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.

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.

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.

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.

Fort Benning, Ga. - Private Second Class Corey Alexzander Mitchell, Guin, graduated from Basic Combat Training at Fort Benning, Ga., on March 29.

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 - 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.

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.

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.

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.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -                

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.

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.

GUIN- The annual Guin spring cleanup day will be held on Saturday, April 27, and Guin councilman Bobby Bellew is hoping to have a larger turnout than he’s seen in recent years.
“The most we’ve ever had is 55 or 60 participants and so it’s my goal this year to really top that number so we can have a larger impact on the community,” Bellew said.
Bellew said he is excited about the number of citizens, schools groups, civic groups, church groups, community leaders and local business that have already committed to participate in the annual cleanup day.