A Pinson Valley High School teacher has been charged with sexual contact with a student.

On Feb. 24, sheriff’s detectives began an investigation into reports of inappropriate sexual contact between a female teacher and a 17-year-old male student at Pinson Valley High School.

The school administration notified the Jefferson County

Sheriff’s Office that the teacher in question had come forward reporting that she had been told by students that there was a rumor being passed at the school that she had engaged in a sex act with

a male student. She denied any

involvement and resigned her position at the school, and left campus Feb. 24.

Sheriff’s detectives

The Outlet Shops of Grand River in Leeds will host a benefit autograph-signing event with former University of Alabama quarterback Blake Sims at its Collegiate Warehouse store Saturday, March 21 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Autographs will be

priced at $30 each and inscriptions (such as “Roll Tide” or “SEC Champions”) at $10 each, with all proceeds benefitting the McCown family of Grayson Valley.

Each of the three McCown children – ranging in ages from 6 to 16 – suffers from debilitating ailments, including Complex IV Mitochondrial Disease and aftereffects of

Uterine Shaken Syndrome, the latter of which was sustained in a hit-and-run accident.

The McCown family is in need of a home remodel to accommodate the special needs of each child.

“We are honored to welcome Blake Sims after his impressive senior season and are proud to

Here is The Trussville Tribune’s area weather forecast for the next seven days. For current

weather conditions in Trussville, Clay, and Pinson, see The Trussville Tribune weather web

page by scanning the QR code below with your smartphone.

The demolition of Jack Wood Stadium in Trussville is well under way.

Heavy equipment was on site beginning last Monday, the same day the stadium and area surrounding it was closed to the public.

Last week, work to dismantle the home bleachers was ongoing.

The Trussville City Board of Education in December 2014 approved TriStar of America, based out of

Norcross, Ga., as the low bidder for the demolition project at Jack Wood Stadium. The bid was $374,000.

The demolition project consists of Jack Wood Stadium; as well as a major portion of the existing New Deal-era school building; interior tear-out of interior finishes, ceiling, lighting, plumbing fixture and associated piping; removal and safe disposal of hazard waste in the form of asbestos and lead paint; track field house; and sidewalks of the existing school.

Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.

The Jefferson County Board of Edu-cation on Friday approved a low bid for career technical centers to be constructed at Clay-Chalkville and Mortimer Jordan high schools.

Duncan & Thompson Construction won with a low bid of $1,246,731. That total includes both career technical cen-ters.

Jefferson County Schools Director of New Construction Rafael McDaniel said he hopes the centers open in mid-July. The center at Clay-Chalkville High School, he said, will be constructed be-hind the cafeteria and will take away some parking spaces.

Career technical classes will include welding, HVAC, carpentry, electrical, vocational agriculture and masonry.

“I think these buildings are going to serve a real purpose,” McDaniel said.

Clay Mayor Charles Webster said in December 2014 that the center will likely cover 6,000 square feet. Webster started a masonry program at the high school in 2014.

The city headed it up and Jefferson County Schools then took notice, he said.

“That’s come from the city being in-volved,” he said.

An Alabama Ethics Commission in-vestigation has dismissed all charges against Clay City Councilwoman Becky Johnson.

In October 2014, a Clay resident filed a complaint against Johnson regarding three contracts that were awarded to her husband’s company, as well as an issue regarding a donation to the Clay-Pinson Chamber of Commerce suggested by Johnson, then a member of the Clay City Council and the chamber.

In a letter dat-ed Feb. 4 and signed by Act-ing Director John Carroll, the case was found to be “without probable cause that (she) violated the Ala-bama Ethics Act. Accordingly the complaint has been dis-missed.”

Johnson said she knew she hadn’t done anything wrong, but the ordeal has merited a lot of worry and tears. For her, one of the worst parts is that she may never know who accused her, or why that person did it.

“My feelings were very hurt about the fact that unknown people can make charges against you and you don’t have the right to face your accuser,” Johnson said.

A copy of the official complaint, as

March 18 — 24, 2015 50¢

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The Trussville TribuneThe Trussville TribuneYour news source for Trussville, Clay and Pinson

Pinson Valley teacher charged with sexual contact with student

see PINSON page 4

Clay-Chalkville HS career tech center approved

Commission dismisses charges against Clay councilwoman

Jack Wood Stadium demolition well under way

Hewitt on top in first baseball, softball

polls, page 11

Trussville Easter egg hunt Saturday,

page 8

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Inside The Tribune:News – pages 2 - 6Lifestyle – pages 7 - 8Calendar – page 9Opinion – page 10Sports – pages 11 - 12

submitted photo

Becky Johnson

photo by Ron Burkett

A worker dismantles some of the home bleachers at Jack Wood Stadium last week.

Former Alabama QB Blake Sims signing autographs to benefit Grayson Valley family

Scan this QR code with your smartphone to watch a video report about the career technical center coming to Clay-Chalkville High School.

Scan this QR code with your smartphone to watch Sky Bama’s drone video of workers dismantling Jack Wood Stadium.

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Tribune AreA WeATher

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Editor

by Gary Lloyd

Editor

photo courtesy of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s

Office

Jennifer Marie Perry

Page 2 March 18 — 24, 2015 | The Trussville Tribune

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Paine Intermediate School Principal Autumm Jeter has been elected vice president of the Alabama Association of Elementary School Principals.

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Paine Intermediate principal named VP of state associationby Gary Lloyd

Editor

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The Clay City Council on Monday voted to amend its personnel policy due to the Affordable Care Act, otherwise known as Obamacare.

Under Clay’s current personnel manual, new employees are under a 90-day probation period before they’re covered under the municipal insurance plan.

“The way they wrote the ACA, you cannot wait 90 days,” City Manager Ronnie Dixon said. “So, we have to change it to something less than 90 days.”

The council, with the exception of councilmen Ben Thackerson and Kevin Small, who were absent, voted unanimously to amend that waiting period to an uninterrupted 85-day period.

In other news, paving projects have resumed, the largest of which will be refinishing Deerfoot Parkway, which began this week. Potholes are being filled, and the road will be repaved from Old Springville Road all the way to U.S. Highway 11, Dixon said.

Steeplechase is also getting some long-needed paving done. The project has been on hold since the fall due to weather

conditions and should begin this week.

The city council also purchased two new batting cages for Clay City Park. The cages are smaller than standard at just 35 feet in length. The smaller cages can be used by younger players, which will free up existing cages for older players, Dixon said.

Clay City Council amends personnel policyby Lee Weyhrich

Staff Writer

March 18 — 24, 2015 | The Trussville Tribune Page 3

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On Saturday, March 7, 19 teams totaling 36 students that are in the research capstone courses of the Biomedical Sciences Academy (biomedical innovations) and Engineering Academy (engineering design and development) at Hewitt-Trussville High School competed in the Central Alabama Science and Engineering Fair at UAB.

H e w i t t - T r u s s v i l l e students received four awards and received recognition in eight of nine categories, for a total of 18 awards. Four groups placed

first in their category, one placed second, three placed third and four received an honorable mention. The eight groups that placed will compete in the Alabama Science and Engineering Fair on Friday, April 2 at the University of Alabama-Huntsville.

Two projects were chosen as top four overall projects, and these students will automatically compete in the International Science and Engineering Fair in Pittsburgh, Pa., against some of the brightest students in the world. Tyler Jackson and Austin Norwood researched an increased efficiency in

solar energy for developing countries, and Madison Plyman and Makenzie Plyman analyzed the removal of arsenic from contaminated drinking water using 3-D beads.

Others who participated and were recognized were Joshua Walker, Courtney Bradford, Katie Delaney, Michael Elridge, Abby Lewis, Tiffany Salas-Lopez, Ashlynn Arnold, Lauren Tinsley, Alexis Jordan, Jacob Spruiell, Matt DeHart, Ryan Stack, Vince Corey, Jason Strickland, Ashlee Burns, Laura Beth Curlee, Taylor Elliott and Ellyn Sartin.

HTHS students show success at regional science fair

it was sent to the commis-sion, was provided to The Trussville Tribune.

According to Clay City Manager Ronnie Dixon, under Alabama law the commission will not re-lease the accuser’s name(s) either, further deepening the mystery.

Johnson said, in light of the dismissal of charges, she wishes the responsible party would meet with her to discuss any personal or professional issues he, she or they might have.

“I would like for them to have the integrity to come to me and say, ‘I did this, and now I’ll admit that you did no wrong,’” Johnson said.

As for the charges in the initial complaint, Dixon

and Johnson have main-tained since the beginning that all the projects award-ed to her husband, A.J.

Johnson, and his company were within the letter of the law. Dixon said the current administration has worked

hard to follow the letter of the law. This includes the way the council bids all projects above $50,000 as well as the handling of all those below that threshold. Public works projects be-low that $50,000 threshold, Dixon said, don’t have to be bid.

“What we knew, and what we said for the first article (The Trussville Tri-bune published regarding the ethics complaint) was that we follow the law to the letter on public works projects. It doesn’t matter who it was, it didn’t matter who owned the company. We are not required to bid those projects.”

As to the part of the orig-inal complaint that claimed Johnson shouldn’t have

suggested the council do-nate money to the chamber, Dixon said the commis-sion’s main question to him was about whether or not the chamber had paid board members. The board isn’t paid, and Johnson didn’t benefit in any way from the donation, and Dixon be-lieves that’s the reason that charge was dismissed.

“There is a very small handful of people in the city of Clay that are intent on stopping the city from moving forward no matter what the cost to the individ-ual, and this entire admin-istration is about moving the city forward, and how much progress has been made in two years versus the prior 12 years,” Dixon said.

Johnson said every de-cision she makes is made with prayer that it’s the right thing to do for the city, and she doesn’t make any decisions that run counter to her heart. She believes the rest of the administra-tion makes decisions the same way.

“The men and woman here try to see God’s will and we really sincerely pray about what we do,” Johnson said.

She said she hoped her accuser or accusers would make the same effort to fol-low their conscience before making any further accusa-tions.

The complaint was dis-missed at the Feb. 4 com-mission meeting, and the letter was dated the same.

CLAY continued from page 1

file photo by Gary Lloyd

Clay City Hall

Page 4 March 18 — 24, 2015 | The Trussville Tribune

align with him to benefit the McCowns,” said Roslyn Rodda, The Outlet Shops of Grand River manager of marketing and tourism. “We encourage community members – Alabama fans or otherwise – to come out to support this deserving family.”

Sims completed 252 of 391 passing attempts

for 3,487 yards, 28 touchdowns and 10 interceptions as a senior at Alabama in 2014. He led the Crimson Tide to a 12-2 record and the first College Football Playoff.

Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.

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The city of Clay Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public meeting Thursday, March 19 at 6 p.m. in the Clay-Chalkville High School auditorium for the purpose of receiving input on the update to the city’s comprehensive plan.

The meeting will likely last an hour and a half.

The commission will review progress made since 2005 and discuss ideas for the future. Residents’ input will be heard at the meeting.

The Clay City Council at its Jan. 20 meeting

approved updates to the city’s comprehensive plan. The plan includes the city’s major street plan, future land use, planned zoning and zoning changes.

The commission’s responsibilities are to design a plan for future development; advise the Clay City Council on zoning ordinance changes; create and enforce subdivision regulations; and make recommendations on what properties should be annexed into the city.

Clay City Manager Ronnie Dixon said the commission wants to give the public a chance to view the future maps for zoning and land development,

as well as the proposed annexations where Clay borders neighboring cities.

“The comprehensive plan includes everything concerning growth, from budgeting to major road improvements,” Dixon said.

Members of the city’s Planning and Zoning Commission are Dean Kirkner, Steve Ostaseski, Robert Thompson, Keller McKaig, Dennis Locke, Mayor Charles Webster, Clay City Councilwoman Becky Johnson and Dixon.

Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.

Clay P&Z meeting to focus on city’s futureby Gary Lloyd

Editor

photo courtesy of www.rolltide.com

Blake Sims

SIMS continued from page 1

Four former Serra Nissan employees charged in connection with a conspiracy at the Birmingham car dealership to fraudulently boost loan approvals and car sales pleaded guilty last Wednesday in federal court, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot and FBI Special Agent in Charge Roger C. Stanton.

D. Scott Burton, 36, of Odenville; Michael J. Wilkinson, 56, of Moody; Terry W. Henderson, 39, of Pleasant Grove; and Roland W. Riley, 28,

of Birmingham; entered their pleas before U.S. District Judge Virginia Emerson Hopkins. All eight defendants charged in the conspiracy to defraud financial institutions, Nissan North America and Serra Nissan customers between August 2010 and October 2013 by fraudulently increasing vehicle sales in order to boost personal profits have now pleaded guilty.

Dwight A. Perry, 44, of Birmingham, and Abdul Islam Mughal, 48, of Trussville, pleaded guilty last year, and Gerald R. Shepard, 56, of Pinson, and Jeffrey R. Green, 33, of Porterdale, Ga., pleaded guilty earlier this year. The eight defendants are scheduled for sentencing between May and

July.“Predatory practices in

providing auto loans to people with credit problems or insufficient income is akin to the fraud in mortgage lending,” Vance said. “We are engaged in rooting out this fraudulent activity that threatens consumer safety.”

Mughal, Shepard and Burton were sales managers at Serra Nissan. Green and Wilkinson were finance managers. Perry, Henderson and Riley were salesmen. In addition, Mughal also pleaded guilty to bank fraud, Shepard to bank fraud and filing a false federal income tax return, and Green to failure to file an individual tax return.

According to court records, the Serra Nissan employees involved

in the conspiracy used various means to carry out their fraud and obtain auto loans that, otherwise, wouldn’t have been approved. Those means included:• Creating or altering documents

to submit to financial institutions to show inflated income for prospective buyers

• Directing finance managers and salesmen to submit fraudulent documents to financial institutions to misrepresent proof of a customer’s residency

• Listing accessories not actually included on a vehicle so a financial institution would increase its loan amount. The defendants and others had a financial incentive to increase a loan amount in order to increase commissions paid to

certain employees.• Presenting straw buyers, who

could qualify for a loan, to financial institutions when the actual buyer couldn’t qualifyThe maximum penalty for the

conspiracy count is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The maximum penalty for bank fraud is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The minimum penalty for aggravated identity theft is two years in prison.

The IRS and the FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda S. Wick and Robin Beardsley Mark are prosecuting.

Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.

4 Serra Nissan employees plead guilty to loan fraud conspiracyby Gary Lloyd

Editor

conducted an investigation and on March 13 obtained an arrest warrant charging 27-year-old Jennifer Marie Perry, of Odenville, with school employee having sexual contact with a student under 19 years old.

On Monday, Perry surrendered at the Jefferson County Jail and was released after posting a $30,000 bond.

According to the school’s website, Perry taught English. She earned a bachelor’s degree in 2014 in secondary education with a concentration in English language arts from Jacksonville State University. Her biography states this was her first year as a teacher.

“I hope everyone will remember that 99.9 (percent) of our educators

get it right,” said Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Randy Christian. “I’m still amazed that there are a few that would risk their career over something like this. Parents should be able to send their children to school and expect the adults to make the right decisions with our young people.”

PINSON continued from page 1

March 18 — 24, 2015 | The Trussville Tribune Page 5

Trussville gun store to relocate

A Trussville gun store will be relocating to another nearby area.

Birmingham Pistol Wholesale, located on U.S. Highway 11 in Trussville, will be relocating to an area on Valley Road near Trussville, visible from Interstate 59 and behind High Fly Cheerleading and

Dancing. Owner Johnny Walker said the gun

store will relocate after all proper zoning requirements are met and a new facility is constructed. The Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission has no opposition to the plans, Walker said.

Walker said the Jefferson County Commission will likely take up the zoning in the next week or so.

Business briefs: by Gary LloydEditor

file photo by Scott Buttram

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The Trussville City Council could soon meet with state legislators to discuss bills in the Alabama House of Representatives and Alabama State Senate that could affect the city.

No date or timetable was discussed about a potential meeting, but should one happen, the public will be given notice. The meeting would likely be with Rep. Danny Garrett, Sen. Shay Shelnutt and Sen. Slade Blackwell.

Trussville City Clerk Lynn Porter brought five House bills to the city council’s attention last week. These are only bills

at this point, not enacted law.

House Bill 10, sponsored by Rep. Bill Poole, would provide that court costs and docket fees assessed by any authority other than the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, shall revert to the state of Alabama general fund. It also states that a judge may not waive, set aside or otherwise fail to collect these costs and fees. Porter said this bill would be “detrimental” to Trussville because its local court costs are set by local ordinance, and the impact would be between $240,000 and $250,000 annually in local court costs. It would be another $35,000 to $40,000 in

indigent defense fees. Trussville collects

court costs for 18 to 20 state agencies on every traffic and misdemeanor conviction in Trussville Municipal Court, and remits monthly. Trussville is currently allowed to withhold the amount expended in its court for indigent defense from the Fair Trial Tax and to remit the balance to the state.

House Bill 6, sponsored by Rep. Lynn Greer, would clarify how mayoral vacancies -- Porter used the example of a mayor dying while in office -- would be filled in Class 7 and 8 cities with populations greater than 12,000. The current laws prescribe a method of filling a vacancy

in the office of mayor in Class 7 and 8 cities and a different method for filling this vacancy in cities with populations greater than 12,000. Porter said it’s been a subject of debate as to how these vacancies are handled in Class 7 and 8 cities having more than 12,000 population.

In Class 7 and 8 municipalities, the city council chooses who will be mayor from their membership or from any qualified elector in the city. In municipalities with more than 12,000 people, the council president automatically becomes the mayor. This bill would establish that the council president

would automatically become mayor in Class 7 or 8 municipalities in this situation.

House Bill 41 would allow disabled and elderly voters age 70 and up to move to the front of the voting line upon request. Many poll officials already do this as a courtesy, but there’s nothing in the law that currently permits it.

House Bill 119, sponsored by Rep. Steve McMillan, would extend the immunity from personal liability granted to state and school employees to county and municipal employees. This immunity, Porter said, only applies when an employee is performing job duties

in compliance with work practices and with the law. There wouldn’t be immunity from personal liability for any criminal acts committed while on the job.

House Bill 69, sponsored by Rep. Jack Williams, would fix inconsistencies in the municipal election law. Some of these, Porter said, include conflicting statutes about when absentee voting begins – one says 21 days prior to an election and the other says 35 days prior. This bill would set it at 35 days.

Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.

Trussville City Council could meet with legislators about billsby Gary Lloyd

Editor

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Results of last Wednesday’s Amnesty Day at Trussville Municipal Court have been announced.

There were 38 warrants recalled and the event brought in about $10,000.

Twenty nine cases were closed, four people re-entered court programs and the rest were placed on court-supervised probation to make payments.

Last year’s Amnesty Day included more than 50 warrants being recalled, about $15,000 taken in and about 65 cases being closed. The rest of the people with open cases were put on a payment plan. The 2013 Amnesty Day cleared more than 25 outstanding warrants and closed more than 65 cases. The one-day event collected more than

$18,000 in fines and costs.Despite the decrease this

year, Trussville Municipal Court Judge Carl Chamblee still thinks it was a success.

“Whenever we give people an opportunity to clear an outstanding warrant by setting aside the warrant and recalling it with no fine or cost to them, it is a success,” he said. “In this case, 38 people took advantage of the program.”

Chamblee said anyone with an outstanding warrant

for failure to appear should come to court on any regularly schedule court day -- Wednesdays at 4 p.m. and Fridays at noon -- and the warrant will be recalled and set aside, and the court will either handle the case that day or give that person another day to come to court.

Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.

Trussville Amnesty Day results announcedby Gary Lloyd

Editor

file photo by Gary Lloyd

Trussville Municipal Court

The official names of two community elementary schools to be built in Trussville will be coming in April.

The Trussville City Board of Education on Monday placed two official names on the table for consideration for the two new schools.

The name the board placed on the table for the school in the Cahaba Project is Cahaba Elementary School. The name the board placed on the table for the school in the Magnolia Place area is Magnolia Elementary School.

The board had placed seven names on the table earlier this year. The names placed on the table for the Magnolia Place school were South Trussville

Elementary School and Magnolia Elementary School. The names placed on the table for the Cahaba Project school were Central Trussville Elementary School, Cahaba Elementary School, Cahaba Central Elementary School, Cahaba Village Elementary School and Trussville Cahaba Elementary School.

The board had been accepting input from the community on naming the two new schools at newschool@trussvillecityschools.com.

The schools are expected to open for the 2016-2017 school year.

The board next meets April 20 at 6 p.m. with a work session at 4:30 p.m.

Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.

A 9mm handgun was stolen in a vehicle break-in at Cracker Barrel on Norrell Drive in Trussville on Monday night, according to authorities.

Trussville Police Department Lt. Jeff Bridges said the pistol was taken at about 8:23 p.m. Monday. The lock was popped out of the vehicle, he said, so the suspect could gain entry.

The suspect got away in an unknown vehicle.

A suspect description couldn’t be given due to poor surveillance video quality, Bridges said.

If anyone has information on this case, they’re encouraged to call the Trussville Police Department at 205-655-2101.

Names placed on table for new Trussville elementary schools

Pistol stolen from car at Trussville Cracker Barrel

by Gary Lloyd

Editorby Gary Lloyd

Editor