OPINION: SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO BREAK FROM THE NORM. PLAYOFF THURSDAY THE TIME
Local teams begin baseball playoffs.
Sports page 8.
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 April 21, 2016
Vol. 124, No. 80
www.alexcityoutlook.com
MAN CUT DOWN WHILE MOWING GRASS
Bizarre drive-by shooting claims life of local man
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Law enforcement officials comb the scene of a Wednesday drive-by shooting on Highway 63 that claimed the life of 49-year-old Elbert Clyde Wilson. Officials continue to look for a possible motive and suspect in the case.
A local man was shot and killed as he sat on a riding lawnmower, cutting his grass on his day off. Now Alexander City Police are trying to make sense of the Wednesday morning drive-by shooting on Highway 63 just south of North Central Road that left 49-year-old Elbert Clyde Wilson dead. Wilson died shortly after being shot on his property at See SHOOTING • Page 3
Residents voice opposition to Councill closing
Volunteers still needed for cleanup
Second community meeting provides more answers on plan
By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
Emotions ran high among parents and board members Wednesday at the second public meeting on the potential closing of Dadeville’s Councill Middle School, attended by approximately 50 people who packed the Tallapoosa County Board of Education boardroom in Dadeville. Tallapoosa County Schools Superintendent Joe Windle required those who wished to speak at the meeting to sign in and said he would limit speakers to three minutes. Only one speaker signed up and she was held to her three-minute limit, yet the meeting lasted approximately 90 minutes. Dana Rickman, the sole speaker to sign up, did not attend the first meeting on Councill on April 6 and asked how the population of Dadeville High School would be impacted by the addition of seventh- and eighth-grade students and how that population compared to 7-12 populations at Reeltown and Horseshoe Bend Schools. Windle said Horseshoe Bend has somewhere between 425 and 435 and Reeltown somewhere between 405 and 450. After some collaboration with staff, he said the population at Dadeville High School if Councill closed would be about 545 next year. “Well, I would like to see our middle See COUNCILL • Page 3
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Benjamin Russell student Franklin Staples, above, plays the fiddle in Emily Sasser’s classroom for a biology session. Below, Emily Sasser goes over immune systems as the class sits on hay bales.
BOOTS AND BIOLOGY
Sasser’s Boot-Scootin’ approach brings cell division to life By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
Emily Sasser’s 12th-grade advanced placement biology class at Benjamin Russell is studying cell division. If you had biology, you remember. Meiosis and mitosis? Or maybe not. Unless you need such knowledge later in life, it’s forgetful stuff. But what if you accompany meiosis with “Wagon Wheel,” written by Bob Dylan and made popular by Old Crow Medicine See SASSER • Page 2
See VOLUNTEERS • Page 2
Mitchell helps people get growing again this year By MITCH SNEED Editor
Got a hankering to test out that green thumb you think you have? One local man who has been raising and selling everything from vegetable plants to beautiful hanging baskets says now is the time to get busy and get growing. John Mitchell who sells plants from his greenhouse on 9th Street just off Hillabee behind Grace’s Flowers says the temperatures are perfect and now is the time to plant “just about anything, especially tomatoes, peppers and anything you eat.” “I wasn’t going to do this again this year,” Mitchell said. “I told my wife that I was just going to grow enough for my own garden but then when I got started I thought someone else may want some too, so here we are. You see what I’ve done.
“But we do have some beautiful plants this year. There’s not much chance of frost and the ground is starting to get warm, so now is the time.” Mitchell said that tomatoes are probably the most popular thing he sells and he has multiple varieties. He said regardless of whether you like the big tomatoes or the smaller ones for sauces, there are a few keys to success. “Tomatoes like full sun, so if you plant them stay away from shady areas,” Mitchell said. “If you plant there, you are probably going to end up with all plant and no tomatoes.” Mitchell said the another common mistake involves water. He said making sure they have enough moisture not to burn up and not so much that roots will suffer is something to consider. “People think that water is great and you can’t water them enough,” Mitchell See PLANTS • Page 2
The County Wide Cleanup is this Saturday and Lake Martin Resource Association’s John Thompson is proud of the efforts that have taken place so far. “It’s huge,” Thompson said. “The fact that we have activity going on in all the districts. The fact that each one has an organized event to do some road-side cleaning. It’s huge.” Lt. James Orr is heading up the cleanup-up effort in Alexander City and said he said that the weather appears to be perfect for the event. “Last year we caught a lot of rain, but this year the forecast looks pretty good,” Orr said. “Our event is part of the county-wide Throw Away Day and we welcome any and all volunteers.” Orr said that volunteers should meet at 8 a.m. near Alexander City City Hall. “We will have bags and vests for them and will assign them a place to go unless they have a particular area that they want to
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
490.52 Reported on 4/20/16 @ 6 p.m.
Linda Shaffer, REALTOR® C: 256.794.4641 • W: 256.329.5253 shaffer@lakemartin.net 5295 Highway 280, Alexander City, AL
Today’s
Weather
75 57 High
Low
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
John Mitchell walks among the plants at his Alexander City greenhouse. He said now is the time to put vegetable plants in the ground.
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54708 90050 USPS Permit # 013-080
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