OPINION: The Confederate flag waves two ways. Page A4
See a listing of all the events that are happening in the area. Page B6
DADEVILLE BASEBALL STANDOUT COMMITS TO PLAY FOR CRIMSON TIDE. B1
THE RECORD
Serving the Dadeville & Lake Martin area since 1897
WWW.THEDADEVILLERECORD.COM
VOL. 118, NO. 29
THURSDAY, JULY 16, 2015
School employee facing sex charges Monday arrest of Jerel Crayton prompts board to schedule emergency meeting this morning to ponder personnel action By Mitch Sneed Record Editor
A Tallapoosa County Board of Education employee was arrested Monday on allegations he had sex with a student and school system officials have set a meeting for 9 a.m. this morning to determine the next course of action. Jerel Tremaine Crayton, 36, of Jacksons Gap was arrested Monday and charged with one count of “school employee engaging in a sex act or deviant sexual intercourse with a student under the age of 19” and one count of “a school employee having sexual contact
Grant and sewage are rejected by council
with a student under the age of 19.” In a released statement, the board and Superintendent Joe Windle said they are working to take appropriate action as a result of the arrest. Crayton “No specific facts have been released by law enforcement with respect to the allegations of the arrest,” the release says. “Under Alabama law, the board of education may place the employee on
administrative leave pending the resolution of the underlying criminal charges.” School system attorney Mark Allen Treadwell and Windle said the matter was handled in accordance with policy and law. Treadwell said that the school system was notified about the potential of inappropriate action near the end of the school year and that officials immediately notified the Tallapoosa County Sheriff’s Department and the investigation was initiated, Treadwell said. Monday’s arrest was the first indication the system had of the progress of the
LASTING LEGACY
probe. “Because of the timing and because it was under investigation, a suspension or a placement on administrative leave would have been premature,” Treadwell said. “The school year was essentially over, so there was no status change. But now that an arrest has been made and the board has been made aware of the findings, the called meeting will offer an opportunity for the board to take appropriate action regarding this employee.” Windle said that Crayton was a non-certified aide who had been with See ARREST, Page A3
School board finalized move of personnel Former Horseshoe Bend Principal Casey Davis moved to central office By Cliff Williams
By Cliff Williams
Record Staff Writer
Record Staff Writer
The Tallapoosa County Board of Education approved the transfer of Horseshoe Bend School principal Casey Davis to the Central Office to take on many duties not able to be taken on by others in the office with recent departures. “(His transfer) is part of the reorganization,” Tallapoosa County Board of Education superintendent Joe Windle said. “Mr. Davis like all principals and workers, we try to add to his skill set.
Residents of Dadeville will not be seeing any work done around the courthouse square anytime soon despite being offered a $400,000 grant of federal funds. “I don’t see how we can do this at this time,” council member Randy Foster said at Tuesday’s Dadeville City Council meeting. “To be honest with you folks, the city does not have the $80,000 to match it.” Foster went on to explain that the city is already committed to several projects requiring funds from the city. “We have several grants out which total about $380,000,” Foster said. “We have the ATRIP paving of Lafayette Street – that has not been bid yet so it could run even higher. We have matching funds for a tanker truck for the fire department costing $16,000 and we still are not paying for the Kwang Sung sewer project. We still owe $10,000 on that.” See COUNCIL, Page A5
David Granger / The Record
The Dadeville Area Chamber of Commerce made a donation to another Dadeville organization, Methodist Men, in memory of Laeman Butcher who was active in both.
Check presented to Methodist Men in honor of the late Laeman Butcher to help keep his tradition of giving alive By Cliff Williams
Chamber,” Dadeville Area Chamber of Commerce President Michael Carter Even in death Laeman Butcher is doing said. “Everything that was anything in Dadeville, Mr. Butcher had a hand in. We good things in Dadeville. wanted to do something in his memory to Two organizations in Dadeville that keep the tradition of what he was doing Butcher was a big part of came together going.” Wednesday to honor and remember him. Butcher was an integral part of the The Dadeville Area Chamber of Methodist Men at Dadeville FUMC. Commerce presented the Methodist Men “Laeman fed us both physically and of Dadeville First United Methodist spiritually,” Methodist Men’s Raphord Church with a check in Butcher’s memory. See BUTCHER, Page A5 “Mr. Butcher was a big part of the Record Staff Writer
Mitch Sneed / The Record
Casey Davis will become the director of instruction and curriculum after serving as principal at Horseshoe Bend.
Children offered lesson on ‘underdog animals’
Today’s
Weather
94 73 High
See MOVES, Page A5
Low
By Cliff Williams Record Staff Writer
Lake Martin
Lake Levels
489.43 Reported on 7/15/15 @ 1 p.m.
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Cliff Williams / The Outlook
Children from the Boys and Girls Club of Dadeville react to Adams bringing out Rocko the black head python who showed and interests in books.
Area children got to see heroes of a different kind at the Dadeville Public Library this week – underdog animals. The National History Education Company of the Midsouth’s Shawna Adams brought seven animals for children in the summer reading program to see and learn about. “These animals are all heroes in some way,” Adams told the children. “Many are heroes in the way that they adapt to their environments to survive.” The children and even the adults in attendance took a step back from some of the animals Adams See LIBRARY, Page A3
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