The Trussville Tribune – Nov. 30 - Dec. 6, 2022

From The Tribune staff reports

TRUSSVILLE — Icon Trussville (6370 South Chalkville Road) has an nounced the winner of a new low-speed vehicle. The grand opening took place on

Center Point approves purchase of 2 police Interceptors at recent City Council meeting

By Loyd Mcintosh For the Tribune

HTHS sophomore founds ‘Huskies with Hearts’ Kindness Club

By Crystal McGough Associate Editor

TRUSSVILLE –

Hewitt-Trussville High School has had its share of ups and downs, especially in the last year, but one HTHS sophomore was already one step ahead with plans to im plement positive changes within the student body, as well as the community as a whole.

Stella Shipman entered the high school as a freshman in the fall of 2021, fresh out of the Covid pandemic and nationwide shutdown. Im mediately, Stella saw a need to re-establish unity amongst the student body.

“I have been trying to start (a kindness) club since last year, my freshman year,” she said. “I finally got it founded this year, and the point of the club is to decrease the nega tivity and the bullying in our school (and) to increase in clusion and acceptance while spreading kindness through the school and community and encouraging students to come together for the com mon good. I wanted this

Clay to participate in Wreaths Across America

By Terry Schrimscher For The Tribune

CLAY — Mayor pro tem pore Becky Johnson presided as the Clay City Council met Tuesday night, Nov. 22, for the second scheduled meeting of the month. Johnson, filling in for Mayor Charles Webster, also serves on the Council.

Alabama Department of Edu cation released its 2021-2022 State Report Card for all the schools in the state of Ala bama. The Trussville Tribune covers eight different high

club to be more than just acts of kindness. It would be a chance for students to relate to each other, to work togeth er to make a difference, and come together and create a sense of unity between the kids.”

Stella began to research what types of clubs or activ ities could be done to bring students from different social

groups together for the better ment of the school and stu dent relations. In the process, she discovered that the school formerly had a Heritage Pan el, but it was no longer active.

After spending a year researching and learning about kindness clubs at other schools, both local and na tionwide, Stella approached Associate Principal Coach

Jared Meads on Sept. 14, 2022, to propose founding an HTHS Kindness Club.

“I was doing a lot of re search on my own – just looking up different schools close to Trussville and in Al abama and seeing what kind of clubs they had going,” she said. “I noticed a lot of

Trussville begins new garbage, debris pick-up this Thursday

By Hannah Curran Editor

TRUSSVILLE — The City of Trussville is begin ning a new garbage and de bris pick-up with Amwaste on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022, that will pick up garbage and debris once a week.

The difference is that the recycling and garbage will now go on the same truck. Those trucks are transported down to Montgomery to a recycling plant, where they separate the recyclable, the usable, the non-usable, and what’s leftover goes to the landfill.

“It doesn’t have to be sep arated anymore; it will all go on one truck,” Trussville Mayor Buddy Choat said. “In stead of having a recyclable truck come by and a garbage truck, it all be on one truck.”

Amwaste will take the gar bage and debris to a facility in Clanton, and then it will be taken to Montgomery. Once in Montogmery, it will go to a place called Repower South.

“Repower South will go through and separate what is recyclable and able to be re

cycled, and what is not able to, they use it as a byproduct for other things,” Choat said. “It’s got an EPA-approved plan to help use the other, and then what’s left, about 40 per cent of what they collect will end up in the landfill instead of 100 percent.”

Choat explained that land fills are getting full and land fills are “unsustainable.”

If Trussville had put out a bid for the garbage and debris pick-up, then the cost would have gone up tremendously, according to Choat.

“The cost that we’re see ing on this is comparable to

what we were paying prior to this; it’s a little higher,” Choat said. “Then we add ed $500,000 to the budget this year to cover any fuel charges.”

Trussville is the last of five cities to transition to this ser vice; Vestavia was first, then Hoover, Pelham, Mountain Brook, and finally Trussville. Trussville’s contract with Re public ends on Nov. 30, 2022, and then the new contract with Amwaste begins on Dec. 1, 2022.

Choat explained that out of the 10,000 customers in Trussville, only around 400

customers will have a change in pick-up day.

The Debris pick-up will be on a 10-day cycle instead of a 7-day cycle like the trash.

“It’s a change,” Choat said. “It’s not always bad, but it is different.”

Also, Amwaste purchased the cans from Republic, and now all Trussville customers will keep the same can(s) as before.

“They can use both their recycle can and garbage can, if everything is bagged, they use it all the same way,” Ad ministrative Assistant Stacy Frazier said.

Choat said in the past that some people were putting items that were not recycla ble in the recyclable bins which was causing it to be rejected when it made it to the facilities. That’s where the facility in Montgomery comes in because they can go through the trash and seper ate it.

“I think it will solve a lot issues that we have had,” Choat said.

Springville seeks to redefine longevity pay for city employees

By Terry Schrimscher For The Tribune

TCS BOE votes to use AASB for superintendent search

By Hannah Curran Editor

TRUSSVILLE — The Trussville City Schools (TCS) Board of Education (BOE) voted to use the Alabama As sociation of School Boards (AASB) for their superinten dent search during a meeting on Monday, Nov. 28. The

From The Tribune staff reports

TRUSSVILLE — Emily Lombardo had her vehicle stolen from her driveway on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at approx imately 8:41 a.m. After the quick response of the Truss ville Police Department,

SPRINGVILLE — The Springville City Council met Monday night, Nov. 21, for the second regular meeting of November. Temporary Mayor pro tempore Katrina Hennings led the meeting in the absence of Mayor Dave See

Leeds FBLA students attend Fall Leadership Conference

By Darcy Phillips Special To The Tribune

LEEDS – Last week, Darcy Phillips and three oth er Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) senior members attended the FBLA Fall Leadership Conference (FLC) in Orlando, Florida, chaperoned by Leeds High

Icon Trussville announced winner of new low-speed vehicle during grand opening

Stolen car victim thanks Trussville PD for recovering vehicle

CENTER POINT — The Center Point City Council ap proved the purchase of police vehicles during a rescheduled

Stella Shipman with Huskies with Hearts door prize winners (left to right: Nataleigh Coleman, Stella Shipman, Meredith Willingham). Photo courtesy of Stacey and Stella Shipman.

Adobe

The Trussville Tribune

190 Main Street Trussville, AL 35173 (205) 533-8664

Scott Buttram, Publisher publisher@trussvilletribune.com

Hannah Curran, Editor news@trussvilletribune.com

Crystal McGough, Associate Editor news@trussvilletribune.com

Loyd McIntosh, Sports Editor news@trussvilletribune.com

SALES STAFF

Leigh Hays, Account Executive Shari Moore, Account Executive Lauren Taylor, Sales Coordinator.

Butch Cole, Director of Business Development takebacktrussville@gmail.com Member

By Joe Hobby

My Life as a Hobby: The Plane Truth

This holiday season, many of you will be flying all over the country to visit loved ones. You have my pity. That’s because the other day, I was talking to a friend who just took his first flight since COVID began. He said some thing that struck fear in my heart. “Joe, flying is worse now than it ever was.”

So it seems the airlines have finally succeeded in do ing something I thought was impossible. They have found a way to make the flight ex perience even more miserable for us passengers. It’s like Sa tan adding humidity to hell. The only thing left for them to do now is to have the flight at tendants rake their fingernails on a blackboard. Airlines used to be all about serving the customer – but not now. I’m thankful that I’m not a regular flier anymore.

For over 20 years, I used to get on a plane about once a month, so I consider myself a veteran of the skies. But things have changed since COVID. Airlines have cut flights, amenities, and ser vices, all while raising prices. It’s hard to believe that there was a time when I actually en joyed getting on an airplane. But it’s no fun anymore. I would compare a trip on a plane to being in a cattle car, except that would be an in sult to cattle cars everywhere. To say glamour is gone from flying is like saying ethics is gone from politics.

Remember the old days? Flying was a big deal. An event that was sometimes as exciting as your destination. People even dressed up to fly. I’m talking suits and dresses. Not now. The last time I flew, the lady a few rows in front of me wore pajamas and animal slippers.

Long flights are the worst. But they do give you time to think. For example, I usually think about why I always sit beside a crying baby. And then I look up and think about how the crying baby is almost the same size as the overhead luggage bin.

There was a time when you got a real meal on most flights. “Chicken or beef, sir?” are words you never hear on a plane anymore. Now your meal consists of two ounces of Diet Coke and about 10 Cheetos. If you grovel, they may throw in a bag of pea nuts: Non-Appetit, y’all.

Maybe you’ve noticed that while the flight attendants seem to be getting wider, the plane’s aisles are getting more narrow. This was brought to my atten tion on my last flight when a beverage cart rammed into my leg and about fractured my kneecap. I could opt for a win dow seat; however, for a man my age with prostate problems,

sitting in a non-aisle seat brings its own set of challenges.

Yep, there’s nothing like crawling across a row of ag gravated people to make your way to a bathroom the size of a Keebler elf’s closet. Then try to pee and hope there’s no turbulence.

Some of the people you randomly sit beside aren’t any help either. I recall one whitefaced guy who turned to me as we taxied down the runway and said nervously, “You ever wonder how something this heavy gets off the ground?” Thanks for pointing that out to me, Charles Lindbergh.

And can anyone please tell me how keeping that tray table in the locked and up right position will save my life if we hit the ground at 400 miles an hour?

“Well, Bob, it’s a miracle. Every passenger somehow survived this crash landing on the runway except this poor ol’ boy here.”

“Look there, Billy Ray. Ain’t too hard to figure out what happened. God bless him.”

“Is that melted piece of plastic his tray table?”

“Yep. And it wasn’t in the locked and upright position.”

“Dear Lord, how will we tell his family that?”

Flying is pretty much a Greyhound bus with wings now. Except you don’t go through security screening at the bus station, and you cer tainly don’t have flight nazis making sure your tray table is locked and upright. This hol iday season, the best thing to do is accept flying as a nec essary evil. We must endure getting from Point A to Point B quickly. Just lower your al ready low expectations.

And try to avoid that cry ing baby.

Joe Hobby is a comedi an, author, and writer. Go to: https://mylifeasahobby.blog spot.com/?m=1 for more.

Joe Hobby, Tribune Columnist

they were able to recover the vehicle. Lombardo decided to show her appreciation by buying biscuits for the police officers.

Lombardo had stepped out of her vehicle to retrieve a newspaper from her yard in the Longmeadow neighbor hood when 23-year-old Levi Bowman of Hoover jumped into her car and drove away.

“By the time I had walked my newspaper back to my garage and turned around, my car was rolling away from me,” Lombardo said.

“I just thought I didn’t put the car in park. So then I ran right into the car, and as soon

L oca L / R egion

as I ran up there, he just took off.”

Lombardo immediate ly ran inside the house and called 911. Then, using an other cell phone, she was able to track her phone that was left in the vehicle and give information to the po lice. The Trussville Police Department was able to lo cate the vehicle with Lom bardo’s assistance on I-59 Northbound.

“I’m very, very thankful and proud of the Trussville and Springville officers,” Lombardo said. “They were wonderful and did a great job. Just very thankful for all their help with it, and did a great job working together.”

Trussville Police Depart

ment Chief Eric Rush said this appears to be a crime of opportunity.

“Longmeadow is a safe neighborhood, so that’s defi nitely not the normal thing we have in there,” Rush said. “He just saw an opportunity and took it.”

5 arrested for shoplifting in Trussville

From The Tribune staff reports

TRUSSVILLE — Five people were arrested for shoplifting in Trussville be tween Nov. 22 – 28, 2022.

Trussville Police Depart ment’s Facebook page states, “If you are thinking of com ing to Trussville to steal….. we can assure you that IT IS NOT WORTH IT. If you do, you may very well find your picture on social media.

“All arrest and arrest pho tos posted on this page are public information. All sub jects are innocent until prov en guilty.”

Those arrested include: Cheryl Budges of Bir mingham;

• Angela Dun of Bimring ham;

Rush said you can nev er be too careful and always be hyper-aware of your sur roundings.

“You want to feel safe in your driveway, but in this world, you can’t; you have to always be looking; somebody could be hiding in the bush es,” Rush said. “It’s just a dif ferent world.”

Lombardo said she felt like Bowman was hiding somewhere because she nev er saw him when she stepped out of the vehicle.

“Then when I grabbed the newspaper, and walked it

back to my garage, and came back, he was in my car taking off,” Lombardo said. “We’re just thankful that he only took the car, and he took off, and that the police were just so quick in catching him; it was truly amazing.”

Lombardo explained that she was glad her children weren’t in the vehicle, and Bowman didn’t try to attack her or wait until she left and robbed her home.

“I’ve been telling every one to be aware, be vigilant,” Lombardo said. “You can’t leave your car running or just warm it up or hop out to get your newspaper.”

When Bowman was lo cated on I-59, the Springville Police Department and St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office joined the pursuit on I-59.

Two Springville police of ficers attempted to disable the vehicle with spike strips at the 154 exit on I-59 when the sus pect swerved and struck a po lice officer. Springville Chief Wayne Walton said the officer

is doing good and was not se riously injured.

Another officer was at the 155-mile marker with another spike strip.

Walton said that at this time, the driver made a righthand turn and attempted to go up the northbound on-ramp, but instead, he crashed into the embankment and fled the vehicle on foot up the ramp.

Springville police offi cers were able to detain the suspect with the assistance of TPD, the St. Clair Coun ty Sheriff’s Office, and the Odenville Police Department.

Bowman is being held at the St. Clair County Jail with no bond for the following charges:

• Two counts of attempted murder; Possession of Drug Para phernalia; Assault Second Degree; and

• Reckless Endangerment. The story will be updat ed when more information is available.

Coroner identifies victim of Center Point Thanksgiving shooting

From The Tribune staff reports

CENTER POINT — The

Jefferson County Coroner’s Office has identified the vic tim of a shooting that oc curred on Thursday, Nov. 24, around 6:45 p.m.

According to the Jeffer son County Coroner’s Office, Theodore Alexander Hill, 23, of Birmingham, sustained

gunshot wound injuries during a reported assault.

Hill was pronounced dead at the scene.

Jefferson County Sheriff Deputies were dispatched to the 2400 block of 5th Street Northwest in Center Point to investigate reports of a person who had been shot.

“Upon arrival, deputies encountered a male who was deceased from a gunshot

wound,” Lieutenant Joni Money stated.

Money stated the reason for the shooting has not yet been determined.

Authorities ask if you have any information, call the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office at 205-325-1450, op tion 2.

The story will be updat ed when more information is available.

Photo courtesy of the Trussville Police Department

• Michael Kelley of Bir mingham;

• Samarian McKinney of

Pinson; and • Tisheka Sparks of Bir mingham.

From Left to Right: (Top Row) Angela Dun of Birmingham and Tisheka Sparks of Birmingham. (Bottom Row) Cheryl Budges of Birmingham, Michael Kelley of Birmingham, and Samarian McKinney of Pinson.

council meeting Monday, Nov. 14.

In a brief meeting last ing less than 20 minutes, the Center Point City Council ap proved a proposal from Stivers Ford for two Ford Police Inter ceptors at a price of $$38,320 per vehicle for use in the city’s Public Safety Department.

The purchase of the police vehicles comes during a period of negotiations with the Jeffer son County Sheriff’s Depart ment for continued police cov erage within the city. Before asking for motions to approve the purchase, Council President D.M. Collins took a moment to head any misconceptions off at the pass regarding the purchase of the police vehicles.

“I would like to say ‘no, we are not starting a police de partment,’” Collins said. “We are looking to grow our pub lic safety department, which is why we are looking to pur chase these Interceptors. We don’t want that story to be a thing.

“I would also like to add that the police Interceptors will be funded with the ARPA funds that we received. So this will not be coming from our general budget.”

Additionally, the City Council approved the purchase of a Ford F-150 pickup for $$33,688 for use by the Public Works Department.

File Photo

Scott said negotiations with Stivers Ford began after two recent open bids failed to gain any traction.

“As you know, vehicles are hard to find,” Scott said. “We didn’t get any bids on our first go-round of bids. So, we did the bid again, and I still don’t think we actually had anybody submit any.”

Following a short period of debate over the various pack ages provided to Stivers Ford, the city council unanimously approved the expenditure by a roll call vote with all members present.

In other business: The City Council named Mayor Bobby Scott as voting delegate for the National League of Cities’ 2022 NLC City Summit in mid-November and named Place 2 Councilman Glenn Willams and Place 5 Coun cilwoman Ebonnee Cope land as alternates.

• The City Council also pre sented a proclamation to the Edwards Foundation, a community service orga nization dedicated to pro viding several services to people in need, including makeovers to people suf fering from hair loss due to cancer and alopecia, as well as those overcoming other obstacles in life.

• The City Council approved travel expenses for coun cil members attending the 2022 NLC City Summit in Kansas City, Missouri.

Kindness

From front page

schools had clubs that were anti-bullying clubs and other kindness clubs. I even went on Instagram and looked up clubs across the U.S. from different high schools and it looked like kids were finally coming together and doing activities together, and I felt like that was something that our school needed.”

Meads, enthusiastic about the idea, took the proposal to Acting Principal Joy Young and the club was approved.

The HTHS Kindness Club, also known as Hus kies with Hearts, held its first meeting on Oct. 12, and now meets the first and third Tues day of each month.

Nearly 30 students attend ed the first meeting and Stella said that 25 students, so far, have officially signed up to be members of the club.

“For a new club, that was huge,” Stella’s mom, Stacey Shipman, said. “It’s growing, and it’s going to take some time … but it’s so needed.”

HTHS teachers Misti Patterson and Ashley Nix are teacher-sponsors for the Kindness Club, which meets during Husky Hour in one of their classrooms. Stella said the club plans to do at least one project or activity every month.

Their first event was in recognition of World Kind ness Week, which was Nov. 13-19. On Monday, Nov. 14, club members gathered at the car line before school to wel come students and teachers as they arrived.

“We had the club out there with a bunch of signs with positive messages on them and stood in the car line and said ‘hey’ to students and teachers and kind of just pumped everybody up that morning, which was super

fun,” Stella said, adding that she has a whole list of ideas including teacher apprecia tion activities, social media challenges, and trash pick-up days around the school and community.

“Hopefully, if it gets big enough, we could do schoolwide assemblies and invite guest speakers to talk about different topics,” she said. “We could go into classes and speak about those topics.”

In addition to acts of kind ness within the high school, Stella said the club has also discussed going out into the community and participating in food drives and coat drives for the poor.

For their December activ ity, the club plans to partner with an organization called “Be A Blessing Birmingham” to bring food and clothing to the homeless in downtown Birmingham. The event will take place at George Ward Park, located at 1901 Green Springs S, Birmingham, on Dec. 17, from 8 a.m. through 10 a.m.

“We’re going to go down there and just help out the homeless,” Stella said. “We’re going to hand out some food, some clothing, any items that they need. We’re opening it up so that any students from school can come, all the club members can come; we can invite family (and) friends. I’m super excited about it.”

Stella said that she needs a head count for anyone want ing to participate in this event as part of the HTHS Kindness Club/Huskies with Hearts by Dec. 6. Students and other interested parties can let her know they plan on attending via the club’s Instagram: @ huskieswithhearts.

The Kindness Club held its first fundraiser Monday night, Nov. 21, at Taco Mama in Trussville. Between the hours of 5-9 p.m., 10% of all

Taco Mama’s proceeds were donated to the club.

“We had a really, really good turnout,” Stella said. “A bunch of my friends from school came, a lot of the club members were there, and we just had a really big crowd, in general.”

Huskies with Hearts raised $285 from the Taco Mama fundraiser, which will help to fund supplies and fu ture events.

“That’s their first mon ey in the account, so I think that’s pretty good – other than some cash donations they’ve gotten that we’ve just used to buy supplies and things,” Stacey Shipman said. “But this will officially be the first money to go into the school club account, so I think they did pretty well.”

Stacey added that, once the holidays are over, Stella plans for the Kindness Club activities to get back to focus ing on the school and student body.

“They want to do commu nity service and things like that, but she really wants this club to be about the students at the school,” Stacey said. “So, we even talked about us ing that (fundraiser) money to pay a speaker to come speak to the students about mental health, or bullying, or some hot topic that has been an is sue at the school.”

In addition to being the founder of the HTHS Kind ness Club, Stella is also an active member of HTHS The ater and Chamber Choir, and is taking advanced classes.

“She balances a ton, so of all kids, she’s probably the last kid that needed to add something else to her plate,” Stacey said. “But, by nature, she’s just a kind soul. She, I think, wants to change the world.”

Stella said she’s taking every opportunity she gets

to reach out to every group of students within the high school, and encouraging as many students as possible to join. In addition to Instagram, she is having the Kindness Club promoted on overhead school announcements, and also has signs posted around the school with a QR code that takes students directly to the membership application, as well as information about the club.

“I am using this oppor tunity to reach out to all groups, all students,” Stella said. “Anyone in any grade can join. I really want to get students to realize it’s OK if we’re different; it’s OK if we don’t believe in the same things; but we can still all respect each other and show love to each other and be kind despite our differences.

“I’m really hoping that this can make a culture change in not only our school, but our community,” she added. “I told our club members, this is representing our school; this is representing our student body. We are making our selves known to other schools and to our community and to other students, and we want that to be an influence and to show people to think be yond themselves – to show compassion to people around them and to bring a change in a positive and productive way. I hope that, in the future, the club will have all types of people involved. I’m hoping that we can do big activities in the community and in the school, and I hope it really encourages kids to just be kind to everyone. I think our school and our environment in our school really needs it, and I feel like it’ll teach kids to just allow everybody to be heard and respected no matter who they are.”

Contact Crystal McGough at mcgoughcrystal@gmail.com

Center Point Mayor Bobby

Springville

From front page

Thomas and Mayor pro tem pore Wayne Tucker. Tucker viewed the meeting online while recovering from illness.

In the pre-meeting work session, Deputy City Clerk Kim Stone shared concerns from city employees regard ing the new policy on longev ity pay included in the recent ly passed personnel manual.

“We have 13 employees who, for the past two years, have received a check in No vember for longevity pay who will not be receiving it this year,” Stone said. “Only 20 employees out of the whole city, out of 70 or 75 employ ees, qualify for it.”

In the personnel manual, which was approved in Au gust, the city set a five-year threshold for longevity pay. Under the new rules, the bo nus checks are automatically paid each November unless the Council votes to rescind payment for a fiscal year.

“It was brought to my attention a few weeks ago. One of the department heads had emailed me or called me asking. He had a couple of employees he thought had received it for a couple of years,” Stone said. “He want ed to know how many of his employees had received it be fore and would not be receiv

ing it this time.”

Other city employees in the meeting shared their con cerns. Police Chief Wayne Walton added none of the full-time staff and only one part-time employee in his department would qualify for the bonus check under the new guidelines. Library director Jamie Twente add ed that employees in her de partment depend on that ex tra check during the holiday season but would not receive it according to the new hand book regulations.

Under the current guide lines, the gross impact for eligible longevity pay is $11,980. Stone estimates the cost to extend the pay to the rest of the city employees could reach $35,000.

Although the checks are scheduled to be paid in No vember, the Council moved to table the issue until the first meeting in December so Mayor Thomas can be present for the discussion.

Stone announced plans for the Springville sesqui centennial celebration, which will be held Dec. 8, featuring crafts, commemorative orna ments, photos with Santa, and a Christmas choir concert. She also announced plans for the Christmas parade on Dec. 10.

The Council approved an additional $10,000 in funding

for the sesquicentennial cele bration and Christmas parade due to the high cost of fire works.

The Council approved an amended agreement with Springville Beverage Corpo ration to allow the company to install the piping for the bottling facility instead of having the city take on the work and expense.

Speaking for Springville Beverage, Brian DeMarco said the agreement calls for the company to purchase 12,000 gallons of spring wa ter in the first year of produc tion. The company plans to market a brand of bottled wa ter, Spring, from Springville’s historic natural springs.

In other business, the Council addressed the fol lowing:

• Rejected bids for light ing on the multi-purpose fields.

Approved the annual sales tax holiday, in February, for severe weather prepa ration.

• Approved an agreement to employ school resource officers.

• Approved $14,864 for the purchase of valves, fit tings, and accessories for the ongoing upgrades at the four-way stop.

The next meeting of the Springville City Council is scheduled for Dec. 5.

Clay Elementary raises money for Book Vending Machine

From The Tribune staff reports

CLAY — Clay Elementary School (CES) is raising money for a Book Vending Machine through the Donor Choose Project. CES serves over 600 students in PreK to 5th grades and from varying ethnicities, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Meeting the needs of these diverse learners means using unique approaches that reach each learner,” CES Sta cey Hill (3-5 grade teacher) stated.

Hill stated that this ma chine will be a motivation for students to read at home, achieve goals, and simply de velop a love for reading.

“Our school is a ‘Leader in Me’ school, and we teach our students the 7 Habits,” Hill stated. “When students achieve a goal or master one of the 7 Habits, they will have the chance to receive a token

Amwaste

From front page

Here are some import ant notes:

• Place all materials and bags inside your cart(s), use 2nd cart as needed.

• Bag all trash to prevent wind-blown litter and un sanitary conditions. Please have your cart out for service by 6 a.m. on your scheduled days.

• Do not place loose mate rials on ground, service is completed by an automat ed vehicle, it is designed to lift and dump the con tents inside your cart. Please ensure lid is closed to prevent wind-blown lit ter and animal nuisance.

• Wash your cart periodi cally with water, soap and mild bleach to prevent res

to get a book from the vending machine. There will be a vari ety of titles and levels to select from so that all students (PreK5th grades) can benefit.”

Hill stated that in an effort to promote student excitement for reading, she wants to pro vide students with motivation in the form of a vending ma chine.

“Do you remember how much you loved getting a pen

idue and odor build up.

If you receive medical or age qualified back door service, place your cart in plain sight with safe and unobstructed access.

• Amwaste personnel WILL NOT enter gates, doors, garages or fenced areas to complete back door service.

Materials accepted: Rolled carpet; Glass doors (glass must be broken and placed in a cardboard box);

• Alkaline, manganese, and carbon-zinc batteries;

• Fluorescent bulbs;

• Household amounts of pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers; Moving boxes (broken down);

• Packing materials (bagged); and

• Appliances (refrigerated

cil or eraser from a machine when you were little,” Hill asked. “Help me to spread that joy with a book machine and spread the love of reading across my school.”

The Donor Choose Project for a Book Vending Machine ended on Nov. 30, 2022. How ever, on Nov. 29, 2022, there was a 100% match day, so if someone donated $10, it be came $20.

appliances require a Freon removal tag issued by a certified technician).

Materials not accepted:

• Construction debris;

• Blocks;

• Bricks;

• Concrete;

• Piles of dirt;

• Tile; Tires; More than household amounts of hazardous waste;

• Car batteries;

• Large car parts (engines, rotors, etc.);

• Landscape or railroad cross ties; Medical waste; Needles; and Animal carcasses.

If you have questions, call the City of Trussville Depart ment of Public Works at (205) 655-0319.

Brian DeMarco said the Springville Beverage Corporation is preparing to begin production on a brand of bottled water named Spring which will be sourced from Springville’s historic natural springs. (Photo by Terry Schrimscher)

Stacey Hill's class (Photo courtesy of Stacey Hill)

Moody Fire Department battles ongoing brush fire

tained inside the fire break.

Report

From front page

schools and their correspond ing feeder patterns in four dif ferent school systems.

Leeds City Schools earned a district grade of “B” on the State Report card with a score of 82 ranking. Individual schools earned a grade to aver age to the district grade:

• Leeds High School – 79;

• Leeds Middle School – 72; Leeds Primary School – 75; and Leeds Elementary School – 75.

Jefferson County Schools earned a district grade of “B” on the State Report card with a score of 81 ranking. Individual schools in our coverage area earned a grade to average to the district grade:

Clay-Chalkville High School – 69;

» Clay-Chalkville Middle School – 70;

» Clay Elementary School – 80;

» Chalkville Elementary School – 67;

» Bryant Park Elementary – 80;

Pinson Valley High School – 71;

» Rudd Middle School –70;

» Kermit Johnson Elemen tary School – 82;

» Pinson Elementary School – 81;

Center Point High School – 59; Erwin Middle School –70;

» Erwin Intermediate School – 65;

» Center Point Elementary School – 65;

• Shades Valley High School – 79;

» Irondale Middle School – 68;

» JCIB Pleasant Grove Campus – 97;

Grantswood Community School – 73; and

» Irondale Community School – 71.

St. Clair County Schools earned a district grade of “B” on the State Report card with a score of 83 ranking. Individual schools earned a grade to aver age to the district grade:

• Moody High School – 78;

» Moody Junior High School – 79;

» Moody Middle School – 82;

» Moody Elementary School – 90; Springville High School –83;

» Springville Middle School – 87;

» Springville Elementary School – 90; and

» Margarett Elementary School – 87.

Trussville City Schools earned a district grade of “A” on the State Report card with a score of 95 ranking. Individual schools earned a grade to aver age to the district grade:

• Hewitt-Trussville High School – 93;

» Hewitt-Trussville Mid dle School – 88;

» Cahaba Elementary School – 98; Magnolia Elementary School – 97; and

» Paine Elementary School – 97.

From The Tribune staff reports

MOODY — Moody Fire Department and the Alabama Forestry Commission are cur rently working on a brush fire in the area of Annie Lee Road and Black Jack Road. Black Jack Road is currently closed for an undetermined amount of time from Carrington to Annie Lee Road to facilitate firefighting and water supply operations.

According to the Moody Fire Department’s Facebook page, Fire activity was high on Nov. 28, 2022. As a result, Moody has placed an engine and water supply lines on-site to protect exposures.

“The fire has remained in side the fire lines, and that is expected to continue,” Moody

Clay

From front page

The council unanimously passed a proclamation in sup port of the efforts of Wreaths Across America, an annual effort honoring fallen veterans during the holiday season.

“Last year, we insisted for the city’s donation they cov er the Clay cemeteries, which they did,” City Manager Ron nie Dixon said. “So, they’re doing the same thing again this year. It’s just a proclama tion recognizing the Wreaths Across America program.”

Wreaths Across America began in 1992 at Arlington Na tional Cemetery and has grown to more than 3,400 locations in the United States and abroad. You can read more about the program, donate or volunteer at www.wreathsacrossamerica. org.

In his report to the council, Dixon gave an update on city finances and the recently en

Fire Department stated on Nov. 28, 2022. “Moody Fire and Forestry continue to monitor to incident for changes.”

On Nov. 27, 2022, the Moody Fire Department stated that the rain was beneficial in reducing the rate of spread of this fire. However, the fire has remained inside the fire breaks, and they do not anticipate any change.

“As the winds speeds slow the night of Nov. 27, 2022, the spread and intensity should reduce also,” Moody Fire De partment stated on Nov. 27, 2022. “Flames may still be visible, and smoke may funnel down and collect in low-lying areas.”

At 10 a.m. on Nov. 26, 2022, the Annie Lee Road fire continued to produce smoke and some flames but was main

“Moody Fire Department and Forestry are continuing to monitor the incident for changes to direction and rate of spread,” Moody Fire Depart ment stated on Nov. 26, 2022.

On Nov. 25, 2022, Moody Fire stated that the fire break was about 75 percent complete but would be complete by the night before Forestry left.

“With containment, the fire is not threatening structures,” Moody Fire Department stat ed on Nov. 25, 2022. “Flames and smoke will continue to be visible. The fire department is monitoring the incident along with forestry, and we under stand that homeowners near the incident are anxious. This is a complex situation and will take an undetermined amount of time to resolve. We appre

ciate the help and patience of the public as we work to a successful conclusion of this incident.”

The story will be updat ed when more information is available.

personal property considered junk from the yard at 5879 Cheryl Drive.

The council also approved a resolution condemning a burned home located at 6511 Self Lane. The mortgage com pany asked for a delay in an earlier meeting and has since informed the city that the mort gage on the property has been paid.

acted grocery sales tax cut.

“The general fund has $1.75 million. The capital fund has $1.65 million, and the re serve fund has $2.9 million,” Dixon said. “That’s why we are able to reduce our sales tax and continue on. If you’ve done your Thanksgiving shop ping, you’ve seen how much more prices have increased. It’s a lot more than 8.2 per cent.”

The council declared two properties as public nuisances and authorized the elimination

of a public nuisance at another property.

The two properties declared to be public nuisances are 789 Chestnut Drive and 6791 Old Springville Road. The reso lution passed, and Dixon said the city will ask both property owners to clean up junk in their yards, or the city will take ac tion to remove the items from the yards.

The resolution to remove a public nuisance from a prop erty was also passed. The city will authorize the removal of

Dixon said the city typical ly clears the condemned prop erty and places a lien on the real estate for the cost of the demolition, which can be as high as $20,000.

Councilor Bo Johnson re minded everyone about the city’s Christmas tree lighting ceremony at Cosby Lake. The event will be this Sunday, Nov. 27, at 5 p.m. Johnson said the event will feature a speaker, a jazz band, and a visit from San ta Claus.

The next meeting of the Clay City Council is scheduled for Dec. 13, at 6 p.m.

Pinson Valley High School. submitted photo

Becky Johnson, serving as Mayor pro tempore, led the Clay City Council meeting on November 22. Johnson is shown with City Manager Ronnie Dixon. (Photo by Terry Schrimscher)

Moody Fire Department battles ongoing brush fire.

(Photo courtesy of Moody Fire Department Facebook Page)

FBLA

From front page

School College and Career Coach Catrice Thomas.

Phillips is a Leeds High School senior and member of the FBLA organization at her school, among other acco lades. She is also a 2022-2023 Intern with Everyone Leeds.

This conference was split into two days. The first day included a motivational speak er and a specific track meant to help improve the skills of FBLA members.

“We chose to participate in the Leadership track, learn ing how to organize volunteer projects, how to work and com municate with others, and the qualities needed for a success ful leader in all areas of life, not just the work field,” Phillips said. “With 23 different states having members in attendance, we were able to meet kids our age from all over the country, including Kentucky, Florida, North Carolina, and more, with whom we will now keep in contact with and hope to see at other FBLA functions.”

The second day of the con ference was filled with work shops led by successful busi nesses like Men’s Warehouse and volunteer organizations like Lead4Change, which pro vided opportunities to earn money for their chapter and learn helpful tips and tricks for their careers.

“The FLC conference has helped prepare us for the busi ness world but also how to lead successful and meaningful lives on the daily,” Phillips said.

However, they didn’t just attend the conference while they were in Orlando; they also went to Universal, which Phillips explained was her fa vorite part of the trip.

“This was my first time go ing to Universal, and to say the least, it was awesome,” Phil lips said. “All of the rides and roller coasters representing movies that I have grown up watching and loving, meeting characters like SpongeBob and Patrick, and visiting the Wiz arding World of Harry Potter, gave me the opportunity to re ally treat this trip like a vaca tion with my best friends.

“We drank butterbeer, bought wands, experiencing all the magic the park had to offer. We were able to watch shows and parades, but the best part for me was being able to do something that I have never done before and create lasting memories with people who I’ve grown up with.”

Another night, they went to Disney Springs and ate dinner at The House of Blues, later going shopping at one of only five M&M stores in the world.

“Though the hustle and bustle of the crowd were some times chaotic, being able to see parts of Disney as well as par ticipating in all of Universal was a chance of a lifetime, one that we got to have because of FBLA,” Phillips said. “I know that I will always remember the lessons that I learned from the conference and the laugh ter and excitement of Univer sal. Trips like these make the anxiety of high school worth it.”

From

Friday, Nov. 18, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Those who attend ed and stayed for the entire grand opening had a chance to win a brand-new 2022 Icon I40 Golf Cart. Icon Trussville also provided food, drinks, and many more door prizes.

The winner of the 2022 Icon I40 Golf Cart was Adam Crocker.

Jonathon Seay, Kasey Graydon, Matt Yancey, and David Cochran Jr. have stepped up to the challenge to provide low-speed vehicles for the community. Yancey, Graydon, and Seay all live in Trussville, while Cochran

BOE

From front page

Board met on Nov. 17, 2022, for training with AASB.

“They do the training free of charge, and it gives us a lot of information; none of us on the board have been through the superintendent search,” TCS Board President Kathy Brown said. “It was very helpful. They offer a lot of support. We also have looked at different ways to address the superintendent search.”

Brown explained that AASB offers a superintendent search, which includes adver tising, recruiting, community engagement, surveys, meet ing with shareholders, screen ing of candidates, selection process, and follow-ups.

TCS has 90 days to begin the superintendent search and 180 days for an acting super intendent.

“It’s a lot, and they’re ex perts at it,” Brown said.

Board member Sherrye Tolbert said she believes this is an excellent opportunity for TCS, and AASB has them in the right direction.

“I think it’s a great op portunity,” Board member Dr. Steve Ward said. “AASB conducts the search; they are

lives in Hoover part of the time and Florida most of the time.

Icon is based in Tampa, Florida, and has five man ufacturing facilities around the country, including North Carolina, Florida, Texas, and Arizona.

Cochran owns the Icon dealership in Chelsea and Panama City Beach, Florida, and is the distributor for the state of Alabama for Icon and Epic, the other brand they car ry. Icon owns the Epic brand.

The Epics come standard with backup cameras, wind shield wipers, and full glass windshields. The icons have DOT windshields, but Icon Trussville offers a fold-down

version. In addition, all the low-speed vehicles will have seatbelts, turn signals, head lights, taillights, and DOT tires.

Icon Trussville offers fully customizable carts in stock; customers can get any color, any combination they want in three to four days max, while other brands are a year or more out on anything cus tomized.

They will also offer any customization or service work, and customers can trade in carts for a street-legal cart.

Icon Trussville will be open Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

After returning from an executive session, the Board voted to expel a Hewitt-Truss ville High School student and place them in the Alterna tive Learning Center for the remainder of the 2022-23 school year.

The student must reappear before the student assignment committee in the Spring of 2023.

In other news, the Board approved the following: Amend page of TCS Sal ary Schedule for substi tutes;

• Superintendent recom mendation regarding changes in personnel;

very versed in these kinds of things. So I think it’s a great opportunity. I’m very much in favor.”

TCS Interim Superinten dent Dr. Frank Costanzo com mended the board on their de cisions in the superintendent search.

“You’re opening this up; you’re involving an outside firm to come in, that you’re going to have community in volvement and participation,” Costanzo said. “I know that

a lot of people do not know what that looks like, but I do know what it looks like. It’s a very exhaustive process. I commend you for your open ness and willingness to go through the process. AASB does do a great job, and I just want to commend you as board members for what you’re doing.”

Updates and the timeline for the superintendent search can be found at www.trussvil lecityschools.com.

• The following field trips: » HTHS Theatre to Troy University; and Quote for VMWare Sup port.

The December Monthly Board Meeting will be held Monday, Dec. 12, 2022, in the Boardroom of the Cen tral Office at 6:00 p.m. In addition, there will be a Work Session at 5:00 p.m. before the Board Meeting. Both the Work Session and the Board Meeting will be live-streamed. The link to the livestream will be posted on the TCS website by 4:45 p.m. on Dec. 12, 2022.

The winner of the 2022 Icon I40 Golf Cart was Adam Crocker. (Photo courtesy of Jonathon Seay)

Aubrey Gimberg, Mary-Joan Martin, Darcy Phillips, and Alexa Williams. (Photo courtesy of Darcy Phillips)

TCS Interim Superintendent Dr. Frank Costanzo commended the board for their decisions in the superintendent search.

(Photo by Hannah Curran)

L ifesty L e

Tree Talk: How old is ‘old’?

By Jean Cox VP of Friends of Pinchgut Creek Commentary

TRUSSVILLE — Truss ville’s historic streets are lined with old Oak trees, most of which are Water Oaks.

When the Cahaba Housing Project was built, the yards and roadsides were all plant ed with Water Oak seedlings. The species was more than likely selected because they are incredibly fast-growing, big trees. It only took a cou ple of decades for them to mature and cover the streets with shade. In the short term, the choice was great. But, like most fast-growing trees, these Water Oaks are shortlived. Their average life ex pectancy is around 80 years. We are now seeing the rapid decline and death of our his toric oaks. With proper care and treatment, many of our 80-year-old Water Oaks could possibly survive to be centen nial treasures. Unfortunately, though, most will not make it that far. Instant gratification always comes at a cost. When it comes to trees, our children and grandchildren will pay the price if we continue to only plant fast-growing trees.

Eighty might seem old, but for trees… and deter mined humans, that really isn’t very old. The oldest liv ing Oak tree in the world (The Pechanga Great Oak) was a seedling around the time Je sus was born. We have some Oak trees right here in Truss ville that have the potential to live over 400 years. One of those beauties, a truly im pressive Post Oak, is growing right next to ChalkvilleMoun tain Road, just uphill from the mall. It is well over 100 years young at this point, and

hopefully, it will be around for many more generations.

If you ever stroll down that sidewalk, take a moment and try to wrap your arms around that slow-growing giant.

Before humans deter mined the landscaping in this area, our local forests were home to the greatest diversity of oak species in the world. There are still places in Ala bama where you can find that amazing biodiversity. But, in the Birmingham metro area, those old forests were cleared, and progress came with an altered forest canopy, fewer slow-growing species, and ar eas of total monoculture.

To be better stewards of our urban forest canopy, we must plant more native trees, a greater variety of trees, and we must include slow-grow ing giants. This can be chal lenging because some of our

native trees are hard to find from landscape suppliers. Some growers have been working to improve this, and native species are becoming more readily available. If you are searching for a na tive long-lived variety, you should be able to find Post, Nutall, Shumard, or Swamp Chestnut Oaks in nearby gar den centers. If you plant one of these beautiful trees, you could be helping to make sure Trussville is still beautiful and shaded hundreds of years from now.

If you would like to learn more about the interesting history of trees in our region, mark your calendars; on Feb ruary 23, Henry Hughes, re tired Director of Education at Birmingham Botanical Gar dens, will be the speaker for the Arbor Week Tree Talk at the Trussville Public Library.

Savvy Senior: How leg pains could be an early sign of heart attack or stroke

By Jim Miller

Dear Savvy Senior, I started a walking program a few months ago to help me lose weight but I’ve been hav ing problems with my legs and hips hurting during my walk, although they feel better once I stop. I thought it was just be cause I’m getting old, but my neighbor was telling me about a leg vein disease she has called PAD and thinks I may have something similar. What can you tell me about this?

Limping Linda

Dear Linda, The health condition your neighbor is telling you about is known as “peripheral arte rial disease” (or PAD), which is an under the radar disease that affects approximately 8 to 12 million Americans.

It happens when the arter ies that carry blood to the legs and feet become narrowed or clogged over the years with fatty deposits or plaque, caus ing poor circulation.

But you also need to be aware that because PAD is a systemic disease, people that have it are also much more likely to have clogged arter ies in other areas of the body like the heart, neck and brain, which greatly increase the risks of heart attack or stroke.

Few Symptoms Unfortunately, PAD goes undiagnosed and untreated way too often because most people that have it experi ence few, if any symptoms. The most common symptom, however, is similar to what you’re experiencing: pain and

cramping in the hip, thigh or calf muscles, especially when walking or exercising but usually disappears after rest ing for a few minutes.

Another reason PAD is under-diagnosed is because many people assume that aches and pains go along with aging and simply live with it instead of reporting it to their doctor.

Other possible symptoms to be aware of include leg numbness or weakness, cold ness or skin color changes in the lower legs and feet, or ulcers or sores on the legs or feet that don’t heal.

Are You at Risk?

Like most other health conditions, the risk of devel oping PAD increases with age. Those most vulnera ble are people over the age of 50 who smoke or used to smoke, have elevated cho lesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, are overweight, or have a family history of PAD, heart attack or stroke. African Americans are also twice as likely to have PAD as Cauca sians.

If you’re experiencing any symptoms or if you’re at

increased risk of PAD, you need to be tested by your doctor or a vascular special ist. He or she will probably perform a quick and painless ankle-brachial index test, which is done by measuring your blood pressure in your ankle as well as your arm and compare the two numbers. Your doctor may also do imaging tests such as ultra sound, magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), and computed tomographic (CT) angiography.

With early detection, many cases of PAD can be treated with lifestyle modifications including an improved diet, increased physical activity and smoking cessation.

If lifestyle changes aren’t enough, your doctor may also prescribe medicine to pre vent blood clots, lower blood pressure and cholesterol, and control pain and other symp toms. And for severe PAD, the treatment options are an gioplasty (inflating a tiny bal loon in the artery to restore blood flow then removed), the insertion or a stent to re open the artery, or a graft by pass to reroute blood around the blockage.

To learn more about PAD, visit the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at NHL BI.NIH.gov/health-topics/pe ripheral-artery-disease.

Send your senior ques tions to: Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070, or visit SavvySenior. org. Jim Miller is a contrib utor to the NBC Today show and author of “The Savvy Se nior” book.

Photo courtesy of Jean Cox

Phil Williams: It’s all in the details

By Phil Williams, 1819 News Commentary

Some folks say, “The dev il’s in the details.” Not me. I believe that God is in the de tails. Details are what make the big picture come together. Details are what make bad get better and good become great. That sounds like a godlier ap proach in my view.

Being detail-oriented can be a personality trait, but it can also be a learned behav ior. For me, I know the men tors in my life intentionally taught me to care about de tails.

My first real paycheck came when I was 16 years old working for Chick-Fil-A in what used to be called Park way City Mall in Huntsville. It was an education about the working of commerce in ac tion, but it was also an educa tion in paying attention to de tails. You might think that the preparation of a chicken sand wich only has so many things to think about. Not so, it’s all about the details. Are the buns fresh? Two pickle slices per sandwich. How many do we have on hand for the Christ mas shopping rush? Prepara tion of the chicken alone was detailed and thorough with each one being dipped, bat tered and cooked to standard, and that’s just the sandwich! I learned about stocking, re ceiving shipments, schedul ing staff, dining room checks, reconciling registers, and all while keeping a smile on and telling folks it’s your pleasure to serve them.

Trying to be a good em ployee at a fast-food joint was a lot for a 16-year-old learn ing the world. But it taught me details that are still carried forward today.

Details truly matter. Think about some examples: How about your favorite restau rant? Was it just the food? Or was there a combination of service, atmosphere and quality food? What about architecture? Is it just that a building is dried in and can support people being in it? Or is a beautiful building a combination of strong archi tecture, construction quality, and refined elements that cre ate something more than just a building?

Then of course there’s politics. Do details matter in politics? Absolutely! We’ve just finished the midterms and that cake is baked. But now, we actually see wheth er or not they live up to the hype. It’s one thing to look at a candidate’s advertisements and billboards but it’s quite another to see the person work in living color. Do the actions, the history, the past achievements and life experi ences really add up to match the glossy mailout that came into your mailbox? Details

my friends. It’s all about the details.

So let’s talk some more about details among politi cians because I predict that now that the Thanksgiving holidays are over we’re go ing to begin seeing the next flurry of ads for all of the can didates vying for the right to push the Biden administration into the annals of history. Ev ery Republican presidential candidate is going to have pictures of themselves with a firearm because they’re Sec ond Amendment friendly. All of them will have a pro-life statement. You’ll be amazed to know that none of them would ever consider raising your taxes. They are all bal anced-budget fiscal conser vatives who love the rule of law and are hard on crime. At least that will be the message.

The real trick is to look behind the curtain. What does their life tell you? What does their prior public image tell you? What have they actually done? Are they on the record in any way?

The hope of every candi date for any office is that you won’t look too closely. Ev eryone has that moment that they don’t want to have to explain, or that less-than-flat tering photo. Unless the dirt is verifiable and truly egregious the real kicker will be looking at policy positions.

Voters have to recognize the importance of voting on policy as much as personali ty, and the classic example of why I say that is currently sit ting in the Oval Office.

Think about it. So-called “never-Trump Republicans” and independents were more concerned in 2020 with mean tweets and big personalities.

“We must restore decorum!” they shouted. “We must have a change in the political tone in DC!” they cried. How’s that working out?

When it comes to policy positions Joe Biden had over four decades of details, actual details, on the books. Policy positions, votes on record, soft on crime, hard on energy, wrong on foreign policy, ter rible on taxes, and one weird gaffe after another. But hey, no mean tweets!

If you wondered about what Biden would do on ener gy policy, or education, or the border, or military strength, all that was needed was a quick look at Biden’s actu al history touting the Green New Deal, sucking up to the teachers’ unions, calling for amnesty, and the failed pull out from Iraq. The man had a record of failure that could stretch from here to the moon. Oh, except from here to the moon would be a bad anal ogy since the Obama-Biden administration effectively de funded NASA.

Aside from all of the usu al policies that any president must deal with there were also two monstrous elephants in the room during the 2020 campaign season: COVID and race relations.

If there was any question about how Biden would han dle COVID policy, all you had to do was look at his COVID protocols at his rare campaign events: everybody distanced, muzzled and not allowed to fully assemble. It should be no surprise at all that the Biden administration is still imposing worthless vaccine mandates on society.

If you wondered at all how Biden would treat race

relations all one had to do was look at a single interview in which he condescendingly told a black radio host that if he didn’t support him “then you ain’t black,” indicating clearly that he did not believe that black voters knew how to assess a candidate past what party affiliation they had.

It’s all about details. 2024 is already underway in the political sense. It is vital that conservatives find that candidate who appears to fit the bill and then look behind the veil. Get away from the shiny stump speech. Check out their actual record. Have they voted as a politician any where in the past? Have they held down a private sector job, started a business, made a payroll, served in the mili tary or worked for a charity? Who is sponsoring their cam paign? Are they bullish on school choice but yet taking contributions from the teach er’s union? Do they claim to be tough on crime, but they knelt down with BLM? Do they claim to be for the free market, but they voted for the Green New Deal subsidies that prop up a whole section of the energy industry?

Details. When you get past the ads, the billboards, the public speeches, what de tails do you find?

It’s all about the details, and the 2024 election will matter more than any we’ve seen in decades. If conserva tives don’t find, support, pro mote, and vote for their can didates based on policy, not personality, but policy, then the 2024 presidential elec tion is going to mean more of what we’ve been lamenting in the aftermath of this year’s midterms.

It’s all about the details.

Thanksgiving blessings for Alabama after three difficult years behind us

Editor’s Note: This is an opinion column.

By Paul DeMarco

No question these have been challenging years for the Nation. The pandemic, high inflation, and the spike in violent crime have been life changing for so many.

Yet, as we celebrate Thanksgiving this week, we can also count our blessings right here in Alabama.

Our state currently has historic job growth and wag es, with record low unem ployment. This past year businesses, finally started to get back to normal after so many years of difficulty due to Covid. While small busi nesses are still feeling the ef fects of these difficult years, Alabama consumers are re turning to these stores.

Meanwhile, economic de velopment gains in Alabama continue to be the envy of oth ers as new companies choose to make the state home. Ala bama was again ranked as one the top states to do business in 2022. Look for more success to come as the state attracts not only manufacturing facil ities but new technology and medical start ups as well.

Tourism also now is one of the major contributors to state coffers as visitors from around the country make Al abama their destination. The past couple of years have set all time records from revenue due to the tourism industry. From the mountains in the

north of the state to the Gulf Coast, Alabama has become an outdoor mecca for those seeking our state’s diverse ge ography.

Finally, our state is right ly earning its prominent role in national security, with the United States Space Com mand chosen to come to Huntsville and the long stand ing important military work at Fort Rucker, Redstone Arsenal, Maxwell Air Force Base and the Anniston Army Depot. In addition, Alabama Congressman Mike Rogers is set to take over as chairman of the U.S. House of Repre sentatives Armed Services Committee.

So let us say thanks for the many blessings that our sweet home Alabama has to offer this year.

Paul DeMarco is a for mer member of the Alabama House of Representatives and can be found on Twitter @ Paul_DeMarco.

Paul DeMarco

Phil Williams is Policy Director for the Alabama Policy Institute.

o utdoo R s McMillan Pier and boat ramp officially opened at Fort Morgan

By David Rainer Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Re sources

The ribbon-cuttings to provide access to Alabama’s abundant natural resources continued last week as Gov ernor Kay Ivey, Conservation Commissioner Chris Blan kenship, and other dignitaries officially opened the State Representative Steve McMil lan Fort Morgan Fishing Pier and Boat Ramp on Mobile Bay.

The facility was named in honor of the late Rep. McMil lan, who had served Baldwin County in the Alabama House of Representatives since 1980.

Governor Ivey said re opening the pier and renovat ed boat ramp is a great way to recognize a great statesman of Alabama.

“I’m honored to be here to honor Rep. Steve McMil lan’s service to this area by naming this pier and boat ramp in his name,” Governor Ivey said. “For more than 40 years, Steve served with the distinction that very few can imagine. His work demon strated his commitment to south Baldwin County, espe cially in the Fort Morgan area. I was sure proud to call Steve my friend. As a ‘thank you’ for the work Steve has done for Baldwin County, it’s only fitting that this boat ramp and pier bears his name. The State Representative Steve McMil lan Fort Morgan Fishing Pier and Boat Ramp has been long in coming. Since before the Civil War, there has been a dock at this location.”

Governor Ivey said ac cess to the great fishing on the lower end of Mobile Bay was sorely missed after the old pier was closed in 2014. With the new facilities, the

recreational opportunities will again abound and contribute to the state’s tourism econo my.

“When the old pier became hazardous and was forced to close, we understood the re building of this pier was nec essary,” Governor Ivey said. “Not only did we realize we had to keep Alabama history alive, but we knew this rebuild would improve the recreation al use of our state’s beautiful natural resources. This new pier and boat ramp, and basin will provide access to the fish eries and waterways for all.

This has been a much-needed project, and I’m excited that with the help of Commission er Blankenship and his team, a lot of other good work is go ing on in coastal Alabama.

“We just announced more than $47 million in National Fish and Wildlife Founda tion-funded projects for this area, and there is so much more to come. It doesn’t take much to realize that Baldwin County is a whopper of a catch for our state’s tourism industry, and I fully expect that industry to grow even stronger after opening this boat ramp and pier. Commis sioner Blankenship and I have

cut ribbons at several boat ramps during the past few months, and I can’t think of a single spot any more beautiful or historic than this public ac cess site.”

This project was funded through the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) allotments from the BP oil spill in 2010. The renovated pier is L-shaped with dimen sions of 305 feet by 210 feet and 40 feet wide. The pier floor is 8 feet off the surface of the water at mean tide. The boat ramp has two lanes with adjacent docks, and the fish ing pier also serves to protect the basin from siltation and storms. The facility is open 24 hours with free admission.

“I am very blessed to be the Commissioner of Conser vation,” Commissioner Blan kenship said. “There are a lot of things we get to do around the state that are valuable to our quality of life in Alabama. Projects like building this pier and the renovations to the boat ramp by our Marine Re sources Division are critical to allow enjoyment of the waters and fisheries. We also have a governor who feels that out door recreation and boating access are very important.

“We’ve had ribbon cut tings during the time that Governor Ivey has been in office at Demopolis, Orange Beach, Camden, Oak Moun tain State Park, Bon Secour, Grand Bay, Bayou La Batre, and the Mobile Causeway for public projects for boating access or public access. And that’s not the end. It’s just the beginning. There’s more to come in the next four years of Governor Ivey’s term.”

Rep. McMillan’s twin brother, John, talked about how special the Fort Morgan area is to their family.

“We had an aunt who had a cottage right back up the beach,” said John McMillan, who has been Conservation Commissioner, Commis sioner of Agriculture and Industries, and State Treasur er during his public service career and now continues that public service heading the state’s Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission as its Director. “There wasn’t much down here back then. We did a lot of fishing and walking the beaches back then. The most memorable thing we did was walk down the beach to Fort Morgan and visit with Hatch ett Chandler, the custodian here, for a number of years.

“We had cousins who had houses on this peninsula. We spent a lot of our childhood down here fishing. Steve loved to fish. This is certainly an appropriate recognition.”

Governor Ivey and Com missioner Blankenship were able to present Rep. McMillan with a resolution about nam ing the Fort Morgan facility in his honor before his death.

“There’s not anything you all could have done that he would have appreciated any more because of the lifelong connections he had with Fort Morgan and this peninsula,” John McMillan said.

The pier and boat ramp property are owned by the Alabama Historical Com mission, which approved the construction of the new fa cilities on the site of the pre

vious pier, which was shut down when it became unsafe because of age and battering from numerous hurricanes and tropical storms. Because the new pier is located on a historic site, special rules ap plied to the excavation of the area, which expanded the con struction timeline.

“We worked through many historical preservation issues on the site,” Commissioner Blankenship said. “And now we get to celebrate the culmi nation of that work.”

Dr. Jim Day, Alabama Historical Commission Chair man, expressed his appreci ation to Governor Ivey for her support of historical pres ervation across the state of Alabama. Day said the Com mission is grateful for the partnership with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to be able to honor Rep. McMillan.

“We’re grateful to Steve McMillan and his family for their support of historic pres ervation and Fort Morgan, specifically,” Day said. “Mo bile Point, where we are today, has been a part of the coastal defenses of America since the construction of Fort Bowyer here in the War of 1812. Con struction of Fort Morgan was completed in 1834. Military occupations at Mobile Point include the Civil War, Span ish-American War, World War I, and World War II.

“Troops stationed at Fort Morgan were always in need of recreation. Many wharfs, piers, and docks have been constructed around the point over the years, supporting ac tivities at the fort and serving as recreational opportunities for soldiers and their families. These structures were built for the transportation of sup plies, docking for watercraft, fishing for soldiers, sunbath ing, and a quarantine wharf for the hospital. We’re excited to have this pier renovated for the public to enjoy and con tinue to experience the history here.”

Patrick Bussey of GUM BO (Gulf United Metro Busi ness Organization), a coali tion formed to promote south Baldwin County, said Steve McMillan was his only state

representative during his 35 years on the Alabama Gulf Coast, and it is appropriate to honor him with the naming of the pier and boat ramp.

“For my entire life down here, Steve was our leader in Montgomery,” Bussey said. “It’s certainly service beyond compare. Steve was a work horse. If you went to Steve’s office, it was stacked with papers on projects he was working on on behalf of this district, this county, and the entire state. Steve loved this Gulf Coast, and he worked hard to ensure this resource was protected and used for the benefit of the people of the State of Alabama.”

the $4.5

“Those include Sport Fish Restoration dollars and your fishing license dollars,” Com missioner Blankenship said.

“For NRDA approval and permitting, it involved sev en different federal agencies, six state agencies, and others. Working through multiple is sues with weather, material shortages, historic preserva tion, and many other chal lenges, it sure feels good to cut this ribbon.

“This facility will forever bear the name of Steve Mc Millan and will be an enduring testimony of his dedication to south Baldwin County.”

Commissioner Blanken ship said four funding sources were used to provide

million needed to complete the pier and boat ramp.

On a blustery day, Governor Ivey paid tribute to Rep. McMillan’s long service to Alabama. (Photo courtesy of Billy Pope) Governor Kay Ivey and Conservation Commissioner Chris Blankenship join local dignitaries to officially open the Rep. Steve McMillan Fishing Pier and Boat Ramp at Fort Morgan. (Photo courtesy of Billy Pope)

Conservation Commissioner Blankenship said projects like the McMillan facility improve the quality of life of Alabamians.

(Photo courtesy of Billy Pope)

c a L enda R

Homeschool Hangout: Lego!

November 30 @ 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm Free

Please join us and bring the entire family for a night of fun with live entertain ment, a silent auction, Tin sel Trail tree lighting, visits with Santa, and a great se lection of food truck ven dors!

Venue

Cahaba Elementary School

Lego Challenge December 5 @ 9:00 amDecember 10 @ 4:00 pm Free

violence, the disability or death of a parent or sib ling, foster care, parental job loss, abandonment, parental incarceration and the sacrifices of full-time ministry.

Christmas Home Tour Chair Tricia Naro is “grate ful for the support of our members and the com munity and appreciates the excitement they have when visiting these beau tifully decorated homes.”

Join us for a community gathering 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 Bricku mentary. All ages are wel come to attend, even par ents!

Homeschool Hangout is a monthly event for homes chool students to learn to gether, meet new friends, & use resources available at our library.

Storytime for Growin’ Beans with Ms. Allison:

Robots December 2 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Free (All ages)

Join us for Storytime for Growin’ Beans with Ms. Allison on Friday, Decem ber 2nd at 10 AM. Our theme is Robots! We’ll read books, have fun, do a craft, & have a snack.

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

Venue

Pinson Public Library (RSMC)

2nd Annual Merry Market & Tinsel Trail December 4 @ 4:00 pm7:00 pm

(All ages)

It’s time for another Lego Challenge! Come by the library during the week of December 5th-10th to pick up a challenge box (except for Tuesday 12/06 when the library is closed). Each box will contain the same assortment of building bricks & the challenge will be for each person to de cide what they can make out of those given bricks. Get creative & bring your creations back into the li brary the following week, December 12th-17th to be displayed for all to see!

Each box comes with a lid on which you can build & transport your creation. These kits do belong to the library, so they MUST BE RETURNED once they are brought back for the chal lenge.

Venue Pinson Public Library (RSMC)

Samford Legacy League’s 12th Annual Christmas Home Tour December 8 @ 10:00 am - 8:00 pm

She and her committee are hard at work planning this year’s tour, which will include a few select popup shoppes and holiday refreshments at the Sam ford 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 purchase is required.

The tour will feature the homes of:

• Kathryn & Doug Eck ert, 2900 Overhill Road, Mountain Brook

• Wansley & Ryan Griffin, 2133 Southwood Road, Vestavia Hills

• Bridget & Andrew Pat terson, 309 Sunset Drive, Vestavia Hills

• Jenny & Scott Sobera, 2824 Canoe Brook Circle, Mountain Brook

• Julie & Beck Taylor, Samford President’s Home,1994 Shades Crest Road, Vestavia Hills

The Legacy League is a charitable organization with over 750 members dedicated to making a dif ference in the lives of stu dents through need-based scholarships. The organi zation offers meaningful volunteer opportunities, inspirational programs and a friendly, caring commu nity to all who become in volved.

Learn more about the Christmas Home Tour and the Legacy League at sam ford.edu/legacyleague.

Venue Samford President’s Home

cLassified

SERVICES

SELLING a RV, Tractor or Golf Cart? ADVERTISE STATEWIDE or by region in over 100 Newspapers, reach ing over 1 million readers each week! Run your ad in our Classified Network for just $210 per week! Make one call to this newspaper (partici pating Ala-SCAN newspaper) or call 1-800-264-7043 to find out how easy it is to advertise statewide!

BATH & SHOWER UP DATES in as little as ONE DAY! Affordable prices - No payments for 18 months! Lifetime warranty & pro fessional installs. Senior & Military Discounts available. Call: 833-449-1307.

BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR! We edit, print and distribute your work interna tionally. We do the work… You reap the Rewards! Call for a FREE Author’s Submis sion Kit: 888-283-4780

LONG DISTANCE MOV ING: Call today for a FREE QUOTE from America’s Most Trusted Interstate Mov ers. Let us take the stress out of moving! Speak to a Relo cation Specialist, call 844925-3534

EDUCATION

ATTENTION ACTIVE Duty & Military Veterans! Begin a new career and earn your De gree at CTI! Online Computer & Medical training available for Veterans & Families! To learn more, call 866-4751014 (M-F 8am-6pm ET).

craft.

Our craft on Thursday, De cember 8th at 5:30 PM is a diamond painting key chain! We’ll supply every thing you need to make a cat-inspired work of art! No registration is required. Snacks will be provid ed. This event is only for teens (6th-12th grade) & all adults

Venue

Pinson Public Library (RSMC)

Call (205) 533-8664

HEALTH/BEAUTY

ATTENTION OXYGEN THERAPY USERS! Inogen One G4 is capable of full 24/7 oxygen delivery. Only 2.8 pounds. FREE information kit. Call 844-322-9935.

ATTENTION: VIAGRA and CIALIS USERS! A cheaper alternative to high drugstore prices! 50 Pill Special - $99 + FREE Shipping! 100% guar anteed. CALL NOW: 866505-0828.

FOR SALE

DirecTV Satellite TV Service Starting at $59.99/month! Free Installation! 160+ chan nels available. Call Now to Get the Most Sports & En tertainment on TV! 844-5947108

NEED NEW Flooring? Call Empire Today to schedule a Free in-home estimate on Car peting and Flooring. Call To day! 1-888-381-0916.

UPDATE YOUR HOME with Beautiful New Blinds & Shades. FREE in-home esti mates make it convenient to shop from home. Profession al installation. Top quality - Made in the USA. Call for free consultation: 844-8099165. Ask about our specials!

Eliminate gutter cleaning for ever! LeafFilter, the most ad vanced debris-blocking gutter protection. Schedule a FREE LeafFilter estimate today. 20% off Entire Purchase. Plus 10% Senior & Military Dis counts. Call 1-833-683-2005

(All ages)

Join us for Storytime for Growin’ Beans with Ms. Allison on Friday, Decem ber 9th at 10 AM. Our theme is Breakfast! We’ll read books, have fun, do a craft, & have a snack.

GENERAC Standby Gener ators provide backup power during utility power outages, so your home and family stay safe and comfortable. Prepare now. Free 7-year extended warranty ($695 value!). Re quest a free quote today! Call for additional terms and condi tions. 1-877-323-5516

AUTOMOTIVE

SUPPORT THE BLIND! Do nate a car to the American Council of the Blind. FAST FREE PICKUP. 24-hour re sponse. Running or not. max imum tax deduction and no emission test required! Call 24/7: 844-601-1342.

AUTO INSURANCE from $29 month Free 2-minute Quote! We Compare all Insur ance providers offers for you! Lowest Rates! Call Now 866450-0943

VEHICLE TITLE Problems? We have a solution! Call Jason Steward Enterprises, We’re Alabama’s #1 Vehicle Title Problem Experts! Free tele phone consultation. North AL 1-256-850-0527, Central AL 1-205-267-5735, South AL 1-251-342-8538.

Shelia Johnson. 3781 Snowshill Dr. Birmingham, Al 35242

Clothes, Shoes, Misc, Mat tress, Bags of junk, Table. UNIT: B26

Sandy Morrow 1020 Shamrock Ln. Fultondale, AL 35068

Twin Bed, 2 cheste, Bicycle, Mattress, Kitchen Misc. UNIT: L331

2023 Alabama Wedding Showcase January 28, 2023 @ 10:00 am - January 29, 2023 @ 5:00 pm

Cahaba Elementary School will be hosting their 2nd Annual Merry Market & Tinsel Trail Event on Sunday, December 4th at 4-7PM.

Mark Thursday, December 8 as a “red letter day” on the calendar – the Legacy League’s Christmas Home Tour is sure to be a high light of the holiday sea son! Five fabulous homes, three in Vestavia Hills and two in Mountain Brook, will be showcased during the 12th annual tour. ARC Realty is once again the Presenting Sponsor for the festive community event, which raises scholarship funds for students with significant financial need and challenging circum stances. To date, the tour has raised over $300,000, helping change the lives of students who have en dured obstacles including homelessness, inner city

Cat Craft Club: Diamond Painting Keychains December 8 @ 5:30 pm7:00 pm

Free

Storytime for Growin’ Beans with Ms. Allison: Breakfast December 9 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Free

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

Venue Pinson Public Library (RSMC)

The first annual Alabama Wedding Showcase present ed by The Trussville Tribune, sponsored by Shirley’s Flo rist, will take place on January 28th and 29th at the Trussville Civic Center. We will have dozens of vendors for all your engagement, wedding, and honeymoon needs.

Venue

Trussville Civic Center

(Adults & Teens only)

Love cats? Love crafts? Then we have the purrr fect club for you! Cat Craft Club is a bi-monthly event for teens & adults to gath er together to make a cat

o bitua R y

Marianne Prince

december 5, 1929 ~ november 21, 2022 (age 92)

Marianne Katherine Pair Prince, age 92, of Springville, AL was born December 5, 1929 and died November 21, 2022.

Funeral Services will be held on Wednesday, November 23, 2022 at 2:00PM, the family will receive friends from 1:00PM-2:00PM at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home. The will be no Graveside Services held.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 70 years and love of her life, Thurman E. Prince. She was also preced ed in death by her parents, Effie Kewish Pair and Thom as Mason Pair; her sister, Jeanette Bailey; her daughter, Janet Roddam Mann; and her grandson, Craig Spencer Roddam.

She is survived by her daughter; Sandra (Harold) Rice; her grandchildren, April Rod dam, Lauren (John) Cook, Melissa Bailey Harris, and Amanda (Austin) Wright; 10 great-grandchildren; and one great- great- granddaughter. She worked in Payroll for Fontaine Truck Equipment for 20 years. She was a devoted wife and mother. She was always quick and ready to give praise and thanks to God for all the blessings He bestowed on her.

The family would like to thank Compassus Hospice Care for their compassionate care in her last days.

Mina Jean (Mize) Jordan

november 2, 1942 ~ november 20, 2022 (age 80)

Mina Jean Jordan, 80, beloved mother, sister, grand mother, and great-grandmother, was called to her eter nal resting place on November 20, 2022. She entered this world on November 2, 1942, in Leeds, Alabama, born to Gerald and Audell Mize.

She is survived by her husband, James R. Jordan; brother, Jerry Wayne Mize (Pricilla); son, Steven Lee Jordan (Cath ie); daughter, Lisa Suzanne Molyneux (Philip); grandson, Joshua Jordan (Kathryn); granddaughters, Jordan Mathis (Tyler); Julia Myers (Jonathan); Jana Williams (K.J.); Eliana Perozo; and five great grand children; Myles, Turner, Reece, Lainey and Hayley.

A graveside service will be held at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home, on Tuesday, No vember 22 at 11:00 O’clock in the morning. Visitation will be held at Jefferson Memo rial at 12:00 O’clock.

Pallbearers will be Wayne Rickles, Al Mize, Darryl Farley, Douglas Burnett, Mark Harper, and Lee Morris. In lieu of flowers, the family requested donations to Spring Hill Baptist Church Foundation, 2 South McGregor Avenue, Mobile, Alabama 36608 in honor of Mina J. Jordan.

There will be a Memorial Service held at Springhill Baptist Church, 2 South McGre gor Avenue, Mobile, Alabama at 11 O’clock on the morning of Tuesday, November 29, 2022.

Rebecca Ann Card

january 10, 1954 ~ november 20, 2022 (age 68)

Rebecca Card, age 68 of Irondale, AL passed away on No vember 20, 2022. Rebecca was preceded in death by her parents, Jack and Imagene Nalley and one brother, Mark Parlow. She is survived by her husband of 24 years, Ken neth Card. She is also survived by her brothers Tim Nalley (Belinda), Gerald Nalley (Wanda), Dee Nalley, Dale Nal ley, and multiple nieces and nephews. Rebecca was an avid sports fan, loving the Texas Longhorns, Dallas Cowboys, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Atlanta Braves. She was also Vice-President of Firestorm Ministries. She loved her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and was known for being a mighty prayer warrior. Her funeral service will be held at Jefferson Memorial Funeral Home chapel on Saturday, November 26th at 10:00 a.m. with visitation held one hour prior. Pastor Herman Pair is officiating.

Sybil Helen (Hill) McGowin

september 21, 1942 ~ november 20, 2022 (age 80)

Sybil McGowin of Suwanee, Georgia passed away peace fully at the age of 80 on November 20, 2022. She gradu ated from Woodlawn High School in 1960. She met the love of her life, Carson McGowin, and they married in 1961. She retired as an administrative assistant at South Trust Bank. She is survived by children Jeannie McGowin (Kim) of Southwick, MA, Jan ice (Steven) Rousseau of Suwanee, GA as well as grandchildren Amelia and Thomas. She is also survived by her brothers Jackson (Judy) Hill of Birmingham, AL, Nicholas (Olga) Hill of Odenville, AL, Ronald (Linda) Hill of Orange Beach, AL and many nieces and nephews. Sybil was predeceased by her husband in 2004 and by her brother Dan iel Hill in 2017.

Sybil enjoyed celebrating holidays with her family and playing card games with her friends. She was an avid book lover and enjoyed listening to music.

Steven Dwight Johnson

october 16, 1953 ~ november 22, 2022 (age 69)

Steven Dwight Johnson (Steve) passed away on No vember 22, 2022. He was born on October 16th, 1953, in Red Wing, Mn. He moved with his parents and fam ily to Trussville, Al at age 8. He graduated from Hewitt Trussville High School, class of 1971. He spent most of his career working at Cain Awning in Birmingham. He loved music and loved the Beatles.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Bernice and Dwight Johnson.

He is survived by his sisters Sylvia Wood Burdette (Clif), and Ruth Ann Sobotka (Dave), as well as nieces, nephews, great nieces and nephews and a host of family and friends. A graveside service will be held Tuesday, November 29th, 12 noon at Jefferson Memo rial Gardens East.

George Noel Fix

What

are the Differences Between Hospice Care and Palliative Care?

Key differences between Hospice Care and Palliative Care

Location - Hospice Care is most often given by a team of doctors, nurses, and therapists at the patient’s home. Palliative Care is most of ten, given at the place where the person is receiving medical treatment

Requirements - A person is enrolled in Hospice Care by their physician after he or she determines that the patient has a terminal illness. A de cision for Palliative Care does not require that a person must be termi nally ill. It only requires that a patient must have reached a point where they a suffering and in pain.

Medicare Coverage - When a person is enrolled in Hospice Care and has Medicare, all treatment and support services are paid for by Medi care Part A. If the patient had Medicare Part B, they must give it up. When a person is enrolled in Palliative Care and has both Medicare Parts A & B they keep all benefits from both programs.

Amount of Care - In Hospice Care if a person needs 24/7 care, the Hospice team of doctors, nurses and therapists are on hand to provide it. In a Palliative Care setting although medical assistance is always on call, they are not necessarily by the person’s bedside 24/7.

Insurance Coverage - In Hospice Care everything a person needs is handled through a single program. This includes things like medica tions, daily care, medical equipment, counseling, symptom treatment, and counseling. In Palliative Care there may be multiple providers in volved, each with their own eligibility, level of care, and billing procedures.

Use of Life-prolonging Therapies - In Hospice care, life-prolonging therapies are usually not part of the medical treatment program. In Palliative Care no such limitations exist. Life-prolonging as well as health-recovery medical treatments can continue alongside Palliative Care

december 5, 1935 ~ november 19, 2022 (age 86)

Longtime Sylacauga resident and businessman George Fix, age 87, passed away on November 19, 2022. Mr. Fix moved to Sylacauga in 1975, where he opened the ac counting firm, Goolsby, Walkley and Fix. Mr. Fix was well known and respected in the business community. After more than 40 years, he retired when his health began to decline. Mr. Fix was married to his wife, Carolyn, for 60 years. They enjoyed traveling and meeting up with the local “Burger King gang” for breakfast and fellowship. He was a member of Marble City Baptist Church. He would faithfully attend services un til

allow.

a loving husband

father

his health would no longer

He was

and

and will be greatly missed. He is preceded in death by his loving wife Carolyn and great-grand child Harper Elise Varner. He is survived by his children Randall (Cindy) Fix, Kenneth (Wendy) Fix and Lecia (Rodney) Holmes. He is also survived by seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. Services will be held Wednesday, November 23, 2022 at 11:00a at Jefferson Memorial Gardens in Trussville, Alabama.

Eddie Seal, General Manager

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.

Pinson Valley wins Thanksgiving tournament, remains undefeated

By Loyd McIntosh Sports Editor

FAIRFIELD — Pinson

Valley ran through the com petition, winning four games in three days, to capture the Heritage Thanksgiving Tour nament at Fairfield High School.

The Indians improved to 7-0 on the season as they look to improve on a 202122 campaign in which they reached the Sweet 16 of the Alabama High School Bas ketball Championships.

Pinson Valley started the tournament in fine fashion, dismantling Blount High School from Mobile in a high-scoring contest, 94-61 on Monday, Nov. 21. The

Indians knocked down nine of 26 three-point attempts during the 33-point win.

“We kind of got off to a slow start Monday,” said Pinson Valley Head Coach Darrell Barber. “In the second half, we kind of found our rhythm and were fortunate enough to pull away from them.”

Junior Guard Caleb White and Senior Terry Coner led the Indians on all ends of the floor with solid performances overall.

White scored 28 points and was 10 for 18 from the floor, one for five from three-point range, and nine for 13 from the free throw line. He also

Pinson Valley basketball team staying focused as season rolls along

By Loyd McIntosh Sports Editor

PINSON — The Pinson Valley boys basketball team is on a roll.

Already 7-0 at a point in the season when many teams are just getting their seasons started, the Indians are fo cused on some unfinished business last season after bowing out of the AHSAA 6A Basketball Tournament in the Sweet 16.

Pinson Valley Head Coach Darrell Barber, now in his sixth season, has been one of the most dominant coaches since taking over at Midfield High School where he won three state championships with the Patriots.

Barber decamped for Pin son Valley in 2018, capturing a state title in his first season, as well as two area champi onships and a trip to the Elite 8. Barber also reached an im portant milestone, capturing his 300th career win in the first game of the season, an 85-71 victory over Wenonah High School on Saturday, No vember 5.

The Indians won the Her itage Thanksgiving Clas sic, hosted by Fairfield High School on November 21-23, winning four games in three days. Barber gave the players a couple of days off for Thanks giving before getting the guys back in the gym on Saturday.

Huskies bounce back with win over Briarwood, 48-45

By Loyd McIntosh Sports Editor

ALABASTER — Barely 12 hours after a hard-fought, overtime loss to Auburn, the Hewitt-Trussville boys bas ketball team rebounded with a win over Briarwood Chris tian, 48-45.

Competing in the Thomp son High School Thanksgiv ing Invitational, the Huskies

came into the matchup with Briarwood with a record of 5-2, but were still reeling af ter letting a three-point lead over Auburn High School slip away on Tuesday night.

With a bright-and-early tipoff time of 10:30 a.m., the Huskies wiped the sleep out of their eyes and rebounded by picking their fifth win of the 2022 season over the winless Briarwood Tigers. First-year

head basketball coach Jeremy Monceaux said the win was an important gut-check mo ment for the Huskies.

“This was a gutsy win by our team,” said Monceaux. “We did not have our best stuff today, but we kept bat tling and found a way to pull out what I think was an im portant win for our team this early in the season.”

Monceaux said the Hus

kies didn’t have a great game shooting, however, the de fense stepped up to shut a Tiger squad down that start ed the contest hot, especially from behind the arc. A de fense-minded coach, Mon ceaux said the Huskies settled down and found a way to stop the streaky Briarwood shoot ers, holding them to just 20 points in the second half and to under 50 points for the

game, one of Monceaux’s most important metrics for success.

“Holding teams under 50 is our goal,” said Monceaux. “Briarwood came out shoot ing the ball really well from three-point range in the first half. Eighteen of their 25 points in the first half were from the three-point line. We made some adjustments at half and did a little better job

defending the three-point line in the second half.”

The Huskies were led by Legion Gaston with 14 points and Ray Rolley with 10 points and four assists. Rolley was also named to the all-tourna ment team.

Hewitt-Trussville improved to 5-2, 2-1 in the Thompson High School Thanksgiving In

Terry Coner dribbles the ball upcourt against Lee High School, Wednesday, November 23. (Photo courtesy of Darrell Barber). See PINSON, Page 15

Huskies place second in Patrick Aaron Memorial Thanksgiving Duals

By Loyd McIntosh Sports Editor

TRUSSVILLE — The Hewitt-Trussville wrestling team placed second out of 12 teams competing in the 2022 Patrick Aaron Memorial Du als hosted at Hewitt-Truss ville High School, Wednes day, Nov. 23.

The Huskies, who fin ished in third place in 7A last season, won their first three matches before falling to defending 6A state cham pion Mortimer-Jordan High

Hewitt-Trussville began the duals-format tournament with a decisive 69-9 win over Daphne. The Huskies went on to defeat Sparkman, 64-15, and Homewood, 4527, advancing to the firstplace match with Mortim er-Jordan.

Despite the loss to Mor timer-Jordan, Pike sees plenty of positives to build upon for this young Husky squad that graduated 12 top-performing seniors last year

"We're going to continue to build and grow and get to

his lone loss coming against defending state champion Aluko Collins, of Sparkman. The Husky's first-ever female wrestler, Katherine Grigsby, placed third in the girls' divi sion.

After the Thanksgiving break, the Huskies will be back in action at Mountain Brook High School for a meet against the Spartans on Tues day, Nov. 29, and will com pete in the Gardendale Invi tational at Gardendale High School on Friday, Dec. 2, and Saturday, Dec. 3.

What’s next for Brent Key?

By Loyd McIntosh Sports Editor

ATLANTA — It was a valiant effort, but top-ranked Georgia proved to be too much for Georgia Tech as the Yellow Jackets fell to the Bulldogs Saturday, 37-14.

Pittsburgh, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina. Key also managed the Yellow Jackets through season-ending inju ries to regular starting quar terback Jeff Sims and true freshman and Pinson Valley graduate Zach Pyron.

Team Results

School in the first-place match, 46-27.

The tournament is consid ered the first major event on the Hewitt-Trussville wres tling schedule, one that head wrestling coach Chris Pike says sets the tone for the meat of the schedule.

"I think we had a pretty good day," said Pike. "I'm re ally pleased with our perfor mance overall and I think it puts us in line with where we want to be right now."

where we are capable of com peting with anybody, any where,” he said. “We're still learning the definition of the word 'competitiveness' but we'll be in the mix by the end of the season."

Among the leaders for the Huskies were Clark Box, who went 4-0 in the 106-pound weight class, Cameron Cantwell, 3-0 in the 182-pound weight class, and Bradley Hastings, 3-1 in the 120-pound weight class,

1st Place - Mortimer Jor

dan

• 2nd Place - Hewitt-Truss

ville

• 3rd Place - Homewood

• 4th Place - Chelsea

• 5th Place - Bob Jones

6th Place - Oak Mountain

7th Place - Daphne 8th Place - Arab 9th Place - Gardendale

• 10th Place - Thompson

• 11th Place - Sparkman

• 12th Place - Auburn

Tech finished the sea son with a record of 5-7 — their best since 2018 — and was one of only three teams to hold a lead in any game against Georgia in 2022. Now, the question remains, will the Georgia Tech lead ership remove the “interim” title and hire Brent Key as the next Georgia Tech head coach?

A Trussville native and 1996 Hewitt-Trussville grad uate, Key took over as interim head coach after the firing of Geoff Collins in late Septem ber following a three-win sea son in 2021 and a 1-3 start to the 2022 campaign.

Under Key’s leadership, the Yellow Jackets went 4-4 and pulled off wins against

Key’s performance has caught the attention of many influential voices in sports media, including Sports Il lustrated, SB Nation, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, all calling for Key to get the top job. Other media reports say Key and Coastal Carolina Head Coach Jamey Chadwell have already interviewed for the position.

The topic was on the mind of many in the media during Key’s post-game press con ference following the loss to Georgia, including a direct question from a reporter who asked if Key thought he has done enough to be named Georgia Tech’s next head coach.

Key swatted the question away immediately.

“I will talk nothing about that right now. This is one hundred percent about the kids in that locker room, how they’ve persevered this season, how they’ve played,” said Key. “I respect your question but this is solely about the kids in that locker room and the coach es that worked so hard this season.”

Still, Key did admit that having the opportunity to lead his alma mater through the adversity and to perform admirably against their instate rival.

“I got a chance to be the head coach of my alma mater for the last eight games. It’s very special,” said Key. “It’s very special to coach a group of kids like that; to do what those kids have done and to play as hard as they played until the clock hit zero out there today.

“It’s been a real joy,” he added, “and just an outstand ing time to be able to coach these kids.”

Hewitt-Trussville wrestling file photo (Photo by Bobby Mathews)

Georgia Tech interim head coach and Trussville-area native Brent Key leads the Yellow Jackets onto the field in Athens, GA. (Photo courtesy ramblinwreck.com)

chipped in with four rebounds and three steals during the win. Coner had 25 points, eight re bounds, and three steals.

The Indians then faced Midfield, Barber’s old school on Tuesday, Nov. 22. On pa per, this game promised to be an exciting, high-scoring af fair, however, what fans got was the exact opposite, as the Indians pulled out a 47-37 win over the Patriots.

Midfield’s head coach, Courtney Jones, was an assis tant coach for Barber during his tenure as Patriots coach. Both teams play a similar up-tempo style, but the two squads accounted for only 84 total points and each had quar ters scoring in single digits — Pinson Valley with nine points in the third period, Midfield with only five in the fourth.

“We knew that was going to be a dog fight,” Barber said. “Ironically, everyone was ready for a shootout because we have similar styles, but it turned out to be a defensive slugfest.”

Coner led all scorers with 17 points, while White added

12 points. Defensively, the Indians shined with 27 defen sive rebounds (36 overall), nine steals, and three blocked shots. Sophomore Austin Coner was the Indians’ star on defense with five rebounds and two blocks.

In the tournament semi-fi nal, Pinson Valley faced the host team, the Fairfield Tigers. The Indians’ offense was back in the zone after struggling against Midfield, defeating Fairfield 72-52. Pinson Val ley held a 10-point lead over Fairfield at halftime but was outscored 12-10 in the third, cutting the lead to eight points. However, The Indians' shoot ers woke up in a big way in the final period, outscoring the Tigers 26-14.

“They actually played well against us for three quarters, then we pulled away in the fourth quarter and ended up winning by 20,” said Barber.

Offensively, Pinson Valley had a great team effort with four players scoring in dou ble digits — White (18), Terry Coner (16), Austin Coner (13), and Raymond McCants (10).

In the final, Pinson Valley faced Lee High School out of Montgomery. The Generals

came into the championship game with a record of 3-1, including Heritage Thanks giving Tournament wins over Shades Valley (54-37) and Carver (56-45).

From the opening tipoff, Shades Valley dominated in all aspects of the game, hold ing the Generals to single-dig it point totals in the first and second quarters, and holding a commanding 40-14 lead at halftime. The Indians didn’t miss a beat in the second half en route to a 39-point win, 8142.

The Coner brothers led Pinson Valley with 13 points apiece, followed by White and Clyde Walters each with 13 points, and McCants with 11 points. Pinson Valley shooters were deadly behind the threepoint line, draining 15 of 37 attempts.

“We’ve been playing some good ball, but we have a tough road ahead,” said Barber. “It’s good to get off to a good start.”

After a break for Thanks giving, Pinson Valley will be at home for the first time to take on Paul W. Bryan High School in a non-region match up on Thursday, Dec. 1. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Basketball

From page 12

“We’ve been playing some good ball, but we have a really tough road ahead,” said Barber.

vitational tournament, defeat ing Northridge High School, 52-39 on Monday, Nov. 21, followed by the loss to Auburn on Tuesday, Nov. 22.

mingham. On Monday, Nov. 21, Pinson Valley obliterated Blount, 94-61, followed by a 47-37 win over Fairfield, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, and capped the tournament off with a win over Fairfield, 69-56. Pinson Valley’s record now stands at

Moody High School opened the 2022-23 season with a win and two losses in the Cullman High School Tur key Shootout. The Blue Devils started strong with a 66-50 win over Hamilton on Monday, Nov. 21, before losing two-in-

As the calendar rolls into December, Pinson Valley is undefeated and looking very, very, good. However, the Indians aren’t ready to pat themselves on the back just yet. Barber said he’s focused on keeping the players fo cused and grounded as expec tations rise for this talented group of players.

“Many media outlets seem to think that we’re the num ber one team in the state re gardless of classification, but we haven’t bought into that one bit. There’s a lot of work to do,” said Barber. “With a target on your back, it makes it hard night in and night out. But, the guys are looking for ward to the challenge.”

While winning an ear ly-season tournament and starting the season 7-0 is nothing to scoff at, Barber’s players know that the ulti mate goal is playing for, and winning, a state title in Feb ruary.

“We’re not really too ex cited about that. We were sup posed to win those games,” said Caleb White, a junior

guard and one of the leaders of the team. Through the first sev en games of the season, White is averaging 20.9 points, 4.1 assists, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game.

Whiter and his teammates have bought into Barber’s vi sion and are doing their best to keep distractions at bay while focusing on the task at hand.

“Coach Barber expects us to be excellent in everything we do,” White said. “We’re not going to look over any body. We’re going to treat ev ery game the same, and come out and try our hardest.”

“They say I nitpick at everything and that I’m a perfectionist, but I’ve been around teams with a target on our backs for a long time,” said Barber. “But these guys, to their credit, they just hav en’t bought into it and they don’t get caught up in all of the hype.”

Along with White, Bar ber’s 2022-23 Indians squad is sophomore and junior heavy with a couple of se niors making major contri butions early in the season. Despite being a young team, they are experienced as most of the core players from last year’s team are back.

“We’re returning a lot of guys and they’re familiar

with each other,” added Bar ber. “We’ve been blessed to be injury-free and to be off to such a good start.”

Among them is Terry Coner, the Indians’ point guard who is off to a great start. Currently, Coner is averaging 18.3 points, 3.1 assists, and six rebounds per game. Other key con tributors include sophomore shooting guard Raymon Mc Cants, freshman guard Clyde Walters, senior guard Am ari Bowen, and sophomore shooting guard Austin Coner, younger brother of Terry Co hen.

Together, this group of athletes is playing a fastpaced brand of basketball that is fun to watch and puts points on the board. Through the first month of the sea son, The Indians are averag ing 77 points per game and have drained 66 of their 188 three-point attempts. In oth ers words, watching a Pinson Valley basketball game is anything but boring.

“We’re going to defend 94 feet, we’re going to shoot the three, and we’re going to get some dunks. We play smart, play together, and play free. On a typical night, get ready for some high-scoring, fun basketball,” Barber said. “Get your popcorn ready.”

NOTICE OF AUTHORIZATION OF REVENUE BONDS

After a 10-day break, the Huskies will be back at home to face Park Crossing High School on Friday, Dec. 2. Hewitt-Trussville defeated Park Crossing in Montgom ery, 56-50, earlier in the sea son on Nov. 8.

Other Thanksgiving Holi day Basketball Highlights: The Pinson Valley Indians continued their hot start to the 2022-23 season with three con secutive wins in as many days at the Heritage Classic Thanks giving Tournament in Bir

6-0 and will travel to Mont gomery for a date with Lee High School on Wednesday, Nov. 30.

Center Point High School went 1-1 during a Thanks giving tournament, defeating Jackson Olin 51-48 on Mon day, Nov. 21, followed by a loss to Hillcrest High School on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 51-31.

Center Point goes into the Thanksgiving Break with an overall record of 3-2 and will face Helena at Home on Tues day, Nov. 29.

a-row to Cullman, 74-22, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, followed by a 55-25 loss to Albertville High School. Moody will be back in action for a road game against Pell City on Tuesday, Nov. 29.

Springville High School went 1-1 in the Cullman High School Turkey Shootout, de feating Kate Duncan Smith DAR, 84-53, on Monday, Nov. 21, followed by a 56-41 loss to Cullman on Wednesday, Nov. 23. Springville will be on the road to take on Hartselle High School on Friday, Dec. 2.

The Public Building Authority of the City of Trussville, a public corporation and a political subdivision of the State of Alabama, on the 29th day of November, 2022, authorized the issuance of $7,700,000 principal amount of Lease Reve nue Bonds (Civic Center Annex Project), Series 2022-A, and $9,225,000 principal amount of Lease Revenue Bonds (Fire Station Project), Series 2022-B, of the said corporation for purposes authorized in the act of the Legislature of Alabama under which the said corporation was organized. Any civ il action or proceeding questioning the validity of the said bonds, or the pledge and the indentures to secure the same or the proceedings authorizing the same must be commenced within 20 days after the first publication of this notice.

Pinson Valley Head Coach Darrell Barber speaks with senior Terry Coner during a recent practice. (Photo by Loyd McIntosh)

New Hewitt-Trussville Head Basketball Coach Jeremy Monceaux is now 5-2 in his first season as the Hewitt-Trussville Head Basketball Coach. (Photo by Zack Steele)

Terry Coner, Pinson Valley High School