OPINION: HATS OFF TO LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR WORKING TOGETHER. PAGE 4.
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Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 June 16, 2016
Vol. 124, No. 120
www.alexcityoutlook.com
Police probe use of stolen credit card By MITCH SNEED Editor
An alert resident who noticed unusual activity at a gas station adjacent to Walmart may have helped police end illegal use of a stolen credit card Tuesday. Alexander City Police Department investigators are looking into a number of transactions on a stolen fleet fuel card that spanned several days at the Murphy USA station on Highway 280. According to reports, a resident called the police after repeatedly seeing a group of cars parked in
the Walmart parking lot and a woman who would go to a gas pump, talk to a motorist and swipe the card, then cars would flow into the pumps one after another. The witness said it had been occurring since the weekend. “We responded to the area and the cars scattered, but after a traffic stop on Spring Hill, they were able to locate a card that was stolen,” Alexander City Deputy Chief Jay Turner said. “As they looked into it, the woman who had the card was offering to buy gas for .50 cents on the dollar. So you may get $40 worth of gas in your tank if you gave her a $20 bill.”
Turner said they were able to determine that the card was stolen, but investigators are still working with the issuing company to determine charges in the case. “We’ve identified the people we believe to be involved and conducted some interviews and it’s an ongoing investigation,” Turner said. “Charges could result when they complete their work.” Fraudulent use of a credit card and possession of a stolen credit card is classified as a Class C felony in Alabama and a conviction is punishable by between one and 10 years in prison and fines and court costs to be determined by the court.
Preliminary hearing set for murder suspect
Daviston man injured when hand caught in fan By MITCH SNEED Editor
Daviston man was rushed by ambulance to the University of Alabama-Birmingham after losing a portion of his hand in an accident Wednesday morning. According to New Site Public Safety Director John McKelvey, first-responders received a call about a serious injury where a 60-year-old man had been injured when his hand became caught in a running exhaust fan at a chicken house near Daviston. “At the time of the accident, the weather prevented LifeFlight from flying, so the man was transported by an ambulance from the Alexander City Fire Department to Birmingham,” McKelvey said. “Philip Weddle from our department responded and was able to locate the part of the hand that had been severed and was able to help get that to medical personnel.” The man, whose name was withheld, is listed as being in serious, but stable condition at UAB.
MITCH SNEED Editor
Cliff Williams The Outlook
Judge Kim Taylor has granted a defense motion and set a preliminary hearing for Sept. 15 in the murder trial of the man accused of shooting his neighbor as he mowed his lawn on a riding lawn mower. Taylor set the preliminary hearing date for accused killer Franklin Price Jr. in an order issued on June 1 at the request of court- Price appointed defense attorney Mitchell Gavin. Price lived across Highway 63 from 49-year-old Clyde Wilson, who died after being shot once while cutting his grass on a riding lawnmower Wednesday, April 20, at about 9:30 a.m. Wilson died shortly after being shot on his property at 3823 Highway 63, just outside the Alexander City limits. Investigators said that Wilson suffered a single gunshot wound that passed through his arm and into his chest with no visible exit wound. He
Area children have been spelunking in the ‘caves’ of the halls in First United Methodist Church of Alexander City this week as they attend Cave Quest Vacation Bible School.
CAVE QUEST VBS First United Methodist learners gets scientific By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
More than 200 children have been lost in the caves at First United Methodist Church of Alexander City. They have not been left alone to spelunk in the dark cave. K.T. Cavern and her friends are guiding the children along an adventure in Cave Quest Vacation Bible School. FUMC’s Family and Discipleship Minister Tammy Wendling said it could not be done alone. “We have a lot of folks here to put it together,” Wendling said. “It has been a huge team effort. But we always do Bible school See BIBLE • Page 3
See HEARING • Page 2
Auburn University research team to study area ticks By DEAN BONNER Special to The Outlook
The ticks in Alabama have reason to be nervous: Emily Merritt and a research team from Auburn University are beating the bushes to collect them to further tickborne disease research in the state, including collecting samples here in Tallapoosa County. They don’t actually beat the bushes. They lay a one-metersquare pad on the ground with a cooler filled with dry ice in the middle. Carbon dioxide emitted from the dry ice mimics the air exhaled by animals, drawing the ticks to sticky tape on the pad. The largest sample they’ve caught in a one-day period was 110 ticks, and they will likely catch many
more over the course of their project. They collect ticks carefully. Dr. Graeme Lockaby, the Associate Dean for Research, professor and lead researcher for the project, is a tick magnet. He collected more ticks on his person than in the trap on a recent outing. The team from Auburn University’s Forestry and Wildlife Sciences and Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology are conducting this research all across central and south Alabama every month for the next three years. So far, they’ve collected Lone Star ticks, black-legged (deer) ticks, American dog ticks, and Gulf Coast ticks. Ticks are active See TICKS • Page 3
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
490.46 Reported on 6/15/16 @ 8 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
Today’s
Weather
93 73 High
Low
Emily Merritt / Special to The Outlook
Research technician Sam Morris sets a tick trap in a wooded area near Camp Hill. The collection is part of Auburn-based research to help with learn more about how ticks carry disease.
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