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From The Tribune staff reports
TRUSSVILLE — Trussville Fire and Rescue is collecting toys and food for their annual toy drive, “Christmas for Kids.” The donations program is designed to help famSee CHRISTMAS, Page 6
Council member confronts mayor over past payments at Leeds Council meeting By Nathan Prewett For the Tribune
LEEDS – A meeting of the Leeds City Council on Nov. 5 was the site of another round of tensions as Councilman Eric Turner confronted Mayor David Miller over See LEEDS, Page 5
Authorities search for missing 56-yearold woman out of Ragland From The Tribune staff reports
ST. CLAIR COUNTY — The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a missing 56-year-old woman last seen in Ragland. According to the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Office, See MISSING, Page 3
Springville approves longevity pay in time for the holidays By Terry Schrimscher For The Tribune
SPRINGVILLE — The Springville City Council met Monday night, December 5, for the first regular meeting of December. Much of the discussion centered on the issue of longevity pay for city employees. See SPRINGVILLE, Page 6
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Hewitt dominates Mountain Brook
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2022
City of Trussville purchases ‘Glendale Farms’ property for potential new school By Hannah Curran Editor
TRUSSVILLE — Trussville City Council called a special session on Wednesday, Nov. 30, at 8 a.m. at the City Hall Annex to consider two real estate transactions. The council approved an ordinance declaring certain property on Trussville-Clay Road owned by the City of Trussville as surplus and approving its sale to the Trussville Public Building Authority. Mayor Buddy Choat explained that this property is where the future Fire Station No. 4 is proposed to be built. “It belonged to Utilities, Utilities conveyed it over to the city, and we declared a surplus,” Choat said. “We’re selling it to the Public Building Authority to build Fire Station No. 4, and it will also house our inspections department as well.” The council also approved a resolution for the purchase of certain property, commonly known as Glendale Farms,
City of Trussville Logo (Photo by Hannah Curran)
for $3.69 million. Ratifying the mayor’s actions in executing all related documents and authorizing and ratifying the expenditure of funds for the purchase of said real estate. Paul Ott Carruth, Jr. and Lindsey Bowers Carruth currently hold a First Right of Refusal (FROR) on Glendale, allowing the Carruths to purchase Glendale under the same terms and conditions as within the agreement. The Carruths are selling the FROR to the city for $10.
“The city will own it once we close on it,” Choat said. “It’s roughly 230 acres; 158 of those acres were included in the proposed development that was going to be there, but we had worked with the property owner; they had FROR. He assigned his first refusal to the city to consider purchasing it.” The resolution states that “the city believes that accepting the assignment purchasing the property will provide additional public space- a necessity due to the population growth
Moody Christmas Parade set for this Saturday From The Tribune staff reports
Trussville has experienced in recent years and additional space for the construction of a public school by Trussville City Schools.” Choat explained that the property had been looked at from several different ways. “We know the school will be on that site somewhere,” Choat said. “We have some potential businesses, a business that wants to be there if we develop it for him. There’s still a lot of work to do. We hope to be able to come up with a plan that will be very pleasing.” Today’s special session was not to set a plan in stone but to allow Choat to move forward with signing the contract for the city to purchase the property. Councilmember Jaime Anderson explained that the city is not in the planning stages yet. “It’s a beautiful property, and it has a lot of potential,” Choat said. The next city council meeting will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 13, at 6 p.m. at the City Hall Annex, located at 113 North Chalkville Road.
Center Point Council hears presentation from Jefferson County Schools superintendent By Nathan Prewett For The Tribune
CENTER POINT – Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Dr. Walter Gonsoulin gave a presentation to the Center Point City Council at a meeting on Thursday, Dec. 1, where he noted the highlights of local school performances. Gonsoulin spoke on the report cards released by the Alabama Department of Education, grading each school based on their students’ performance. Center Point High School received a score of 59, while Erwin Middle School was graded 70, and Erwin Intermediate School and Center Point Elementary were both graded 65. Gonsoulin noted that 28 percent of students at the elementary school scored as proficient in English language arts, and 18 percent scored proficient in math. He then spoke on chronic absenteeism, determined as being absent for 18 or more days. In addition, 32 percent of el-
Jefferson County Schools Superintendent Walter Gonsoulin speaks to the Center Point City Council about school performances at a meeting on Dec. 1. (Photo by Nathan Prewett)
ementary students scored as chronically absent. At Erwin Intermediary, 21 percent scored proficient in English language arts and 2 percent in math. Chronic absenteeism was 33 percent. At Erwin Middle School, 19 percent scored proficient in English language arts, 3 percent in math, and 28 percent were chronically absent. He said the participation rate was
MARTY’S TRUSSVILLE Inside the Tribune
46 percent and that data has shown that the more students participate, the better their other scores are. At Center Point High School, 3 percent scored proficient in English language art and 1 percent in math, with chronic absenteeism being 33 percent. The graduation rate was 85 percent. The college and career or CCR readiness rate was 78 percent. Gonsoulin
said that the county is working to close gaps in CCR rates. “The state has just passed an item that starting next year, everyone graduating from high school would have to have a CCR,” Gonsoulin said. “So we’re going to have to be very, very intentional about making sure that our children are one of those particular things so they can receive their diploma.” Later Councilman Glenn Williams asked Gonsoulin what could be done to alleviate absenteeism in schools. “There are certain things the school system is prepared to do,” Gonsoulin said. “We’ll take care of the academics. We will take care of the five times seven, I promise you. We’ll take care of all of that, but we need some help from you and also the parents and the constituents of Center Point to express the need for our children to attend school. And so we would like help with the messaging for that.” See CENTER POINT, Page 5
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December 7 - 13
Trussville Fire and Rescue’s ‘Christmas for Kids’ brings holiday cheer one toy at a time
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MOODY — The City of Moody announces its 2022 annual Christmas Parade on Saturday, Dec. 10, at 5 p.m. The Polar Express is bringing the spirit of Christmas to the Moody Christmas Parade. The parade theme this year will be “The Polar Express.” Dr. Christopher WalSee PARADE, Page 4
Clay Elementary raises money for new technology, book vending machine From The Tribune staff reports
CLAY — Clay Elementary School is raising money for new technology and a book vending machine. All students will participate in this fun event. As part of our fundraiser, students will learn See CLAY, Page 6
Margaret Council accepts letter of resignation from Mayor Jeff Wilson, announces vacancy for mayor position By Crystal McGough Associate Editor
MARGARET – The Margaret City Council accepted a letter of resignation from See MARGARET, Page 5
HTHS Theater students win big at state competition Special to the Tribune
MONTGOMERY — The Walter Trumbauer State Festival was held Thursday, Dec. 2, through Saturday, Dec. 3, at Troy University. The festival seeks to highlight performances of student theatre artists, introduce professionals and professors to young performers, and recognize the See TRUMBAUER, Page 3
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