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SATURDAY-SUNDAY • FEBRUARY 6-7, 2016
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 11, NO. 6
‘Perceived threat’ locks down Wetumpka Middle
By JOHN W. PEELER Managing Editor
Wetumpka Middle School was placed on lock down for about three hours Friday for what Elmore County Superintendent of Education Andre’ L. Harrison termed as a “perceived threat.”
WMS went on lockdown at approximately 10 a.m., he said, and at 1 p.m. the lockdown was lifted. “We had a perceived threat serious enough to place the school in lockdown for the safety of our students and staff members,” he said. “We contacted local law enforcement and followed proce-
dure, as we should.” Harrison said that although that was all the information he could currently release, he would be briefing parents at a later time through online media and other forms of communication. “We were here with (students and See LOCKDOWN • Page 2
John Peeler / The Herald
Students at Wetumpka Middle School were placed on lockdown at approximately 10 a.m. Friday due to a “perceived threat” Elmore County Superintended of Education Andre L. Harrison said. The lockdown was lifted around 1 p.m.
Memorial scholarship established for late Elmore County Deputy
Abandoned Rural America Kelly Fitzpatrick Memorial Gallery to host reception Friday
By JOHN W. PEELER Managing Editor
A memorial scholarship fund has been established for fallen Elmore County Sheriff’s Department Deputy James Bart Hart. Hart, who lost his life in a tragic car crash while on duty Nov. 23, 2014, had been with the Elmore County Sheriff’s Department for two and a half years when the fatal crash occurred. The scholarship fund, established by his wife Charlotte and daughter, Christina, through the Central Alabama Community Foundation, will be awarded to a deserving student for their community leaderHart ship and service. “We wanted a way to remember Bart and let his legacy live on and help other people … because he liked to help others,” Charlotte Hart said. “(Bart) was very respected, very brave and people thought of him with high regards. I would hope that when someone applies for this scholarship, they would be honored to receive it.” Prior to working at the Elmore County Sheriff’s Department, he retired from the Montgomery Fire Department after 24 years of service there. He was a member of Central Baptist Church. Children of first responders may also apply for the scholarship. Full award amount and criteria will be announced at a later date and the first recipient will be awarded this year. “The amount has still yet to be determined,” Charlotte Hart said. “But, it is going to start this year, and See SCHOLARSHIP • Page 3
SPECIAL TO THE HERALD
The Kelly Fitzpatrick Memorial Gallery will host a reception Friday for Georgia artists taking part in the traveling Abandoned Rural America exhibit now showing at the Wetumpka Administration Building on Main Street. The reception will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the second-floor gallery, and the public is invited to attend, said KFMG president Phyllis Kennedy. Along with the ARA exhibit, selected works by local artists will be shown in a collection titled The Land: God’s Gift. “The two shows will be closely related, and the auxiliary show will be juried by two of the artists from Georgia who are featured in the ARA exhibit,” Kennedy said. A presentation series will enhance the joint exhibit, Kennedy said, with movies, lectures and other presentations, including a See GALLERY • Page 2
Contributed / The Herald
The Wetumpka Middle School majorettes will march in the Wetumpka Mardi Gras parade as they prepare for the upcoming state and tri-state regional meets. From left to right are; front row, Taylor Carter and Riley Brown; middle row, Jazmin Faulkner, Kelli Kirt and Ashton Dickey and back row, Janiqua Golden, Zoie Kelly, Marie Hampton and Samantha Tharpe.
5 and 6 and 7 and 8! Middle school majorettes ready to ‘twirl’ Mardi Gras Style By JOHN W PEELER Managing Editor
Contributed / The Herald
Lisa Wheeler’s “The Shelling Shed” took Best in Photography at the Oconee Arts Exhibition XXXII.
After spending fall and winter performing for Wetumpka Middle School during home games, the WMS majorettes are ready to branch out and move toward defending their state and regional title. But, first, the team will show off their skills when they march in The Order of Cimarron fourth annual Mardi Gras Celebration parade in downtown Wetumpka set to begin at 1 p.m. The team is set to defend their state and regional twirling titles, which will begin in April and finish with the tri-state regional meet in May, coach Shirley Ross DeVenny said. “We expect at least 100 contestants in the tournaments,” she said. “In the tristate meet, there will be middle school
Happy Birthday Mickey Hodge! You were the best boss ever. ~ Rose
teams from Alabama, Tennessee and Mississippi.” DeVenny, who has been coaching majorettes at every level through college level, along with Diana Frazier, band director at Wetumpka Middle School, hope to see their team defend their state and regional titles and move to the national level in July, DeVenny said. “If we win the state title we will move on to the national competition and compete at Notre Dame (in South Bend, Indiana),” she said. “That is big.” But for now, DeVenny said the team is focused on marching in the Mardi Gras parade and she will be with them every step of the way. “I’ll be walking right there beside them (in the parade),” she said.
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