INSIDE TODAY
Area Calendar
Inside, Page 2
Two-way depth key to Wetumpka football
County should stick to its guns
Sports, Page 12
Opinion, Page 4
THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
50¢
WEDNESDAY • AUGUST 10, 2016
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
TRIAL BY COUNCIL :
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
During the last council session last week, answers emerged about the progress of a city project after a council member submitted a list of questions to the agenda regarding the Martin Luther King Recreation and Multicultural Center. Three of the four points directed by District 2 Councilmember Percy Gill to the council were about the current status
of the MLK Center, more specifically why work had stopped and who was responsible. The list of items he wanted to address was not actually included on the agenda, however some were read aloud by Mayor Jerry Willis for discussion. City and county officials, along with the council, debated Gill almost point for point, at times in heated exchanges. Willis read the question Gill submitted regarding the scheduled completion date for the little league football field, which has been under development at
VOL. 118, NO.29
Councilman accuses city, city blames lack of funds for progress at MLK Center into details about the contract with the project’s overseer, the services it provided and who was legally responsible for the project itself. Throughout the meeting, Willis deferred to a number of city officials who had been involved to this point with the MLK Center and sports complex projects, the first of which was the public works director, Tex Grier. During the discussion, it was learned that the football field, along with the
the MLK Jr. Rec Center property. A copy of the document Gill sent to the city clerk was obtained after the meeting. According to the email, after one item concerning street paving sites was mentioned, Gill launched into his inquiry on the projects set for the MLK facilities. The first of which reads, “What is the scheduled completion date for the little league football field at the Dr. MLK Jr. Rec & Multicultural Center?” The question, however, included three sub-points that delved more specifically
See COUNCIL • Page 5
Elmore inmate recaptured in Kentucky
County Board takes no action on IDB request
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
By WILLIAM CARROLL Managing Editor
The Elmore County Commission took no action on a request from the Tallassee Industrial Development Board Monday evening to allow the IDB to abate county ad valorem taxes, while nixing a request from the Wetumpka Area Chamber of Commerce regarding a haunted history tour. Commissioners spent the majority of the work session portion of their meeting speaking with IDB Chairman Richard Dorley regarding IDB’s request to have the commission allow the entity to abate the non-educational portion of the county’s ad valorem taxes for the first 10 years. Dorley said that he was looking for a closer working relationship with the county and suggested at some point that a commissioner or commissioners be appointed to act as a liaison to the IDB. Commissioner Joe Faulk, while crediting the IDB and Dorley in particular, said that he felt it was a matter of equity and that it didn’t seem fair to allow the IDB board
William Carroll and Corey Arwood / The Herald
Above, students in Chera Davis’ 1st-grade class get excited about their first day back after summer vacation. Bottom right, Wetumpka Middle School students finish up their first lunch of the school year and file out of the dining hall on their way back to class. Below left, Students in Mrs. Deem’s 2nd-grade class enjoy snack time and coloring on the first day of school Monday for Elmore County school children at Wetumpka Elementary School.
WELCOME BACK Halls abuzz with activity on first day of school
After missing for roughly three days, a tattooed convict who allegedly escaped from Elmore Correctional Facility was found in Kentucky during what was described by a state press release as a “routine traffic stop” on Monday. State police stopped Justin Caldwell, 27, in Hardin County, Kentucky around 11 a.m., according to an email sent out by a Caldwell public information officer with the Alabama Department of Corrections. The document sent out by Bob Horton, PIO with AL DOC, states that Caldwell is awaiting extradition back to ECF after being placed in the Hardin County Jail and now faces additional charges for the escape. The statement said it was unknown whether Caldwell was
See COMMISSION • Page 3
See INMATE • Page 3
Planning commission votes to approve strategic plan as draft
State Auditor continues push for Bentley impeachment By WILLIAM CARROLL Managing Editor
Alabama State Auditor Jim Zeigler spoke to the Wetumpka Rotary Club Tuesday at the Wind Creek Hotel and Casino in Wetumpka about current investigations pending against Governor Robert Bentley and his hope that the House Judiciary Committee might move to act on articles of impeachment against Bentley. Monday, Zeigler sent a let-
Today’s
Weather
92 73 High
ter to Judiciary Committee chairman Mike Jones asking the committee to consider at least one article of impeachment against Bentley. Zeigler noted that if the House does not act during the special session, it would be unable to act until February of 2017. Zeigler said he was elected on a platform of turning the auditor’s office into a watchman or monitor for elected See AUDITOR • Page 3
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
William Carroll / The Herald
State Auditor Jim Zeigler speaks to the Wetukpka Rotary Club at the Wind Creek Hotel and Casino Tuesday.
In a move described as a “next step” in their efforts to revamp the planning commission, the commission’s members discussed the approval of a strategic plan at their last meeting. The regular business on the agenda was handled quickly and the majority of the meeting was spent discussing ways to further develop the commission. Under “new business,” a section of land was See PLAN • Page 7
CONTACT US 334-567-7811 • Fax: 334-567-3284
Low
FREE ESTIMATES!
Hedging, Fall Cleanup, Leaf Removal, All Yard & Lawn Maintenance
THURSDAY: HIGH 94 LOW 73
USPS 681-260
(334) 309-4422 • (334) 580-7879