Lady Indians eliminated by rival at regionals Sports, Page 8. Wetumpka, AL 36092
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SATURDAY-SUNDAY • MAY 14 -15, 2016
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 11, NO. 19
Miles in custody, set to serve prison time By COREY ARWOOD & CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writers File / The Herald
Former Tallassee assistant Chief of Police Miles walks into the U.S. Court for the Middle District of Alabama where he plead guilty to one count each of obstruction of justice, deprivation of rights and distribution of marijuana.
Former Tallassee assistant police chief Chris Miles will soon begin a 41-month sentence after U.S. Marshals arrested him Thursday for failing to show up to begin his
prison time originally scheduled to begin Wednesday. It was reported the arrest went without incident and Miles was not confrontational at 7 a.m. Thursday as marshals carried out the warrant at a location where Miles was located in Notasulga. A chief deputy with the U.S.
By WILLIAM CARROLL Managing Editor
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
Submitted / The Herald
Six Elmore County High School students have been selected to participate in the Panther Branch bank program with First Community Bank of Central Alabama. From left to right (seated) Mary Kathryn Bowron, Emily McCord, Hannah Traylor, Jordan Bridgman, (standing) Justin Pack and Joey Youngblood.
PANTHER BRANCH ECHS gives students a leg up in banking field By WILLIAM CARROLL Managing Editor
A group of six Elmore County High School students are ready to get a handson course in banking courtesy of the Panther Branch of the First Community Bank of Central Alabama. The program is in its third year, according to ECHS Principal Wes Rogers. Rogers said that students will intern with the program during the summer with two of the students working at the branch full-time. The students will get experience in how a bank functions
and will be allowed to perform simple transactions for customers. FCB Executive Vice President Rana Futral said that students will start working this summer as interns at the Eclectic branch of the bank. During this time they will learn basic banking skills. “They will do things like taking deposits and cashing checks,” she said. “They will also do things like help customers with their balances.” Futral said that students will intern for 10 days out of the summer then they will actually start working at the school See BANKING • Page 2
Lucky find reunites Wetumpka graduate with missing class ring
Submitted / The Herald
Ronny Barber (left) presents Charles Bazemore with his 1966 Wetumpka High School class ring, lost on a camping trip in 1967.
Annual Art Guild show reaches record breaking participation By WILLIAM CARROLL Managing Editor
Last year, Ronny Barber, who works as the shop superintendent for the City of Wetumpka, was using his metal detector to hunt for treasures near Lake Jordan. After 20 minutes, he detected a gold signal from six inches below the dirt. Much to his surprise, he recognized a 1966 Wetumpka High School graduation ring and has spent the last year finding its rightful owner. “The ring had been in the ground for 49 years,” Barber said. “I knew right then it was a class ring, and I know a lot of my questions are finally answered.” The answers to those questions are steeped in WHS history. The ring belongs to Charles Bazemore, brother to “Coach” Stokely Bazemore who led the 1981 WHS football team to its See RING • Page 2
The Elmore County Art Guild celebrated its 2016 Sparking the Arts Achievement Program Tuesday evening with a record number of students from Elmore County schools. According to Guild President Shirley Esco, the guild accepted a record number of entries this year, 263. “We have been doing the children’s art show since 1993,” she said. “The last three years we have held it at the Wetumpka Civic Center as it has continued to grow each year.” Esco said that the Guild begins the process of selecting young artists by contacting all of the schools in the See AWARDS • Page 7
William Carroll / The Herald
Wetumpka Elementary School student Josephine Yarboro, 10, (left) and Prattville Christian Academy student Molly Acre, 12, show off their Rising Star awards during Tuesday evening’s Sparking the Arts show hosted by the Elmore County Art Guild.
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Planning Commission members sat down for a frank discussion at their last meeting about the future of the department and the role they wanted to play in a developing Wetumpka now that downtown revitalization efforts are underway. A quorum was not present, with only four of the nine total members at the meeting, therefore no business could be discussed which would require a vote. However, the commissioners engaged in a self-evaluation of the department, its duties, powers, and how it could steer the growth of Wetumpka in a structured and planned manner. “We’ve got the best guidance we’ve had ever, and the city’s making the most progress it’s made downtown and I think we have an opportunity to take a leadership role for the development of the city,” said Johan Beumer, planning commissioner. The city’s planning and project director, David Robison, gave them an update on the downtown revitalization efforts. Robison said the Alabama Department of Transportation was still working on the environmental impact assessment for the street repaving and roundabout project, See COMMISSION • Page 3
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
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See MILES • Page 3
‘Mission for Commission’ plans unveiled
Wetumpka Chamber looking for student interns The Wetumpka Chamber recently sent out a call for a few qualified students to act as summer interns to assist in the daily operations of the chamber. The chamber is seeking rising junior and senior high school students with an interest in community and economic development, business development, startup companies, tourism, hospitality, event planning and a host of other customer service based skills. Chamber Director Gerald Purcell said that as far as he is aware this is a new program for the chamber. “We have not had a program like this in Wetumpka for some time, if at all,” he said. “We decided that we have a number of goals we want to achieve here and we need people to help us achieve those goals.” Purcell said the program would allow high school students the opportunity to get a strong professional work reference that they can use for college applications or other employment opportunities. He added that the work would give students a meaningful experience in a business environment. “We are not going to have them doing menial tasks,” he said. “They will shadow me, they will go where I go and do what I do.” Some of the tasks will include going to city, county and civic meetings, interviewing prospective and current chamber members as to their needs and wants and working See CHAMBER • Page 3
Marshals Service of the Middle District of Alabama, Ashley Hefelfinger, said Miles was taken to a federal courthouse in Montgomery, where he had an initial appearance at 11 a.m. The former Tallassee assistant
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