MISSISSIPPI - Mississippi wildlife officials have confirmed the year’s second case of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in a white-tailed deer.
A deer exhibiting strange behavior was put down in Pontotoc County, Miss., near Ecru on Oct. 8. The deer had no fear of humans and attacked a dog, according to a report in the Clarion Ledger in Jackson.

With the “Season of Giving” fastly approaching, the Journal Record staff has been reminded of the joys available to those who give of their own resources and time to serve others. We would like to assist the Marion County community in getting involved and experiencing this joy.

It’s all fun and games...until you become a member of the media, that is.
This column is an informative piece about the transition from being a member of society to being a member of the media--a transition that was a bit bigger than I had anticipated.

Now, the real work begins--or at least this is what the calendar tells us.

Our gubernatorial election-year politics ended yesterday. However, there have been other political maneuverings and developments going on behind the scenes, which may ultimately have more long-term ramifications in the Heart of Dixie’s political future.

BRILLIANT - The Brilliant School basketball team is hosting a fundraiser sure to get the blood pumping—the 2018 Star Wars Professional Wrestling Match.
The Brilliant Tigers basketball team will be hosting the family-friendly event at the Glendon-Gibbs Gymnasium in Brilliant High School on Friday, Nov. 9, at 7:30 p.m. Doors will open at 6:30.
The fundraiser will feature the second annual $1,000 over-the-top-rope, King of the Ring Battle Royal.

WINFIELD - Local residents should mark their calendars for the Winfield Main Street’s annual Bake N’ Auction fundraiser scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 11, from 1 - 4 p.m. at the Pastime Civic Center.
The fundraiser will take place on the same day as the merchant Christmas Open House in downtown Winfield.
“That way you can shop with all our downtown merchants and then come by the Pastime Civic Center and bid on some delicious items!” said Main Street Director Tammy Brashier.

HAMILTON - Marion County senior citizens have been served cold and sometimes unedible food since a new Georgia-based catering service company took over a contract for local senior center meals.
Senior citizens voiced their disapproval of the new operations of the Elderly Nutrition Program, which is provided by Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments (NACOLG), at the Hamilton City Council meeting held on Monday, Oct. 15, at the Hamilton Police Department’s municipal courtroom.

HAMILTON - The property owner of a parking lot traditionally used by residents to sell vehicles is re-upping efforts to keep the lot clear of unauthorized vehicles.
According to Hamilton Police Lieutenant Jimmy Pendley, five to six parked cars, some for sale, were removed from the Hamilton Commons Shopping Center early Monday morning, Oct. 29, which were in violation of the property owner’s policy.
Pendley said that among the vehicles was a soda vendor tractor-trailer.

HAMILTON - The Hamilton Area Chamber of Commerce recorded about 75 vendors which set up booths, provided entertainment and sold food during this year’s Buttahatchee River Fall Fest.
Completing its 13th annual event, the chamber of commerce saw a “great turnout” at the downtown Hamilton event, which was held on Saturday, Oct. 27.

Clarification

The Journal Record would like to clarify some information that was published in the Wednesday, Oct. 10 edition, in an article titled “Council denies de-annexation request." This article states that Brilliant resident Jason Wilds offered to donate 25 acres of land to the town of Brilliant in order for the town council to de-annex his and his family’s property from the town limits. In a recording of the Sept. 26 council meeting, Wilds stated, “There’s 25 acres to the south of us.

Hamilton Police Department

HAMILTON - The following arrests and activities were reported by the Hamilton Police Department for the period of Oct. 23-29:
Incident, offense cases
Four for fourth-degree theft of property; two each for third-degree burglary and third-degree domestic violence; one each for possession of drug paraphernalia, documentation of suicide, menacing, giving false information, third degree criminal mischief and duty upon striking a vehicle.
Citations, Arrests

This week’s column is going to be short and sweet since we only have to teams left standing heading into the playoffs.
Typically, I wouldn’t try to predict the playoffs, but this year, I thought, why not give it a shot?

HAMILTON - The Hamilton Aggies put together a solid game plan in their final outing of the 2018 campaign and it produced a big and memorable 31-8 victory, for it came  on senior night over their long-time rival, the Haleyville Lions.
Head coach Rodney Stidham noted he, his coaches and the team had multiple discussions about the game in the days leading up to it. He called it “an outstanding win for us, the community, and our school.”  Stidham also expressed his pride in how well his Aggies played in the final game of the season.

HACKLEBURG - Hackleburg ended the 2018 season with a 22-12 victory over rival Phil Campbell on Thursday, Nov. 1.
The win gave the Panthers their 16th consecutive victory over their longest-running rival. It also improved Hackleburg’s lead in the all-time series to 50-33-1.
The victory ended Hackleburg’s season at 3-7 overall and 2-4 in Class 1A, Region 8. Phil Campbell dropped to 2-8 overall and finished 1-5 in Class 3A, Region 8.
Panther head coach Rod Hudson expressed his pride in the way his team performed for senior night.

WATERLOO - Brilliant ended the 2018 season with its eighth loss after falling to Waterloo 57-6 on Friday, Nov. 2.
The loss finished the Tigers’ season at 2-8 overall and 0-7 in Class 1A, Region 6. Waterloo improved to 8-2 overall and 5-1 in Region 8.
Following the loss, head coach Brian Gunnels complimented the Cougars and noted the Tigers played hard despite some having to play out of position due to injuries.

HAMILTON - The City of Hamilton is considering a measure to integrate LED street lights onto its streets.
The council has met with officials from Alabama Power over the last month to discuss the logistics and costs of switching over.
Municipal Account Manager with Lighting Services at Alabama Power Company Terrance Moultrie presented the council with a crossover plan for the city at a work session held on Wednesday, Sept. 26.

HACKLEBURG - Hackleburg Police Chief Kenny Hallmark presented his letter of resignation to the Hackleburg Town Council at its Monday, Oct. 22 meeting. Hallmark will reach 25 years of service with the town and his retirement will become effective Jan. 1, 2019.
Hallmark’s retirement marks the end of a contentious few weeks for the town that came to a head during the council’s Oct. 8 meeting.
At that meeting, councilman Eugene Marbutt voiced his concerns about the ethical aspects of Hallmark working two full-time jobs.

• Crossover voting laws not applicable Nov. 6

HAMILTON - Candidate campaign funding reports from Secretary of State John Merrill’s website show campaign fundraising and spending were alive and well during the last leg of the 2018 election season, which will conclude on Tuesday, Nov. 6, with the general election.
Campaign contributions in the state Senate District 6 race between incumbent Larry Stutts, R-Tuscumbia, and Johnny Mack Morrow, D-Red Bay, are approaching $1 million.

• Longtime conservative Democratic lawmaker Morrow may pull off an upset victory over a Republican incumbent                                                     This time two years ago, I was bubbling over with anticipation with expectations that I would have two years

The good thing about having a very young step-mother is--she still thought like a child knowing how our minds worked.

In last week’s Palmer’s Almanac I wrote about a little-known Civil War battle that took place just outside the borders of Marion County in Oct. 1863.

HAMILTON - The Marion County Commission has approved the purchase of a new garbage truck for the Marion County Solid Waste Department.
The commission approved a $10.4 million operating budget which included the new $170,000 sanitation vehicle during a special meeting held on Wednesday, Sept. 19, at its office in Hamilton.
Marion County Engineer Mike Shaw reminded the commission at a budget hearing on Sept. 5 that the solid waste department is totally funded by collections and fees and does not use General Fund dollars.

NAUVOO - The Alabama Sustainable Agriculture Network (ASAN) will have work sessions for statewide farmers at Camp McDowell in Nauvoo on Friday, Dec. 7, and Saturday, Dec. 8. The event is open to the public and geared toward farmers, as well as food supporters and gardeners.
ASAN is a grassroots and non-profit organization developed to help farmers and markets thrive and connect through events, field days, scholarship programs, publications and community support networks.

Fulton, Miss.- Three Itawamba County women are being sued for $100,000 each by a local McDonald’s franchise owner for damages inflicted to his business through Facebook posts, claiming a worm was found on a breakfast sandwich from his store.

The favorite Daylight Savings Day for this year is Sunday, Nov. 4, as residents set their clocks back, gaining an hour.
The annual observance of Daylight Savings is commonly referred to as “Spring forward, fall back.” This transition in the fall effectively gives Daylight Savings—observing states an additional hour and is more anticipated than its spring counterpart for this reason.

WINFIELD - After hearing the Winfield Police Department describe its need for new software in two separate meetings, the city council was unable to vote on the matter.
WPD Lt. Rusty Hulsey first requested the Canon Solutions America cloud-based server at the Thursday, Oct. 18, meeting, where he described the perks of the Canon Solutions system.
Hulsey told the council that, because the city no longer has a contract with A1 Computers in Guin, he is unsure whether WPD records are being backed-up.