News

The ninth annual Spivey Hill Challenge is approaching in November honoring Dr. Jamie Epperson, Bill Spivey and Spencer Street III. The 5K race benefits two local organizations each year which give back to the community.

The race, which includes a 5K (virtual and in-person), 1K Fun Run and Walk & Talk, will be held Saturday, Nov. 11 at Firemen’s Park in Graham. Since its beginning in 2015, the race has raised $96,000 benefiting the Haitian orphanage Hands and Feet and the local organizations of Garments of Grace and Shine On.

North Central Texas College in Gainesville is celebrating 100 years with a poster contest open to students from kindergarten through 12th grade.

Entries into the poster contest are accepted from all NCTC branch campuses, including the campus in Graham. The entry must be a birthday poster celebrating the college’s 100th year.

Members of the community voiced concerns this week regarding a non-fiction book and its place within the city’s library.

The Library of Graham board met Wednesday, Oct. 25 with the sole agenda item being a discussion regarding the removal or relocation of a book titled “We Need to Talk About Vaginas: An IMPORTANT Book About Vulvas, Periods, Puberty and Sex!”

The illustrated book shares information on sensitive topics such as anatomy, sex, periods, consent and more.

Richard Henry Ashing, 54, was sentenced this week to four years deferred adjudication community supervision for two counts of sexual assault of a child under 18 years of age relating to a December 2022 offense.

Ashing accepted a plea from the 90th Judicial District Attorney’s office Wednesday, Oct. 25 of four years deferred adjudication community supervision, a $1,500 fine and $405 in court costs.

He will be required to register as a sex offender and cannot leave the state without prior written consent of the court or department of community supervision.

Construction around Graham Regional Medical Center is well underway as GRMC CEO Shane Kernell provided an update on the progress during a hospital board meeting Thursday, Oct. 26.

The project involves the expansion of the surgery center and the west side of the hospital building. It also includes the addition of an ambulance bay to improve emergency efforts.

Most of the areas inside the hospital that are currently in use were built back in the 1950s and have continued to remain in use to this day.

A redesign of the intersection of Elm and Cherry Street is on the way from the Texas Department of Transportation following approval from the Graham City Council and Transportation Improvements Committee.

At the end of September the Transportation Improvements Committee discussed and approved a recommendation for a potential redesign of the intersection. The committee had safety concerns due to multiple entry points onto Elm Street from Cherry Street causing hazards for motorists attempting to turn south on Elm Street from Cherry Street.

A social media trend that has grown in certain areas of the nation has now come to Graham. Parents and students of Woodland Elementary School have begun what is known as a “bike bus” — where groups of people meet together to ride bikes to school.

Kendra Irby, a parent of a student at Woodland Elementary, discovered the idea from a TikTok she saw online. Groups of students and adults in Portland, Ore. began riding their bikes to school as one big group, instead of driving their cars or taking other transportation.

Results of an online broadband assessment by Connected Nation Texas (CN Texas) for Young County were recently released. At the end of January, the Young County Broadband Committee and CN Texas announced the launch of the online broadband assessment.

Between January and April, Young County conducted a comprehensive study of broadband access and adoption across the community, with responses from 229 households. CN Texas staff additionally met with community officials to determine community needs and gathered data for the study.

Students of Open Door Christian School recently donated over 1,000 food items and $585 to Graham Backpack Buddies as a community service project.

Each quarter of the school year, students at ODCS work together to complete a community service project. For the first quarter of 2023-2024 the students and families of the school worked to provide for Graham Backpack Buddies by donating items and offerings during the weekly chapel service.

A Graham man was killed in a one-vehicle wreck Friday three miles northwest of Graford in Palo Pinto County on State Hwy. 337.

Jose Misael Rodriguez Vega, 52, of Graham, was killed in the wreck which occurred at approximately 7:58 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20. He was pronounced dead on scene by Palo Pinto County Justice of the Peace, Pct. 3, Shawn Humphries.