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Kids tell us how to cook a turkey and why they are thankful November 22-23, 2017 Vol. 125, No. 232 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
Radney hosts first-ever group spelling bee
SHOTS FIRED Escapee terrorizes
residents, kidnaps man, flees state
By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
Groups of students in both the fifth and sixth grades competed in the first ever Spelling and Writing Team Competition at Radney Elementary School Tuesday afternoon. Chosen by their language teachers to represent the entire class, three groups of fifth-graders and three groups of sixth-graders worked hard to be named the champions of their respective grades. “This is the first time we’ve held a spelling competition like this at Radney,” teacher and event sponsor Kenyatta Simmons said. “Unlike a traditional spelling bee, the students have to work in teams to win.” Before the teams took their spots behind a table marked with their teacher’s name, Simmons went over the rules of the competition. Each team was given a specific word and had 30 seconds to neatly write the word down on the whiteboard provided and present the word to a panel of judges. If the team spelled the word correctly, See SPELLING • Page A7
Dadeville receives grant to resurface track
By MITCH SNEED Editor
A man who escaped for the second time in less than a month from the Coosa County Jail has crossed state lines and is believed to be in Georgia after two days of keeping multiple Alabama law enforcement agencies hunting and residents liv- Vernon ing in fear. Shane Anthony Vernon, 27, was able to flee the Coosa County Jail in Rockford through an unsecured door Sunday afternoon at about 2:30. From there he has stolen, robbed and ran across three See ESCAPEE • Page A6
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
The active shooter slowly gives up to deputies with the Tallapoosa County Sherriff’s Department as they respond to an active shooter during a training exercise at the Maxwell Gunter Recreation Area.
First responders train with active shooting drill By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Shots could be heard ringing out on County Road 34 as an active shooter looked to settle a grudge at
the Maxwell Gunter Recreation Area Tuesday morning. Don’t worry – it was only a drill. The idea of the drill was to allow
New Site council hears insurance presentation By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
Two representatives from Colonial Life Insurance were on hand Monday night to present information regarding health and life insurance policies available to town employees during the meeting of the New Site Town Council. Mayor Phil Blasingame and members of the council mentioned how they have been looking into being able to provide insurance through the town in the future, but were unable to put anything
See DRILL • Page A3
See COUNCIL • Page A6 Tallapoosa County Board of Education Attorney Mark Allen Treadwell swears in Betty Carol Graham who is replacing Randy Anderson who resigned from the board.
Graham sworn in; county schools’ sales tax puts finances in good shape By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
At its annual meeting, the Tallapoosa County Board of Education saw newly appointed member Betty Carol Graham get sworn in, got a demonstration of the new bus tracking system and heard the system’s finances were in good order thanks to the sales tax. “It’s a special meeting,” Superintendent Joe Windle said. “We get to induct a new board member.” The board recently agreed to purchase a subscription service to N-Side to track the system’s buses.
“We think it is a step forward,” Windle said. “If we have an incident on a bus, we know where that bus is. This is safety to the next step.” Alan Bentley with N-Side was on hand to demonstrate the system. He explained the system can track in real time the school buses locations, speeds and fuel consumption. The system makes easier determining which routes students should on because of the way their system brings in Google Maps. Windle is proud the system also protects drivers.
Cliff Williams /
See BOE • Page A7
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