Clay council further discusses intersection cameras

Trussville woman
Former Pinson
drives 104 people home star honored,
in snow, ice, page 9
page 15
www.trussvilletribune.com
The Trussville Tribune
Your news source for Trussville, Clay and Pinson
Snow on the Water
February 6 - 12, 2014
50¢
First property
tax forum:
‘Time for some
neighborhood
schools’
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
About 40 people attended last Thursday’s first public forum about the proposed seven-millage property tax increase that would fund two new community elementary schools in Trussville.
The number of attendees was diminished due to last week’s wintry weather.
“It’s time for some neighborhood
schools,” Paine Primary School Principal Betsy Schmitt said at the start of the
forum.
That set the tone for the rest of the
meeting, which lasted just more than
one hour at the Trussville Civic Center.
Another public forum is scheduled for
Feb. 18 at 5:30 p.m. at the Trussville
Civic Center.
photo courtesy of the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve
Snow covered the banks of Turkey Creek in Pinson last week, when a winter storm swept through central Alabama, leaving thousands
stranded on major highways, in schools and in work offices. Most of last week was chaotic for area residents, but scenes from the
Turkey Creek Nature Preserve offer a serene look at last week’s snow. See more photos courtesy of the preserve on page 8.
Clay council further discusses
intersection cameras
by Lee Weyhrich
Staff Writer
The Clay City Council on
Monday further discussed the
possibility of adding cameras
at the city’s major intersections.
Councilman Ricky Baker
said cameras could be installed
for less than $40,000.
“We’re looking at putting
cameras at the four main intersections,” Baker said. “These
would not be for tickets, they’d
be for safety.”
The cameras would have a
high enough definition that
faces could be seen and license
plates could be read. Baker
once again said that these cameras would not be used for the
issuing of traffic tickets.
“This would be for public
safety, to look at wrecks and
also if there’s any crimes in
Clay,” he said. “There’s really
only four ways to get in and out
of Clay.”
The city has not made definite plans regarding the cameras.
The city of Center Point in
2011 placed traffic cameras
at several intersections after
state legislation allowed it. In
2012 a lawsuit was filed over
the cameras, claiming the ordinance initiating the enforce-
ment process was invalid due
to the procedure for appeal for
issued tickets was unconstitutional. The use of the cameras
was suspended the same year
after the lawsuit was filed.
The council is also looking
into several improvements at
Bryant Park. The playground
has become unsafe and many
facilities are in a state of disrepair. The council wants to first
restore the adult softball field
for public use. The goal is to
eventually put the park back in
a condition Clay residents can
be proud of.
Another thing the council is
looking into is the addition of a
dog park either at Bryant Park
photo courtesy of Trussville City Schools
A rendering of what the elementary
school in the Cahaba Project will look
like, as seen from where Jack Wood
Stadium currently stands
or at Cosby Lake Park. According to City Manager Ronnie Dixon, trees would need to
be cleared at the lake to make
room for a dog park, but the
addition of a dog park at Bryant Park would be an easy fix.
Things are improving every
year for the Clay Public Library, Library Director Karen
Moody reported Monday. In
2013, 14,653 people used the
library and 26,738 items were
checked out. The library received 169 new memberships
and had 1,169 people attend
special programs throughout
the year. Computer use was up
to 2,497 people.
Trussville City Schools Superintendent Pattie Neill said the benefits of two
new elementary schools are eliminating all portable classrooms at the Paine
Elementary Campus, improving school
safety with tornado shelters, improving
the quality of education with smaller
class sizes and increasing property
values. More than 300 students at the
Paine campus currently have classes in
13 portables.
Seven additional mills in property
taxes would cost Trussville residents
$70 per year on homes appraised at
$100,000, $140 per year on homes appraised at $200,000 and $210 per year
on homes appraised at $300,000.
The plan is to renovate the city’s origsee PROPERTY TAX page 3
Trussville authorizes funding of warrants, debt structure
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
The Trussville City Council
last week authorized the funding
of the warrants and debt structure for the city.
City Clerk Lynn Porter said the
series 2014 warrant issue, which
totals $58,845,000, refunded a
portion of the 2006A warrants
that were used for the construction of Hewitt-Trussville High
School ($28,070,000). It also
refunded the 2009 warrants,
which totaled $30,775,000 with
approximately $11.7 million in
refunding, that were used for the
Paine Elementary Campus, some
paving, sewer extension and
some new money for projects.
file photo by Gary Lloyd
Trussville City Hall on Main Street
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The remaining money is new
money, Porter said.
“This refunding is basically
the same thing as refinancing
your house to get a better interest rate,” Porter said.
She said the new money portion will be used to pay for the
new Hewitt-Trussville Stadium,
the extension of Husky Parkway,
the Husky Parkway bridge and
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February 6 - 12, 2014 |
The Trussville Tribune
Winners announced from Super Chili Bowl
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
Winners have been announced from the second
annual Super Chili Bowl in
Trussville.
The Grand Champion
Chili award went to the
Jefferson Memorial Campside Chefs team. Zach
Manning placed second
and Amerex Corporation
finished in third place.
The People’s Choice
Award Chili went to the
Trussville Volunteer Fire
Department. The Jefferson
Memorial Campside Chefs
won Best Booth and Center Point Fire & Rescue
won Best Costume/Showmanship.
submitted photo
The Amerex Corporation team
submitted photo
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2013 Readers Choice for
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February 6 - 12, 2014 |
Page 3
The Trussville Tribune
Tree giveaway at Turkey Creek Saturday Trussville Area
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
The Turkey Creek Nature Preserve
in Pinson has partnered with the
Alabama Forestry Commission and
the Arbor Day Foundation for an
Alabama Tree Recovery Campaign
tree giveaway to be held Saturday,
Feb. 8.
The event is part of a statewide
effort to provide seedlings to
communities affected by tornadoes
the past few years
The cities of Pinson, Clay and
Trussville
suffered
significant
damage in the Jan. 23, 2012, EF-3
tornado. Clay suffered the most
damage, as six neighborhoods were
affected, resulting in 321 damaged
homes, 170 of which suffered heavy
to severe damage. One person,
16-year-old Christina Heichelbech,
died in the tornado, and 40 to 50
people were treated and transported
to area hospitals.
The tree giveaway at Turkey Creek
Nature Preserve will be held at the
“Falls” parking lot starting at about
10 a.m. Feb. 8. It will continue until
all the trees have been handed out.
The free seedlings available will
include flowering dogwood, shumard
photo courtesy of Turkey Creek
Nature Preserve
Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in
Pinson
oak, eastern redbud, blackgum and
bald cypress.
“Over the last couple of years,
Pinson
and
the
surrounding
communities have lost a lot of trees
from storm and tornado damage,”
Turkey Creek Nature Preserve
Manager Charles Yeager said. “This
event is a great opportunity to help
not only restore those lost trees, but
also help make our community a
greener place.”
As part of the Alabama Tree
Recovery Campaign, similar tree
giveaways will be held Feb. 12 at 10
a.m. at the City of Clay Public Works
at 6423 Clay-Palmerdale Road and
Feb. 15 at 8 a.m. at Argo City Hall.
“Anyone interested may pick
up trees that day, but I encourage
everyone who was impacted by the
(Jan. 23, 2012) tornado, especially
in Georgebrook and Paradise Valley,
where so many trees were lost, to
plant as many trees as possible,” said
Clay City Manager Ronnie Dixon.
The giveaways are not just for
Pinson, Clay and Argo residents, so
anyone that wants a tree may get one.
“Providing trees to assist in
facilitating restoration efforts is a
way the Alabama Tree Recovery
Campaign can help with the
healing process,” said Dan Jackson,
Alabama’s acting state forester.
“Homes and neighborhoods can be
restored by planting beautiful trees,
along with the many environmental,
economic and social benefits those
trees provide.”
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@
trussvilletribune.com and follow him
on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
PROPERTY TAX continued from page 1
inal high school in the Cahaba Project and to build a
new school near the Magnolia Place subdivision.
One Trussville resident
asked if students who
lived fewer than two miles
from a school could still
ride the bus. Neill said
yes.
Another resident asked
about the distribution
of students across the
schools. Neill said no
“hard zone lines” have
been drawn yet. Neill did
say, though, that if the tax
referendum passes Feb.
25, the Trussville City
Board of Education will
discuss zoning lines at a
board retreat in April.
One resident asked about
which teachers would go
to which schools. Neill,
who said faculties would
be distributed equally
across the schools, said it
would be up to the teachers, that she would not
“force” teachers to go to a
certain school.
photo courtesy of Trussville City Schools
A rendering of the elementary school that will be built in
the Magnolia Place area
One Trussville resident,
who lives in Hidden Trace,
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said she worried about one
school being favored over
Chamber of
Commerce
annual banquet
this weekend
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
The
58th
annual
Trussville Area Chamber
of Commerce banquet will
be Saturday from 6 p.m.
to 9 p.m. at the Trussville
Civic Center.
The banquet will include
dinner, a silent auction and
entertainment provided by
the Shaun Pezant Trio. The
band plays oldies, doowop and jazz.
At the banquet, the
Gatekeeper
Awards
and Customer Service
Person of the Year will be
recognized.
Silent auction items
include gift certificates,
Birmingham
Barons
the others.
“The idea of a town being divided...that’s what
bothers me,” she said.
Neill said each school
will have the same standards and that each will
have the “latest and greatest” in technology.
“Everybody will have
the same opportunity,” she
said.
Neill said smaller class
sizes for K-5 students is
“the key” to meeting the
needs of students.
tickets,
a
two-night
stay in Sandestin with a
round of golf and more.
An autographed Auburn
University football will
also be up for bid.
There will be a table
decorating contest, and
the top winners will
receive $100, $75 and $50,
respectively.
For reservations or more
information, visit www.
trussvillechamber.com or
email Katie Thompson
at
katie.thompson@
trussvillechamber.com.
The chamber can be
reached at 205-655-7535.
Contact Gary Lloyd at
news@trussvilletribune.
com and follow him on
Twitter @GaryALloyd.
“I think this can only
make us better,” she said.
Trussville City Board of
Education President Bill
Roberts said he believes
Trussville is “seven mills
away” from being one of
the best city school systems around.
“This is the opportunity
we have,” he said.
NOWContact
OPEN
IN TRU
Gary Lloyd at
news@trussvilletribune.
com and follow him on
Twitter @GaryALloyd.
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and Events
NOW OPEN IN
CENTERPOINT AND TRUSSVILLE!
Call now and place your
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(For customers who have cleaning weekly.)
Garments and/or household items that we pick up on Tuesday
will be delivered on Friday, and items that we pick up on Friday
will be delivered on the following Tuesday.
205-655-1600
OPTION 2 – Call-In or Text for Service
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YOU call/text the Route Phone any time the day before or the
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Areas of service are limited.
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Trussville
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Page 4
February 6 - 12, 2014 |
Blackwell named
Lawmaker of the Year
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
Alabama State Sen. Slade Blackwell
on Tuesday was named Alabama Lawmaker of the Year by the LSCU Alabama
Governmental Affairs Department.
Blackwell is serving his first term in
the Alabama State Senate, representing
Jefferson and Shelby counties in District
15.
Blackwell is a regular contributor to
The Trussville Tribune.
Heading into this year’s legislative session, Blackwell wrote in a column for
The Trussville Tribune that his focus was
on pro-business bills, Pre-K funding and
passing fiscally responsible budgets.
Blackwell said he was working with
several legislative colleagues to sponsor a bill to reform the business license
system by simplifying and streamlining
the state and county business license pro-
cess. Blackwell is a small business owner
and said he believes small businesses are
the backbone of Alabama’s economy.
Blackwell said Alabama has one of the
best Pre-K programs in the nation, but it
must continue providing adequate funding to maintain this status.
Blackwell, a Montevallo native, received his art degree from Montevallo in
1991. In 1996, Blackwell opened his own
company, Inkana Development, a fully
integrated real estate company.
Blackwell, elected to the Alabama
State Senate in November 2010, currently serves on the board for the Lakeshore
Foundation, the Birmingham History
Center, the Pinson Education Foundation, the Birmingham Golf Association
and the Shelby Arts Council.
The Trussville Tribune
Troopers report more than 700
weather-related crashes
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
Alabama State Troopers
investigated 731 weatherrelated crashes during last
week’s winter storm.
Last Tuesday, there were
249 crashes. Last Wednesday, there were 172 crashes that were investigated.
There were 188 crashes
last Thursday and 122
crashes last Friday.
On a typical day, Ala-
Contact Gary Lloyd at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter
@GaryALloyd.
bama State Troopers investigate an average of 84
crashes statewide.
Contact Gary Lloyd at
news@trussvilletribune.
com and follow him on
Twitter @GaryALloyd.
photo courtesy of Keith Kennedy
A car in a ditch on South Chalkville Road in Trussville last Tuesday
Clay councilwoman thanks city leaders for winter storm aid
by Lee Weyhrich
Staff Writer
Mayor Charles Webster, City Manager Ronnie Dixon, Public Works
Superintendent Josh Isbell
and many others worked
tirelessly through last
week’s winter storm, Clay
City Councilwoman Becky
Johnson said Monday.
“I would like to say
thank you to the mayor and
to Ronnie and to Josh, (as
photo courtesy of
www.clayalabama.org
Clay City Councilwoman
Becky Johnson
well as) all Public Works
people and deputies for all
the work they did during
the ice storm of 2014, especially for all the people
that needed a ride or a push
out of a ditch,” Johnson
said. “We’re very grateful to have them around. I
know the mayor and Ronnie both made numerous
trips taking people home.”
Webster continued to
give stranded motorists
rides home through last
Thursday.
photo courtesy of
www.clayalabama.org
Clay Mayor
Charles Webster
photo courtesy of
www.clayalabama.org
Clay City Manager
Ronnie Dixon
Clay Senior Activity
Center co-director Linda
Plummer stayed overnight
at the center with stranded
senior citizens due to the
weather.
Even though the ice
threat has ended, poor
weather continues to halt
the patching and repaving
of Old Springville Road.
According to Dixon, workers need at least three good
weather days in a row before the project may be
started.
Trussville PD chief thanks Shay Shelnutt announces
run for state Senate seat
community for winter
storm support
by Scott Buttram
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
Trussville Police Chief
Don Sivley last week posted a message on the police
department’s
Facebook
page, thanking the city’s
residents for their support
during the winter storm.
“Citizens have been
understanding and cooperative during a very difficult time, which had our
resources stretched to the
limit,” Sivley said.
Sivley thanked those
with ATVs who volunteered, those who drove
residents home and more.
“There have been so
many who helped in so
many ways I can’t even
begin to name them all,”
Sivley said. “The kindness,
the willingness to brave
the elements just to help a
stranger is such a testament
of what we can achieve
when we all pull together.”
Contact Gary Lloyd at
news@trussvilletribune.
com and follow him on
Twitter @GaryALloyd.
file photo
A Trussville police car
Publisher
Trussville businessman
Shay Shelnutt announced
Monday that he has qualified to run for the District
17 state Senate seat, which
covers a portion of Jefferson, Blount and St. Clair
counties. The office is being vacated by Scott Beason, who said last week
that he would not seek reelection. Shelnutt will run
as a Republican.
Shelnutt grew up in Pinson and is a graduate of
Pinson Valley High School.
He attended the University
of Montevallo on academic and golf scholarships
where he earned Academic
All-American honors before graduating with a degree in business finance.
He also earned a Master’s
of Education in math.
A former teacher and
coach, Shelnutt spent 10
years at Clay-Chalkville
High School and Oneonta
High School. He has also
taught classes Jefferson
State Community College.
He has been involved in
real estate and business development since 2006.
Shelnutt and his family are active members of
Palmerdale United Methodist Church. He is married to Paige Harwell Shelnutt and has two daughters,
Lexie and Lacie.
submitted photo
Shay Shelnutt qualifies to run for the state Senate seat in
District 17.
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The Trussville Tribune
Pinson neighbor holds burglary suspect at
gunpoint until deputies arrive
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
A Pinson neighbor held a
burglary suspect at gunpoint
until Jefferson County sheriff’s
deputies arrived on scene last
Thursday.
At about 3:30 p.m. last
Thursday, deputies responded
to a report of a burglary at a
residence in the 7400 block of
Mountain Laurel Drive in Pinson.
Neighbors spotted three suspects
attempting to break into the home
and confronted them. While on
the way, deputies learned that
one suspect was being held at
gunpoint and two others had fled
into the woods, said Jefferson
County Sheriff’s Office Chief
Deputy Randy Christian. They
left their getaway vehicle at the
house, he said.
Deputies arrived to find
neighbors detaining a 17-yearold male suspect. The suspect
was found to be in possession
of a pistol. He also had a set of
keys belonging to the burglary
victim. Other responding deputies
located the two other suspects and
took them into custody without
incident. One was an adult and the
other was a 16-year-old juvenile.
The adult suspect was found to be
in possession of marijuana.
The two juveniles were charged
with second-degree burglary and
criminal mischief. They were
placed in the custody of the
Jefferson County Youth Detention
Facility.
The adult was identified as
19-year-old Contrell Dreonte
Heard of Birmingham. He was
charged with second-degree
Page 5
burglary and possession of
marijuana. He was being held
in the Jefferson County Jail last
week with bonds totaling $6,000.
“This is a great example of
neighbors looking out for each
other, (and) because of that three
criminals were caught,” Christian
said. “We love it when the good
guys beat the bad guys.”
photo courtesy of the Jefferson
County Sheriff’s Office
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@
trussvilletribune.com and follow
him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
Contrell Dreonte Heard
Cities issuing car tags bill passes JeffCo Senate
than
8,000
Trussville
addresses in November by
Mayor Gene Melton asked
if residents would renew
vehicle tags at Trussville
City Hall if allowed to do
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
The Jefferson County
Senate Committee on
Tuesday passed legislation
to authorize cities to
issue car tags, Rep. Paul
DeMarco said in a Twitter
post.
DeMarco tweeted that the
bill now goes on to the full
Senate for consideration.
The bill would offer
another alternative for
Jefferson County residents
and should help to reduce
Jefferson County’s long
lines.
The proposed law allows
any city in Jefferson County
to take part in motor vehicle
registration, including the
issuance of license plates.
The city would not be
allowed to issue a license
so.
Of 1,048 responses to the
question, 985 said they’d
favor the renewal process at
Trussville City Hall. Just 63
said they would not favor it.
Contact Gary Lloyd at
news@trussvilletribune.
com and follow him on
Twitter @GaryALloyd.
file photo by Gary Lloyd
Could Trussville City Hall soon be an answer for long tag
lines at Jefferson County courthouses?
plate for vehicles not
previously registered in
the state or in the name of
the current vehicle owner.
In addition, the city could
only issue license plates
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city would collect all fees
and taxes in the same way
as the county.
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February 6 - 12, 2014 |
The Trussville Tribune
January car tag registration deadline extended
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
State Revenue Commissioner
Julie P. Magee announced last
week that the January motor
vehicle registration, renewal,
transfer and vehicle property tax
payment deadlines have been
extended through Feb. 10 for
all Alabama residents affected
by county office closings due to
severe winter weather conditions
Jan. 28.
Alabama vehicle owners,
whose registration month is
photo courtesy of
www.jeffconline.jccal.org
The Jefferson County seal
January, will not be subject to
delinquent penalties for late
vehicle registration or for late
payment of vehicle property tax,
provided the registrations are
completed during the extension
period, which runs through Feb.
10.
In addition, the extension applies
to motor vehicle registrations and
renewals for Alabama–based
vehicles registered pursuant to the
International Registration Plan
and the payment of property taxes
on the IRP vehicles.
The
January
registration
renewal extension also applies
to individuals who have recently
purchased or otherwise acquired
a vehicle, but have not registered
their newly acquired vehicle
within the 20-day registration
period. This affects vehicles
purchased or otherwise acquired,
whereby the 20-day registration
requirement falls during the
month of January.
Jefferson County Revenue
Department Director Travis
Hulsey said he requested the
state’s consideration to extend the
due date for January renewals.
“This extension will be a huge
relief and benefit to all Jefferson
County citizens who need to
renew their registrations for the
month of January,” Hulsey said.
“Although the volume of activity
for the month of January has
been steady, we were anticipating
a significant spike in activity
during this last week of January.
This extension will, hopefully,
allow the volume of activity to
be ‘smoothened’ through the Feb.
10 extension date as February is
historically a higher volume of
activity month for renewals.”
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@
trussvilletribune.com and follow
him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
Trussville OKs 31 poll workers for property tax election
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
The Trussville City
Council last Wednesday
approved three inspectors and 28 clerks to work
the Feb. 25 seven-millage
property tax election.
The approval of a property tax increase would
fund two new community
elementary schools in the
city.
The election will be from
7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at Trussville City Hall and First
Baptist Church of Trussville.
The three inspectors approved were Catherine
McKee, Ruth McKelvey
and Evelyn Wages. They
will be paid $200 each,
according to the approved
resolution.
Registration list clerks
will be Judy Barnett and
Harold Clements. Poll list
clerks will be Elizabeth
Jordan Creel and Judy Clements. Ballot clerks will be
Faye Crane Williams and
Jeannine Sizemore.
Additional clerks are
John Griscom, Sandra
McKee, Glenda Seals, Janice Schneider, Roy Wages,
Stephen Ward, Charlotte
Wiggins, Mavis Ballard, Sybil Barber, Robert Chamberlain, Imelda
Gilmer, Carol Glidewell,
Claudia Hope, Lawrence
McKelvey, Beckie Nash,
Lynda Payne, Patricia
Reed, Peggy Sisson, Dorothy Walters, Pam Pratt, Eva
Sharp and Reba Wills.
An alternate is Jan Davis.
Clerks will be paid $150
each.
Based on the resolution,
the total amount to be paid
to inspectors and clerks is
$4,800.
Contact Gary Lloyd at
news@trussvilletribune.
com and follow him on
Twitter @GaryALloyd.
Body found northwest of
Trussville to acquire mobile Pinson last week
by Gary Lloyd
command vehicle
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
The Trussville City
Council last Wednesday
voted to approve the purchase of a mobile command vehicle.
The city will acquire a
2003 Freightliner from
Farber Specialty Vehicles
for $125,000. The 35-foot
mobile command vehicle
will be used as a mobile
dispatch unit for the Trussville Police Department. It
can be used remotely as a
secondary dispatch or be
used in the case of emergency or natural disaster.
It could also be used as a
backup should Trussville
City Hall be affected, City
Clerk Lynn Porter said.
In September 2013, the
Trussville Police Department added a mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicle to its fleet, a vehicle
designed to help protect
military troops from mines
and improvised explosive
devices.
Lt. Jeff Bridges said at
the time that the armored
vehicle will be used for
tactical operations, with of-
ficer safety being the main
objective. The 2007 vehicle has accumulated nearly
5,000 miles and will likely
eventually be painted black
with Trussville Police Department lettering and logos, Bridges said.
The vehicle weighs
37,000 pounds, about
1,000 less pounds than it
did when it had a gun turret mounted to its top.
Editor
The Jefferson County
Coroner’s Office positively identified the woman
found in the 7400 block of
Dewey Goodwin Road last
Thursday as 61-year-old
Barbara J. Tuggle.
The cause of death has
not yet been determined
but no foul play is suspected.
Just after 1:30 p.m. last
Contact Gary Lloyd at
news@trussvilletribune.
com and follow him on
Twitter @GaryALloyd.
Brian’s
Thursday, deputies responded to a report of a
body found in the 7400
block of Dewey Goodwin
Road in northern Jefferson
County.
A homeowner using a
ladder at his residence saw
the body lying in the woods
nearby. The homeowner
called for paramedics and
checked on the body, finding a female that was obviously deceased.
“It appears that she was
deceased and at this loca-
tion prior to the storm,”
Jefferson County Sheriff’s
Office Chief Deputy Randy
Christian said. “There is no
sign of trauma and cause of
death along with positive
identification will have to
be made by the medical
examiner’s office.”
Contact Gary Lloyd at
news@trussvilletribune.
com and follow him on
Twitter @GaryALloyd.
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February 6 - 12, 2014 |
Page 7
The Trussville Tribune
Need for 2 new elementary Trussville Municipal Court
offering amnesty day
schools ‘rang true’ with
superintendent during snow by Gary Lloyd
by Gary Lloyd
Editor
Snow and ice had not
been thought of as part of
student safety.
This is, after all, Alabama.
Last Tuesday’s inclement
weather, however, changed
the thinking. Students
were stranded overnight
at schools and Good
Samaritans helped their
neighbors on a day when
the forecasted weather
wasn’t correct.
Trussville City Schools
Superintendent
Pattie
Neill said “most of the
students”
stranded
in
schools overnight live in
the Magnolia Place-Hidden
Trace area of Trussville
on the southern end of the
city. The Paine Elementary
Campus is on the northern
end of the city limits. They
travel the longest distance
to school every day.
The stranded students
and faculty, along with
parents not being able to
get to their children, struck
a chord with Neill. She’s
talked at length about the
need for two community
elementary schools to
ease overcrowding at the
Paine schools, and provide
safety for students and the
community. But the safety
had more to do tornadoes
and keeping all students
inside school walls, not in
portables.
“It just really rang true
with me. We had talked
about student safety, that
students would be safer in
case of inclement weather,”
Neill said. “That was
always about bringing kids
in out of portables and
getting them into a tornado
shelter. We’ve never talked
about snow and ice. But
(last Tuesday was) the day
to talk about it.”
Neill said two community
elementary schools would
have helped last Tuesday,
if parents were home and if
students could walk home
with parent permission.
She said had that been the
case, students would have
walked with staff members,
that students wouldn’t
be turned loose to “walk
randomly.”
“We could have gotten
them safely home on foot
with our eyes on them,” she
said.
Neill said last Tuesday’s
weather speaks to the
need for two community
elementary schools and for
the seven-millage property
tax increase to pass. The
vote is Feb. 25.
Seven additional mills in
property taxes would cost
Trussville residents $70 per
year on homes appraised
at $100,000, $140 per
year on homes appraised
at $200,000 and $210 per
year on homes appraised at
$300,000.
The plan is to renovate
the city’s original high
school in the Cahaba
Project and to build a new
school near the Magnolia
Place subdivision. The
schools will likely house
400 students each and could
house as many as 500.
“It won’t happen unless
the tax referendum passes,”
Neill said.
Contact Gary Lloyd at
news@trussvilletribune.
com and follow him on
Twitter @GaryALloyd.
Editor
Trussville
Municipal
Court and the Trussville
Police Department are offering an amnesty day
Wednesday, Feb. 12 due
to the high number of outstanding warrants.
The amnesty day, granted by Judge Carl Chamblee, begins at 8 a.m. for
people to clear outstanding warrants on failure to
appear, failure to comply
and bail jumping for any of
the following offenses: Not
appearing in court on original charge; not completing
a court-ordered program;
or have outstanding fines,
court costs and/or restitution or warrants for writing
a bad check.
Defendants must pay all
outstanding fines, court
costs and/or restitution on
Feb. 12. If a court-ordered
program was not completed, the court will re-enroll
the defendant in the program.
Last year’s amnesty
day cleared more than 25
outstanding warrants and
photo by Gary Lloyd
This sign is outside Trussville City Hall.
closed more than 65 cases.
The one-day event collected more than $18,000
in fines and costs.
For more information,
call the Trussville Municipal Court at 205-655-8352
between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Monday through Friday.
Contact Gary Lloyd at
news@trussvilletribune.
com and follow him on
Twitter @GaryALloyd.
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