INSIDE TODAY
244-7778
Indians look for fast start this homecoming
Already tired of presidential race
Sports, Page 12
Opinion, Page 4
THE WETUMPKA HERALD Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper - Established 1898
Wetumpka, AL 36092
50¢
WEDNESDAY • SEPTEMBER 21, 2016
THEWETUMPKAHERALD.COM
VOL. 118, NO.35
Council session debate gets heated
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
A council session went from heated to hot in under 12 minutes as the council voted on a downtown redevelopment board while one council member attempted to again raise his concerns
it should be expanded to include “the diversity of the city.” The council however voted to proceed with the initial three members, and ultimately the resolution was adopted with one dissenting vote from Percy Gill, of District 2 in the special called session
Monday. The three board members of the Downtown Redevelopment Authority were announced along with their term limits by Regina Edwards, city attorney, and were said to be Ronald Drinkard, Janice Whorton and Tucker Robinson.
Bark in the park rolled over to this weekend
Judge orders documents be reopened in District 2 contest
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer
By COREY ARWOOD Staff Writer William Carroll / The Herald
In an effort to avoid muddy mutts The Human Society of Elmore County deferred to its rain date for the annual 11th annual Bark in the Park, which will now be held Sunday. The call was made last Saturday due to weather projections of rain from the gulf according to an HSEC statement. The executive director, Rea Cord, however, managed to cast a positive light on the cloudy affair and said in a statement it would just give them more time to come up with activities and vendors. The event will be still be held at Wetumpka’s Fort Toulouse Park and is set to begin around 1:00 p.m. with the Wetumpka Police Department and a demonstration from officers in its K9 unit. See BARK • Page 3
She read from the resolution and said the directors would serve in staggered terms, which would later become a 6-year standard. Drinkard would serve for two-years, Whorton for four and Tucker Robinson See COUNCIL • Page 3
Wetumpka Tea Party President Becky Gerritson (standing) asks questions of area legislators during a town hall style meeting held at the Elmore Community Hospital Monday evening. State legislators participating from left to right are Representative Reed Ingram, Representative Mike Holmes and Senator Clyde Chambliss.
HOT CUP OF TEA
Legislators talk regular, special session at Tea Party meeting By WILLIAM CARROLL Managing Editor
Local Alabama legislators were on hand at the Wetumpka Tea Party meeting Monday night to discuss issues facing the state and this year’s regular and special sessions. Participants included District 31 Representative Mike Holmes, District 75 Representative Reed Ingram and District 30
Senator Clyde Chambliss. Wetumpka Tea Party President Becky Gerritson acted as the moderator of the event, which was held at the Elmore Community Hospital. Gerritson started the discussion by asking each of the three elected officials what their biggest accomplishment was during the regular session held earlier this year. Each of the three agreed on the same premise, namely See MEETING • Page 5
At the first hearing held in an election contest brought against an incumbent city council member by his opposition, the judge ordered last month’s voting documents and election results to be reopened for further examination. In Monday’s hearing at the Elmore County Judicial Complex, District Judge Sibley Reynolds granted a motion for the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office to gather the recent election materials in order to review results for Wetumpka’s District 2. Last month, incumbent council member Percy Gill won the election by a narrow margin of only a few votes. His opponent and former District 2 council member Lewis Washington Sr. cried foul, after receiving a document from the city attorney on behalf of the See CONTEST • Page 11
County Clare ready to wow the crowd in Titus WILLIAM CARROLL Managing Editor
File / The Herald
The Titus Bluegrass Festival returns Saturday with a star studded lineup of performers. Entry is only $5 and the event runs from 10 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
Today’s
Weather
94 71 High
Low
THURSDAY: HIGH 92 LOW 70
CONTACT US 334-567-7811 Fax: 334-567-3284
USPS 681-260
Shannon Slaughter and his group County Clare are busy getting ready to take the stage this Saturday at the annual Titus Bluegrass Festival. Slaughter said the event will mark his first time in Titus and that he is excited to participate in the event. The annual event will take place at its usual location, behind the Titus Community Center at 5945 Titus Road, beginning at 10 a.m. and continuing until 5:15 p.m. Slaughter is no stranger to the world of bluegrass music. He has penned numerous songs that have received industry recognition and have been recorded by Blue Highway, The
Lonesome River Band, Lou Reid and Carolina, Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out, Mike Bentley and Cumberland Gap Connection, and Ernie Thacker. One of Slaughter’s original gospel compositions, It’s So Hard to Stumble (When You’re Down on Your Knees) was nominated for a Gospel Music Association DOVE Award in 2010. Slaughter and his wife Heather moved to Alabama from North Carolina in 2010. “I married an Alabama girl, so it just made sense for us to make the move here,” Slaughter said. Slaughter said he learned about the festival in part through the Alabama Bluegrass Music See TITUS • Page 5