Helena City News

Hele H elena Ciitttyy New elen Newwss Serving the City of Helena and surrounding area

Spring 2016

SGT. CHARLES HUDSON— HUMBLE HERO QUICK THINKING SAVES THE LIFE OF MAN IN SEVERE CAR ACCIDENT NEAR FOX VALLEY

SATURDAY, APRIL 23

JOIN THE COMMUNITY IN BUCK CREEK FESTIVAL ONLY A SPRING SPORTS UNDERWAY ON CELEBRATING FOUNDER’S DAY FEW SHORT WEEKS AWAY FIELDS ALL ACROSS HELENA The third annual free event takes place April 23 at the Helena Amphitheatre

Information on the musical acts, ride tickets, Check for pictures of your favorite high school or youth ball players inside parking, vendors and more is inside

www.MyHelenaCityNews.com / www.CityofHelena.org

FROM THE MAYOR

Greetings!

I hope this edition of the Helena City News finds you all well! Spring is here, and that opens the door for many outdoor events and activities!

I would like to extend a big thanks to all our great volunteers that help in a variety with those activities. Of special note are groups such as the Beautification Board, who have been busy sprucing up the Old Town district for spring and summer with flower beds and hanging baskets. This group is comprised of dedicated volunteers who work hard to help make Helena

beautiful this time of year, and we greatly appreciate them.

Also, a huge thanks goes out to the Youth League Baseball and Softball staff and volunteers who put on an incredible opening day ceremony at the Sports Complex, where hundreds of parents, grandparents and youth league teams gathered to celebrate the start of an exciting new season!

The annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Amphitheatre was a great success this year! HHS students and the Helena Belles provided much needed assistance to insure that all the children had a great time. The 2nd Annual Founder’s Day event and Buck Creek Festival are right around

Mayor Mark Hall poses with Katie Gentry, a University of Alabama student and speaker for the non-profit Soles4Souls organization in Helena. The organization collects old shoes at two locations in Helena—at Helena City Hall and the Helena Sports Complex. They will accept shoes in any size and any condition, because after collection, the shoes will be completely rebuilt and provided to those in need across the state.

2 Spring 2016 / www.CityOfHelena.org

the corner, and don’t forget the monthly First Fridays in Old Town have returned again this year, while Farmer’s Market Saturdays are set to begin in June. These events are put on almost entirely by a dedicated group of volunteers who I greatly appreciate! Thank you for making Helena the best place to be for spring and summer events.

I would like to offer a special thanks to Kayla Perry’s Open Hands Overflowing Hearts Foundation for having their 2nd Annual “Race for Their Lives” 5k and 10K race here in Helena. Almost 1000 runners participated in this year’s event to help raise funds to end childhood cancer. I would also like to thank Helena High School Soccer for inviting me and my loyal pet Rat Terrier, Lil’ Eddie, to start the race at the 1st annual “Mustachness 5k & 8K Soccer Benefit Run” at Helena High. We will be looking forward to that again next year!

These events are a great way to promote healthy living for a good cause, and we are always happy to be involved.

You may have noticed that we have recently added some new banners in Old Town and throughout the city. Some of the banners we have up in the old Town area feature a photograph of a Cahaba Lily taken by Helena resident John K. Hodge.

The photo was transformed into a watercolor type print for the banners. John is well-known for his stunning landscape

photos around our area, and we appreciate him letting us use the image for our city banners.

Renovations continue at our Waste Water Treatment Facility. It has been a challenge for the staff and engineers there, but it will be well worth the difficulty when completed. The renovations were mandated by stricter permit requirements from the EPA and ADEM that the existing facility simply could not meet, these upgrades are major priorities for us so that we bring our facility up to the highest standards and regulatory compliance mandates.

If you see a police officer, firefighter or other city employee, please take a moment to thank them for all their dedicated efforts and hard work.

From cutting grass, to preparing playing fields, to making repairs and providing a safe and a secure environment for our residents, Helena could not be what it is without their dedicated efforts.

I appreciate them so much for all that they do! If you have not been to HHS for high school baseball, softball, soccer or a track meet, be sure you try to go! All of our teams have a real chance to compete for a state championship this season. I hope to see you there. Have a great spring everyone…be safe and be blessed!

Best Wishes,

Mark Mark

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ANNUAL HELENA EASTER EGG HUNT

The 2016 Easter Egg Hunt was a great success again this year, due to so many willing volunteers including the Helena Belles and generous sponsors.

Thanks to Christian Life Church for providing goodie bags for participants, and a special thanks to Dr. Priscila Denny and Oak Mountain Orthodontics. For the 8th year, she donated the prize baskets for each age group in the hunt. Dr. Denny is proud to be a community sponsor for many city and school events.

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Dave Smith uses Jackie Droxler eating plan to cut fat fast and regain health I have always been a big eater. From my earliest years, I remember huge Sunday lunches after church at my grandmother’s house and watching as my dad and uncles piled their plates three layers deep with my Grandmother encouraging them the whole way in their gluttony, as if the one who ate the most would surely win some prize. (They did, as two of the three checked out prematurely from life.)

And then I can remember a second lesson in food consumption: “David, you must clean your plate before you can have dessert.” I did, because everybody knows I have the world’s biggest sweet tooth!

Over the years, after going from an 18-year-old with six-pack abs and a tight, muscularly inclined body to a waddling five and a half foot dough boy by my late 20s, I have done my best to reteach myself over the years about “proper” nutrition and exercise.

Of course, it seems that each generation manages to one-up itself on this. Which is as it is with most things in life. I mean, SUVs followed horses and buggies, right?

My health seems to follow the same winding course as my nutrition habits. Which have been the pits the past few years.

I suffered a stroke in 2011 and was placed on several blood pressure medications to keep my heart pumping at a healthy rate.

Those meds took a real toll on my vim and vigor. I became a couch potato eating whenever and whatever I wanted. I knew better and I thought I knew something about proper nutrition, but proper nutrition changes according to

who you listen to and what you read, I have found.

I heard from more than one doctor over the past few years that carbohydrates were not as easily metabolized after a person reaches middle age, and that a good nutrition plan calls for limiting the sugar one consumes. In fact, this could be said for most ages unless one is a competitive athlete burning thousands of calories a day.

Now when I say sugar, I’m not just talking about the white, processed, powdery stuff on most every table in America. No, you see, our body is a master chemist; it takes practically every starchy food we eat and converts it so rapidly to sugar that we might just as well go ahead and shovel the powdery stuff in. Breads, potatoes, rice, pasta and chips are all as likely to mess with a weight loss plan as would Susie Qs or Twinkies.

After eating what I thought was a healthy diet for a couple of months and still not losing that much weight on my own, I decided to consult an expert.

Jackie Droxler, a trainer at Snap Fitness Helena, is a former strength and conditioning coach for Jacksonville State University.

Jackie is a quiet spoken man who knows his business, and so I asked him for his help.

Jackie shared an eating plan with me that is available to anybody who is a member at Snap Fitness Helena. It was developed by a fellow strength and conditioning coach, and take it from a guy who has been there and done that before when it comes to diets and weight loss,

this plan beats anything I have ever seen.

Jackie gets upset if you call it a diet, though. “If you plan to lose the weight and keep it off,” he said, “this is the way you’re going to have to learn to eat.”

So I began down the path to a better way of eating.

The small part I’ll share here is that it is not a “lose weight fast plan” (though you do lose it fast), and it is certainly not a starvation plan. Instead, it is an eating plan that does not allow your body to rest.

The one thing you do that burns more calories than anything else in a day is to digest a meal.

And you’ll eat lots of them on this plan (three meals and two or three snacks a day in my case).

You do change your eating habits to eliminate sugar in nearly all its forms, but not such that your body goes into a dangerous state like ketosis and feeds on healthy muscle tissue. (You

consume a healthy amount of fruit on the plan to prevent this.)

My typical breakfast is eggs (two whole/two whites) scrambled with diced bell peppers sauteed in a little olive oil, a huge link of turkey sausage and a giant, cut up tomato. A cup of skim milk and a cup of coffee round out my morning meal.

Lunch is usually a ground turkey patty (93/7) with another cut up tomato and steamed broccoli, maybe a side salad with spring mix and balsamic vinaigrette dressing, and something similar for dinner.

My snacks for the most part have consisted of Dannon Oikos Greek yogurt and a piece of fruit.

(Sometimes I’ll have my fruit as a salad topper.)

Jackie gives you a list of foods to select from when you are on the initial reduction phase that I’m on now, so that you can devise a plan that includes your own favorites.

Forbidden is sugar in any form

and artificial sweeteners, which not only have been linked by various sources to multiple health issues but are also known to rev up one’s cravings for bad fats and sugars, the things you want to avoid at all costs.

Jackie’s eating plan recommends the use of Stevia based products for any sweetening needed, such as a cup of coffee in the morning.

Oh yes, and the plan requires that you drink 4 ozs of warm water with lemon juice to start off every morning. I’m not sure what this does exactly, but Jackie says it’s a must, and so I do it. (I am not going to argue with success.)

As they say, the proof is in the pudding though. I have been on the plan for nearly two months at press time. Starting at nearly 240 lbs, I tipped the scales at the doctor’s office this morning at 212 lbs., the same weight I was before I stopped working out after my stroke in 2011.

Oh, did I mention that I tore my meniscus this past November and have not even started back exercising yet?

That’s right, all this weight loss and not a single work out yet. Just healthy, smart eating that avoids certain trouble foods and requires you to eat certain others. Jackie says the weight is really going to start ripping off when I get myself back in the gym, which I plan to do in the next few weeks after my knee is repaired.

My doctor has also begun to scale back my blood pressure medicine as an extra health benefit, so the vim and vigor is returning, too.

I wish I’d have gotten with this program 20 years ago. But I probably wouldn’t have listened then, because I already knew everything, Lol. If you’ve tried this, that and the other like me, but are still not where you’d like to be, I strongly encourage you to call Snap Fitness Helena today and ask to get started with Jackie’s healthy eating program. Snap Fitness Helena is not only affordable, but they require no contract, offer expert trainers, top flight nutritional advice, fun group exercise classes for every level from beginner to very fit, and a great bunch of folks to welcome you each time you stop in.

Go ahead, what are you waiting for? Pick up the phone and call SNAP Fitness Helena today!

TYPICAL LUNCH/DINNER

TYPICAL BREAKFAST

Inaugural HHS March Stacheness Run raised $3,500 for HHS soccer

Mayor Hall poses with his rat terrier Lil’ Eddie and the HHS Husky Mascot at the first annual Helena High 5k and 8k March Stacheness Run in March.

After the successful Helena Middle School Selfie Fun Run, it was the high school’s turn to host a marathon to help support a part of the community. The “March Stacheness Run” on the 12th included a timed or untimed 8K or 5K, a fun run/walk and a pet walk, all of which wrapped around the middle and high schools and on trails along the neighborhood beyond.

Mayor Mark Hall and his beloved rat terrier, Lil’ Eddie, participated in the run along with around 100 others, and the pair were even the “race” starters. The HHS Husky mascot was there to cheer on participants and do some entertaining. The hilarious “Best Mustache” contest was split into categories for real and fake ‘staches. Silent auctio The coach said his goals for this event in the years to come is to raise enough money to outfit the practice field with lights, fencing, seating and wat er stations, as well as create a reserve for purchasing new capital equipment down the line. He also hopes to help offset the fee players and their families must currently pay to

participate in the sport.

If this year’s success is any indication, the 2017 March Stachness Run for HHS Soccer will be even bigger. Exercise, community, beautiful Helena trails, crazy mustaches and support for local athletes—this will continue to be an event not to miss!

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Founder’s Day is coming up—April 23 in the Helena Amphitheatre

The Helena Historic Preservation Committee, whose mission it is to preserve, protect, and bring awareness to Helena, Alabama’s rich history, is hosting the second annual Helena Founder’s Day Event. This event will take place on April 23, 2016 from 10:00 am–3:00 pm at the Helena Amphitheater. The Helena Sports Complex is on reserve as a backup site in case of rain. The event is free and is open to the public.

This event celebrates 151 years of local history. The Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company sent a company engineer, named Peter Boyle, to survey land in the area that is now Helena, Alabama. After surveying the land, the L&N built the “Helena Station.” Boyle named this railroad station after a local judge’s daughter and his sweetheart, Helen Lee. This year’s event will include Helena music, artisans, craft vendors, folk artists, food vendors, a children’s play area, and a trolley ride Historic Tour through Old Town Helena. There will be several competitions for residents, including a Folk Art Show and an essay and art contest

for students. If you would like to enter any of these contests ahead of time or would like more information, please contact us at helenahistory@ gmail.com.

The Children’s play area will include an inflatable zone sponsored by All About Fun Inflatables. We are also proud to have the Helena Belles and the Helena Fire Explorers serve as youth ambassadors at the event. The Historic Tour through Old Town Helena will feature a special trolley ride with HHPC speakers, David Rice and Jay Riley, explaining special historical spots! Passenger loading for the trolley tour will start behind the Coal Yard Restaurant every hour on the hour. The trolley tour is sponsored by Scozzaro Law and Arcara Realty. We are proud to have Mike Boody of Red Mountain Park as our featured speaker at the event. All Funds raised by the Founder’s Day Sponsorships will be used by the Helena Historic Preservation Committee to support Helena’s History.

Helena is blessed with an abundance of musical talent. This year, we will feature the Helena High School Choir and Show Choir, Keith Elder, Thomas Trussell, and Steve Norris. Also, Mike Miller from APH Radio 99.9 will serve as Master of Ceremonies at the event.

Keith Elder is a husband, father, pastor, singer-songwriter and retreat leader who has spoken and performed for over thirty years in a wide variety of church, conference, and community

settings. As an ordained United Methodist pastor, Mr. Elder found his way to Helena in September when he was appointed to serve at The Church at Cahaba Bend. For more information, you can check out www.keithelder. com.

Thomas Trussell has played music since 2005 in Alabama. His main genre is the blues, although he plays some classic rock and older country music. Mr. Trussell currently lives in one of the oldest homes in Old Town Helena!

Steve Norris is a singer/ songwriter from Helena, Alabama. He has played around the Tuscaloosa/ Birmingham area since 1996 with the trio, Robyn and the Journeyman Geezers, and later with other area artists. For the past few years, Mr. Norris has ventured out with country/ folk solo performances. Steve’s song, “All Those Years Ago,” is the March 2016 winner as Best Song in the Folk/ Americana category at The Academia Music Awards.

His debut solo CD, Tributes to Family and Friends, was released

in January 2002, and his newest solo release is “I Just Can’t Help Myself.” His website is www.

JourneymanGeezer.com.

For more information on Helena Founder’s Day 2016, please visit: www. facebook.com/ HelenaHistory or you can email us at helenahistory@gmail.com.

The return of Helena Market Days is just around the corner—June 4!

Helena Market Days, Shelby County’s “Best of the Best” farmers market, and one of our hometown’s events of pride and joy, is set to begin in less than two months. As always, the market will run every Saturday morning during the summer, from around 8am to noon.

Helena Market Days will kick off its 2016 season on June 4th and close on August 27th.

Be sure to bring your friends and family to this annual tradition celebrating community and the outdoors. It’s a great change to see all the functional, beautiful and delicious things our hard working neighbors and local artists have produced.

The Market Days will feature chef demonstrations, musicians, several local farmers selling a wide variety of produce, and more. It’s always nice to take a walk around Amphitheatre Park and Buck Creek Falls before or

after checking out the market.

These are rain or shine events, so pack your umbrellas and sunscreen, just in case!

Guest Chefs: If you are interested in giving a food demonstration at the Helena Market this Summer, please email Hewy Woodman at nosleepinhelena@ gmail.com. We want to share your love of the food with the whole community!

Musicians: One of the things that makes our market so distinctive and popular is the variety and quality of music we present each week. We hope to continue that tradition in 2016 and we would like you to be a part of it.

HMD does not pay the musicians who perform, but historically the tips have been very good. Market Days will provide a shaded/sheltered place to play, a sound system if needed and access to power. Musicians

are asked to play for a two-hour period during the morning with flexible start and stop times at the discretion of the act.

Market Days volunteers will keep you hydrated and you’ll leave with new-found admirers and some HMD loot as a token of our appreciation.

There are still open dates for musicians in July and August.

Email bob75137@aol.com if you want a coveted spot!

For updates on chef demonstrations, performances and other information, please visit www.helenamarketdays.com.

On a related note, the

market’s organizing committee is now looking for volunteers (individual or organizational) to assume the day-to-day management of the event beginning with the 2017 season. The current staff will train the incoming one and will remain available to advise those who follow them.

Those who are interested in performing, giving a demo, volunteering or have other questions, please contact Bob Van Loan at bob75137@aol.com.

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Sergeant Charles Hudson saves man’s life Around 4 pm Sunday, March 13, Helena Police 911 call center received a call of a motor vehicle accident with injuries in the area of Highway 17/Helena Pkwy and Fox Valley Farms adjacent to the south city limits.

Helena Sergeant Charles Hudson and Officers Michael Nelson and Michael Taquino were not called to the scene, but they happened upon it first.

“We happened to roll up on it as we were going to another call,” Sgt. Hudson described. A vehicle in front of the officers stopped and pulled off along the side of the road, allowing them to see a pickup truck coming through the pasture. Since they didn’t see the truck run off the road, Sgt. Hudson thought it might be someone who worked for Mr. Griffin, the man who owns the horse pasture.

As soon as the sergeant was out of the vehicle, the other driver asked if he saw what happened. When Sgt. Hudson answered in the negative, the man described seeing the truck drive off the road and through a fence into the pasture.

“The other passenger said that his hand was laying in the road, so I knew it was pretty serious. I had to go over there and check on him,” Sgt. Hudson said. “I knew, missing a limb, he’d be bleeding pretty good.”

The Helena Police Department, just about two weeks before, held training on tourniquets and issued them to all officers, so the sergeant pulled his out as he ran to the truck.

“The guy was awake, he was obviously in shock, and his arm had been amputated from about the middle of his forearm,” said Sgt. Hudson. “He was bleeding pretty good, there was blood all over the inside of the truck and the outside of the door. I got him strapped down with a tourniquet, and it looked like it was working like it was supposed to, and we were just trying to get medical people on the scene after that.”

The man was then airlifted to UAB Hospital by Lifesaver Helicopter in critical, but stable condition. An off-duty EMT, also happened on the scene and found the man’s severed arm in the roadway and packed it in ice to ensure the best chance of reattachment at the hospital.

The sergeant could only speculate about what actually cut the man’s arm off from his sweep of the area, and the barbed wire fence between the road and the pasture where the man ended up is the most likely culprit.

“When he turned off the road, his arm probably came out of the window, and as he went through, the string of barbed wire caught him,” he said, “It was the only thing strong enough out there to do that.”

Thankfully, terrible car accidents or other events with severe injuries do not happen often in Helena, but it’s very reassuring to know that the proud police officers and firefighters of our city are still doing all they can to train to respond properly in those situations. Continuing education in public safety and emergency medical care is a top priority in Helena, and it shows.

“We have first-aid kits that we’ve always carried in the vehicles, but they’re not really for something that serious. They have bandages, band-aids and antiseptics, but not anything for major trauma,” Sgt. Hudson said. The looming threat of mass-casualty violence, which fortunately has never happened in Helena, is the main reason the department brought the devices in.

“In a situation like that, we’re obviously gonna get there quicker than the medical people are, and if you’ve got somebody running around with a gun, they aren’t going to go in until its safe,” he explained. “But if there are a lot of people who have been injured, and we’re already inside, they thought it was a good idea for us to start applying aid to people on our way back out after the scene is safe. Firefighters and paramedics apply that aid as they come in, but this is a way we can speed that up.”

“In reality, it’s probably good in any situation, because normally, we pretty much get to just about any emergency scene before the fire department, and we haven’t had that much equipment to help before now,” Sgt. Hudson continued. “I hope it kind of catches on, that other police agencies do the same thing, issue out tourniquets and other emergency medical gear. Maybe that will help save a few more people.”

As for those who would call him a hero, he disagrees. “We’ve all got the same equipment, the same training. It just so happened that I was there first,” he said. “It could have been any one of us. I think anybody who got there would’ve done the same thing.”

Mayor Mark Hall, Police Chief Pete Folmar and the entire city are proud of your efforts, Sgt. Hudson. Helena citizens will always feel safe with capable officers like you on duty. Thank you for your quick thinking that resulted in a saved life!

Top: Sergeant Charles Hudson.

Middle: The standard-issue tourniquet he used.

Bottom: Police Chief Pete Folmar, left, and Mayor Mark Hall, right, commended Sgt. Charles Hudson, center, for his rescue operation on Sunday, March 13 at the following Helena City Council meeting.

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It’s that time of year again—the kids have busted out their gloves, bats, helmets, and baseballs/softballs! Head on over to the HHS fields, Sports Complex or Penhale Park to see boys and girls of all ages playing baseball, softball, and even soccer!

Come out to support our Helena Husky student-athletes!

Pictured here are some gung-ho boys practicing their ball skills out at Joe Tuckerw Park.

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Meet Helena Industrialist turned Community Developer, Philip Zettler What’s a Helena businessman to do when he’s sold his extremely successful manufacturing business for millions of dollars while he’s still young enough to enjoy it?

If you’re Philip Zettler, founder and former owner of Vulcan Engineering Company, it’s simple. You reinvest it in the city where you got your start by purchasing 2,600 acres of prime development property and continuing with the same formula and drive for excellence that had worked so well for you in the past; putting together a team of talented people to create the best planned community possible on these pristine rolling acres. He called it “Riverwoods” named for the Cahaba River that flowed through it and the old growth hardwood forests that covered its hillsides.

Phil Zettler, the son of a hard working single mother who raised him in the blue collar West End section of Birmingham, always had a strong work ethic by all accounts and an obsessive drive to succeed. The young Phil graduated from Auburn University with a degree in mechanical engineering, working his way through school on a coop agreement with Birmingham’s Stockham Valves and Fittings. (Incidentally, he was presented Auburn’s Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Alumnus Award by the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering in 2006.)

After Stockham, Phil worked for Woodward Iron and served as President of Alpha Steel when a job came along that the company’s ownership felt did not fit well with what they could accomplish.

Seizing what he perceived as a rare opportunity, the industrious young Philip took the job on himself, scouted around for a suitable location that he could 16 Spring 2016 / www.CityOfHelena.org

afford, and found one in a new industrial park developing in the little town of Helena, a town of just over 1,000 people in 1969.

That job was profitable, and Phil named his new company for the Roman god of iron and steel, an idol whose likeness looked over the city of Birmingham with an iron torch everyday.

This was the birth of Vulcan Engineering (VE). Phil put together a team of talented engineers and men skilled in the trade of developing new and better processes by which a manufacturer could enhance and automate their particular processes. The inception of a complete electrical engineering department with an in-house panel shop allowed for the integration of mechanical components into seamless and fully automated foundry systems. A foundry man could now monitor and manipulate the rate of production via touch screen electrical control panels with complete system diagnostics and trouble shooting features.

By the early 1990s, VE became recognized as the undeniable world leader in Lost Foam technology.

This technology became widely accepted by the major automotive companies around the world. VE designed, built and installed Lost foam Foundry Systems throughout the world in the 1990s including here at home in the U.S.A. Starting with little more than a tin roof over a dirt floor with a jib crane, stick welder, band saw and an acetylene torch, eventually, VE would comprise a group of more than a dozen different companies that would combine under the Vulcan umbrella to design, build and maintain their products and foundry systems.

In 1999, an investment

Larry Benefield, past Dean of Engineering at Auburn University (left), presented the 2006 Mechanical Engineering Outstanding Alumnus Award to Philip Zettler.

banking group came in and made Phil a lucrative offer to buy Vulcan, and after a little soul searching, Phil decided to sell his company. (VE still operates in Helena today.)

It was important to Phil to remain invested in the city in which he’d gotten his start.

Over the years, he had donated land to the city and county on which Cahaba Lily Park, Helena Intermediate School, The historic Billy Gould Coke Ovens and two of Helena’s wells were built.

In 2000, to remain invested in Helena, Phil purchased 2,600 acres from a group named Western Pocohantas, a West Virginia based holding company that acquires timber and mineral rights, among other things, from CSX Railroads.

The Helena property was beautiful, rolling timberland with the Cahaba River flowing through it and straddled the boundary between Helena and Hoover.

Plans were drawn, approvals were sought and gained, and the name “Riverwoods” selected for the newly planned residential and commercial development that year.

Today, over 400 new executive

homes have been built, with another 100 or so on the drawing board and its commercial property along CR52W across from Helena Intermediate School ripe for further development.

With the new high school in town driving current growth, the commercial section will be dubbed New Town and is set to propel Helena into the next decades with style as its signature.

It is fitting that in this month when we celebrate Founders Day, that Philip Zettler’s name be mentioned. For even though he came along many years after the city’s founding, his impact is a mark that has been laid on the very heart of Helena for nearly 50 years now. And there are no signs of that slowing down anytime soon with acreage still to develop.

In fact, an arrangement is now in the works to donate more land to the city to extend the Buck Creek Greenway project.

Thanks to Phil Zettler for all he has done and is continuing to do to make Helena a better place to live, work and grow.

Helena’s most distinctive neighborhood With generous rolling landscapes, beautiful public areas, old hardwood shade trees and spacious, executive style homes, Riverwoods is the place you want to be.

For more information on making Riverwoods your home, contact Greg Arcara on his cell at (205) 566-1426 or his office at (205) 560-0474.

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“I fell in love with Helena the first time I drove through it. From the charm of ‘Old Town,’ where my wife and I purchased and restored the historic Nunnally House as our office, to the ‘New Town’ atmosphere found in Helena’s RIVERWOODS, a dynamic new home community we represent, we’d like to be your Realtors of choice.”

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Call Arcara Residential today to discuss ways in which our team can help you with all your real estate needs!

Looking for a new home? Beautiful rolling lots and a recreational lifestyle await you in Riverwoods.

Greg Arcara, Owner/Broker • Office (205) 560-0474 • Cell (205) 566-1426 • ArcaraHomes.com

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18 Spring 2016 / www.CityOfHelena.org

With spring sports underway, its time to look towards the summer FOOTBALL Online Registration begins April 25 and ends June 3. Fitting Day will be held Sunday, June 5.

Cost: $220.

CHEERLEADING Registration for returning cheerleaders will run April 25May 16 online, or in-person on May 17 and 19 at the Helena Civic Complex.

Registration for new cheer-

leaders will be May 17 and 19.

New cheerleaders must register in person instead of online and must be fitted the same day.

SOCCER The Helena Youth Soccer league is well underway. This season has more than 250 participants ages 5 to 14. Games are played most Saturday mornings at the Helena Sports Complex, and admission is free if you

would like to catch a game.

Helena Soccer is a member of CASL, and their schedules can be found at www.centralalabamasoccerleague.com.

BASEBALL/SOFTBALL Opening Day was March 19.

We have over 400 participants in this year’s program. Each team will play a fourteen-game season.

Helena Baseball and Softball play an interlocking schedule with Pelham, Alabaster, Calera and Montevallo.

You can catch a game throughout the week at any of Helena’s three ball parks. Admission is free to all Helena games.

Schedules are online at www.HelenaParkAndRec.org.

EGG HUNT A BIG HIT! The Annual City Easter Egg Hunt was a huge success. Special thanks goes out to the Helena Belles who were present to help with the hunt and take pictures

with the kids and Dr. Priscila Denny for donating the prize baskets for the 8th year.

FACILITY IMPROVEMENTS We now have new tennis nets at Joe Tucker Park. A walk gate has been added to the Football/ Soccer field entrance, and the parking lot at the Sports Complex has been restriped.

For more information about our sports and activities, visit www.helenaparksandrec.org.

Check out our new website, which was designed to make things easier for you to navigate and register for various activities.

You can make pavilion reservations online at www.cityofhelena.org. Go to ‘Departments,’ ‘Parks and Rec’ and check out the availability for the pavilion you are interested in and as fill out the reservation request form.

BILL MILLER, Director of Parks and Recreation (205) 620-2877

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HIS Special Olympics send-off 2016

For the second year in a row, HIS students gave their classmates a special send-off on the way to the Shelby County Schools Special Olympics in Calera March 23. Special Education teacher Carmon Jackson and Paraeducators Tracy Thompson and Nicki McAbee work with Gianna, Kyler, Adrian, Jaycob, Landon, Ashlyn, Robbie, Shawn and Roland every day, and said they are so glad to see the support students, teachers and administrators give these kids every day, and especially as they go to participate in the Special Olympics.

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Second Annual Run For Their Lives had fantastic turnout at HHS In 2014, 20-year-old Kayla Perry and her family founded the Open Hands, Overflowing Hearts foundation to help raise money for pediatric cancer research. It’s a cause that has been near and dear to the family since Kaya was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a very rare form of pediatric cancer, in 2012.

“Neuroblastoma is a pediatric cancer that typically presents itself in very young children and infants, so from the very beginning of my diagnosis, my doctors knew I had a rare case,” Kayla says on the OHOH website. “ Researchers know very little about neuroblastoma, and believe me, it’s not because they’re not interested. Pediatric cancer research receives so little funding, so it is very hard for

22 Spring 2016 / www.CityOfHelena.org

anyone to learn more about it.”

As anyone who followed the story of Carson Sumpter knows, nowhere near the amount of money that goes to research other diseases is allocated for pediatric cancer research. “Only four percent of federal funding goes towards childhood cancer research, so most funding comes from private organizations,” said Children’s Hospital nurse practitioner Rhonda Smith.

“Open Hands, Overflowing Hearts donates 100 percent of their proceeds back to research.”

In its first year, OHOH raised more than $600,000 through donations from generous families and individuals around the greater Birmingham area.

In fact, Helena has always given Kayla and OHOH access to

locations and the help necessary to properly raise funds in the city. In the past, volunteers have manned tables with various and sundry raffle items during practices and games at the Helena Sports Complex.

“This is something close to our hearts, and its something that we feel like we definitely need to participate in,” Mayor Mark Hall said back in September. So along that vein, in March, Helena High School hosted an Open Hands, Overflowing Hearts Kayla Perry childhood cancer run. It was the second-annual “Run for their Lives” event in Helena.

There was a 10K, a 5K, a 1 Mile Fun Run, and the option to do a virtual run from home.

“The run was huge, we had a

lot of residents come out to run and support childhood cancer research,” Mayor Hall said.

“To every runner, walker, virtual racer, packet stuffer, cheerleader, down to the very last person picking up confetti after it was all over... THANK YOU,” Kayla said. “You ran for our lives today, and because of you, we will be able to fund research that could someday end childhood cancer. Your efforts are worth it, I promise. I cannot tell you how full my heart is today!”

For more information about Kayla’s story, about Open Hands, Open Hearts, to donate your time or money to the cause, or to learn where the next event will be, please visit http:// openhandsoverflowinghearts.org.

Thank you, Helena!

Helena Bass Team members doing well in Alabama Bass Nation trails The Helena Bass Club is now in its second year at Helena High School, with 19 active fishermen.

Student Cade Holcomb serves as President and Chace Gregory as Vice President of the club.

Chace's father designed their jerseys for this year. HIS Asst.

Principal Genet Holcomb still serves as the sponsor, while her husband Bret Holcomb is a volunteer boat captain for the team. Daniel Statum returned again this year as the coach.

Because bass fishing is not recognized as a sport by Shelby County Schools, funds could not be raised through the school. Therefore, it is officially a city team sport instead, and open to HHS students and homeschooled high school students who live in Helena.

The main "season" for the Alabama Bass Nation High School Trails is usually January through May, when tournaments

are hosted across the state. So far, members of Helena's club have taken part in one tournament each in December, February and March, with another coming up at Lake Guntersville April 16.

The state tournament will take place in June at Wheeler Lake.

"Coach Daniel Statum thinks it's important to help foster the sport with students," Asst.

Principal Holcomb said. "He wants to 'pay it forward' to remember all those who helped him along his path."

"We have a lot of 9th grade interest, as well as middle schoolers starting to ask about the club," Mrs. Holcomb said.

"It's a huge sport! We appreciate any financial support we can get, because it's expensive, too."

Multiple teams from the club have qualified for the state tournament, including Cade and Chace. This two-man team came in 9th place out of 150 teams in

the tournament at Miller's Ferry, snagging them a plaque and a gift card for equipment.

Every fish weighed at every Alabama Bass Nation tournament is recorded, and the teams with the heaviest fish make up the rankings for the prestigious Angler of the Year Award. Before this went to press, Cade and Chace were 12th in point standings for the award— quite an accomplishment!

To raise money to offset the costs associate with bass fishing, members of the Helena club waited tables for tips at Bob Sykes BBQ and brought out friends and family in full force for Bahama Bucks Nights. Simmons Sporting Goods donated rods

and reels for a drawing to help raise more funds.

The outdoors shop Field & Stream has given the club coupons to help the students offset the cost of equipment in the past. The store invited Helena, along with Chelsea, Briarwood and Hoover to a Fish Extravaganza in late March.

Supporters coming through the store could stop and talk to students about their club, why they fish, or give their favorite team a wooden nickel in support.

The team with the most wooden nickels at the end of the event received funds from Field and Stream. Each of the four teams received a $100 donation for participating in the event.

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Top Left: Chace Gregory and Cade Holcomb pose with their 9th place plaques from the Miller’s Ferry Tournament, while at the Field and Stream event.

Top Right: Zach Edmonds and Coke Hassler manning the team’s booth.

Bottom: Cade Holcomb, Chace Gregory, Chase Segars, Christian Vines (seated), and Jacob Graydon also helped in manning the booth.

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Relay for Life T-shirt sale held to support the HIS team Helena Intermediate School’s Relay for Life team, which is composed of faculty and staff members, sold T-shirts this year.

For 2016, North Shelby Relay for Life committee chose a Dr. Seuss theme. HIS has two t-shirt designs which reflect our theme.

One t-shirt is red with white font. The red shirt reads One Wish, Two Wish, You Wish, I

Wish for a Cure on the back and a Cat in the Hat symbol on the front pocket area.

The second design is on a black shirt. The back reads I Do Not Like Cancer Here or There I Do Not Like Cancer Anywhere in a white and multi-colored font and has a Cat in the Hat symbol on the front pocket area.

You can see an example of

the t-shirts hanging in the front office or on their FB page or Ms. Abernathy’s blog. Order forms were available in the front office or by e-mailing Ms. Abernathy at mabernathy@shelbyed.k12. al.us. The t-shirts cost $15 for the red one and $20 for the black one. T-shirts are available in all adult and youth sizes. They were only taking orders until

April 15, but check with them if interested, they might still have a few left!

T-shirt sales will go to directly support the American Cancer Society’s fight against this disease which has impacted our community. Please support the effort to give one more birthday, one more smile, one more day by ordering a T-shirt!

TO ADVERTISE, CALL the Publisher at 746.1188 / MyHelenaCityNews.com / Spring 2016

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Buck Creek Festival Guide 2016 2016 DUCK RACE TICKETS ARE ON SALE!!!

They can be purchased at The Depot, Oh My Sole, and Helena Regions Bank. You can also see any HHS Band member to purchase one as well. Five dollars each, or purchase a flock of five for $25 and get a free T-shirt!

All proceeds support the Helena High School Band.

The Saga of the Buck Creek Festival Duck Race Pontoon Boat Last year, just before the 2015 Buck Creek Festival, a pontoon boat was purchased by the BCF Committee to transport the ducks used in the duck race down the creek. Unfortunately, this boat was only able to be used in the festival for one year, because vandals decided to steal the pontoons right off the boat in March of this year.

Ron Holly said in several interviews about this terrible

occurrence that he could not verbalize just how frustrated he and others involved in the festival became over the theft.

Thankfully, just a few weeks after the committee put out a call for help in finding a new boat for this years’ festival, their prayers were answered by a local company, Airport Marine.

“We would like to thank Mr. Ken Hollis and Mr. Jim Hicks of Airport Marine in Alabaster

for donating to the Buck Creek Festival our new pontoon boat!”

Ron Holly said in a statement on the BCF Facebook page. “We are so grateful that they stepped up to the plate when they heard about our predicament and have been wonderful to get this all coordinated.”

This level of dedication coming from the community shows that support of Helena’s Buck Creek Festival is at an all

time high just a month before this years’ event kicks off. More information about the lineup and vendors is listed on the following pages, as well as on the BFC Facebook page and www.BuckCreekFestival.com.

And please, if anyone gets the chance to visit Airport Marine in Alabaster, please let them know you appreciate their support of our festival!

See you at the Duck Race!

Left: The first pontoon boat on its first and last outing during the Buck Creek Festival 2015 Duck Race. Middle: The first pontoon boat, as it was found with missing pontoons in March of this year. Right: BCF Committee Members meet with Jim Hicks of Alabaster’s Airport Marine to receive the newly donated pontoon boat.

Who will be performing at the festival?

Jessica Meuse will kick off the 2016 Buck Creek Festival at 6pm on Friday, May 13. Local band Deputy 5 will start at 8:30pm as the Friday night headliner.

Jim Quakenbush will warm up the crowds

Saturday morning beginning at 10am, followed by Tiera Leftwich at 11am and The Sassy Brown Band at 12:30pm. The HHS Jazz Band will perform at 1:45pm. Raxx Ma Tazz kicks it off again

Jessica Meuse

Jessica Meuse may be best known for either her fourthplace win on the 13th season of American Idol in 2014 or her live music nights at Rio’s Bar and Grill right here in Helena.

She has written more than sixty original songs since age 18, and sang several during her tenure on American Idol. Jessica performed Blue Eyed Lie not only during her tryout, but also during the finals. This made her the first contestant in the history of American Idol to sing an original song during the finals.

Jessica’s family moved a lot when she was a child, so she would record CDs and give them out as a way to connect with her friends. They finally settled down when she was in 7th grade in Slapout, Alabama, where Jess joined the Montgomery Youth Orchestra. Jessica released her first album, What’s So Hard About Bein’ a Man, in 2011.

“My music is a blend of

at 4pm, followed by the Michael Warren Band at 5:30pm, John King at 7pm and Old Southern Moonshine Revival will end festivities as the Saturday night headliner, taking the stage at 8:15pm.

southern rock with alternative and rock n’ roll,” Jessica describes.

Some artists whose music influences her include Coldplay, Miranda Lambert, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Stevie Nicks, Death Cab for Cutie, Bruno Mars, and Shinedown.

Her debut single, Done, is availablef or purchase, and more of her music can be found by searching Jessica Meuse on Facebook, YouTube, and at www. reverbnation.com/jessicameuse.

“Music is empowering and powerful. It crosses all borders.

It transcends and rises above.

It defeats obstacles and speaks to the hardest of hearts,” Jessica said. “This is why I love what I do. This is the power of music.”

This will be Jessica’s first time at Buck Creek Festival. She is excited to play for the crowds, and we’re excited to hear the power of her own music out at the Helena Amphitheatre! Catch her Friday afternoon at 6pm.

We need your help!

Vendors and sponsors will be announced on the festival Facebook page as the event creeps closer. To be notified of any new announcements for the Buck Creek Festival, visit the festival website: www.BuckCreekFestival.com and like the page on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/Buck-CreekFestival-115700131841249.

The festival is currently looking got volunteers! For more information or to sign up to volunteer, please email Cris Nelson at cris@essential-solutions.biz or call her at 296-6153.

Deputy 5

The highly popular country rock band Deputy 5 took the stage at the Buck Creek Festival for the first time last year, as the 8:30pm act on Saturday night.

They are thrilled to be back again this year as Friday’s headliner.

Local Helenite Breck Carroll sings lead vocals and guitar, Tommy O’Barr plays lead guitar, fiddle and sings, Don Breland plays bass and John Simpson keeps the beat on the drums.

Although each member of the band has been performing music for many years, Deputy 5 was formed in 2003, which has given the guys thirteen years to perfect playing with each other.

“These guys I play with are fantastic musicians,” Breck said.

“We all live so far apart and have such different schedules that we learn songs on our own and only practice together a couple times before we’ve got them ready for a show. We really are a live performance band.”

Anyone who’s seen them perform, around Helena, Leeds, Alabaster, Montevallo, and Birmingham knows this is true.

These country boys really love to rock out with their audiences, pulling energy from the crowd.

“We’re really excited to be playing Buck Creek Festival,” Breck said. “Outdoor music festivals are the most fun venues to play, and to be able to perform here in my backyard is nice.”

Some of the songs they love to perform include Beer for My Horses, Chattahoochee, Folsom Prison, Friends in Low Places, Ring of Fire, Wagon Wheel, You Never Even Call Me By My Name, Blister in the Sun, Brown Eyed Girl, Every Rose Has Its Thorn, Margaritaville, Play that Funky Music, Superstition, Susie Q, Wild Thing and, of course, Sweet Home Alabama.

See videos of them live on Facebook, YouTube, and catch them Friday night at 8:30pm.

John King

Nashville-based John King was twelve when he began playing the guitar, although it was not his first choice of instrument. “I started playing the drums first and then my little brother got better than me, so I switched to guitar,” the young musician laughed.

“My Mom and Dad were huge music lovers. There was always music in our home,” John explained his musical upbringing. “Dad loved rock and roll, and Mom loved all the songwriters and Country greats, so it was the perfect combo!” Because of his exposure through his parents, John has a myriad of influences including Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, The Black Crowes, Kenny Chesney and Garth Brooks. He explained Steve Earl, John Cougar

James Quakenbush After serving as a Field Musician in the Marine Corps from 1983-1991, James Quakenbush continued performing with Barnum & Bailey's Circus Band, along with other symphonies and wind ensembles across the Southeast. He is the Assistant State Director of Alabama for Bugles Across America, which is an organization that provides live Taps for Veterans and their families free of charge.

“I've been performing ever since and have been doing my current JQ's ‘One Man Big Band’ act for about three years,” James said. “For this, I sing, play trumpet and use a number of mutes to give the horn different sounds and voices.” His backup “group” is JQ's “Box Band.”

James’ influences range from

Etta James, Charlie Daniels, Lynyrd Skynrd, Harry James, Dr. John, Bob Wills, and of course, the incomparable Louis Armstrong. “Some of my favorite songs are Sentimental Journey, Gonna Sit Right Down (and Write Myself A Letter), Ellington, Glenn Miller, Fats Waller, and on and on,” he said. “I have always enjoyed getting to play at the Helena Farmers Markets, as well as Maplewood Lane Assisted Living and Helena's First Fridays.”

Despite those performances, James has not yet had the pleasure of playing at the Buck Creek Festival so this is a very exciting opportunity for him.

Anyone wishing to listen to his music should search for “JQ’s One Man Big Band” on Facebook and YouTube.

Mellencamp and Jackson Browne in particular were amazing songwriters who really helped teach him the art of crafting a song.

In 2013, Black River Entertainment signed John King to their roster; he is currently in the studio recording his debut album on Black River Entertainment and continues to tour.

“I love a lot of the new original songs we have been playing. I have a song called Stop The Moon I’m really excited about!” he said.

“I’ve never played the Buck Creek Festival before, so I can’t wait to see you guys May 14!”

For a preview of John King’s music, go check him out at www.johnkingcountry.com, and he can be found at johnkingcountry on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Old Southern Moonshine Revival The band Old Southern Moonshine Revival is made up of Marcus Kiser, Brent Lain, Jamie Shaver and Brian Smith, who hail from North Carolina.

“Our band name came from just a mixture of what we believe, where we’re from and the uniqueness of being from a moonshining area,” a representative for the band said.

Once this southern rock band began to gain a little fame back in 2007, they made the move to Nashville. Marcus does lead vocals and some guitar, Brent is the lead guitarist and vocalist, Jamie is the bassist and also adds to vocals, and Brian is the band’s drummer.

“We are influenced by most things musically. From Eric Church and Johnny Cash to The Jackson 5 and The Eagles, to the Stones, Zeppelin, Rage Against the Machine, Beastie Boys, Stapleton,

Isbell... Everything,” the rep said.

Singles like “A Few Cold Beers,” “Can You Feel It Now,” “I Love This Life,” “40 Miles” and “Waste Another Beer” really embody what all OSMR can do—rock hard with a country edge, sing about relatable topics, and get their audience up on their feet.

“Our favorite places to perform are constantly changing, I think.

Certain shows are great for certain reasons, but I think if you’re playing music for a living, every place is a favorite place to some degree,” the rep said. “We’ve never performed in Helena or at Buck Creek Festival, but we are looking forward to it.”

For a preview of their music, search Old Southern Moonshine Band on your favorite social media outlet. We look forward to ending out BCF 2016 in a big way with these showstoppers.

spOnsOrs

Music

2nd St

3rd St

Presented by tentative stage schedule It’s About Time Urgent Care Iheart Radio Stations – The Bull & FriDay, May 13TH Magic 96 6:00PM Jessica Meuse ABC 33/40 CW21 My68 Helena Reporter 8:00PM Deputy 5 Full Moon BarBQue Patron saturDay, May 14TH Vulcan Materials – Helena Quarry 10:00AM Jim Quakenbush Regions Bank Sunbelt Rentals 11:00AM Tiera Leftwich Airport Marine 12:30PM The Sassy Brown Band Official Karen Miller Allstate 1:45PM Helena High School Jazz Band PARKIN Deb’s Party Rentals LOT A G 4:00pm Razz Ma Tazz Senator Cam Ward &SHUT T L Essential Solutions LLC 5:30PM Michael Warren Band Helen E S p o r t sa Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama 7:00PM John King Comple Smitty’s Golf Carts x Cahaba Dental Arts 8:15PM OlD sOuthern Riverwoods MOOnshine revival Marcos Pizza Home Plate Cooking Check the Festival Website for the latest info!

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31

Meet Garrett Langer, HMS Wrestling, Girls Soccer and football coach Coach Garrett Langer has only been coaching the wrestling team at Helena Middle this school year, and has already been able to see changes he had implemented help the athletes. The team came in 2nd place in the Southern Conference Championship this year, and two wrestlers were invited to wrestle against high school students in that competition.

Hailing from Clay, Coach Langer played football and basketball at Clay-Chalkville, so wrestling was not originally on his list of priorities.

“Football is really what I love to coach, but watching these tough wrestlers never give up and learn to never get pinned is very rewarding,” he said.

After high school, he attended the University of Alabama, where he graduated with a degree in physical education. In July 2013, he was married to Abbey Holland, and the pair currently live near Helena.

He taught and coached at Hueytown and North Highland Elementary School before coming to Helena, but got his start coaching linebackers when he was fresh out of college at John Carroll Catholic High School.

“This position at Helena Middle offered a change of scenery, as well as new challenges and opportunities,” Coach Langer said. “I absolutely love Helena now, and have no plans to leave the area or school system.”

Along with serving as the

wrestling coach, Coach Langer is also the Head Girls Soccer Coach, which has a current record of 4-4-2. In the fall, he works with Coach Cummings and others as the Defensive Coordinator for the HMS 8th grade football team, which went 8-0 this year.

His coaching schedule certainly keeps him busy: as soon as wrestling season (which runs from early November until late January) is over, soccer season starts. And then, “I get two weeks

off in June at the end of that season before football training begins in July,” he said. As soon as football season is over? It’s time for wrestling once again. “I can’t wait for June!” he laughed.

HMS Wrestlers compete against high school athletes at state

With 26 kids consistently in the HMS Wrestling program, Coach Garrett Langer’s hands are full—but the wrestling veterans helped him out by leading by example. “The eighth graders, Cole, Nathan, Tucker and Michael, were really the core of the team,” he said.

“8th grader Nathan Dunaway was the silent leader of the team; he leads by the way he wrestles.

He also excelled as a defensive end in HMS football this year,” Coach Langer said. (He is also the Defensive Coordinator for the 8th grade football team.)

“On the other hand, 7th grader Will Miller is more vocal

and always has a good time; he’s always ready to wrestle.” He is indicative of the rest of the team: young 7th graders who will provide a solid foundation for the team next season.

Neither Nathan nor Will ever lost a match all season this year, which qualified each of them for the state competition, where they competed against high school wrestlers.

Will, in the 85lb weight class, wrestled against guys in the 105lb class. Nathan is in and also wrestled in the 165lb class. “I was wrestling guys 23lbs bigger than me,” Will said. “It felt pretty good to wrestle with

the high schoolers.”

Coach Langer wanted to point out that 8th grader Michael Moran also had a great season, and barely missed qualifying by a few points. "We are very proud of these young men," he said.

The kids noticed that since Coach Langer has been at HSM, he and Coach Cummings have them conditioning them a lot.

He says making the studentathletes run each practice not only builds muscle and stamina, but also builds the mentality, ‘if I can do this and not be phased by it, I won’t get tired in a match and give up.’ This method seems to be working for them.

The school itself hosted seven area teams with around 200 wrestlers during the St. Nick Christmas Classic Tournament in the HMS gym in December.

The Huskies came in 3rd overall, beaten by only Oak Mountain and Thompson. "It was a fun tourney, and now we know better how to run the event next year," Coach Langer laughed.

"We're hoping to grow it up to twelve teams."

The HMS wrestlers also did well in area play. The top two teams in each weight division were able to wrestle in the Southern Conference Championships, and the Huskies went on to win 2nd place this year. “The students were excellent, it was a great event. They were as good as they could be,” Coach Langer said.

“Based on what we had when we started this year especially, they wrestled really well. They truly exceeded my expectations.”

He not only gives credit to the other coaches at HMS, but also Keith Maple and Dale Massey, the wrestling coaches up at the high school. “Whenever we needed help or assistance, they were there with us. Three of our guys went up to train with the high school kids for the state competition,” Coach Langer explained. “But they all do offseason wrestling and practice more often than many of the other guys.”

TO ADVERTISE, CALL the Publisher at 746.1188 / MyHelenaCityNews.com / Spring 2016

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HIS Hat Day funds to benefit the school’s Relay for Life team HES students donated money to wear hats to school on Dr. Suess’s birthday this year as part of the “One Wish Two Wish” fundraiser for the HIS Relay for Life team. In addition, parents could purchase a hat cutout in honor or memory of a loved one through March 23.

During the first week alone, the school raised more than $345 to benefit Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society. Keep tuned for more info.

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HHS Baseball Coach PJ Guy—coach of the year he placed us here,” he explained.

“Now, we couldn’t be more excited to be a part of Helena, this high school and this community.”

“I would be in error if I took all the credit for our success,” the coach turned back to last year’s successes on the field. “I really have to give it up to the kids, they are the ones who really bought into what we wanted to do and achieve, they have helped us build this program from scratch, and they are what makes it as successful as it is.”

“Coach Cummings has been such a huge part of this program and its success, we would not be where we are without him,” Coach Guy continued. “I would say Bobby is the best assistant coach in the state! That’s not the only quality that makes him such an asset to the team—while he is a phenomenal assistant coach, he is also a great friend and man of character, which is important to me, and important to be a role model for our kids.”

He also gave credit to Tyler

Spruill, the Head JV Baseball Coach and pitching coach for the team, and Gardener Moseley, another assistant coach.

“These great men not only bring their extensive baseball knowledge to the team, but also the type of people they are. They are first class people and men of high character.”

“I really need to thank Mayor Mark Hall, for what he has done not only for us but for all the athletic programs in Helena schools,” Coach Guy said. “If we didn’t have support from him and the city to get this thing started, I don’t know where we would be. They have been there for us and have done so much to help provide for us, we would not be able to do any of this without their help.”

“Everybody in this community has really come together to make us feel at home, and I feel very blessed to call it my home,” he concluded.

“We are very happy to be here.”

Congratulations, Coach Guy, and GO HUSKIES!

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Helena High School Baseball Coach, PJ Guy, has harnessed quite the whirlwind in his first year and a half at the school. “It is a real blessing to be a part of Helena,” he said.

“I really want to thank the parents and kids for bringing me into the community last year, when my wife and I didn’t really know anybody here, and making us feel welcome.”

He led the Huskies through an explosive first season in 2015 that took the team to the state playoffs with a record of 18-15. Under Coach Guy’s tutelage, the Huskies were able to make a great comeback in back-to-back wins against St. Paul’s, the #2 team in the state.

They put up a vicious fight against

Russellville during the finals of the State Championship, ending the season with a 27-20 record.

“Last year was a very rewarding year for the kids,” Coach Guy said.

“I can tell from how hard they work, every day, that they want to continue to be something special.”

Post-season, he received several awards recognizing him for his talent and work ethic. First, Coach Guy was named the 2015 Shelby County Coach of the Year by the Shelby County Reporter. Then, AL.com named him the 2015 Birmingham Metro Coach of the Year.

Finally, the Alabama Sports Writers Association also named him the 5A Coach of the Year.

“I want to give God all the glory,” the coach said. “I feel very blessed to be able to do what I want to do and be successful, especially being able to do what I love for a living.”

He came to Helena after eight years at Tuscaloosa. “God opened a door for me and my wife and

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TA K E M E O U T TO AN HHS BALL GAME “We have had a very positive start to the year,” said HHS Head Baseball Coach PJ Guy. In pre-area play, the team’s record was 15-9 and they ranked 3rd in 5A. “We beat Thompson twice, as well as Hewitt-Trussvile, Vestavia, and several other great teams that each have a longer legacy than ours, and that helps us put our program on the map. We are happy to compete against them and have a little success. The kids have answered every challenge thus far, and this has prepared us very well for our area play.”

The players were ready—their

first conference game went just right, with the Huskies beating the Calera Eagles soundly 12-1 in an entertaining home game.

“We’ve played more than 25 games so far this season, and we’re really excited about achieving the success we have had,” the coach said.

“Our goal is to make the playoffs once again.”

With how well these Helena student-athletes did last year, as a first year program, it seems like they really do have a shot at winning it all. We’re excited to see them try, to be sure. (At presstime, the team was 24-11.)

“Last year, the biggest challenge was not having our facility finished, not having a home field to play on,” Coach Guy said. “Ninety-nine percent of the year we played our games on the road, and it was hard to find somewhere to practice.”

Being on the road so much was tough, but he said it made them a lot closer as a team and really improved their mental toughness.

This year, it’s been very nice to have a home field with the ability to practice and play without leaving the HHS campus.

“It’s a big deal for the kids and community. But because of all that

time away last year, our kids are very prepared for the challenge of playing on the road, and that will only help us this season,” Coach Guy said.

“We wanted to beef up the schedule from last year and challenge the kids every day. So now, I would venture to say we play the toughest schedule in the state, so I guess we’re doing something right,” he laughed. “Every game is a challenge, and we hope this builds a lot of mental toughness in our kids. We look forward to using their skills, character and toughness to take us to the playoffs this year.”

We look forward to watching!

Author Heather Montgomery visited HES “Be curious. Be curious about everything,” naturalist and author Heather Montgomery told HES students. “Ask who, ask what, ask where and how, think about when, ponder why.”

Every kindergarten child in her afternoon presentation seemed captivated and Montgomery praised them for “asking really good questions” as they looked at the various animal bones and fur pelts she passed around.

Her slide show featured illustrations of oddities such as a recent new (and endangered) snake, Matilda’s Horned Viper, discovered by a three-man team in on the Wildlife Conservation Committee of Tanzania.

Montgomery encouraged students to think like a scientist (be curious, gather information) and to keep

a personal journal with detailed descriptive writings, opinions and illustrations.

As the children returned to their home rooms, they were allowed an up-close examination of two (somewhat fragile) snake skins mounted on boards and Montgomery, on her knees, held them at eye-level, enjoying each child’s interest and questions.

Heather Montgomery’s latest

publication is entitled How Rude. She is a GoodReads author whose non-fiction titles include How to Survive an Earthquake, How Is Soil Made?, Wild About Snakes series, Truth and Rumors: Mummies, and Wild Discoveries: Wacky New Animals, among many other titles.

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PLEASE PRAY FOR OUR ACTIVE DUTY MILITARY PERSONNEL… We’re the Home of the Free Because of the Brave!

SGT Jon M. Aaron 4/14 K CO (DET B), UNIT 43671, FPO AP 96426-3671; Al Anbar, Iraq; Karen Dickinson’s son SGT Steven M. Bennett USA; Paratrooper/Rigger; Fort Benning, GA; Clara & Ken Lorino’s son

SSG Jay Gortney ARNG; 20th Special Forces; Iraq; April’s husband SGT Brooks Gray USA; Ranger; Scofield BKS, HI; John Gray’s son, Lauren & Ryan Gray’s brother

Chelicia & Tristin’s father, Janice & Austin Pruitt’s son SGT Peter J. “Pete” Reese ARNG; 152nd MP Co.; Lauren’s husband; Kai, Sam, Dalton, Brook & Kaiti’s father

SRA Brad Hubbard USAF Fort Gordon - Augusta, GA Rod & Susan Hubbard’s son

LCPL Casey B. Reitz USMC, MCSF Battalion, Naval Submarine Base, King’s Bay, GA; Tom and Suzi’s son, brother of Tommy, Joey, and Emily.

SPC Michael Hubbard USA; Camp Liberty, Iraq; Ruth Meadows grandson, Kimberly’s husband, Bonnie Hubbard’s brother

Personnel SPC Second Class William T. Rice USA, USS Ronald Reagan, San Diego, CA. Son of Ginger Hamilton

Captain Joshua Bowen USA; 1st Brigade, 4th Infantry Division; Fort Carson, CO; Tom and Susan Bowen’s son, Fallon’s husband

SPC Eric Hunley ARNG; 1/167 Inf. Bn Co. B, Operation Enduring Freedom; Afghanistan; Mike & Barbara Hunley’s son; late Chris Hunley’s brother

SPC Dwight A Rosse Jr. USA; 1-32 Cav 1st Bct, Fort Campbell, KY; Dwight & Michelle Rosse’s son, Britney & Carlton’s brother

Captain Fallon Bowen USA; Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division; Fort Carson, CO; Tom and Susan Bowen’s daughter-in-law, Joshua’s wife

CPL Michael Jeffries ARNG; 1/167 Infantry Battalion Company B, Operation Enduring Freedom; Afghanistan; Amy’s husband, Colin & Gavin’s father

LT Sarah Bowen USN; USS John Stennis Aircraft Carrier; Bremerton, WA; Tom and Susan Bowen’s daughter

MC1 Andrew “AJ” Johnson US Navy; Naval Special Warfare Development Group (DEVGRU); Dam Neck Annex, NAS Oceana; Virginia Beach, VA.

Cpl Rodney Stephens ARNG; 152nd Military Police Task Force 382nd, Iraq; Andrea & AnnaBelle’s father

LT Commander David Kang USN; White House, Washinton, DC; Stanley & Sue Kang’s son, Sunny Kang’s brother

2LT John M Traylor, Jr USAF; 552nd TRS; Tinker AFB, OK; Mark & Karole Traylor’s son

CW3 Corey Lefebvre USA; Fort Rucker, AL.; Tom Lefebvre’s son

PFC Zachary S Traylor USMC; 3-23 Inf; Baton Rouge, LA; Mark & Karole Traylor’s son

SPC Brad Bokenkamp USA; HHB 210 Field Artillery Brigade, 21D: Camp Casey, South Korea; Ed & Amy Bokenkamp’s son SFC Eric Bond USA; 82nd ABD, 1-504 PIR; Baghdad, Iraq; Paul Zimmerman’s cousin

LT Jordan Bowen USA; 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Ft. Hood, TX; Tom and Susan Bowen’s son SRA Mitch Braswell USAF; 16th EMS, 16th Special Op. Wing; Afghanistan; Mike & Judi Braswell’s son PVT Vincent Brown USMC; Chesapeake, VA; Leonetta Prevo’s son SGT Dallas C Caviness USA; 172 Inf. Brigade; Germany; Rebecca’s husband, Norah’s father, Rhonda’s son & Devin’s brother 1st LT William B. Cofer USA; Fort Campbell, KY; Dorothy & Jim Cofer’s son, Deborah’s brother CPO Austin C. Daniel USN; Norfolk, VA; Mike & Claudia Daniel’s son, Justin, Tatum & Autumn’s brother 2nd LT Eric C Darrenkamp USA; Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, HI; Carol Darrenkamp’s son, Jon & Stephen’s brother AEAN Benjamin Lee Doaks USN; NAS Jacksonville, FL; Joe & Tammy Williams’ son, Rev. Clifton & Mattie Taylor’s grandson LCPL Jared M. Fitzgerald USMC; 9th Communication Battalion; Camp Pendleton; CA; Rosemarie Butler’s son and Jeff’s stepson, Justin and Tyler’s brother Petty Officer 3rd Class Justin D. Gilbert USCG, Machinery Technician; Key West, FL; Leslie’s husband, Annette & Dan Duffy’s son-in-law

SGT Jacob S. Lenoir USA; Sniper Unit of 1-64 Inf; Fort Stewart, GA; Beth Eades’ son, Caitlyn’s husband

SPC Patrick D. Sharp USA; 82nd ABD; Al Asad, Iraq; Shawn Sharp’s son SPC Ashley Bruce Squires USA; 3rd Inf. Div., 1-30 Inf.; Ft. Stewart, GA; Jesi Mason Squires’s father, Bruce & Tammy son, Aubrey & Austin’s brother

SGT John Christian Vansant USMC; VMMT 204 Flightline, MCAS; New River, NC; Keith & Sherill Vansant’s son

SRA Tanner McGinnis U.S. Air Force; 90th SFS Tactical Response Force; FE Warren AFB; Cheyenne, Wyoming Ken & Jo McGinnis’ son

Major Maxwell B. Ward USAR; Afghanistan; Kathie’s husband, Maggie’s dad, Bette Ward’s son, Michelle (Lin) Saville’s brother

Petty Officer 3rd Class Erik B. McKenzie USN; USS Curtis Wilber, Yokosuka, Japan; Bond & Lisa McKenzie’s son, Brooke’s brother, Megan’s husband

PFC Zachary Walton USA; 3-1 Cav. Regt. Delta Troop; Ft Benning, GA; Becky Click’s son, Alex Walton & Sydney Mollica’s brother, Amber’s husband

2nd LT Jacob Allen Meins USAF, Special Operations Command; Kathy Meins Martin’s son MSG Jacqueline M. Moore USA, 387th; Wichita, KS; Leroy E. Lucas’ wife, Cameshia, Shaun, Chibukia & Chris’ mom SSGT Christopher S. Murphy USMC; MWHS 3, San Diego, CA; Jack & Karen Murphy’s son, Alyssa’s husband

FC3 William J. Welch USN; USS Lake Erie, Pearl Harbor, HI; Devinne Brooks’ husband E3 Spencer R. Wood USN Corpman; Balboa Hospital; San Diego, CA Rish & Christa Wood’s son, Whitney Brown’s stepbrother

LT Commander Kimberly A. Oelschlager USN; US Navy Hospital (Balboa)-Physician’s Asst., San Diego, CA; Ted & the late Sara Oelschlager’s daughter Chief Petty Officer Termaine J. Pruitt USN; NAS Pensacola, FL; Termaine Jr, Trevorn,

E-mail Helena active duty military personnel’s name, address and where they’re stationed to helenacitynews@aol.com. If your loved one has returned, PLEASE let us know so that we can keep our prayer list current. Thank you!

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HHS Winterguard wins 3rd place

Helena Math Wizards at HMS

The HHS Winterguard competed in the Southeastern Color Guard Circuit Championships during the weekend of March 18. They competed with almost 70 teams from Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee. They placed third in their division, said Katy Burnside, Color Guard sponsor. Congratulations, girls!

For those of you interested in seeing an HHS Winterguard performance, there will be a visual ensemble showcase on April 28 at 6:30pm in the Helena High School gym. Come out in support!

An outstanding job was done by the HMS Math Teams at the Shelby County Math Tournament, held March 21 at the Shelby County Instructional Services Center. HMS was the only middle school in the county to finish in the Top 3 in all 4 categories.

The 6th graders came in 3rd place. The 7th graders won 2nd place.

The Pre-Algebra students won 2nd place. The Algebra students won 3rd place.

Nathan Michell finished 2nd in the 7th grade individual awards and Matthew Gudino finished in 1st place in the Pre-Algebra category. A huge thanks goes out to the Math Team sponsors: Mrs. Cook, Mrs. Worthy, Mrs. Wiggins and Mrs. Bozeman.

DIGGIN� THE FIELD Above: Helena High School students participate in the 1st Annual Diggin’ the Field Grass Volleyball Tournament hosted by Helena Volleyball in 2015.

The second annual Helena Triples Grass Volleyball Tournament, also called Diggin’ The Field, will be held May 21 at the Helena High School football stadium. The cost is $25 per player, which includes a tournament T-shirt. All funds raised will benefit the HHS Girls’ Volleyball team.

According to HHS Varsity 42 Spring 2016 / www.CityOfHelena.org

Volleyball Coach Amanda Lewis, there will be both a student league and an adult league this year, along with great prizes for the winning team in each division. The student division is for students who are 12-18 years old, with the adult division for players aged 19 and up. Both divisions are coed, and there must be at least one girl on the

court at all times. There may be no more than five players per team, as well.

The registration form can be found online at http://podcasts. shelbyed.k12.al.us/hlhs-athletics/ volleyball. Please mail or drop off the form and tournament fee at Helena High School.

The deadline for registration is Friday, May 20. There will be a

team meeting for all the studentathletes at 9:45am the morning of the 21st, right before the first game starts at 10am.

For more information, please contact Coach Lewis by emailing her at A3Lewis@shelbyed.k12. al.us or visit the HHS Volleyball webpage at http://podcasts. shelbyed.k12.al.us/hlhs-athletics/ volleyball.

Helena High School Head Softball Coach Heidi Kouveras has many good players working extra hard this season. So far, the Lady Huskies have a record of 4-0 in the region and 15-8 overall, with wins against teams like Jemison, Prattville, Calera, Vestavia, Homewood and Thompson.

Playing on the road most of last season was a challenge that brought the girls together as a team, but they’re happy to have a home field to play on this year.

Head over to the HHS girls’ field to catch them in action! GO HUSKIES!!!

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It’s that time again – Helena’s annual Movies in the Park program is right around the corner. This year, we would like your help in selecting the movies we’ll show during the 2016 season.

All you need to do is go to www.surveymonkey.com/ r/2016moviesinthepark and select up to eight movies that you and your family would like us to show. The eight movies with the most votes

by May 13th will be the ones 44 Spring 2016 / www.CityOfHelena.org

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Be sure to fill in your contact information, because eight lucky participants will win free food from the snack bar for a family of four (up to $20 worth) – one winner for each of the movies we show.

So be a part of our 2016 season by taking part in our movie selection process, then join us each Friday night at the Helena Amphitheatre beginning June 3rd for Movies in the Park!

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2969 Pelham Parkway, Suite C Located on Hwy 31 in the Alpine Square Shopping Center, between Old Time Pottery and Shelby Family Chiropractic

Residential Beautification— 1841 Secretariat Drive

Mike and Renee Porter moved to Helena in 1987 and custom built their home at 1841 Secretariat Drive. At the time, the lot they picked to build their home on was on just a dirt road.

Mike takes such care and pride in the yard that neighbors remark how the lawn looks like a well-groomed golf course.

Renee also enjoys working in her flower and herb garden and loves birdhouses, which nest and create an abundance of singing birds.

Renee and Mike have framed their yard with camellias and Osmanthus fragrans, fragrant sweet olive shrubs. Currently, a planter hanging just left of their front door is the spring hideaway for a mama wren and her four blue eggs. Soon clematis vines will be blooming and winding their way up the larger birdhouse poles mounted in the yard.

Already, a white

Lady Banks Climbing Rose is prolifically blooming over the perennial bed below. Another Lady Banks arches with yellow blooms adjacent to the house.

To the right of the driveway is a bed adorned with statuary and snow drops and as summer comes on, will be filled with Blackeyed Susan and other established perennials.

The Porter’s daughter, Sara, grew up attending all of the Helena schools and is now giving back to the community as an elementary school teacher.

The Porter family has been living in Dearing Downs

and supporting the community for more than 30 years.

They have watched Helena grow into a wonderful area to live and raise a family. They are proud to call Helena their home.

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H E L E N A’ S C O M M U N I T Y O F FA I T H A.M.E. New Bethel A.M.E. Church Highway 261 • 201-5531 Rev. Wilma Merriweather Sunday School 10:00 AM Sunday Morning Worship 11:00 AM

BAPTIST CrossBridge Community Church Starkey Street (off 261) • 621-2695 Pastors Harris Cook & Bruce Squires crossbridgehelena.com Sunday Worship 10:00 AM Wednesday Prayer Service 6:30 PM

First Baptist Church Helena

815 Highway 52 E • 663-7879 Sr Pastor Greg Walker • fbhelena.org Sunday Bible Study 9:30 AM Sunday Worship 10:30 AM & 6:00 PM

Gospel Light Baptist Church

5781 Roy Drive • 685-0772 Pastor Gary Bohman • glbcbham.com Sunday Bible Study 10:00 AM Sunday Worship 11:00 AM

Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church

Highway 261 • 663-5257 Rev. Edwin D. Dinkins • mpbchelena.com Sunday School 10:00 AM Morning Worship 11:00 AM

New Elam Baptist Church Cunningham Drive • 663-2230 Rev. Lester Sunday School 10:00 AM Morning Worship 11:00 AM

Riverside Baptist Church

1919 Highway 52 W • 426-1910 Pastor Chris Wilson • rbchelena.org Sunday Worship 9:00 AM Sunday Bible Study 10:30 AM

Shiloh Baptist Church

6700 County Road 13 • 424-4539 Rev. Pete Hubhins, Jr. Pastor Sunday School 10:00 AM Sunday Worship 11:00 AM

CHRISTIAN—DISCIPLES OF CHRIST Grace Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) 869 Highway 52 • 426-1233 Rev. Tommy Morgan gracechristianchurch.org Sunday School 9:00 AM Sunday Worship 10:00 AM

CHURCH OF CHRIST

Church of Christ at Helena 2499 Highway 58 • 620-4575 Evgs Curtis Flatt & Bryan Moody church-of-christ.org Sunday School 9:30 AM Morning Worship 10:30 AM

EPISCOPAL Lamb of God Charismatic Episcopal

New Vision Christian Church

2383 Highway 95 • 664-4333 Pastor Van C. Houser, Sr. • nvcc4god.org 5140 County Road 17 • 919-7932 Sunday Corporate Prayer 9:00 AM Rev. Glenn E. Davis • lambofgodcec.org Sunday Worship 10:15 AM Children’s Church 10:00 AM Sunday Worship 10:00 AM

Voice of Faith Int’l Ministries

METHODIST Helena United Methodist Church 2035 County Road 58 • 663-0111 Rev. Mary Bendall • helenaumc.org Sunday Worship 9:00, 11:00AM

The Church at Cahaba Bend

1560 Cunningham Drive • 663-7396 Rev. Franklin L. Kirksey Sunday Worship 7:00 & 10:00 AM Thursday Bible Teaching 10:00 AM

PRESBYTERIAN Christ Community Church

3721 Highway 52 W • 621-8060 Rev. Keith Elder • cahababend.org Sunday School 9:15 AM Contemporary Worship 10:30 AM

Meets at Helena Intermediate • 621-6248 Pastor Phil Chambers • cccbham.org Sunday Worship 10:00 AM

NAZARENE Trinity Church of the Nazarene

3396 Helena Road • 663-2174 Pastor Mike Ensminger helenacpchurch.com Sunday School 9:00 AM Morning Worship 10:00 AM

Laurel Woods Dr. & Hwy 58 • 664-4659 Rev. David Shirer • nazarene.ch/trinity/ Sunday School 9:00 AM Morning Worship 10:00 AM

NON-DENOMINATIONAL Cornerstone Church 2694 Highway 58 • 663-9332 Rev. Tim Trimble cornerstonechurchhelena.org Sunday School 9:30 AM Morning Worship 10:30 AM

Helena Cumberland Presbyterian

Our community of faith offers many services and programs year-round.

Please visit the church’s website for additional information about upcoming events and programs.

Attend the Church of Your Choice This Sunday!

46 Spring 2016 / www.CityOfHelena.org

Kiwanis 1

! y a D e k a c n a P l a u n n A 2th

JANE B. HOLMES PUBLIC LIBRARY

JANE B. HOLMES PUBLIC LIBRARY 230 Tucker Road, Helena 35080 • 664-8308 HOURS: Monday 10:00 AM-7:00 PM; Tuesday 10:00 AM-6:00 PM; Wednesday 10:00 AM-6:00 PM; Thursday 10:00 AM-7:00 PM; Friday 10:00 AM-5:00 PM; Saturday 10:00 AM-2:00 PM; Closed on Sunday.

Greetings from the library!

This past fall, the library recieved notification of approval for an LSTA grant. Administered through the Alabama Public Library Service, this grant provides funding for library materials for childre, juveniles, and young adults.

This funding has allowed our library to purchase new items for these departments, and allows for new display features and publicity. In the coming weeks and months, lists of new material will be available so that patrons may search for these new items, and place them on hold if they are checked out.

Reserving materials is a VERY important part of library service. While the exact item you are looking for may be checked out or at another library, a simple hold request will ensure that the item arrives at the library, especially for you! This process is simple, allows you to search from home or at the library, and gives you access to items from all over Shelby County. The library WANTS you to use this service! It is FREE and easy to use. Call 664-8308 or ask a staff member for details.

In community news, the library appreciates the many groups who have reached our to show their support.

Primrose School of RiverWoods held a Book Drive for the library, and the children and families there donated some great books for our library!

We received some great material that will make it onto our shelves, and hopefully these young readers will visit to check them out soon and see what is new at the library.

In other Book Drive news, the English Honor Society at Helena High School held a drive for us as well. These dedicated students have gone the extra mile to collect and donate books. Who knows more about reading than top English students in our community? No one! These students have done a great service for us, and are showing younger students the importance of being a good students and volunteering for the library.

We appreciate it! Special thanks to Mrs. Rigdon for her initiative and professionalism.

It is an honor to work with students in our community!

In a few short weeks, believe it or not, our summer reading program

will start at the library! Now is a GREAT time to visit and update or get a library card, pay off any fines, and see what is new. This process is MUCH easier in the spring, before the busy summer season begins.

Our theme this year is called On Your Mark, Get Set, Read! for juveniles, and Get in the Game, Read! for Teens and Young Adults. A summer theme of exercise and activity should be great fun, and suits our energetic town well! We have some great programs and prizes this year, so make sure to stop by the library for all the details!

Sincerely, Daniel Dearing, Library Director

UPCOMING EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES Story Time EVERY Tuesday and Thursday at 11:00 AM

Come by for this fun, free program every Tuesday and Thursday! Mrs. Jennie will be here to read some Fun stories and sing some songs!

Check out our calendar at www.cityofhelena.org for information on our upcoming events!

Stop by soon to check out a book or two, a movie and/or some tunes— we have the classics to the latest releases and everything in between!

TITLES JUST IN… Behold the Man— Bdie Thoene; Gone Again — James Grippando; Preacher’s Lady — Lori Copeland; Between the World and Me — TaNehisi Coates; My name is Lucy Barton — Elizabeth Strout; Name of God is Mercy — Pope Francis; Road to Little Dribbling — Bill Bryson; Swans of 5th Avenue — Melanie Benjamin.

GREAT FLICKS AND SHOWS… Booklyn, Alvin and the Chipmunks—The Road Chip; The Big Short, Barbie: Spy Squad; The Peanuts Movie,; Creed; In The Heart of the Sea; The Room.

NEW TUNES… Coldplay – A Head Full of Dreams; Carrie Underwood – Storyteller; Elton John – Wonderful Crazy Night; Sia - This is Acting.

We also reserve books, music and audio materials at the Jane B. Holmes Public Library. Ask at the circulation desk or call the library at 205-664-8308 for details. Make sure to stop by the library soon.

HHS Girls Soccer season is well underway, going well for Hooligans HHS Girls Soccer Coach Coach Clif Naron has lead the team to a current record of 3-121 overall, and no regional games have been played as of press time. While constantly pushing for greater athleticism among the girls and the development of their skills, Coach Naron also makes sure to give these great student-athletes feedback on their performances as well.

He complemented Alexa Williams on her game against

Shades Valley January 11: “Great job man marking, AK! You made the difference in the last 50 minutes of the game.”

For the January 30 game against Shades Vallley, which the Huskies won 3-0, Allysa Dixon was named the player of the game. “What amazing growth Allysa shows year after year. She did a great job in the defense,” said Coach Naron. He gave kudos to Skyler Conway after a game against Montevallo, saying,

“Skyler did a nice job taking a leadership role on the right side of the field.”

In another game against Oak Mountain, the 2015 7A Girls State Championship team, Alexis Gardner held her own as a goalkeeper. In the game against Chelsea, Aszah Preuc was named player of the game, and the coach said, “It’s nice to have Aszah on the field, she’s already making an impact.” Juli Tatum was named the player of the

game following her performance in a March game versus American Christian Academy.

In March, the Hooligans won games against teams like Alabama Christian Academy and the Hueytown Gophers. The girls were also able to pull out a 12-2 win vs Calera as well as a 5-0 win vs. Jemison in the first week of April.

To catch these girls in action, drop by the HHS football fields and watch a game today!

HHS boys soccer are champs in annual Lakeshore Shootout The Helena High School Boys Soccer team is having a great season so far. With players as fantastic as senior Phildon Dublin, its no wonder they have been doing so well as a first and now second-year team. As this goes to press, the team has a record of 1-0 in the region

and 8-5-2 overall. They are ranked 26 in the state, and 218 nationally.

HHS Head Soccer Coach Zach Morgan has been discussing an annual Helena/ Pelham rivalry game with Pelham Boys Soccer Coach Patrick McDonald. The coaches wanted a unique name for the contest to help it stand out against other rivalry

games and fundraisers.

“When trying to come up with a name, ‘dogs vs. cats’ popped into my head,” Coach Morgan said. “We were trying to come up with a rivalry name because we knew we’d be playing each other.” Discussion with Pelham lead them to the name “Battle of the Paws,” the first annual of which was held Tuesday, April 6 on the HHS

soccer fields.

The team also participated in the 24th annual Lakeshore Shootout February 12-13 in the Boys Silver group, and came out on top, winning the championship in their division!

They have now won a Lakeshore trophy two years in a row, because at last year’s shootout they were the Bronze Division Champions. Congratulations!

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The April 1 First Friday was super fun—no foolin’!

Come on down to Old Town next month, Friday May 6, for the next edition of this great community event!

Snapshots from the HIS third grade choral program and Book Fair

8th Annual Helena Police Explorers Golf Tournament Thurs, June 2nd, Bent Brook Golf Club 7am sign in, 8am shotgun start FORMAT – 4 person scramble (pick your team or the committee will assign you to one)

COST - $100/player This includes: range balls, a gift bag, lunch, and automatic entry for door prizes MULLIGANS - $5 each (limit 3, can be prepaid with registration or purchased at the golf course)

Tournament Sponsorships are available for $150.00 each. As always, your support of the Helena Police Explorers is greatly appreciated!

All Proceeds directly benefit the

Helena Police Explorers

Anyone with questions concerning the tournament or the Explorer program, please contact Captain James Penhale at 205-663-6499 or jpenhale@helenapd.com TO ADVERTISE, CALL the Publisher at 746.1188 / MyHelenaCityNews.com / Spring 2016

51

HES Living Museum

The second graders of Helena Elementary once again donned the clothes of greats gone past and recited information about their lives for the annual Living Museum event. 1) George Washington, George W. Bush, Theodore Roosevelt, FDR. 2) General Norman Schwarzkopf, Sarah Palin, Nancy Reagan. 3) Bo Jackson, Noah Galloway. 4) Mae C. Jemison. 5) Barbara Park, Madame CJ Walker. 6) Hank Aaron. 7) Coretta Scott King. 8) Johnny Cash, Carrie Underwood. 9) Michael Jackson, Loretta Lynn, Elvis Presley, Taylor Swift. 10) Mary Lou Retton, Dorothy Hamill, Cathy Rigby. 11) Abraham Lincoln, William McKinley, jimmy Carter. 12) Shirley Temple, Christopher Reeve, Bonnie Blaine, Amelia Erhart, Ruby Bridges.13) Bear Bryant. 14)Coretta Scott King, George Washington Carver, Helen Keller. 15) Rosa Parks, Bobby Allison, James Spann. 16) Thomas Jeerson, George HW Bush, James Madison. 17) General George S. Patton.

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The legendary Harlem Wizards and our own Helena High School Band-Itz battled it out in a heated rematch of basketball and wits in February to raise funds for the HHS Band Boosters. Thanks to everyone who attended!

calendar of EVENTS REGULAR WEEKLY EVENTS

MONDAYS Exercise Classes, Helena Senior Center, 10:00AM Police Explorers, Explorer Training Facility, 4:00-7:00PM Fire Explorers, Station 2, 5:00PM TUESDAYS Kiwanis, Helena Senior Center, 7:00AM; 3rd Tues. 5:30PM Story Time, Jane B. Holmes Public Library, 11:00AM Helena Lions Club meets the 2nd and 4th Tuesday, Helena Senior Center, 7:00PM, Visit their Facebook page Helena Lions Club for information THURSDAYS Exercise Classes, Helena Senior Center, 10:00AM Story Time, Jane B. Holmes Public Library, 11:00AM

april

13th - Helena High Late 9:10 am Start - 15th Annual Buck Creek Festival 6:00pm-10:00pm Visit BuckCreekFestival.com for the latest info

14th - 15th Annual Buck Creek Festival 10:00am-10:00pm, Visit BuckCreekFestival.com for the latest info & Duck Race time 16th - Helena High Senior Awards Day, 8:30am 17th - Helena Elementary Kona Ice - Helena High School Graduation, BJCC Concert Hall, 6:30pm 19th - Helena Intermediate Food For Thought - Helena Planning and Zoning, Helena Municipal Building, 6:00pm - Friends of the Jane B. Holmes Library Meeting, Library, 6:00pm 20th - Helena Intermediate H Day (Rain Date May 23rd) 21st - Respite Care-special needs 0-21, free but must reserve aaronsstaffrespite.org

16th - Respite Care-special needs 0-21, free but must reserve aaronsstaffrespite.org

23rd - Helena Elementary 2nd Grade End of Year Parties

19th - Helena Intermediate Art Show

24th - Helena Elementary 5K End of Year Parties

- Helena Intermediate Helena Harmonies Show, 630pm

- Helena City Council, Helena Municipal Building, 6:00pm

- Helena Intermediate 4th Grade Talent Show 21st - Helena Planning and Zoning, Helena Municipal Building, 6:00pm 25th - Helena Elementary 1st Grade End of Year Parties - Friends of the Jane B. Holmes Library Meeting, Library, 6:00pm - Helena Intermediate 5th Grade Talent Show & Awards Day 22nd- Helena Elementary PTO “Backward” Spirit Day

28th - Shelby Co. Schools dismiss at 1:00pm, HIS 12:45pm

23rd - Founder’s Day, 10:00am-5:00pm

30th - MEMORIAL DAY: Municipal Offices/Library* Closed in observance of Memorial Day; Trash will be picked up as usual

25th - Helena City Council, Helena Municipal Building, 6:00pm 26th - Helena Elementary Kona Ice 27th - Helena Intermediate Staff/Nurse Appreciation Day

may

2nd - Helena Intermediate Teacher Appreciation Week May 2-6 3rd - Helena Business Association Meeting, 8:00 am, for meeting site visit hbahelena.com or their Facebook page - Helena Elementary 2nd Grade Parents Meeting 6:30pm 4th - Emergency Siren Test, 10:00am 5th - Helena Intermediate PTO Duty Free Lunch 6th - Helena Intermediate Kona Ice - First Friday, Old Town Helena 9th - Helena Elementary Art Show May 9-15 - Helena City Council, Helena Municipal Building, 6:00pm 10th - Helena Elementary Family Night at the Art Show, 4:30pm 2nd Grade PTO Performance 6:15pm 12th - Helena Elementary New 5K Parents Meeting, 6:30pm 54 Spring 2016 / www.CityOfHelena.org

june 1st

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Emergency Siren Test, 10:00am

3rd - First Friday, Old Town Helena - Sundown Cinemas, Old Town Amphitheater, 8:00pm visit hbahelena.com or their Facebook page for the movie schedule 4th - Helena Market Days, Old Town Amphitheater, 8:00am-12:00pm visit HelenaMarketDays.com for Schedule of 9:00am Chef Demos 7th - Helena Business Association Meeting, 8:00am, for meeting site visit hbahelena.com or their Facebook page 10th - Sundown Cinemas, Old Town Amphitheater, 8:00pm visit hbahelena.com or their Facebook page for the movie schedule 11th - Helena Market Days, Old Town Amphitheater, 8:00am-12:00pm visit HelenaMarketDays.com for Schedule of 9:00am Chef Demos 13th - Helena City Council, Helena Municipal Building, 6:00pm 16th - Helena Planning and Zoning, Helena Municipal Building, 6:00pm 17th - Sundown Cinemas, Old Town Amphitheater, 8:00pm visit hbahelena.com or their Facebook page for the movie schedule

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State Senator Cam Ward pays a visit to the Helena Kiwanis Club In February, Helena Kiwanis Club welcomed State Senator Cam Ward, who has been an annual visitor for fourteen years speaking about what’s going on in the Alabama Legislature.

Ward, who has been a leader in prison reform, discussed ongoing budget cuts, the status of the education budget and the proposal of raising the gas tax.

Ward explained that gas taxes fund our roads and that as residents have begun driving more fuel-efficient cars, the taxes raised are lower. As Alabama last raised the gas tax in 1992, Ward sees an increase coming to compensate for that shortfall in recent years.

Political action and fighting in politics some 4 or 5 years ago was in the education arena, Ward pointed out. “After the 2008 recession, the budget took a heavy hit with sales and income taxes dropping. Jobless rates went up, revenue went

down. This year the discussion centers around giving teachers and retirees a four-percent, five-percent or six-percent raise.”

Ward also noted social media has changed much in politics, but for those called to serve as an elected official, he says it is still the right thing to do.

In attendance were members of Key Club (Kiwanis high school student members) and their sponsor, Mack Farley.

Students pictured with Ward are: Tyndall Cunningham, Key Club treasurer, Wesley Ralph, chaplain, Bethany Farley, vicepresident and members Parker Cunningham, Katelyn Karcher and Daniel Harrison.

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55

Helena City News P.O. Box 50, Helena, AL 35080 www.MyHelenaCityNews.com www.CityOfHelena.org

SHOP HELENA FIRST!

PRESORT STD. U.S.POSTAGE PAID PERMIT 15 PELHAM, AL

MAYOR

Mark R. Hall

CITY CLERK Amanda Traywick

CITY COUNCIL

Leigh Hulsey Pres. Pro-Tem, Place 1 Mike Jones, Place 2 Cris Nelson, President, Place 3 Leslie Bartlett, Place 4 Hal Woodman, Place 5

POSTAL PATRON

IMPORTANT CITY PHONE NUMBERS City Hall: 205-663-2161 Fire Dept.: 205-663-5809 Police Dept.: 205-663-6499 Utilities: 205-663-1670 Sports Complex: 205-620-2877 Library: 205-664-8308

Send us your articles & pictures!

FOUNDER’S DAY April 23, 2016 10am-3pm Helena Amphitheatre

BUCK CREEK FESTIVAL Friday May 13, 6pm-10pm Saturday May 14, 10am-10pm Helena Amphitheatre

Article and/or picture submissions should be directed to: helenacitynews@aol.com. Photos should be in color, high resolution (just as they come off your camera), and saved as JPEG files. For additional information, call 746-1188.

For Advertising Information, call 746-1188 or Visit Us at www.MyHelenaCityNews.com Opinions expressed in the Helena City News are often those of contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, nor do they constitute an endorsement of products or services herein.

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