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Eclectic Observer The
WEDNESDAY • JANUARY 30, 2019
TheWetumpkaHerald.com
Vol. 30, No. 5
Town agrees on new fire department policy By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
The Eclectic Town Council on Jan. 22 gave the fire department approval to prepare a new policy on handling fire safety code violations. After recent incidents at a local business where doors were found to be locked shut using chains and padlocks,
the council discussed a review of ordinances from other municipalities on the subjects of fire safety and fire prevention. “It should probably be put in writing, the things that will be enforced,” councilmember Carmen Winslett said. The council believes there are ways to avoid serious problems with code enforcement, especially if local business
ing fire chief Josh Dorminey with the added title of fire code officer. Work to repave Middle Road from Mt. Hebron Road to Central Road and Madix Drive could begin within the next couple of months after the town council approved a memorandum of understanding with the Elmore County Commission. Under this agreement, See POLICY • Page 2
owners are educated on the matter. After listening to Andrew Woods with the fire department, councilmembers said they want to see a general guideline on how the department would enforce the code. Woods said the department would have it ready within the next 90 days, although he hopes it will be ready within 30 days. The council also approved reappoint-
Commission names Braswell to water board Panel approves work on roadways By DONALD CAMPBELL Staff Writer
A vacancy on the Central Elmore Water and Sewer Authority board was filled after the Elmore County Commission took action during Monday night’s meeting. The commission moved to appoint Fred Braswell to the board, filling a vacancy created upon the death of one of the board’s members, and also discussed a pair of board members who have applied for reappointment. William “Bill” Newton and Charles R. “Ronnie” Bazzell have submitted their application for reappointment to the board, and commissioners reminded everyone applications for the pair of positions will be accepted until Feb. 25. “I’ve known (Bazzell) for many years,” commissioner Bart Mercer said. “We are fortunate he is making himself available for reappointment.” Chief engineer and operations officer Richie Beyer brought information regarding a handful of roadway projects before the commission. During the work session, he briefly touched on a proposal to widen, resurface and stripe Coosada Parkway from the Alabama River Parkway north to Alabama Highway 14. Beyer added several See COMMISSION • Page 7
Today’s
Weather
46 24 High
Low
THURS: HIGH 49 LOW 32
Ron Colquitt / For The Observer
Pictured are the remains of a burned house in Eclectic where a man was pulled to safety by Tyler McLeod and Joshua Donahey on Saturday.
Men rescue neighbor from burning house: Eclectic Fire Department said the pair saved man’s life
By RON COLQUITT For The Observer
T
yler McLeod and his friend Joshua Donahey saved the life of a neighbor Saturday by dragging the man from a smoke-filled, burning home in the Eclectic area, authorities said. “I’m not a hero,” McLeod said Monday. “I did what I thought anybody would do in that situation.” Donahey could not be reached for com-
Wetumpka tornado survivor Sharon Watson sits on the steps of her Tuskeema Street home. Watson, a big fan of ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ had special ‘Oz’ collectibles in her home, which were unscathed. Jimmy Wigfield / The Observer
ment Monday on the incident. The fire at the home in the 11000 block of Georgia Road was reported about 3:30 a.m. Saturday, according to Lt. Andrew Wood of the Eclectic Fire Department. Authorities have declined to release the victim’s name. Wood said in a news release he was taken by helicopter to the UAB Medical Center, where he was in critical condition Monday. The cause of the fire has not been determined, Wood said in the release. “Without the actions of these two neigh-
Woman survives tornado as roof comes off house, ‘Oz’ collectibles stay intact By JIMMY WIGFIELD Managing Editor
With black skies cascading to the ground and a tornado threatening to suck the life out of her, Sharon Watson did the only thing she could do — she stretched out on her bedroom floor with her Chihuahua, Spook, pressed against her back as shattered glass hissed through the air like shrapnel. “I laid down on the floor next to the bed and didn’t know if I would live,” she said. “I felt glass hitting
me. It was like knives being thrown at me.” She wondered about her “The Wizard of Oz” collectibles in another room of the house and if she would turn out like Dorothy, whose house was flung into another world by a Kansas tornado in the classic movie. “All I thought about lying on the floor before I blacked out was the house spinning in the tornado, like it did in ‘The Wizard of Oz,’” Watson said. “I could feel the house and the floor moving and I wondered if I See TORNADO • Page 3
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bors, it is almost certain that the occupant would not have escaped the structure and would have succumbed to his injuries,” Wood said. David Ingram, Eclectic’s assistant fire chief and a paramedic, said Monday there is no doubt McLeod, 27, and Donahey, 26, are heroes by any standard. Ingram said the house was engulfed in flames and filled with smoke when the two men responded. “For an untrained person to willfully See RESCUE • Page 5
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PAGE 2 • JANUARY 30, 2019
TheWetumpkaHerald.com
THE ECLECTIC OBSERVER
Policy
Obituaries Shirley Jane Williams 1944 - 2019 Shirley Jane Williams of Eclectic, Alabama was born on April 17, 1944 and passed away at EAMC on January 21, 2019. She was 74 years old. Mrs. Williams was a member of Prospect Baptist church in Eclectic, Alabama. She is preceded in death by her husband, Carlton Williams; Parents, John and Effie Munger; sister, Betty Ann Flood. She is survived by her son, John
Williams (Suzy) of Eclectic; daughter, Melanie Robertson, Step-children, Linda Todd (Brian), grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Memorial services will be held at 4 p.m. CST on Sunday, January 27, 2019 at Claud Independent Methodist Church of Eclectic, Alabama with Pastor Weldon Greer officiating. Family will receive friends from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on January 27, 2019 at Claud Independent Methodist Church. Frederick-Dean Funeral Home of Opelika, Alabama is handling arrangements.
Brown pleads guilty to murder By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Efrem Brown took a deal Monday in Elmore County Circuit Court to avoid trial for the murder of Tony Carr. Brown, 56, of Elmore accepted a plea and admitted guilt in killing Carr in a Holtville auto shop April 16, 2018. Senior assistant district attorney Mandy Johnson stated in the hearing what she felt the evidence would show in the hearing before Judge Bill Lewis. “We believe the evidence will show he was employed by the victim, that he was with the victim the day of the crime. He led law enforcement to a firearm with his fingerprints on it used in the crime and his footprints at the scene,” Johnson Johnson was surrounded by family members of Carr as she presented an outline of the case. Elmore County Sheriff Bill Franklin said in May Carr was found shot to death by his wife and brother several hours after he had been murdered. “Mr. Brown was a sometimes co-worker of Mr. Carr and we have
looked at him as a person of interest,” Franklin said. “We had several leads, information and rumors, but when we tracked all of that down, we kept coming back to Mr. Brown. There were inconsistencies in some of the things he said and the facts as we know them.” The Observer previously reported authorities initially believed Carr died as the result of blunt force trauma, but later discovered he had been shot in the head with a .22-caliber firearm. Carr’s cell phone was missing and a large sum of money had been taken from his left pocket, leading investigators to suspect a robbery had taken place at the time of the murder. Murder is a Class A felony, which could result in up to $60,000 in fines and a life sentence in prison upon conviction. As part of the plea agreement, the state is recommending a 25-year prison sentence for Brown. Lewis will sentence Brown Feb. 26, when family members will be allowed to make statements on the impact of the crime.
CORRECTIONS In a Jan. 23 article about the annual Bridal Extravaganza, it was incorrectly stated Amir gave $550 in discounts. Pair Of Legg’s Photo Video is the business that offered $500 off photography and videography. The Observer regrets this error. In a Jan. 9 article regarding Elmore County Schools’ results on the state report card, it was mistakenly reported Redland Elementary School had the highest grade in the system with an 88. The highest grade in the Elmore County system was Holtville Elementary School, which earned a score of 89. The Observer regrets this error.
continued from Page 1 town believed it would be, according to the budget, and hoped the downward turn would not continue. He also said $9,300 in business license fees had been received, slightly ahead of where the town stood at this time last year. • It was announced a new restaurant is looking at coming to Eclectic, while approval was given for a hot dog cart to set up in the downtown area. • A motion to allow the public library to apply for a handful of grants was approved. • The council approved allowing Empower Retirement to meet with town employees and give them more options for building retirement savings. • Davenport said a vacancy on the Industrial Development Board could be coming up soon. • Davenport said the lighting project at Aaron Park should be completed soon, as the light poles have been installed and workers have been running power to them. The next meeting of the Eclectic Town Council will be at 7 p.m. Feb. 19 following a work session at 6 p.m.
the county will handle repaving these roads, both inside and outside the town limits, while the town will cover some of the cost to complete the project. “This memorandum serves as an agreement between the town and the county regarding the roadwork,” Mayor Gary Davenport said. Along with the memorandum of understanding, the council approved a resolution regarding an amendment to the work slated to be done on Middle Road and Madix Drive. Davenport said this is because the project went over what had initially been budgeted in a grant the town received from the Alabama Department of Community and Economic Affairs. The Eclectic Town Council also took action on the following items: • A .30-06 rifle seized by the Eclectic Police Department was officially declared surplus. • During the work session, Davenport said sales tax revenues for December 2018 were approximately $85,000, roughly $20,000 below what they were in December 2017. However, he said it is about where the
Eclectic man pleads guilty to incest Incest is a Class C felony. If convicted, Smith could face up to a decade in prison. Lewis scheduled Smith for sentencing Feb. 26.
By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Ricky Winston Smith Jr. will be sentenced Feb. 26 after pleading guilty to incest Monday before Elmore County Circuit Judge Bill Lewis. “I had sexual relations with (a victim known to Smith),” Smith admitted in court. Elmore County Sheriff’s Department chief deputy Ricky Lowery said an iniSmith tial report against Smith was filed in April and authorities investigated it for several weeks before sending evidence gathered from the investigation to the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences for analysis. A warrant for Smith’s arrest was issued shortly after the results came in. Smith was arrested July 9. According to court documents, the victim is a juvenile related to Smith by either blood or marriage.
Inmate pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of prisoner
David Carter, 39, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the death of Demarco Carlisle. Carlisle, 36, was a prisoner with Carter at Elmore Correctional Facility at the time of the crime in February 2018. Carter was charged with murder and his indictment stated Carlisle was stabbed by a knife-like object. Alabama Department of Corrections spokesperson Bob Horton said in a February release the assault happened at 2:45 p.m. Feb. 26 and Carlisle died at 3:40 p.m. Carter was in prison after pleading guilty to murder in a 2008 death in Montgomery and was serving a 30-year sentence. The state is recommending a 15-year sentence on the manslaughter charge. Carter is due before Lewis for sentencing Feb. 26.
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TheWetumpkaHerald.com
JANUARY 30, 2019 • PAGE 3
Tornado would land in some other place.” The roof came off but she stayed put in Wetumpka, her Shangri La. As in the movie, the moral of the story for Watson is there’s no place like home. “I don’t want to leave,” she said. “I couldn’t be in a better city with more love.” Watson survived the tornado that wrecked parts of Wetumpka on Saturday but the 100-year-old house she and her husband rented did not. Fortunately, because they had no insurance, she and her family salvaged most everything inside the home but they must move. Watson is determined to stay in Wetumpka despite the trauma of her experience. Two days after the tornado, Watson looked at her house and sobbed, her cries absorbed by the crisp air and the monotonous cacophony of chainsaws gnawing through toppled trees. “Why? Why?” she asked between faltering breaths as she leaned against what was left of her front porch. Even Wednesday, Watson remained shaken as inclement weather closed in on Wetumpka. “I can’t handle this wind today,” she said. “I’m trying. It’ll take a while.” Ironically, she moved from Ohio to Wetumpka 11 years ago because of the weather, which she said would make her fibromyalgia more tolerable, and to live closer to her daughter Tabitha and her family. “The weather down here blew my mind,” Watson said. “I came down here and stripped clothes off. These people don’t know what winter is.” She and her husband Jim rented the century-old house on Tuskeema Street which was once the servants’ quarters for a much larger house next door. Watson was watching TV Saturday afternoon in the front living room when the weather grew ominous. “I had my little Chihuahua, my Yorkie and my cat,” she said. “They were all huddled around me. I knew something was up from the way they were acting. Then I heard the siren. Jim called from work and said, ‘Are you OK?’ and I said, ‘No, it’s getting bad.’” She said she saw a power pole across the street fall down and darkness fell upon her house — except for one room. “When the power went out, I saw a blue light in my bedroom,” Watson said. “I went in to see what it was. Jim was still on the phone, asking if I was OK. I said, ‘Something’s happening,’ and I saw things flying by the window. I know this — my dad is an angel and he led me into the bedroom. I saw that blue light. There was no electricity. How do you explain that? I know if I had stayed in that living room, I wouldn’t be telling you my story right now.” She stepped next to their new sleigh bed and
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Jimmy Wigfield / The Observer
Wetumpka tornado survivor Sharon Watson shows where the headboard of her bed sat when the bedroom window blew out. She laid on the floor next to the bed with her dog as the tornado struck.
looked out the window, which was mostly covered by the headboard, a fact she said may also have helped save her. “They tell you to get in a tub if one’s coming and I didn’t have time to get in the tub,” Watson said. “All I heard was glass and what sounded like shotguns. I told Jim, ‘Oh well, it’s here,’ and we lost the connection.” After the windows exploded, spraying shards of glass throughout the bedroom, the next thing
Watson remembered was Wetumpka High School junior Jashay Kendrick, who lived across the street, trying to get into her house to check on her. “He’s my No. 1 angel,” Watson said. “He was the first face I saw. I’ll never forget it.” Kendrick, 17, also survived while the back of his house crumbled and it, too, is unlivable. But after his own moment of terror, Kendrick thought first of his neighbor.
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“I think I’m too young to be shook up,” he said. Kendrick said he was coming through the back door of his house when he got a message on his cell phone about the tornado warning. “I closed the door and then all the lights went ‘Pop! Pop! Pop!’” Kendrick said before he, his brother and two sisters scrambled to take refuge on the floor in a front room until the tor-
nado passed. “I waited about 15 seconds and looked outside and the first thing I saw was Mrs. Sharon’s house,” he said. “Me and my brother went over there and I heard crying. We tried to get in. The front door wouldn’t open and I went through the window. She was in the living room on the side of the couch. I had to kick the front door out to get her out. She gave me a big hug. I was glad to see she was still alive.” Others in the immediate area were just as fortunate. On North Bridge Street, Kendrick said he saw a power line had fallen on a car with four people trapped inside and another house that looked split in half. “That whole block has been condemned,” Kendrick said. “But we’re going to make it all right.” Watson’s husband wasn’t sure of that after he left work and frantically tried to maneuver through the debris to reach the house. “I didn’t know if I would find a body or what,” Jim Watson said. “One or two minutes more of that sustained wind and it would have imploded.” The miracles continued the next day. Sharon Watson’s Yorkie and cat fled as the tornado struck but were found safe and alive. “We came back the next morning and heard a meow under the dresser and we found Hershel,” she said. “Sasha ran out of the bedroom before the door slammed shut and we found her behind the toilet. Spook stayed with me. He laid behind me when I was on the floor. I could feel him up against my back.”
And her “The Wizard of Oz” collection was intact. “I had just finished a room in there with that,” Watson said. “I had a couple of things in there that came off the shelf and broke but that was it.” In her wizard room, as she calls it, Watson had figurines of “The Wizard of Oz” characters stored in a curio, along with other memorabilia from the movie, including watches, rings, books and even a photograph of herself with some of the actors who played the munchkins in the movie taken during a festival in New York City. She also has a shirt autographed by the munchkins actors which was sealed in a bag and not harmed. In the aftermath of the tornado, Watson said she told a friend in Ohio who also collects “The Wizard of Oz” items about living through the experience. “She told me Glenda the Good Witch must have been looking over me,” Watson said. Watson said she has been a fan of the movie for more than 40 years and vividly remembers the first time she saw it. “I remember where the movie starts in black and white and then Dorothy lands in Munchkinland after the tornado and then it turns to color,” she said. A rainbow appeared in the sky over Wetumpka once the tornado passed and Watson, who said she is not religious, began to realize God protected her. “I didn’t have time to pray,” she said. “I’m not a religious person. I believe in a higher power. I know there’s a God now. God kept me alive. I am definitely finding a church somewhere.”
Steve Baker, Publisher Jimmy Wigfield, Managing Editor Opinions expressed in guest columns and letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the management of Tallapoosa Publishers, Inc.
Page 4 • JANUARY 30, 2019
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This is America today P
resident Trump ended the partial government shutdown last Friday until Feb. 15. Hopefully, he and Congress can make a deal before Feb. 15 to strengthen border security and keep the government open. Earlier that morning, 29 heavily armed federal agents in 19 vehicles with flashing lights, including two armored vehicles, arrested a pajama-clad and shoeless Roger Stone and raided his home before dawn. Stone has been charged with lying to Congress. Mueller’s team knows Stone’s passport has expired and he is no flight risk. Nevertheless, when Stone answered the front door, he faced the barrel of an assault weapon and was brought outside and handcuffed while CNN covered the raid with their cameras. Later that day, Stone appeared in court and was released on his own recognizance. On Friday, Jan. 11, The New York Times headline read, “F.B.I. Opened Inquiry Into Whether Trump Was Secretly Working on Behalf of Russia.” Unnamed sources cited in the story claimed, “Agents also sought to determine whether Mr. Trump was knowingly working for Russia….” What is it with Friday news? Late Thursday night, Jan. 17, just in time for Friday news, BuzzFeed posted this: “President Trump Directed His Attorney Michael Cohen
DANIEL GARDNER Columnist To Lie To Congress About The Moscow Tower Project.” America’s leftwing Trumphaters went apoplectic claiming “the smoking gun” and “final nail in the coffin.” Later that day Mueller’s team released a rare public statement rebutting BuzzFeed’s claim: “BuzzFeed’s description of specific statements to the Special Counsel’s Office, and characterization of documents and testimony obtained by this office, regarding Michael Cohen’s Congressional testimony are not accurate.” If that were not enough fake news for a Friday, a group of high school boys from Kentucky got caught up in a national scandal, i.e. fake news. Covington Catholic High School sponsored a field trip to the March for Life in Washington. Ordinarily, Catholic teens attending the national March for Life would not be news. But, these are not ordinary times. America’s left continuously looks for any semblance of “news” for Trumphaters. The teenaged boys represented nearly everything the left hates: white, male, Christian, Catholic, pro-life
and wearing MAGA hats. Talk about making yourself a target and inviting vile hatred and expletive-filled rhetoric that has become mainstream and unremarkable for lefties! The boys were waiting for their school bus in the same area where black Hebrew Israelites were verbally assaulting Native Americans with such rhetoric as “You ain’t no child of God. You are the Indian. You are a blue-eyed demon. That’s the last Mohican.” The attackers were using a bullhorn, thus attracting a lot of attention, especially from curious teens on a high school field trip. That’s when the attackers turned their attention to the boys, shouting racist insults. One of the Native Americans stepped between the boys and the black Hebrew Israelites to try to keep the peace. Selected video of one of the boys facing the Native American went viral. For the rest of the day, without knowing what actually happened, the left brutally, bitterly and hatefully launched an unrestrained attack on the boys in the national media and social media. This is America today. Daniel L. Gardner is a syndicated columnist who lives in Starkville, Mississippi. You may contact him at PJandMe2@ gmail.com or interact with him on the Clarion-Ledger website http://www.clarionledger.com/ story/opinion
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Technology invades daily life “I
feel like a 90-year-old man trapped in the future.” My friend and I are standing in a hotel where so much technology is baked into the place you would swear you were standing in the cargo bay of Stanley Kubrick’s classic movie “2001: A Space Odyssey.” We are not in the future, but rather a mainstream hotel off a generic highway exit 30 minutes north of Fort Worth, Texas. Blink and you would miss it. “I can’t even figure out how to turn the lights on and off in my room,” he said. There are moments when we realize the world is relentlessly marching forward, leaving us increasingly behind, holding on by only our fingertips. We have everything from doorbells that double as video cameras to small connected devices on the kitchen counter capable of making a new television arrive on our doorstep the next day. All of this, however, can leave some, like my friend, standing in the technological dark fumbling to turn on the lights. My friend was not alone in
LEONARD WOOLSEY Columnistt over-connected funk. “Why does my mirror in the bathroom have a power button and Bluetooth,” said another. Technology is our friend. But when it becomes a friction point, we should ask ourselves are we going too far. Pining is an old-fashioned phrase of when one romantically longs for the simpler days of when what you got was what you saw. I’ve never used the phrase — until now. The standard room greets me with an iPad device to adjust the temperature, brighten and dim lights, and speakers built into the mirrors. My keycard is required to operate the elevator, and I won’t be surprised if they ask me for my Amazon password when I go to check out. I can feel my fingernails coming into play. I pine for a key that fits in a slot to open my door. I pine for
a light switch I can feel with my hand as I fumble across the room in the dark. And I pine for a mirror that does one thing well — let me know whether my shirt is tucked in before I head out the door. I pine for a rental car that does not ask my name, ask to connect to my cell phone and requires the keys to be stuck into the dashboard. My friend shakes his head as we get ready to part. His frustration reminds me of the time my 90-year-old dad traded in his flip phone for an iPhone. “I want to talk to the Google,” he said. Holding it in his hand like a delicate flower, he stared at it wondering where to begin. The same feeling came over me holding the small touchscreen in the hotel room. I did not know where to start, what to do or how to get something to happen. I was, pardon the pun, left standing in the dark. All I could do was walk back in the elevator and ask HAL to open the pod doors. Leonard Woolsey is the president and publisher at The Daily News in Galveston, Texas.
THE ECLECTIC OBSERVER
TheWetumpkaHerald.com
CommunityCalendar Wednesday, Jan. 30
• Taste of Elmore County Hosted by Elmore County Food Pantry, 410 Main Street, Wetumpka, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Enjoy live entertainment and sample delicious dishes from more than 20 of the River Region’s best restaurants. We hope you will make plans to join us for an evening of fun and good food and all for a good cause. Proceeds go to benefit The Elmore County Food Pantry.
Thursday, Jan. 31
• The Dynamic Widows Meeting, El Rancho Rodeo, 58 Kowaliga Road, Eclectic, 6 p.m. The group is for those who find it difficult to get back into society after losing their spouses. Come join us and we will get to know each other, decide on places to go and things to do of inter-
est. For more information contact Maggie DiGiovanni via email at mysticmaggie836@ gmail.com.
Saturday, Feb. 2
• Santuck Flea Market, Plank Road Market, Santuck, 5 a.m. Come out to Santuck Flea Market every 1st Saturday of the month. • Paint the Park for Jody, Gold Star Park, Wetumpka, 9 a.m. 5K Fun Run to support the Jody Marie Sanford Memorial Scholarship Fund. Jody was a Wetumpka High School student and crosscountry athlete who passed away Feb. 2, 2014. All proceeds will go towards supporting the scholarship program that has been set up in her memory. Last year four Elmore County seniors were awarded a scholarship because of the funds raised by this
JANUARY 30, 2019 • PAGE 5
Submit calendar items: Participate in your Herald
and Observer by calling 256-234-4281, faxing them to 256-2346550, sending your event to the.editor@thewetumpkaherald.com or logging on to http://www.thewetumpkaherald.com/.
event.
Saturday, Feb. 16
Tuesday, Feb. 5
• WACC Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner, Wetumpka Civic Center, 410 South Main Street, Wetumpka, 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. Meet the 2019 Chamber Board of Directors, William F. Sahlie Award Presentation, Community Involvement Citation, ambassador recognition and recognition of 10-, 20- and 30-year (founding) members.
Friday, Feb. 15
• The Alumni Ball ECHS Alumni Ball with Entertainment, Food and Fun, The Eclectic Warehouse, 45 Main Street, Eclectic, 6:30 p.m. Tickets available online or call 334398-3970 at the cost of $28 per person.
• Running with Passion 5K, Fort Toulouse-Jackson Park, 2521 W Fort Toulouse Road, Wetumpka, 6 a.m. Running with Passion is the 2nd 5K event put on by Glad Tidings Community outreach.
Saturday, Feb. 23
• Wetumpka Impact Crater Tours, 405 South Main Street, Wetumpka. Wetumpka sits right on the bull’s-eye of the greatest natural disaster in Alabama history. The hills just east of its downtown are the remains of a five-mile–wide impact crater that was blasted into the bedrock of what is now Elmore County. Join this annual event to learn from the experts and experience an exclusive guided tour of the crater.
Rescue
continued from Page 1
and voluntarily go into something like that to save somebody makes them nothing but a hero,” Ingram said. McLeod said Monday the burned house is across the street from his home. The man who was injured in the fire lives alone with a cat and dog, he said. According to McLeod, a woman banged on his door early Saturday and alerted him to the fire. “I started freaking out and said, ‘Who’s knocking on the door at 3:30 in the morning?’” he recalled. “I walked over to the door, and there was this lady standing there, and she said, ‘Did you know your neighbor’s house is on fire?’” McLeod said he looked across the street, saw the neighbor’s house ablaze and his first thought was, “Well, I do now.” McLeod said he started to run over to the burning house but decided to wake Donahey first. “I ran back to his bedroom and I got him and he got dressed and we ran across the road,” McLeod said. “I didn’t see (the neighbor’s) car, so I thought he is not at home. But his dog is still in there and I better get the dog.” McLeod said they found the man’s car when they got closer and knew then he was in the burning house. They found the dog and started calling the man’s name. “I could hear him moaning inside the house, and that’s when I ran to the back of the house, and I tried to go in the back door,” McLeod said. “The ceiling had caved in, and it was blocking the door,
and I could only open it so far. The black, thick smoke just billowed out and there was no way I was getting in there.” McLeod said he and Donahey worked their way around the house to a rear window but it was blocked by an air conditioner. “I snatched the AC unit out of it and I started calling his name and I could hear him responding to me,” he said. “I thought, ‘OK, good, he is still conscious, he’s still alive.’” McLeod said he pointed a flashlight in the window and told the man to come toward the light. “The moment of relief was when I saw his head poke through the smoke and that smoke was so thick,” McLeod said. “I’ve got long arms and when I stuck my arm inside the window, I couldn’t see the flashlight at the end of it.” The man was choking and coughing when he finally appeared at the window. McLeod estimated the man weighs about 240 pounds. “Because of all the smoke he was probably disoriented,” McLeod said. “There’s no telling how long he had been in there.” McLeod said he and Donahey worked together to pull the man out of the house and away from the blaze. “In the heat of the moment, I had a lot of adrenaline pumping through me and it didn’t seem like that much but he’s about 240 pounds,” McLeod said. Woods said 35 firefighters from Tallassee, Santuck, Red Hill and Kowaliga responded to the blaze.
Ron Colquitt / For The Observer
Tyler McLeod said he and his friend Joshua Donahey pulled a man out of this window as his house near Eclectic burned Saturday morning. McLeod said he snatched the air conditioner out of the window to help the man escape.
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PAGE 6 • JANUARY 30, 2019
TheWetumpkaHerald.com
THE ECLECTIC OBSERVER
ClassiÄeds
Lake & River Phone (256) 277-4219 Fax (205) 669-4217 The Alexander City Outlook
Employment
Reaching more than 22,000 households in Tallapoosa and Elmore counties The Dadeville Record
Job Opportunities
classiďŹ eds@alexcityoutlook.com public.notices@alexcityoutlook.com classiďŹ eds@thewetumpkaherald.com public.notices@thewetumpkaherald.com
The Eclectic Observer
Job Opportunities
The Tallassee Tribune
Job Opportunities
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We Are Looking to Fill the Following Positions: 1. RN/LPN Nursing Supervisor 2. Caregivers Provide appropriate care and supervision to Elderly and Disabled individuals. Call us at 256-342-5222 or email: aohcs08@gmail.com
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Now Hiring Heavy Equipment Operators and CDL Drivers Competitive pay and EHQHÂżWV 3UH HPSOR\PHQW GUXJ WHVW UHTXLUHG Equal Employment 2SSRUWXQLW\ (PSOR\Hr Call: 205-298-6799 or email us at: jtate@forestryenv.com
Now Hiring for Full-Time Manufacturing Positions in the Alexander City Area. All Shifts Available. Overtime & some Saturdays may be required. Pay rates start at $9.00/hr & increase depending on the company. Your choice of two Health Insurance Plans available. Must pass drug screen & client background requirements. Apply in person at: 207 South Central Avenue Alexander City, AL 35010 or Online at www.asapply-ag.com
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Looking for a home? Look in our classifieds section and learn of great deals for you and your family.
The Wetumpka Herald
PUZZLES & HOROSCOPE ARIES (March 20-April 19) Emphasize your ability to relate even though you could feel overwhelmed by a personal matter. You may have some diɉculty seeing a situation from the perspective you want. Let go, and do what you do best. Go oɈ and look for new approaches if the old ones are not working. Tonight: Go where you can hear great music. TAURUS (April 20-May 20) A close associate demands and needs your time. Make it your pleasure to accommodate that need. You also like being able to inĂ…uence this person. A meeting promotes daydreaming and considering new ideas. You wonder how applicable these ideas are. You will Ă„nd out soon enough. You will choose to be more of an observer if a new project launches. Tonight: Chill with a loved one. GEMINI (May 21-June 20) You cannot Ă„nd a reason not to reach out to a loved one who seems far away, even when in the same room. Do not assume it is about you or your relationship with this person. Find out what the logistics are. This person simply could be overwhelmed with work or other matters. You can make a diɈerence here. Tonight: Go out for dinner. CANCER (June 21-July 22) You might need to pull back and handle a personal matter immediately. Generally you have time, but your emotional response demands speed. An element of confusion or deception lies in what you perceive. Once you Ă„nd out the core details of the matter at hand, you will relax. Tonight: Work late. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22) Reach out to someone you care about and enjoy spending time with. Plan on getting together soon. A partner or associate presents a money matter or investment. Be careful, as what is being promised probably will not materialize. Tonight: Do not hesitate to say what you feel and think. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22) Note tension building around your domestic life and/or a real estate matter. The person presenting this issue or who is involved with you in it might not have all the facts. Be positive, yet do your research as well. You might be more comfortable as a result. Tonight: Stay close to home.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22) Keep reaching out to a family member or neighbor. This person generally is available, yet you might have a problem unearthing him or her today. When you discover what is happening in this person’s life, you will understand his or her unavailability. Trust that he or she will get to you. Tonight: Visit a favorite haunt. SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21) You might seem to have it together and be in control. However, that appearance often is just that. Stay patient. Use caution with your Ă„nances, and wait for someone to come toward you. You have already extended yourself suɉciently -- according to you! Express some of your vulnerability more often; others may become more sensitive to your needs. Tonight: Pay bills Ă„rst. SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21) Your energy proves magnetic to many people. You do not have to do much to accomplish what you want. A conversation around personal matters will clear the haze around a certain issue. Do not avoid the other party or this conversation. Tonight: Accept an invitation; you will enjoy being out. CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19) A matter might not be as it seems. Someone is holding back some facts or refuses to clarify a misunderstanding. You cannot force this situation. Instead, you need to let it go. The other party probably will Ă„ll in the blanks when you seem to lose interest. Play hardball. Tonight: Get some extra R & R. You are going to need it. AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18) You might surprise yourself and enjoy a meeting that was booked as a serious matter. You have an opportunity to speak and share with one of your friends whom you do not see often enough. Schedule lunch together to catch up on news. Tonight: Make weekend plans now, especially because you want to connect with certain people. PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20) Your take-charge attitude could drive another person to back oɈ or have mixed feelings. You might not understand that person’s response. Open up a conversation to clear the air. Both of you will understand that the other has good intentions. Tonight: Stay up late.
THE ECLECTIC OBSERVER
TheWetumpkaHerald.com
Commission
continued from Page 1
spots on the roadway have become more problematic due to weather-related issues last winter. After hearing this information, the commission approved a resolution to move forward with the project. Beyer also mentioned how the county has received funding through the federally funded High Risk Rural Roads Program to redo guardrails on three bridges in the county. He explained this money is somewhat of a mixed bag, as it means traffic fatalities are higher than average in these areas, but having the money for repairs will hopefully reduce fatalities. The bridges receiving work through the HRRR program are on Sewell Road, Baltzer Road and Peace Church Road. After the meeting, Beyer said county work crews will be handling some of the preliminary work at these projects but a majority of the work will be contracted out to engineering firms. During the work session, commissioners offered observations regarding public reaction to the Jan. 19 tornado that struck Wetumpka and Elmore County. “It is impossible to thank everyone involved,� commissioner Mack Daugherty said. Mercer added, “I want to offer my most sincere gratitude to see how our staff worked together to support Wetumpka through this. I am also encouraged by the
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response we saw coming from our neighboring communities.â&#x20AC;? Commissioner Earl Reeves echoed what his colleagues said, while commission chair Troy Stubbs commended county EMA director Keith Barnett and other county agencies for their hard work during the tornado and recovery process. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We saw over 1,000 volunteers registered in a day and a half, and that doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t even count people who live here and may have just stepped out their front door to volunteer,â&#x20AC;? Stubbs said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is a true testament to our compassion in the community.â&#x20AC;? Stubbs also recommended following the county commission and county EMA on social media for alerts and as a source of official information from the county government. Building on what Stubbs said, Beyer said the center registering volunteers actually had to be shut down the Monday following the tornado, as it was overwhelmed by the number of people wanting to volunteer their services during the cleanup. The commission also approved the most recent memorandum of warrants, totaling approximately $2.1 million, for the period between Jan. 9-23. The next meeting of the Elmore County Commission will be Feb. 11 beginning with a work session at 5 p.m.
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Alabamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Little Bit of Texas coming to Wetumpka STAFF REPORT TPI Staff
Alabamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Little Bit of Texas has plans to move from Eclectic to a 15,000-square foot building in Wetumpka, according to an announcement by owner Freddy Lovvorn. It will be located at 8056 U.S. Highway 231 in Wetumpka and will feature a 24-foot by 24-foot, two-inch floating dance floor, pool tables, a jukebox and a stage. No opening date was announced but Lovvorn said in a press release he expects the Wetumpka location to grow quickly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Wetumpka is growing, there is a lot of new business coming in to Wetumpka, and this is where we wanted to be,â&#x20AC;? Lovvorn said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the perfect location for our expansion and will enable us to grow. Plans are to open the entertainment venue first, then add a Texas-style
Apartments
steakhouse restaurant within the next 12 months.â&#x20AC;? Lovvorn said he sought the larger venue to host country acts in Wetumpka and draw patrons from neighboring counties.
Many a
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PAGE 8 • JANUARY 30, 2019
Sports
IT’S DO OR DIE TIME
Making picks for the Super Bowl’s top prop bets
F
Caleb Turrentine is a sports writer for The Observer.
TheWetumpkaHerald.com
The
Observer
CALEB TURRENTINE Sports Writer
or the first time since I was 8 years old, I will get to witness my favorite team play in a Super Bowl. There are still plenty of arguments going around about the no call on a “pass interference” in the win over the New Orleans Saints but that’s over now. The Los Angeles Rams are in the Super Bowl so get over it. Plus, we all know we’re on the same team when the New England Patriots are on the field. In the past, I have usually selected one of the two teams to root for in the big game but I could have some fun with some of the smaller things. Every year, the Super Bowl has some of the best (and weirdest) prop bets for a sporting event and since I will be too invested in the game by the weekend, I have decided to take a look at some of the best bets from the Westgate SB LIII Superbook. As with every game, the first prop bet on the page is which way the coin will fall during the opening coin toss. The odds never favor one side or the other (obviously) but I’m just really feeling tails for this one. There are more than a few prop bets that have nothing to do with the actual game on the field. The over/under for Gladys Knight’s national anthem is set at 1:45 and that’s something I would take the over on every time. Westgate has set the odds of a spectator running on to the field at 8-to-1, which honestly seems a little low to me. A website called BetOnline took it a step further and listed the odds for who makes the tackle if a streaker runs on to the field. For the record, I’d take a security team member making the play at 2-to-1. With Maroon 5 playing the halftime show, several bets are listed for which songs the band will open and close its show with. My only thoughts on this is the band should play from only the album Songs About Jane and nothing else matters. Once the actual football begins, my judgement will undoubtedly get a little bit cloudy as I will care about only the team in blue and gold. However, there are still several fun bets on the list. One of them brings in another event I will be caring about on Sunday night. There are even odds on if Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers scores more points against the Kings than the Rams and Patriots combine for in the first half. There are 18 players listed in the Superbook with odds for who will be the first player to score a touchdown in the game. New England’s Sony Michel is the favorite but why take a favorite when you could have some fun with it and take Los Angeles punt returner Jojo Natson at 200-to-1? The obvious favorite for the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award is Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Because it is usually a quarterback’s award, Jared Goff of the Rams is right behind Brady with 2-to-1 odds. Again though, I have only my pride on the line instead of money so we should have a little more fun with a prediction than picking a quarterback. However, I will not stray too far from the top of the list because Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald will be the best player on the field Sunday night so he should be the MVP. The Patriots were listed as 2.5-point favorites as of Monday afternoon and will likely stay as the favorites all the way up until kickoff. And while this may not be my professional opinion, I’m taking my journalist cap off and putting on my Rams-colored glasses. New England’s defense is not good and the Rams are just a better team. Experience matters and that’s the only reason this game will be close but Brady will be walking away from the Super Bowl without a trophy again this season. Rams 34, Patriots 21.
Visit our sister website: TallasseeTribune.com
File / The Observer
Keshawn Benson (5) has been Elmore County’s hottest outside shooter in the final weeks of the regular season.
Postseason looms as teams return to square one By CALEB TURRENTINE Sports Writer
Over the last three months, high school basketball teams have been preparing for one day to make or break their seasons. Everyone wants to win every game but every coach says the focus is on finding improvements every day so the players are at their best for the first week of February. Elmore County boys coach Rodney Taylor has had the same outlook since the beginning of the season. “One game, one night. You never know.” The Panthers have just four wins on the season but that’s a big improvement from their 1-22 record from a year ago. The team is lined up to face
File / The Observer
Elmore County looks to rely more on freshman guard CK Bolton after an injury to Kendall Downey.
Handley in the first round of the Class 4A Area 5 tournament which will be hosted by Booker T. Washington. Elmore County grabbed
two wins in area play, both against Holtville. However, all four of the teams in the area are now in the same situation. A win in the first round
of the area tournament will extend your season into the sub-regionals. However, no matter how well you played in the regular season, a loss in the first round of the area tournament will end your season. Wetumpka is hoping they can turn the tables on the favorites in Class 6A Area 5 after the Indians went winless against area opponents during the regular season. After losing to Selma in the area finale, coach Derrick Powell said the team has some things to fix but he still believes they are capable of making a run in the postseason. Stanhope Elmore finished the regular season tied with Selma at the top of the area standings. However, the Mustangs were on the short See AREA • Page 9
Soccer teams face obstacles as spring practice begins By CALEB TURRENTINE Sports Writer
The coldest weather of the year has arrived and with it comes the start of practices for spring sports. Despite the cold and the rain, high school soccer teams from around the county returned to the pitch to begin training for the start of the season, which is now less than a month away. “We’re not allowed to touch a soccer ball until Monday,” Wetumpka girls coach Jessica Holbert said. “We only have two weeks to get ready for our first game. And every year, something happens during those two weeks where you can’t get on the field. Yesterday, we were in the gym, sharing the gym with wrestling.” Most teams got their season started last Tuesday and had
to deal with the after effects of the big storm. While many of the concerns surround getting on to the field at all, coaches are also concerned about the affect the weather has on practice even once the rain stops. “Just yesterday, the field was wet and mushy,” Elmore County girls coach Angie Simmons said. “It changes how you can practice. It changes the trajectory of the ball and your ability to take off.” Despite the challenges to start the season, there is no lack of excitement among the players. Stanhope Elmore boys coach Joanna Angelo said her players chose to practice through the rain on Wednesday. The Mustangs have the most experienced team across the See SOCCER • Page 10
Eddie Luckie nabs big crackerfish on Lake Thurlow By CARMEN RODGERS Staff Writer
How lucky can one man be? Eddie Luckie, of Eclectic, knows he was born with luck. He calls himself the “King of Thurlow” after nabbing a near-record-breaking shellcracker fish, also known as the redear sunfish, last summer on Tallassee’s Lake Thurlow. The redear sunfish is a freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae family and is native to the southeastern United States. According to outdooralabama.
com, Jeff Lashley, of Gordon, caught the largest redear sunfish on record in the state of Alabama on May 5, 1962. It weighed 4 pounds 4 ounces. However, Luckie thoroughly believes he will break the 58-year-old state record with a fish from Tallassee’s Lake Thurlow. Last year, Luckie hooked a near-record-breaker redear sunfish. “It was May 25,” he said. “This one weighs 3 pounds. I am about a pound and 5 ounces shy of catching the new state See LUCKIE • Page 10
Caleb Turrentine / The Observer
Elmore County coach Rodney Taylor returned to Dadeville, where he coached for 19 seasons, last week. The Tigers spoiled his return.
Dominant second half spoils Taylor’s return By CALEB TURRENTINE Sports Writer
Coach Rodney Taylor returned to Dadeville as an opposing coach for the first time on Tuesday night, bringing his Elmore County team to face the Tigers in a non-area matchup. Dadeville spoiled his homecoming by defeating the Panthers 72-50 for its fourth consecutive victory to improve to 16-7 on the season. “He’s just like my brother,” Dadeville coach Jesse Foster said of Taylor. “He was here 16 years and I was here every year with him. It was fun for him to be back in the gym and they had a good showing. We were glad to get that one game in and hopefully we can continue to schedule it.” The Tigers held the visitors to five field goals in the second half and outscored their opponents 38-18 to pull away in the final two quarters. Elmore County See TAYLOR • Page 9
THE ECLECTIC OBSERVER
TheWetumpkaHerald.com
JANUARY 30, 2019 • PAGE 9
Panthers hold off Dadeville rally By CALEB TURRENTINE Sports Writer
File / The Observer
Elmore County’s Madison Britt grabbed a career-high 17 rebounds in last week’s win at Dadeville. She is the Elmore County Player of the Week.
Elmore County Player of the Week
Madison Britt steps up for short-handed ECHS Panthers By CALEB TURRENTINE Sports Writer
Elmore County forward Madison Britt recorded her second double-double of the season and set a new career high with 17 rebounds in last week’s win over Dadeville. The Panthers were without guards Kendall Downey and CK Bolton but Britt scored in double figures for just the third time this season in a 43-34 victory. “She played the whole game and she stepped up really big for us,” Elmore County coach Amy Rachel said. “She took some pressure off and rebounded a ton. She’s come a long way and she seems to be picking it up at the right time.” The Panthers got off to a fast start, grabbing a 12-2 lead with 1:31 to go in the opening quarter. Elmore County grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the first half, including a putback from Britt in the final minute to put the Panthers ahead 27-11 at the break. “It’s replacing that experience on the floor,” Rachel said. “They didn’t have someone coming off the bench to bail them out. This is going to benefit us down the road.” Britt, who is in her second year on the varsity team, grabbed nine offensive rebounds in the game and scored six second-chance points. She finished with 10 points which ties her second highest total of her career. “We knew we were going to have to have people step in and grow up a little bit tonight,” Rachel said. “It was good for us. We had to have people take the pressure off and handle some things.” Britt is just a sophomore but has made big strides in her second season. She is averaging twice as many points per game and 4.5 more rebounds per game. With the improvements, Rachel has raised her expectations for Britt. “She went into a little bit of slump right after Christmas but she seems to be picking it back up,” Rachel said. “Hopefully we can get everyone to hit their strides going in to the area tournament.” Britt is averaging 5.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game this season but she saw those numbers drop when area play began. In the first six games after the winter break, Britt shot just 37.5 percent from the field and averaged 4.6 points per game. Rebounding continues to be Britt’s biggest strength. She did not post double figures in rebounds until the ninth game of the season but has averaged 10.1 rebounds per game in the last 13 games. Britt has grabbed at least one offensive rebound in each of the last 14 games for the Panthers. She extended that streak during Friday’s loss to Handley when she led the team with 10 rebounds to go with her four points. Britt also recorded a steal and a block in the defeat.
Dadeville cut a 16-point halftime deficit to just five points but late turnovers doomed the Tigers in a 43-34 home loss to Elmore County on Tuesday night. Dadeville’s girls basketball team turned the ball over six times in the final frame to fall for the seventh time in its last eight games. “Turnovers got the best of us,” Dadeville coach Pam Holloway said. “I’ve been trying to work with them on drills and different things to keep them focused mentally. We keep hurting ourselves with those turnovers.” The Tigers (5-12) got off to a slow start, falling behind 12-2 with 1:31 to go in the opening quarter. Elmore County grabbed seven offensive rebounds in the first half, including a putback from Madison Britt in the final minute to put the Panthers ahead 27-11 at the break. Britt finished with 10 points and a game-high 17 rebounds for her second double-double. She set a career high with nine offensive rebounds and scored six second-chance points. “Madison Britt played the whole game and she stepped up really big for us,” Elmore County coach Amy Rachel said. “She took some pressure off and rebounded a ton. She’s come a long way and she seems to be picking it up at the right time.” After the Panthers built the 16-point lead, Dadeville responded with defensive pressure to turn the tables on the visitors. The Tigers grabbed six steals in the third quarter and cut the lead to seven points with 1:33 to go in the frame after a steal and layup by freshman Nhylee Banks. “I think they picked up the intensity a little bit
Caleb Turrentine / The Observer
Above: Elmore County’s CJ Thornton (11) played a season high in minutes on Tuesday night to help fill in for the team’s missing players. Below: Elmore County’s Madison Traylor fights for a rebound against a Dadeville defender.
defensively,” Holloway said. “We tried some different things and put some pressure on them. We still didn’t capitalize on all of them but it made a difference for us in that third quarter.” Banks continued her performance into the fourth quarter and scored her final two points with 3:08 to go, cutting the lead to 36-31. She finished with a teamhigh 16 points. “The majority of our team is freshmen,” Holloway said. “I think highly of them but even though they’re young, they can play with a lot more intensity. I am still grateful that they still work as hard as they do and they’re getting better.” Elmore County responded with a 7-1 run to pull See GIRLS • Page 10
Area
continued from Page 8
File / The Observer
Elmore County’s Jamie Singleton (21) puts up a shot against Booker T. Washington’s Martez Jones (32) earlier this season. The Panthers will face BTW in the first round of the Class 4A Area 5 tournament.
end of the coin toss tiebreaker and will now need to beat Wetumpka for the third time to extend their season. In the two regular season games, Stanhope defeated Wetumpka by an average of seven points per game. Despite sweeping the first two meetings, the Mustangs have to win in the area tournament to advance to a sub-regional. The game will be played at Selma on Tuesday at 7 p.m. On the girls side, Selma went unbeaten in area play during the regular season and will wait in the tournament championship game for the winner of part three in the Wetumpka-Stanhope rivalry. The Indians and Mustangs split the two regular season meetings with both going into overtime and will meet again on Tuesday in Selma at 5 p.m. In Class 5A, Tallassee hopes to shrug off its road woes to make some noise in the postseason. The Tigers were one of the favorites in Area 4 entering area play but they lost all three road games and will now have to return to the site of its worst loss for a chance to extend their season. Brewbaker Tech showed it was ready for postseason play with an 87-33 win over the Tigers on homecoming night. The Rams will host the area tournament and Tallassee is hoping to redeem itself but they may not get another chance at Brew Tech. After beating Beauregard on Monday night, the Tigers secured a spot in the 2/3 matchup in the area tournament. Tallassee will play Valley for the third time this season in the first round after splitting the regular season series. Tallassee’s girls team grabbed its second area win of the season on Monday night and finished third in the area. The Tigers will play Valley, a team they lost to by two points at home, in the first round of the area tournament. The Elmore County girls team has had a strong finish to the regular season, winning five of its seven games. The Panthers will match up again with BTW at 6 p.m. Monday when the area tournament begins at Handley.
Taylor erased a 16-point deficit in the first half but two free throws by Jamarion Wilkerson kept the Tigers ahead at the break. “They hit some shots and we turned the ball over a few times,” Foster said. “At halftime, I told them we have to keep the pressure on them and luckily it paid off for us in the second half.” PJ Eason was consistent throughout the night, scoring in double figures during both halves. He scored 12 of his 22 points in the second half to help push Dadeville’s lead back to double figures. “He’s been consistent over the last four or five games so I told him he had to keep it going,” Foster said. “With the
continued from Page 8 area play coming up, it’s almost time for that one and done and he’s been playing pretty good for us right now.” Eason led the Tigers in scoring and added seven rebounds, four blocks, two steals and two assists. Eason said once the defense started bringing more energy, it made the offensive end a lot easier. “I look for my scoring first and then I look for them to drop down on me so I can kick it to my open teammate,” Eason said. “I want to go up with it but if I feel like my teammate has it, I’m going to pass it out.” Elmore County (4-17) did not have the size to match 6-foot-9 Eason on the inside. The Panthers made some big
shots in the first half but the play in the paint made the biggest difference. “We got down but made a run and actually took a lead for a minute,” Taylor said. “I was proud of them. The difference in the third quarter was we weren’t rebounding. We didn’t rebound, they stretched it out a little bit and we had to go man. We just don’t match up well with them.” DJ Patrick led the way on offense for the Panthers. He finished with 24 points, scoring 13 in the second quarter to momentarily put Elmore County ahead just before halftime. Patrick was held to just three points in the third quarter as the Tigers outscored their opponent 20-9. The
Panthers allowed nine second-chance points in the frame. “In the end, there were too many rebounds,” Taylor said. “We could have easily had a lead at half but I think the difference in the third quarter was you can’t give them multiple chances to score and we did it.” Before the night ended, Taylor took a minute to catch up with Foster. With tears in his eyes, Taylor talked about how special it was to return to that gym and to be on the same sideline as Foster again. “It was pretty cool,” Taylor said. “Me and this man have been together a long time, he’s like my brother. I’m glad we had a good showing.”
PAGE 10 â&#x20AC;˘ JANUARY 30, 2019
TheWetumpkaHerald.com
THE ECLECTIC OBSERVER
Luckie
File / The Observer
Elmore Countyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s girls soccer team looks to bounce back from its winless season in 2018.
Soccer
continued from Page 8
county and Angelo believes that has helped with the start of practice. She said the team has been waiting on the start of the season and the excitement has been building up for a while. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have a mature team,â&#x20AC;? Angelo said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;This is as important to them as it is to me. They already have that drive and excitement so I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really have to do anything to pump them up. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re ready because we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to let this opportunity slip.â&#x20AC;? Stanhope has eight returning starters this season and the Mustangs have set their sights on a final four appearance. Angelo said the experience has helped them get a jump start on practice. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are doing stuff differently this year,â&#x20AC;? Angelo said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going straight to the team stuff like passing and touches. We have that experience so we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to start at the beginning. The goal is bigger this year so itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more pressing to get started.â&#x20AC;? The Wetumpka girls team does not have the luxury of experience and Holbert said it could take time to figure out the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strengths and weaknesses. Holbert said the coaching staff has a plan for the first match and those performances will determine every game after that. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Everything we do is about touches â&#x20AC;&#x201D; dribbling and passing,â&#x20AC;? Holbert said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We did communication stuff during conditioning practice and talked about spacing. But that still wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t the same. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re not prepared until you play that first week of games.â&#x20AC;? Elmore County will be facing some of the same hurdles at the beginning of practice. Simmons said the focus right now is on teaching defensive strategies and working on simple ball control but it has not taken any excitement away from the players. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They seem to be really excited,â&#x20AC;? Simmons said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They love getting back to real practice. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all very ready to get that ball rolling.â&#x20AC;? Each coach said it has not been difficult to get the players excited about the season but growing excitement outside of the program can be difficult. While teams like Stanhope believe their success can raise excitement, Elmore County is trying to do fundraisers for spirit shirts and banner advertisements on the field to get more people from the community involved.
Girls
continued from Page 9
away from the Tigers for its fifth consecutive victory. The Panthers were without guards Kendall Downey and CK Bolton on Tuesday and needed their depth to step up in the win. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We knew we were going to have to have some people step in and grow up a little bit tonight,â&#x20AC;? Rachel said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;With Kendall injured and Courtney out sick, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not what you want going into area. It was good for us though because we had to have some people step up. Hopefully thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s going to benefit us down the road.â&#x20AC;? Dadeville freshman Janiya Wyckoff finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds in the loss. Madison Traylor led the Panthers with 13 points and added nine rebounds. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We just keep working on things we know weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re having problems with,â&#x20AC;? Holloway said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I see them in practice and I know what theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re capable of but when we get in the game, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re missing easy layups. I know its mental so we have to keep working on that and hopefully they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t give up.â&#x20AC;?
record. You donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t see shellcrackers this big in Alabama.â&#x20AC;? The pending WorldRecord redear sunfish was plucked from Lake Havasu in Arizona, weighing in at 5.78 pounds and breaking the previous record of 5.55 pounds. After making the catch, Luckie took the fish to Kelly Taxidermy, out of the Titus area, to have it mounted. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Rex Kelly did a really good job on it,â&#x20AC;? Luckie said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have been fishing that lake for 20-plus years and I catch them each and every year, by the pound. But on that day, I put him in the boat and said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;This is going on my wallâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.â&#x20AC;? Luckie has a fishing partner, Chad Woods, who lives in Wetumpka. Woods was onboard that lucky day when Luckie hooked the extra large redear sunfish, and it was a good thing because with a fish that big, Luckie needed the extra hands to get it inside the boat. â&#x20AC;&#x153;On that day, when I hooked him, he gave a good fight,â&#x20AC;? Luckie said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;He came toward the boat and I saw it. I said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Chad, this is a big shellcracker. Get the netâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.â&#x20AC;? Luckie frequents Lake Thurlow on a regular basis and looks forward to the spring and early summer months for prime fishing. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I usually start up around mid-April,â&#x20AC;? Luckie said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;May and June are excellent.â&#x20AC;?
continued from Page 8 Carmen Rodgers / The Observer
Eddie Luckie calls himself the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;King of Thurlowâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; after catching a near-record shellcracker last summer on Tallasseeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Lake Thurlow.
Luckie said he has a honey hole on Lake Thurlow, but heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not telling where that special fishing spot is. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have a friend who wants me to take him and show him which bank I caught him on,â&#x20AC;? Luckie said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do that. I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have everybody down there.â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? While Luckie has yet to put a record breaker in the boat, he knows it is out there because he has hooked it before but, like many fishing stories, the big one got away. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have had them on and off, I mean big ones. I think bigger than this,â&#x20AC;? he said. For Luckie, fishing is a hobby he enjoys and he said he has caught several types of big fish on
Lake Thurlow. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I retired and I bought a boat,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my time. I go fishing about five days a week. I catch grass carps out of the lower pond. They hang out by the banks and I have caught several grass carps that weigh 20 to 25 pounds.â&#x20AC;? Over the past 20-years of fishing, Luckie said there are few occasions he remembers more than others. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Back in 2009 and 2012, at my honey hole, with crickets, during a full moon, I would sit on that bank and I catch 20 and 30 bluegills,â&#x20AC;? he said. Like his favorite fishing spot, Luckie also has a favorite bait. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I catch shellcrackers,
bluegills, sunfish, bass and crappie. I can catch anything on a cricket,â&#x20AC;? he said. Luckie said he never wastes the fish he catches from Lake Thurlow, and he enjoys eating the fresh catches. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I clean and eat what I catch because I like to eat them,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They are very good.â&#x20AC;? Luckie discovered Lake Thurlow 20-years ago and has fished its waters ever since then. He said it is the best fishing hole in Tallassee or the surrounding area. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I discovered these two lakes out of an Alabama Game & Fish magazine in 1999. They are best brim lakes in central Alabama,â&#x20AC;? he said.
Wind Creek donates $100,000 to Wetumpka tornado recovery By CLIFF WILLIAMS Staff Writer
Employees of Wind Creek Casinos helped in the cleanup immediately after the tornado and now the Poarch Creek Indians have donated $100,000 to three Wetumpka organizations. â&#x20AC;&#x153;As you can see there is so much destruction in the aftermath of the tornado that came through on the 19th,â&#x20AC;? Wind Creek public relations specialist Kristen Vaughn said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re here to offer a hand.â&#x20AC;? Wind Creek employees traveled around Wetumpka Monday afternoon dropping donations to the Wetumpka Police Department, the First Baptist Church and the First Presbyterian Church. Wetumpka police chief Greg Benton said officials are unsure if the departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s building, which was severely damaged in the tornado, could be salvaged. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Definitely the back part of the building is gone,â&#x20AC;? Benton said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are lucky it did not strike just a few minutes earlier. The squad room had five officers in it and it was demolished.â&#x20AC;? Wind Creek gave the depart-
ment $25,000 and Benton said it will be spent wisely. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Lots of equipment was damaged and destroyed and (the money) will go towards that,â&#x20AC;? Benton said. Preachers are almost always against gaming but that didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stop Wind Creek from donating $25,000 to First Baptist Church of Wetumpka for recovery efforts. First Presbyterian Church pastor Jonathan Yarboro said the church will gladly accept Wind Creekâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s $50,000 donation. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We were very touched. I was very touched and the session was unanimous in accepting the gift because Wind Creek is a good community partner,â&#x20AC;? Yarboro said. Yarboro said the donation will not have to go toward rebuilding the church. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thankfully we were overinsured,â&#x20AC;? Yarboro said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Their intention was to use it to rebuild our building. We asked if we did not need it for that purpose if we could use it to help rebuild the community at large and they said yes.â&#x20AC;? Yarboro said the elders of the church decided the day after the tornado how to go forward.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;We will rebuild the sanctuary just as it was,â&#x20AC;? Yarboro said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It was a beacon for the community. It was a landmark for all of us and beyond.â&#x20AC;? Yarboro said the construction crews will start soon to remove the timbers and lumber on the church site and recover what it can to be reused. Another item recovered was the church bell found in the rubble some 50 feet from where it was in the church steeple. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We can still ring it,â&#x20AC;? Yarboro said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;It will take a tough tug on a rope to do it.â&#x20AC;? While parts of the church are destroyed, Yarboro said the church will move its services from the Wetumpka Depot back to the church site in the fellowship hall once some cleanup is done. Services will move back into the sanctuary once it is completed. Yarboro said church members are looking forward to one service in particular. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We normally have our Easter service at Gold Star Park,â&#x20AC;? Yarboro said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;There are many members who are wanting to hold an Easter service in the rebuilt sanctuary once itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ready.â&#x20AC;?
Vehicle Title Problem? Dr. Gary Harrelson will begin seeing patients (ages 5 & older) on January 3, 2019 at Tallassee Family Care located at 115 Herren Hill Road, Tallassee, AL 36078. Dr. Harrelson graduated from Louisiana State University School of Medicine in 1981 and completed his Family Medicine Residency in 1984. Before relocating to Tallassee, he practiced in Auburn, AL, caring for patients from the tri-county area. With more than 37 years of Family Practice experience, Dr. Harrelson looks forward to serving our community and meeting the healthcare needs of your family.
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