By Nathan Prewett, For the Tribune
TRUSSVILLE – Five officers from the Trussville Police Department and Hewitt Trussville Middle School’s girls bowling team were recognized at a meeting of the Trussville City Council on Tuesday, Jan. 24.
Trussville officers: Scotty Bates, David Warmus, Casey Davis. James McCool, and Michael Montana. (Photo by Nathan Prewett)
The council recognized the promotion of the officers to the rank of corporal.
“The city’s growing,” Police Chief Eric Rush said. “So that means the police department grows. Within that growth, we noticed the need for additional supervision in our ranks, so these corporal positions will fill that need. The corporal rank is a lead supervisor position, so we really needed that in our specialty positions more than anything.”
Rush talked about each officer, beginning with Scotty Bates, who has been with the department for 20 years and is a school resource officer at the high school. David Warmus has been with the department for 11 years and serves as a detective for white collar crimes.
Casey Davis has been in the department for 10 years and is a motor scout. James McCool is in charge of the drone unit and social media. He has been with the department for eight years. Lastly was Michael Montana, who has been with the department for two years and is a night shift patrol officer.
“Very, very proud of these guys,” Rush said. “They’re all excellent police officers. They do a great job.”
A proclamation for the HTMS girls bowling team was read, honoring them as the 2023 Birmingham Metro Champions. They finished their season with a perfect record and defeated three rival schools at the Birmingham Metro Championship in December.
HTMS bowling team: Coach Daniel Adamson and students Emery Edge, Annie Georgia, McKenzie Martin, Isabella Nero and Sophia Shipman. (Photo by Nathan Prewett)
The proclamation, in part, states that “the fantastic five showed excellent team chemistry according to their coach by always encouraging them, encouraging each other and having a lot of fun.”
Present to be recognized were Coach Daniel Adamson and students Emery Edge, Annie Georgia, McKenzie Martin, Isabella Nero and Sophia Shipman.
“I’m super proud of these girls, what they’ve done in two years under the program,” Adamson said. “Looking forward to what they do in the next with our varsity.”
The usual reports from Mayor Buddy Choat and the council were delayed for the next meeting as it was decided to go into executive session to discuss real estate and potential litigation.
The executive session lasted briefly before the council returned and Choat said that they had settled an agreement to close on purchasing the Glendale Farms property.
“We haven’t determined yet,” said Choat on what the property may be used for once it’s purchased. “We have a lot of options. We’ve had a lot of discussion about it, but until we own the property and we can do our due diligence, it’ll probably take us three or four months to overlay and decide what we want to do. We’ve got 230 acres to consider.”
In other business, the council:
- Reappointed Public Safety Committee member John Patterson with a term ending on Jan. 11, 2026,
- Extended a contract with Rivertree Systems Inc. through 2025 to audit non-compliant businesses operating in Trussville,
- Granted an alcohol license to Moe’s Original BBQ,
- Adopted the Division G Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan, which allows federal assistance for natural disasters.
The Trussville City Council meets on the second and fourth Mondays of every month at City Hall on 131 Main Street.
Nathan Prewett can be reached at nthomasp6@gmail.com.
