Weekend The Outlook
SPORTS, 11 BRHS’ top 5 storylines from 2017-18 year
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
June 30 - July 1, 2018 Vol. 126, No. 130 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
SPECIAL Latest LAKE magazine inside for subscribers
McDaniel gets 40-year sentence By MITCH SNEED Editor
Clate McDaniel didn’t ask for mercy and opted not to say a word in court Friday morning. But after hearing from defense attorney David Whittelsey, District Attorney Jeremy Duerr and members of the victim’s family, Judge Tom
HOLIDAY EVENTS
SATURDAY • Great Outdoors Day at Wind Creek 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. • Fireworks Bash in Hackneyville - 4 p.m.
SUNDAY • Food, fellowship & fireworks at Hillabee Baptist - 7 p.m.
TUESDAY • Alex City Celebrate Freedom - 6 p.m.
WEDNESDAY • Russell Marine boat parade - 10 a.m. • Blue Creek parade - 11 a.m. • Russell Lands fireworks show & concert - 5 p.m. MORE DETAILS | 5
SPORTS | PAGE 12
NEW COACH Thomas named Coosa football, softball coach OBITUARIES | 2
Young sentenced McDaniel to 40 years for the Jan. 17, 2016 killing of Norman Crayton. Under current truth in sentencing guidelines, McDaniel would not be eligible to even apply for parole for 20 years. A jury had returned a guilty verdict on June 14, after four days of testimony and evidence were presented in a trial. While McDaniel
never denied he fired the fatal shots that killed Crayton in a green field off Barron’s Bridge Road that cold morning, he claimed it was self-defense. “After four days a jury had a chance to see the evidence, hear witnesses, including everything you had to say,” Young told See MCDANIEL • Page 10
ACRIP paving projects nearing completion
THE LAKE’S BACKYARD
By MITCH SNEED Editor
With a little luck and cooperation from Mother Nature, this year’s Alexander City Road Improvement Project paving projects should be complete soon. Alexander City City Engineer and Public Works Director Gerard Brewer said See PAVING • Page 10
Area offers plenty to do for those seeking recreation and chances to create memories By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
E
veryone is bombarded with images of far off places for creating memories for families or for vacations. Many people dream and save for those trips, but there are opportunities nearby that serve the same purpose, creating bonds and memories for families. And the best thing about them is most are free, the rest are low cost and all can be reached with the gas in your tank currently. The Cherokee Ridge Alpine Trail Association (CRATA) was created in 2004 and with the vision of Jimmy Lanier, has created a series of trails in the Smith Mountain area, in the Cherokee Bluffs area along the Kowaliga Basin and its newest trails below Martin Dam along the Tallapoosa River, all of which can create life-long memories for families. “We have some great hiking trails,” Lanier said. “There are places to hike and swim along the way on some of them.” The trails vary in difficulty with Little Smith Mountain and the Deadening being the hardest. Lanier recommends not taking younger children on those, but many of the See RECREATION • Page 3
Missing teen’s body recovered from Coosa By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Area residents don’t have to travel farther than the backyard of the Lake Martin area as it offers a vast variety of recreational activities, including trails at Smith Mountain.
ARRESTS | 2 OPINION | 4 RELIGION | 6
Today’s
Weather
77 47 High
Low
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
490.46 Reported on 06/29/18 @ 2 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
6
54708
90050
USPS Permit # 013-080
8
LMAS director offers tips to owners for holiday week
By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
We Care About You
The body of the 15-year-old boy missing in the Coosa River since Wednesday was located this morning early by an offduty Montgomery firefighter. The search for Antavious Love, who disappeared in the river while swimming with friends, was supposed to resume at 8 a.m. this morning. But the firefighter arrived early, took his boat out and spotted Love’s body caught in a tree about 200 yards south of the Gold Star Park boat launch. “I guess the water was lower than it was yesterday,” said Wetumpka Police Chief Greg Benton. “I guess it had dropped just low enough to allow him to See BODY • Page 10
Officials advise exercising caution with fireworks
Fireworks could pose issues for pets with storm anxiety
Do your animals run and hide when it thunders? If so, you may want to take precautions as Chandler fireworks over the next week might cause the same reaction. Lake Martin Animal Shelter Director Mia See PETS • Page 9
McDaniel
File / The Outlook
While Alexander City has no rules against the use of fireworks in city limits, officials advise area residents to exercise caution and be considerate while using them to avoid harming themselves or others. Officials also remind residents there is a noise ordinance. For a full list of firework safety tips, see Page 9.
Lighting a fuse for a bottle rocket, firecracker or holding a sparkler is a rite of passage for many in the South. Fireworks are for sale everywhere it seems – in convenience stores and roadside stands. While some communities in Alabama have bans on them, Alexander City does not, but that does not mean open war with bottle rockets in the backyard. “There is no restriction on use of fireworks in the See CAUTION • Page 9
FREE CONSULTATIONS
and Your Loved Ones!
•Home-like Environment • Specialized Dementia Care Unit •Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy Services “It’s not the end ... It’s a new beginning”
256-329-1313
A DAMS HEALTH & REHAB 1555 HILLABEE STREET • (256) 329-0847
217 Madison Street, Alexander City, AL “We are a Debt Relief Agency. We help people file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 under the Bankruptcy Code. Alabama State Bar requires the following in every attorney advertisement, “ No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.”