By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor  ALABASTER – A group of locals strived to reach the finish line while spreading awareness during the fifth annual SafeHouse Strong 5K. SafeHouse of Shelby County hosted this year’s edition earlier than normal and at a new location on Saturday, April 20 from 8-11 a.m. at Alabaster’s Veterans Park. “It went really well,” said Shelby Hull, outreach and volunteer coordinator at SafeHouse of Shelby County. “This was our first time having the event in April—we typically have our 5K in August—so the cooler weather was a very nice change.” The event benefitted S ..read more

By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer PELHAM – On April 30, the Pelham City Schools Board of Education officially named current Assistant Principal Khadidr Jones as the next principal of Pelham Ridge Elementary School during a regularly scheduled board meeting. Jones’ promotion to the position comes after the announcement that current principal, Lisa Baxter, would be retiring in July after the conclusion of the current school year. “Mrs. Jones has demonstrated unwavering commitment and dedication throughout her tenure in Pelham City Schools,” Superintendent Chuck Ledbetter said. “I’m confident in ..read more

By BRENNA VICKERY | Special to the Reporter PELHAM – Amid a busy season, Pelham softball still remembers to give back to its community. The players started a movement this season called “Home Runs for Hearts.” This cause hits close to home, especially for Pelham softball coach Micheal Hock. His nephew Brooks was born with numerous heart conditions and spent extensive time in the hospital recovering. The team has decided to partner with The Children’s Heart Foundation, an organization dedicated to funding research on children’s congenital heart defects, to join them on their journey of making ..read more

By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor Several CSX railroad crossings across Shelby County will soon temporarily shut down as they receive repairs and improvements. CSX has currently identified 26 railroad crossings that it will seek to engage in work on, including repairs and labor such as the replacement of ties, rails and crossing resurfacing. Work on most of crossings are expected to take two days to complete but do not have a definitive timeline and could be completed earlier. Due to the fluid nature of the schedule, no specific dates for the repairs have been confirmed as the county will rec ..read more

By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer  PELHAM – Stephanie Morris has been selected as the 2024 Dispatcher of the Year for the city of Pelham according to an official announcement released by the Pelham Police Department on Friday, April 19. The announcement, which named Morris as the recipient of the award, praised the dispatcher for her professionalism and ability to maintain composure during the toughest of situations, including one specifically listed instance. Morris, who began working with the Pelham Police Department in May of 2022 following her time with the Warrior Police Department ..read more

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor NORTH SHELBY – The atmosphere was electric at Lions Pride Stadium as the Briarwood Christian Lions and the Pelham Panthers met for the third time in 2024, this time with even bigger stakes on the line. After Pelham took the first meeting in the sudden-death rounds of a penalty shootout, Briarwood got its revenge a few weeks later with the area title on the line. In the end, it was the Pelham Panthers who took the rubber match 2-1 on Tuesday, April 30 behind a 62nd minute goal from Jair Camargo to seal their place in the Class 6A quarterfinals. Pelham got its ..read more

By ALEC ETHEREDGE | Publisher HELENA – The Pelham Panthers won’t walk away from this year’s area tournament as area champions, but the Panthers did what they needed to do to earn a postseason trip to regionals and carry confidence with them thanks to two wins over Briarwood. Pelham took down the Lions 11-4 to open the tournament, and, after losing to Helena 7-4 in the game after, staved off elimination with another win over Briarwood by a final score of 12-2. The Panthers ultimately fell 2-1 to Helena to fall short of an area championship, but showed promise against the top-ranked team i ..read more

By DONALD MOTTERN | Staff Writer PELHAM – The trails, lots and fields of Pelham City Park were all host to a day of hard work from Publix employees who dedicated their time and efforts in a day of community outreach and volunteering on Thursday, April 25. The event was organized as part of the company’s Publix Serves Week, which sees nearly 7,500 store associates volunteer across a large number of community service projects throughout their communities. The day is intended to focus not just on the local communities that the company serves, but also to their focus on environmental sustainabili ..read more

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor With spots in the state championship on the line, the Briarwood Christian Lions, Calera Eagles, Helena Huskies and Pelham Panthers stepped up and delivered at the sectional championships from April 26-27. Calera, Helena and Pelham competed in the Class 6A, Section 3 championship at Northridge High School while Briarwood was in the Class 6A, Section 2 championship at Hewitt-Trussville High School. The top five individual athletes in each event and the top three relay teams earned automatic qualifiers to the state championship in Gulf Shores. In addition, wild ..read more

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor Under the bright lights of the Legacy Arena at the BJCC for the AHSAA’s biggest annual basketball showcase, the Final Four, the Clements Colts and Trinity Presbyterian Wildcats girls basketball teams started their Class 3A semifinal matchup in a stand-still. While the players stood motionless with the ball in hand, time did not stand still, with nothing stopping the offense from letting seconds tick off the clock to slow the game down. The incident was one of many over the last several high school basketball seasons to ignite debate about whether the AHSAA s ..read more