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October 11, 2018 Vol. 126, No. 202 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢
Alex City man guilty of child sex abuse By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
A Tallapoosa County jury found Maximino Dejesus Hernandez guilty of two counts of sexual abuse of child under the age of 12. Hernandez, 29, of Alexander City hugged family members before deputies escorted him from the courtroom of
Judge Tom Young while district attorney Jeremy Duerr and others on his staff hugged the victim thanking her for her testimony. He faces a prison sentence between two and 20 years for each of the two counts he was found guilty of. “The judge will decide if the sentences will be served concurrently or consecutively,” Duerr said.
Duerr was pleased with verdict and happy victims still have an outlet to tell their stories. “I am glad the jury let the little girl know she did the right thing in coming forward,” Duerr said. “Given today’s environment, there are still avenues available. There will always be someone out there to believe in them, fight for them and try to give victims justice.”
The jury was made up of five white males, four African American males, two white females and one African American female, who heard from six witnesses including the now 9-year-old victim and the defendant. The victim sat on the front row of the courtroom next to her mother wearing a plaid dress and white sweater to protect her arms See GUILTY • Page 5
LIFE OF A SURVIVOR
Man with rare condition seeks financial help for kidney transplant
Schools talk drug-free, bullying awareness By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
Alexander City resident David Patterson was diagnosed with a rare condition known as granulomatosis with polyangiitis, also known as Wegener’s granulomatosis at the age of 15. Now, nine years later, he has found a match for a kidney transplant, but is looking for help from the public Patterson to aid in the matter financially. “I just got the surgery date maybe two weeks ago,” Patterson said. “I’m trying to raise funds. I decided to start a GoFundMe because I’ve seen it work before.” Realizing he and his family will have a lot of financial obligations to meet during and after the transplant procedure, including hotel rooms and medicines, Patterson felt reaching out to the public See TRANSPLANT • Page 2
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Photo by Cliff Williams / The Outlook
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oday’s Outlook features a special section in honor of October being National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Read what local schools are doing, how area sports teams are participating, get a look into the life of a survivor and more. Above, breast cancer survivor Charlene Brown works on Magdalene Mallory’s hair Friday afternoon. Brown still worked at her salon while she went through radiation treatments. Read more of Brown’s story on Page 5 of the special section inside.
Bullying in America’s schools is a serious issue. According to a recent national study conducted by the Making Caring Common project at Harvard University and Cartoon Network, 62 percent of children between the ages of 9 and 11 said they have experienced bullying at least once or twice. Bringing a greater awareness to the problem of bullying, October has been designated as Bullying Prevention Month. Along with this, Oct. 22-26 is Red Ribbon Week, encouraging students to live their lives in a safe and drug-free manner. Nationally, groups such as Making Caring Common have encouraged students to speak out against bullying and show a caring side for others, while Cartoon Network has created and aired a number of public service announcements with See BULLYING • Page 3
Dadeville council awards proclamations during council meeting By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
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54708 90050
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USPS Permit # 013-080
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
484.18 Reported on 10/10/18 @ 4 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
The Dadeville City Council took time to recognize several people involved with the recent Dadeville Fall Festival and second annual Ducky Ward Memorial Soap Box Derby and Car Show during its meeting Tuesday night. Mayor Wayne Smith awarded a pair of proclamations during the meeting, one to derby organizer Marrell Ward, who started the derby in memory of his son while also giving local children and their parents something fun and enjoyable to work on together, while the other proclamation was given to the Dadeville Area Chamber of Commerce for its hard work in making this year’s fall festival such a success. “Every once in a while, we get to recognize the good things and get to do something fun,” Smith See DADEVILLE • Page 3
We Care About You
Donald Campbell / The Outlook
One injured in two-car incident Wednesday Alexander City police officers responded to a two-car incident on Dadeville Road in front of Radney Funeral Home just before 1 p.m. Wednesday. One of the vehicles involved was an Alexander City Police Department vehicle. Of the two occupants in the other vehicle, one was transported by ambulance to Russell Medical while the other had no visible injuries. Due to one of the vehicles involved belonging to the police department, ACPD officials said the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency was taking charge of the incident and could not comment further.
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