PAGE 6: COMMUNITY COLUMNISTS INSIDE
THE
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WEDNESDAY
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
2 injured in Tuesday afternoon wreck
April 10, 2019 Vol. 127, No. 71 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
SPORTS, 10 Read about BRHS boys, girls soccer inside
Court date set Davis due in court May 9 on child sex abuse charges By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Charles David Davis, 32, of Tallassee waived formal arraignment through his attorney Tuesday after being arrested on child sex abuse charges in March. Davis was indicted in February on charges of sexual abuse of child under 12 and three counts of first-degree sodomy. The indictment said Davis subjected a child less than 12 to sexual contact and engaged in first-degree sodomy on three occasions. Court records show Davis was out on a $10,000 bond for a 2018 theft arrest at the time of the sexual abuse arrest. Those records also show Davis pleaded guilty to theft in 2010 and has other burglary and theft arrests. He is due before Fifth Circuit Court Judge Steve Perryman on the sexual abuse charges See DAVIS • Page 11
Ron Colquitt / For The Outlook
Lenny and Mary Arnold have taken care of 101 foster children over 27 years. Mary retains painful memories of being passed over by couples when she was an orphaned child and decided she wanted to help children without parents.
County BOE honors nurses By GABRIELLE JANSEN Staff Writer
The Tallapoosa County Board of Education unanimously approved a resolution Monday to honor its school nurses during April. Dadeville Elementary School nurse Tanya Branch, Reeltown Elementary and High School nurse Regina Newman, Tallapoosa County Schools lead nurse Tammy Templeton, Horseshoe Bend School nurse Jean McCreight and Tallapoosa County Schools transportation nurse Wanda Lucas were recognized. Superintendent Joe Windle told the audience at the meeting the state funds only one nurse for the board’s central office and one school nurse. The school system pays its other nurses through local and federal taxes, according to director of student services and public relations Casey Davis. “I respect all of our groups of workers, from cooks, to bus drivers, custodians to See NURSES • Page 11
Fostering love Local couple has fostered 101 children over a quarter century By RON COLQUITT For The Outlook
M
ary Arnold recalls being “lined up like cattle” when she was 5 years old and hoping she would be chosen from the lineup to be adopted by a loving couple. That painful memory still lingers for Arnold, 62. But it’s led to her and her husband, Lenny, fostering 101 children over the past 27 years. The 101st, and last, is a 9-year-old girl living with them near Alexander City. “Married couples would come and they would look you over from head to toe and just decide if you had the right color of hair, color of eyes and decide if they were going to adopt you,” Mary
Arnold said. “They would look you up and down and decide if they wanted you. They would pick one and the rest of us was sent back to our room. I got to where I refused to come out of my room because I knew I wasn’t going to be picked.” Arnold was the youngest of five siblings. The oldest, a girl, was 9. She said her mother died when she was 5 and her father ran away because he was an alcoholic. “He severely abused me,” she said. “I was not a nice child, I was angry. I hated adults, didn’t trust adults, and pointed out that they were mean, hateful and lied. My family was ripped apart in front of me. I was raised in the (foster care) system.” Arnold was bounced from foster home to foster See FOSTER • Page 11
Alexander City historical figures to be featured in Saturday’s cemetery tour By GABRIELLE JANSEN Staff Writer
Jimmy Wigfield / The Outlook
Tickets for the Living History Cemetery Tour set for Saturday are $20 for adults and $10 for students.
one church two services i
8:00AM & 10:30AM – STA TARTING APRIL 7 9:15AM SUNDAY SCHOOL 178 S. Tallassee Street • fbcdade fbcdadeville.com
Ghosts of Alexander City’s past will come to life Saturday for the Living History Cemetery Tour. The tour will feature 10 figures who contributed Alexander City’s history and will tell visitors their stories from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Alexander City Cemetery. Russell Medical Foundation and Alexander City Theatre II (ACT II) are hosting the event. Russell Medical Foundation executive director Tammy Jackson said she had attended other cemetery tours where actors portray historical figures and wanted to do one for Alexander City. “We have such a rich history here in the Lake Martin area and a lot of
people have homes on the lake and even the younger generation know very little about us, so I thought it would be awesome to bring our history to life,” Jackson said. “We’re going to bring history to life, share it with a (younger) generation and let people know more about our area.” President and co-founder of ACT II Betsy Iler said Jackson approached her about having the groups co-host the event. The staff writers at Tallapoosa Publishers Inc. were recruited to meet with local historians, chose the figures and wrote the scripts. Characters include Ralph Frohsin Sr., Sarah Towery, Billy Hardy, James Young, Doc Barnes, a person recorded as Agile Little Boy, William See CEMETERY • Page 11
Today’s
Weather
82 59 High
6
Low
54708 90050
8
USPS Permit # 013-080
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
489.73 Reported on 04/09/19 @ 4 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL