News

Following an investigation from the Young County Sheriff’s Office, several individuals were charged with bribery and engaging in organized criminal activity relating to contraband at the county jail.

According to probable cause affidavits, Coltyn Price, 36, Micaleh Bowman, 32, Sheena Krick, 44, Patricia Corsbie, 37, Brittany Davila, 36, and Cherry Quintanilla, 37, were charged with bribery and engaging in organized criminal activity along with Young County jailer Lori Taylor, 39.

A Newcastle man facing a murder charge had a motion to reduce his bond denied last week in district court.

John Edward Rogers, 70, was arrested Sunday, Aug. 17 in Newcastle for the fatal shooting of Justin Garland, 35, of Graham. 

Rogers' attorney filed a motion in November to reduce his bond for the murder charge from $1 million to $30,000 stating that he had insufficient funds and was unable to raise funds to post a cash bond or pay a bail bondsman for a surety bond.

The Graham Public Education Foundation continued its charitable efforts and donated $113,266.45 in grants to Graham ISD teachers last week.

GPEF is a nonprofit organization that works to enrich and enhance the education of Graham students. The organization takes a bus with board members and campus administrators, called the prize patrol, to each campus to present awards each year.

The Graham City Council will make a determination this week on moving forward with negotiations regarding a potential development agreement with a data center developer.

The city council will meet Thursday, Dec. 18 to consider authorizing City Manager Eric Garretty to engage with representatives of Stream Data Centers and Headwaters Site Development. That approval could result in a letter of intent to pursue a development agreement.

The Project Saltworks data center is proposed on 867 acres of land between FM 61 and FM 209. 

As the year comes to close so does the fundraising efforts for Graham Area United Way. The organization is making one final push for donations to meet their campaign goal.

The organization is currently at 88% of its $100,000 fundraising goal. Last year’s campaign raised around $90,000, but this year they are looking to hit or exceed what their goal.

“We are so grateful for those who support our campaign year after year and are excited to have added some new donors this year as well,” GAUW Executive Director Lexee Alberts said. 

Following an investigation from the city of Graham’s animal control and code enforcement, two Graham men were arrested and indicted on a charge of animal cruelty.

Larry Watson, 24, and Jordan Williams, 27, were arrested Wednesday, Dec. 10, held in the Young County Jail on $50,000 bond and released the following day. The two were indicted by a Young County grand jury Monday, Dec. 8.

Young County is set to have several contested races in the upcoming primaries, with candidates filing for a place on the ballot.

The filing period ran from Saturday, Nov. 8 through Monday, Dec. 8. In order to become a Republican or Democratic nominee for an office, an application for a place on the ballot must have been filed with the county or state party chair. 

Republican candidates that filed for the position of Young County Judge are incumbent Win Graham, along with candidates Donald Sexton and former Young County Judge John Bullock.

After approval from the Graham City Council in August, a redesign of the intersection of Third and Cherry Street as a four-way stop is underway.

The city has discussed the redesign since June, when a recommendation for the change was made for the intersection along with the Fourth and Tennessee Street intersection.

The city council approved allocating $16,500 in funds in the street department budget for the Third and Cherry Street project, with concrete making up the bulk of the cost at $15,000. 

Following an investigation from the Young County Sheriff’s Office, a jailer was arrested last week on charges of bribery and engaging in organized criminal activity.

Lori Ann Taylor, 39, of Olney, was arrested Thursday, Dec. 4, booked into the Young County Jail on a total bond of $150,000 for the two charges and released the same day.

Sheriff Travis Babcock said in a release Monday, Dec. 8 that the department began an investigation Monday, Dec. 1 and, during the course of investigation, Taylor was taken into custody.

The Marrufo family will always remember Sept. 20 not only as the beginning of a life-altering event for Paul Marrufo, but the start of a journey that led him to a miraculous recovery.

It was Saturday, Sept. 20 when Paul was at home alone by himself in Graham and suffered a horrible headache which led him to lose control of his body and consciousness.

What caused his condition was a ruptured Arteriovenous Malformation (AVM) with bleeding occurring in his brain.