Sun Neighborly news & entertainment for Hoover
Four finalists vying for city schools superintendent
Marczak
Murphy
Ledbetter
Wilson
Volume 3 | Issue 8 | May 2015
IT’S TIME TO TAKE A vacation FROM CLEANING. Give yourself a break, call the cleaning service most recommended to family and friends.
Proudly keeping homes cleaner and healthier since 1987
871-9338 www.MAIDS.com
Referred for a reason.
Old school, new life
By ROY L. WILLIAMS The process of selecting a new superintendent for Hoover City Schools is entering its final phase. The new superintendent should be selected by late May. The Hoover Board of Education completed interviews of the four finalists in late April, and between now and May 22 will be checking references and doing site visits of cities where the candidates currently work. Â On April 14, Dr. Kendy Behrends, a consultant for the Alabama Association of School Boards, which consulted the national search
See SUPERINTENDENT | page A22
City of Hoover to buy the old Berry school site By ROY L. WILLIAMS The city of Hoover has agreed to buy the old Berry High School property, and the mayor said he is exploring plans to convert it into a proposed athletic complex.
Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey stands in front of the iconic wall mural adjacent to the old Berry High School. The mural, which will remain at the site, was built by students in 1965, two years before Hoover became a city. Photo by Karim Shamsi-Basha.
The Hoover City Council, during its April 20 meeting, passed a resolution in a 7-0 vote authorizing Mayor Gary Ivey to enter a contract with the Hoover Board of Education to purchase the old Berry High property, 2826 Columbiana Road, for $9 million.
Under the contract, the Hoover school system will receive $3 million in cash at closing, followed by two more $3 million payments over the next two years.
See BERRY | page A6
INSIDE City .....................A4 Community .......A14 School House ....B11
Sports .................B15 Real Estate ........B20 Calendar .............B21
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Memphis, TN Permit #830
facebook.com/thehooversun
Making an impact HHS graduate provides supplies and funds to developing countries By MADISON MILLER When Alex Stern arrived in Arusha, Tanzania, in southeast Africa last year, he came prepared to give. After choosing to take a year off between graduation from Hoover High School and starting college, Stern created an organization called Project Kits 4 Kids. He collected soccer gear from across Birmingham to give to students at Zion Gate, a school in a poverty-stricken area of Tanzania. Stern wanted to share his lifelong love of soccer and
See 4 KIDS | page A23
HHS graduate Alex Stern created the organization Project Kits 4 Kids. Photo by Madison Miller.