By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — The Journal Record is excited to announce that, this school year, we will be bringing back our school page!
Each week, one of our schools in Marion County will be featured on a page of the Journal Record with school news and pictures of students and faculty.
This is something that the Journal Record has done in the past, and we are excited to bring the news of what the kids and young adults in the county are doing in our great schools.

By Shelly Hess
Courtesy of the Northwest Alabamian
HALEYVILLE — Lakeland Community Hospital will soon experience a change at the helm, but the focus on high quality patient care will remain the same.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — The City of Hamilton will now be using Northstar Emergency Medical Service and will establish the Marion County EMS ambulance service for the City of Hamilton following the Hamilton City Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 1, at Hamilton City Hall.
The city previously used Regional Paramedical Services for all of their emergency transport needs, but, according to Hamilton Mayor Bob Page, the city was not satisfied with the time it took for ambulance services to respond.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
WINFIELD — The scent of roasted corn, funnel cakes and other familiar smells are set to return to downtown Winfield once again next month.
Mule Day is still set to return to Winfield on Friday, Sept. 23, for Mule Night and Sept. 24, for Mule Day. This will be the first time the once-annual festival will be held after it was canceled two years in a row due to the pandemic.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — The Hamilton City Council approved entering an agreement with Wal-Mart to purchase two camera systems at the Wal-Mart property.
Hamilton Mayor Bob Page stated that Wal-Mart will purchase one of the camera systems while the city will purchase the other.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
DOTHAN — Winfield’s 8U Dixie Youth baseball team finished as runners-up in the 2022 Dixie Youth Division II AA World Series on Tuesday, Aug. 2, in a narrow loss to North Carolina, wrapping up a 23-3 record season.
The team advanced to the World Series after defeating Fayette in the state tournament on Monday, July 11. They went on to represent the state of Alabama in the World Series starting on July 27.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
WINFIELD — Former Winfield Mayor William “Bill” West passed away Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2022. West was mayor for two terms from 2000-2008.
West was instrumental in helping the city build the storm shelter next to city hall through grant money and other projects, according to former city clerk Candy Reed.
Before being elected mayor, West was a history teacher at Winfield City High School, a role in which many former students say he inspired them.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON —Coaches and Hamilton school officials applauded as the Hamilton City Council approved phase one plans beginning the construction of the new Hamilton track facility.
This took place during a regular meeting on Monday, Aug. 1, at Hamilton City Hall.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
BRILLIANT — Brilliant School has hired Roger Satcher as the new head football coach after the resignation of former coach Brian Gunnels.
Satcher brings decades of coaching and school administration experience. From 1995 to 2005, Satcher worked as head baseball coach, defensive coordinator, assistant principal and athletic director for Jasper City Schools.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — Marion County Superintendent of Education Ann West met with Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams as well as police chiefs from every municipality in the county to discuss safety and security in schools for the future.
In attendance were West, Winfield City Schools Superintendent Randy Thomley, Williams, Bear Creek Police Chief Doug Hallman, Hamilton Police Chief Ronny Vickery, Hackleburg Police Chief Kenny Hallmark, Guin Police Chief Doug Webb and Winfield Police Chief Brett Burleson.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
SHOTTSVILLE — Both the Shottsville and Byrd fire departments were called to a major emergency situation during the stormy conditions that occurred on the night of Saturday, July 30.
Shottsville Fire Department was the first to arrive on the scene to respond to the fire located on County Highway 56 at the facility operated by the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company of Kinder Morgan.
“We just saw a big ball of fire on top of one of the buildings,” said Shottsville Fire  Chief Jeff Williams.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — After the massive success of the Marion County Stampede just a few months ago, county resident Jamie Gann plans to bring more horse events on a more regular basis to the youth and other residents of Marion County.
During a regular meeting held on Monday, July 18, at the commission office in Hamilton, Gann suggested that the county lease him property located just off of Highway 43 South.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
WINFIELD — The Winfield City Council recognized the 8U boys Dixie Youth state champions and discussed plans to honor World Championships silver medalist Trey Cunningham during its regular meeting on Tuesday, July 19.
Players and coaches of the team stood holding a celebratory banner as the council passed a resolution recognizing them for their achievements.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — Hamilton business owners Watha Williams and Darryl Crabtree voiced their concerns about the potential removal of the stop light located on First Avenue Southeast in downtown Hamilton.
In May, Hamilton Mayor Bob Page and the Hamilton City Council voted to take down the stop light on First Avenue Southeast in order to alleviate traffic that builds up on Military Street’s main intersection near the Marion County Courthouse.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON —Hamilton resident James Ray McCracken was arrested on suspected murder in the first degree charges this weekend on Saturday, July 23, in Hamilton.
The Hamilton Police Department, along with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department, made the arrest on the day of the incident.
McCracken, 77, born in November of 1944, is currently being held in the Marion County Jail in Hamilton on a $500,000 bond.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — Miss Hamilton, Emee Baldwin, and Miss Hamilton’s Outstanding Teen, Harper Howard, attended the Hamilton City Council to speak to the mayor and council about their time in Hamilton and their goals after winning the competitions.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
MARION COUNTY — The heat in Alabama, while not entirely abnormal for a July in the state, may have some farmers and gardeners slightly worried about droughts in the area.
While Marion County has certainly been no dust bowl this year, a recent report by the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that Marion County is facing abnormally dry to moderate drought this summer.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
WINFIELD — The Winfield City Police Department’s newly formed Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team swept the halls and cleared the classrooms of Winfield City High School on Thursday, July 7, during a training exercise.
Officers engaged in drills using unloaded weapons and trained using Simunition, blank cartridges that fire a paint marker and allow officers to safely train with real firearms without risk of severe injury.