Seven local Republicans have qualified to run in the 2020 elections.
No Democrats have qualified as of presstime on Monday, Oct. 21.
Marion County Republican Party Chairman David Hall told the Journal Record that the following candidates have qualified to run (listed alphabetically):
State Board of Education

HAMILTON - The Marion County Commission selected names for the Marion County Jail Committee during a special-called meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at the commission office in Hamilton.
Commissioners present during the meeting were chairman Tim “Ears” Estes, Bobby Burleson, Dale Holt and Kenneth Cochran. Commissioner Keith Nichols was absent.
The committee will feature several members of the Marion County Community.
The members of the committee are as follows:

BRILLIANT - Students in the Marion County School system now have the opportunity to take a dual enrollment diesel mechanics class that could put them in the driver’s seat to a well-paying job in the future.
The class is being hosted at Brilliant High School and is a partnership between Bevill State Community College-Hamilton and the Marion County School System.

HACKLEBURG - The Hackleburg Town Council unanimously approved of the purchase of various safety equipment items for the Hackleburg Police Department during a regular meeting on Monday, Oct. 14, at the Hackleburg Town Hall.
Hackleburg Police Chief Jeremy Marbutt was present to address the council about the needs of the department during the meeting.
One of the key needs Marbutt discussed for the department was an Active Shooter Kit for five of the police cars in the department.

WHITEHOUSE COMMUNITY - Santa Gertrudis cattle breeders from around the world stopped off in Marion County on Sunday, Oct. 6, to see how one local breeder succeeds in his enterprise.
Delmo Payne played host to 35 Santa Gertrudis cattle breeders taking part in the annual Santa Gertrudis World Congress.
Payne’s headquarters for his Grandview Farms was the third stop along a 16-day tour of nine ranches that began in Alabama on Oct. 4 and ended in Kingsville, Texas, on Oct. 19.  

HAMILTON - Dress up the kids and grab a bag.
NTN-Bower in Hamilton will be hosting its third annual “trunk-or-treat” Halloween event on Saturday, Oct. 26.
Event coordinator Jason Price said they are expecting as many as 1,500 people to attend the event.
The event is open to everyone and will kick off at 7 p.m. and for an entire hour treat-or-treaters will be able to go from car to car to gather bag-fulls of candy.

HAMILTON - The Hamilton Kiwanis Club will once again sell smoked Thanksgiving turkeys as a fundraiser, but this year the club will also offer smoked half-hams.
A 10-12 pound turkey or a half-ham, both smoked and ready to heat, can be purchased from any Kiwanis member from now until Monday, Nov. 18.
The group will use the proceeds from the smoked turkey fundraiser to make its annual donation to Christmas for Kids and to fund and prepare the club’s Christmas food baskets for the needy.

HAMILTON - The Marion County Probate Judge’s office is being recognized for its improvement in registering motorists to be organ donors.
Legacy of Hope, a Birmingham-based organ procurement organization, announced the local probate office as the second most improved department of motor vehicle (DMV) offices in the state.
The organization held a special reception for the local probate office and staff on Friday, Sept. 27, at the Marion County Courthouse in Hamilton.

HAMILTON - The Marion County Probate Judge’s office is being recognized for its improvement in registering motorists to be organ donors.
Legacy of Hope, a Birmingham-based organ procurement organization, announced the local probate office as the second most improved department of motor vehicle (DMV) offices in the state.
The organization held a special reception for the local probate office and staff on Friday, Sept. 27, at the Marion County Courthouse in Hamilton.

HAMILTON - The Hamilton Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the 14th Annual Buttahatchee River Fall Festival on Saturday, Oct. 26, in downtown Hamilton.
The fall festival, which will officially kick off at 9 that morning, is a family-friendly event and there is no charge for admission.
This year’s festival will be as jam-packed with fun for the whole family as it has been in the past, according to Hamilton chamber president Lacy Williams.

WINFIELD - The Winfield City Council voted to approve a 25 cents per-hour raise for all Winfield city employees  at the council’s Tuesday, Oct. 1, meeting. The raise affected all full-time and part-time employees and went into effect the next pay period.
City administrator Mike Watkins presented the city’s 2019-2020 budget to the council for approval which factored in the raise.
Winfield Mayor Randy Price chose to hold two separate votes on the raise and the budget approval.

GUIN - The Guin City Council held a work session before the start of the regular council meeting on Monday, Oct. 7, in the Guin City Hall.
The council members were given copies of statements that showed what bills were paid and what money was received in the month of September.
During the work session, Guin City Councilmen Roger Agnew and Jerry Gann requested that more detailed financial bank statements should be supplied to council members.  

HAMILTON -  Double-homicide suspect Jimmy Cooper is back in the Marion County Jail in Hamilton after returning from a nine-month stay at the Taylor Hardin Secure Medical Facility in Tuscaloosa.
Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams confirmed with the Journal Record that Cooper was booked back into the jail on Thursday, Oct. 10.  

HAMILTON - Hamilton seniors and youth will soon be utilizing the E.T. Sims Jr. Neighborhood Facilities building, as the large $3-million renovation project has finally been completed.
Hamilton Mayor Bob Page told the Journal Record that Lynn-based contractor Jerry Dyar, of Dymac Contracting, handed the city the keys to the recreational center on Wednesday, Oct. 9.

HAMILTON - Five streets in Hamilton have received the go-ahead for a new layer of asphalt—a project valued at more than $316,000.
The Hamilton City Council unanimously voted at its meeting on Monday, Oct. 7, to accept a bid by S.T. Bunn Construction in Tuscaloosa for $316,728 for the work.
The city will designate $116,728 out of the its general fund to fund the improvements.

HAMILTON - The Marion County Board of Education approved its fiscal year 2020 budget during its monthly meeting held on Thursday, Sept. 12.
FY 2020, which officially began Oct. 1, will operate with a $33,979,451 expense budget.
The school system expects to collect a total of $34,756,115 in federal, state and local revenues, leaving $910,450 in excess funds. This is a significantly larger stopgap than last year’s $115,600 in excess revenues.

WINFIELD - Fifty years ago, Robert “Bubba” Carothers was working in production control at Continental Conveyor in Winfield when he received a call from his brother, Russell, at Citizens Bank in Winfield.
“Russell asked if I would like to come up to the bank and work with the family and I said, ‘Well, let me think about it.’”
Carothers consulted his wife, Rebecca , about the job offer.
“My wife said, ‘You need to go up there.’ So, it didn’t take me too long to think about it,” Carothers said, laughing.

WINFIELD - The Winfield City Board of Education has voted to lease 100 iPads directly from Apple Inc. for the price of $10,280 per year for three years.
The decision was voted on unanimously at the board’s Tuesday, Oct. 8, meeting.
Apple is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, Calif., that designs, develops, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and online services.

GUIN - “This is exciting and this is a big deal!” Guin Elementary School Counselor Jessica Johnigan exclaimed after watching U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announce that her school is the recipient of the coveted Blue Ribbon School award.
Johnigan, along with reading specialist Angie Jefferies and principal Joshua Weatherly, were all overjoyed as they watched DeVos make the announcement via an internet video message in the school’s main office on Thursday, Sept. 26.

HAMILTON - A Hamilton High School student has selected Blake Shelton’s team on NBC’s reality singing series The Voice.
Josie Beth Jones, 17, a Hamilton junior, appeared on national television on Monday, Sept. 30, on The Voice’s season 17, performing Julie Roberts’ “Men & Mascara.”
Jones is the daughter of Danny and Juli Jones of Hamilton. She has an older sister, Danni Brooke, and a younger brother, Jesse Luke.
A clip of Jones’ blind audition on The Voice’s Facebook page has collected 1.9 million views.

HAMILTON - A Marion County jury has issued a “not guilty” verdict for a woman accused of assaulting her then-boyfriend with her vehicle.
According to court documents provided by Marion County Circuit Clerk Denise Mixon, on Tuesday, Sept. 10, in 25th Judicial Circuit Court held in the Marion County Courthouse in Hamilton, Stacey Nicole Harris, Hamilton, was found not guilty on all of her charges. Those included first-, second- and third-degree domestic violence and first-, second- and third-degree assault.

HAMILTON -  The Marion County Commission has approved its 2020 budget and signed four resolutions that result in $264,751 to be cut from the General Fund for the 2020 Fiscal Year, effective Oct. 1, 2019, during a regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 30, in Hamilton.
In attendance during the meeting were Marion County Commissioners Bobby Burleson, Dale Holt, chairman Tim “Ears” Estes, Kenneth Cochran and Keith Nichols.

HAMILTON - Former Auburn University head football coach Tommy Tuberville will be in Hamilton on Saturday, Oct. 12, as a candidate for Alabama U.S. senator.
Tuberville will be speaking at the Marion County Republican Party’s monthly meeting at J&V Ole Smokehouse on the corner of Highway 17 and Steele Street.
Attendees will begin gathering around 8:30 a.m. for breakfast, which will be available for purchase. The meeting will begin at 9.