The Jemison High School Class of 1948 will hold its 62-year reunion at 6 p.m. on June 12 at Shoney’s in Clanton.

Class vice-president Norris Vickery sent invitations to class members and said he expects about 14 people to attend the reunion.

Vickery said 48 people graduated in the class.

By Justin Averette

Alex Moore’s family, friends, classmates and concerned community members said Saturday’s rally at Ollie Park was just the beginning of their efforts to address bullying in Chilton County Schools.

Alex Moore, a 15-year-old student a Jemison High School, jumped off an Interstate 65 overpass May 12, killing herself.

Alex’s supporters say bullying was one of several factors that led Alex to decide to end her life.

Page Perdue, a 2009 graduate of Jemison High, said she was happy to hear about Saturday’s rally, which was followed by a candlelight vigil in honor of Alex.

Perdue said she hopes the community learns a valuable lesson from Alex’s death.

“Our school system needs to be safe and inviting,” she said.

Perdue insisted the school system, parents and students must step up to make a difference. She said people must also understand the power their words have on others.

“The power of words can be so intense,” Perdue said. “The power of words can tear much deeper than physical hurt.

“It’s time our community took bullying more serious.”

Clanton Police Chief Brian Stilwell and Chilton County Sheriff Kevin Davis also addressed the crowd.

“A lot of time triumph comes out of tragedy, and let’s all work to make sure something triumphant comes out of this tragedy,” Stilwell said.

The police chief said there is often a wall children build between police, school counselors and teachers, and everyone must work to tear that wall down.

“We are here for you like we are here for your parents,” Stilwell told the children in the crowd.

Stilwell gave out his email address and said he wanted to schedule a meeting with kids and their parents to have a discussion about what law enforcement can do about bullying.

Davis said no one entity could fix the problem. It’s going to take students, parents, teachers, administrators and law enforcement all working together, he said.

Bullying seems worse today than in the past because students can’t get away from it because it now happens online, on Facebook and Myspace, Davis said.

“There is no way to escape that at 3 o’clock when we ride the bus home,” he said.

The sheriff said he would like to see lawmakers enact stronger anti-bullying laws.

“We need an Alex Moore law in Alabama,” Davis said.

Such a law should hold parents of bullies accountable for their child’s actions, he said.

“If we are going to stop bullying in our schools, there is going to have to be serious consequences,” Davis said.

During the vigil, students spoke about their experiences with bullying.

Thorsby eighth-grader Regina Wilson said Alex’s death didn’t have to be.

“Alex never deserved what she got,” Wilson said.

By Scott Mims

Anna Davenport of Jemison was named Chilton County’s Junior Miss on Sunday — just a year after her sister, Jana, was honored with the same title.

The upcoming Jemison High School senior also won awards for physical fitness, talent, self-expression and scholastics for a total of $3,300 in scholarships.

“Wow,” she said backstage after the winners were announced. “I’m very thankful. It was just a good experience…and I’m shaking.”

Davenport will go on to compete in the Alabama Junior Miss in January 2011 in Montgomery. Her college and career goals involve going into medicine and also majoring in music at either the University of Alabama or Judson College.

Jana Davenport, last year’s Chilton County Junior Miss winner, said she thinks her younger sister will do well at the state level.

“She’s very independent. She does pretty much her own thing most of the time,” she said.

The First Alternate and Spirit of Junior Miss winner was Kristen Robbins, a student at Chilton Christian Academy. Robbins was awarded $1,000 in scholarship money.

By Justin Averette

Fifteen-year-old Alex Moore fought many battles in her short life.
Her sister died in a freak accident less than two years ago, a devastating loss she never got over. She also lost a close cousin, and then last fall, her beloved pet dog.
The shy girl struggled with self-esteem and was teased by other kids for her weight, among other things.
While no one thing will ever explain why Alex made the decision she did Wednesday morning, her father believes a combination of things—the deaths in her family and the teasing—were factors.
Shortly before 7 a.m., Alex walked from her home off County Road 48 in Jemison to the nearby Interstate 65 overpass.
Once there, she jumped over the bridge into the southbound lane of traffic. She died from the impact.
Several drivers witnessed the incident, though no cars were involved.
The Chilton County Sheriff’s Office, which is investigating the death, has ruled the case a suicide.
On Thursday, Alex’s family and friends, including parents Jim and Jill Moore, were trying to make some sense of the tragedy.
Alex, whose full name is Jamey Alexandria Moore, left a note at home. Her father, Jim Moore, did not want to talk about the note’s content but did say Alex never got over the loss of her sister, Lesley Anne Harris.
Harris died after stepping into live electrical wires following an automobile accident in August 2008. She was just 24.
Moore said his daughter felt the driver should have been held accountable for the accident.
“She never got closure for that,” he said. “That’s always just eaten her up.”
Moore said his daughter in the past had problems with bullies at school and on the bus.
“I thought we had addressed most of that,” Moore said. “We knew it was going on some, but to what extent, I didn’t know.”
He said his daughter struggled with her weight and issues with her self-confidence. Also, Moore said Alex didn’t have a lot of interaction with other kids outside church, but that “she would shine through that so well.”
In the past two days, students and friends of Alex’s have suggested she was teased more severely than she ever let on.
“We didn’t know. She was more or less protecting the people who were tormenting her,” he said. “It looks like there were some issues of bullying.”
Moore said Alex was a good kid who offered to help her mother around the house the night before her death. He said she loved her country and animals.
Several Facebook groups were formed Wednesday and Thursday to allow friends and classmates to mourn and express their thoughts on the loss.
The largest group, Tears for Alex, had 1,550 “friends” Thursday night.
The student creator of the group wrote in the group’s description that Alex was teased daily: “Heartless people, our peers, teased her because she was not up to their standards. Well, not a lot of people are.”
Other comments recounted memories of the smart and quiet girl, who warmed up and made you laugh once you got to know her:
“I first met Alex when she was at the YMCA for summer camp years ago. She was bright, intelligent and a beautiful young lady. She could be so funny at times, and I loved having her as part of my group here,” wrote one commenter.
Another student wrote, “I talked to Alex every day that I saw her at lunch. She was one of the sweetest girls I have ever met.”
Law enforcement officials went to Jemison High School on Wednesday morning to let teachers, staff and students know what happened.
Every level was represented from Alabama State Troopers to Chilton County Sheriff’s Deputies to Jemison Police.
“We had support from every agency,” said Jemison High School Principal Alan Thompson. “I’m just so proud of how our community came together to help our students.”
Church youth ministers and pastors, school counselors and faculty members manned a counseling center for students throughout the day. Temporary private meeting rooms were set up in offices, classrooms and the auditorium.
Students were counseled in both individual and group sessions. About 20 to 25 students who knew the victim well sought individual counseling, Thompson estimated. Every student present was counseled in some way.
Many students have also missed class this week.
“The whole school gives our prayers and sympathy to the family,” Thompson said. “It’s a loss for us, too. We’re going to miss her.”
If any good comes from this loss, Moore said he hopes parents will talk with their kids about what is going on in their lives and when kids come to any adult with problems, whether at home or in church or school, they will be listened to.
“Whomever they tell needs to step up and take care of business,” he said. “This shouldn’t have happened.”
Alex’s visitation was Thursday night from 6-8 p.m. at Martin Funeral Home Chapel in Clanton. Funeral services will be Friday at 3 p.m. at Springville City Cemetery in Springville.
The Clanton Advertiser tried to reach Chilton County school officials for comment about the possible bullying at Jemison High School. Superintendent Keith Moore is out of town until Monday. Thompson could not be reached for further comment Thursday evening.
Sheriff Kevin Davis said Thursday afternoon he had no new information to share concerning his department’s investigation.
–News editor Scott Mims contributed to this report.

By Scott Mims

A 15-year-old Jemison girl was killed after jumping from an Interstate overpass early Wednesday morning in what the Chilton County Sheriff’s Department has ruled as a suicide.
The victim, reportedly a student of Jemison High School, jumped from the Chilton County Road 48 overpass onto the southbound lane of Interstate 65 near the 217-mile marker shortly before 7 a.m., officials confirmed.
One lane of I-65 southbound was shut down for approximately two hours. No vehicles were involved.
“It’s a traumatic thing for the family,” said Chilton County Sheriff Kevin Davis.
Union Grove Fire Department was dispatched to the scene, along with the Chilton County Sheriff’s Department, Alabama State Troopers, the Chilton County Coroner’s Office and Care Ambulance.
The sheriff’s department is the lead investigating agency in the case.

By Stephen Dawkins

Though Jemison Middle School will occupy the new Jemison Intermediate School next school year, Superintendent Keith Moore said the Chilton County Board of Education still plans for a four-school system in the city.
JMS is moving so that repairs can be made to the school’s 70-plus-year-old gymnasium.
Education officials have been waiting for the state to conduct a final inspection and officially turn over JIS, which is adjacent to Jemison Elementary School and across town from Jemison middle and high schools.
Moore said the board should take control of the new school soon and that Jemison Middle’s move will likely take place over the summer, which would require contributions from 12-month employees, such as administrators and maintenance workers.
“We want to do it when it would cause the least amount of confusion,” Moore said. “I’m sure we’ll have some teachers that will volunteer their time—and their families’.”
Jemison Middle’s move will be temporary.
“Once the repairs have been made, we’re going to go to the four-school system like we planned,” Moore said.
The board decided at its Tuesday meeting that grades 4, 5, and 6 will occupy the intermediate school. The middle school currently houses grades 5-8. Eighth grade, whose wing is actually connected to the high school, will stay at its current location while the other middle school grades move to the intermediate school.
Once the gym has been repaired, seventh grade will move back to the middle school, ninth grade will become part of the middle school, and fourth grade will move from the elementary school next door to the new school.
Moore said he did not have an estimate for the cost of repairs to the JMS gym—and said the repairs would take longer than the three months available during the summer.
Moore said the board decided it would be unsafe for middle school students to be in their current facility while repairs were being made to the gym.
“I think we’re doing the right thing,” JMS principal Mark Knight said. “This building needs a lot of attention.”

By Scott Mims

The best high school band students from the Chilton County area will converge at Jemison High School this week for the 22nd Annual Chilton County Area Honor Band. The students will practice for two and a half days in preparation for a concert to be performed Saturday, April 10 at 2 p.m. in the JHS auditorium.

The Honor Band is made up of select students from Chilton County High, Isabella, Jemison, Maplesville, Thorsby, Verbena, Marbury and Calera bands.

Proceeds from Saturday’s concert will benefit an Honor Band trip to Atlanta for a concert competition on May 1. Admission is $3 for adults and $2 for students and children.

“Two years ago we stretched our county’s borders a little and included Calera High School and Marbury High School,” said Thorsby band director Stephen Pounders. “Both of these schools are so close to Chilton County that the Chilton County Band Directors Association invited them to participate with us. By bringing in two more schools, more students get to participate and we are able to have a more difficult program for the concert.”

Students auditioned for Honor Band at Thorsby High School on Dec. 1 of last year. They were required to perform three chromatically adjacent scales, a prepared piece of music, and read a short excerpt of music. The students are given one minute to look over music they have never seen before and then perform it for a judge.

Pounders said Honor Band programs offer unique opportunities to students across the state.

“Honor bands like this are held all over the state during the spring semester,” he said. “Most colleges offer an honor band to get high school juniors and seniors on their campus as a way of recruiting them to their college. This way, the juniors and seniors get to spend a couple of days on a college campus, eat in their cafeteria, and see if they would like to go to college there.”

The guest conductor and clinician for this year’s Chilton County Area Honor Band will be Dr. Joseph Ardovino from the University of Montevallo.

Pounders invites everyone to cheer on their local high school bands at the concert Saturday.

“Please come out and support the students and band programs of the Chilton County area,” he said.

By Scott Mims

The Chilton County Board of Education held a special work session Tuesday morning to discuss issues pertaining to several school improvements across the county.
Members discussed possibly repairing Verbena High School’s gym floor, bleachers and lighting.
In recent years, they discussed remodeling the school’s lobby and increasing the size of the bathrooms, but the $5,000 cost was too high at the time.
Members emphasized that any new gym seating must include accommodating handicap seating.
One board member addressed a concern about the Thorsby High School gym floor collecting a substantial amount of dirt and sand toward its back entrance.
He said the debris makes for difficult cleanup.
They also discussed the possibility of remodeling the Maplesville High science lab, which is currently not being used.
They agreed it needs new tables and a vent. It also needs its water and gas connected.
The board wants to look at all science labs that are fiveyears old or older to see if they need remodeling or repair.
The board also passed a resolution to seed the playground at Jemison Intermediate School.
Members from the Alabama State Department of Education presented a case to improve Jemison High School’s reading.
It would involve starting daily 30-minute classes that would take place during the middle of the day.
As an incentive to the students, elective classes would also be offered, which would include arts and crafts.
The state department has been planning the program for nearly one year. Pisgah High School served as the model for the program. Theirs is one hour per day.
One board member asked if motivation for the students to participate would be an issue. They agreed the middle of the day would be the best time due to difficulty in bringing students early and keeping them late.
The elective courses would be non-credit, so non-certified teachers would teach them.
The idea behind the reading course is to bring kids up to their own grade reading level. Moore said he wants to meet with all county school principals to discuss incorporating such a program into their respective schools. The state department has already approved the program.
The board discussed the possibility of having Jemison High School host grades 8-12 and moving the younger grades to a different building.
The board also approved a resolution to accept the resignations of Chilton County boys basketball head coach Donnie Hand and federal programs secretary and bookkeeper Danita Barnett. They will post an opening for the federal programs secretary for 14 days.
The board also conducted expulsion hearings for three Thorsby High School students.

From staff reports

Army Pfc. Meciala T. Haggins has been mobilized and activated at Fort Dix, N.J., in preparation for deployment to serve in support of either Operations Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom.  The soldier is a member of the 2101st Transportation Company, Demopolis.
The soldiers are normally activated from Army Reserve or Army National Guard units from throughout the U.S.  They go through a series of in-processing procedures and training classes that prepare them for skills and situations they may face in their deployed environment. Haggins is a motor transport operator and has served in the military for two years.
She is the daughter of Christina Haggins of Montevallo and the granddaughter of Flo Ware of Jemison. The private first class is a 2007 graduate of Jemison High School.

By Alan Thompson

Kayla Brasher of Jemison High School has been elected state DECA President.
After campaigning at the state career development conference in Montgomery, Brasher’s peers from across the state voted her in as the 2010-11 president.
Brasher is a junior at JHS. She is the daughter of Harland and Rita of Jemison.
As a member of her local DECA chapter for the past two years, Brasher has strived to be active. She has attended regional and state leadership conferences and competed on several levels.
As president of the state association, Brasher has a busy schedule ahead of her. She will attend the International Career Development Conference in Louisville, Ky. in April, and she will have a week-long training conference in Opelika and attend the State Officer Institute in Washington D.C. along with regional and state leadership conferences.
“Kayla is ready to take on this role,” said Sandi Cullen, Brasher’s advisor. “She is a very hard worker and is very dedicated. I look forward to working with her in her new position in the coming year.”

Alan Thompson is the principal of Jemison High School.