BROUGHT TO YOU BY
August 2025 | Volume 13 | Issue 4
SERVING VESTAVIA HILLS, THE 280 CORRIDOR, HOMEWOOD, HOOVER, MOUNTAIN BROOK AND TRUSSVILLE
VESTAVIA HILLS’ COMMUNITY NEWS SOURCE VESTAVIAVOICE.COM | STARNESMEDIA.COM
2025 VOTER GUIDE
Time to vote
On the Ballot: Meet the candidates running to serve as the next mayor or City Council member. See page 22
Mayor’s seat, 2 council spots up for grabs in 2025 Vestavia Hills election By JON ANDERSON
W
hen Vestavia Hills voters go to the polls on Aug. 26, they’ll find seven names on the ballot. At the top will be two-term incumbent Mayor Ashley Curry going up against challenger Richard Cheatwood, a former Vestavia Hills police officer.
Richard Cheatwood Candidate for Mayor
Ashley Curry Candidate for Mayor
Ask the Candidates: Candidates for mayor and council share their views on key issues facing the city. See page 24
Kimberly Cook, another two-term incumbent on the City Council, is facing competition from karate instructor Karl Julian. And three people — Brian DeMarco, Jacob Pugh and Michael Vercher — are battling for an open council seat vacated by Paul Head.
Follow us for more: Stay up to date with election news by connecting with us online.
See VOTE | page 20
Kimberly Cook Candidate for City Council, Place 2
Karl Julian Candidate for City Council, Place 2
Brian DeMarco Candidate for City Council, Place 3
Jacob Pugh Candidate for City Council, Place 3
Michael Vercher Candidate for City Council, Place 3
Schools that built a city: From scrutiny to excellence, school system lives up to founders’ dreams By TIM STEPHENS
Members of the VHHS Class of 2025 celebrate commencement in May, the latest to complete their education in a school system consistently ranked among the state’s best since its founding in 1970. Photo by David Leong.
Vestavia Voice is highlighting key moments, people and places in the city’s history throughout 2025. See more stories at VestaviaVoice. com.
INSIDE
The year was 1970. Sara Wuska was a self-described busybody — the kind of neighbor who organized the PTA, pushed bookmobiles into action and knew every kid on her street by name. So when desegregation orders threatened to plunge Jefferson County schools into turmoil, she didn’t wait. “I know you said you’d rather have a hole in your head than have a school system,” she remembered telling Robert Guillot, the mayor of Vestavia Hills. “But you see what’s going on.” That call helped launch what became Vestavia Hills
Sponsors............................. 4 Schoolhouse....................... 6
Business.............................. 8 Real Estate........................ 10
City Schools — a system built in a moment of federal scrutiny, yet shaped with uncommon resolve. On April 28, 1970, Vestavia Hills residents approved the property tax increase that would launch their own system. The largest turnout in the city’s history at that time produced a close vote — 1,625 yes, 1,404 no — but the result was met with urgency. Days later, Wuska was one of five people appointed to the first school board on May 4, 1970. She was the only woman, and the youngest by decades.
See SCHOOL | page 26
Events................................. 12 Sports................................. 14
Community........................ 16 facebook.com/vestaviavoice
Back to School
Under the Lights
New faces, new spaces and continued excellence greet Vestavia Hills students this fall.
Trials by fire paying off for Rebels football.
See page 6
See page 14
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