COMMUNITY COLUMNISTS INSIDE TODAY.
THE
WEDNESDAY
BASKETBALL BATTLE Local teams in action in SlamFest, B1
$2 of every $100 spent Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 December 30, 2015 Vol. 123, No. 260 www.alexcityoutlook.com here funds local schools
CALM BEFORE THE STORM? Officials prepared for more rain By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
With the rain of the last several days already pushing Lake Martin levels above where Alabama Power Co. officials expected they would be and additional rain on the way, dock and boathouse construction crews have been amazed by the speed with which the water has risen. And Alabama Power officials say it will
get higher. “People who are trying to work on seawalls and other repairs (that) don’t have the equipment that people like us who do it all the time have, I imagine it has shut some of them down for now,” said Larry Swindall of Docks Unlimited. “It hasn’t it hurt us too bad, because we do so much of our work from the water anyway. We’ve had a few we have shuffled around, but for the most part See WATER • Page A5
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Workers with Central Alabama Construction ready a boathouse for decking Tuesday. When they arrived at the site Monday, they had to quickly move building materials as the water level rose.
Officials combat theft with visibility
Glassburn thankful for all who helped shatter goal
By MITCH SNEED Outlook Editor
By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
While the holiday season is supposed to be about good tidings and sharing cheer, all too often thieves treat the season as a time of opportunity. The Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that theft – shoplifting, burglary and robbery – occurs at a 12 percent higher rate from the period beginning the day after Thanksgiving and running to New Years Eve. But local law enforcement officials say that this year has been a little different locally. “All of our numbers aren’t not complete, but I think the actual numbers are down this year,” Alexander City Police Chief Willie G. Robinson said. “We did have a few of the lake area burglaries early in the period, but overall reports of burglaries were actually down See THEFT • Page A6
Tabatha Glassburn would like to say a personal thank you to all the Salvation Army’s volunteers and all those who dropped their change or stuffed a bill in a red Salvation Army kettle during the holidays. Problem is, there’s not enough room in this newspaper. “I would fill up the paper if I said a personal thank you to everyone that I’d like to thank,” said Glassburn, director of the Alexander City Salvation Army service center. “There are just so many people that I can think of that I want to thank, but I know I can’t do that for all of them by name. So I’ll just say one big thank you to everybody.” Glassburn was in such a thankful mood on Monday after tabulating how much her organization had raised via its annual holiday redkettle campaign. “Just through out red kettles, we raised $32,479.41,” said Glassburn. “That’s up from the $28,269.27 we raised last year.” In fact, it’s up 13 percent from last year’s red-kettle total. Glassburn
Today’s
Weather
65 53 High
Low
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
487.53 Reported on 12/29/15 @ 4 p.m.
Linda Shaffer, REALTOR® C: 256.794.4641 • W: 256.329.5253 shaffer@lakemartin.net 5295 Highway 280, Alexander City, AL
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54708 90050
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Red Kettles see a hefty holiday haul
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
With the help of donors and countless volunteers like Glenn Blake, above, who rang the bell just before Christmas at the Alexander City Walmart, the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle campaign was again successful locally.
See KETTLE • Page A5
AU’s Pearl to help RMC Cancer Center through AUTLIVE STAFF REPORT Outlook Staff
Auburn University basketball coach Bruce Pearl has selected The Cancer Center at Russell Medical Center as one of six institutions that will benefit from the Bruce Pearl Family Foundation’s AUTLIVE campaign against cancer. Pearl brought his OUTLIVE initiative from Tennessee to Auburn, changing the name to AUTLIVE. AUTLIVE raises the awareness of cancer prevention and detection while t-shirt sales and donations raise money to benefit cancer patients and their local hospital. So, we need each person in attendance at the Auburn-Tennessee SEC opener on Jan. 2, nationallytelevised by CBS, to buy an orange AUTLIVE t-shirt benefiting the
cause and wear it at the game. “We are so excited and honored that Coach Pearl selected The Cancer Center at Russell Medical Center to be one of the beneficiaries of this program,” RMC’s Susan Foy said. “We have t-shirts here at the gift shop at the hospital for sale for anyone who wished to be a part of the AUTLIVE campaign. A portion of all the proceeds will come back to us here at The Cancer Center.” T-shirts are $20 each and proceeds benefit cancer patients and treatment centers at these hospitals: Coosa Valley, East Alabama Medical Center, Russell Medical Center, Children’s of Alabama, Montgomery Cancer Center and the L5 Foundation in Knoxville, Tennessee. See BENEFIT • Page A6
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Bright orange AUTLIVE t-shirts are available at the gift shop at Russell Medical Center and portion of the proceeds will be donated back locally.
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