News

Early voting in the March primaries kicked off last Tuesday, with multiple contested Young County seats on the ballot.

As of the end of the first week of early voting Sunday, Feb. 23 there was a 7.9% turnout, or 981 voters who cast their ballots in Young County.

Early voting is being held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Feb. 23-27. Early voting locations are the Young County Annex at 417 Second St. in Graham and Olney Civic Center at 210 S Grand Ave in Olney. The Olney early voting polling location will only be open Feb. 24-27.

Youth competitors from around Young County took home accolades at the San Angelo Stock Show & Rodeo.

The livestock show was held from Feb. 5-22 at the San Angelo Fairgrounds, with local competitors entering livestock from Graham FFA, Young County 4-H and Olney FFA.

The Junior Breeding Heifers Show was held in two waves Thursday, Feb. 12 and Sunday, Feb. 15. Three Young County competitors took top spots during the show.

Graham Police Department provided additional information regarding an explosive device found at the Gateway Inn last week as their investigation continues into the device.

An investigation was initiated by GPD following the device being located Friday, Feb. 13 at the hotel at 1401 Hwy. 16. First responders were dispatched to a possible explosive device at the location.  

Since 2013, the Glass Slipper Project has provided students with a prom dress and accessories of their dreams free of charge, and this year those efforts will be expanding to multiple shopping days.

Four shopping days will be held at First United Methodist Church of Graham at 700 Third St. where students can select their prom attire at no cost. 

Students will have a personalized shopper at the church who will assist them in a shopping environment.

As the city of Graham begins diving into its budget, it will be discussing the renegotiation of the Graham ISD Student Resource Officer cost split as well as the potential of an additional officer.

Graham City Manager Eric Garretty presented to the Graham City Council two options during their first budget workshop Tuesday, Feb. 17. 

Following an investigation from the Young County Sheriff’s Office, Thomas Labbe Jr. was arrested last week on a charge of indecency with a child.

Thomas Labbe Jr., 47, of Graham, was arrested Friday, Feb. 13 on a charge of indecency with a child by sexual contact, booked into the Young County Jail on a bond of $150,000 and released the following day.

Candidates across Young County filed for a place on the ballot in May, with both contested and uncontested races upcoming.

The filing period was open from Wednesday, Jan. 14 through Friday, Feb. 13. The last day to file a declaration of write-in candidacy was Tuesday, Feb. 17.

Candidate applications could be obtained and submitted for the May election from each separate county entity.
 

RKJ Adventures, LLC is seeking over $1 million in relief from the city of Graham for an alleged breach of contract regarding a 2022 lease agreement for Lake Eddleman Park.

In February 2022, RKJ Adventures entered into a lease agreement with the city for 49 years which gave them the rights as a tenant to expand and operate a campground and park at Lake Eddleman Park.

With a new perspective and a willingness to promote all Graham has to offer, Addison Wyatt is looking to chart a bright future for the city in her new role as executive director of Visit Graham.

Wyatt stepped into the position in the first week of February and has been learning the ropes of everything that makes up Visit Graham.

The National Weather Service of Fort Worth is inviting the public to a severe weather education class in partnership with the Graham Fire Department.

The class will be held from 6-8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23 at North Central Texas College at 928 Cherry St. in Graham. 

The United States has more than 10,000 severe thunderstorms, 5,000 floods and more than 1,000 tornadoes per year, according to NWS.