News

All Graham ISD employees are set to receive a one-time bonus-type payment after unanimous approval by the district’s board last Wednesday. The payment of $200 was discussed during 2016-17 budget meetings in August 2016. The board discussed ways to give employees some extra compensation via a one-time payment which was not disclosed at the time. “When we were doing some of the planning for the 2016-17 budget, we did provide our employees with a 1.5 percent increase from the mid-point,” GISD Superintendent Sonny Cruse said.

Candidates exist for all the upcoming local elections in southern Young County – and not one of them will face an opponent this May. Elections were called by the city of Graham, Graham Regional Medical Center, Baylor County Special Utility District and Graham Independent School District. The filing deadline for all of those races was 5 p.m.

Graham Police and Fire departments discussed the city’s need to begin preparations for the $5 million county-wide switch to digital communications – a move required by 2025 – with the Graham city council Thursday. Present at the meeting and speaking directly to the council were Graham Police Chief Tony Widner, Graham Fire Chief Jerry David and Graham Assistant Police Chief Brent Bullock.

The filing period for the May 6 local elections ends Friday and no new candidates have stepped forward in recent days. Elections will be held by the city of Graham, Graham Regional Medical Center, Baylor County Special Utility District and Graham Independent School District. Candidates must file with each entity separately and that entity will keep the list of candidates. The deadline to file for all four local elections is 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 17. The seats up for election on the Graham city council are Places 3 and 4, which are currently held by Kyle Peavy and Lee Boyd, respectively.

The city of Graham started the new year with a drop of more than 5 percent in the amount of sales taxes returned to the city for February. That amount is consistent with a pattern that began with last year’s decline in the oil and gas industry. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced today he will send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts $858.6 million in local sales tax allocations for February, 1 percent less than in February 2016.

Graham High School students did well in calculus at a recent math championship, taking second place as a team and three top-10 positions in individual competition. Fourteen area high schools, including Graham, participated in Weatherford College’s 15th annual Coyote Area Math Championship on Friday, Feb. 3. Guest speaker Matthew Wright, a research scientist from Lockheed Martin’s Stealth Technology Department, spoke to the participants about the application of mathematics in his profession, including his research in radar technology and the application of complex numbers in engineering.

Friday, Feb. 10 midnight –  Young County Sheriff’s Office deputy arrested a man and a woman on Hwy. 114, each on a charge of possession of marijuana. 12:59 a.m. – Medical emergency, Canyon Road, Young County, no transport. 4:02 a.m. – Repo man moseyed over to Hillcrest Dr. to do his job. 4:31 a.m. – Suspicious circumstances, W. Howard, Olney. 4:59 a.m. – Medical emergency, 1st St., Graham, taken to Graham Regional Medical Center. 6:54 a.m. – Reckless driving spotted on FM 209, Young County. 8:29 a.m. – Burglar alarm going off at a church on Hillcrest Dr., Graham, was canceled. 10:07 a.m.

A three vehicle crash Saturday on Hwy. 16 near Rocky Mountain Road left two with serious injuries. Amber Frias, 31, of Loving was traveling south in a 2003 Chevrolet Suburban on S. Hwy. 16 Feb. 11, DPS Staff Sgt. Richard Hunter said in a written release. Frias was slowing down and began to turn left when her Chevrolet was struck on the driver’s side by two motorcycles. The bikes were driven by David Turnbow, 61, who was atop a 2009 Harley Davidson motorcycle and Larry Hise, 53, who was driving a 2012 Victory motorcycle. Both men are from Wichita Falls and were driving south on Hwy.