Who will take Doug Jones out next year?
It is a foregone conclusion that a Republican will take out our anomaly, liberal Democratic Sen. Doug Jones, next year. The question is, which Republican will be the nominee and capture the seat?
EF-1 tornado confirmed in Shottsville
Shottsville community - Officials have determined that a low-grade EF-1 tornado touched town in northwest Marion County, causing moderate damage.
Marion County Emergency Management Agency Director Jimmy Mills told the Journal Record that on Saturday night, April 13, a tornado traveled approximately eight miles on the ground through the Shottsville Community, with the majority of the damage concentrated around County Road 13, specifically between County Road 56 and Grant Road.
Council changes meeting times, will hold work sessions
Guin City Attorney Jerry Hester (left) shows a map to the Guin City Council concerning a plot of land in the Hidden Pines subdivision during the council’s Monday, April 15, meeting.
GUIN- The Guin City Council voted to change the start time of its meetings from 5 p.m to 5:30 p.m. to allow for a work session before the start of its first meeting of the month. The council meets each first and third Monday of the month in the Guin City Hall council chambers. The council will now hold a 30-minute work session starting at 5 p.m. before the first meeting of each month.
The change was voted on after councilman Jerry Gann voiced his concerns about city financial statements.
Neighbor Day set for April 26-27
HAMILTON - Hackleburg’s Annual Neighbor Day will be held on Friday and Saturday, April 26 and 27, in Hackleburg.
The festival will begin on Friday, April 26, from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. and will continue on Saturday, April 27, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The event will feature music, arts, and crafts and several vendors throughout the weekend.
Musical artists Joseph Baldwin, Crossing Dixie, Kreek, Handshake Promise, Josh Armstrong, 1st Born Sons and Austin Lewis are set to perform at the weekend event.
Spectrum buys out WATVC
HAMILTON - Fayette-based West Alabama TV Cable has been bought out by Stamford, Conn.-based Charter Communications.
The Hamilton City Council unanimously approved a franchise agreement with Spectrum at its meeting on Monday, April 15.
Spectrum is the telecommunications brand for Charter Communications, which services more than 28 million customers across 41 states.
Mitchell graduates from basic training
Fort Benning, Ga. - Private Second Class Corey Alexzander Mitchell, Guin, graduated from Basic Combat Training at Fort Benning, Ga., on March 29.
Segraves chosen to lead firm’s new Birmingham office
GUIN- The California-based consultancy firm HdL Companies has chosen Guin resident Phil Segraves to lead its newly established Birmingham office.
Segraves will work with municipalities across Alabama to development revenue streams and new business initiatives.
Hackleburg Alumni Banquet set for May 4
HACKLEBURG - The 75th Hackleburg Alumni Banquet will be held on Saturday, May 4, at 7 p.m. in the Hackleburg High School gymnasium.
Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the banquet will begin at 7. A meal will be served and awards presented.
Tickets for the banquet will be $12 and will be sold at the door.
Honored this year will be the classes of 1969 and 1994.
City officials want to enforce littering fines
HAMILTON - The concensus among city officials is that littering tickets should be enforced if issued.
The Hamilton City Council met in a work session on Friday, April 12, where they discussed the issue, which Hamilton Mayor Bob Page said is getting worse, not better, despite the council urging residents to comply with the city’s no-littering ordinance.
Those attending the work session were council members Gene Sanderson, Wade Sullins and Bobby Joe Irvin.
Aggies sweep county golf meet
The Hamilton Aggies’ boys and girlsgolf teams won the Marion County Golf Tournament at Pikeville Country Club on Tuesday, April 9. Shown for the Aggies are (from left) overall boys winner Blayne Armstrong, Kalei Mason, Kaiden Williford, overal girls winner Briley Ballard, Noah Boyette, Mia Hollingsworth and Samuel Sutton.
HAMILTON - The Hamilton boys and girls golf teams won the Marion County Golf Tournament at Pikeville Country Club on Tuesday, April 9.
The boys squad saw Blayne Armstrong finish in the top spot with a low score of 75.
Other members of the boys squad are Samuel Sutton, Noah Boyette and Kaiden Williford.
The girls team is made up of Briley Ballard, Mia Hollingsworth and Kalei Mason. The squad saw Ballard finish as the over low medalist for girls with a 89.
We don’t make the news--we just print it
We received several phone calls this past week concerning our coverage of the Guin City Council meeting in the Wednesday, April 10, edition (Meeting ends early amid shouting, finger-pointing).
Those who fielded the calls were told they didn’t like how this story was handled, the harsh manner in which it was presented. In fact, our staff was told we actually reported too much.
Well, we didn’t like it, either.
Covering meetings when tempers are flaring and conversations and discussions are frayed are not enjoyable for our reporters.
The power of positive engagements
On Friday, April 5, I attended the first keynote address during the 27th Annual Breaking the Cycle of Abuse Conference at Bevill State Community College-Hamilton.
The keynote was all about behavior in children, especially those who had been abused.
Know how to save a life
Thanks to training and quick action in Winfield on March 30, a choking death was prevented. Devin Smith, a pharmacist, performed the Heimlich maneuver on Todd Fetter after food became lodged in Fetter’s windpipe.
According to the National Safety Council, an average of 5,000 people die each year from choking. Many of those deaths could have been prevented with the right knowledge and training, the kind of knowledge and training that both men possessed.
We need to streamline our tax policies
Tax Day, April 15, has now come and gone. To my own surprise, though, that is not what has inspired this column.
Host of young and female lobbyists have taken over the Statehouse
As I observe the Legislature, it occurs to me that I am getting older. A lot of the legislators and lobbyists I have known over the years have moved on.
Former Gu-Win mayor, wife die in plane crash
BLUE SPRINGS, MISS. - Three are dead after a plane crashed in Union County, Miss., over the weekend.
Union County Sheriff Jimmy Edwards identified the deceased as co-pilot Tommy Hue Nix, his wife, Merline Roberts, and co-pilot Jarrod Holloway.
The Guin City Hall office confirmed that Tommy and Merline Nix resided in the Fayette County portion of Guin. Holloway was a resident of Booneville, Miss., according to Edwards.
Lightning strike on church baffles pastor
Pastor Paul Gray is shown outside the Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Monday, April 8, a day after lightning destroyed the church’s steeple.
WINFIELD- Zion Missionary Baptist Church Pastor Paul Gray is still trying to process the chain of events that occurred on Sunday, April 7.
Before lightning struck his church at around 1:45 a.m. that morning, Paul Gray was the interim pastor. Hours later, after a vote by church members, he became the pastor.
“We had already planned the vote for April 7 two or three months ago,” Gray said. “I don’t know whether that was a bad omen or not,” Gray said on Monday, one day after the vote and the lightning strike.
Small plane crashes 35 minutes after take off
A small airplane which departed from the Marion County-Rankin Fite Airport on Friday, March 29, crashed after attempting to land at Monroe County Airport in Aberdeen, Miss. The plane received substantial damage. Both the pilot and passenger suffered minor injuries.
MONROE COUNTY, MISS. - Both a pilot and passenger sustained minor injuries after their small plane crashed after departing from Hamilton.
According to a National Transportation Safety Board Aviation accident report, on Friday, March 29, a Piper PA28 airplane departed from the Marion County-Rankin Fite Airport in Hamilton on a personal flight at approximately 5:15 p.m.
‘We Love Hamilton’ city cleanup set
HAMILTON - The Eighth Annual “We Love Hamilton Clean Up Day” has been scheduled to take place on Saturday morning, April 27, with volunteers first being fed a free pancake breakfast.
Last year, more than 75 bags of litter—using 60-gallon bags—were picked up by more than 90 participants.
All cleanup volunteers will meet at the Hamilton United Methodist Church, where the Hamilton Lions Club will be serving food and registration will be held in the fellowship hall.