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Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 April 16, 2019 Vol. 127, No. 75 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
City OKs financing for municipal complex By JIMMY WIGFIELD Managing Editor
After months of effort, calculations and at times contentious debate, the Alexander City City Council voted without fanfare Monday to approve financing $9.11 million for the purchase and renovation of the former Russell Corp. Sales Office as a new municipal complex and 56 acres of surrounding
property. The decision officially opens the door for a yearlong process that will culminate with city hall and the police department moving from downtown and all the other departments moving from scattered locations to the 85,000-square foot building March 2020. Mayor Jim Nabors said the loan is scheduled to close with Valley Bank on April 22.
with a first and second reading at least two weeks apart. Councilmember Buffy Colvin has steadfastly voted against the project but, as she indicated late last week, she joined a 5-0 decision to consider the financing proposal immediately, giving the council a chance to approve it Monday instead of at its next meeting May 13, during which time the city See COUNCIL • Page 3
“I’m excited. I’d have gone home and cried otherwise,” Nabors joked after the meeting. “It’s what we’ve worked for.” The question at Monday’s meeting was only if the council would give unanimous consent for the proposal to be voted on immediately, a move Nabors said was necessary to lock in a 2.71 percent interest rate. Usually, an ordinance is considered in two stages
Balloons released at child abuse awareness program By GABRIELLE JANSEN Staff Writer
Ninety-three blue balloons were released Friday to represent the children supported by the Tallapoosa County Department of Human Resources and Tri-County Child Advocacy Center as part of an annual child abuse awareness program. “That (number) doesn’t include the hundreds (of children) who have been investigated and perhaps we suspected something but there wasn’t enough to prove it and it doesn’t include the interviews that are done by the (child advocacy center),” Tallapoosa County DHR director Brenda Floyd said. “It makes my stomach knot to know we have unreported cases out there, so this probably is not even a true representation of what may be going on in our county and that’s why we’re doing this today.” There were also 93 pinwheels by the building’s flagpole to represent the children. During the program held at the Tallapoosa County DHR, Floyd said the DHR wants to bring child abuse awareness to the county and thanked its
Ron Colquitt / For The Outlook
Children perform a dance routine Saturday during the Stop The Violence event at Cooper Recreation Center.
‘We have to start somewhere’ Kids hear importance of avoiding violence
See AWARENESS • Page 10
“We’ve got a job to do and we’re going to continue doing it and we’re going to do everything we can to try to keep children safe. Child abuse will never be OK.”
By RON COLQUITT For The Outlook
C Ron Colquitt / For The Outlook
Children equipped with sacks and baskets rush to find Easter eggs Saturday during the Stop The Violence event at Cooper Recreation Center. According to event coordinator David Wyckoff, an estimated 225 children and adults attended the third annual program.
— Brenda Floyd Tallapoosa County DHR director
hildren were given lectures on how to avoid violence and also a chance to hunt Easter eggs and have fun during the third annual Stop the Violence event Saturday. Event coordinator David Wyckoff estimated 225 children and adults attended the outdoor program at Cooper Recreation Center. Wyckoff, who lives in Alexander City, is a member of Gibraltar Lodge in Opelika. See VIOLENCE • Page 10
Cemetery tour, art show entertain guests By GABRIELLE JANSEN Staff Writer
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Rodney Meadows portrays character James Young during Saturday’s Living History Cemetery Tour.
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It was a blast from the past at the Living History Cemetery Tour on Saturday. Russell Medical Foundation and Alexander City Theatre II co-hosted the event, which featured an arts and crafts show at The Mill Two Eighty in addition to actors who presented monologues of 10 local historical figures in the Alexander City Cemetery “The state of Alabama is
celebrating their bicentennial and this is a way that Alex City can participate in that event,” Russell Medical Foundation auxiliary coordinator Emily Williams said. Williams said the event was a great way to learn the city’s history. “You’re hearing from (the characters) in first person,” Williams said. “So it gives you a little bit of information and details about how Alex City became what it is.” Figures featured in the See CEMETERY • Page 9
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