Homewood Star April 2015

The Homewood StarVolume 5 | Issue 1 | April 2015

Sponsors ...................A2City .............................A4Business ....................A6Community ...............A8School House ...........A18Sports .......................B8 Calendar ................. B13Opinion .................... B15

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neighborly news & entertainment for Homewood

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Graphos family rallies behind fight against MSBy MADOLINE MARKHAM

Walk MS shirts and photos adorn the walls at Sam’s Super Samwiches, and for good reason. Owner Sam Gra-phos and his wife, Sue, have organized Walk MS fund-raising teams for the past 20 years, since their daughter Suzanne’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis at age 20. In 2011 they found out their son, Ted, then 41, was also diagnosed with the disease.

Altogether, the Sam’s Super Samwiches team has raised more than $400,000 for MS research. In 2014, their 52-member team brought in more than $26,516 for Walk MS: Birmingham; of that amount, Sue and Sam personally raised $18,991.

“I wish I didn’t have to do it,” Sue said. “I wish I had never heard of MS. But that’s what we do.”

Four times, the Graphoses have attended the Tour of

By OLIVER MORRISON

The furor that swept Homewood over an electronic billboard in March seemed to catch everyone off guard. Hundreds of residents protested the 672-square-foot digital billboard that was erected at the intersection of Lakeshore Drive and Green Springs Highway. They picketed, signed petitions and boycotted

businesses that advertised with New Point Digital, the billboard company.

But then, almost as quickly as the billboard went up, the company agreed to find a new location. The company and city have identified a new spot in Homewood farther away from homes. They are waiting to make sure the new location satisfies all legal requirements before making its new location public.

But the skirmish did not come as a surprise to a few residents, and if the Jefferson County Commission doesn’t take action, similar land fights could break out again.

Local activists raise their voicesWhen New Point Digital selected the BP gas

Beacon or blight?

Digital billboard goes up and is coming down on Lakeshore

Homewood residents protest the billboard that was installed at BP at the corner of Green Springs Highway and Lakeshore Drive. Photos by Dan Starnes.

Find tips for your home this spring from area business owners in our guide to all things home and garden.

See page B1

See page A14

Award winner

Home Guide

Learn who you voted as this year’s Community Member of the Year and how she is making a difference in the lives around her.

See BILLBOARD | page A22

See WALK MS | page A21Sam and Sue Graphos, who own Sam’s Super Samwiches, form Walk MS teams each year. Photo by Karim Shamsi-Basha.

When the blustery cold turned to perfect-day sun-shine, my schedule also went into spring mode. All of a sudden, the quiet nights and slow week-ends gave way to going and doing until late at night (amen to light after 5 p.m.!) and Saturdays and Sundays packed full of events. Goodbye sleet-day movie marathon season and hello get-out-side-and-live-life season.

To assist you in all this spring sched-ule planning, we have put together a

play-by-play of the what, when and where for April events in this issue. Put some on the calendar, but make sure you save some space to go play at Homewood Park or Patriot Park with your family too.

Part of my spring craze was due to how much our papers have been grow-ing recently. We reached a record-breaking 268

pages this month between The Home-wood Star and its four sister papers. We are grateful for the community support

that allows us to say that Over the Moun-tain print journalism is indeed growing and thriving (and online journalism too — make sure you are subscribed to our daily newsletter on thehomewoodstar.com homepage).

As always, please reach out with any feedback or story ideas you have. You can reach me at [email protected].

Hope to see you at We Love Home-wood Day! It’s coming up on May 2.

About Us

Please Support our Community Partners

Editor’s Note By Madoline Markham

30A Realty (A9)Adventure Travel (A7)Alabama Allergy & Asthma Center (B8)Alabama Gaslight & Grill (A20)Alabama Outdoors (A22)Alabama Pediatric Dentistry (A6)Alabama Power (A15)ARC Realty (B1)Batts’ Chimney Services (A28)Bedzzz Express (B16) Birmingham Botanical Gardens (A5)Birmingham Museum of Art (A24)Birmingham Speech and Hearing Associates (A6)Bloom (B13)Breakaway Books - Red Dirt (B15)Brookdale Place University Park (A11)California Closets (A21)Christopher Glenn (B7)Classic Gardens (B3)Construx (B2)Escape (A15)Fi-Plan Partners (A8)Gina G. Falletta, State Farm (B10)Granite Transformations (B7)Homewood Arts Council (A18)Homewood Chamber of Commerce (A11)Homewood Family and Cosmetic Dentistry (A4)Homewood Parks and Rec (B12)Homewood Toy & Hobby (B11)Hoover Title Mart (B14)InSight Eye Group (B8)Issis & Sons (B5)Joe Falconer (A5)Johnny Montgomery Realtor (A21)Junior League of Birmingham (A20)Kelli Gunnells Realtor (B10)Klinglers Cafe & Catering (A10)Korduroy Krocodile (B10)LIST Birmingham (A12, A13)Mary House Kessler, Ph.D (A7)Morningside at Riverchase (A17)Mountain Brook Art Association (A23)One Stop Promotions, LLC (A9)Oxmoor Valley Orthodontics (B14)Planet Fitness (B9) RealtySouth Marketing (A19)Red Mountain Theatre Company (A10)Salem’s Diner (A19)Sew Sheri Designsm (B3)St. Peter’s Anglican Church (A7)Stead & Fuller Insurance (A18)Sweet Peas Garden Shop (B4) Taylor Burton Company (B6) The Maids (A20)The Whole Dog Market (A23)UAB Division of Geriatrics and Gerentology (A22)Urban Home Market (A3)Vitalogy Wellness Center (A21, B11) Water Drainage Solutions (A7)Weigh To Wellness (A17)Wolf Camera (A1, B15)

The Homewood Star

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Contact Information:The Homewood Star#3 Office Park Circle, Suite 316Birmingham, AL [email protected]

Please submit all articles, information and photos to: [email protected]. Box 530341Birmingham, AL 35253

Dan StarnesKeith McCoyMadoline MarkhamDavid KnoxKatie TurpenJessa PeaseSydney CromwellRoy L. WilliamsMadison MillerKarim Shamsi-BashaEmily VanderMeyMatthew AllenRhonda SmithWarren CaldwellDon HarrisMichelle Salem HaynesLouisa JeffriesLauren DentonOliver MorrisonHomewood Star LLC

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Meet our new staff membersDon HarrisMarketing ConsultantDon Harris, a graduate of LSU, has been in the newspaper advertising busi-ness since 1981, working in sales and management at Shreveport Times, The Town Talk and most recently 14 years at The Birmingham News-Alabama Media Group. His specialty is working with small to medium businesses and tailoring creative and ad targeting to give them the most for their advertising dollars.

Roy L. WilliamsCommunity Reporter Roy L. Williams spent nearly 23 years as a reporter for The Birmingham News covering personal finance, business, tourism and Birmingham City Hall. Since 2013, he has been the host of Biz Talk With Roy Williams on WAGG Heaven 610 AM, and he is the author of 911, God Help Us: A Journalist’s Tale of Faith, a memoir about his faith walk after his oldest brother was killed in the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon.

The Homewood StarA2 • April 2015

TheHomewoodStar.com April 2015 • A3

Dear friends and neighbors, I wanted to take a moment

to thank a very special group who did a tremendous job a couple of weeks ago. Park Board Director Berkley Squires and his team hosted a huge basketball tourna-ment in Homewood. Prior to the new Recreational Center being built, this was never a good option because of space needed to host such a large event. The event hosted 103 teams playing a total of 93 games over the weekend. There were more than 1,200 participants that brought around 3,500 fans into Homewood who otherwise would not have been here.

Events like this are great for our hotels and restaurants and certainly add revenue to our budget. The accolades the city received from visitors over the weekend were tremendous, and everyone had a great time. This was the first time the city bid for the Alabama Recreation and Parks Association State Basketball Championship, and because of our new facilities, we will have many opportunities to host others and show off our wonderful city.

From time to time, we have groups come to City Hall to take a tour. Not long ago we hosted All Saints Cub Scout Pack 297, and I really enjoyed getting to meet the young men and some of the parents. We have previously hosted many other wonderful troops and packs located throughout the city.

Tours of City Hall traditionally include the Mayor’s Office, Council Chambers, the Finance Department and the City Clerk’s Office. I’m

always surprised at some of the really good questions the boys have, and we take the opportu-nity to talk about government and community service.

I explain how our city govern-ment operates, how many people it takes to provide service to our residents and businesses, and how the voting process works from a city council perspective. I also talk about how important it is to be good stewards of others’ money and how much it helps our city when people purchase goods

and services here in Homewood. Hopefully, the young men find the tour to be a great civic lesson about just how important it is to give back to our community. If you help coordinate groups within the city, consider calling JJ Bischoff, my chief of staff, to schedule an appointment with your children. His number is 332-6112.

And finally, I want to thank you for allowing me to serve. Whether it’s simply giving a tour of city hall, visiting the schools and talking to classes, or negotiating terms that are beneficial to our city, I’m always reminded just how fortunate I am to be involved. I’m always so proud of our city, our res-idents, our churches and our businesses. We have been blessed beyond our wildest dreams in Home-wood, and I know our best days are yet to come!

Sincerely, Scott McBrayerMayorCity of Homewood

City

Mayor’s Minute


By SYDNEY CROMWELL

Business before the Homewood City Council on Feb. 23 included:

}} Adding $2,500 to the Art Council’s budget to fund the hosting of the Community Gallery grand opening on June 18.

}} Approving the rezoning of 301 Goodwin Crest Drive and 55 and 65 Bagby Drive from Commercial Office to General Business District. The vacant office buildings located on those properties are under contract with a new owner, who plans to turn them into a storage facility.

}} Approval of a fence ordinance variation for the Islamic Academy of Alabama at 1810 25th Court South, with final approval from the Department of Engineering.

}} Amendments to the 2014-2015

budget’s general and special revenue funds were approved.

}} The mayor was approved to make changes to the city’s agreement with Alerus to allow partial payment distribution to retired city employees, instead of full payments only.

}} The finance committee was also asked to consider authorizing the mayor to make an agreement with a new employment assistance program.

}} The public safety committee was asked to consider adding a stop sign at the Venetian Way-Parkside Circle-Parkside Court intersection.

}} Consideration of adding three streetlights to Forest Brook Drive, for a total cost of $28.50 per month, was also sent to the public safety committee.

Council to fund gallery

Homewood has been named to a list of Best Communities for Music Edu-cation for the tenth year. It is one of only two communities in the state to receive the honor.

The BCME survey is a nationwide search for communities whose pro-grams exemplify a strong commitment to music education.

Participants receiving the Best

Communities designation answered detailed questions about funding, graduation requirements, music class participation, instruction time, facil-ities, support for the music program and other relevant factors in their com-munities’ music education programs. The responses were verified with dis-trict officials and advisory organiza-tions reviewed the data.

Top ranking for music education

By SYDNEY CROMWELL

Applause and shouts of “Go Blaz-ers!” filled City Hall Feb. 23 as the city council unanimously passed a res-olution supporting the reinstatement of UAB football, bowling and rifle teams.

Council President Bruce Limbaugh read the resolution at the beginning of the meeting, calling on the UAB pres-ident and trustees to reconsider their December decision to shut down the teams. Homewood is the latest of sev-eral municipalities, including Vestavia Hills, to pass such a resolution.

After the meeting, Limbaugh said Homewood was slower to pass this resolution because council members felt it was important that such a deci-sion be unanimous. Support for UAB was divided at first, and it took several conversations to come to a unanimous conclusion.

As a group decked in green and gold gathered with the council mem-bers for photos, Limbaugh noted that two 2014 Homewood High School graduates, Zach Sims and Mark Allen Rawls, had been on UAB’s football team. Out of the large amount of cit-izen feedback he received, Limbaugh said one resident’s statement was espe-cially powerful.

“He said, ‘I’m a graduate and I feel like UAB students should have the complete college experience,’” Limbaugh said. “I thought that was compelling.”

Council members and city officials pose with a member of the former

UAB football team and a copy of the resolution supporting the

team’s reinstatement. Photo by Sydney Cromwell.

Council passes pro-UAB football resolution


City renames streetBy MADISON MILLER

The Homewood City Council voted 8-0 to change the name of 1st Avenue West to Montes-sori Way at its meeting on March 16.

The request was made by Creative Montes-sori School, located at 1650 28th Court. Council members Britt Thames and Walter Jones said this change is part of the school’s effort to become more of a focal point in the community.

“A lot of people don’t know it’s there and it’s really a jewel in Homewood,” Jones said.

The council also heard a request from the

Special Issues Committee to review the city’s current sign ordinance for possible amendments. The ordinance was added in October with an expiration date of April of this year.At the meeting the council also:

} Approved a request for consideration of a no parking sign at the intersection of the alley adjacent to 101 East Edgewood Drive and East Edgewood Drive.

} Set a public hearing on March 23 for consid-eration to review changes to Zoning Book and referral to the Planning & Development Committee.

} Accepted a bid for Fire Department uniforms. } Approved a request for consideration of an additional street light at or near 505 Devon Drive.

} Approved a request for consideration from the Fire Department to declare equipment as surplus property.

} Approved a request for consideration of authorizing Mayor Scott McBrayer to exe-cute on behalf of the city the commercial lease agreement between Hamilton Mortgage Corporation and the city regarding a portion of the third floor of the City Hall building.

} Approved a request for consideration of an ABC-020-Restaurant Retail Liquor License application for Hart and Soul Coffee Com-pany located at 1014 Oxmoor Road.

} Approved a request for consideration of a res-olution authorizing payment of invoices for the period Feb. 23 through March 13.

} Approved a request for American Behav-ioral to become the new employee assistance provider.

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News and Accomplishments

TekLinks, 201 Summit Parkway, has been named to the 2015 CRN

Managed Service Provider 500 list and is a member of the “Elite 150” portion of this list, recognizing the nation’s top data center-focused companies.314-6600, teklinks.com

Seeds Coffee Company, 174 Oxmoor Road, was awarded second

place in the America’s Best Coffeehouse Competition at Coffee Fest Atlanta. The competition is a team-based event in which shop owners simulate a coffee house experience.259-6405, seedscoffee.com

Homewood Toy & Hobby, 2830 18th Street South, has announced

new business hours. They are now open Monday through Friday, 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m.,

and Saturday, 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.879-3986, homewoodtoy-hobby.com

Hirings and Promotions

Allstate agent Jimmy Moore, 921 Oxmoor Road, has been named a fi eld

sales leader in Alabama by Allstate Insurance Company.913-7673, allstate.com

AnniversariesHunter’s Cleaners, 1915 Oxmoor Road, is celebrating its 15th

anniversary this spring.871-6131, hunterscleaners.com

ClosingsGarden Shop of Homewood, 307 Oxmoor Road, has closed after nearly

15 years in business.

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Business news

Email [email protected]

to share?Now OpenComing SoonRelocationExpansionAnniversary

If you are in a brick and mortar business in Homewood and want to share your event with the community, let us know.

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WaterDrainageSolutions.com

» French Drains» Surface Drains

» Downspout Systems» Dry Creek Bed Designs

“When it rains,we drain!”

Community

Raleigh Avenue Baptist Church is holding a yard sale this month to help care for orphans and rescued slaves.

The sale will be held Satur-day, April 25, from 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. All proceeds will go to Help One Now, a non-profit organization that has an arm in Birmingham.

The organization works with churches, businesses, communities and individuals

from around the world to help end extreme poverty, to care for orphans, to rescue slaves, and to see communities trans-formed through its interna-tional partners. It facilitates child sponsorships, donations and advocacy for the vulnera-ble and more.

The church is located at 309 Raleigh Ave. To learn more about Help One Now, visit helponenow.org.

Raleigh Avenue yard sale to benefit Help One Now

Kids participate in last year’s Edgewood Spring Festival.

Edgewood Spring Festival set for April 25Edgewood Elementary School will host its Spring

Festival, the school’s only fundraiser, on Saturday, April 25. The event will be held on the school grounds from 2-6 p.m.

The festival features inflatables and carnival rides for all ages, games and prizes, and festival food. A silent auction featuring artwork, trips, and packages featuring merchandise and gift cards from local businesses will be held in the school gym from 2-5 p.m. A live auction featuring exceptional items will begin at 5 p.m.

Tickets and armbands will be available for purchase on the day of the festival. All proceeds go directly back into Edgewood’s classrooms and benefit teachers and students.

For more information, contact Melanie Lewis at [email protected].

Area residents sample food and enjoy festivities at last year’s Food Truck Round Up.

Food trucks to gather at Brookwood for PreSchool Partners event

Food trucks around Birmingham will reconvene at Brookwood Village on Sat-urday, May 2 for the fourth annual Food Truck Round Up.

The Round Up, sponsored by Protec-tive Life, will benefit PreSchool Partners, which prepares at-risk preschool children and their parents for kindergarten in Bir-mingham City Schools. The event will fea-ture live music, gourmet food, a bounce house, face painting and an art show with works from local artists and PreSchool Partners students.

The organization is hoping to beat the $62,000 raised and 1,000 attendees from last year. Some of the beverage companies featured will be Good People Brewery and Supreme Beverage.

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door and are available at preschool-part-ners.org. Kids under 10 get in free. Tickets include four tokens redeemable at any food trucks or beverage stations. The event will be held from 11 a.m.-2 p.m. in the upper Macy’s parking lot.


Gardens’ Plant Sale moves to Brookwood

By HANNAH JONES

The Birmingham Botanical Gardens is moving its annual Spring Plant Sale from the Botanical Gardens to Brookwood Village this year. The event will be held April 10-12.

The event will feature more than 100,000 plants for sale. Last year it attracted more than 7,000 people last year.

“[The] Spring Plant Sale is the largest annual plant sale fundraiser for Birmingham Botanical Gardens,” said Blake Ells, public relations coor-dinator for the Botanical Gardens. “Shoppers at the sale can take advantage of expert planting

advice from our volunteers [who] have raised and nurtured the plants they will be purchasing.”

The public sale will be held Friday from 9 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Admission to the public sale is free.

A Preview Party will also be held Thursday, April 9 from 5-6:30 p.m. along with a Mem-bers-Only sale from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Tickets are $45 in advance or $50 at the door.

For more information about the Spring Plant Sale or to purchase tickets to the Preview Party, call 414-3950 or visit bbgardens.org/springplantsale.

The public can peruse more than 100,000 plants available for sale during the Spring Plant Sale April 10-12. Photo courtesy of Birmingham Botanical Gardens.

Homewood City Schools is inviting 2015-2016 kindergarten students and their parents to a Kindergarten Preview day at its elementary schools.

At the event, parents will be introduced to school procedures and meet with administrators while future students visit kindergarten teachers and their classrooms.

} Shades Cahaba Elementary School: April 30, 4-6 p.m. Registration packets

for incoming kindergarten students will be available at the school offi ce on May 1.

} Hall-Kent Elementary School: April 30, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Registration packets for incoming kindergarten students will be available at the school offi ce on May 1.

} Edgewood Elementary School: May 5, 4-5 p.m. Registration packets for incoming kindergarten students will be available at the school offi ce on May 5.

Homewood Schools to host kindergarten preview days

Assistance League to feature cabaret programAssistance League of Birmingham will hold

Sunset and Song, an evening of music starring Lonnie Parson and his friends, Kristi Tingle Higginbothom and Jan Hunter. The cabaret evening is scheduled for April 23 at 5:30 p.m.

Cocktails, heavy hors d’oeuvres, live and silent auctions will take place at the roof-top garden and lounge in the historic Kress Building at 301 19th Street North, with the

performance downstairs in the Red Mountain Theater Cabaret.

The evening will benefi t Alabama seniors and the youth through the philanthropic programs of Assistance League of Birmingham: PrimeTime Treasures, Operation School Bell and Operation Literacy. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 870-5555 or visit assistanceleague-bhm.org.


Alex Gulas stands behind the counter at the former Dino’s Hotdogs restaurant. This image, taken in the 1990s, hung inside his restaurant for years and has been submitted for Homewood Arts Council’s photo contest. Photo courtesy of Andrew Tyson.

Community art gallery to be installed at City Hall, showcase local photosBy MADOLINE MARKHAM

Come summertime, Homewood City Hall will be home to a new art gallery.

“The idea of the community gallery is to have one central location in Homewood to highlight and showcase Homewood’s artists, whether it’s an individual’s art or an organization or within a school system,” Homewood Arts Council member Caroline Hubbard said. “It also gives us an oppor-tunity to bring in other artists and talent in the surrounding areas into Homewood.”

The gallery will span along the back wall of the fi rst fl oor of City Hall and will have 18 spaces for artwork. Exhibits will rotate in and out of the space regularly.

The opening exhibit will be focused on Home-wood, of course. Winners of the council’s Faces, Places and Traces of Homewood photo contest will be framed and on display along with historic

photos provided by Jake Collins, who is writing a pictorial history of the city that will be released at the end of the year. All entries will also be on display in smaller prints.

Hubbard encourages residents of all ages to turn in submissions. You don’t have to be a pro-fessional photographer to enter, she said.

“It’s fun to have community involvement in the fi rst exhibit,” Hubbard said. “It’s a celebration of Homewood.”

Entries for the photo contest are being accepted though May 8. The contest is looking for unique images of Homewood that fi t in one of three cat-egories: people, places and things (i.e. traces). Entries for the contest will be adjudicated to select fi rst, second and third-place winners of each cate-gory as well as a Best of Show winner.

The gallery will hold its grand opening June 18 from 6-8 p.m. and will feature food, drinks and music.

For more information on the photo contest or the gallery, email [email protected]. The council also invites those

interested in showcasing art to contact them for submission guidelines.

Relay for Life returns April 24Homewood’s annual Relay for Life fund-

raiser will be held on Friday, April 24 at Home-wood Central Park from 4-11 p.m.

Participating teams of 10 to 25 people raise money for cancer research and support pro-grams, and team members take turns running or walking laps during the relay. There will also be activities throughout the night to honor cancer survivors and caregivers and remember those who lost the fi ght. This includes a free dinner for survivors, the Survivors’ Lap and the Luminaria

Ceremony, in which candles are lit in memory of past cancer patients and support for those who currently have cancer. There will also be family events for all ages, such as a wing eating contest and a cornhole tournament.

Participants who raise more than $100 will receive a Relay for Life T-shirt. Sign up at relayforlife.org/homewoodal to create or join a team, walk as an individual or participate in the Survivors’ Lap.

Survivors and team members gather at Homewood Central Park to celebrate Relay for Life. Photo courtesy of Christina Zabala.


Purchase tickets at RedMountainTheatre.org or by calling 205-324-2424.

at the Red Mountain Theatre Company Cabaret

Apr. 16–Apr. 19, 2015

BAND Geeks

In the spirit of Glee and High School Musical, comes the hilariousand heartwarming Band Geeks, the triumphant story of high school

misfits fighting to save their beloved Marching Beavers.

Red Mountain Theatre Company Presents

THIS SHOW IS RATED PG

RMTC-143 Band Geeks-Starnes.indd 1 3/13/15 2:05 PM

Area residents participate in last year’s Muscular Dystrophy Walk.

Walk raises funds and awareness for muscular dystrophy

This year’s Muscular Dystrophy Walk will honor adults and children with any of the more than 40 muscle diseases in the Muscular Dystro-phy Association’s program. It will be held at the John Carroll Catholic High School track on Sat-urday, April 11 at 9 a.m.

The walk provides fun and light exercise with kids, friends, parents, grandparents, students, cor-porate teams and more, but most importantly, par-ticipants walk to raise funds to help MDA foster research and provide vital services to families affected by neuromuscular disease.

“Through the MDA Muscle Walk, individuals in the North and Central Alabama area can join forces to raise critical dollars that will make a real differ-ence in the lives of people fighting life-threaten-ing muscle disease in our community,” said MDA

Executive Director Terri Wilson. “We encourage everyone to ask their friends, family, co-workers and neighbors to raise funds and walk as a team to help MDA move toward a world free of the harmful effects of muscle disease.”

Funds raised at the event help support MDA’s programs such as support groups and clinics, including the MDA clinics at Children’s Hospi-tal, The Kirklin Clinic at UAB Hospital and Spain Rehabilitation Center in Birmingham. They also make MDA Summer Camp possible so children with muscle disease can enjoy Camp ASCCA.

Participants can start a team, join a team or indi-vidually walk. For every dollar donated, 77 cents supports MDA’s research, health care services and education programs.

For more information, visit walk.mda.org.

Kayla Perry

Dentist kickball tournament to raise money in honor of Kayla PerryBy MADOLINE MARKHAM

Teams of dentists will compete against each other this month at West Homewood Baseball Fields for a good cause. Ortho-dontist Deborah Sema’s inspiration to plan Kickin’ It for a Cure for April 24 from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. came from a patient of hers, Kayla Perry.

Perry, now a freshman at Auburn Uni-versity, had been diagnosed with neuro-blastoma, a pediatric cancer, and has been working since then to raise money for pedi-atric cancer research through Open Hands, Overflowing Hearts.

“I treated Kayla and her siblings, and she inspired me to do this, to do something more than write a check,” Sema said. “It’s a fun thing for us too. We dentists don’t get together with our staffs and just have fun, and now we get to raise money for chil-dren’s cancer research for Kayla.”

And all proceeds from the tournament are going to Children’s of Alabama in honor of Perry.

Sema is encouraging area residents to watch the teams and buy raffle tickets and T-shirts at the event. Saw’s, Shindig’s, Steel City Pops and Dreamcakes will be coming out to serve food, and the Homewood

JROTC will perform the National Anthem. “We are encouraging the public to come

out buy raffle tickets and shirts and sup-port their dentist or staff member who is playing,” Sema said, noting there will be awards for the best team spirit and for most donations collected.

In addition to Sema, Homewood’s Drs. Deanne Vail and Julie Webb and Dr. Spen-cer Maddox will be participating.

Sema hopes for the event to be an annual one that grows each year.

To learn more about Perry and her efforts, visit openhandsoverflowinghearts.org.


We Love Homewood Day 5K Formerly the Spirit Scamper

Homewood Central Park

Saturday, May 2

7:30 a.m.

$25 fee includes a shirt if registered by April 17

$20 fee for Homewood City Schools students and employees

welovehomewoodday5k.com

By MADOLINE MARKHAM

Lately, Nivada Spurlock has been drawing a lot of parallels between New York City and Homewood. There’s a Manhattan Street, a Broad-way, a SoHo and a Central Park.

A few years ago, she ran the New York City Marathon, which runs over five bridges and through five boroughs, celebrating each section of the city.

“If you think about the city of Homewood, we have that same thing,” Spurlock said. “We have Rosedale, Edgewood, Hollywood, SoHo and West Homewood. Those are our five boroughs.”

Just as the marathon celebrates New York City, she wants the We Love Homewood Day 5K to celebrate Homewood’s diversity and its neigh-borhoods. One day, she hopes to have a race that goes through all five “bor-oughs,” but for its first year it’s start-ing and ending in Homewood Central Park with a route through Edgewood.

The race will be held in place of the Spirit Scamper and for this year will not feature a fun run.

The race shirt will say “I (heart symbol) HWD” just like the iconic shirts that say “I (heart symbol) NYC,” but other parts will be distinctly Homewood. Homewood cheerlead-ers will be at the start of the race and at the finish line. Small ensembles of Homewood High School band mem-bers will play at mile markers, and the Air Force JROTC will man a water stop. Proceeds from the registration

A new name, a new location Spirit Scamper becomes We Love Homewood Day 5K

fee will benefit the Homewood Patriot Band.

All ages can participate, but no dogs are allowed on the course.

“If you want to compete, that’s awesome, but if you have never done a 5K, we want you to do it too, even if you are a walker,” Spurlock said.

The race awards ceremony will

be a part of We Love Homewood Day, at which Homewood Middle School teacher Steve Sills will DJ. Band members are hand-painting ceramic coaster awards provided by Do It Yourself Crafts. Trak Shak is the race’s biggest sponsor and will run the timing for it.

The course will feature a couple

of hills, but nothing like the hill at Homewood High School everyone complained about on the Spirit Scam-per route. The hill on Woodland is the biggest one you’ll face, Spurlock said.

“It’s really a celebration of a city, and we have the option to build the race to be bigger in the future,” Spur-lock said.

Packet pickup for the race is Friday, May 1, from 3-6 p.m. at the Home-wood Rec Center and on Saturday morning from 6:30-7:15 a.m. You can also register for the race at that time for a $35 fee but will not be guaran-teed a shirt.

Area residents participate in last year’s Spirit Scamper. This year the run has changed names to the We Love Homewood Day 5K and moved from Homewood High School to Homewood Central Park. Photo courtesy of Homewood City Schools.


We Love Homewood Day set for May 2

By MADOLINE MARKHAM

This year’s We Love Homewood Day will look slightly different. The Homewood Lions Club will not be holding its annual barbecue sale, but other food vendors will ensure there is plenty to eat. After a year hiatus, the Rotary Club’s Sidewalk Chalk Art Festival will return, and Home-wood Middle School teacher Steve Sills will serve as the DJ at the park during the festivities.

Other festival mainstays will return to Homewood Central Park on May 2 as per usual: rides and inflatables, an arts and crafts and vendor expo, a Rotary Club bake sale, a silent auc-tion and live entertainment.

The day kicks off with the We Love Homewood Day 5K run in the morning. This year the run’s start and finish line are moving to Homewood Central Park. Previously it was held at Homewood High School, which could be hosting state baseball games this year.

Back at the park, a $15 wristband will provide unlimited access to rides, and individual tickets will also be for sale for 50 cents each. This year’s attractions include a Pirate Ship, Swing Ride, Mind Winder, Spider Climb & Slide, Mickey Tod-dler Combo, Monster Truck Combo, Wacky World Combo, Princess Palace Combo and Wrecking Ball Interactive Game.

The climax of the day is the parade

of the high school band, cheerleaders and all kinds of vehicles and floats that proceed from the Homewood Library to Edgewood starting at 6

p.m. A Street Dance will follow in Edgewood with music provided by Bonus Round.

For more on We Love Homewood

Day, visit homewoodparks.com/special-events/we-love-homewood-day or contact Rusty Holley at 332-6705 or rusty.holley@homewoodal.

org. Updates on the event will be announced on Twitter @home-woodparks, on Facebook and on the website.

The carnival rides at Homewood Central Park are popular with children who attend. Photo by Brian Wallace.

We Love Homewood Day Schedule*All events will take place at Homewood Central Park unless otherwise noted.

7:30 a.m. We Love Homewood Day 5K

10 a.m.-5 p.m. Spring in the Park Festival

10 a.m.-1 p.m. Rotary Club Bake Sale

10 a.m.-3 p.m. Arts and Crafts/Vendor Business Expo

10 a.m. Silent Auction

1 p.m. Homewood High School Band Pep Rally/Concert

6 p.m. We Love Homewood Day Parade, route from the library to Edgewood

7-9:30 p.m. We Love Homewood Day Street Dance and Quality of Life Award Presentation, Edgewood Business District


By MADOLINE MARKHAM

Every other Tuesday night, the Excep-tional Foundation turns into a “party with a purpose” for Young Life’s WyldLife pro-gram for Homewood Middle School stu-dents. There are games and a skit, but the last 15 minutes are what Susie Ankenbrandt calls “the meat and heart of the night” for the Christian ministry.

“We really are sharing it from the gospels in their language,” Ankenbrandt said.

Still, most of her time working with the program is spent “sharing life” with the middle school students.

“Kids aren’t going to care about how much I know until they know how much I care about them,” she said. “We know kids

have a lot of other voices speaking into their life with our culture today, and they might not listen to their parents anymore, but they might listen to their Young Life leader. Our kids in Homewood need someone who loves them for who they are.”

Every other Friday morning, a group of almost 30 eighth-graders gather in her Edgewood home for Bible study, and another morning she meets a group of sev-enth-graders at Hart & Soul. If a student needs help, she is ready to give them rides to the doctor or meet other needs.

“Even though I am a middle school Young Life leader, the relationships we make with our kids are for the long haul,” Ankenbrandt said. “Hopefully I will be with them at their weddings.”

Ankenbrandt also builds relationships with students at the school as an assistant track coach. The head coach, Eric Swope, is also on Young Life staff part time and has seen the track program grow tremendously in numbers over the past several years.

“The reason this program has grown so much is because we care about them beyond what they are doing on the track,” Ankenbrandt said. “For us it’s all about loving on them and them being known and encouraged.”

In February, Ankenbrandt and the other Young Life leaders took 65 to a camp called SharpTop Cove, and this summer they will take a group to camp in Florida.

“It’s a place where kids can get away from day in and day out, turn their cell

phones off and hear the gospel at a level that they can understand,” Ankenbrandt said. “We are with them and can process it with them and then go home with them and continue to share life with them.”

Ankenbrandt first encountered Young Life when she was in high school, and it led her to become a Christian. She has worked with the program for 18 years in Birming-ham, getting involved in Homewood after her kids were graduating from Homewood High School. In her mid-40s at the time, she said she was hesitant to work with young girls, but she soon found they don’t care how old you are.

“When you are a kid, you need somebody to walk through life with you,” she said.

Since Ron Pence began leading Homewood’s band 19 years ago, the high school band has grown from 140 members to 375 members, or about 35 percent of the school population (the national average is 8 percent).

“Music is my passion, but people are my biggest passion,” Pence said. “I love being able to take people and see them be a part of something greater

than themselves.”Pence wants all students to experi-

ence music, and under his leadership at both the middle and high school, most Homewood students are. The influence of band starts at the middle school, where about 80 percent of sixth-grad-ers, or about 185 students, are in the band program.

The band program is a direct

reflection of the community, Pence said, and that’s why he is so passion-ate about their trips to away games and to parades such as the Macy’s and the Rose Bowl Parade.

“It’s great showing off how special Homewood is,” he said, noting how special it is to watch standing ovations for the half time show both in Home-wood and at away games.

Win

ner

Runner Up

C O M M U N I T Y

MEMBEROF THE YEAR

C O M M U N I T Y

CAUSEOF THE YEAR

Susie AnkenbrandtInvesting in the lives of Homewood Middle School students through Young Life

Ron PenceDirector of Bands, Homewood Patriot Band



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By MADOLINE MARKHAM

At Anderson Thrower’s 15-month checkup, everything had been fine, so his diagnosis with leukemia a month later came as a surprise.

“The first few months we were in shock,” his mother, Jan, said. “There was so much we had to learn about chemo and medicines.”

As they learned to care for their son during his cancer treatments, Jan and her husband, Andy, also learned a lot about others walking through similar experiences. Most children with pediatric cancer in Alabama are treated at Children’s of Alabama, and they found that many families would get up at 4 a.m. to drive their child to get treatment in Bir-mingham and then return home late that night. This realization, along with a Bible verse the Throwers’ pastor had sent them, 2 Corinthians 1:4-5, which talks about comforting others going through things you have gone through, planted a seed in Andy.

Within a year, the Throwers had not only developed a vision to help families going through what they were going through; they had also received 501(c)(3) status to start a new nonprofit to do so, although Anderson wouldn’t complete treatment until March 2012.

In the early months, the aTeam board met in the Throwers’ basement and Andy worked another full-time job. Today, they have grown so that Andy is now a full-time employee of aTeam, and they have an office on Crescent Avenue in downtown Homewood.

“We understand what it’s like to be told your child has cancer, to go through treat-ment, to learn about the time frames,” Andy said. “We talk the language that all of us can speak. They don’t know what they will go through, but we have seen other kids go through it.”

Around 20 children who are recovering from transplants have lived in the two fully furnished aTeam apartments in The Hill. Each family stays two to three months, as it takes about six months for a child’s immune system to recover and they are hospitalized for the first three.

Jan calls it a “home away from home” and hopes that it becomes that for the families.

The Bell Center works with about 100 families each year to provide early inter-vention services for children from six weeks through age 3. When the children who live in Homewood reach age 4, they usually enter the Homewood School System.

The Bell Center’s employees come together as a team and treat the kids like family. Their qualified professionals include physical and occupational therapists, speech/language pathologists and early childhood special education teachers.

The Bell Center’s programs are designed to promote growth in gross and fine motor skills, as well as language, cognition,

self-help and play skills. Each child is eval-uated annually, and goals are tailored specif-ically to each child’s needs.

Many Homewood residents come once a week to serve for two hours with a Bell Center child, young professionals serve through The Bell Center’s Junior Board and teenagers work with the center through its Bell Center Youth Alliance program.

The Service Guild of Birmingham pro-vides volunteers for The Bell Center and also raises a large percentage of their budget, which they raise through the Guild Gala and The Bell Runners program.

Ann Holloway, a member of Service

Guild, and Betty Bell, who worked with the Center for Developing Learning Disabili-ties, helped start The Bell Center in 1984. They began meeting with five children in a Sunday school classroom in the basement of Trinity United Methodist Church. The cur-rent location on 29th Court South opened in 1994.

The Bell Center is completely privately funded; no state or federal grant money is provided. So it welcomes the support of community both through fundraising and through volunteering.

For more information, visit thebellcenter.org or call 879-3417.

Win

ner

Runner Up

C O M M U N I T Y

MEMBEROF THE YEAR

C O M M U N I T Y

CAUSEOF THE YEAR

aTeam MinistriesServing pediatric cancer patients and their families

The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs

“We feel like there is some healing that takes place at home that just can’t take place in a sterile hospital environment,” Andy said.

Some families have estimated that it has saved them $5,000-$10,000 to stay there as their homes are more than 45 minutes away. aTeam also hopes to build a multi-family facility with individual apartments by 2020.

The apartments are one of many ways aTeam focuses on caring for pediatric oncology and hematology patients and their families.

Often they help families with everyday matters that are neglected while they are focusing on caregiving. Sometimes that looks like paying a power bill or helping catch up on a mortgage payment. Some-times that looks like paying for part of funeral expenses or for a headstone.

“You don’t want to lose sight of every-thing that goes on even when you go through tragedy,” Andy said. “Families get into caregiving mode and are in such an emotional state that bills start adding up.”

The organization also focuses on aware-ness in September, which is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, using gold rib-bons. In the past, cities have issued spe-cial proclamations for the month and high schools have allowed them to paint a gold ribbon on their football field.

“We have a desire to help families through pediatric cancer because we were one of them,” Andy said. “It becomes a community of people you can relate to that others who have not been through it can’t relate to.”

aTeam was originally the name of a half-marathon team that ran for Anderson, but now the Throwers say it also stands

for “all.”“We have learned that the siblings are

just as important as the patient,” Andy said, explaining what they have seen in their older daughter and other families they have worked with. “It’s important that you focus just as much on the siblings emotionally, spiritually and financially.”

For instance, at a lake party they host, they recognize siblings just as much as par-ents. They also accept donations of tickets to sporting events and give them to family members, not just patients, acknowledging it might be just as important for a parent and healthy sibling to have time to bond, as pediatric cancer puts a strain on everyone involved.

“None of the families chose what they got, but their whole world changes,” Andy said. “It’s a long-term journey. It doesn’t end quickly.”

Andy Thrower, aTeam president and co-founder, left, with pediatric cancer patient Dayton at aTeam’s Christmas Party.



School House

Homewood students in Peter Pan production

Seven Homewood students performed in Peter Pan Jr. at Virginia Samford Theatre Feb. 27-March 1. Front row: Bailey Levering (Shades Cahaba, fifth grade), Martha Ponder (Edgewood, third grade), Danielle Eggers (HMS, seventh grade). Back row: Demi Shamsi-Basha (HHS, ninth grade), Camille Colter (HHS, ninth grade), Hannah Crosswy (HMS, eighth grade), Beckett Tombrello (HMS, sixth grade).

New Chromebooks arrive

Hall-Kent Elementary School now has two new Chromebook carts that were funded by the school’s Fall Festival. Pictured is Leah Chancellor’s class with one of the new Chromebook carts.

During a November coin drive, Shades Cahaba Elementary School raised more than $3,400 for Make-A-Wish Foundation to grant a wish for Emilie, a child with chronic kidney disease from Huntsville. The students hope to raise the $1,300 to meet their $5,000 goal during their February and March student-led fundraisers.

Shades Cahaba students raise funds to grant a wish


Chinese orchestra partners with students

The Forbidden City Chamber Orchestra from Beijing performed for Homewood Middle School students in January.

They played three ancient instruments, and after the performance, they answered questions and helped one student, Josh Peters, demonstrate how to play scales on a two-string instrument. The interaction was particularly relevant to eighth-grade social studies classes that are cur-rently studying ancient China.

That night, the orchestra performed a concert at the Birmingham Museum of Art and used some instruments the middle school students let them borrow since the orchestra members were not able to travel with all of theirs.

The HMS performance was arranged by Consul for Cultural Affairs Yang Song and his wife, Lily Zhang. The Birmingham International Center provides cultural activities for schools all year so students can learn about China.

A member of Forbidden City Chamber Orchestra shows Homewood Middle School student Josh Peters how to play a stringed instrument.

Dominique Prince, Hall-Kent Elementary School, is pictured with the other UAB RMWP/Scholastic, Inc. 2015 Teaching Writing Scholars.

Hall-Kent’s Prince wins writing award

Hall-Kent Elementary Reading Specialist Dominique Prince was named a 2015 Teaching Writing Scholar in the Scholastic Art and Writ-ing Awards hosted by the UAB Red Mountain Writing Project.

The participants, also known as jurors, were

selected to read and score student papers from across the country. Each of these jurors read an estimated 75-100 submissions and was able to select 20-25 books to use for their classroom library.


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Real Estate ListingsMLS # Zip Address Status Price

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625283 35209 1521 Parkside Court New $209,900

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625170 35209 151 Southpointe Drive New $220,000

625070 35209 156 Glenwood Drive East New $427,900

625037 35209 226 Oglesby Ave. New $171,000

624943 35209 814 Saulter Road New $349,780

624933 35209 113 Venetian Way New $179,900

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624849 35209 140 Glenwood Drive West New $345,000

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624629 35209 721 Wellington Road South New $575,000

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624610 35209 3101 Roxbury Road New $459,000

624576 35209 1700 Saulter Road New $329,900

624490 35209 1647 28Th Ave. South New $219,500

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Real estate listings provided by the Birmingham Association of Realtors on March 16. Agents and agency vary by property. Visit birminghamrealtors.com.

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Champions event that recognizes top fund-raisers and volunteers across the National MS Society.

With the autoimmune disease, often con-fused with muscular dystrophy, the immune system attacks myelin, the fatty substance that surrounds and insulates the nerve fibers, and the nerve fibers themselves. The dam-aged myelin forms scar tissue (sclerosis), which gives the disease its name.

The resulting distorted nerve impulses affect everyone differently. For Suzanne, it has been her spinal cord, and for Ted, he has lost vision in one eye. For others, its effects are cognitive.

“If you talk to 10 people, they will have 10 different symptoms,” Sue said. “It depends on where the disconnect occurs. It’s com-pletely unpredictable.”

Since their involvement began, the Gra-phoses have seen strides in research. In 1994 when Suzanne was diagnosed, there was only one drug available to treat the symp-toms. Now there are 12.

Still, the family says they will rally on.“The goal is to find a cure,” Sue said.

“Without the walk, it’s not going to happen.”Current research is trying to figure out

how to regenerate myelin.“Even though it’s frustrating because you

want them to hurry up, they are coming up with drugs to treat the symptoms,” Sue said.

The fundraising is particular meaningful to the Graphos family because so much MS research is also done nearby. Sixty percent of funds raised at the Birmingham walk come back to the state.

Sue said they are “beyond fortunate” to have neurologists specializing in MS in Bir-mingham. Suzanne sees Dr. Khurram Bashir, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Center at UAB, while Ted sees Dr. John Riser, medical director at the Tanner Center for Multiple Sclerosis. Sue said patients come from all over to see them.

Six weeks before Walk MS each year, Sue sends out about 250 self-addressed stamped envelopes with letters asking for financial support and members for the Sam’s team. The next few weeks feel like Christmas as the responses come in, she said.

“No amount is too small,” she tells friends. “If all you can send is $2, that’s $2 we didn’t have. Every dollar is appreciated and put to good use.”

Some team members have supported them from day one, and new walk members join each year too.

“If you talk to enough people, everyone has a connection to MS,” Sue said. “We have a lot of wonderful family members, friends, and Sammy’s customer base is amazing.”

A jar has sat on the counter at Sam’s restaurant for 20 years with a sign requesting donations to “help change somebody’s life.”

“You’d be amazed how much money we get from it each year,” Sue said.

Despite all their fundraising strides, the Graphoses live with the reality of MS each day.

The worst part for Suzanne is having a visible disability. She earned a master’s in speech language pathology after her diagno-sis but has had trouble getting job offers and getting her contracts renewed for positions several times. She married four years ago but is on disability and performs speech evalu-ations for the state disability determination.

“Suzanne has an amazing attitude and has not let it stop her,” Sue said. “She has been my rock through all of this.”

Sue will quickly tell you that MS doesn’t just affect one person; it affects a patient’s family, drawing them together to “do what you have to do.” A strong support network is essential.

“I thought it was the end of the world in 1994, but came to realize it’s not the end of the world,” Sue said.

WALK MSCONTINUED from page A1


He Is Risen!

station for its second billboard, the company looked at every possible angle: how many cars passed, how much light was emitted and how far it was from local residences.

But the company missed something: Scott Dean. Dean, who lives near the billboard, had previously worked in public relations and knew how to cook up a media storm. So when 100 locals showed up outside the gas station with protest signs, every local TV station in the greater Birmingham area showed up as well. He compiled lists of local politicians and businesses to boycott.

“Scott is the most thorough person I’ve ever met,” said Jennifer Andress, one of about 10 local residents who lead the protests. Andress has a history of pressuring local politicians.

“[Andress] is just a person that takes up causes,” said Dean. “When she saw the sign, she thought it was enormous and out of place.”

People who live near the sign, such as Dean, were worried that its light would affect their sleep. The houses around the billboard, such as Dean’s, are valued at around $300,000, and he figured that his property value would take a hit.

Andress and others imagined a domino effect of lower property values throughout Homewood. They also worried that a bright billboard that changed images every eight seconds could distract drivers and lead to accidents.

But as much as anything, residents were angry that no one had told them about the billboard. Representatives for New Point didn’t show up at a specially called City Council meeting. The

company continued to construct the billboard through the protests, even on the weekend. Then New Point connected the billboard’s electricity even after the company had promised to move it.

The protesters saw these actions as the work of a company that was still trying put one past them. The law requires 300 feet between the billboard and nearby homes; the

billboard stood exactly 300 feet and two inches away — and those two extra inches were evidence of chicanery.

The protesters remained committed. Andress continued to organize protests and boycotts even after she read comments online that mocked her focus on a single billboard and even after her own husband told her he was tired of hearing about it.

Local elected officials at every level rallied around the protesters and negotiated a meeting at the county courthouse with New Point. Andress showed up to the negotiation to show her support, but when she saw the president of New Point walking past with his lawyer, she couldn’t help herself.

“I told him, ‘We’re here and we’re not going away until the billboard

Protesters’ signs urged drivers to boycott the BP station and buy gas elsewhere. Photo by Dan Starnes.

A digital billboard was installed above the Lakeshore BP. Photo by Oliver Morrison.

BILLBOARD CONTINUED from page A1


goes down,’ as he was getting in the elevator with his lawyer,” Andress said. “They didn’t say anything back. I shouldn’t have said anything. It was me running my mouth, but I couldn’t not say anything.”

DuBose’s rapid descentThe billboard controversy marked

a new low in the precipitous fall in the fortunes of David DuBose, president of New Point Digital.

Two years before, DuBose was named Alabama Broadcaster of the Year for 30 years of work in radio. He was in the process then of negotiating a deal to buy local radio stations worth tens of millions of dollars.

Less than two years later, DuBose had been repeatedly betrayed by his former employers and business associates, according to accusations in multiple lawsuits. Cox Media Group, which employed him for more than 16 years, shortchanged him hundreds of thousands of dollars in the deal to sell radio stations, he claims.

Then one of DuBose’s closest advisors and the godfather to his son forced him out of his job at Summit Media, a company that he played a principal part in creating, he claimed in a separate lawsuit.

So when county officials and residents of Homewood attacked him online, called his home and, he says, told him on the street, “We’re watching you,” once again he felt betrayed.

He saw his new company as the local underdog that would provide competition against the big billboard monopoly of Lamar Advertising Company, which could lead to lower prices for local businesses and more jobs for local workers. He even promised to give 10 percent of advertisements to local nonprofits.

Even though he followed the rules

for setting up a billboard, he still thought some residents would get upset. But he believed if he could just get the billboard up, residents would see that just a “birthday candle’s worth of light” would make it across the highway and into their homes.

He lashed back at residents who he thought were mischaracterizing the sign: After all, it rose from a gas station and had to compete with other large signs from health care providers on either side.

“Essentially it was an all-out lynch mob attack,” DuBose said. “They began a boycott of our clients and businesses, destroying our company and disparaging my reputation.”

He thought it was wrong of local politicians to rile up the public, so he threatened to sue the city and county for the $500,000 in yearly revenue he would lose without the billboard.

The city threatened to sue back. “We’re not going to be taken advantage of,”

DuBose said. “And we’re going to do what’s necessary to protect our interests if we can’t work it out.”

But the billboard represented such a huge fraction of his company’s projected earnings this year that losing the billboard would be a major blow. New Point Digital was founded less than a year ago and operates only one other billboard. Local advertisers who had signed up started to pull out, and DuBose was forced to negotiate.

Even though billboard companies have successfully sued cities and counties in the past, DuBose decided to negotiate without his lawyer. Because his meeting with local officials was private, it’s unclear whether New Point will

receive preferential tax rates or a better location to compensate for the cost of moving.

Even this compromise provoked criticism. “My wife was giving me grief about how

all this press coverage is making it seem like Homewood won,” DuBose said. “I don’t necessarily think that that’s what it was really all about.”

How it could’ve been avoidedMany localities across the country haven’t

changed their laws to account for the disruptions posed by electronic billboards. The images move rapidly and can be brighter than regular billboards. So although this dispute caught local leaders by surprise, fights over electronic billboards have been erupting across the country for nearly a decade.

In 2006 Scenic Alabama, a local nonprofit organization opposed to billboards, predicted it would happen in Homewood. The organization lobbied county officials to require commission approval before billboards went up.

Jefferson County is full of small pockets of unincorporated land surrounded by city land. Many cities such as Homewood look a bit like a sponge on a map because there are so many holes of county land inside them. One such hole was the BP gas station. Many cities have different building requirements, so the county rules that apply to the gas station are different than the city rules that apply across the street.

Because of Jefferson County’s isolated land-pockets, Scenic Alabama knew that a company could take advantage of county land to place billboards inside cities. But the Lamar Advertising Company lobbied against any changes.

So when New Point met the county’s requirements in December, there was nothing Michael Morrison, the man responsible for issuing permits, could do but approve it.

It is unclear if local pressure would be as effective the next time a billboard goes up if the owner were a more established company. The Lamar Advertising Company has a virtual monopoly on the remaining billboard permits in Jefferson County, and it owns more than 300,000 signs nationally.

Some county officials, such as Commission President David Carrington, who received criticism from both sides of the controversy for both doing too little and too much, say they plan a review of current billboard regulations. The county could require all billboards to get council approval, or at least billboards close to city boundaries.

Morrison believes these notification requirements could be difficult to implement because of how complicated the county’s boundaries are. But the billboard rules do need to be changed, according to Morrison, in one respect.

“Our ordinates are so old they don’t speak to modern technology, lumens or electronic displays,” Morrison said. “They absolutely need to be updated.”

For updates on the billboard, visit thehomewoodstar.com.

Scott Dean organized protests against the digital billboard at Lakeshore Drive and Green Springs Highway. Here he is pictured with his wife, Kathryn, and their sons, Jack and Will, at their home with the billboard visible behind them.


Spring is in bloom, and it’s the perfect time to plant a garden, do some cleaning or start a home renovation. Find tips and tricks from area businesses to jump start any project in our guide.

SpringHome Guide

Spring is in bloom, and it’s the perfect time to plant a garden, do some cleaning or start a home

SECTION BLetter to the editor B7Sports B8Calendar B13Opinion B15

The Homewood

Star

Spring Home GuideSpecial advertising section

Spring for a new look

The Homewood StarB2 • April 2015

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is working in their favor. Do it now allows you to enjoy those upgrades, while adding to the value of your home.” says owner/partner Kent Irwin.

Bathroom trends}} Get rid of the tub/shower combo – have a separate walk in shower}} Rimless glass shower walls}} Hand held shower heads for tubs and shower}} Free standing bathtub}} Air baths (vs older style jet tubs).}} Big plank tiles for floors and walls.

Kitchen trends “Open floor plans are all the trend now. By opening up your kitchen to an adjoining room it creates a dramatic effect and a great update to your home” said Martha.

}} Hardwood flooring in the kitchen gives it more flow with the rest of the house and feels warm and inviting. }} Kitchen islands are a good break between the kitchen and living space. The trend is to make these look more like furniture.}} Granite and quartz countertops are trendy and beautiful}} New stainless steel appliances give your kitchen an entire new look.}} Copper countertop enhancements

Home automation trends}} Key fobs that will unlock your door with just a click}} Did you remember to shut the garage door? Check it from your phone app and close it remotely}} Turn on/off your lights, lock and unlock your doors – all remotely from your phone. }} Smart Thermostats – save while

at home and control while you are away.

Outdoor trends}} Front doors and entry ways make a first impression and increase curb appeal}} Wood decks or screened in porch for extra outdoor living space.

}} Outdoor fire pits and cooking areas.

The Construx showroom is located in the Rocky Ridge Plaza Shopping Center. Call for an appointment and free estimate. 533-2668, email [email protected] or visit construxhome.com.


It’s what we do...Complete Landscaping Installation

(205) 854-8001 • classicgardens.com

We’ve got you covered!

Retaining Walls • Pathways • PatiosTrees and shrubs • Sod • Irrigation

Fertilization & Weed Control of Lawns

TheHomewoodStar.com April 2015 • B3

Find what to plant this spring

Spring is bursting forth at Classic Gardens & Landscape. Serving greater Birmingham for over 25 years, Classic Gardens has in fresh shipments of blueberries, fruiting trees, early planting vegetables like broccoli and caulifl ower, and even a few early bedding plants. After a long cold torturous winter I’m sure we are all happy to feel spring in the air. They have so many plants to choose from that your hardest decisions will be which ones to take home. Still, their friendly and knowl-edgeable staff can help you decide what to plant.

Classic Gardens has plants for sun and plants for shade. Some of their favorite plants require very little care yet give an abundance of color and provide for wildlife like the but-terfl y bush. Blueberries are a favorite to plant because they are so easy to grow and will

make a crop the very fi rst year.Are you familiar with their tomato pro-

gram? Their staff can tell you how to grow 300 pounds of tomatoes in a container. The ease of growing in a container means anyone can do it and can have so many tomatoes that you have to give some away.

The biggest secret to growing pretty bed-ding plants is to mix in Fertilome potting soil. Classic Gardens recommends mixing Fertilome Start-N-Gro fertilizer into the soil. Come in and they will show you how to have the prettiest yard on the block.

Need a beautiful lawn? Nobody does it better than Classic Gardens. They can treat your lawn for you or tell you how to do it yourself.

For more information on Classic Gardens, visit classicgardens.com.

Sew Sheri is not just a store lined with bolts of fabric.

It is a contemporary fabric, notions, hard-ware, trim and sewing essentials showroom with an open workroom, which also features Dorm Suite Dorm’s custom dorm bedding.

Clients can choose or custom order fabrics for their home design projects. They may also schedule a consultation with a designer who can build on their design ideas and help them create exclusive pieces from our trend setting fabrics.

The store works with clients at every stage of designing. Some are very savvy and already have specifi c ideas about their proj-ects when they come in, and others are home design novices and feel more intimidated

by the process. Sew Sheri’s designers get to know the client, their personality and their specifi c project needs.

In addition, Dorm Suite Dorm offers custom bedding solutions for college stu-dents. Pillows, duvets, bed skirts and curtains are custom made to order and can be person-alized with monograms or Greek letters. The store requires three to four weeks lead time for projects, so the staff recommend placing your order early. Dorm Suite Dorm custom bedding also makes a fabulous graduation gift come May.

Sew Sheri is located at 2832 Culver Road. For more information, visit sewsheri.com or call 879-8278.

A one-stop shop for fabric, interiors and dorms

2832 Culver Rd • 879.8278 • Mon. - Fri

YOUR LOCAL FABRIC RETAILER&



The perfect time for chimney repairs

Why is it smart to have your chimney checked/serviced come spring?

If the chimney is checked/cleaned/repaired at the close of season:

} The soot is cleaned out, reducing the acrid smell that lingers throughout the humid summer.

} The fireplace will be ready for the first cold spell with no waiting for an appointment.

} If repairs are needed, spring/summer time are the best time to do masonry and chim-ney repairs as opposed to cold weather and they can be done without the worrying about the impending cold weather needs of the fireplace.

“Time is critical to everyone,” Phillip Batts said. “Do what is necessary when it can be conveniently and with low stress. How unnerving is it when James Spann tells us it

is going to be cold. You call and find that the next appointment is so far off that it makes using your fireplace not so attractive, or to finally get an appointment to find something is structurally wrong and you can’t use it until repairs need to be done next spring?” Tell us a little bit about Batts’ Chimney

We are are a small business that will only send out certified technicians. We refuse to send out “flue-jockeys” that only clean and have no knowledge of safety inspection/remediation. We know our customers want their service when they want it but we cannot compromise prudent practices.

To learn more about Batts’ Chimney Ser-vices, visit battschimneyservices.com or call 956-8207. Visit csia.org/Homeowner-Re-sources/index.aspx for more FAQs on chim-ney service.

Spring garden tips

The month of April is the perfect time for spring planting. Consider these suggestions from Sweet Peas Garden Shop owner Jon Culver.

1. Our last average frost date in our area is April 15, so keep an eye on the weather. Plants with new spring growth on them can get damaged by a frost or freeze.

2. Soil preparation is very important for successful gardening. When planting in the ground, work the soil with a tiller or by hand to the best of your abilities and add some fresh soil amendments. Topsoil, manure, mushroom compost and soil conditioner all work well for this. If you are container gardening, use a good potting soil. I recommend Fafard potting mix. Make sure you have adequate drainage.

3. Choose the right plant for the right

conditions. Some plants need plenty of sun while other plants grow better in shade. Certain varieties of plants can handle drought while others like wet feet. Ask the staff at Sweet Pea’s to help you choose the right plant. They are happy to assist.

4. Dig your holes twice as wide but no deeper than the root ball of the plant. This allows the water to shed off and prevents root rot.

5. Mulch your garden after planting. This helps keep weeds down and plants stay hydrated. In the warmer months, watering in the morning is preferred over watering mid-day or evening.

Sweet Peas Garden Shop is located at 2829 Linden Ave. For more call 879-3839 or visit sweetpeasgardenshop.com.



Taking care of the customer

Issis started in Pelham, Ala. in only a 2000 square foot showroom offering carpet and rugs. From the beginning in 1984 to today the philos-ophy is the same, “always take care of the cus-tomer,” as stated firmly by owner Steve Issis.

The foundation of this business is founded on that simple, yet strong principle. With that in the foundation, Issis has grown leaps and bounds to expand the main showroom to 100,000 square feet.

The showroom on Highway 280 was opened in 1999 and is 20,000 square feet. The location is a full service store offering beautiful carpets, rugs, tiles, stone and hardwoods.

A wonderful and exciting addition was added in 2007 to help our customers even more. That addition was Issis & Sons Furniture Gallery in Pelham with a 22,000 square foot showroom.

Managed by Nancy Gowens and a staff of talented professional decorators, the showroom offers all of the above plus a full line of qual-ity fine furniture along with custom bedding & drapery services, accessories and lighting.

This led to the opening of Issis at Greenbrier in 2013 that is managed by Anne Borland and Moeen Chadury, again offering a full line of

quality fine furniture along with customer bed-ding, drapery services, accessories, lighting, rug, carpet, wood and tile. The ultimate goal of all Issis stores is to make our customers happy by providing excellent service, amazing selec-tions and quality products at affordable prices.

For the spring season, Gowens and her staff have noticed several trends making their way into home décor. Most prominently, bold colors that have not been seen in a long time are coming back. Usually mixed with a gray neutral color, many shades of blue and red are adding interesting elements to spaces. Gowens has seen deep lapis, wineberry and marsala, a deep red, making come backs in pieces. Many customers also choose to mix their décor with a touch of gold or silver for more visual interest.

Along with bold colors, strong patterns have also been used in interesting ways to give a unique look to spaces. Though Issis & Sons is adding new lines and is stocked with the latest trends, the store always keeps traditional spaces in mind. Issis & Sons will work with customers to achieve the look that works best for them.

To learn more about Issis & Sons, visit issi-sandsons.com.



Building quality homes

Taylor Burton Company stands by a philosophy to build quality homes, renovations and addi-tions that are designed to meet the demands of today’s markets and those of the foreseeable future. For the last four generations, the Burton family has been building a reputa-tion for quality and excellence in home construction and remodeling in the Birmingham and Over-The-Mountain areas. Their individual artistry is what sets them apart from the rest.

“We help create what the cus-tomer describes,” Owner Taylor Burton said. “We understand the importance of family needs and function and let customers enjoy creativity.”

The arrival of spring brings the busiest and the best time for remod-eling. Customers are often look-ing for something fresh and new. One of the most popular redesign requests currently is for kitchen space. Customers want spaces that will accommodate their growing family needs. Though some fami-lies are not necessarily growing in size, they still need changes as a family gets older. The living room is another popular common for remodeling to create an appropriate space for families.

“It’s important to create a usable

space in a house,” Burton said.In the spring and summer

months, families are looking to spend more time outdoors. Taylor Burton Company frequently receives requests for outdoor projects and focuses on creating a usable space according to what the customer envisions.

This season, Taylor Burton Company has noticed a trend of reclaimed wood. The company has a shipment of reclaimed wood in stock that will make beautiful flooring or ceiling beams. It could also be used to create a beautiful outdoor space.

If customers are thinking about building or remodeling this season, Burton recommends checking ref-erences and getting to know build-ers personally before deciding.

“Pick your builder like you’re going to be living with him for 20 years because you are,” Burton said. “All of your memories will be made in what you create together.”

After many years in the business, Burton knows that above every-thing else, customers want a per-sonalized space. Customers want their home, kitchen, bath, outdoor spaces and more to be unique and not a copy of what their neighbors or other family members have. Taylor Burton, Blake Pittman and

Cris Speegle can not only update your home, but they can also make the process enjoyable.

“At Taylor Burton Company, that is what we pride ourselves in,” Burton said. “Giving each customer out eye to detail and creating a unique and personalized space that they will be proud of.”

Taylor Burton Company is dedi-cated to being the most responsive and service-oriented home remod-eler in this market. Through detailed planning, professional project man-agement and outstanding service to clients, the company is able to accomplish just that. Taylor Burton is known as the home of quality and excellence and it is also its pledge to customers and their homes.

The company has earned mem-bership into the Master Builder and Master Remodeler programs. Companies that hold this title must have a reputation of providing exceptional quality and service which involves satisfied customers, a reputable history, a state license, worker compensation, liability insurance, professionalism, offer-ing alternative dispute resolutions, providing a warranty agreement and participating in continuing education.

To learn more, visit taylorburton.com or call 822-7936.

Custom Home Builders and Remodelers

822-7936 www.taylorburton.com

TAYLOR BURTON C O M P A N Y , I N C .

Taylor Burton, Blake Pittman, and Chris Speegle pride themselves on being “builders of homes, dreams and relationships.” Since 1986


How to select antiques for the home and garden

When you visit Christopher Glenn, you’ll find collectible items from another era.

With beautifully aged antiques and a large selection of decorative items, Christopher Glenn has everything you need to create the perfect atmosphere.

To help you navigate the many options available, Chris Carter of Christopher Glenn has answered some questions.

How can you tell the quality of an antique? Look at the overall proportions of the

piece. Do the lines flow well? Are the legs and drawers as they should be? Check for the integrity and the construction methods, used such as the thickness of the wood or veneer. Has it been repaired or refinished? Are the pulls original? Is there discoloration/oxidation where it should be?

Many older pieces will have some cracks where there has been shrinkage through the years.

What are your most popular garden items?

We sell a lot of cast stone, terra-cotta, glazed pottery and cast iron. Large contain-ers have always been a big seller.

How can you use antiques to create the perfect atmosphere in a room?

I try to keep a large selection of chests because this is a good start for designing a room from scratch. One of the most important aspects is the accessories. We offer a large selection of one-of-a-kind paintings, mirrors and vintage Murano glass and lamps. My mantra has always been “stick with the clas-sics.” You can tweak any look with fabric, paint and wallpaper, but you should purchase the best quality pieces. Things of quality have no fear of time.

To learn more about Christopher Glenn, visit christopherglenninc.com or call 870-1236.


Today Homewood has changed from the Mayberry it was when I was growing up in the 1960s, and the challenging issue of the electronic billboard sign this past month speaks to the continued intrusion on the charming feel of Homewood. This issue is an example of the fact that our city is hamstrung by lack of planning and inability to be proactive, which leaves us vulnerable and reactive. I hope this sign issue will spur people to think about how this situation happened and will galvanize further discussion about our need for oversight and planning in Homewood.

Did you know that Homewood has a part-time mayor and part-time council trying to oversee a city budget of $48 million and over 500 part and full-time employees? Collectively, the council has pressed forward an almost impossible litany of issues and projects the last few years, realizing that Homewood lags in addressing so many needs. It is my view that despite the range of experience and background on the 11-member council and their willingness to try to do so, they do not have the time, experience or knowledge to tackle and coordinate some of what they are trying to do, which is the function of a city manager. Even with a good engineering staff, Homewood lacks a full-time, in-house point of control and coordination to fully manage engineering, zoning and planning, which is the function of a city planner. In a city with 25,000 people in eight square miles, our 10 part-time ward reps are stretched to represent the residents in their wards, much less take on project management or large policy

issues requiring lots of collaboration among departments and themselves. Sometimes it seems our driving principle is just getting through a city council agenda or meeting as quickly as possible and avoiding a city lawsuit. Our governmental process is cumbersome and inefficient and wastes time. It can be frustrating and exhausting for everyone. The net result is a lack of public input and discussion, and rather than being the heart of the matter, public hearings are considered just a procedural obligation.

Today, we still have no public comprehensive plan to know where we are headed. Projects and zoning changes are passed in the blink of an eye, and things are still mainly decided by a handful of people and rubber stamped within our government process. Long-term for a growing city, many believe we need a government structure and leadership more suited for the large decisions about the future that Homewood is moving toward. I, for one, believe that Homewood needs and deserves an experienced, full-time professional city manager, city planner and a public strategic plan process driven by resident input. Reinstating regular public input into our processes and plans is essential for a unique neighborhood community like Homewood. It is my hope that residents of Homewood will think about this, and the spirit of the community will rise, determined to be involved in making changes for our future.

-Submitted by Mary Ellen Snell, Edgewood resident

Letter to the editor

Send letters to the editor to

[email protected].

Sports

By DAVID KNOX

Nursing a four-point lead after three quarters, the Homewood Patriots couldn’t hold on in the boys Class 6A semifinals of the AHSAA State Finals basketball tournament at Legacy Arena at the BJCC on Feb. 26.

The Patriots’ season ended with a 48-45 loss to Lee of Huntsville.

Leading 40-36 entering the final frame, every posses-sion was a war as the defenses turned up the intensity. A spectacular drive to the glass by Malik Cook-Stroupe gave the Pats a 45-44 lead with 2:54 left.

The score remained right there until Tracey Burnett drove the baseline to the hoop and scored for Lee to give the Generals the lead 46-45 with 34 seconds left.

The Patriots put the ball in the hands of Cook-Stroupe, who drove into the lane and lofted a floater that Burnett swatted away with 8.2 seconds left and rebounded by Lee.

Pleas from Cook-Stroupe, coach Tim Shepler and a large Patriots contingent for goaltending went unheeded.

The Pats were forced to foul and Gerron Scissum calmly made a pair of free throws with 7.1 seconds left for a 48-45 lead.

Cook-Stroupe tried a long 3 from backcourt that fell far short and the Patriots’ magical run was over.

“I couldn’t be prouder of our guys,” Shepler said. “We did enough to win today. Sometimes it’s a shame the scoreboard doesn’t reflect that. This group of guys — you want to see a team become a family, and I think

this team exemplified that.”Cook-Stroupe finished with 15 points and four assists

to lead Homewood. Ronald Claiborne added 10 for the Patriots (28-8).

On the questionable blocked shot, Cook-Stroupe, who’d been able to get to the rim throughout the game, said he started right but came back into the lane to avoid a charge.

Although the no-call on Cook-Stroupe’s shot had a huge impact, the classy Shepler didn’t want to dwell on it.

“I’ll just say this. For a shot that was taken in the middle of the lane, I’ve never seen a ball hang in the air that long that wasn’t called for a goal tend. But that’s [the officials’] call. They’re working hard out there.”

Scissum led Lee with 13 points, five rebounds, three blocks and three steals. Malik Burnett added 11 points, six rebounds and six steals. Tracey Burnett had 10 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.

“This is definitely the way I think the state finals should go, ball games like this,” said Lee coach Greg Brown. “Hats off to Homewood. They came out. They played an excellent game, forced us to make a lot of adjustments and fortunately, we had been through that before. ... We didn’t bend and were able to stick it out.”

This was the deepest the Homewood boys have ever been in the state tournament. It was a bittersweet finish, however. The Patriots clearly had enough firepower to win it all. Lee (27-7) fell 57-55 to Carver-Montgomery in the 6A championship.

Homewood boys reach Final FourPatriots fall just shy of title game

Malik Cook-Stroupe drives to the basket against Lee-Huntsville. Photo by John Michael Simpson.


a second complete pair of eyeglasses during the month of March

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We accept most vision and major medical insurance

Our friendly staff and opticians are here to help select the perfect frames or contact lenses for you. We will process your prescription as quickly as possible and live up to our reputation for having the best values.

Please call to make an appointment or drop in for a complimentary eyeglass cleaning or fitting. 205-332-3935

We offer a wide selection of frames ranging from the latest designer fashions to traditional styles.

Dr. Rachel Harvey

429 Green Springs HwySuite 171Homewood, AL 35209

Hours of Operat ionMonday 9-5Tuesday 10-7Wednesday-Friday 9-5Saturday 9-1

Now Open

By DAVID KNOX

Homewood High’s Chase Kelly has been selected as a Bryant-Jordan Scholar-Athlete for Class 6A, Region 5, Bryant-Jordan Director Shelton Thompson announced.

Kelly, who played football and wrestled for the Patriots, carries a 4.16 grade-point average.

As a football player, Kelly started at left tackle for the Patriots, who made the Class 6A playoffs this season. He earned three letters and won the Football Scholastic Award.

As a wrestler, he finished fourth in the Ala-bama State Tournament as a senior. He earned the Valuable Wrestler award, the Most Intensity award, Most Team Wins, Pins and Points as a junior, the Never Quit Award as a sophomore and the Iron Man Award as a freshman. He also was awarded the team’s Scholastic Award and was team co-captain.

He’s a member of the National Honor Society, the math team, the Beta Club, president of Mu Alpha Theta and the Patriot Award winner. He is also an Eagle Scout.

Homewood High School has had eight stu-dents to be named a Class Student-Athlete Scholar Winner. Of the eight, HHS has had four students named the Larry D. Striplin Jr. Schol-ar-Athlete Winners, the highest honor of the Bryant-Jordan Program.

The eight previous honorees and the year they were selected are Miller Williams (2014), Maggie Williams (2013), Wilson Boardman (2006), Marti L. Buckley (2002), Zachary Boylan (1997), John Mark Adrian (1993), Wil-liam Daniel Hood (1992) and William Harvey Bearden (1990).

A total of 52 seniors, eight each from the AHSAA Classes 1A through 6A and four in Class 7A, were selected as Scholar-Athlete

Homewood’s Kelly selected as Bryant-Jordan honoree

regional winners and 52 were chosen in the Student-Achievement division. Each student selected was nominated by their respective high schools. For the first time since 1988, the total number has expanded from the previous 96 total. Eight additional student-athletes will be recognized due to the addition of Class 7A, which has 32 total schools, by the AHSAA this school year. Approximately 60-64 schools comprise each of the other six classifications. A committee of school principals chose the area winners. A committee of school adminis-trators in each region then selected the regional winners. The overall winners will be selected

by a statewide committee comprised of school administrators and state business leaders. All 104 students will be recognized at the 2015 Bryant-Jordan Banquet set for Birmingham’s Sheraton Hotel Ballroom on April 13. Each regional winner will receive a $2,500 scholar-ship with class winners receiving an additional $3,000 scholarship. The overall Larry D. Striplin Jr. Scholar-Athlete and the overall Ken and Betty Joy Blankenship Achievement Award state win-ners will receive an additional $3,000 each. Regional winners are also eligible to receive several other scholarships that will be awarded by 13 Alabama four-year colleges and 13

Alabama community colleges participating in the program. The 13 colleges participating include: Auburn University, Auburn-Mont-gomery, Jacksonville State, Miles College, Samford, Troy University, University of Ala-bama, UAB, UAH, Montevallo, North Ala-bama, South Alabama and West Alabama. The 13 community colleges are: Bevill State, Calhoun, Central Alabama, Chattahoochee Valley, Gadsden State, Jefferson State, Lawson State, Northeast Alabama, Northwest-Shoals, Shelton State, Snead State, Wallace-Dothan and Wallace-Hanceville.

Several special scholarships are also presented annually including the Dr. Gaylon McCollough Medical Scholarship ($2,500) earmarked for a selected regional winner who plans to go into the medical field, and the Herman “Bubba” Scott Coach’s Scholarship ($2,500) given to a selected regional winner who plans to go into teaching and coaching.

The Auburn Football Lettermen and the University of Alabama “A” Club Educational and Charitable Foundation also present schol-arships to selected regional winners who plan to attend either Auburn or Alabama, respec-tively. The Auburn Lettermen present two $2,500 scholarships, while the Alabama “A” Club presents scholarships totaling $12,000. In addition, each school that has an individual classification winner will receive a $2,000 cash award. Approximately $1 million in scholarships are awarded annually in the nationally acclaimed program named for legendary football coaches Paul “Bear” Bryant and Ralph “Shug” Jordan. The program began in 1986 as a project of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame and the AHSAA and is now in its 30th year.

Chase Kelly, right, has been named a Bryant-Jordan Scholar-Athlete regional winner. Photo by Scott Butler.


By DAVID KNOX

The Homewood Lady Patriots captured the school’s first state basketball championship, defeating Blount 69-60 in the Class 6A AHSAA State Finals championship game at Legacy Arena at the BJCC on Feb. 28.

Behind the efforts of freshman point guard Hannah Barber and freshman forward Ajah Wayne, who were named the tournament’s co-Most Valuable Players, the Lady Pats (30-4) built a 13-point lead and held off a furious fourth-quarter push by Blount.

“It’s exciting,” said Homewood coach JoVanka Ward. “I am super proud of these young ladies, and I don’t use the word young lightly.”

Young might have been the watchword at sea-son’s beginning, but the Lady Pats played like seasoned vets down the stretch. Nine freshmen, a sophomore and three seniors make up the roster.

“They’re not freshmen now,” Ward said.

Wayne led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds and added four steals. Barber added 11 points and eight assists, and Tori Webb, also on the all-tourney team, chipped in 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks before fouling out.

The Lady Patriots’ offensive strategy early seemed to be to push the ball with the fastbreak and if it wasn’t there to get the ball inside.

“We like to run,” said Ward. “If we can dictate the tempo of the basketball game, we feel like other teams will struggle. We always say that teams think they know fast until they play us. So that was nothing new today.”

The Lady Pats led 14-9 at the first-period break, but the margin could have been even greater had they not missed several easy looks inside.

Blount’s Latayia Diamond knocked down a 3-pointer from the left corner to cut the score to 14-12 just into the second quarter. She hit another from the same spot to give Blount its

Lady Patriots are state basketball champs

Homewood’s Hannah Barber floats a shot over the Blount defense. Photos by John Michael Simpson.


first lead at 17-16, and then Barber drove the lane but missed a floater. The Lady Leopards took advantage of Barber’s deep penetration for a fast-break bucket and a 19-16 lead with five minutes in the first half.

Barber found Wayne with a cross-court pass on a break for a layup, and Homewood retook the lead 20-19 just before the quarter’s media timeout just under four minutes.

After Blount tied it with a free

throw, Barber drove the lane and dished it to Lia Roberson for an easy deuce and a 22-20 lead. Rob-erson added a free throw for a three-point lead with 1:45 before the break. Alexandria Studdard’s lay-in

pushed it to 27-22. But the biggest hoop of the half was

Homewood’s first made trey of the game, a shot from the left corner by Barber at the buzzer to give the Lady Patriots a 30-22 lead at the half.

“That was big,” Ward said. “For her to be able to knock one down gave us confidence.”

Barber said, “I think it gave us some momentum going into the half and kind of put them a bit back on their heels.”

Coming out of the break, Barber’s dribble penetration and passing led to more easy shots inside, and when she found Tori Webb for a layup, the margin was 34-24. The Lady Patriots were able to sustain an eight-to-10-point lead throughout most of the quarter.

Studdard’s steal and length-of-the-floor drive pushed it to 44-34, and another steal and drive for a layup by Wayne made it 46-34 with a minute in the quarter.

The Lady Patriots took a 50-39 lead to the final period. Their biggest lead was 13 before Blount managed to cut into it to six when a Cierra Johnson putback capped a 7-0 run.

Homewood’s missed free throws kept Blount in the game, and the Lady Leopards played with intensity in the final eight minutes that was lacking for the first 24.

Takayla Jones’ putback off a missed free throw cut it to 60-57 with 2:40 to play, capping another 7-0 run.

Wayne then calmly knocked in two free throws with 1:12 left for a 62-57 Homewood lead.

Blount added a free throw, but Barber connected with Wayne on a long pass for a layup and then Wayne made a key defensive play on the other end, coming up with a steal and getting fouled with 36.6 left. She made one of those two free throws for a 65-58 lead and Blount had to foul.

“It was one of those things,” Wayne said. “We just want to keep attacking. They were making a run, but I kind of had in my mind, ‘If you can do it, I can do it better.’”

The Lady Patriots celebrate their first-ever state championship win at the BJCC.


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@homewoodparks www.Homewoodparks.com

Homewood Community CenterZumba with Camille

ZUMBA is Lati n inspired aerobic dance and every class feels like a party.

ZUMBA is for all ages, and both sexes!Tuesday & Thursday: 5:30pm-6:30pm

Saturday: 9:00am-10:00amFor more info: Camille 256-452-2500

(or) [email protected]

Young RembrandtsDraw amazing things

with Young Rembrandts!Young Rembrandts drawing classes,

uses step-by-step curriculum to teach fundamental art skills in a nurturing environment that gives children an

academic advantage. Classes for boys and girls 5 to 12 years of age.

Please contact Chris Roberson at (205) 943-1923 for more informati on

and to register or visit www.youngrembrandts.com

to enroll anyti me.

KindermusikAs the world’s recognized leader in

early childhood music and movement, Kindermusik off ers a musical learning adventure that will impact your child now and for years to come! There’s simply no bett er way to foster your

child’s love of music and love of learning. Classes are available for

ages 0 to 5 years.For more informati on call or email Kelly

at: [email protected]

www.kellyalligood.com

Homewood Chess TeamHomewood Chess Team wants you! Beginners are welcome and the fi rst

two weeks are always free promo weeks! Learn more and sign up for our classes at www.theknightschool.com or

call Dr. Brooks at (205) 746-4952

North Star Marti al ArtsNorth Star Marti al Arts primary focus is to make a life lasti ng impact on our

students, and their families.Tiny Tigers:

Mon & Wed 3:30pm to 4:05pmBeginner Classes:

Mon & Wed 4:15pm to 5:15pmTues & Thurs 3:30pm-4:15pm

Adults Only Class: Wed 5:45pm-6:45pm

Advanced Class: Tues & Thurs 4:15pm to 5:15pm

Phone: 205-966-4244 Email: [email protected]

www.northstarkarate.com

Belly Dancing with AzizaClass Fee: $60 cash only

Contact Aziza: 205-879-0701azizaofb irmingham@att .net (or)

www.azizaofb irmingham.comLearn the ancient art of Middle Eastern belly dance with Aziza, over 40 years of experience in performance and instructi on.

Each session is 5-weeks long on: Monday night for beginners,

Tuesday night for intermediates and Thursday night for advanced.

YoLIMBERVinyasa yoga classes in an energeti c

environment using upbeat music. All levels welcome.

Monday 8:30am-9:30amFriday 9:30am-10:30am

Saturday 9:00am-10:00amContact Marla: 205-223-8564 (or)

[email protected]

35209 DanceLine dance for a healthier you!

Tuesday: 7:00pm-9:00pm Saturday: 11:00am-1:00pm

$7/Drop-in - $5/Seniors 65+ First class is free

Rosa Fisher 205-910-8896 rosafi [email protected]

Royce Head Personal Training

Aff ordable small group trainingsessions are available to members in the community center weight room. Each 30

min workout is fast, fun,safe, and eff ecti ve and each

person is started with a program to fi t their fi tness level.$25 Per Session (or) 12 Sessions for $250

Call Royce for more informati on: (205) 945-1665

Tango Argenti no Fundamentals and Practi ce

Introductory lessons and guided practi ce. New students are taught basic

Tango technique and experienced “milongueros” are encouraged to practi ce

and exchange ti ps to improve their dancing. Couples and individuals of all

ages are welcome. HWCC Fitness Studio 2.1st & 3rd Wednesday each Month –

7:00pm-8:30pm

Tabata Bootcamp with Tamika Harris

Tabata Bootcamp is a group training program based on High

Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Thursday: 6:00pm-7:00pm Saturday: 8:00am-9:00amClass fee: $50 (4weeks)

For more info: 205-249-7982getf [email protected]

Italian for ChildrenGive your child the bilingual edge! The “Italian for Children” course is perfectly

designed for children to have a great ti me while learning Italian. Organized around

theme-based units, songs, interacti ve exercises and games, this language course emphasizes communicati ve abiliti es and vocabulary building as well as listening,

reading, writi ng, pronunciati on and basic grammar skills.

Classes meet at the Homewood Community Center on

Saturdays 10:30 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.Contact Giuliana for more informati on at

205-721-0077 or [email protected]

Homewood Senior Center

Yoga class for seniorsInstructor: Kathy Hagood, Wednesdays at

1:15pm. FREE for Sr Ctr members ($5 non-member). To sign up call 332-6500.

Kathy is certi fi ed by ACE and currently teaches group exercise classes including balance/

strength, yoga, Pilates, and Zumba.

Personal Training at Homewood Senior CenterFor Senior. Center members only. Certi fi ed by the ACE, Kathy focuses on orthopedic issues and restorati ve training to improve

fi tness for mature adults, including those with equilibrium, fl exibility, strength or other chronic health challenges. Sessions are $35/hour, paid directly to Kathy, and are customized for each

individual’s needs/goals. Contact Kathy at 205-422-4025 or [email protected] to

schedule session at the Senior Center.

Senior Center April Acti viti esMonday’s in April, 2:15pm – Weekly Clay Class

will be making small items to be sold at We Love Homewood Day in May. Money from sales will

go back into senior programming. Bring your talent and interest and come create!

Friday, April 10th, 12:30pm – Historical slide lecture by veteran & Homewood nati ve Niki Sepsas: “80

Silver Goblets – Lt. Colonel Jimmy Doolitt le and the Raid on Tokyo (Anniversary of April 1942 Raid…only

3 of the raiders remain today).Tuesday, April 14th, 12:30pm - Celebrate center members’ with April birthdays with cake and ice

cream! Call 332-6500 to ensure that we have your birthdate on fi le!

Athleti csHomewood

Youth CheerleadingHYC are a dynamic group of girls who are excited to cheer for the Homewood Youth

Football League. HYC is a community cheerleading program for girls in grades 1st through 6th who live in Homewood and/or

att end Homewood Schools.For more informati on visit:

www.homewoodyouthcheer.com

Homewood Swim Team

Homewood Swim Team is not a learn to swim program but no experience is necessary. Swimmers compete against other swimmers

with the same age and ti mes during meets. Children who are ready to compete,

ages 5 – 18, will be divided into groups- older (more experienced) and younger

(less experienced). We compete through the Jeff erson County Swim Council (JCSC)

against other teams from our area.Registrati on will be from mid-April to mid-May.

Please check www.homewoodparks.com for the most up to date informati on.

2015 Summer AdultSoft ball League

Registrati on begins April 7th; league informati on is available at www.homewoodparks.com

360 Personal Trainer Fitness Bootcamp

Bootcamp style fi tness classes at Homewood Community Center.

Classes Meet: Mon/Wed/ Fri 5:30am-6:30am

Michael Brooks [email protected]

Homewood FIT – Women’s BootcampJoin this all women’s bootcamp

happening right here in Homewood. Monday & Wednesday:

5:45am-6:45amFor more info: www.homewoodfi t.com

Acti ng Out AcademyActi ng Out Academy is a kid’s performing

arts classes at the Homewood Community Center Thursday 3:30pm-4:30pm

(Encore: Aft er School Program) Thursday 4:30pm-5:30pm

(Advanced on-camera). www.acti ngoutacademy.com

205-440-2699meg@acti ngoutacademy.com

Shake Your Soul Yoga Dance!

“Shake Your Soul” is a unique and invigorati ng path to body-spirit fi tness

incorporati ng elements yoga and dance.Mondays 5:30 p.m.- 6:30 p.m.

Class Fee: $10.00 drop-inInstructor: Lorri Hanna • 612-867-2232

[email protected] www.barefootsoulswellness.com

Mommy and Me Stroller BootcampTuesday & Friday @ 10:30amClass locati on: Meet at pavilion

(6&7) at back of park*Classes meet in Homewood

Community Center Gymnasium in the event of inclement weather*

A class for moms of all fi tness levels! This 45 minute class focuses on interval

training with the use of bands, body weight, and your child’s stroller!

For more info: www.mommyandmeti me.com

Blue Line Combati vesWednesdays 7:00pm – 8:30pm

Blue Line Combati ves teaches self-defense and urban survival instructi on. Classes and private training are available for all ages.Call or email for additi onal informati on:

Instructor Jon P. [email protected]

205-296-1250

Steel City Cheer - Cheerleading &

Tumbling ClassesClasses will cover all cheerleading &

tumbling necessiti es: moti ons, jumps, cheers, stretching, conditi oning, and

tumbling. All ages & skill levels welcome.For more informati on contact DeeDee

at PDEveritt @gmail.com or 901-734-0277.Tues. 5:30pm-6:30pm / Wed. 5:30pm-

6:30pm / Thurs. 7:30pm-8:30pm


CalendarHomewood Public Library

1721 Oxmoor Road, 332-6600, homewoodpubliclibrary.org

Kids

Tuesdays: Wee One’s Storytime. 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. Storytime for 1 year olds and their caregivers.

Wednesdays: Wiggleworm Wednesdays. 10:30 a.m. Storytime filled with music and fun.

Thursdays: Mommy & Me. 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. A storytime for younger patrons and their friends.

April 1: Spring Break: The Incredible Journey. 10:30 a.m. Journey to new destinations with some of our favorite travel stories for all ages.

April 2: Spring Break: Journey to France. 10:30 a.m. Make French culinary creations with American Girl of the Year Grace and her literary friends Madeline and Eloise. Age 5 and up.

April 4: Say HOLA to Spanish! 10:30 a.m. Learn Spanish while enjoying stories and a craft. All ages welcome.

April 6: Monday Makerspace: Plastic Egg Creations. 3:30 p.m. Find out how to re-use plastic eggs after the Easter holiday is over.

April 9: PJ Storytime. 6:15 p.m. Wear your pajamas and enjoy nighttime tales and a bedtime snack.

April 10 & 24: Leaps and Bounds. 10:30 a.m. An energetic movement class designed specifically for children 2 1/2 to 4 years old. Registration required.

April 11: Pigapalooza. 10:30 a.m. A morning of fun with Olivia, Peppa and Piggie.

April 13: Monday Movie. 3:30 p.m. Enjoy hot, fresh popcorn and watch a film about some very fancy cats.

April 16: Little Critter Campout. 6:15 p.m. Bring sleeping bags for stories, songs and snacks with Mercer Mayer’s Littler Critter.

April 20: Monday Makerspace: Finger Knitting. 3:30 p.m. Learn the art and ease of finger knitting.

April 21: I Survived Book Club: I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912. 6:15 p.m. Will discuss Laurel Tarshis’ I Survived the Sinking of the Titanic, 1912.

April 26: WallaWalla Big Bang LibrArt Show and Party. 3:30 p.m. Play with ProvieART & CorinneSpin as we celebrate the April art exhibition with special snacks and an interactive art project.

April 27: Monday Movie. 3:30 p.m. Enjoy hot, fresh popcorn and go back in time with Littlefoot and friends.

Teens

April 1-26: Teen Poetry Writing Contest. Poetry contest for teens in grades 6-12. Create an original poem maximum two pages in length in any poetry style. Visit homewoodpubliclibrary.org/teens.

April 7: Black Out Poetry. 5 p.m. Large Auditorium. Repurpose book pages to create poetry and designs.

April 14, 28: Coding for Girls. 4 p.m. Room 101. Club geared toward empowering girls grades 6-12 who are interested in the computer science field.

April 15: Duct Tape Madness. 4 p.m. Large Auditorium. See all the amazing creations that can be made with duct tape.

April 18: Teen CPR Training. 1 p.m. Round Auditorium. American Heart Association certified and CPR basic first aid training class. $5.

April 21: Really Retro Movie. 3:30 p.m.

Large Auditorium. High school student David Lightman (Matthew Broderick) unwittingly hacks into a military supercomputer while searching for new video games. Grades 6-12.

April 22: Yarn Addicts. 3:30 p.m. Round Auditorium. Join other teens who knit after school or work. Refreshments served. Grades 6-12.

April 23: Teen Poetry Writing Workshop. 4 p.m. Round Auditorium. TJ Beitelman from the Alabama School of fine Arts speaks about poetry. All levels of poets welcomed. Call 332-6622 or email Judith Wright at [email protected] to register.

April 27-30: Marvel Movie Week. Monday, Tuesday Thursday 3:30 p.m., 6 p.m. Wednesday 3:30 p.m. Large Auditorium. Refreshments served.

Adults

April 2: Book Signing with Jerry Armor, Author of A Home for Wayward Boys. 6:30 p.m. Large Auditorium. Hear Jerry Armor speak and sign books.

April 6: OLLI Bonus Program: Beer, Chemistry and the Art of Zymurgy. 3:30 p.m. Room 101. UAB Associate Professor of Chemistry Dr. Tracy Hamilton discusses fermentation.

April 7: Technology Tuesdays: Get the Most Out of Your iPad and iPhone. 2 p.m. Round Auditorium. Workshop geared towards casual beginners.

April 9: Essential Oils Detoxing of the Home with Jennifer Clark. 6:30 p.m. Large Auditorium. Learn about the routine use of essential oils.

April 14: Oxmoor Page Turners Book Club. 6:30 p.m. Lucretia M. Somers Boardroom. Book club discussing Leaving Time by Jodie Picoult.

April 16: 34 Hours that Changed America: The Bombardment of Fort Sumter with Niki Sepsas. 6:30 p.m. Round Auditorium. Niki Sepsas discusses the importance of the commencement of the Civil War anniversary.

April 17: OLLI Bonus Program: Teddy Roosevelt’s Wild Daughter, Alice Roosevelt Longworth with Ginger Sharbel-Brown Bag Lunch. 12 p.m. Large Auditorium. Learn about Alice Roosevelt Longworth and her famous family. Drinks and dessert provided.

April 21: The A, B, Cs of Medicare. 12 p.m. and 6 p.m. Room 116, Lower Level. Karen Haiflich will answer all your questions about how benefits are currently computed and more.

April 22: Next Step Wednesdays: iPad and iPhone Intermediate Class. 2 p.m. Large Auditorium. Workshop geared towards the intermediate user.

April 23: Neuroscience Café: Finding a Cure for Epilepsy with Dr. Farah Lubin, Ph.D. & Larry ver Hoef, M.D. 6:30 p.m. Large Auditorium. Dr. Lubin and Dr. ver Hoef discuss the latest research and the possibility of a cure.

April 29: OLLI Bonus Program: All Aboard: A History of the Railroads with Jack Norris-Brown Bag Lunch. 12 p.m. Room 101, Lower Level. Look at the history of America’s railroad system with Jack Norris.

April 29: The Better Than Therapy Book Club. 2 p.m. Lucretia M. Somers Boardroom. Discussion on Kate Alcott’s latest novel, A Touch of Stardust.

April 30: Red Mountain Park with Executive Director David Dionne. 6:30 p.m. Large Auditorium. Executive Director of Red Mountain Park David Dionne describes all that the park has to offer.


LIKE US ON

CalendarArea Events

Jan. 30-April 26: Rembrandt, Vermeer, Hals and Their Contemporaries. Birming-ham Museum of Art. Features works by the greatest masters of the Dutch Flemish Golden Age. Visit artsbma.org.

April 4: Art on R Mountain. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Ruffner Mountain Nature Center. Fine art and craft show. Free admission. Call 223-7251.

April 4: Tragic City All Stars vs. Hard Knox Rollers Girls. 7 p.m. Zamora Shrine Temple. Visit tragiccityrollers.com.

April 9-12: Alabama Ballet Presents Ovation. Dorothy Jemison Day Theatre, Alabama School of Fine Arts campus. $25-45. Call 975-2787 or visit alabamaballet.org for tickets.

April 10-11: Samford A Capella Choir Performance. 8 p.m. Alys Stephens Center. Visit alabamasymphony.org.

April 10-12: Birmingham Botanical Gardens Spring Plant Sale. Friday 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Brookwood Village. More than 100,000 plants will be available for purchase including this year’s gold-themed signature plants. Visit bbgardens.org/springplantsale.

April 10-11: 17th Annual Lebanese Food and Cultural Festival. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. St. Elias Maronite Catholic Church. Free admission. Band, dancing, silent auction and 5K. Visit stelias.org.

April 11: Walk for Autism. 7:30 a.m. Veterans Park. There will be a resource fair, snacks provided by Zoe’s Kitchen, Earthfare and Nola-Ice and activities for children such as face painting and arts and crafts. Prior to the walk will be the 5K Race to Solve the Puzzle. Visit walkforautismal.com.

April 11: Reading, Writing and Rhythms: A Kickoff Event for Birmingham Reads. 3-9 p.m. Avondale Brewery. Raffl es and live music featuring Jeremy Moore, Joel Madison Blount, Jordan Teague and The Heavy Hearts.

April 11: 2015 Alabama Asian Cultures and Food Festival. 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Zamora Shrine Temple. $8 for adults, $5 teens, and active duty military, veterans, and college students with ID, free for children 12 and under. Call 903-5569.

April 11: Tempo: A Family Fun Festival. 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Crestwood Park. Free.

April 12: Run for a Reason Benefi tting Sozo Children. 3:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Hargis Retreat, Chelsea. Registration is $45. All event proceeds will be used to save or rescue orphans in Uganda, Africa.

April 12: Magic City Sunday Supper. Fifty suppers available for pick-up or home delivery. Supper costs $500 with two VIP supper packages costing $3,000. Visit magiccitysupper.com.

April 16: Chasing Dreams: African Americans and the Perpetual Pursuit of Voting Rights. 7 p.m. Birmingham Civil Rights

Institute. A public lecture by Dr. Charles McKinney, associate professor at Rhodes College.

April 16: Rivals for Wishes: Foes for a Year, Friends for a Night. 5:30-10 p.m. Regions Field. Make-A-Wish Alabama brings Auburn and Alabama Athletics together for Football Feud. Visit alabama.wish.org.

April 17: Birmingham Reads Book Drive. 4 a.m-6:30 p.m. Brookwood Village. Donate new and gently used children’s books that will be distributed to students through Better Basics’ programs. Visit betterbasics.org.

April 18-May 3: 2015 Decorator’s Showhouse. The Upton Estate in Vestavia Hills. Visit alabamasymphony.org.

April 18: Mountain Brook Art Association Spring Art Show. 9-4 a.m. Crestline Field. Original paintings from local artists for sale. Live jazz band and food vendors. Visit mountainbrookartassociation.com.

April 18: The Episcopal Place Gumbo Gala. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Regions Field. Forty gumbo cook teams will cook and serve gumbo. Live music by Rollin’ in the Hay, children’s activities and vendors selling theme-related Alabama products. $12. Visit gumbogala.com.

April 18: Curtain Call Ball. 5-8 p.m. Birmingham Children’s Theatre. Family of Four: $125 Individual, Adult: $50, Individual Child: $25. Visit bct123.org.

April 19: H.T. Chen and Dancers. 3 p.m. Leslie S. Wright Fine Arts Center-Samford University. $20 reserved, $15 general admission. Visit samford.edu/wrightcenter/.

April 24-26: Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama. Barber Motorsports Park. $15. Children 12 and under free with a ticketed adult. Visit barbermotorsports.com.

April 24: Tails in the Trails. 6:30-10:30 p.m. Birmingham Zoo. Early bird tickets, $15 through March 31, $20 April 1- April 23, $25 at the door. Visit birminghamzoo.com.

April 24-25: Gardendale Magnolia Festival. Friday 5-10 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Gardendale Civic Center. Free admission and parking. Live entertainment, vendor booths, carnival, eating contests and more. Visit magnoliafestival.org.

April 24-26: Magic City Art Connection Art Bash. Friday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Linn Park. Free festival admission. Corks and Chefs: Food and Wine Tasting Event: $30 advance $35 at the door. Visit magiccityart.com.

April 25: Jubilee Joe’s Crawfi sh Boil. 1:30-10:30 p.m. Venue 31, Pelham Event Center. 3050 Lee Street. Visit jubileejoes.com.

April 25-26: Bargain Carousel. Friday 3-7 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., Sunday 15 p.m. Prices vary by day. Call 879-9861 or visit bargaincarousel.net.


FOR ALL AGES

As I write this column, I’m coming off almost two weeks of sickness at my house. It started with my youngest, Sela, went through big sister Kate, and finally settled in with me. That indomitable virus combined with a particularly cold and wet week sent me to a pretty dark place a few mornings ago, hunched over my trusty note-book, hurriedly writing in the minutes before the kids woke up. I found myself praying that in the midst of every-thing — the sickness, the house in disarray, the laundry undone, the missed school days — God would make something beautiful out of it all, that I wouldn’t be so caught up in my own mess that I missed the beauty of an ordinary day, illness and all.

So how did the day go, you ask? Well, it was a sick day. There were Saltines and Gatorade, thermometers and Motrin, Tin-kerbell on the TV. But there were also a few moments of grace. That morning, Kate and I flopped down on the couch, both worn out from hustling a now-well Sela into school and getting our feverish selves back home. Kate lay on one end of the couch, and I lay on the other. We covered up with a blan-ket, our legs entwined underneath it to keep warm. I looked over at her little flushed cheeks and was so thankful to be able to spend the time with just my big girl, even if we were sick.

Later that afternoon, I cut up some pieces of cantaloupe for Sela to eat after her nap.

She’d been asking for canta-loupe for a few days, but we’d finished all we had. I managed a trip to the Pig the day before, so I picked one up. When I went in her room to get her, I held her and asked her if she wanted some cantaloupe. You would have thought I’d told her we just put a swimming pool in the backyard. It was such a seem-ingly trivial thing for me to do,

but she hugged me so tight, then put her little hands on the sides of my face, kissed me, and said, “Thank you, Mama!”

These moments felt like a banquet of loveliness in the midst of a week and a half of one thing after another. The more I thought about them, the more I realized that the prayer for God to make something beautiful out of the mess and chaos of our life was really about God making something beautiful out of me — out of all of us. More than ever this past week, I felt the frailty of my flesh. One fever/stomach virus and all my strength — physical, mental, and emo-tional — was zapped. But God did show us beauty, and He is making something beau-tiful out of us lowly creatures. I rarely see it, but I trust it. Those moments of beauty in the middle of a messy day reminded me that somehow, He’s slowly turning us from chipped and broken vessels into something whole and beautiful.

Lauren can be reached at [email protected]. You can also find her on Twitter @LaurenKDenton.

OpinionOrdinary Days By Lauren Denton

Beauty in the mess

Denton

Homewood EventsApril 4: Hop ‘n Shop. All day. Downtown Homewood and Downtown Edgewood. Customers will have the opportunity to hunt for eggs that hold discount coupons, candy and other prizes in their stores.

April 9: Samford University Legacy League Meeting. 10 a.m. Samford University President’s Home, 1994 Shades Crest Road. Photographer and author Karim Shamsi-Basha will speak. Visit samford.edu.

April 9: Birmingham Revealed: “Determination, Drama and Daring: The Life of Lousie Wooster.” 5:30-7 p.m. Vulcan Park and Museum. Members $8. Non-members $10. Visit visitvulcan.com.

April 10: Brent Newman Memorial Egg Drop. 9:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Vulcan Park and Museum. As many as 600 area students will design apparatuses that will protect a raw egg from breaking when dropped from the top of Vulcan’s 189 foot pedestal. Visit visitvulcan.com.

April 11: MDS Muscle Walk of Birmingham. 9 a.m. John Carroll Catholic High School. Visit walk.mds.org or call 823-8191.

April 11: Girl Scouts – Iron Kids. 10 a.m.-noon, 1-3 p.m. Vulcan Park and Museum. Girls will receive the Iron Kids patch. Visit visitvulcan.com.

April 13-17: Class on the Grass. Vulcan Park and Museum. Students create their own Vulcan-inspired artwork. Visit visitvulcan.com.

April 14: Edgewood Night Out. 3 p.m.-

close of business. Downtown Edgewood.

April 18: Homewood High School Prom. 8 p.m. Rosewood Hall. Visit Homewood.k12.al.us.

April 21: Homewood Chamber of Commerce Luncheon. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. The Club. Visit homewoodchamber.com.

April 24: Relay for Life. 4-11 p.m. Homewood Central Park. Teams of 10 to 25 people will raise money for cancer research and support programs. Visit relayforlife.org/homewoodal.

April 25: Raleigh Avenue Baptist Church Yard Sale. 7:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Raleigh Avenue Baptist Church. Proceeds will benefit Help One Now. Visit rabc.org.

April 25: Edgewood Elementary School Spring Festival. 2-6 p.m. Edgewood Elementary School. Inflatables, carnival rides, games, prizes, food and more. Email [email protected].

April 26: Sunday in the Italian Parlor. 2-3:30 p.m. Vulcan Park and Museum. Listen to music, singing and readings of poetry. $15. Visit visitvulcan.com.

May 2: We Love Homewood Day. 7:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Homewood Central Park. Call 332-6705.

May 2: Food Truck Round Up. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Upper Macy’s parking lot in Brookwood Village. $20 in advance. $25 at the door. Visit preschool-partners.org.

CalendarTheHomewoodStar.com April 2015 • B15

“An alternately amusing and inspiring trip from the top of the pro tennis barrel to the bottom—and back again.”

-Peter Bodo of Tennis magazine

Little Professor Book CenterHomewood, 2-4 p.m., signing

By Joe Samuel Starnes Appearances on Saturday, April 25

www.breakawaybooks.com

Hoover Public Library10:30 a.m., reading and discussion

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Homewood Star April 2015