INSIDE: Obituaries, page 2 Religion, page 6 Classifieds, page 7 Sports, page 10
Weekend
OPINION, PAGE 4: A SALUTE TO SMALL TOWN THINKING AND THINKING AHEAD
The Outlook
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
March 18-19, 2017 Vol. 125, No. 55 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
Council to select police chief
Today’s
Weather
59 34 High
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Low
Weather A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 1 p.m. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms. Saturday night will be Mostly clear, with a low around 41. North wind 5 to 10 mph.
Local Briefs
Investigators take drug suspects into custody By MITCH SNEED Editor
The luck of the Irish wasn’t with Nicholas Antonio Burns Friday. The Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Department and Central Alabama Crimes Stoppers had issued an alert seeking information on the whereabouts Burns of the 30-yearold Burns on Thursday. He had active warrants for distribution of a con- Edwards trolled substance and first-degree escape, having not reported to the Community Corrections Program. Sgt. Fred White of the Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force said that Friday morning Burns was taken into custody and in addition to the outstanding warrants, he was also hit with
The Alexander City City Council will select a new police chief Monday night, selecting between two men who have spent their entire careers with one department, one here in Alexander City and the other on Birmingham. The council interviewed Alexander City Interim Police Chief Jay Turner and Birmingham Deputy
Lyman Ward starts changing of guards
Police Chief Allen Hatcher last week for the position. Council members say both made a good impression. Turner, 49, joined the police department in 1992. He served six years in patrol, before being assigned to the Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force in 1998. In 2004, he became the commander in charge of the Narcotics Task Force. He became the sergeant
With the passing of a leader, many institutions stumble for failure to prepare for change – not Lyman Ward Military Academy. Three weeks ago LWMA Chairman of the Board of Trustees Col. Albert W. Jenrette passed away. Over the last few decades, many would consider Jenrette the face of military school having served the school as senior army instructor, commandant of cadets, president, chancellor and most recently as chairman of the board of trustees. Jenrette wanted to see the school return to its past revere. “He wanted to live long enough to see the academy return to glory,” LWMA Vice President LTC (Retire) Jared Norrell said. “He spent a lot of time here and wanted to make sure things were in great shape.” Jenrette and others at LWMA began laying that groundwork for a transition three years ago as the leaders at See LYMAN • Page 3
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
Auctioneer Chuck Bradley starts the bidding on the contents of a storage locker at McDaniel’s Storage on Highway 280 Friday. The sales are held a few times each year when customers are unable to pay their rent. Below, buyers get a chance to see what’s inside before the bidding starts.
HIGHEST BID Bargain hunt draws folks to storage unit auction
By MITCH SNEED Editor
A pair of tennis shoes, a set of crutches, drawers with no dresser to be put in and six black garbage bags with unknown contents. Oak bedroom furniture, heavy end tables, boxes of disposable diapers, a sofa, 22 plastic storage totes and an artificial tree, two clear boxes of ornaments and Christmas presents still wrapped and ready to be delivered. That is just a sampling of the contents of eight storage lockers at McDaniel’s Storage on Highway 280 that were part of an Alexander City version of Storage Wars Friday. Items belonging to customers See AUCTION • Page 7
Radney Elementary School music teacher Crystal Baldwin and visual arts teacher Hannah Hawk have worked together on a grant and soon the fifth and sixth graders at Radney will be have some new instruments around to play – some new and some homemade thanks to a $20,000 grant from the Alabama Arts Initiative. “We applied for it together,” Baldwin said. “It is split up in several different ways. I am going to spend about $4,000 on music instruments. A portion of the grant is for professional development and includes having someone come and work with the entire student body.” The teachers want to have something the all the students at Radney can be exposed to and can take ownership in. “We are going to help the students make homemade instruments,” Hawk said. “We can purchase supplies to build the instruments with the grant money. We are hoping for the instrument making to rotate through a few different areas so that they make them in STEM, decorate them in art and learn how to use them in music. “We hope that we can show them that you don’t need thousands of dollars to make music. You can create art and See GRANT • Page 3
LET’S BE REAL: Local physician pens ‘little book with a big message’ By MITCH SNEED Editor
487.87
Reported on 03/17/17 @ 3:30 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook USPS Permit # 013-080
Turner
By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Lake Levels
8
Hatcher
Radney Elementary receives art grant
By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Lake Martin
54708 90050
See COUNCIL • Page 8
ALEX CITY
See ARREST • Page 8
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HANGING BY A THREAD PAGE 11
Dr. Drew Huffman hopes that his first book will help others who have been through things similar to what he experienced.
Dr. Drew Huffman is a local doctor who has a unique perspective on life that evolved after a series of what most would consider catastrophic life events. The Russell Medical rheumatologist said things changed when he realized that the key to finding happiness was looking back at him in the mirror. Huffman put the tidbits that helped put him on the road to revelation into a book called Screw This! Let’s Be Real. Huffman hopes that his own experience may help someone going through similar things.
“I kind of worked backwards,” Huffman said. “I’m not unique, because we’ve all faced some very serious losses in our lives. But I guess the start of the turnaround for me was when I aligned my reality with what I wanted it to be. “Let’s face it in most cases, happy means healthy. I had to get to know me – where I was emotionally and physically. Once I got to know me, then I felt like things started to change.” Huffman, 50, has been at Russell Medical for almost three years. He said in addition to treating arthritis, he also treat then mind and body. “It’s no secret that when you are See AUTHOR • Page 3