Perry County enters 2026 facing issues with its water system, its landfill and its airport.
In Marion, numerous aging pipes and pumps have failed and had to be repaired or replaced in 2025. System customers complain about brown water and low pressure, and a broken pump kept Marion residents without water for several days in November.
Marion Mayor Dexter Hinton acknowledged the system’s aging pipes remain a concern. “We’re not going to stop until we have a renovated water system,” he said. “It’s not going to happen overnight, but we’ll gradually work at it.”
In Uniontown, residents are focused on a proposed expansion of the Arrowhead Landfill. State officials said at a public hearing in November that they saw no reason not to approve the changes. Uniontown resident Portia Shepherd said at the hearing that no permit should be approved until Arrowhead and ADEM address community concerns and invest more in the community.
The owners of Arrowhead Landfill in Uniontown have asked ADEM to amend their permit to increase the “design capacity” of the massive landfill from 49.7 tons to 63.9 tons, an increase of almost 29%. Arrowhead also asked for some changes in the way they pile the 6,000 tons of waste that come into the site every day.
Uniontown enters 2026 with a new police chief. Mike Kiser has more than two decades in law enforcement across Tennessee and Alabama, including with Selma Police Department and the Dallas County and the Perry County sheriff’s office. The veteran officer says he is committed to building trust, strengthening his department and ensuring the city’s residents feel supported rather than intimidated by law enforcement. “It’s amazing how crime starts to take care of itself when you earn the community’s trust,” Kiser said.
Vaiden Field Airport in Perry County remains shut down following a safety inspection by the Alabama Department of Transportation, which uncovered several issues ranging from vandalism to overgrown vegetation.
ALDOT’s findings included missing security infrastructure, evidence of unauthorized vehicle activity on the runway and fire damage near the fuel area. Additionally, runway markings were faded, and nearby trees and Johnson grass had encroached on the airfield’s safety buffer.
Donald Bennett, chairman of the Perry County Airport and Industrial Authority, said they plan to get the airport back into operation to attract distribution centers, small manufacturers and expand Marion Military Institute’s pilot training program.
Main Street Marion cut the ribbon and officially opened the new Harris Technology hub in a ceremony in May. Students will be able to use the facility to learn all kinds of technological skills from digital banking to computer game design.
The Harris Technology Hub is named such because it is in the old Nathan Harris Building on Washington Street in Marion. For 103 years the Harris family ran a clothing business from that store.
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