The Graham City Council is considering increases for the water and sewer rates and approved a first reading of an ordinance that would implement those raises in October.
The city council met Thursday, May 14 and heard a presentation from Graham City Manager Eric Garretty regarding the proposed changes as the city is underway on its budget planning process.
Establishing a love and interest in reading is the goal of the Library of Graham’s Summer Reading Program, which has registration open through the beginning of June.
Registration for the program with the theme “Unearth a Story” is open through Tuesday, June 2 for the expanded program that includes juveniles, young adults and adult readers.
The annual Free Fishing Day across public waterways in the state of Texas returns in two weeks for state residents and out-of-state visitors without a fishing license.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department said in a 2025 release that the state has six million acres of public waterways which support recreational opportunities for two million licensed anglers spending an estimated $9 billion annually on fishing-related expenditures.
Statewide sales tax holidays are being held through Monday for water-efficient and Energy Star products.
Both holidays are being held from Saturday, May 23 through Monday, May 25, with the Texas Comptroller’s office estimating shoppers will save approximately $15.7 million in state and local sales taxes during the holidays.
Following an executive session last week, the Graham City Council approved a settlement agreement of $139,500 with RKJ Adventures, LLC, pursuant to a lawsuit against the city regarding a 2022 lease agreement for Lake Eddleman Park.
During a special-called meeting of Graham City Council held Monday, May 11, the council moved to authorize the city attorney in conjunction with litigation counsel to accept and approve a mediator settlement proposal regarding the lawsuit.
After an approved budget amendment, Graham ISD and the state will provide an additional $734,251 in funds for teachers locally through the Teacher Incentive Allotment program.
GISD designated teachers for awards based on student growth and teacher observation data. This year, the district designed 58 teachers who will receive $177,541 more than the previous year.
The city of Newcastle was one of over 130 Texas cities notified by Attorney General Ken Paxton that they are prohibited from raising taxes above the no-new-revenue rate after failure to be transparent with taxpayers.
During the 2025 legislative session, Senate Bill 1851 was enacted which bars cities from raising property taxes above the no-new-revenue rate if they do not meet the states’ financial statement audit and transparency requirements.
Two big changes came to Graham ISD last week with the promotion of Donna Gatlin to GISD Chief Academic Officer and Koby Andrews being hired as the Dean of Students for Pioneer Elementary School.
Following the conclusion of a Graham ISD Board of Trustees meeting Wednesday, May 13, the announcement was made regarding the decision.
Gatlin, who previously served as the Pioneer Elementary School principal, will fill the GISD Chief Academic Officer position currently held by Dr. Janel Madeley who started in July 2025.
After voting two years in a row against homeschool participation in UIL activities, the Graham ISD Board of Trustees will consider a policy change in June that would not require them to annually vote on the item.
Graham ISD Chief Student Services Officer Joe Gordy provided an overview Wednesday, May 13 on policies that will be up for consideration by the board in June, one of which was the change to the district’s policy language which is as follows:
Offices across the Young County Courthouse will now follow standard office times to alleviate public confusion and perceived unfairness with other county employees.
The Young County Commissioners Court met Monday, May 11 and approved setting the office hours for courthouse officers for 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and employees will be required to work a full day before a holiday, unless employees take vacation those days.
