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See a complete listing of events in the area, Page 4.
JUST FOR KICKS BRHS boys working towards fast Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 start to soccer season. Page 8 January 27, 2016 Vol. 124, No. 19 www.alexcityoutlook.com
City begins check into golf course fund issue By MITCH SNEED Editor
Alexander City Mayor Charles Shaw said he spent several hours meeting and examining procedures after a citizen raised questions about checks written to the city’s golf course that were not sent to the bank. Alexander City resident Wendell Scroggins said that by his estimation
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as many as 364 checks written by patrons to Lakewinds Golf Course may have never been deposited by the city or processed through the bank. Parks and Recreation Director Sonny Wilson said Monday night he believes that as much as $120,000 has not been properly credited to the golf course in the city’s financial system. “We met on this for hours
(Tuesday) and looked at several things that we can put in place to make sure that we have the proper safeguards in place,” Shaw said. “We feel like we have a plan in place. For people to say they didn’t know about problems before now isn’t true. They did know, but possibly not in the numbers that were mentioned in the
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
Local resident Wendell Scroggins raised concerns about checks See CHECKS • Page 7 written to Lakewinds Golf Course that were never deposited.
Volunteer Connections offers tax help Organization giving no-cost assistance for those in need By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Above, Emma Swindall dressed as a 100-year-old woman at Jim Pearson, while right, Addi Peters, Georgia Davis, Clara Barris and Addie Sanders pose.
Schools celebrate 100th day with costumes, activities By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
The aging process went haywire at several area schools on Tuesday as schoolchildren as young as kindergarteners turned into old men and women in celebration of the 100th day of the school year. Celebrations of the 100th day – all complete with victims of accelerated aging – took place at Jim Pearson and Dadeville elementary schools as well as at Horseshoe Bend School. “We’ve got a lot of people participating,” said James Aulner, principal of Horseshoe Bend School. “It’s not anything officially sanctioned, but I allow them the freedom to do it. We’ve got some students dressed up as old ladies and our teachers are counting out things in 100s. We’re just
excited. It’s the 100th day, so that’s a good celebration point.” At Jim Pearson, even some newly decrepit and rapidly aging teachers got into the act. First-grade teacher Katie Dark was young Monday, but found herself at her school on Tuesday with gray hair, needing the assistance of a walker and struggling to stand at length on the sidewalk in front of the school. “It’s hard to stand out here this long when you’re 100,” Dark said. Of course, Dark’s get-up was just a costume and costumes were the norm at the Scott Road school on Tuesday, along with hallways full of 100 Day decorations and declarations. One poster in the hallway declared to Jim Pearson’s students, “You are 100 days smarter!” Kids wore hats that said, See 100 • Page 5
It’s tax time yet again and the Volunteer Connection of Central Alabama is helping others file their taxes for free, just like they have been doing for the past 30 years. “We have been serving the public for 30 years with help from grants from Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) and Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA),” VCCA’s Carley Cummins said. “We even have one volunteer that has been with us for 25 years, Barbara Willis.” The volunteers are trained to help. “All of our volunteers are certified by the IRS,” Cummins said. “It is not easy to get certified. There is a lot of work.” For those looking for help with taxes, VCCA can help you if you meet age and income requirements. “We received a grant for Tax Counseling for the Elderly that lets us serve anyone over the age of 60,” Cummins said. “We received a grant from VITA that lets us serve anyone under the age of 59 that makes less than $54,000 in the household.” Last year alone the group served over 1,000 in Tallapoosa and Coosa See TAXES • Page 7
Evans tackles another historic downtown building By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
Plywood covers the facade of the former Ozzy’s Building downtown. Developer Tim Evans has started the process of revamping the historic structure which was once the women’s department of The Fair Store
If you’re among those whose curiosity has been piqued by the plywood fence-like structure blocking the front of what used to be the women’s department of The Fair Store in downtown Alexander City, rest assured it’s nothing more than an indication of continued progress downtown. Tim Evans, who was largely responsible for the restoration of the Alex City’s old Masonic Building, is revamping the property – which, in addition to spending a period as a portion of The Fair Store, also spent time as Ozzy’s and Family Dollar. Evans said that
it was once actually three different businesses and, when his work is through, it will be three again. “We don’t have any real specific plans for it,” Evans said. “We’re just planning to make the space available to some new tenants, working with Main Street and the Revitalization Committee, that are interested in locating downtown.” The building is currently a single space of approximately 6,600 square feet. “We’ve talked to people that were looking for space and they seem to like the smaller spaces, so we’re going to turn it into three spaces, as See BUILDING • Page 7
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484.78 Reported on 01/26/16 @ 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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