INSIDE: Obituaries, page 2 Religion, page 6 Renovating Downtown, page 7 Sports, page 10
Weekend OPINION, PAGE 4: DOWNTOWN AFTER DARK WAS A BIG HIT
The Outlook
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
March 4-5, 2017 Vol. 125, No. 45 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
Quik Stop altercation ends in arrest, injury
By MITCH SNEED Editor
A verbal altercation between two employees at a popular convenience store and breakfast stop escalated into a physical fight that ended with one employee getting stitched up at
the hospital Friday morning Alexander City Police Department Detective Commander Capt. James Easterwood said that at about 8 p.m. they received a call about an employee of Cherokee Quik Stop on Cherokee Road in Alexander City being in a fight with
another employee. “What we have been able to tell is that the two were arguing about something that happened in the store and it became physical,” Easterwood said. “It was not a stabbing. The clerk was hit in the head See FIGHT • Page 3
DHS to put on ‘Seusical’ Page 11
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
Det. Sabrina Osborne and other investigators arrive on the scene at Cherokee Quik Stop Friday morning.
Decisions on clerk, fire chief on council agenda
Three busted in two separate incidents
STAFF REPORT TPI Staff
Two separate operations by the Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force over the last few days Abrams resulted in three arrests and the seizure of drugs, cash and drug paraphernalia. According to a release from Foster Tallapoosa County Narcotics Task Force Sgt. Fred White, officers with the Alexander City Police Department and the Task Meadors Force executed a search warrant at a See ARRESTS • Page 3
TIME TO SHINE
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Ricky Wyckoff watches as volunteers install blinds in the living room of his home Friday in New Site Friday.
HELPING HAND
Home Depot team gives veteran new kitchen By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Marine Veteran Ricky Wyckoff of New Site was hoping to come home from a stay at the VA to a new kitchen – after all he hired and paid a contractor to do the work before he left for the extended stay. Wyckoff served 15 years in the Marines before he was injured overseas by an exploding shad missile that left him disabled. After several months at the VA Clinic,
Wyckoff came home to find his kitchen gutted and the contractors missing. “There was in here but that one cabinet,” Alexander City Home Depot Store Manager Justin Kennamore said. “There was no sink, no working stove. He had paid contractors to do this and they took his money.” Wyckoff had no functioning kitchen. “I had to do dishes in the bathroom,” Wyckoff said. “And a range that did not work.” See RENOVATION • Page 8
Critters at Stephens drive students and staff batty
Alexander City could have a new city clerk and permanent fire chief Monday night as appointing people for both positions is on the agenda for the meetings of the city council. The Alexander City City Council’s agenda lists three items relating to those two positions. One calls for a request to have a question and answer session with the candidate for fire chief. The Outlook has learned that Interim Fire Chief Reese McAlister is the lone remaining candidate after others pulled their names from consideration. The appointment of a fire chief is also on the agenda. McAlister, 46, has been with the Alexander City Fire Department since 1995 and was a deputy chief who was in charge of administration, EMS, training and HazMat. One of the highlights of his 21-year career included being named Firefighter of the Year in 2007. The city council heard from three candidates for city clerk last Monday evening. Tamara Jackson who serves as the deputy city clerk/policy analyst in Jackson Mississippi, Wendy McClain who has also served as a city clerk at three cities in Mississippi and Amanda Thomas, a current Alexander City employee in the See COUNCIL • Page 3
MainStreet’s Downtown after Dark Downtown Alexander City was alive Thursday evening for the Downtown After Dark event sponsored by MainStreet Alexander City. Part of the excitement was the opening of the Fermenter’s Market. Here, owner Dee Walker pours up a glass of wine for a customer. The business was one of many that had packed houses as people took advantage of later hours offered by participating merchants. Read an editorial congratulating organizers for forward thinking in planning the event on page 4 inside.
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Long days at school can often be stressful for teachers due to students, but this week the folks at Stephens have been driven batty. Alexander City Animal Control officers have been called to the school twice this week to help round up and remove bats inside the building. In all, three small bats have been caught and relocated, Animal Control Officer Scott Wright said. See BATS • Page 3
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
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