SPORTS, PAGE B1
OPINION, PAGE A5
Tigers ride first quarter to run to sixth straight win
Brantley talks life up until the 1950s
CITY HOLDS ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING, PAGE A7
The Tallassee Tribune DEDICATED TO THE GROWTH AND PROSPERITY OF THE GREATER TALLASSEE AREA
TALLASSEE, AL 36078
50¢
December 5, 2018
TALLASSEETRIBUNE.COM
VOL. 119, NO. 49
Council, BOE debate issues at high school King Street is lined with student parking, which causes congestion that would block a fire truck from accessing Tallassee High School’s campus. This along with the open access to the school from the street was just two of several safety issues addressed by city officials during Tuesday’s meeting.
Officials not seeing eye-to-eye; have safety, financial concerns By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer
Tallassee’s City Council and Board of Education are wrangling over the funding and sequence of building new facilities at the high school, with the council questioning the board’s priorities and the board insisting on a financial commitment from the city. At the Nov. 27 council meeting, superintendent Wade Shipman said the
school system must receive a binding pledge from the city council that half of a proposed 1-cent sales tax increase would go toward the project. The binding pledge is required for bonds to be issued for the new structures. But Mayor Johnny Hammock and the council expressed reservations about plans to build a fine-arts building before a main building because they feel safety issues at the existing main building See DEBATE • Page A3
Carmen Rodgers / The Tribune
City’s downtown improvements are in planning stages By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer
’Tis the season Photo by Carmen Rodgers / The Tribune
Santa Claus shows Web Buce how to hold up 10 fingers during Friday’s annual Christmas tree lighting held at Veterans Park. To read a story on the tree lighting ringing in the holiday season and for more photos, see Page A7 inside.
Caught with hand on heart
Hotel Tallassee now facing fresh problems By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer
4-year-old stops, independently recites pledge on bathroom break By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer
Patriotism runs deep in Tallassee, even on an elementary level. Each day during the morning announcements, the fourth-grade purple ambassadors recite the Pledge of Allegiance for all the students at Tallassee Elementary School. “The children in our pre-K class have learned See PLEDGE • Page A2
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Imagine Tallassee’s downtown area with fresh façade, underground power lines, freshly laid sidewalks, updated lighting, free Wi-Fi and other modern amenities. This vision could soon be the reality thanks to a Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) grant. The project’s overall cost of $725,000 will include $580,000 in federal funds coming through the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT). The city must provide the other 20 percent, according to Jeff Harrison of CDG Engineers & Associates, Inc., who attended the Nov. 27 city council meeting to explain the grant process. “ALDOT will provide 80 percent of the funding, with a 20-percent city match for improving streets, sidewalks, lighting and landscaping, all to promote beautification and intermodal transportation in specific areas,” Harrison said. The city will incur some additional costs, such as funding the engineering fees to prepare plans and let the project out for bids, Harrison said.
Submitted / The Tribune
Tallassee pre-K student Anzlee Eckstein, 4, stopped in the hallway — on her own — to recite the pledge while she was walking to the bathroom.
The Hotel Tallassee has a new dilemma that could affect a popular dog park downtown but a city official said steps are being taken to correct the problem by the owner, who wants to sell the building. The backside of the historic building has a large crack from the top down to two windows below, causing the wall to bow in the direction of a nearby dog park. According to Tallassee See HOTEL • Page A7
See IMPROVEMENTS • Page A3
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