COMMUNITY COLUMNISTS INSIDE!
THE SAVE TIME & GASOLINE!
WEDNESDAY
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 June 1, 2016 Vol. 124, No. 109 www.alexcityoutlook.com
Franklin to coach Wallace State
City eyes reduction in police jurisdiction
Judge denies reduced bond request
Officials must consider cost savings versus safety to residents
Price has $250,000 bond on murder charge By MITCH SNEED Editor
The man accused of shooting his neighbor to death as he cut his grass was denied a lower bond on the murder charge he is now facing. At his arraignment last week, Franklin Price, 51, of Alexander City saw his bond remain at $250,000. Attorney Mitch Gavin, who was appointed as the attorney for Price, filed motions in the case seeking evidence gathered by the state, a preliminary hearing and a reduction in bond. The motion for reduced bond asked that Price be let out of jail on personal recognizance. Judge Kim Taylor denied that request, but did reduce bond on two separate burglary charges that Price is also facing. Those two bonds were dropped from $50,000 to $15,000 each. So the total bond is now a total of $280,000 rather than the $350,000 that it had been previously. Price lived across Highway 63 from 49-yearold 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 See BOND • Page 5
COACH SPREADS HIS WINGS, PAGE 8.
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Kenneth Boone / The Outlook
Billy Barrett and John Thompson paddle Hatchett Creek amongst Cahaba lilies. This weekend, the annual Hatchett Creek Festival offers a unique viewing experience for registered paddlers.
Lilies abloom Festival offers unique opportunities to view nature By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
A new law that allows municipalities to approve the size of their police jurisdictions could have a big impact on how many area residents are kept safe. The legislature passed a bill that requires any extension of the police jurisdiction outside the corporate limits of the city or town to be approved by the city council. In many areas of Tallapoosa County including areas just outside Alexander City, city police now provide coverage for an area as far as three miles outside the actual city limits. Now municipalities are faced with the choice of what they want to do and the matter could come before the Alexander City City Council as soon as next Monday’s meeting. It appears that Alexander City is looking at the possibility of pulling back from three miles, down to a mile and a half. See JURISDICTION • Page 11
If you love nature and own a canoe or kayak, the Hatchett Creek Festival, set for Saturday and Sunday, June 4 and 5, might be just for you. The two-day float down Hatchett Creek in Coosa County offers not only the experience on the water, but also the opportunity to view Cahaba lilies and participate, if you choose, in a bird identification walk or a wildflower identification walk. But you’ll have to wait for 2017. The festival is limited to the first 100 paddlers 12 years old or older who register and already 109 have signed up, including safety paddlers, said Beverly Bass, one of the landowners who is partnering with sponsors Alabama Scenic
Both the Alexander City Board of Education and the Tallapoosa County Board of Education are offering the Summer Food Service Program this summer. The program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture will allow a breakfast and lunch on weekdays free of charge to children 18 and under. Both systems have had the program in the
See LILIES • Page 11
See PROGRAM • Page 11
Summer feeding program starts today STAFF REPORT TPI Staff
Reeltown grown Kiwi could soon be sold worldwide By WILLIAM CARROLL TPI Staff
If you happen to find yourself on Alabama 120 in Tallapoosa County just outside of Reeltown you may have noticed hundreds of trellises lining the highway. Those trellises are part of an intricate pergola system for the growing of kiwi fruit, a very special type of kiwi created right here in Alabama and destined for markets around the world. For Southeast Kiwi Farming Cooperative Vice President and Orchard Manager Clint Wall, the farm is just another day at the office, but one, which has massive potential for
growth. Wall started the local operation in September 2014 after spending many years in New Zealand working as a manager of kiwi farms. Wall, who has 12 years of experience with kiwi farming techniques said that the demand for kiwi, especially in international markets, is high right now. One of the reasons for this is a bacteria known as pseudomonas syringae pv actinidiae or PSV, which has wiped out the kiwi industry in other counties. Luckily, the bacteria has not found its way to the U.S., which creates a perfect location for growing the fruit. Wall said the goal for his kiwi operation is to grow See KIWI • Page 5
Today’s
Weather
92 69 High
Low
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
490.65 Reported on 5/31/16 @ 4 p.m.
William Carroll / The Outlook
Workers with the Southeast Kiwi Farming Cooperative outside of Reeltown work to put in an irrigation system for the plants. Orchard Manager Clint Wall said that the trellis and irrigation system requires the investment of approximately $10,000 per acre.
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54708 90050
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USPS Permit # 013-080
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