NEWS, A6
LOCAL, A6
Municipal airport closed, future still uncertain
Venable named guest speaker at chamber banquet
B1: TALLASSEE WRESTLING WINS REGION 1 DUALS
The Tallassee Tribune DEDICATED TO THE GROWTH AND PROSPERITY OF THE GREATER TALLASSEE AREA
TALLASSEE, AL 36078
50¢
January 16, 2019
TALLASSEETRIBUNE.COM
VOL. 120, NO. 3
Up 2 points City schools slightly improve on recent state report card By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer
File / The Tribune
This year’s annual Martin Luther King Celebration and march is scheduled for Monday at 10 a.m.
MLK march set for Monday The Driscoll Sisters, from God’s Congregation Holiness Church, will perform during the celebration and the master of ceremonies will be former longtime Tallassee councilmember Charles Blalock. “Mr. Blalock has been there every year for us,” Long said. “Ever since we started, close to nine years ago, we always call on him and he does a good job.” According to Long, coordinators have been working on this year’s MLK Celebration for half a year. “We meet once a month starting in August but next year I think we are going to start a little earlier,” he said. The event is open to the public, and everyone is encouraged to participate in the march and the services to follow. “Last year we had all of the city councilmembers there,” Long said. “Anyone can join us.”
By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer
T
allassee’s annual Martin Luther King Celebration is scheduled for Monday with the march beginning at the First United Methodist Church on Jordan Avenue at 10 a.m. and continuing to the intersection of Log Circle and U.S Highway
229. This year’s celebration will incorporate several local churches. The event will be held at Jerusalem Baptist Church and members from Oak Valley United Methodist Church and St. Paul United Methodist Church will also participate. The speaker will be Rev. Primus Brown of Tuskegee’s New Hope Baptist Church, event coordinator James Long said.
Tallassee City Schools improved slightly overall in 2017-18, the state education department’s annual report card revealed, with Southside Middle School getting dramatically better, Tallassee Elementary holding steady and Tallassee High School dropping. The city school system improved from an overall 75 in 2017-18 to a 77. Southside jumped from a 65 to a 76, the elementary school remained at 80, and the high school dropped from 77 to 73. Tallassee City Schools Superintendent Wade Shipman said he and the Tallassee Board of Education made several adjustments to the administrative staff at TES and Southside after last year. Shanikka Beacher is in her second year as TES principal and Micah Cook was brought in as SMS principal in November 2017. “All of our schools should be schools working toward improvement,” Shipman said. “This is an ongoing process and it could take a few years to get there but we are making progress. I give Mr. Cook and his staff, and the students, kudos at the middle school for taking this seriously.” Shipman said a newly introduced initiative aimed at curbing chronic absenteeism is helping the state assessment. “One area we are judged on is chronic absenteeism,” Shipman said. “We have attendance incentives to each of our schools and I think all those are helping.” Academic growth and improvement scores should have been higher, Shipman said, and additional staff geared to support classroom teachers could bring that area of assessment up next year. “We want to see our academics continue to get better,” he said. “We have done several things to help with that. We have reading coaches or instructional coaches at each one See REPORT • Page A3
Today’s
Council votes to rezone for 55-plus median income housing
Weather
58 38 High
Low
By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer
The Tallassee City Council voted on Jan. 8 to rezone land located next to the community hospital on which apartments for senior citizens with a median income would be built. All of the council voted in favor with the exception of Bill Godwin, who abstained citing a conflict of interest. However, the potential project developer, Jeff Rice, said it could be years before the complex breaks ground. “This is a competitive process, so we may or may not win the financing,” Rice said. “Many times we have to go back a second or third year to submit the applications to get an award for this type of housing.” See HOUSING • Page A3
Save the Date Daddy/Daughter Dance February 9th
THURS: HIGH 61 LOW 50
Carmen Rodgers / The Tribune
God’s Congregation Holiness Church’s Bishop Adolphus Gauntt addressed the council and community during a Jan. 8 meeting. Gauntt urged the council to consider the elderly people in his community and others who would benefit from new housing options in Tallassee.
WHEN YOU NEED HOME & AUTO COVERAGE:
DO IT WITH TRUITT!
Have A Great 2019!! 2019
A NIGHT IN HOLLYWOOD WAREHOUSE 51 Proceeds benefit the Mt. Vernon Theatre.
TRUITTINSURANCE.COM
P: 334.991.4688
CONTACT US 334-567-7811 Fax: 334-567-3284 USPS 681-260
LINVILLE MEMORIAL
FUNERAL HOME
Prearrangement Payments & Monuments
84632 Tallassee Hwy. | Eclectic, AL
334.639.4730
www.linvillememorial.com