News

Whether representing her school as cheerleading captain, homecoming queen or through her numerous academic achievements, senior Ashleigh Taylor has made an impact within Newcastle that is one of a kind.

Most recently, Taylor received the news that she scored a perfect 36 on the mathematics portion of the ACT test, only ten days after taking the exam Saturday, Sept. 14. While she, her family and friends are excited for her achievement, she said her work is not done.

For the 16th year in a row, Graham High School will play host to the annual Fields of Faith event put on by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

The event will be held Wednesday, Oct. 9 with gates opening at 6:30 p.m. and the main event starting at 7 p.m.

Fields of Faith is an interdenominational event that will be held at more than 500 locations throughout the nation as students gather to spend an evening sharing their faith and beliefs.

Following the success of their Cinco De Mayo event in May, the Graham Downtown Business Association is kicking off another inaugural event on the downtown square this month with Grahamtoberfest. 

The event will take place from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 12 on Fourth Street and Oak Street. At the event will be a large tent offering authentic German beers and cuisine including bratwurst, sausage, pretzels and more. 

After canceling the event last year, the annual Cars and Stars car show will return burning rubber on the downtown square next weekend.

The event will be held Saturday, Oct. 12 on the square with registration opening at 8 a.m. The car show has 25 classes of vehicles with everything from rat rods all the way to modified cars spanning multiple years. 

With the new fiscal year set to start soon, the Graham Regional Medical Center Board of Trustees recently adopted a budget and tax rate for the coming year.

Following a public hearing at their monthly meeting Wednesday, Sept. 25, the board adopted the tax rate of $0.272984 per $100 valuation, which is the same rate as last year. To go along with the tax rate, the FY 2025 budget was adopted as well.

After completing renovations to a corner lot at Second and Oak Street inside the downtown square, the Graham Community Foundation on behalf of the Graham Benevolent Foundation will deed the land to the city of Graham.

The Graham Community Foundation purchased the property at 417 Second St. in Graham for use as a Young County Annex. The property was donated to Young County, and in exchange the county donated the empty lot on the inside of the downtown square at Second and Oak Street to the foundation.

An Olney woman involved in a two-vehicle, head-on collision in Young County in September 2023 accepted a plea deal this week for eight years in prison.

Johhana Delira, 20, accepted a plea agreement Tuesday, Sept. 24 for eight years confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Institutional Division, a fine of $1,500 and received 125 days of credit for time in jail. 

Delira was originally arrested Friday, Feb. 9 and booked into the Young County Jail on a bond of $25,000 for the charges of intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and terroristic threat.

With the sales tax revenue to the city of Graham coming in under the budgeted amount, the city will have to determine if it wants to adjust its sales tax estimates in the recently adopted budget.

The state of Texas imposes a 6.25% sales and use tax on all retail sales, leases and rental of most goods, as well as taxable services, while the city of Graham imposes a 2% sales and use tax. 

A total of four cases were pleaded in the 90th Judicial District Court for August. Plea information is provided by the office of the 90th Judicial District Attorney.