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THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
50¢
WEDNESDAY • SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 118, NO.33
Students ill after taking anti-seizure meds
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
A Holtville High School student was said by local law enforcement and county school officials to have distributed anti-seizure medication to roughly five other students, some became ill and all five were taken to a hospital for evaluation. Elmore County Schools Superintendent Andre Harrison said in an issued statement that it was con-
firmed some students had become ill during class Thursday. “The decision was made to transport them to the hospital as a precaution,” Harrison’s statement read. It said due to privacy rights no additional information could be given, but school officials had been “in touch” with the students’ parents. All five of the students who took the anti-seizure pills are “well” as of Friday morning, the statement indicated.
However just how much trouble any, if not all, of the students might be in is still unclear. Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin said an off-duty deputy at the school as a student resource officer responded to the juvenile drug experimentation gone bad. “They were dealing with a 16-year-old high-school student that had possession of some anti-seizure pills for whatever reason that fellow decided he would, See PILLS • Page 3
Bark in the Park event slated for Sept. 18
Wetumpka rates high on tax friendliness
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
By WILLIAM CARROLL Managing Editor
A recent study by a New York based technology company, which uses financial modeling concepts to provide advice on major financial decisions, rated Tallassee and Wetumpka as the number one and number two most tax friendly retirement spots in Alabama. The SmartAssets study’s methodology is based upon easily obtainable tax information for a certain class of citizens. The study used a base $50,000 income to ascertain how individual city tax policies would impact a retiree. According the hypothetical numbers plugged into the system, a retiree would receive $15,000 for Social See TAXES • Page 3
Today’s
Weather
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Bass tourney draws 24 teams, raises funds By WILLIAM CARROLL Managing Editor
The 33rd annual Rumbling Waters Team Bass Tournament saw 24 teams compete at the event sponsored by the Wetumpka Exchange Club Saturday. According to event organizers, the total was down from earlier years, but the anglers who did turn out has perfect day of bass fishing on the waters in and around Wetumpka.
THURSDAY: HIGH 96 LOW 69
CONTACT US 334-567-7811 • Fax: 334-567-3284
Two-man fishing teams started the day on the Coosa River at 6 a.m. and anglers had the option of fishing in the Coosa, Alabama and Tallapoosa rivers. The top prize was $2,000 for total weight based upon five fish, along with $250 for the team with the biggest fish. Anglers stayed out on the waters until the 2 p.m. weight in time and paid $100 per boat for the opportunity to fish in the tournament. See FISHING • Page 3
See PARK • Page 3
Local power crew helps Florida hurricane victims By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
Low
USPS 681-260
William Carroll / The Herald
Brothers Jim (left) and Stan White collected a check for $2,000 as the winners of the 33rd Annual Rumbling Waters Fishing Tournament held in Wetumpka Saturday.
A local animal shelter will hold its annual park event where hundreds of dogs, and their owners, come out to fraternize in what was described as a celebration of the bond between people and their pets, “primarily dogs.” But that was only because it would be difficult to coral cats around Ft. Toulouse for an entire afternoon, said director of the Humane Society of Elmore County, Rea Cord. This will be the shelter’s 11th annual Bark in The Park, where Cord said anywhere from 500 to 700 people, and nearly, as many dogs would gather for a number of K9 themed activities and demonstrations. “It’s kind of a celebration of pets and you know just dogs because you can’t really bring other pets out there too well, but you know owners, loving their dogs and supporting the shelter and having a good time in the park,” said Cord. The event is set to open on Sunday,
Crews of linemen with an electric cooperative’s local branch went to Florida over the holiday weekend to help with restoration efforts to those hit by Hurricane Hermine, and it was said they would be returning home soon. There were about three crews from Central Alabama Electric Cooperative that left last week to coordinate efforts with two Florida-based coops as they worked to get the power on for residents in Hermine’s wake.
A communications specialist with CAEC said they joined with other coops from across the state that travelled to the affected regions of the panhandle. One of the crews went to the Tallahassee area, where local media reported that as of Tuesday there was still a large percentage of the region without power. “I think they’ve pretty much been working 18-hour shifts, so I don’t think they’ve had the time to really do much of anything other than work and sleep.” See HURRICANE • Page 5
Submitted / The Herald
Three crews from Central Alabama Electric Cooperative went to northwest Florida to help restore power to the area affected by Hurricane Hermine, and the people it left without electricity for days.
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Tuesday, September 13, 2016 2:30-5:30pm
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