INSIDE TODAY
OPINION: NEWSPAPERS HAVE THE COMMUNITY AT HEART, PAGE 4.
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December 16, 2016 Vol. 124, No. 252 www.alexcityoutlook.com
County schools honored for AP success By MITCH SNEED Editor
Four years ago there wasn’t a single Advanced Placement Course offered at any of the schools in the Tallapoosa County School System. Thursday the Tallapoosa County School System was honored as the only
system in the state to earn a spot on the 7th Annual AP District Honor Roll. In a release from the Alabama Department of Education, it was announced that the local system was one of just 433 school districts in the United States and Canada to earn the designation from the AP College Board. “That’s a long way to come in just four
years,” said Tallapoosa County Schools Superintendent Dr. Joe Windle. “Four years ago we didn’t offer the classes and had no students taking them. So, to be honored with this is really something that we are proud of.” To be included on the 7th Annual Honor Roll, Tallapoosa County Schools was required to, since 2014, increase the
SABAL TRAIL PIPELINE
number of students participating in AP while also increasing or maintaining the number of students earning AP Exam scores of 3 or higher. Windle credited staff and students for getting behind the program. “I have to give a lot of credit to the teachers and administrators who saw the See EDUCATION • Page 3
Tallapoosa County ranks low in child well-being By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Workers install part of the pipline as part of the Sabal Trail project near Highway 49 Thursday morning. In addition to working in the community, contractors have made a point to give back to the community its working in.
Project brings jobs and economic boost to community By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Nearly 1,200 construction workers are in Alabama installing over 86 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline and a compressor station in Alexander City. Unless you have been a hermit, you have likely seen something associated with the Sabal Trail Pipeline project in the area and they have been doing more than just putting pipe in the ground – officials say they are helping
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By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Low
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
483.44 Reported on 12/15/16 @ 8 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
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54708 90050
have helped with food drives at Thanksgiving and toy drives for Christmas. And that is not all. “We are partnering with the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce and its Innovation Center along with several other Horseshoe Bend regional community groups. It is very important for Sabal Trail to put its best foot forward and establish itself as a good neighbor and community member.” State Representative Mark Tuggle is impressed with the new community partner. See PIPELINE • Page 3
See CHILDREN • Page 3
HSB Student Council prepares homecoming greeting for Carrells
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in the community. “We have been very appreciative of the relationships, interactions and support of local community members and public officials in the area,” Sabal Trail’s Andrea Grover said. “In addition to the construction project, Sabal Trail has established a community grant program to support the vitality and growth of the communities we are constructing and will operate in.” In Tallapoosa County alone, Sabal Trail and its contractors Pilgrim Construction and Price Gregory
Tallapoosa County ranked low in the 2016 Alabama Kids Count Data Book on state and county trends in child well-being. It placed 55th out of the 67 counties, while two neighboring counties scored in the top 10 in its 2016 Overall County Rankings. The ranking was lower than nearly all of the neighboring counties except Chambers at 60 while nearby Lee and Elmore counties ranked in the top 10 at four and eight. The Data Book determines overall state rankings by using nine criteria deemed the strongest indicators available for measuring child well-being. Among those are: Low-weight births, births to unmarried teens, births to females aged 15-17 per 1,000, fourth-grade reading proficiency, teens not in school and not working, children in poverty, children in single parent families, child food insecurity and unemployment rate. Tallapoosa County fell below in at least five of the nine categories. “Those are disturbing numbers and I think it illustrates the importance of everyone and every organization in the community working together to help alleviate the issues
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There was a frantic pace on Church Street in New Site Thursday afternoon to help decorate a friend’s home for Christmas. Members of the Student Council at the Horseshoe Bend School volunteered to make the homecoming of Stephanie Carrell special following a month in the hospital following a wreck that also injured her children Courtney and Bradley. “Stephanie is on her way home now,” Sister Tonya Jones said. “They were going to release her this weekend but decided to release her today. We had no idea she was coming home this quick.
She is on her way home by ambulance now.” As Jones was talking in the middle of a small living room, now partially filled with medical equipment for Stephanie, classmates of Courtney and Bradley were scurrying about the Church Street home trying to get the trees lighted and decorated in time. “We always try to give back,” HSBS Student Council Advisor Julie Turner said. “We contacted her(Stephanie) asking if there was anything we could do and she said she wanted a Christmas tree when they came home.” Just one month ago, Carrell and her children Courtney and Bradley were severely injured in a car accident on Barrett See HOMECOMING • Page 3
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Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Maggie Ruff and Cheyanne Howard help decorate a tree in the home of Stephanie Carrell Thursday afternoon.