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What’s inside: PLAYING FOR 3 HEARTS Football player overcomes loss of both parents

HEART OF SERVICE

John Ellison dedicates himself to his community

A special publication of Shelby County Newspapers, Inc.

Thanks to our $9 million investment, he’s breathing a little easier.

Our recently completed $9 million upgrade to our North Shelby Water Resource Reclamation Facility has dramatically reduced the amount of phosphorus in the clean water we return to the Cahaba River.

That means we haven’t just met or surpassed all state and federal health standards. We’ve also helped lower the likelihood of algal blooms, which rob wildlife of life-giving oxygen in the water.

And that’s just one of the ways we’re working to make ours a better, healthier community, along with supporting organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters of Shelby County, and SafeHouse of Shelby County, among many others.

Our pledge to you: we’ll keep working for a healthier river, and a healthier community. Which means we can all breathe a little easier.

To learn more, visit CleanerCahaba.info

Greater Shelby County Chamber of Commerce Community

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very year, the staff of Shelby County Newspapers, Inc. spends countless hours preparing to tell the top stories our great county has to offer through our annual Profile publication.

This year’s Profile represents a variety of stories I hope will inspire all of us to become more involved our incredible central Alabama communities. As in past years, our newsroom began deciding who we would name as our person of the year several months ago. chose to name as our person of the year this year. This year’s person of the year, John Ellison, stood out from the crowd because of his tireless dedication to better his community and support area first responders.

Read about his dedication to service on Page 8. Ever wonder what it takes to operate one of the most popular mobile food carts in the area? If you’ve been to any kind of community event over the past year, chances are you’ve met Mark Lollar, owner of The Great American Hotdog Stand.

Learn more about his unique business starting on Page 74. Many football players face adversity in their lives, and most do a great job of overcoming that adversity.

None more so than Spain Park’s Cedric Tooson. Over the past few years, Tooson has lost both of his parents, and now plays with a passion to honor their memories. Read more about Cedric’s tale of overcoming tragedy on Page 83. Water is one of our most important resources, especially in the Birmingham metropolitan area.

Because the city was not founded near a single large body of water, our rivers are of paramount importance.

Who is in charge of making sure that water is clean? Meet the Cahaba Riverkeeper organization, and learn about their dedication to protecting our natural resources on Page 23.

As you can see, our county has plenty of fantastic stories to tell.

We hope you enjoy getting a more in-depth look at our county, but more than that, we hope you are inspired to make Shelby County a better place for all.

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Shelby County EDITORIAL Graham Brooks Stephen Dawkins Alec Etheredge Briana Harris Amalia Kortright Madoline Markham Keith McCoy Emily Sparacino Neal Wagner CONTRIBUTORS Emily Reed PRODUCTION Connor Bucy Jamie Dawkins Kate Sullivan MARKETING Kristy Brown Kari George Matthew Gibson Rachel Henderson Daniel Holmes Rhett McCreight Kim McCulla Ashley Murphy Ashley Petrus

Neal Wagner, Managing Editor

Kerrie Thompson

Neal.Wagner@ShelbyCountyReporter.com on the cover Spain Park High School football player Cedric Tooson has overcome the tragic loss of both his parents, and now plays with passion to honor their memories.

Cover design: Kate Sullivan Photography: Keith McCoy

ADMINISTRATION Hailey Dolbare Mary Jo Eskridge Katie Krouse Katie McDowell Stacey Meadows Tim Prince

Shelby County Newspapers, Inc. P.O. Box 947 Columbiana, AL 35051 205.669.3131 6

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A HEROES’ HERO Ellison dedicated to keeping city clean, supporting responders

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ALABASTER CITY SCHOOLS Champions for our future

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WATER WATCH Cahaba Riverkeeper protects river’s future

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THE QUEEN OF HELENA Homecoming queen’s journey inspires community 63

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MEMORIES OF A MINING CAMP At Aldrich Coal Mine Museum, curator Henry Emfinger is determined to preserve the history of the once-thriving coal mine camp near Montevallo that has captivated him since childhood.

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HUMANIZING THE BADGE Rachel Ivey offers her time and talents to children in Chelsea

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‘STILL THE SAME MATT’ Deputy remains upbeat after tragic motorcycle crash

PLAYING BY THE RULES Mark Lollar spreads wisdom, hot dogs throughout the county

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SHELBY COUNTY SCHOOLS Every student a graduate.

Every graduate prepared.

PELHAM CITY SCHOOLS We inspire. We empower.

We achieve. We are Pelham.

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PLAYING FOR THREE HEARTS Cedric Tooson plays for more than himself

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PASSION TO SERVE Pelham athletic director works to make program succeed

RAILS LESS TRAVELED In homage to these railroads that once were our country’s backbone, we present the Rails of Shelby County.

‘INVESTED IN THIS’ Lina Evans committed to making positive difference as Shelby County’s newest coroner

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PERSON OF THE YEAR:

A HEROES’

HERO

ELLISON DEDICATED TO KEEPING CITY CLEAN, SUPPORTING RESPONDERS

BY NEAL WAGNER PHOTOS BY KEITH MCCOY

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ohn Ellison quietly walks along Shelby County 17 in Maylene on a warm fall morning, stopping every few feet to snag a piece of trash on the side of the roadway with an extendable grabber he holds in his gloved hands.

His bright orange shirt reading “Rubbish stops here” shines as a beacon to passing motorists as he places the trash into a rapidly filling black garbage bag he’s carrying with him.

“It’s been cleaned like four times now, and it’s a mess again,” 55-year-old Ellison said of the stretch of highway. “I cleaned it up not too long ago, and now there’s enough trash out there to fill several bags. It’s a shame.”

Knowing all of his hard work will be undone possibly in a matter of days, Ellison is not deterred. As he is often a one-man pickup crew working to combat

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roadside litter, he is already making plans to head back out to the road the same time the following week.

“If you can see trash on the side of the road while you’re driving, you can imagine how much is down there in the ditch,” Ellison said. “Cigarette butts are the worst. It’s easy to pick up paper, but it’s so hard to get all of those tiny cigarette butts. There are so many of them.”

What originally began as a simple way to get a little more exercise every week in early 2017 quickly turned into a passion for Ellison. Every week – and sometimes multiple times per week – Ellison parks his white Ford Focus at the end of a busy Alabaster highway and walks up and down the side of the roadway while collecting trash carelessly tossed from moving vehicles.

“Alabaster has grown up so fast that if you don’t

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stay ahead of this problem, you’ll be living in a city dump before you know it,” Ellison said. “I wish the people who litter would come out and help pick it up at least once to show them ‘We’ve got people out here cleaning, and you’re coming right behind them and throwing more trash out.’”

‘SHOW PEOPLE YOU’RE SERIOUS’ Ellison has been living in the Alabaster community nearly his entire life, and has always worked to make his city a better place.

In addition to working with the Carmeuse Lime company in Alabaster for many years, Ellison has volunteered countless hours to showing appreciation for local first responders and cleaning up trash on the city’s roadways.

“Several months ago, I got tired of sitting around the house all the time. I needed to do something to get some exercise, so I figured I might as well pick up trash while I’m doing it,” Ellison said in a matter-of-fact tone. “Time just fl ies while you’re out there cleaning. Sometimes I’ll realize the sun is going down, and I’ll get a call from my wife asking me if I’m coming home.”

Ellison estimates he has picked up “hundreds” of

9 Ellison often picks up eight or nine bags of trash a week.

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bags of trash since early 2017, and even set out trash cans along the side of Smokey Road in an effort to cut down on the rubbish littering the highway.

Although Ellison completes the majority of his roadside cleaning missions solo, he occasionally has volunteers who join him.

“I’ve got a family that helps me on Smokey Road, and another family that helps me on 119,” Ellison said. “I’d like to have more people out here doing this, but you’ve got to show people you’re serious about cleaning before they’ll join you.”

Ellison’s efforts have not gone unnoticed by those in the community. While he admits he is sometimes heckled by passersby while he is cleaning, the vast majority of folks who interact with him are grateful, he said.

“I know a lot of people laugh at what I do – that doesn’t bother me at all. But I also have a lot of people who will stop and pray with me, thank me, bring me water or Gatorade. That part is really a blessing,” Ellison said.

HEROES’ HEROES A little more than three years ago, law enforcement

2017 Ellison estimates he has picked up “hundreds” of bags of trash since early 2017.

1 Ellison is often a one-man crew when he goes out to pick up trash along the city’s roadways.

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John Ellison, center, delivers a food donation to an Alabaster fire station from the Alabaster Public Servant’s Foundation.

agencies across the nation were suffering a crisis of public perception. As officer-involved tragedies unfolded in other parts of the United States, the effects were even being felt in Shelby County.

“With all that was going on with the shootings (in Missouri and Louisiana), we wanted to show our

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officers here that we really supported them,” Ellison said.

With that idea in mind, Ellison began recruiting others to his cause. Among them was fellow Alabaster resident Peg Kent Scott, who helped Ellison found the Alabaster Public Servants Foundation in

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LEFT: Ellison never faces a shortage of trash to pick up along the city’s highways. MIDDLE: Ellison typically collects several trash bags full of rubbish every time he goes on a cleaning run. RIGHT: From left, Dena Bedsole, Ellison and Mary Harris greet firefighters at a recent appreciation dinner they organized for the Alabaster Fire Department.

“But even if it’s just me doing it, I’ll keep going as long as the good Lord sees fit. ” —John Ellison 12

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2014.

“The first thing we did was on Memorial Day. He bought sandwiches and took them to all the Alabaster police officers and firefighters. Then, on the Fourth of July, I bought barbecue plates for them,” Scott said. “I told John, ‘We can’t keep footing the bill for everything,’ so we posted it online and asked for people to help out. People were so nice with donating plates, money, anything we needed.”

Since then, the Public Servants Foundation has become a regular fixture in the Alabaster police and fire departments, bringing everything from pallets of water and Gatorade to meals for an entire shift on holidays.

And in the officers’ and firefighters’ eyes, the foundation members are always a welcome sight.

“John and his group are just fabulous people. I

can’t speak highly enough of what they’ve done for us,” said Alabaster Police Chief Curtis Rigney.

“Every time we see them coming, it puts a smile on our faces. Those are good people who want to make Alabaster a better place to live.

“In my mind, they are heroes’ heroes.”

While the foundation began in response to a national tragedy, it has remained strong because of a simple philosophy.

“My thing is: Don’t wait until something bad happens. We need to show them we appreciate them all the time,” Ellison said. “We really need to back our officers and firefighters, because they are in the line of duty every day. That should be enough of a reason for us to show them we appreciate them.

“That’s the reason I like doing what I’m doing,” Ellison said.

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FUTURE PLANS

John Ellison greets firefighters’ families during an appreciation dinner he organized for the Alabaster Fire Department in 2017.

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Despite the often hot, grueling task of picking up trash along the side of a highway and carrying dozens of water bottles into fire and police stations, Ellison does not see himself stepping back from the two tasks anytime soon.

The next step for the Public Servants Foundation and Ellison’s personal trash-removal crusade have one major similarity: More people.

“I’d like to see us get our tax-free status so we can have money to do things instead of having to beg for it all the time,” Scott said of the Public Servants Foundation. “And we’d also like to see more people who want to help step up and say ‘I’ll take this.’”

Ellison said he is ready to equip more volunteers with everything from garbage bags to safety gloves and vests.

“I’d like to see Alabaster be a lot cleaner. If I’m able to pick up eight or nine bags by myself each time, you can imagine what a bigger group could do,” Ellison said. “But even if it’s just me doing it, I’ll keep going as long as the good Lord sees fit.” 

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WATER WATCH Cahaba Riverkeeper protects river’s future _____________________

BY STEPHEN DAWKINS PHOTOS BY KEITH MCCOY

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David Butler tests water in the Cahaba River for E. coli levels.

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r. Myra Crawford has lived about half a mile from the Cahaba River for about 50 years. Crawford and her children created memories in the river, and her time and effort are focused on ensuring future generations have the same opportunity.

“I taught my children to swim and fish in the river, but I realized that my son would no longer allow his sons to swim and fish in the place he had done those things as a child,” Crawford said about the river’s future, which development has made uncertain.

The confluence of Crawford’s retirement from her first career, a river in peril, her relationship with 24

the Cahaba and a need for scientific data about it has led to the founding and flourishing of the Cahaba Riverkeeper organization.

Crawford retired as clinical research professor and director of the research division and the Human Energetics Assessment Laboratory in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UAB’s School of Medicine.

“It was worse than being on vacation,” Crawford said. “There was nothing to do. I was bored.

“After my retirement, I was opining about what I could do to be of service to my community, and my son suggested that I might look to the Cahaba, Profile 2018

moderately high alerts. There was not a single week where all the test sites received a “green” code for low E. coli.

“We were astounded that we kept finding all of this E. coli,” Crawford said.

“Sure enough, it’s not just muddy. We ORGANIZATION’S BEGINNINGS don’t know where that comes from.

We would like to DNA test to find the source.”

Development and pollution have The conditions typical with water with changed the river—which is considered high levels of E. coli suggest the presence one of Alabama’s and Shelby County’s of other pathogens, said David Butler most important natural resources—but with the Cahaba Riverkeeper. a lack of scientific research about the The water testing began using a Cahaba makes it difficult to say how program designed for ease of use, making much damage has been done—and how it accessible by anyone interested in much impact people are continuing to helping, but in 2016, a partnership have. with the Coosa That’s where the Riverkeeper improved Cahaba Riverkeeper the testing. organization, Now, Coosa founded by Dr. Riverkeeper is Myra Crawford in assisting its Cahaba 2009, hopes to help. counterpart with the Among creation of its own Crawford’s early lab. efforts was the “That will give us Swim Guide, which a lot more flexibility,” began in 2014 with Butler said. “Before, eight locations and we would have to has since grown to schedule around include 16 locations. them and drive to Water from the their office.”

Cahaba River and Butler leads the main tributaries, “South team” during such as Shades The Cahaba Riverkeeper office was opened water testing while Creek, Buck Creek in 2013 in a remodeled barn.

Dr. Shaun Crawford, and the Little Cahaba Myra’s son who grew River, at popular up around the river and suggested its recreation sites is tested for its quality conservation as a worthwhile endeavor and any potential risks to swimmers to his mother, leads the “North team.” during the summer months.

Results are posted on the RIVER’S KEEPERS CahabaRiverkeeper.org website and social media.

Crawford has lived on 10 acres near “Shortly after I started, people were the Cahaba River in a passive solar home calling asking is it safe to swim at certain for most of her adult life. She is a mother locations,” Crawford said. “We would of two daughters and a son, Shaun, an say, ‘I don’t know.’ Then we thought, environmental scientist.

‘We’re scientists; we can figure it out.’”

One of her daughters, Crystal High levels of E. coli are a common Corcoran, lives in the area and volunteers problem, while the testing also reports with Cahaba Riverkeeper. dissolved oxygen and pH levels.

Crawford’s other daughter, Regina During summer 2017, the organization Windsor, lives in Boulder, Colorado. issued 57 high E. coli alerts and 44 that no one was taking care of it. I realized that no one was doing the science of the river on a regular basis and communicating that effectively to the public.”

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Crawford was a member of the advisory council of the Black Warrior Riverkeeper and a founding member of the board of the Green Resource Center for Alabama.

Crawford holds degrees from Samford University, the University of Alabama, the University of Iowa and the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

She has worked as a newspaper and magazine journalist and as a technical writer and editor.

She has published more than 100 scientific and commercial articles, as well as works of fiction. She has traveled extensively in China, Tibet, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Central Europe, and Central and South Americas.

Butler joined the organization in 2010 and earned the Riverkeeper designation in 2015.

Born in Birmingham and raised in Kentucky, Butler worked in New York for a financial research company for a time—a career far removed from river conservation.

While studying journalism at the University of Alabama, Butler spent time at Alabama Small Boats, which rented canoes, and later guided trips down the Cahaba.

“I started out as a recreational user of the river,” he said. “I was seeing more and more issues. I didn’t know what the issue was, you could just look and

see something was wrong. People would ask if it was safe for swim or eat fish out of the river. I didn’t know. It’s not like you could just go Google it. Basic information didn’t exist anywhere. I didn’t ever have an answer for those people.”

Butler found out about Cahaba Riverkeeper, volunteered with the organization, joined the board then became a Riverkeeper himself.

“They were doing things that really no else was doing, and that’s how I gravitated to Riverkeeper,” Butler said. “You still learn about it every day. It’s been an amazing, amazing thing.”

DEALING WITH CRISES The main stem of the Cahaba River is 193 miles long, with another 150 miles of the main tributaries.

The watershed covers about 1,900 square miles.

Cahaba Riverkeeper has only two staff members— Crawford and David Butler, who is the only paid worker—but a team of volunteers help with the work.

“We’re so small and we have such big plans, we couldn’t do what we do without a lot of volunteers,” Butler said.

The small staff size allows Cahaba Riverkeeper to be responsive to whatever needs arise.

Cahaba Riverkeeper’s method of testing water has improved as the organization has evolved.

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“We’re like the kayak instead of the Queen Mary,” Crawford said.

Also, the organization can spend most of its time on research instead of fundraising to fund a large payroll.

Though most of the Cahaba Riverkeeper’s funding is through grants, fundraisers are necessary. The organization’s largest each year is the Duck Derby held in Leeds.

Memberships, art prints and T-shirts are also sold to raise money.

Annual river clean-ups are held in Bibb County and Helena, where an average of about 3,500 pounds of garbage is collected each year.

Cahaba Riverkeeper has been at the forefront of environmental efforts during recent crises.

A Pelham wastewater treatment plant lost power and overflowed in July 2015, spilling about 10,000 gallons of sewage into the river.

This incident led to Cahaba Riverkeeper pushing for a more robust public notice system through a petition to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management.

In September 2016, the Carmeuse Lime and Stone Longview facility in Saginaw near Alabaster was found to have significantly polluted Buck Creek. The creek had turned a murky white color, and no aquatic life was observed downstream.

Tests revealed pH levels of 11.3 and 12.05. Ammonia has a pH of about 11.6, and household bleach has a pH of about 12.6, while upstream the pH level was 7.24.

Alabama regulations dictate that discharges should not raise pH above 8.5.

“We don’t set out to punish people,” Crawford said. “We hope that we’ve earned a reputation of being fair. In some cases, companies have accepted responsibility.”

Later in the same month, a ruptured pipeline leaked about 250,000 gallons of gasoline in a rural area near Helena.

Colonial Pipeline invited Cahaba Riverkeeper to be the only

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THE CAHABA RIVER

The Cahaba River is the longest free-flowing river in Alabama and is among the most biologically diverse waterways in the United States. The waters of the Cahaba are home to more than 130 species of fish—more than be found in all bodies of water in California—and 69 animal species that are endangered. With headwaters near Birmingham, the Cahaba joins the Alabama River at the ghost town and former Alabama capital of Cahawba in Dallas County. The Cahaba is 194 miles long and drains an area of 1,870 square miles.

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“After my retirement,

I was opining about what I could do to be of service to my community, and my son suggested that I might look to the Cahaba, that no one was taking care of it. I realized that no one was doing the science of the river on a regular basis and communicating that effectively to the public ” —Myra Crawford

Myra Crawford and David Butler test water in the Cahaba River for E. coli levels.

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environmental organization to observe and assist with the clean-up effort.

“They worked hard to keep it from getting in the river,” Crawford said. “And we were able to observe them working hard. We weren’t just on the other side of the fence throwing rocks. That relationship taught us the wisdom of talking to people.”

Though it does not generate news headlines, the accumulation of sediment over time is the Cahaba River’s most significant problem, as development in the river’s watershed removes vegetation and leads to rainwater washing sediment into the river.

“It’s really catastrophic to the habitat,” Butler said.

“Mud smothers the animals.”

Crawford estimates the river needs a 48-percent reduction in sediment, but there is no established baseline. Most of the data on the river is 25 years old.

So, one of Cahaba Riverkeeper’s upcoming efforts will entail building a database by mapping and photographing the river. The plan is for the information to be accessible by the public, which will even be able to make contributions.

“We want to take science to the people and interpret it in a way that people can understand,” Crawford said. 

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THE QUEEN OF

Helena

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HOMECOMING QUEEN’S JOURNEY INSPIRES COMMUNITY

BY GRAHAM BROOKS PHOTOS BY GRAHAM BROOKS AND CONTRIBUTED

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n ambassador at Helena High school, officer in the choir, a member of the Tri-Am honor society, A–B honor roll, current Ms. Amazing pageant winner and a member of the chamber choir. Helena High School senior Mary Catherine Collins, who has autism, has accomplished all of these feats and most recently she was crowned the 2017 HHS homecoming queen.

LIFE BEFORE HELENA

Mary Catherine Collins and her father Jeff react after she was named the Helena High School homecoming queen.

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Mary Catherine’s parents, Jeff and Ashley Collins, have been instrumental in molding their daughter into the person she has become today, but coming to grips with Mary Catherine’s autism and learning how to best deal with it has been a daily struggle for the couple.

Jeff and Ashley first found out their first daughter had autism at the age of two and a half, and like most parents who find out their child has special needs, they weren’t sure where to turn or what to do.

As the years went on, Jeff said he and Ashley both decided that they would be open and honest about Mary Catherine’s autism and help other parents work through the same issues they’ve faced.

“One thing that I’ve really taken time to do is I like to do a lot of what Mary Catherine does on Facebook because most of our family lives elsewhere,” Jeff said. “I always post stuff so they know and I do this because I know when we found out she had autism she was two and a half and we didn’t know what to do. We didn’t know what was going to happen and we were at a loss. It took us awhile to dig out of it but we became very proactive. We tried everything you can try, but the one thing I always wanted to do is that if there’s a family in the same situation, I tried to make myself available. I’ll periodically post and ask if anyone needs someone to talk to and that I’m available.”

The Collins family lived in Montgomery and as Mary Catherine got older, Jeff and Ashley enrolled her in a private school that specialized in caring for special needs students.

“We were from Montgomery and she went to a private school there that specialized in high functioning autism and ADHD kids,” Jeff said.

“It was set up in a small classroom environment and all of the teachers had some sort of special education background so it was a real guarded situation. There was no chance of bullying or any chance of a lot of different things.”

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COLLEGES OFFER SUPPORT

AUBURN UNIVERSITY

Auburn University offers the EAGLES program which stands

for Education to Accomplish Growth in Life Experiences for Success. The EAGLES program provides an opportunity for students with special needs to engage in an inclusive, multiyear campus residential experience with a two-year basic program and a four-year advanced program for eligible participants. It focuses on four areas: increasing independence, improving leadership and advocacy skills, preparation for employment and developing life skills.

MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY

MSU offers the ACCESS program. The program offers

an inclusive plan to promote the successful transition of students with intellectual disabilities into higher education.

These students have a desire to continue academic, career and technical, and independent living instruction in order to prepare for gainful employment. The academic courses will include a reading, writing, and mathematics course for each semester of the four-year curriculum. Classes will follow the MSU academic calendar for the four-year program. Applications are available at the office of MSU ACCESS.

THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH ALABAMA

USA offers the PASSAGE program which stands for

Preparing All Students Socially and Academically for Gainful Employment. This is a two-year non-degree, certificate program. The program is designed for students who need extra support to be successful. To apply for the program, visit Southalabama.edu.

JACKSONVILLE STATE UNIVERSITY

JSU offers the On to JSU program. Participants will take part in academic classes and social

events with non-disabled peers, reside on campus and complete an internship in food service or business basics. They will be paired with a peer mentor and have the opportunity to enjoy an on-campus college experience while earning a certificate in food service or business basics.  To qualify for On to JSU, students must have a previous Individualized Education Plan with a diagnosis of intellectual disabilities.

It was in Montgomery though where one incident away from school made Jeff and Ashley rethink things.

“Some kids were picking on her because she doesn’t speak well,” Jeff said. “That’s really her only deficit and that’s when she realized that there was something different about her because she was surrounded by kids like her and then all of a sudden she wasn’t. We’ve always been open about her having autism but that’s when she realized that something was not right. She said to us ‘I just want to be right’ which broke our hearts but upon further discussion, it also made us realize that we may be sheltering her a little too much. The real world is not going to conform like that school did and maybe we should challenge her.”

THE MOVE TO HELENA After speaking to a family member that worked in the Shelby County School System and long discussions about what to do, the Collins family took a chance and decided to embark on a new journey.

“A family member in the Shelby County School System at the time kept telling us that we need to look into Shelby County because they were really taking a proactive approach to autism,” Jeff said. “Three years later, we decided to do it and at that point she was in middle school.”

The family member recommended the Collins look at Helena because of how well the middle school was testing and the arrival of a new high school would be set to open Mary Catherine’s freshman year.

After taking the advice, the Collins made the trip from Montgomery to Helena to check out the middle school facility.

“We brought her up here and we took a tour of the school on a Friday and she loved it,” Jeff said. “There were two things that won her over: The choir room and the lunch room. At her old school, they ate lunch in the classroom every day and they didn’t have a lunchroom so she just liked the idea of going to the lunchroom. So, starting seventh grade, we rented our house out of Montgomery and we moved here and took the biggest chance of our life.”

Even though they heard great things about Helena and the Shelby County School System, Jeff said faculty members at Mary Catherine’s old school weren’t confident she could succeed in a public school environment.

“I asked a couple of teachers at her other school if they thought she would be able to succeed in a public school and I asked them to be honest with me and they both said ‘no,’” Jeff said. “I wasn’t sure she would either to be honest with you. We came up here though and it’s been unbelievable. It’s been absolutely unbelievable. I have nothing but positive things to say about the Shelby County School System. She has flourished here.”

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AT HELENA HIGH SCHOOL Now a senior at Helena High School and set to graduate in Spring 2018, Mary Catherine has done more than prove her

Mary Catherine Collins and her father embrace after Mary Catherine is named homecoming queen.

doubters wrong. She has defied the odds and has accomplished more than the average high school student.

“I take classes and I have all A’s and B’s,” Mary Catherine said.

“I like going to school and I like to study and do homework. I go to lunch and I like to sing. I go to ambassador meetings every Wednesday and I go to acapella choir room every Thursday. My favorite teacher is Mrs. Knight my anatomy teacher.”

Jeff and Ashley both acknowledged that Mary Catherine has always had trouble speaking, but ironically, Mary Catherine uses her voice to do one of her favorite things.

“Mary Catherine didn’t start talking until she was 7-years-old,” Jeff said. “In a lot of ways, Mary Catherine and her sister Anna Grace learned to talk together because they’re nine years apart.”

Despite trouble speaking, Mary Catherine loves to sing and has performed several times in front of large crowds and on big stages.

“Mary Catherine has sang at several benefits and fundraisers,” Jeff said. “She sang at the Grand Bohemian Mountain Brook for an event and she has sang the national anthem at several Helena sporting events.”

Mary Catherine is active in the school choir and after graduation, she plans to join the choir at whichever college she ends up attending.

A QUEEN IS CROWNED Sept. 29, 2017 is a day Mary Catherine, and the entire Collins family will remember for as long as they live.

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cried all weekend.”

This was the night of Helena High School’s homecoming After Jeff escorted Mary Catherine across midfield at where a new king and queen would be crowned.

Husky Stadium, they took their place on the field before the In the weeks leading up to homecoming, Jeff and Ashley announcement was read. said Mary Catherine nonchalantly mentioned that several Moments later, Mary Catherine’s name was classmates supported her run for homecoming read as the 2017 HHS homecoming queen and queen. “She got in the car a few weeks before that’s when the numbness set in, according homecoming and she named about 30 names to Jeff. “That was as real as it gets,” Jeff said. and she told my wife that these people all voted “She squealed and I was kind of numb about for her for homecoming queen,” Jeff said. “It it for about 12 hours. The student body really wasn’t even on our radar. Ashley immediately took to her and you heard the ovation when text somebody at the school and they said, they named her when we went through the ‘yeah, she has a big support system here and student section getting pictures. We had no she was nominated.’ We found out the next idea and it was a nice surprise.” day she made the homecoming court which Mary Catherine also had no idea she was consisted of five seniors.” going to get the crown and she described her Jeff and Ashley said they were both thrilled Mary Catherine Collins feelings on the field after the announcement. at the fact that Mary Catherine had the honor was diagnosed with “I was thrilled and excited. I screamed and I of just being on the homecoming court, but the autism at the age of 2. was really excited,” Mary Catherine said. night of Sept. 29, they were in for a big shock.

“I was completely overwhelmed,” Ashley POSITIVE INFLUENCES ALONG THE WAY AND said. “I ended up going to the homecoming dance and LIFE AFTER HIGH SCHOOL everything to take pictures and those kids just blew me away.

There was a couple of them that came up and they were so Throughout her high school experience, Mary Catherine has happy for Mary Catherine and they said, ‘we wanted Mary had several friends that have served as mentors along the way.

Catherine to have a high school memory that would be with One of those mentors is fellow senior and HHS varsity her forever and that’s why we wanted to do that.’ Of course, I

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football player Kopeland Rosser. Rosser has known Mary Catherine since she moved to Helena in middle school.

Mary Catherine said she sees Kopeland and his girlfriend as two of her best friends.

Another friend that has helped Mary Catherine excel in high school is her friend EJ. Set to graduate in May 2018, Mary Catherine has big plans for her future.

She and her parents are currently looking at Auburn University, Mississippi State University, The University of South Alabama and Jacksonville State University to further her education.

Each college has special needs programs that will help Mary Catherine exceed and Jeff and Ashley will work with their daughter to choose a college that best suit her needs.

No matter where she goes, Mary Catherine said she will be participating in the choir.

For now, Mary Catherine will continue to lean on the relationships she’s built at Helena High School and relish in the fact she is the homecoming queen.

After all, she’s overcome the odds and earned it. 

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From left: Ashley, Jeff, Anna Grace and Mary Catherine Collins.

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Memories of a Mining Camp 36

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At Aldrich Coal Mine Museum, curator Henry Emfinger is determined to preserve the history of the once-thriving coal mine camp near Montevallo that has captivated him since childhood.

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By Emily Sparacino Photos by Keith McCoy

ime seems to stand still inside the old Montevallo Coal Mine Company Store building in Montevallo. Metal mining tools and framed blackand-white photographs line the walls. Collectible cars fill a display case on the main level. An antique cash register sits on the corner of a counter. The original post office boxes families used when Aldrich was a thriving mining community fill a side room on the main level. Each part of this faded white building, right down to the creaky wood floors and the wavy window panes, speaks of a bygone era in this small nook of Shelby County.

Henry Emfinger, 82, knows the old building well. It’s what he pictures when he remembers moving to Aldrich with his family in 1942 so his father could work in the coal mine.

Emfinger was just 7 years old.

“It was part of my childhood,” Emfinger said, before reciting the line “I owe my soul to the company store” from Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons,” a song about coal miners. “It was one of my first memories of moving here.”

A relic from the early 1900s, the Montevallo Coal Mine Company Store building now constitutes part of the Aldrich Coal Mine Museum, where Emfinger oversees the collection and preservation of items that detail the history of the Aldrich coal mine and camp, other mining camps and the city of Montevallo. For Emfinger, saving Aldrich’s history for future generations is as natural to him as taking a breath; it’s a lasting way to honor the families, including his, that knew what life in a mining camp was all about.

EMFINGER FAMILY AND ALDRICH Emfinger’s father, Henry Thomas Emfinger, was a 30-year coal miner. He worked for a coal company in Bibb County

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A bird’s-eye view of the main level of the Montevallo Coal Mine Company Store today.

HISTORIC FACTS ABOUT ALDRICH As early as 1839, coal was produced in the Montevallo vicinity and was introduced to the public in 1856. The coal seam was named Montevallo because of the nearness of the city, and was the first to have a trade name. The first steam engine for hoisting coal from a slope or pit mine was brought to Alabama to be used on the Montevallo seam of coal in 1859. Before January 1860, Montevallo Coal was the only coal shipped to market by railroad in Alabama. The mine furnished coal to the Confederacy during the Civil War. They also donated coal to the Alabama Girls Industrial School, now known as the University of Montevallo, during the first few years of its existence.

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Truman H. Aldrich and his brother, William Farrington Aldrich, were the first trained civil engineers to mine coal in Alabama. The Aldrich brothers built up the mining town of Aldrich, which bears their name. The post office was established in 1883. The Aldrich mine used convict labor from 1913 to 1928 when the convict lease system was abolished in Alabama for coal mines. The mining operations at Aldrich ceased in July 1942, when the coal seam was depleted and could no longer be mined economically.

Facts provided by Aldrich Coal Mine Museum, Inc.

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before moving the family to Aldrich in 1942.

Son Henry spent the remainder of his childhood in Aldrich, playing with friends and occasionally taking photos around the camp with his Brownie Hawkeye camera, a gift from Santa Claus when he was in grammar school.

The camp was a tight-knit community.

“Everybody that lived here worked in the mine,” Henry said. “The company owned the houses.”

Henry and Rose, his wife of 60 years, met at Aldrich First Baptist Church, the church their families attended when they were children, and the church the couple still attends today. They live in one of the original Aldrich mine camp houses.

Henry graduated from Montevallo High School in 1954, started at the University of Montevallo (then called Alabama College), joined the U.S. Air Force for about 20 years and returned to Montevallo to finish his college education.

Neither Henry nor his brother ever worked in the coal mining industry.

“I was chicken,” Henry said.

But that hasn’t lessened his passion for preserving some of the buildings and history of the mine camp that shaped his childhood.

HISTORY ON DISPLAY The Aldrich coal mine camp was named after William Farrington Aldrich, a coal mine owner and U.S. senator in the House of Representatives from 1894-1900. He moved his family south to build the town of Aldrich, Henry said.

Aldrich and his wife, Josephine, lived in a large Victorian home they built on the property. “Rajah

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Lodge,” as they called it, was famous in the South, sometimes compared to Biltmore Estate in North Carolina.

Other buildings in the camp included the company store, Aldrich Post Office and Farrington Hall, the building named after the couple’s late son, Farrington, that served as a private office, library and recreation hall for the family. Aldrich Prison was open from 1913-1928, and convicts worked in the mine.

Text on the Alabama Historical Commission’s sign outside the Aldrich Coal Mine Museum summarizes the area’s history: “Coal was being mined in Shelby and the surrounding counties of Tuscaloosa, Jefferson, Bibb, Walker, and St. Clair as early as the 1830s. By 1859, the largest mine operation in the state was the Alabama Coal Mining Company, consisting of several drift mines in the Montevallo area. Changing owners, names, and locations several times, it was in continuous operation for more than a century when the Montevallo Coal Mine Company in Aldrich closed July 5, 1942. Two historic buildings remain: the Montevallo Coal Mine Company Store (1928) and Farrington Hall (1908), the office building from 1925-1942. These buildings make up the Aldrich Coal Mine Museum established as a tribute to the coal mining industry and coal miners in Alabama.

Both Montevallo Coal Mine Company Store and Farrington Hall are listed in the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.”

Henry bought the company store and Farrington Hall in an effort to preserve the town’s heritage and honor his father’s work as a coal miner. Located off County Road 203 in Montevallo, the historic buildings comprise the Aldrich Coal Mine Museum.

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Emfinger holds a photo of train tracks, which played a key role in the transportation of coal and other goods. Before January 1860, Montevallo Coal was the only coal shipped to market by railroad in Alabama.

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LEFT: Old photographs show Aldrich’s original mining camp houses. RIGHT: Henry and Rose Emfinger met at Aldrich First Baptist Church when they were younger. They have been married for 60 years.

Over the years, people have donated items to Henry for use in the museum, sometimes by simply leaving things on the store’s porch. The display cases on the main level are original to the store, and after going to different places when the store closed in 1942, made it back to Aldrich.

“I’m very thankful for that,” Henry said. “I have had a lot of help from the community.”

In addition to the many photographs and memorabilia on display in the company store, a simulated coal mine slope allows visitors a glimpse into what it was like to walk into a mine shaft.

Across the lawn, Farrington Hall contains pictures, artifacts and five murals painted on the walls by Italian artist Giuseppe Moretti, whose works include Birmingham’s Vulcan statue. Farrington Hall was placed on the National and Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage in January 2008.

In 1997, a monument honoring all coal miners was

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installed outside near Farrington Hall.

“We are incredibly blessed to have the Aldrich Coal Mine in Montevallo,” Montevallo Mayor Hollie Cost said. “Henry Emfinger is a tremendous historical asset to the city. He has welcomed school groups and others to his museum for years, willingly sharing stories of the coal mining days in our history.”

Henry said he has experienced much joy delving into Aldrich’s history and putting it on display for younger generations, including his three children, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. As his parents’ only child of four still living, Henry takes his work as the museum’s curator and chief historian seriously. He hopes to bequeath the museum to one of his children someday.

“A lot of stuff in here is family memories,” Henry said. “I’m so thankful we moved here when I was a child, to remember how it was. I wouldn’t change it for the world.” 

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2018

What’s insi

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ERVICE John Elliso n dedicates himself to his comm unity

PROUD TO PRINT THIS YEAR’S PROFILE 2018.

A specia of Shelby Co l publication unty Newspa pers, Inc.

w w w.public ationspress.com 884 Lagoon Commercial Boulevard | Montgomery, AL | 334.244.0436

RAILS LESS TRAVELED Transportation is faster and more efficient today than it has ever been in Shelby County, but let us not forget the blood line that once connected our communities. Many of our small towns came to be because of the railroad, and railroads enabled young Alabama to join the Union in 1819. In homage to these railroads that once were our country’s backbone, we present the Rails of Shelby County.

Photos by Keith McCoy Profile 2018

WILSONVILLE 43

LEEDS

WILSONVILLE 44

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During Alabama railroad’s “Golden Age” around the 1920s the state was home to more than 5,000 miles of trackage, although today that number has been reduced to around 3,300. The state of Alabama has few tunnels. One of the state’s tunnels is near Talladega, and is one of two tunnels located just north of Leeds in Shelby County.

COLUMBIANA

CALERA

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HARPERSVILLE

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Railroads in Alabama have been operating since the early 1830s and the state later became an important source of rail traffic in later years due to its many natural resources.

Alabama ranks in the middle of the pack when you compare our state to others based on overall mileage of rails still in operation.

STERRETT 46

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WILTON

John

Samaniego Sheriff

ARKWRIGHT

www.johnsamaniego.com facebook.com/ john.samaniego.for.shelbycountysheriff @john_samaniego

ARKWRIGHT Profile 2018

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While Alabama railroads do not include very many passenger trains, Amtrak currently operates one train in the state with stops at Anniston, Birmingham and Tuscaloosa along Norfolk Southern’s main line through the state.

WILSONVILLE 48

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HELENA

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STERRETT

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‘STILL

THE SAME MATT’ 52

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DEPUTY REMAINS

UPBEAT AFTER TRAGIC MOTORCYCLE CRASH

BY NEAL WAGNER PHOTOS BY KEITH MCCOY

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s his Harley Davidson motorcycle collided with the side of the vehicle, off-duty Shelby County Sheriff ’s Office deputy Matt Smith unfortunately remembered every detail as he was thrown through the air onto the rough asphalt of U.S. 280.

Just a few seconds earlier, Smith watched in slow motion as the vehicle driven by a 19-year-old girl pulled onto 280 from Chelsea Park Drive as he came to the sudden realization his life would not be the same from this point forward.

“It was right there by the clock tower. I had about a tenth of a second to decide what to do,” Smith said as he recalled the April 18, 2017, event with vivid clarity.

“I started to lay the bike down, but there wasn’t enough distance to get it all the way down.”

Smith’s Harley smashed into the car at 8:01 p.m. as he felt a tremendous pain in his left leg. After sliding about 200 feet on U.S. 280, Smith came to a rest and immediately knew his leg injury was severe.

“It basically severed my left leg several inches above my ankle. It felt like an explosion,” Smith said. “I don’t mean to get too graphic, but it was only hanging on by a few tendons. When I slid on Highway 280, the bone was actually dragging on the pavement. I was wearing full protective gear, so my leg was really my only injury.

“I didn’t black out or go into shock, which meant I could feel everything,” Smith added.

What had begun as a simple trip to a friend’s house to put on a new set of handlebars and make some changes to the motorcycle’s speedometer had turned

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“They understand our local approach and are focused on impacting our community, which has fostered a great banking relationship.”

- Andy Virciglio Piggly Wiggly Stores

WE’RE PROUD TO SERVE SHELBY COUNTY! 21290 HWY 25 | COLUMBIANA | 205.670.9720 | BRYANTBANK.COM

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Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division deputy Matt Smith, right, works with deputy Jones on a case.

into an event similar to the hundreds of calls Smith had responded to during his 14 years in law enforcement.

‘SHE WAS LIKE AN ANGEL’ Some of the first people on the scene following the collision helped by calling 911 and alerting other drivers on the road, but others inadvertently did more harm than good.

“There were some young people on the scene who saw my leg and were screaming ‘Oh, man,’” Smith said, 54

mimicking the bystanders’ reactions. “When you’re lying there in the road and you hear that … it doesn’t help.”

But one person on the scene was different.

In a circumstance Smith said he will forever attribute to divine intervention, Grandview trauma nurse Myers Hurtt happened to be passing by shortly after the accident.

Hurtt, who was traveling on U.S. 280 on the way back from her daughter’s softball game, saw the crash scene and noticed first responders had not yet arrived Profile 2018

to handle the situation.

“It was a bigger impact than I thought when I first got out of my car,” Hurtt said. “It was pretty bad. Being a trauma nurse, I’ve seen some bad ones, but that was the first time I had ever been the first one on the scene. His sock was pretty much the only thing holding his leg on.”

Despite her surprise at the severity of Smith’s injury, Hurtt did everything she could to keep Smith from seeing it.

“I did my best to keep him calm. My main concern was just keeping him focused on me and not letting him see his leg,” Hurtt said. “I tried to keep him stationary and tried to keep his leg elevated.”

While still trying to process what he had just been through, Smith said Hurtt was exactly who he needed.

At the time, Smith did not know Hurtt’s name, only she was “wearing something pink.”

“She positioned my body where I couldn’t really see my leg. She made things so much better,” Smith said.

“She was like an angel, and I can’t imagine what would have happened if she wouldn’t have been there.”

Located in Shelby County since 1981 www.processbarron.com

A BROTHER IN NEED Every time an SCSO deputy, whether they’re on duty or not, is injured, the department’s administrative staff gets a page. Whenever he receives such a page, SCSO Chief Deputy Chris George knows it isn’t good.

“I hate to say this, but my first thought was ‘Is he alive?’” George said. “I put my uniform on, and when I got there, I think I actually jumped the curb with my car.”

While he was relieved to see Smith still alive, George knew his fellow law enforcement officer had a rough road ahead. Knowing this, George, Shelby County Sheriff John Samaniego and SCSO Chaplain Mike DeHart stayed by his side as he was transported to UAB Hospital.

Once Smith was at UAB, the medical staff presented him with a choice: Either have a portion of his leg amputated or undergo a series of nine or 10 surgeries without a guarantee his leg could be saved.

“It’s hard to think rationally when you’re in that much pain,” Smith said. “But I knew my best bet was to amputate.”

“You didn’t hesitate for a second. You said ‘Cut it off,’ just like that,” George said to Smith.

Smith underwent three surgeries the first six days he was in the hospital to stabilize the amputation before he was released from UAB after a nine-day stay.

On May 24, just days before he was set to be fitted for a prosthetic leg, Smith returned to the hospital, where medical staff determined the wound wasn’t healing properly. Doctors discovered his leg had become Profile 2018

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In addition to visiting him in the hospital, Chelsea’s infected, and had to conduct another surgery to keep residents took it upon themselves to establish a Smith from losing the rest of his leg.

Gofundme.com account to raise money to help the After undergoing his fourth surgery, Smith had to wait another couple of months before he could be fitted Smith family adjust to Matt’s injury. In only a few days, the account had surpassed its original goal of $1,000, for a prosthetic. and in a few months, it had topped $10,000.

While Smith was facing the gamut of hardships, “People I didn’t even know were donating,” Smith George and Samaniego removed one potential worry said. “I would have had a much worse time mentally from his life. without the community’s support.”

“The sheriff came in Local builder Jack Donovan, who the day after my crash and specializes in designing homes for said ‘It doesn’t matter how individuals with disabilities, collected long it takes, you will still material donations and made several have a job when you get renovations to the master bathroom through this. We are going in Smith’s house to make it more to leave your patrol car in easily accessible by wheelchair. your driveway to show you The congregation of Morningstar we haven’t forgotten about United Methodist Church, of which you,’” Smith said.

Smith was not even a member, took Every day he was in the —Matt Smith up offerings for several weeks to help hospital, fellow deputies Smith and his family. from his shift and SCSO administrative staff members In talking with others who have lost a limb, Smith said came to visit him. he has yet to find anyone with as much support he has “The Sheriff ’s Office was behind me 100 percent,” received.

Smith said.

“I would have had

a much worse time mentally without the community’s support. ”

COMMUNITY OF CARE Smith’s hospital room was filled with more than just his coworkers, family members and friends. In some cases, Smith didn’t even know the visitors.

“I can’t tell you how many people came to the hospital to see me after they heard what happened,” Smith said, noting he particularly had high support from Chelsea residents. “Sometimes, it was just someone I had met once at the gas station. The support they gave me was overwhelming.”

RECONNECTING While the community’s support meant the world to Smith and his family while he was recovering, something bigger helped him maintain a positive spirit.

“I’d call myself a Christian. I’ve always believed in Jesus, and he has taken care of me in my 14 years in law enforcement,” Smith said. “I would say my faith in Jesus Christ has been huge throughout everything.”

Two months after the accident, coincidence – or possibly a higher power – brought Smith face-to-face

JOURNEY OF RECOVERY APRIL 18, 2017 Matt Smith’s motorcycle collides with a vehicle near the intersection of Chelsea Park Drive and U.S. 280.

APRIL 27, 2017 After undergoing 10 surgeries to amputate a portion of his left leg, Smith is released from UAB Hospital.

MAY 24, 2017 On May 24, just days before he was set to be fitted for a prosthetic leg, Smith returns to the hospital, where medical staff determine the wound isn’t healing properly. Doctors

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discover his leg has become infected, and have to conduct another surgery to keep Smith from losing the rest of his leg.

JUNE 2017 A chance encounter at Let’s Play off U.S. 280 brings Smith and his wife face-to-face with Myers Hurtt, the woman who provided him emergency medical care on the side of the road following the motorcycle crash.

JULY 2017 Smith returns to light duty, working in the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Investigation Division.

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with the person who possibly saved his life on April 18.

While Smith and his family were at Let’s Play off U.S. 280, a woman walked up to him and asked if he was Matt Smith. She then identified herself as Myers Hurtt.

“It was really emotional. My wife and I both gave her a hug,” Smith said. “In our eyes, she was a real-life angel.”

“I wasn’t sure it was him, but I remembered his eyes and his shaved head,” Hurtt said. “When I asked if he was Matt Smith, he just kind of lost it.”

Since then, the Smith family has remained in touch with Hurtt. While she said she was happy to help, she shies away from the spotlight.

“I don’t see myself that way,” Hurtt said of Smith calling her an angel. “I just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Some higher power put me right there where I needed to be, and I just did what I was trained to do.”

MOVING FORWARD Smith was eager to return to duty at the Sheriff ’s Office. When he showed up to begin light duty in the department’s Criminal Investigation Division in July, he hadn’t even received his prosthetic leg yet.

Now, Smith is eyeing a return to the department’s

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Shelby County Sheriff’s Office deputy Matt Smith works the desk with the department’s Criminal Investigation Division in November 2017. Smith, who lost a portion of his left leg in an April 2017 motorcycle crash, is eyeing a return to the SCSO patrol division, where he was before the crash.

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Deputy Matt Smith returned to work at the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office only a few months after he lost a portion of his left leg in a motorcycle accident on U.S. 280.

patrol division, where he was before the accident.

“I want to go back to the road to prove I can go back. I want to prove that this is not a disability for me.

It’s just a minor setback,” Smith said. “All the things I wanted to do before the accident, like skydiving and snowboarding, I’m still planning to do. I’m still the same Matt, I just have a prosthetic leg.”

He has begun running and working out again, like he and his wife did before the accident, and he is now training to run a half-marathon followed by a marathon later.

“If I can do that (half-marathon), the goal is to move on to a marathon after that,” Smith said. “That is going to be a huge challenge.”

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While Smith has not decided if he will ever ride a motorcycle again, he is sure about one thing: Forgiveness. In late 2017, Smith was awaiting the finalization of the insurance claims preventing him from reaching out to the young driver who pulled out in front of him.

“Once that’s all over, I want to reach out to the girl who hit me and tell her that, if she’s still upset about it, not to worry about it. I honestly believe it was an honest mistake, and as time passes, you realize it’s not the end of the world.

“There’s no reason for me to stay angry,” Smith added. “God has forgiven me, and I have definitely forgiven her.”  Profile 2018

‘I NVESTED IN THIS ’ Lina Evans committed to making positive difference as Shelby County’s newest coroner

BY EMILY SPARACINO PHOTOS BY KEITH MCCOY AND CONTRIBUTED

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or some people, childhood dreams lead to adult careers. Maybe they follow in a parent’s footsteps or simply choose a career path that aligns with their interests. But for people like Shelby County Coroner Lina Evans, her career choices have had less to do with dreams and more to do with purpose after personal tragedy.

At 6:15 a.m. on Christmas Eve in 1998, Evans received a phone call that her 26-year-old brother Dane had died of a drug overdose.

Overcome with denial, she and her parents drove to Dane’s home to make sure it was true.

“He was found laid back on the bed, still with his clothes on from the previous night,” Lina, 45, said. “My dad was relentless in finding out every detail from the previous 24 hours. He found out everything.”

Dane’s lethal overdose was the endpoint of a treacherous trail of drug use he had kept under wraps for a long time. What started as taking prescription pain pills for knee pain turned into a full-blown addiction for Dane, who, like many people struggling with addiction, didn’t appear to be the type of person who would be caught up in the shady underworld of drug deals and substance abuse. He was a land surveyor and owned a karate studio, where he stressed the importance of children developing valuable life skills and a sense of pride in themselves.

“We knew he was taking pain meds for his knee that he really hurt in a karate competition,” Lina said. “He thought just by rest and icing and taking his time, it would heal, but unfortunately it did not.”

Dane refused to have the knee surgery he needed and instead relied on prescription medication to ameliorate the chronic pain.

“It just escalated,” Lina said. “That amount (of medication) he was taking didn’t do the trick. We knew he was taking more. What we didn’t know is it had shifted. He was taking OxyContin. Back then, it was strictly for terminally ill cancer patients.”

He also started taking Xanax, an anxiety medication that shouldn’t be mixed with other drugs. “We found out he was injecting it … he was crushing it … and that’s how he died.”

Lina saw how Dane’s death affected her family, particularly her parents, and Dane’s friends and students. She saw how people reacted to the news, and realized she wanted someday to be in a position in which she could help people during traumatic situations, especially those involving a family member’s death.

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“I always wanted to make a difference; that’s why I went into nursing,” Lina said. “I saw how families were communicated with. You get down on their level and make it a little easier to understand.

“Parents need someone to be in contact with. They need details.”

HER PATH AND PURPOSE

Association of Forensic Nurses, worked in medical research at UAB for more than 17 years and performed assault exams at Safe Shelby Center.

She is in the process of becoming a Board Certified Fellow with ABMDI, and would be the only person in Alabama with that distinction. “I’m very happy for that,” she said.

New said “there is nobody who cares more” about doing her job well than Evans.

“There’s nobody else more qualified than Lina,” she said.

“She cares about the county, she cares about teaching her deputies and getting more schooling for everybody, including herself.”

Evans was chief deputy coroner when New was coroner.

Like the other deputies, Evans had the compassion necessary for handling sensitive situations on the job. When New made the decision to step down as coroner for health reasons, she knew the office would be in good hands with Evans leading.

“She’s worked very, very hard these last couple of years just to help me along,” New said. “She’s like an angel to me because she’s been so helpful. She cares about the people, the families. She’ll be a lifetime friend to me, more like a sister to me. I’ll be her biggest fan.”

Hailing from a family of land surveyors, Lina departed from the norm as she started college, initially setting her sights on forensic pathology. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biology and criminal justice from the University of South Alabama in 2000. In 2008, she earned an associate’s degree in registered nursing from Jefferson State Community College, followed by a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2010.

She earned a master’s degree in forensic science from UAB in 2017.

She still works in medical research at UAB. Dr. Jeffrey Kerby, professor and director of UAB’s Division of Acute Care Surgery in the Department of Surgery, has worked with Lina for 15 years and described her as dedicated and conscientious, someone who always performs at an exceptional level in her multiple roles in the division, and a team player.

“She has many skillsets and will do what is Lina’s brother, Dane, is a big necessary to complete the job,” Kerby said. reason she wanted to become “Great people person and patient, skillful a nurse, and then, coroner.

When Dane died of a drug educator.” overdose in 1998, Lina and She has written numerous papers and published pieces in scientific journals, worked at her family were on the receiving end of the notification Children’s of Alabama part-time as a nurse and served as Shelby County’s chief deputy coroner process. for seven years. This spring, following former county coroner Diana New’s resignation, Shelby County Probate Judge Jim Fuhrmeister appointed Lina as county coroner on a temporary basis, pending an official appointment from Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey. In late July, Ivey appointed Lina as New’s permanent replacement.

“I believe that the coroner and all its members serve as the eyes, ears and hands of the forensic pathologists in the field,” Evans wrote in a letter addressed to County Manager Alex Dudchock and the Shelby County Commission. “In my role as chief deputy coroner, I have a great understanding of the role and responsibilities of the coroner’s office as well as strong working relationships with the current staff. I believe that this experience provides the county with greatest stability and continuity during the remainder of Diana’s term.”

In the letter, Lina wrote that she has obtained certification as a death investigator through the American Board of Medicolegal Death Investigators, is a member of the International Coroner and Medical Examiners Association and the International 64

NO TYPICAL DAYS

Lina and her four deputy coroners, including one chief deputy coroner, have call days with 12-hour rotations. No two days are exactly the same, and Lina knows her schedule can change at a moment’s notice.

“You never know what’s going to happen, and when you think you’ve seen it all, it’s just something completely surprising to you,” Lina said. “There’s never just an average day.”

One of Lina’s main goals as coroner is to remain available to the families she or one of her deputy coroners has had to notify of a loved one’s death for as long as they need them.

“It’s an ongoing process with us,” she said. “A lot of families don’t know what to do when someone dies. For something sudden to happen, you’re kind of lost, and you don’t know what to do. We like to help them with that. We know that’s the worst time.”

Lina and her staff don’t take their duties lightly.

“All our deputy coroners know, when we go and talk to somebody, we know we’re bringing the worst news to them, and we’re going to forever change their life. Have empathy, have sympathy, but still do your job. Give families the correct and vital information.”

The Shelby County Coroner’s Office averages about 540 cases a year, 15 percent of which result in autopsy. Five percent of the cases are related to overdose; 7-8 percent are suicides; 1-2 percent are homicides; and 65 percent are natural deaths at Profile 2018

Although stress is an inevitable result of her job as coroner, Evans remains focused on her goal to help people through difficult circumstances. She sometimes receives notes and cards from decedents’ family members thanking her for her help and professionalism.

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home.

Lina said a common misconception is that every death results in an autopsy, but the state doesn’t have enough money to cover autopsies for every death. In addition, the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences is down to one lab to handle toxicology results, including those for Shelby County, which can sometimes create a five- to six-month delay with results, she said.

“I know that’s frustrating for families,” Lina said. “I feel so bad for families that have to wait. I wish we had more money to help that situation with Alabama.”

According to the ADFS website, the Toxicology Discipline “provides assistance to local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies in Alabama in death and criminal investigations. This assistance includes laboratory analyses of biological specimens for the presence of drugs and poisons. The findings of these analyses may then be used to establish cause and manner of death or to establish or explain impairment or performance of an individual pursuant to criminal activity.”

The Shelby County Coroner’s Office is notified of any death in the county 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is responsible for investigating the cause and manner of death. The office works with local law enforcement officers in criminal death cases.

“We don’t go and badger the witness or get the suspect in,” Lina said of her office. “That is something seen on TV. The police are responsible for investigating who committed the crime. In Shelby County, we have some great police officers and great police chiefs. We’re lucky here in Shelby County.”

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Overdose cases hit close to home with Lina because of her brother’s death. She knows the denial that will grip some parents when they are told their seemingly healthy son or daughter with a bright future has overdosed on drugs.

“When I go out to a call with someone who has overdosed, I remember getting the phone call,” she said. “Parents have gotten really angry at me for saying, ‘This is a drug overdose.’

I really hate it. These aren’t bad people; these are honest, everyday people. It’s your family, your friends, your neighbors.”

As coroner, Lina has outreach opportunities to talk to local students and parents about drug overdoses, substance abuse, drunk driving and other issues that appear in the county’s death cases. As of October 2017, Lina’s office had processed 25 drug overdose deaths, and expected the year-end total to be higher than the previous year.

“The interesting thing we’re seeing is less prescription overdoses, so I believe doctors and prescribers are listening when we say, ‘Slow down the opioids,’” she said.

“Unfortunately, now, it’s turned to heroin, cocaine, and every case has Xanax.”

Lina emphasized her office’s willingness to point people toward help for drug addiction, mental illness and other problems when they ask for it.

“We’re here all the time if anybody has any questions at any time,” she said. “We are always here to get you in contact with the person you need to contact. In a lot of our cases, people feel like they’re in despair or alone. Nobody in this world should ever feel alone. You can always ask for help.”

PERSONAL INTEREST IN HELPING In Shelby County, a coroner is elected every four years, and in 2018, the position will be on voters’ ballots. When asked if she plans to run this year, Lina’s response was a firm “absolutely.”

“I am invested in this,” she said.

Earlier this year, she applied for a grant with the Department of Justice to get the Shelby County Coroner’s Office accredited, meaning it would follow national protocols regarding autopsies, paperwork and training for coroners and deputy coroners.

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“Lina is extremely hard-working and dedicated to getting the job done right,” Kerby said. “She will work tirelessly to serve her community and will represent them with utmost professionalism if elected.”

On a daily level, Lina wants her team to be as experienced as possible in properly handling different situations with decedents and their family members. She knows the contact her office has with families will stick with them for a long time after their loved ones’ deaths. Sometimes, families call or send cards to thank the staff for helping them through such a difficult time.

“As the coroner’s office, we send out condolence cards as well,” she said. “We’re there for the decedent, but we’re there for the family too.”

Lina admits the work can be emotionally draining, but she recognizes when she or one of her deputy coroners needs to take a step back and regroup. For her, home is a good place to go for rejuvenation. Lina, her husband, Chris, her stepson and Lina’s mother recently moved to a farm in Montevallo, where they have various animals.

“We’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” Lina said.

“You’ve got to have a happy place.”

Lina and Chris met in 2010 and were married two years ago.

Chris’s description of Lina as one of the hardest-working people he knows isn’t surprising considering how many responsibilities she juggles so efficiently day in and day out.

“She’s just a very driven person to get things done,” Chris said. “She works three different jobs, where most people would struggle to take one of them.”

In addition to her work, Lina is involved in her community and church, he added.

“She’s taken on a lot of care with the opioid addiction that’s going on in the country and the county. She has personal interest in that,” Chris said. “Also, she’s extremely bright. I haven’t come in contact with too many people that are always trying to learn and improve.”

Chris said the people of Shelby County are well-served with Lina as coroner.

“I was really proud of her when she moved into the role as coroner,” he said. “I don’t think the county would have anybody that would better serve them than her.” 

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HUMANIZING

THE BADGE RACHEL IVEY OFFERS HER TIME AND TALENTS TO CHILDREN IN CHELSEA

BY BRIANA HARRIS PHOTOS BY KEITH MCCOY AND DAWN HARRISON

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or Shelby County Sheriff ’s Office Deputy Rachel Ivey, helping children is something that is probably ingrained in her DNA. “I can honestly say that I’ve always been involved with something to do with helping kids,” she said.

Perhaps it’s being born the oldest of four children that’s made her a natural caretaker. Ivey, who was born in Birmingham but grew up mostly in Oregon, has lived and volunteered her time and talents in the Chelsea community since 2000.

In the years since she’s been a part of the community, she’s managed to make a sizeable impact in the lives of several children. In the summer of 2016 she founded A Minor Film School, which teaches children how to make films using smart phones and tablets.

She uses her photography skills to provide high school students at Chelsea’s Kings Home with memorable senior year portraits and she’s responsible for providing headshots of casts and crews for Chelsea High School’s theatre department.

Ivey said she has such a heart for children because in her experiences they are the ones with the least amount of control over their life circumstances.

“If a child comes from a rough family life, they suffer although they don’t have much control over what’s happening to them,” she said.

But Ivey isn’t looking for any type of recognition or a pat on the back for her good deeds. In fact, she would be perfectly happy if no one knew all she did to make a positive impact in the lives of Chelsea’s youth.

Through her work with children, Ivey hopes to humanize law enforcement in the eyes of youth.

HELPING AT-RISK YOUTH About three years ago, when her daughter was graduating from high school, Ivey reached out to Kings Home in Chelsea.

Kings Home offers a variety of services to at-risk youth, including a group home for girls and boys ages 8-21. Katheria Edwards, Kings Home executive director of youth programs, said 95 percent of the children living in the group homes are under the supervision of the Department of Human Resources.

“These are children who have been removed from a parent or guardian’s home due to a variety of abuse,” Edwards said.

Ivey offered to use her photography skills to take senior portraits for any interested senior. Since the spring of 2009, she has also taken cast and crew headshots for Chelsea High School’s theatre department. She started helping the theatre department when her oldest son participated in the program and just continued after he graduated.

The first year she offered to take photos for kids at Kings Home, not many students took her up on the offer, but as the years have gone by more and more students have participated.

“It occurred to me that these kids need to know that people care about them,” Ivey said. “It seemed like we were getting more calls out there to referee situations, so I wanted to reach out to them.”

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Rachel Ivey’s A Minor Film School utilizes tablets and smart phones to shoot and edit films.

During 2017, Ivey photographed 12 seniors and provided them with graduation announcements.

“Every kid deserves to feel special around that time, and I just want to provide them with memorable experiences they might not have otherwise,” Ivey said. “And then one day I was going through and cleaning out my daughter’s closet and found some of her old prom dresses. I put out a call on the Chelsea community page on Facebook to see if anyone else had any old dresses, shoes or jewelry they wanted to donate and I got a lot of responses.”

Ivey collected about a dozen prom dresses for girls at Kings Home.

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“When our youths see people in the community offering their help, it helps them start to trust others more,” Edwards said. “When people offer their time to do nice things for them, it makes them feel good about themselves and boosts their self esteem. These kids go to public schools and they see other kids with things that they don’t have and it sometimes makes them feel less than.”

Edwards said things like having a nice prom dress and taking senior portraits helps children in foster care feel like they can be normal and have the life that kids who aren’t in foster care have.

“It gives them a sense of, ‘I can’ – ‘I can be what I dream Profile 2018

of being and I can be loved,’” Edwards said. “She also lets us know about job and volunteer opportunities that the kids can apply for and that helps them get out of the house and do things that other kids their age are doing.”

Edwards said DHR is trying to remove the stigma associated with foster care and Ivey’s generosity aids in that effort.

OTHER CHARITABLE PROJECTS

COMBATING TEENAGE DRUG USE Ivey’s heart for children coupled with being a sheriff ’s deputy made her a perfect candidate for Compact 2020.

She is working with Compact 2020 to identify Chelsea teens who are using or might be at risk for drug use.

Compact 2020 is a countywide effort that started in July 2016 with the goal of rehabilitating and keeping track of drug court participants, but over time the organization realized that the problem often starts in adolescents.

The focus of the organization then shifted to investigating drug use among teens, but a drug court team still exists. Through investigations, Compact 2020 identifies teens who are using drugs and reaches out to their parents to give them an opportunity to address the problem first.

Compact 2020 equips parents with resources to help their child, such as informing them of suitable rehabilitation

In addition to helping children, Ivey also provides free services to various charitable organizations in the city. She’s working with the Citizen Observer Patrol (COP) to make promotional videos that showcase the different ways they serve the Chelsea community.

The COP helps with traffic at football games, schools and the city’s Christmas parade. Ivey is also planning to produce a series of videos for the COP that offer safety tips to residents.

During the summer, Ivey shoots videos and interviews vendors at the Chelsea Farmers Market. The videos are posted to the farmers market Facebook page to help get the word out about products being offered.

At the beginning of 2018, Ivey began producing promotional videos for Fire at the Foothills BBQ and Chili Cook-off, which is set to take place April 21 at Chelsea City Hall. Profits from the event benefit Chelsea Kiwanis and Chelsea Fire and Rescue.

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of 8-year-old Vivian, who is tasked with saving the world from an invasion of rubber ducks from outer space.

Samuelson co-directed the film with another student.

Ivey and her husband of 25 years wrote the script, with input from Samuelson, and then held open casting calls to A MINOR FILM SCHOOL fill movie roles.

About 50 percent of the movie was shot outside during The summer of 2016 was the inaugural year for Ivey’s one of the hottest times of the year. The film is 11:21, filmmaking school for kids. The course was birthed from the need for a young adult program at the Chelsea Library. including credits and outtakes.

“It was a lot of hard work,” Samuelson said.

Ivey said about 12 kids attend the monthly “It was a lot harder than we thought it classes. would be. We were all very tired by Instead of having parents purchase the end of it, but it was rewarding.” expensive film equipment, Ivey Samuelson said being a part decided to teach kids how to of Ivey’s filmmaking school has make films using their tablets instilled a desire to become and smartphones. a director/filmmaker and an “If they have an iPhone actor. or a tablet they can do it,” About 95 percent of the children living at “It’s really helped me find she said. “They just need Kings Home are under my purpose in filmmaking. someone to show them how the supervision of the Department of Human I like how she teaches to do it. I’m not bringing in Resources. and she’s very hands-on,” anything too expensive. We Samuelson. “We get to work use things found at home in a lot in class but it’s fun work their garage and I try to locate and we learn a lot. I don’t think I any free apps that they can use.” would’ve discovered my passion for During the summer of 2017, filmmaking if not for Mrs. Ivey’s classes.” students acted in and directed a short Ivey said she’s never been interested film called “Alien Ducks.” in making a profit from the opportunities she offers to In the summer of 2016, film school students submitted 30-90 second long movie trailers to a film festival hosted by children.

“My passion has always been kids,” she said. “I’m Ivey. The trailer for “Alien Ducks,” created by 12-year-old interested in things that support kids in any way, shape Betsy Samuelson, won best action trailer and fan favorite, or form. I do what I do because I believe that if you see and was subsequently the inspiration for the short film. something that needs to be done, you do it. We should all Samuelson was inspired by an alien-looking rubber duck be doing something useful with our time.”  she won from a claw machine. The film follows the story programs. The hope is that the teen can be helped before the problem escalates to the point of law enforcement getting involved.

95%

LEFT: Rachel Ivey demonstrates a cinematic lighting technique with her film school students on Nov. 18, 2017. RIGHT: Rachel Ivey has been a deputy with the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office since 2004.

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RULES PLAYING BY THE

MARK LOLLAR SPREADS WISDOM, HOT DOGS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY

BY AMALIA KORTRIGHT PHOTOS BY KEITH MCCOY

R

ules are a part of everyday life. Almost every situation or occasion comes with a set of written or unwritten guidelines.

Calera resident Mark Lollar has spent his life compiling a list of 12 rules. As the sole owner and operator of the Great American Hot Dog Stand, Mark can be found making and serving hot dogs and socializing with locals in Calera and Columbiana on weekdays. Mark said his list of rules serves as a guideline for how he handles his business, family matters and life in general.

Mark is not native to Shelby County. He originally grew up in Walker and Blount Counties before enlisting in the military immediately after graduating from high school in the 1980s.

“I graduated from high school and the next day, my dad dropped me off at the hotel and then the day after that, I got on a bus,” Mark said.

As a young man living in Birmingham in the 1990s, Mark said he lost his way for a while. He referred to his permanent address at the time as his tag number, meaning that he was living out of his car at one point.

“Well, I didn’t really have a drinking problem. I had a problem with drinking. I drank fine, and I drank a lot of it all the time. The problem was what happened and the bad decisions that ensued from drinking a lot,” Mark said.

Mark attributed much of his alcohol problems to his leaving the military and having to return to civilian life.

“The ‘why’ is fairly complex. I look back now, and I think most of it was stupidity. I think I had some trouble adjusting to regular life,” Mark said. “I think that I just didn’t know who I

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Since he started selling hot dogs in 2016, Mark has become well known throughout South Shelby County and typically draws in a large crowd.

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was and probably didn’t understand how to deal with reality very well.”

It wasn’t until he met his wife that Mark said he finally began to realize that the rules applied to him.

Through “the love of a good woman,” Mark said he was finally able to make it to where he is today.

“At first, she was just a means to an end, but I realized one day that this person really does love me and care for me,” Mark said. “I had already been married previously and divorced. I thought, ‘This gal really does love me and care about me, maybe I should not throw this opportunity away.’”

After he and his wife married in 1995, Mark took a job at a company in Chilton County and moved to Jemison. After Mark’s second child was born, the family relocated to Calera in September 2001.

“We needed a house that was a little bit bigger, and at that time, there were a bunch of slab houses that were for sale,” Mark said. “Against all odds, (my wife and I) are still together.”

COOKING UP A NAME FOR HIMSELF

QUICK FACTS  Calera resident Mark Lollar first attempted to start his own hot dog stand about seven years ago, but was met with numerous challenges from the local health department.  Since then, Lollar has regularly set up his cart in Calera and Columbiana on weekdays and at other special events. On certain days, Mark serves specialty hot dogs, including the “El Paso Dog” and the “Pizza Dog.”  Mark created a list of rules that apply to both his business practices and his personal life. There are 12 rules, which are numbered from one through 32.  Many of Mark’s rules encourage maintaining a relationship with God, respecting others and staying resilient.

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Mark wasn’t always known as the “hot dog guy” in Shelby County. In fact, Mark said he was just a regular guy until he made his second attempt at opening a hot dog stand about a year ago.

Mark first tried to open a hot dog stand about seven years ago after losing his job.

“I was out of work. I had a really good job being a consultant, and then the company started going under and I got fired. I needed a job, and I was like, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do,’” Mark said. “I was surfing the Internet and I came across this guy who was talking about building your own hot dog cart and making a boat load of money.

I liked hot dogs, and I cooked hot dogs all the time at home, so I thought, ‘Why don’t I cook hot dogs and sell them to people?’”

Unfortunately, Mark said he had to give up at his first attempt after facing challenge after challenge from the local health department.

“Ultimately, I spent about a thousand dollars and just couldn’t get licensed. It was just one hoop to jump through one hoop after another, so I went and got a real job,” Mark said.

In spring of 2016, Mark decided to give the hot dog business another go after he was going through a job change.

This time, Mark said he was determined to start and run the hot dog stand, regardless of any logistical issues that stood in his way.

“I said, ‘To heck with it, we’re going to make it work, regardless,’” Mark said. “Even if they were hostile, this time, I wasn’t going to give up. I had done enough due diligence and enough studying that I knew that we could be successful.”

ONE THROUGH 32 While he has spent his life learning about why they’re necessary, Mark said he didn’t start keeping an actual list of rules until recently. He came up with some of the rules by himself. Others, he said, he stole from outside sources, like the movie, “Zombieland.”

There are a total of 12 rules, which are numbered between one and 32. Several of the numbers are left blank to enable future growth, Mark said.

“The rules apply to every aspect of life, whether you’re in business or whether you’re doing something else,” Mark said. “That’s the beauty of the rules, they’re designed to work in all situations that you find yourself in.”

The rules are as follows: Rule number one: “God’s always God, talk to Him.” “Keeping God number one in my life has seemed to work out better for me than not,” Mark said.

“When I didn’t, things were pretty bad. I had no rules, and I really didn’t have any morals. I was just a wild freakin’ animal.” Rule number two: “Don’t mess with Pawpaw.”

“Are you lucky enough to have a grandfather?

Then you’d understand what I’m talking about,” Mark said. “Everyone who’s got a Pawpaw or seen someone else’s Pawpaw understands not to mess with Pawpaw.” Rule number three: “Make something happen.”

“Apathy and inaction is not an excuse,” Mark said. “Don’t say, ‘Well, I don’t know how,’ Open up YouTube. There’s a YouTube video on literally how to do anything. Just think about it.” Rule number four: “Act like you’ve been there before.”

“I was a young redneck kid in the military working for a big general. I was a little bit couth, but not much. We went to a fancy restaurant, like $150 a head fancy. There were five bajillion bowls and knives and everything. I had to get with somebody and get the rundown on all that. While we didn’t sit Profile 2018

Great American Hot Dog Stand owner and founder Mark Lollar can often be found in selling hot dogs and socializing with customers in Calera or Columbiana on weekdays.

at the table with the bigwigs, we were at the table next door. I didn’t want to look like an idiot, so we just walked in, sat down and acted like this was normal. It just puts you at ease,” Mark said. “The first day I sold hot dogs, I acted like I had been selling hot dogs for five years.” Rule number five: “Be smarter than the stuff you’re fooling with.”

“If you’re going to be doing something, you need to figure out how to do it. There might be some benefit in learning as you go, but with some things, there’s a certain way you need to do them,” Mark said. Rule number six: “Read your Bible every day.”

“I don’t have to refer to six, because six just happens,” Mark said. Rule number seven: “Love everybody.”

“I happen to believe in the New Testament, and Jesus said to love everybody,” Mark said. “One thing I’m not down with is being bipolar about that stuff. He said it. I feel like He meant it, so we need to do it.” Rule number eight: “Sometimes, a person just needs a good butt whooping.”

“Sometimes, rule number seven just doesn’t work. I want to try to love everybody and I’m going to go a long way with that.

I hope that rule eight does not come to be, but because I’ve also lived a lot of life, rule eight exists,” Mark said. Rule number nine: “Men don’t whine.”

“There’s no sense in whining about stuff,” Mark said. “Refer back to rule number three.” Rule number 10, Mark said, is to never do anything Profile 2018

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One of the special features of the Great American Hot Dog Stand is the “cheese blanket.”

inappropriate at work. Rule number 15: “Don’t mess around with a woman if she ain’t yours.” Rule 32, which Mark said was stolen from “Zombieland,” is to enjoy the little things in life.

(NOT) FOLLOWING HIS DREAMS Mark does not describe himself as a dreamer. Other than supporting his family, Mark said he really has no lifelong dreams.

“With somebody that gets out and just chases a dream, it doesn’t ever seem to turn out good. You’ll end up in a weird country covered in llama hair and dying of altitude sickness,” Mark said.

Instead, Mark said his rules have taught him about practicality, resilience finding a balance between finding his passions and accentuating his own strengths.

Hot dogs aren’t necessarily Mark’s passion, he said, but they give him an avenue to pursue what he really wants to do: providing food and connecting with others.

“Have we been successful? Heck yeah, I think we have,” Mark said. “Can we do more? Absolutely, and I think we will. I get to come and do this. I don’t wake up every morning and think, ‘I’ve got to come and do this.’ There’s a difference between ‘get to’ and ‘got to.’” 

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playing for three hearts CEDRIC TOOSON PLAYS FOR MORE THAN HIMSELF

BY ALEC ETHEREDGE PHOTOS BY DAWN HARRISON, KEITH MCCOY AND CONTRIBUTED

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Cedric and defensive line coach Jason Hamlin work on a math study guide. Hamlin is not just his coach, but Cedric’s math teacher and mentor.

A

year and two weeks after losing his mother to cancer, Cedric Tooson woke up on the morning of Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, a little later than usual.

His first thought after rolling out of bed, throwing on his clothes as quick as possible and hustling to get ready was how upset his dad was going to be that he was running late to football practice.

Instead, his dad was calm and asked Cedric to come over and give him a hug, which confused him, making Cedric think his dad must have misheard him when he said he was late to practice.

Cedric’s father then continued his calm demeanor telling his son to give him a hug before saying “act like

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you love me.” Both laughed at that crazy statement because they couldn’t have loved each other more, and then, after sharing that laugh, they embraced in each other’s arms before heading off to practice.

Cedric didn’t know at the time that it would be the last time he ever hugged his father.

THE LOSSES OF A LIFETIME Just a year and two weeks earlier on Oct. 23, 2014, Cedric lost his mother, Tionne Tooson, to cancer. It was something that was a heartbreaking shock to not just Cedric, but his dad, Steven Tooson, as well as his older brother and two younger sisters.

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The reason for the sudden shock of the situation was the disease hadn’t been prevalent at all. So little so that the family didn’t find out until the day she passed away that she even had cancer.

“She talked to my dad and just told him early that day that he needed to be prepared to take care of us by hisself,” Cedric said. “Then that night, I remember her asking me something. She asked me for a piece of candy or something and that’s the last thing I really remember before she passed away. It’s something that makes me smile every time I think about it.”

It was a tough loss for Cedric for many reasons, but it’s something that has helped push his high school football career with a burning passion because she was such a big support system that believed he could go as far as he wanted to.

“Right before she passed, we had a conversation,” Cedric said. “We just talked about how I could make it in football. She just felt like I could do whatever I wanted to, so when I feel like I can’t push anymore, I just think about her.”

It was a difficult loss for the entire family, but caused Steven to have to take over the responsibility of all four kids by himself.

Over the next year, Steven did just about everything he could to make sure life was as comfortable for his kids

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how he kept pushing and fighting for me, my brother as possible, trying to do extra work to earn money, and my sisters after my mom passed, so I felt like ‘I’m which Cedric said set a good example for himself as the man of the house now and I have to set the right he learned how to be the man of the house. example.’”

Later that Veterans Day night on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015, after Cedric had run late for practice THE AFTERMATH and gone through his day at school, another tragedy struck the family.

With his dad being his biggest role model and his As Steven left church that night, he came to a mom believing in his talent, hard four-way stop at the intersection work and dedication to the game of 11th Court North and Center of football, Cedric knew it was Street when a police officer came only right to use the game that he flying over the hill between 60 had been playing since the age of and 90 miles per hour.

5 as a way to honor his parents.

The officer was responding “Football taught me so much to a domestic violence call when about life and I wouldn’t have his car collided with Steven’s gotten into it without my dad’s car where he and his passenger influence,” Cedric said. “It’s became trapped inside. always been something I’ve loved “The person he was with said to do ever since my dad showed all she could feel after they were interest into the sport. hit was my dad trying to cover “He’s my role model and I want her up,” Cedric said. “Once he to be just like him, plus he put in tried to cover her up, he was so much time to the game for me unprotected not wearing his seat so it’s only right for me to keep belt. She said after the crash all Stephanie Tooson is Cedric’s younger the dream alive.” she knew was she was on top of sister and a member of the Spain Park Cedric and his siblings moved in him and he started coughing up Lady Jags’ junior varsity basketball with his grandparents after losing blood.” team as a freshman. both parents in the timespan of Steven Tooson was pronounced a year and while he still felt he dead at the scene of the accident, needed to be the man of the house, Cedric was glad while the female passenger and officer ended up to be around the love and support of his grandparents being okay.

Cedric still somehow managed to make it to school Pinkney “Buddy” Tooson Jr. and Jannette Tooson.

“They’ve pretty much took on the role of being our that next day because he wanted to play football for parents,” Cedric said. “Without them and my uncle, Gardendale in the team’s playoff game that Friday I really don’t know where our family would be right night saying that’s what his parents would have now. wanted. He said it didn’t really hit him until the “Most people after a scenario like the one we funeral that next week. went through; their whole family would split up. I’m “It was really hard to process,” Cedric said. “I saw

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Cedric in the light blue shirt, in a picture with his older brother and younger sisters as well as his late parents Steven and Tionne Tooson.

TIMELINE 2014 On Oct. 23, 2014, Cedric’s tough journey began when his mom passed away in her sleep due to complications from cancer.

2016 During the summer of 2016, Cedric moved to Hoover to live with his grandparents Pinkney “Buddy” Tooson and Janette Tooson.

2016 In that first year as a sophomore, Cedric was named to the All-County Honorable Mention Defense in December of 2016 for his unbelievable effort

2015 On Nov. 11, 2015, Cedric’s dad Steven Tooson passed away in a car accident when a police officer struck his car at a fast rate of speed at an intersection in Birmingham.

2016 Cedric started playing for the Jaguars’ varsity football team in August of 2016 as a sophomore.

2017 It took just one more year for Cedric to improve on that list as he was named to the All-County First Team Defense in December of 2017 after a strong junior season.

so lucky to still be with my family because my grandparents and uncle made sure me, my brother and sisters stayed together.”

Cedric said he learned so much in watching his father handle the household without his mother, and felt as if he had to grow up faster than most teenagers; but said his grandparents’ life experience has been a major support system.

“There are a lot of things that I don’t know yet,” Cedric said.

“Me and my older brother have only been through 17 and 19 years of life. My grandparents are 77 and 73, so they have so much more experience.

“It would be really hard for me and my brother to have to teach two girls how to grow up,” Cedric said with a chuckle.

The transition of moving in with their grandparents meant a move from Gardendale to the Hoover area where Cedric joined the Spain Park Jaguars’ football program heading into his sophomore year of high school.

“He’s just such a special person,” Spain Park head coach Shawn Raney said. “His story is an unbelievable one and one that deserves to be heard and told. It shows the character he has and the obstacles he has had to overcome.”

Raney and others at the school helped Cedric feel right at home immediately.

“Spain Park took me in with open arms and it’s really a brotherhood here,” Cedric said. “I feel like a part of an actual family. All of the coaches and players are here for me and have my back if I ever need anything.”

THE MENTOR A lineman on the Jaguars’ defensive unit, Cedric has been impacted by several mentors since the passing of his parents such as former linemen Damon Wright and Douglas Henze as well as his grandparents and uncle, Pinkney Tooson II—brother of Steven.

But there is one guy who Cedric referred to as much more than a mentor, but more like a father figure—his defensive line coach Jason Hamlin.

“When I first got here, coach Hamlin came up to me and said ‘I hope you’re ready to come home,’” Cedric said. “I was confused at first, but then he said ‘Eventually, you’re going to be with me on the defensive line.’”

A few weeks later Raney came up to him and asked how he felt about playing defensive end. As a linebacker at Gardendale, that’s where Cedric wanted to play, but he knew he had to do what was best for the team, which kick started his tight-knit relationship with Hamlin.

“To be honest, he’s just really like my dad,” Cedric said praising his position coach. “I feel like he’s exactly like my dad. I know I can talk to him about anything and he’ll always help me if I need it.

He’s my dad now, pretty much.”

Hamlin said his uncle, brought him to practice during the summer of 2016 before his sophomore season and it took one day of summer workouts before Hamlin and Raney realized they had something special.

“He’s an outstanding young man,” Hamlin said. “He’s the rare

one. Every kid in his situation would have a reason to be done with everything. He doesn’t use that as a crutch, which is just amazing.”

Cedric, now a junior at Spain Park, and Hamlin have formed a close relationship on the football field, but as his math teacher and a friend, they’ve become much more than just coach and player.

“He’ll call me or text me whenever he has something on his mind,” Hamlin said. “He’s also in my study hall every day.

Sometimes for help with math and other times to just hang out and talk football.”

While Hamlin said he coaches because he loves the game and helping kids, he never imagined a player seeing him as a father figure.

“I’m speechless,” Hamlin said choking up. “If he sees me as a father figure then I guess I’m doing a decent job. I’ll break my back to help him or anybody on the team so they can have the opportunity to get what they deserve. I could probably do more, but I’ll always be there to help him out.”

THE FUTURE With the past set, Cedric is focused on the future saying he knows God has done everything for a reason and he still has something special planned for the rest of his life.

His goals are lofty, but Cedric hopes to one day play football for the Alabama Crimson Tide and couldn’t dream of anything better than playing professionally for the Pittsburg Steelers.

Cedric often goes to Hamlin to talk about life or football, or to get help with math homework.

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LEFT: Cedric gets a hand in the facemask while powering through the blocker to get to the ball carrier. RIGHT: Cedric joined the Spain Park football program for his sophomore season and has taken off since then.

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“I always want to be around the best competition,” Cedric said. “You should have to grind and compete for your spot because if you’re not, you’re not going to get any better. You might be a five star in high school, but once you go to a place like Alabama, you’re at the bottom of the totem pole. I feel like that would be such a humbling experience.”

Cedric said he’ll always go back to one of those last moments with his mom where they shared a conversation about her belief in Cedric doing whatever he puts his mind to.

Though she is gone, Cedric said she is still with him, pushing him to be his greatest every day and she

will never leave as a part of her heart will always be with him.

His dad, who gave up so much to support Cedric’s passion for football and to support the family as a single father, also left part of his heart with Cedric.

Every time he steps foot onto the 120-by-40-yard football field, Cedric has three hearts beating inside of him and giving him a burning desire to please all.

“A lot of people in this world don’t get to meet their parents at all,” Cedric said. “I got the blessing of mine for 14 and 15 years of my life. Who am I to complain about it when there are a lot that don’t get that privilege.” 

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Profile 2018

PASSION TO

SERVE Pelham athletic director works to make program succeed

By Emily Reed | Photos by Keith McCoy

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Kiel with the Pelham High School girls basketball team before a game in January at the Pelham High School gym.

K

im Kiel is dedicated to making Pelham athletics the best they can be, a task she considers a privilege to do.

“When I wake up every single morning, I truly love coming to work,” Kiel, a Helena resident, said. “I truly bleed green and gold and love Pelham athletics so much. I don’t have a hobby; Pelham is my hobby.”

Kiel has been involved with Pelham athletics for 20 years where she was the head girls’ basketball coach, the head girls’ volleyball coach, assistant softball coach and assistant athletic director.

In 2014, Kiel was named the director of athletics for Pelham City Schools, and she also serves as athletic director for Pelham High School.

In 2017, Kiel became the president of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches 94

Association.

During her time as president, Kiel leads officers of the AHSADCA and more than 13,000 members statewide in many activities and projects that help benefit athletes, coaches and athletic programs.

“This is a role that I have been blessed to serve in,” Kiel said. “I believe it has helped and will continue to help make Pelham athletics better, because it allows me to network with people across the state. It will allow me to take Pelham to a whole new level.”

Kiel said outside of her parents, who she describes as “wonderful,” it was being involved in athletics early on that taught her lifelong skills that she now uses in her day-to-day career.

“After graduating from college, I hoped I would have an opportunity to teach and model those skills to young people to hopefully impact their life in a Profile 2018

positive way,” Kiel said.

Kiel played basketball and softball while attending Northview High School in Dothan. She earned basketball scholarships to Faulkner State Community College and the University of North Alabama, where she left UNA to accept a student assistant position with the women’s basketball program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

After one year, Kiel was promoted to graduate assistant coach and promoted to a full-time assistant for two years prior to coming to Pelham.

“There was a time where I did not think I would ever become a teacher or a coach,” Kiel said. “I honestly always dreamed of becoming an FBI agent, which was something I thought I really wanted to do.

It wasn’t until I had experience in college athletics that I decided I wanted to stay around athletics, and that was where I wanted to be able to find a way to give back and serve student athletes.”

While Kiel is quick to shine the spotlight off of herself to the coaches and staff, and student athletes within Pelham athletics, it is her day-to-day dedication to her job that helps the program succeed.

“Kim works closely with each coach to help to motivate and improve us positively,” said Pelham Middle School coach Polly Jones. “She communicates the importance of strong programs from youth to high school. She also makes sure that coaches have the guidance and means to run our programs at the highest levels. Kim has worked with our rec leagues to get time in the gyms for our Pelham youth, which also helps our middle school teams. It is important to know that she cares as much as we coaches do. She proves this by being present and involved at games, practices

In 2017, Kiel became the president of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association.

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Kiel chats with high school student Katie Strozier in the hallway between classes. Kim gives shooting pointers to Haley Gogan before a girls’ basketball game at PHS. Kiel’s office is filled with picture frames and media clippings of past athletes.

Kiel and PHS principal Amanda Wilbanks meet regularly.

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and meetings, and she is always our ‘biggest fan.’”

Tom Causey, head football coach for Pelham High School, said Kiel is always looking for ways to promote, grow and raise standards for the school’s programs.

“I was an AD for 15 years before coming to Pelham so I know the responsibility of the position,” Causey said. “Kiel does a fantastic job of taking care of those responsibilities and making our jobs much easier on a daily basis, as well as our long-term jobs.”

While Kiel does not take credit for organizing athletes to participate in honoring fallen soldiers buried at the Alabama National Cemetery in

Montevallo with Wreaths Across America, Kiel said she considers it an honor to be involved.

“It is such a great way to serve our community,” Kiel said. “We have done this now for three years, and I have been so proud of our student athletes. It makes my heart smile that we are teaching our kids to serve.”

Although no two days are ever the same for Kiel, and her daily activities encompass a multitude of projects, she is fiercely committed to helping coaches and student athletes be successful.

“I learn from the coaches and students each and every day,” Kiel said. “I am a lifelong learner, and my passion is to serve.”  Profile 2018

Children’s of Alabama is ... l The third largest pediatric hospital in the United States l Licensed for 332 beds & 48 NICU bassinets l The first LEED-certified hospital building in Alabama l One of the Top 20 employers in Alabama with more than 4,700 employees across the state l The pediatric teaching hospital for the School of Medicine at UAB l Home to the Pediatric & Congenital Heart Center of Alabama, where more than 450 cardiac surgeries are performed annually l Site of the only pediatric kidney dialysis program in the state — one of the largest in the country l Home to one of the largest burn units in the Southeast l One of the largest pediatric rheumatology programs in the nation and the only one in Alabama l Provides care for more than 90 percent of Alabama children with cancer and blood disorders

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