COMMUNITY COLUMNISTS INSIDE!
WEDNESDAY
THE
Half of all local SPORTS taxes pays for Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892 Trojans go 4-0 in tourney, Page 8. September 21, 2016 Vol. 124, No. 190 www.alexcityoutlook.com public safety
Grass in the street is against the law A lawn maintenance technician cuts grass in front of thepPost office in Alexander City. Councilman Bill Ray Wall reminded residents that blowing grass into the road is against city ordinance and causes problems for city machinery.
Councilman reminds residents of ordinance, saying it causes issues for city equipment in grass, much less have it hit by a rock or a stick that is thrown your direction, in Alexander City it’s also illegal. According to District 4 Councilman Billy Ray Wall, there is a city ordinance in place that prohibits the blowing of grass or other yard waste into a city street. Wall reminded those at a city council meeting three
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Mitch Sneed / The Outlook
Almost every driver has been cruising down the road on a summer day and encountered someone mowing grass with the discharge blowing into the street and into passing cars as they went by. While it isn’t a good experience to have your car covered
Alex City man among students indicted in murder case
County ranks NO.44 in ‘retirement tax friendliness’
By MITCH SNEED Editor
An Alexander City man was among three former Faulkner University students who have been indicted on murder charges stemming from a 2014 robbery attempt gone bad. Twentyyear-old Tabias Russell, a former Benjamin Russell football standout Russell who was on the football team at Faulkner, along with Marshall Wall, 20, of Atmore and Ronnie Williams, 21, of Loxley were indicted by a Montgomery County Grand Jury last week, according to documents that became public on Tuesday. Fellow Faulkner student Ryan Brooks was with the three now accused in his death when they allegedly went to attempt to steal narcotics at the home of another Faulkner student, Franklin Williams. See INDICTED • Page 11
Today’s
Weather
91 69 High
Low
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
487.23 Reported on 9/20/16 @ 8 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
6
54708 90050 USPS Permit # 013-080
8
weeks ago of the law. He said not only is it a courtesy and safety issue, it also causes problems for city equipment. “Grass and any kind of debris cause problems for our street sweepers,” Wall said at the meeting. “Most people don’t know that we have an ordinance and that it does cause some See GRASS • Page 11
Study says state as a whole is generally tax friendly for retirees STAFF REPORT TPI Staff
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Construction crews work on the site of a new compressor station off Brick Plant Road Tuesday. The project is part of the Sabal Pipeline that will deliver natural gas to Florida.
A recent study by a New York based technology company, which uses financial modeling concepts to provide advice on major financial decisions, rated Tallapoosa County as No. 44 of 67 Alabama counties for tax friendliness for retirees. The SmartAssets study’s methodology is based upon easily obtainable tax information for a certain class of citizens. The study used a base $50,000 income to ascertain how individual city tax policies would impact a retiree. According to the hypothetical numbers plugged into the system, a retiree would receive $15,000 for Social Security, $10,000 from a private pension, $15,000 from retirement savings and $10,000 in wages. Of course the figures are merely hypothetical, but for those whose numbers deviate, they can use a sliding gauge to assess their numbers and the tax friendliness of communities throughout the state. In order to come up with a tally of expected taxes, standard exemptions and deductions were used. In
PAYING IT FORWARD
Sabal Trail Pipeline looks to be a community partner By MITCH SNEED Editor
Signs of activity are visible in several locations across Tallapoosa County as construction on the Sabal Trail natural gas transmission pipeline has begun. From grading at site work on the site of a compressor station on Brick Plant Road near Alexander City to rightCliff Williams/ The Outlook of-way clearing along many of the 111 parcels of property Dr. Barbara Spears, Dr. Sherri Taylor, CACC President Dr. Susan Burrows, that the trail will cross in State Rep. Mark Tuggle and Sabal Trail Director of Community Outreach Andrea Grover pose for a photograph Monday at CACC as Sabal Trail made
See PIPELINE • Page 7 a $50,000 donation to Central Alabama Community College.
See TAX • Page 7
Wills recaptures ‘Forgotten Alabama’ in new book By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Huntsville native Glenn Wills has travelled over 30,000 miles in the 67 counties of Alabama, mostly over the last for years taking over 15,000 photographs of fallen buildings, bridges and landmarks to create his book Forgotten Alabama. Willis was at the Adelia M. Russell Memorial Library Tuesday to speak about how is book came about. “I was a satellite truck operator for Channel 13 in Birmingham,” Wills explained. “I drove over a quarter million miles and have seen a lot of
Alabama.” Those travels started the idea. “What lead me to Forgotten Alabama, one day I was going down 280 from Birmingham to Auburn,” Wills said. “I glance over between Childersburg and Sylacauga is a 1957 Belair was sitting on the side of the road. It just caught my eye. I had a few minutes and pulled over looked around. There must have been 30 or 40 acres of cars none after 1965. I did not have a camera with me. Now I never go anywhere without a camera.” That junkyard was just the beginning.
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Glen Wills talks about his book ‘Forgotten Alabama’ that highlights forgotten structures See BOOK • Page 11 of Alabama history Tuesday at the Adelia M. Russell Library.
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