INSIDE TODAY
Rain is post-Thanksgiving reason to be thankful
Tribe, Mustangs renew rivalry
OPINION, PAGE 4
SPORTS, PAGE 11
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THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
50¢
WEDNESDAY • NOVEMBER 30, 2016
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 118, NO.45
Wetumpka gets more than an inch of rain Monday night
By DAVID GRANGER Interim Managing Editor
Almost an inch and a half of rain fell in Wetumpka overnight Monday night and Tuesday morning. Normally, that amount
of rain wouldn’t be frontpage news, but considering the recent rain was the first of significance since September, these showers were greeted with greater than normal enthusiasm. “We had a volunteer observer that reported
Commission leaves open board appointment
1.47 inches of rain last night and this morning in Wetumpka,” said Gary Goggins, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “It looks like the last time you had rainfall of that amount in your area was overnight Sept.
17 and Sept. 18.” The really good news, Goggins said, is that there is the potential for more rain in coming days. “The potential for rain is continuing to increase
David Granger / The Herald
Almost an inch and a half of rain fell in Wetumpka overnight Monday See RAIN • Page 3 night and Tuesday morning after several weeks of no rain activity.
OH, CHRISTMAS TREE
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
A new Elmore County Commission convened Monday to decide on multiple proposals from Probate Judge John Enslen and approve or deny county board authority appointments to Water and Sewer and Emergency Management Service boards. District 3 County Commissioner and Commission Chair Troy Stubbs led the commission, which is still awaiting the appointment of a fifth member in the absence of resigned District 4 Commissioner Joe Faulk. That appointment is expected to come from the governor’s office, and the absence of the District 4 commissioner and the area it represents in the county played a role in the commission’s decision of board appointees. Ultimately Stubbs proposed the seats remain open until the next commission meeting on Dec. 12. According to the agenda the appointments are due Jan. 9, a point the commissioners referenced in the deliberation of how to select the candidates. Candidates up for EMS board approval are Greg Jones, Lois Pribulick and Steve Dennis. Jones is the District 5
City will celebrate ‘Christmas around the World’ theme By DAVID GRANGER Interim Managing Editor
File / The Herald
Above, rows of trees line the span of Wadsworth’s Christmas tree farm. Below Frank Wadsworth measures one of the large trees offered at the farm.
Wadsworth produces centers of season By DAVID GRANGER Interim Managing Editor
One might think that this is Frank Wadsworth’s busy season. Wadsworth is a Christmas tree farmer and his operation off Wetumpka’s Dexter Road is a popular destination this time of year. Every day when his selling season begins, families, schoolchildren, businesses and others visit Wadsworth’s farm looking for that perfect tree. So, yes, he is busy from the last few days of November through Christmas. But he’s also busy at times he thought he might not be when he got into the Christmas tree business some 37 years ago. Wadsworth’s late father-in-law, Ollie Estes, who owned Wetumpka Wood Products at the time, got the young man
See COMMISSION • Page 3
Today’s
Weather
68 40 High
Low
Christmas on the Coosa around the corner One week from Saturday, Wetumpka will be jammin’. Well, make that jingling. Christmas on the Coosa is set to take place Dec. 3, beginning at 7:30 a.m. with the first of two character breakfasts and continuing through the Wakeboard Santa Show and fireworks, set to start at 6 p.m. But the Christmas on the Coosa events begin even sooner. On Tuesday, a panel of judges will choose the best of Wetumpka’s Christmas decorations among both businesses and residences. “The judges will start to drive around looking at the decorations at 6 p.m.,” said Tiffany Robinson, Wetumpka events and tourism manager. “You do have to register, but See COOSA • Page 2
File / The Herald
The kids in the WES Clown Troupe ride on the float in the parade during Christmas on the Coosa last year.
See TREES • Page 10
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