Weekend THE LATEST SPORTS EXTRA INSIDE TODAY!
The Outlook
FOR SUBSCRIBERS:
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
Lake Martin Living September 16-17, 2017 Vol. 125, No. 100 www.alexcityoutlook.com 75¢ inside today
LOCAL, PAGE 9: BRHS students get real with local job opportunites
Council to consider action on budget, unsightly properties By MITCH SNEED Editor
While Alexander City officials believe a new budget could be complete and ready for review in a matter of weeks, the Alexander City City Council will take steps Monday night to make sure they are covered and business will continue without interruption. A stop-gap budget measure and more
action the effort to clean up unsightly properties are among the items on a lengthy agenda for Monday night’s city council meeting. “We still feel pretty good about getting a budget done by Oct. 2, but technically one day is out of compliance,” Nabors said. “So we talked to the people at the League of Municipalities and we said let’s just go ahead and do this so there is no doubt. That way if some-
thing were to happen we would not be under the gun.” Nabors said input from citizens has led to stepped up enforcement of the city’s weed abatement ordinance. That’s reflected in the increased action on the matter by the council. Monday night the council will hold a public hearing on several properties and then vote on declaring them public nuisances so the properties can be cleaned
up by the city and the owners billed for the work. The council will also put several other properties on notice and vote to set a public hearing for Oct. 2 on those properties. “This is something that residents are reporting and they want to see addressed,” Nabors said. “That’s why
Jim Pearson hosts Grandparents Day celebration
County’s jobless rate at 15-year low STAFF REPORT TPI Staff
Tallapoosa County posted the lowest unemployment numbers it has seen in more than 15 years in August, as numbers released Friday show the county’s jobless rate at just 3.9 percent. That rate is a full percentage point better than the 4.9 percent the county had in July of this year and far better than the 5.5 percent unemployment the county experienced in August 2016. “Those are incredible numbers, especially considering the fact that overall workforce has not dropped drastically,” Alexander City Mayor Jim Nabors said. “We are seeing good things all around. The tax collections have been up and remain steady and we are seeing new businesses come to the area. All those are signs that the economy continues to improve.” The good employment numbers were experienced all across the state. Alabama’s preliminary, seasonally adjusted August unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in August, down from July’s rate of 4.5 percent, and well below August 2016’s rate of 5.9 percent. “After hovering near the national unemployment rate for several months, Alabama’s rate has dropped below it for the first time in many years,” Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey said. “This is a milestone we’ve been working toward for some time. We announced this week that Autocar, LLC. is See UNEMPLOYMENT • Page 3
See COUNCIL • Page 2
By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
The hallways at Jim Pearson Elementary School were filled with happy and excited voices Friday, as the school hosted its annual Grandparents Day celebrations. Students were able to show their grandparents around the classroom, introduce them to their teachers, browse the ongoing book fair and enjoy eating lunch together. “We have Grandparents Day here every September,” said Jim Pearson Principal Jamie Forbus. “We really enjoy having the See GRANDPARENTS • Page 9
Former Marine Police Officer Ned Anthony Rogers had a special funeral service, where his flag-draped coffin was taken lakeside where he received a 21-gun salute.
ONE LAST BOAT RIDE Former Marine Police Officer honored with special funeral ceremony
By MITCH SNEED Editor
A man who spent a good portion of his life keeping Lake Martin safe was memorialized in a special ceremony that included a trip back to being the center of attention in an Alabama Law Enforcement Agency Marine Police patrol boat. A special ceremony was held Thursday to honor former Marine Police Officer Ned Anthony Rogers, 72, of Eclectic. Rogers
passed away Saturday after a courageous battle with cancer. On Lake Martin Thursday, law enforcement officers and members of the same unit in which he served gave Rogers one last ride. “Ned worked with the Marine Police from the early 70s until he retired in 1997,” said Capt. Gary Buchanan of the Marine Police. “I worked with him for the first two years I was part of the unit. His whole career was spent See ROGERS • Page 3
Donald Campbell / The Outlook
Grandparents and students alike enjoyed looking at the many books on display at Jim Pearson’s book fair Friday morning.
Mahindra tractors now available at new local dealership
Today’s
Weather
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
Tallapoosa Ford owner Jeff Smith has recently started a Mahindra tractor dealership here in Tallapoosa County.
We Care About You
Agriculture has deep roots in Tallapoosa County. From downtown Alexander City it takes just minutes traveling in any direction to find rich farmland and working farms. Tallapoosa Ford owner Jeff Smith said it was while working on his own farm in Coosa County that he had a revelation. “I have a little farm in Coosa County, Leslie Wingler has one in Clay County and we both have tractors,” Smith said. “To be honest, I got tired of every time someone broke, I had a two-hour drive to get a part or to get it fixed. That’s when it hit me that we don’t have a full-service dealership here and we needed one.” That’s when he discovered Mahindra tractors and the program they had for new dealers. He said it didn’t take much convincing to realize that starting a dealership here was a no-brainer. That’s how Lake Martin Tractor and Outdoors was born. Wednesday and Thursday
FREE CONSULTATIONS
and Your Loved Ones!
•Home-like Environment • Specialized Dementia Care Unit •Physical, Occupational and Speech Therapy Services “It’s not the end ... It’s a new beginning”
256-329-1313
A DAMS HEALTH & REHAB 1555 HILLABEE STREET • (256) 329-0847
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.”
See TRACTOR • Page 3
84 67 High
Low
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
490.59 Reported on 09/15/17 @ 5 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
6
54708 90050 USPS Permit # 013-080
8