LAKE’S ANNUAL BRIDAL EDITION INSIDE THE
FRIDAY
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
February 1, 2019 Vol. 127, No. 23 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
Young honored for impact on city Historic accomplishments lead to lifetime achievement award By JIMMY WIGFIELD Managing Editor
Barbara Young was serenaded on her 88th birthday Thursday by a crowd that gave her a standing ovation on the way to the stage to accept a lifetime achievement award from the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce. Young, who achieved many historical firsts in Alex City, was escorted by her son, recently retired Fifth Circuit Judge Tom Young Jr. Barbara Young’s recognition was the centerpiece of the chamber’s annual banquet at the Betty Carol Graham Technology Center. In fact, few people have had the impact on as many lives in as many ways as Young has in Alex City. “I watched so many children grow up into parYoung ents,” Young said in a previous interview with The Outlook. Young became the first female principal in the Alexander City School System and also the first female mayor of the city, serving two terms before retiring in 2012. Young spent 34 years in education, teaching 13 years at Benjamin Russell and serving as the first principal of Radney Elementary School, and said she always wanted to teach. “When I was a little girl, I would dress up my dolls and teach them,” Young said. “When it was time for me to go to college, I never thought about going for anything else.” Young, who was named Alex City’s Woman of the Year in 1973, also served as a Sunday School teacher for more than 50 years at the First Baptist Church of Alexander City. She graduated from the See YOUNG • Page 3
Practice run Photos by Jimmy Wigfield / The Outlook
T
he Alexander City Fire Department conducted one of its periodic controlled burns Wednesday on a house owned by Calvary Heights Baptist Church, adjacent to U.S. Highway 280. Fire chief Reese McAlister said the training is conducted at least 10 times a year as structures become available. For four hours, all firefighters on the ‘C’ shift battled toxic smoke and temperatures reaching more than 1,200 degrees. ‘It was wearing them out,’ McAlister said. ‘We want to make sure they work good together.’ The house that burned Wednesday had water damage in the basement and the church didn’t want to repair it, McAlister said. Training officer Capt. Jeff Brewer said the burn is part of each firefighter’s 16 hours of continuous training each month to stay certified. Brewer said the fire department is currently accepting applications for firefighter/EMTs; no previous experience is needed but candidates must be 18 or older. For more photos, see Page 9.
Local pastor resisted the call but got on board with God Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part story about the experiences of local Baptist preacher John Watkins. By RON COLQUITT For The Outlook
Ron Colquitt / For The Outlook
John Watkins, pastor of Victory Baptist Church, has experienced many memorable moments in his career including throwing out a Ouija board to calm frightened teens.
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John Watkins said when God first called him to preach, his answer was a resounding no. But Watkins said God slowly wore down his resistance and during his life as a Baptist minister has counseled teenagers who believed they had conjured up the dead and preached to a gathering of 500 prostitutes. “I started preaching when
I was about 35, I think,” Watkins said. “And I started preaching because God called me to. I certainly didn’t want to.” Watkins, who is 83, carries with him 48 years of memories of success and failure attempting to convert people to Christianity. He has been pastor of Victory Baptist Church on U.S. Highway 280 in Alexander City for 40 years. The aging minister keeps a Bible and his reading glasses nearby at all times — the Bible to help ward off Satan and the glasses to study the Word. Watkins said he was in See WATKINS • Page 5
Today’s
Weather
61 39 High
Low
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
486.87 Reported on 01/31/19 @ 4 p.m.
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