The Suburban Newspaper for Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills, Hoover and North Shelby County
OVER THE MOUNTAIN
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JOU RNAL otmj.com
th
ursd ay, august 8, 2013
V ol . 22 #15
The Face Is Familiar
Theatre LJCC to present “The Marvelous Wonderettes”
about town page 5
New Mountain Brook High Principal Has Ties to System
By Keysha Drexel Journal editor
A
manda Hood isn’t wasting any time diving into her duties as the new principal at Mountain Brook High School. Just eight days after the Mountain Brook Board of Education approved Superintendent Dickey Barlow’s recommendation to appoint Hood as the new principal at Mountain Brook High School in July, the 36-year-old was having back2school lunch with the school’s 2013-14 custodial staff and gearing up for a new school year at a familiar place. Hood replaces Vic Wilson, who took a job in early July as Hartselle city schools superintendent. Hood served as principal at Mountain Brook Junior High during the 2012-2013 school year, but her connections to the school community run deeper than that. Hood worked at the high school as the assistant of curriculum and instruction during the 2011-2012 school year and said being back on campus is a bit of a homecoming for her. “That’s what I love about this school and this See hood, page 27
Amanda Hood is the new principal at Mountain Brook High School. She previously served as the principal at Mountain Brook Junior High. Journal photo by Keysha Drexel
Literacy Council honors New York Times bestselling author Daniel Wallace
social page 12
Boots and Beaus Bash fetes Poinsettia Debs VHHS Principal Wes Gordon Wants to Balance Tradition with Innovation page 26
Busy Summer for OTM Teachers, Students
Homewood High Chef Beth Leon Moves from Restaurant to Classroom page 26
social page 13
Stories begin on page 26
New Name for Trinity Unveiled By Keysha Drexel Journal editor
Wayne T. Smith, left, chairman, president and CEO of Community Health Systems, Trinity’s parent company, and Gov. Robert Bentley spoke at the unveiling of the hospital’s new name and logo. Journal photo by Keysha Drexel
Trinity Medical Center’s new hospital on U.S. 280 will be known as Grandview Medical Center. The new name was unveiled last week on the site of the unfinished HealthSouth hospital on Grandview Parkway. Representatives from Community Health Systems, Trinity’s parent company, joined officials from Trinity Medical Center and Gov. Robert Bentley to announce the new name of the one millionsquare-foot hospital to a large crowd of local elected officials, business leaders and area residents. “The new hospital deserves a name that captures the optimism See grandview, page 10
Heavy into metal: Red Mountain Ironworks revives ancient craft
home page 21
Hope Gala p. 4 • a hero’s welcome p. 5 • distinguished women p. 8 • hwy 280 changes p. 10 • sip and sob p. 18 • rocking the pool p. 22