SPORTS, PAGE 12: WILDCATS BATTLE IN TOURNAMENT FINAL
Weekend The Outlook
Support our unique hometown Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 Lake Magazine inside! businesses December 31, 2016 - January 1, 2017 • Vol. 124 • No. 263 • www.alexcityoutlook.com
SWIMSUIT EDITION
LOOKING AHEAD
Motorists reminded of DUI dangers Lake Martin Garage to help in AAA’s New Year Tow for Life
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
Above, Alexander City Mayor Jim Nabors is congratulated by Human Resources Director Tammy Walker shortly after being sworn in. Nabors says the city’s finances are the biggest priority for the new year. Below, Dadeville Mayor Wayne Smith hopes to continue the spirit of cooperation among the council and residents in 2017.
Local leaders brace for first full year of their terms By MITCH SNEED and CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
See DRIVERS • Page 11
Local elected officials have high hopes for the 2017 as city leaders enter the first full year of their terms. In Alexander City and Dadeville, optimism seems to be the theme. Mayor Jim Nabors hopes that 2017 will be the year they are able to put the financial uncertainty of the recent past behind and move forward with a sense of confidence in their city’s financial position. “Our priorities haven’t changed much since the day we took office,” Nabors said. “We have to get our finances in order and that starts with getting the financials from 2014, 15 and 16 published and then completing a budget and getting it in place.” Nabors said there will be some
File / The Outlook
See NEW YEAR • Page 11
Today’s
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50 46 High
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Lake Levels
483.57 Reported on 12/30/16 @ 2 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
54708 90050
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Michael Crouch and William Carrington with Lake Martin Garage in Jackson’s Gap will again take part in the AAA’s Tow for Life program that begins this evening and runs through 6 a.m. Sunday that is designed to help people and their vehicles get home safely.
Commission partnering to bring quarterly throw away days ‘Tree surgeon’ tells
of major operations at Dadeville Kiwanis
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
Lake Martin
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Drinking and driving over New Year’s Eve is costly when it comes to people’s lives, but it can also cost the driver penalty fees. Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett and other local law enforcement agencies say that while New Year’s Eve celebrations often include alcohol, drivers should think twice about getting behind the wheel after imbibing. “Don’t drink and drive, drive safely buckle up for safety,” Abbett said. “Obey the traffic laws, if you are going to drink have a designated driver.” According to an ALEA report, during Christmas and New Year’s of 2015 there were close to 500 arrests made by Troopers for DUI. One local business is taking part in a program to help drivers and their vehicles get home safe. To help avoid the high cost of a Driving Under the Influence arrest, the American Automobile Association is continuing its Tow
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USPS Permit # 013-080
The second installment of an initiative to help citizens maintain clean homes, and a clean environment is set to take place through a two-day trash throwaway event held at locations in districts throughout the county. Tallapoosa County Commissioners have teamed up with a regional environmental group for the second year to place a dumping site in each of its five districts. District Three Tallapoosa County Commissioner John McKelvey said it was a good way for residents to get rid of items they normally could not through regular trash pickups. He said it was also a way to rid the county of illegal dumpsites, and said any amount of debris could be seen along the sides of a number of less traveled roads in the county. See THROW AWAY • Page 11
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Tallapoosa Publishers, Inc. • 548 Cherokee Road • Alexander City, AL
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
File / The Outlook
Due to the overwheming success of the first countywide Throw Away Day in April, the county is again placing dumpsters in all five districts so that residents can get rid of unwanted items conveniently.
Riverbend Convenience Store 9120 Hwy. 280 • Alex City
256-825-6065
Non-Ethanol Gas • Live Bait & Tackle
A local arborist spoke recently about why municipalities need trees, the world of arboriculture and his experience with one Alabama city that reached a fever pitch over the widening of its historic tree-lined downtown. Jeffrey McGukin talked to the Dadeville Kiwanis Club members Thursday and walked them through the day-in-the life of a certified arborist, or someone who knows trees from canopy to root. See KIWANIS • Page 3