MONTGOMERY - Restaurants, gyms, salons and churches are now open again.
Gov. Kay Ivey announced on Friday, May 8, that State health Officer Scott Harris has eased more regulations on the state’s economy, which took effect on Monday, May 11.
Any gatherings where attendees cannot maintain six-foot distances from one another are still prohibited. The previous 10-person limit has been removed.

The Marion County economy is beginning to get back up to speed as  restrictions continue to loosen statewide.
Alabama State Health Officer Scott Harris issued orders on Tuesday, April 28, allowing “non-essential” retail stores to open back up on Friday, May 1.
Harris followed up that order with another on Friday, May 8, allowing churches, gyms, restaurant lobbies and personal-care businesses to operate again beginning Monday, May 11.

HAMILTON - Marion County Schools saw an unusually large amount of teachers announce their retirement plans this year.
Marion County Superintendent of Education Ann West told school board members during a meeting on Wednesday, April 29, that there were 17 retirements scheduled to take effect June 1.
“I’ve been hearing for a couple of years that this was coming, and it’s here,” West said.
 

FLORENCE - United Way of Northwest Alabama in Florence is partnering with Simon Solutions to empower communities to better serve those in need.
Simon Solutions is best known as a co-creator of the Shoals Emergency Assistance Network (S.E.A.N.Tracker), also known as CharityTracker, which has served over 65,484 people with over 361,219 acts of kindness and care.

HAMILTON - North Mississippi Medical Center (NMMC)-Hamilton resumed elective surgeries on Thursday, May 7.
NMMC-Hamilton provides general surgeries, ophthalmology (eyes) and otolaryngology (head and neck).
Gov. Kay Ivey’s Safer at Home order issued on Tuesday, April 28, allows hospitals to resume elective procedures as long as they follow certain health safety precautions. All dental, medical or surgical procedures have been forced to postpone since March 28.

HAMILTON - Northwest Alabama Gas District (NWAGD) in Hamilton will begin selling natural gas to the Fayette Gas Board.
The Northwest Alabama Gas District Board voted unanimously during a meeting on Friday, May 1, to enter into a one-year contract to sell gas to the Fayette utility to supply enough gas flow for an expanding latex glove manufacturer, Showa Best Glove Inc.

HAMILTON - Hamilton business owner Ray Thompson of Thompson’s Menswear expressed his delight in finally being able to open his doors to the public on Friday, May 1, after the end of the curfew enacted by Gov. Kay Ivey and Marion County.
“It’s been rough on us,” said Thompson, “I’m proud to open, we never should have been closed. I hope we can do some business, it’s going to be hard to get people back.”

HAMILTON - Only 50% of the Marion County School System’s students can participate in online learning from home.
Marion County Superintendent of Education Ann West told members of the Marion County Board of Education during a meeting on Wednesday, April 29, that half of the county system’s student body does not have reliable access to the internet.
School campuses in Marion County have been closed since March 16 due to COVID-19. At-home blended instruction began April 6, per orders by Gov. Kay Ivey.

Marion County’s death toll has risen to six, according to data published from the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH).
The mortality rate for Marion County remains unproportionally high at 20.2 deaths per 100,000 people, placing it as the third-highest out of 67 counties in the state with.
The county’s total number of cases now sits at 83 as of Monday, May 4--an additional nine cases from the previous week--giving it a per capita rate of 279 cases per 100,000 people. Marion County is number 17th in the state for cases per capita.

HAMILTON - Thomas Jeffersons are making the rounds in Marion County, providing a boost to the local economy and delivering a message to business owners.
Local business owners Cole and Jill Sandlin of Fred’s Pharmacy in Hamilton distributed a “local stimulus package” of $200 to each of their seven employees on Tuesday, April 28. The bonuses were paid completely in $2 bills.
The local stimulus package coincides with the arrival of federal stimulus checks for many Americans during the economic shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.

HACKLEBURG - Steve Glover has been hired as a full-time police officer at Hackleburg Police Department.
The Hackleburg Town Council voted unanimously to hire Glover during its meeting on Monday, April 27. He will be the town’s fourth full-time officer.
Councilwoman Tabby Lolley noted that about three years ago, the town had five full-time officers.
Hackleburg Mayor Darryl Colburn believes four officers will be enough to carry the local department, as long as they continue to use part-time help.

Applications are being accepted for businesses in Marion County to receive loan funds from $10,000 to $20,000.
Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments (NACOLG) is making $160,000 available to local businesses through a newly-formed COVID-19 Recovery Loan program.
The same amount is being offered to other counties in NACOLG’s region--Lauderdale, Colbert, Franklin and Winston.
Applications can be obtained by contacting NACOLG Government Services Director Tiffany Boyd by calling (256) 389-0564 or by email at tboyd@nacolg.org.

In an effort to assist local businesses and governments rebound as the coronavirus slowly begins to subside, Rep. Tracy Estes (R-Winfield) will be hosting a virtual conference later this month to bring together those who can play a vital role in the process.
“Our sole purpose in coming forward with this idea is to seek ways we can assist our small business owners and government officials in battling their way back after this unexpected turn of events,’’ Estes said. “Our economy has been blindsided in ways none of us could have imagined only a few months ago.

WINFIELD -  Winfield Mayor Randy Price brought to light the difficulties the City of Winfield has recently had in repairing roads during a regular meeting on Tuesday, April 21, on the telecommunications application Zoom.
Price stated that recent storms have caused delays and difficulties of road repairs throughout the city.
He also stated that, due to stormy weather in the last few weeks, some businesses have experienced flooding in their buildings.

MARION COUNTY - Marion County’s current average gas prices sit at $1.64 but may soon see a rise in price as the demand for gasoline is predicted to see an increase in the coming months.
According to American Automobile Association (AAA), the average gas price has dropped from $1.77 per gallon last month to $1.56 per gallon in the state of Alabama.

HACKLEBURG - “It’s amazing how in nine years how many people have moved on to different things in their lives,” says Hackleburg Mayor Darryl Colburn as he sits behind his desk at Hackleburg Town Hall.
Details of Wednesday, April 27, 2011, and the years of work that followed flowed effortlessly from Colburn’s memory during a discussion with town councilman Don Barnwell. There was no effort reproducing stories, either, for Barnwell.

HAMILTON - A man who escaped from the Hamilton Community Work Center has been recaptured.
According to the Alabama Department of Corrections (ADOC), Brandon Keith Powell, 38, who escaped from the Hamilton facility on April 1 was taken back into custody on April 19.
According to a ADOC report, Powell was recaptured in Lakeland, Fla.
Powell was in prison for third-degree burglary which he committed in Cherokee County. He was sentenced in August 2019.
Public relations officers with ADOC did not respond to requests for more information.