OPINON: PAUSE ON CACC MERGER MAY BE A GOOD IDEA, PAGE 4.
Weekend The Outlook
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OL’ MAN AND THE SEA?
Local man catches record fish
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
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July 16-17, 2016 • Vol. 124 • No. 143 • www.alexcityoutlook.com
Campaign signs show races are heating up By MITCH SNEED and CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writers
Regardless of where you travel in the area it’s easy to see that campaign season is upon us. Municipal election season is here with qualifying winding down to the Tuesday, July 19, deadline in Alexander City and all of Tallapoosa County’s municipalities. As the campaigns gear up, some have raised questions about those signs heralding candidates. In Alexander City, a detailed list of
what is allowed and what isn’t permitted is part of the packet that candidates are given as thy do the required paperwork. “We do supply each candidate with two pages that include the sign ordinance,” Alexander City City Clerk Harriett Scott said. “They should be able to use that to know what is proper and in keeping with the ordinance.” Some of the regulations include that signs that are in fixed positions can be no larger than four square feet, meaning a sign that is two feet by two feet would be the maximum. Signs that are moveable, like in the back of a truck or affixed to a
vehicle, are not limited in size. The regulations also say that political signs are limited to one per yard, with the idea to keep candidates from plastering an area with multiple signs, which can be a distraction to drivers and potentially limit visibility. City council candidate Frank Tapley admitted that he misread the requirement and had signs made that were four feet by four feet. When he realized the mistake, he made sure to take them down. He has said earlier this week he may ask to address the council to make sure the rules are enforced for all candidates.
In other election news, the race to be mayor in Alexander City gained another candidate this week. Former Russell CFO and Alexander City Schools Superintendent Jim Nabors qualified to run for the post. He joins a field that includes incumbent Charles Shaw, Mark Lamborne and Mark Fuller. Also, Dadeville now has three candidates signed up in the mayor’s race and all have city government experience. Frank Goodman and Mickey Tarpley currently serve on the city council and Wayne Smith has served on the council in the past. See COUNCIL • Page 2
PATH seeks culinary prodigies for recipe challege
Library stairs get literary makeover
By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
By MIA OSBOURN Staff Writer
Summer visitors to the Adelia M. Russell library will soon be able to take an actual walk through literary history, thanks to one talented young resident. The steps leading from the library’s ground floor Media Lab up to the main floor have each been painted to look like the spine of a classic novel. 18-year-old Makayla Wright undertook this weeksSubmitted / The Outlook long projMakayla Wright, painted the stairs ect. The of the library to resemble the spines recent of a classic novel. Benjamin Russell High School (BRHS) graduate had never tried her hand at a painting of
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
Dr. Lydia Marcus, above, a pediatric fellow from UAB and Dr. Wedad from McGill University in Canda examine Ethan Holladay who came to Children’s Harbor from Banning, South Carolina. Christie, Makenna, below, 3, Mark and Hanna Loyd pose for a picture aftrer Makenna’s exam Thurday at Children’s Harbor.
All in the family
Children’s Harbor welcomes families dealing with rare form of Dwarfism By MITCH SNEED Editor
When Ben and Luanne Russell envisioned Children’s Harbor and what it could potentially mean to children, an image like what is happening this week at the facility on the shores of Lake Martin was exactly what came to mind. This week, Children’s Harbor is hosting 18 families from all over the nation and the world for RhizoKids, a camp and educational experience See HARBOR • Page 9
See STAIRWELL • Page 10
Is your child a culinary prodigy? Does he or she have a healthy recipe in their repertoire? If so, make sure your child is entered in the PATH Lake Martin Healthy Recipe Challenge, part of this year’s Sun Festival activities. “This is a local contest sponsored by PATH modeled after a national program where one child’s recipe was picked from each state,” said Ella MacFiggen, president of PATH (Prosperity Again Thru Health). “We’ve done similar things in the past. Two years ago, we did it with just chefs and my son won it. Last year, we did it with chefs and each chef had a team of three children and Henry Foy won with his gazpacho. Everyone loved it.” The PATH Healthy Recipe Challenge is modeled is ‘Let’s Move’s’ Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, where a winner See PATH • Page 10
Today’s
Weather
Faulkner at CACC allows students to pursue dreams By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
It’s not the biggest elementary education program in the world, but Carol Tarpley thinks Faulkner’s program can hang with any. “When you earn a degree here, it’s the same degree you would get at Auburn, Alabama, AUM, Jacksonville State, Troy, wherever,” said Tarpley, the program director of, and a teacher in, Faulkner’s elementary education program on the Central Alabama Community College campus. “It’s the same caliber because they are all state-approved programs. The education they get here is no less strenuous. In fact, it may be more strenuous.
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“Our target student is someone who has finished one of the community colleges. Southern Union and CACC students are the ones we get most. Of course, being here on the CACC campus we get the most from them.” To qualify for the program, the student must have finished 55 hours (“Basically, they must have completed their freshman and sophomore years,” Tarpley said) and have a minimum GPA of 2.0. The single building that houses the program, operated under what is called a consortium agreement between Faulkner and CACC, is tucked away in a grove of trees off Cherokee Road next to Radney’s Funeral Home. It includes tons of materials directed at elementary See FAULKNER • Page 10
Low
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
489.48 Reported on 7/16/16 @ 4 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com
David Granger / The Outlook
Student Tanya Barrett, left, and Program Director Carol Tarpley look over one of the many resources available to students in the Faulkner University at CACC elementary education program.
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