Record cold set for Nov.

Cold weather on Wednesday, Nov. 13, broke records, according to National Weather Service Observer Eddie Pearce.
Pearce said temperatures dropped to 13 degrees on Nov. 13, bringing trace amounts of snow and breaking the previous record for November, which was set in 1968 when 17 degrees was measured.
The record high for the month of November was set in 2016, when 91 degrees was measured on Nov. 1.
Pearce said this is the second-earliest signs of snow on record. The earliest occurred in 1966, when snow was measured on Nov. 2.

Boiler malfunction closes Winfield schools


Heating ductwork is shown branching out to Winfield Elementary School from two mobile boiler trailers rented from a company in Louisville, Ky. The units will temporarily provide heat for the school as its boiler has failed.

WINFIELD - A heating malfunction resulted in all of Winfield City Schools being postponed and delayed last Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 12 and 13.
Many schools across north Alabama announced closures early last week due to wintery conditions. However, the Winfield closures were due to more complex—and costly—circumstances.

McRae unopposed for state school board seat

HAMILTON - Belinda McRae, a Hamilton native and long-time educator, is unopposed in her bid for a seat on the Alabama State Board of Education.
There is, however, non-candidate opposition for McRae—a referendum on the primary election ballot in March to make state school board seats appointed offices instead of elected.
If the amendment passes, all  sitting school board members will be removed and Gov. Kay Ivey will begin an appointment process.

Kivette charged with rape

HAMILTON - A Hamilton man is being charged with two counts of first-degree rape for allegedly performing sex acts on his girlfriend while she was incapacitated on drugs. Adam Blake Kivette, 33, Hamilton, is being held at the Marion County Jail in Hamilton on a $400,000 bond for the rape of a 35-year-old Hamilton woman. Hamilton Police Department Investigator Scotty Chandler told the Journal Record Kivette was charged with both counts of rape on Nov. 6. Kivette was already in custody at the jail for unrelated misdemeanors.

System enrollment falls 25 students

HAMILTON - Marion County Schools have experienced a decrease in enrollment for the 2019-2020 school year.
Marion County Schools Chief School Financial Officer Clint Green provided the Journal Record with the average daily membership (ADM) data on Friday, Nov. 8.
Current numbers show the county system experienced a drop in enrollment from the previous year, going from 3,235 to now 3,210 students across 11 school locations, losing a total of 25 students.
ADM numbers for the current school year for Marion County Schools by municipality are as follows :

County schools collect record $1.77M in sales tax

HAMILTON - Marion County Schools collected a record $1,774,113 in education sales tax in Fiscal Year 2019. Marion County Superintendent of Education Ann West announced the collection at the Marion County Board of Education’s monthly meeting held on Wednesday, Oct. 23. The new record of $1.77 million dwarves the previous record set last year of $1,714,333 by nearly $60,000. The school system collected a record $154,823 during the month of September—$6,900 more than the previous year. In September 2018, education sales taxes generated $147,930.

New law strengthens pharmacy-doctor relations

WINFIELD - Hamilton pharmacist Cole Sandlin says that patients in Marion County are now set to receive better care from not only physicians, but the pharmacists themselves after two bills were recently signed into law in Montgomery.
Sandlin was present when Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law HB35, known as the Collaborative Practice Act, and SB73, the Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) Licensure and Regulation Act, during a bill-signing on Aug. 31.

Lolley embraces past, now Tuscaloosa City’s EMA director


Nick Lolley (right) is shown with the director of the Marion County Emergency Management Agency, Jimmy Mills (left). During Lolley’s upbringing in the City of Hamilton, Mills was a mentor to Lolley during their time together at the Hamilton Fire and Rescue Department.

HAMILTON - Nick Lolley, 34, is the director of the Tuscaloosa County Emergency Management Agency. He was born on April 4, 1983, in Tupelo, Miss., to Hamilton residents Kenneth “Junior” and Patsy Lolley. Lolley spent his youth being raised in Hamilton, where he met several men and woman who, according to Lolley, shaped his life and his work ethic, making him the man who he is today.