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SPECIAL INSIDE
Sample Elmore ballot County inside Best Of today winners ALABAMA’S BIGGEST WEEKLY HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL EDITION INSIDE
THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
50¢
WEDNESDAY • OCTOBER 31, 2018
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 120, NO. 44
Charges dropped against nuclear expert with local ties By AMALIA KORTRIGHT Bureau Chief
Child sex abuse charges against a nuclear expert with local connections were recently dismissed by prosecutors in Bernalillo County, New Mexico.
Adam Lowther, 42, was arrested by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s office in New Mexico and charged with criminal sexual penetration of a minor and criminal sexual contact of a minor in September 2017. Lowther is a former Wetumpka resident who worked at Maxwell Air
Communications Michael Patrick, a thorough review of the details in the criminal complaint was conducted. During a follow up investigation, Patrick said the district attorney determined that there was insufficient evidence to prove the allegations.
Force Base in Montgomery, served on the executive committee of the Elmore County Republican Party and was a candidate for the Elmore County Board of Equalization. According to Bernalillo District Attorney’s Office Director of
Happy Halloween
Haunted house raises funds for local children By AMALIA KORTRIGHT Bureau Chief
While Halloween can be a scary time for some, the idea of children going without presents during the holidays is a lot scarier for a local motorcycle group. Last Friday and Saturday, the Nasty Feet Riding Club held its third annual haunted house event to raise money for the Brantwood Children’s Home in Montgomery. “We’re all very fortunate to have our families,” member Wes Abrams said. “We’re so blessed, and we wanted to pass those blessings on.” According to Abrams, members Thomas “PopPop” and Pinky Burnett were instrumental in organizing the event and donated their barn to be used as the haunted house. “Our club owes (the Burnetts) a lot of appreciation,” Abrams said. “They went above and beyond.” Abrams said planning for the event began in July, and See HAUNTED • Page A2
Amalia Kortright / The Herald
The city of Wetumpka held its sixth annual Candy Walk behind the administrative building on Monday. Hundreds of kids and parents dressed up for Halloween and came out to celebrate.
WPD promotes 8 officers
Today’s
Weather
By AMALIA KORTRIGHT Bureau Chief
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THURSDAY: HIGH 74 LOW 53
CONTACT US 334-567-7811 Fax: 334-567-3284 Amalia Kortright / The Herald
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WPD officer Ella Roberts, who was recently promoted to lieutenant, is presented her new badge by her family.
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See OFFICERS • Page A2
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The Wetumpka Police Department promoted several officers during a Thursday ceremony at city hall. Chief Greg Benton said the eight officers who were promoted or recognized had to go through a testing procedure before they moved up in the ranks. “That means that they studied quite a bit and did well on the test,” Benton said. “They wanted to be something more than they were. I’m very happy for them.” Through the promotions, Benton said the department has been able to fill several vacant positions. “We had a lot of police officers, but not many ranks. This filled in those gaps where supervisors needed to be,” Benton said. “We only had one lieutenant in the whole department, and he ran all the patrol, which was 20 people. We promoted
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