OPINION: SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO TAKE A STAND. PAGE 4
TUESDAY
THE LOCAL, PAGE 3
Dozers at work Monday on former Russell complex.
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
SPORTS, PAGE 12
August 1, 2017 Vol. 125, No. 151 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
Big turnout for Bridge Builders camp.
Child porn probe nets Georgia man By MITCH SNEED Editor
A three-month undercover operation has led to the arrest of a Georgia man for sending pornographic images of children to an undercover officer here in Tallapoosa County. Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett announced Monday that Henry Allen Sasser, 53, of Frolona Road in Franklin, Georgia was arrested and transported to the Heard County
Jail and charged with possession of child pornography. Sasser was on probation with the State of Georgia and was a registered sex offender there. Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Department Lt. Bill Hough led the investigation with the help of Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Georgia Department of Pardons and Parole and the Heard County Sheriff’s Department.
“He was on the Internet and made it known that he was looking to meet new people who were interested in child pornography,” Hough said. “Unfortunately one of the people he found was an undercover officer.” Hough works with the Alabama Internet Crimes against Children’s Task Force (ICAC) and confirmed that numerous images of child pornography were received in Tallapoosa See SASSER • Page 3
Camp Hill takes no action on police posts
City to review Russell Main Office study City leaders hope to see building would work as police headquarters
Long executive session leads to tabled issues
By MITCH SNEED Editor
By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Decisions regarding the demotion Johnny Potts as police chief in Camp Hill were tabled at Monday’s special called council meeting until the next regular council meeting following an hour-long executive session while Mayor Ezelle Smith addressed concerns raised in an anonymous letter that has been circulating in the community. As in last week’s police committee meeting, Smith said she was serving the community. “I am here to protect and serve Camp Hill,” Smith told the packed room Monday night. Potts and Coley were informed by Smith last week that Potts had been demoted and Coley had been terminated without council action. After the executive session called for to discuss the good name and character of Potts, the council chose to table decisions on the demotion of Potts, the hiring See CAMP HILL • Page 3
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
ACMS eighth-graders Emily Pennington, left, and Kaylie Powell look over their schedules to see what classes they will have together for the next school year.
ORIENTATION DAY
ACMS welcomes students and parents to school By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
Upcoming seventh- and eighth-graders at Alexander City Middle School gathered on the ACMS campus Monday for orientation day. A required event for students and parents to attend, orientation allowed the students to pick up their schedules for the 2017-2018 school year, pay locker fees, and walk the halls to find where their respective
classrooms would be. The morning session for seventh-graders and the afternoon gathering of eighth-graders began in the middle school gymnasium, where Principal Tracie Blakely and Assistant Principal Shannon Benefield addressed the students and their parents, informing them of what they can expect during the upcoming school year. “You are officially the seniors of the See ACMS • Page 10
Students With a Goal holding back to school pep rally tonight By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
Mentors and members of the mentor group Students With a Goal, or SWAG, will be hosting a back to school pep rally at the Cooper Recreation Center tonight, beginning at 6:30 p.m. “This is our third time having an event like this,” SWAG President Celeste Gaddis said. “We want to get kids excited for getting ready to be back in school.” At the pep rally, Audrey Colvin and Scott Hardy from the Alexander City City Council will be on hand to talk to attendees about discipline, respect, obedience and hard
Today’s
work. “I hope they gain that from their talks and are able to use what they’ve learned throughout the school year,” Gaddis said. The cheerleading and dance squads from Alexander City Middle School will provide entertainment for the event, and various school supplies will be given out to those in attendance, thanks to a partnership SWAG created with the Brotha Keepers Motorcycle Club. The motorcycle club surprised SWAG at the 2016 event with the school supplies See RALLY • Page 3
Lake Martin
Weather Lake Levels
88 68 High
Low
490.56 Reported on 7/21/17 @ 5 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443 6
54708 90050 USPS Permit # 013-080
8
Sasser
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
Alexander City leaders will review a report from an architectural firm on the feasibility of using the former Russell Main Office building as a new home for the Alexander City Police Department. The Alexander City City Council approved $7,500 to fund the study on May 1. Stacy Norman Architects performed the study, looking at the condition of, and the rehabilitation options for the building. Alexander City Mayor Jim Nabors said he has looked over the report, but will go over it in detail later this week. “What we have is a very lengthy and expensive proposal,” Nabors said. “As it is, it would be cost prohibitive, but we go through it item by item and evaluate what we can take out and leave in and see if it is realistic when we are done.” The city now owns the former Russell Main Office. Over the years, a number of issues have developed with the structure. There have been moisture issues and problems with the electrical and heating and air systems. A portion of the building had been rented out to a tenant, but that lease ended earlier this year and the entire structure is now vacant. Meanwhile, the current Alexander City Public Safety Building was formerly City Hall and dates back to the late 1920s. The department has outgrown the See POLICE • Page 3
101-year-old Bryant proud owner of a new flagpole By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Heroes can never have enough flags. For World War II veteran and Alexander City native Cecil “Sausage” Bryant, one has always flown outside his home. Just last year the Alex City Veterans Honor Guard replaced one flag and honorably retired the old flag. Now another flag flies above Bryant’s Cliff Williams / The Outlook home on a flagpole Cecil ‘Sausage’ Bryant sits on his front porch Monday, installed by Glen in front of a flag pole installed for him by Glen Smith. Smith and others.
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“They saw that I was in the service,” Bryant said. “They said they were going to buy me a flag and show me some appreciation for my service.” Bryant is known in the community for not only for his military service in World War II but also for his many civic contributions including helping start the Alex City Rescue Squad and the Alex City Veterans Honor Guard. See BRYANT • Page 3
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