All-County Baseball Team inside today
Eclectic native reflects on experience as Harvard intern
WPD welcomes assistant chief, farewells captain
SPORTS, PAGE B1
LOCAL, A3
POLICE NEWS, A6
THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
50¢
WEDNESDAY • JULY 18, 2018
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 120, NO. 29
Dozier elected as circuit clerk
By AMALIA KORTRIGHT Staff Writer
Wetumpka resident Michael Dozier was elected as Elmore County Circuit Clerk during the Republican primary runoff election on Tuesday, July 17, defeating incumbent Brian Justiss by more than 1,000 votes. Dozier received a total of 5,379 votes and Justiss received 4,078 votes. Dozier will begin his six-year term in January 2019. “I’m excited to serve the people of Elmore County,” Dozier said. “We’re just
going to do what we have to do to be fully prepared for the day that we take office.” Dozier referred to his campaign as “long and draining,” and said he is happy to have won after running for office for the first time. “It’s a lot of hard work. We went door to door, not only for the primary, but also for the runoff. It’s not cheap for sure,” Dozier said. As the son of former Elmore County Circuit Clerk Larry Dozier, who served in the office for 16 years, Dozier said his background is one of the things that prompted him to run. “I grew up in the office,” Dozier said.
When making the decision to run, Dozier said he believed that he was capable of improving “the state of the office.” “I felt like it was time for me to take a stand and try to bring the office back to where it once was and to do my part in serving the people,” Dozier said. One of the problems facing Elmore County residents, Dozier said, was the lack of timely responses to phone calls made to the circuit clerk’s office. “That’s going to be the number one thing we try to fix, immediately,” Dozier said.
Justiss said he is glad to have served his six-year term as circuit clerk and is thankful for his time in office. “I enjoyed representing and helping the people of Elmore County and providing the services I was elected to provide,” Justiss said. Out of the 55,385 Elmore County residents who are registered to vote, a total of 10,479 cast their ballots. Elmore County’s overall voter turnout amounted to 18.92 percent, with 30 out of 31 precincts reporting. Provisional ballots will be counted at a later date.
Murder suspect in Holtville homicide denied bond request
City awards streetscape project bid
By AMALIA KORTRIGHT Staff Writer
An Elmore man charged in connection with a Holtville homicide will remain in jail after a judge denied his motion to modify his bond. Efrem Edrick Brown, 56, who lists an address on Alabama 143, had sought a bond hearing to remove the cash-only portion of his $50,000 bond. Brown was initially arrested Brown and charged with the murder of 55-year-old Tony Carr of Holtville on April 25. Carr’s body was discovered by his wife and brother in the garage behind his Holtville residence between 5:30 and 6 p.m. on April 16. It is believed Carr was shot to death earlier that day. Authorities initially thought Carr died as the result of blunt force trauma, but it was later determined he had been shot in the head. Court See BROWN • Page A2
By AMALIA KORTRIGHT Staff Writer
Amalia Kortright / The Herald
Woodcarving instructor Mac Proffitt, above, works on his carving of a woman during one of the classes. Woodcarver Harold Davis’ ‘Tree of Life’ portrait, top left, carving was one of the many works of art on display for the public as part of the Southeastern Woodcarving School and Exposition.
Woodcarvers gather for classes, exposition By AMALIA KORTRIGHT Staff Writer
A woodcarver needs three basic things, according to woodcarving instructor Mac Proffitt: a pencil, a Band-Aid and imagination.
There were plenty of all three on the first full day of the 33rd annual Southeastern Woodcarving School and Exposition, which began on Friday and lasted through Sunday at the Wetumpka Civic Center. See WOODCARVERS • Page A2
‘Hands on a Hardbody’ premieres Thursday
Today’s
Weather
94 73 High
By AMALIA KORTRIGHT Staff Writer
Low
THURSDAY: HIGH 94 LOW 73
The Wetumpka Depot Players’ adaptation of “Hands on a Hardbody” will hit the stage for the first time on Thursday and is set to run through Aug. 4 at 7:30 p.m. nightly. Director Kristy Meanor said “Hands on a Hardbody” is a musical set in 1980s Longview, Texas, that revolves around 10 contestants involved in a competition to see who can keep their hands on a truck the longest. “It’s a different musical in that it’s got a lot of See MUSICAL • Page A3
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The Wetumpka City Council awarded a portion of its downtown commercial business district streetscape project to the lowest bidder, Lewis Environmental Services Inc., during a regularly scheduled meeting Monday. City Planning and Project Director David Robison said the project involves adding a sidewalk on the west side of South Main Street, spanning from the end of the Bibb Graves Bridge to “just to the south” of the Reneau and Thornton Law Firm building. When the city was first awarded this project by the Alabama Department of Transportation in 2015, Robison said its cost was initially expected to be $214,192. According to Robison, $50,000 was matched by the city. Because they received a $200,000 grant from See STREETSCAPE • Page A2
CONTACT US 334-567-7811 Fax: 334-567-3284
Courtesy / Wetumpka Depot Players
Members of the ‘Hands on a Hardbody’ cast rehearse one of the show’s musical numbers. The Wetumpka Depot Players’ production will make its debut Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
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