The Homewood Star Volume 5 | Issue 6 | September 2015
neighborly news & entertainment for Homewood
Park jam
Pickin’ in the Park Acoustic Music Festival is returning to Homewood Central Park this month. Find all the details inside this issue.
Community page B2
See ya, summer
Gone to the dogs Homewood discussing new dog regulations By SYDNEY CROMWELL
Summer might be over, but the memories live on. See the winners from our annual Summer Fun Photo Contest inside.
Photo Contest page B10
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People are always walking up and down Ann Haden’s West Homewood street. In the last month, however, she noticed that several of them have been carrying golf clubs and baseball bats. It didn’t make sense until Haden heard that her friend, Homewood animal control officer Robbie Bagby Hurst, had responded to several recent dog attacks, one of them nearby. She realized her neighbors who walked by were scared of loose dogs.
Joshua Gough plays with his dogs at Patriot Park. Gough created a Facebook page to advocate against breed-specific legislation after the issue came before the city recently. Photo by Keith McCoy.
“That really kind of horrified me,” said Haden, who had never previously felt unsafe in her neighborhood. “You don’t normally see people walking through West Homewood with weapons. You just don’t see it.” The city of Homewood has begun considering ways to strengthen its current ordinances in response to eight attacks that have happened since October 2014. These incidents included five attacks on humans and three on pets. In one case on July 6, a pair of loose pit bulls attacked multiple people, including the responding police officer, and one of the dogs was shot
and later euthanized. The public safety committee, which has been considering new ordinances, and many residents agree that change needs to be made to protect the public and punish irresponsible dog owners. No one can agree, however, on the best route to achieve that. Pit bull problems Early committee discussion in July included
See DOGS | page A22
Katrina’s
wake
By MADOLINE MARKHAM Hurricane Katrina was a life-altering force. Its waters rose up tens of feet in New Orleans. Its surge breached levees, wrecked buildings and ended lives. It stranded residents all over the country, some of them nearly 400 miles away in a city known as Homewood. Ten years have passed since Aug. 29, 2005, but for people in the wake of the storm, the weeks and months and years of transition that followed are still vivid. Here, we share the stories of some of those who came to Homewood. On the front lines Beverly Vappie, 11, and her mom, Jean, came up to Birmingham on Aug. 28, 2005, to be near an aunt who lived in Birmingham. However, her dad,
See KATRINA | page A21
Russell and Jean Vappie reminisce with HHS Band Director Ron Pence on a recent trip back to Homewood. The Vappies lived in Homewood following Katrina and were band booster presidents in 2011. Photo by Keith McCoy.
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