City of Hamilton

Pay scale talks cause uproar at commission

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON —  Marion County budget discussions for the Marion County Commission nearly unraveled into a shouting match when the discussion of a new pay scale was presented.
The meeting took place during a work session meeting on Thursday, Sept. 22, at the commission office in Hamilton.
Present during the meeting were all commissioners, Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams, Revenue Commissioner Barbara Cooper and County Engineer Chris Wilbanks.

Hamilton annexes Marion County Lake

Hamilton Mayor Bob Page stands in front of the Marion County Lake, which is now a part of Hamilton’s city limits.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — The City of Hamilton annexed the property of the Marion County Lake, taking the city one step closer to taking control of the property from the State of Alabama.
This was approved during a regular meeting held on Monday, Sept. 19, at the Hamilton City Hall in Hamilton.

Back through the years in Marion County...

This row of buildings today in Hamilton are on First Avenue Southwest on courthouse square. Today, they are the Town Square Jewelers, office buildings and also the House of Plenty.
In the late 1940s when this photo was taken, the buildings included City Market, Fred King’s store (displaying a Peters Shoes sign over the main entrance) and the farm bureau (displaying a Wayne Feeds sign over their entrance).

Hamilton’s man from down under

Brett Rayner

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — While the City of Hamilton isn’t a bustling metropolis that rivals that of New York, featuring a host of residents from all over the globe, Hamilton has had it’s own group of new residents from far off countries who have made the city their home.
Whether it’s a church or a dart hitting Hamilton on a map, people from all over seem to find their way to Hamilton and put down their roots to be a part of the community.

Yielding involved in second murder and suicide

Chris Yielding

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — Two Hamilton residents died after a murder and suicide shooting involving a murder suspect who was out on bail.
Chris Yielding, 43, and his father, Charles Yielding, 80, were reported dead to emergency dispatchers by Chris Yielding’s mother on Monday, Sept. 19, at 3:15 a.m.
Yielding was arrested in August of 2020 for the murder of his partner Mandy Dozier and was released from the Marion County Jail in Hamilton on Jan. 25, 2022, on a bond amount of $506,000.

Hamilton decides on no light trial run

The stop lights at the intersection of Military Street South and First Avenue Southeast will be covered soon for a trial run.

By Louis Mellini
General Manager
HAMILTON — For 90 days, Hamilton will not be using the traffic light located at First Avenue and Military Street South.
On Monday, Aug. 15, the Hamilton City Council made the decision to cover the lights and make First Avenue Southeast a one way road.

School page is back!

Luke Brantley, staff writer at the Journal Record, shows an older school page.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — The Journal Record is excited to announce that, this school year, we will be bringing back our school page!
Each week, one of our schools in Marion County will be featured on a page of the Journal Record with school news and pictures of students and faculty.
This is something that the Journal Record has done in the past, and we are excited to bring the news of what the kids and young adults in the county are doing in our great schools.

Hamilton obtains new ambulance service

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — The City of Hamilton will now be using Northstar Emergency Medical Service and will establish the Marion County EMS ambulance service for the City of Hamilton following the Hamilton City Council meeting on Monday, Aug. 1, at Hamilton City Hall.
The city previously used Regional Paramedical Services for all of their emergency transport needs, but, according to Hamilton Mayor Bob Page, the city was not satisfied with the time it took for ambulance services to respond.

 

Wal-Mart adds tag scanning cameras

New security cameras at Wal-Mart in Hamilton will scan tag numbers at the entrance and exit to help law enforcement.

By Louis Mellini
Staff writer
HAMILTON — The Hamilton City Council approved entering an agreement with Wal-Mart to purchase two camera systems at the Wal-Mart property.
Hamilton Mayor Bob Page stated that Wal-Mart will purchase one of the camera systems while the city will purchase the other.