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The Outlook
Encourage Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 S Entrepreneurs! October 31- November 1, 2015 • Vol. 123 • No. 218 • www.alexcityoutlook.com REMEMBER TOO RESET YOUR CLOCKS!
Dadeville, Goodwater awarded block grants Towns will receive $250,000 each from the state to help address dilapidated houses, buildings By Mitch Sneed Outlook Editor
Government leaders in Goodwater and Dadeville are celebrating today after Rep. Mark Tuggle confirmed that both cities have received $250,000 Community Development Block Grants to help clean up dilapidated structures. The grants are distributed using criteria devised by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. “It is great to see two towns in our area be awarded this grant,” Tuggle said. “I tell people all the time that there are lots of ways to get help with problems like there. The important thing is for them to per persistent and be willing to do their part of the front end and we will do what we can to help once it gets to our level. “I know Dadeville has some needs and even though
City Clerk Leslie Parker and Fire Chief Elmore Unbehant met with grant writers Paul and Susan Monroe and DMD engineers last summer to discuss cost and planning for demolition of the dilapidated buildings.
listed 49 residential properties that qualified for use of the funds. City Council Member Mickey Tarpley said he was grateful to all who worked to secure the funding. “It’s one of those things where you apply and you just keep your fingers crossed,” Tarpley said. “We applied back in June and to get word that we got it today is very welcome news. When we were doing the application, we were able to identify 63 structures or properties that needed to be addressed and many of those in our central downtown area. So to be able to get these funds for the match that we will provide makes great sense. “It will enable us to do some tremendous good in Submitted / The Outlook Dadeville. I’m unsure of all the rules and guidelines for how it can be used, but we will make an impact here in I don’t represent Goodwater, I know Dadeville.” they can really put this money to good use as well.” See GRANT, Page 9 The award letter accompanying the Dadeville grant
Nov. 5 concert will honor Alexander City veterans
Radney students get a lesson on clean lake, environment
By Cliff Williams
Lake Watch works to educate kids on the importance of clean water
Outlook Staff Writer
Patriotic tunes will be coming from the stage at the Benjamin Russell High School Auditorium as Alexander City Arts Inc. hosts the Capital Sounds Concert Band Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. “It is a 45-piece orchestra band that will be playing patriotic music,” Alexander City Arts President John Forrester said. “It will be a Veterans Day Program.” Forrester explained the group may be made of volunteers but that shouldn’t keep music lovers away. “It is a volunteer group,” Forrester said. “But they are very professional. Most are from around the Montgomery area.” Many around Alexander City may remember them. “They have been here before,” Forrester said. “They were very good.”
By Cliff Williams Outlook Staff Writer
Gifted students at Radney Elementary School are learning just how clean Lake Martin is. “You see this snail?” Lake Watch’s Dick Bronson asks. “What direction does the snail turn? A student responds right. “What does that mean?” Bronson asks again. “It means the lake is clean,” another student says. “That’s right, the right-handed snails mean clean water,” Bronson responds. “Now the left-handed snail is a different story.” The students were being assisted by Bronson and volunteers from Alabama Water Watch learning three ways to test water. “There are three techniques for determining water quality that we are using with the students,” Bronson said. “Biology, bacterial and chemical. We just want to teach them about nature and the environment. To be better stewards of what is around them, birds, critters and water. We See LESSON Page 9
Weather
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By David Granger Outlook Staff Writer
Low
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
485.81 Reported on 10/30/15 @ 1 p.m.
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See CONCERT, Page 5
Lake Martin Area United Way nearing halfway mark in campaign goals
Today’s
High
Dick Bronson, above, of Lake Watch explains to Radney students the importance of critters in the lake. Far right, Devin White and Maliq Burton sift through debris along the shore line for animals in the biology assessment.
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Lake Martin Area United Way is almost halfway to its 2015 campaign goal of $530,000, according to an update provided to volunteers and participating agency representatives at a Friday luncheon meeting. The United Way campaign currently stands at $230,730 or 44 percent of its 2015 goal. “We’re excited about the progress we’ve made so far,” said Sharon Fuller, executive director of the Lake Martin Area United Way. “I feel very comfortable that we’ll make our goal. The response we’ve received this year has been unbelievable.” Mark Spencer, senior vice president and central Alabama
256-329-1313 Free Consultations 217 Madison Street, Alexander City, AL “We are a Debt Relief Agency. We help people file Chapter 7 and Chapter 13 under the Bankruptcy Code. Alabama State Bar requires the following in every attorney advertisement, “ No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.”
executive for USAmeriBank and chair of this year’s campaign, was much more forceful in his declaration. “I’ve been chair for three years and we will make our goal,” Spencer said. Fuller pointed out that several area businesses were yet to begin or complete campaigns. She also updated the group on contributions since the last update, which included: • AAA Construction: $1,000 • Adcock Associates: $1,000 • Advance Givers: $5,928 • Alexander City Board of Education: $8,717 • Alexander City Small Businesses: $5,515 • AmTech: $10,397 • Barnes & Radney: $1,000
• Jake’s Charity Bingo: $1,406 • Lee Marekting Group: $1,458 • Radney, Radney & Jackson: $1,000 • Red Feather Society: $17,390 • River Bank & Trust: $3,524 • Russell Lands: $32,034 • Russell Medical Center: $29,450 • Russell Medical Community: $37,500 • USAmeriBank: $28,110 Fuller said that the Downtown Showdown Fashion Show held Oct. 22 has brought in $12,909 with more to come. “If you haven’t yet attended this event, I urge you to come next year,” Fuller said See UNITED, Page 9
David Granger / The Outlook
Sharon Fuller updates a visual display for their United Way campaign.
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