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THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
50¢
WEDNESDAY • AUGUST 22, 2018
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 120, NO. 34
Student charged with making school threats arrested by the Wetumpka Police Department after allegedly making violent threats towards the school via social media. According to WPD Chief Greg Benton, the threats were made over Snapchat, and were not directed at a particular individual.
By AMALIA KORTRIGHT Bureau Chief
A Wetumpka High school student was recently arrested and charged with making a terrorist threat. The unnamed student, who was identified as a ninth-grader, was
resolve this threat immediately and safely,” the press release read. Within an hour of receiving the report, the WPD were able to identify, locate and apprehend the suspect. Benton said the juvenile was later released to legal guardians after the See THREATS • Page A2
According to a WPD press release, the juvenile suspect was reported by school administration on Saturday after they were notified of the threats by another student who saw the suspect’s post. “This was instrumental in allowing the WPD the opportunity to proactively
City talks 2018-19 budget
Trial date reset for former WPD cop in manslaughter case
By AMALIA KORTRIGHT Bureau Chief
By AMALIA KORTRIGHT Bureau Chief
The trial date was reset for Sept. 17 for a former Wetumpka police officer who was charged in connection with a fatal collision on U.S. 231 in October of 2016. Andrew Bass, 30, who lists an address on Lakeview Court in Wetumpka, is scheduled to appear at the Elmore County Courthouse for a jury trial at 8:30 Bass a.m. Bass was originally arrested by the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office and charged with manslaughter on July 26, 2017. Bass had been driving his Dodge Charger Wetumpka Police Department cruiser on Oct. 22, 2016, when his vehicle struck a Wetumpka woman’s 2016 Honda Pilot at around 4 p.m. near the intersection of U.S. 231 and Cambridge Avenue. The victim was identified See MANSLAUGHTER • Page A2
Amalia Kortright / The Herald
Sara Ann Pepper gives her remarks during the dedication of WUMC’s new flagpole in honor of her brother, Neal Howard Smith.
‘Of strong heart’ Local church memorializes fallen WWII soldier By AMALIA KORTRIGHT Bureau Chief
The Wetumpka United Methodist Church dedicated its new flagpole in memory of a former member who was killed during World War II, during a ceremony Friday. Dozens of
people attended. A marker memorializing Neal Howard Smith, the brother of a former Wetumpka city council member, was placed below the pole. “He gave the ultimate sacrifice in the war,” Smith’s sister, Sara Ann Pepper of Statham, See SOLDIER • Page A2
The ‘Amber’s Blessings’ box currently sits in front of Trinity Episcopal Church and provides donations to anyone who needs them. It was built in memory of church member Elizabeth Recchio’s niece.
‘Amber’s Blessings’ box provides necessities to community By AMALIA KORTRIGHT Bureau Chief
A member of Trinity Episcopal Church recently found a new way to help those in need when she recently built the “Amber’s Blessings” box. Elizabeth Recchio said members of the community are invited to leave nonperishable food, toiletries and other items that may help someone in the box for
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anyone in need. Recchio said the box has been in front of the church for about a month, and was established in honor of her late niece, Amber Seaton. “My niece passed away last November,” Recchio said. “During the last few years of her life, she was involved in some stuff she shouldn’t have been.” After Seaton’s death, Recchio said other family members began hearing stories from See BOX • Page A2
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Amalia Kortright / The Herald
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The Wetumpka City Council discussed the city’s proposed budget for the 2018-19 year at a regularly scheduled meeting Monday. The budget was proposed by Mayor Jerry Willis and the Wetumpka finance director Julie Creel, who could not be present at the meeting. “This was a very difficult budget to make, but an exciting budget because of having a little more wiggle room than we’ve had,” Willis said. According to Willis, there has not been extra funding in the city’s budget since the economic recession in 2008. “It’s going to give us the opportunity, I think, if we’re smart, with management to move forward,” Willis said. Willis credited the leaders of each city department, who he said were “highly commended” by auditors and accountants on how they adhered to their assigned budgets. “We’ve asked every (city) department head to continue doing exactly what you’re doing,” Willis said. “If you See BUDGET • Page A2
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