THE RECORD Serving the Dadeville & Lake Martin area since 1897
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VOL. 125, NO. 47
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2021
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Dadeville may face lawsuit over courthouse square billing dispute By SIRI HEDREEN Multimedia Reporter A dispute over the total bill for Dadeville’s courthouse square renovation project may be sending the City of Dadeville to the courthouse. While the courthouse square project has been ostensibly complete for over a year now, the city has yet to receive the final bill from hired contractor Gillespie Construction. The city approved the contract two
years ago, originally slated for $1.45 million. But the difference between what the contractor and the city’s hired engineering firm think the bill ought to be, according to city attorney Robin Reynolds, may be “substantial.” Renovation of the Tallapoosa County Courthouse square in Dadeville began in May 2019, when the city council voted 4-1 to approve the contract with Gillespie Construction. The project was done in conjunction with Tallapoosa
County and ALDOT, putting in new sidewalks, lighting and landscaping around the courthouse and turning the square into a one-way roundabout. Last week, the Dadeville City Council entered into an executive session for potential litigation involving the courthouse square renovation, Reynolds later confirmed. Whether that lawsuit is filed hinges on the “final quantity” of work performed, See LAWSUIT, Page A3
CLIFF WILLIAMS / THE RECORD / FILE
Work was ongoing on the courthouse square renovation project in Dadeville two years ago. On Nov. 14, 2019, Contractors were removing water from the construction site on Cusseta Street to allow it to dry for the construction of a new base under the road.
The end of the trail ‘Nimblewill Nomad’ ceremoniously ends 2,600-mile hike atop Flagg Mountain tower By SIRI HEDREEN Multimedia Reporter
Denim& Diamonds CLIFF WILLIAMS | THE RECORD
This year’s Denim and Diamonds Charity Ball was one of the most successful ever. This year a week’s stay at Gulf Shores went for $6,000 in the live auction and many other items were auctioned to benefit the host, the Lake Martin Dadeville Area Chamber of Commerce, and the Lake Martin Area United Way. “This goes a long way to supporting our agencies,” Lake Martin Area United Way director Sharon Fuller said. “It’s a way to have fun and support great causes.” Tickets to the ball got guests the fun of the live and silent auctions and a steak dinner.
When M.J. “Sunny” Eberhart, 83, began his 2,600-mile hike in February, he started at the Flagg Mountain lookout tower, .9 miles into the Pinhoti approach trail which links to the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. Eberhart, known by the trail name “Nimblewill Nomad,” completed that journey earlier this month, becoming the oldest to hike the entire Appalachian Trail. On Sunday, the long-distance hiker — back home in Coosa County — walked that last nine-tenths of a mile, becoming the oldest to hike not just the trail, but the entire Appalachian range. “It’s a done deal, isn’t it,” Eberhart said atop the Flagg Mountain lookout tower, joined by a few friends and members of the Coosa County Commission. For the past few years — when he wasn’t hiking — Eberhart has lived in one of the stone cabins atop Flagg Mountain, built in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps and only recently restored. In return, Eberhart volunteers as full-time caretaker, the result of a handshake-deal with the Alabama Forestry Commission and the Alabama Hiking Trail Society. It also means he gets to live atop the southernmost mountain in the Appalachian range above 1,000 feet — a convenient start to his hike nine months ago. See TRAIL, Page A3
SIRI HEDREEN | THE RECORD
M.J. “Sunny” Eberhart hugs his friend Kimm Wright atop the newly restored Flagg Mountain lookout tower Sunday.
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Lake Martin
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Reported on 11/23/21 @ 2 p.m.
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