June 2023 | Volume 11 | Issue 9
Sun HOOVER’S COMMUNITY NEWS SOURCE HOOVERSUN.COM | STARNESMEDIA.COM
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Retired Simmons science teacher makes waves in Nashville
ROAD READY
See page B4
Track & Field
Bucs sweep state outdoor titles for 2nd straight year.
See page B10
INSIDE Sponsors........... A4 City......................A6 Business........... A10 Community...... A12
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By GRACE THORNTON
R
obert Abernathy said if you had told him 16 years ago when he was just starting his teaching career at Simmons Middle School that this year he’d be getting on a bus for a country music tour, he never would’ve believed you. But Kevin Erwin, who taught and coached with him at Simmons and later became his principal, said he’s not surprised in the least. “He’s honestly one of those people you want to hate because he’s so good at everything,” joked Erwin, now principal of Shades Mountain Elementary School. “He’s truly a Renaissance man with a knack
for doing everything well — a great athlete, a great science teacher, a great communicator, a great artist. But the thing that really makes him lovable is he downplays all that.” Abernathy plays right into Erwin’s last description — he says the story here isn’t that he’s good; it’s that he’s “old.” “I’m turning 50 this year,” Abernathy said. Abernathy started playing with a gospel group in the early ’90s when he was almost out of high school. Then after his band won first place at the Nashville Starbound Competition at the Grand Ole Opry House in 1995, “things kind of fizzled out.
See ROAD | page A19
Robert Abernathy, a former seventh grade science teacher at Simmons Middle School and current resident of Nashville, stands in front of a mural at Margarita Grill in Pelham before playing a show with his band on April 15. Photo by Erin Nelson.
Summer surge
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Hoover Met Complex activity heats up June-August
By JON ANDERSON
Youth baseball teams compete in the Perfect Game Deep South Fall Elite Baseball Tournament at the Hoover Metropolitan Complex in September 2021. Photo courtesy of Sports Facilities Management.
Don’t be surprised if the roads, restaurants and hotels around the Hoover Metropolitan Complex are more crowded than usual over the next few months. With summertime arriving and
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kids out of school, the Hoover Met Complex is hopping. “Summer is our peak season. It’s our busiest time of the year,” said Shannon Ealy, general manager of
See HOOVER MET | page A18