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THE RECORD Serving the Dadeville & Lake Martin area since 1897
WWW.THEDADEVILLERECORD.COM
VOL. 119, NO. 32
THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2016
Bus drivers voice concerns Salaries, safety measures and bus conditions among topics addressed to board
By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
A representative of Tallapoosa County Schools bus drivers and an Alabama Education Association representative voiced concerns over certain conditions for the drivers in the Tallapoosa County school system at Monday’s meeting of the Tallapoosa Count Board of Education at the Central Office in Dadeville. Arlene Booth, who has driven buses
Camp Hill candidate forum slated for tonight
in the Tallapoosa County system for 28 years, and AEA District 22 Uniserv Director T.C. Coley presented the board with a memorandum outlining their concerns and then voiced them to the board members, as well. Coley said the items listed in the memo came from “several bus drivers within Tallapoosa County, several of which came up during a meeting we had with you toward the end of last school
year and several that have come up in continuing conversations.” The memo listed safety concerns first, asking for “an immediate review of loading and unloading procedures for the younger students.” Booth said, more specifically, the item refers to four-year-old pre-K students. “When it refers to the youngest, I’ve had several drivers come to me about the four-year-olds,” Booth said. “Just this
Probate judge’s suspension becomes official in Monday action
SIGN RULES
By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Once again the Tallapoosa County Chapter of the Alabama New South Alliance is hosting a candidate forum in Camp Hill to facilitate communication between candidates and the community. “We did this the last municipal election,” chapter president Sam Alexander said. “Mainly it’s a forum to get the people together with candidates. We want to give the community a chance to ask questions of the candidates about concerns they have in the community.” The forum will be Thursday from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m at the Camp Hill Public Library in downtown Camp Hill. Samuel Harris will moderate the forum. Each candidate will be given the chance for an opening statement of up See CAMP HILL • Page 7
past week, one was almost hit. The child got off of the bus and went to check the gas cap, for some reason. It intrigued him, I guess. The driver did not see him. It just so happened that one of the older students that got off the bus did see the child and removed the child from the danger zone. As I said, it’s not just one or two drivers, there have been numerous reports such as this.” See BOARD • Page 3
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Cliff Williams / The Record
Campaign signs were a brief topic of discussion at Tuesday night’s Dadeville City Council meeting. The council reminded everyone that there is an ordinance in place that governs placement, number and size of the signs in the City of Dadeville.
Council reviews sign ordinance, renovations
By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Residents of Dadeville should start to see some movement in the coming months on two projects, the repaving of Lafayette Street and the renovation of the courthouse square. At Tuesday’s Dadeville Council meeting, members voted to allow Goodwyn Mills and Cawood to be the engineering firm on the project. The council also learned that a local contractor will be performing the work for the ATRIP project. “The only bid was from Gary Ingram Paving for $938,667,” City Clerk Mike Gardner said. “We have to add 15 percent for engineering costs and there are costs associated with the
railroad.” The city is responsible for a 20 percent funding match for the project which totals $229,301 but the council did not approve the release of those funds just yet. “That is the city’s match, “ Council Member Randy Foster said. “We have been setting those funds aside for it. … But, I am a little hesitant to because the project has been in the works for five and a half or six years. Within 10 days of letting the bid, they want our match. What happens if the project is delayed again. That is a lot of money.” The council took no action on releasing the funds as it wants more information on the See COUNCIL • Page 7
The Alabama Judiciary Inquiry Commission officially signed off an agreement Monday that will avoid a public hearing and suspend Tallapoosa County Probate Court Judge Leon Archer for six months without pay. The action comes as a result of an investigation launched following a Jan. 30 Alexander City Outlook story that revealed that the judge had exchanged sexually explicit messages with a woman who was half his age that had previously had a case before him. The JIC complaint alleged that “Judge Archer’s conduct described in this complaint demonstrates: a failure to uphold the high standards of conduct required of judges so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary may be preserved, a failure to avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all his activities, a failure to at all times maintain the decorum and temperance benefitting his office, and a failure to avoid conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute.” The agreement included the following conditions: • Archer be suspended without pay See JUDGE • Page 7
County, Dadeville to merge courthouse projects
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By MITCH SNEED Editor
A plan to merge two separate projects where grants were awarded to help beautify and rework the streetscapes around the Tallapoosa County Courthouse and just how the Tallapoosa County Probate Court Judge’s Office during the six-month suspension of Judge Leon Archer will operate were the main topics of discussion at the August meeting of the Tallapoosa County Commissioners Monday. The city of Dadeville and Tallapoosa County both applied for and were granted funds to do curb and gutter work, sidewalks and traffic-flow aids and beautification work. Dadeville’s grant was to be to the outside of that square, while the county’s was to do work on the inside of that area. The Dadeville City Council applied last September for the grant and Tallapoosa County did the same in December. Since so much of the work will overlap, engineers felt it See COURTHOUSE• Page 3
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Reported on 8/10/16 @ 3 p.m. Cliff Williams / The Record
Both the City of Dadeville and Tallapoosa County have received grants to renovate the area around the courthouse square on both sides. Following a vote by the Dadeville City Council and the Tallapoosa County Commission, the two projects will be combined to save on engineering costs, but the city and county will still put up their matching funds for the grants.
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