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THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
50¢
WEDNESDAY • MARCH 16, 2016
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 118, NO.11
Commissioners can’t agree on added public input and the timeframe for public input. Had the amendments passed they would have effectively created more time for public review of the upcoming meeting’s topics and allowed for more time for public review and comment on those topics by requiring that the agenda be posted the preceding Wednesday at
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
The Elmore County Commission voted down the changes to commission meeting rules proposed by Joe Faulk of District 4 that would affect procedures on publishing the next meeting’s agenda
4 p.m. and the window for public comment stay open until that Friday at 4 p.m. It failed to pass because of what Faulk said was a two-two vote with Commissioner Chairman David Bowen of District 3 and Stephanie DanielsSmoke of District 2 voting “no” at Monday’s meeting.
Crampton was charged with assault on current wife, child By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
See CRAMPTON • Page 5
See COMMISSIONERS • Page 5
School board approves contract
Father of ‘Winston’s Law’ victim arrested
Joey Crampton, the father of the 5-year old boy at the heart of child abuse cases against the boy’s mother and her boyfriend and the passage in February of “Winston’s Law” by the Alabama Legislature, was arrested Friday, March 11, for physical assault of his wife and their 8-month-old child. Crampton is accused of strangling his wife, Leah, Crampton bruising her neck, and throwing their 8-month-old child. He is charged with two misdemeanor counts of third degree domestic violence. According to a statement released Friday by Roianne Houlton Conner, the attorney for Leah Crampton, Joey Crampton “allegedly physically assaulted his wife … as well as their eight-month-old baby in their home. Winston and his two younger siblings were in the home at the time of the alleged incident.” On Friday afternoon, the Autauga County Circuit Court granted Leah Crampton temporary custody of
After the meeting Faulk said he was disappointed but only in the sense that it would have, as Faulk said, allowed more time to get on the agenda in order to comment on agenda items. “There has never been an intention
The board unanimously accepted a bid for IT contract with local servicers
Mitch Sneed / The Herald
An inmate on work detail stands outside the kitchen area inside the fence at Julia Tutwiler Prison in Wetumpka. Talk of closing what is the state’s only female prison has local leaders a bit anxious.
Feb. 23, introduced into the State Senate the same day by Sen. Lee “Trip” Pittman of Baldwin County and the following day into the House of Representatives by Rep. Steve Clouse of Dale and Houston counties. It is currently being considered in the respective House and Senate committees. Alabama Department of Corrections Public Information Officer Bob Horton said no decisions regarding the new locations would be made until APTIA had passed. Horton said legislation must be passed to determine the bond issue which would
The Elmore County Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to accept a bid from Information Transport Solutions (ITS) Inc. of Wetumpka for services related to information technology systems throughout the Elmore County school system. ITS, the sole bidder on the Elmore County contract, will provide WAN (wide area network) internet access, voice-over internet protocol services to include paging, alerting, POTS, emergency and fax lines, web hosting and content filtering. The total of the contract is $914,282 plus a one-time installation cost of $30,275. Barbara Burchard, chief technology officer for Elmore County Schools, said that, should state and federal technology monies intended for schools (largely E-rate funding) be allocated by Congress and the Alabama Legislature as expected, the discounted cost of the services
See TUTWILER • Page 3
See SCHOOL • Page 5
Local leaders hope new prison will locate here By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
The prison reform measures announced late last month by Gov. Robert Bentley include the closure of Julia Tutwiler Prison and the construction of a new women’s prison, however little else is known about the location of the new facility. When Tutwiler is closed, if the new facility isn’t built locally, it will have a huge impact on the local economy. So local officials are holding their collective breath as they track the Alabama Prison Transformation Initiative Act and the latest developments. The bill was announced by Bentley on
By DAVID GRANGER Staff Writer
Local pastor’s award-winning film to be screened on Saturday USPS 681-260
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By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
The regional premiere of a movie that was written, directed and produced by a local pastor and shot in Wetumpka with “big screen” TV and local talent alike is scheduled for Saturday at a theater in Montgomery. “When I Hold My Ears,” was shown at the 2015 Peachtree Village International Film Festival in Atlanta, and won the Audience Choice Award. The production boasts actors and actresses who have appeared on shows such as CBS’ “The Inspectors” and CW’s “The Vampire Diaries” and in movies like Tyler Perry’s “Madea” series, as well as in local productions with the Wetumpka Depot Players.
in 2013. It took about a year to complete, and afterward Smith said they showed it at various film festivals over the last two years. The title “When I Hold My Ears,” Smith said, was a reference to what he would do as a child during the instances of abuse between his father and mother. “I’m the little boy who’s in the closet holding his ears,” Smith said referencing a scene from the The movie written, directed and produced by Arthur Smith will be screened Saturday, March 19 film and his childhood accounts. at a theater in Montgomery. “As a young kid I literally used An ex-NFL player, Steve semi-autobiographical account to be in the closet holding my Baggs Jr., from the Baltimore of what he said were his child- ears … hoping the violence Ravens stars in the film as well. hood experiences with domestic would go away.” It details the account of two Arthur Smith, pastor at St abuse growing up in a family of brothers, one an ex-convict .James Family Worship Church 10 in Lineville. and the other, described as an He said it is his first feature in Wetumpka, said the work is “ex-mental patient,” who take based on a true story and is a length project, and was filmed See MOVIE • Page 12
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