News

Grant Ingram has been looking for a community to serve and call home. On Wednesday, he began  his tenure as the new Graham Convention and Visitors Bureau Manager.

“I am truly blessed to have been given the responsibility of the CVB manager role, and am excited to be joining Chamber of Commerce team under (CEO) Krisa (De La Cruz)’s leadership,” he said. “I have felt incredibly welcomed by everyone I have come in contact with here in the Graham community, and feel at home already.”

Over 100 scholarships from 70 local benefactors, clubs and agencies were given out to the graduating class of 2019 during the Graham High School Scholarship Awards Ceremony held Monday at Memorial Auditorium.

Around $100,000 in scholarships were provided to seniors at the GHS event on Monday, with many walking away with multiple scholarship awards. Graham High School Principal Joe Gordy thanked all of those for the contributions they made to the students of Graham and explained the importance of the annual event.

The Graham Farmers market will be starting off their second year Saturday in a new location and with a larger number of vendors.

The market began last year and saw success each week with eight to 12 vendors and support from the community, Farmers Market Board President Phillip Gough said. Because of the popularity of the first year, Gough said the vendors have adjusted accordingly moving into the second year with new vendors coming into the mix.

Newcastle and Olney had seen 244, or 8%, voters turn out for early voting as of Monday afternoon. The towns have items on the ballot for the May 4 general election.

Early voting ran Monday through Friday, April 22-26 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and April 29-30 from 7 am. to 7 p.m. at Newcastle City Hall, 608 Broadway, and the Olney Community Library, 807 W. Hamilton.

Applications for ballot by mail were due in person to the Young County Elections Office by Friday, April 19 and through the mail by Tuesday, April 23.

This article is a continuation of The Graham Leader’s and Lake Country Sun’s ongoing coverage of the trial at Palo Pinto Courthouse. For part one, see the April 27 edition of The Graham Leader.

The second annual Graham Rotary Club Duck Derby made a splash at Fireman’s Park on Saturday, with 10,000 rubber ducks making their way across the duck pond.

The organization started their fundraising efforts in late February and hit the halfway mark of their 10,000 rubber ducks sales goal in mid April. The organization raised their sales goal from 5,000 ducks to 10,000 ducks for the race this year and also raised the first place prize from $2,500 to $5,000.

This ongoing trial is a part of the Lake Country Sun, which runs in the midweek edition of The Graham Leader. The continuation of coverage will be in the Wednesday, May 1 edition.

Graham Police Department made two arrests on April 16 after 11 grams of cocaine and six grams of methamphetamine were discovered during a routine traffic stop.

K-9 Supervisor Austin Lawrence observed a pickup truck commit a traffic violation around 2 a.m. on the Tuesday in the 2400 block of S. Hwy. 16, according to a press release from GPD. Lawrence caught up and pulled over the vehicle after several turns.

The Knights of Columbus Young County Rodeo Committee announced on Tuesday the event will be returning in 2020.

A press release was sent Monday, April 15, by the organization stating the event would not be returning for 2020 due to a lack of sponsorships and the increasing cost of hosting the rodeo. Member Kelly Adair said the group was able to work out a solution to allow the event to return and is in the early phases of getting the plan worked up for 2020.

Jimmie Lee Hance III, 28, of Newcastle, was sentenced by a Young County jury to 50 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Correctional Institution Division, on April 18.