280 Living
March 2017 | Volume 10 | Issue 7
neighborly news & entertainment
The Next Level
Spain Park, Chelsea, Briarwood Christian, Westminster and Oak Mountain combine to recognize more than 40 student-athletes who signed National Letters of Intent to continue their academic, athletic pursuits at the college level.
LEAVING A
legacy
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Pursuit of Passion
OMHS graduates leave mark on school through annual color run Oak Mountain High School Color Run founders Mandy Kelly and Mollie Shealy (front) toss pigments into the air with current organizers Emily Anne Beauchaine, Sara Adamson and Kaitlin Manolio outside of Oak Mountain High School. After a rocky start back in 2013, the OMHS Color Run has become an annual event that benefits cancer research at UAB. Photo by Sarah Finnegan. Oak Mountain High School alumna Ryland Lovvorn continues to grow and express herself through her art.
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By ERICA TECHO
T
he first Oak Mountain High School Color Run did not go as expected. Rain washed away the chalked-out running trail, they ran low on T-shirts, and in the end, the fundraiser made around negative $200. Despite that rough start, the Color Run 5K is now entering its fourth year and is continuing to grow. “The first run was just a disaster. I think we had like 100 people turn up,” said Mollie Shealy, one of the founders of the run. OMHS graduates Shealy and Mandy Kelly
A joint project between Shelby County and Alabama State Parks is taking place at Oak Mountain State Park. A new sidewalk from the parking lot to a newly re-established beach is one aspect of the project. Photo by Erica Techo.
organized the first color run in 2013, and while they decided in the fall to host a color run, planning didn’t start until February or March, Kelly said. “We did all the planning, and it was kind of hard,” Kelly said. “It was hectic because it was two 17/18-year-old girls who had never planned a color run or 5K before.” It started as an end-of-the-year fundraiser for Relay for Life through SGA, but both had a greater connection to the cause. Shealy’s grandfather, Donald Reid Ellison, had died three years prior after being diagnosed with lung cancer. Kelly’s grandmother, Susan Adele
Provost Powers, died from a cerebral hemorrhage after she was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. For Shealy, organizing a run to raise money for cancer research was the result of a love for her grandfather. She went through the process of seeing him diagnosed and seeing his health complications, and after he died, she wanted to make a change. “After my grandfather passed away, I really had this pull to the fire that I want to help in
See COLOR RUN | page A31
Re-established beach, new amenities to provide extra space for park-goers By ERICA TECHO Visitors to Oak Mountain State Park will have a few more amenities to look forward to as the weather warms up. As part of a joint venture between Shelby County and the Alabama State Parks Division, the back end of Oak Mountain State Park is getting spruced up. Work to re-establish a beach at Beaver Lake as well as build new piers, improve the boat parking area and
See PARK | page A30