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OPINION, PAGE 4: COMMUNITY ANSWERS THE CALL FOR DAY OF ACTION
INSIDE:
The Outlook
Obituaries, page 2 Religion, page 6 Classifieds, page 7 Sports, page 12
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
June 24-25, 2017 Vol. 125, No. 125 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
WATER UPDATE: superintendent of the city’s Adams Water Treatment Plant said they have no algae in the water as it leaved the plant. “We have it to a point where when it leaves here it is clear of algae,” Meadows said Friday. “But we are still getting some calls. We believe in those cases it is in the lines and the water department has been working very hard, even on the rainy days we’ve had to flush lines as problems are reported.” Meadows said the process
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Issues with an odd taste and smell in the drinking water in Alexander City have diminished to just a handful of isolated areas and officials are continuing to work to totally alleviate the problem. The issue stems from algae that entered the system as it was pulled from Lake Martin, but after nearly three weeks of treatment with a special regimen of chemicals, John Meadows,
of eliminating algae from the system involves chemicals as well as flushing the lines. Copper sulfate and chlorine dioxide are added to the water during the filtration process to treat water with increased levels of algae. The algae issue this time is a bit different than it was the last time the system was hit. Meadows said that in 2015 the problem didn’t appear until the fall. To combat that, chemicals and flushing was used. Officials also lowered
Officials say algae issue is close to being corrected
the intakes for the water in hopes that the algae may not be as prevalent at great depths where there is less light. This algae problem started at a different time of the year, at a time when water levels are at a high. The lake is currently right at full pool. Meadows said he hopes that the rain and diminished sunlight that the area has had in recent weeks has also helped cut down on the algae See WATER • Page 9
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
A water line along Washington Street is flushed out on Thursday.
New Habitat THE WAIT IS ALMOST OVER Grand jury to determine house breaks charges in ground traffic death
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Alexander City’s chapter of Habitat for Humanity will break ground Sunday at 2 p.m. on its 16th home since it began in 1993. The home will be set on what is now a vacant lot at 2251 County Road in the Spring Hill community. The public is invited to attend the event and celebrate with the family and local officials. The 100 foot by 300 foot lot was donated by the Alexander City Housing Authority late last year. Local Habitat for Humanity Director Larry Bates is new to the director’s role, but has put together the landscape plans for all 15 of the previous homes the organization has made possible in the area. “This one is on what has been an empty lot, so I think it will mean a lot to the community as well as the family to have a home that is owned by the resident located there,” Bates said. “They will have an investment in the community and neighborhood. With that investment means they will have See HABITAT • Page 3
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
The area all around Alexander City’s new Dairy Queen restaurant resembled an ant hill that had been stirred with a stick Friday as future employees and contractors took advantage of the sunshine to try to get the store in shape for Wednesday’s grand opening. Employees from Effective Sign Company installed the familiar red DQ lighted signs on the outside of the building while inside employees were schooled on food prep, taking orders, presentation and packaging. The restaurant is set to open Wednesday June 28 and the first 100 customers who purchase an ice cream cake will receive a coupon for a free blizzard every week for a year. The restaurant is located at the corner of Lee Street and U.S. Highway 280, just across from the Goo Goo Car Wash. It will employ about 80 people.
Alexander City Police Department officials say they plan to turn the results of their investigation into a fatal December crash where a 38-year-old woman was killed over to the District Attorney for presentation to a grand jury. At about 8 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2016 a small passenger car was struck by an oncoming tractor-trailer that was headed eastbound on Highway 280. According to Alexander City Police Department Deputy Chief Lt. James Easterwood, Brandy Hardman, 38, was the only passenger in the car and was pronounced dead on the scene. One witness indicated that the truck did not stop at the traffic signal and Hardman was turning onto Highway 280 coming from the direction of Walmart. The impact of the crash could be heard from almost a mile away and at the scene the vehicle was so badly damaged it was hard to ascertain the make and model. One witness indicated that See JURY • Page 3
Dadeville Chamber plans for second annual cornhole tournament By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
The Rodeo Club on Highway 34 near Dadeville will play host to Second Annual Lake Martin Championship Cornhole Tournament, sponsored by the Dadeville Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, July 1. Beginning at noon, both amateurs and more experienced players will fill the air with kernel-filled bags aimed at the six-inch hole on a board 30 feet away. “There are tournaments like this all over the United States,” Dadeville Chamber of Commerce board member
Today’s
Weather
83 68 High
6
Low
54708 90050 USPS Permit # 013-080
Mickey Tarpley said. “This has really taken off in Alabama in the last 10 years.” While the hotbed of support for cornhole is in central Alabama, clustered around where the colleges are, players who take part in events and tournaments like this every weekend can be found all throughout the state. “When you announce an event like ours through the state and national associations, people will come. We had our first one last year, and teams from west Georgia, central and north Alabama came, and all of See CORNHOLE • Page 3
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
484.54
Reported on 02/24/17 @ 5:30 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
8
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
Constable helps clear tree in Dadeville Special / The Outlook
Dadeville city workers and Constable Jay Burkhalter remove fallen tree on Young’s Ferry Road Friday. Appears the ground was extremely saturated due excess amounts of rain fall causing the tree to be uprooted.