NORTH JEFFERSON ? The year 2011 saw local communities rally following the devastating April 27 tornadoes that wreaked havoc in Fultondale, Warrior and Blount County.
The area also saw its share of crime and crimes solved, and major announcements of new development.
The following are the highlights that The North Jefferson News printed throughout the year.
Crime
? Jan. 8: Three people were arrested in connection with a rash of robberies in Gardendale and possibly surrounding areas.
? May 14: Bart Wayne Johnson of Kimberly is convicted of capital murder in the killing of Pelham police officer Phillip Davis. June 18: Johnson is sentenced to death by a Shelby County judge.
? July 2: The Fultondale Police Department opens a new investigations unit, giving the city?s evidence technicians space to process crime scene materials and to store evidence.
? July 6: A Warrior man is convicted of sexual abuse. Anthony Papineau, 44, was found guilty of first-degree sodomy and first-degree sexual abuse.
? July 9: The Kimberly Senior Center is burglarized. The suspects took two televisions, a VCR/DVD player, a computer monitor, printer and a Nintendo Wii game console and games.
? July 16: Jeffrey Lynn Borden, who was convicted in the Christmas Eve 1993 murder of Cheryl Harris Borden and Roland Harris, is denied an appeal of his death sentence.
? Sept. 21: Morris Police Officer Michael Morris receives the Law Enforce?ment Excellence Award from ASIS International for his work with his human remains detection dog Rambo following the April tornadoes.
? Sept. 24: The Jefferson County Commission considers closing the Mt. Olive Sheriff?s Office substation.
? Oct. 22: No one is injured during an almost three-hour standoff near Warrior that closed down Warrior-Jasper Road during the incident. Anthony Williams was removed from the house in handcuffs after police threw a canister of pepper gas into the house.
Schools
? Jan. 15: Jefferson County schools will have to make up days after schools are closed for four days because of snow.
? June 4: Gardendale High School students set a record when grads are awarded $3.3 million in scholarship offers.
? July 20: Gardendale High School principal Dr. Anna Vacca steps down after 10 years at the school. She is taking a job at the Jefferson County Board of Education to supervise 25 county schools.
? Oct. 12: Mortimer Jordan High School officials cut the ribbon on the new school in Kimberly.
? Oct. 29: Dozens of local school faculty are being forced into retirement after the state legislature passed that increases the amount faculty must pay for insurance and retirement.
Government
? Jan. 29: Fultondale Mayor Jim Lowery gives his annual state of the city address. Figures show that the city is one of the few in the area that remains prosperous despite the country?s economic recession.
? Feb. 9: Gardendale accepts a $1.2 million bid to expand the city?s library.
? Feb. 16: The city of Kimberly is finally able to destroy $1 million worth of electronic gaming machines that were deemed illegal. The machines were found in May 2008 in a leased building on U.S. Hwy. 31 in Kimberly. They had been kept in storage until a judge ordered their destruction.
? March 30: About 100 protesters swarmed a strip mall in County Line to protest a proposal that would allow a 290-acre landfill to be placed off of County Line Road.
? April 16: the County Line Town Council gives approval for a landfill to be built in town limits. Blount County Sheriff?s deputies escort the town council members to their vehicles following the meeting.
? April 13: The Jefferson County Commission voted to close the Gardendale satellite courthouse, along with three others, in an effort to make up a $73 million shortfall in the county finances.
? April 20: The Gardendale City Council voted to sell the city hall building at 970 Main Street and to purchase the former Caufield Square property on Mt. Olive Road. Plans call for moving city hall to the 22-acre site.
? July 13: Fultondale passes what is called the strongest smoking ordinance in the county.
? Aug. 6: The Jefferson County Commission plans to make a counteroffer in an effort to avoid bankruptcy; Gov. Robert Bentley asks for ?standstill? on sewer debt crisis.
? Aug. 27: The city of Fultondale borrows $3.2 million to develop five sites in the city.
? Oct. 15: Fultondale adopts strict rules to regulate bar operations in the city.
? Oct. 15: The city of Kimberly considers hiring full-time firefighters; the city currently has an all-volunteer staff.
? Nov. 9: The Gardendale City Council votes to borrow $2.85 million in order to lend the funds to a developer to build Publix and T.J. Maxx stores, and to redesign the Northgate Shopping Center. The center will be renamed the Century Shoppes at Gardendale.
? Nov. 12: Jefferson County makes dubious history when it files papers to declare the largest municipal bankruptcy ever in the United States.
? Dec. 14: Morris residents strongly oppose a proposal by Enon Baptist Church to rezone property and extend the church parking lot onto a finger of land between two historic houses.
Politics
? Feb. 12: At a Gardendale Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Sen. Scott Beason, R-Gardendale, defended remarks he made earlier in Cullman about illegal immigration.
? April 27: Fultondale Council member Greg Morris is removed from the city council because of state legislation that requires a member of a council or commission to attend at least one meeting in a 90-day period. May 18: The city council chooses Kay Hicks to fill the vacant position until the next election.
? June 11: Beason, kills a ?home rule? bill that would have given the Jefferson County Commission power to raise certain taxes. Beason was able to block the vote because of a rule that gives legislators authority to contest a bill if it only affects their state.
? June 18: Defense lawyers slam Beason for racially-charged remarks when he referred to Greenetrack dog track patrons as ?aborigines.?
? Sept. 28: Beason publicly apologizes for the ?aborigines? comment, calling his words ?careless and unnecessary.?
? Nov. 16: Beason is removed as chairman of the Rules Committee, one of the most powerful positions in the upper chamber of the state legislature.
? Nov. 16: Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus (R) is under fire for stock option trades he made in 2008; a ?60 Minutes? report alleges the trades took place after Bachus was briefed by federal officials who told him about the coming downturn in the economy.
? Dec. 3: The city of Fultondale reveals a revitalization plan that officials say could add almost $4 million annually to the city?s tax base.
Sports
? Feb. 23: Mortimer Jordan wrestler Brandon Brindley wins his third state championship in the last four years.
? Feb. 26: Jefferson County Schools board member Karen Smith Nix and superintendent Dr. Phil Hammonds throw out the first pitch before the first game at Gardendale High School?s new baseball park.
? May 25: Mortimer Jordan wins the AHSAA Class 5A State Softball Tournament; it is the school?s third state title in four years.
? Dec. 21: Mortimer Jordan High School softball coach Laura Rickman steps down. She plans to work with students in exceptional education classes at the Burkett Center for Multi-handicapped students and at other schools.
Community
? Jan. 15: Former Gardendale mayor and city attorney Judge G. William Noble has retired from his position as circuit judge because state law prohibits any circuit court judge from seeking re-election after age 70; Noble is 72.
? April 29: Alabama is devastated by a string of tornadoes; more than 200 people are killed in Alabama from the storms. In north Jefferson County, the city of Fultondale is hit the hardest. Warrior and Blount County also received substantial damage.
? May 7: In Fultondale, at dozens of houses and businesses could be condemned because of severe tornado damage.
? June 8: A fire guts Lee?s Chapel Baptist Church in Brookside. There were no injuries.
? Aug. 6: The Brookside Fire and Rescue welcomes a new $245,000 fire truck, paid for mostly by grants.
? Sept. 7: More than four months after a tornado devastated parts of Fultondale, the American Legion Post 255 and VFW Post 10250 are both looking for places to call home. The American Legion facility was severely damaged; the VFW also met in a room in the building.
? Sept. 10: Ten years later, the NJN looks back at 9-11.
? Oct. 1: More than 600 people show up in Gardendale for a meeting regarding the proposed Northern Beltline that would have several exits in north Jefferson County.
? Oct. 15: A boycott by Hispanic families due to the state?s immigration law resulted in hundreds of students missing from classrooms across the county.
? Nov. 2: Fultondale Police Office David Riddlesperger, 48, died after his night shift ended. Officials suspect the officer died after suffering a heart attack.
? Nov. 9: Corner High School student Mikal Ann Webb, 17, dies in a car accident following a high school football game; she was a cheerleader.
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