Weekend
OPINON: WRITTEN COMMUNICATION IS EVOLVING , PAGE 4.
The Outlook
$2 of every $100 spent here funds local schools Today’s
Weather
87 69 High
Labor Day is big for business
n The Equality Volunteer Fire Department will officially dedicate its new fire station this morning at 10 a.m. Local elected officials as well as Alabama State Emergency Management Director Art Faulkner are scheduled to attend. The headline attraction is Pauley Perrette, who stars as Abby Sciuto on the hit CBS television Show NCIS, who is coming home to Equality for the event.
SUNDAY
n The Labor Day Concert at Lake Martin is set for 6 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 4 at the Lake Martin Amphitheater off Highway 63. Scheduled acts include The Vegabonds, The Bama Gamblers and local favorites Rexton Lee and The Bank Walkers. Gates will open at 5 p.m. Tickets are $10 and children under 6 are admitted free. Tickets can be purchased online at theamponlakemartin.com or at Nail’s convenience store, The Company Store at Russell Crossroads.
CLOSURES CITY HALL
n All of municipal offices of Alexander City government, including Alexander City City Hall, will be closed today, and remain closed until 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning. The regularly scheduled meeting of the Alexander City City Council has been moved to Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at the upstairs courtroom at the Alexander City Public Safety Building.
THE OUTLOOK
n To allow for our employees to spend time with their families this Labor Day, the offices of The Outlook will be closed Friday through Monday and will reopen at 8 a.m. on Tuesday. While the paper will be closed for business transactions, a paper will be published as scheduled on Tuesday and delivered as usual to your home and area single-copy outlets.
TRASH COLLECTION
n There will be no trash collection this Monday in observation of Labor Day. The regular collection day will be pushed back one day this week in Alexander City.
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
488.50 Reported on 9/02/16 @ 5 p.m.
LACEY HOWELL 256.307.2443
laceyshowell@gmail.com 5295 Highway 280, Alex City, AL
54708 90050
Auburn football game, lake visitors create traffic for local merchants By MITCH SNEED Editor
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September 3-4, 2016 • Vol. 124 • No. 178 • www.alexcityoutlook.com
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EVENTS
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SPORTS EXTRA Your all inclusive guide to area games, INSIDE!
Lighting the way for Alexander City & Lake Martin since 1892
A final summer holiday weekend at Lake Martin and an Auburn home football game have the potential of making this Labor Day weekend a great one for area businesses. Cliff Williams / The Outlook Friday morning a check Traffic backs up along Highway 280 Friday afwith local hotels, retailers and ternoon. Auburn football and lake visitors should stores showed that they are make for a busy weekend in the area.
214th Guard Unit returns today
Arrest made in attack on elderly man
TIGER PRIDE
Suspect asking for help chokes victim, burglarizes home
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Alexander City residents will get their chance today to welcome some brave soldiers who have been doing their part to keep our nation and the world safe. Alexander City’s own Alabama National Guard 214th Military Police Unit will arrive back in town today at 5 p.m. and the public is invited to come out and show their appreciation. The 136 soldiers who have been training and deployed in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since last October will roll into Alexander City Saturday with a full escort from the Alexander City Police Department, the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Department as well as the troopers from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
“I think there is no doubt that Auburn fans, the folks coming to the game from Birmingham, can have a big impact here,” Collari said. “I think you will see people coming down Highway 280, picking up tailgating supplies, grabbing a bite to eat and picking up last minute items. With a big game like this one – Clemson No. 2 in the See ECONOMY • Page 3
all prepared for heavy traffic over the next three days. All the hotels on Highway 280 were booked near capacity and stores were fully stocked in anticipation. Ed Collari, president and chief executive officer of the Alexander City Chamber of Commerce, said Friday that the kind of traffic that this weekend could bring means a lot to the economy.
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Above, Max McClendon spins around the bat as punshiment for stepping on the ‘D’ at Dadeville High School during homecoming week. The act was followed by McClendon painting his finger nails. Left, The Dadevile High School Homecoming parade makes its way through campus past the student body Friday morning.
See RETURN • Page 9
Alexander City Police have arrested a suspect in a bizarre attack of an older male resident at his home Thursday. According to reports, a single male suspect approached an elderly male at his home on Morningside Drive in Alexander City just after 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon. The man who appeared on foot as the man was in his backyard doing yard work. It was reported that the suspect told the resident that he had a flat tire and needed to use the telephone to call for help. As the resident was taking the suspect into his house to access the telephone, the suspect grabbed the victim and began to choke him until the man lost consciousness. One report indicated that the suspect then took a pillowcase from the bedroom, rummaged through the home and left with several undisclosed items. “We got the call a little after 4 p.m. and have been working See ARREST • Page 3
Blasingame has a plan for New Site By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
Phil Blasingame is new to the political scene. But the 53-year-old newly elected mayor of New Site appears to have a set of priorities ready to pursue. “This is my first elected office,” said Blasingame, who also serves as chief financial officer for Tallapoosa County Schools. “I never ran for anything in my life. I appreciate the vote of confidence the people of New Site have given me.” Blasingame has been in New Site all his life and is convinced he has a handle on what the community needs. And New Site’s most immediate need, Blasingame says, is greater access to health care. “We need a doctor’s office,” Blasingame said. “Actually, it would
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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.”
probably be a nurse practitioner, but someone who could provide health care in the community. The school is the largest in the county and we have a large senior citizen base. We need something so our residents won’t have to go all the way to Dadeville or Alex City. It’s a much-needed benefit for our people of all ages.” Blasingame said he has had talks with people at Russell Medical Center about a location in New Site much like the one RMC currently operates in Goodwater. “The Russell Medical Center deal could serve as a catalyst,” Blasingame said. “It could bring some other businesses and some activity to New Site. One of the things that might accompany a Russell Medical Center satellite doctor’s office is a small drugstore or
Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Phil Blasingame, New Site’s newly elected mayor, has his eye on See NEW SITE • Page 9 bringing new businesses to town.
1720 Dadeville Road • Alexander City, AL
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