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THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
50¢
WEDNESDAY • FEBRUARY 8, 2017
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 119, NO. 6
Council approves Casa Napoli liquor license
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
The Wetumpka City Council met for a lightninground session of approvals and readings of seven agenda items and atop the list was a liquor license request for a local Italian restaurant. Casa Napoli’s license was later approved by the council in its business meeting. There was a strong turnout to the meeting and all council members were present with no public comment. A public hearing was held for Casa Napoli which
the Metropolitan Planning Organization for the Montgomery Urbanized Area and its Montgomery Transportation Planning Process. The council also voted to pass a resolution supporting a Historic Tax Credit Improvement Act pertaining to Wetumpka Main Street. City Human Resource Manager Kathy Ellis spoke about item four on the agenda – a change in policy language mandated by the Local Government Insurance Board. “The local government insurance board is asking
was applying for a 020 restaurant retail liquor license. The owner was spoke on behalf of the restaurant saying he sold the restaurant which moved to a neighboring town and recently reopened the restaurant at its original location. He said there were never any issues in the past at the restaurant, and ultimately their liquor license was approved by the council and District 4 council member Steve Gantt commended the owner of the restaurant on his apparent success reopening the establishment. Council members voted to pass a resolution authorizing the mayor to execute an agreement with
See COUNCIL • Page 2
City, Boys & Girls Club explain their stances on funding
PAINT THE PARK
Boys and Girls Club to reduce services By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
Cory Diaz / The Herald
Nearly 200 runners were covered with paint Saturday morning at the third annual Paint the Park for Jody 5K Color Fun Run at Gold Star Park in downtown Wetumpka. For more info and a photo recap of the fun run, see sports page B2 inside.
The Boys and Girls Club of the River Region has announced the potential closing of its Wetumpka branch in the spring of this year as a result of a funding shortfall from the city. Executive Director of the BGC, Rick Jackson, sent a letter to Mayor Jerry Willis with the news of the reduction in its services to two days a week, its relocation to a satellite location and ultimately its potential closure. The city has had a five See CLUB • Page 5
Community, BGC Director express importance of club By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
As the city announced it would not donate funding to the Wetumpka Boys and Girls Club and the club announced a reduction in its services and likely closure, an outcry of community support has arisen among supporters. Church leaders petitioned the city council, and one city official took the issue to local broadcasters, while others kept on in their work caring for Wetumpka youth with See REACTION • Page 3
Wise Scholarship recipients honored at banquet By DAVID GRANGER Managing Editor
Brandi J. Smoke and Reagan Tell, both seniors at Wetumpka High School, were feted Saturday night by a banquet crowd of approximately 200 people at the Wetumpka Civic Center as the 2017 winners of the Lucille Wise Memorial Scholarship, which was created by Wise’s children to honor their mother.
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Dr. David Wilson, president of Morgan State University in Baltimore and a former vice president for university outreach and associate provost at Auburn University, was the keynote speaker. Smoke is a member of Wetumpka’s Tabernacle Baptist Church and currently holds a grade-point average of 3.58. She is active in Wetumpka High’s chapter of Family, Career and Community Leaders of America, Beta Club, Art Club, Distributive
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Education Clubs of America (DECA), Key Club and Army Junior ROTC. Smoke plans to attend the University of Alabama Birmingham and major in accounting. Smoke said she wants to own her own bakery and is looking forward to the opportunity to hone her baking skills. “I’ve always wanted to own my own business,” Smoke said. See BANQUET • Page 2
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David Granger / The Herald
Dr. David Wilson, president of Morgan State Univeristy, addresses the crowd at Saturday night’s Lucille Wise Memorial Scholarship Banquet.
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