280 Living
• A1 October October 2013 | Volume2013 7 | Issue 2
280Living.com
neighborly news & entertainment
Light The Night
‘but by a miracle’
Each Light The Night Walk helps the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society get one step closer to a cure. Find out how to participate in this year’s event inside.
‘They didn’t think I was going to live. They had asked all my family to come and say goodbye.’
Community page B13
Tips
from the pros
From picking fun projects for cold days to preparing your pool for its winter hibernation, learn it all from local professionals in our Fall Home and Garden section.
Special Section page B1
Haunted Chelsea Strange sounds lead a Chelsea resident to learn more about the area’s scary past.
Community page B16
INSIDE Sponsors .......... A4 280 News ......... A6 Business ........... A8 Intersections ... A12 Opinion ............. A17
Sports ............... A19 Fall Home ......... B1 Community ...... B7 School House ... B18 Calendar ........... B20
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Birmingham, AL Permit #656
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Stephanie Pugh
One survivor’s story helping open eyes to domestic abuse By KATIE TURPEN One October evening, Stephanie Pugh attempted to flee her home. For eight years, she suffered abuse from her husband, with whom she had two young children. She saw no way out. But that night, she was feeling brave. She packed her bags, grabbed her children and headed for the door. But before she could finally feel that rush of freedom, her husband forcefully stopped her. He kicked her down the flight of stairs inside their home. She lay at the bottom, bruised and battered. Then things took a true turn for the worse. “He shot me in the arm with a 12-gauge shotgun,” Pugh said. “He shot me in front of our 4-year-old daughter.” Pugh was taken to the emergency room where
Know it now See our guide to driving the new U.S. 280 on page A12
she remained for hours with her fate uncertain. “They didn’t think I was going to live,” Pugh said. “They had asked all my family to come and say goodbye.” But by a miracle, she did. Doctors took skin and muscles from her back and legs to put in her arm where she was shot. She recalls lying in the hospital bed feeling disfigured and helpless. “I couldn’t do anything. I had to be carried like a baby to the bathroom,” Pugh said. “It took a long time for me to recover.” Two weeks after the night she was shot, Pugh heard about the Run Away From Domestic Violence Race/Walk at St. Vincent’s One Nineteen Health and Wellness. A close family friend decided to walk in her honor. Pugh recalls looking at her daughter and asking her if she
See RUN AWAY | page A23
Domestic violence in Shelby County 3 instances of homicide 2 instances of rape 18 instances of aggravated assault 400 instances of simple assault 2012 statistics according to the Alabama Criminal Justice Information Center