner

By Taylor Burgess Journal intern

T

hough the Homewood City Schools Foundation’s April 3 community dinner, Homewood Grown, is primarily a fundraiser for Homewood schools, Foundation Director Amy McRae sees it as more.

The fundraising event, which will be held on the Terrace in SOHO Square in downtown Homewood, will celebrate the community and its schools in several ways, McRae said.

“There wasn’t an opportunity, or we weren’t aware of one, where we could all get together and just be together as a community and celebrate our schools,” McRae said.

“That’s what we were really looking for--a time to have a dinner and really celebrate what our community is.”

The Foundation itself exists for both of these purposes--to celebrate the Homewood community and school system and to raise money so they can remain strong, McRae said.

The Homewood school system includes Shades Cahaba Elementary School, Edgewood Elementary School, Hall-Kent Elementary School, Homewood Middle School and Homewood High School, all of which receive benefits from the Foundation.

The Homewood Grown dinner will mark the 20th anniversary of the Foundation, which raises significant funds for Homewood City Schools.

In 2013 alone, it raised $32,000 in grants funds for school programs and $25,000 for school libraries.

Also in 2013, the Foundation gathered the initial fees for 10 Homewood teachers to pursue National Board Certification and held a PSAT prep course for 16 of the top-scoring high school juniors in Homewood schools.

This year, the inaugural Homewood Grown event is the Foundation’s primary means of raising funds for these and other initiatives, event chairman Rachel Stone said.

The fundraiser grew out of a past Foundation project.

“For years, we had hosted what we called Showcase,” Stone said. “All the schools would come together at the (Homewood) Middle School and showcase different things the students had done throughout the year.”

Though initially a platform for the Foundation to show its care for the Homewood community, Showcase grew too large, Stone said.

“The message of the Foundation was not quite as clear as we wanted it to be at that event,” Stone said. “So we thought, what can we do to inform people, to celebrate Homewood, the Foundation and the schools and raise money for what is already a great school system?”

At the community dinner, a teach-

A teacher from each of the five Homewood City Schools will receive the Teacher Impact Award at the community dinner. er from each of the five Homewood City Schools will receive the Teacher Impact Award for his or her work in the lives of Homewood students.

“We asked parents, students and other teachers to nominate faculty that they feel have made a difference in the classroom,” McRae said. “Each teacher gets a $500 stipend for professional development and projects. It’s a way for us to recognize the great faculty we have in Homewood, which is why we’re all proud to be Homewood grown.”

Additionally, one Homewood High School senior will receive the 2014 Dr. Jodi Newton Scholarship.

“It’s a one-time, $1,000 scholarship, just for their first year of college,” Jill Kimbrell, Foundation board president, said. “We look at people going into public service fields. It’s

in honor of Dr. Newton, the former Homewood City Schools superintendent. Her mission was community service and leadership in the community. We look for those traits in the student who gets the award.”

During the evening, a special video of those who have benefited from their time in Homewood City Schools will be shown. This includes Aaron Ernest, a former wide receiver on Homewood High School’s football team who’s now a scholarship track athlete at Louisiana State University.

The Foundation believes Ernest to be an excellent example of what it means to be Homewood grown, Superintendent Bill Cleveland said.

“The video will go into some details about who impacted him and played a major role in the success that he continues to enjoy,” Cleveland said. “The message we’ve tried to capture here is what the system meant to these people, and it will be an important portion of that night.”

Food at the event will be provided

by Café Dupont, Kimbrell said.

Chris Dupont, Café Dupont chef and owner, has a child who is a student at Edgewood Elementary, according to Kimbrell.

Many local Homewood and Birmingham businesses make up the event’s corporate sponsors, Kimbrell said.

Event organizers said they are enthusiastic about the support the event has received.

“We were really hopeful that the community would embrace the event, and that has happened, very much so,” Kimbrell said.

Anticipating a successful event due to this support, Foundation members said they are hopeful about the future.

“We think this is a great opportunity to get people together,” McRae said. “We hope that will continue and that people will attend the event and plan to attend every year. Then alumni will come back to the event— students now will be coming back, hopefully with their kids.”

that can be going through the school system or being a part of a community, whatever that might be,” Kimbrell said. “It’s a great theme to pull the whole community together.”

Tickets to Homewood Grown are $100 per person and $1,000 for a table of 10. Tickets are available by phone from the Homewood City Schools Foundation at 706-8870 or online at homewoodgrown.eventbrite. com. The Foundation is currently almost sold out of tickets for the event, organizers said.

For more information about the Homewood City Schools Foundation, visit homewoodcityschoolsfoundation.com. ❖

28 • Thursday, March 20, 2014

schools

Shades Mountain Christian School ▪K3 - 12th Grades ▪Student/Teacher Ratio 12:1 ▪AHSAA Sports ▪Band, Theatre, Choir & Art

smcs.org

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Vestavia News Network Staff Tours Studio The Vestavia News Network broadcasting staff recently toured the studio at Fox 6 WBRC-TV. The students met Mickey Ferguson, anchor and lead forecaster, and Janice Rogers, anchor and producer. They watched a live news broadcast and observed the staff and crew behind the scenes during the production of the news.

The VNN staff produces a broadcast show each day at Vestavia Hills High School on closed-circuit TV. The students work as anchors, camera operators and directors. They use a Teleprompter, sound, video and graphics to inform the school’s students and staff during morning announcements.

Members of the VNN broadcasting staff taking the trip to the Fox 6 studio were Zoe Allen, Gabby Pettway, Joanna Gaylard, Mary Smyth, Caroline Christie, Paris Malensek and Andrew Abele.

Deana Goodwine is the faculty coordinator for VNN.

Pence Wins Teacher of the Year Award

The director of the Homewood High School band was recently honored for his contribution to the school and the community.

Ron Pence was presented with the Limbaugh Toyota/Pat Patrick’s Friday Night Football Teacher of the Year award on Jan. 23.

The award Alisa Ron Pence program Over The Mountain Journal, phone 205-823-9646, fax 205-824-1246 recognizes administrators, teachers, March staff members and school volunteers.

This is your AD prOOF from the Over The MOunTAin JOurnAl forEach the week during the regular season, March 14, 2014 issue. please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.a Teacher of the Week award is presented, and each honoree is invited to be recognized at the annual awards banquet where the Teacher of the Year is announced.

This year’s banquet was held at the please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

Birmingham Marriott on U.S. 280. Guest if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, speaker was Joey Jones, the University your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday. of South Alabama’s head football coach.

The Homewood High School Jazz Thank you for your prompt attention.

Band performed before the awards program.

Call to arrange a tour

205-978-6001

please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number!

OTM Students Nominated to Service Academies U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby recently announced the names of Over the Mountain students who have been nominated to U.S. service academies, including the U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

Among the students nominated were Tyler Cox, the son of William and Gina Cox of Mountain Brook. Cox is a student at Furman University and was nominated to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

Davis Sessamen, the son of Harry and Leah Sessamen of Hoover and a student at Spain Park High School, was nominated to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy.

Members of the Vestavia News Network broadcasting staff at Vestavia Hills High School recently met Mickey Ferguson, left, and Janice Rogers, right, during a tour of the Fox 6 studio in Birmingham. Back, from left: Zoe Allen, Gabby Pettway, Joanna Gaylard, Mary Smyth, Caroline Christie, faculty coordinator Deana Goodwine, Paris Malensek and Andrew Abele.

Photo special to the Journal

Ruben “Fisher” Watkins, the son of James and Amy Watkins of Birmingham and a student at Shades Mountain Independent Church Academy, was nominated to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.

“Furthering one’s education at our nation’s service academies is remarkable,” Shelby said. “These students have shown exemplary performance in the classroom and in their extracurricular activities. The selection process for the academies is extremely competitive, and I am pleased to be able to nominate these students from Jefferson County.”

Although Shelby nominated the students, the academies to which they were nominated will make the final selections.

Cherokee Bend Hosts Writers’ Festival Several authors recently visited Cherokee Bend Elementary School in Mountain Brook for the school’s annual Mountain Brook Writers’ Festival.

PTO volunteers from Mountain Brook Elementary, Brookwood Forest Elementary and Cherokee Bend Elementary spent hours planning the annual event, held Feb. 25-27.

Among the authors joining in the celebration of reading and writing were Kate Feiffer, George O’Connor, Heather Montgomery and Barbara McClintock.

During the three-day event, the authors shared their writing and revision processes, lessons on cartooning and tips for using their personal stories to craft graphic novels. Students had the opportunity each day to meet with and interact with the authors and to

participate in several workshops.

Students also could purchase the authors’ books and have them signed.

Bluff Park Elementary School student William Morrison visits with Clifford during the school’s recent book fair and Literacy Night Fiesta.

Photo special to the Journal

Bluff Park Celebrates with Literacy Night Fiesta Bluff Park Elementary School recently celebrated books and reading at its Literacy Night Fiesta.

The Jan. 23 event kicked off the school’s annual book fair. Students were encouraged to participate in a book swap during the event.

The students had a chance to shop for books at the fair and to trade books with their classmates.

Clifford the Big Red Dog made an appearance at Literacy Fiesta Night to encourage students to keep reading.

Author George O’Connor, far right, visited Cherokee Bend Elementary School in February for the school’s annual Mountain Brook Writers’ Festival.

From left: Second-graders Henry Huffman, Billy Huffman and Drew Bodnar.

Photo special to the Journal

Thursday, March 20, 2014 • 29

schools

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Hoover High School’s Beauty Walk was held Feb. 15. From left: Caroline Dunn, Emily Abernathy, Abbey Walker, Hannah Shultz, Principal Don Hulin, Dani Dean and Melissa Bryant. Photo special to the Journal

Hoover High School Hosts 50th Annual Beauty Walk

be combined to create a 32,000-square foot work of art.

Hannah Shultz was named Miss Senior Class 2014 in a Hoover High School tradition stretching back half a century.

Shultz won the title at Hoover High School’s 50th annual Beauty Walk held Feb. 15 at the Alabama Theatre in downtown Birmingham.

The event originated at W.A. Berry High School.

The theme for the 2014 Beauty Walk was “A Fairytale Ending.”

Eighty senior girls participated. They were escorted by 20 senior boys and were nominated by the Hoover High School faculty and chosen by the senior class officers.

The Top 10 contestants were Anna Beth Mann, Abby Polinsky, Abbey Walker, Jessica Wang, Emily Abernathy, Melissa Bryant, Caroline Conrad, Hannah Shultz, Dani Dean and Rayna Beimal.

Caroline Dunn was named Miss Congeniality by the other contestants.

Emily Abernathy was first runner-up, Abbey Walker was second runner-up, Danni Dean was third runner-up and Melissa Bryant was fourth runner-up.

Schultz is the daughter of Joy and Bill Shultz.

Hoover High School Principal Don Hulin was on hand to congratulate the winners and other contestants.

James Spann and Miss Alabama 2012 Anna Laura Bryan served as master and mistress of ceremonies.

Entertainment was provided by Hoover High School’s Ten Bucs Worth, Kara Young and Clay Jones and the Elliott Davis Band.

Spain Park’s 2014 Beauty Walk Winners Named Hannah Floyd was the senior winner in Spain Park High School’s 2014 Beauty Walk.

The annual event was held at the school on Feb. 1.

From the senior class, Carlie Nall was first runner-up, Anna Shepherd was second runner-up and Bailey Pereira was third runner-up. Shepherd was also named most photogenic.

Rebekah Richardson was crowned Miss Congeniality.

The junior class winner was AnaCecilia Rush. The first runner-up was Grayson Parker, and the second runner-up was Victoria Philips. Philips also won the Miss Congeniality title.

Caroline Wells was chosen as most photogenic.

From the sophomore class, Caitlin Lott was the winner. Chase Barton was named first runner-up, Miss Congeniality and most photogenic.

From the freshman class, Brennen Cooke was the winner and was also named most photogenic. Taylor Ann Brent was first runner-up, Julia Sbrissa was second runner-up and the third runner-up was Elise Lapinski. Lauren Lovell was named fourth runner-up and Miss Congeniality. ❖

Shades Mountain Christian School ▪K3 - 12th Grades ▪Student/Teacher Ratio 12:1 ▪AHSAA Sports ▪Band, Theatre, Choir & Art

smcs.org Call to arrange a tour

205-978-6001

To: Alisa From: Over The Mountain Journal, phone 205-823-9646, fax 205-824-1246 Date: March Senior winners in the annual Spain Park High School Beauty Walk were, from left: Bailey Pereira, third runner-up; Anna Shepherd, most photogenic and This is your AD prOOF from the Over The MOunTAin JOurnAl for the second runner-up; Hannah Floyd, winner; Carlie Nall, first runner-up; and March 14, 2014 issue. please fax approval or changes to 824-1246.

Rebekah Richardson, Miss Congeniality. Photo courtesy of Belmont Studios

please make sure all information is correct, including address and phone number! please initial and fax back within 24 hours.

if we have not heard from you by 5 pm of the Friday before the press date, your ad will run as is. We print the paper Monday.

Thank you for your prompt attention.

GREAT CLIPS

N.E. Miles Students in International Art Project Students from N.E. Miles Jewish Day School are participating in a project that is bringing international student artwork to Alabama.

The students have created artwork for the Dream Rocket project, which will include thousands of pieces of art from students around the world. The artwork will be used to wrap the Saturn V Moon Rocket at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville.

The Saturn V wrapping exhibit will be on display at the space and rocket center in Huntsville May 1-June 30.

For the Dream Rocket project, students were asked to imagine the future and their contributions to that future. The artwork representing their individual dreams and aspirations will

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30 • Thursday, March 20, 2014

sports

Red Diamond Offers Grand Prix Tickets

Spartans’ Shea Signs with Auburn

Courtney Shea, a senior at Mountain Brook High School, has signed to play softball at Auburn University.

She is the second in her family to sign a scholarship with the Tigers, and will wear the same number as her father, Richard, who wore #93 when he played football at Auburn.

Courtney has been a member of the varsity team at Mountain Brook since seventh grade. She has been selected to the All-South/All-Hoover and the All Over the Mountain teams for the past three seasons. Courtney was also a 2013 All-State first team selection for her play as the Spartans’ catcher and first baseman. Courtney plays travel ball for the Birmingham Thunderbolts. This season she was named to the StudentSports.com Top 100 Seniors. Courtney is the daughter of Beth and Richard Shea of Mountain Brook. Her high school

Alex Carroll a Goal Keeper from Vestavia Hills High School recently signed her National Letter of Intent to play soccer at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C. She is joined at her signing ceremony by her parents Steve and Julie Carroll, her sister Catherine, her high school coach Brigid Littleton, and her club coach A.J. Adcock of Vestavia Hills Soccer Club.

Photo special to the Journal

Photo special to the Journal

Rebels Carroll Signs with Wofford

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

coaches are Kaitlyn Griffin and Leslie Batts, and her travel ball coaches are Rock Thompson, Katelyn Boyd and Kaylyn Castillo.With Courtney at her signing are parents Richard and Beth Shea, and sister Caroline.

Red Diamond recently announced that it is making 10,000 free tickets to the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama available through a redeemable code on specially marked cans of Red Diamond Classic coffee.

The cans are now available while supplies last.

The Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama will be April 27 at Barber Motorsports. The Red Diamond Fan Zone will feature Indy Car drivers, including Helio Castroneves, Will Power, Ryan Hunter-Reay and Marco Andretti, signing autographs and meeting and greeting fans.

The code will be available in the 34.5ounce cans of the Red Diamond coffee.

“We are excited to unite Red Diamond fans and fans of racing for a unique experience,” said Wilbur Christy, Red Diamond’s director of innovation.

For more information, visit www. reddiamond.com.

Greystone Golf and Country Club Wins State

Homewood Fourth-Grade Boys Make it to Finals

The Homewood fourth-grade Over the Mountain team made it to the finals against Oak Mountain recently. The team finished in second place in the tourney, capping off a great season. Team members are, from left, front: Reese Wallace, Peter Griggs, J.C. Daniel, Fox Landgren, Harrison Sims and Brian Condon. Back: Team Manager Joe Daniel, Sam Malone, Christian Thompson, Coach Kreg Newman, Donté Bacchus and Coach Will Gardner.

The Nicks Win Rec League Title in Dramatic Fashion

The fifth-grade rec league Vestavia basketball team, The Nicks, lead by coaches Barry Brown and Paul Elliot took the league championship recently with an exciting 33-30 overtime win. Team member are, from left, front: Beau Brown, Hayden Marbut and Aidan Behr. Back: Micah Moon, Micah Roberson, Troy Saunders, John Elliot and Nathan Coe. Coaches Barry Brown and Paul Elliot are also pictured. Photo special to the Journal

Greystone Golf and Country Club USTA 6.5 Combo Team, after winning the state championship traveled to Dothan for the USTA Southern Regional Championship. The team competed against other states in the Southern Region that include Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi and Louisiana finishing third in the tournament.

Team members are: Paige Ware, Captain Vickie Brewer, Co-Captain Stefany Roberts, Amy Browning, Katrina Sanderson, Stacey Knouse, Nicole Stewart, Kristi Kendrick, Kim Yarbrough, Melissa Cissell and Michele Packard.

Photo special to the Journal

davis,

From page 32

Auburn University. And Homewood certainly won’t have any trouble finding another quality football coach. But if I was interviewing for the Homewood job, I’d want to know exactly what was expected from me up front, both in the win column and off the field.

Another head-turning coaching change was the unexpected resignation of Larry Harbin as the head boys’ basketball coach at John Carroll Catholic. Harbin probably has the longest tenure of any basketball coach in Jefferson County–if not all of Alabama–with a distinguished career at multiple schools that began with the 1973-74 season. His stops included Berry and McAdory, and he coached the John Carroll girls’ team before taking over the boys’ program five years ago.

In his years at Berry, Harbin was a close friend and protégé of the late Bob Finley and closely resembled his former boss in his approach to high school athletics. Harbin wasn’t interested in self-promotion; his primary interest was in developing the young people under his leadership into better citizens through participation in sports.

“The main thing is that I just love working with the kids,” Harbin said when contacted last week. “That’s the part I will miss more than anything. For 40 years, this has been my life.

I’m not really interested in doing anything else.”

Harbin didn’t rule out a return to coaching, if

the “right opportunity” arose.

Just as is the case with Homewood and Goodwin, this story will have a happy ending. John Carroll will hire a quality coach, and Harbin will find another coaching job if he wants one. But somehow the Cavalier program won’t be quite the same without his influence and legacy.

Hail to the Champs

Tom Lovelady and Robbie Prater, former golf stars at Mountain Brook and Spain Park,

respectively, had the thrill of a lifetime last week. Both are members of the University of Alabama men’s golf team.

The Crimson Tide, which won the 2013 NCAA championship, earned a tour of Washington, D.C. The trip included a visit to the U.S. Capitol and a White House meeting with President Barack Obama.

While the merits of Obama’s policies are subject to debate, Lovelady came away from Pennsylvania Avenue highly impressed with the president on a personal level.

“Whether you voted for him or not, he’s a

really cool guy,” Lovelady said. “The president is a busy man, but he took a lot of time to visit with us and was interested in us.”

An avid golfer, Obama also asked the national champions for some friendly advice.

“The president said his bunker game had been really bad,” Lovelady said. “He had just gotten back from Florida where he had played a lot of golf and said his driving was good but he needed help with his short game. So we gave him a few tips.”

The White House visit also included a short tour of several rooms in the executive mansion and a surprise visit from U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.

“Mr. Kerry just happened to walk in while we were there and came by to say hello,” Lovelady said. “It was a memorable day all around.”

Just Like Old Times

President Obama welcomed the University of Alabama golf team, which won the 2013 national championship, to the White House March 10. In the group were former Over the Mountain golfers Robbie Prater, seated, far left, and Tom Lovelady, seated, far right. Photo special to the Journal

Another pair of former Over the Mountain greats turned in big performances on the diamond this past weekend.

Former Spain Park baseball star Mikey White, now on the Alabama baseball team, started a rare triple play in the Crimson Tide’s 3-0 win over Kentucky. The play qualified for the highlight reel on ESPN’s SportsCenter.

Former Hoover softball standout Marcy Harper, now an ace pitcher at Auburn University, pitched a five-inning no-hitter against Radford University. Harper’s victory also rated time on SportsCenter.

Thursday, March 20, 2014 • 31

sports

OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Mountain Brook Wins First Weinacker Invitational The first annual Marcia Weinacker Invitational high school tennis tournament honored an Alabama woman who was a standout in the sport.

Marcia Weinacker is now in the later stages of Alzheimer’s disease, according to her son, Jimmy Weinacker, tournament director. During her playing days, she was ranked No. 1 in every Alabama age division from 35-75 and has been inducted into the Alabama and Mobile Tennis Hall of Fames, he said.

Marcia Weinacker also taught all nine of her children to play tennis, has a son in the Alabama Tennis Hall of Fame and has a grandson who was an All-American tennis player at North Carolina State University, her son

said.

Jimmy Weinacker said another purpose for the tournament, held at Birmingham-Southern College March 7-8, was to “have the top tennis teams, both boys and girls, in the state, regardless of classification, play each other.”

High school boys’ teams playing in the event were Mountain Brook, UMS-Wright, Montgomery Academy and Huntsville High.

High school girls’ teams in the tournament were Mountain Brook, Briarwood Christian, Montgomery Academy and Huntsville High.

Mountain Brook High School’s teams won both the boys’ and girls’ titles. Susan Farlow coaches both teams.

girls’ otm team,

Spain Park’s Victoria Baldwin, 2013-14 Girls’ Player of the Year, and Spain Park Coach Mike Chase, 2013-14 Girls’ Coach of the Year.

From page 32

cess was the play of junior guard Victoria Baldwin. She averaged 18 points and six rebounds per game and will enter her senior season as one of the most highly-regarded girls’ basketball players in Alabama.

With credentials like that, it’s no surprise that Baldwin was chosen as the 2013-14 Over the Mountain Girls’ Basketball Player of the Year by an exclusive poll of the eight head coaches of area schools that compete in Classes 6A and 5A. The coaches also chose the 201314 All-Over the Mountain Girls’ Basketball Team and the Coach of the Year.

Spain Park’s Mike Chase was chosen as the year’s top coach.

“Any award that I receive is really for our girls,” Chase said. “It is a trib-

Boys’ otm team, From page 32

loss of numerous key players from the first championship team, Mountain Brook rebounded with a 34-3 mark and clinched a second consecutive crown with a dramatic 60-57 win over Blount. Just call it–dare we say it again–Dunk Dynasty.

“It goes back to our saying–we find a way,” said Spartan coach Bucky McMillan after the championship game. “We find a way to get it done.

There is a lot of heart in our players.”

The now-legendary heart of the Mountain Brook players was reflected in tangible ways, not only with a state championship but also with a dominating presence on the 2013-14 All-Over

Mountain Brook High School’s teams won both the boys’ and girls’ titles.

Susan Farlow coaches both teams.

Journal photo by Marvin Gentry

ute to the hard work and effort they put into our season. Please give all the credit to them.”

Baldwin is joined on the unit by the Mountain Boys’ Basketball Team, which was selected by an exclusive poll of the head coaches of the eight schools that play in Class 6A or 5A. All five Spartan starters–TaWarren Grant, Patrick Keim, Alex Peters, Ben Sherer and Jack Kline–earned spots on the unit. Grant and Keim were chosen as Co-Players of the Year, and McMillan was picked as Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.

“This is a fitting tribute to our team,” McMillan said. “It reflects the team concept that we have built over the last two seasons. This also speaks to the support we have received from the school, the administration, the student body, the parents and the Mountain Brook community overall.”

Keim, a senior point guard, aver-

Jaguar teammate Keyasha Gordon.

Mountain Brook’s Collier Ogilvie was chosen for the All-Over the Mountain team for the fifth consecutive season, making her the first-ever five-time selection.

Other members of the AllOver the Mountain team include Molly McKenzie, Briarwood; Roni Richardson and Ify Ifediba, John Carroll Catholic; Hannah Barber and Alex Studdard, Homewood; Jada Smith, Hoover; Sara Carr and Mary Katherine Pinson, Mountain Brook; Christian McGowan, Madison Pierce and D’miyah Foster, Oak Mountain; and Peyton Blalock and Brittany Nkashama, Vestavia Hills. aged nine points and four assists a game, but his statistics did not speak to his full value to the Mountain Brook cause.

“Patrick is the greatest leader I’ve ever seen in sports,” McMillan said.

“Everyone knew that he always had the team’s best interest at heart all the time. In so many ways, Patrick was the glue that held us together.”

To:13 Grant, a junior guard, averaged points and five rebounds per contest.

From: He scored 22 points in the championship final and was named Date: Most Valuable Player of the state 6A tournament.

“This was the hardest working team I’ve ever seen,” Grant said. “This was not about any individual. Nobody cared who scored. It was all about working hard, playing defense and winning. That’s all.”

Other players on the All-Over the Mountain team include Justin Brown and Josh Laatsch, Briarwood; Devin Hill, John Carroll Catholic; Malik Cook and Owen Ferguson, Homewood; Quamauri Hardy and Austin Cherry, Hoover; Pierce Clarke, Oak Mountain; John Segrest and Austin Wiley, Spain Park; and Landon Crowder and Michael Morton, Vestavia Hills.

From left: Mountain Brook’s TaWarren Grant, 2013-14 Boys’ Co-Player of the Year; Mountain Brook Coach Bucky McMillan, 2013-14 Boys’ Coach of the Year; and the Spartans’ Patrick Keim, 2013-14 Boys’ Co-Player of the Year. Journal photo by Marvin Gentry

Photos special to the Journal

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OVER THE MOUNTAIN Journal

Thursday, March 20, 2014

Spartan Quest

Sports

Mountain Brook Wins First Weinacker Invitational P. 31 Former OTM Golfers Get White House Tour P. 30

Mountain Brook’s State Champs Dominate All-OTM Team

Lee Davis

Coaching Carousel

By Lee Davis

Journal Sports Writer

Mountain Brook basketball fans never thought anything would get better than the 2012-13 season, when the Spartans won their first-ever Class 6A state championship.

They were wrong.

Incredibly, the season that followed was even better. Despite the See boys’ otm team, page 31

Recent Changes Raise Questions

Members of the 2013-14 All-Over the Mountain Boys’ Basketball Team are, from left, front: Pierce Clarke, Oak Mountain; Michael Morton, Vestavia Hills; Landon Crowder, Vestavia Hills; Owen Ferguson, Homewood; Ben Shearer, Mountain Brook; Quamauri Hardy, Hoover; Devin Hill, John Carroll Catholic. Second row: Jack Kline, Mountain Brook; Josh Laatsch, Briarwood; Austin Cherry, Hoover; Patrick Keim, Mountain Brook; John Segrest, Spain Park. Third row: Austin Wiley, Spain Park; Alex Peters, Mountain Brook; TaWarren Grant, Mountain Brook; and Coach of the Year Bucky McMillan, Mountain Brook. Not pictured: Justin Brown, Briarwood; Malik Cook, Homewood.

Journal photos by Marvin Gentry

Victoria’s Station

Members of the 2013-14 All-Over the Mountain Girls’ Basketball Team are, from left, front: D’Miyah Foster, Oak Mountain; Roni Richardson, John Carroll Catholic; Hannah Barber, Homewood; Alex Studdard, Homewood.

Second row: Brittany Nkashama, Vestavia Hills; Madison Pierce, Oak Mountain; Christian McGowan, Oak Mountain; Victoria Baldwin, Spain Park.

Third row: Coach of the Year Mike Chase, Spain Park; Keyasha Gordon, Spain Park; Peyton Blalock, Vestavia Hills; Mary Katherine Pinson, Mountain Brook; and Collier Ogilvie, Mountain Brook. Not pictured: Molly McKenzie, Briarwood; Ify Ifediba, John Carroll Catholic; Jada Smith, Hoover; Sara Carr, Mountain Brook.

Spain Park’s Baldwin and Chase Lead Girls’ All-OTMTeam

By Lee Davis

Journal Sports Writer

Spain Park’s comparatively young history perhaps has never seen a better girls’ basketball season than the one it enjoyed in 2013-14.

The Lady Jaguars compiled an impressive 26-8 record, won their region and advanced to the Class 6A Northeast Regional finals.

A big reason for Spain Park’s sucSee girls otm team, page 31

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n Alabama high school athletics, February’s conclusion usually means basketball tournaments and the early stirrings of baseball, softball, soccer and outdoor track.

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The wave began with the announcement that Doug Goodwin had been dismissed as the head football coach of the Homewood Patriots after only three seasons. This firing was puzzling because Goodwin had posted a 23-10 record with the Patriots, won two region titles and had effectively returned Homewood to its longtime spot as one of the elite programs in Class 5A. No real reason was given by the Patriot brass as to why Goodwin was released, and the coach himself seemed to be surprised by the action as well. The phrase “he wasn’t a good fit” was the most common cliché used by people close to the Homewood program when offering an explanation, although the meaning of that comment brings more questions than answers.

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