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(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Graham Regional Theatre’s 2025 summer musical was Ronald Dahl’s ‘Matilda the Musical,’ which was held at Graham Memorial Auditorium. This year, the summer musical will be ‘Little Shop of Horrors.’

Taking the stage: GRT announces 2026 season

With a new year comes a new season for Graham Regional Theatre and the local nonprofit has five shows on its books for 2026.

The organization announced their slate of shows coming up in 2026, which will feature a melodrama, summer musical, summer youth camp and a fall and winter show.

Denise Cyr is serving as the “Producer” of the GRT board, which has nine voting members and nine advisory members that keep a running list of shows to consider each year. 

(ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) City Manager Eric Garretty shows a photo of a portion of the wastewater treatment plant with the Graham City Council and community Jan. 23, 2025. During that meeting the city approved hiring Freese and Nichols as engineers to plan improvements at the facility.

City to hear proposal on potential debt options

After retaining bond and financial counseling services, the city of Graham will hear more information as it weighs options for considering debt issuance for various projects.

The Graham City Council will meet at 8:30 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 8 where they are scheduled to hear a presentation by Senior Managing Director of Hilltop Securities Jason Hughes. 

The topic of the conversation Thursday will be regarding debt types and options for the potential issuance of debt for a wastewater treatment plant rehabilitation project. 

(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Artist Marc Nesbitt stands next to his portrait at the Young County Museum of History and Culture for their exhibit showcasing the life of Britt Johnson. The portrait is a permanent addition to the local museum.

Bringing history to life: Graham artist Marc Nesbitt brings life to Britt Johnson exhibit

The Young County Museum of History and Culture has partnered with local artists to help bring the location to life and recently received a painting from Marc Nesbitt for historic figure Britt Johnson.

Nesbitt was inspired to paint a portrait of Johnson after reading the Alan C. Huffines novel “Killed by Indians 1871.” 

Nesbitt was previously commissioned and completed a number of paintings at the Wildcatter Ranch & Resort and Fort Belknap, along with other Young County locations.

(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Various deer trophies line the walls from local hunters as part of the Into the Wild Trophy Showcase on display at the Old Post Office Museum and Art Center through February. The exhibit has free admission at the center located on the Graham downtown square.

From the stands to the square: Into the Wild Trophy Showcase at OPOMAC

The Old Post Office Museum and Art Center is kicking off the new year with a showcase featuring trophies of local hunters.

The Into the Wild Trophy Showcase will be on display at the OPOMAC with free admission through Saturday, Feb. 28 as a celebration of local hunters and their trophies. The hunters submitted a number of taxidermy trophies with information about the trophies and the hunters themselves.

(ROBERT PENA | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO) Properties that are included in the Titus LCV Tapaderos solar and battery storage project that is being proposed in Young County. The green on the map shows the vegetation buffer that will be included with the project while the red is the project boundary.

Solar reinvestment zone public hearing upcoming

In less than two weeks the Young County Commissioners Court will consider granting a reinvestment zone regarding a potential abatement for a solar and battery storage project.

The commissioners met Monday, Dec. 8 and approved starting a schedule to discuss and consider designating a reinvestment zone for the project and a tax abatement agreement regarding the Tapaderos solar and battery storage project from Titus LCV.

(YCSO | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO) James Price, 48, of Graham, accepted the plea Tuesday, Dec. 16 of 35 years confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Institutional Division for the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child, regarding a victim under 14 years old.

Graham man sentenced to 35 years for sexual abuse of a child

Following an investigation from Graham Police Department, James Price accepted a plea agreement of 35 years imprisonment for continuous sexual abuse of a child. 

Price, 48, of Graham, accepted the plea Tuesday, Dec. 16 of 35 years confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Institutional Division for the offense of continuous sexual abuse of a child, regarding a victim under 14 years old.

(ARCHIVE PHOTO | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Voters have less than one month left to register to vote in the March primaries, with the deadline set for Monday, Feb. 2. Young County will have a number of contested elections this year, including Young County Judge as well as the Precinct 2 and 4 Commissioner seats.

One month left to register to vote in March primaries

Local candidates have begun their campaign races as the new year is upon us and the March primaries are on the horizon.

Those who wish to vote in the Republican and Democratic primaries have one month left to register to vote in Young County. The last day to register will be Monday, Feb. 2.

To register, a voter can complete a registration application and return it to the Young County election office at the Young County Annex at 417 Second St.

(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Members of Graham Fire Department watch an escort for former fire chief Dennie Covey who passed away. Members of the community lined the streets as first responders led Covey to Morrison Funeral Home.

Year in Review: The Leader looks back at news from 2025

As we wrap up 2025 and are kicking off the new year, The Graham Leader is taking a look back at the local news which happened during the past 12 months.

January 

• The Graham community honored the life of former fire chief Dennie Covey who had passed away. Covey started at Graham Fire Department volunteering in 1986, was hired full time in 1993 and was hired as chief in 2007.

(ALEX HAVARDANSKY | THE GRAHAM LEADER) Young County Judge Win Graham led discussions with Lieutenant Will Cauthern over the signing of the Flock Safety contract in September which included 24 license plate readers and six video cameras.

TxDOT, YCSO enter agreement for license plate recognition cameras

The Young County Commissioners Court approved an agreement with the sheriff’s department and Texas Department of Transportation for the installation and operation of license plate recognition cameras. 

In September, the commissioners approved a 12-month contract with Flock Safety for the installation of cameras around the county to aid in law enforcement investigations. The contract included the installation of Automatic License Plate Recognition (ALPR) cameras.

(THOMAS WALLNER | THE GRAHAM LEADER) The Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Brad Partridge during the 2025 Grahammy Awards. Shown from left to right are Graham Chamber of Commerce CEO Cathy Partridge, Graham Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cayley Strickland, Brad Partridge, Chamber Executive Committee Chair Mason Shierry and Chance Condron.

Grahammy Awards to follow new format

The annual Grahammy Awards will be making some major changes as it moves away from the Chamber Banquet and follows an awards show format at Graham Memorial Auditorium.

The Grahammy Awards are traditionally hosted as a part of the Graham Chamber of Commerce Banquet and honor those going above and beyond in service and commitment to the community, or promoting local commerce.

The awards show will be the focus for the event Thursday, Jan. 29, which will be emceed by the comedy group Four Day Weekend. 

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