READERS HEAR FROM A HERO, PAGE 2.
SUMMER LEAGUE
THE
Wildcats return to the court, see Page 8.
FRIDAY
OPINION Mitch Sneed pays a special tribute to his father, Page 4 .
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 June 19, 2015 Vol. 123, No. 122 www.alexcityoutlook.com
City road projects nearing completion
Turtleneck Turtle Race reaches finish line Kenny Dean: ‘We’ve had a great run’ By David Granger Outlook Staff Writer
Work on Coven Abbett, Comer and Hillabee in final stages
For 35 years, home folk and visitors alike have thrilled to the sights and sounds of racing box turtles in Alexander City at the annual Turtleneck Turtle Race. Alas, no more. Kenny Dean, who started the annual event in his front yard in the Turtleneck community near Wind Creek, says he’s ending his turtle equivalent to the Kentucky Derby after 35 years. “I think 35 years is a good stopping point,” Dean said, “We’ve had a great run. It’s been a great thing for the community and a great thing for the organizations that have benefited from it.” Dean said that, over the years, the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society and the Alzheimer’s Foundation had benefited from money See RACE, Page 3
By Mitch Sneed Outlook Editor
File / The Outlook
In the peak of popularity, the Turtleneck Turtle Race drew as many as 2,500 people and captured the attention of NBC’s Willard Scott. Kenny Dean, who started the annual event in his front yard in the Turtleneck community near Wind Creek, says he’s ending his turtle equivalent to the Kentucky Derby after 35 years. These pictures from 2013 show that regardless of the venue, fun was always the result.
Dadeville’s Betty Hayes looks through some of her memorabilia from her days at NASA working with the astronauts and their wives.
The four major paving projects in Alexander City that have been in progress are nearing completion, so motorists should see smoother driving and an end to work-related delays. Public Works Engineering Assistant Marty Kendrick said that crews from Gary Ingram Paving have completed the asphalt layer on Comer Street. Kendrick said that work will shift back to Hillabee Street tomorrow where shoulder work will be the focus. “Basically what we are looking at is shoulder work on Hillabee and Comer and we hope that all that will be done on Monday if everything goes right,” Kendrick said. “They were able to get these done quickly. They involve long stretches so it didn’t require a lot of moving like the recent downtown work did.” Work at those two sites, like the work on Coven Abbett Highway, were all a part of the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement See ROADS, Page 3
Dadeville’s Betty Hayes recalls NASA days of Skylab, Apollo By David Granger Outlook Staff Writer
David Granger / The Outlook
On Thursday night, millions tuned in for the premiere of the miniseries “The Astronauts’ Wives” on ABC. Dadeville’s Betty Hayes drove the Apollo astronauts’ wives. She chit-chatted with them on the phone. She worked daily with their husbands. It was an amazing time in the amazing life of Hayes, who has also been a professional model, a demolition derby driver and has, with her late husband Bob, raised a family of wolves. But her days as a young female execu-
tive assistant at NASA’s corporate partner Rockwell provided perhaps the most interesting memories. Hayes’ first husband was working for the U.S. Air Force at Ellington Air Force Base near Houston when the young lady from Dothan took a position with Rockwell as an assistant to the company’s executive Vice President Ronald K. Swim. At the time, Rockwell was involved in NASA’s Apollo program and preparing a bid for the Skylab contract. “I was told when I was hired that if I ever made any mistakes, I’d probably lose the job immediately,” said Hayes. “So I did what I was told and did it very
well and enjoyed it a lot. I loved my job. I had to constantly take notes, go to all the meetings, take the minutes, type them up and make sure all the astronauts had copies and everyone approved them. It’s the same thing I’m doing for the Dadeville Kiwanis Club.” Hayes, who says she spent 50 percent of her time on her job in the Rockwell building and 50 percent in the adjacent NASA building, also spent a portion of her time ensuring that NASA astronauts’ wives and children made it to Cape Canaveral to see their husbands’ space shots. See HAYES, Page 3
Tuggle says Open Meetings 489.57 Bill didn’t go far enough Lake Martin
Lake Levels Reported on 6/18/15 @ 3 p.m.
By David Granger Outlook Staff Writer
Linda Shaffer, REALTOR® C: 256.794.4641 • W: 256.329.5253 shaffer@lakemartin.net 5295 Highway 280, Alexander City, AL
Today’s
Weather
91 70 High
6
Low
54708 90050 USPS Permit # 013-080
8
Rep. Mark Tuggle of Alexander City campaigned his seat on a platform that included transparency and a “sense of credibility and confidence in government.” On Thursday, Tuggle explained his recent vote against changes to the Alabama Open Meetings Act, a vote that took some people by surprise. Tuggle said the bill didn’t go far enough and that he was not happy with the language of the Act and its exemption of the Alabama Legislature. “I’m all for transparency,” Tuggle said. “I just ddin’t think this revision was clear or went far enough.” Tuggle was one of four Republican members of the Alabama House of Representatives who voted against the bill when it passed on June 3. Gov. Robert Bentley signed the bill into law June 5. The changes to the act were designed to ban See TUGGLE, Page 3
David Granger / The Outlook
United Way holds Day of Action Approximately 125 volunteers helped paint, clean, pressure wash and move furniture at one of the four schools that benefited from the Lake Martin Area United Way’s Day of Action on Thursday morning. The sites were Stephens Elementary School, Dadeville High School, Horseshoe Bend School and Coosa-Central High School. Sponsors of the event included Winn Dixie, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Alabama Paper and the Tallapoosa County Commission. Above John Dark paints awning columns at Stephens Elementary.
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