State Superintendent Visits Hamilton


From left are Marion County Superintendent, Ann West, State Superintendent, Eric Mackey, and school board members, Joyce Fowler and Mark Dearen. Mackey is wearing a shirt presented to him by Hamilton Middle School students.
HAMILTON— Alabama State Department of Education Superintendent Dr. Eric Mackey made a big appearance at Hamilton schools last week, in what was the first visit from a state superintendent in almost 40 years.

Sheriff looks to state for reimbursement


Above is the current view of the construction of the new Marion County Jail. Groundbreaking at the site was on Nov. 4, 2022. It will be located in Bedford Industrial Park near Marion County DHR. The estimated cost for the facility is just under $17 million.
HAMILTON — Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams is looking to the State of Alabama to help soften the blow of inflation on the Marion County Jail. The Marion County jail, like any jail in the U.S., is not only in charge of housing inmates, but also feeding them.

Marion County Sheriff employee arrested

Tiffany Lucas Carruth, a court liaison with the Marion County Sheriff’s Department is arrested this past Saturday.

FRANKLIN COUNTY — Marion County Sheriff’s Department Court Liaison Tiffany Lucas Carruth was arrested this past weekend after having her vehicle searched in Vina.
Carruth, 42, of Hamilton, was arrested after being stopped at a driver license checkpoint, according to Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams.
Williams stated during the stop, Franklin County Deputies smelled an odor of marijuana and conducted a search.
During their search, deputies found marijuana, an open container of alcohol and drug paraphernalia.

Electric vehicle charging station open in Guin

From left, State Representative Tracy Estes, Guin Mayor Phil Segraves, Congressman Robert Aderholt and State Senator Greg Reed cut the ribbon in front of a large group of local officials and business leaders to commemorate the grand opening of the Tesla charging stations at the Holiday Inn in Guin.

GUIN — Federal, state and local officials and business owners gathered at the Holiday Inn in Guin at exit 26 off of I-22 to celebrate the official opening of the Tesla electronic vehicle charging stations located in the parking lot beside the hotel.
Alabama’s Fourth Congressional District U.S. Representative Robert Aderholt was present at the event, along with State Senator Greg Reed and State Representative Tracy Estes. Representatives from the Ag commission and ALDOT were also present, along with numerous other elected officials.

Gym construction begins at Hamilton Middle School

Pictured are crews working at the site of the new Hamilton Middle School gym.

HAMILTON — Hamilton Middle School’s major new gym project is under way as on Tuesday, Sept. 5.
The project, which began pre-construction on Friday, Sept. 1, has a 300 day timeline for completion, making the gym’s completion date at the start of next school year.
“The project was put out for bid in June of this year, and the bid was awarded to the low bidder, Dominguez Design-Build, Inc. from Pensacola, Fla. at the July meeting,” said Marion County Superintendent Ann West.

Aggie Arts Summer Intensive a major success

Pictured are the 17 Hamilton students involved in the Aggie Arts Summer Intensive program. Front row from left are Leida Kay Bartlett, Mia Cole, Camp Peterson, Conley Beasley, Alex Endel and Lily Gifford; middle row, Bennett Streetman, Gretchen Surman, Calyn Pendley, Vincent Colburn, Alton Raburn and Ory Sorrells; back row, Levi Gifford, Lucas Nevins, Jorge Mata, Gage Price and Taylor Green.

HAMILTON — Several Hamilton students took part in Hamilton’s Aggie Arts Summer Intensive, which included a performance opportunity at Red Mountain Theatre’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat production through July and August.
The Summer Intensive was a partnership with Red Mountain Theatre and Aggie Arts, a support organization for the Arts in Hamilton public schools.
The Summer Intensive was organized by Stacy Hughey Surman.

 

Hamilton USPS collection boxes blocked due to theft

This is what the two outside collection boxes at the Hamilton Post Office have looked like for the past couple weeks. Postal officials are awaiting new locks before reopening them.

HAMILTON — The actions of one or a few can have a domino effect on many others. This has proven true for patrons of the Hamilton Post Office the last few weeks. The drive up collection boxes have been blocked due to a theft or attempted theft which occurred on Sunday, Aug. 27, postal inspection officers stated.

Suspects evade Hamilton and Winfield police

The Hamilton Police Department was involved in a high speed chase that ended in a suspect eluding law enforcement on Sunday, Sept. 3, in Hamilton.
According to Hamilton Police Chief Jordan Carter, unidentified suspects attempted to enter Fred’s Pharmacy on the night of Sept. 3.
“Some suspects tried to gain entrance into the business. We had an officer nearby that had initiated a vehicle pursuit,” said Carter.
Carter stated the chase was soon made very difficult due to the speed of the car involved in the attempted theft.

Election season underway in county for 2024

MARION COUNTY — Election season is officially underway as candidates will be gearing up to run for the 2024 elections.
Several positions in the federal, state and county levels will be up for a vote of the people including next year’s major presidential election.
The places up for election at the federal level are U.S. President, Vice President and the U.S. House of Representative.

Winfield Public Library partakes in Library Card Sign-Up Month

WINFIELD — The Winfield Public Library is encouraging people to sign up for a library card as part of Library Card Sign-Up month in September. The library has partnered with local businesses who have agreed to give a discount to anyone who presents their library card.
Also during September, the library will be forgiving late fines. Whether the book is five days late or five years late, the fine will be waived. Patrons who come in to update their library card will not have to pay the replacement fee either.

Mule Day on its way


Mule Day is scheduled for Sept. 23 and 24.
WINFIELD — Mule Day is on the horizon, as the annual festival returns to downtown Winfield on Friday night and Saturday morning Sept. 23 and 24.

Hamilton suffers water crisis

Volunteers distribute water in Hamilton over the weekend.

HAMILTON — The City of Hamilton endured quite the weekend as residents were notified of an extreme contamination issue in Hamilton’s water system on Thursday, Aug. 24, at 8:29 p.m.
According to Hamilton Mayor Bob Page, the city’s water and sewer department observed silt in the water, causing a major issue for the treatment plant.
“We found mud in the river—silt mud—it was unexpected,” said Page.
“Someone had a pond dam break, and it flowed downstream and finally reached the river.”

Hamilton PD in high speed chase

Hamilton police officers search suspect Stephan Bowen’s vehicle after a dangerous pursuit.

HAMILTON — Hamilton police officers were involved in a high speed chase that lead out to Interstate 22 and involved multiple other law enforcement agencies.
On Friday, Aug. 18, at approximately 1:20 p.m., the Hamilton Police Department receive a report of an irate male at Wells Fargo Bank located on Bexar Ave West in Hamilton.  
Officers began responding and 9-1-1 dispatchers advised officers that the offender got into a silver Toyota Corolla.