Accusations Against City Councilwoman + COVID In Schools

Happy Wednesday, people of Vestavia Hills! Michael Seale here to get you all caught up to start today off on an informed note. First, I have a story about Vestavia Hills City Councilwoman Kimberly Cook, who has been accused of using members of the city's school board to play "political games." Cook's husband, Greg Cook, is running for the Alabama Supreme Court and boasted on social media that his wife had successfully made sure the school board remained "conservative." Read more below!

First, today's weather:

Partly cloudy throughout the day. High: 83 Low: 66.

Here are the top stories in Vestavia Hills today:

1. As mentioned above, Vestavia City Councilwoman Kimberly Cook was accused this week of using her influence to stack the Vestavia Hills Board of Education with conservative members. She responds in this article. (Hoover Sun)
2. Related to the above story, the Alabama Department of Public Health is urging school systems to keep mask mandates in place despite a drop in COVID-19 cases among students. (Birmingham Patch)
3. Also in school news, a bill has been filed in Montgomery that would delay until the 2024-2025 school year a provision that schools must hold back third grade students who don’t demonstrate sufficient reading skills. (birminghamwatch.org)
4. There's a great slate of high school football games this week in the Birmingham metro. Take a look at the preview for this week's games, including Vestavia's match-up against top-ranked Thompson. (Vestavia Voice)

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Vestavia Hills Patch Notebook

• The Vestavia Hills City Schools Foundation is honored to come alongside our schools and fund teacher/school grant requests. We were so excited to provide a Pottery Kiln for the art department at the VHHS Freshman Campus. (Facebook)
• Vestavia Hills Police Department: Why come to Community Night Out? Wear your new Halloween costume. If your kids are looking for more reasons to wear their Halloween costumes out before the big Trick or Treat night. Come on out to Community Night Out. (Facebook)
• Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce: Tickets for Viva Vestavia Hills XVII are on sale now at www.vestaviahills.org! (Facebook)
• In honor of October being Breast Cancer Awareness month, Champion Sports Medicine in Vestavia has collaborated with ReVital Cancer Rehabilitation to provide some facts regarding how we can help breast cancer patients live better beyond cancer. (Facebook)
• Vestavia Hills Parks and Recreation: The American Red Cross is experiencing a critical need and needs your help to be sure hospital shelves are stocked with life-saving blood. Schedule your appointment to participate in the October 4 Blood Drive! (Facebook)

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That's it for today. I'll see you soon! If you're loving these newsletters, consider inviting some of your friends and neighbors to follow along. You can send them this link to subscribe.

— Michael Seale

About me: I am a lifelong Alabama resident with more than two decades of media under my belt. I have worked for a daily newspaper, a weekly newspaper, a monthly magazine, a television station and a couple of radio stations. I also tried my hand at marketing for a little while. But I love writing news. This opportunity to bring Patch to Birmingham is a chance for my hometown to benefit from a new - and better - way to read and receive news.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Vestavia Hills Daily? Email me at michael.seale@patch.com.