WEDNESDAY
THE EVENTS, 5
Plenty of ongoing events in Alex City area
SPORTS, 10
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
December 26, 2018 Vol. 126, No. 253 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
Reeltown earns 3 all-state spots
Terms of endearment Nabors does his job for free and wants to keep doing it Editor’s note: This is the second of a three-part question-and-answer series with Alexander City Mayor Jim Nabors. By JIMMY WIGFIELD Managing Editor
Ron Colquitt / For The Outlook
Toney Hanson, left, shakes hands with retired Col. Robert Stone. They were reunited recently after not seeing each other for about 18 years. Hanson helped rescue Stone, also pictured below, when he was shot down in North Vietnam in 1967.
Lifesaver Lake Martin resident, Air Force vet reunites with war buddy who saved his life in 1967 Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part series about a reunion between retired U.S. Air Force Col. Robert Stone of Alexander City and the Navy man who rescued him from a jungle in Vietnam after getting shot down. By RON COLQUITT For The Outlook
F
ormer Air Force Col. Robert Stone said he thought he had “died and gone ne to heaven” the day he was given his first combat mission as a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War. On his 61st bombing mission over North Vietnam, he nearly died when anti-aircraft bullets riddled the sleek F-105 Thunderchief jet hee was flying and he bailed out deep in enemy territory. The Navy man who plucked him out of the jungle and saved d his life recently visited the retired colonel in Alexander City. Toney Hanson, now 78 and a retired senior chief petty officer, hoisted a seriously wounded Stone from the jungle. “About halfway through my dive-bombing run at a very See LIFESAVER • Page 6
Today’s
Lake Martin
Weather Lake Levels
62 48 High
Low
483.70 Reported on 12/22/18 @ 12 a.m.
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For the record, Alexander City Mayor Jim Nabors believes in term limits. “Depends on who it is,” he laughingly said, “but I do.” Even a limit on himself? “I’d say two terms,” Nabors said. “But if you’ve got a good one, you’d love to keep them, so it works both ways. But I think we would get rid of this doing what gets me reelected stuff. You would really dedicate yourself to the city.” There are no term limits for mayors and councilmembers in Alabama, of course, and most would not question the dedication of Nabors, who doesn’t take a penny of the mayor’s salary. But lately he has been a piñata for those who don’t want to see Alex City’s municipal government spend $9 million to leave downtown and consolidate all its functions in the former Russell Sales Office. Seeing that become a reality would make it worth running again in 2020, which Nabors, now 76, wants to do. If reelected, he would be 81 when his second term ends. “If my doctor gives me the green light, I will,” he said of running again. “I hope I can. I have been energized by making some progress and getting involved in moving forward with the (Russell) sales office. That’s something that needed to be done.” And in this second part of a question-and-answer series with Nabors, the mayor said something else needs to be done to make progress — taking politics out of the daily conduct of Alex City governmental affairs, and managing situations professionally and with decorum. “If it’s the right thing to do,” he said, “do it.”
Q. You don’t take a salary as mayor. What is the salary?
A. $60,000. Well, it’s more than that because the fringes are like 30 percent, so it’s $78,000 or $80,000. I don’t have a car; the previous mayor See NABORS • Page 9
Family members reflect on Bob Powell’s life By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
Bob Powell, a longtime fixture of Tallapoosa County, passed away on Dec. 14 at the age of 82. Powell, probably best known for his restaurant, Bob’s Fine Food in downtown Dadeville, was remembered as a great family man and business owner. Powell
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“He was straightforward,” Powell’s son-inlaw Michael Carter said. “He didn’t have any hidden agenda. He was a good-hearted person with a great love of people, the community and his family.” Windy Carter, Michael Carter’s wife and Powell’s daughter, added, “He was a loving husband and father. He was funny. He really enjoyed being a salesman and engaging with See POWELL • Page 3
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