HAMILTON — Current Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy and former Hamilton Police Officer Jordan Carter will be the new Hamilton Police Chief after the retirement of Chief Ronny Vickery.
Vickery, who announced his retirement last month, will work alongside Carter from June 1 until he officially retires on June 30.
Vickery, who hired Carter at the Hamilton PD, stated he is confident of Carter’s ability to lead the department.

WINFIELD — On Wednesday, May 10, for the first time in front of an audience, a cast and crew of over 50 will perform, Disney's The Lion King Jr. The production will be the 50th for Self Express Productions of Winfield and features kids from Hamilton, Fayette, Guin, Brilliant, Winfield and other surrounding areas. For director and choreographer Casey Kauffman, it has been a whirlwind six weeks of rehearsals that began with the largest auditions the theatre has held.

TUSCALOOSA – The Alabama Department of Transportation bid two projects on state-maintained routes in Marion County during the April 28 bid opening.
Rogers Group, Inc. will resurface, install guardrail and place new traffic striping on Highway 129 from the junction of U.S. Highway 278 northeast of Brilliant to a point approximately half a mile south of the junction of County Road 48. The 4.9 mile project was bid at $1.79 million and is expected to last approximately three months.

MARION COUNTY — School is nearly out for the year and summer is near. This means local libraries will begin having summer reading programs soon. Registration is currently underway for the Clyde Nix Public Library in Hamilton, the Marion County High School’s Elaine Junkin Community Library in Guin and the Winfield Public Library.

MARION COUNTY — Marion County schools took safety precautions last Thursday, April 27, after social media response to a threat made on social media towards a school in another county.
Earlier last week, threats were made against Phil Campbell High School in Franklin County.  
According to Marion County Schools Superintendent Ann West, even though Phil Campbell is not in Marion County, someone created a post on the social media app Snapchat to say that children should not be in school that day because of the threats to Phil Campbell.

HAMILTON — The second annual Marion County Stampede will take place this weekend from May 5-6, with a rodeo and downtown Cowboy Day festival.
This year’s rodeo follows the successful and award-winning inaugural event last year, which won several awards including the best new rodeo of the year award.
The rodeo will begin on Friday night and gates will open at 5, with mutton busting for children six and under at 6:30, and the rest of the rodeo after that at around 7:30 until about 9:30-10:30 that night, according to event coordinator Matt MacCracken.

Alabama’s income guidelines for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (better known as WIC) have increased and additional people may qualify. If you are a woman who is pregnant, has had a baby within the past six months or are currently breastfeeding; or if you are the parent or guardian of a child up to age 5, you are encouraged to contact your local county health department or WIC agency to apply.

HAMILTON — The City of Hamilton is now accepting bids for several surplus equipment items, as discussed during the Hamilton City Council meeting that took place last Monday, April 17, at Hamilton City Hall.
Hamilton Mayor Bob Page announced that seven different items will be up for bid, five of which are vehicles.
The items include a Heil 20 yard garbage bed; an 8 yard dump truck bed; a 1981 GMC; a 1985 Chevrolet pickup truck; a 1987 Ford F-800; a 1990 Chevrolet CK20; and a 1997 Dodge pickup.

GUIN — The City of Guin has chosen Daryl Spencer as the next chief of police.
Spencer previously worked for the Guin Police Department, as well as the Marion County Sheriff’s Department.
Spencer was appointed by Guin Mayor Phil Segraves, and officially started on Monday, April 10.
Guin has been in the process of looking for a new chief and new officers for a while now, after the resignations or retirements of several officers and the previous chief, Doug Webb.

GUIN — The safety of students is a priority for school officials in this age of threats and shootings. With help from a private donation, Marion County High School has installed a barrier in the form of a wall at its entrance, stopping visitors and directing them to the office before being admitted into the school.
The donation was $10,000 to MCHS, and an additional $10,000 was given to Guin Elementary School as well.

HAMILTON — Hamilton High School is now reeling and casting. With a rich history behind the school and decades of statistics on football, basketball, baseball, track and many other sports, fishing is now making a name for itself.
Calling themselves the Aggie Anglers, this 2022-2023 school year is the first one to have a fishing team for the school. Students approached Ally Taylor, the agriscience teacher, in wanting to make the new sport a reality.

Family, Career and Community Leaders of America members from Winfield City High School competed in the FCCLA Students Taking Action with Recognition events in March. Three groups that competed were state finalists at the state leadership conference held in Montgomery.
Jaci Cook and MaKenzie Nix competed in nutrition and wellness, and their “Make Health a Habit” event won them a gold medal and an alternate position at nationals.

WINFIELD —Kindergarten registration begins next Wednesday, May 3, at Winfield Elementary School.
Parents and guardians will be able to register their children for the upcoming school year, but children must be five years old on or before Sept. 1, 2023 to be eligible.

WINFIELD — The Winfield City Board of Education opened the possibility of arming faculty at Winfield City Schools during its regular meeting on Tuesday, April 11, in light of the recent tragedy in Nashville, Tenn., and the phone threat to Winfield schools on Valentine’s Day.
Chief of Police Brett Burleson and Winfield SWAT Commander Justin Cottingham spoke to the board to inform them of possible options for the board to consider.

HAMILTON — Major changes have been made to Marion County Sheriff Kevin Williams’ proposed legislation this past Monday during a Marion County Commission meeting on April 10.
Speaking to the Marion County Commission on Monday, March 20, Williams announced three separate proposed bills that aim to improve pay for the sheriff and employees as well as change qualifications for those who run for the office of sheriff throughout the State of Alabama.
Initially, Williams proposed the sheriff’s salary be set at $81,000 per year.

HAMILTON — All three Hamilton schools are set to get a major financial boost as the City of Hamilton has established the Hamilton Aggie School Foundation.
Typically, the City of Hamilton would fund Hamilton Elementary, Middle and High schools using alcohol tax monies at a total of $135,000 per year.
Now, with the new foundation in operation, the City of Hamilton will have $300,000 to disperse to schools for various projects that schools may need completed.

BRILLIANT — Artists gathered at Barnett Farm in Brilliant on Friday, April 14, to paint in “plein air,” which is French for “painting outdoors.”
The Alabama Plein Air Artists painted scenes around them on the farm, as well as inside the house.

HAMILTON — The City of Hamilton is on the search for a new police chief after longtime law enforcer Ronny Vickery announced his retirement scheduled for the end of June.
Vickery has served as the Hamilton Police Chief for the past 10 years.
“With regrets, we’re going to be losing Ronny. I hate to see (him) go. He’s been a great chief for the City of Hamilton for a number of years now,” said Mayor Bob Page.

MARION COUNTY — Marion County’s Senior Centers have been facing quite the problem with funding in the last several months.
With federal COVID funding now coming to an end, many centers are reporting that Northwest Alabama Council of Local Governments have been unable to support centers with much needed funds to pay for meals and taking on new clients.

MARION COUNTY — The Marion County Emergency Management Agency will  host a weather radio giveaway and HyperReach sign up event  on Saturday, April 22, in Hamilton and Winfield.
Marion County EMA Director Eric Terrell stated the event will be held in Hamilton at the Hamilton City Hall and at Winfield City Hall from 8 to 11 a.m.
Interested individuals may attend the event to sign up for Marion County’s free HyperReach weather notification system and receive one weather radio per household.