ELDRIDGE — All roads lead to Eldridge every year on the first Saturday of December for the Toy Run.
Attendees are welcome to participate in the Toy Run individually by motorcycle or vehicle or join a group ride by visiting eldridgetoyrun.com to select a nearby staging area.
Once on site at the home at 86 Academy Drive, Eldridge, AL 35554, participants are able to view all the motorcycles from groups across the state and southeast who consider the event one of the most worthy causes of the year to participate in.

HAMILTON — Last year’s inaugural “Walk of Trees” put on by the chamber and city was a grand success.
The second annual event is now gearing up for another fantastic year. The trees have been set up, and businesses and organizations are beginning to decorate them.

MARION COUNTY — Alabama's 2024 school report cards were released Friday, Nov. 22, and schools in the Marion County School System and the Winfield City School System mostly showed overall improvement. The MCSS has a three-point improvement over last year with a grade of 87, and WCSS has a one-point improvement with a grade of 94.
Marion County Schools Superintendent Ann West says she is pleased with the overall scores.

WINFIELD — Winfield City Schools recognized Parker Spann for being the voice of the Winfield Pirates for over 60 years on Friday night, Nov. 15, just before the Pirates’ second round playoff game.
“It was a surprise to me, but it was very much appreciated,” Spann said.
Spann graduated from Winfield City High School in 1953, lettering in football, basketball and baseball.
Spann said his family moved from just outside Winfield into town in 1945, the same year Coach Estes Hudson came to town.

HAMILTON —In an effort to enhance road safety and protect first responders, Hamilton Fire & Rescue  is now integrating HAAS Alert's Safety Cloud® digital alerting into their fire apparatus. This collision prevention service enables the delivery of real-time alerts to Alabama drivers when emergency services are active in the vicinity.

HAMILTON — A hearing for District 17 State Representative Tracy Estes has been delayed from next Tuesday, Nov. 26, at 9:30 a.m. at the Marion County Courthouse. The hearing was scheduled for that day, but a continuance was approved on Nov. 8, 2024.
The case is now being prosecuted by Franklin County District Attorney Jeffrey Barksdale after Marion County DA Scott Slatton recused his office from the case.
The case will be judged by the Honorable Talmage Lee Carter.

BEAR CREEK — The condition of certain areas of Phillips Schools has alarmed members of the Phillips High School Alumni Association, who are asking school officials for more accountability to fix the issues.
These issues are reportedly being addressed, while other areas of the school are seeing major improvements, but changes cannot be made overnight, stressed Phillips High School Principal Tina Coan.

MARION COUNTY — Residents of Marion County, Ala., and the nation, went to the polls last Tuesday, Nov. 5, to make their voices heard at the ballot box in a historic presidential election.
But there were a few more items on the ballot than just the presidential election.

HAMILTON — The idea of a friendly, bragging-rights competition between businesses regarding who collects the most Toys for Tots this year has evolved into someone donating $100 cash to make the toy collecting even more beneficial.
“The kids are the big winners here,” noted City of Hamilton Recept-ionist/Magistrate Crystal Johnson.
Johnson and several other city employees helped the Journal Record with the promo photograph for the Toys for Tots kickoff, and we are grateful. Good luck to them and to all the
other participating businesses.

WINFIELD — Ivan K. Hill Recreational Park will be getting a makeover after Winfield Parks and Rec won the $100,000 Bobcat Park and Rec Makeover competition.
Out of over 100 entries, the park ended up as one of the
top five finalists, which people could vote on.
After several days of voting during the month of October, Bobcat announced on Oct. 28 that Ivan K. Hill Recreational Park had won the contest with 3,476 votes and will be receiving $100,000 to go toward their projects.

A two-vehicle crash that occurred at approximately 1:05 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, has claimed the life of a Brilliant man. Christopher R. Camp, 43, was critically injured when the 2015 Land Rover Range Rover Sport he was driving collided head-on with a 2021 Kenworth T440 concrete mixer driven by Daniel N. Smith, 57, of Hackleburg. After the initial collision, the Land Rover overturned. Camp was not using a seat belt at the time of the crash.

GLEN ALLEN — He was only 20 and out for the summer from the University of West Alabama in Livingston when he went to check on his draft status.
You see, the Vietnam War was underway, and Billy Mack Spann of Winfield knew his time would come.
“They said, ‘You’re next’ and sure enough, when I got back home, I had my draft notice,” he noted. “I knew I was going to Vietnam, because that was the hottest part of the conflict.”

Program will be Army Sergeant Major James “J.O.” Duke.
HAMILTON — We’d like to remind all veterans and their families of the “Third Annual Marion County Veterans Day Program” on Tuesday, Nov. 12, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Bevill Business & Community Center on the campus of Bevill State Community College-Hamilton at 1333 Military St. S., Hamilton, AL 35570.

Brilliant man arrested for threatening students
BRILLIANT — A Brilliant man was arrested for threatening two Brilliant High School students through social media on Thursday afternoon, Oct. 24.
“There (were students who were) threatened by someone who was not a student,” said Brilliant Police Chief Robert Snow. “Due to the timing and nature of the threats, they put the school on lockdown. We responded, and the sheriff’s department came with us. We found the guy who was making the threats away from the school, and he was arrested.”

WINFIELD — Winfield City Schools broke ground on its new football and track stadium facility, which will also include a new softball concession stand, on Tuesday, Oct. 22.
Members of the school board and city council joined with football coach David McKinney, track and field coach Steve Reaves and long-time supporter of Winfield athletics Parker Spann at the site as ground work begins for the new complex.
The new complex was first approved last year and will include a new football field, a new track and a new concession stand for the softball field.

HAMILTON — Before the Oct. 7 Hamilton City Council meeting, those present heard from Seth Dawson of Dawson Philanthropy, concerning his organization’s ongoing efforts to help with relief efforts in hurricane-devastated areas in Florida and North Carolina.
He said his organization would be taking supplies to the areas in full knowledge that boats would possibly be needed to get them delivered to those in need. He also stressed his team members would be keeping safety in mind as they went to help “our brothers and sisters in the south.”

HAMILTON — During its Monday, Sept. 16, meeting, members of the Hamilton City Council heard from Water Department Manager Rodney Williams regarding several updates of ongoing projects.
• Regarding the County Road 49 project, where the city is working to obtain a backup water supply, Williams said he had received confirmation from ADEM that a grant would be awarded for $162,175 to tie in with the Marion County Water Authority system.

HAMILTON — The Hamilton City Council recently authorized the purchase of 6.03 acres of land located across from the Hamilton Track Complex to be used for additional parking.
Known as the Lawhon property, funds totalling $126,630 were paid for the land on County Highway 42.
Approximately $66,630 of the monies came from the city’s general fund, with the remainder of $60,000 coming out of the city’s capital improvement fund account.
Other council business on Sept. 16 included the following:

HAMILTON — Christmas for Kids has returned for another year in Hamilton and will aim to help kids in the community this holiday season. The organization is ready to take applications beginning in November.
The charity, started in 1985, will begin its 39th year this November. Individuals donate money to the charity, and they in turn help children in Hamilton and Marion County by purchasing clothes and other items for families.
To date, the organization has raised $970,066.96 for kids. Gifts have been donated to 12,965 children since the program began.