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Moody Officers of the Year
Christmas Parades
Holiday Recipes
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Merry Christmas
The Trussvi e Tribune TRUSSVILLE • PINSON·CLAY • CENTER POINT • ARGO • SPRINGVILLE • LEEDS • MOODY
www.TrussvilleTribune.com
December 18 - 25, 2019 AHSAA reshuffles high school athletics landscape By Joshua huff, sports editor
Class 6A Reclassification: Springville moves up a class, joins state champion Oxford in Region 7 The Springville High School football team will spend the next two years competing in Class 6A, Region 7, following the bi-annual AHSAA reclassification on Tuesday. See AHSAA, Page 18
From jet-setting to jail-sitting: A Trussville native’s travel nightmare
See TRAVEL NIGHTMARE, Page 6
Victims in double homicide in east Jefferson County identified by Coroner
Kidnapping victim leads authorities to body in the woods Murder victim’s family asking for help to pay for funeral
From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
BIRMINGHAM — The person found dead in a wooded area near St. Vincent’s East has been identified and the victim’s family has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral expenses. Jefferson County Coroner Bill Yates said Kellie Ann Hughes, 31, was found in the early morning hours of Saturday, Dec. 14. Brandon Hughes, the victim’s brother, made a public Facebook post asking people to share the GoFundMe link, even if they cannot donate. “My little sister was taken from us in such a brutal and heartless way and we need to put her to rest,” he said on the fundraising page. The brother said he has been in contact with investigators concerning persons of interest in the case. “You will be found, and I hope you get the max sentence because it will be so much better than what I want to do to you,” Branden Hughes posted. On the phone, Branden Hughes, who lives in Gadsden, said he is trying to be strong for his family. “I just want to help my family take care of all the talking to de-
By Shaun Szkolnik, contributing writer
JEFFERSON COUNTY — The Jefferson County Coroner confirmed the identity of two people killed at Tammera Place Apartments on Saturday, Dec. 14, 2019.
TRUSSVILLE — It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas and just as the old song goes, everywhere you go the markings of the holidays are popping up and guiding us through this season of joy, warmth and love. For one Trussville resident, it is also a time to remember five wonderful years spent performing a dream job. From 2003 to 2008, Kaleen Riley was part of a very special and very select team that decorated the White House for Christmas. For Riley, who has a long history of decorating and freelance design, the opportunity was part chance and part having spent years accruing the necessary skills and expertise. “I got to go on a tour there (the White House) one spring break with my family,” said Riley. “My brother-in-law, he was connected to Walter Reed Hospital at the time, scheduled a tour for us, and I just pulled the tour guide aside and asked how you get there (The White House) to work. The guide said it was
Trussville’s Flock cameras alert police to 59 vehicles in 30 days From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
TRUSSVILLE — Flock Safety cameras have been up and running in the city of Trussville for 30 days, and police say the cameras have proven successful in keeping some criminals out of the city. See FLOCK SAFETY, Page 11
Inside the Tribune
News - Pages 1-7,11,13,14 Tribune Living - Page 8 Holiday Recipes - Page 10 Classified - Page 11 Obituary - Page 12 Kids page - Page 14 Sports - Pages 15-18
tectives and everything,” he said. Hughes said he found out about the death of his sister after he was contacted by Kellie Hughes’ estranged husband. “He called me and said I needed to sit down,” said Branden Hughes. “They were trying to get in touch with my mother.” Hughes said he couldn’t wrap his head around what he found out next. “I kind of instantly went numb,” said Hughes. “The coroner told me she had been shot and left out in the woods behind St. Vincent’s East.” Branden Hughes said he has ideas about who is responsible. He said the sheriff’s office is reassuring him they are on the trail of the person responsible, but he said he is doing his own investigation to help detectives. “She was just Kellie. She was unique, she was crazy, she was funny,” he said. “She had so many more friends than I did. She was one of those kinds of people that you didn’t meet her and instantly fall in love with her personality.” Kellie Hughes moved to the Roebuck area around 2003, according to her brother. “We weren’t raised together but it was almost scary how we were almost the same person. We were best friends,” he said.
Hughes said what he will miss most about his sister is her smile and her laugh. “She was goofy, and the crazy haircuts and always the center of attention,” said Branden Hughes. “Everybody loved her. That was a bad thing too because she loved everybody, and I guess that included the wrong kind of people.” He will also miss random texts in the middle of the night and the ability to call her. The GoFundMe account was set up to raise money for a basic service and cremation. But Hughes said he would love to give his sister a more fitting ceremony. “This is just one of those unexpected things,” he said. “We would love to give her an actual funeral.”
The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office believes the death of Hughes is connected to a kidnapping. According to Chief Deputy David Agee of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, on Friday, Dec. 13, 2019, at 4:42 p.m., a woman called 911 to report that she was being held against her will at some apartments in Center Point. Deputies tracked her phone to the apartments located at 30 Shadowood Circle. “When deputies arrived, they observed a woman falling down the stairs with her hands bound together by zip ties,” Agee said. “The woman had visible injuries and was treated on the scene by paramedics and later transported to the hospital.”
PRESIDENTIAL DECOR: A Trussville native’s memory of a White House Christmas
From The Trussville Tribune
See DOUBLE HOMICIDE, Page 11
50 Cents
Picture courtesy of Kaleen Riley
on a volunteer basis and thousands of people apply. I gave him a little bit about my background and he said to give a
resume to him and he would see what he could do.” Riley forwarded her resume. About six months later,
From The Trussville Tribune staff reports
TRUSSVILLE – The Trussville shopping center staple, Pinnacle at Tutwiler Farm, is now up for sale. The 248,988-square-foot lifestyle shopping center, anchored by national and regional tenants, was listed by the Transwestern Southeast Investment Services Group for $19 million.
Santa statue moves to Springville after decades on Center Point Parkway
See WHITE HOUSE CHRISTMAS, Page 8
See SANTA STATUE, Page 14
www.robinshoppe.com 5886 Trussville Crossings Pkwy 205.655.3388 Fabric Machines Classes Demos
Trussville’s Pinnacle at Tutwiler Farm listed for sale
she was called by the head White House florist. She was one of 50 chosen to decorate the White House for Christmas. Riley was invited back every year for the remainder of the George W. Bush presidency. The work of decorating the White House began in a warehouse, one week ahead of time. “When we got on the scene at the warehouse, First Lady Laura Bush and her designer already had a plan,” said Riley. “All of our talents (the florists, decorators and interior designers) come together and did the work for First Lady Laura Bush.” After the necessary preparations were accomplished, Riley and her team set to work trimming the White House in holiday cheer. “My team and I, we had security clearance to be on the whole main floor decorating,” said Riley. “We worked in Cross Hall, the East Room, State Dining, the Red Room, the Green Room, just all over. Our team did specific things.
Robin’s Sewing Shoppe
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As detectives investigated this crime, it was discovered that the victim had knowledge of a homicide that had occurred and that this is possibly the reason she was kidnapped, according to Agee. “This information led detectives to search a wooded area off Medical Park Drive East,” Agee said. “After an extensive search, they discovered the body of a white female in a secluded area. The area was secured until daylight when the body could be removed.” Evidence technicians processed the crime scene and Hughes’ body was transported to the Coroner’s Office for examination. The coroner said Hughes has family in Alabama, but he is not sure where she resided. “Sheriff’s Detectives have identified the suspects in this offense, and we are tracking their location,” Agee said. Hughes said he hopes the suspects are caught soon. “No matter what, there will be justice and she was loved by so many people and we will all miss her,” said Hughes. Birmingham Police, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Center Point Fire and Rescue and Trussville Fire and Rescue responded to the scene.
See PINNACLE, Page 5
Santa stands tall on Center Point Parkway in 2012.
Casa Fiesta Mexican Grill
5084 Pinnacle Sq Suite 112 Trussville
655-3530