DON‘T MISS OUT! SEE LOCAL EVENTS ON CALENDAR PAGE 7.
THE
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FOR SUBSCRIBERS July issue of Lake Martin Living INSIDE!
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 July 15, 2016 Vol. 124, No. 142 www.alexcityoutlook.com
CACC merger with Southern Union, CVCC ‘paused’ By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
The merger of Central Alabama Community College with Southern Union State and Chattahoochee Valley community colleges is on hold, CACC President Susan Burrow told the college’s faculty at a hastily called meeting Thursday afternoon. “The east consolidation is on pause,” said Alabama Community College System Chancellor Mark Heinrich said in a statement. “There is no definitive timetable moving forward.” However, Heinrich said a merger of four south Alabama community colleges – Alabama Southern, Jefferson Davis, Reid State and Faulkner State community colleges – will proceed as planned. The as-of-now-aborted merger process began when
the Alabama Community College System’s board of trustees who voted on Dec. 10, 2015 to begin the planning process for the merger of the three east Alabama schools and the four south Alabama colleges. Burrow was named to lead the merger of the three east Alabama institutions and to serve as president of the consolidated college. Then in May, ACCS Chancellor Mark Heinrich emailed employees of the system that the merger, originally set to take place this year, had been pushed back to 2017. “Due to unforeseen legislative and departmental delays, coupled with key timing issues necessary to ensure that students’ financial aid packages are not compromised, it is my decision to push back the implementation of this consolidation plan.,” Heinrich’s email
read. “We will immediately begin working with regulatory bodies and accreditors to establish an agreed upon schedule to accomplish the consolidations in 2017. “This new timeline will allow us to work with The Alabama Commission on Higher Education to satisfy their requirements and continue our work with the legislature to pass broad legislation essential to the success of our full consolidation plan. Most importantly, this new timeline will allow us to make this process as smooth as possible for those whom we serve: our students.” Burrow said after the meeting that she did not know the reasoning behind the pause, but suggested it might be related to some of the issues cited in Heinrich’s May email. See CACC • Page 3
Pride of Alexander City
Board approves personnel moves, athletic supplements By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
BRHS band camp begins By CATHY HIGGINS Staff Writer
The Benjamin Russell Marching Band began preparations for the upcoming season this week with its leadership and freshman camp. BRHS assistant band director Robbie Childers estimated that about 40 returning students and 35 rookies were taking part in this week’s camp. But work on the fall football season has just begun. See BAND • Page 3
David Granger / The Outlook
From left, Darrell Cooper, Gerard Brewer, Ben Wagoner, Richard Wagoner, Randy Thomas, Sonny Wilson and T.C. Coley discuss renovation of Hamp Lyon Stadium Thursday morning.
REVAMP THE HAMP
Phase 1 of renovation set to begin April 1 By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
Cathy Higgins / The Outlook
Senior Grace Hutto, forefront, follows instructions on standing still during BRHS’s Marching Band Leadership and Freshman Camp.
The Revamp the Hamp Steering Committee set a start date goal of April 1 to begin work on the renovation of the playing surface and demolition and removal of the bleachers at Hamp Lyon Stadium. The group met Thursday morning. Members present included Darrell Cooper,
County Commission purchases site for new DHR building
superintendent of Alexander City Schools, City Engineer Gerard Brewer, Tallapoosa County Commissioner T.C. Coley, Sonny Wilson, city parks and recreation director, Richard Wagoner, director of MainStreet Alexander City, Tallapoosa County engineer David Moore and Randy Thomas, city community projects coordinator. See HAMP • Page 7
At an early Thursday morning, specially called meeting of the Alexander City Board of Education, the board voted to approve several personnel moves so that all but one would be effective by the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year. “We needed to get these done and that was the reason for the 7 a.m. meeting,” said Alexander City Superintendent Darrell Cooper. “There was only one item that wasn’t a personnel move.” The board also voted a 4 percent raise – equivalent to that approved by the Alabama Legislature in its most recent session – for supplements for some 40 coaches for fiscal year 2016-2017. The 17 personnel moves included two resignations, five transfers (all within the school system), one reassignment and nine new hires. The board approved: • Alicia Peters’ resignation from her position as English See BOARD • Page 2
One hospitalized in 280 collision Thursday morning
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
489.46 Reported on 7/14/16 @ 4 p.m.
By MITCH SNEED Editor
The Tallapoosa County Commissioners heard an update on land and plans for a new local Alabama Department of Human Resources Building and voted to officially put a resolution on the November ballot regarding Sunday Alcohol sales. At Monday’s meeting, commissioners heard from County Administrator Blake Beck who said the purchase of the land for a DHR building site was complete and that the next step would be the formation of a public building authority to issue the bonds for construction. “The site is located at the corner of Agricola Road and Highway 49 across the street from Alabama Power Company,” Beck said. “The DHR folks are happy with it and I know people here like that fact that it is still in the Dadeville area.” State DHR officials asked the commissioners to help identify a site for a new building and secure See COMMISSION • Page 3
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
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Cliff Williams / The Outlook
A female driver was flown to a Birmingham hospital following a two-car accident at Highway 280 and Coven Abbett Road Thursday morning. The female was driving a 2003 Ford Explorer on Highway 280 East when her vehicle collided with a 2014 Ford F150, according to Alexander City Police Chief Willie Robinson. She was flown to Birmingham with severe injures. One witness on the scene was impressed with the
efforts of the Alexander City Fire Department. “I don’t think people know how skilled the firefighters are here in Alexander City,” Carlice Payne said. “I was one of the first on the scene and helped as I could, but the way they stabilized the situation and knew exactly where to use those ‘Jaws of Life’ was incredible to see. I was a firefighter for 30 years and to see how they handled that was something great to see.”
Now Playing:
Secret Life of Pets 3D – PG Ghost Busters 3D – PG-13 Tarzan 3D – PG-13
256-329-1313 Free Consultations 217 Madison Street, Alexander City, AL “We are a Debt Relief Agency. We help people file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 under the Bankruptcy Code. Alabama State Bar requires the following in every attorney advertisement, “ No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.”
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