July 2026 | Volume 14 | Issue 3
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Find your rhythm Steel City Swing fills The Magnolia Ballroom with music and movement By KARIM SHAMSI-BASHA
B
ack in 2011 at a Huntsville ballroom, music thundered and couples whirled beneath dim lights. Twenty-two-year-old Ben Dill spotted a beautiful young woman standing quietly to the side. Around her, dancers spun across the floor while laughter rose above the music every time someone missed a step and burst into giggles.
See SWING | page 22
Terry and Angel Dahlgren dancing at a Steel City Swing class. The group, led by instructors Ben Dill and Katie Morgida, teaches Lindy Hop, East Coast Swing, Balboa, Charleston, shag and Peabody and requires no prior dance experience or partner to participate. Photo by Karim Shamsi-Basha.
Jamie Harris steps down after 11 years leading Rebels baseball program By KYLE PARMLEY
Vestavia Hills head coach Jamie Harris (right) leads his team during the National Anthem before a game in March 2026 in Birmingham. Photo by David Leong.
Jamie Harris always told his players to leave the jersey in a better place than they found it. After 11 years as head coach of the Vestavia Hills High School baseball program, Harris believes he did exactly that and decided the time was right to hand it off to someone else.
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“It was just time, man,” Harris said. “I’ve been coaching before I got into teaching. It’s almost 30 years doing the same thing and just time to do something else.” Harris, a Vestavia Hills native who graduated from the school in 1996, retires having coached the program he represented as a player. In that span, he guided the Rebels to seven playoff
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appearances, three semifinal appearances and one state championship, the program’s first since legendary coach Sammy Dunn won the last of his nine titles in 2000.
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See HARRIS | page 23 Scan the QR code to follow us online!
All-South Metro
Tamara Forbes
Vestavia Hills baseball and softball players were recognized on All-South Metro teams.
Meet the new Vestavia Hills Municipal Court director.
See pages 16 and 17
See page 6
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