February 2012 – Discover St. Clair

New hospital and a new Physicians Plaza

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A Reflection of the Future for St. Clair County

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Jerry Martin
and Wynter Byrd

Terrell Vick escorted the final patient out of the old St. Vincent’s St. Clair Hospital, and Sean Tinney welcomed the first patients arriving at the new one. It was a fitting role for each to play — Vick as former president and COO and acting as Chief Transition Officer and Tinney as president of St. Vincent’s Rural Hospital Operations.

From their vantage points and through their responsibilities, they witnessed history being made, the page officially turning on Dec. 10, 2011.

“The preparation leading up to it was phenomenal,” said Tinney, who noted that the new hospital opened its doors to the Emergency Department at 6 that morning. The transfer of patients from the old facility began at 9 a.m. and the doors did not shut until the last patient was moved. “It was as smooth as anything I have been a part of.”

For Vick to witness the last patients leaving the old facility where he worked for so many years and Tinney witnessing the first patients coming into the new one he is overseeing, “it was meaningful for him, and it was meaningful for me,” Tinney said.

The move was like clockwork, Tinney said, giving credit to a host of team members. Neeysa Biddle, former COO of St. Vincent’s Health System, coordinated the move with Vick heading transition efforts. Regional Paramedical Services had five ambulances assisting with the move of patients. Dual labs and x-rays operated during the move, and associates and medical staff transitioned to a state-of-the-art electronic health record system.

The entire staff was oriented to the new hospital in the weeks leading up to the move, and when that day arrived, 50 Information Technology specialists reported for duty, ensuring that countless computers and a new order entry system was in place and working properly.

Last-patient — J.C. King (in the ambulance) makes history as the last patient transported from the “old” St. Vincent’s St. Clair. Among St. Vincent’s St. Clair associates who helped close the old hospital: King’s wife, Myra, in the brown coat; Vice President of Patient Care Services Paula McCullough on the far left and Terrell Vick, front, right.

“It made it a whole lot easier to adapt,” Tinney said.

In the days since, the activity has shown no signs of slowing. Admissions are up 28 percent. Emergency Department visits jumped 10 percent. Use of the 64-slice CT Scanner and MRI equipment climbed 22 percent. At that rate, Tinney said, the new hospital could see more than 25,000 patients in a year’s time in the Emergency Department as opposed to 19,000 in the old facility.

On Dec. 19, 2011, the Physicians Plaza professional office building opened adjacent to the hospital, featuring 40,000 square feet of space. St. Vincent’s is leasing 20,000 square feet for specialists and an outpatient center, and Johnson Development, which specializes in developing, acquiring and managing medical office buildings and outpatient facilities, is developing the building.

St. Vincent’s Family Care — Pell City, the practice of Drs. Tuck, Scarbrough and Williams, is slated to open there in February or March along with St. Vincent’s Obstetrics and Gynecology-St. Clair.

New services are being added as well. Wound care with hyperbaric oxygen chambers opens in April or May, and in June, a sleep diagnostic center will open with two beds initially that can be expanded to four beds.

A partnership with MedSouth, a durable medical equipment company, will allow St. Vincent’s to offer home medical equipment, like wheelchairs, crutches, walkers, oxygen and respiratory equipment as well as diabetic supplies.

Time-share space is being utilized by specialists working part time in St. Clair. And more specialists are being recruited in the areas of orthopedics, general surgery, cardiology and pulmonology. To Tinney, it all translates into “more comprehensive medical services we can provide our community.”

Laurie Regan, a principal with Johnson Development, couldn’t agree more with Tinney’s assessment of the hospital’s ability to provide more comprehensive services. Her firm is developing the building with a definite eye toward the future and expansions.

Fresenius Medical Care dialysis will open with 12 stations and plans for an expansion, she said.

Even the building itself was constructed with expansion in mind, evidenced by a third floor of 5,000 square feet of additional space that will make way for a vertical expansion. “We know the growth is going to be there,” Regan said.

The Physicians Plaza is expected to be fully functional in February and has features and amenities that make it appealing, like its easy access to the first floor of the adjoining hospital and a full complement of diagnostic and lab services.

Art from elementary school students will hang on the walls of the second floor surrounding family practice, illustrating the partnership between the medical facility and the community.

“It is a community building, really, and we want it to have a St. Clair flavor,” Regan said.

The tie to community has a special meaning to Regan personally in addition to her role as a developer. “As residents of Pell City and St. Clair County, my husband and I have been strong supporters of St. Clair Regional and St. Vincent’s. I’m doubly blessed that my career in health-care development allowed me to be a part of this wonderful project and work in my hometown.”

Art in Motion

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The craft of making fast bikes look even faster

Story by Mike Bolton
Photos by Jerry Martin
Rider photos submitted

The rider on the sleek, screaming motorcycle shifted left on the seat and his left knee dragged the asphalt as the brightly colored rocket hugged the turn at a speed that seemingly defied physics. The rider was not alone in his insanity. He was surrounded by other riders and their cycles in a perfectly choreographed high-speed routine that made Dancing with the Stars look like some vacation Bible school production.

Despite the incredible skill level, this motorcycle race broadcast by the SPEED Channel from another state means little to most NASCAR-addicted Southern channel surfers. Scoffing that motorcycle racing isn’t real racing, they steer the channels with the remote to the safer and less insane confines of Pawn Stars or Storage Wars.

Scott Moore isn’t the typical Southern channel surfer. He watches the race with intense interest. While the motorcycle being shown on television can’t claim its soul was born in the unassuming beige workshop just outside Moore’s back door in Washington Valley, he knows its identity is fully rooted there.

To say Moore has found an unlikely niche in a world foreign to most Alabamians is a gross understatement. The quiet 1984 Springville High graduate is not a mechanic that can make a motorcycle engine perform at magical levels. He’s an artist who can make a motorcycle a one-of-a-kind rolling billboard that is easily identifiable at 160 mph.

Erase the thought of the Teutels painting motorcycle frames on American Chopper. Motorcycle racers from across the big pond and across the U.S. ship their fairings — those fiberglass and carbon-fiber additions that make racing motorcycles aerodynamic — to the small shop in Springville for Moore to work his magic on. His business is called Fast-Finish.

How does an artist that isn’t that well-known in St. Clair County become so well known across the United States and the world?

“In 1992, I painted a few street bikes and amateur racers for some friends in Birmingham,” Moore said from his shop in Washington Valley, a shop that doesn’t even have a sign touting what goes on inside. “My friends took those bikes to some national events and other people saw them and asked where they had their paint-work done.

“I started getting painting requests and it just grew. I never really set out for it to turn out like this. Now I have stuff all over the world. It got there for awhile you could pick up just about any motorcycle magazine and see a motorcycle that I had done.”

By providing the identity for the motorcycles for World Superbike champion Neil Hodgson, former Moto GP champion Kevin Schwantz and former AMA Superbike champion Ben Spies, Moore was able to display his artwork across the U.S. and world. It has resulted in word-of-mouth advertising that has branched off in many different directions.

UPS delivery drivers have the route to Moore’s rural Washington Valley shop memorized as they provide frequent deliveries of motorcycle fairings to get Moore’s touch. One day he may receive fairings from a national racing team, the next day from Grammy Winner Trevor Sadler. A delivery may be from a vintage motorcycle enthusiast one day, a delivery from China from an admirer of Moore’s work the following day.

One of Moore’s biggest customers at the moment is the National Guard racing team belonging to Michael Jordan Motorsports. The former NBA great has owned an entire team of racing motorcycles for several years.

“My dad called me one day and said some guy named Michael Jordan had sent me a package by UPS and he wanted to know if I wanted him to just leave it on the driveway,” Moore said with a laugh. “I told him that he’d better put that one up in a safe place.”

The paint schemes for some motorcycles come from Moore’s head but bigger race teams provide direction.

“The bigger teams use a graphics art department that will send me detailed artwork of exactly how they want it to look,” he explained. “It will include every decal with instructions of where they go.

“Others will send me a sketch of what they want and others will just tell me to make it look good.”

The interest in vintage motorcycle racing has increased dramatically in the South with the opening of Barber’s Motorsports Park and the Barber’s Vintage Motorsports Museum in Leeds.

It has opened up a niche within a niche for the humble Moore. He has done the artwork for several motorcycles in the Barber’s museum as well as some $500,000 vintage motorcycles for individuals. His work has won best in show at the prestigious Amelia Island Vintage Motorcycle show in Florida and the vintage motorcycle show in Pebble Beach.

Vintage racing motorcycles now make up a good portion of his work.

Moore says his evolution into this type of work has been pretty amazing considering it was never in his dreams after graduating from high school.

“I worked in Birmingham for a land surveying crew and somebody wanted me to paint a truck for them and I just needed a place to do it,” he said. “My dad drove a truck and he paid me to wash the truck for him.

“I painted this truck and it turned out OK, and I started painting other trucks and cars. I figured out that the pay for painting them was a whole lot better than the pay for washing them.”

To see more of Moore’s work visit
www.fastfinishpainting.com

The Pond House

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Fabled St. Clair County home now a retreat

Story by GiGi Hood
Photos by Jerry Martin

“Sunrise, sunset, sunrise, sunset, swiftly go the years!” The poignant words from Jerry Bock’s and Sheldon Harnick’s musical adaptation of Joseph Stein’s “Fiddler On The Roof” couldn’t be more true. And thanks to — or because of — today’s technological marvels, sunrises seem to run into sunsets, and very few even have time to notice the transition from one day to the next. Nothing seems to slow down, and humanity can often resemble the mouse or gerbil running on the wheel to nowhere.

Few places exist where one might find refuge from the world’s ever-quickening pace and yield to an almost forgotten chance to reflect quietly on the thoughts in their head and the matters of their heart. Such places would seem remote, far away, unbelievably expensive and most likely existent only in theory. But that is not always the case. They do exist, and one is right in the heart of St. Clair County. The Pond House, with 40 acres of land, a 3-acre stocked lake, walking trails and quiet quarters, is the perfect destination for the person seeking solace, rest and a time and place for personal reflection as well as the renewal of the body, mind and soul. Located in Pell City, just off Alabama 34, it is a peaceful utopia that is easily reachable without the need to travel great distance or spend a large amount of money to get there.

Col. Hugh Cort III, a Korean War hero, and his wife, Vi, traveled the world as he served his country. After the war, they settled in Mountain Brook when Hugh went to work at the University of Alabama in Birmingham. Always busy and involved wherever they lived, Hugh and Vi both were constantly thinking about and looking for the perfect place to retire.

Their dream, not unlike that of Henry David Thoreau’s life at Walden Pond, was to find a quiet oasis with an atmosphere conducive to spiritual healing, Sabbath rest, quiet reflectivity, as well as times of personal enjoyment for both their family and friends. In tune with one another, they both wanted acreage in which to quietly meander; a peaceful setting with beautiful terrain; a chance to see and commune with wildlife and the opportunity to hear the symphony of nature’s night sounds. Blissful surroundings, a place for fishing, a canvas for water fowl and a pond that would reflect the colors of changing seasons, as well as a place to provide for the daily reflection of one’s life were each a viable part of their search.

When Hugh and Vi stumbled upon the 40 acres in St. Clair County during the early 1980s, they knew they were home. They had arrived at their dreams’ destination. Soon after, they purchased the property and began building the home that had so long existed within their minds’ eyes. With the overseeing of each and every intricacy of the process, it became apparent to both Vi and Hugh that the entry to the property was as important as the house itself. The manifestation of such thought produced a lengthy, winding lane. It allowed visitors to consciously leave the constantly spinning world at the beginning of the driveway and transcend to a world of peacefulness and rest upon entering the home that was ideally nestled among woodsy terrain and included a pond-side view.

A stone path was designed and created to run parallel to the lane and allowed for an easy walk to what would become the family cemetery, where Vi was laid to rest. Hiking trails were developed for enjoyable access to the property and all that it had to offer.

Social and athletic aspects of life were not to be overlooked at The Pond House. The Corts built a world-class croquet court just to the rear of the home. And true to the tradition of the sport, friends would gather in the spirit of competition dressed in the white sporting attire that was then appropriate for such events.

During their years of living in St. Clair County, the Corts became heavily involved with St. Peter Episcopal Church in Talladega. As their involvement and love for the church grew, a strong bond developed between them and Rev. Bob Blackwell, who then served as St. Peter’s priest.

It was during one of their times together that the Corts shared another matter of the heart with their good friend, Blackwell. They informed him that they wanted to give The Pond House, its acreage and its lake to St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. Their wishes were granted in 1992, when their beloved property, as well as an endowment, were given to the church and accepted by the Bishop of the Diocese of Alabama in a grand ceremony.

Today, it is the mission of The Pond House to provide a home-like setting for individuals or groups who are looking for an avenue to become disconnected from the world for either a short time or an extended stay.

“While The Pond House is an outreach ministry of Talladega’s St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, all who appreciate the standards and way of the church are invited,” Dan Miller, director of The Pond House, explained. “We welcome both lay people as well as clergy, and we encourage anyone in need of time for reflectivity, rejuvenation and respite to take advantage of the peace and quiet The Pond House and its surrounding offers at a very economical rate.”

It is the ideal setting for group meetings, as well as a facility that provides accommodations for either a one-day gathering or overnight retreats.

Originally, the house was set up to sleep 10 people. After the house was obtained by St. Peter’s, the space once used for the master bedroom was reconstructed in order to provide for a chapel. Many individuals, youth groups and vestry participants have enjoyed the wooded surroundings, as well as the screened porch and the wrap-around decks.

Having moved to another state, but certainly not forgetting his love for The Pond House, Col. Cort once again fiscally provided for additional changes that occurred during 2010. At that time, the house underwent gentle renovations in order to be able to sleep 16, to improve the functionality of the house and to provide options for limited food service. At the same time, the garage was converted to a meeting room that would accommodate up to 25 people.

The changes, growth and opportunity for serving greater numbers of people in search of spiritual, mental and physical renewal created the need for someone to orchestrate all the activities for which The Pond House could be used. As a result, Miller was hired as its first director. A low-key person, he is excited about all that The Pond House has to offer. “We want to create the atmosphere of warmth, love and enjoyment and peace,” he said. “It’s important that when our visitors come through the door they have a sense that they are at home. And one of the traditions we have to help create that sense is all visitors are greeted with the aroma and then the taste of fresh cinnamon rolls.”

While The Pond House has undergone many changes in the years since Col. and Mrs. Cort stumbled upon that glorious piece of property, some things are still the same. It is still a utopia of serenity, beauty, simplicity and tranquility. It still provides a place for spiritual, mental and physical renewal. And it still transcends the chaos of the world that exists down the lane and just outside the front gate.

LEARJET 464 Juliet

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A mission of hope, a story of perseverance

Editor’s note: Excerpts from Wood’s book are italicized.

Story by Samantha Corona
Photos by Jerry Martin

In 1981, Bobby Wood sat down with a pen and paper, and began to write.

His story would have all the exciting elements – foreign countries, constant travels, a clash of cultures, gangs of criminals, and a few good guys who chose morals over money. It would highlight corrupt governments, an illegal industry on two continents, and one man’s quest to bring a valuable piece of American property — and history — home.

Most importantly, Wood’s story would be real. No fictional characters and no exaggerations, it would be his own true-life experiences – him and 464 Juliet.

“I wrote it all down by hand. I sat down and started writing, and I filled up notebook after notebook,” Wood said. “I wanted to include everything, every detail.”

Now, more than 30 years later, that original story Wood scribbled down has become a memoir, a nonfiction novel finally ready to be shared with the rest of the world – Learjet 464 Juliet.

“I’ve had this story for years and wanted to share it, but because of certain people and certain events, I wasn’t able to,” Wood said. “Now that some people have passed on, I’m able to publish it.”

Owner of Wood Performance in Pell City, Wood grew up in Birmingham, detouring to Florida before now calling Cropwell, Ala., home.

He began his love for engines early. His father owned and operated Wood Chevrolet in Birmingham, and it wasn’t long before the car fever caught on. Wood became involved in professional drag racing and was named the NHRA National record holder twice. He later traveled the nation in the Coca-Cola racing circuit.

Wood’s business today is leading innovation and design of carburetors and cam shafts for Harley Davidson motorcycles.

“I’ve always loved working with my hands. I like putting things together to see how they work,” he said.

In 1972, Wood moved to Opa-Locka, Florida, just outside Miami, with his wife, Terry, and their children. He started Wood Engineering, which built and designed products for the aircraft industry, and in 1978, under the title of Air Unlimited, Wood also opened a Cessna aircraft dealership, flight-training school and FAA repair station.

That’s where the story begins, and a Learjet by the name of 464 Juliet enters Wood’s life.

In January 1980, Raul Soto, Colombian by birth and Wood’s “right-hand man” at Air Unlimited, arranged for Wood to meet with a lawyer in Colombia who was interested in striking up an oil deal and in need of private investors. It was a proposition Wood decided to explore.

As the deal unfolded, Wood was introduced to another Colombian lawyer who brought his attention to the opportunity of restoring and returning confiscated airplanes.

The “business” of Colombia at that time – drug imports and exports – made available several abandoned and hijacked aircraft throughout the country. Some were left to waste away, some stripped for any value they could provide to the starving, money-hungry population, and some were considered property of the Colombian government and military.

An aviator at heart, Wood’s interest was piqued at the possibility of repairing and restoring these planes, both for the financial possibilities and the fun.

While out exploring the area and surveying a number of planes, native Soto remembered a U.S. plane that had been grounded just a few years earlier in 1977.

According to Wood and several news stories, the Learjet N464J was on a rescue mission to bring an American who had been badly injured in a plane crash back to the states to receive care in Texas. The victim was severely burned and required treatment that Colombian hospitals couldn’t provide.

“464 Juliet, a Jet Ambulance on a medical mission of mercy, had been sent to retrieve an American named Bruce Douglas Allen, who had been horribly injured in a plane crash. As Allen lay dying with third-degree burns over 80 percent of his body, Colombian officials and agencies, with the possible blessings of their United States counterparts, detained 464 Juliet on trumped-up charges of violation of airspace, and then, days later, neatly confiscated her by planting only fifty grams of cocaine onboard to ensure she would never leave Colombia. Neither would Allen, who was left to die unattended, a few days after 464 Juliet was confiscated.”

Six Americans – two pilots, two paramedics and two passengers – were jailed for their involvement with the rescue mission, but the circumstances, and their eventual release, left a number of unanswered questions.

As Wood made his way to the Simon Bolivar airport, where Juliet was detained, he saw the tail with her name, and it was love at first sight.

“Learjets are something special. I’ve always loved them, and I was excited about the chance to get her up and running again,” he said.

That opportunity wouldn’t be as easy as Wood had imagined.

As the story will tell readers, over several weeks and months, every roadblock imaginable lined the path – self-serving locals, legal red tape, drug lords and corrupt government officials would all have a say in Wood’s new quest to uncover the true story of that mercy mission and free Juliet.

“At that point I made a decision: If I didn’t get 464 Juliet out, no one else would either. I could have been wrong, but I didn’t believe so. I would turn their game back on them and muddy up the waters so much as to actual ownership that it would take years to clear – by that time the jet would be worthless.”

Today, Terry said she still remembers vividly how she felt every time her husband would head back to the Miami airport, bound for Colombia and whatever obstacles awaited him.

“I was terrified,” she said. “I knew he had to do this because he wanted it so badly, but I hated it every time he left.”

A man of deep faith, Wood said there was scarcely ever a moment when he didn’t feel completely fortunate to make it through alive. Without a doubt, he says the adventure would not have been possible without the grace of God.

“I have always been a devout believer in God, and I prayed to him for strength. I had been so busy, I had almost forgotten that He was there, but as I prayed, rattling over that road to Cienaga (city along the northern coast of Colombia), I truly felt His presence and was comforted.”

Thirty years later, Wood says he still feels blessed to have witnessed everything he did, and to have made it home to Terry and his children. As for the fate of 464 Juliet, he said, that is something readers will have to discover for themselves.

A Dog’s Life

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Rural paradise, Kelly Run Farm, known far and wide for breeding, training retrievers

Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Jerry Martin

It is one of those hidden-away places that you just might miss if you weren’t looking for it. But find the gated dirt road leading to Kelly Run Farm, round the bend and you come face-to-face with a rustic paradise.

A log home, wide-open pasture and ponds against a backdrop of towering trees make an ideal setting for Clarke and Dyxie Pauly, who wanted to get away from the harried pace of big-city life and pursue their passion for dogs.

To the Paulys, the land is their paradise. To their four-legged friends — some they own; some simply guests in their boarding operation — the land is their heaven.

Clarke Pauly has built a national reputation on this 30-acre tract that lies between Pell City and Odenville, breeding and training field Golden Retrievers. On a recent visit to Kelly Run Farm, named for the creek that runs nearby, the Paulys were playing host to two litters of Golden Retrievers, 13 in all. Theirs was a seven-week stay before moving on to points across the country, filling the wish lists of hunters and dog lovers and to be used as guide dogs in two instances.

The 9-puppy litter belonged to Taz, the Paulys’ 4-year-old field dog, and Mr. D.J. from Tennessee, who is a confirmation or show dog. It was the Paulys’ first attempt at breeding these distinctly different types of Golden Retrievers, but the result was nothing short of an absolute cuteness guaranteed to evoke a smile from all who see them. “They came out real pretty,” said Clarke, who had his hands full trying to get nine scurrying puppies to pause a moment to look in the direction of a camera.

Rebel, the Paulys’ 9-year-old, and Sky from Florida are true field dogs, and they are the parents of the 4-puppy litter. “They are true working dogs,” Clarke said. But at this moment, they’re just plain puppies, exploring everything around them.

At 5 and 6 weeks, he had them out touring the property, getting them used to all types of topography. “That way, nothing really scares them. They’re used to all terrains,” Dyxie noted.

While the puppies have been an enjoyable diversion at Kelly Run Farm, it’s the business of boarding dogs and training Golden Retrievers that keeps the Paulys the busiest.

When they moved to St. Clair County in December of 1999, it was to have just the right place to train dogs. Clarke began training after Dyxie’s Golden Retriever went jogging with him back in Birmingham. “She would stay to my left and I thought, ‘That’s cool.’ ” He began to do more and more and then started training dogs in city parks but soon found they weren’t ideal for his newfound hobby. “When the police were called on us, I knew it wasn’t working,” he said.

They began a search for just the right property and just as visitors do today, they rounded the bend and came face to face with their dream home.

“We always wanted a log home,” Dyxie recalled. One Labor Day, they saw an ad that said: “Log home with 20 acres.”

“It had to be just so,” Clarke said, remembering a mental checklist he had made for the perfect place before their arrival. “We couldn’t see it from the road.” But when they turned in, “both of us looked at each other and said, ‘Wow!’ It had a swamp. Every criteria was met. It was like the list. We built the ponds the way we wanted. It was just our dream house,” Clarke said.

“It was meant to be,” Dyxie said, echoing the sentiment.

And it has been. The Paulys have been partnering with Jackie Mertens of Topbrass Retrievers in Madison, Fla., on the training side of the business virtually ever since. “We raise. She markets. If you want field Goldens, Jackie’s the woman to see,” Clarke said.

On the boarding side, it was a business that eventually evolved. “We had enough runs for our dogs, but friends kept asking, ‘Can you keep my dog?’ We thought it was a good idea. In 2003, we started boarding,” Dyxie said.

Today, they can board up to 52 dogs at one time, and more than 1,000 clients have entrusted their dogs’ care at Kelly Run Farm, almost a doggie day camp with room to roam, exercise, play and swim. Among their more famous guests was a Golden Retriever who played “Duke” on the Bush’s Beans commercials three years running. In the commercials, Duke is the talking dog who tries to sell the secret family recipe for the highly successful line of beans.

No fear, he didn’t sell the recipe on any of his trips to Kelly Run, but his owners did thank Clarke and Dyxie for hosting their star with a special, framed photograph sequence of their boarder of notoriety in some of the advertisements in which he appeared.

Others may not be as famous, but they are no less loved. It is evident from the moment you step onto the property. And that love carries over to the discipline of training dogs.

Clarke agrees to demonstrate years worth of work in training Taz and Rebel, whose playful personalities come out as they jump and run, circling Clarke and making them look like any other dog who loves the attention of their master. But when it’s time to go to ‘work,’ their keen focus is all on Clarke and the job at hand.

On this particular afternoon, Clarke demonstrates the hunt for a downed bird. A gunshot sounds. Taz is more than ready to take off, but she doesn’t. She is at complete attention — like a statue at Clarke’s side. He sounds a short whistle, and she is off and running like a strong gust of wind. Another whistle sounds, and the abruptness of the stop is amazing. She turns, faces Clarke and sits. With a hand motion to the left from Clarke, the gust catches hold again, and she speedily heads directly toward her prey. She can’t see it, but the whistles and the motions from Clarke telegraph the exact location to her.

She runs into the woods and in a moment or so, she heads back with the prize from the woods and the praise awaiting her from Clarke a hundred yards away.

It’s just another day at Kelly Run Farm, where a dog’s life truly is the good life. And in return, the Paulys enjoy the good life, too. Nothing tells that story quite as well their own words in “About Us” on their website.

Here’s a hint, the title reads: “About Us (and the dogs that own us).”

Features

Flying High

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St. Clair residents revel in the thrill of hang gliding

Story by Loyd McIntosh
Photos by Jerry Martin

Since the time the first human being turned his eyes upward and saw a strange-featured creature flapping its wings in the air, mankind has dreamed of flying. For thousands upon thousands of years, fulfillment of that dream remained elusive, even as Homo sapiens conquered practically everything else. But a millennia of frustration, experimentation and spectacular failure was erased when a couple of bicycle builders from North Carolina named Orville and Wilbur became the first humans to achieve flight a little more than 109 years ago.

Since then, flying has become, for the most part, ho-hum. Routine. Another day at the office for millions of people traveling from meeting to meeting, airport to airport every single day; security checks in shoeless feet with unfamiliar hands getting a little too familiar.

If this experience makes you want to jump off the nearest cliff, rest assured, you’re not alone. But, before you leap, be sure to strap a giant kite to your back and get ready to really experience the miracle of flight. Some people might consider this method of flight, known as hang gliding, to be a little dangerous and a whole lot of crazy, but to a handful of St. Clair County residents, hang gliding is one heck of a thrill.

“It’s awesome,” said Bill Turner, a Springville resident and a dentist in Center Point. Turner at first glance may appear rather conservative and measured for the risky sport of hang gliding. But this self-described extreme sports enthusiast was introduced to hang gliding back in 1999 and almost 13 years later, hasn’t yet become bored with the feeling and excitement he gets from flying.

“My best description is if you can remember the dreams you had when you were a young child where you were just flying. You know, arms out flying around over things,” he said. “If you take that and put a small fan in front of your face to blow air on you, that’s what it’s like.”

Turner is part of a group of local gliders who are members of the Alabama Hang Gliding Association, a group started by another St. Clair County resident and avid glider, Phillip Dabney, back in 1980. The group has seen some ups and downs among its membership ranks over the years, but throughout the winter and spring, dozens of hang gliders from around the state make their way to launch sites dotting ridges and cliffs along Chandler Mountain.

Peaking at an elevation of 1,529 feet and overlooking Springville on one side and Oneonta in Blount County on the other, the mountain is a popular spot for hang gliders hungry for a place close to home to pursue their passion, even if it means having to pack up their gear with little advanced planning. “I started my own landscaping company in order to have more flexible hours and to be able to go hang gliding at a moment’s notice,” said Dabney, who lives close to his favorite launch point on Chandler Mountain near Springville. He and Turner say the challenge is the unpredictable nature of the weather patterns on the mountain.

“Everything is sort of determined by the wind and the weather,” Turner explained. “That ridge happens to face southeast, which means in the winter time, when we have those unseasonably warm days — 65 degrees, when normally it’s been 40 all week long — you get the wind blowing out of the southeast that takes that Florida air and warms the area around here and makes it delightful for us to fly.

“You want the wind to blow into the ridge and be deflected upward so when you launch, you’ll get up in that airlift that’s running along the ridge and then from that you can run into thermals and get up much higher,” he added.

Turner caught the hang gliding bug a dozen years ago after agreeing to accompany his brother, Jim, to Lookout Mountain near Chattanooga, home of some spectacular flying and where one of the nation’s best hang gliding schools happens to be located. Turner said his brother asked him to come along and take some photos during a tandem flight with an instructor. Initially believing his brother had gone a little loco in the dome, Turner agreed to go and brought his youngest son, Grant, along. Before he knew it, his son was wanting to fly. Turner suddenly realized he had a decision to make.

“So, we get up there and I sign him up and I’m thinking, ‘I’m going to have to come back here next Saturday and fly if the world finds out that my youngest son and my brother flew and I didn’t,” Turner recalled. “So, I plopped down another $125 and signed up for it.”

Before Turner could fly that morning, a warm weather storm came through, and his turn was postponed until the afternoon. By then, the choppy winds from the early morning were long gone. The conditions couldn’t have been more perfect. “My first flight was in air that had been calmed by the rain and was perfectly smooth, and I mean it just hooked me right in. It was so smooth, so nice and so much fun,” he said. That was in October 1999. “I’ve loved it ever since.”

Before long, Turner graduated from tandem flights to solo hang gliding and is now a tandem instructor himself. He said the thrill he received from hang gliding was so intense that it may have affected his judgment once in a while as a new pilot. However, even the most experienced pilots can have a close call or two — jumping off a cliff always comes with a certain amount of risk. Turner said he’s learned to dial back the adrenaline-junkie side of his personality over time.

“I probably let my love for it interfere with my common sense,” he said with a laugh. “I think I’m a little wiser now than I was then, but it gets in your system, and you love it so much that you just have to go every weekend.

“I’ve had a few close calls, more than I’d like to admit. Every pilot that has flown has had some close calls,” he noted. “There is a saying in aviation, ‘There are old pilots, there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots.’”

St. Clair County really is a sportsman’s paradise with plenty of lakes and acres upon acres of undisturbed land to take in and experience nature. But, Turner said, there is simply nothing like experiencing the surrounding area from the air silently and without so much as a windshield between the pilot and the world.

“We have lots of interaction with birds of prey up there. Not necessarily intentionally,” he said. “One of the things we look for when we try to find rising air is a bird, usually it’s a turkey vulture, but sometimes there are eagles or falcons, all sorts of birds like that, that will be circling, and we head into that air and try to get with them.

“Many times I have launched from Springville, and I have been on the wingtip of an eagle, and we’re circling each other. It is absolutely amazing. Sometimes we come up on birds that will be doing the ridge lift and really you’re just a few feet from them. Literally, I’ve been within 3 feet of a big bird, wings all the way out, and I could have reached out and touched it if I had wanted to,” Turner said. “The beauty up in the sky, particularly if you’re flying late at night and the sun is setting, is just amazing. And when the air smooths out, there are times when you can really fly with just two fingers on that control bar. It really is wonderful.”

For Dabney, who has been flying for almost 35 years, one of his favorite memories involved experiencing a certain weather phenomenon most people only hear about from meteorologists.

“I was flying with a friend over Blount Mountain. We were about 2,000 feet over the top of the mountain and flew out over the Big Oak Girls Ranch, and it started snowing. As we got lower, it turned to sleet then light rain,” Dabney said. “By the time we landed in the Washington Valley it was sunny, and none of the precipitation had made it to the ground. It had all evaporated in a drier layer of air near the ground. This phenomenon is called ‘virga.’ You may have heard (TV meteorologist) James Spann mention it.”

Regardless of the reasons for flying, which mountain you launch from, or whether it’s a tandem flight or solo, Turner said the idea of flying thousands of feet above the earth with only a helmet for protection is a buzz that never gets old. “There’s something incredibly exciting about having that big kite on your back, rolling down a hill, and realizing that you’re the only one controlling that thing.

“It’s so simple. It’s just pure flight.”

Features

Month: February 2012