INSIDE, PAGE A3: FATAL STABBING OCCURS AT ELMORE COUNTY PRISON Inside the Statehouse with Steve Flowers
Holtville’s Roberts takes next steps towards professional career
SPORTS, B1
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THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
50¢
WEDNESDAY • AUGUST 2, 2017
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 119, NO. 31
Wetumpka man indicted for capital murder in triple drive-by slaying By DAVID GRANGER Managing Editor
Edwards
A 33-year-old Wetumpka man has been indicted for capital murder in the March 19, 2016 drive-by shooting that resulted in three men dead and another injured, according to court records.
Marcus Lopez Edwards was indicted in the deaths of Daryl Hunt, 48, of Elmore, Deosha Jackson, 19, who lived in the Frog Level neighborhood, and Jacoreian Jennings, 24, of Wetumpka by the most recent Elmore County grand jury, which ended its deliberations July 21.
from a Taurus semi-automatic handgun in the 700 block of Wetumpka’s Ouiwatumpkis Street with a combined 10 bullets striking the four men. Hunt, the alleged target of the attack, and Jackson were pronounced dead at the scene of the See INDICTMENT • Page A2
Redericka Jones, 20, of Wetumpka, was shot once in the finger and suffered a superficial wound to the neck. Edwards was indicted for assault in Jones’ shooting. According to testimony in a March 21, 2016 court appearance, Edwards allegedly fired 12 rounds
Wetumpka man dies in Elmore County Jail cell following arrest
WPD officer involved in fatal crash arrested
By DAVID GRANGER Managing Editor
A 47-year-old Wetumpka man died Friday afternoon in a holding cell at the Elmore County Jail after being arrested for possession of a controlled substance, possession of marijuana and a parole violation, according to Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin. Daniel Stewart was pronounced dead in the holding cell at 3:14 p.m. He arrived at the jail at approximately 8:30 a.m. after his arrest on Neman Road near Tallassee. “We got a call for service this morning at 7:45 a.m. on Neman Road and our deputies responded,” said Franklin. “When they got there a gentleman was complaining about a man in a wooded area moaning, lying near a creek bank. “The deputies found him extremely intoxicated and in possession of methamphetamine, hydrocodone and marijuana.” See DEATH • Page A2
By COREY ARWOOD and DAVID GRANGER Staff Writers
Corey Arwood / The Herald
Mo Brooks makes a point as Roy Moore listens at the Wetumpka Tea Party’s forum for the top three-polling U.S. Senate candidates at the Wetumpka Civic Center, which appeared near capacity with standing room only.
Forum lacks Strange, but not fiery rhetoric By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
A candidate forum designed to be among the three highest-polling candidates for what was Jeff Sessions’ U.S. senate seat hopefuls churned out large crowds with their fiery discussion and outrage over a plethora of major headline topics while each vies for the elected position in a matter of weeks. Only two candidates, Mo Brooks and Roy Moore, were on stage, however, fielding
questions from Montgomery radio news talk show host Dan Morris. The questions were said to come from his listeners. Wetumpka Tea Party President Becky Gerritson opened the event. “Tonight’s Senate forum is a little different than many of the other forums that have been held across the state,” Gerritson said. “Most of the forums invited all nine candidates to be on the stage. … Knowing that this forum was going to be slated two weeks before the See FORUM • Page A3
The Wetumpka police officer involved in the U.S. 231 crash that killed a Wetumpka woman in October surrendered himself to authorities Wednesday morning and was placed in Elmore County Jail Bass charged with manslaughter, a felony, according to Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin. Franklin said Andrew Bass surrendered almost immediately. “We made contact with him and he showed up within the hour,” Franklin said. “His attorney had called and was aware of it.” Bass was driving his Wetumpka Police Department cruiser on U.S. 231 on Saturday, Oct. 22 when his vehicle struck a 2016 Honda Pilot driven by Elaine Merritt, 52, of Wetumpka. See OFFICER • Page A2
Redland Elementary hosts school cafeteria managers By DAVID GRANGER Managing Editor
Redland Elementary School last week hosted 46 school cafeteria managers from across the state – approximately 23 per session for two two-day sessions – in a culinary training paid for with a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and facilitated by contractors from the Institute of Child Nutrition. “What’s so cool about this training is it combines the nutrition the kids need with the cooking skills the cooks need to prepare it properly,” said Kim Hofmann a registered dietician contracted by the Institute of Child Nutrition who, along with Chef Robert Rymes, conducted the training. “This training gives the cooks the
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knife skills, the cooking skills and educates them on how to use spices,” Hofmann said. “And that’s just for starters. They will get experience preparing different recipes, as well. They’re really learning all aspects of food preparation.” Among the food-preparation details the cooks covered over the two days were mise en place ( French phrase for “put in place, which requires that cooks have all tools and ingredients in place before beginning their preparation), preparation (understanding the recipe to be followed and the procedures used, preheating of cooking source and measuring of ingredients and planning for garnishes), knife skills (How to choose and safely handle the proper knife for the job, including with basic and advanced cuts), tasting and clean-up.
“For me, it’s important that we wore, w-o-r-e,” said Sandra G. Smith, Redland Elementary’s cafeteria manager. “That means that we wash ourselves before we begin and we wash the fruits and vegetables. We organize, keep our work station organized so that we have everything we need in place. We read the recipe from top to bottom. And we execute the recipe the way it’s written. “And we work as a team. When we’re finished with our tasks, we help each other.” Rymes, who spent time as a chef at Atlanta’s Ritz Carlton, says the knife skills are the most difficult thing for those in the training to learn. “I think that’s what most of them want to see improved,” said Rymes. “For See CAFETERIA • Page A2
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David Granger / The Herald
Chef Robert Rhymes, a contractor with the Institute of Child Nutrition, instructs a team of cafeteria managers at the Healthy Cuisine for Kids culinary training held last week at Redland Elementary School. Some 46 cafeteria managers from across the state attended.
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