COMMUNITY COLUMNISTS INSIDE!
WEDNESDAY
THE SPORTS, PAGE 8 Area college athlete update
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
December 7, 2016 Vol. 124, No. 245 www.alexcityoutlook.com
Half of all local taxes pays for public safety
ARMED ROBBER STRIKES
‘I survived Pearl Harbor’
Suspect takes advantage of power outage to rob Dadeville convenience store STAFF REPORT TPI Staff
The Dadeville Police Department is investigating a Monday armed robbery at Southside Chevron. Just after 6 p.m. an unknown black male entered the store at the corner of South Broadnax and East South streets, pointed a handgun at the cashier and demanded money. The incident took place while the power was out following an automobile accident on South Tallassee Street. “It looks like the suspect saw the power outage, a business owner trying to do business with limited light and took advantage See ROBBERY • Page 11 Master Sgt. Thomas Davis was honored at the Bill Nichols State Veterans Home Veterans Day Program. Davis served in the Navy 10 years and the Marines for 20. He was aboard the U.S.S. Whitney as the first bombs were dropped on Battleship Row a mile away.
Infant badly burned in household accident
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
On 75th anniversary, local survivor shares memories By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
E
xactly 75 years ago today, a young man from Alabama who enlisted in the Navy in 1939 was looking across the deck of the U.S.S. Whitney as the clouds were breaking over Pearl Harbor. “I saw an airplane but did not think much of it,” Retired Master SGT. E-8 Thomas Davis said. “They were always flying from maneuvers from Wheeler Field. I did not think much of it until they started dropping bombs.” The U.S.S. Whitney was about a mile away from Battleship Row and was ill equipped to defend against the swarming Japanese aircraft. “We didn’t really have any guns on the ship,” Davis said.
“I ran up the tower and woke the skipper up. I asked him what we needed to do. He said, ‘Throw spuds at them.’” What Davis had witnessed just before 8 a.m. on Dec. 7, 1941, was the start of hundreds of Japanese fighter planes as they launched an attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. The barrage lasted just two hours, but nearly 20 American naval vessels were destroyed, including eight battleships and more than 300 airplanes. More than 2,000 Americans soldiers and sailors died in the attack, and another 1,000 were wounded. The day after the assault, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare war on Japan and America had finally joined World War II. See PEARL HARBOR • Page 7
By MITCH SNEED Editor
A 1-year-old girl is in critical condition at a Birmingham hospital after being severely burned in a tragic household accident Tuesday afternoon in Alexander City. According to Alexander City Police Department Lt. Durrell Alford, the child was burned in the kitchen area of an apartment See INJURY • Page 11
Service Dogs Alabama making a difference By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Dogs make a difference in human lives. Service Dogs Alabama (SDA) has been training rescue dogs since 2009. Their animals have been successfully working with children, adults, veterans and even prisoners. Alexander City resident Carol Lee invited SDA executive director Frances McGowin to Alexander City to speak about the non-profit organization. “We went to a graduation ceremony and it was just so special,” Lee said. “We knew we had to get them here to share their story.” McGowin explained what SDA does. “We are not just a dog a program,” McGowin told the small group gathered at the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce
Monday. “We are not just a rescue. We are so much more than that and people don’t get it until they see everything that we do. We train medical assistance dogs.” McGowin explained that the dogs are simply amazing. “They are medical assistance dogs,” McGowin said. “They do what science has not yet been able to do.” McGowin gave the group a brief history of the program. “We started a big therapy dog program in 2009 visiting schools and therapy centers,” McGowin explained. “We realized what a big deal therapy dogs were. The therapists told us they could make more progress in one hour with the dogs than in six weeks without one.” McGowin shared the story of her dog Bear and how accident victim Conner Kirk See SERVICE • Page 7
Today’s
Weather
60 40 High
Low
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
483.32
Reported on 12/6/16 @ 7:45 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
David Granger / The Outlook
Cooper, the yellow Labrador therapy dog at Eclectic Middle School, spends some down time with his handler, fifth-grade teacher Gaye Knight, who is in her 26th year in education.
Riverbend Convenience Store 9120 Hwy. 280 • Alex City
256-825-6065
Non-Ethanol Gas • Live Bait & Tackle
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54708 90050 USPS Permit # 013-080
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