HAMILTON — Most of the time lately, there seems to have been little to no audience members present for public notice hearings held prior to the Hamilton City Council meetings.
But on Monday, Oct. 21, the public showed up, stood up and spoke up. Seats in the council room were filled, with  some members of the audience also having to stand along the sides of the room.
There were two different public notice hearings held back-to-back, with the first matter concerning a request for a road closing and the second addressing a request for property rezoning.

WINFIELD — The Winfield Fire Department has purchased new scuba equipment for its diving and recovery team thanks to a $7,000 grant from the Northwest Alabama Research Conservation and Development Council.
According to Winfield firefighter Blake Farley, the new equipment will give the dive crew better capability and upgrade existing equipment.

WINFIELD — Bowen Funeral Home is welcoming Davis Bowen as its new funeral director.
Bowen, who will turn 21 at the end of December, graduated from Winfield City High School in 2022.
Bowen shared that he never thought this is the direction his life would take, until he started to work at the funeral home with his dad.
“I started back when COVID started, and I was still in high school,” he said. “We weren’t in school, so I would come up here and work every once in a while, and that’s when I realized that this is what I want to do.

MONTGOMERY — State Senator Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman) was selected by the Alabama Senate Republican Caucus as their party’s nominee for the position of President Pro Tempore of the senate.
The decision was made in a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 3. The previous pro tem, Greg Reed, will be stepping down to accept a position in Governor Kay Ivey’s administration at the start of the new year.
Gudger was first elected to the state senate in 2018 and is on his second term.

GUIN — Police responded to the scene of an ATM burglary and theft of money at State Bank and Trust in Guin in the early morning hours of Friday, Dec. 6.
“About 5:20 this morning, a white truck pulled up to the ATM,” Guin Police Chief Daryl Spencer said. “They used tools to manipulate the ATM door, then once they got the door opened, they backed the truck up and used tow hooks with a chain to jerk the vault door open using the truck. They took the money out of the ATM, and there was a getaway car that was waiting on them nearby. They left the truck at the scene.”

HAMILTON — A two-vehicle crash that occurred at approximately 2:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 29, has claimed the life of a Laneville, Texas, woman. Shelly I. Coleman, 69, was critically injured when the 2014 GMC Yukon she was driving collided head-on with the 2016 BMW X4 driven by Eboni L. Johnson, 50, of Atlanta, Ga.

GUIN — For 37 years, Santa’s Workshop has gifted families needing assistance in Guin, providing gifts, clothing and groceries to children and the elderly at Christmastime through the assistance of volunteer shoppers and donations from the community.
Approximately 70 families are helped annually, including 150 children and 30 elderly citizens.
Heather Bellew is the program director, and she emphasized Santa’s Workshop would not be possible without its supporters.

HAMILTON — Hamilton Downtown Merchants will present a “Hometown Christmas” this Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6-7, around the courtsquare in Hamilton.
“Join us for a jolly good time,” organizers note. “Ho-ho-hope to see you there!” Festivities will take place Friday night from 6-9 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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.