TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville City Council held the first reading on the ordi nance to designate the Truss ville Entertainment District (TED) on Thursday, Nov. 17.
TRUSSVILLE — The be loved home away from home is returning to the Trussville area. Velma’s first opened in 1938 and was enjoyed by many until it closed in 2012, but now 10 years later, Vel ma’s will be re-opening in the former Sky Bear Confec tions building (1911 Gadsden Highway).
“It‘s passed through many different hands over the years it was in business,” Co-own er Tammy Butler said. “For a long time, it was the only bar in Trussville, the only one that served alcohol, and it’s just been someplace that peo ple grew up with it and recog nize it.”
By Crystal McGough Associate EditorTammy and her husband/ co-owner, Royce, wanted to bring back a part of the com munity’s history. She said that Velma’s was a place people loved, and people missed it when it closed.
Tammy and Royce have been married for 11 years and have four children between them. Royce has lived in or around Trussville all his life
LEEDS — The Leeds Arts Council announced its Inau gural Christmas Extravaganza Variety Show planned for Fri day, Dec. 2, and Saturday, Dec. 3, from 7 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.,
By Hannah Curran EditorTRUSSVILLE
and has seen it grow from two-lane roads and pastures into the thriving city it is to day.
Tammy moved to Birming ham from Mississippi in 1991 and has lived in the Trussville area since 1998. Both of her kids grew up here and grad uated from Hewitt-Trussville High School.
“We both are very famil iar with Velma’s and know how so many people were saddened to see it close, and probably thought, like every one else, that it was gone for ever like so many other iconic businesses,” Tammy stated in
a Facebook post.
Royce explained that when they saw the build ing was for lease again, they looked at each other and said without hesitation, “We have to try to re-open Velma’s.”
“We immediately started the process of negotiating with the owner of the building and started moving forward with all the paperwork that’s re quired for this kind of business as quickly as possible,” Royce said. “It was somewhat spon taneous that it happened, but we just happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
The Bulter’s plan is to
keep it as true to the iconic Velma’s as possible.
“Times have changed, and it’s been closed now for 10 years,” Tammy said. “We want to offer some updates, and we’re going to try to make our menu simple.”
The menu will resemble the old Velma’s menu, with a few cocktails thrown in there, and with the larger space, Velma’s can entertain a larger crowd of individuals.
“Back in the day, it would be so crowded, it was standing room only a lot of times, and you were elbow to elbow,” Tammy said. “At least now, with that space on the side, it gives you a lot more room to spread out; we can offer a larger karaoke stage because that is what we’re doing is a karaoke bar and restaurant.”
Tammy said there’s been a lot of discussion over the old Velma’s sign and building, but she said it’s not about the sign or the building; it’s about the people who love Velma’s.
The Butler’s said this journey is also for the com munity members that have
By Hannah Curran Editor
TRUSSVILLE —Eigh teen South has opened its doors to provide a premium modern style for Trussville men next to Serendipity in Homestead Village. Lacy and Patrick Isbell started Eighteen South to provide quality, styl ish clothing to the Trussville City Schools supporters. Still, after seeing the need for a men’s clothing store in Truss ville, they decided to expand the clothing collection.
“We have a look for just about everything; we’ve got casual looks, we’ve got athlei sure, golf, we do some dress clothes,” Isbell said. “We’re your everyday kind of guy’s store, I guess you’d say. Ev erything we sell is premium quality, premium name brands. We do have some private la bels as well, and we also do our Husky Spirit collection.”
Patrick is a lifelong Truss villian, and he and his wife decided to settle down in Trussville because they loved the town and atmosphere.
While Eighteen South has been a passion project
for more than three years in the making, the Isbells only truly opened three months ago, when they started selling the Men’s Husky Spirit Col lection at Hewitt’s football games. Another Trussvillian, Stewart Knox with Center Cut Creative, helped design the Eighteen South’s Husky Spirit Collection, and Patrick said that Knox has been a huge part of the process and he’s beyond thankful for him.
“We have two kids in the Trussville City Schools,” Lacy said. “So that’s been fun to help have the athletic line
with Husky Spirit and help drive that both of our kids are in the sports and involved in sports with the Huskies.”
The Husky Spirit collec tion was the beginning of Eighteen South for the Isbells. Proceeds from any purchase of the Husky Spirit collection go directly to the school’s ath letic department.
“We had all of our stuff in a spare bedroom in our house, all of our clothes,” Patrick said. “So we just lined the walls with some racks and put it all up and then started sell ing it online.”
The Isbells felt like the community needed a physical storefront for people to come in and get a feel for the prod uct, and that’s when every thing began to fall into place.
“I think the spirit col lection is what took off and drove all the; I guess you’d say, ‘hype’ and the initial push for us,” Patrick said. “Then we expanded more to do this, so here we are.”
Patrick said Eighteen South is essentially part of Serendipity as they are shar ing a space with Seredipidity in Homestead Village.
“Samantha and her team over there have been awe some to us and gave us an op portunity here to kind of help kind of partner with them and do something for guys,” Pat rick said. “We wanted to try it, so we decided to go for it. We’re so excited about it.”
Patrick and Lacy both have full-time jobs outside of Eighteen South, but with the help of Seredipidity, the com munity, and their children, they have been able to make this dream a reality.
IRONDALE – Jefferson County Commissioner Joe Knight attended the Irondale City Council on Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022, and present ed the council with a check
From The Tribune staff reports
TRUSSVILLE — Truss ville City Schools announced that the school system earned a district grade of “A” on the State Report card with a score of 95 ranking.
Trussville City Schools ranks No. 3 in the state. The system grades are the first let
From The Tribune Staff reports
ARGO – The City of Argo is currently taking applica tions for a part-time city clerk position. Applications can be found at www.cityofargo.org and turned in to City Hall, located at 100 Blackjack Rd,
TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville City Council ap proved the revisions to the Longmeadow Planned Urban Development (PUD) during the meeting on Thursday, Nov. 17.
Pinson Council announces Christmas Parade Grand Marshal, approves donation to Wreaths Across America
From The Tribune staff reports
Irondale – A large group of Shades Valley alumni gathered at Shades Valley on Saturday, November 12 for a fundraising barbeque to raise funds for new helmets for the Mounties football program.
“This was an opportunity for graduates of the school to come together,” said orga nizer John Goolsby. “Many grads from the old school never stepped foot on the Irondale campus; we wanted this event, in part, to begin bridging the two.”
Among the returning Mounties were former head coaches Robert Higginboth am and Bill Smith. Former basketball head coach and defensive coordinator Owen
Butts also attended along with long-time assistant Rob Crawford.
Former Mountie and 2022 Auburn SEC Legend Ben Tamburello was also in at tendance. “I really believe this can grow and cultivate support from so many that
couldn’t make it this week end,” said Tamburello.
Brian Moore, former Mountie, Samford Bulldog, and owner of B.Moe Appar el, was optimistic about the event’s future. “It was epic,” he said. “The response defi nitely shows the willingness
to support another event,” he said.
The event raised almost $10,000 for the football pro gram. “It was so much bigger than the money,” Goolsby said. “This was the first step in mobilizing the alumni base, possibly the largest in the city, to support Coach Nelson’s program.
Coach Rueben Nelson was very pleased with the event.
“I want to thank everyone for coming out and supporting our kids and for their generous donations,” he said. “We want to make sure the kids have a great experience through sports at Shades Valley.”
“The late Frank Nix did so much for Shades Valley sports programs over the years,” Goolsby said. “Part of the leg acy he left was an example for the alumni to follow.”
Loyd
From The Tribune staff reports
LEEDS — The Leeds Po lice Department (LPD) arrest ed five people in connection to a fentanyl overdose and persons selling narcotics.
According to the LPD, on Monday, Nov. 14, the LPD Operations Support Unit and Detectives began to close some investigations that have been ongoing since an indi vidual died from an overdose of fentanyl and persons sell ing narcotics.
“Officers took Janice Lati sha Harris in custody with a large amount of Fentanyl and Methamphetamines in Leeds at 2:47 p.m.,” LPD Chief Paul Irwin stated. “Later in the day, we served an arrest warrant on Dennis Lamont Edwards.”
Officers obtained a search warrant and executed it in the 800 Block of Castlewood Avenue Birmingham, which
is the residence of Edwards. Irwin stated that officers re covered drugs and multiple weapons from the residence.
“The next morning, the LPD SWAT Team served a search warrant in the 100 block of Madison Drive Leeds,” Irwin stated. “Once inside the residence, officers took several individuals into custody and seized multiple firearms, drug paraphernalia, marijuana, fentanyl, and ani mal control came to the scene and secured four dogs.”
Harris, 41, of Birming ham, was charged with drug trafficking and unlawful pos session of a controlled sub stance.
Edwards, 30, of Bir mingham, is charged with two counts of drug traffick ing, four counts of unlawful distribution of a controlled substance, certain persons forbidden to possess a pistol, and unlawful possession of a
controlled substance.
Juan Jose Medina, 25, of Leeds, was charged with un lawful possession of marijua na first-degree and cruelty to animals.
Gerardo Martinez-Estra da, 21, of Leeds, was charged
with unlawful possession of marijuana first-degree and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia.
Jose Ingnacio Medina-Es trada, 33, of Leeds, was charged with murder, unlaw ful distribution of a controlled
substance, unlawful posses sion of a controlled substance, two counts of obstruction jus tice using false ID, unlawful possession of drug parapher nalia, and unlawful posses sion of marijuana second-de gree.
“Our employees have done a great job working together to stop these individuals from continuing to poison our com munities,” Irwin stated.
Medina-Estrada is charged with murder for distributing fentanyl which immediately took the life of someone who thought they were getting marijuana, according to Irwin.
“This needs to serve as a notice to all individuals who are purchasing drugs,” Irwin stated. “Drugs can take your life immediately or will con trol you and eventually de stroy your life and everything you care about. I continue to be motivated by the success of our agency and the impact
they are having on our com munity.
“The number of overdoses from the use of fentanyl has almost been eradicated. The last time I remember an over dose, it was a suspect who had been handling these danger ous narcotics and was under investigation by our agency.
“Making a difference ev ery day in the lives of individ uals in the City of Leeds and the area around Leeds is where we are going, and I cannot ex press how proud I am of all of our staff for their efforts. This profession is not just a job it is a calling, and the Leeds Police Department has continued to answer that call each day.”
Authorities ask anyone with information on criminal activity to contact the Leeds Police Department at 205699-2581, and the LPD look forward to speaking with you and listening to your informa tion.
called Velma’s “your place” or have fond memories there. They want the community to be a part of bringing it back and making new memories or reminiscing about old ones.
Tammy said she’s looking forward to watching people have that place to come to as their home away from home.
“One person on the Face book page said they always used to joke that Velma’s was almost like the living room of Trussville,” Tam my said. “That’s where you went to hang out with your
friends. It’s like going over to a friend’s house and hanging out. You always knew you’re going to see somebody you knew there, and that’s the experience that we’re hoping to be able to give to people, and I’m just looking forward to seeing that all come to fru ition.”
Royce said he sees it as an opportunity to for them to bring something back that people thought was lost for ever.
“To me, that means as much as anything because of all the new things that are in this town now; it seems like no one has taken the time to
reinvest in something iconic to Trussville,” Royce said.
A Facebook page was created that the Butler’s are using to document the entire process.
“There’s still a lot of things that we have to accom plish in order to even contin ue to move ahead,” Royce said. “We’ve got some of that stuff started already. So right now, it feels like we’re mov ing at a snail’s pace as we get through some of those initial things before we can really start physically doing a lot of work there.”
They hope to open Vel ma’s in early 2023.
From front page
Trussville, on Mondays – Fri days from 8 a.m. – 4 p.m., or emailed to city.argo@gmail. com. All applicants are asked to include a resume.
Part-Time City Clerk Job Description – Assist City Clerk with the following:
• Municipal government ex perience (preferred) Responsible for accounts payable and accounts re ceivable Responsible for payroll, 1099s, tax related forms, Retirement System updates and reports
• Maintain all municipal bank accounts, general led ger, and financial reports
• Perform budgeting duties, including assisting in bud get preparation, and expen diture/revenue review Record, edit, and maintain minutes for all meetings, and attend meetings as needed
• Prepare and maintain mu nicipal ordinances and resolutions Filing, safekeeping, and computerization of all mu nicipal documents
• Respond to requests for information from the pub lic, other municipalities,
and city officials
• Perform general office duties such as taking dic tation, typing, proofread ing correspondence, and scheduling appointments Participate in the admin istration of all municipal elections
• Assist the Municipal Court Clerk in Municipal Court
• Must be at least 18 years or older
Programs: Local Govern ment (Zortec and Delta), Municipal Court Soft ware, Microsoft Office For more information, call Argo City Hall at 205-352-2120 or visit www.cityofargo.org.
in the amount of $20,000
of a new sign for the city of Irondale.
“We have an old, ugly sign down at the entrance of the city of Irondale,” Mayor James D. Stewart Jr. said. “I reached out to Commissioner Knight (and) told him what we were trying to do here in the city of Irondale. I re quested $20,000 from him to go towards replacing the old sign with a new sign. The new sign is going to cost around $65,000.”
Stewart said the city has also reached out to another political figure requesting an additional $20,000 contribu tion, but will still need a final $25,000 after that to reach their $65,000 goal.
“I wanted to thank (Com missioner Knight) publicly,” Stewart said. “For him to do what he’s doing for the city of Irondale – and he’s always been a friend for Irondale, he’s always been very sup portive of Irondale – I wanted him to come out in front of the people of Irondale to cele brate him.”
In return, Knight said he wanted to thank Mayor Stewart and the Irondale City Council for all that they do.
“Irondale is one of my 14 cities in the district, but we’ve
always worked closely with our cities,” Knight said. “…
When Mayor Stewart made that request, I went to the commission and we had some infrastructure funds available, and so tonight, I would like to present the city of Iron dale a check in the amount of $20,000 to go toward their new sign.”
In other business, the council approved the fol lowing:
• Resolution 2022-R-209, authorizing the mayor to execute a pole attachment agreement with Alabama Power Company for holi day decorations Resolution 2022-R-210, authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with BMSS Inc. to perform the
annual audit for $70,000 Resolution 2022-R-211, authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with Deckard Technologies to monitor short-term rental activity in the city for a sum of $3,000/year
• Resolution 2022-R-212, authorizing Irondale Po lice Department to apply for Law Enforcement As sistance Grand Funding with ADECA
• Resolution 2022-R-213, approving a contribution to the Freshwater Land Trust and Vulcan Trails Foundation Inc in the amount of $83,333.33 to wards the purchase of real property within the city of Irondale
• Resolution 2022-R-214, authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with OCV, LLC for the produc tion of a mobile app to al low the city to effectively engage with residents in the amount of $14,985 for the first year and $7,990 beginning the second year
• Resolution 2022-R-215, authorizing the execution of a service agreement with Irondale Community Foundation in an amount not to exceed $3,500 to
provide services to the city of Irondale to provide Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas hams for those in the community with food insecurities
• Resolution 2022-R-216, authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with Warren Averett, LLC for a proactive IT risk review Resolution 2022-R-217, authorizing the allocation of public funds to Shades Valley High School to be exclusively used by the Shades Valley Basketball Team in a total amount of $500, including $250 each from the discretionary funds of Councilor John London and Councilor Robert Box
• Resolution 2022-R-218, authorizing the allocation of public funds to Iron dale Middle School to be used exclusively for the IMS Robotics Team in a total amount of $950, which includes $500 from the discretionary fund of Councilor John London, $250 from the discre tionary fund of Council or Aaron Sims and $200 from the discretionary fund of Councilor Robert Box
Ordinance 2022-29, which modifies Chapter 10 (Of fenses and Miscellaneous Provisions) to add Article VIII, entitled “Regulation of Fireworks”
• Ordinance 2022-30, which modifies Chapter 4 (Building and Building Regulations) to add Arti cle VIII, entitled “Regis tration of Vacant Proper ties”
The next meeting of the Irondale City Council will be Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, begin ning at 6 p.m.
Crystal McGough can be contacted at mcgoughcrys tal@gmail.com
TEDFrom front page
The goal of the ordinance is to encompass the business es in the TED and make them into one group. The TED would be drawn to include the pavilion, Ferus, Trussville Social, Mr. West, Corbeau Wine Bar, Axe Downtown, and it extends to Shirley’s Florist. If the TED grows, the council can decide to expand the lines at that time.
“We encompassed all the businesses that could turn into a different establishment in the future,” Lieutenant Chuck Bradford said.
Every business inside the TED, if they plan to serve al cohol, has to have an individ ual liquor license.
The TED would not in clude the parking lots because they do not want individuals leaving the designated area with open containers of alco hol.
“We take out the parking lot because you really don’t want people drinking in the parking lot,” Bradford said. “If it is included, it will make it legal. If we were going to try to enforce it and make people pour out their drinks, putting it inside the district line can put us in a difficult position.”
By taking the parking lot out and drawing the line right behind all the business es, the city can contain it to the pavilion and restaurants. In addition, the area will be marked by six-foot signs that say, “No alcohol beyond this point.” The Trussville Police Department said they would supply an officer to enforce this rule.
“We don’t want to encour age people to take alcohol out of the TED,” Bradford said.
The designation of the TED would allow patrons to carry open containers of alco
hol from one area to another; however, the alcohol has to be in plastic cups (no glass) with the name of the businesses names displayed on the cup and a receipt of purchase.
Additionally, patrons are not allowed to enter another busi ness with alcohol from a sep arate business.
“The receipt helps ensure that people are not bringing their own alcohol into the TED,” Council president Lisa Bright said.
If an individual leaves the entertainment district with an open container, they will be asked to pour it out.
Mayor Buddy Choat ex plained to the council that the term Entertainment District is established by state code, and the state establishes the rules.
The hours of operation for the TED would change if the ordinance is passed. If the council approves it, the hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m, and then the TED and businesses will close at 11 p.m. In ad dition, no alcoholic beverag es are permitted within the district after 11 p.m. unless authorized by special events permit.
“This would close all busi nesses in the TED at 11 p.m. because they are in the Enter tainment District,” Bradford said.
Bradford said they would work with the businesses to educate them on the ordi nance if it’s approved.
The second reading and vote on the ordinance will be held at the next city council meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 6 p.m.
TRUSSVILLE —
Hewitt-Trussville sophomore Katherine Grigsby made his tory becoming the first female to compete and win a wrestling match in the history of the Hus ky wrestling program on Satur day, Nov. 19.
Grigsby pinned Janiah Wil son from Mae Jemison High School in the 120-pound girls division at the 2:55 mark in her first match, earning her first win during the Hewitt-Trussville Early Season Duals Meet held at Brant Bank Arena.
“I’m really excited. I’m just really pumped up for this mo ment,” said Grigsby, grinning from ear to ear and breathing heavily as much from excite ment over the moment as from physical exertion. “I’m ex hausted but really excited that I got a pin in my first match.”
Grigsby went on to win in her second match later in the morning, pinning Zalaya Mad dox, also from Mae Jemison, at the 1:34 mark, improving to 2-0 early in the 2022-23 season.
Now in his third season as Head Varsity Wrestling Coach, Chris Pike said Grigsby has fit right in with the team, learning the ropes from her peers and ex hibiting positive characteristics Pike expects out of his athletes.
“She works really hard in the room, so we’re really happy to have her and all of the guys have really supported her,” Pike said. “Katherine is a really good girl. She’s very well-rounded and a very sweet, humble per son.”
Well-rounded is an apt de scription for the 16-year-old Grigsby. She is also a mem ber of the Hewitt-Trussville band’s wind ensemble and is on the Highsteppers dance team. However, Grigsby is perhaps
best known for being active on the pageant circuit and was crowned Miss Junior Teen United States in Memphis, Ten nessee, in mid-October.
Grigsby may be a beauty pageant queen in her own time, but when she’s on the mat, she’s in full wrestling mode, trading the gowns and tiaras for a wres tling singlet and headgear, earn ing the respect of her coach and teammates in the process.
“We treat her no different than we do the other guys on the team because she’s just part of our family. That’s the way we look at it. We’re happy for her and excited for her to get her first win and for the program’s first-ever female win. Couldn’t happen to a better girl.”
A handful of Hewitt wres tlers crowded around mat #3 shouting encouragement and offering instruction during Grigsby’s history-making matches.
“I thought it was awesome,” said Tucker Rudick, a junior wrestling in the 170-pound weight class. “She’s looking great. We’re excited to see how she’s going to do the rest of the season.”
Grigsby’s parents, Angela and Kevin Grigsby, said their emotions watching their daugh ter competing in a male-domi nated contact sport run the gam ut from a hefty dose of fear to admiration. The Grigsbys’ son, Stephen, competed in wrestling for several years during middle
school before walking away from the sport after an oppo nent suffered a serious injury during a match.
For Katherine’s parents, watching their daughter take to the mat for the first time was difficult but their worries quickly faded as they watched her win her first match and en joy being part of a team that has quickly accepted her as one of them.
“It was very hard to watch our daughter wrestle, but it was also challenging to watch our son wrestle,” said Kevin Grigs by. “In wrestling, it’s just you and your opponent. You don’t have the opportunity to pass the ball to someone else. The suc cess when you’re on the mat is up to you.”
“I was nervous because I didn’t know what to expect be cause it was her first match, but she was excited about it,” said Angela Grigsby. “She comes every night and she’s excited.”
Despite their initial appre hension, the Grigsbys said they have been awed and are thank ful for the support that Kather ine has received from the team and Coach Pike.
“He seems energized by this,” Kevin added. “There was a line of teammates cheering her on and coaching her up. It’s a humbling experience. I’m happy for her, I hope she con tinues to find success, and I’m thankful that she’ll continue to be challenged by Coach Pike.”
By Crystal McGough Associate Editor
IRONDALE – Mayor James D. Stewart and the Irondale City Council rec ognized and honored the Irondale Middle School Vol leyball Team for winning the Jefferson County Metro Championship. The players and their coach were each presented with a trophy from the city.
“At the next council meet ing, I will have a resolution to be able to provide you with some funding,” Stewart told the team. “I want to be able to reward you all for all the hard work that you do. … We’ll give you some trophies, but we also know that you all need funding to help you all do what you do.”
Jefferson County Com missioner Joe Knight also attended the meeting and presented the council with a check in the amount of
$20,000 to be used toward the purchase of a new sign at the entrance of the city.
“We have an old, ugly sign down at the entrance of the city of Irondale,” Stewart said. “I reached out to Com missioner Knight (and) told him what we were trying to do here in the city of Irondale. I requested $20,000 from him
to go towards replacing the old sign with a new sign. The new sign is going to cost around $65,000.”
The next meeting of the Irondale City Council will be Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, begin ning at 6 p.m.
Crystal McGough can be contacted at mcgoughcrys tal@gmail.com
TRUSSVILLE — Brooks
Orthodontics hosted a lun cheon for dental offices at Trussville Social on Thurs day, Nov. 17, and also gave back to the community.
Brooks Orthodontics treated referring offices in the Trussville and St. Clair County area to lunch. Be fore the luncheon, Brooks
Orthodontics took “turkey boxes” to each office, asking them to partner with Brooks Ortho in a food drive for Christian Service Mission (CSM).
Dr. Micheal Brook has been serving the Trussville community for 15-plus years and wanted to show Brooks Orthodontics appreciation by helping stuff the turkey with canned goods for Thanksgiv ing.
Pinson First Baptist Daycare and Kindergarten will be the grand marshal of the 2022 Christmas parade. The theme of this year’s parade will be Ugly Christmas Sweater.
“I think that’s a fabulous idea,” Mayor Joe Cochran said. “Pinson First Baptist Daycare and Kindergarten, this year, celebrated their 50th anniversary. You would be hard-pressed to find anybody in Pinson that’s been here for 10 years or longer that has not been affected by that daycare and kindergarten. I know my daughter went there.”
Irvin additionally said that she is still searching for some one to knit a special sweater for the mayor for the parade. Mayor Cochran has repeated ly stated that he will not wear a sweater for the Ugly-Christ mas-Sweater-themed parade unless it is a knitted Alfred E. Neuman Christmas sweater.
“If anybody has a sweater for the mayor, please contact me immediately,” Irvin said. “I really need a sweater for the mayor. All knitting groups – everybody – to submit a sweater for the mayor.”
The parade will take place on Dec. 1, 2022, and applica tions to participate in the parade should be submitted by Friday, Nov. 25. Applications can be found on the city’s website, www.thecityofpinson.com.
request support for the 2022 Wreaths Across America Day event. The council unani mously approved a motion to donate $2,000 to the cause.
“I appreciate what you do,” Cochran said. “We appre ciate our veterans very much.”
Wreaths Across America in an annual, nationwide event that aims to place a wreath on every veteran’s grave, if possi ble. This year, Wreaths Across America Day will be Dec. 17, and a ceremony will be held at Jefferson Memorial Gardens in Trussville at 11 a.m.
“I think it will be a better ceremony even than it was last year,” Berenotto said. “Thank you very much and I really do hope to see you in exactly one month from today.”
In other business, the coun cil approved the following:
• An estimate from Latta Plumbing for sewer repair at city hall, in the amount of $6,900
Additional PA gear, in an amount up to $5,000 Purchase of a Takeuchi TL 10V2 CRHR skid steer and equipment, in the amount of $104,177.93
• Motion to approve the purchase of turnout gear for the Glenwood Fire De partment, in the amount of $11,975
The date and location of the first meeting in December has been changed to Thursday, Dec. 8, 2022, at 12 p.m., at the Palmerdale Homestead Com munity Center.
Crystal McGough can be contacted at mcgoughcrys tal@gmail.com
From front page
and Sunday, Dec. 4, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Each ticket will be $15 a person.
Brandi McClaran, the di rector of the Christmas Ex travaganza and the theater chair for Leeds Arts Council, said the Christmas Extrava ganza is a variety show.
“It’s mostly singing and vocals; we have some group numbers, we have lots of so los,” McClaran said. “There will be Christmas songs, some of them are more tradition al. Some are more current or mainstream; several people are dancing instead of singing this time. They’ve choreo graphed their own numbers; we have one adult who is dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy from the Nutcracker.”
Castmember Kathryn Schmidt said that watching this show come together has been exciting.
“It’s been a blast learning some very iconic scenes with my favorite people,” Schmidt said. “We’re all in the holiday spirit and are excited to share that feeling with the world.”
Each cast member audi
From front page
While Eighteen South is not strictly a golf store, the name pays homage to one of the Isbells’ favorite activities
tioned over two nights for a spot in the show.
“We had a very good crowd that came out and auditioned, and I think we have 21 in the cast, which is quite large,” McClaran said. “The audience will definitely be entertained for their $15 ticket. There are some very sweet moments in it. There are some hysterically funny moments in it.”
Jenna Rutledge said she enjoys working with her fel low cast members to make this show possible.
“The most thing I’ve en joyed about this show so far is the people that I’ve gotten to meet and seeing everyone’s talents and seeing what they love to do and that everyone gets to see everyone else’s tal
came from the number of holes in a round of golf.
“But something was miss ing…we needed something to make the name complete,” Eighteen South’s website stated. “As lifelong residents
ents,” Rutledge said. “I also love that I get to show ev eryone my talent and love for dance and theatre.”
McClaran said there aren’t very many shows like this in the area, and it’s something the whole family can enjoy.
“It’s full of talent,” McClar an said. “You will be singing along with people for sure and getting in the holiday spirit.”
Jon McClaran said the cast is amazing and extremely tal ented, and this show has been a lot of fun.
“I really enjoy the process of preparation as much as the performers,” Jon said. “Being around such wonderful talent & energy helps me learn and grow.”
To purchase tickets, visit
The logo was the easy part. With several years of “dab bling” in all things design, I was able to capture the look that we wanted.”
Eighteen South’s website states it’s sophisticated and masculine and captures the idea of what type of brand they want to build.
“We even added a subtly placed golf club to round out the look,” Eighteen South’s website stated. “The tagline is simple, direct, and com municates exactly what we are about.”
Lacy explained that this journey has been fun, but it’s been a lot of work, and they’re excited to see what the future holds. Eighteen South has some things lined up for the Spring and Sum
lac.booktix.com.
Castmembers:
• Brandi McClaran;
• Jon McClaran;
• Lara Moore;
• Jenna Rutledge; Aisling Chalian; Lori Theriot; Victory Harbin;
• Kaytie Ellis;
• Emelia Miller;
• Cary Miller;
• Cole Barnes;
• Abigail Wilkinson;
• Jude Swiney; Kathryn Schmidt; Lauryn Jolly; Layla Jolly; Trinity Dillingham;
• Meghan Godsey; • Lindsey Dixon; • Johanna Dixon; and
• Jessica Hill.
mer so go check them out to learn more. For the men who don’t know what they want and struggle when shopping for clothes, Eighteen South is exploring the idea of shop ping appointments that are individualized and one-onone.
Eighteen South is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Customers can purchase clothing from Eighteen South’s website at eighteen-south.com and follow them on Facebook and Instagram for the latest updates.
Eighteen South will also have a Black Friday sale on Friday, Nov. 25, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
TRUSSVILLE — Hewitt
vs. Hewitt.
It may sound like the title of a 1980s melodrama, but that very scenario is about to take place as a pair of sixthgrade football teams from Trussville play each other in a championship game this weekend. The Trussville White and Trussville Red teams will compete for the championship of the Jef ferson Shelby Youth Foot ball League (JSYFL) at the Hoover Metropolitan Com plex Saturday night.
Each team comes into the championship game undefeat ed with identical records of 10-0. Competing in opposite divisions in the league made up of teams from such com
munities as Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Oak Mountain, and Chelsea, the Trussville Red and White teams were put together to take advantage of the talented players in the age group and make the two teams more equitable.
Coaches Wesley Legg (White) and John Gibson (Red) worked with many of these kids in fifth grade getting to know each other along the way. As they be gan to prepare for the 2022 season and realized there were enough players for two teams, they scrapped the typical A-team B-team idea. Instead, they formed two equally talented teams, often practicing with each other and developing a special bond in the process.
“Coach Gibson and I got together before the season
started and realized we had a real opportunity for some thing special,” explained Legg. “We thought if we worked together, we could have two really competitive teams. We built both teams to make it to the championship game and play each other.”
“We were fortunate enough to have a lot of good players and we decided to organize the teams this way so we could help each other out,” said Gibson. “This is a great group of kids. We’re just loaded with talent, and we do a lot of stuff together.”
Gibson and Legg have also worked to prepare the boys for middle school and, eventually, to play for Hewitt-Trussville Head Coach Josh Floyd. They run the same offense as the high school hoping to give the
players a head start as they age out of the youth program.
Trussville Red and White were the only undefeated teams in the regular season and will now face each oth er for the JSYFL title. Both coaches want to win the championship, of course. However, they also realize the uniqueness of the moment. They’ve already had a cham pionship banner created cel ebrating the accomplishment of both teams and would like the attention focused on their players and the community.
“It’s a very friendly com petition so the pressure is off,” said Legg. “These guys are already champions.”
The JSYFL 20220 Cham pionship is scheduled for Sat urday, November 18 at 7 p.m. at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex.
ter grades given since 2019, before the pandemic, and are based on data from both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 school years. Grades are calculated based on multiple indicators, which can be found here.
Individual schools earned a grade to average to the dis trict grade: Cahaba Elementary School – 98;
only employees who are 21 or older can sell the alcohol to the employees.
• Magnolia Elementary School – 97;
• Paine Elementary School – 97;
Hewitt-Trussville Middle School – 88; and
• Hewitt-Trussville High School – 93.
Trussville City Schools would like to thank its ad ministrators, faculty, staff, students, and parents for their hard work in ensuring educa tion is a priority for the school system.
council meeting on Thursday, Nov. 17.
Sandy Argo, co-owner of Axe Downtown, addressed the council, asking for ap proval on its alcohol license. Argo and her husband Heath partner with Jeff and Michelle Lowery to run Axe Down town.
“We are proud supporters of Trussville City Schools and Husky Fast Network,” Argo said. “I was born and raised right here in Trussville, and we all are big Trussville supporters. We wanted to open our business here in Trussville to just continue that support.”
Argo said the axe targets are unlike any other axe tar gets that you’ll find around the Trussville area.
“We have projected tar gets and different games you
can play, and it’s really inter active and fun,” Argo said. “The reason I’m here before you tonight is to ask you to please approve our liquor li cense. We’ve gone through all the steps with the ABC board, and we’ve turned all those things in.”
Argo explained they do not want to open a bar; they
only want to provide individ ual cans of beer and seltzers from a “Coke cooler.”
“We have a very fami ly-friendly atmosphere right now, and we don’t want to lose that at all,” Argo said.
Axe Downtown will not serve alcohol on Sunday af ternoons because Argo said that’s the day that anybody
under 16 throws for free with a paid guests.
“We don’t want to change that,” Argo said. “We just want to do something to kind of enhance our experience for our clients who do want to come in and watch a football game and hang out.”
Additionally, Axe Down town would ID everyone, and
In other matters, the coun cil recognized two Trussville Police Officers for their pro motions within the depart ment. Chuck Bradford was promoted to lieutenant, and Keith Fuell was promoted to sergeant.
Bradford has 24 years of service, and in those 24 years, he has been a dispatch er, patrol officer, SRO, and sergeant. He will take over as a lieutenant in the Special Operations Division, which includes dispatching the SRO unit, business services, code enforcement, personnel, and building maintenance.
“The good thing about Chuck is he’s really an asset to me, to the department, and to the city because he’s very knowledgeable in a lot of things,” Chief Eric Rush said. “If I call on him to do some
thing, he’s gonna take care of it for me. So that’s somebody that you want working for you for sure.”
Fuell has 10 years of ser vice and celebrated his 10year anniversary on the day of the council meeting. He served as a patrol officer, SRO, field training officer, and corporal. Now, as the sergeant, he is as signed as a shift supervisor on night shift patrol.
“He’s out there protecting the city and making sure his guys are protecting the city at night, so let’s congratulate him,” Rush said.
Council president Lisa Bright said the council loves to be able to honor its first re sponders and police who do “such an excellent job here in Trussville.”
The next city council meeting will be held on Tues day, Dec. 13, at 6 p.m. at the City Hall Annex, located at 113 North Chalkville Road.
TRUSSVILLE – The Trussville Police Department announced on a Facebook vid eo on Friday, Nov. 18, that the department will now be offer ing a special needs notification service.
Officer James McCool said that police dispatch can create notifications in their system to alert them when an officer is dispatched to a specific ad dress.
“Trussville residents who have a family member with autism or any other hidden disability can notify the Truss ville Police Department so we can better serve you,” McCool said. “For example, if you
have a child or an adult on the autism spectrum, an intellectu al or developmental disability, Alzheimer’s, dementia, etc., there’s now a way for you to communicate those needs to us prior to an emergency or call for service. … (Dispatch) can, then, relay the pertinent spe cial needs information of your family member or loved one prior to an officer’s arrival.”
The basic information TPD will request when adding someone to this service is:
Name of the special needs individual
Address
Special needs information
Emergency contact infor mation
Other important informa tion that might assist respond
ing officers include things such as:
Sensitivity to bright lights and/or loud noises
If the individual does not like strangers
Explaining how the indi vidual best communicates and/ or responds to others.
“We truly want to be able to provide everyone with the best service we can as public servants, and you can help us do that,” McCool said. “…
Our final request is that you please help us by sharing this information with others to help spread the word. Thank you and call us if you need us.
Anyone interested in this service can contact Officer James McCool at 205-6614005.
TRUSSVILLE — The Rotary Clock, located on the corner of Chalkville Road and Highway 11, was finally ded icated on Monday, November 14. The clock was erected in the summer of 2021, and the landscaping was completed in the months to follow.
Rotarian Jef Freeman first had the idea of a clock in downtown Trussville when he was in south Alabama for a league of municipalities con ference.
“It’s such a great addition to our downtown,” Freeman said.
The clock and installation were also partially funded by grants from Rotary Interna tional.
“This clock will stand the rest of time, and we all can be proud we were a part of it,” Club President Jamie Townes said.
“I’m glad the City decided to partner with the Trussville Rotary Daybreak Club on this project,” Councilman and Ro tarian Alan Taylor said. “The City actually purchased the clock, and then Rotary raised funds to pay it back over time.”
The Trussville Rotary Day break Club has been involved in many community projects. Those projects include lead ership and scholarship oppor tunities for local high school students, ribbons at City Hall in recognition of Veterans’ Day, lunch for campers and staff at Smile-a-Mile, and trees planted at Civitan Park. In addition, the club collect
ed, cleaned, and distributed laptops to schools for students who did not have them at the beginning of the pandemic. The Club also provided the benches at the walking track at Cahaba Elementary, the play ground equipment at The Mall in historic Trussville, and solar benches at the library park and at The Mall. Its largest fund raising event is a golf tourna ment that has been held for 30 years.
The Trussville Rotary Daybreak Club meets at First Baptist Church Trussville on Wednesday mornings at 7 a.m.
For more information on the Club or to help with one of our projects, please ‘like’ them on Facebook (Truss ville Rotary Daybreak Club) or email Diane Poole at di anepoole1225@centurytel.net.
Brooks Harris with Harris Doyle Homes said the revi sions to the PUD would only impact the last Phase of the development. The changes create larger lots from what was originally approved on Longmeadow Drive (Phase E).
“Along the main road, the first handful of lots will actu ally be 70 feet wide, as op posed to 60-foot lots,” Harris said.
The creation of the 70foot wide lots along the main road allows for side-load ing garages. So the houses will have what Harris calls courtyard entry garages or silo garages, and the drive way will make an L-shape. Then as you transition down Longmeadow Drive, Harris said there would probably be more of a front entry or driveby style garage.
There will also be a con nection that goes out to Mar tin Wilson Road, although this will be gated and just be pedestrian access. The gated road would not have a tra ditional asphalt surface and would only be used by 911 and first responders.
The change will decrease the total lot number from 429 to 425. The original PUD also incorporated a lake, but Har ris said they have discovered that it’s highly unlikely to build a lake there, given cur rent environmental law. Even if they could, it would not be useful.
“It would be unsightly and not what you would think of as a quality amenity for the community,” Harris said.
Harris explained they have worked with the resi dents of the community to come up with an alternate amenity, and they’ve reached an agreement.
“We’ve agreed to build a secondary swimming pool in the cul de sac of Phase C2,” Harris said. “This would be an open-air pavilion and ad
jacent to a swimming pool with a, what we’re calling a sunning shelf at the backside of it.”
There will be parking around the cul-de-sac and nearby. They will also be a system of walking trails through the woods, walking and biking trails that lead down to another alternate parking lot on the main road. Harris said all of it would be connected and walkable.
Harris said they would immediately build the swim ming pool so current Long meadow residents could uti lize it.
“We actually also agree that we wouldn’t take a CO on any completed home in Phase E without that being complete,” Harris said. “We wanted to ensure that the res idents would have that, and it wasn’t just a promise being made. They could see it, and everybody could enjoy it ear lier.”
One issue that also came up at the Planning and Zon ing (P&Z) meeting was that a resident who lives in the adja cent area of Phase E said that the original PUD indicated that no house would be built along lots 55 through 59.
“Councilman Short has reviewed the minutes and has not found that anywhere in the minutes,” Harris said. “However, we want to be good neighbors, and so what we are proposing here, along this property boundaries, is a 10-foot planted buffer be built.”
Harris said the houses planned to go on the lots do not encroach on the resident’s property and that the 10-foot planted buffer would ensure that there is landscaping be tween the development and that property.
Short explained it came with a favorable recommen dation from P&Z based on the following stipulations:
Lots 1 through 12 along Longmeadow Drive are at least 70 feet wide and have courtyard garages;
Pedestrian opening and gated E-911 access be tween Martin Wilson Road and Longmeadow PUD;
• The development of a sec ondary neighborhood pool with a pavilion and paved parking;
A walking trail around the valley;
• Paved parking at the south end of the trail; and
• Construction of a con tinued ADA -compliant sidewalk along at least one side of Longmeadow Drive to the double deadend street.
P&Z also requested the removal of lots 55 through 59, but Short asked the coun cil, upon adding the 10-foot planted buffer, to remove this stipulation from the list.
“I’ve had numerous meet ings with Longmeadow res idents that are in favor of adding these five blocks back because it directly impacts the cost associated with building the second amenity,” Short said. “It will help keep the costs lower for the residents of Longmeadow.”
During the vote, Council President abstained from vot ing, but Short, Councilmem ber Alan Taylor, and Coun cilmember Perry Cook voted to approve the revisions in the PUD.
By David R. Guttery, RFC, RFS, CAM President, Keystone Financial Group-Trussville Al November 23, 2022
Thirty days ago, and two weeks before the last Fed meeting, I suggested to your viewers that I believed the Federal Reserve would find itself with latitude to just simply blink. Not pivot, not pause, and certainly not cut, but rather to be less hawkish with what remains of their strategy for tightening.
made the cost of shelter even higher.
Indeed, that is what Chair man Powell indicated in his post meeting press confer ence, and also reiterated in the release of the minutes from the meeting. I believe that global markets have overly priced the thought of blind ly hawkish central bankers, into nefarious assumptions regarding the potential for a deep and long recession.
Until recently, it seemed that 90% of the world’s cen tral banks were following the same patterns of tightening, and the assumption was that this would continue without regard for economic deceler ation.
Last month I said that in my opinion, the Federal Re serve is not trying to control inflation. Nothing about the previous four 75 basis point rate hikes has had a material impact on the cost of living, and you can argue that it’s
The Federal Reserve is trying to disincentivize lend ing and borrowing, and over time, this will have a muting impact on inflation. We’ve heard since birth that inflation is too many dollars, chasing too few goods. The Fed is trying to create an environ ment of fewer dollars chas ing as many goods. If they’re not careful, in the process of disincentivizing lending and borrowing, they might disin centivize production as well, which would leave us in an environment where we have fewer dollars chasing fewer goods. This is the definition of stagflation, and the Fed is trying to avoid this.
Let me give you a high level example of what I mean by this. I’m an entrepreneur, and I want to manufacture a widget, and bring it to market. I must determine the amount of money to borrow, to build the plant, buy the capital equipment, and hire the peo ple to run the machines, with the materials that I need to purchase, to manufacture and distribute one million units, at $1.50 each, to realize an inter nal rate of return of 8%.
Then the Federal Reserve changes the equation by rais ing the cost of my capital from 2% to 7%. Now I have to re-work my assumptions, and then realize that I must either raise the selling price
of the widget to $2.25 in or der to maintain the same in ternal rate of return. Howev er, at that price, I may not sell one million units. If I keep the price at $1.50, then I’ll have to be happy with an internal rate of return of 2%. The Fed just disincentivized me from borrowing.
They are also disincentiv izing banks from making new loans. There are fewer dollars in the lendable supply, and as such, each new subsequent loan is made with greater risk if there are fewer dollars to lend. Lending restrictions are increasing, relative to where they were in November of last year when tapering began.
So, the Fed isn’t direct ly trying to control inflation, but rather control the sup ply and velocity of money, which over time, should have a negative impact on infla tion. I thought the idea of a haphazard Federal Reserve, tightening without regard for economic impact was absurd, and thus, why I believed they would find the latitude to be more gradual with pursuing targets of tightening. Thirty days later anyway, it would appear that this was a correct assumption.
Last month, I also sug gested that if indeed the Fed were inclined to be more judi cious with pursuing targets of tightening, that among other things, we may well find our selves with the dollar show ing weakness, at a time when it had been unusually strong.
Indeed, on the Friday, the fourth of November, fol lowing the conclusion of the Fed’s meeting on Wednesday, the second, the Dollar Index had its worst day since De cember of 2015. If a stronger dollar has caused markets to
negatively reprice the risk of lower revenues resulting from products being purchased with weaker foreign currencies, then I thought the opposite would be a positive catalyst, if the dollar relented from histor ically high levels of strength. In my opinion, that seems to be playing out now.
I also drew reference to a graphic last month that jux taposed the current cycle of tightening, against other ma jor cycles of tightening seen over the previous 35 years. Clearly, this cycle is the most restrictive that we’ve seen over that time. Because of that, we have areas of the
economy that are showing significant weakness.
Mortgage rates are over 7% for a thirty year amor tizing mortgage according to Fannie Mae, and this is up from 2.50% in February.
Rising bond yields, that have resulted from the Federal Reserve unwinding its bal ance sheet, have caused these mortgage rates to rise. This cycle of tightening appears to have begun just as real estate was peaking, and we can see the visceral response since es tablishing that peak.
Mortgage rates are over 7% for a thirty year amor tizing mortgage according to Fannie Mae, and this is up from 2.50% in February.
Rising bond yields, that have resulted from the Federal Reserve unwinding its bal ance sheet, have caused these
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From page 9
mortgage rates to rise. This cycle of tightening appears to have begun just as real estate was peaking, and we can see the visceral response since es tablishing that peak.
are just three of the more im portant macro-economic met rics. I believe that a less hawk ish Fed signals to the market that it is indeed aware of the degree by which the econo my is struggling to expand, or by which it is contracting, and because I believe the Fed wishes to avoid stagflation, I believe such data will weigh heavily on future actions by the Federal Reserve, and the market is reacting positively to this development.
The assumption that the Federal Reserve wasn’t cog nizant of such metrics as they pursued targets of tighten ing was not justifiable in my mind. A less hawkish policy stance may cause negative trends in housing for example to ease as well, and therefore cause the markets to reprice the risk that maybe previous assumptions were wrong.
Housing is just one, major economic area where we can see the impact of Fed policy.
As for the manufacturing side of the economy, we are a gnat’s eyelash away from contraction territory.
Last month, I drew refer ence to a chart, that depicts emotional states of being across the economic cycle. I suggested then that I thought we were drawing near to the capitulation phase, and thirty days later, I believe we have increasingly greater, quanti fiable evidence that suggests this may be the case.
The top chart reflects roll ing, smoothed periods of time for relativity, and the bottom chart is a linear depiction of the same data. At the bottom of this chart, it appears that we’ve bounced off the same Bollinger band, four times, in February, May, July, and again in September. This is where markets are telling you that it collectively feels that risk is adequately priced at these levels. If you see a dou ble bottom, its encouraging. A triple bottom is exciting. If you see a quadruple bottom, pay attention.
All of this is important, because if we are indeed co alescing around a bottom, and you’re not in the market, then in my opinion, you run an even greater risk that comes with talking yourself out of participating in the recovery when it occurs.
So, what quantifiable data do we have today, that wasn’t so clear even thirty days ago?
As far as the services side of the economy is concerned, we are slightly higher above the expansion and contraction line, but the rate of declina tion appears to be even more steep.
I could give you many ex amples of metrics citing eco nomic deterioration. These
In last months’ article, we talked about stochastics, and how this at a high level, is the art of observing patterns of behavior, connecting those dots, to form patterns, or Bollinger bands, from which insight may be gleaned.
So, let’s take a stochastic look at the market. I didn’t draw this chart. The market participants drew this chart with their actions. You’re looking at the same data, ex pressed in two different ways.
I’ve had the feeling lately that the world had collective ly priced more risk into mar ket valuations than which was rational. I believe markets had priced into themselves a long and deep recession, caused by global central banks blind to the economic impact of their actions. If this is indeed the case, then I have to ask, as we bounce from the same Bollinger band for a fourth time, how would the markets positively retrace these losses if indeed reality turned out to be different from those as sumptions, and hence why the Fed was a critical piece to that puzzle a few weeks ago.
This graphic that seems to suggest that we’re experi encing one of the worst bear markets, if not the worst bear market, 176 days into the cycle, that we’ve seen since 1929. Now, in and of itself,
this isn’t an actionable piece of data. But when viewed collectively, with evidence of a weakening dollar from re cord strength, and seemingly holding the same support on four occasions this year, and where we are relative to all bear markets, you start to get the sense that maybe markets have overly priced nefarious assumptions into themselves.
So, now we start to look for evidence of capitulation. To me, this is evidence of the average investor wringing their hands and metaphori cally saying I’m done, lock in the losses and get me out. Well, I believe we had that in September.
This chart is busy, but what it depicts is the amount of fear that was priced into the month of September. The open put to call ratio hit its highest point for the year, and a high not seen since the economy shut down over Covid in early 2020. Below that, you see the bull bear ratio, at a low point in Sep tember not seen since 2008,
and the Great Recession. We didn’t have this in July.
Furthermore, mutual funds outflows spiked sharply in September, which is usual ly a characteristic of the capit ulation we’ve talked so much about.
So, let’s recap. By the end of September, only three per cent of the S&P 500 Index was trading above its fifty-day moving average. We bounced off the same Bollinger band for a fourth time, as the open put to call ratio was setting its high for the year, and bearish sentiment was thicker than at any point since 2008, with a spike in mutual fund out flows, and with near record dollar strength causing mar kets to reprice risk of repatri ating dollars producing lower than expected revenues.
goals is predicate on the con sistency with which you meet the implementation of the strategy. The composition of the investment accounts will change to reflect current peri ods of time, but the approach, dedication, and commitment to the strategy should be un wavering. Even missing a few years, with the thought of let ting a volatile period of time pass you by, can have a detri mental impact, 40 years down the road, on the potential success of long-term plans. I know that everyone is wea ry of this strange and unique year, but I believe that we’ve seen a point of inflection, and now is the time to have con viction, and intestinal for titude, to continue working through periods of time such as this, and avoid the risk that comes with riding the emo tional roller coaster.
(*) David R. Guttery, RFC, RFS, CAM, is a financial ad visor, and has been in practice for 31 years, and is the Pres ident of Keystone Financial Group in Trussville. David offers products and services using the following business names: Keystone Financial Group – insurance and fi nancial services | Ameritas Investment Company, LLC (AIC), Member FINRA / SIPC
This is why you never want to give into the capitu lation compulsion. If you did at the end of September, then you likely missed the best month of October that we’ve seen in 45 years. For context, I was in the second grade the last time we had a month of October that was this posi tive.
So in conclusion, regard less of the period of time, or the state of the economy, the achievement of long-term
– securities and investments | Ameritas Advisory Services –investment advisory services. AIC and AAS are not affiliat ed with Keystone Financial Group. Information provided is gathered from sources be lieved to be reliable; howev er, we cannot guarantee their accuracy. This information should not be interpreted as a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Past perfor mance is not an indicator of future results.
Anime Club
November 28 @ 5:00 pm6:30 pm
use resources available at our library.
Market
2nd
Trail December 4 @ 4:00 pm7:00 pm
will be showcased during the 12th annual tour. ARC Realty is once again the Presenting Sponsor for the festive com munity event, which raises scholarship funds for stu dents with significant finan cial need and challenging cir cumstances. To date, the tour has raised over $300,000, helping change the lives of students who have endured obstacles including home lessness, inner city violence, the disability or death of a parent or sibling, foster care, parental job loss, abandon ment, parental incarceration and the sacrifices of full-time ministry.
(Teens, 6th-12th graders)
Join us for a monthly club to celebrate all things anime, manga, & Japanese culture on Monday, November 28th at 5 PM.
This event is for teens only, 6th-12th graders.
Venue
Pinson Public Library (RSMC)
Homeschool Hangout: Lego! November 30 @ 1:00 pm3:00 pm Free
Samford Legacy League’s 12th Annual Christmas Home Tour December 8 @ 10:00 am8:00 pm
Christmas Home Tour Chair Tricia Naro is “grateful for the support of our members and the community and ap preciates the excitement they have when visiting these beautifully decorated homes.” She and her com mittee are hard at work plan ning this year’s tour, which will include a few select popup shoppes and holiday re freshments at the Samford President’s Home. Homes will be open from 10 a.m. –2 p.m. and 4 p.m. – 8 p.m. Guests will select their start time and first home during ticket purchase. Tickets are $35 through Nov. 30 the $40 from Dec. 1-6; advance pur chase is required.
The tour will feature the homes of:
• Kathryn & Doug Eckert, 2900 Overhill Road, Moun tain Brook
• Wansley & Ryan Griffin, 2133 Southwood Road, Vestavia Hills
Join us for a community gath ering of homeschool students on Wednesday, November 30th at 1 PM. This month’s topic is Lego! We’ll have lots of Lego on hand for the kids to build & learn. We will also be showing A Lego Brickumen tary. All ages are welcome to attend, even parents!
Homeschool Hangout is a monthly event for homes chool students to learn to gether, meet new friends, &
Mark Thursday, December 8 as a “red letter day” on the cal endar – the Legacy League’s Christmas Home Tour is sure to be a highlight of the holi day season! Five fabulous homes, three in Vestavia Hills and two in Mountain Brook,
• Bridget & Andrew Pat terson, 309 Sunset Drive, Vestavia Hills
• Jenny & Scott Sobera, 2824 Canoe Brook Circle, Mountain Brook
• Julie & Beck Taylor, Sam ford President’s Home,1994 Shades Crest Road, Vestavia Hills
The Legacy League is a charitable organization with over 750 members dedicat ed to making a difference in the lives of students through
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april 13, 1953 ~ november 2, 2022 (age 69)
On Wednesday,
November is Alzheimer’s Awareness
Disease is a de generative neurological condition
patients and is described as being a consistent loss of memory,
neurolog ical function in an individual. Alzheimer’s is often times a terminal diagnosis but one that can take years to run its course.
That often means that long-term care solutions must be discussed early on once a diagnosis is made by a medical professional. These long-term solu tions can be emotional and difficult to make. With that in mind, here are a few ways you can assist those dealing with Alzheimer’s and those who are caring for them.
When friends and family come to visit either at home or in a care facility, encourage photos to be taken. Oftentimes, Alzheimer’s patients have diffi culty remembering even close family but photographs are an excellent way to help attach names to faces.
Maintain a regular schedule for visits to those in care facilities or in nurs ing homes. Regular visits can help maintain the memory of those who are facing memory loss.
You may consider joining a support group or seeing a therapist to help you cope with the emotions that go alongside the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s in a loved one. It is important to express those feelings and thoughts with a professional trained in helping you with the skills and coping mechanisms needed to carry on.
Alzheimer’s Disease is a difficult diagnosis for a loved one to receive but know that there are support groups, re sources and professionals that are trained to help you and your loved one get through this. A great start is right here at Alzheimer’s Association, www.alz.org, and Alzheimer’s Foundation at www.alzfdn.org.
june 4, 1942 ~ november 3, 2022 (age 80)
John Morrison, Jr., 80, of Pinson, Alabama, passed on November 03, 2022. John was born on June 04, 1942. John was a loving and de voted husband and father. He served in the United States Air Force from 1965 to 1971 and retired from Bellsouth after 33 years of ser vice. John was preceded in death by his father, John Morrison, Sr., mother, Maxine Morrison, and brother, Gary Morrison. He is sur vived by his wife of 56 years, Barbie Morrison, daughters, Tracy Nufer (Rich), Jennifer Walker (Brad), granddaughter Jordan Walker, sister-in-law Carol Morrison, nephew Kevin Morrison. A funeral service for John will be held Sunday, Nov. 6th at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home Chapel at 2:00 p.m. with visitation held one hour prior. Pastor David Awtrey is officiating.
november 21, 1951 ~ november 15, 2022 (age 70)
Charlotte Howell, 70, passed away on November 15, 2022, in Birmingham, AL.
Charlotte is survived by her son Stephen Howell (DeAnn) of An niston, Alabama, Sarah Howell - granddaughter, Garrett Howell - grandson.
Charlotte is preceded in death by her father, Charles Smith, mother, Elsie Little, step father, Michael Little, sister, Linda Vreeland and Martha Smith.
The service for Ms. Charlotte Howell will be held on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022, at 2:00 PM at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home and Gardens. Visitation will begin at 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm. Burial Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home and Gardens, Birmingham, Alabama.
In lieu of flowers the family request donations be made in Char lotte Howell’s name to the American Diabetes Association.
august 15, 1928 ~ november 16, 2022 (age 94)
Doris was born in Birmingham and lived a full life of kids, hobbies and activities. She loved bridge, bunco and trips to the beach, in cluding the “Goof Off”, with lifetime friends from St. Barnabas and East Side Swim Club. Doris was the biscuit side of Sunday morning breakfast with her family, making gravy and biscuits with Nardy most every week. Christmas would not be complete without the tradition of making Italian Christmas cookies each year with family. Her six kids all graduated from college, which she shared as her proudest moment and greatest achievement.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 63 years, Bernard Woods, Sr. (Nardy), and survived by children, Andy (Kathy), Larry (Sherl),
Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren.
1-2pm
What is Alzheimer’s and how do I care for someone with it?
By Will Heath For the Tribune
BIRMINGHAM — For 36 minutes, everything was going according to the stan dard script for Leeds foot ball.
The 2nd-ranked Green Wave controlled three quar ters of its quarterfinal match up against 4th-ranked Ram say, and led 19-7 to begin the final period.
And then the narrative flipped.
Ramsay turned a 73-yard Jalen Jones punt return into a short field for an Ashton Ashford touchdown. They would turn two more Leeds turnovers into 13 more points, and left historic Legion Field with a 27-19 win.
“We’ve been tested,” Ram say head coach Ronnie Jack son said afterward. “We’ve played Auburn. We’ve played Hueytown. I think all those games we played earlier, we knew that we can play with the big guys. They finally got a chance to show it.”
Ashford was the leader for the Rams (11-2), finish ing with 146 yards rushing, almost all of it in the second half. His 4-yard touchdown with eight minutes left gave Ramsay the lead for good.
“We had to establish the run,” Jackson said. “We
couldn’t do that the first half and we definitely did that the second half.”
That touchdown drive was the result of self-inflict ed wounds from the visitors. Leeds quarterback Jarod Latta hooked up with Miles Jones on a screen pass that appeared to give the Green Wave a first down, but Jones fumbled during the run. The ensuing scramble that in cluded two Ramsay defend ers running with the ball and an unsportsmanlike conduct
BIRMINGHAM — Jerry Hood won’t express partiality when it comes to players he’s coached over the years.
“I love all my kids at Leeds,” Hood said.
Even so, standing on the Legion Field turf Friday night following a 27-19 loss to Ramsay, he was able to re flect. The defeat, which end ed the 2022 football season, meant the final ride for the se nior class that were freshmen when Hood took over in the summer of 2019.
It is a group that has been through the fire. Many of those 9th-graders played key roles on the 2019 Leeds squad that finished 2-8, what Hood called “the hell period.”
The Ramsay defeat marked only the sixth loss for Leeds football since the beginning of the 2020 season.
“Pretty incredible,” Hood said.
The bulk of the offensive snaps in that period have gone to quarterback Jarod Latta, who has started for Leeds since midway through his eighth-grade season. According to Hood, Latta finishes his career 31-6 as a starter. See COACH, Page 15 See LEEDS, Page 14
“This group is special,” he said. “They played varsity football for 4 years, and took a lot of hard coaching.”
DECATUR — After three physical quarters of backand-forth basketball, the Hewitt-Trussville boys bas ketball lost their first game of the season to the Austin Black Bears Tuesday November 15, 49-42 in Decatur.
Hewitt (2-1) and Austin (1-2) traded leads throughout the early-season, non-confer ence contest. Austin held a slim lead, 22-20 at halftime, and maintained a two-point edge at the end of the third quarter. However, the Black Bears’ brand of physical play was too much as they pulled away in the fourth quarter to win their first game of the season.
“They were a physical team and over the course of the game just wore us down,” said Hewitt-Trussville head basketball coach Jeremy Monceaux. “We had our chances.”
In his first season as head coach, Jeremy Monceaux has the Hewitt basketball program moving in the right direction. The Huskies came
into Tuesday’s road game having won their first two games of the year over Gads den City and Park Crossing in Montgomery.
Against Austin, the Husky defense was solid but strug gled to find the zone shooting. The Huskies were ten for 23 at the free throw line and sank only two of 16 three-point at tempts.
“I thought we played pretty good defensively all night,” Monceaux said. “Any time we’re able to hold our opponents to under 50 points I think we have a great chance to win.
Down 39-38 late in the game, the Huskies had a chance to take the lead but missed three free throws and missed an open look at a three-pointer before running out of steam. Still, Hewitt’s defense kept them in the game and gave them a chance to earn their second road win of the young season.
“We could have laid down and died, that’s for sure,” Monceaux said.
Senior forward Emeka Anwah led the Huskies with 15 points and 11 rebounds
while senior guard Ray Rol ley chipped in with eight points on the night.
HUEYTOWN — On Thursday, November 17, the Huskies were on the road again on Thursday night to take on twinless Hueytown, defeating the Golden Go phers, 64-32.
Hueytown is breaking in a new head coach, B. Bran ham Daniels, taking over for Heath Burns who moved on to Jasper following the 202122 season. Hueytown is 0-2 on the year with losses to Thompson, 73-46, and Weno nah, 74-58.
“They’re a very young team that has a new coach who is rebuilding the pro gram,” said Monceaux. “They’re a very guard-heavy team with three guards that are pretty talented, they just haven’t played a lot of varsity basketball yet.”
Reid Stodghill and Eme ka Anwah led the Huskies 17 points each. Stodghill was also dominant on the boards with eight rebounds. Ray Rol ley and Karnell Smith scored eight had eight points on the night.
CLAY – The Clay–Chalkville Cougars (3-0) jumped out to a big lead ear ly Tuesday night and cruised to a 73-49 win over Shades Valley (2-1).
Junior point guard Kev in Kirk, Jr. led the Cougars with 19 points and 5 re bounds. “He’s the heart and soul of our team,” said Clay head coach Chris Richard son.
The senior-laden Cou gars raced out to a 21-2 lead at the end of the first period. “We got off to a slow start,” said Shades Valley head coach Audwin Howard. “We really got a reality check,” he said.
The young Mounties team settled down in the sec
penalty against Leeds gave Ramsay possession at the Leeds 18 yard line to set up the touchdown.
“They’re (Ramsay) a good defensive team,” Leeds head coach Jerry Hood said. “When we did get something going, we had the screen call that’s going to give us a big first down and felt momen tum shift when we fumbled that screen.”
Two possessions lat er, Ramsay’s Jermaine Foy picked off Latta, then re turned the ball 40 yards for the final touchdown. The 27 points scored by Ramsay were 14 points better than any other team managed against the Green Wave all season.
Leeds (11-1) spent most of the first three quarters dominating the Ramsay
ond period and cut the Cou gar lead, with the help of the 3-point shooting by fresh man Jeremiah Williams, to 13. Williams scored 21 points on 6 of 8 shooting be hind the arc. Clay held a 3320 lead at the break.
The third period was a back-and-forth affair, and Valley managed to pull within a dozen at 51-39 as the two teams headed to the final period. The fourth quarter was all Clay, and the Cougars pulled away to a big win, largely on the expe rience of their seven seniors and five juniors.
“I thought my guys played really hard,” said Richardson. “My guys have been working really hard and have a lot to prove.” he said.
Cordae Avettette had a double-double with 12
side of the field. The Rams opened the scoring on a 56yard catch and run by Jones on the first play from scrim mage. But the Green Wave did not yield another first down in the first half.
“That’s a team that av erages 42 points a game,” Hood said. “Our defense is elite. They’ve been elite all year.”
Conner Nelson tied the game on a 4th-down quarter back sneak. One possession later, Leeds’ Kavion Hender son forced a fumble, which fellow pass rusher Chris Burge recovered at the Ram say five. Jeremiah Hunter scored on third down to give the visitors a 13-7 lead.
A pair of Jackson Arthur field goals were the only points Leeds could manage the rest of the way.
Latta finished as the of fensive leader for Leeds, with 146 yards passing on 14
points and 12 rebounds and had 3 blocks. Devon McK innon added 11 points and Tiawan Hardy chipped in 9 points and 6 rebounds for Clay.
“This game showed us how much work we have to do,” said Howard. “I’m still proud of the guys, but with that being said, we are still building a culture and mak ing guys realize how import ant it is to compete every night.”
Senior Kendarius Ir vin added 11 points and 4 rebounds. Erin Callens chipped in 8 points and handed out 4 assists. Sean Crawford had 8 points and 3 assists for the Mounties.
The Shades Valley girls defeated the Clay-Chalkville girls 54-51 earlier in the eve ning.
completions. Following the interception that put Ramsay up 27-19, he led the Green Wave offense on a last-gasp drive that moved the ball all the way to the Ramsay five with 36 seconds left.
“Man, what a champi onship’s heart, to go down there and drive it, give your self a chance to score, maybe get 2,” Hood said.
Three straight passes fell incomplete, however, and on fourth down Latta was pres sured and could not get off a throw.
“We have been lean ing on our defense all year long,” Jackson said. “They keep finding a way to win.”
The loss is the end of a run for Leeds that included the first region title under Hood and the first trip to the quarterfinals since 2015.
“What an outstanding season,” Hood said. “11-1 is pretty good.”
By Loyd McIntosh Sports Editor
TRUSSVILLE — The Hewitt Trussville wrestling team placed second in the 2022 Early Season Duals meet at Bryant Bank Arena, Saturday, November 19.
The event brought six high school wrestling teams to Trussville for a warmup meet to prepare for the meat of the 2022-23 high school wrestling schedule - Hewitt-Trussville, Shades Valley, Springville, St. Clair County High School, Scotts boro, and Mae Jemison.
Third-year Wrestling Head Coach Chris Pike said this meet was designed to give the Huskies valuable competition experience as the heart of the schedule nears, including the Patrick Aaron Memorial Thanksgiving Du als hosted by Hewitt-Truss ville on Wednesday, Novem ber 23.
Pike is replacing 12 se niors, eight of whom start ed, as well as 12 seniors and eight of them started and included a state champion, a state runner-up, two third place wrestlers and one fourth place wrestler from the 202122 team. Pike states that the younger athletes stepping up into starting roles know the
expectations are high and are working hard to meet them.
“We have a lot more soph omores in our lineup this year than we did last year, but they've been working really hard,” said Pike. “The expec tations were set for them last year and the previous year. And so we expect them to step up to those expectations as the year goes on.”
The Huskies do have some experienced athletes on the roster, including Hunter Jones, a two-time state cham pion, Chris Hawkins, a twotime state placer, two-time state qualifier Cameron Can twell, and Clark Box, a ju nior who placed fourth in the state last year. Pike said the team will lean on these four athletes as the younger team members gain experience and confidence.
“We have a lot of young guys who are stepping into that leadership role, but they’re learning to do it as they go,” said Pike. “But, these are guys who have been there and done that, and so we expect a little bit more out of them.”
The Huskies also have their first female wrestler, Katherine Grigsby, a sopho more competing in the girls’ 120-pound division.
Also looking to gain ex perience in a young squad
is Springville High School. Wrestling Head Coach Bri an VanDeVanDer said the Springville wrestling team normally doesn’t get start ed competing until Thanks giving at the Hayden High School duals meet, but ac cepted an invitation to get his team a little seasoning early.
VanDeVanDer helped launch the wrestling program a little more than 15 years ago and is still at work establish ing a wrestling tradition at Springville.
"The thing that hurts us is when they step into our room, for 90 percent of their first time ever to see a wres tling singlet much less a mat," he said. "I've got a couple of Juniors that are wrestling but they have never wrestled be
fore. But our kids fight and that’s what we ask them to do.”
The Shades Valley Mount ies come into the tournament having competed in one ju nior varsity tournament and a meet with the Alabama
School for the Blind. Head Coach Martin Blankenship, in his first year back at Shades Valley after his initial tenure from 2015-2019, says the Mounties wrestling program is in a transition period of a few years in the wilderness.
“They had three coach es in the three years I was gone, so I’m basically having to start over and rebuild the culture,” Blankenship said.
“There might be two guys on the team that did anything in terms of off-season wres tling so that have the under stand that to compete with the Hewitt-Trussvilles and the Scottsboros of the world that they have to basically wrestle year-round.”
Despite the lack of con sistency due to the coaching carousel, Blankenship point
ed out a handful of athletes who are stepping up as lead ers for the Mounties such as sophomore 113-pounder Da vid Barclay and 160-pound er Trevor Hendricks, and 220-pounder Julian Maddox, who Blankenship said has po tential to be a state contender this year.
2022 Hewitt-Trussville
Early Season Duals Final Standings
First Place
Scottsboro Second Place
Hewitt-Trussville Third Place
Springville Fourth Place Mae Jemison Fifth Place
Saint Clair County Sixth Place Shades Valley
He bore the bulk of the pressure Friday against a Ramsay defense committed to taking away Leeds’ (11-1) run game. The Green Wave finished with 146 yards through the air, and was five yards away from tying the game in the 4th quarter.
“He’s (Latta) smart, takes care of the football,”
Hood said. “He’s an incred ible kid, and I love seeing his maturity and his growth, as with a lot of boys on the team.”
But the 2022 season was one of milestones for Hood’s squad. Leeds ran through its regular season undefeated, claimed a region title and advanced to the state quar terfinals for the first time since 2015.
“The real story, these
guys right here, just a bunch of guys who love each oth er, came together,” Hood said. “They have committed themselves to this.”
And, if the veteran head coach has anything to say about it, this season will be just another stepping stone.
“This is a great place to be,” he said. “It hurts to day, but we’ll be fine. Take Thanksgiving off, then get to work.”
