The Wetumpka Herald - Information Transport Solutions

Wednesday,
October 7, 2009
50¢
The Wetumpka Herald
WETUMPKA, AL 36092
VOL. 112, NO. 11 • USPS 681-260
(334) 567-7811 • FAX: (334) 567-3284
www.TheWetumpkaHerald.com
Alleged meth manufacturers
also wanted in Elmore County
By KEVIN TAYLOR
Copy Editor
Two Montgomery people who were
arrested and charged with manufacturing a
controlled substance inside a Montgomery
hotel room early Monday
morning are also awaiting
possession of controlled
substance charges in
Elmore County.
Siubo Souvannasing, 31,
and Starr Sullins, 23, were
Souvannasing arrested after a security
guard at America’s Best
Inn on 5135 Carmichael
Road reported to the property’s management that he
noticed a strong ammonia
smell coming from one of
the rooms around 1:15
a.m. Monday.
Sullins
The two were detained
by the security guard until Montgomery
Police arrived.
Upon entering the hotel room, police officers found bottles -- which are typically
used to manufacture methamphetamines
using the “shake and bake” method -- on
an ironing board, according to
Montgomery Police Maj. Huey Thornton.
As is standard procedure, the hotel was
evacuated around 7:30 a.m. Monday.
The Montgomery Police Narcotics Units,
Drug Enforcement Agency and the
Montgomery Fire Department Hazardous
Materials Unit responded and cleared the
room of the materials.
Souvannasing and Sullins are each being
held in the Montgomery County Detention
Facility on a $60,000 bond.
Thornton said the two could post a bond,
but would then be immediately transferred
to the Elmore County Jail pending their
failure to appear warrant charges for possession of a controlled substance.
Elmore County Chief Deputy Ricky
Lowery said records did not show whether
the possession charges were also for meth
or some other narcotic.
ON THE ROAD
Holtville crowns Queen
Georgana Rountree was crowned Holtville High’s 2009 Homecoming Queen Friday
night during halftime of the Bulldogs’ 28-20 victory over Ashford. See page A12 for a
Herald Photo/Peggy Blackburn
photo of the full Homecoming Court.
Local company keeps city on
cutting edge of technology
By DAVID GOODWIN
News Editor
The cast of “The Wedding from Hell.”
Herald Photo/Peggy Blackburn
Depot Players slated for
out-of-town performances
By PEGGY BLACKBURN
Managing Editor
The casts of two recent
Wetumpka Depot Players’
productions are literally
taking their shows on the
road in the coming weeks.
“
I will
always
remember
the reaction
from the
cast ...
”
– Kristy Meanor
“The Wedding from Hell”
will be on stage at the
Alabama
Shakespeare
Festival in Montgomery for
two shows; and “All I
Really Need to Know I
Learned in Kindergarten”
will be one of three shows
offered at the upcoming
Alabama
Community
Theatre Festival ACTFest
‘10 in Pell City.
“The artistic director of
ASF, Geoffrey Sherman
saw the show at the Depot
during our first weekend
run and called me the following week and asked if
we would consider bringing the show to the
Octagon with our cast,”
said Kristy Meanor, Depot
executive director. “We are
thrilled for the opportunity
to travel ‘The Wedding
From Hell’ to ASF in celebration of our upcoming
30th anniversary season.
“Looking back on all that
has been accomplished
over the past 30 years, it
seems fitting that this particular show will be making this special journey to
such a prestigious theater,”
she continued. “It is a
reflection of many of our
successful past shows with
Southern themes. The show
also reflects our true sense
of community spirit, with
cast members who have a
great deal of stage experience as well as several who
are newcomers to the
stage.”
“The Wedding from
Hell,” an original script
written by Tom Salter,
Mary Katherine Moore and
Meanor, enjoyed a successful run at the Depot Theater
in early September. Show
dates had to be added to
accommodate those wishing to attend the comedic
production.
The audience takes an
active part in the proceedings – assuming the role of
guests at a redneck wedding gone very wrong. The
nuptial ceremony and
reception of Miss Sunny
Miller and Mr. Langoustine
Light III is the setting for a
hilarious show, complete
with camouflage bridesmaids’ dresses, a wedding
cake of Twinkies, an Elvis
impersonator
and
a
“Bridezilla” cast of characters. The “ceremony” is
filled with interruptions
and surprises, including
poor song choices and a
reception where actors
mingle with the audience at
intermission.
And, although the bride
and groom have their own
issues, they are likely the
most normal characters in a
cast boasting assorted colorful and boisterous personalities.
“Our audiences have
loved our zany Southern
shows in the past, so we
decided to write a show
with the same kind of
Southern humor,“ said
Meanor. “We had a tremendous response to the show
during its run at the Depot
Theater. It's all fluff and
fun.
“I waited until the final
night of the production to
share the news with the cast
about taking the show to
ASF,” she said. “I will
always remember the reacSee DEPOT, Page A2
Wetumpka-based Information Transport Solutions recently donated the
city a valuable tool to
instantly connect the community with the world.
The $80,000 videoconferencing unit boasts a 67inch LCD video screen,
camera “and is fully
loaded” and able to add up
to five more sites to a vir-
tual meeting, according to
ITS account
executive
Dave Stone. The screen is
also touch sensitive,
allowing its user to navigate computer screens
with the touch of a finger.
“We believe videoconferencing is the future and
we want the city to stand
out from an economic
development and public
relations standpoint,” said
ITS President Tomi Selby.
“We want Wetumpka to
stand out as a city that is
progressive.”
At
the
Wetumpka
Chamber of Commerce
luncheon last month, ITS
employee Brian Sims
dialed up the company’s
offices in Albuquerque,
N.M., to chat with a fellow
employee as local merchants looked on. But the
face looking out of the 67inch flat screen could be
See EDGE, Page A2
Ft. Toulouse/Jackson featured as
tourism touts fall events, color
By PEGGY BLACKBURN
Managing Editor
Alabama Frontier Days, scheduled for
Nov. 4-8 at Fort Toulouse/Jackson Park in
Wetumpka, is one of 10 upcoming events
recommended by Lee Sentell, director of
the Alabama Tourism Department.
“With cooler days and lower humidity,
autumn is a wonderful time to enjoy
Alabama’s many fall festivals and
events,” said Sentell. “Several events are
designed around being outdoors and
enjoying the beautiful fall weather.”
Other fall events recommended by the
department are:
•Oct. 16-17 – Governor’s Mansion
Autumn Garden Tour in Montgomery.
•Oct. 17-18 – Kentuck Festival of the
Arts in Northport.
See FALL, Page A3
Brightly-colored trees border a swampy area beside Fort Toulouse Road. The photo
was taken in November 2008.
Herald Photo/Peggy Blackburn
Elmore County’s Oldest Newspaper – Established 1898
This Week’s
Obituaries
M None
See more weather on page A11
reported
Herald
Opinion . . . . .A4
Faith . . . . . . . .A8
Living . . . . . .A9
Calendar . . .A10
Sports . . . . . .B1
Classifieds . . .B4
Legals . . . . . .B4
CMYK
OL 01
N EWS
PAGE A2 • OCTOBER 14, 2009
www.TheWetumpkaHerald.com
THE WETUMPKA HERALD
Brian Sims of Information Transport Solutions shows off the new videoconferencing unit the company donated to the
Herald Photo/David Goodwin
City of Wetumpka.
Edge
Continued from Page A1
the CEO of a firm looking to expand
here, Selby said.
“With everything going on in the
economy, videoconferencing gives
our leaders and other small businesses the ability to reach out to businesses and partners they wouldn’t have
the physical abilities to go to,” she
said. “They can go there without the
expenditure.”
Mayor Jerry Willis said that with
just a bit of training for employees,
“there will be conferences and workshops they can access through this
and they won't have to leave town.”
“That will save the city money on
travel expenses as well as saving
employee time,” Willis said.
Willis said the unit will be available
for any city or county government
uses, economic development or the
chamber of commerce.
After he and Sims showed off the
equipment for the chamber, he
motioned to ECEDA executive director Barry Mask.
“I could see his wheels turning as he
watched that,” Willis said.
Mask agreed it will be a valuable
tool.
“We can use it to make a pitch or to
answer questions to a prospective
developer or even to communicate
with federal officials,” Mask said.
“It makes a statement about us in
our ability to embrace and use the latest technology available in this area.”
The cast of “All I Really
Need to Know I Learned
in Kindergarten,”
pictured, from left, Ava
Rose, Bill Nowell, Kim
Mason, Anne-Marie
Mitchell and William
Harper.
Herald Photo/Peggy Blackburn
Depot
Continued from Page A1
tion from the cast.
Everyone back stage was
cheering and laughing in
total disbelief. A few tears
of joy were even shed –
including my own.”
Shows at the Shakespeare
Festival will be Nov. 7 at
7:30 p.m. and Nov. 8 at 2
p.m. All tickets are $20
($22 online). For tickets,
call 334-868-1440 or visit
wetumpkadepot.com.
“All I Really Need to
Know I Learned in
Kindergarten” also enjoyed
a successful run at the
Depot Theater, attracting
audiences from mid-July
through early August.
Based on the best selling
book by Robert Fulghum,
the play takes a funny,
insightful and heartwarming look at what is profound
in everyday life through
vignettes taken from five of
his books.
“I like to think what we
get from school is a reflection of the things we need in
our adult lives,” said Sarah
Eckermann,
director.
“Leaving school does not
mean we leave behind those
impediments we dealt with
while learning.
“We still encounter adult
forms of the bully, the
know-it-all, the tattle teller,
the goody two shoes, the
cry baby, the book worm,
the best friend, etc.,” she
said. “We take these interpersonal lessons learned in
kindergarten and apply
them year after year - even
when the school bell no
longer rings.”
In addition to the Depot
production,the Pell City
Players will present “Dearly
Beloved” and Theatre
Downtown of Birmingham
will offer “The Crucible.” at
ACTFest ‘10 Oct. 24-25.
The two-day event also
includes workshops, panel
discussions and a one-act
play competition. The winner will represent Alabama
at the Southeastern Theatre
Conference in Lexington,
Ky. in March.
Full festival packages are
$25 for adults and $15 for
students and includes the
three one-act plays, all
workshops and the awards
reception/presentation.
Single events are $10 per
show and $10 per workshop.
The public can purchase
tickets at the Pell City
Center or online at
www.pellcitycenter.com, or
by calling 205-338-1974 or
visiting the PCP office
Monday-Friday
from10
a.m. to 3 p.m. Tickets will
also be available at the door
on a first-come, first-served
basis.
In addition, audiences can
enjoy the theater experience
offered by the Depot
Players here at home for the
final weekend of “Count
Dracula,” the troupe’s current production.
“It’s a campy, witty version of the Dracula story,”
said Meanor. “It’s fun for
the audience.”
Remaining performances
are Thursday-Saturday at
7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 in
advance and $12 at the door
and
online
(www.wetumpkadepot.com
). To make reservations or
order tickets, call 334-8681440.
“As the Depot moves forward into our next 30 years,
we look to produce other
original works, continue to
grow artistically and continue to stay focused on our
community,” said Meanor.
CMYK
OL 01