The Greensboro Watchman

The Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles purchased a vacant, private prison in Perry County for use as a rehabilitation facility for parole violators. Cam Ward, Bureau Director, said the bureau will pay $15 million for the Perry County Correctional Center on US 80 in Uniontown. The prison was previously owned by GEO Group, a...

Town of Faunsdale receives $300k grant to fund downtown improvements

The Town of Faunsdale in Marengo County has been awarded a first-ever $300,000 Community Development Block Grant by Governor Kay Ivey and the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA). The grant will be used to improve the sidewalks and lighting of downtown Faunsdale. Last year Kenneth Boswell, Director of ADECA, and Frank Dobson,...

VFW donates to St. Wilfrid’s rice and beans ministry

VFW Post 5104 Commander Ken Daniel presents Reverend Dan Thornton, Rector of St. Wilfrid’s Episcopal Church with a check for The Beans and Rice ministry. The Hughes-McCollum post 5104 of Marion raised funds for a local food program operated by St. Wilfrid’s Episcopal Church and Hickory Grove Baptist Church and received a matching Uniting to...

Hale Co. Hospital faces down staffing shortage, COVID surge

The Hale County Hospital is not only tackling a surge in COVID cases, but a lack of nursing staff. This has extended Emergency Room wait times due to the high turnover rate. Traci Fondren, Hale County Hospital Director of Infection Prevention, explained that many nurses have left for travel positions or jobs in larger cities....

Delta Regional Authority will fund projects in Marion

Delta Regional Authority will invest $3,448,973 to boost economic development and foster improvements throughout Alabama communities. The investment will eventually be matched by $9.6 million and will bring an additional $440 million in leveraged private investment (LPI) in the Black Belt. A total of 13 projects to improve water and sewer systems, transportation, infrastructure, and...

‘D.C. Moon,’ space rocker and Black Belt native, dies at age 62

D.C. Moon, Tuscaloosa musician and “space rock” performance artist, passed away at the age of 62, a month before his 63rd birthday. Suffering a heart attack on January 30, followed by two stents, Moon could not endure subsequent complications. He died the following Thursday night, at 11:30 p.m. Born David Craig Williams in Marion, Alabama, he...

Portia Shepherd, Black Belt native, announces for State Sen. District 23

Portia Shepherd announced On Feb 14th that she is running for Alabama State Senate in the 23rd District, which includes Perry, Conecuh, Dallas, Lowndes, Butler, Wilcox, Monroe, and Clarke counties. Portia’s struggle internally in high school and dropped out. Yet, she didn’t give up. Portia was determined to better herself and received her GED and...

Hale, Perry post encouraging vaccination rates, much of state lags

Perry County leads the charge in the state in terms of vaccination rates, with 54.3% of the population fully vaccinated. Being number one in the entire state, Perry County is one of four other Black Belt Counties that all tout the highest vaccination rates in the State of Alabama. Lowndes, Marengo, Bullock, and Hale follow...

Ivey visits Sawyerville in wake of deadly tornado, storm shelters delayed