OPINION PAGE 4
LOCAL, PAGE 11 Meet Elmore County Humane Society’s Pet of the Week, Whiskey!
SPORTS, PAGE 12
THS wrestling celebrates winning season.
INSIDE
‘There is nothing quite like flying on faith.’
SUNDAY SERVICES & RELIGION BRIEFS PAGE 6.
The Tallassee Tribune DEDICATED TO THE GROWTH AND PROSPERITY OF THE GREATER TALLASSEE AREA
TALLASSEE, AL 36078
50¢
March 23, 2016
TALLASSEETRIBUNE.COM
VOL. 117, NO. 12
Police follow new leads on missing teen Montgomery Police Department officials are working closely in this case to locate the missing child. The missing child report was elevated to a Missing Child Alert Tuesday, following recent occurrences that lead to the arrest of 30-year-old Willie Joe Thomas III of Montgomery. Thomas was identified as the driver of the car that picked Neal up. See MISSING • Page 7
By MITCH SNEED & CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writers
Carmen Rodgers / The Tribune
Police are seeking information on this man seen in surveillance video from the Ann Sreet Walmart. They believe he may have picked missing teen Kiara Neal from the store on March 9.
Neal
It has been 13 days since 14-year-old Tallassee teen Kiara Neal has been seen by her family. Surveillance video shows Neal entering a gold Ford Expedition, with Montgomery County license plates around 3:30 p.m. on March 9. According to Tallassee Police Chief Jimmy Rodgers, his department and
Local pharmacy celebrates more than 40 years in business
Westside Baptist Church travels to wild Alaska bush
By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer
The Apothecary pharmacy is celebrating 10 years at 1405 Gilmer Avenue. However, the history of the pharmacy goes back much further than 10 years. Alphonso Davidson and Charles Funderburk originally opened The Apothecary in 1973 on Gilmer Avenue in a building that adjoined a doctor’s office. Elaine Bunn began working with Davidson and Funderburk in 1973. By 1988, Davidson was ready to retire and Bunn, who had begun working at Harco Drugs in Tallassee, bought the pharmacy. In 1996 Bunn purchased Pinehurst Plaza, renovated the building and relocated The Apothecary to 1409 Pinehurst Plaza. On March 20, 2006, Bunn and her husband, Jimmy Thornton, bought the building at 1405 Gilmer Avenue and re-opened The Apothecary there. Amanda Orr and Cecilia Smith were hired as pharmacists to run the pharmacy. Orr and Smith grew up in the Eclectic area and attended Auburn University School of Pharmacy together. They always wanted to own a pharmacy and in 2012 Bunn, now ready to retire, sold The Apothecary See PHARMACY • Page 3
CONTACT US 334-283-6568 / FAX: 334-283-6569 Follow us on
or visit us at: www.TallasseeTribune.com
pka m u t e W
Thomas
Church holding multiple fundraisers to fund trip By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer
Carmen Rodgers / The Tribune
The Broken L Wagon Train ushers in the SLE Rodeo. The train begins in Rock Mills, Alabama, which is in Randolph County and borders Georgia. The trip is a weeklong expedition and on a map the course that the wagon train follows has the appearance of a backward, or broken, L.
BACK IN TIME
Broken L Wagon Train travels through Tallassee By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer
The rodeo was in Montgomery this weekend and the Broken L Wagon Train ushered it in. The wagon train traveled from Rock Mills, Alabama to Montgomery. The wagon train made several stops along the way to camp and let their horses rest for the night. Tallassee happened to be a stopping point for the wagon train this year.
“Mr. Tim Cohen, he let us park there and we couldn’t do this without people like him,” said Gene Laws, Wagon Master of the Broken L Wagon Train. The wagon train begins in Rock Mills, which is in Randolph County and borders Georgia. The trip is a weeklong expedition and on a map the course that the wagon train follows has See WAGON • Page 7
Last weekend members of the Westside Baptist Church held a carwash and a massive yard sale to help fund a missionary trip to Alaska. The church plans to take 17 members to the “interior bush of Alaska,” said Pastor Rick Dorley of Westside Baptist. The group will be joining another mission group that is already established in Alaska. ”John Pinnix, he has what they call the RAM (Remote Alaskan Missions) Ministry,” said Dorley. “There’s over 1,000 villages in Alaska that have anywhere from one to 1,000 people in them. They can only be accessed via boat, an airplane that can land on water or in the winter (by) a snowmobile.” Some of the destinations of the mission trip include Stevens Village, Healy Lake, which is up the Yukon. “There’s no roads there, but we go up and have church services and try to start church in the villages. We’re there to help the missionary with evangelistic work,” See ALASKA • Page 3
Councilman calls for improvements in Jordanville By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer
During the March 14 City Council meeting, Councilman Charles Blaylock asked Greg Clark if there is any potential grant funding for the demolition or refurbishing of the two grey buildings that stand on the left side of Hwy 229 just as people enter the city in the Jordanville neighborhood. The councilman said the buildings are an eyesore and pose a danger because they have sat there empty for such a long period of time. “Tallassee is the gateway to the lake and Jordanville is the entrance to this city and those two buildings are the first thing people see when they enter the city,”
Flea Market & Antiques
25,000 Sq. Ft. • Air Conditioned
114 DEALERS
Blaylock said. “Something needs to be done about them.” The two buildings have stood empty for years and one of the building owners is ready to turn it over to the city. However, the other building owner is more reluctant to do so. “We’ve tried working with that particular building owner in the past,” said Councilman Bill Godwin. Despite the efforts the building still stands. Blaylock would like to see the building utilized or, if that is not possible, demolished. “They are a danger as they stand right now,” he said. “We could turn them into a senior center or a community center.” See JORDANVILLE • Page 3
LINVILLE MEMORIAL
F U N E R A L
H O M E
Cremations and Monuments
334-567-2666
84632 Tallassee Hwy. [ Eclectic, AL
Winn Dixie Shopping Center • Behind KFC
www.linvillememorial.com
5266 U.S. Hwy. 231, Wetumpka
Carmen Rodgers / The Triibune
Robert Junior Smith, also known as “Smitty,” spends most of his days in the parking lot of the this old building in Jordanville.
334.639.4730
FREE ESTIMATES!
Hedging, Fall Cleanup, Leaf Removal, All Yard & Lawn Maintenance
(334) 309-4422 • (334) 580-7879