WHAT’S HAPPENING: CATCH UP ON LOCAL EVENTS, PAGE 5.
THE
FRIDAY
THEY’RE HERE Halloween Photos are here
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 November 13, 2015 Vol. 123, No. 227 www.alexcityoutlook.com
FORE!!
Lyman Ward starts a golf team, page 8.
CACC merger process begins By David Granger
Notification vote expected in December, Burrow to lead new consolidated school
Outlook Staff Writer
ACCS The Board of Trustees of the Alabama Community College System began to position itself Thursday toward a merger of Alexander City’s Central Alabama Community College with two more state community colleges at their November monthly meeting today. The trustees held a morning regular meeting and an afternoon work session, both at the Alabama Community College System building in Montgomery.
In the regular meeting, the trustees worked from an agenda that included only five action items, including a new policy on consolidation and mergers of ACCS institutions. However, little about the policy, which specifically requires compliance on mandates from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission of Colleges
(SACSCOC) which apply to such mergers, was said publicly. “There was extensive discussion of this proposed policy at our last (Oct. 20) planning session,” said ACCS Chancellor Mark A. Heinrich before calling for a motion to pass the policy. The policy passed unanimously. CACC President Susan Burrow, who has been selected to lead the new consolidated school, said some discussions
Chamber set for Holiday Open House
Radney students explore creek’s water
Annual event planned for this Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. downtown
By Cliff Williams Outlook Staff Writer
By Corey Arwood
R
adney Elementary School students spent part of Thursday studying Pitchford Creek near Willow Point in in hopes the information will help them in their efforts to rehabilitate a creek behind their school. “I found a may fly,” one student said. “I found a crawfish,” another said. “I found two fish,” yet another said after the students trekked the banks of the creek to do a biological study of the creek. Sabrina Wood with Middle Tallapoosa Clean Water Partnership was on hand to help with some of the group’s volunteers to help out. “Finding those critters, what does that mean about the water?” Wood asked the students. “It means it’s clean,” a responded one student. See WATER, Page 2
have already taken place among those affected. “The Chancellor met with all the affected presidents and facilitated a quick SWOT (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats) analysis,” Burrow said. “In turn, those presidents met with their individual colleges to let them know that this resolution we just heard discussed was on the work session See CACC, Page 3
Outlook Staff Writer
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Michael Richardson, above left, Carter Macoy, and La’Nyzjah Johnson gather critters from the edge of Pitchford Creek. Left, Radney Elementary School sixth graders Audrey Owens and Lainey Peters, right, use nets to try to find critters for their biological study of Pitchford Creek. The critters they are looking for are mayflies, crawfish and snails and live amongst the leaves using them as shelter and food.
Kids can scour the town on a scavenger hunt for Christmas characters, while parents shop local stores for items on their gift lists at this year’s Holiday Open House. The Alexander City Chamber of Commerce is set to host the annual commuCHARACTER HUNT nity holiday shopping event on LOCATIONS Sunday afternoon The stores involved in the from 1 to 4 p.m. Character Hunt will be: in the downtown • Longleaf Antique & Flea Alexander City Mall • Jackson Drug & Gift Shop retail area. • Walgreens According to • Walmart Kim Dunn, ACCC • Irresistibles director of mar- • Cloud Nine keting and special • Coffee Corner events, it’s a time • Little Black Dress to start planning, • The Shoppes of Queen’s Attic start buying and • Kevin Lanier Photography to kick off the • Carlisle’s Drug Co. Pharmacy holiday season in Alexander City. She said it is also an opportunity for area businesses to open their doors on a Sunday afternoon. Most local retailers will have some See HOLIDAY, Page 2
AU researchers see major breakthrough in canine cancer By Corey Arwood Outlook Staff Writer
There are not enough months in the year to raise awareness for the numerous types of cancers, but there is one unlikely awareness month that could be an invaluable asset for the future of cancer treatment research. And, it might come as a surprise. November is Pet Cancer Awareness Month. This year the month is marked by a major cancer research breakthrough in dogs could push the realm of possibility in cancer treatment for humans. And it is all happening less than an hour’s drive down Highway 280 East, at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and the Auburn University Research Initiative in Cancer. The approach hinges on using Now Playing:
Spectre – PG-13 The Peanuts Movie 3D – G The Martian – PG-13
viruses to target and kill cancers in dogs. And it is only a fraction of the research set to begin at the AURIC, potentially with the help of dogs from local families. Most dogs, for example, that are diagnosed with cancer at Alexander City Veterinary Clinic, according to a staff member, are sent to AU’s Teaching Hospital for its advanced facilities and treatments. And though this method alone is not completely new and is used to a degree to treat certain cancers in humans, it is still at the forefront of current cancer treatment research. The new approach will build upon the use of these oncolytic viruses, or viruses altered to directJeffrey Etheridge / Auburn University ly infect and kill only cancer cells. Dr. Bruce Smith of Auburn University’s College of Veterinary MediIt was proposed by Andrew cine examines a dog. Smith has been part of reasearch in canine See CANCER, Page 3 cancer that hads great promise.
Today’s
Weather
64 37 High
Low
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
484.22 Reported on 11/12/15 @ 2 p.m.
Linda Shaffer, REALTOR® C: 256.794.4641 • W: 256.329.5253 shaffer@lakemartin.net 5295 Highway 280, Alexander City, AL
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