Stanhope hires new head coach
Sports, Page 10 Wetumpka, AL 36092
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SATURDAY-SUNDAY • JULY 2-3, 2016
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 11, NO. 25
School board establishes Pre-K at meeting By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
After a full week of meetings and major decisions, the Elmore County School Board voted at Thursday’s special called meeting to raise the pay for substitute teachers and personnel to keep up with pay rates of similar school systems in the surrounding area. The personnel director, Celeste Tilley, addressed the board in the week’s first meeting to ask for the consideration of the raise, and said it was becoming increasingly difficult to secure substitutes under current pay rates. She said she had worked with the Chief School
Woman dies shortly after being placed in county jail
Financial Officer, Jeffrey Middleton, to compare the substitute pay rates with that other school systems. Their current pay was roughly $55 per day for substitute teachers, while support staff, which comprised various positions from secretary to custodian, she said was $51. It was the lowest rate in the area Tilley told the board at Monday’s meeting, saying Elmore County was at “bottom of the heap” as far as sub pay. “It is becoming increasingly difficult to secure substitutes because they are kept busy when they go to schools they just are moved around and they are maximized when they are on site,” said Tilley. What was proposed was a nearly dollar per hour
INDEPENDENCE DAY
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
A woman died Wednesday morning in Elmore County Jail, and a sheriff’s office official said autopsy results are expected to determine the cause of her death, which was said to have occurred within a 15-minute time span. Diana Layne, 39, of Pell City, was placed in the jail Monday night, said Sheriff Bill Franklin. He said the tribal police of Wind Creek Casino apprehended Layne on possession of a controlled substance, which Franklin said were 22 opiate-based, morphine pills. At 6:07 a.m. Wednesday, Franklin said morning supervisors were about to leave their shift and checked in with Layne. He said they asked if she was going to eat breakfast. See INMATE • Page 5
raise for substitute teachers at $62 per day rate. While for substitute support personnel a request was made for an increase to $55 for those who worked 7-hour shifts, however those that worked shifts less than that would stay at $51. “The only category that we’re requesting more than that are the few eight hour custodians that we have, because currently at the current rate of $51 a day if they work eight hours they’re not making minimum wage and that’s a problem, that’s a real problem,” Tilley said. Ultimately, all of the requests were approved and a $58 rate was set for substitute custodians who work 8-hour shifts. See SCHOOLS • Page 3
City Council approves new equipment purchase By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
William Carroll / The Herald
The Fourth of July weekend started early in Wetumpka Friday as staff, residents and community members visited the Gardens of Wetumpka Friday afternoon to enjoy an Independence Day themed event.
The city council held a short meeting Thursday to vote on financing recently acquired city equipment, appointing the city clerk as election official for upcoming city elections and rescheduling next week’s meeting to after the holiday. A resolution was passed to finance the purchase of a new “grapple truck” for the city’s public works department through BanCorpSouth Equipment Finance. It was said by Regina Edwards, city attorney, the decision to purchase the truck at $163,673 See COUNCIL • Page 5
Fourth of July weekend underway STAFF REPORT TPI Staff Let the Star Spangled celebration begin. It’s Independence Day Wetumpka and residents in Wetumpka and across Elmore County have plenty of options over the next few days.
Tallassee Community Outreach will host the 2nd annual Family and Friends Day on today at the Jordanville basketball court at the Tallassee Housing Authority beginning at 2 p.m. Wetumpka’s Fourth of July Celebration See EVENTS • Page 5
William Carroll / The Herald
The city purchased a new “grapple truck,” for the stated purpose of picking up and transporting debris to remote landfills.
Adullam House looks to expand downtown and worldwide By WILLIAM CARROLL Managing Editor
CONTACT US 334-567-7811 • Fax: 334-567-3284
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For many Adullam House is simply the thrift store located in the Winn-Dixie shopping center on Highway 231, but for those in the know, Adullam stands as a testament to the power of faith and big ideas. Adullam House Co-Director Angie Spackman said the organization started as an idea and an extension of her family’s work for Christ. Spackman said that she and her husband Pete originally came to Alabama from England in 1987 for
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what was supposed to be a temporary trip to help out a local church. Spackman said that her husband also began working in area prisons as a chaplain and he fell in love with the work. “The work in the prisons became a huge part of our lives,” Spackman said. She added that at the time they came to Alabama they had three girls, with another child born here in the U.S. The girls got just involved with the ministry. See ADULLAM • Page 3
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Submitted / The Herald
Several of the children of Adullam House enjoy a cool break on a hot day. The organization is looking to expand its influence into downtown Wetumpka and has recently approach the Elmore County Commission about leasing the old Board of Education Building downtown.
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