March 2025 | Volume 15 | Issue 10
BROUGHT TO YOU BY
Serving the Birmingham area since 1958. HOMEWOOD’S COMMUNITY NEWS SOURCE THEHOMEWOODSTAR.COM | STARNESMEDIA.COM
SERVING HOMEWOOD, HOOVER, MOUNTAIN BROOK, VESTAVIA HILLS, TRUSSVILLE AND THE U.S. 280 CORRIDOR
GUINSERVICE.COM
SHOWERING IN SALES
205-595-4846
Sgt. Trent Ricketts has been named Homewood Police Officer of the Year for the third time. He received the honor in 2017, as seen in this photo. Staff photo.
Sgt. Trent Ricketts named Officer of the Year as Homewood reports 17% crime decline in 2024
Joe Falconer dominates Homewood real estate
By SARAH OWENS
By EMILY REED
R
eal estate was not necessarily always “the plan” for Joe Falconer, who initially thought he might attend law school after going to college at UAB. When plans for law school shifted, Falconer’s dad influenced him to give real estate a chance after Falconer lost a job he was working in the early ’90s. “I kind of woke up one day and noticed what was going on around me with other agents in the real estate business,” Falconer said. “I thought if they can do this, I can do it, too — and maybe I can do it a bit differently.” It was that determination and approach to the business that have consistently helped Falconer remain successful throughout the years.
THE REAL ESTATE REPORT This story is part of The Real Estate Report. For the full report, see pages 22-26.
See FALCONER | page 22
Sgt. Trent Ricketts has spent years chasing the darkest crimes — the kind that steal childhoods and destroy lives. He has tracked down human traffickers, rescued victims and helped put predators behind bars. It’s grueling work, but for Ricketts, it’s a calling. His relentless efforts, particularly in cases of human trafficking and child exploitation, helped drive a 17% decrease in overall crime in Homewood during 2024, according to statistics released in January by the Homewood Police Department. Now, after a year that saw his investigations stretch across five states, Ricketts has been named the Homewood Police Department’s 2024 Officer of the Year for the third time. Recently promoted to night shift patrol supervisor, Ricketts has played a pivotal role in some of the city’s most impactful investigations in his 12 years with the department. He spent six years as an investigator with the department’s Special Investigations Unit, and much of his work has focused on human trafficking, child exploitation and narcotics investigations — areas where the SIU has made significant progress over the past year.
Joe Falconer, a RealtySouth agent who sells properties around the Homewood area, models the shower in one of his listings. Photo by Savannah Schmidt.
INSIDE
AL#12175
Sponsors.............................4 City.......................................6
Schoolhouse.......................8 Business.............................14
Community........................16 Events.................................19
See CRIME | page 27 Sports................................20 facebook.com/thehomewoodstar
Summer Plans
Patriots grab state
Explore summer camp options in our Summer Camp Guide.
Homewood High School’s boys dominated the state meet to win their first state title in five years.
See page 10
See page 18