During the Birmingham City Council Meeting held Tuesday, December 3, 2013, Council: 

Following the swearing-in of William A. Parker to represent District 4, the Council recessed to select a presiding officer. Councilor Johnathan Austin was selected by his colleagues to serve as the 2013 – 2017 President of the Birmingham City Council. For more information, contact the office of Council President Johnathan Austin at 254.2678. 

Other items approved at today’s meeting include the following:

1. Delayed for two weeks an Ordinance amending Title 12, Chapter 14 of the General City Code 1980 to add a new chapter to establish regulations for mobile food vehicles and pushcarts in the City of Birmingham, Alabama. For more information, contact the office of Councilor Johnathan Austin at 254.2678.

2. Placed on consent an Ordinance “to further amend the Capital Budget” for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, by appropriating $1,350,000.00 to Cooper Green Park which represents the contractor’s bond payment. For more information, contact the office of Councilor Steven Hoyt at 254.2304.

3. Approved an Ordinance authorizing the Mayor to execute a Revolving Loan and Security Agreement with the Housing Authority of the Birmingham District (HABD) under which the City will make revolving loans to HABD in an amount of which will not exceed $2,500,000.00 at any one time, and the cumulative total of which will not exceed $8,020,770.00. The loans will be secured by HABD’s Operating Account. The loan proceeds will be used to modernize and rehabilitate forty-eight (48) housing units at Elyton Village, a five hundred (500) unit public housing community located at 31 4th Court West. For more information, contact the office of Councilor Steven Hoyt at 254.2304.

4. Approved a Resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute a First Amendment to Project Agreement with Pappas Restaurants, Inc., d/b/a Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen under which the terms of the Project Agreement between the City and Pappas, dated August 28, 2012, will be amended to extend, until September 28, 2014, the time within which Pappas is required to open the restaurant for business. For more information, contact the office of Councilor Steven Hoyt at 254.2304.

5. Approved a Resolution approving an agreement with Birmingham Regional Paratransit Consortium DBA Clastran, Birmingham, for fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, renewable annually subject to funds availability for a term not to exceed five (5) years, in an amount not to exceed $250,000.00 per year, to provide quality, efficient, and mobile transportation services for the elderly and disabled citizens of the Birmingham area, and authorizing the Mayor to execute the agreement on behalf of the City. For more information, contact the office of Councilor Kim Rafferty at 254.2348.

6. Approved a Resolution approving an agreement with the Birmingham Zoo, Inc., Birmingham, for fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, in an amount not to exceed $400,000.00, renewable annually subject to funds availability for a term not to exceed five (5) years, to provide education and camp programs for school-age children, provide services to underprivileged citizens and those who serve our country and victims of natural disasters by providing complimentary and/or discounted visits, and to provide access to the general public at an affordable cost, and authorizing the Mayor to execute the agreement on behalf of the City.

7. Placed on consent a Resolution approving an agreement with Children’s Village, Inc., Birmingham, for fiscal year ending June 30, 2014, renewable annually subject to funds availability for a term not to exceed five (5) years, in an amount not to exceed $75,000.00 per year, to provide housing for 18 children from the ages of 6 to 17 years of age, to ensure these children receive quality care through activities designed to ensure their total development, and authorizing the Mayor to execute the agreement on behalf of the City.

8. Placed on consent a Resolution (1) finding that the allocation in the total amount of $30,000.00 for the installation of a pavilion, sidewalks and driveway at Fairview Park, located at 2501 28th Street Ensley, constitutes a public purpose; (2) authorizing the expenditure of the total amount of $30,000.00 to be paid from funds made available to the Fairview Neighborhood Association. For more information, contact the office of Councilor Steven Hoyt at 254.2304.

9. Councilor Jay Roberson offered a congratulatory Resolution to Birmingham native and Auburn football player Chris Davis, Jr., for his amazing efforts during the Iron Bowl. 

Announcements and Reminders:

1. The Education Committee Meeting scheduled on today, December 3, 2013, has been canceled.

2. The Transportation and Communication Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday, December 4, 2013, 12:30 p.m., Conference Room A.

3. Councilor Marcus Lundy announced the District 9 Affordable Care Act Town Hall Meeting. The meeting on December 16, 2013, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m., will take place at Saint John’s Baptist Church, 1101 Alexander Street, Dolomite 35064.

4. The Joint Public Safety and Technology Committee scheduled to meet on Wednesday, December 4, 2013, is canceled.

5. Councilor Valerie Abbott announced the application acceptance period for the Birmingham Planning Commission vacancy closes on Friday, December 6, 2013. To submit a letter of interest and resume, email valerie.abbott@birminghamal.gov

6. The Budget and Finance Committee is scheduled to meet on Monday, December 9, 2013, 4:00 p.m., Conference Rooms D & E.

7. Councilor Lashunda Scales reminded members of the public that the Payday Loan Public Hearing is next week, December 10, 2013, during the Council Meeting. For more information, contact the office of Councilor Lashunda Scales at 254.2349.

8. Councilor Jay Roberson announced a Special Called Public Improvement Committee Meeting to discuss the Land Bank Authority. The meeting is scheduled on Tuesday, December 10, 2013, 4:00 p.m., in the Council Chambers.

9. The Planning and Zoning Committee is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, December 10, 2013, 4:00 p.m., 5th Floor Engineering Conference Room.

Are you unable to attend the Birmingham City Council meetings? Watch Council Meetings on demand. From anywhere in the world you can log on to www.birminghamalcitycouncil.org and click on the tab Watch Council Meetings; or from the comfort of your home, tune to Bright House Cable Channel 244.

The Birmingham City Council meetings are free and on demand. 
 The City of Birmingham will make reasonable accommodations to ensure that people with disabilities have equal opportunity to enjoy all city services, programs and activities. If accommodations are required for public meetings, please contact John Long, Senior Public Information Officer, with reasonable advance notice by emailing John.Long@birminghamal.gov, or by calling 205-254-2036.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Birmingham City Council Tuesday approved $750,000 in funding to demolish the long-vacant, downtown eyesore; Adams Inn, located on 10th Street North alongside Interstate 65. Now that the funding has been approved, the asbestos abatement and bidding process can begin. Demolition is expected to be completed within 90 days.
Known previously as the Ramada Inn and the Sheraton before that, the Adams Inn has been vacant for years. In July, the building experienced a fire and was partially demolished.
The City has been working to get the building torn down since it was condemned in 2010.

Attempted Murder Investigation

The Birmingham Police Department reports that detectives have arrested and charged a suspect in connection with an attempted murder investigation. The incident occurred on Tuesday, November 26, 2013 at approximately 1 a.m., at 1001 20th Street South.
Officers from the South Precinct responded to the incident location to investigate a call of a person shot. Officers arrived to find a male victim suffering from a gunshot wound to the stomach. The victim was transported to the hospital for treatment of his injury. The victim is expected to recover from his injury.
Upon further investigation, BPD South Precinct officers were able obtain information that both the victim and suspect were involved in a verbal altercation prior to the shooting. Officers were able to locate the suspect after he called to notify police that he was involved. Officers were able to take the suspect into custody without incident.

The suspect has been identified as:
Joshua White, B/M, 22, of Birmingham, Alabama. Two Attempted Murder warrants with a $30,000 bond on each charge have been obtained against the suspect. The suspect is in the custody of the Jefferson County Jail. The second charge was obtained due to a second victim being with the victim at the time of the shooting. The second victim was not injured.

Homicide Investigation  

The Birmingham Police Department reports that detectives are conducting a homicide investigation. The incident occurred on Tuesday, December 3, 2013 at approximately 2 a.m., in the 4200 block of 3rd Avenue South.
The victim’s identity will be released upon notification of immediate family.
Officers from the South Precinct responded to the incident location to investigate a report of an assault. Upon arrival, officers located the victim lying on the sidewalk suffering from a gunshot wound. Birmingham Fire and Rescue arrived and pronounced the victim deceased.
There have been no arrests made in this case.
If there is anyone who has information pertaining to the case, they are encouraged to contact the BPD Homicide Unit at 254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 254-7777.

Birmingham Man Convicted in Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy

BIRMINGHAM – A federal jury late Monday convicted a Birmingham man in a conspiracy to traffic cocaine between Birmingham and Austin, Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and Drug Enforcement Administration Assistant Special Agent in Charge Clay A. Morris.
Following a six-day trial before U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor, the jury convicted Artavis Desmond McGowan, 40, of conspiring with Donaldo Figueroa Cruz, 34, of Austin, Texas, and others, to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine in Jefferson County between August 2011 and October 2011.
Figueroa pleaded guilty in July to the drug-trafficking conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, and concealing $110,000 in a hidden compartment behind the bumper of a Lexus sedan in order to secret the money out of the country. Figueroa was sentenced Nov. 6 to 10 years in federal prison.
“McGowan and his conspirators are among the prime movers of illicit drugs into our community and they made hundreds of thousands of dollars selling it,” Vance said. “These drugs devastate neighborhoods and fuel violent crime, so it is particularly important that we prosecute those like McGowan who are indifferent to the shattered lives they leave behind when they profiteer off of dangerous drugs,” she said.
“The DEA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, along with our state and local counterparts, worked tirelessly during the investigation of Artavis McGowan,” Morris said. “Our partnership with the law enforcement community in Birmingham is dedicated to making our community safer and taking dangerous criminals off the streets of Alabama.”
On Oct. 5, 2011, DEA agents seized six bricks of cocaine and other drugs from a home located at 1156 Skyline Drive in Birmingham. Also seized from the house was $341,679 cash. McGowan and his confederates used the home as a “stash” house to remove cocaine from drug “load” vehicles driven from Austin to Birmingham. The basement of the home also was used to process drugs and money, according to evidence at trial.
Evidence further showed that McGowan’s fingerprints were found on two of the 46 kilogram wrappers found in the trash in the basement of the Skyline Drive home. In May of this year, DEA agents executed a search warrant at 108 Page Ave. in Birmingham where they found McGowan with more than $61,000 cash.
McGowan is scheduled for sentencing Feb. 25. He faces a sentence of 20 years to life in prison.
The DEA investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory R. Dimler prosecuted.

Clay County Jail Administrator Indicted for Violating Inmates’ Civil Rights

BIRMINGHAM – A federal grand jury recently indicted the former jail administrator of the Clay County Detention Center for violating the civil rights of four inmates by using his authority to sexually abuse or otherwise deprive the inmates of their constitutional rights, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent in Charge Richard D. Schwein Jr.
An indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Jeffrey Scott Cotney, 48, of Ashland, with eight counts of deprivation of rights under color of law between May 2009 and spring 2010 while he worked as Clay County’s jail administrator.
“It is unacceptable for law enforcement officers who are entrusted with police powers to sexually abuse inmates,” Vance said. “People convicted of crimes are to be punished by the justice system according to the rule of law. They should not be subjected to a deprivation of their constitutional rights by one who abuses the power of his badge for personal gratification.”
The first four counts of the indictment charge Cotney with coercing an inmate to submit to a sexual act on four separate dates between May 2009 and September 2009. Count Five charges Cotney with depriving that same inmate of his liberty, without due process of law, by withdrawing the inmate’s application for acceptance into a community corrections program in Barbour County in order to keep the man confined in the Clay County Detention Center. Cotney falsely represented the inmate’s interest in the community corrections program and withdrew his application for the program without the inmate’s knowledge, according to the indictment.
Counts Six and Seven charge Cotney with directing two inmates, one in August 2009 and the other in spring 2010, to disrobe and then rubbing the tattoos on their bodies, thereby depriving them of their constitutional rights to be free from unreasonable searches and to possess bodily privacy and integrity.
Count Eight charges Cotney with depriving a fourth inmate of his right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment by falsely accusing the inmate of possessing contraband, ordering him into lockdown for 45 days and having him transferred to a state prison, all in retaliation for the man rejecting a sexual proposition from Cotney.
Cotney could face a total of eight years in prison on all counts charged.
The FBI investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamarra Matthews Johnson is prosecuting.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains only charges. A defendant is presumed innocent and it is the government’s responsibility to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
 Childersburg City Councilwoman Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud and Money Laundering

BIRMINGHAM – A Childersburg City Councilwoman pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to bank fraud and laundering nearly $1 million from SouthFirst Bank in Childersburg, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Craig Caldwell, and IRS Criminal Investigation Supervisory Special Agent in Charge Veronica Hyman-Pillot.
Federal prosecutors charged Bonny Jean Carter in October with the nearly $1million embezzlement from SouthFirst Bank. According to the charge and her guilty plea before Senior U.S. District Judge Inge P. Johnson, Carter, 61, worked as an account clerk at SouthFirst Bank. In that position, between October 2002 and March 2013, Carter embezzled funds held by SouthFirst Bank by converting the money to personal savings accounts. Carter recorded journal entries to transfer money from various SouthFirst Bank general ledger accounts into personal accounts held in her daughter’s name. She also skimmed amounts from checks made payable to SouthFirst Bank by depositing the funds into those personal accounts. Additionally, Carter issued debit transactions from SouthFirst Bank’s operating expense account to pay personal debts she owed.
As part of a plea agreement Carter entered with the government in October, she is responsible for repaying $951,787 to SouthFirst Bank. Her sentencing is scheduled March 11.
The maximum penalty for bank fraud is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine, and the maximum penalty for money laundering is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The U.S. Secret Service and Internal Revenue Service investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Robin Beardsley Mark is prosecuting.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) and AIDS Alabama will present the internationally acclaimed photo exhibit Through Positive Eyes in BCRI’s Orientation Theatre Hallway from Tuesday, December 3, 2013 through January 31, 2014.   Through Positive Eyes is an international photography project that gives people living with HIV and AIDS the opportunity to pick up their own cameras, create art, and document the reality of their lives. By doing so, they create artworks that serve as tools for combating stigma, one of the most formidable barriers to reducing the spread of HIV and AIDS today.
Over the next two years, HIV-positive people in six countries and on five continents will take part in this unique initiative, creating powerful personal photo essays. From these images, local and international advocacy materials will be developed.  The project is a collaboration between the prize-winning South African photographer Gideon Mendel and the UCLA Art & Global Health Center, which is housed within the Department of World Arts and Cultures/Dance.
“Through Positive Eyes succeeds as both advocacy and art,” stated Ahmad Ward, BCRI Head of Education and Exhibition. “The collection reveals how people in vastly different cultures, contexts, and circumstances respond when faced with the challenges of living with HIV.  These are important stories that must be told.”
Through Positive Eyes is supported by a generous grant from The Herb Ritts Foundation. Other major funders include: The Ford Foundation, Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), STD/AIDS Prevention Department of the Brazilian Ministry of Health, City of Los Angeles AIDS Coordinator’s Office, HIV/AIDS Prevention Unit of the Los Angeles Unified School District, University of California Institute for Mexico and the United States (UC MEXUS), UCLA School of the Arts and Architecture, UCLA International Institute, and UCLA AIDS Institute.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Thirty-four central Alabama school board members will be among 317 board members statewide honored this month at AASB’s Dec. 5-7 Annual Convention for advancing to a new level in the Alabama Association of School Boards’ School Board Member Academy.
The education leaders were recognized for their efforts to improve their boardmanship skills, increase their understanding of education issues and heighten their leadership skills by participating in the academy.
“It is such a pleasure to see our members invest in their development as school board leaders,” said AASB President Steve Foster of Lowndes County. “With 21 years of experience as a Lowndes County school board member, I know how much of a commitment board service is.”
The 2013 Convention and Delegate Assembly will be at Hyatt Regency Birmingham-The Wynfrey Hotel. This year’s theme is The 3 R’s: Ready. Resilient. Responsible.
Attendees will hear from education expert Dr. Ruby Payne on A Framework for Understanding Poverty. Life coach and bestselling author Valorie Burton will discuss Resilient & Ready: How to Thrive Through Challenge & Change. The 2013 Alabama Teacher of the Year Dr. Alison Grizzle will explore Teacher Accountability: Ensuring We Reach All Children. In Alabama’s Fiscal Forecast, the state’s Legislative Fiscal Officer Norris Green will join Rep. Bill Poole and Sen. Jabo Waggoner to share their expectations for the Legislature’s work on the education budget.
The academy, an ongoing “school for school board members” founded in 1986, has four achievement levels based on the number of credit hours board members earn by attending conferences and workshops in eight key areas: roles and responsibilities; policy and planning; financial accountability; the optimal learning environment; academic achievement; staff development; effective boards and relationships; and community engagement. Board members who complete the academy’s four levels and continue their commitment to training can earn the distinction Master School Board Member. AASB’s academy year runs from July 1 to June 30.
The 34 board members are from AASB’s District 5, which comprises the Jefferson and Shelby county school boards, and the Alabaster, Bessemer, Birmingham, Fairfield, Homewood, Hoover, Leeds, Midfield, Mountain Brook, Tarrant, Trussville and Vestavia Hills city school boards and the Alabama School of Fine Arts.
Below are the members and the levels they achieved:
Level I (Requires 25 training hours)
•    Wardine Alexander, Birmingham
•    Jimmy Bice, Shelby County
•    Carol Clarke, Birmingham*
•    Tamara Graham, Leeds
•    Deborah Huff, Alabama School of Fine Arts
•    Oscar Mann, Jefferson County
•    Dr. John Myrick, Alabaster
•    Scott Sisk, Leeds
•    Carolyn Turner, Midfield

Level II (Requires 50 training hours)
•    Allen Bailey, Tarrant
•    Emanuel Ford, Birmingham*
•    Randal Smith, Fairfield
•    John Ware, Midfield

Levels I & II
•    Eddie J. Penny, Fairfield
•    Stephen Presley, Hoover

Level III (Requires 75 training hours)
•    Kathy Dutton, Leeds
•    Jane Hampton, Shelby County
•    Tommy Little, Jefferson County
•    Aubrey Miller, Shelby County

Levels II & III
•    Derrick Murphy, Hoover
•    Paulette Pearson, Hoover

Level IV (Requires 100 training hours, including all eight core curriculum courses)
•    Donna Frazier, Hoover
•    Brian Giattina, Birmingham
•    Seth Goldman, Fairfield

Master Level (Requires Level 4 plus 15 hours, including one additional core course)
•    Hattie Aikerson, Bessemer, first year
•    Peg Hill, Shelby County, second year
•    Verranzno Davis, Midfield, third year
•    Bruce Grant, Tarrant, third year
•    Dr. W. J. Maye, Birmingham, third year*
•    Nathaniel Hutton, Midfield, fourth year
•    Renna Scott, Bessemer, fourth year
•    Jacqueline Smith, Jefferson County, fourth year

Masters Honor Roll (Requires completion of all four levels plus five consecutive years of earning Master Level at any point during the members’ tenure on the board)
•    Marion Easley, Fairfield
•    April Williams, Birmingham

The year’s academy training courses covered such topics as fiscal accountability, good governance, student achievement, communication, community engagement, staff development, vision/planning, technology and decision-making.
The Alabama Association of School Boards represents all of the state’s public local school boards. Since 1949, AASB has served education leaders and the interests of local decision making in public education. The association’s mission is to develop excellent school board leaders through quality training, advocacy and services. Visit www.AlabamaSchoolBoards.org.

* Denotes Former School Board Member

by Roy Williams
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – It was a big day for Joshua Hightower.
The 16-year-old junior at Holy Family Cristo Rey Catholic High was preparing to facilitate a series of meetings on sustainability with co-workers at Capstone On Campus Management. His efforts would result in a creating a company – wide report.
Conducting the meetings, held in early November, is just one of the duties Joshua does weekly at Capstone On Campus’ Birmingham headquarters in Office Park just off U.S. 280. The company is among 80-plus Birmingham area banks, law firms and other small businesses that employ students from Holy Family Cristo Rey one day a week as part of its Corporate Internship Program. Besides giving the students at the school exposure to the workplace at an early age, the corporate sponsorship allows the private Catholic school in Ensley to offer college preparatory curriculum at a discounted tuition.
Joshua said the skills he is learning at Capstone On Campus will come in handy in adulthood when he becomes an anesthesiologist. Though not a medical setting, he says the job is giving him confidence essential to success both in the classroom and in the workplace.
“It’s been a great experience,” said Joshua, who is in his first year at Holy Family Cristo Rey and began working for Capstone On Campus in August. “I’ve got great mentors, and have learned all about Microsoft Excel, Word and other computer programs. They’ve taught me how to conduct myself in the workplace.”
Capstone On Campus became a corporate sponsor at Holy Family Cristo Rey this fall after Tara Wilkinson, associate vice president, heard school President Father Alex Steinmiller talk about its student internship program at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in Hoover earlier this year. Since Capstone On Campus is involved in touching young adult lives through its management of student residence halls on 26 college campuses, including two residence halls at UAB, Ms. Wilkinson felt the Holy Family Cristo Rey internship program would be a perfect fit.
“The Board of Directors and intern supervisors made a commitment that Joshua’s experience would be tangible lessons that will benefit his future professional career, and not just be paperwork,” Ms. Wilkinson said. “We want him to learn problem solving skills, gain confidence and understand what will be expected of him in the workplace.”
Ms.  Wilkinson said Joshua has been a great asset, taking care of duties that allow the company to move their processes and organization forward. Among his tasks, Joshua has done research on sustainability and written articles for the company newsletter. He also is responsible for scanning corporate checks, completing data entry, organizing technology and participating in committee work.
“Joshua is doing a terrific job,” Ms. Wilkinson said. “He is learning how to take a problem, analyze it and come up with a solution.”
Ms. Wilkinson said Capstone On Campus is looking forward to continuing its relationship with Holy Family Cristo Rey during this academic year. Located at 2001 19th St. Ensley, Holy Family Cristo Rey is a private Catholic school that offers college preparatory curriculum at a discounted tuition rate thanks to the support and generosity of corporate sponsors and donors like Capstone on Campus. Over 80 corporate sponsors in metro Birmingham provide jobs and scholarship funds for Holy Family Cristo Rey students.
Businesses interested in hiring a student intern or sponsoring a nonprofit should call Corporate Internship Program Director Kirk Mitchell at 205-253-0139 or email him at kmitchell@hfcristorey.org.
Holy Family Cristo Rey is also accepting new students for the 2014-15 school year and holding a Parent Informational meeting on Dec. 12. For more information, call Director of Admissions  Beverly Dixon at (205)263-0133 or email her at bdixon@hfcristorey.org. More details are available on the school website,  www.hfcristorey.org.

BIRMINGHAM – The Trans-Siberian Orchestra will hold its sixth annual holiday concert to benefit ill and injured children treated at Children’s of Alabama on Saturday, Dec. 7th at both the 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. shows. Once again $1 from each ticket sold will be set aside for the hospital. The public can purchase tickets by visiting www.ticketmaster.com.
 WMJJ Magic 96.5, the official radio partner of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra event, is a longtime partner of Children’s of Alabama and the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. The annual Children’s Miracle Network Radiothon, held in late 2013 at the hospital, raised more than $70,000 for Alabama’s ill and injured children.
 “We are incredibly appreciative of Magic 96.5 FM and the entire Trans-Siberian Orchestra family of artists and promoters who make this gift possible each year,” said Cayleigh Cummings, Foundation Coordinator for Children’s of Alabama. “The concert always serves as an uplifting end to the year for the community as well as our patients and families. Of course, none of it would be possible without the longstanding support of one of our best radio partners in the state, WMJJ Magic 96.5 FM.”
 Among the first to join Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Children’s of Alabama has raised more than $22 million in its nearly 30 years of CMNH membership. One hundred percent of the dollars raised through CMNH national sponsors goes directly to Children’s of Alabama. The more than $2 million raised in Alabama under the CMN umbrella last year alone testifies to the teamwork shown by the families, friends, advocates of children and CMNH sponsors who want quality pediatric health care for our next generation.
Visit Children’s at: www.childrensal.org.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.— Stillman College senior Courtney Cunningham from Birmingham, Alabama was recognized for her “outstanding presentation” at the 2013 Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) in Nashville, Tennessee. Cunningham, who won a ABRCMS Best Poster Award for her research on neurological disorders, also received a FASEB MARC full travel award to present her findings at the conference, which was held November 13-16.
Over 1,640 students presented science posters, discussed their research projects, and were interviewed by judges at the conference. Stillman seniors Brittany Holloman, who is studying stress response and aging, and Jared Thompson, who is studying the hormone Adipokinetic and stress response, were granted partial travel awards to present their research at the conference.
ABRCMS, which is designed to develop future scientific leaders, is among the nation’s most competitive science conferences. “This is a very prestigious conference, and the competition is fierce. Not only because of the large number of competitors, but because many of the students who present at this conference are conducting their research at the nation’s top medical centers. This makes Courtney’s accomplishment all the more noteworthy,” stated Dr. Anathbandhu Chaudhuri, Stillman’s assistant professor of anatomy and physiology, who noticed Cunningham’s potential last summer and encouraged her to begin conducting research in his lab.
Her project was entitled the Effect of Inhibition of VMAT (Vesicular monoamine transporter) by reserpine on mobility of dopamine mutants of Drosophila melanogaster: A model system to study the neurological disorders.
In her abstract, she noted that abnormality in the functions of Dopamine, a chemical secreted from the neurons in the brain, is associated with several clinical neuropsychiatric disorders including drug addiction, mood disorders, social phobia, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and sleep disorders, as well as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Her study focused primarily on a transporter protein called VMAT (Vesicular monoamine transporter), which is essential for normal dopamine function. Many psychostimulant drugs such as Amphetamine, Methamphetamine (METH), Cocaine, and Ecstasy are known to interact with this transporter protein (VMAT).
“In this study, the small fruit fly, Drosophila, was used to understand the functions of VMAT. The Dopamine mutant flies were treated with Reserpine (an inhibitor of VMAT), commonly used to treat hypertension (high blood pressure) and psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia,” Cunningham noted.  “We hypothesize that Dopamine homeostasis is essential to restore the normal neuronal function, and VMAT could be an important therapeutic target for clinical neuropsychiatric disorders. Dr. Chaudhuri, our new Biology Professor, started his research lab this summer at Stillman and we are actively working with him.”
Her project was conducted in collaboration with Drs. Anathbandhu Chaudhuri and Mary Jane Krotzer at Stillman; Drs. Rosianna Gray and Janis O’Donnell at the University of Alabama Department of Biological Sciences; and Dr. Natraj Krishnan at the Mississippi State University, Department of Biochemistry.
Cunningham, who said that she felt “humbled” to be recognized for her work, was also recently named Stillman’s top biology major and received the Golden Lab Coat award in recognition of this honor.
“I wasn’t expecting all of these things to happen to me. I began doing my research project this summer, and I continued working after fall classes began. It has been challenging to juggle schoolwork, research and other activities, but it’s very exciting,” said Cunningham, who is interested in pursuing a career in nursing, but also plans to continue conducting research.
She is a graduate of Erwin High School in Center Point.

  The Stillman College Choir will present its annual Christmas Concert on December 8th, 6 p.m., in Birthright Alumni Hall on the college campus. Highlights will include beautiful holiday selections such as O Holy Night and What Child is This. The choir will also perform the gospel favorite Glorious is the Name of Jesus, as well as Johann Sebastian Bach’s “Magnificat,” which was first composed for Christmas in 1723.  The Latin text is the canticle of Mary, the mother of Jesus, as told in the Gospel of Luke 1:46-55.  For more information, contact bthompson@stillman.edu.  The cost is $5.