OPINION: TIME TO END SENSELESS ACTS OF VIOLENCE, PAGE 4. WILDCATS THURSDAY THE WINS SECOND STRAIGHT AT Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 CLASSIC March 31, 2016
Vol. 124, No. 64
Sports page 8.
www.alexcityoutlook.com
City to discuss future of Bama Theater By MITCH SNEED Editor
What will be the future of the former Bama Theater, which is now owned by the city? The Alexander City Council will discuss and talk about proposed changes to the zoning ordinance at a special work session scheduled for today at 4:30 p.m. In August of 2014, the city decided to get out of the gym-
The old Bama Theater at 264 Tallapoosa St. is now empty and the city council will discuss its future today.
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
Wayside Baptist opens doors to Korean pastor Commmunity
nastics business, voting unanimously to lease the gymnastics building at 264 Tallapoosa St. to Cornelius Benson for $425 per month for a period of one year, with Benson responsible for all utilities, insurance and minor upkeep. It seemed like a solid move for the city, especially after learning that the program, when run by the city, had lost $45,000 over its last two years. When the lease was up for
renewal, another business expressed interest in the facility. Despite some heated discussion, the council again agreed to extend the lease to Benson, having had to approve a budget amendment to replace a faulty air conditioning unit. But Benson’s Live To Tumble Academy is no longer open for business at the location and now the council is See THEATER • Page 3
Wind Creek to host bird expert
Hey, can you bail me out?
Aims to reach out to Korean community in Alexander City
By MITCH SNEED Editor
By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
Alexander City’s Wayside Baptist Church has ordained a Korean immigrant a Baptist minister and opened its doors to him to create a Korean-speaking church in its building, according to Shane Dismuke, pastor at Wayside Baptist. “We have a church plant (startup) that was begun here with a Korean minister about a month ago,” said Dismuke. “We’re trying to reach out to the growing Korean community here in Alexander City.” Munsung Jang is the new Korean pastor at Wayside. Jang immigrated from South Korea to New York with his family to attend seminary here in the United States. He eventually earned a doctoral degree in theology from New York Theological Seminary, which teaches classes to Korean students in their own language. Jang went from New York to a church in New Jersey and then to Opelika. He was recommended to Dismuke, who had voiced the need for a Korean-speaking pastor in the community, by a pastor in Opelika and commutes See WAYSIDE • Page 3
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
JT Gregg, above left, with Downtown Bodyshop reaches out to friends, family and whoever will listen along with Dr. William Harrell at the Muscular Dystrophy Association’s Lockup at Jakes Wednesday. “I need to raise $600 in hour,” Gregg told one caller as he was trying to raise bail while Harrell said he was waiting on calls after emailing a bunch of folks. Left, USAmeriBank’s Sandra Carlise gets out of an Alexander City Police Department car after being arrested for the cause.
Two projects set to enhance city boat ramp
Have you ever wondered about those hummingbirds that dart around the flowerbeds? Where do they live? Where do they travel to? Well, Fred Bassett of Montgomery can answer most any question you might have on hummingbirds and he will be at Wind Creek State Park April 9 to give a talk on them. Bassett has been capturing and banding the tiny birds for decades. “I got big into hummingbirds in 1996” Bassett said. “And started helping band about the same time. I have banded more than 35,000 hummingbirds. I have banded 11 different species in Alabama.” So why band so many hummingbirds? “We want to study their life cycles, their migratory patterns,” Bassett said. See HUMMINGBIRDS • Page 3
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
488.79 Reported on 3/30/16 @ 3 p.m.
By MITCH SNEED Editor
When the boating season hits its peak, those who use the Alexander City Boat Ramp on Stowe Ferry Landing will see some noticeable improvements. The Alexander City Department of Public Works announced Tuesday that crews will begin the task of replacing the bumper and deck boards on the floating dock next Monday, April 5. Officials say the work is expected to be completed in two days, but weather and other factors could play a role in the time for completion of the project. “The fishing pier will not
Linda Shaffer, REALTOR® C: 256.794.4641 • W: 256.329.5253 shaffer@lakemartin.net 5295 Highway 280, Alexander City, AL
be shut down, but please be mindful that use could be limited during repairs,” Kristin Joiner of the Alexander City Public Works Department said in a released statement. “We will post routine updates on the Alexander City Public Works Department Facebook page, so people can check there to make sure where we are with all the work.” The money for the project is
Today’s
Weather
75 65 High
Low
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
Two separate projects will make improvements to the city’s boatramp property off Stowe See BOAT • Page 3 Ferry Landing.
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