#1 The Graham High School football team rewrote the school record books in 2009, setting records for the most wins and the best playoff results. At the same time, the team won the school's 500th victory and captivated a city that fell in love with the team. For that reason, the team's success is the top story of 2009. Above, Sheldon May (30) leads a celebration after the Graham defense stopped Bridgeport in a key play in the regional quarterfinals. (Photo courtesy of David Flynn)
Looking back -- top stories of 2009 -- Playoff run captivates Graham
by From Staff Reports
(Posted 12/30/2009 01:54 pm)
2009 started out with tragedy as a teenage girl was found murdered and ended in triumph when the Graham Steers captivated the city with a run to the state championship game.
In between, Graham and Young County had its ups and downs that are mirrored in the top stories of the year.
1 — Graham Steers make history, take city on magical ride
In August, not many were dreaming of a Steers Christmas carol.
But everyone in the Graham area got one.
The Steers finished the regular season 9-1, were co-champions of District 2-3A along with rivals Brownwood and Abilene Wylie and were still playing after both the other teams were eliminated.
With each week and each victory, the following got a little bigger. The Steers captured the hearts and souls of seemingly everyone in the community. It was virtually impossible to walk through any store in town and not see someone decked out in blue or with Graham on their shirts or hats somewhere. It was truly town pride.
Once the playoffs started, the Steers made short work of Borger and “upset” Monahans in the second round. Bridgeport was the next to fall, and Wimberley certainly had a long ride home after a 48-7 thumping at the hands of the Steers. Pittsburg found the Steers plenty capable of playing football in the state semifinals.
That left the Steers with their first-ever berth in the state finals. They were playing a bigger, faster and stronger Carthage team, but it made no difference. The Steers took it to them and gave everything until the bitter end, a one-point loss to the defending champs, 13-12.
Rarely does an event capture the heart, soul and spirit of a town the way the Graham Steers did in 2009. That’s why they are the top story of the year.
2 — Teen girl found murdered, suspect arrested
Bridgett Herrard disappeared late in 2008, but the story of her disappearance broke early in 2009.
For weeks, Graham was captivated with the story of the 16-year-old who disappeared while babysitting on Christmas Eve.
The Young County Sheriff’s Office quickly determined something was wrong and began an extended search for Herrard. After following dozens of leads and walking hundreds of miles through the brush searching for Herrard, the sheriff’s office got a break when Search One Rescue from Dallas heard about the missing teen and volunteered to help search.
Using cadaver dogs, searchers took only minutes to locate a body behind the home Herrard was last seen at.
Two weeks later, DNA confirmed the body was that of Herrard. Jeremiah Justin Craft, who was already in jail on an unrelated charge, was charged with the murder and sexual assault of the teen. A Young County grand jury later confirmed the charges, indicting Craft for the two first-degree felonies.
Craft spent all of 2009 in the county jail awaiting trial.
3 — Police officer shot, suspect killed in shootout
Police officer James Putman was shot twice while assisting the Young County Sheriff’s Department in an investigation of suspicious activity.
At approximately 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 6, Putman responded to a call looking for a vehicle in which the driver, Anthony Gunderson, 17, was reported by a witness to have pointed a gun at an adult female passenger.
Putman stopped the car at Highway 380 and Lincoln Street. According to a press release issued by the Graham Police Department, when Putman made contact with the suspect vehicle, the driver stepped out of the vehicle and fired at least two shots toward the officer.
“The driver of the vehicle exited his car and produced a revolver. The officer asked him to drop the weapon and the subject refused,” said Police Chief Tony Widner.
Putman was struck in the left area of the chest and left thigh. He was wearing his ballistic vest.
Putman returned fire and fatally wounded Gunderson. At the request of the Graham Police Department and the 90th Judicial District Attorney’s office, the investigation was turned over to the Texas Rangers.
Putman returned to work Oct. 5 and has since been nominated by the Texas Municipal Police Association to receive the 2009 State of Texas Law Enforcement Achievement Award of Valor.
4 — Easter weekend fires torch Young County
While much of the county was celebrating Easter, volunteer firefighters were hard at work.
A perfect storm of conditions — extreme dry grass, high winds and almost no humidity — put Young County at immense risk. After the first fire started, others followed quickly as fire after fire broke out.
The biggest blazes grew into hundreds and then thousands of acres with firefighters unable to combat the fast-moving blazes.
Instead of trying to stop the fires, firefighters took up defensive positions near homes and other structures. The tactic worked as only a handful of homes were destroyed in the blazes that blackened thousands of acres.
Thanks to a cooperative effort from the volunteer firefighters, Graham Fire Rescue, Young County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Forest Service and more, not a single person was injured in the many blazes.
5 — Graham police officer arrested, fired
Graham Police Officer Michael Kent Barnett, 49, was arrested June 12 and charged with four counts of fraud.
According to an arrest affidavit, Barnett used a forged prescription to receive Lorcet, a prescription painkiller containing hydrocodone, from Jordan’s Pharmacy on May 26.
The Graham Police Department turned the investigation over to the 90th Judicial District Attorney’s office and its investigator Jim Reeves.
With his arrest, Barnett was terminated from employment with the police department.
On Aug. 21, Barnett pled guilty to the fraud charges. Under a plea agreement with District Attorney Brenda Gray, Barnett received five years of deferred adjudication and agreed to voluntarily give up his peace officer’s license and paramedic’s license.
Since that time, Barnett has been re-arrested on a motion to adjudicate. According to public records, there are several allegations of Barnett violating the terms of his community supervision including, not paying resulting fees, failure to report, failure to attend recovery meetings, not turning over his medical license and submitting a urinalysis testing positive for extended opiates.
6 — NCTC makes home in Graham, bond passes
When 2009 began, North Central Texas College was finalizing plans to open a campus in Graham.
Before the year ended, the college had already surpassed first-year expectations and, more importantly, had received support from voters.
NCTC and the Graham Education and Workforce Center board had been in talks for some time before the new year began, but the college took over the GEWC campus in 2009. With the presence of a college, the number of students attending classes soared in the fall.
At the same time, voters were debating whether to add a new five-cent property tax to the rolls to help pay for the college. After months of work by supporters of the bond, voters cast their ballots, overwhelmingly approving the tax.
With the tax, the Graham campus became the first branch campus in the NCTC system, offering Graham students the same benefits as students at the home campus in Gainesville.
7 — Relay for Life volunteer killed
A celebration of life and hope turned tragic when Relay For Life organizer Linda Rhodes, 57, was struck by a vehicle and killed in the early morning hours of June 6.
Rhodes was killed as the 2009 Relay neared its conclusion.
According to Graham Police investigating officer Sgt. Richard Ferguson, at approximately 5:43 a.m., Rhodes was crossing the street in the crosswalk when she was struck by a white Ford F-350 traveling south on Elm Street.
Witnesses reported the truck was travelling at the speed limit if not less. Ferguson said Rhodes was wearing dark-colored clothing and the driver, Jack County resident James Coley, 61, simply did not see her in the early morning darkness.
Rhodes was transported by ambulance to Graham Regional Medical Center where she succumbed to her injuries.
“She worked so hard to save others’ lives and gave her life doing so,” said Eva Hoffman, co-chair for Young County’s Relay for Life.
8 — Graham man arrested for child porn
Early in February, Donnie Gene Hurter was arrested at his Graham home and charged with possession of child pornography and online solicitation of a minor for sex.
Police Chief Tony Widner said officers began investigating Hurter a year earlier after a complaint from the parents of a 15-year-old girl. When officer seized Hurter’s computer, they found hundreds of images and videos of minors engaged in sexual activity.
Hurter was arrested and held on a $260,000 bond.
He was later indicted on four charges of possession of child pornography, although District Attorney Brenda Gray said she could have received hundreds of indictments, one for every image on the computer.
9 — Case McCoy commits to Texas
Would he or wouldn’t he?
It was no secret that Graham High School quarterback Case McCoy was being heavily recruited by the University of Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and many others. The question was, would he commit and follow his brother Colt to the University of Texas?
The answer was yes. Just before the 2009 Spring Athletic Banquet, McCoy confirmed he would be attending the University of Texas in 2010 to follow in the footsteps of his brother, now the winningest football quarterback in NCAA history.
It wasn’t a total shock, as Mack Brown and his crew at Texas probably had the inside track on McCoy, but even Case’s father Brad was a bit surprised Case committed when he did.
McCoy plans to redshirt his freshman year at UT.
10 — Swine flu hits
Graham
When 2009 began, few people had heard of swine flu. As the year ends, it has become well known virtually everywhere.
When the H1N1 virus began to spread rapidly, killing people along the way, much of the country panicked. In North Texas, schools were closed and functions cancelled. Even the UIL got into the act by postponing the spring sports playoffs.
In Young County, the schools remained open as the virus failed to have a big impact early in the year.
But late in the year, H1N1 did make it to Young County with hundreds of people falling ill, some gravely so.
.jpg)
#2 Bridgett Herrard
