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November 15, 2016 Vol. 124, No. 229 www.alexcityoutlook.com
Firefighters struggle to fight blazes Officials ask for public’s help in this time of extreme drought across the county and state By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
Officials said a record number of fires are breaking out in the county and with fire departments scrambling to combat each new blaze there are ways residents can help. Emergency Management Agency Director Jason Moran said the biggest
thing someone could do to help local firefighters is to prevent fires starting altogether, but with worsening drought conditions that could happen from unusual sources. Monday provided a great example. Alexander City Councilman Eric Brown who owns Hilltop Landscaping was
headed down Highway 63 North when he spotted a Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s deputy on the side of the road with his lights flashing. Brown stopped to see if he could help. “Someone had thrown out a lit cigarette and there was a fire that had started from it,” Brown said. “I had some water
County to provide funds for innovation center
Officials hope upward revenue trend continues By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
Tax revenues were up due to residential and commercial construction in the last fiscal year. Alexander City officials hope that new businesses and holiday spending will help continue that trend. Alexander City’s Business License and Tax Department Director Ward Sellers said sales and use tax collection was up nearly six percent in the 2016 fiscal year over the previous year. Sellers attributed the rise to an increase in spending activity in the area. He said new businesses, the construction of lakeside residences and add-ons to area businesses drove the spike. “We’ve got more stuff going on here,” said Sellers, who has been the director of the city department for nearly three decades. He mentioned the construction of the new River Bank and Trust Building and recent work done at the Korens plant as examples. He said there was a slight decline of approximately 2 percent in October, and that was part of a normal trend. Sellers said tax collections should pick up in the upcoming holiday months with Christmas spending gearing up. He said it was generally one of two times a year Alex City’s tax revenues rose substantially from spending in the area. “Like everybody else we get a good bump at Christmas time,” Sellers said. He said the other “bump” occurred during the summer months when tourism was at its
By MITCH SNEED Editor
The Alexander City Chamber of Commerce’s Lake Martin Innovation Center got a boost Monday when the Tallapoosa County Commissioners committed money to help with funds to secure matching grants. The commissioners voted 5-0 to approve $60,000 in funds that will allow the group to secure $300,000 in additional funds through the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs and the USDA Rural Development. The innovation center will be a new initiative by the chamber to provide space for budding businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurial opportunities. To a large extent, it will serve as a small and new business incubator. Space would also be See COMMISSION • Page 3
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Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES WELCOME THE SEASON The holiday shopping season kicked off in Alexander City Sunday as residents took in deals as well as sights and sounds of the Christmas season. Above, shoppers look for deals inside Little Black Dress downtown. Left, a family dressed for their pictures with Santa stroll along Main Street.
Denim and Diamonds charity event hits 5th year
STAFF REPORT TPI Staff
By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Operation Christmas Child organizers, local ministers and volunteers gathered Monday morning at Vertical Point Church to kickoff National Collection Week for the program that provides Christmas gifts to children worldwide. A similar celebration was held at First Baptist Church in Dadeville for Operation Christmas Child, the program that fills empty shoeboxes with toys, school supplies and hygiene items for children living in
For the fifth year the Dadeville Area Chamber of Commerce Charity Ball will benefit the Lake Martin Area United Way. This year’s Denim and Diamonds Ball is set for Friday at the Lake Martin Event Center. The event goes a long way to helping the United Way serve the community. “It’s huge,” Lake Martin Area United Way director Sharon Fuller said. “It takes a lot to meet our goal, from this to other fundraisers and employee donations.” It is not the first time the event has been held to benefit the United Way. “It’s the fifth year they have chosen us See DENIM • Page 2
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
Volunteers with Operation Christmas Child unload boxes filled with gifts that will be shipped to children all over the world as a part of See CHRISTMAS • Page 3 the national program.
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and we got it out. You could see plain as day that a cigarette had started it and it was growing quickly. It was right next to a dry sage field and if the deputy, whose name was Dep. Brandon Caldwell hadn’t spotted it, I hate to think what may have happened.” See FIRE • Page 3
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(On Right Past the River Bridge)