SPECIAL: Annual Letters to Santa inside today’s special edition Deputy recovering after being shot in Claud standoff, B8
Letters to Santa
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 21, 2022 | VOL. 123, NO. 51 | $1.00
Christmas Greetings Read Wish Lists and Region. & girls around the River from the good boys A favorite keepsake section
of The Wetumpka Herald and December 21, 2022
The Tallassee Tribune
‘IHoltville just got caught’ High School basketball coach arrested WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2022 | VOL. 123, NO. 5 | $1.00
‘Cat Ladies’ found guilty of misdemeanors after feeding cats on county property
By Cliff Williams Wilson was the head basket- investigation and handed it off ByStaff CLIFF WILLIAMS Writer ball property. coach at Holtville Hightooktoanthe appropriate authorities. County opportunity to comment News Editor School and was Hecourt. was also placed on adminisWetumpka City Judge Jeff to the A virtual teacher at Elmore Courtney placedsentenced on ad-Beverly trative leave that time.” “I’m not the firstatperson in County School’swomen Edge were program Roberts, ministrative Dennis saidcats,” school Two Wetumpka 85, and Mary Alston, 61, Wetumpka to feed Rob-officials has guilty been Tuesday arrestedinand charged to 10 leave 13 the were same procedure found Wetumpdays inJan. jail suspended, two erts follow said. “People doing it school employee distrib- years according to Elreceive a kawith Municipal Court of trespassing unsupervised probation and longwhen beforeadministrators me, probably before and otherobscene charges related to their in finesCounty plus court costs. report of allegations against uting material to a stu- $100 more See and CATS, Page A2 feeding Following Roberts school staff employees. dent. of feral cats on Elmore Schools sentencing, super“Once we hand it over, we Elmore County Sheriff Bill intendent Richknow very little about what is Franklin said Emmanuel Andre ard Dennis. WILSON going on,” Dennis said. “We Wilson II, 32, of Montgomery “We had a recooperate with authorities if turned himself into authorities port,” Dennis Tuesday afternoon. said. “We had a preliminary necessary.”
Franklin said investigators with the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office have the alleged victim’s phone. Authorities collected Wilson’s phone as well. “You could see a conversation between the two,” Franklin said. “Mr. Wilson is going to contend someone had the security code to his phone and he was not responsible. There is other information we can’t disclose now but I don’t think it’s beneficial to Mr. Wilson.”
CLIFF WILLIAMS | THE HERALD
Volunteers help pull off Santa’s Golden Ticket Saturday. In its third year the program has served hundreds of Elmore County children.
Chamber holds luncheon
welcoming members By Cliff Williams Staff Writer
Members of the Wetumpka Chamber of Commerce attend the chamber’s “A Taste of Our Home Town” luncheon.
The Wetumpka Chamber of Commerce held its annual luncheon to install new officers and board members for the first time in a while Thursday. The COVID-19 pandemic put a hamper on gatherings but the chamber celebrated the successes of business in Wetumpka. “We haven’t been able to do this for the last couple years,” chairperson Clay McConnell said. “Your attendance is an indication people want to get back together and have these opportunities to see each
‘The Golden Ticket’
to see Santa
CLIFF WILLIAMS/ THE HERALD
See CHAMBER, Page A3
By CLIFF WILLIAMS News Editor
F
rank Bertarelli was grinning from ear to ear as he helped Santa hand out toys to Elmore County children. Bertarelli and others pulled off a
special event — ‘The Golden Ticket’ to see Santa. For three years Bertarelli and a few other volunteers have created Christmas magic. This year it was Santa’s Golden Ticket mimicking Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The program started weeks
ago as letters to Santa were solicited from the children of Elmore County. “They send a letter to Santa and some got a Golden Ticket inviting them to a party with Santa,” BerSee SANTA, Page A3
CLIFF WILLIAMS THE HERALD
Beverly Roberts and Mary Alston were convicted of trespassing Wilson was releasedafter onfeeding a $6,000 bond 90 minutes afand trapping ter turning himself in accordcats on property Jail belonging to the Elmore County ing to Elmore website. Dennis said WilsonCounty. also coached other sports at Holtville schools including being the head track coach and assistant football coach. Dennis said other staff would fill in for the duties of Wilson at Holtville while he is on administrative leave.
The Lofts at Bridge and Hill are open
Police continue investigation, man no longer suspected By CLIFF WILLIAMS News Editor
Visitors coming to Wetumpka can now stay downtown. The Lofts at Bridge and Hill now have seven rooms open at the corner of Bridge and Hill streets with a restaurant space to be built out. According to co-owner Webb Smith everyone is already loving it. “We have been taking guests for about two months,” Smith said. “We haven’t even advertised yet. They have been leaving great reviews. We have been very blessed.” The Lofts have two rooms with balconies overlooking Main Street. One room has a kitchenette and the other By Jake Arthur Chief Videographer See LOFTS, Page A3 Police are still investigating the fatal shooting in the Wetumpka Walmart parking lot on Jan. 20. Police were dispatched to the parking lot around 10:45 p.m. for a “shots fired” call. Once there, they found Centell Winston, 42 of Tallassee, dead of a gunshot wound in the driver seat of his vehicle. According to Wetumpka police chief Greg Benton, this was not a random shooting. “This was not random, not a random WILLIAMS HERALD act,” said Benton. “We CLIFF believe the| THE vicBridge and Hill are open. WetumptimThe andLofts the atperpetrator knew eachThe other.” ka Area Chamber of Commerce function to help This is the first homicide in aWetumpka introduce theyears. new AirBnB to the commuin over three The property last homicide in nity. It features seven rooms and a restaurant space. the city took place in 2018. “It’s not a good way to start out the new year,” said Benton. Benton didn’t want to speculate on the
Elmore County Museum displays 100s of nativity scenes See SHOOTING, Page A3
By CLIFF WILLIAMS News Editor
“They all have different stories,” Fox said. “Some came from her son in Japan.” Fox said Ellis has been collecting nativity scenes for More than 30 years of collecting nativity scenes at least 30 years. has produced an annual exhibit at the Elmore County “It started because she was looking for a Sears Staff Report schoolwide assembly at HoltvilleMuseum. the school culture from that of a shift in a positivenativity direction. Thefrom growing up,” Fox said. “Somehow scene High School. Elmore County Su- Museum school struggling withFox lowsaid mo-the exhibit school has experienced a 62 percent curator Sharon it got lost. She found one but in her searches she found over the eight years it has been displayed others.” The Alabama Association of perintendent Richard Dennis wasgrown rale, achievement and attendance decreaseduring in discipline referrals, it took five people and one week to set up Secondary School Principals in attendance for the presentation.the Christmas to a schoolseason. that strives for excel- 50 percent decreaseFox in said chronic we collaborating first started there 16 totes,” 7 percent the display this year. (AASSP) named Holtville High “Kyle Futral is an exception- “When lence. By withwere staff,about absenteeism, increase said. “We areschool’s now upissues to about 32 totes now. It has rate, “Last year it was two of us and it took two weeks,” School principal Kyle Futral the al principal and is very proac-Foxmany of the were in the graduation 33 percent grown from about 350 scenes to about 528 this year.” Fox said. 2022 Alabama High School Prin- tive and innovative in his think- identified and addressed. Futral’s increase in CCR rate and a 20 perof the scenes to the same — Fox’sin ACTBut the 528 — or is it 529 — on display at the cipal of the Year. ing and approaches to managing All leadership style belong of listening, en- person cent increase proficiency sister Kathyrn Ellis. museum is not all that Ellis has according to Fox. The High School Principal of his school,” Dennis said, couraging, supporting, organizing in the last five years. CLIFF WILLIAMS | THE HERALD The collection hasthe pieces theeighth Yearannual award wasdisplay presented As County principal of Holtville challenging staffproduced and stu- by local artists The nativity is up at to the Elmore Museum. There will beHighand and See SCENES, Page A5 otherscaused are from around the world. See PRINCIPAL, Page A3 Futral on Friday, Jan. 28 during a School, Futral has transformed dents, the school culture to FUTURAL a special Christmas Eve opening this year.
Holtville’s Futral Alabama principal of the year
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