BRILLIANT -   A former school bus driver employed with the Marion County School System was arrested on Sept. 12 and charged with violating the Alabama law that prohibits school employees from having sexual intercourse with students who are under the age of 19.
Ethan Corkren, 29, Brilliant, was arrested on Thursday, Sept. 12, on the charge of a school employee having sex with a student.

HAMILTON -  A Marion County man is behind bars and charged with the Wednesday, Sept. 4, burglary and arson of a house on Posey Road northwest of Hamilton.
Teddy Shane Armstrong, 42, was arrested a few miles away that same day after attempting to hide in the back room of a mobile home shortly after the fire destroyed the house.
Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams said Armstrong, a transient, is from Marion County but that his last known address was in Muscle Shoals.

HAMILTON - Gov. Kay Ivey has announced Hamilton Elementary School as one of 21 schools statewide to be selected at Alabama Bicentennial Schools of Excellence.
Ivey made the announcement on Tuesday, Sept. 3, at the Alabama Department of Archives and History (ADAH) in Montgomery.
“We are so thrilled to be recognized by the Bicentennial Commission as one of only 21 schools of excellence across the state of Alabama,” said Hamilton Elementary School Principal Keith Smith.

HAMILTON -  According to Fire Chief Tim Rye with the Hamilton Fire and Rescue Department, the Alabama Forestry Commission has issued a fire danger advisory for all counties in the state due to high temperatures and drought conditions.
Rye stated that while the forestry commission has not issued a temporary ban on individuals building burn piles for brush and other waste, they have warned against building them as they are at risk of creating wildfires.

WINFIELD -  The Winfield City Council formally voted to accept a deed for a building and a parcel of property at its Thursday, Sept. 19 meeting.
The building, located at 175 State Highway 253 next to the Christian Center of Concern in Winfield, is a former doctors office.
Both the land and the property have a total appraised value of $87,245, city clerk Angie Oliver said, referencing Marion County Tax Assessor maps.

GULF SHORES - James Nichols, a maintenance supervisor for the Hackleburg and Bear Creek Housing Authorities, is being recognized as the best in the state for 2019.
Nichols was announced as the 2019 Maintenance Worker of the Year during the Alabama Association of Housing & Redevelopment Authorities’s (AAHRA) Annual Conference, which took place Aug. 19-22 at the Lodge in Gulf Shores.

American Automobile Association (AAA) spokesman Clay Ingram has stated that despite oil field bombings in Saudi Arabia, oil prices for Alabama will not be impacted with price increases.
“(Prices) are probably going to get a little bit higher, but, the good news is, it’s a very temporary situation,” stated Ingram.
“It’s probably going to last just a few more weeks and then (oil prices) should drop way down again.”

GUIN - Marion County High School 2019 graduate Mackenzie Pearce, Guin, has been named the lead award winner of a national scholarship.
The D’Andre D. Lampkin Foundation, based in Ontario, Calif., announced the winners of its annual Social Good Scholarship in late July, listing Pearce as the lead winner with a $1,000 award.
Sari Conner, Galion, Ohio, and Christopher McCrary, Atlanta, Ga., were both named $500 recipients.

HAMILTON - First National Bank (FNB) in Hamilton has re-acquired an adjacent property and building which, until August, has been owned and operated by Alabama Power.
FNB President and Chief Executive Officer Brent Thompson told the Journal Record that it has purchased the property back and is already in possession of the deed.
Thompson said FNB sold the property to Alabama Power in October 1991, and now after 28 years, it will be use the space to improve operations.

HAMILTON -  The Hamilton Area Chamber of Commerce, along with the City of Hamilton, has announced the Bicentennial Scenic 17 Yard Sale on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 4 and 5, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.
The community is teaming up with several other communities across the state along Scenic Highway 17 to present the Front Porch to Curbside Yard Sale.
The event will take place at the Hamilton Walking Track where individuals will be able to attend and sell their items.

HAMILTON - The possibility of automating the city’s garbage operation is gaining momentum—a change that would require all Hamilton garbage customers to have a city-issued 96-gallon can.
Hamilton Street Superintendent Mike Johnson and Ingram Equipment Company North Alabama Salesman Will Hovater, whose company is based in Pelham, appeared at the Hamilton City Council’s work session on Wednesday, Sept. 13, to share details on the city’s options for a new garbage truck.

HAMILTON - Reports list Fred’s Xpress Pharmacy in Hamilton as closing following a bankruptcy filing earlier this month.
Fred’s Xpress, located at 1360 Military Street South, should not be confused with Fred’s Pharmacy, which is owned by Cole Sandlin and located at 797 Military Street South.