HAMILTON -  Alabama Medicaid will likely increase recovery claims against estates.
A new law will require estate  claim notices be mailed directly to Medicaid in a measure which Alabama lawmakers hope will better enable the state agency to recover healthcare funds spent on individuals.
Marion County Probate Judge Paige Vick told the Journal Record that under the new law passed during the 2019 Legislative Session, estate claims opened after Sept. 1 of this year will be required to mail notices to the state Medicaid agency.

HAMILTON - The Hamilton Area Chamber of Commerce will be hosting its final “First Fridays” downtown shopping event on Friday, Aug. 2.
The chamber’s final First Friday’s event was originally scheduled for Friday, June 7. However, it was cancelled due to rainy weather.
The final summer event will take place from 7-9 p.m. with local and satellite vendors setting up booths lining the city square and downtown businesses extending their usual hours to host shoppers.

HAMILTON -  The Marion County Commission voted 3-2 in favor of reallocating funds received from gas taxes after a heated debate during its regular session meeting on Monday, June 24, at the commission office in Hamilton.
Before the reallocation was approved, each of the five districts were receiving an even 20% each, a motion approved in 1971. The new reallocation changes that — Districts 1, 2 and 3 will receive 22% and Districts 4 and 5 will receive 17%.

HAMILTON - America is in the middle of an epidemic. The disease? Opioid addiction.
And Alabama is in the hotzone.
The Statistics

WINFIELD - Two people remain in critical condition at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo, Miss., after a two-vehicle wreck at 2 p.m. on Highway 129 at Marion County Road 38 in Winfield on Monday, June 17. 
According to information released by the Winfield Police Department, Gregory Monroe Bourland, Brilliant, driving a green 2007 Chevrolet Uplander van, was pulling out of the Cedar Landing Restaurant parking lot when the vehicle was struck by a 1998 Mercury Mountaineer driven by Denita Monique McCollum, Fayette County. 

GUIN - Former Guin Police Chief G.B. Blaylock was remembered fondly by those who worked for him and with him in the Guin City Hall. Blaylock, 76, who served as Guin police chief from 2005 to 2015, passed away on Thursday, June 13.

HAMILTON - When most outdoorsmen think of the fall hunting season, they think of pleasant days spent in the woods hunting with friends and family. But for a few local deer farmers, the upcoming hunting season brings fear and trepidation and thoughts of the destruction of their livelihood.
“It’s scary, it really is scary,” said deer farmer Kevin Armstrong.  

HACKLEBURG -  The project to make the journey to and from Hackleburg safer and easier is now coming to an end.
After a slight delay, W.S. Neal of Montgomery, who was awarded the building contract in April 2018, has completed the bridge running over North Fork Creek.

HAMILTON - Marion County’s sales tax for education has now tracked its second month in lower collections.
Marion County Superintendent of Education Ann West told the Marion County Board of Education during its meeting on Tuesday, June 11, that the county collected $129,983 in May—$4,0734 less than the previous year.
“For some reason, we were down again,” West said.
The collection was $18,000 lower than the April tax collection, when $148,082 was recorded. April also recorded lagging sales tax figures.

HACKLEBURG -  The Hackleburg Town Council announced that it will be hosting the town’s annual  Fourth of July celebration on Thursday, July 4, during a regular session meeting on Monday, June 24, at the Hackleburg Town Hall.
The event will begin at noon and will feature live music, arts, crafts, free swimming, inflatables for children, vendors, karaoke, a parade and a fireworks display.
The Hackleburg pool will be open from noon- 8 p.m. and will be free to use for those attending the event.

HAMILTON - Avoiding that emergency trip to bring a student lunch money is looking easier. 
The Marion County Board of Education voted during its monthly meeting on Tuesday, June 11, to enter into a contract with Pams Lunchroom of Englewood Cliffs, N.J., a company that supports credit and debit card payments for school-related expenses.
Marion County Superintendent of Education Ann West said the service will enable parents and guardians to fund students’ lunchroom accounts remotely.

HAMILTON - Closing a six-year process, the bridge on Grandview Drive has finally been completed.
Hamilton Mayor Bob Page received a letter from the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) on Monday, June 17, approving the bridge for use. 
Page opened the letter during the Hamilton City Council meeting that night. The bridge was officially opened the next day, Tuesday, June 18.
“We can use this bridge!” Page rejoiced.

HAMILTON -  The Hamilton Career Center will be hosting a Training Information Seminar on Tuesday, July 9, at the center on the Hamilton Campus of Bevill State Community College.
The seminar will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 10 a.m. Presentations will include information on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and Individual Training Accounts (WIOA/ITA) information, career exploration, the college admissions process, Labor Market information and Free Application of Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)/Financial Aid information.

HAMILTON - The Marion County Firefighters Association voted to approve a measure to relocate its Hackleburg repeater during its regular meeting on Thursday, June 27 at Bama-Q Pit & Grill in Hamilton. 
A repeater is a radio tower that allows firefighters’ handheld radios and the radios in their trucks to communicate at a longer range. 

Hamilton - The Marion County School System will reach its strategic goal of one-to-one technology during the 2019-2020 school year.
The Marion County Board of Education agreed to purchase 686 Chromebook laptops and 28 charging carts during its Tuesday, June 11, meeting.
Marion County Superintendent of Education Ann West said that the new purchases will complete the system’s strategic plan of providing each county student with a Chromebook.
The county school system has been incrementally purchasing Chromebooks for the last three years

WINFIELD - Fifteen years after retiring, well-known health care executive Robert Henger is returning as chief executive officer of Northwest Medical Center in Winfield.

Marion County Schools and Winfield City Schools have announced their policies for free and reduced-price meals for children served in schools under the National School Lunch Program and/or School Breakfast Program. 
Local school officials have adopted household size and income criteria for determining eligibility. (The price information is found on the accompanying chart on this page.)
If your total current household income is within the limits listed above, your children may be eligible for either free or reduced-price meals.

HAMILTON - Ashlyn Winkler has been crowned as the new Miss Hamilton 2020 during the annual pageant. 
Winkler is from Dora and attends the University of Montevallo. She majors in speech-language pathology, which correlates to her platform statement, “Shining a Light on Autism Acceptance.”
Samantha Hennings became the newly-crowned Miss Outstanding Teen 2020. Hennings is from Springville and is a junior at Victory Chrisitan School. Her platform is “Just Breathe,” which helps to bring a light to mental illness, but more specifically, anxiety and depression.

HAMILTON - A rising Hamilton High School senior was one of 180 students nationwide invited to the National Student Leadership Congress (NSLC) in June. 
Brennon Ballard, 17, son of Jessica Parker and Christopher Ballard, traveled to Washington, D.C., during June 8-14 to attend the conference on an all-expense paid trip.
Ballard was selected to attend the trip through the Bevill State Community College-Hamilton Campus Upward Bound program after submitting an application and a written essay.

Hamilton - Fun and sun traditionally fill the 100 summer days between Memorial Day and Labor Day, but new statistics prove that, for teenagers, they are also days of death.  
The number of teens killed in car crashes increases 26% compared with the other months of the year, according to data released by Safe Kids Worldwide, a global non-profit organization working to prevent childhood injury through research, community outreach, legislative advocacy and media awareness campaigns.