Winless Dawgs to ‘sharpen the saw’ this spring. Sports, Page 8. Wetumpka, AL 36092
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SATURDAY-SUNDAY • APRIL 16-17, 2016
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 11, NO. 15
Local jobless rate again among state’s lowest
STAFF REPORT TPI Staff
The good news on the job front keeps coming for Elmore County as statistics released Friday show that the county again can boast the state’s second lowest unemployment rate. Elmore County posted an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent in March, second to only to Shelby County’s 4.6 percent. That rate for the county was better than February’s 5.4 percent, but just
slightly up from the 5.0 percent Elmore County had in March of 2014. The county’s numbers were considerably better than Alabama’s preliminary seasonally adjusted March unemployment rate of 6.2 percent. “Alabama’s unemployment rate continues to hold steady, all the while showing labor force and employment growth,” Gov. Robert Bentley said in a released statement. “The growth is very encouraging, as we continue to see higher numbers of people working than we
have in nearly eight years. Employers are hiring in Alabama, and we have a workforce ready for a job. Our efforts will continue to put Alabamians back to work.” The state’s civilian labor force, which represents those persons 16 and older who are working or actively seeking work, increased to 2,176,457 in March, representing both a monthly and a yearly increase. The number of people counted as employed in March was 2,042,177,
School Board dealing with discrimination lawsuit
County Schools embrace computer science
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
Elmore County School Board is joining a growing effort to train teachers to educate students from kindergarten through seniors in computer sciences in a continual learning push for students to grasp coding like any other subject. Within the next three years, teaching methods will be introduced into middle school students daily learning routines, and following that into kindergarten through third grades. The goal is to have students not only familiar, but proficient in computer programming, so upon entering high school those that choose can continue their training with new AP courses which are set to be offered next year. Tracy Wright, the math curriculum specialist who led the effort to get Elmore County Schools signed on with the group CODE.org, said by the time students graduate they will have created an app and know one of the many coding languages, if they pursue those AP courses. Wright said there are only See COMPUTER • Page 3
also representing a monthly and yearly increase. The last time the number of people working was equal to or above 2,042,177 was in August 2008, when the number registered 2,042,834. “The number of jobs our economy is currently supporting is extremely encouraging – we’re less than 8,000 jobs away from meeting economists’ predictions for job growth in 2016, and we’re only three months into the year,” Alabama Department of Labor See UNEMPLOYMENT Page 3
Corey Arwood / The Herald
Students at Holtville Elementary School release balloons to commemorate Child Abuse Prevention Month. Below, Director of the Elmore County Department of Human Resources Michelle Wood spoke to the students at the balloon-release.
RAISING AWARENESS Elmore County DHR holds child abuse awareness event By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
On behalf of Child Abuse Prevention Month, Elmore County DHR held an event at Holtville Elementary School to help raise awareness to an issue on the rise in Elmore County. Director of the Elmore County Department of Human Resources Michelle Wood spoke to the students at the balloon-release – a fun reminder of a serious issue– to offer resources for parents and children alike. “Our goal here is to educate the children and the families on what resources they have out there that can help them when they get frustrated or when they are
A lawsuit has been filed in federal court and a complaint made to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission against the Elmore County School Board by an employee over allegations of racially discriminatory hiring practices and retaliation. The charges were made by a Holley O’Dell, 42, and brought against a total of four defendants in the School Board – its superintendent, Andre Harrison, and three of O’Dell’s supervisors. The case is now pending in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama Northern Division. The suit includes 19 pages worth of accusations that were presented to the court by O’Dell’s attorneys at the Montgomery law firm McPhillips Shinbaum and detail her accounts over a roughly two-year period. There were three counts brought against the School Board and presented in the suit: race discrimination, retaliation and a cold and hostile work environment. An email response from Superintendent Andre Harrison said, “We are in the process of reviewing the complaint and cannot comment on the ongoing litigation.” One of O’Dell’s attorney’s, Joseph Guillot, said the EEOC complaint was made Feb. 16, and the suit brought formally against the school board March 30. He said they were awaiting a response and the Board was approaching its 21-day deadline to respond to the court on the allegations. The EEOC response, Guillot said, could take anywhere from three to six
See ABUSE • Page 7
Clayton sentenced to 30 years for killing his mother CONTACT US 334-567-7811 • Fax: 334-567-3284
Troop 13 honors newest Eagle Scout STAFF REPORT TPI Staff
By MITCH SNEED Editor
Judge Sibley Reynolds sentenced a man who was found guilty of murdering his mother to 30 years in prison Wednesday. Sedric Clayton, 29, of Millbrook was found guilty in January in the August 2014 killing of his mother, 49-year-old Anita Washington. Clayton was arrested and charged with the murder of his mother in 2014 after her body Clayton was discovered wrapped in a sheet in the Sandtown community. See SENTENCE • Page 3
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Submitted / The Herald
Scotty Dennis, a sophomore at Wetumpka High School, recently became the newest Eagle Scout at Wetumpka’s Boy Scout Troop 13.
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Scotty Dennis, a sophomore at Wetumpka High School, recently became the newest Eagle Scout at Wetumpka’s Boy Scout Troop 13. In high school, Dennis has been a member of the award-winning WHS Steam Machine robotics team, DECA Club, Key Club, Beta Club, Envirobowl, Science Olympiad, Cyber Patriots and the wrestling team. He was previously a Cub Scout in both Pack 50 and Pack See SCOUT • Page 3