COMMUNITY COLUMNISTS INSIDE. THE
$2 of every $100 spent here funds local schools
ACMS plays host to players for football passing camp, See Sports on page 6.
WEDNESDAY
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 July 15, 2015 Vol. 123, No. 140 www.alexcityoutlook.com
Officials probe actions of guard members
SUMMER SWELTER
By Mitch Sneed Outlook Editor
Military officials are investigating a report that some members of the Alabama National Guard 214th Military Police who were staying at a local hotel last weekend while in Alexander City for drills, may have engaged in lewd behavior including public nudity. Reports indicate that local authorities were alerted to guardsmen skinny-dipping in a hotel pool at 3 a.m. Saturday as well as having inappropriate contact with females in common areas of the hotel. Military officials also visited the hotel and among other action, viewed security video of the incident as a part of an investigation. While military officials declined to confirm or deny any specifics of what may have happened involving any members of the unit, they did confirm that there is an investigation. “At this time I can confirm that a few members of the Alabama National Guard 214th Military Police company See GUARD, Page 3
7-ON-7
Board to consider options in employee sex case County school board to ponder action after Crayton’s arrest By Mitch Sneed Outlook Editor
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Sisters Andrea and Alexandria Blackmon play in the kid’s pool at the Alexander City Pool Tuesday afternoon. The children like many others were looking for ways to keep cool in the heat.
Heat advisory, health concerns linger as temperatures continue to soar By David Granger
the city on Tuesday. Gary Goggins, a meteorologist with the Birmingham office of the National Weather Service, said our area is in for heat advisory-levHeat indices are expected to approach 110 degrees in some portions of Alabama today and el or near heat advisory-level temperatures for at least the next week. reach at least 100 throughout the state, accord“What’s happening is that we have a big ridge ing to the National Weather Service forecast. off to our west and it’s making the air sink, The temperature in Alexander City on which causes the air to warm,” Goggins said. “I Tuesday had already reached 92 degrees by wish I had better news, but that ridge is likely to 12:35 Tuesday morning and the heat index was at 97. Meanwhile, the heat index hit 101 degrees sit there for at least the next week.” Goggins added that the temperatures in the in Troy before 10 a.m. and climbed to 105 in area will likely be at their least comfortable Troy and Tuscaloosa before day’s end. A high heat index of 103 was predicted for See HEAT, Page 3 Outlook Staff Writer
A day after a Tallapoosa County Board of Education employee was arrested on allegations he had sex with a student, school system officials have set a Thursday meeting to determine the next course of action. Jerel Tremaine Crayton, 36, of Jacksons Gap was arrested and charged with one count of “school employee engaging in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student under the age of 19” and one count of “a school employee having sexual contact with a student under the age of 19.” In a released statement, the board and Superintendent Joe Windle said they are working to take appropriate action as a result of the arrest. A special called meeting has been set for 9 a.m. Thursday to deal with the matter. “No specific facts have been released by law enforcement with respect to the allegations of the arrest,” the release says. “Under Alabama law, the board of education may place the employee on administrative leave pending See SEX, Page 3
Device, teamwork help officials locate missing Alzheimer’s patient By Mitch Sneed Outlook Editor
Quick response by local officials and a tiny transmitter that is part of an initiative to help locate those with medical and mental conditions who may be missing helped locate an Alexander City man in just minutes. The Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Office, the New Site Police Department and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Aviation Unit all responded to a call at 1:30 p.m. on Elkahatchee Road reporting that a 65-yearold man who suffers from Alzheimer’s disease was missing. The man’s wife and caregiver stated he had been
missing for 20 minutes. The man was wearing a bracelet supplied by Project Lifesaver and, when the transmitter was activated, the man was located less than 10 minutes later. New Site Police and the Sheriff’s Department have been involved in the program for about four years. “It’s an amazing concept and it is one that works well,” Tallapoosa County Sheriff Jimmy Abbett said. “This man was found quickly and we had a similar incident last week in Dadeville where a 75-year-old man was missing and located relatively quickly because of the device. There is a cost associated with it, but the results speak
for themselves.” New Site Public Safety Director John McKelvey said he and Officer Philip Weddle just happened to be in the area when the call went out. His unit was armed with a tracking device. He said it led him directly to the man. “We were in Alexander City on another matter and we got there as quickly as possible,” McKelvey said. “The signal is extremely accurate and easy to track and led us right to the area where he was.” According to information supplied by Project Lifesaver, if an enrolled client goes missing, the caregiver notifies their local See MISSING, Page 3
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
489.57 Reported on 7/14/15 @ 3 p.m.
Linda Shaffer, REALTOR® C: 256.794.4641 • W: 256.329.5253 shaffer@lakemartin.net 5295 Highway 280, Alexander City, AL
Today’s
Weather
94 73 High
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Special / The Outlook
The transmitting bracelet, shown above left, is worn by patients and the tracking device used by first first responders, above right, proved to be vital in finding a missing local man Monday.
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54708 90050
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USPS Permit # 013-080
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