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The Tallassee Tribune DEDICATED TO THE GROWTH AND PROSPERITY OF THE GREATER TALLASSEE AREA

TALLASSEE, AL 36078

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February 17, 2016

TALLASSEETRIBUNE.COM

VOL. 117, NO. 7

Ivy Creek breaks ground on new Urgent Care Facility predicted to open some time this year By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer

It was announced in November that Tallassee and surrounding areas would soon have an additional option for medical care. The additional medical option is one step closer to fruition. Ivy Creek Healthcare CEO Mike Bruce broke ground to the new Tallassee Urgent Care facility Wednesday. The new

facility will open in 2016. The new facility will be adjacent to Walmart on Gilmer Avenue and will provide urgent medical care to the local community. Urgent care facilities are staffed with doctors and nurse practitioners that can handle any minor emergency. “Urgent care facilities cut down on emergency room visits and provide medical care to the community when a patient can’t get in to

see their primary care physician,” said Linda Lewis, with Ivy Creek Healthcare. Ivy Creek Healthcare operates several facilities in Southeast including Dadeville, Georgiana, and Wetumpka areas. Bruce currently maintains Chilton Urgent Care and Wetumpka Urgent Care and three Carmen Rodgers / The Tribune hospitals, family practices, pharma- Mike Bruce, CEO Ivy Creek Healthcare, along with members of the comcies, home health and hospice munity at the groundbreaking ceremony of the new Tallassee Urgent Care See FACILITY • Page 3 facility Wednesday. The new facility will open in 2016.

Tallassee’s annual Heart Walk scheduled for Feb. 20

Relay for Life holds free kickoff event

By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer

Proceeds go to American Heart Association and Tallassee Rec Center Carmen Rodgers / The Tribune

By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer

The annual Heart Walk starts at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 20 and registration is $25. The walk will begin at the Welcome Center in downtown. Walkers will have two paths to choose from. One course is longer and has a more vigorous path. The second route will be about a mile shorter and will not include as many inclines. “There is a long walk that is approximately two miles. For those who can’t walk as long there is a walk that is about a mile,” said Tammy Merritt with the Tallassee Recreation Center. The annual event benefits both the American Heart Association and the Tallassee Recreation Center. “We do this every year and we split the proceeds with the American Heart Association,” Merritt said. The recreation center will use the funds raised to upgrade the cardio room See HEART • Page 2

On Friday, Angela Gantt and Shanikka Beacher, along with the students whose parents helped build the playground and a few friends, gathered together for the opening of the new playground. Bottom, After a quick group photo the kids took to play.

Tallassee Elementary gets new playground By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer

Tallassee Elementary School officially opened the new playground that has been in the works since before Christmas. The construction of this new facility was truly a community effort. This new playground came with a hefty price tag that was funded by a portion of a grant from the Poarch Band of

Creek Indians out of Wetumpka along with the Fall Fundraiser. “I think what made our Fall Fundraiser so successful is we told them what the money would be used for,” said Jose Reyes, principal at Tallassee Elementary. It was a beautiful Friday morning when the playground was officially opened to the students. Angela Gantt See PLAYGROUND • Page 3

The annual Relay For Life event is set for 6 p.m. Feb. 25 at Cozumel Mexican Grill, 405 Gilmer Ave. and everyone is invited to the kickoff to learn about how to help the American Cancer Society save more lives from cancer. “I’m very enthusiastic to get everyone involved with our event this year,” said Amber Voss with the American Cancer Society’s Relay for life. “It’s going to be a really fun and laidback evening. Were going to hangout and talk about Relay for Life and play some bingo.” The program will highlight how the community has benefited from funds See RELAY • Page 3

Council votes to oppose Confederate flag downtown By COREY ARWOOD and CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer

In a specially called 10-minute city council meeting, with no public comment, members of the Tallassee City Council voted to show their “disapproval” of plans to place a 30-foot Confederate flag in the heart of downtown Tallassee by a local chapter of the Sons of Confederate Veterans. While the vote was more symbolic than a ban or an ordinance change, it allowed the public to know how the members of the council felt about plans for the flag. Of the 10-minute meeting a total of only about two minutes were devoted to the decision and the topic as a whole. There was a one-minute briefing offered up by City Attorney John Smith who gave a brief overview of the resolution prior to the vote.

Smith said he had been in contact with different council members since Monday. He said that he got their input, then gave them his opinion and drafted the resolution. No official comment or stance of any kind was offered and the council immediately adjourned after the session after the 6-0 approval vote on the resolution voicing opposition to the erection of a flag pole where the Confederate flag would be flown. Bill Godwin, of Ward 6, was absent from the session. Following the meeting, Councilman Rob Rygiel said how Tallassee is perceived is important to economic growth. “We don’t have to allow (public comment),” said Rygiel. “We believe it is best for the economic growth of our city to present our city in the proper and best way for all people.” On Friday, a copy of the resolution was provided and included in part: “while

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acknowledging the rights of all to the freedoms of speech, expression and association, the City Council believes that the display of the Confederate battle flag in Tallassee will foster resentment, upset and ill-will among its residents and harm the City of Tallassee in its efforts to recruit businesses and industry as well as provide others an opportunity to ridicule our community.” The full test of the resolution can be seen at the end of this report. Tallassee had been thrust into the media recently by another SCV related Confederate flag controversy, which was later learned to have a connection to an alleged white supremacist hate-group. The local SCV had made a donation to a group whose aim was to raise a Confederate flag in downtown Montgomery blocks from historically black Alabama State University off of I-85. See OPPOSE • Page 2

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