WINFIELD - In an item of old business at the Thursday, Sept. 5, Winfield City Council meeting, councilman Jimmy Hayes questioned whether the city should accept the deed presented to the city by Northwest Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Bob Henger without voting on it first.
WINFIELD - Two Carbon Hill men are behind bars after being charged for the Aug. 23 armed robbery of Moore’s B&B in Winfield.
Curtis Cook, 37, and Taurus White, 23, are both being held in the Marion County Jail in Hamilton on bonds of $120,000 each.
Sgt. Brad Burroughs of the Winfield Police Department said an individual with a hoodie pulled tight around his face entered the store at approximately 12:58 a.m. and brandished a handgun to the female cashier.
HAMILTON - A Hamilton couple is being charged with first-degree manufacturing following an aerial drug search.
Eric Owens, 56, and Helen Hazelwood, 54, were arrested on Aug. 7 for growing two to three marijuana plants on their property in north Hamilton.
Both individuals were released the same day on bonds of $15,000 each.
The flyovers are conducted by helicopter by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s Aviation Division and assisted by both the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Alabama National Guard.
HAMILTON - Last month, well-known Hamilton native son Clay Dyer was inducted into the “Legends of the Outdoors” Hall of Fame.
The "Legends of the Outdoors" was established to recognize those outdoor sportsmen and sportswomen who, through countless hours of hard work and devotion to the outdoors, in both hunting and fishing, have played an integral part in setting the standards and guidelines for the rest of the outdoor world to follow.
HAMILTON - Maywood Christian Camp has completed its 55th camping season, launching a new college program and seeing about 2,700 campers throughout the summer months.
Maywood is a Church of Christ-associated camp located on 83 acres of land three miles east of Hamilton on County Highway 42.
This summer also was the inaugural year for a new college camping program called “Lift U,” which was implemented and saw attendees from more than 10 colleges.
HAMILTON - David Thornell, president and chief executive officer of the Northwest Alabama Economic Development Alliance (Northwest Alabama EDA), addressed the Marion County Commission to provide an update on potential business and answer questions from commissioners during a regular meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 28, at the commission office in Hamilton.
HAMILTON - The driver of a live fish transport truck crossed the median going east-bound on I-22 and collided with an 18-wheeler, a collision that caused a fire and resulted in the fish truck driver losing his left arm.
Matt McCracken with Hamilton Fire and Rescue arrived at the two 18-wheeler collision near exit 11 on I-22 at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 28, in Hamilton.
“On arrival we found that a live fish transport truck had crossed the median and struck an 18-wheeler hauling shingles,” said McCracken.
HAMILTON - City officials in Hamilton are talking trash, specifically about the need for a new garbage truck—a move which could require customers to own a wheeled garbage can purchased from the city.
WINFIELD - A number of system projects are being specifically highlighted during Winfield City Schools’ 2019-2020 school year.
The Winfield City Board of Education approved the system’s 2019-2020 school year capital plan during its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 13.
Winfield Superintendent of Education Chris Cook presented the plan, saying that resurfacing the track was the system’s number-one priority.
WINFIELD - Rep. Tracy Estes, R-Winfield, attended the Winfield City Board of Education’s monthly meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 13, where he was asked to give a legislative update.
The representative obliged, noting he was attending the meeting just to listen and visit with friends.
“We’re not letting you get off that easy,” said board member James Garner with a laugh.
Estes said the 2019 legislative session was very productive and passed a $7.1 billion education budget.
HALEYVILLE - Winfield’s defense withstood a fourth-quarter rally and picked up a late touchdown run by Joseph Cox to seal a 19-13 season-opening win over the Haleyville Lions on Friday, Aug. 23, in Haleyville.
Leading 13-0 going into the fourth quarter, the Winfield Pirates’ defense found themselves on their heels as Haleyville scored on a four-yard run, and after a failed two-point conversion, Haleyville would tally on a 55-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 13-13 with 8:04 left in the game.
GUIN - Marion County toppled Vina 41-12 behind a 288 rushing yards on Friday, Aug. 23.
"I thought we played hard," Red Raider head coach Kyle Williams said following the game. “We made several mistakes, but now we know what we need to work on.
"We had several guys make plays in different situations, so we are excited to se what the year has in store for us as a team."
Vina received the opening kickoff and the Red Raider defense forced a punt.
HACKLEBURG - Hackleburg suffered a 44-16 loss to Class 2A Winston County on Friday, Aug. 23, at Ray Stadium in Hackleburg.
The Panthers trailed 14-8 at halftime before the Yellow Jackets outscored Hackleburg 30-8 in the second half.
The Yellow Jackets struck first with William Owens scoring from four yards out. A failed 2-point try gave Winston County a 6-0 advantage with 4:57 left in the first quarter.
BEAR CREEK - Phillips suffered a 48-7 loss to Decatur Heritage in the Bears' season-opener on Friday, Aug. 23.
"We were completely out-manned up front on both sides of the ball," head coach Adam Lawler said of his team's first game. "We need to be bigger and strong and that doesn't happen overnight.
"We are going to keep coaching and keep working because what we did Friday night is not acceptable."
The Hamilton Aggies began their 2019 football season with a fall jamboree game against the Oakman Wildcats on Thursday, Aug. 22.
After winning the coin toss, the Aggies chose to receive the kick and began an unsuccessful drive which ended in a punt by Hamilton’s Jathan Jackson.
In the Wildcats’ first offensive possession, Lucas Bridges’ pass was intercepted by Hamilton’s Robert Johnson who returned the ball from the 45-yard-line to the 5 with 9:57 remaining in the first quarter.
Brenda Faye Abramson
Brenda Faye Abramson, 77, Florence, passed away on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2019, at her granddaughter's residence.
She was born in Alabama on Thursday, June 11, 1942, to the late James Benny Raburn and Bernice Morrow Raburn.
Students in the Marion County School System have an attendance problem. The problem was revealed last week at the Marion County Board of education meeting as Patrick Sutton, a supervisor in the school system, gave a presentation on chronic absenteeism to kick-off September’s “School Attendance Month” (see story on page --).
During the presentation, Sutton revealed some disturbing numbers regarding school attendance in Marion County. An average of 24%--almost a quarter--of students in the Marion County School System missed 15 or more days of school during the 2018/19 school year.
I’ve mentioned it before, probably a million times at this point.
As we say goodbye to the summer of 2019, allow me to reminisce with you and indeed commemorate more than likely a summer exactly 50 years ago that was undoubtedly the most momentous summer in American history--the Summer of 1969.
HAMILTON - In order to increase attendance rates, the Marion County Board of Education (MCBOE) has declared the month of September as School Attendance Month. The declaration came during the board’s Tuesday, Aug. 20, meeting.
MCBOE Supervisor Patrick Sutton made the announcement before presenting some alarming statistics to the board and suggesting ways to curb truancy and chronic absenteeism in Marion County schools.
