HAMILTON - In order to increase attendance rates, the Marion County Board of Education (MCBOE) has declared the month of September as School Attendance Month. The declaration came during the board’s Tuesday, Aug. 20, meeting.
MCBOE Supervisor Patrick Sutton made the announcement before presenting some alarming statistics to the board and suggesting ways to curb truancy and chronic absenteeism in Marion County schools.  

An upcoming gas tax increase may go virtually unnoticed due to gas prices gradually falling over the last month.
“With the prices going downward, we won’t notice it as much,” said Birmingham-based American Automobile Association (AAA) spokesperson Clay Ingram. “Having it this time of year is better than doing it in the spring when prices would already be increasing.”
Alabama’s gas will increase 6 cents beginning Sunday, Sept. 1, raising the state’s gas tax from 18 cents to 24 cents per gallon. Tax on diesel will increase from 19 cents to 25 cents per gallon.

GUIN - “I’ve gotten so used to driving here, my car just automatically turns toward Guin to get here,” said Gay Green, who is marking 45 years as a nurse at Sunset Manor Nursing Home in Guin.
“I come down here so much from Pea Ridge. This is just my second home,” she said, her laughter echoing through the lobby of the nursing home that was built five years before she started working there.
Green, 66, has worked at Sunset Manor since June 1974 and is considered an asset among the staff, said the nursing home’s owner and administrator, Lance Junkin.

TWIN - “Grandad, I’m up here in jail in Jasper.”
This is how a scam phone call began which was on its way to successfully cheating a Marion County couple out of $1,000.
Smithie Weeks, who is a councilwoman for the Town of Twin, says she wants to share her and her husband’s experience as she believes other seniors may be targeted.
On July 30, Weeks, 78, said she walked in to find her husband, James,  80, in mid-conversation over the phone with someone claiming to be their 21-year-old grandson, Caleb, who lives in Atlanta, Ga.

WINFIELD - Northwest Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Bob Henger appeared before the Winfield City Council at its Tuesday, Aug. 20, meeting to give an update on the hospital.
Henger, who came out of retirement two months ago to run the hospital, appeared before the council at the request of councilman Chris Ballard. Ballard has been requesting an appearance from the CEO for a few weeks. Henger was scheduled to appear at the Aug. 6 meeting but missed due to surgery.  

The following garbage pickup schedules have been announced in connection with the Labor Day holiday on Monday, Sept. 2:

HAMILTON -  The Hamilton City Council unanimously approved committing $36,248 from gas tax revenue to fund the 2019 transportation plan in which the City of Hamilton will stripe and realign streets within the city.
This resolution was approved on Monday, Aug. 19, during a regular meeting at Hamilton City Hall.
“This is committing funds that are projected to be collected as the City of Hamilton’s portion of the upcoming increased gas and fuel taxes for the Rebuild Alabama Act,” said Hamilton Mayor Bob Page.

GUIN - Economic development officials are optimistic concerning Marion County’s future.
Brian Hilson of Hoover,  who serves as a rural development strategist for the Economic Development Association of Alabama, reviewed the county’s economic state and potential during the Northwest Alabama Economic Development Alliance (EDA)’s annual membership appreciation luncheon on Thursday, July 25, at the Holiday Inn in Guin.

WINFIELD - “It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do,” said WKXM radio disc jockey Doug Threadgill as his eyes dart back and forth from the mixing console to a computer screen inside the cramped radio station east of Winfield.
Threadgill cues up a commercial to the fading notes of a song that was popular in the late 1960s.
“I’m probably one of the few people that spent their whole life doing the only thing they ever wanted to do.”
Threadgill’s hands are busy turning knobs, sliding faders and pressing buttons.

WINFIELD - A Hamilton man is being held on a $150,000 bond for charges of sexual abuse of an 11th-month-old child.
Daryl Baker, 30, is being charged for sexual abuse of a child less than 12 and remains in the Marion County Jail in Hamilton.
Winfield Police Department Lt. Dustin Hulsey said he responded to the Northwest Medical Center’s Emergency Room in Winfield on Sunday, Aug. 11, in response to a complaint by the infant’s grandparents.

HAMILTON - New marriage laws enacted this past Spring by the Legislature will become effective on Thursday, Aug. 29. However, a county official is saying there are still serious questions in the air that need answering.
Marion County Probate Judge Paige Vick posted on Facebook on Tuesday, Aug. 13, saying with the change, there may be some complications for those currently considering or planning to acquire a marriage license.

HAMILTON - The Hamilton recreation and senior center renovation project is now two-and-a-half-months past its original deadline.
The Hamilton City Council discussed the prolonged work at the E.T. Sims Neighborhood Facilities Building during a work session on Wednesday, Aug. 15, in the Hamilton City Hall Tea Room. The council did not meet in the council chambers due to air conditioning issues.

HAMILTON - Democrat Sen. Doug Jones (D) hosted a town hall meeting in Hamilton on Monday night, Aug. 5.
Jones drew a moderate crowd of about 60 people from around the Marion County area to his meeting at the old city hall building in Hamilton (the current police department), where he gave a brief Congressional update and then opened the floor for questions, comments and concerns.
Jones openly encouraged both Democrats and Republicans and others to attend his meeting, saying any question was fair game.

WINFIELD - School is back in session and the lazy days of summer have ended.
The Pastime Theatre in Winfield wants to invite everyone to attend an “End of Summer” concert featuring two area acts.
“If we must say, ‘Goodbye,’ to summer, then let us say, ‘Goodbye,’ with a fantastic concert that is economically-priced, too,” said Pastime Theatre Board Chairwoman Mary Hyche.
The Winfield theater will be presenting the “End of Summer” concert on Saturday, Aug. 24, at 7 p.m.

HAMILTON - Sen. Doug Jones (D-Ala.) hosted a town hall meeting in Hamilton on Monday, Aug. 5.
The two-hour meeting took place at the old city hall building (Hamilton Police Department) and there were roughly 60 people in attendance.
Jones said the Senate is currently on recess until the week after Labor Day (Sept. 1). The U.S. House recessed one week prior.

WINFIELD - The Winfield City Council took action at its Tuesday, Aug. 6, meeting to address the issue of unsightly homes and businesses within the city.
The council voted to appoint three new members to the Winfield Housing Code Abatement Board. Mayor Randy Price said he would like to see the board become more active.

GUIN -  The Guin City Council voted to contract with Dixie Paving in Haleyville to pave three streets at a cost of $50,000 during the Monday Aug. 5, council meeting.
The streets are 14th Avenue East, 10th Street and 15th Ave. E that connect Alabama State Highway 43/278 with County Road 44.
Guin Mayor Max Maddox said he had spoken with a few different street pavers and they all quoted him near the same amount for the job.

HAMILTON -  Brent Oliver, owner and chief executive officer of the Tuscumbia-based mobile drug testing company Valley Source Drug Test, appeared before the Marion County Commissioners to present his company as a drug testing option for the county during a work session on Thursday, Aug. 8, in Hamilton.
Valley Source Drug Test operates as a strictly mobile drug testing facility that travels to the site in which the county would need drug testing to take place.
The company offers urine, hair, saliva, DNA testing and background checks.

HAMILTON - Extensive lawn care work at the Hamilton Cemetery each month is estimated to cost the city roughly $1,000 a month during the summer.
City officials are wondering if a different approach could result in savings.
The Hamilton City Council discussed the topic during a work session on Wednesday, July 31, when it was introduced by councilman Wade Sullins.
“Instead of our people having to take out from their jobs and go over there and mow and weedeat, maybe put it out for bid and let someone else take care of it,” Sullins said.

HAMILTON -  The Ramp in Hamilton has purchased the Hamilton Holiday Motel to house its incoming male students for the Ramp ministry school.
The Ramp purchased the building on Wednesday, Aug. 7, and the Ramp School of Ministry (RSM) students will begin moving into dorms on Thursday, Aug. 15, leaving them with very little time to renovate before the students’ arrival.
“We have to flip it in one week!” said RSM Director Samuel Bentley, laughing.

GUIN - Economic development officials are continuing to push to attract the automotive industry to Marion County.
“It’s hard to beat our area as a location for automotive,” said Northwest Alabama Economic Development Alliance (EDA) Executive Director David Thornell during the EDA’s annual membership appreciation luncheon on Thursday, July 25, at the Holiday Inn in Guin.

HAMILTON -  Grocery store owner Wally Kemp is shutting down his market after five years of running the Hackleburg Market in the over $2 million town-owned building.
The building that the store has been operating in is owned by the Town of Hackleburg and now leaves the town council with a major decision to make as the market’s closing will leave the town’s citizens without a major grocery store.
Mayor Daryl Colburn called a work session on Tuesday, July 30, to discuss what to do with the building once the current owner leaves.

HAMILTON -  “I know they have to have a jail and if you make it a vote of the people, they still have to have a jail,” said Don Barnwell, former Marion County District 3 commissioner and current Hackleburg town councilman, when asked by the Journal Record about a potential one-cent sales tax vote.
On Wednesday, July 24, the Marion County Commission held a special meeting in which Scott Hunt presented funding options for the new Marion County Jail.

WINFIELD - Marion County is the 10th Alabama county in the state to have a confirmed yellow jacket “super nest.”
“My husband (Herman) found the nest, but didn’t really know what it was,” said Kimberly Holcomb-Logan of Winfield,  who is a hair-dresser and owns the property where the nest was discovered.
The large nest, technically known as a perennial nest, was confirmed on Sunday, July 14, at Logan’s property in Winfield, according to Charles Ray, an entomologist and research fellow working with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System in Auburn.

HAMILTON - Marion County School System has earned accreditation from AdvancED following an extensive evaluation process.
Marion County Superintendent of Education Ann West announced at the Marion County Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, July 23, that the system received official confirmation of its award.
“This is the first time ever!” said board chairwoman Belinda McRae in celebration.

HAMILTON - A large donation is making it Christmas time in July for the City of Hamilton.
Hamilton Mayor Bob Page has announced that Brookwood Village shopping mall in Mountain Brook has gifted its iconic 25-foot Christmas tree to the city.
City employees, equipped with a truck provided by Kith Kitchens of Haleyville, delivered the massive  commercial tree to the Hamilton Fire Department on Friday, July 26.

HAMILTON - To avoid potential criticism, members of the Marion County Board of Education will hold prayer prior to official meetings
Marion County Board of Education Chairwoman Belinda McRae announced the change prior to the board’s meeting on Tuesday, July 23, at the Marion County Schools Central Office.
The board has traditionally held prayer in the board’s meeting room to officially open monthly meetings.

HAMILTON - Marion County teachers are receiving refunds totalling $321,7360.64 due to wrongfully-changed insurance premiums.
Clint Green, chief school financial officer for the Marion County School System, told the Marion County Board of Education at its meeting on Tuesday, July 23, that the board received the $321,000 check from Public Education Employees Health Insurance Plan (PEEHIP) on Thursday, July 18.
Green told the Journal Record in a phone interview that the refund amounts were $313,486.84, while an additional $11,249.80 was provided in interest.

HAMILTON - After a two-month decline in revenues generated from Marion County’s one-cent education  sales tax, education officials are thrilled to see a spike in collections.
Marion County Superintendent of Education Ann West announced during a Marion County Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, July 23, that sales tax gathered in June totalled $181,983.
West noted this was $22,224 more than the previous year when $159,759 was generated. The amount is up $79,000 from 11 years ago and the highest collection for June on record.

HAMILTON - Twenty-two Marion County School System faculty were issued pink slips.
Marion County Superintendent  of Education Ann West provided a list of those teachers to the Journal Record following the Marion County Board of Education’s meeting on Tuesday, July 23.
West noted that many of the names mentioned as pink slip recipients have already been recalled.

WINFIELD - The Winfield City Board of Education made a few last-minute hires and accepted a resignation during a special-called meeting at the WCBOE board room at Winfield Middle School on Tuesday, July 30.

MARION COUNTY -  Statewide changes went into effect for vape shops on Thursday, Aug. 1, as Alabama looks to tighten up on vape retailers.
This month, the state will begin oversight and regulations for retailers who sell vape and other nicotine products.
The new law:
• Requires vape shops to have a tobacco license;

HAMILTON -  The University of Alabama will soon begin addressing opioid morbidity and mortality in four Alabama counties by developing a community care network to strengthen prevention, treatment and recovery.
The Health Resources and Services Administration has awarded a UA-led team of researchers and community stakeholders a $200,000 grant to implement an integrative tele-health network.
The network will be used by a multidisciplinary team from UA with health and education community partners in Marion, Winston, Franklin and Walker counties.

WINFIELD - The Alabama Department of Transportation announced on Aug. 5 that work will begin this week to resurface and restripe a portion of Interstate 22 from near Exit 30 to near Exit 34.
The 4.5-mile project is expected to last from August to the end of December. All work is scheduled to be performed between 6 a.m and 6 p.m. At least one lane will be open at all times in each direction throughout the duration of the project.
Motorists should expect possible delays and are encouraged to observe work-zone speed limits.

HAMILTON - The Marion County Board of Education received a good opinion from state auditors for Fiscal Year 2018.
Denise Olive with the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts presented the audit report to the board at a meeting on Tuesday, July 23.
Olive explained she was present at the meeting because in 2006, the Legislature passed an act requiring audits be presented during public meetings.

Public schools across Marion County are searching for children with disabilities or who are suspected of having disabilities in order to provide special services.
The program, simply referred to as Child Find, is a statewide program that is sponsored by the state Department of Education’s Division of Rehabilitation  Services, Early Intervention, and the Division of Special Education Services.
The program is an effort to locate, identify and evaluate individuals from birth to age 21 who have disabilities or who are suspected of having disabilities.

Glen Allen - The Glen Allen Town Council unanimously elected to refrain from seeking funding from the Alabama Power Foundation "Good Roots" Grant during its Tuesday, July 9, council meeting.
Councilwoman Bobbie McCraw was not in attendance for the meeting.

BIRMINGHAM - The father of Gunner Pendley is crediting God and prayers for the unexpected improvement of his son’s health.
“It’s a divine miracle from our Father in Heaven,” said Hamilton Police Department Lt. Jimmy Pendley, whose son was expected to either die or be brain dead after suffering a severe brain injury.
On Wednesday, July 24, Gunner Pendley, 20, Hamilton, son of Jimmy Pendley and Kimberly Reese, was involved in a tractor accident around 1:30 p.m. while working in the Wayside Community in Fayette County.

HAMILTON -  Implementing ways to fund the Marion County Jail was the topic of discussion as county attorney Scott Hunt provided a bond update pertaining to the new Marion County Jail building during the Marion County Commission’s special-called meeting on Wednesday, July 24, in Hamilton.

Chronic Pain is a three-part series about the opioid crisis and addiction. Part 1 ran in the July 3 issue of the Journal Record. Part 2 ran in the July 24 issue.

(Writer’s note: Sandra Brown and the late-Jerry Brown were featured in the Alabama NewsCenter’s “Alabama Makers” section on Monday, July 15. The article featured a gallery of photos and a short video. The Journal Record is running the article by courtesy of Alabama Power. SJ)