INSIDE TODAY
Potential Russian dealings should scare the beejeezus out of us
Malzahn, Auburn Ambush coming to Lake Martin area
OPINION, PAGE A4
SPORTS, PAGE A7
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THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
50¢
WEDNESDAY • MAY 31, 2017
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 119, NO. 22
Veterans, Scouts hold Memorial Day Ceremony in City Cemetery By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
Generations of military veterans from multiple branches who had been in wars and conflicts separated by decades along with local Boy and Cub Scouts performed a Memorial Day ceremony in Wetumpka City Cemetery Monday. This year a popular effort was underway to ensure the meaning of Memorial Day was not confused with Veteran’s Day and that its meaning was held in high regard not as the unofficial start of summer, but as a day to remember the soldiers who died serving. Wetumpka’s VFW Smith-Leonard Post 4572 held the event, with Post Commander and retired Army Sgt. First Class Laylon Gardner as its
organizer. Gardner said he felt each of those in attendance took away something meaningful from the ceremony, where a guest speaker delivered a speech to the veterans in attendance. Afterward, Gardner said the “men and women in the service” there returned to Post 4572 for refreshments and lunch to close out the ceremony. “There were people there from every branch of the service,” Gardner said. He said Post Quartermaster Kelly Hight was in charge of the ceremony, and his wife, Regena Hight, sang the anthem. And he said members of a US Military Vets Motorcycle Club were there as well. See VETERANS • Page A3
Submitted / The Herald
Wetumpka’s Shirley Devenney reads a poem at the Memorial Day ceremony.
Main St. Wetumpka inaugural Wine Pull set for Friday at Wind Creek Casino By DAVID GRANGER Managing Editor
File / The Herald
You buy your ticket, you take your chance and – who knows? – maybe you go home with a $300 bottle of wine to enjoy on a special occasion. At the very least, attendees of the inaugural Main Street Wetumpka Wine Pull, set for Friday evening, June 2, at 6:30 p.m. in the Penthouse Suite of the Wind Creek Hotel and Casino, will leave the event with a commemorative wine glass and the knowledge that they’re helping Main Street Wetumpka revitalize the city. “A wine pull is almost like a drawdown of sorts,” said Jenny Stubbs, executive director of Main Street Wetumpka. “You have a different assortment of wine, a very large variety, some very high-dollar wines. At the wine pull, you pull a number and the number coordinates with a See WINE PULL • Page A3
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The scavenger hunt is on for downtown loot
Downtown Wetumpka, circa 1940s. Service station sign on right fronts where Copper House Deli will be located.
The Copper House Deli plans opening as sidewalk project nears completion By DAVID GRANGER Managing Editor
“We’re still plugging along. It’s a slow process.” That’s what owner Richard Rogers says about his new delicatessen, The Copper House Deli. But even though his progress may be slower than he’d like, he might yet have to wait on completion of the city’s sidewalk project before the doors to the See DELI • Page A3
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
A Wetumpka business owner has led an effort to attract more customers to shops downtown by organizing a scavenger hunt in numerous businesses in the entire downtown area. Scent Wizards owner Tim Hinkle said the collaborative effort was designed to help all downtown businesses and worked with each of their owners to organize the hunt. “We’re just wanting to see a lot more people come down here walking the streets and visiting the shops,” said Hinkle. “We’re very good friends with all the business owners down here … (it) See SCAVENGER • Page A2
Wetumpka resident to lead Family Sunshine Center STAFF REPORT TPI Staff
Family Sunshine Center Board President Jeri Groce announced on Tuesday the appointment of Wetumpka resident Tay Knight as the new executive director of the Center. Knight began working with current executive director Karen Sellers on May 4 and will officially take the helm at Sellers’ departure on June 9, 2017. According to Groce, Sellers informed the board late last year that she would like to retire sometime in 2017. At that time, the board began working on a plan to allow for her departure in June. “We were very saddened by Karen’s request to retire, but are
very happy for her that she is looking forward to a much-deserved future of family, friends and fun,” Groce said. An executive search committee was appointed, chaired by FSC Board Vice President Kathy Gunter, and immediately went into action, honing a job description, looking at compensation and benefits, developing screening and interviewing tools and combing the country for just the right combination of leadership, development, administrative, community relations and other skills to lead the Family Sunshine Center into the future. Knight is a Certified Public Accountant with 25 years’ experience in accounting, auditing, and consulting. Most recently a
partner in the public sector client service group of Warren Averett, she has been with that company since 1992. “My career in public accounting has afforded me the opportunity to build a diverse array of skills, expertise and relationships with client executives, accountants, industry experts, and community leaders,” she said. Knight has specialized in non-profit auditing, and worked closely with the Alabama Association of Non-profits as a board member and leader, through which she has furthered her knowledge and expertise in non-profit management. Knight served on the Family Sunshine Center board of directors from 2006 to 2013, serving
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Knight as president, vice president and treasurer. She also served on the agency’s foundation board of directors, the board of the See SUNSHINE • Page A2