Editorial

During their recent presentation to the Hamilton City Council, members of the Hamilton Aggie Schools Foundation Board were also asked by city councilor W. Ross Reed if they knew of any long-term projects for the schools they could share.
Board chair Melissa Hughey said one focus is the arts. She said the schools have discovered when they put in more arts, the kids behave better, attendance is better and there aren’t as many discipline problems.  

I just returned from an exciting field trip to a place I hope to never visit again... or at least I hope to never stay at. And I’m calling it a field trip for this column, but it was actually a great tour of the new Marion County Detention Center (aka the jail) with our super sheriff Kevin Williams and a couple of my co-workers.
We’d all hoped to go, but last minute scheduling changes prevented Luke (sports editor) from joining us. But P.J. (editor) and Erin (ad manager) did get to go, and I’m glad we were able to share the experience.

With the arrival of warmer temperatures, I eagerly anticipate longer days and spending time a little more leisurely. One of my favorite things to do is to grab an icy glass of lemonade and a great book to while away a few hours outside.
No matter if I am sitting on a beach listening to the waves crash and dipping my toes in the sand or gently rocking on my front porch while petting one of my pups, a great book is the thing that pushes me into true relaxation.

By Kathryn “Chazz” Hirschfeld
Staff writer

May is National Foster Care Month and as director of the Marion County Department of Human Resources, I cannot let the month pass without sharing the importance of foster care.
This year’s theme is “Engaging Youth, Building Supports, Strengthening Opportunities.”
The campaign recognizes the important role people from all aspects of child welfare play in supporting children, youth and families. The theme highlights the need to create a child welfare system that authentically engages and supports young people who are preparing to leave foster care.

Over two thousand years ago, a miracle occurred that changed the world and those within it. A stopwatch to eternity has positioned us to look toward the heavens for His great and fabulous return.
We know Him as Mary’s Baby born in a manger, the Only Begotten Son of God, the Anointed One, the Good Shepherd, the Dayspring from on High, the Son of Man, the Promise, the Prince of Peace, Emanuel, the Tender Plant out of Jesse, the Redeemer, the Prince of Mercy, the Lily of the Valley, the True Vine, the Son of David and King of Kings.

You may not realize it, but one of the biggest businesses in not only Hamilton, but Northwest Alabama, is Northwest Gas, also known as the Northwest Alabama Gas District.
The “speak softly but carry a big stick” company is ran by a board of directors composed of the member municipalities who had the foresight to create the gas company seven decades ago.
It wasn’t easy. It’s been tough. It’s taken a lot of good decisions by a lot of great board members, managers and employees to create what the entire area benefits from today.

So, the subject of littering came up recently and Hamilton Ordinance Official Neil West had stopped by our office on a different matter, but while he was here, I asked him to share a few thoughts.
“I see litter. I see garbage. And it breaks my heart,” he said. “There are ordinances against littering from vehicles, including items that are blown out of the cars by the wind. There are ordinances against illegal dumping.”
When asked if he thought fines would help, Neil said he believed fines could help, but you’d have to catch the person in the act.

By Marvie Marchbanks, guest columnist

As we all get older, we begin to lose family and friends. We’re not made to be here forever, even though Social Security benefits have been discovered recently being paid to some folks well into their hundreds in age and even one 150-year-old. It hurts when we lose them, as it should. No longer do you get to talk to them, fellowship with them, enjoy their company.

Warren Davis, George Malone and Charles Patrick, part of “The Monotones,” in 1957 recorded a song they had written. Their song asked a question, “Who Wrote the Book of Love?” Also called “Book of Love,” the doo-wop song would be a hit and is still familiar to many in 2025.
With so much said, sung, written and recorded, the idea and curiosity about love might lead us to ask the same question. Who did write the book of love?

Matthew 6:25-26 states, "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?
“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

By Marvie Marchbanks
Guest Columnist

With a theme of “Building Tomorrow’s Future,” many state, city and local school boards are  being recognized in the month of January for all their efforts on behalf of students and communities across the nation.
In Marion County, we are so fortunate to have two great school boards, the Winfield City Board of Education and the Marion County Board of Education.
We applaud each board member and thank them for all their years of dedication and service for our youth during their many years in school, which is often one of the most definitive periods of their entire lives.

By Chazz and Chris Brogan

Who hoo! New Year’s Day 2025! It feels great to write that number! 2025! It’s a quarter of a century down in the 2000s! Congratulations everyone on making it through an- other year to another new year.
Last year, I wrote a column about my friend Chris Brogan’s “My 3 Words” concept. Each year, he and his business partner, Rob Hatch, host an annual webinar event to “explore the process of selecting three words to guide your actions through the coming year.”
Chris has noted, “It’s something I’ve

Mrs. Missouri Isabelle Webster, probably Marion County’s oldest resident, will be 102 years young on New Year’s Day.
If you make friends like Mrs. Webster does, you pile up a lot of them in 102 years, and it was obvious that a lot of folks like Mrs. Webster from the many who came and went during the time the reporter was talking to her one day this week.
Mrs. Webster has had a full life. It began 102 years ago in Fayette County, just south of Bobo near what was then called Stewart’s Creek. Her parents were Mr. and Mrs. Joe
Stewart. Mrs. Webster, who

A dream come true. This is the way the pupils and the teachers of the Hamilton Elementary School speak when they are asked about their recently completed library.
The library, an up to date one with books to suit every grade level in school, has been talked about and dreamed about for a long time by the faculty, parents and children of this school.

I have an old friend who has long since passed away from this life we have come to appreciate under the face of the sun. Over 30 years have passed, but I remember his continence and his smile and his strong character lines emerging from beneath the full white beard and mustache expanding ear to ear. Those were lines most of us call scars. And he had a receding hair line at the top of his crown, obviously due to wearing his favorite seasonal hat each year.

Friday night, Nov. 30, was a gala evening for the postal employees of the Hamilton Post Office and their guests. On that night, a surprise banquet was given for Mr. Cliff Mills, a retiring rural mail carrier. Mr. Mills was seated at the head table with special guests, his daughter and her family, and was honored by a program featuring all his fellow rural carriers and Mr. Buren Hughes.

Ho, ho, ho! I couldn’t be more thrilled at this moment to bring you a very special column which includes  some of the favorite Christmas songs of our entire staff!
We’re going to start with our Enchanting Emma and then work our way through in the order in which these were given to me. I’ll come back at the end to close and note my own.
While you read, you might find a few of your favorite Christmas songs listed, or even discover some new ones to enjoy.  

Recently the Hamilton City Council recognized two different youth sports teams, with both teams being greeted by applause and having their photos taken with the council members on Nov. 18.
The first team to appear was the Hamilton Aggies Boys’ Cross Country Team, which won the 2024 AHSAA State Championship on Nov. 9. The news of the win first appeared in the Journal-Record on Nov. 20, with a front page photo and more photos and information inside the edition.
Hamilton Mayor Bob Page said he was excited to have the XC team at the meeting.

Many months ago, a kind gentleman came to our rescue here at the Journal Record and was able to make our “older technology-type” phone system work when it failed on us.
It probably helped that this was the same gentleman who’d installed the system decades ago (I won’t say how many). The system is Northstar.
I’ve worked in other offices with this same phone system, and when there were problems, we were told there was nothing we could do.

Thanksgiving is upon us. The forgotten holiday. More and more, people are skipping straight from Halloween to Christmas. Take the holiday candies for example. Halloween has Reese’s Peanut Butter pumpkins. Christmas has Reese’s Peanut Butter trees. Thanksgiving… nothing! Notta! Zilch! You couldn't find a Reese’s Peanut Butter turkey should you look in every Walmart invented.

Questions came at me faster than I could answer them. I usually don’t mind radio interviews because I don’t have to comb my hair for them. I look much better on the radio than I do in person. But this one caught me off guard. I stumbled over words as if I had been to the library liquor bar.

I met him on a job site. He arrived before me. He was standing with his back to me, looking off into a valley of trees and yellow fields designed to swell my eyes and make me fight for oxygen. I didn’t want to startle him, so I spoke as I got closer.
“Mornin’! Sorry I’m running late.”
“All good,” he replied. “Just been standing here enjoying this view.”
“Pretty, ain't it?”
“Man, I love Autumn,” he stated.
“Is that your wife?”
“Who?”
“Autumn.”

I knew it was coming before I got there. I’m a sucker for this stuff. These folks are drawn to me. Maybe I’m drawn to them. Either way, they find me more often than fire ants when I wear flip-flops. No matter how I find myself in these situations, I have always believed that it was not by accident.

Brilliant native fondly recalls the ‘Ville’
By Russell Estes
Guest columnist

On Monday, October 30th, the Haag Circus will offer entertainment for the people of Hamilton, and especially the children.
The Haag Circus is on its 47th annual tour and is well known to many of our people as among the most popular circus organizations on the roads. They carry a menagerie second to none for small town entertainers, and among them the children will see in their grand parade, on October the 30th, two of the largest elephants that grow in foreign wilds. Besides, they have the clowns, dogs, monkeys, music, etc.

In 2024, the City of Hamilton has chosen to monumentally go above and beyond previous efforts in showing its support of Red Ribbon Week and everything it stands for in preventing drug use in school students and celebrating recovery for adults. The Marion County Commission has also joined in, helping to fund publicity, materials and supportive measures. The Hamilton Police Department, as well as other police departments in the county, are also leading educational assemblies for students, counselors and teachers.

By Marlon Holloway
“Country Boy Who Made It Home”
Guest columnist

By P.J. Gossett

By Luke Brantley
Staff writer

One of the most enjoyable Hamilton Area Chamber of Commerce events for both the chamber members and the public is the organization’s annual Shrimp Boil.
This year marked the 20th anniversary of the fun and tasty event, and everyone was invited out to share in the fun and the delicious shrimp plates and fixings.
The Shrimp Boil is held annually at the Hamilton Fire Department as a way to gather the chamber members, other business professionals and members of the community. It’s also an extremely delightful and likable fundraiser for the chamber.

There’s a new face at the Journal Record, and we are delighted to have her. Please help us welcome Marcy Jorden, our “Marvelous Marcy,” to the role of Ad Manager for YOU! Yes, you!
She does work here, but she is here to manage YOUR advertising needs. Her job is to help you figure out the best way to showcase your business and your services to the public.
And with a background in management, as well as owning her own business, Marcy brings an assortment of beneficial experience, skills and tools to her position.

There are not enough foster homes in Marion County. Can you help? A nationally-renowned minister recently noted if every church in America fostered one child in need, there would be enough homes for every child.

Marion County has a lot of churches. Maybe it’s not possible for every church to help support a foster family, but every church can add the need for more local foster homes to its prayer list.

Christmas is a celebration the world-over enjoys. First stemming from a church-made holiday to counteract the pagan ones of the day, Dec. 25 holds significance, as most know, as the marking of the birth of Christ. Traditions changed as the holiday moved across countries and continents, but formed traditions of benevolence and generosity have been ingrained into the fabric of the holiday season, as kindness and good cheer give people hope as the days, in the northern hemisphere, get a little darker and a little colder.

More often than not, media headlines and coffee shop conversations tend to be negative in regards to elected officials and various governmental departments. And while some of these remarks may be well earned by those who serve, allow me to share a little background into recent events which proved to be the exact opposite.