OPINION: DEADLY TWO DAYS SHOULD MAKE US THINK. PAGE 4.
FRIDAY
THE
MEET THE COACH Reading program offers kids a chance to meet area coaches, learn different sports.
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 June 10, 2016 Vol. 124, No. 116 www.alexcityoutlook.com
See Sports, page 8.
SOULFUL SENDOFF
Edward Bell Center director on paid leave Moses awaits termination hearing at next regular school board meeting By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Members of the Laurel High School Class of 1967, above, carry the casket with the remains of Thomas ‘Toot Toot’ Marbury Jr. from the First Baptist Church following his funeral service. Below, Minister Alice Thomas-Hall, sister of Marbury, takes one last look at her brother before the service.
City comes together to celebrate life of Alex City’s own goodwill ambassador By MITCH SNEED Editor
The life of Thomas “Toot Toot” Marbury was celebrated Thursday with a memorial service remembering the 68-year-old town goodwill ambassador as the heart and soul of the Alexander City community. The 434 people who laughed, cried and danced in front of their pews were witness to the fact that Marbury may be gone from earth, but he left a lot of his soul and a legacy of love up in First Baptist Church. The service was filled with joy including the soulful songs of the Early Rose Church Choir, Scott Blake’s rendition of “Amazing Grace” that made the hair on your arm stand on end and Dr. Eddie Hunter bringing the crowd to its feet with “My God is Real.” Like Toot Toot himself, the celebration was one like the downtown church had never seen
“A lot of people thought that Toot Toot was crazy. But anyone with enough sense to say I need Jesus – I need some of that crazy.”
— Dr. Eddie Hunter
Gerry Moses, director of Edward Bell Technical Center, has been placed on administrative leave with pay until a termination hearing, which is included on the agenda for the Tallapoosa County Board of Education’s next regular meeting. Mark Allen Treadwell, attorney for the Tallapoosa County Board of Education, said Moses was not renewed by the school board and was escorted from the premises of the Edward Bell Technical Center with the aide of law enforcement last week. “He was the subject of a non-renewal and (the board) decided to go ahead and put him on administrative leave with pay,” Treadwell said. See SCHOOL • Page 3
Community Action Committee gets weatherization grant STAFF REPORT TPI Staff
Community Action Committee Inc. of Chambers-Tallapoosa-Coosa has received a grant for $45,171 to assist low-income and elderly residents who need help reducing their home’s utility bills. The grant is part of Alabama’s Weatherization Assistance Program which provides funds to improve the energy efficiency and safety of qualifying homes. Priority is given to those with disabilities, the elderly and low-income households with children. “With limited, fixed incomes, many elderly and disabled residents don’t have the ability to pay higher air conditioning bills in the hot summer months,” said Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley. “By making energy-efficiency improvements to their homes, this program makes energy bills easier to manage for our most vulnerable residents.” See GRANT • Page 3
See MEMORIAL • Page 3
Children explore variety of arts at 14th annual Kitty Dark Camp By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
Kitty Dark loved her children, her grandchildren – children in general. And the late Alexander City artist would have loved the smiles on the faces of the children participating in the 14th Annual Kitty Dark Kids Art Camp this week at Radney Elementary School. “My mother-in-law was an artist and she had many, many grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” said Jamie Dark, who coordinates the annual camp. “She just appreciated the arts so much and loved kids, so we started this camp in her honor.” This year’s camp drew some 70 students in grades 1-6 to classes in creative movement, drama, mixed media and painting and drawing. It continues through Friday. “This is a rainbow, this is a pot of gold, these are blue flowers, this is the sky, these are clouds, this is me and
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this is my dad’s hat,” said 7-year-old Sanders Hines, describing his watercolor in Jennifer Machen’s painting and drawing class. Machen, a student in graphic design at Auburn, said that the children have explored a different medium or school of painting –each represented by a different artist – each day this week. Hines’ watercolor was a part of the class on Claude Monet. The kids also studied Pablo Picasso and cubism, George Seurat and pointillism and Piet Mondrian and neo-plasticism. In Shannon Culver’s drama class, the children were acting out the Norwegian fairy tale “The Three Billy Goat’s Gruff,” about three goats who, having no grass in their own pasture, must cross a bridge to get to ungrazed pasture. But the bridge is Cliff Williams / The Outlook protected by a territorial troll, who prevents the goats’ passage until the largest Brantley Calhoun, left, 10 and Cortlynn Fisher, 9, work of the three billy goats bests the troll and on their creation in the mixed media class at Kitty Dark’s See CAMP • Page 3 Art Camp Thursday.
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
490.63 Reported on 6/9/16 @ 7 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
Today’s
Weather
93 70 High
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Low
54708 90050 USPS Permit # 013-080
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