Weekend
INSIDE TODAY
The Outlook Outlook
SSPORTS, O S PAGE G 11 Wildcat softball team wins, 8-0
Lighting Li h i the h way for f Alexander All d City Ci & Lake L k Martin M i since i 1892
March 24-25, 2018 Vol. 126, No. 60 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
LOCAL WAGES DON’T CHANGE
CRIME
NINE BUSTED ON DRUG CHARGES
• Nine people were arrested and cocaine, meth and marijuana were seized in a sweep carried out Friday by the Tallapoosa Narcotics Task Force with help from multiple agencies. Read more on Page 3.
Alexander City is 10th poorest city in state; median income only slightly higher than 1998
ROADS
By MITCH SNEED Editor
In 1998, Osama Bin Laden declared a Jihad against Jews and Crusaders, President Bill Clinton admitted he had an “improper physical relationshipâ€? with an intern named Monica Lewinsky and the Google search engine was incorporated after being created by Stanford students Larry Page and Sergey Brin. In Alexander City, they were building the Imagination Station playground, Russell Corp. was the city’s leading employer and a brand-new GMC Yukon was listed at $29,599 at Darwin Dobbs. Back then, the average person in Alexander City made $17,305 and the median household income here was $29,309 according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That was 20 years ago and headlines and times have changed. Russell is all but gone, Google is now a verb in the dictionary and a base model 2018 Yukon goes for $49,100. Unfortunately some things haven’t changed here in Alexander City like the money we are putting in our pocket on payday. The U.S. Census Bureau says the average per capita income here in the city limits is $17,833, just $528 more than in 1998. The median household income is now See CITY • Page 10
READ MORE INSIDE • STILL UP FROM HERE, PAGE 4: Despite the numbers, Alexander City is trending upward with local leaders’ help. • IS CITY’S FUTURE SUNNY OR CLOUDY? PAGE 10: Economy experts offer insight on Alexander City’s decline and how the city can improve in years to come. • HOW MANY STUDENTS RECEIVE FREE OR REDUCED LUNCHES? PAGE 10: See the numbers from the 1997-1998 school year all the way until the 2017-2018 school year.
PAVING PROJECTS UNDERWAY
• Alexander City’s road paving projects for 2018 are underway as Tuesday morning crews from Gary Ingram Paving and Grading began prepping, cleaning and patching many of the 21 roads that will get asphalt this year as part of the project that is funded by a half-cent sales tax. Read more on Page 9.
UNEMPLOYMENT
LOCAL JOBLESS RATE UP
• Tallapoosa County’s February unemployment rate rose slightly over January and remained much lower than the rate posted in February 2017. Read more on Page 9.
EDUCATION Mitch Sneed & Cliff Williams photo illustration / The Outlook
“A lot of people have worked very hard to attract jobs back to Alexander City. But there’s not many, if any, of the new jobs that pay what an average job at Russell paid.� — Jim Nabors Alexander City mayor
VOCABULARY COMPETITION ‘DEFINES’ DAY
• Radney Elementary School held its first-ever vocabulary competition Friday afternoon. Read more on Page 3.
Schools feel city’s increase in poverty, but launch programs to reverse trend
Today’s
Weather
76 59
By MITCH SNEED Editor
File / The Outlook
Benjamin Russell High School students get a feel for life outside of high school at a recent school initiative called “Reality Check.� Superintendent Dr. Darrell Cooper said the school system has made poverty one of its primary areas of focus for professional development. Cooper said these career and life skill initiatives, like February’s Reality Check, are designed to give students a leg up as they prepare for college or the job market.
One area where the change in economic status has been felt deeply is in the Alexander City School System. The poverty rate, which can be measured by the percentage of students on free or reduced lunches, has more than doubled. In 1998, 29.38 percent of students received assistance. Today, 59.20 percent of the students in Alexander City Schools are on free or reduced lunch plans. Superintendent Dr. Darrell Cooper said while family income does not exclude the possibility of academic achievement – it is a hurdle that often limits success. “Poverty can have an impact
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