THE LOCAL, PAGE 9 Solar panels to be dedicated March 21
FRIDAY SPORTS, PAGE 11
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
March 8, 2019 Vol. 127, No. 48 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
BRHS raises money for Hornet player affected by tornado
Open seat on city BOE Sturdivant stepping down after serving 10 years; school board accepting applications By GABRIELLE JANSEN Staff Writer
After serving on the Alexander City Board of Education for 10 years, David Sturdivant is stepping down in May at the end of his term, saying he feels it is time for someone new to join the board. Sturdivant said he joined the school board when his children were students in the Alexander City schools system. “I felt like that was an area that I was very interested in and was passionate about our school system,” Sturdivant said. “I had three kids who were Sturdivant born and raised here. All three went completely through our school system but even aside from that, I think it’s such an important part of our community and felt like it was an opportunity to serve. I wanted to pitch in and see what I could do.” School board members are chosen by the Alexander City City Council and serve five-year terms. Sturdivant said two of the most important things the board did during his tenure were to appoint Dr. Darrell Cooper and Dr. Keith Lankford as superintendents. Sturdivant said the board also expanded the fine arts programs and implemented the oneto-one program, where every student is given a laptop to use and learn with at school. “I don’t like to think of what I’ve done for the board,” Sturdivant said. “I like to think that throughout my tenure the board (members have) had a good relationship with each other, which I think is very important, both See STURDIVANT • Page 5
Today’s
Weather
‘The ground shook’ Explosion shakes Hillabee Street By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Employees with the City of Alexander City were trying to make the corner of Hillabee Street and Scott Road look a little better Thursday morning when they met a surprise. “I heard a loud noise,” one bystander said. “The ground shook. Dirt and rocks came over the building.” City employees were working to remove a canopy at an old local store when an underground gas tank exploded. The convenience store had been closed for several years and has been a car wash since the days customers could pump gas. “I took cover behind the counter,” another bystander said. “I didn’t know what was going See EXPLOSION • Page 5
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Top: Members of the Alexander City Fire Department put water and foam on a gas tank following an explosion at the intersection of Hillabee Street and Scott Road on Thursday morning. Above: The rear window of an Alexander City Light and Power truck was broken during the explosion. No one was injured in the incident.
Lee County coroner ‘overwhelmed’ by tornado Seeing dead children ‘grips you bad,’ Harris says
68 55 High
Low
By RON COLQUITT For The Outlook
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
486.44 Reported on 03/07/19 @ 2 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
Ron Colquitt / For The Outlook 6
54708 90050
8
USPS Permit # 013-080
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Lee County coroner Bill Harris walks past 23 handcrafted wooden crosses, representing the 23 people killed in Sunday’s tornado. The crosses are on display at Providence Baptist Church in the Beauregard community of Lee County.
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Sunday was a day that will be forever engraved in the memory of Lee County coroner Bill Harris. After he got a call at home a tornado had struck the Beauregard community, he was driving to the scene and kept hearing the confirmed death toll mount over his two-way radio. Before he arrived, he came harrowingly close to being caught up in another tornado. Once in Beauregard, the magnitude of the disaster began to hit him. “I thought we could handle 20 to 30 bodies without a problem and I was wrong,” Harris said. “I was very, very wrong.” Harris said he and his team of three people from the coroner’s office were overwhelmed See TORNADO • Page 10
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