Fifth-ranked Lady Pirates down 7A’s No. 2 Spain Park

WINFIELD - Winfield downed Lamar County 6-3 in Class 3A, Area 10 action on Tuesday, April 16.
The Lady Pirates are the fifth-ranked team in the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s Class 3A poll.
Alana Ballard pitched a complete game and allowed 11 hits, two walks and three earned runs while striking out one.
Andrea Harbin collected two doubles, one single, one RBI, one walk and three runs scored.
Tralee Couch added two singles, two stolen bases and two runs scored.

EF-1 tornado confirmed in Shottsville

Tornado

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.

Council changes meeting times, will hold work sessions

Guin Council

Guin City Attorney Jerry Hester (left) shows a map to the Guin City Council concerning a plot of land in the Hidden Pines subdivision during the council’s Monday, April 15, meeting.

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.

Neighbor Day set for April 26-27

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.

 

Spectrum buys out WATVC

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.

 

Hackleburg Alumni Banquet set for May 4

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.

 

City officials want to enforce littering fines

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.

Aggies sweep county golf meet

Golf

The Hamilton Aggies’ boys and girlsgolf teams won the Marion County Golf Tournament at Pikeville Country Club on Tuesday, April 9. Shown for the Aggies are (from left) overall boys winner Blayne Armstrong, Kalei Mason, Kaiden Williford, overal girls winner Briley Ballard, Noah Boyette, Mia Hollingsworth and Samuel Sutton.

HAMILTON - The Hamilton boys and girls golf teams won the Marion County Golf Tournament at Pikeville Country Club on Tuesday, April 9.
The boys squad saw Blayne Armstrong finish in the top spot with a low score of 75.
Other members of the boys squad are Samuel Sutton, Noah Boyette and Kaiden Williford.
The girls team is made up of Briley Ballard, Mia Hollingsworth and Kalei Mason. The squad saw Ballard finish as the over low medalist for girls with a 89.

We don’t make the news--we just print it

We received several phone calls this past week concerning our coverage of the Guin City Council meeting in the Wednesday, April 10, edition (Meeting ends early amid shouting, finger-pointing).
Those who fielded the calls were told they didn’t like how this story was handled, the harsh manner in which it was presented. In fact, our staff was told we actually reported too much.
Well, we didn’t like it, either.
Covering meetings when tempers are flaring and conversations and discussions are frayed are not enjoyable for our reporters.

Know how to save a life

Thanks to training and quick action in Winfield on March 30, a choking death was prevented. Devin Smith, a pharmacist, performed the Heimlich maneuver on Todd Fetter after food became lodged in Fetter’s windpipe.
According to the National Safety Council, an average of 5,000 people die each year from choking. Many of those deaths could have been prevented with the right knowledge and training, the kind of knowledge and training that both men possessed.  

Former Gu-Win mayor, wife die in plane crash

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.

 

Lightning strike on church baffles pastor

Pastor

Pastor Paul Gray is shown outside the Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Monday, April 8, a day after lightning destroyed the church’s steeple.

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.

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