The 2020 summer camp season was colored with questions as camps scrambled to regroup and reframe the ways in which they serve kids and parents amidst lockdowns and constantly evolving health and safety regulations. This year is no different, so we have caught up with the officials running three of our favorite local summer camp programs to look back on last year and to the … [Read more...]
900 and Counting: Spain Park Softball Coach Urse Hawkins Reaches Milestone for Victories
By Rubin E. Grant Finally! Spain Park softball coach Urse Hawkins finally got to celebrate her milestone 900th career victory. The triumphant moment came Friday when senior pitcher Annabelle Widra tossed a shutout in the Jaguars’ 5-0 victory over Oxford in the Leeds Greenwave Classic. Hawkins, in her 25th season coaching, took the milestone victory in stride. “It just … [Read more...]
Crowning Achievement: Vestavia Hills Claims Record 16th State Wrestling Championship; Flurry Finishes Unbeaten
By Rubin E. Grant Vestavia Hills junior wrestler Zach Flurry was determined that things would be different this time. In the 2020 state tournament, Flurry was pinned by Thompson’s Blaise Albarado in the Class 7A 106-pound championship match.The loss motivated Flurry throughout this season. He moved up to 113 pounds, and when he returned to the state tournament Feb. … [Read more...]
Health Checkup: Vestavia Hills TrustCare’s Dr. David Hardin Discusses Primary Care and Heart Health
By Emily Williams-Robertshaw Since the Vestavia Hills location of TrustCare opened on Jan. 4, Dr. David Hardin has been hard at work. The clinic has a combination of primary care offerings as well as fulfilling urgent care needs. Following the holiday season and its coinciding uptick in COVID-19 cases, TrustCare was slammed with coronavirus testing appointments. “Now … [Read more...]
‘Slow Design’: Landscape Garden Professionals to Speak at Upcoming Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens Native Plant Conference
By Emily Williams-Robertshaw Looking back on pandemic closures that began nearly a year ago, Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens Garden Assessment Project Leader Molly Hendry, a Vestavia Hills native, remembers the bad but also the good. “When we shut the gates in the throes of spring, I was still coming to the gardens,” Hendry said, who helped conduct essential work such … [Read more...]