The Homewood Star
Volume 6 | Issue 9 | December 2016
neighborly news & entertainment for Homewood
A
star IS born
Tasked with decorating city streets and surpassing expectations, crew gets jump-start on holiday spirit
T
By SYDNEY CROMWELL
he star lighting ceremony is one of the most iconic parts of Homewood’s Christmas celebration. But Carl Russell of the city’s fleet management department gets more satisfaction out of seeing it shine in his department garage rather than over 18th Street. “I think turning the lights on here is my favorite part because it’s dark in here, and you turn the lights on and see it all working, and working perfectly. You’re like, ‘Wow, done it again,’” Russell said. Russell has worked with fleet management for 13 years, but
See STAR | page A26
Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
Rocking a sense of community Sisters share ‘wholesome’ game to stimulate residents’ interactions By SYDNEY CROMWELL
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Tupelo, MS Permit #54
Sisters Kris Black and Kendall Hornady started the Homewood Rocks Facebook group in October. Photo by Sydney Cromwell.
INSIDE
An everyday rock can become so much more: a strawberry, a mouse, a superhero or an inspirational message for a stranger. All it takes is a paintbrush and some creativity from members of the Homewood Rocks Facebook group. Kris Black, a 26-year Homewood resident and nurse at Brookwood Medical Center, started the Homewood Rocks group in early October. The idea is simple: paint and hide rocks in public places around the community. If
Sponsors .............. A4 News...................... A6
Chamber............... A9 Business ..............A10
Gift Guide ............A16 Events .................. A21
you find a rock, take a picture and either hide it again or take it home and paint a new rock to replace it. The project was born from Black’s trip to Texas in September for the University of Alabama game against the University of Southern California. Family members living in nearby Mansfield, Texas, told Black and her family about a group that painted and hid rocks throughout the city. Black was instantly taken with the idea and painted 20 rocks of her own to take back to Birmingham. “It was so fun. It was like an Easter egg hunt or something,” Black said. Black enlisted her sister, Kendall Hornady, a fellow Homewood resident and preschool teacher at Hall-Kent
See ROCKS | page A25 Community .......... B6 School House ...... B8
Sports .................. B10 Calendar .............. B18 facebook.com/thehomewoodstar
Eye for Design
Hungry for More
Homewood designer Meg Wallace welcomes Southern Living into her home for 2016 Christmas book feature.
With recent tastes of a state championship still palpable, Lady Patriots working for a second serving.
See page B4
See page B10