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www.al.com NEWS City to pay $230K to settle suit / 2H EDUCATION See 2010-11 school calendar / 4H BUSINESS Closed business draws complaints / 5H SPORTS LIST OF REGION RUNNERS IN MERCEDES KIDS MARATHON 11H Wednesday u February 17, 2010 u Section H STORMWATER RUNOFF PROGRAM EPA raises concerns after audit By VAL WALTON News staff writer The U.S. Environmental Protec- tion Agency has raised concerns about the city of Hoover’s efforts to monitor and prevent stormwater runoff pollution and said the city could be subject to penalties. The EPA’s general audit, dated Jan. 19, said Hoover’s current illicit discharges and improper disposal program do not yet meet require- ments of the city’s National Pollut- ant Discharge Elimination System permit. However, the report said full im- plementation of the program de- scribed in the city’s stormwater management program has not yet been accomplished. The EPA said it was unclear how many city employees are working on stormwater issues or what fiscal resources are necessary to operate its municipal stormwater sewer program. Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos said most of the EPA’s findings of “po- tential deficits” have already been addressed with the city’s adoption of an illicit discharge ordinance in early January, which city officials described as the first of its kind in the area. But Petelos said the city takes the review seriously, and he will be among city officials to meet with See AUDIT Page 2H Andy Craig should speak for schools B ecoming the leader of an organization car- ries with it certain re- sponsibilities. One of those is the abil- ity and willingness to speak on behalf of that organiza- tion as the need arises. That need is amplified when you’re talking about a public entity such as, let’s say, the city government of Hoover or the Hoover school system. There’s an interesting contrast in Hoover. On one hand, you have Hoover Mayor Tony Pete- los, who bends over back- ward to make himself avail- able to speak on city matters. Petelos views himself as THE spokesman for the city. When there are ques- tions about city govern- ment, he wants to be the one to talk about it. Sometimes it’s more useful to be able to talk to people directly involved in the issue. It lets the public hear directly from the source and cuts down on misunderstandings. But I appreciate the mayor’s willingness to speak on behalf of the city. On the other hand, we have Hoover schools Su- perintendent Andy Craig, who often walks away when a reporter ap- proaches, refuses to an- swer questions or gives an- swers that don’t address the point of the questions. Craig tries to funnel questions and information requests through Jason Gaston, the media liaison for the school system. That’s understandable for routine matters. It’s called delegation. But the superintendent of a school system should be available to comment on matters of significance and matters that involve the superintendent’s deci- sions. Craig tries to avoid an- swering media questions when he makes appear- ances at public meetings and events, and he some- times wants interview questions submitted in writing. Sometimes he re- sponds. Sometimes he doesn’t. Frequently when he does, he does so by e- mail. His reply may not ac- tually answer the question, and interviews by e-mail are not conducive to fol- low-up questions or dis- cussion. Requests for public doc- uments are met with resis- tance as well. School offi- cials frequently drag their feet in responding to them and throw up roadblocks. If News reporter Tiffany Ray had not been per- sistent in seeking informa- tion related to Spain Park Principal Billy Broadway, you have to wonder if the news about financial irreg- ularities would have ever surfaced. Broadway might have just quietly retired. Still, audits of Spain Park released to The News gave no indication of improprie- ties. Why is that? Craig and Chief Financial Officer Ca- thy Antee should be the ones with answers, and they direct questions to Gaston, who doesn’t have answers. It’s avoidance. The people of Hoover de- serve better. Jon Anderson is Hoover edi- tor for The News. Write him at janderson@bhamnew- s.com. Read his Hoover blog at http://blog.al.com/hoover. SPAIN PARK HIGH Spending problems weren’t noted in audits Hoover High band director retiring after 37 years of success By TIFFANY RAY News staff writer A week after Superinten- dent Andy Craig disclosed financial irregularities at Spain Park High School, it’s unclear just how the alleged misspending came to light, or whether it’s connected to Principal Billy Broadway’s impending retirement. Craig disclosed to the school board on Feb. 8 that Broadway spent pub- lic money on a string of personal items, in- cluding five Mont Blanc pens and refills valued at $1,442, framing for personal memorabilia such as high school and college diplomas, and personalized items framed for himself and other administrators re- lated to the school’s receipt of a national Blue Ribbon award last year. The total amounted to less than $5,000, Craig reported. Craig told the board he would report the informa- tion to the Alabama Ethics Commission for investiga- tion. Craig and Cathy Antee, chief financial officer for the school system, have de- clined to answer questions about the alleged misspend- ing, referring them instead to school system spokesman Jason Gaston. Gaston said last week he did not know whether the ir- regularities were connected to Broadway’s decision to retire, a move that was ap- proved by the school board in January. He said Broad- way remained on the job and, as far as he knew, would continue to serve out the rest of the school year. Broadway declined to be interviewed for this article. Gaston said after last week’s board meeting the fi- nancial irregularities had been discovered during a “routine audit.” And a news release issued last week by Craig attributed the discov- ery to “financial reviews of See BROADWAY Page 7H Broadway NEWS STAFF/JOE SONGER NEWS STAFF/JOE SONGER Hoover High School band director Harry McAfee leads the symphonic band in a rehearsal last week. McAfee will retire May 31 after 37 years of teaching, including nine at Hoover High. Mr. McAfee’s coda By LIZ ELLABY News staff writer W hen Harry McAfee took over the Hoover High School band in 2001, the transition should have been an easy one. The band director — who made his mark by reviving a near-dead Shades Valley High School program in 1991 — would be leading an al- ready polished, high-profile band slated to march in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Instead, McAfee found himself in New York City with his predecessor hunting lodging for 400 band mem- bers and chaperones after the Sept. 11 attacks took down the World Trade Center and a Marriott Hotel. McAfee, who is retiring from a 37-year teaching career May 31, says that’s the only negative he recalls during his years at Hoover, where colleagues say he led students to more advanced music. The Hoover school board ap- proved McAfee’s retirement last week. “It took me a while to come to the decision, but I’m moving ahead,” McAfee said. “It’s certainly with mixed emotions.” McAfee said he’ll have more time to spend with his daughters, Erin, 10, and Kate, 12. At 60, he says he’s logged “a million miles in The Cheese,” as students call school buses, ferrying the band to See RETIRE Page 4H JUST A CHAT CHRIS AND GLORIA ROBINSON ‘My dad calls us the twins because we’re always together.’ Biography: Chris Robinson, 51, is in banking and works in the con- sumer collections department at Regions Bank in Hoover. His sister, Gloria Robinson, 55, is an informa- tion technology project manager who is currently unemployed. They grew up in Crawford near Phenix City and have lived in upstate New York, Atlanta, and Columbus, Ga. Gloria moved back to the South in 1996 and Chris came back in 1999. They have lived in Alabaster since 2006. Chris, have you and your sister always lived in close proximity? Yes. When Gloria was in Atlanta, I moved there. Then I was here (in Alabama) first, and I submitted her resume at my job. We just help each other. Gloria, have you and your brother always been close? Yes. He’s the baby. My dad calls us the twins be- cause we’re always together. Gloria, you used to live in Syra- cuse, N.Y. What prompted you to leave? I wanted to be closer to my grandmother. And I was too through with the cold. The day I left it was Mother’s Day, and there was snow. That just validated my deci- sion to leave. I was tired of shovel- ing my way to work. Gloria, what are some of your hob- bies? Traveling, shopping and spending time with family. Chris, what are some of your hob- bies? I write poetry. I like golf, fish- ing, traveling and hanging out with fraternity brothers. Chris, is there a poet who inspires you? Of course, Langston Hughes. Also Nikki Giovanni and Sonia San- chez. I actually met Sonia Sanchez outside of Surin West. She was wait- ing for a ride and the ride was late, so we just talked. Rahkia Nance
Transcript of STORMWATERRUNOFFPROGRAM EPA raises concerns after …media.al.com/birminghamentries/other/Community...
www.al.com
NEWS City to pay $230K to settle suit / 2H
EDUCATION See 2010-11 school calendar / 4H
BUSINESS Closed business draws complaints / 5H
SPORTS
LIST OF REGION RUNNERS INMERCEDES KIDS MARATHON 11H
Wednesday u February 17, 2010 u Section H
STORMWATER RUNOFF PROGRAM
EPA raises concerns after auditBy VAL WALTONNews staff writer
The U.S. Environmental Protec-tion Agency has raised concernsabout the city of Hoover’s efforts tomonitor and prevent stormwaterrunoff pollution and said the citycould be subject to penalties.
The EPA’s general audit, dated
Jan. 19, said Hoover’s current illicitdischarges and improper disposalprogram do not yet meet require-ments of the city’s National Pollut-ant Discharge Elimination Systempermit.
However, the report said full im-plementation of the program de-scribed in the city’s stormwatermanagement program has not yet
been accomplished.The EPA said it was unclear how
many city employees are workingon stormwater issues or what fiscalresources are necessary to operateits municipal stormwater sewerprogram.
Hoover Mayor Tony Petelos saidmost of the EPA’s findings of “po-tential deficits” have already been
addressed with the city’s adoptionof an illicit discharge ordinance inearly January, which city officialsdescribed as the first of its kind inthe area.
But Petelos said the city takes thereview seriously, and he will beamong city officials to meet with
See AUDIT Page 2H
Andy Craigshould speakfor schools
Becoming the leader ofan organization car-ries with it certain re-
sponsibilities.One of those is the abil-
ity and willingness to speakon behalf of that organiza-tion as the need arises.
That need is amplifiedwhen you’re talking abouta public entity such as, let’ssay, the city government ofHoover or the Hooverschool system.
There’s an interestingcontrast in Hoover.
On one hand, you haveHoover Mayor Tony Pete-los, who bends over back-ward to make himself avail-able to speak on citymatters.
Petelos views himself asTHE spokesman for thecity. When there are ques-tions about city govern-ment, he wants to be theone to talk about it.
Sometimes it’s moreuseful to be able to talk topeople directly involved inthe issue. It lets the publichear directly from thesource and cuts down onmisunderstandings.
But I appreciate themayor’s willingness tospeak on behalf of the city.
On the other hand, wehave Hoover schools Su-perintendent Andy Craig,who often walks awaywhen a reporter ap-proaches, refuses to an-swer questions or gives an-swers that don’t addressthe point of the questions.
Craig tries to funnelquestions and informationrequests through JasonGaston, the media liaisonfor the school system.That’s understandable forroutine matters. It’s calleddelegation.
But the superintendentof a school system shouldbe available to commenton matters of significanceand matters that involvethe superintendent’s deci-sions.
Craig tries to avoid an-swering media questionswhen he makes appear-ances at public meetingsand events, and he some-times wants interviewquestions submitted inwriting. Sometimes he re-sponds. Sometimes hedoesn’t. Frequently whenhe does, he does so by e-mail. His reply may not ac-tually answer the question,and interviews by e-mailare not conducive to fol-low-up questions or dis-cussion.
Requests for public doc-uments are met with resis-tance as well. School offi-cials frequently drag theirfeet in responding to themand throw up roadblocks.If News reporter TiffanyRay had not been per-sistent in seeking informa-tion related to Spain ParkPrincipal Billy Broadway,you have to wonder if thenews about financial irreg-ularities would have eversurfaced. Broadway mighthave just quietly retired.
Still, audits of Spain Parkreleased to The News gaveno indication of improprie-ties. Why is that? Craig andChief Financial Officer Ca-thy Antee should be theones with answers, andthey direct questions toGaston, who doesn’t haveanswers. It’s avoidance.The people of Hoover de-serve better.
Jon Anderson is Hoover edi-tor for The News. Write [email protected] his Hoover blog athttp://blog.al.com/hoover.
SPAIN PARK HIGH
Spendingproblemsweren’tnoted inaudits
Hoover High band director retiringafter 37 years of success
By TIFFANY RAYNews staff writer
A week after Superinten-dent Andy Craig disclosedfinancial irregularities atSpain Park High School, it’sunclear just how the allegedmisspending came to light,or whether it’s connected toPrincipal Billy Broadway’simpending retirement.
C r a i gdisclosed tothe schoolb o a r d o nFeb. 8 thatB r o a d w a yspent pub-lic moneyon a stringof personalitems, in-cluding fiveMont Blanc pens and refillsvalued at $1,442, framing forpersonal memorabilia suchas high school and collegediplomas, and personalizeditems framed for himselfand other administrators re-lated to the school’s receiptof a national Blue Ribbonaward last year. The totalamounted to less than$5,000, Craig reported.
Craig told the board hewould report the informa-tion to the Alabama EthicsCommission for investiga-tion.
Craig and Cathy Antee,chief financial officer for theschool system, have de-clined to answer questionsabout the alleged misspend-ing, referring them insteadto school system spokesmanJason Gaston.
Gaston said last week hedid not know whether the ir-regularities were connectedto Broadway’s decision toretire, a move that was ap-proved by the school boardin January. He said Broad-way remained on the joband, as far as he knew,would continue to serve outthe rest of the school year.
Broadway declined to beinterviewed for this article.
Gaston said after lastweek’s board meeting the fi-nancial irregularities hadbeen discovered during a“routine audit.” And a newsrelease issued last week byCraig attributed the discov-ery to “financial reviews of
See BROADWAY Page 7H
BroadwayNEWS STAFF/JOE SONGER
NEWS STAFF/JOE SONGER
Hoover High School band director HarryMcAfee leads the symphonic band in a rehearsal last week.McAfee will retireMay 31 after 37 years of teaching, including nine at Hoover High.
Mr. McAfee’s codaBy LIZ ELLABYNews staff writer
When Harry McAfeetook over the HooverHigh School band in2001, the transitionshould have been an
easy one.The band director — who made
his mark by reviving a near-deadShades Valley High School programin 1991 — would be leading an al-ready polished, high-profile bandslated to march in the Macy’s
Thanksgiving Day Parade.Instead, McAfee found himself in
New York City with his predecessorhunting lodging for 400 band mem-bers and chaperones after the Sept.11 attacks took down the WorldTrade Center and a Marriott Hotel.
McAfee, who is retiring from a37-year teaching career May 31, saysthat’s the only negative he recallsduring his years at Hoover, wherecolleagues say he led students tomore advanced music.
The Hoover school board ap-
proved McAfee’s retirement lastweek.
“It took me a while to come to thedecision, but I’m moving ahead,”McAfee said. “It’s certainly withmixed emotions.”
McAfee said he’ll have more timeto spend with his daughters, Erin,10, and Kate, 12. At 60, he says he’slogged “a million miles in TheCheese,” as students call schoolbuses, ferrying the band to
See RETIRE Page 4H
JUST A CHAT CHRIS AND GLORIA ROBINSON
‘My dad calls us the twins because we’re always together.’Biography: Chris Robinson, 51, isin banking and works in the con-sumer collections department atRegions Bank in Hoover. His sister,Gloria Robinson, 55, is an informa-tion technology project managerwho is currently unemployed. Theygrew up in Crawford near PhenixCity and have lived in upstate NewYork, Atlanta, and Columbus, Ga.Gloria moved back to the South in1996 and Chris came back in 1999.They have lived in Alabaster since2006.
Chris, have you and your sister
always lived in close proximity?Yes. When Gloria was in Atlanta, Imoved there. Then I was here (inAlabama) first, and I submitted her
resume at my job. We just helpeach other.
Gloria, have you and your brotheralways been close? Yes. He’s thebaby. My dad calls us the twins be-cause we’re always together.
Gloria, you used to live in Syra-cuse, N.Y. What prompted you toleave? I wanted to be closer to mygrandmother. And I was toothrough with the cold. The day I leftit was Mother’s Day, and there wassnow. That just validated my deci-sion to leave. I was tired of shovel-ing my way to work.
Gloria, what are some of your hob-bies? Traveling, shopping andspending time with family.
Chris, what are some of your hob-bies? I write poetry. I like golf, fish-ing, traveling and hanging out withfraternity brothers.
Chris, is there a poet who inspiresyou? Of course, Langston Hughes.Also Nikki Giovanni and Sonia San-chez. I actually met Sonia Sanchezoutside of Surin West. She was wait-ing for a ride and the ride was late,so we just talked.
Rahkia Nance
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