COMMUNITY COLUMNISTS INSIDE TODAY.
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$2 of every $100 spent here funds local schools
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Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 October 7, 2015 Vol. 123, No. 200 www.alexcityoutlook.com
BRHS Wildcats ready for Thursday region test, B1.
Oktoberfest set this weekend at Sportplex By Corey Arwood Outlook Staff Writer
File / The Outlook
Crowds walk through the Sportplex at last year’s Oktoberfest. This Saturday is the 35th year for the event with funnel cakes to Firetruck BBQ to other vendors on site.
Oktoberfest has ended in Germany but Alexander City’s has yet to begin, and this year the Parks and Recreation department says there will be another promising lineup of food and fun for everyone. This will be the 35th year for the area’s annual Oktoberfest. The Saturday event at the Charles E. Bailey Sportplex will bring back
crowd favorites and introduce new musical acts, as well as new vendors. “We offer a little bit of something for everybody,” said Jennifer Baker, program supervisor of Alex City Parks and Recreation. And, Baker said that she wants everyone to attend what is probably the biggest one-day event her department holds. She said that a lot of people attend just for the food, which will include all of the classic festival
Pipeline draws few opposed to project
Ruling could lead to casino reopening By Carmen Rodgers Outlook Staff Writer
It has been almost six years since Milton McGregor was forced to close the doors to VictoryLand in 2010. Then, in 2013 the state of Alabama seized over 1,600 electronic bingo machines form VictoryLand’s Quincy’s 777. Before the raid there had been debate over the legality of the electronic bingo machines, which resemble slot machines. Since the closing, the once popular venue has become isolated and desolate. Located at the Shorter exit, the massive empty buildings that once housed the largest gaming facility in the state now stands out like an empty oasis in the desert. The closure left thousands of people in Macon and surrounding counties without See CASINO, Page A5
faire, from funnel cakes and roasted corn to the local Firetruck BBQ. Others, Baker said, go for the vendors, of which there were over 100 at the 2014 Oktoberfest. She said that they are expecting at least that amount at this year’s event. “It’s a great event for the people in our community and also for the people outside of our community,” said Baker. She said that the event serves as an opportunity to show off the See FESTIVAL, Page A5
By David Granger Outlook Staff Writer Mia Osborn / The Outlook
Birmingham artist and author Troy Crisswell works with participants at the 23rd Annual Sarah Carlisle Towery Art Colony Tuesday at Children’s Harbor.
ARTISTIC RETREAT Art Colony draws participants from far and wide By Mia Osborn Outlook Staff Writer
Today marks the end of the 23rd annual Sarah Carlisle Towery Alabama Art Colony at Children’s Harbor. Fiftytwo artists from all over the Southeast gathered for the five-night event. Participants spend their nights in Children’s Harbor cabins and their days
sketching and painting with instructors who are expert artists in their own right. This year’s lineup of instructors included Julee Hutchison, Chicago-born oil painter whose work is currently on exhibit at the Telluride Gallery of Fine Art; Patt Odom, former head of the Visual Arts Department at Gulf Coast Community College; and Birmingham See ART, Page A6
Representatives of several unions and one disgruntled property owner showed up Monday night at the public comment meeting on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s draft environmental impact statement on the Hillabee Expansion and Sabal Trail portions of the Southeast Market Pipelines project. The Southeast Market Pipelines Project is a joint venture of Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co.,LLC, Sabal Trail Transmission, LLC and Florida Southeast Connection, LLC. It would result in an expansion of the Transcontinental Pipeline, one of the nation’s largest. The Hillabee Expansion Project will increase the natural gas capacity of the existing portion of the pipeline that runs through Alabama. The project would also serve as a starting point for Sabal Trail Transmission’s project that would include a new compressor station and 500-mile pipeline running from near Brick Plant Road in Alexander City to Osceola County, Florida. The Hillabee Project would also include a new compressor station in Choctaw County, a 9.9-mile expansion of 42-inch pipe in Coosa County and a See FERC, Page A5
Today’s
Search dogs put skills on display across the area By Cliff Williams Outlook Staff Writer
“Are you ready Cooper? Search Cooper search.” With those words from Kim Romain of Tuscaloosa, her three-year-old beagle mix canine takes off through the woods with Romain in tow looking for a “missing person.” Romain and Cooper and approximately 60 more dogs
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and their handlers are in town taking part in the annual Canine Search and Recovery fall seminar being held at Camp ASSCA this year. Handlers and dogs are from Alaska to Wisconsin to Florida. With Romain leading Cooper on a grid pattern, Cooper soon alerts. Seconds later Cooper shows Romain the “missing person,” beginner area search instructor JJ See CANINES, Page A6
Low
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
487.34 Reported on 10/6/15 @ 5 p.m.
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Cooper licks JJ Bachant Brown after finding her in the woods of Sportplex. Cooper was taking part in the beginning area search for canines.
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