Tallassee Tribune July 24 2024

Delfin

Arrest made in murder of a Tallassee man

TPI STAFF Staff Report

A Childersburg man has been arrested in connection to the death of Chavorian Williams, 26, of Tallassee. According to the Alexan -

der City Police Department, Williams died in Alexander City on June 23 at events surrounding a large party named “Freaknik” held on Dadeville Road in Alex City.

After investigating the crime, law enforcement deter-

mined the person responsible was Keyuntae Marquise Bealey, 27, of Childersburg and an arrest warrant was obtained for the charge of murder.

ACPD criminal investigators partnered with the United States Marshall’s Task Force

and obtained a location for Bealey. After receiving location information, task force members, stationed in Grand Rapids, Michigan, located Bealey and placed him under arrest, according to the release. Bealey was taken

By CLIFF WILLIAMS News Editor

Kelley Hill and Michael Bird have retired from the choral programs at Tallassee High School.

In their places will be Becca Jones and Christian Lester, but they aren’t new to high school choral programs or the Capital City Classic.

“We competed at the Capital City Classic every year that I was in choir,” Jones said.

Lester watched the Capital City Classic from the audience as his Oak Mountain High School didn’t compete. Jones is from Tifton, Georgia, and made the trip from south Georgia. Both have roots in music stretching back to childhood.

“My grandmother taught choir and my mother teaches elementary music,” Jones said. “Music has always been a fundamental part of my life. I was able to escape the silly things that might bother me by learning a new song. I just really enjoyed music

back to the Kent County Sheriff’s Department in Michigan to await an extradition hearing before he will be extradited back to Alabama to face his charges. The case is still under investigation.

Test scores rise faster than state

By CLIFF WILLIAMS News Editor

Tallassee Elementary School principal Shan -

ikka Beacher is beaming with pride after the release of recent student ACAP testing.

Students who made the cut score on this year’s testing rose from 82% to 94%, besting Alabama’s average increase of 8%.

“This is an outstanding achievement,” Beacher said. “It is a testament to the dedication of our teachers, the hard work

By CLIFF WILLIAMS News Editor

Obituaries

SHERRI DIANE MANN

Ms. Sherri Diane Mann, a resident of Eclectic, Alabama, passed away Sunday, June 30, 2024, at the age of 66. She was born January 29, 1958, in Tallassee, Alabama to Harold Patterson and Pat Bowdoin Lott.

Sherri is survived by her sons, Shannon Mann (Lindsay) and Travis Mann; parents, Harold Patterson and Pat Lott; sisters, Vanessa Rhodes (Danny), Mona Kabel (Jason), Laura Taylor (Stacy) and P.J. Duke (Jimmy); brother, Donnie Lott (Anna) ; sisterin-law, Dorothy Lott; grandchildren, Mason Mann and Kayleigh Mann. She is preceded in death by her stepfather, Buddy Lott and brother, Billy Lott. There will be a Celebration of Life at 2:00PM, Saturday, July 20, 2024, at Santuck Baptist Church, Santuck, Alabama. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Celebrate Recovery at Santuck Baptist Church, Santuck, Alabama, 6868 Central Plank Road, Wetumpka, Alabama 36092. Online condolences are available at: www.jeffcoatfuneralhome.com.

Jeffcoat Funeral Home Directing Tallassee, Alabama

Police Reports

TALLASSEE POLICE

DEPARTMENT

JULY 21

• Assistance was given to a citizen on Powers Avenue.

• A motor vehicle accident with entrapment was reported on Central Boulevard.

• A domestic dispute was reported on Zion Street.

• Assistance was given to a motorist on Highway 229.

• Reckless driving was reported on Tallassee Highway.

• A motor vehicle accident was reported on Mooney Hollow Road.

• A welfare check was conducted on Sims Avenue.

• A suspicious person was reported on Gilmer Avenue.

• An animal bite was reported on Friendship Road.

• An animal complaint was reported on Gilmer Avenue.

JULY 20

• A welfare check was conducted on Cliff Street.

• Assistance was given to another agency on Highway 49 South.

• A noise complaint was reported on Jordan Avenue.

• Trespassing was reported on Washington Street.

• Burglary was reported on Tallassee Highway.

• A domestic dispute was reported on Cliff Street.

• Assistance was given to a citizen on Main Street.

• Disorderly conduct was reported on Friendship Road.

• Assistance was given during a medical call on Manning Circle.

JULY 19

• A motor vehicle accident with injuries was reported on Lower Tuskegee Road.

• Menacing was reported on Dusty Road.

• A noise complaint was reported on Third Avenue.

• A domestic incident was reported on First Avenue.

• A domestic incident was reported on Jefferson Street.

• A Black male was arrested on U.S. Highway 231.

• A Black male was arrested during a traffic stop on Gilmer Avenue.

• Harassing communications was reported on Hanil Drive.

• Suspicious activity was reported on Gilmer Avenue.

JULY 18

• An arrest was made during a welfare check on Highway 229.

• A welfare check was conducted on Gilmer Avenue.

• Suspicious activity was reported on Hillcrest Street.

• An abandoned vehicle was reported on Little Road.

• An arrest was conducted on Barnett Boulevard.

• Assistance was given during a medical call on South Tallassee Drive.

• A white male was arrested during a traffic stop on Barnett Boulevard.

• Assistance was given to city employees on Camelia Drive.

• An animal complaint was reported on Gilmer Avenue.

• A private property motor vehicle accident was reported on Jordan Avenue.

• An animal complaint was reported on Gilmer Avenue, Sunset Drive, Alber Drive and North Ann Avenue.

JULY 17

• A noise complaint was reported on Hillcrest Street.

• Animal control was requested on Freeman Avenue, Barnett Boulevard and Alber Drive.

• A fight with weapons was reported on Jefferson Street.

• Assistance was given to a citizen on Barnett Boulevard.

• A white male was arrested during a loitering call on Friendship Road.

• Assistance was given to a citizen on Rickey Lane.

• Assistance was given to a citizen on Barnett Boulevard.

• Disorderly conduct was reported on Friendship Road.

JULY 16

• Assistance was given during a medical call on South Tallassee Drive.

• A welfare check was conducted on South Wesson Drive.

• A motor vehicle accident with no injuries was reported on Gilmer Avenue.

• A white female was arrested on North McKenzie Street.

• An animal complaint was reported on Third Street.

• A welfare check was conducted on Ashurst Bar Road.

• Harassment was reported on Gilmer Avenue.

• A welfare check was conducted on East Patton Street.

• An animal complaint was reported on Ashurst Avenue and Camellia Drive.

• A white male was arrested during a suspicious person call on South Dubois Street.

• An animal complaint was reported on Orchard Drive.

• A Black female was arrested on Highway 229.

• A suspicious person was reported on Lower Tuskegee Road and Notasulga Road.

JULY 15

• Two white males were arrested during a traffic stop on Freeman Avenue.

• Assistance was given to a citizen on Ashurst Bar Road.

• Trespassing was reported on North Mckenzie Street.

• A motor vehicle accident with injuries was reported on Gilmer Avenue.

• Criminal mischief was reported on Azalea Street.

• An animal complaint was reported on Redden Avenue.

• Trespassing was reported on North Johnson Street.

• Assistance was given to a citizen on Barnett Boulevard.

• Assistance was given to a motorist on Main Street, Second Avenue and Little Road.

• A white male was arrested on Macedonia Road.

• A domestic incident was reported on North Ashurst Avenue.

• A domestic dispute was reported on Washington Street.

• Assistance was given to a motorist on Wall Street.

Two prisoners connected to crimes in Elmore County denied parole

TPI STAFF Staff Report

Darius Ramon Merkerson and Alvin Keith Holloway will remain in prison after the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Parole denied a chance for their release this week.

According to Alabama Department of Correction records, Merkerson, 38, is five months into a

three-year prison sentence for fraudulent use of a credit card. He is currently incarcerated at Kilby Correctional Facility. Merkerson’s next chance at a parole hearing is in February. He is scheduled for release from prison in March 2026.

Holloway, 33, has served 15 years of a

20-year prison sentence from a 2010 murder conviction in Monroe County. While in state prison in Elmore County, Holloway was convicted of second-degree assault in 2013 and sentenced to four years in prison. He is currently incarcerated at Elmore Correctional Facility.

HOLLOWAY MERKERSON

Humane Society of Elmore County News

Don’t make excuses as a pet owner

By REA CORD HSEC Executive Director

Moving, too active, no time for, cannot afford, too big, digs, can’t find homes for the litter, chewing everything, new baby, allergic, too old, keeps running off, got a younger one, can’t take care of, don’t need any more, can’t control, scared of, getting aggressive, keeps breaking the chain, sheds too much, won’t housetrain, not using litter box, too many animals, new partner doesn’t like, kept her puppy/kitten instead, jumps on people, needs too much attention, neighbors complaining, wrong color, chasing livestock (especially free-roaming chickens), killed another animal, not protective enough, children not taking care of, simply don’t want.

All of the above are reasons we have been told by owners surrendering their pets.

For those unpredictable life changes or unavoidable situations where rehoming a pet is in the pet’s best interest or a true necessity for the owner we are glad our shelter is able to help both the pet and the owner. But our reality is that far too many pets are surrendered for lack of homework before getting the pet, or lack of a true lifetime commitment to that pet.

Responsible pet ownership means making sure you are not only ready to take on a pet when

it is little and cute, but you will commit to caring for that same pet throughout its entire life. That entails all the challenges of raising and training a puppy or kitten and then also dealing with it during adolescence when you are ready to throw in the towel until the pet matures and settles down.

It means committing to providing adequate food and fresh water, shelter, containment to keep the pet safe, bathing and grooming, exercise, vaccinations and necessary veterinary care, pooper scooper patrol, cage cleaning (for a smaller critter) and spaying or neutering to prevent unwanted offspring. And it means dealing with all of this for the entire 10-15-20 year lifespan of that pet, to include the infirmities that come with old age, even in our pets.

In this age of the internet, books, experts and TV, doing some homework before obtaining a pet is just too easy You might find out that either the pet you were thinking of just might not work for your family or situation, or you can confirm all the good things you were hoping for. And these resources can also help you learn how to best raise that pet so that it becomes a well-adjusted and loved member of the family

All of the above is why we want to work with our adopters to help try and find the best match for their family, energy level, personality

Pet of the Week — Ralph

Ralph is 7-months old; he is possibly a lab type mix who weighs about 40 pounds. Ralph and his siblings were found dumped in the woods and luckily brought to us. He is a fun pup, great with other dogs, tail wags a mile a minute and is just looking for a family to call his own.

The Humane Society of Elmore County’s adoption fees are $100 for dogs and $50 for cats under 1 year old. Cats over 1 can be adopted by approved adopters for a fee of their choosing. This adoption fee covers the mandatory spay or neuter, basic immunizations, deworming, microchip, heartworm check for dogs, rabies vaccination if old enough and a free health exam with your participating veterinarian.

If you are interested in meeting Cola or any of the pets at HSEC, the first step is to fill out an adoption application online. Once approved, you will be contacted by someone from the humane society. HSEC is located at 255 Central Plank Road in Wetumpka. The phone number is 334-567-3377 and the website is www. elmorehumane.org.

TEST Continued from A1

of our students. I am incredibly proud of the efforts and commitment to this excellence in reading.”

The test scores mean 92% of third graders advanced to the fourth grade without a good cause exemption. Some of those students who didn’t make the mark were allowed to retest in June and made the cut. Others will be promoted based on the student’s Literacy Act portfolio.

The path to success wasn’t overnight. Over the past three years, teachers have completed the Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling training that is deeply connected

and living situation. All puppies are cute, but if an adopter lives in a small apartment and works all day, then an active Labrador pup guaranteed to chew everything and that will eventually turn into a 70 lb adult just might not be a great fit. A reactive and nervous small dog might be risky in a home with a toddler, and a declawed kitty certainly cannot go to an adopter who wants an outdoor cat! So, bear with us as we ask questions about lifestyle and home and family as we truly do have not only our pet’s best interest at heart, but the adopter’s as well.

We ask prospective pet parents to please think before you obtain a pet, do some homework and take into account that any pet you get is completely dependent on YOU for its future. For those who find a stray and want to help – once you have done the due diligence to make sure there is no one missing the pet, please take it to a Veterinarian for a check-up, vaccinations AND make an appointment for spay or neuter surgery without delay. Far too many preventable and unwanted litters are brought to us from strays a family kept but never had spayed. Please be a part of the solution to pet overpopulation instead of part of the cause.

Rea Cord is the executive director of the Humane Society of Elmore County.

to the science of reading.

“It is an evidence based method that concentrates on how children learn to read,” Beacher said. “It is one of the main things we worked on and will continue to work on.”

LETRS emphasizes phonics, phonemic awareness, vocabulary, fluency and comprehension. Almost all the teachers at Tallassee

Elementary in pre-K through fourth grade have been trained in LETRS. Tallassee City Schools superintendent Dr. Brock Nolin said the school district will continue with the program of evidence-based reading.

“The improvement in the third-grade passing rate and the exceptional performance of our students are causes for celebration and stepping stones for future

successes,” Nolin said. “The ACAP reading assessment results for Tallassee City Schools’ third graders highlight the positive impact of dedicated teachers. We will build on this success to benefit all students.”

It’s

OK to disagree respectfully

Tales from the band world

eflecting upon 28 years in the hallowed halls of pub-

Rhas been a central theme this summer. Here we revisit a “Bird’s Eye View” column from The Tallassee Tribune that originally ran in 2018.

I have now been a high school choral director and general music teacher longer than I taught high school band. The first few years of my teaching career were at three schools before I landed in Tallassee and homesteaded: Frisco City High School, Zion Chapel High School, and Robert E. Lee High School. Those years at the top of my profession, now a quarter-century ago, left me with memories I shall never forget. Such as . . . Tragedy and Triumph: Frisco City was in the semifinal game with Notasulga. One of our drummers lived to antagonize everyone around him with inappropriate comments. I kicked him out. The next Monday morning, my principal was under siege from every relative on this child’s family tree. I must give my principal credit, as she did not allow me to sit in on the meeting as she led the parents to a calmer conclusion: the boy would have remained in band on probationary status at the principal’s discretion, but since football season was over, so was this child’s time in band.

The Specimen Cup Incident: Before the advent of cellular communication, the Frisco City band made it all the way to Troy for a band competition, but it had been cancelled due to severe weather. We turned around and headed home, only to be caught in the path of the tornado. I refused to stop for a bathroom break. An enterprising student decided that nature was calling, so he found a paper cup in which to urinate. He tossed it out of the bus window – directly onto the windshield of the Bird-hating band parent following the bus.

Drill on a Napkin: I went to Zion Chapel High School raring to go with a 17-piece band that I fancied as a 300piece college group. The marching drills I wrote did not

Our newspapers include a weekly column, such as the one you’re reading now.

These are not news articles. They are opinions. I’ve written about my children, high school friends, sports tourism, why everyone should subscribe to the paper, etc. The ultimate goal of columns is to start a conversation and give readers information they may not have otherwise considered. These are not the same as editorial news written after research from credible sources.

My question today is, where is it written that if we disagree with one another we should respond with insults and accusations?

This won’t be my most popular column and if you disagree with me, I’m OK with that. I’m also OK with having a conversation so we can understand each other’s point of view or, better yet, grow from understanding each other.

Let’s start with the fact that it is written absolutely nowhere we should agree on everything, and yet, insults and rudeness are plenty when it involves disagreeing with something written in a column. This is dangerous and there’s no room for personal growth.

I see two problems with this, and there are probably others. The first being what kind of a boring, bland world would it be if we all thought, acted, dreamed, believed and spoke the same thoughts. Think about this, when the idea of the World Wide Web was introduced, credible experts and the general population thought it was a fad. Lucky for us product development teams didn’t buy into the notion, right? What about that

TIPPY HUNTER General Manager

time someone suggested women be allowed to vote? What would have happened the day someone recommended replacing horse-drawn carriages with gasoline-powered automobiles if we all shared the same thoughts? The list goes on. We know now these ideas changed the trajectory of the world for the good, but they weren’t immediately embraced. My guess is through mature conversations these ideas were executed by those who were open to listening and understanding each other. What a cool thought! Another problem with shutting out different viewpoints is it leaves neither side room to grow. Let’s say you disagree with someone, and instead of having a well-intentioned conversation, you lash out. At that point you’d need a hearing aid sized for an elephant to be heard. If indeed you are right, oh well. You tuned out your audience. If you’re wrong or there’s a middle ground where you can both learn and grow, that’s lost too. I use the word conversation above. None of this addresses the popularity of insult posting. At a minimum if you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, don’t type it with your fingers. And if you would say it to someone’s face and it rides a line of rudeness, consider the above elephant hearing aids. Attracting more flies with honey

is a common phrase, but the entire saying reads “You attract more flies with honey than with vinegar.”

Think about that the next time you consider naming a local business because their drinks aren’t as strong as they used to be (which is not true by the way), or you go so far as to recommend boycotting a local restaurant because of a Facebook post that is guaranteed to not be the whole story — you need your local media for the facts, not social media. And don’t get me started on anonymous posts.

It's OK we won't always agree. Let’s talk about it, sensibly and honestly. Through mutual respect, which I believe gets lost on social media, we learn from each other or agree to disagree. Write a letter to the editor. A gentleman reached out this week with a grievance, to which I suggested a letter to the editor. Although he disagreed with a recent column, he did it in a manner that encourages you to listen and understand another viewpoint.

If you’re still with me and open to my opinion, I’d like to ask you to think about this. If I allow our journalists to publish only what I believe, we are no better than the national media, which everyone claims only tells us what it wants us to hear We would not be a credible source if you only hear from one person on our staff or if I vetted what could be published in a weekly column based on what I alone believe. That is one-sided media and TPI will never be OK with that.

Tippy Hunter is the general manager of Tallapoosa Publishers Inc.

The best way to honor Don Sawyer is to carry on his vision — promote the arts and Wetumpka.

I’ve been reporting on Wetumpka for a few years now and Don was one of the first to welcome me to the community. He did it in his own way just like he did with everyone I talked to Friday after the news of Don’s death made its way through Wetumpka and the arts community. Don had a way of pulling anyone and everybody under his wing.

Shellie Phelps encountered Don in her first month and he encouraged her to continue creating. John Perdue credits almost his entire art career to Don. Robert Mullins was his pastor but they quickly became friends talking about art, blues music and of course the Bible.

“I never saw Don with a paint brush that there wasn’t a Bible next to him,” Phelps said. Don wasn’t a one hit wonder with his Hollywood Fish he first started painting while living at the beach working as a successful realtor.

Don’s first career was as a soldier in Vietnam after a high school football career in Dothan. He was a successful salesman.

“He could sell a snowball to an Eskimo,” Phelps said. Don was an artist as well.

Don’s brush strokes can be seen in his Hollywood Fish that adorns most every business in town. His work is on

the new Farmers Market. Don and the gang of artists he encouraged were part of the reason HGTV came to town. Even before Ben and Erin came to town, Don was molding Wetumpka into an art town.

More importantly Don was an encourager.

Don didn’t just encourage artists to mimic his style of abstract expressionism he found in Van Gogh and others. He helped artists to find their own style.

For John it was paper mache. For others it was copper and others it was stained glass. Others like Shelly found themselves using some of Don’s yellow and purple in paintings.

But the one constant was Wetumpka. Don partnered many artists with downtown Wetumpka businesses.

Don knew well before many others art attracted guests with money. They would walk around and look at art, buy art and shop in the stores and eat in the restaurants it hung in.

Don was one of the driving forces behind the Wetumpka of today.

HGTV saw it. I saw Don’s vision on the many

times I rode in his white pickup truck. We would circle the round about from his Company Street studio. Ride along the streets — Orline, Hill, Company and Main — the Wetumpka triangle and onto the Hill overlooking it all. Don shared stories. I always listened even when I didn’t have the time. Don knew what he was talking about. Don had a vision for downtown.

“It’s the perfect venue,” he said. “It’s small but great. We have a way to shut down the streets and allow people to walk and shop. It’s the arts that will bring them. We can add music on stages at the end of the streets.” Don walked the walk too. He did more than just share his vision. He went to the Wetumpka City Council meeting trying to shut down the streets for the Downtown Artists of Wetumpka shows. When that didn’t always work, he got buy-in from downtown businesses to close parking spots and moved the show to the edge of the street. On those quarterly Saturdays Don didn’t just sit at his studio. He walked. He rode a golf cart checking on his friends, the artists. It was people he had convinced of his vision of an arts town and more. It’s a vision that’s still in its infancy and still needs carried out.

Cliff Williams is the news editor of Tallapoosa Publishers Inc.’s Elmore County newspapers. He can be reached at cliff.williams@thewetumpkaherald.com.

CLIFF WILLIAMS News Editor

See TALES, Page B2

MICHAEL BIRD Columnist

Alabama state representative Ed Oliver is the chairperson of the military and veterans affairs legislative committee, and he said these recent acts are to ensure Alabama is the best place for military members and veterans to live.

Legislative package signed aiding military personnel, veterans

By ABIGAIL MURPHY Multimedia Reporter

Alabama continues to strive in being a military friendly state.

Earlier this month, the governor signed multiple bills out of the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee from this past legislative session. This legislation package came through working with Lieutenant Governor Will Ainsworth and the Alabama Military Stability Commission.

Alabama state representative Ed Oliver is the chairperson of the military and veterans affairs legislative committee, and he said these recent acts are to ensure Alabama is the best place for military members and veterans to live.

One of the major acts in the package is SB135 (Act 2024-358), which requires the Alabama Department of Mental Health to collaborate with the Alabama Department of Veterans Affairs on a comprehensive plan addressing veteran’s behavioral health needs.

Oliver said mental health services statewide are lacking. It’s an ongoing issue the legislature and state mental health commissioner Kim Boswell is working to address. This bill is just one way Veterans Affairs is working to alleviate things.

Act 2024-358 is a bill that enables the Department of Mental Health and Veterans Affairs to create a system for addressing veteran’s behavioral health needs. Oliver said it doesn’t detail how this will be done or what amount of the budget within those departments will go to what programs or initiatives, that is the next step.

SB209 (Act 2024-170) expands state income tax exemption for military pay for those of the National Guard and Reserve who are deployed to locations outside the U.S. or activated to support specific emergencies. Oliver said this is really designed to be an incentive and to ensure Alabama continues to support military personnel and their families.

Within the package, there are a few military family focused acts such as HB251 (Act 2024-397), which prohibits public K-12 schools from denying athletic association membership to incoming military dependents.

“One of the things mil-

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itary dependents run into, coming into a new high school mid-season, is (the school sports teams) don’t want to fool with you,” Oliver said, “or they don’t let you play because they are more interested in the kids who are going to stay there for a period of years so this was a way to address that. We are doing that through education policy.”

There also is SB211 (Act 2024-328), which allows for remote enrollment of special needs children of active duty military personnel. HB284 (Act 202-399) relates to the Alabama G.I. and Dependents Educational Benefit Act and removes “the Department of Defense tuition assistance cap and in lieu thereof provide(s) a tuition cap of four hundred dollars ($400) per semester hour,” the act states.

SB207 (Act 2024-366) allows Alabama Board of Examiners for Dietetics/ Nutrition Practice to enter into a Dietician Licensure Compact and SB208 (Act 2024-298) does something similar, but instead for social workers.

Oliver said the purpose of the acts related to the licensure compacts are to make it as easy as possible for military families to move to Alabama by recognizing licenses from other states within the compact.

SB210 (Act 2024-327) “authorize(s) the state to establish concurrent jurisdiction for criminal offenses committed by children on military installations,” the act states. “If both of the following criteria are met: the United States Attorney or the United States District Court for the applicable district in this state waives exclusive jurisdiction (and) the violation of federal law is also a crime under state law.”

Meanwhile, HB103 (Act 2024-442) updates the code language of the Department of Veterans Affairs from names of employee positions to revised definitions. Then, SB287 (Act 2024-329) updates the language for the Alabama Code of Military Justice.

“My committee is proactive,” Oliver said. “Rather than wait for a lobbyist to bring us a piece of legislation we are looking for things to help (veterans and military members).”

from a really young age and knew I wanted to be a teacher and merge the two.” Lester picked up music as a child as well, singing in church and at school. He joined the middle school band and thought it was fun.

“But when I got to high school I switched to choir and was like, ‘This is where I want to be,’” Lester said.

Both were at Auburn University at the same time and both a part of various choirs in the music department including the Auburn University Singers. Now, they are

Kowaliga Retreat residents encouraged to boil water

TPI STAFF Staff Report

A boil water notice has been issued by Central Elmore Water and Sewer Authority.

The utility authority was repairing a water leak Saturday when an improperly installed sewer lateral was damaged.

“ADEM was immediately notified,” CEWSA wrote in a social media post. “Out of caution once water service is back online, CEWSA will flush the mains then take a Bac-T sample

ROADS

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“If we did not have the gas tax, none of these projects would be possible,” Elmore County chief engineer Luke McGinty said.

“We would not have a yearly resurfacing program without it.”

McGinty was worried the county wouldn’t be able to do as much work as in years past because of escalating costs.

In previous years, the county has resurfaced between 13 and 20 miles of county roads.

More than $6.5 million has been spent on Elmore County roads since 2020 resurfacing on average about 15 miles per year. It sounds like a lot of work and it is, but it is small in comparison to the amount of roads Elmore County maintains.

McGinty said there are about 1,000 miles Elmore County is responsible for. About 800 miles are paved.

ready to be a team.

“I think it will be fun,” Lester said. “We have had a lot of the same voice teachers. We should have similar approaches to teaching music.”

Recently they sang the national anthem together at Auburn’s graduation.

Jones and Lester love that Tallassee already has

Sunday morning.”

Those using water off of Castaway Island Road on 1st Retreat, 2nd Retreat, 3rd Retreat, 4th Retreat, 5th Retreat, 6th Retreat, 7th Retreat, 8th Retreat, Shoreline Drive, Hale Loop, Shoreline Court and Sweeney Drive are advised to boil water for least two minutes before using it. No other areas are impacted. Test results from the Alabama Department of Public Health should be available Monday morning. Until then

Prior to Rebuild Alabama the county had resurfacing projects only about every three years.

“We would have resurfacing programs about every three years where we had local funds,” McGinty said. “This is about $1.6 million worth of work in a year instead of about $500,000 every three years.”

Even with more funds available, the county tries to stretch them as they can go by grouping the resurfacing projects. It saves on costs to move equipment when the county bids the paving projects.

“The more tonnage we can get in a smaller radius the better price we get on asphalt,” McGinty said. “We take that into account when we are fine tuning our final list.”

Notable roads on the upcoming lists are Central Road in the Eclectic community

“It has a lot of truck traffic on it,” McGinty said. “I think everyone

a love for choir. It was something Jones got to see first as an intern last school year at Tallassee. Both appreciate the foundation built by Jerry Cunningham, Bird and Hill.

“There are big shoes to fill,” Lester said. “They have been there for so long. It’s really nice to go into a place with traditions. We don’t feel

residents in the affected area are urged to boil water before use.

ADPH said on its website to ensure destruction of all harmful bacteria and other microbes, all tap water within the defined area used for drinking, food preparation and making ice should be boiled prior to consumption. “Some of the effects of drinking contaminated water can be immediate,” ADPH said. “These include gastrointestinal illnesses such as nausea, vomiting, cramps and diarrhea.”

will be happy to see it improved.”

Jug Factory Road is being resurfaced using funds from Elmore County’s Rebuild Alabama allocation and from the grant program associated with Rebuild Alabama.

“It will allow the entire roadway to be paved,” McGinty said. “Jug Factory has always been a cut through road, even when it was a dirt road.”

Other Elmore County roads to be improved under Rebuild Alabama 2025 include portions of Marina Road, Circle Lane, Gladys Drive, Jordan Beach Road, Tankersley Road, Tankersley Lane, Rays Cove, Summit Drive, Summit Circle, Deer Track Road, Shawnee Drive, Cherokee Drive, Cherokee Circle, George Road, Perkins Street, Tide Drive and James Road.

Work will also be done on guard rails on Nobles Road, Ceaserville Road, Redland

like we have to build the program from the ground up, there are foundations for us.”

Road, Mt. Zion Road, Balm Road, Weoka Road, Friendship Road, Rifle Range Road and Jug Factory Road. The guard rail work is another type of work the county groups together to get the most from the money available.

“That is something we can’t do in house,” McGinty said. “We have to get a contractor to come in. We bunch those together to get a number of repairs to a volume to make it worthwhile for a contractor.”

Another project garnering attention is a culvert replacement on Rifle Range Road. It is being done almost completely with county employees with supplies and materials purchased with ARPA funding. The work forced a section of the road to be closed for six weeks and it should be re-opening soon.

“We are on schedule,” McGinty said. “We should finish this week weather permitting.”

Jones said, “I think the love the community has for the choral programs is similar to my experience in Tifton. I’m really passionate about bringing opportunities to people in small towns because I was a girl growing up in a small town.” Jones believes the Tallassee community will be accepting of some changes. Some of the changes have already been seen.

“It has looked the same for years,” Jones said. “With the addition of the new fine arts facility, we hope we can grow on the traditions already here.”

CHORAL

CLIFF WILLIAMS | TPI

Central Elmore Water and Sewer Authority had to flush the water lines near a development off of Castaway Road over the weekend after a possible sewage contamination.

Something is still missing

Greetings from the corner of Bridge and Bridge! The dry heat of June and early July has given way to the steamy, stormy heat of late July. At least we don’t have to worry about the grass spontaneously catching fire!

I wish we could say the same for our current political state.

I write this week’s column in the immediate wake of Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 Presidential race. For a very brief moment, national conversation involved words that should be commonplace in relation to politics. Words like respect, statesmanship, and dignity were heard and read.

I say brief for a reason. Those words disappeared as quickly as they emerged. The favorite words of the last decade came roaring back.

REV.

JONATHAN YARBORO Columnist

Words like cowardice, weakness, futility, incompetence, and loser joined phrases like abandoning ship and deserting the troops. The one word that stands above all others is winner

Last week started with Donald Trump and J.D. Vance being confirmed as the Republican contenders for the White House and ended with Joe Biden planning his exit from it. This week will feature the Democratic response to Biden’s departure and Republican commentary on those

happenings. Something is missing , though.

I do not claim to know where anyone reading this column stands on any current issue facing our nation. I do know how the overwhelming majority of people I am in contact with feel in general about our current process. Many Americans are disgusted and in disbelief.

I have friends on both sides of the aisles in terms of party affiliation and issues facing our nation. Each party and respective candidate has a position on these issues. While positions differ from party to party, most of the issues are the same.

The economy, relationships with other nations, immigration and border issues, health care, and rising violence are all on everybody’s radar.

Tallassee Churches

Everyone except the major candidates for public office, that is. The 2024 Presidential election has little to do with issues and everything to do with winning. For months, all we have heard is commentary on who can beat whom or who cannot beat whom. The focus of our national political rhetoric has been winners and losers. It seems to have overlooked the fact that such a focus results in everyone losing, which apparently is the most likely outcome if something doesn’t change quickly. Let us all be clear about one thing. The change that needs to happen has little to do with the name of the candidate in the race. Changing that name from Trump or Biden to some other name will not change anything. Our

collective rhetoric and expectations must change.

Until the voting public demands conversation about matters of substance, such as the economy, international relationships, immigration challenges, health care, and a rising culture of violence, we will all be left with winners and losers. The sad part is that winning is an illusion.

We as a nation have lost sight of the concept of the greater good our country was built upon. It was far from perfect, but the concept was unique. Equality for all as the foundational goal of addressing issues has amazing potential. We the people keep missing it. Time for change.

Rev. Jonathan Yarboro is the Pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Wetumpka.

Surrounding Area Churches

Tallassee All-Stars finish runner-up

By DALTON MIDDLETON Sports Editor

The Tallassee 10U All-Star baseball team wrapped up a successful summer last week.

The All-Stars made the trip to Baton Rouge, Louisiana to play in the USSSA 10U World Series and came up just short of a championship.

Tallassee went 7-2 across the tournament and fell to Northport, 8-0, in the championship game. Tallassee, which consisted of Logan B., Ketch B., Zayne B., Kobe H., Cameron H., Logan H., Malcolm H., Ayden P., Easton R., Easton T. and Jacob W., finished the season 18-2 and went undefeated in region play and the state championship.

“The difference in this team was their fight and their grit,” head coach Coy Thomas said. “They just never gave up. We were down 8-0 one game and came back to win. The players got along so well and they lifted each other up. They supported each other. We had a tight knit group. We ate together a lot this summer. We

DELFIN REPRESENTS TALLASSEE IN ALL-STAR EVENT

By DALTON MIDDLETON Sports Editor

The state’s leading goal scorer showed off his skills last Wednesday night.

Tallassee rising senior Irvin Delfin played in the AHSAA North/South AllStar Soccer Game held at the Emory Folmar YMCA Soccer Complex in Montgomery.

The first All-Star in program history, Delfin was one of 36 rising seniors to be selected across the state. He represented the South team and played both as a striker and a defender.

“It felt really great,” Delfin said. “I’ve never had a chance to play in an AllStar Game. This was my first time ever playing with All-Stars, and it was a really good experience. I was able to meet a lot of new kids and see how they play. We played as a team.”

Delfin’s South team ended the night on the losing end of the score -

board, 4-1. The South was down 1-0 when Delfin first stepped on the field and his presence was immediately felt up top. Delfin took two shots in the final 20 minutes of the first half and had one shot on goal. While neither shots made it into the goall, his ability to draw defenders helped his team score the equalizer. With two defenders trailing Delfin, Spanish Fort’s

DALTON MIDDLETON | TPI TOP: Tallassee senior Irvin Delfin attempts a corner kick in the

ABOVE: Tallassee’s Irvin Delfin (13) knocks a header towards the

Ethan Spuler was able to knock a hard shot off a North defender into the back of the net. The game stayed tied until halftime, 1-1. In the second half, Delfin was taken out of the striker position and moved to defense. It’s been a while since Delfin has played defense, mostly since he was in elementary

Higgs joins TPI staff as sports reporter

Samuel Higgs is the newest member of the Tallapoosa Publishers Inc. staff, taking up his post as the sports editor of The Alexander City Outlook and The Dadeville Record. He’ll also serve as a sports reporter for The Wetumpka Herald and The Tallassee Tribune.

Higgs is a graduate of the University of Georgia, having graduated in May with a degree in journalism. He has covered sports for the last two years, working for The Red & Black student newspaper. He was a sports contributor for UGA

athletes in the PGA tour before becoming a basketball and football beat reporter.

“As the basketball beat reporter I covered almost every game where I saw both Auburn and Alabama continuously beat up on Georgia,” Higgs said. “I met with coaches and players weekly to get their insight

Martin doesn’t get the credit he deserves

Iwas scrolling through X the other day and saw a post from the Alabama High School Football Historical Society account. The post in mention was a list of 10 players from across the state that have the opportunity to win the prestigious Mr. Football award following the upcoming football season.

The 10 players listed were as follows: Elba’s Alvin Henderson, Saraland’s KJ Lacey, Central Phenix City’s Andrew Alford, Oxford’s Mason Mims, Parker’s Na’eem Offord, Ramsay’s Kameron Keenan, Fyffe’s Logan Anderson, Fort Payne’s Dax Varnadore, Thompson’s Trent Seaborn and Russellville’s Cameron Phinizee.

All 10 of those players are fantastic football players and more than deserving of the recognition they are getting. But my first reaction when looking through the names was “Man, Tae Martin is really going to catch people by surprise.”

Someone in the replies agreed with me. The post asked the question “Who did we leave off and who will actually bring home the award?” One of only two replies said “Tae Martin from Reeltown.”

Realistically, I know Martin isn’t likely going to win the award.

In the last 10 years, the award has gone to somebody in Class 5A or higher eight times. The only two exceptions were Lanett’s Kristian Story in 2019 and Madison Academy’s Kerryon Johnson in 2014. If you remember, both of those players eventually signed with SEC programs Alabama and Auburn.

The two things holding Martin back from winning the award is the fact that he’s at a smaller school – Reeltown is in Class 2A – and he’s somehow not committed to one of the top schools. Heck, he’s not even listed in the Top 48 players in Alabama’s Class of 2025 according to 247sports. Martin doesn’t mind being the underdog. On June 22, he even addressed it on X with a post saying “I’ll be the underdawg!! That’s ok with me… ya know, the one that gets looked over

bc he’s from a smaller school.. ya know, the one that runs through all your 3,4 & 5 stars!!! Yea, I’ll be that.”

When it comes to awards like Mr. Football and recruiting rankings, there’s a lot of different things involved like size or publicity or just getting seen by the right people. But if someone just looked at straight production on the field, Martin would be at the top of many of all of those lists. Let’s take a look at what he did just last season as he helped Reeltown to a Class 2A runner-up finish. When it comes to just taking down the ball carrier, Martin recorded 120 tackles, 9 tackles for loss and 1 sack. But that wasn’t Martin’s strength on defense. The defensive back recorded 6 interceptions, 10th best in the state, and knocked down 29 passes. That’s one of the best defensive seasons of anyone in the state, but Martin also played on offense and special teams. In fact, it was rare to see him off the field.

On offense, he played both running back and receiver. At running back, he had 58 carries for 672 yards and 11 touchdowns, good for 11.6 yards per rush. At receiver, he had 34 catches for 702 yards and 9 touchdowns, good for 20.6 yards per catch.

He was one of the team’s primary returners on special teams. On kickoff returns, he had 335 yards and one touchdown on 10 returns. On punt returns, he had 170 yards on 9 returns.

To pad his stats even more, he actually blocked two field goals as well.

He wasn’t just a regular season merchant either.

When the lights got bright, he shined the most.

In five playoff games, he had 310 rushing yards and 6 touchdowns, 299 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, 52 total

Tallassee 10U All-Star Baseball team finished runnerup in the USSSA 10U World Series held in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Tigers finished the season with an 18-2 record.

DALTON MIDDLETON Sports Editor

REPORTER

Continued from B1

heading into each matchup. The football season is where it truly got to expand from the typical game coverage you see. I wrote features, profiles, media availabilities and was even a constant guest on the podcast our publication produced weekly. Football was the first sport I truly fell in love with and cannot wait for the season to begin.”

While this is Higgs’ first professional reporting job, he is excited about what he can bring to the table in the tri-county area. His favorite stories to write are profiles, which include in-depth player features.

“I have gotten the opportunity to meet so many wonderful people who have amazing stories to tell and I can’t wait to do it for the coaches, athletes, families and fans of this community,” he said.

Higgs understands the importance of high school sports in Tallapoosa, Elmore and Coosa counties and is ready to tell meaningful stories.

“I’m very excited to get this next chapter of my life started in Alexander City. I’ve experienced high school football in Texas and Georgia, so I’m excited to see what Alabama brings to the table with the season right at our doorstep,” Higgs said. “I can’t wait to get started and see all the wonderful things that come with being the sports editor here.”

MARTIN

Continued from B1

tackles and four double-digit tackle games and two interceptions with seven defended passes.

Martin is likely to produce the same this year, if not more now that the Rebels have lost some key pieces to go along with him. He could very easily be a sleeper pick for any postseason awards this upcoming winter.

I’m not one for taking kids off a list, especially any of the 10 that were listed above. Every single one of those players are there for a reason. But if you ask me, Martin should be there as well. There are not going to be many players who mean as much, or more, to their team than Martin does to the Reeltown Rebels.

But like Martin said last month, he doesn’t mind being an underdog from a smaller school.

He’s just going to keep running through all the three, four and five stars he faces and let his numbers speak for themself. I have a feeling Martin is going to wake up a lot of folks around the state in 2024.

Dalton Middleton is the sports editor of Tallapoosa Publishers Inc.’s Elmore County newspapers.

TALLASSEE

Continued from B1

prayed together a lot. It was a good group of kids.

Tallassee and Northport had some big matchups against each other this season.

The team played each other four times this season. Tallassee handled itself the first time, 8-2, in the state championship

AHSAA moves regional basketball tournament back to Alabama State

By RON INGRAM AHSAA

The AHSAA’s South Regional Basketball tournament is heading back to Montgomery and Alabama State University.

An agreement has been signed with Alabama State University that will bring the Central and South Regional boys’ and girls’ tournament to the Capitol City for the next three years (2025, 2026 and 2027).

The Central Regional will be played at Alabama State University’s 7,400-seat Dunn-Oliver Acadome, and the South Regional will be played at Garrett Coliseum, announced AHSAA Executive Director Alvin Briggs.

“This is great news, especially for our schools qualifying for the regional from Southwest Alabama,” Briggs said. “No longer will those schools have to drive past

Montgomery, thus reducing travel and increasing the opportunity for more fans from those schools to attend. We are very appreciative of ASU and the City of Montgomery for stepping forward for our member schools.”

ASU was a very popular host site for a regional for many years since the beginning of the format which was instituted in 1994.

However, when the Covid pandemic spread across the state, ASU elected not to host a tourney. For the last two years, the Central Regional, which included a number of schools qualifying from Southwest Alabama, was played at the Birmingham CrossPlex Bill Harris Arena and the South Regional remained in Montgomery.

“We are excited to host the Regional AHSAA tournament on our campus. This a great opportunity to expose

the local and state community to our institution,” said Alabama State University Athletic Director Dr. Jason Cable. “I would like to thank Alvin Briggs for this opportunity and Crystal Moss and the OEM team for taking the lead on this project.”

Brandon Dean, former director of the Alabama High School Athletic Directors and Coaches Association (AHSADCA) who is now Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Montgomery, said, “Bringing the Basketball Regionals back to Alabama State University and the City of Montgomery has been a goal of Alvin Briggs during his tenure. It was a pleasure to work with Mr. Briggs and ASU Athletic Director Dr. Jason Cable. This means at least 52 different fan bases and communities will be returning to the City of Montgomery and the campus of Alabama State

University each year of the agreement.

The Northeast and Northwest Regional basketball tournaments are played at Jacksonville State University and Wallace-Hanceville Community College, respectively. Both sites have been hosts for 30 years – since the Regional Tourney format was introduced by the AHSAA in 1994.

The South and Central Regionals, while being in Montgomery most of that time, have also been played at various other sites from time to time including Bay Minette, Mobile, Troy and Dothan. The State Tournament semifinals and finals have been played at the BJCC Legacy Arena in Birmingham since 1994 –minus one year when the BJCC was undergoing renovations. It was played at UAB Bartow Arena and Bill Harris Arena that year.

DELFIN Continued from B1

school, but he was pleased with his performance on the pitch.

“As a striker, I wasn’t really feeling my best,” Delfin said. “I wasn’t getting past the defenders, but I feel good about my defense. I really think

TALES

Continued from A4

match what I actually had, so during band camp I gave the students a break and went across the street to the gas station, where I sketched out our designs on napkins. We earned a Superior rating at contest that year The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down: Our Marching Rebel Band at Zion Chapel was a quality group, but they were particularly off-task at our final rehearsal before contest. I’d had it with them and left the kids at the stadium after a furious tantrum that ended with my locking them out of the band room and speeding away home. The drum major kept the band at rehearsal and drilled them into the night. They earned straight Superiors in all captions the next day and won third place in our class of nine bands. The Spouse Ban: My wife is a much better musician than I, and certainly more accomplished. She is a far better teacher than I am, too. But in the early days before we had children, she came to a football game and brought her trumpet to play. She bossed me

June 23. Northport then bounced back in Baton Rouge and took two out of three. Northport won 8-5 and 8-0 in the championship game. Tallassee won 13-0 to force a winner-take-all game.

“Northport had a great team,” Thomas said. “In that final game, they had a great pitcher and we were gassed and tired having just played three games

Delfin took two shots on goal during the All-Star game.

I played better in the second half than the first half.” Delfin had one of the largest groups of supporters in the stands.

There was Tallassee purple and gold scattered throughout cheering for him, including fans, teammates and coach Matt Tarpley. Tarpley and Delfin were able to take a picture following the game, and

around so bad I told her never to come to another game. And she hasn’t – she’s on the band staff at Elmore County High School, our biggest rival! Board of Education: I had a principal at Zion Chapel who didn’t believe in office referrals or ISS. He walked around with a paddle. I had a class of about 20 senior miscreants in Music Appreciation. They didn’t care about being there and hated both me and the material. My principal didn’t mess around with them, though. When he learned I was having trouble with them, he came in and lit ‘em all up. And a few days later, he dropped by and did it again. And another time, he busted one boy who wasn’t even acting up, but the principal said he could tell the boy was thinking about acting up. Those kids wound up being model students!

Pay to Play: One year, I had no tuba player. I gave a student $10 to hold a Sousaphone at contest so the judges would think we had one. The scheme worked.

Paying Miss Vicki: At Robert E. Lee, I hired Miss Vicki Baker from Heart of Dance in Tallassee to judge my majorette tryouts. The school account was busted and I couldn’t get any purchase orders

back-to-back-to-back. We could play 10 times and we’d probably split 5-5. They had a great team.”

While baseball was at the forefront of the trip and the team played nine games over their stay there, it wasn’t just baseball games. The team spent plenty of time in the pool at the hotel, and they went and spent a day playing TopGolf. To cap the trip, the team made

despite the loss, Delfin loved seeing everyone there to cheer him on.

“It’s a big boost when I looked up and saw them up there,” Delfin said. “I do it for them. My teammates got me there and I appreciate all of them, especially coach Tarpley. He’s been giving me the hand of making the AllStar game and it was a pleasure to see everyone there.”

approved, so I paid her with a Hot ‘n’ Ready pizza. When WSFA Came to Visit: I was proud that the Lee Band was asked to appear on “Today in Alabama” on WSFA-TV 12. The camera crew and reporter showed up at the school at 5:00 in the morning, and we had the full band and cheerleaders there, rocking out in the bleachers on the band practice field. The TV people said they wanted us playing at every commercial break on the show until it was time for my moment in the spotlight. So we played, alright – and then a neighbor from across the street walked over and confronted me. “You just love the sound of your own voice, don’t you?” the guy screamed in my face as he put his finger in my chest and caused the TV show’s rating to require a mature content warning. “I am trying to sleep and this [bleep] band is out here blowing and beating at five in the morning!” So much for my glorious moment on television!

The Drug Free Assembly: My jazz band at Robert E. Lee High School was asked to perform for a citywide drug-free rally. Unfortunately, their guest speaker did not arrive and the coordinator requested another set of songs. We didn’t

the trip to LSU and visited the Tigers’ baseball field.

“The kids absolutely loved the trip,” Thomas said. “We were blessed that we had a lot of sponsors around town. We want to thank them for giving the kids an opportunity to experience that. They had a great time from the day they got there to the day they left. We were excited to play baseball too.”

have many other tunes in our arsenal, so the rhythm section (who had wandered off to the smoking section of the stadium) kicked off a medley of Pink Floyd classics – perfect for a drug-free rally, wouldn’t you say? “We don’t need no education…”

Mr. Band Die-Rector: We were retiring the legendary Terry Beasley’s jersey. Dr. Johnny Long, founder of the Lee Band, was in the Cramton Bowl bleachers. Hoover High School, then the #1 football team in the country and stars of their own reality show starring Coach Rush Propst, was there with an MTV crew filming them. No pressure. Throughout the game, this lady in the stands kept hollering, “Get it crunk, Mr. Band Die-Rector!” at the top of her lungs. She made requests for some hip-hop classics, including selections by T.I. and 50 Cent. I approached her and tried to make peace, but she continued to harass me. The crowd turned on Mr. Band Die-Rector and I was booed. And this was my first football game as the Director of Bands at Robert E. Lee High School.

Michael Bird is a member of the music faculty at Faulkner University and lives in Tallassee.

The Tallassee 12U team also made the trip to Baton Rouge. The older squad went 3-3 across the tournament with losses to Winthrop, St. James and Bloomfield. Tallassee defeated St. Bernard, Westside and Winthrop. They ended the season at 16-6 overall and won the state championship.

The 12U team consisted of Brady B., Nathan B., Ryder B., Brantley H.,

N.,

“It says a lot about Tallassee baseball to have two teams down there,” Thoms said. “The 12U team had a couple of hiccups in the region and played some really good teams. They came back and battled and won state and played well in Baton Rouge.”

Carson

Jonathon S., Bryce S., Ben S., Heath S., Maddox T. and Nate W.

DALTON MIDDLETON | TPI

Tallassee’s Irvin Delfin (13) looks to shoot the ball against the North team.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) In your job today or with any task that you choose to do, you might nd the work to be hard, a bit of a slog. Just keep persevering, because there is nothing you can do except change your attitude, which, of course, is easier said than done. Remember: This feeling is just for today. Tonight: Work.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) Children might be an increased responsibility today. Or perhaps social responsibilities, sports events or something to do with the arts and the entertainment world are overwhelming for you. You might feel that you’re not up for the task. This isn’t true; it’s just how you feel today. Tonight: Cope as best you can.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) This is a tough day for you, because optimism and outdoor activity are survival issues for you. And today, it’s tough to be optimistic. This is because the Moon is lined up with stern Saturn, which makes people depressed. Dealings with parents and older relatives might discourage you. Tonight: Relax.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) Don’t fall into worry mode today. It’s counterproductive. Remember the saying: “Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but gets you nowhere.” Nevertheless, negative thinking is here today, so be aware of this. Tomorrow will be a better day! Tonight: Stay positive.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) Today you might feel a nancial squeeze play. Perhaps you don’t have enough money to buy what you want, or do what you want, or cover frills like bread and milk. (Yes, it’s that kinda day.) Wait until tomorrow, because you’ll be surprised at how much better you feel! Tonight: Check your assets.

PISCES

around you and be critical of almost everything today. Tonight: Challenging relationships.

AL 36078 Or contact Angela Waites (334)252-0025 Ext. 101 Email: angela.waites@ learning-tree.org\

Job Opportunities

Now hiring for several openings in Manufacturing/assembly at Thrifty Portable Buildings in Tallassee Please come by our facility to fill

AlaScans

Public Notices

pg metal buildings as produced by a manufacturer with not less than 5 years’ successful experience in the fabrication of pre-engineered metal buildings of the type and quality required. The manufacturer will be a member of the MBMA.

Pre-engineered building shall not less than 5 years successful experience in the erection of pre-engineered buildings similar to those required for this project, and that has been licensed by the manufacturer of the building system. The following manufacturers’ have been approved.

Public Notices

Public Notices

Board for General Contractors must be licensed under the provisions of Title 34, Chapter 8, Code of Alabama, 1975, and must show evidence of license before bidding or bid will not be received or considered. All bidders shall show such evidence by clearly displaying their current license number on the outside of the sealed envelope in which the proposal is delivered. The project shall be bid as tax exempt construction. Bid opening August 2, 2024 at 10AM in the Council Chambers at City Hall. Scope of Work: GC to provide the following:

1) GC to visit site and verify Location and site work.

2) All permits and fees will be included in the GC bid proposal.

3) GC shall purchase and maintain $5,000,000.00 of liability insurance. GC shall carry workers comp. on all employees. GC shall maintain builders risk insurance for the amount of his bid proposal.

4) 80’ X 120’ X 16’ Pre-engineered metal building with a 2/12 roof slope. 80’ clear spans. Gutters and Downspouts. No interior columns allowed.

5) Concrete Foundations & Structural design shall be done by a licensed structural engineer and submitted to the owner before construction begins.

6” concrete slab with welded wire mesh.

6) 6” roof insulation and 4” wall insulation

7) GC to provide Concrete foun-

ACI Building Systems American Buildings Company Butler Buildings Company Inland Building Systems STRUCTURAL FRAMING: Rigid Frames shall be fabricated from hot-rolled structural steel. Provide built-up “I-beam” shape rigid frames consisting of either tapered orpered columns. Provide frames factory welded and shop painted. Furnish frames complete with attachment plates, bearing plates and splice members. Factory drill frames for bolted

1. Provide length of span and spacing of frames.

2. Provide a Wind Portal frame and columns. Wind Bracing: Provide horizontal and adjustable wind bracing at roof only using diagonal cables or threaded steel rods; comply with requirements of ASTM A36 or A572, Grade D.

Registered Professional Engineer for the Pre-Engineered Building shall be responsible for the design of the roof structure to support the framing to meet all state, federal and local code restrictions and structural requirements set forth by the structural engineer. It shall be the responsibility of the Pre-Engineered Building manufacturer to coordinate with the Bidding Contractor the amount of erection required for the framing before bidding. Provide not less than 16-ga. and 8” wide shop painted rolled formed sections for the following secondary framing members unless shown otherwise on structural contract drawings.

1. Purlins. 2. Eave struts. 3. Endwell rafters. 4. Flange bracing. 5. Sag bracing.

Provide ASTM F1554 bolts, at secondary structural connections. Provide zinc-plated or cadmium-plated bolts when structural framing components are in direct panels. Primary structural connections to be made with ASTM A325 bolts. No welding will be allowed. connections.

Clean surfaces to be primed of loose mill scale, rust, dirt, oil, grease, and other matter precluding paint bond. 1. Prime structural steel primary and secondary framing members.

Public Notices

g um plated fasteners for interior applications. Locate and space fastenings in true vertical and horizontal alignment. Use proper type fastening tools to obtain controlled uniform compression for positive seal without rupture of neoprene washer. Pro-

formed stiffeners or ribbed allowed. Form gutters and Rake in sections not less than 8 feet in length, complete with end pieces, outlet tubes and other special pieces as may be required. Join sections with riveted and soldered or sealed joints. Provide expansion-type slip joint at center of runs. Furnished gutter supports spaced at 36” o.c., constructed of same metal as gutters.

Form downspouts in sections approximately 16 feet long, complete with elbows and offsets. Join sections with not less than 1-1/2” telescoping joints. Provide fasteners, designed to securely hold downspouts not less than 1” away from walls; locate fasteners at top and bottom and at approximately 5 feet on center in between.

General: Arrange and nest side lap joints so that prevailing winds blow over, not into,ed sheets one full rib corrugation. Apply panels and associated items for neat and weather tight enclosure. Avoid “panel creep” or application not true from damage. Walls shall be 26 gauge painted panel. Roof shall be a PBR 26-gauge Galvalume Plus Panel.

1. Provide a formed PBR 26 Gauge ridge cap. Provide weather seal under ridge cap. Fasten roof panels to purlins in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

1. Roof sheets shall be full length of approx. 40’. No laps in the roof allowed. Flash and seal roof panels at eave with rubber, neoprene or other closures to exclude weather. Each preformed ridge roof lap must have a continuous run of at least 3/8” tape caulk between panels. Stitch Screws shall be installed in this lap per manufacturers recommendations.

2. Install screw fasteners with power tool having controlled torque adjusted to compress neoprene washer tightly without damage to washer, screw threads, or panels. Install screws in predrilled holes.

Tallassee Tribune: July 17 and 24, 2024 BIDS PUBLIC NOTICE IN THE PROBATE COURT OF ELMORE COUNTY, ALABAMA IN THE MATTER OF THE ESTATE OF STANLEY R. MERCHANT, DECEASED CASE NO: 2024-101 NOTICE TO CREDITORS OF ESTATE

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CEASED Name and Address of Personal Representative: JAMES R. BOWLES ATTORNEY AT LAW 2 SOUTH DUBOIS AVENUE POBOX 780397

TALLASSEE, ALABAMA 36078 334-283-6548

Tallassee Tribune: July 17, 24 and 31, 2024 EST/MERCHANT, S. PUBLIC NOTICE

Tallapoosa County Board of Education today announced its policy for free and reduced-price meals for children served in schools under the National School Lunch Program and/or School Breakfast Program. For School Year 2024-2025 Tallapoosa County Board of Education will continue participation in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP). No further action is required of you. This USDA provision allows your child(ren) to participate in the school meal programs without having to pay a fee or submit a meal application. CEP is a key provision of the Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act of 2010, which allows schools and school districts in low-income areas to eliminate school meal applications and serve breakfast and lunch at no charge to all enrolled students. CEP gives food service professionals more

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orientation), disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity. Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the responsible state or local agency that administers the program or USDA’s TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339. complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be

wedge anchors or epoxy of any kind will be acceptable after concrete has been poured.

10) Designed for IBC 2021 11) 3 lb. collateral load. 12) Provide two 16’x14’ commercial series Roll-up door Provide one 14’x14’ commercial series Roll-up door Provide three 3070-man doors.

Install Floor drains in shop bays. Floor drains must be Traf14) Finish out 1000SF of condiurinal and water closet. Furnish drawing for owners’ approval before construction. 15)

Provide self-tapping screws, bolts, nuts, self-locking rivets, self-locking bolts, end-welded studs, and other suitable fasteners as standard with the manufacturer, designed to withstand design loads. Provide metal-backed neoprene washers under heads of fasteners bearing on weather side of panels. Provide long- life screws in roof panels. Use aluminum or stainless-steel fasteners for exterior applications and galvanized or cadmi-

Letters Testamentary in the Estate of STANLEY R. MERCHANT, deceased, having been granted to JAMES R. BOWLES on July 10, 2024 by John Thornton, Judge of Probate of Elmore County, Alabama, notice is hereby given that all persons and parties having claims against said estate are required, within the time allowed by law, to present the same to the Court or the same will be barred.

JAMES R. BOWLES

PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE OF THE ESTATE OF STANLEY R. MERCHANT, DE-

WEDNESDAY • JULY 24,

NO ACTION FOLLOWING STATEMENT OF ECLECTIC TOWN CLERK

By CLIFF WILLIAMS News Editor

It was supposed to be a meeting to discuss the fiscal year 2025 budget for the Eclectic Town Council.

Instead Monday’s council meeting turned into a two-hour executive session hearing accusations of misspending of town funds, a hostile work environment and slander. Mayor Gary Davenport said he and town clerk Shannon Duck have been discussing a situation for a week or so. The mayor felt the matter was important enough to delay the budget discussion to allow Duck to make a public statement before the council headed behind closed doors to hear from Duck, Eclectic police officers, town staff and Alexander City clerk Stephanie Southerland.

“This situation has gotten way out of hand,” Duck told the council. “The work environment fostered here has become one where you have to look over your shoulder because you don’t know who is baiting you or recording you as they set you up for something.”

Duck said the root cause is a lack of discipline and consequences for employees taking advantage of Davenport. Issues arose when misuse of Eclectic Police Department vehicles and spending by the police department without council approval were highlighted by Duck to Davenport and members of the council.

“In the past week taxpayer dollars have been spent paying wages whose whole motive has been to spread lies, threaten, bully and slander the name and good character of the appointed town clerk,” Duck said.

The clerk reported the new police vehicles leased by the town were outfitted with lights and other police equipment by another vendor after the first failed to come through. It cost the town an additional $19,000 but the extra expense was never put in front of the council.

“It’s nobody’s fault, just something that needed to be fixed,” Duck said. “I was protecting the town, the mayor, the chief and the money of this town.”

Duck explained reports to town hall of misuse of the police department vehicles have increased.

“Apparently it is becoming a regular issue,” Duck said. “Again it just falls back to lack of discipline and consequences for the action.”

Duck provided the Eclectic Town Council with documents and financial information about the spending.

Instead of working to correct the problem, Duck said she was attacked by city employees.

“Instead this has somehow been turned around and I’m forced to defend my actions,” Duck said.

Duck takes her job as clerk seriously and works hard to ensure expenditures are approved by the council.

“If the minutes do not reflect the expenditures, then I have not done my job properly,” Duck said.

Thinking it might be an oversight, Duck approached police chief Robert Head so he was not blindsided by her reporting the issue to Davenport and the council. Instead she said the table was turned on her and her husband who is an officer in the Eclectic Police Department.

“The reaction was very defensive and he began criticizing my husband’s job

performance,” Duck said. “I told him that had nothing to do with me and the matter at hand. If he had issues with performance then he needed to address them with him as his direct supervisor.”

Duck left the meeting discouraged and feeling attacked, she said.

“I don’t understand how this has gotten turned into an employee slander situation against me,” Duck said. “I believe I’m the victim because I’m now targeted so as to deflect from the real issue at hand.”

Since Duck has brought the issue to light, she said she has been subjected to a hostile work environment and bullying on social media.

“I’m put in a position where I have to defend elementary accusations against me while the real problems are not being addressed,” Duck said. “I’m hurt and offended by the actions of my co-workers.”

Duck said it has all occurred without any discipline of those who have bullied and targeted her.

Duck asked for the council to approve an executive session for personnel matters to allow Duck to discuss in further detail her accusations.

Two hours later after hearing from Duck, police officers, Sutherland and others, the council returned to a regular meeting and took no action. Instead, Davenport made a statement.

“The council does not feel it is necessary (to act),” Davenport said. “We have a picture of pretty much everything that is going on. I will do my job as mayor and meet with the department heads and any individuals that I need to. We will handle what needs to be handled.”

Coming home

ECHS alum returns to roots to lead Maroon Machine

By CLIFF WILLIAMS News Editor

Dallas Hammond has taken over the reins of the Elmore County High School Maroon Machine Marching Band. It’s Hammond’s first real job after college. But she is no stranger to ECHS as she is returning home to lead the band that gave her her musical start.

“It’s cool seeing everything from this side,” Hammond said. “It’s been very welcoming from everyone. It’s nice to be here because it is something I care about a lot. I like being able to come somewhere that already has a love for what I’m doing is fantastic.”

Hammond is accustomed to marching in and leading quality bands. Just a few years ago she was marching on Eddie Mann Field, the Maroon Machine’s practice area playing clarinet, tenor saxophone and trumpet. She was also a drum major of the Maroon Machine.

Hammond went to Troy University after ECHS where she marched the clarinet and mellophone for a year each in the Sound of the South. She was also a drum major for three years and graduate assistant for the 400-member band for two years.

It was all experience for the rookie high school band director.

“It prepared me for everything,” Hammond said. “The grad assistants at Troy are pretty much like assistant band directors. We would run the marching band essentially I set all the drill for pregame. I set all the drill for the marching show.”

Hammond also taught a concert band class.

It all prepared her for the return home, a place to grow young musicians.

“I have two years of teaching experience basically at the college level,” Hammond said. “This is coming back more to

bread and butter because they are more moldable.”

Hammond grew musically at ECHS under the tutelage of longtime ECHS band director Anthony Vittore. Hammond plans to keep many of the things Vittore did in place such as the overall organization. But she wants to add her own twists.

“I’m not trying to recreate the wheel,” Hammond said. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. I am making it my own and just being myself. We just have different personalities.”

Hammond is keeping some of the theater in the halftime shows of the Maroon Machine, just not to the scale of Vittore.

“We are not having so much of the production as usual,” Hammond said. “We will however have a 30-foot Empire State building on the 50-yard line. It is still very much an Elmore County show, but there are not so many bells and whistles. We are getting back to focusing on marching technique, songs and playing ability.”

The music of Hammond’s first Maroon Machine halftime show is inspired by her Billy Joel playlist and her favorite television show Glee.

“I was listening to him one day and I listened to Moving Out,” Hammond said. “I thought it would be a good marching band song.”

Hammond also brought an idea in from Glee about how characters want to make it to the big stage in the Big Apple. Two actors will be part of the show and the band’s auxiliaries will join in the acting as well from time to time.

“For our show, this person is going through the trials and tribulations of having a big dream and then not getting the dream,” Hammond said. “They then work really hard and come back to achieve it.”

Brooks picks up first D1 football offer

By DALTON MIDDLETON Sports Editor

Justin Brooks is going to get a chance to play at the next level. A rising junior at Elmore County, Brooks picked up his first Division I football offer last week. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound tight end was offered by North Alabama following the Lions’ camp held at the Wetumpka Sports Complex.

“Getting a Division I offer going into my senior year really made me realize my potential,” Brooks said. “Now I’m hoping we can get some more and keep improving my game. It was kind of shocking when it happened, but it’s exciting.” Brooks has the God given size that college coaches dream of, but he really impressed the Lions’ staff at the camp. His quickness

surprised the coaches, and he was running routes against safeties and cornerbacks instead of the usual linebackers. He was still causing separation on his routes. When North Alabama found out he was only a junior, they were caught off guard and intrigued with the type of project he could be at the next level.

CLIFF WILLAIMS | TPI

The Elmore County High School Maroon Machine Marching Band works on its halftime show at band camp last week.

CLIFF WILLIAMS TPI

Eclectic town clerk Shannon Duck, back left, speaks to the Eclectic Town Council and Mayor Gary Davenport on Monday just before the council retreated to an executive session to discuss issues brought up by Duck.

FILE | TPI

Elmore County rising junior Justin Brooks, right, poses with sister and homecoming Jayla Brooks last season. Brooks recently picked up his

from North Alabama.

Elmore County hosts youth basketball camp

By DALTON MIDDLETON Sports Editor

The Elmore County basketball team helped teach future Panthers the sport of basketball last week. The Panthers hosted a four-day in the Elmore County gym from Monday through Thursday. The team welcomed 42 kids across the four days. The first two days were spent working on fundamentals such as footwork and ball handling, while the final two days of the camp were spent learning passing skills and shooting.

“We went over all the fundamentals and then even played some fun games like freeze tag and knockout,” head coach Nathan Taylor said. “At the end of each day, we let them line up and play four versus four, and that was what they enjoyed the most for sure. We were pretty excited about the turnout. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect because we haven’t had a youth camp here in a while. Forty-two is a really good turnout.”

Every member of Taylor’s varsity roster showed up each day to help serve as counselors. The current Panthers each got their own stations and group of kids and taught different skills.

“The best part of the entire camp was watching our guys teach the kids the same stuff we teach them every day,” Taylor said. “It was really enjoyable to sit back and watch them work with the kids.”

The camp has ended, but the varsity summer circuit has not. There are no more games in front of the Panthers, but that isn’t stopping the group from getting together.

The team is playing golf with each other soon, and then Taylor is setting up a video game tournament soon where the team will figure out who the best EA Sports College Football 25 player on the team is.

It’s hard to separate the current varsity players on the team, and Taylor loves every minute of that.

“They just enjoy being around each other,” Taylor said. “It lets me know they’ll compete for each other. It also helps me when I have to coach them hard. I know they’re not going to back away from it. They’ll take what I’m saying and put it to good use.”

Eclectic native opens Lake Martin Nutrition

By MELODY RATHEL Multimedia Reporter

A brand new tea store has made its home on Cherokee Road in Alexander City.

Eclectic native Kirstan Bishop recently opened the doors to Lake Martin Nutrition. As an avid lover of the Herbalife tea brand, she decided to embark on her own business endeavor with the product.

“I just fell in love with the product,” Bishop said. “I used to get four to five loaded teas a week, and I wanted to help spread nutritional awareness.”

Although she resides in Eclectic, Alexander City is like a second home to her. She said growing up, she and her family would visit Alexander City regularly for doctor s appointments and other necessities they couldn’t get in Eclectic.

After developing a vested interest in owning a loaded tea store, Bishop began searching surrounding areas for a location for her own shop.

“I was looking in small communities in surrounding areas, but everywhere already had (a store),” she said. “One day I was in Alex City, and I was driving around when I saw an empty building. I thought,

‘That’s it.’”

She immediately began looking into the space and successfully secured a lease. She wasted no time getting the location set up.

“I was working a fulltime job at the time, so

“He’s very physical and has a big body and is a strong kid,” Elmore County coach Kyle Caldwell said. “He can run really well for his size and has big strong hands.” With loads of talented skill players scattered across Elmore County’s roster last year, Brooks didn’t get the amount of targets he will likely get this year. He was still effective, recording four catches for 102 yards and a touchdown. But he was much more of a hand in the dirt type of tight end instead of running routes and catching touchdowns. With how quick he has

I was coming in on the weekends and after work sometimes,” Bishop said. “I had to order all the products, get them delivered to my house, pack it in my car and drive it up here. It took me about two months to

become and the mismatch he can create against any defender, that role looks to change in 2024.

He will continue his blocking-first style of play, but he will also line up out wide and line up as a fullback in the backfield.

“We want to put him on an island by himself a little and see who a defense puts on him,”

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really get everything in and going.”

Although she got everything moved in, she had not yet set an opening date. As she was getting the final details squared away, she decided to open right away.

“Once I got my food permit, business license and all the documents I needed, I said, ‘You know what? I’m just going to open tomorrow and see how it goes,’” Bishop said.

She opened on July 9, and hasn’t looked back. So far, her favorite aspect of having her own business in Alex City is meeting new people and getting to know the community.

Her goal is to encourage healthy lifestyles throughout the community, and to offer a more nutritional caffeine and refreshment alternative. Currently, she has a menu of loaded, specialty and beauty teas and shakes. Over time, she plans to expand the menu with more tea options and additional sugar-free items like cake pops, coffee and non-caffeinated refreshers.

Lake Martin Nutrition is located at 1994 Cherokee Rd. The store is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Caldwell said. “He is so special with his hand in the dirt, that old school tight end position. He’s a very physical blocker so he will certainly help us there.” While Brooks has seen his skills improve over the last calendar year, that’s not where he feels is the best improvement. That would be his leadership. Being one of the only returning starters to the Panthers’ offense, he is becoming the vocal leader that Caldwell needs to find success and put up points.

“I’ve had to step up for the team,” “I’ve been working in the gym and on the field, but I’m definitely most improved with my leadership. I’m excited for the season. The summer has been fun, but I can’t wait for that first Friday night.”

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ABOVE: Elmore County basketball coach Nathan Taylor talks with campers at the Elmore County Youth Basketball Camp last week.

BELOW: A camper goes through drills at the Elmore County Youth Basketball Camp.

Kirstan Bishop has opened Lake Martin Nutrition on Cherokee Road in Alexander City.