PAGE 4: READERS COMMENT ON RECENT RUSSELL LAYOFFS
TUESDAY
THE LOCAL, PAGE 3
Williams given President’s Community Service Award
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
SPORTS, PAGE 10 BRHS sweeps Dadeville in hoops
January 9, 2018 Vol. 126, No. 6 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
Commissioners hear report on tax collections
Narcotics Task Force targets source of bad ‘No Show’
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Property tax collections are on pace with recent years and the county will not participate in the upcoming Alabama Severe Weather Preparedness Sales Tax Holiday. Those two items and more were on the agenda for the Tallapoosa County Commissioners Monday and the county’s elected leaders held their first meeting of the new year. Tallapoosa County Revenue
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Friday turned out to be “Showtime� in the hunt for the source of synthetic marijuana that has caused overdoses and multiple adverse reactions in the area over the last few weeks. In a Friday sweep called “Operation Showtime,� the Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force, U.S. Marshal Service Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force, Alexander City Police Department SRG Team and Alexander City Housing Authority agents executed search warrants in the Tallapoosa County area. The focus was to root out the source of a synthetic marijuana that has caused at least 11 serious reactions by users, according to law enforcement
Owens
Hunter
Price
White
Herron
officials. As a result, eight suspects were arrested for their roles in the distribution of the drugs and agents seized 20 grams of synthetic marijuana, 3 grams
See BUST • Page 3
See COMMISSIONERS • Page 9
Study ranks state among the worst to raise a family STAFF REPORT TPI Staff Submitted / The Outlook
DIGGING FOR A FIX:
If you believe the findings of one web-based survey, Alabama is the third worst state in America to raise a family. Citing Alabama’s infant mortality See FAMILY • Page 9
RAISING A FAMILY IN ALABAMA:
Cold temperatures 17 keep water crews busy
By MITCH SNEED and CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writers
th
aff hou ord sin ab g ility
46
41
See WATER • Page 3
st % of families with young kids
jobless rate
44
45
th
th
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
The Alexander City Water Department crew has been working all over town to fix leaks caused by the cold weather. Top, Randy Caldwell, left, and Eli Shaw, right, with Scott Colts in the hole get creative to make a repair Sunday morning.
family salary
*adjusted for cost of living
th
With sub-freezing temperatures lingering in the area for a full week, homeowners weren’t the only ones battling issues with frozen pipes. Municipal water departments were also on the lookout for possible breaks and issues caused by the cold. Alexander City Water Department’s Eddie Futral said they had multiple issues last week. The issues were so
33
rd median
violent-crime rate
separation & divorce rate
48
46
th
th infant mortality
rate
% of families in poverty *WalletHub study information
Former Russell president, AU Trustee Dwight Carlisle passes away By MITCH SNEED Editor
File / The Outlook
Russell Medical CEO Jim Peace, left, the late Russell President Dwight Carlisle and Alexander City Mayor Jim Nabors pose for a photograph with the Auburn’s bald eagle Spirit last June. Carlisle passed away Saturday at the age of 82.
Today’s
Lake Martin
Weather Lake Levels
60 50 High
Low
483.93
Reported on 01/08/18 @ 2 p.m.
A self-made man who served as president of the Russell Corp., Alabama Revenue Commissioner and a member of the Auburn University Board of Trustees has died. Dwight L. Carlisle passed away Saturday at the age of 82, leaving a legacy of leadership, love for his family, Auburn University and the community he called home. Through a life of hard work, integrity and brilliant corporate leadership, Carlisle earned the respect of everyone around him. He grew up in Alexander City and commuted to Auburn University to study textile engineering. He worked as a co-op student at Russell Corporation, the textile and clothing giant headquartered in his hometown. Upon graduation in 1958, he was hired full time at Russell where he rose through the management ranks, learning every job in every plant, until he became the company’s president and
# ! & " # !
CEO. The corporation thrived under his leadership. Carlisle became president in 1982, after Eugene C. Gwaltney was named chairman of the board. Under his leadership the company expanded further with facilities in south Alabama and Florida. Alexander City Mayor Jim Nabors worked with Carlisle for decades at Russell and called his passing a “great loss for Alexander City and all whose lives he touched.â€? “He was a friend a friend would want to have,â€? Nabors said. “He was a great leader and gave so much back in ways that most people never knew. He had battled through several strokes, but even then he showed his strength and battled through that. We are losing a generation of those kinds of leaders. “Dwight, Bill Hardy and those who were part of that group – they were a special breed. Losing him is a great loss for Alexander City and all whose lives he touched. It just goes to See CARLISLE • Page 3
We Care About You and Your Loved Ones!
•Home-like Environment • Specialized Dementia Care Unit •Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy Services
#% & $ "%
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443 6
54708 90050 USPS Permit # 013-080
8
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
A DAMS HEALTH & REHAB 1555 HILLABEE STREET • (256) 329-0847