The Trussville Tribune – March 16 - 22, 2022

The Tribune

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By Hannah Curran Editor

TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville City Schools (TCS) Board of Education (BOE) discussed COVID-19 in schools and reminded the public about the upcoming tax renewal at the monthly meeting on Monday, March 14.

See BOE, Page 5

Trussville PD and Firefighter honored

by Alabama First Responders Association at inaugural awards dinner

By Hannah Curran Editor

TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville Police Department was awarded the Law Enforcement Agency of the Year award.

See AWARD, Page 4

Oneonta man allowed to keep personalized tag

By Hannah Curran Editor

ONEONTA — Nathan Kirk, the owner of Blount County Tactical, a gun store in Oneonta, is allowed to keep his personalized tag that was originally recalled for “objectionable language.” Kirk purchased a new vehicle in Oct. 2021 and decided to personalize his tag for the vehicle.

See TAG, Page 2

Moody City Council approves building new police station

By Nathan Prewett For The Tribune

MOODY – At a regular meeting on Monday, March 15, the Moody City Council voted to move forward with establishing a new police department building.

See MOODY, Page 6

FRI

SAT

SUN MON

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64 40

70 42

75 53

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68%

13%

99%

5%

4%

5%

33%

Lass But Not Least

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Moody Softball

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2022

Leeds applies for Main Street Alabama to become a ‘Designated Community’

By Hannah Curran Editor

LEEDS — The City of Leeds is applying for Main Street Alabama, a branch off of the larger Main Street USA, to become a “Designated Community.”

Main Street Alabama is a nonprofit solely focused on revitalizing historic downtowns in Alabama. Three cities are chosen a year from the many that apply. Main Sreet Alabama comes into the city and analyzes what the downtown merchants, the leaders, and the citizens want the historic downtown to look like.

Becoming a Main Street Alabama Designated Community is an extremely lengthy process due in May 2022.

Communities who want to be Designated Community must first attend a workshop in February. Next, a Letter of Intent is required from the city stating the city intends to apply to be a Designated Community.

Once Main Street Alabama receives the Letter of Intent, an

(Left to Right) Kristy Biddle and Tiffiany Abel Ward wants to spread the news about how Main Street Alabama is important and can help the community. (Photo courtesy of Tiffiany Abel Ward)

application is sent to the committee chair.

Tiffiany Abel Ward is the vice president of retail banking for millennial bank and vice president for the Leeds Area Chamber of Commerce, helping with the Main Street Alabama application process said that the application process is long.

“It requires lots of work and resources, on the part of the entire town to be able to

put this piece together, it requires pictures that require landmarks, where those landmarks are in relation to East, West, South, North,” Ward said. “It requires historical data about what makes up the town, population demographic data, how many vacant buildings are downtown, how many buildings have a first and second story, you have to determine what your mapping is, what you want your desig-

nated downtown or designated Main Street to be.”

Ward explained that the application requires cities to create a projected budget, a pledge form so that people in the community businesses and individuals can say, “this is something that we want to get on and support, and we are going to pledge ‘X’ amount of dollars each year to this project.”

“The second piece to that is an in-person presentation about your city, and that happens on May 25,” Ward said.

“The other cities that have applied in the past and have made it to that, in-person application process, they pull out all the stops. People are writing plays, singing songs, playing fiddle, playing the piano. I mean, they are really highlighting their town, and it’s pretty cutthroat as far as the in-person presentation goes in May; they pick their person in June, and then they are in the new designated community July 1.”

See MAIN STREET, Page 4

Upcoming event at Trussville Public Library with Rick Bragg

By Hannah Curran Editor

TRUSSVILLE — Author and storyteller Rick Bragg will be at the Trussville Public Library on Tuesday, May 3, 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. to discuss his new book, The Speckled Beauty.

Whether you know him for his books All Over But the Shoutin’ and The Prince of Frogtown or his latest heartwarming latest tale, The Speckled Beauty, Bragg to discuss his new book. This will be a ticketed event, and ticket prices are $15 without a book and $35 with an autographed copy of his new book.

Susan Matlock, special project coordinator for the Trussville Public Library, explained that the library is honored to have Bragg come to Trussville.

“We are just very excited to have him in Trussville,” Matlock said. “I think that that would he would be a great fit for our community. He has a great southern vibe and is family-oriented.

He’s just very personable and

The Speckled Beauty by Rick Bragg (Photo courtesy of Susan Matlock)

down to earth.”

Trussville Public Library wants to continue offering large-scale programming to the community. Matlock said that the library has provided local southern writers who interest the community.

“We had Patti Callahan Henry back in February, and we were just talking about local southern writers that would be a great fit, and [Rick Bragg] came to mind, so we decided to start the ball rolling with that process,” Matlock said.

Jason Baker, Trussville Public Library Director, said it’s about providing the community with somebody people want to see and an opportunity to hear an author that they enjoy that they may not have had an opportunity to hear or see.

“The Patti Callahan Henry event, for example, was very well attended,” Baker said.

“It’s not every month, every week, even half a year that we have somebody like that, and of course, it’s exposure for the author as well.”

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March 16 - 22

TCS BOE discusses COVID in schools, reminds public on tax renewal

WED THU

See LIBRARY, Page 5

Leeds Council addresses library budget, court concerns at meeting

By Nathan Prewett For The Tribune

LEEDS – Monday night’s meeting on March 7 opened with remarks from two speakers, the first being Susan DuBose who is running for State House District 45. She is running against Rep. See LEEDS, Page 6

Local high school students attend Rotary Leadership Conference From The Tribune staff reports

TRUSSVILLE —The Trussville Rotary Daybreak Club selected Hewitt-Trussville High School and Restoration Academy students to attend the RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) See ROTARY, Page 3

Library budget controversy raised again at Leeds Council meeting

By Nathan Prewett For The Tribune

LEEDS – The issue regarding the Leeds Jane Culbreth Library’s budget was brought up again at a March 7 meeting of the Leeds City Council following a previous meeting where Director Melanie See BUDGET, Page 3

Second alternate steps in as new Ms. Senior Alabama 20212022

By Hannah Curran Editor

LEEDS — A Kimberly woman was crowned the new Ms. Senior Alabama 20212022 at Leeds City Hall on December 10, 2021.

See SENIOR, Page 7

The Trussville Tribune

Page 2

Tag

The

From front page

Trussville Tribune 190 Main Street Trussville, AL 35173 (205) 533-8664 Scott Buttram, Publisher publisher@trussvilletribune.com Tanna M. Friday, Managing Editor news@trussvilletribune.com Hannah Caver, Editor hannah.caver@trussvilletribune.com Bobby Mathews, Sports Editor bobby.mathews@trussvilletribune.com SALES STAFF Ryan Jennings, Director of Advertising & Sales Leigh Hayes, Account Executive Shari Moore, Account Executive Meredith White, Account Executive Lauren Taylor, Office Mgr/Traffic Coord.

Member of the Alabama Press Association

March 16 - 22, 2022

Kirk chose the “Don’t Tread on Me” distinctive tag with the personalized letters “LGBF JB.” Kirk received a letter from the Alabama Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division in February 2022 stating that his license plate “contains objectionable language which is considered by the Department to be offensive to the peace and dignity of the State of Alabama. Registration for this personalized license plate message will not be issued/renewed.”

The letter stated that he needed to return the license plate in 10 days or his vehicle registration would be revoked. A fine would be issued to Kirk for “$500 for the first offense and $1,000 for the second or subsequent offense.” Kirk said if his vehicle registration is invalid, it could lead to his truck being impounded.

Kirk said that recalling his license plate is “stepping on his freedom.”

“I didn’t have an appeal process or something like that, I never did that, I didn’t have an attorney reach out,” Kirk said. “The response went everywhere. I don’t even know who all posted it, but it was posted in probably every state and almost every newspaper, and Ben Shapiro, Crowder, it just went crazy, Newsmax with Greg Kelly, and OAN News Live. So I think that had a lot to do with it.”

Kirk explained that Sheriff David Clarke reached out and tagged Governor Kay Ivey in a post that stated she needed to fix it. Kirk said that he believes these comments and posts “lit a fire under whoever was making a decision.”

“The whole state probably wasn’t behind this, I think it was just a couple people got their feelings hurt at the state, and then maybe more influential people there got in-

Nathan Kirk and his personalized tag. (Photo courtesy of Nathan Kirk)

Nathan Kirk is allowed to keep his personalized tag.

(Photo courtesy of Nathan Kirk)

volved,” Kirk said.

Kirk said that the tag is just a tag, but feeling like he was silenced or feeling like he was only “messed with” because of his opinion caused Kirk to reach out to the public.

People heard his story and began threatening his family,

but Kirk said the overwhelming response was positive.

“We’ve had crazies that have threatened us and stuff like that, and left, bad reviews for my wife’s hair salon, and all kinds of other things, from places like New Hampshire and stuff like that,” Kirk said.

Kirk said this isn’t the

first time he felt like his first amendment rights were being suppressed.

“I get blocked on Facebook almost every other day for sharing my firearms store,” Kirk said. “Facebook’s community guidelines say that a brick and mortar which we are a brick and mortar firearm store can post firearms for sale. It’s different than a person or something like that, of course, you can’t sell them on marketplace or anything, but we can have a page advertising what we sell in the store.”

Kirk said that Facebook doesn’t follow its own rules, and he said there’s a motive for that.

“The motive is they don’t agree with me, just like everybody else, leaving bad reviews when they’ve never been in my store,” Kirk said.

“They want to punish somebody for thinking differently than them. It’s been really difficult with Facebook since this, they’ve blocked every one of my profiles, I’ve had to make different profiles because they keep doing this.”

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March 16 - 22, 2022

The Trussville Tribune

Local / Region

Trussville PD arrest Clay man for attempted rape, kidnapping during job interview From The Tribune staff reports

TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville Police Department (TPD) has arrested a Clay man for attempted rape and kidnapping (first-degree) on Friday, March 11.

According to the TPD, 26-year-old Shameek Dunn was arrested for assaulting a 19-year-old employee of Palm Beach Tan located at 4710 Frank Street in Trussville.

Dunn reportedly attacked the victim while she was interviewing him for a job at the business. He fled the scene after the attack but was arrested a short while later by TPD at his residence in Clay.

Dunn is charged with attempted rape and kidnapping

Rotary From front page

conference in February at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville.

RYLA is an intensive leadership experience organized

by Rotary clubs and districts where leadership skills are developed while having fun and making connections.

Shameek Dunn

(first-degree) with bonds totaling $90,000. Warrants have been obtained from the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office.

The story will be updated when more information is available.

it was nice to hear from professionals in their fields and to get different perspectives from their own.

They also learned the Rotary 4-way test: “Of the things we think, say, and do: is it the truth, is it fair to all concerned, will it build goodwill and better friendships, and will it be beneficial to all concerned?”

The Club meets at First

Budget From front page

Carden’s proposal to allocate funds to the library was rejected.

At the last meeting, Carden proposed that the council allocate funds not to exceed $200,000 to the library’s budget, which was cut during the pandemic. In her proposal, Carden said that the funds would allow the library to resume programs certain services and compensate employees who were affected by the cut.

Councilwoman DeVoris Ragland-Pierce supported the proposal, but it was not seconded, so the resolution failed to pass. Other council members cited the feasibility of allocating from the general budget, money owed from the library board, and the current payroll of employees as reasons for not passing the resolution.

Miller started by saying that the previous administration under former mayor Eric Patterson with former council member Susan Carswell “literally overnight” formed a new, separate library board and written the library a $1 million check.

Miller said that the money was taken away before former councilman Johnny Kile, in response, sued in a circuit court. According to Miller, the judge ruled that the money transfer was illegal and ordered the funds to be returned to the city, even saying that all recipients were possibly criminally liable.

“We did not take the million dollars from the library,” Miller said. “The judge ordered it.”

He addressed a second point that when former library director Mondretta Williams retired, the board told the

city that it did not have the authority to select a new librarian once the process was starting. Similarly, he said that the board told them that they didn’t have the authority to set librarian pay.

However, after research from a legal team, it was found that the library was a city department with librarians being employees of the city, Miller told the public. He then read a list of salary rates for the librarians and their assistants ranging from more than $68,000 to $35,000.

He also said an audit financial record showed that the city had supported the library with an estimated $400,000 – $500,000 each year. According to Miller, a process was started to determine budget cuts during the pandemic, during which he said that the library was being overfunded “in a major way” compared to other city libraries.

In the next point, Miller said that Carden was offered help by providing volunteers with her turning it down, allegedly stating that she would not accept volunteers while the library was understaffed and underfunded.

He then said that Carden and an assistant stated that the library would cut programs if the requested funds were not allocated, which he said was “not so” with all programs being funded in the budget provided to the director.

“The director’s own budget request specifically states that the requested $205,000 would be spent on personnel expenses, not on programs,” he read. “Yet she took the action of cutting the funded programs and falsely telling the public that the library could not provide these programs due to being understaffed and underfunded.”

Afterward, he claimed that

Former Susan Carswell addresses the Leeds City Council on March 7.

(Photo by Nathan Prewett)

Carden went over budget by an estimated $60,000 on the 2021 personnel budget. She presented to the finance committed approximately $37,000 in unpaid and overdue invoices during the finalizing of the fiscal year 2022 budget, which caused a deficit of $97,000.

Additionally, there was no funding for an employee that he said was hired without the city’s approval. Among the final points in his remarks were a 13 1/2 % salary increase for employees as well as a $25,000 check from the board of education that he said was not reported to the city as required by state law.

He concluded that there was a “campaign of misinformation” regarding the city’s situation with the library “in order to coerce this city into providing a massive budget increase to cover mismanagement of funds.”

He followed by stating that a meeting will be held to discuss the library’s practices and city policies and that “all programs were funded and are now funded shall be restored immediately.”

Carden asked if she could speak but was disallowed by Miller, telling her that her comments would be heard elsewhere.

Miller’s remarks were met with disagreement from several people who spoke during public comments. The first was from Carswell, who ad-

dressed the Patterson administration’s actions, saying that they voted to form a library building authority over the course of two meetings and that the members were voted on “properly.”

She then said that they voted to approve $1 million to be in the control of the building authority with a clause requiring five days for the check to be transferred. But a city employee transferred the money ahead of the required time, she stated, which left a loophole for Kile to file suit so that the city could take the money back.

“It was very planned and orchestrated,” she said, adding that “there was nothing illegal about any of the actions that we as a council took. The action that was done incorrectly was the transfer of funds for the five-day waiting period.”

There was then an exchange between her and Miller in which Carswell brought up the salaries of other city employees versus the library staff. A second speaker was Amy Shorter, who said that she makes $29,000 per year, contradicting a report saying she makes $40,000. She then said that the council had the wrong information on their payments.

Others spoke, including Tina McDonald, who questioned Miller on the budget process, believing there was a discrepancy between what the city has a budget for and what is given out. She criticized the way the city was handling budget expenses.

Carden declined to comment on the matter.

Meetings are held on the first and third Mondays of every month at City Hall on 1400 9th Street Northeast.

Agenda packets can be seen online at the City of Leeds website.

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Students who attended were: Yasmin Fisher, Kylee Rose Elrod, Vivian Mann, Anne Stewart Rogers, Emily Bozeman, and Madison Morris from Hewitt-Trussville; A. Jacob Cohill and Marco Storey from Restoration Academy. (Photo courtesy of Diane Poole)

The group of eight students sponsored by the Rotary Daybreak Club attended a recent club meeting to share their experiences from the conference.

According to the students, they learned perseverance and hard work helps in your career as well as in building friendships.

In addition, the students said

Page 3

Baptist Church Trussville at 7 a.m. on Wednesday mornings. For more information on the Trussville Rotary Club Daybreak or to help with one of their projects, please find them on Facebook (Trussville Rotary Daybreak Club) or email Diane Poole at dianepoole1225@centurytel.net.

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Award

Hooper, Sr. Lifetime of Outstanding Service and Excellence in Law Enforcement Award h Constable Jonathan Barbee, Jefferson County • Law Enforcement Officer of the Year h Deputy Danielle Eaton, Tuscaloosa County Sheriff’s Office • Firefighter of the Year h Clint Sills, Trussville Fire Department • EMT of the Year h Arwen McGauley, Blount EMT • Outstanding Community Service Award h Deputy William Nolen, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office • Excellence in Law Enforcement and Community Service Award h Constable Robert Colvert, III, Jefferson County • Outstanding Community Service Award h Deputy Constable Joanne Sellers Barbee, Jefferson County • Lifetime of Service Memorial Award h Special Agent K-9 Faust, BNSF Railroad Police • Excellence in Law Enforcement Award h Senior Special Agent Bryan Schaffer, BNSF Railroad Police • Excellence in Community Service Award h Sheriff Mark Pettway, Jefferson County • Law Enforcement Agency of the Year h Trussville Police Department, Chief Eric Rush “We are proud of our award winners this evening.

These awards were well deserved and we look forward to presenting awards to outstanding first responders next year,” board member of the Alabama First Responders Association, Brett Trimble said.

From front page

Trussville Firefighter received the First Responder Fire Fighter of the Year award at the inaugural Alabama First Responders Association awards dinner on Thursday, March 10, at Birmingham’s historic Fennec entertainment venue.

Police Chief Eric Rush said he did not know that the department was nominated for the award, and he is proud of this accomplishment.

“This department isn’t just about me or about any one person or group of people, it is about all of us working together towards the common goal of serving the citizens of Trussville,” Rush said. “We should all never lose sight of that fact.”

Rush thanked his department for making this department one of the best in the State. He explained that this award could help with the recruitment of new officers and help the image of the department and the city.

“We’re a growing police department, a progressive police department, and we’re being noticed, so it’s kind of a big deal,” Rush said.

Trussville Firefighter Clint Sills received the First Responder Fire Fighter of the Year award, and he stated on a Facebook post that he was honored to be among so many

From Left to Right: Firefighter Clint Sills and Chief Eric Rush (Photo courtesy of Clint Sills)

amazing people.

“I was honored to be in the room of so many incredible people,” Sills said. “People from police, constables, fire, military, and first responders.

The food, speakers, and live entertainment were a blast. I was so honored to receive the First Responder Fire Fighter of the year award. I am thankful first to God my Savior and second my beautiful family. It was a night to remember.”

Hit country artist Dallas Walker performed during and after the event for the first responders.

In an online statement, Association Executive Director Angela McClure stated that this will be the first event of its kind in Alabama. “It’s time that we recognize and honor all of our First Responders who put their lives on the line every day.”

According to The Alabama First Responders Association website, the Alabama First Responders was formed in late 2019 by a group of Law Enforcement Officers and Firefighters. They share a common goal of working together to protect Alabama’s heroes and their jobs. There are over 15,000 Police, Sheriffs, Constables, Firefighters, and Paramedics serving the

citizens of Alabama.

The alfirstresponders.org states that “Our heroes need support from citizens, businesses, and Elected Officials.

We work for you. Putting First Responders First.”

First responders were honored with awards such as First Responder of the Year, Law Enforcement Agency of the Year, Paramedic of the Year, Emergency Room Nurse or Doctor of the Year, as well as outstanding achievement awards and the First Responder Lifetime achievement award. Additionally, awards were given to outstanding agencies and emergency rooms of the year.

There were 12 awards given to the best in each category. Awards were presented by Angela McClure and board member Brett Trimble. The two top awards were presented by Perry O. Hooper, Jr. in honor of his father, the late Alabama Chief Justice Perry Hooper, Sr. The winners are as follows: • The Chief Justice Perry Hooper, Sr. Lifetime of Outstanding Service and Excellence in Leadership Award h Sheriff Sid Lockhart, Chambers County • The Chief Justice Perry

March 16 - 22, 2022

Main Street From front page

Kristy Biddle, a Leeds resident and a stay-at-home mom who is helping lead the charge on the Main Street Application, explained that Main Street Alabama has an overwhelmingly successful fourpoint system.

“They implement [a fourpoint system] just to jumpstart and then continue the revitalization process,” Biddle said.

Originally from Jasper, Biddle saw her hometown be “revitalized” after becoming a Designated Community.

She said that once her family moved to Leeds, she saw the same potential in the downtown area and wanted Leeds to apply to become a Designated Community.

“The revitalization that has happened there is almost mind-blowing,” Biddle said.

“They have restaurants and breweries and just a lot of things that appeal to all different ages and stages of life.”

Biddle explained that the change that would be implemented if Leeds becomes a Designated Community could bring more business to the downtown area of Leeds.

“Our hope is that it brings business to our downtown area, while also keeping the small-town charm that we have here in Leeds, we want to keep money in the city and provide jobs,” Biddle said.

Ward said that if Leeds becomes a Designated Community, it would bring jobs, money, more attention to the downtown space.

“Continuing the ongoing revitalization that the chamber and the RDA have already started,” Ward said. “It’s an opportunity to partner with Main Street and become a business community. It helps support new business in Main Street itself because the reach that they

have, they have the resources to recruit and revitalize.”

Some teachers and students at Leeds High School are getting involved in the application process by taking on a portion of the application, making it their end-of-the-year project, and helping create community awareness.

“It’s hard to disseminate information, piece by piece,” Ward said. “We’ve had meetings with the City Council, just to help us create awareness about how this could change the trajectory of Leeds, and just having community support.”

Biddle explained that if Leeds is picked, it will help Main Street as a nonprofit. A meeting is planned for Wednesday, March 23, at 6 p.m. at the Leeds Arts Council for anyone who wants to be a part of the process of Main Street Alabama.

“The whole idea is to leverage the assets that already exist in the community,” Biddle said. “We’re gaining some momentum just by word of mouth here, but we would just love to spread the information to people who may not have any idea what’s going on. So this sort of is an opportunity to spread that information.”

According to the Main Street Alabama website, Main Street programs are more than having great events and making downtown look better.

At its core, Main Street is an economic development tool that enhances the tax base of a community, fosters entrepreneurship, builds community capacity, and creates partnerships among key groups in a community.

For more information about the City of Leeds application process to become a Designated Community, email leedsmainstreet@gmail.com or join the Leeds Main Street Facebook page.

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The Trussville Tribune

March 16 - 22, 2022

BOE

From front page

Superintendent Dr. Patti Neill reminded everyone that the tax renewal is scheduled for April 12, 2022, and the city of Trussville has moved to five precincts.

“Trussville has moved from three to five precincts, and the city will be sending out some postcards to let everyone know where their voting precinct is,” Neill said.

“I have spoken to the local realtors, the Trussville City Schools Foundation, I’ll be visiting every faculty and staff meeting, I’ll be visiting Rotary, I’ve spoken to the chamber board. So we have a little roadshow that we’re doing to get the word out.”

TCS also plans to have videos from different people to support the tax renewal and will be available online.

The COVID-19 numbers in school are consistently below five.

“When they are below five, the state health department doesn’t even publish it,” Neill said. “They just say less than five. They don’t publish three or four or zero they just say less than.”

Neill said this report is a sentimental moment for TCS because schools were shut down two years prior.

“At the two-year anniversary of this, it’s been a long two years,” Neill said. “But we immediately worked hard to continue the education of our students. We kept lots of options in place for parents who wanted five days, staggered or virtual. What we remembered most was a double dose of grace, patience, and understanding as we went through the adjustment, tre-

Library From front page

If you plan to attend this event, visit trussvillelibrary.

Page 5

mendous adjustment, but I’m proud of Trussville City Schools and the way we adapted.”

Neill announced that it appears that TCS is in the season for returning to normal and reopening our schools.

Each schools individually would have to work on opening the schools.

“I‘m going to ask principals at their next faculty meeting to discuss their own unique reopening plans so that everybody in the faculty and staff are comfortable with it, and we want to do it right,” Neill said.

Trussville resident, Shane Armstrong, spoke to the BOE about COVID-19 in schools and how they shouldn’t step back after moving forward.

“I’m not here to simply hyper-focus on the neg on the negative, but I am intentionally doing so to ensure we don’t go backward,” Armstrong said. “In the last school board meeting, Dr. Neill mentioned the relaxing of COVID policies along with CDC guidelines. That’s a good thing, but I was concerned when there was an exchange between Dr. Ward and Dr. Neill’s comments about masks because we might need them again.”

Armstrong said he doesn’t agree with moving back to mask if numbers increase because “we know that children aren’t affected by this virus in any significant way, we know that masking has an extremely low efficacy rate, especially in the way that kids wear masks.”

“We know that social distancing doesn’t really do much, and where no one can really explain where three feet or six feet came from,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong explained that

COVID policies had done more harm than good in schools, including keeping parents from their children.

“What I’m asking is that you consider not going back to policies that did more harm than good,” Armstrong said.

“It’s good to hear that we’re moving forward and going back to normal. I just don’t want to go backward.”

Hewitt-Trussville High School (HTHS) is creating the schedule for summer school.

HTHS Principal Tim Salem said they are recommending a similar program that has been used in the past.

“An academic summer school period along with Driver’s Ed, because Driver’s Ed is a popular choice for summer school,” Salem said. “We’re looking at June 6 – June 30. Give a little time after the school year ends.”

Credit advancement in courses through access is of-

fered, along with Spanish, career prep, and health. Salem said that students like to take career prep and health in the summer to open up some more space in their schedule during the school year.

“We typically have credit recoveries as well, and that’s to come in and pursue what you are lacking,” Salem said.

“It’s kind of a staggered system to regain that grade they have not been able to fulfill.

We do expect to have at least one live math teacher as we have in the past, we’re coming off of two years of pandemic, we have a budget that Dr. Berry’s provided, so if we need to live math teachers, we’d be able to provide that.”

Salem said that HTHS is looking at 200 students in summer school, and roughly 90 of the 200 are students taking Driver’s Ed. HTHS is continuing in the spring, incentivizing exams

exemptions if a student has an 80 or above, which was the same procedure in the fall. Salem explained that the school decided to continue the same plan for the spring.

Anything we can do to bump them up.

In other matters, the Board approved: • Approve Accounts Payable for February 2022; • Approve Payroll for: February 2022; • Approve Financials: February 2022; • Approve Work Session Record and Board Minutes for February 28, 2022; • Approve EDF03-14-2201 through 03-14-22-02; • Approve the following contract agreements for HTMS Spring Fling: h Fun Source and Puttin on the Ritz; • Approve the following field trip:

h HTHS Band to Percussion Competition at University of Southern Miss; h HTHS Culinary Team to Houston, TX; • Approve the following change orders: h Change Order 20-17-31; h Change Order 19-27-28; h Change Order 19-27-26R; h Change Order 19-27-27; • Approve renewal of Bid 19-05 for Water Treatment; • Approve the following Use of Facilities Agreement; h Magnolia Place Annual Community Meeting outside area of school; • Approve HTHS Summer School Schedule/Fee Schedule; • Approve the purchase of two Canon copiers for the new BOE; and • Approval of superintendents recommendations regarding changes in personnel, contracts, extra services, and supplements.

Two items on the agenda received their first reading: • Place the 2022-23 Hewitt-Trussville High School Fee/Contribution sheet on the table for 1st reading; and • Place the 2022-23 Hewitt-Trussville Middle School Fee/Contribution sheet on the table for 1st reading.

The April Monthly Board Meeting will be Thursday, April 28, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. in the Board Room of the Central Office. There will be a Work Session held at 5:00 p.m. before the Board Meeting. The Board Meeting and the Work Session will be livestreamed. A link will be posted on the TCS website at 4:45 p.m. on April 28, 2022.

com and reserve your ticket. Books will be available for purchase, and Bragg will be signing books afterward.

Hors D’oeuvres will be

served during the book signing.

The Trussville Public Library wants to serve the Trussville Community any

way they can by providing books, audiobooks, digital books, digital audiobooks, streaming video, children’s programming, adult program-

ming, and teen programming.

“Just yesterday, there were 20 teens in the auditorium playing Smash Brothers and Mario Kart, and I could

hear in my office,” Baker said.

Upcoming events at the Trussville Library can be found at trussvillelibrary.com.

Trussville City Schools discussed COVID in schools, and the upcoming tax renewal vote.

(Photo by Hannah Curran)

The Trussville Tribune

Page 6

Leeds

Moody

Dickie Drake and briefly discussed term limits as part of her platform, saying that no official should serve more than two terms in the State House.

DuBose complimented Leeds and supported its potential entrance in the Main Street Alabama project.

The second was Chandler Mordecai, Miss Leeds Area 2022. She will participate in the Miss Alabama competition with domestic violence as her platform.

After hearing reports from department heads, the council passed two resolutions on the agenda before Mayor David Miller made remarks addressing the fallout from the decision at the previous meeting as well as what he said were allegations against the city.

What followed was a lengthy discussion in which there was back and forth between the mayor and from people speaking during public comments who disagreed with his remarks.

Later in the public comments portion, two citizens complained of excessive noise coming from a property in which the owner is running a small autobody shop. In addition to the noise of work being done, a dog on the property was said to be barking excessively.

After some discussion Magistrate, Laura Roberts advised that they should contact the police department to deal with the noise.

Sometime later, resident Lawrence Hopfield addressed litigation over a building on Mountain View Lane that had been happening for two years but found that it had been apparently settled in Leeds city court by a prosecutor who dropped the charges of someone building what he said was a “non-permitted, non-licensed” basketball court.

He said that he had heard that the judge dismissed the

The council unanimously voted to approve the building of a new police station.

This has been in talks for several months, with Police Chief Thomas Hunt presenting plans in November 2021 for an upgraded building after it was found that the current building was deteriorating due to its age.

New additions to the department will include a gym, safe rooms for children, several training areas, a break room, an expanded evidence room and storage area, different offices, a patrol meeting room, and a sally port for vehicles.

The building will be funded by a new bond issue in the amount of $5 million, along with money from the American Rescue Plan and other city funds not to exceed $1,550,000.

Hunt expressed his appreciation to the council.

“This is a long time coming, and I appreciate y’all very much,” Hunt said. “All of our officers are appreciative, and the city’s going to be proud of us.”

He added that the current building will be torn down in the next seven to eight months.

A public hearing was held for Pharaoh Smoke, a vaping, CBD, and phone repair shop in Hoover that was cited for violation of Ordinance M2007-09-10C relating to business licenses.

City Attorney James Hill explained that the store owner has a merchant’s retail license but does not have a tobacco retail license as required by city policy. Moody officers Reece Smith and Jim Headley cited them for selling tobacco-related products outside of the required license on February 28 and suggested a revocation process based on information obtained by the ABC board.

The council then heard an appeal from Brandon Gill, who said that he is the legal counsel for the Pharoah company that owns the store, which is part of a chain that maintains several locations throughout the state.

Gill apologized for the situation and said that while the other stores have the proper license, the Moody location “fell through the cracks.”

According to Gill, they registered with the secretary of state, had a sales tax license, and obtained federal identification numbers but applied for a general retail license with the city by mistake.

From front page

From front page

Leeds City Council Monday, March 7. (Photo by Nathan Prewett)

case. Miller replied that he was not aware of this happening.

City attorney Scott Barnett, Development Services Director Brad Watson, and Roberts said that there was more than one issue in the case, namely zoning and with the contractor, which was dismissed at the municipal court.

Watson added that the Board of Zoning Adjustments has the option of filing a civil charge after turning down a variance request from the owner but has not decided yet.

Joanne Boyd then spoke, voicing her concerns about the zoning policies. She said that she used to serve on the variance board and that if a variance request is rejected, the one who made the request has the right to appeal it in circuit court and not in the city court.

“I don’t know how this ended up in the city court,” she said, adding that she doesn’t know how the city attorney settles those cases and that she has been to meetings with him, but citizens who are around that area are not given the opportunity to speak.

“I don’t think that enforcing zoning laws should be in city court,” she said. “And our city attorney shouldn’t have the authority to compromise.”

Roberts then spoke.

“The civil court does not come to us,” she told Miller. “It’s not brought to us to enforce whatever. What is brought to us is the criminal aspect that he [the property owner] that he violated – he broke an ordinance. That’s the only thing that came before Leeds.”

She added that the punishment would be a fine or work with Watson to rectify

any problems with the property. Boyd replied that if the building is not in compliance with codes, it needs to be torn down.

Barnett agreed with Roberts’ comments and said that the information presented by Boyd was “inaccurate.”

Boyd reiterated that if the building is not up to code, then it should be torn down.

Barnett said that the court had done all they could, but an option remains to potentially revoke the business license of the property owner.

“The civil route is still open,” he said. “Has been all along it’s just taking a long time to deal with.”

Boyd then told the council that the city needed to take action to enforce the ordinances. The building’s safety was questioned, potentially making it a nuisance to the public.

After some further discussion, Miller said that the city would look into it.

In other business, the council: • Held a public hearing and later declared a property on Willow Street to be a nuisance because of clutter in the yard. The property’s owner said that he would clean it, and • Approved a budget amendment not to exceed $5,000 for a municipal court driving school from restricted court funds budget line item to the budget line item associated with the program.

Meetings are held on the first and third Mondays of every month at City Hall on 1400 9th Street Northeast. Agenda packets can be seen online at the City of Leeds website.

March 16 - 22, 2022 The ABC board notified them of not having a proper license, which prompted them to close the store while applying for an ABC license.

Gill said that he had submitted a new application with the city for the correct license.

Councilman Lynn Taylor brought up an allegation that the store has sold products to minors, but Gill denied this.

He later added that whether or not the council decides to revoke the retail license, they would still be in the process of obtaining the tobacco sale license.

The council voted unanimously to revoke their current license.

Among other actions taken by the council was to consider adopting an ordinance regarding animal control. Hill explained that the city currently has several animal control ordinances, saying that there were “too many.”

The new ordinance would condense those into one. This was approved by the council.

During the meeting, Taylor presented a request to accept the city audit from September 30, 2021, from Truitt, Tingle, Paramore, and Argent. He said that the audit contained an unmodified opinion, which he described as being the highest that an audit report can have.

Taylor reported that the unrestricted cash was $1.9 million, higher than the year before. By the end of the year, it was approximately $10.7 million, with sales tax revenue increased by approximately $900,000. Expense increased approximately $778,000 due primarily to increased public safety and other factors. There was $4.1 million in capital assets, including police vehicles, a new fire truck, and two new storm shelters. He also mentioned improvements to the sewer system.

“Overall, it was a great year for the city and its finances,” he said.

At the beginning of the meeting, the council heard from Arrika Player, who is the executive director of ARC of St. Clair, an organization formed to help those with developmental disabilities. She gave an outline of what the organization does and asked if the council would consider financially supporting their services. Mayor Joe Lee suggested making a request to the finance committee.

The council also heard reports from department heads for the month of February.

Hunt reported 1,489 calls, 53 arrests, 105 warning tickets, 213 citations, 104 reports, 97

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Moody City Council approved a new police department building.

(Photo by Nathan Prewett)

misdemeanors (83 closed), 62 felonies (closed 45), 15,945 miles were driven by police vehicles, and $3,107 was spent on vehicle maintenance.

Fire Chief Larry Horton reported seven fires (three residential, one vehicle, and three woods and grass), 79 emergency medical calls, 12 wrecks, 12 public service, 25 lift assists, 28 false alarms, and received mutual aid six times.

In other business, the council: • Approved a request from Hunt to purchase Alabama Correctional Industries for police case management envelops for $340, • Approved a request from Hunt to pay $1,100 to St. Clair County Commission for transport of two deceased bodies, • Approved Moody Public Library Director Patsy Spradley to renew the yearly ProQuest’s Heritage Quest Online at $1,128.26, • Approved a request from Magistrate Tim Senft to purchase a Garrett WalkThrough Metal Detector for $4,641.00, with a caster set $447.76 total not exceed $5,100, • Approved a request from Public Works Director Steve Mitchell to advertise and hire a new employee to the Public Works Department, • Approved Horton’s request to purchase of AFFF Foam 25 Gal for $650, • Approved Horton’s request to purchase of two sets of turnouts for $10,000, • Approved Horton’s request to purchase of T-shirts for the 50th anniversary for $2,000, • Approved Horton’s request to purchase of Medical O2 supplies for $1,000, • Approved Horton’s request to repair a 2006 ford Expedition for $1,200, • Approved a request from Parks and Recreation Director Mike Staggs to purchase pickleball equipment for $1,485.84, • Approved a request from Councilwoman Linda Crowe for the Senior Center spend $100 a month for accredited senior fitness instructor Lilly Skelton from April 2022 to September 2022, • Approved a request from Lee to sponsor the Miracle League 5K Run for $5,000, and • Approved Crowe’s request to purchase 12 additional 60th Anniversary banners and brackets for $635.76.

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The Trussville Tribune

March 16 - 22, 2022

Lass But Not Least: Life is a Gas (hike)

By Ken Lass

I bought my first car in 1972. It was a brand new Plymouth Gold Duster. I loved that ride. Treated it with the tender loving care you’d give a newborn baby.

I had just gotten hired to my first full-time job at the exorbitant salary of $400 per month. My biggest concern was that I would not be able to afford the gas to keep the car running. After all, the price at the pump had zoomed up to a ridiculous thirty-six cents per gallon. Just a few years earlier, we were only paying a quarter.

Outrageous as this obvious price gouge was, at least I was still getting full service when I pulled in. I had but to roll down my window (hand cranking it, of course) and tell attendant number one whether I wanted to fill ‘er up or just get my usual five dollars worth. Meanwhile, attendant number two was already at work spraying detergent across my windshield, wiping it clean, and examining my wipers to see if they were getting worn. Simultaneously, my hood would pop up, as attendant #3 was busily checking my oil and wiper fluid levels while pulling the wire brush out of his tool belt to scrape the corrosion off my battery terminals. Attendant #4 was lurking around the perimeter of my vehicle, taking the inflation reading from all of my tires.

If I got a tad bored while waiting, I could step out of my car while all this was going on and roam into the station, where I could pick up a free state road map and draw a soft drink out of the dispenser. The drink was supposed to cost a dime, but often the station owner would just give me a wink and tell me it was on the house. Really, the least he could do, considering the

Ken Lass, Tribune columnist

bizarre profit he must have been making off my gas purchase. Most of the time, I just sat in my car and watched the service team at work. I was reluctantly willing to pay the increased cost because these guys always came out and gave me the full-service treatment. At least that would never change.

Four years later, I traded in my Gold Duster for a 1976 AMC Gremlin…… Oh, I see you laughing. I’ll have you know this weird-looking little vehicle was all the rage then.

Wide and a little clunky, but it had stereo speakers in the doors and FM radio! And the gear shift was on the floor, as opposed to the steering wheel, giving it a race car feel. It was awesome. But there was trouble brewing.

At the time, I was busy getting married and pursuing my career, I wasn’t paying much attention to the news. I kept hearing snippets of reports about America’s deteriorating relationship with the oil-producing countries in the Middle East. Whatever my young adult mind thought. Not my concern. Until this thing called the great gas shortage struck in the late seventies.

Not only did the price per gallon skyrocket to eightynine cents, but even at that unimaginable price, there wasn’t enough to go around. The country actually had to resort to gas rationing. If your license tag ended in an even number, you were allowed to buy fuel

on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. If an odd number, you could gas up on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Run out on Sunday? Too bad. Pump up the tires on your bicycle.

There were lines at the pump blocks long. There were fistfights as drivers got out of their cars to challenge someone who tried to cut in. I clearly remember my Dad, who was a staunch Republican, complaining that the whole mess was because the Democrats in office had mishandled the whole foreign policy thing and that things would get better if Ronald Reagan could win the presidential election in 1980. “Mark my words,” Dad said. “Gas will never go above the one-dollar mark.”

Reagan did indeed take office in 1980. Gas went up to $1.19 per gallon.

Eventually, after buying a house and having children, I graduated to driving a truck. It was a Mazda with an extended cab so the kids could sit in the backseat. It was 1989, and we had moved to Trussville. I wasn’t getting anywhere near the gas mileage I had with the smaller cars, but that was okay. Things had settled down on the international oil market, and the United States had stepped up its own production.

The cost per gallon had actually gone down and hovered around one dollar.

By this time, I was pumping my own gas, wiping my own windshield, checking my own oil and fluid levels, and inflating my own tires. A lot more work, but I was okay with that. At least the gas crisis was history. We had learned from our mistakes.

I knew I would never have to pay $1.19 for gas again.

(Ken Lass is a retired Birmingham news and sports anchor and Trussville resident since 1989.)

Page 7

Senior

From front page

Former Ms. Senior Alabama, Tammy Little Haynes, won the title in the 35th anniversary of Ms. Senior Alabama. She competed in Ms. Senior World in Biloxi, Mississippi, November 6 – 10.

Upon Haynes winning Ms. Senior World 60s 2022, Dana Lynn Self was crowned the new Ms. Senior Alabama 2021-2022.

Self competed in the Ms. Senior Alabama 2021 in July 2021. The competition was held at Springville Camp and Conference Center. She won second alternate and is proud to have participated in the pageant. After Haynes won Ms. Senior Wold 60s 2022, Self was shocked to realize that after first alternate, Ms. Senior Helena Kathy Paiml, chose not to take the title; it then passed directly to Self.

“Tammy gave up the title of Ms. Senior Alabama because she’s Ms. Senior World 60s, and that’s how I ended up taking the title is because Kathy wanted to compete again, and she gave up the title to me,” Self said. “I think I’m the first, second runner-up to ever hold the title. So that’s pretty cool.”

Eight years ago, Self was diagnosed with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), and she uses her experience to help spread awareness through her platform for people to get vaccinated.

ARDS occurs when fluid builds up in the tiny, elastic air sacs (alveoli) in your lungs. The fluid keeps your lungs from filling with enough air, which means less oxygen reaches your bloodstream. This deprives your organs of the oxygen they need to function.

“My platform for the pageant was going to be encouraging the people of Alabama to consider getting vaccinated because our history all the way back to George Washing-

Ms. Senior Alabama 2021-2022, Dana Lynn Self.

(Photo courtesy of Kim Crawford-Meeks)

ton was involving vaccines to save lives. God has faithfully provided for us every time, and it has helped change our country for the better. I am passionate about any Community Service I can be a part of to help the state I love so much. Our Sweet Home Alabama,” Self said.

Self never saw herself as a “pageant girl,” but once she realized the impact she could make in someone else’s life, she decided the Ms. Senior Alabama pageant was exactly what she needed to do. Self explained that her biggest inspiration has been Ms. Super Senior, Ms. Marshall County Jean Head.

“I’ve been so inspired by her energy and ability and her commitment to serve,” Self said. “I could go on and on with all the blessings of just being in a group of women that God has put me in the company of, and every time is just been another thing that is just a bit so thankful for the opportunity. I still have

to pinch myself because I thought after the pageant in July, I just said, well, whatever I was supposed to do, I got second runner up. Lord, if you can still use me somehow, help me to know how.”

Self has spoken to several women since starting her Ms. Senior Alabama journey, and she understands that pageants are intimidating, but Self said pageants are fun to a part of.

“I would say, step out in faith, you will not be sorry to say that you can get dressed up, and be on stage and perform and have the fellowship that you have,” Self said.

“Pageants are just two days.

It’s the day before rehearsal and the day after, and we do have a workshop. But everything, you just gained something from it, you gain strength, knowledge, courage, wisdom, and confidence.

It’s exciting, and it really is a blessing.”

To learn more about Ms. Senior Alabama, visit www.mssenioralabama.com.

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The Trussville Tribune

Page 8

March 16 - 22, 2022

O b i t u a ry

Nanette Horsley october

(age 49)

25, 1972 ~ march 8, 2022

Douglas Wayne Rush

21, 1964 ~ march 8, 2022 (age 57) april

NANETTE VIGER HORSLEY of Birmingham, AL passed away on March 8, 2022.

Services will be held at Jefferson Memorial Trussville with viewing Sunday, March 13, 2022 from 2pm to 4pm. Funeral service will be Monday, March 14, 2022, at 12pm. Nanette was born on October 25, 1972, the youngest of eight, and is preceded in death by her father and mother, Donald and Betty Viger. She is survived by her husband of 27 years, Jeff Horsley; 3 sisters: Christine (Eddie) Smith, Janell (David) Williams, and Robin (Jim) Parker; and 4 brothers: Don (Francis) Viger, Jr, Albert (Hitomi) Viger, Marty Viger, and Ron Viger; brother-in-law Gary Horsley; sister-in-law Wendy (Michael) Newland; 6 nieces: Cassie Davenport, Hannah Thomas, Jamie Cormier, Amie Mattox, Reagan Horsley, and Natasha Newland; 12 nephews: Eric Smith, Jason Williams, Joey Williams, Brad Viger, Jeremiah Parker, Shun Viger, Jesse Viger, Josh Viger, Jake Viger, Brady Viger, Ian Newland, and Dakoda Newland.

Nanette’s love in life was Jesus first. Her favorite verse was Galations 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” After Jesus, Nanette loved watching Alabama football, Atlanta Braves baseball, and playing golf with her husband and her family. Nanette was a talented seamstress and embroiderer. She worked twenty years at Robin’s Sewing Shoppe and managed the Hancock kiosk location for twelve years. During Nanette’s time at the Hancock kiosk, she taught many types of sewing classes and embroidery software classes. She even came up with the idea to have a sewing café in the classroom so that customers could come use BERNINA sewing machines and to have help on different projects. Nanette was a vital member that contributed to Robin’s Sewing Shoppe obtaining BERNINA dealer of the year on three different occasions. She has been dearly missed by many customers over the past 5 years. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be sent to cureCADASIL at www.curecadasil. org/donate-to-cure-cadasil/

Douglas Rush, 57, beloved son and Father, was called to his eternal resting place on March 8, 2022. He entered this world on April 21, 1964 in Birmingham, AL, born to Douglas and Carol Rush. He is preceded in death by his father, Douglas M. Rush. He is survived by his cousin Chana Hunt; mother, Carol Rush; sons, Tyler Rush and Connor Rush and a host of extended family.

Veda (Butler) Justice

In addition to his parents, he was proceeded in death by his brother, Richard Stewart. Surviving, in addition to his wife Johnnie Morris, are his brother, Gary Morris; his sons, Roger Morris and his wife Nicole, and Steve Woods and his wife Danielle; his daughter, Karen Morris; his six grandchildren, Faith (Rousselle Woods) and her husband, Elisha “Eli” Bush, Adriane Egelhofer, Colleen Morris, Cameron “Cami” Woods, Phillip Morris and Heather Sebrant; one great-grandson Christopher “Odin” Bush; and many nieces and nephews.

december

(age 80)

18, 1941 ~ march 9, 2022

Veda Justice, 80, died Wednesday, March 9, 2022 at UAB Medical Center.

Veda was born on December 18, 1941 in Birmingham, AL. She was preceded in death by her loving husband of 53 years, Richard Justice; mother, Hazel Henson Butler and father, Claudie Butler; brothers, Roger Wayne Butler, and Jimmy Butler. She is survived by her son, Richard (Mandy) Justice; daughter, Ginger Justice; eight grandchildren, Haley (Shane) Pennington, Josh (Catherine) Justice, Zack (Rhianna) Redding, Richard (Aubrie) Justice, Destiny (Chris Spivey) Redding, Shelby Justice, Peyton Justice, and Presley Justice; eleven great grandchildren, Bella, Uriah, and Gabriel Pennington, Rylan, Finlee, Stevie Kate, and Porter Redding, Rhett Justice, Braylon Sheffield, Hunter Spivey, and Emri Martinez; she also leaves behind many beloved extended family, and lifelong friends. The Funeral will take place at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home 1591 Gadsden Hwy. Birmingham, AL 35235 on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 at 2PM. The Justice Family will also be accepting all friends and family for a visitation one hour prior to the funeral service starting at 1PM.

Jeffrey Scott Graves

17, 1961 ~ march 12, 2022 (age 60) july

Jeff Graves passed away on March 12, 2022. He grew up in Birmingham and attended Banks High School. He spent his career in plumbing and construction and had many dedicated customers over the years. He was a skilled craftsman and his ability to build or fix anything served him well not only in his career but throughout life. Jeff is survived by his wife of 39 years, Lynn, daughters, Heather Young (Chad) and Holly Lolley (Drew) and 2 grandchildren, Ayden Lolley and Marlo Lolley, that brought him so much joy. He is also survived by his sister, Brenda Harper, brothers, Kenny Smith, Troy Graves and Jamey Graves. He was preceded in death by his parents Virginia Wallis and James Graves. A graveside service will be held on Wednesday, March 16 at 12:00 with visitation at 11:00. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the American Cancer Society or charity of your choice.

Ask Eddie

Jefferson Memorial is a full-service funeral home and perpetual care cemetery dedicated to serving our community with dignity and compassion.

We Make it Personal®, one family at a time.

Eddie Seal, General Manager

Reasons to Ask Your Funeral Director to Take Fingerprints of Your Loved Ones There are many different ways to celebrate and honor your loved ones once they have passed. One creative way to do this is to have your funeral director take the fingerprints of your loved one. Then those fingerprints can be used to make jewelry or other keepsakes. Fingerprint jewelry is a wonderful, personalized option for a keepsake. It can be a way to keep your loved one close to your heart. It also gives you the ability to be able to have a physical connection with your loved one as you can touch the ridges of your loved one’s fingerprint.

With fingerprint jewelry, each piece is custom-made. Using a fingerprint kit, if possible, a fingerprint, thumbprint, or even a hand or footprint, can be taken. Usually, designers will create a digital image of the print and then create a 3-dimensional mold of the image. Once the mold is made, molten metal is poured into the mold and the metal is used to create the jewelry. Jewelers then transpose the fingerprint onto the type of jewelry of your choice. This could be anything from a pendant to earrings or a keychain. If your loved one has already passed away, you may still be able to have fingerprint jewelry made. It’s simply a matter of tracking down their fingerprints.

In many cases, funeral homes take fingerprints of those who have passed away even if you didn’t specifically request it - so the first place to try is the funeral home. If your loved one was in the military you can check their paperwork or ask their military office as all soldiers have their fingerprints taken. You can also try looking through your loved one’s records as it’s possible they had their fingerprints taken at some point. If you are interested in making fingerprint keepsakes of your loved one, make sure to ask your funeral director to take prints of your loved one.

Your funeral director may be able to help you get your keepsake jewelry made. If they can’t there are many online services that can help you design and create your own personalized fingerprint keepsakes.

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Lou Morris january

86)

15, 1936 ~ march 7, 2022 (age

Louis (Lou) L. Morris, 86, died recently March 7, 2022, at St. Vincent’s East hospital. He was born January 15, 1936 in Los Angeles, California, the son of Leonard Jack and Florence Love (Jennings) Morris.

Lou graduated from Franklin High School. Following graduation, he served as a sergeant in Japan. After his service, he became a Ventura County firefighter in Santa Paula, California. He was injured in the line of duty and medically retired. He became a business owner with partner, Cleveland Lavender. He married the love of his life, Jonathan “Johnnie” Vermillion Woods in Texas on April 8, 1983. He later retired from Circuit City in Alabama.

A service of remembrance will be held 9 a.m. Monday, March 14, 2022 at Jefferson Memorial Trussville, 1591 Gadsden Hwy, Birmingham. The funeral will follow directly after at Abbey Mausoleum next to the funeral home. Those who wish to honor and remember Lou in a special way may make donations in his name to the Ventura County Fire Department Widows, Orphans and Assistance Fund (Please be sure to designate your donation in Lou Morris’ name.) via www.vcfdwoaf.org/donate Donate - Ventura County Fire Department Widows, Orphans & Assistance Fund Planned Gift Arrangements. Planned gift techniques such as the suggestions below may enable you to make a significant contribution to help those in need, while also allowing you to achieve your own financial and estate planning goals. We are so appreciative of the kind and generous people who remember the Widows, Orphans & Assistance Fund in their estate plans. www.vcfdwoaf.org; you can choose from PayPal, Venmo, direct link or mail.

Neal Cole II september

9, 1959 ~ march 5, 2022 (age 62)

Mr. Neal Wayne Cole 2nd of Madison, Alabama passed away on March 5, 2022 at Huntsville Hospital with his family by his side. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama on September 9, 1959. He lived a full life in many places. He lived in Texas, Florida, Russia, and finally Alabama. He did many jobs in S. T. E. M. His work for Intergraph, UAB Hospital, Good Samaritan Hospital, and NASA Johnson Space Center. He owned a small business called C&C Mercantile. He enjoyed spending time working on music, socializing, camping, traveling, classic movies, reading, studying, taking care of animals and people. He is welcomed in death by his parents Neal Wayne Cole 1st and Vivian Power Cole.

His family includes wife Carol Wilson Cole, son Neal Wayne Cole 3rd, and daughter Savitri Jeanether Wilson. Special thanks to family friends, Jesse Hutchens, Zach Buckley, and Rebecca Manson who helped take care of him till his passing. The funeral will be held March 9, 2022 at 12:00pm at Jefferson Memorial Birmingham Alabama.

David Hart Shiver march

18, 1953 ~ march 4, 2022 (age 68)

David Hart Shiver passed away suddenly while doing what he loved, playing tennis, at age 68 on March 4th, 2022 in Trussville, AL. David was preceded in death by his father, Samuel Moore Shiver Jr. and mother, Hart Wylie Smith Shiver, of Athens, GA, his son, David Christopher Shiver, and son, Ehren Hart Shiver, of Birmingham, AL. David is survived by his loving wife, Leslie Raybon Shiver, of Trussville, AL, his son, Ian Hart Shiver (Sarah Beth), of Huntsville, AL, and brother Samuel Moore Shiver III (Ann), of Marshall, North Carolina.

David was born in Decatur, GA on March 18th, 1953. After graduating from Jacksonville State University with his Bachelors of Science in Psychology, he joined the Alabama Air National Guard, where he served his country as an F4 Phantom pilot for 12 years. He was a graduate of the USAF Fighter Weapons Instructor Course. After Dave was honorably discharged in 1990, he went to work for FedEx as a pilot. He retired from FedEx in 2014 after nearly 25 years. During retirement, David took on many hobbies including, but not limited to, playing tennis, driving his antique automobiles, riding motorcycles, fixing anything that was broken, and traveling to spend time with his family, whom he adored so very much.

He enjoyed road trips and he loved the beach. Throughout his retirement, he spent extra time loving and doting on his wife and two dogs, Gracie and Izzie. He enjoyed catching up with his friends when he had the chance and he started every morning with a Chai Tea at the local Trussville Starbucks before heading to the tennis courts. David will be missed dearly by all who were lucky enough to know him. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, contributions be made to the Alabama National Guard Foundation (alngfoundation.org). Please consider supporting via GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/5cc2f23e Services will be held at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home on Friday, March 11, 2022 at 12 PM. The family will receive friends an hour prior to services.

Wanda Faye Guthrie june

22, 1944 ~ march 3, 2022 (age 77)

Wanda Guthrie age 77 went to be with the Lord on March 3, 2022.

She is survived by her husband Edwin, her daughter Doni, her two sons Alex and Eric.

Then came her six grandchildren, Trent (age 25), Emma (age 16), Brody (age 16), Bethany (age 15) and Jackson (age 7).

Wanda lived life to the fullest everyday. Her hobbies were lake life, including boating, fishing and getting her tan on. She also loved the beach. She was so spontaneous it was nothing for her to say let’s go to Florida today and we’ll hit the Bahamas next week. For sure never a dull moment.

Wanda has requested when we all come together to say our goodbyes to please ‘’CELEBRATE’’ the great memories you’ve had with her and lots of laughter.XX

The Trussville Tribune

March 16 - 22, 2022

Calendar

Veterans and their Supporters Meet Up March 17 @ 6:00 pm 9:00 pm

American Legion Post 205 Hosts a Veterans & Supporters meetup at Red Robin in Trussville.

This event is to bring veterans and those who love our troops to come together in a night of fellowship.

This event will on the 3rd Thursday of every month.

This month its March 17th.

Venue red robin 5029 Pinnacle Square Trussville, AL 35173

Fairy Storytime with local author Marie Pridgen March 18 @ 4:00 pm 5:00 pm

Join us for a special storytime with local author Marie Pridgen as she reads her book “Morag and the Land of Tir Na Nog”. Participants will also make a fairy craft!

Best for Elementary Ages.

Venue Trussville Public Library Libby to Overdrive Training March 21 @ 10:00 am 12:00 pm Free

Parents are welcome to join the fun!

K – 8th Grade Students.

No Registration Needed.

Parents are welcome to participate with their child.

Venue Trussville Public Library Canas Collab March 22 @ 4:00 pm 5:30 pm Free (Teens, 6th-12th graders) Let’s make some art!

We’ll work together on a collaborative canvas to be displayed in the library.

You’ll also have a chance to create your own works of art on mini-canvases.

Teens only. No registration is required. Masks are encouraged inside the library.

Venue Pinson Public Library (RSMC) Movie Matinee March 22 @ 4:00 pm 6:00 pm

Ukulele Club March 17 @ 6:30 pm 7:30 pm

Ukulele Club open to all ages.

Interested in learning the ukulele or looking for somewhere to play? We have a professional ukulele player here to help you learn and perfect your skills! This event is open to all ages.

Venue Trussville Public Library Storytime for Growin’ Beans with Ms. Allison: Mermaids March 18 @ 10:00 am 11:00 am Free

(All ages) Join us on March 18th at 10 AM for a mermaid-themed storytime at the library! We’ll read books & have some fun!

There will be snacks & a craft to take home.

Storytime is designed for pre-K children, but all ages are welcome.

Masks are encouraged inside the library.

Venue Pinson Public Library (RSMC)

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(All ages) Want to learn more about switching from Overdrive to Libby for ebooks & digital audiobooks? Come to one of our training sessions! Bring your device with you & we’ll walk you through any questions you have about Libby.

Available: 03/15 from 2-4 PM & 03/21 from 10 AM to 12 PM. No appointment is needed.

Venue Pinson Public Library (RSMC)

Enjoy a family movie on the auditorium big screen that is sure to get you excited for March Madness!

Crafts and light snacks will be provided (while supplies last).

This is a drop-in event open to all ages. Join us for part or stay for the whole movie SPACE JAM: A NEW LEGACY (2021), and enjoy some activities while you watch.

No Registration Needed.

Venue Trussville Public Library Let’s Duel!

March 22 @ 4:00 pm 5:00 pm

Chess Club March 21 @ 6:00 pm 7:00 pm

Learn the basics, cool tricks, strategy, opening, and tactic in chess from a professional chess teacher.

Learn the basics, cool tricks, strategy, opening, and tactic in chess from a professional chess teacher. All supplies provided.

Club meeting for trading card game enthusiasts.

The Trussville Public Library will be hosting a program for card game enthusiasts. We will be playing a variety of card games, so feel free to bring your own cards.

Snacks and refreshments are provided.

Venue Trussville Public Library

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Page 10

The Trussville Tribune March 16 - 22, 2022

sports Hewitt-Trussville vs. Spain Park. Girls soccer 5:30 p.m., March 18

Springville vs. St. Clair Prep baseball 4:30 p.m., March 17

Clay-Chalkville at Mortimer Jordan. Prep baseball.

4:30 p.m., March 21

William E. Bright, Jr. Attorney at Law

205-655-9284

‘Be-Deviled’: Moody comes back to shock Springville for county title

By Bobby Mathews Sports Editor

MOODY — Ryleigh Hodges stepped into the batter’s box here on a blistering cold Saturday night and singled on the third pitch she saw to drive in Libby Higgins as the Moody Blue Devils completed an unlikely comeback to defeat Springville and win the St. Clair County Softball Tournament championship.

The Blue Devils won 1211 with Hodges’ walk-off single, scoring eight runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. But the most interesting thing about this tournament win was how the Blue Devils got there. After falling to Springville 6-2 in the semifinal game in the winners’ bracket, Moody had to turn around and defeat Ragland immediately.

The Blue Devils picked up a 9-5 victory there, putting themselves back into the finals, where they had to beat Springville twice to win the championship.

Game 1: Moody 10, Springville 5 Moody scored four runs in the third inning, with Emma Kile, Hodges and Higgins each getting an RBI to propel the Blue Devils into the lead.

Hodges got the win that had eluded her earlier in the

Moody’s Faith Myers takes a swing during the Blue Devils’ win against Ragland to reach the finals of the St. Clair County Softball Tournament on March 12, 2022. (Photo by Bobby Mathews)

day, allowing five runs on three hits and pitching all seven innings.

Springville’s Bella Bullington, who had led the Tigers to victory in the first meeting between the two teams earlier in the day, was chased after two innings allowing four runs on five hits and one walk.

Higgins led the Blue Devils at the plate, going 4-for-5.

Game 2: Moody 12, Springville 11

The Tigers struck back in the first inning of the final game, scoring six in the opening frame and forcing the Blue Devils’ best pitcher, Hollie Graham, out of the circle after only two-thirds of an inning. Graham allowed six runs on four hits, with one strikeout.

Springville got on board when Makalyn Kyser doubled, bringing Bekah Hargrove in from second base.

But the hit that sent Graham

to the dugout was a triple by Emmy Leopard that scored Tori Barnes and Shelby Hathcock. Hodges came in for Graham and allowed a single that scored Leopard before the Blue Devils’ Faith Myers caught a liner to end the bleeding.

Moody answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first and then put two more on the board in the third.

Hodges shut down a dangerous Tiger lineup for three

Quick throws back-to-back no-hitters

innings before Springville put three more on the board in the fifth and another two over the sixth and seventh innings. Going into the bottom of the seventh, it was 11-4, Springville.

But that seventh inning will go down in Moody athletics history: After Higgins singled to center field, but got put out trying to stretch the hit into a double.

Already, one out.

Then, in rapid succession: Myers singled, Hodges singled, and then with Haley Forrester in as a courtesy runner for Hodges, she and Myers both advanced one base on a passed ball. With one out, there were two runners in scoring position. Taylor Rogers then singled to right field to score Myers. 11-5, Springville ... but the Moody faithful were beginning to hope.

Emma Kile singled on a grounder to right, scoring Forrester, while Rogers advanced to second base to make it 11-6, with two runners still on. Lacey Nichols singled to center, scoring Rogers while Kile advanced to third on the throw in. It was 11-7, and there was a definite momentum shift — all on the Blue Devils’ side.

See MOODY, Page 11

By Bobby Mathews Sports Editor

ALABASTER — Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: Riley Quick just threw a no-hitter.

Yeah, there’s a million things wrong with that lede.

It uses first-person, it doesn’t give the score. It’s a gut reaction to an unusual happening. But here’s the thing: Hewitt-Trussville’s Riley Quick just threw his second no-hitter in as many starts, and the Huskies whipped Thompson 10-0.

Quick’s fastball was moving at 90-94 miles per hour according to the radar gun set up behind home plate, with his off-speed stuff coming in at 79-83 MPH Those things are worth breaking a couple of journalistic rules for.

The game was never really in doubt. Hewitt-Trussville got off to a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Jack Ollis tripled to start the game and Ethan Duhon drove him in.

Quick struck out eight after walking the first batter he faced. Once the senior standout found his location, though, he struck out the side in the first to end the inning. From there, the Huskies cruised.

See QUICK, Page 14

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The Trussville Tribune

March 16 - 22, 2022

Moody From page 10

McKenzie Phillips singled, a grounder up the middle that found its way into center field, scoring Kile and putting Nichols on second. The score: 118, Springville. One out. Senior Maddie Barfield at bat. Another single to keep the game alive and load the bases.

With the bases full of Blue Devils, Springville brought on Bullington to pitch. Riley Mitchell grounded to the shortstop, who threw home to force Nichols out the plate.

Two outs, but the bases were still loaded, and the Tigers clung to a precarious lead.

Higgins came up to the plate, a powerful hitter with a dangerous swing. With ducks on the pond, Higgins doubled to score three runs and tie the game with three RBIs as Phillips, Barfield and Mitchell all scored.

Now it’s 11-11, with Myers at the plate. It’s a grounder up the middle to put Higgins on third. Hodges again at bat.

Two on, two outs. She takes two pitches — one for a ball and one for a called strike — and then on that third pitch, Hodges puts it into play, a fly ball to left that scores Higgins and deliver the title into the arms of the Blue Devils.

Page 11

Leeds baseball outlasts St. Clair County

By Bobby Mathews Sports Editor

LEEDS — The Green Wave got on the board early here, going up 3-0 against St. Clair County and then outlasted the Saints 5-4 by scoring two in the bottom of the sixth.

ters later. With two outs and down 4-3, the Green Wave made its move.

Bradford singled with a line drive to left field to advance Jonathan Douglas — who had walked previously — to second. From there, Conner Nelson walked to bring up tough Landers,

The Moody Blue Devils softball team poses after winning St. Clair County Softball Tournament on Saturday, March 12, 2022. Ryleigh Hodges was voted MVP of the tournament.

(Photo courtesy of Moody Softball)

Semi-finals Springville’s Bella Bullington shut out Moody over the course of four innings before freshman pitcher Shelby Hathcock came on in the fifth to finish the time-shortened game, sending the Blue Devils into the losers’ bracket.

“Bella was moving the ball well today,” Springville head coach John Paul Taruc said. “And she’s got a mixture of a changeup that she can put in her arsenal, too, so it kind

Springville’s Bella Bullington pitched four scoreless innings as the Tigers sent the Blue Devils into the losers’ bracket, forcing Moody to make an epic comeback to win the St. Clair County Softball Tournament on Saturday, March 12, 2022.

(Photo by Bobby Mathews)

of keeps them on their toes when she’s moving the ball well.”

Moody pitcher Ryleigh Hodges put the Tigers down in order in the first inning, striking out Bekah Hargrove, inducing a ground out for the next batter and then getting the dangerous senior Makalyn Kyser to pop up to right field where senior Skylar Black caught her out.

The wind was an issue all day, making the pitchers from both teams halt momentarily several times as the dust from the infield swirled, and it also changed the trajectory of several fly balls, making fielding much more difficult.

Moody had a chance to go up in the second, when Riley Mitchell got on base and Libby Higgins walked. Faith Myers reached on an error to load the bases with two outs, but freshman Taylor Rogers struck out to end the inning.

The Tigers pounced in the top of the second, as Bullington reached on an error, and then her courtesy runner stole second. Tori Barnes hit a sacrifice fly to move the runner to third, and then Layla Bradshaw doubled to bring the run home. Hathcock then singled to drive in Bradshaw. Emmy

Leopard tripled to score Hathcock and then Hargrove reached base on a bunt single to drive another run home.

Going into the bottom of the second, Springville led 4-0.

In the top of the fifth, the Tigers added two more runs, with Bullington again helping herself out, singling and driving in another run. Barnes drover Bullington in with a single to make it 6-0.

The Blue Devils got on board in the bottom of the fifth with back-to-back singles from Hodges and Maddie Barfield. After a fielder’s choice took out Hodges at third, Libby Higgins singled to load the bases. Lacy Nichols popped up to left, which would have been the second out, but the wind played with the ball and Springville was unable to field it.

Nichols reached on an error and Barfield scored for the Blue Devils. After that, Myers doubled to drive in Higgins before Rogers struck out to end the game.

The Blue Devils turned around immediately to play Ragland in the loser’s bracket, winning 9-4 to reach the finals and rematch with Springville.

Leeds pitcher Dax Phillips gave the Green Wave a quality start and patient hitting at the plate helped the Green Wave overcome St. Clair County, 5-4 on Monday, March 14, 2022.

(Photo by Bobby Mathews)

Dax Phillips pitched 5 2/3 innings with one earned run, allowing six hits and walking one. Andrew Howard got the win for the Green Wave, and then Jarod Latta took over in the sixth to record the save.

Devin Sanders, Alex Bradford, Will Landers, Caden Vance and Howard each had a hit for Leeds.

Howard doubled to right field in the bottom of the sixth on a 1-and-1 pitch, and then his courtesy runner was caught stealing third two bat-

who has been a tough out in the batter's box early this season. Landers worked the count full, and then walked in Douglas for the tying run, 4-4.

A pitching change didn't help the Saints. Vance walked to score Bradford, making it 5-4 for Leeds. Once the Green Wave took care of business in the top of the seventh, they didn't even need the last half-inning.

St. Clair's Garrett Whitehead went 3-for-3 at the plate in a losing effort.

Litttering says a lot about YOU It Isn’t Good #KeepitCleanJeffCO Scan QR Code for more info.

The Trussville Tribune

Page 12

March 16 - 22, 2022

Dobbs built long-lasting relationships, success at Hewitt-Trussville

By Bill Plott Special to The Tribune

MONTGOMERY — David Dobbs thought he wanted to be a businessman. However, his former coach at Banks High School Mike Dutton suggested otherwise. In the end, Dutton was absolutely right.

Dobbs was raised in Birmingham, graduated from Banks High School in 1975 and the University of Alabama-Birmingham in 1990.

Working in the business sector first when he came out of college, Dobbs began his teaching and coaching career at Hewitt-Trussville High School in 1990. At the time, the school was part of the Jefferson County School System.

Very few of the schools in the county system had cross country teams, but his influence over the next three decades changed that. He developed the Huskies’ cross country and track and field programs while also teaching.

He served as an assistant football coach much of that time.

The rest is history. Dobbs became one of the most influential track and field coaches in AHSAA history – a chief reason he is being inducted into the Alabama High School Sports Hall of Fame March 21 as a member of the Class of 2021-22. Dobbs is one of 12 coaches and administrators that will be enshrined at the banquet set for the Montgomery Renaissance Hotel and Convention Center.

Dobbs’ impact on the sport he grew to love has been tremendous. His girls’ track teams won 14 consecutive Jefferson County

Former Hewitt-Trussville track and cross country coach David Dobbs will be inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame this year. (Photo courtesy of AHSAA)

championships (1992-2005).

The Hewitt boys won seven consecutive Jefferson County titles (1992-2005) and were runners-up three times. His cross country teams placed in the top two in sectionals 29 times.

Dobbs’ squads won four AHSAA state championships.

• 1999 Girls’ Indoor Track and Field • 1999 Girls’ Outdoor Track and Field • 2021 Boys’ Indoor Track and Field • 2021 Girls’ Indoor Track and Field He also had six teams finish as AHSAA state runner-up • 2010 and 2011 Boys’ Cross Country • 2011 and 2021 Boys’ Outdoor Track and Field • 2017 Boys’ Indoor Track and Field • 2021 Girls’ Outdoor Track and Field Hewitt-Trussville also won five sectional titles and finished runner-up 12 times.

Dobbs was selected Jeffer-

son County Teacher of the Year (1996), Track and Field Coach of the Year (1997-99), and Cross Country Coach of the Year (1998-2005). He was also a coach in the 2019 North-South All-Star Cross Country competition. More than 90 of his student athletes received college scholarships.

“Hiring Coach Dobbs was one of the best acts I did while I was athletic director at Hewitt-Trussville,” said Coach Jack Wood. “Over the years he has been the track and cross country coach, he took an almost non-existent program and developed it into one of the most established and respected in the Alabama. His record speaks for itself, but what is not reflected is his involvement in the total school program and community.”

In a 2020 interview with Josh Bean, Dobbs said when he arrived at Hewitt-Trussville he inherited a six-lane asphalt track that was “like a bad, bad country road.”

By the time he retired in 2021, that venue had been replaced by a state-of-the art surface that wraps around the school’s football stadium. It was the culmination of a 30-year career, all spent at Hewitt-Trussville.

“He did such a tremendous job of building that program that really had never had any kind of history and making it so competitive,” said Woods.

“It’s remarkably, really.”

“Coach Dobbs represents everything that is right about high school athletics,” said current Hewitt-Trussville Athletics Director Lance Walker, who played quarterback for Dobbs in junior high school.

Springville’s Derek Moore is fouled by Moody’s Mason Myers. (File photo)

Springville’s Moore named MVP, two other Tigers honored by St. Clair County

By Bobby Mathews Sports Editor

SPRINGVILLE — Derek Moore was an undeniable presence on both ends of the floor for the Springville Tigers this season, and now he’s

taken home some hardware to remember it by.

Moore was named the MVP of the 2021-2022 season at the St. Clair County basketball awards, while two other Tigers, Gavin Gooch and Cason Kersh were named

to the All-County team.

The award was a great way to cap a senior season that proved to be a huge validation for the 6-6 power forwardMoore.

See MVP, Page 14

Springville’s Monceaux named St. Clair County Coach of Year

By Bobby Mathews Sports Editor

SPRINGVILLE — Jeremy Monceaux didn’t waste a lot of time instilling his brand of hard-nosed defense and blue-collar work ethic at Springville for the 20212022 season, and the result was a team that went 26-6 before falling to Huffman, a team that made it to the finals of the 6A championship game.

See COACH, Page 14

Jeremy Monceaux coaches from the sideline. Monceaux was named the St. Clair County basketball Coach of the Year for 2021-2022. (File photo)

ANNOUNCING The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) announces the opportunity to obtain information on

End Project

Project Number: RACR-037-I59-010 Reconstruction and Lane Addition on I-59 from I-459 to CR-10 (Chalkville Mountain Road) Trussville Civic Center 5381 Trussville-Clay Road Trussville, Alabama 35173 Thursday, March 24, 2022 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM This will be an Open-House meeting without a formal presentation. Project information, including maps and comment forms, will be available for review. Representatives from the Alabama Department of Transportation and the Design Consultant will be available to answer questions.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR FOR INDIVIDUALS REQUIRING SPECIAL ASSISTANCE PLEASE CONTACT:

Mr. DeJarvis Leonard, P.E. East Central Region Engineer 1020 Bankhead Highway - West Birmingham, Alabama 35204 Attn: Mrs. Sandra F. P. Bonner REQUEST FOR SPECIAL ASSISTANCE SHOULD BE RECEIVED AT LEAST FIVE (5) BUSINESS DAYS PRIOR TO THE MEETING

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The Trussville Tribune

March 16 - 22, 2022

Page 13

Pitchers' duel: HewittTrussville's Green prevails vs. Springville

By Bobby Mathews Sports Editor

SPRINGVILLE — For much of Thursday afternoon's meeting between Hewitt-Trussville and Springville, pitchers Baker Green and Caleb McCarty put on a clinic.

Jeff Mauldin said afterward.

"We gave them some outs on the bases. I did a poor job of coaching third. We were over-aggressive — I mean, we're aggressive base-running anyway — but we were over-aggressive tonight."

Jordan Nichols singled for the Tigers in the next

Hewitt-Trussville pitcher Baker Green was dominant against Springville. (Photo by Ron Burkett)

Green allowed two hits, struck out nine and shut out the Tigers, while McCarty used off-speed pitches and curves with pinpoint accuracy to induce ground balls from the Huskies and hold them to a single run into the seventh inning, when Hewitt-Trussville scored twice to take a 3-0 victory.

Hewitt-Trussville got on the board in the fifth when Brett Moseley tripled to start things off, and then Brooks McRae singled right field to drive him in.

"Honestly ... we had nine hits, we just didn't get them with runners in scoring position," Huskies head coach

inning, but was thrown out going back to first after Kurt Kizer caught Zane Smith's line-drive at second base.

The Huskies went down in order in the top of the sixth, giving the Tigers a chance to tie it up. Instead, Green shut Springville down by striking out the side.

"You have to tip your hat to their pitcher and to their coaches for how they called the game," Mauldin said. "It's one of those things where we typically face hard throwers with the teams we play, and then you get a soft thrower like that it can take some adjustments."

In the top of the seventh,

Hewitt-Trussville finally got to McCarty after Carson Wideman and Moseley each singled. McRae, in the ninth slot in the lineup, stepped into the box, taking McCarty to a full-count and then fouling off three other pitches before singling to score Wideman and Moseley, who had advanced on a double steal.

"Their guy did a great job tonight on the mound," Springville coach Jonathan Ford said. "Not only does he throw with some velocity but he's able to mix in the slider. McCarty really battled tonight, and the goal for that was to keep them off-balance. For the most part, he did. They still hit some balls hard and we misplayed that fly ball in the seventh inning."

Nichols came on in relief, getting one out, then walking Ethan Duhon before hitting Huskies catcher Matt Miller in the back of the head with a pitch. Miller shook it off and took his place on first.

With two outs, Hewitt-Trussville had two on with one in scoring position, but Green couldn't help his own cause at the plate, striking out to end the top of the seventh.

From there, it looked like Springville might rally, as Jacob Neal reached base on an error and advanced to second base to get a runner in scoring position. But a foul out and a ground-out in quick succession dimmed those hopes. Asa Morrison — who had thrown out three Huskies on steal attempts in the game as Hewitt-Trussville tested his arm — walked to put two on base for the Tigers with two out before Nichols hit a fly ball caught in right field to end the game.

Hewitt-Trussville softball coach Taylor Burt has words with an umpire during a recent game.

(Photo by Bobby Mathews)

Huskies crush Oak Mountain to give Burt victory No. 300

By Bobby Mathews Sports Editor

SHELBY COUNTY — Hewitt-Trussville left no doubt on a night when head coach Taylor Burt got the op-

portunity for her 300th career win as a head coach.

The Huskies pasted Oak Mountain 15-2 on Thursday night, run-ruling the Eagles on a night when Hewitt-Trussville seemed to do no wrong

in the batter’s box.

“We have seen a definite improvement at plate over last 6-7 game,” Burt said.

“We struggled to produce See BURT, Page 14

Moody baseball takes down Leeds

By Bobby Mathews Sports Editor

MOODY — The Blue Devils baseball team handled Leeds with a combination of timely hitting and aggressive base-running to score a 5-1 victory here on Wednesday, March 9.

Moody’s Caleb Jatko got the win, pitching six strong innings and giving up one run, a solo homer by the Green Wave’s Will Anders in the top of the second inning. Jatko See MOODY, Page 14

Moody pitcher Caleb Jatko allowed one run over six innings as the Blue Devils beat Leeds 5-1 on Wednesday, March 9, 2022.

(Photo by Bobby Mathews)

The Trussville Tribune

Page 14

Quick From page 10

Huskies’ catcher Matt Miller homered and drove in a pair of runs, while Brooks McRae matched him with a dinger and 2 RBIs of his own.

Ollis had the triple and an RBI, while Duhon had 2 hits and 2 RBIs.

MVP

In his previous start, Quick struck out 13 batters on his way to throwing a no-hitter against Mortimer Jordan on Wednesday, March 9 as the Huskies won 1-0.

Hewitt-Trussville is now 12-1 on the season, with the team’s only loss coming against Central-Phenix City during the Perfect Game

From page 12

“To be honest, I exceeded my own expectations,” he said Wednesday morning in a phone call from the recruiting trail. “I’m proud of myself and I’m proud of my teammates. I feel thankful that my team rallied around me the way it did.”

In many ways, the 2021-

Burt

From page 13

some runs earlier in the season, but I think as the girls have gotten more comfortable and gotten more experience, we’re improving. We don’t lack talent, just experience.”

Hewitt-Trussville’s Riley Quick threw his second no-hitter of the season and Hewitt-Trussville whipped Thompson 10-0 on Monday, March 14, 2022. (File photo)

Quick helped his own cause with an RBI single, while Baker Green and Carson Wideman each added a hit for Hewitt-Trussville.

Hewitt-Trussville 1, Mortimer Jordan 0

Coach From page 12

For his efforts, Monceaux has been named the 20212022 St. Clair County Coach of the Year for basketball.

“These are always fun awards, but it’s really about the entire organization that you’re building,” Monceaux said. “Coach of the Year is awesome, but it’s a sign of the people who are involved with your program.”

The Tigers featured eight senior players, and the fact that this senior class bought into Monceaux’s coaching style and system immediately was the linchpin for Springville’s success on the basketball court. Monceaux preached defense first, telling his team that even if the ball

Moody

Tournament in Hoover earlier this month.

Ethan Duhon had a hit for the Huskies and scored in the Mortimer Jordan game.

Catcher Matt Miller drove in Duhon.

From page 13

struck out seven for Moody, while Zach Johnson and Chase Marshall had two hits apiece for the Blue Devils.

“Timely hits, man. Timely hits with runners on base,” Moody head coach Eamonn Kelly said. “We hit the ball really well tonight. Their soft lefty did a really good job of keeping us off-balance, but we just got hits in a timely

wasn’t dropping on the offensive side, the part that they could control was the level of effort on the other end of the floor.

“Defense takes a lot of effort, a lot of want-to,” Monceaux said. “They (the team) took it personal.”

So what’s next for Monceaux? With so many seniors graduating, it was important that this class set the tone for the next men to step up in the program.

“When you’re trying to build or sustain a program, the legacy that this group leaves, the standard that they set ... these seniors bought in,” Monceaux said. “The young guys, even the ones that weren’t on varsity yet, saw how hard they worked and what it took to be successful.”

March 16 - 22, 2022

2022 season was Moore’s coming out party. He showcased the ability to defend and rebound, as well as to score from the low blocks, on short jumpers, and even with a deft touch from beyond the three-point arc. The year prior, he injured a knee in the opening game and was out for the season. But in his senior year, Moore rebounded and led the Tigers to a 26-6 re-

cord, falling in the playoffs to eventual 6A finalist Huffman.

It was important for Moore to use this season to showcase that he could be a complete player.

“I try to work on many aspects of my game,” he said.

“You never want to be one-dimensional; you always want to be able to stretch the floor.”

Tigers head coach Jeremy Monceaux said how proud he

was of Moore, who was part of a squad that featured eight seniors that embraced their new coach’s defense-first and never-say-die attitude.

“Derek is a stud, and he improved throughout the season,” Monceaux said. “One game into his junior season, he gets a season-ending injury, so his senior season was really his first season of varsity basketball.”

Riley Rudick went 2-for3 at the plate including a home run and two RBIs; Olivia Faggard went 2-for-4 with a dinger and a double, pushing in a pair of runs as well. Kenleigh Cahalan went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a triple and 3 RBIs; Hannah Dorsett was clutch,

going 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and a stolen base.

Ana Henson went 3-for4 with a double and 2 RBIs. Sara Phillips was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI, while Riley Tyree was also 2-for-4 with an RBI. For Burt, getting to win No. 300 isn’t just an individu-

al accomplishment.

“It went by really fast, but also really slow at the same time,” she said. “It’s not me winning 300 games. I’ve had 11 different teams and a lot of different girls and assistant coaches too that did all the work. It’s been a fun time getting to this point.”

manner and it was huge for us. You go back to what we talked about last week: little things help, and details are important.”

For the Green Wave, it was a case of not being able to capitalize on opportunities.

Leeds left several baserunners on in scoring position, unable to move them around the bases.

“Offensively we just couldn’t get anything going,” Leeds coach Jake Wingo said.

“They got some key hits in some key situations. We got some runners on, but we just couldn’t do anything with it.

I thought we played well; we competed hard. Pitched well.

Foro the most part played well defensively. We’ve just got to compete more at the plate and finish when we get runners.”

With the umpires giving both teams a wide window on the outside of the plate, Jatko took advantage.

“I threw a lot more break-

ing balls today, and I was able to run it up and out a little more than usual,” the senior said. “Felt pretty consistent.”

When Anders hit the homer, it was a fastball low and outside that he got around on.

“He got extended, got his barrel to it,” Jatko said. “I didn’t even know how it was possible.”

Chris Goodwin came on in the seventh for Moody, giving up one hit before closing out the Green Wave.

Leeds softball comes back to stop McAdory, earns Team of Week

By Bobby Mathews Sports Editor

LEEDS — The Green Wave weathered an early onslaught from McAdory after Sophie Sisk doubled, stole third and then scored on an error by the Yellow Jackets' catcher, Mikeria Howard to end the game.

The Green Wave is the Argo Hardware Team of the Week.

Emma Machen started in the circle for Leeds, giving up five runs on 11 hits and striking out six over the course of 6 2/3 innings. McAdory jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first and added two more in the top of the fourth,

Leeds' Sophie Sisk doubled, stole third and scored on an error to lead the Green Wave to a Monday afternoon win against McAdory on March 14, 2022.

(Photo by Bobby Mathews)

but Leeds fought back in the bottom of the inning to cut the score to 5-2.

The Green Wave added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth to tie it up, and then win it when Sisk came home on Sophie Gromko's hit. Gromko was 1-for-3 on the night, but that last hit was the big one.

Team of the Week

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