By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — The Hamilton Lady Aggies varsity softball team won the annual Aggie Classic this past weekend in Hamilton.
The Lady Aggies won all of their games against Winston County, Sumiton Christian, Sipsey Valley and narrowly against South Lamar.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
Interstate 22’s completion in 2016 represented the start of a new era in Marion County with the promise and hope of bringing new business and industry to the area.
A dark side, however, has been rearing its ugly head as crime has loomed over the county with Hamilton being very close to now being the midway point between Memphis, Tenn., and Atlanta, Ga.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — The Marion County Sheriff’s Department made a big drug arrest involving two and a half pounds of marijuana and a runaway juvenile on Saturday, March 5, near exit 16 on Interstate 22 in Hamilton.
A sheriff’s deputy from the Marion County Sheriff’s department was working speed enforcement on I-22 and attempted a traffic stop near mile marker 16 on a black Dodge Charger traveling near speeds of 100 miles per hour.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
GUIN — A class action lawsuit has been filed against 3M, the Guin Water Works and Sewer Board and other individuals and entities the lawsuit claims played a role in polluting the city’s drinking water and continuing to distribute that water to residents.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
WINFIELD — Winfield missionary Mark Posey was woken by explosions around 5:30 in the morning on Thursday, Feb. 24. He got a call and answered his phone. It was his friends letting him know it was time to go. Russia was invading Ukraine.
Posey had originally planned to leave that day, but all flights had been canceled since the airport was now in the line of fire. He tried to reschedule a flight for the next day, but it was also cancelled.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HACKLEBURG — Hackleburg’s Town Council meeting ended on a bit of a sour note after council members Pam Pickens and Don Barnwell voiced their frustrations with mayor Darryl Colburn’s decision to appoint Kenny Hallmark as the new police chief in the town.
Following Jeremy Booth’s decision to resign just a few weeks ago, Colburn placed Hallmark in charge of Hackleburg’s police department.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — Counterfeit $100 bills have been making their way through cities in Marion County and has hit Hamilton businesses in a major way in the last month.
Hamilton’s Dollar General has stopped the acceptance of $100 bills after a recent breakout of customers using counterfeit money at the store.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
BIRMINGHAM — The time has come to resolve unfinished business and avenge a loss.
The Marion County High School Lady Red Raiders claimed their first ever 1A state title with a solid 72-55 victory over the Skyline Lady Vikings on Thursday, March 3 at the BJCC Legacy Arena in Birmingham.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — Marion County commissioners are determined to prioritize county water projects in order to serve those without access to water during a regular meeting held on Tuesday, Feb. 22.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — Hamilton artist Missy Miles met with Mayor Bob Page and Hamilton City Council members to discuss the potential for making new murals in the community during a work session meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at Hamilton City Hall.
Miles addressed council members with a powerpoint presentation highlighting various locations within the city that she stated would be good for a mural.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — Marion County has experienced quite a whirlwind week in terms of weather and has not been helped by its lack of a tornado alarm system.
Marion County was placed under a tornado watch on Thursday, Feb. 17, with both Guin and Winfield being placed under a tornado warning in the afternoon, which was canceled 20 minutes later. Residents noticed that none of the city’s tornado warning system sirens had sounded.

Guin Colored School/Guin High School’s first classes met in Real Chapel C.M.E. Church in Guin.
The teachers were, Cora Swanigan and Micha Terrell Warren.
The location for classes was the Joseph Northington place in Guin.
The county then built a two room school, the location of which now is the Curtis Wallace place.
The C.M.E. church was also used. Students were bused from Winfield, Brookside and Brilliant.

FAYETTE — Fayette County High School Principal Dr. Jeremy Madden has qualified to run for the Republican nomination of Fayette County Superintendent of Education.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
DNIPRO, UKRAINE — In March of 2014, Russia invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula territory that previously belonged to Ukraine. Ukraine, which shares its eastern border with Russia, has been in a tense situation ever since.
Earlier this year, tensions started to rise once again as Russia built up troops along the border, and skirmishes between Ukrainian, Russian and Russian-backed separatist forces grow more common and violent.

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer
WINFIELD — The Winfield City School Board is planning on making changes to school policy in regards to the dress code and other areas.
The idea of making changes entered discussion during the school board’s regular meeting on Thursday, Feb. 10.
School board attorney Todd Atkinson said the board needed to update  the dress code to fit modern society.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — Hamilton is about to get its very own rodeo after Matt McCracken announced the event to the Hamilton City Council during a work session on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
McCracken addressed the council to ask for support in the buildup to the event, which is set to be held in early May.
“We’ve got a group of cowboys who have contacted us and kind of taken an interest in Hamilton,” said McCracken.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HACKLEBURG — Hackleburg Police Chief Jeremy Booth has announced that he will be resigning after his short stint as chief of the police department.
In his place, Mayor Darryl Colburn appointed Bear Creek Police Chief Kenny Hallmark, who will begin his work as chief after serving out his two week notice in his current position.
“We hate to lose Chief Booth,” Colburn said. “He’s done a great job during his time here.

(This February, the Journal Record will celebrate Black History Month by taking a look back at the Ada Hannah School in Hamilton and the stories that surround it.)

(This February, the Journal Record will celebrate Black History Month by taking a look back at the Ada Hannah School in Hamilton and the stories that surround it.)

Edward Northington
My name is Edward Clifton Northington, and I moved to Bexar when I was nine years old.
I started Ada Hanna when I was in the third grade. One of my teachers was Mrs. Tiney Bobo.  
And later I had a student crush on Mrs. Edith Parks.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — Hamilton City Councilman Ross Reed thanked the Hamilton community for supporting his brother Lake Reed and his family during a difficult period in the past few weeks.
Reed’s younger brother, Lake, suffered a brain bleed in late January and has gained the support of those in the Hamilton and Marion County community.
Lake, 10, is the son of Mike and Michelle Reed and brother to Ross and Cole Reed.