OPINION: ART CAN BE FOUND IN MANY FORMS, PAGE 4.
Weekend The Outlook
GROW OUR LOCAL ECONOMY
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
December 19-20, 2015 • Vol. 123 • No. 253 • www.alexcityoutlook.com
Wildcat Wrestling Benjamin Russell defeats Auburn in wrestling. See Sports, pg.12.
County’s jobless rate falls to 5.4 percent STAFF REPORT Outlook Staff
Tallapoosa County has seen another drop in its unemployment number, posting a rate of just 5.4 percent in November. The sixth consecutive monthly decrease gives Tallapoosa County its lowest jobless rate in more than seven years. The November 5.4 percent is down from the 5.8 rate that the area saw in October and drastically down from
the 7.7 percent that the county posted in November 2104. The local rate is even lower than the November state average. Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted November unemployment rate was 6.0 percent. “We are coming closer and closer to hitting that golden wage and salary employment number of two million jobs,” Gov. Robert Bentley said in a released statement. “We are less than 25,000 jobs shy of attaining pre-reces-
sion employment levels in Alabama. We haven’t seen wage and salary employment at two million since June 2008, prior to the recession’s effects in our state. Our economy is strong, and my goal is that every Alabamian who wants a job can obtain one.” According to numbers released by the Alabama Department of Labor and Bentley’s office, Tallapoosa County now has the state’s 47th lowest county unemployment rate, compared to ranking 32nd in 2014.
Holiday travel safety on the minds of law enforcement
Services for beloved Animal Control Officer today at 1 p.m.
Weather
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Lake Levels
480.66 Reported on 12/18/15 @ 5 p.m.
Linda Shaffer, REALTOR® C: 256.794.4641 • W: 256.329.5253 shaffer@lakemartin.net 5295 Highway 280, Alexander City, AL
54708 90050 USPS Permit # 013-080
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
ALEA Senior Trooper Lloyd Smith prepares to patrol area roads Friday. Troopers, along with local law enforcement, say they will work to make it a safe holiday travel period.
Family, friends and the entire community will say goodbye to a beloved public servant with a big heart. Memorial services for Alexander City Animal Control Officer Kelly Annette Cotney, 35, will be held today at 1 p.m. at the chapel of Radney Funeral Cotney Home. According to investigators, Cotney and a her passenger 7-year-old Gracie Deason were seriously injured when Cotney’s car hydroplaned on rain-soaked streets and was struck See COTNEY • Page 3
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Low
Lake Martin
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By MITCH SNEED Editor
City council to consider sale of property to developer
Today’s
High
See UNEMPLOYMENT • Page 3
Community to say goodbye to Cotney
By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
Local law enforcement authorities will join the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA) in stepping up their patrols of the state’s roadways during the holiday season, which runs from midnight tomorrow night through midnight Jan. 2. With the seasonal hustle and bustle during that period, law enforcement expects the state’s roadways to be much busier than usual and is increasing its patrols to help protect lives and promote highway safety. “Highway safety is key to ensuring motorists safely arrive at their destinations and enjoy this special time of year,” said Spencer Collier, the state’s See TRAVEL • Page 3
“The very slight uptick in November’s unemployment rate is due to the fact that more people entered the workforce, perhaps looking for seasonal employment,” Alabama Labor Department Commissioner Fitzgerald Washington said in a released statement. “Additionally, more people are employed both over the month and over the year, so this small increase is not necessarily bad news.” The Civilian Labor Force (CLF)
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A developer has approached Alexander City about the possibility of purchasing 16 acres at the intersection of Comer and Dadeville roads with the intent to build 56 apartment units geared to senior adults. The item is on the agenda for Monday’s regular meeting of the council, which is set for 5:30 p.m. in the upstairs courtroom at the Public Safety Building. The city purchased about 96.55 acres of potential industrial property off Comer Road late last year. The property is across from former Avondale Mills property and adjacent to Byers Fields. The city purchased the land from Enitachopco Falls LLC. In
September 2014 for $537,500. The land has frontage on Comer and Dadeville roads and already has access to all city utilities. The price was a good one for the city, as the cost amounted to $4,795 per acre. The developer, the Bennett Group, LLC,, has offered $400,000 for the 16-acre parcel, a cost of $25,000 per acre. The city has already done some substantial clearing on the back side of the property, making way for a potential industrial site and had considered the portion of the land for a future home to auto parts manufacturer Korens. The only other item on the Mitch Sneed / The Outlook agenda is a request from Josh A developer hopes to buy a 16 -acre parcel at the corner of Comer and Tucker of the soccer committee Dadeville roads to build apartments. to address the council.
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