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THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
50¢
WEDNESDAY • MARCH 2, 2016
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 118, NO.9
ELECTION RESULTS: Daugherty, Stubbs, Houston big winners STAFF REPORT TPI Staff
Voters in Elmore County elected two new county commissioners and gave overwhelming approval to District Attorney Randall Houston, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and Martha Roby. It was also a big night for 19th Circuit District Attorney Randall Houston who was a big winner over challenger Casey Biggs. Houston finished with a whopping 71 percent of the vote.
“I’m grateful to the voters of the 19th District for again giving me the opportunity to serve them as district attorney,” Houston said. It was the county commission where the big news was made. Challenger Kenny Holt beat out incumbent Mark Hragyil, but will head to a runoff with Shanna Chamblee in District 1. Hragyil had served for two terms. Holt had 1,570 votes and Chamblee had 196 in unofficial totals. Hragyil had posted 867 votes.
over the last four months and I want to personally thank my precious wife and my family who have worked tirelessly. It wasn’t my victory; it was everyone’s victory that lives in District 2. …We’re very thankful, but more importantly we are very humbled that the people would entrust us with their vote.” County Commission Chairman David Bowen, who had been a bit of a lightning rod during his term, was upset by Troy Stubbs in District 3 in Tuesday’s GOP See ELECTION • Page 12
Former commissioner Mack Daugherty beat James “Trey” Taylor in District 2. The unofficial vote total was 966 for Daugherty to 770 for Taylor. Daugherty was relieved and grateful following Tuesday’s election. “I am very humbled and appreciative to the voters of District Two. I can assure them without any reservation that I won’t let them down,” he said. “I will serve all the people in the best way possible. “It is a relief,” Daugherty said. “I had a lot of volunteers to work very hard
WINSTON’S LAW IS LAW
Judge suspends court action for Hallee McLeod pending results
Wetumpka crater tour draws crowds to area
By MITCH SNEED Editor
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
A Wetumpka mother, who is accused of the brutal beating of her 4-year-old son, has been ordered to undergo a mental evaluation. Hallee Ann McLeod, 28, was scheduled to be in court for a bond hearing on Tuesday, but that date has been pushed back after Judge Ben Fuller ordered the pre-trial mental evaluation on Friday before she was to enter a plea. The order means McLeod that there will be no additional court action until the evaluation is complete. According to Fuller’s order, the evaluation will strive to determine among other things: • The mental condition of the defendant at the time of the alleged offense. • If the opinion is that the defendant suffered from mental disease or defect at the time of the alleged offense, the relationship, if any, of such mental disease or defect to the alleged offense. • The intelligence quotient or “IQ” of the Defendant and its affect, if any, on • The defendant’s ability to
The public recently had its only chance out the year to stroll the grounds of the site of the impact that left a roughly 5-mile-wide crater and permanently shaped the face of what would become Wetumpka. The interested parties had the chance to learn about a time long before Wetumpka was Wetumpka. According to geologists who studied the area it was a time when there was no one or no thing that did not swim as the area was covered by ocean waters. And in a flash, under one minute and the force of who-knowshow-many atomic bombs a mountainous rim was formed out of the waters in the midst of the shallow ocean that covered what we know today as Wetumpka. What force permanently altered our landscape and formed the gaping crater that has withstood nearly 100 million years of weather? A giant rock that was hurdling through space at thousands of miles per second struck what would later be known as Wetumpka. The Wetumpka Impact Crater See CRATER • Page 3
Judge orders evaluation for abuse suspect
See ABUSE • Page 3
Submitted / The Herald
Gov. Robert Bentley hands Alabama Children First’s Christy Cain a pen from Tuesday’s signing of Winston’s Law in Montgomery. Winston, for whom the bill is named smiles big as Disrtict Attorney Randall Houston looks on.
Bentley signs bill adding teeth to abuse sentences By MITCH SNEED Editor
Those convicted of aggravated child abuse now face the possibility of life in prison after Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley signed Winston’s Law on Tuesday. The bill was introduced following the indictment of Wetumpka’s Hallee McLeod, a mother who is accused of severely abusing her 4-year-old son. The bill was championed by 19th Judicial Circuit District Attorney Randall Houston who asked the Alabama Legislature to increase the possible max-
imum penalty for aggravated child abuse for a child under six years of age to life in prison. Under current Alabama law, aggravated child abuse is a Class B felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison, but the new law will elevate the crime to a Class A felony punishable by 10 to 99 years, or life, in prison in cases involving a child younger than six-years-old. By elevating the punishment, this crime will be raised to the same level as attempted murder charges. “It was an incredible day,” Houston See WINSTON • Page 5
Wetumpka FFA hosts petting zoo for elementary students Wetumpka High School students and FFA members brought the fun of the farm to elementary students in a half-day petting zoo last Friday, Feb. 26 as part of National FFA Week. From left to right are: William Pierce, Marshall Alexander, John Graham, Hannah Overton.
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
Corey Arwood / The Herald
The Wetumpka Elementary School students were treated to a day of fun with farm animals by their high school counterparts in the FFA, who brought a farm’s worth of animals to their playground for a half-day petting zoo. The lineup included the usual characters found in a storybook farm, from pigs, chickens,
goats, a dog and even a turkey. But despite all of the useful farm animals they brought, both Jason Tew, FFA director, and Bonnie Sullivan, WES principal said the miniature horse was the clear crowd favorite. “They were just learning about farm animals and getting to see farm animals,” Sullivan said. “I think it’s a good opportunity for them to seem the
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