News

A little over two weeks remain to register to vote in the upcoming Young County local elections in May. On the ballot will be elections for Graham Hospital District, Graham ISD, city of Olney, Olney ISD and city of Newcastle.

The last day to register to vote in the election will be Thursday, April 4. To register to vote, complete a voter registration application and return it to the Young County election office at the Young County Courthouse, room B-1.

Keep Graham Beautiful kicks off its annual Spring Clean-Up event next month on the downtown square. City residents will have a week to dispose of refuse and other items at the Graham Convenience Station.

KGB is an all-volunteer service organization in Graham which organizes activities to clean up the city. The organization is coordinated by a board of directors and works in partnership with the city of Graham.

An opportunity which won’t occur for another 20 years is approaching in the state of Texas when a total solar eclipse will cross the state in April. Despite extending over Fort Worth, Young County will not be within the path, but will still experience a partial eclipse.

A total solar eclipse will be visible Monday, April 8, over Mexico, the United States and Canada. A total solar eclipse is when the moon passes between the sun and Earth and completely blocks the face of the sun.

As space is running out at Pioneer Cemetery, the Graham City Council adopted a first reading of an ordinance amendment this week to extend a prohibition on curbing for graves to the newest section of the cemetery.

The Graham City Council met Thursday, March 14 to discuss a major issue at Pioneer Cemetery, the shrinking number of purchasable plots for the remaining sections, I and J.

“Pioneer Cemetery is running out of room. We are down to about 215 available spaces in the cemetery,” City Manager Eric Garretty said. “In a normal year we sell 20-30 spaces.”

As spring severe weather approaches, the National Weather Service and Graham Fire and Rescue will be partnering for a severe weather education class open to the public Monday.

The in-person class will be conducted by the Fort Worth office of the National Weather Service from 6-8 p.m. Monday, March 18 at the North Central Texas College Graham campus. The class is officially known as the SKYWARN Storm Spotter Training Class.

Due to inclement weather this week, Hwy. 16 will remain open and available after being scheduled to be closed for six days for the filming of a television show.

Last week, Young County approved the closure of a portion of Hwy. 16 between Turtle Hole Road and Oliver Lane for the filming of a scene for an upcoming Paramount Pictures television show “Landman.”

The scene the studio was scheduled to film on the Young County road involves a collision between a small airplane and an oil tanker, which would cause an explosion.

The Graham community, in particular the high school and athletic programs, mourned the passing of longtime educator and coach Jimmy Hogan last week.

Hogan passed away Tuesday, March 5 at the age of 79 after a life and career full of coaching and teaching. After graduating from Graham High School in 1963, he earned bachelor and master’s degrees from Tarleton State University before setting out on his lifelong journey of being a teacher.

Young County will be receiving financial assistance for the Young County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuting attorneys office with grant agreements from Senate Bill 22. The county also approved the creation of a new full-time position in the county attorney’s office.

At commissioners court Monday, March 11, County Judge Win Graham presented the grant agreements from SB 22 for the Rural Law Enforcement Salary Assistance Program and the Rural Prosecutor’s Office Salary Assistance Program for ratification by the commissioners.

After receiving legal guidance, the Graham Economic Improvement Corporation will be moving forward with initiatives to incentivize housing development within the city of Graham.

The GEIC is a Type B economic development corporation which collects a portion of sales tax for economic development and ad valorem tax reduction.

After approving the guaranteed maximum price and executing a contract with Teinert Construction last week, work on the Graham Junior High School new band hall will begin soon.

The GISD Board of Trustees met Wednesday, March 6 and approved the guaranteed maximum price for construction services with Teinert Construction for the junior high band hall addition at $3,118,712. The estimated completed project cost is $3,711,267.28.

Construction is set to begin in the last week of March or the first week of April, according to Superintendent Sonny Cruse.