News

Update - 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 28: The Graham Police Department,Texas Rangers,Young County District Attorney’s Office and Wichita Falls Crime Stoppers unit have made a positive identification on the capital murder suspect. A felony warrant was issued for the arrest of Brett Aaron Lippert, 37, of Fredericksburg, TX, for capital murder. Lippert is suspected of killing Justin Bartley Williams, 49, of Graham at the 700 block of Pecan St. this morning. The whereabouts of Lippert are unknown at this time. Additional charges are expected to come in the following days, according to GPD.

David Spiller won the Texas House of Representatives District 68 seat after the uncertified totals were released Tuesday following the special runoff election. The HD68 election was unique due to the entirety of early voting being canceled due to severe winter weather conditions.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott gave an update Wednesday regarding the response to the severe weather conditions two weeks ago and the power outages caused by that weather. Among other concerns, Gov. Abbott said he has made it a legislative priority to mandate and fund the winterization of the state’s power infrastructure.

Gov. Abbott spoke Wednesday from the State Emergency Operations Center in Austin and said many in the state were upset by the state’s response and he said those residents deserve answers for why the system failed when they needed essential services.

Early voting in the Texas House of Representatives District 68 special runoff election was canceled this week in Young County due to inclement winter weather which started Sunday and continued throughout the week. Early voting was scheduled to begin Tuesday, Feb. 16, in the 22 counties in the district.

Severe winter weather slammed the state this week with record lows in Graham and freezing temperatures and snow causing power outages for residents locally and throughout the state. Gov. Greg Abbott issued a disaster declaration last Friday for all 254 counties in response to the weather which later impacted the state.

Changes are on the way at a dangerous Young County intersection. The Texas Department of Transportation will be changing the intersection at Hwy. 114 and Hwy. 16 into a four-way stop in the coming months. The Young County Commissioners Court on Monday signed a resolution supporting the move and pressed for more action.

UPDATE: Due to forecasted inclement weather next week, North Central Texas College will be closed for voting Tuesday, Feb. 16. As of Friday afternoon, Olney Community Library was still scheduled to open Tuesday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for early voting, according to Young County Election Administrator Lauren Sullivan.

Gov. Greg Abbott issued a proclamation Thursday setting Tuesday, Feb. 23, as the date for the special runoff election for the Texas House of Representatives District 68 seat vacated by Drew Springer, who won the Texas Senate District 30 position in December 2020.

The Texas Department of State Health Services tasked the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ship 401,750 first doses of COVID-19 vaccines to 358 providers during the ninth week of COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Aside from large vaccine hubs, additional vaccines are still being distributed to smaller providers in other parts of the state including Young County.

The You Lead Class of 2021 and the Keep Graham Beautiful organization spoke at the Rotary Club of Graham meeting Tuesday about their restoration project involving Standpipe Mountain. The You Lead class will be focusing on the water tank restoration while the Keep Graham Beautiful and other civic organizations will be working on the restoration of the presentation of the area.