Tuesday, April 23, 2024
The first half of 2018 brought its share of conflict, challenges and tragedies, but it also brought heroism, progress and economic development.
Granbury school superintendent Jim Largent, now retired, stirred up a hornet’s nest when he challenged fellow Granbury resident and District 60 incumbent Mike Lang in the Republican primary for state representative.
The Republican Executive Committee of Hood County unanimously adopted a controversial no-confidence resolution against Largent, with help from a precinct chair on Lang’s campaign payroll. Lang won handily in counties throughout the district.
Tax Assessor-Collector Teresa McCoy stirred up her own hornet’s nest when she took over collection of the county’s portion of property taxes and failed from the get-go, causing confusion, anger and financial nightmares for the county.
The Granbury School Board debated school safety, ultimately voting 4-3 to have more school police officers but also to put guns in the hands of educators.
There were tragedies, such as the drowning in May of Granbury High School seniors Oscar Rios and Julio Espinoso-Guerrero during a non-school-sanctioned “skip day” and the death of worker Dylan Mitchell in an explosion at the Tri-Chem Industries plant in Cresson.
There was heroism in the form of Granbury school bus driver Amanda Ortiz, who saved the life of a choking student by performing the Heimlich maneuver.
There was progress with the first phase of the city’s new water plant going online, and there was development. Work began in January to expand the Hood County Library, Habitat for Humanity of Hood County built its 100th home and plans moved forward to renovate the old Kroger building, creating several storefronts.
Here is a month-by-month accounting of what made news in the first six months of 2018:
January
The sheriff and county commissioners praise animal control officer Kim Jordan for taking the initiative to go through the police academy at Weatherford College in order to handle more serious Animal Control calls without the assistance of a deputy, even though there is no money in the sheriff’s budget to increase her pay.
The Granbury City Council approves two Special Use Permits (SUPs) allowing for new bed and breakfast establishments, and paves the way to approve a third.
A knife-wielding man who pushed his way into a home in Arrowhead Shores flees after a 25-year-old pregnant occupant of the home struck him in the head with a flower vase and the family dog bit him on the thigh.
The first phase of the city’s new water plant becomes fully functional.
Staff at Lake Granbury Medical Center treat dozens of flu cases.
The Republican Executive Committee of Hood County unanimously adopts a no-confidence resolution against Granbury school Superintendent Jim Largent, who is running against incumbent and fellow Granbury resident Mike Lang in the House District 60 race.
Granbury FFA sophomore Caeley Cody’s 1,335-pound Charolais brings in a record $36,000 as the grand champion steer of the 63rd Hood County Junior Livestock Show.
Two men dressed in all black rob Tommy’s Convenience Store (formerly Last Chance Fina) on Highway 377 at Fall Creek Highway.
Pecan Plantation management and some pilots who live in the gated community are at odds over a deer trap and net placed close to the Pecan runway.
Members of the Hood County Hospital District Board say that because of indigent healthcare costs, a hospital district tax may have to be imposed after 22 years without one.
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) announces that work on the Cresson bypass will begin in the fall.
February
In response to public attacks against him by leaders of the Republican Party of Hood County, Granbury school Superintendent James Largent, a challenger to Mike Lang for the state representative District 60 seat, backs out of a candidates forum and instead attends a Common Sense Conservative Republican Rally.
Habitat starts construction of its 100th home in Hood County.
U.S. Rep. Mike Conaway, R-Midland, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, defends his role in the release of FBI classified information in the controversial memo of committee chair and Trump ally Devin Nunes of California.
A fire, possibly caused after a charger was connected to a car battery, destroys a home in Stoney Creek, but the couple inside manages to make it out safely.
For the second time, the Granbury City Council passes on adopting an ethics ordinance, but instructs the city manager to work with the city attorney to bring an amended decree before the council at its next regular meeting.
A precinct chair who participated in a no-confidence vote against House District 60 candidate Jim Largent was a paid campaign worker for Largent’s opponent, incumbent Mike Lang, at the time the vote was taken.
The Commissioners Court holds a special workshop to figure out how best to address serious problems that have resulted in Tax Assessor-Collector Teresa McCoy’s takeover of the county’s property tax collections.
Plans to tape Penny Gilley country music shows at Granbury Live during 2018 are canceled after the City Council refuses to pay for it.
The City Council accepts the Lake Gran-bury Area Beautification Council’s donations of help with the refurbishing of public restrooms by the square in exchange for waiving some of the ancillary costs associated with the group’s rental of the Granbury Resort Conference Center for its annual Jewel Ball fundraiser.
A Granbury Marine Corps JROTC air-rifle squad wins the national championship by one point at the U.S. Marine Corps Service Championship in Aniston, Alabama.
The Granbury School Board and, specifically, board president Nancy Alana are attacked just before the primary election in a mailer funded by Empower Texans, an ultra-conservative group backing incumbent Mike Lang in the House District 60 race against GISD Superintendent Jim Largent.
The City Council adopts an ethics code.
Granbury ISD wins its appeal to the University Interscholastic League to be placed in a different district in basketball and volleyball.
Councilman Tony Mobly and City Manager Chris Coffman raise questions to Visit Gran-bury CEO Teresa Anderson regarding how the tourism organization’s successes are tallied, whether the concerns of lodging stakeholders are being heard and whether figures showing hotel occupancy rates are accurate.
A 26-year-old man dies after inexplicably jumping from a moving van.
March
A visiting judge finds a neighbor of Mayor Pro Tem Tony Mobly guilty in Municipal Court of threatening the councilman.
A group of lodging stakeholders who are concerned about hotel occupancy rates form the Granbury Hospitality Association.
In a specially called meeting, the City Council approves expenditures of up to $100,000 to make emergency repairs at the city’s wastewater treatment plant.
In a second workshop to discuss ongoing problems with Tax Assessor-Collector Teresa McCoy’s property tax collections, Prec. 4 Commissioner Steve Berry says that if she refuses to turn those duties back over to the Hood County Appraisal District, he will ask commissioners to hire an outside auditing firm.
House District 60 incumbent Mike Lang wins the Republican primary against Gran-bury ISD Superintendent Jim Largent, but Dave Eagle and Kevin Moore – the top vote-getters in a four-man race for the Precinct 4 county commissioner seat – head to a runoff.
Plans are announced to renovate the old Kroger building and bring in several name-brand clients.
The Lipan Indians win their second straight boys basketball title in San Antonio.
Tax Assessor-Collector Teresa McCoy agrees to send county property tax collections back to the Hood County Appraisal District, ending several months of confusion, anger and turmoil that affected property owners, the Commissioners Court and the county’s auditing department.
Chicken Express closes for a weeks-long remodeling project.
The Granbury Resort Conference Center, entering its 10th year, gets a new name: Lake Granbury Conference Center.
An explosion and fire at Tri-Chem Industries in Cresson leaves one man with serious burns, another with less serious injuries and a third employee missing.
The City Council approves a preliminary plat and two rezoning requests for a business and apartment complex on 17 acres north of East Pearl Street that will be the first major development to be built on the new portion of Loop 567.
Visit Granbury, Inc. representatives meet with the newly formed Granbury Hospitality Association to discuss way of increasing hotel occupancy.
The City Council receives a report indicating that, largely due to abatement issues, it will cost more than $3 million to renovate the city-owned building known as the Opera House Dorm or to tear it down and build a similar building.
Granbury ISD Superintendent Jim Largent announces that he will retire in July.
Human remains assumed to be those of missing worker Dylan Mitchell are found at the site of Tri-Chem Industries in Cresson six days after an explosion and fire destroyed the plant.
Debara Herring bakes cakes and wraps birthday gifts for every foster child in Hood County – well over 100 per year.
The Stowaways competition team and the Granbury Marine Junior ROTC bring home national titles.
Crews finally finish repairing the sinkhole by Brookshire’s that opened up during heavy rains in May 2015.
The Commissioners Court happily accepts an offer made by fourth-grade representatives of Acton Elementary School’s student council to host a pancake fundraiser to help defray expansion costs for the Hood County Library.
April
Hood County Animal Control captures a rabid skunk – the fourth since January.
Dirt is moved on a project near Kroger Marketplace that will involve businesses as well as cottages with a Nantucket look.
The Granbury City Council approves an incentive agreement that is beneficial to both the developer of the old Kroger building and the city.
The Granbury School Board decides to hire an interim superintendent to take the helm after current Superintendent Jim Largent retires in July.
The Granbury City Council approves a Special Use Permit that will allow the old Arrow Feed and Ranch store on the west side of town to become an auto repair and used car sales business.
Acton Elementary fourth-graders, with help from the Lions Club, host a pancake fundraiser at county Annex 1 benefiting the library expansion project.
The owners of Waterside Sports announce that, due to health issues, they will not be able to continue their arrangement with the city to rent paddle boards, kayaks and bicycles from the Tiki Hut on the City Beach.
Chief Appraiser Greg Stewart says that appraised property values in Hood County are up about 8 percent.
President Donald Trump’s threatened tariffs cause steel prices to rise, impacting the county.
Together with his parents and brother, Max Mengel, owner of Max’s Kitchen, a popular food trailer near the busy Cresson intersection, draws rave reviews for his made-from-scratch breakfast burritos, burgers, tacos, barbecue and more.
Granbury school bus driver Amanda Ortiz is hailed as a hero after performing the Hemlich maneuver on a student who was choking on a bottle cap.
County Auditor Becky Kidd tells the county judge and commissioners that Tax Assessor-Collector Teresa McCoy has caught up on her payments to the state and county and is making steady progress in correcting problems that arose from her brief takeover of county property tax collections.
A massive fire fanned by fierce northerly winds destroys 20 units at the Lake Retreat Condominiums near Mambrino Highway.
Fourth-graders at Acton Elementary raise more than $5,000 for the library expansion project, most of it through a pancake fund-raiser at county Annex 1.
For the first time, the Granbury School Board makes Breathalyzer tests mandatory at the Granbury High School prom.
Pre-kindergarten teacher Tracy Porter is named Teacher of the Year at Emma Roberson Elementary School.
Marlie Tucker, who was seriously injured when the vehicle she was driving was struck by a train in Tolar and dragged about 250 yards, recovers enough from her injuries to attend prom.
Thorp Spring Water Co. sends a letter to customers stating that, due to costly monthly testing required by the state, a surcharge of at least $125 will be added to monthly water bills.
Brady Timmons, a 2011 graduate of Gran-bury High School, is hired as the county’s new extension agent.
May
Two Granbury High School seniors drown after skipping school with friends for an outing on a lake in Somervell County.
Granbury High School suffers a triple tragedy with the mysterious death of 16-year-old Abbigayle Fredrich – the third student to die in three days.
Due to a number of concerns, the City Council tables the Historic Granbury Merchants Association’s (HGMA) request for a Special Use Permit (SUP) for its annual community carnival, leaving HGMA with just days to adequately address issues before the per-publicized event.
The City Council votes to lease the Tiki Hut on the City Beach to Granbury-based Pontoon Me, which will rent stand-up paddle boards, kayaks and bicycles and will also offer pontoon boat tours from the boat ramp at the nearby Lake Granbury Conference Center.
The city receives a letter from a Virginia-based civil liberties firm on behalf of a Gran-bury man who was denied a permit by the city to operate his hot dog cart, encouraging city officials to change their vendor ordinance and hinting at a possible lawsuit.
A woman who showed up to her son’s hearing in district court wearing a T-shirt with the message “YAY GOD” said she was unfairly booted from the courtroom after being told her attire was inappropriate.
The Granbury City Council denies the Historic Granbury Merchants Association’s request for a Special Use Permit to hold its annual carnival at Jerry Durant Toyota due to concerns about possible traffic pile-ups and accidents.
City Manager Chris Coffman tells the City Council to expect to spend in excess of $30 million to renovate the wastewater plant, build a new plant and expand the growing city’s sewer capacity.
Dave Eagle wins the Republican runoff for the Place 4 seat on the Commissioners Court.
A debate over how best to provide security at Granbury’s schools in the wake of school shootings across the country leaves the school board divided.
The Lipan School Board picks Ralph Carter, superintendent of the Jessieville, Arkansas, school district, to replace retiring Superintendent Cindy Edwards.
Habitat for Humanity of Hood County dedicates its 100th home.
Visit Granbury, Inc. announces a new grant program in which groups, organizations and individuals with ideas for events that would bring tourists to town can apply for funding.
June
An 8-year-old Lipan girl dies of apparent drowning in a pond after wandering off while her family was visiting friends north of Gran-bury off Weatherford Highway.
Tolar High School graduate Brilyn Akerley, who is studying to become a physicians assistant, makes plans to do a summer clerkship with her former pediatrician, Gran-bury’s Dr. Bryan Steinmann.
TxDOT agrees for the county to cover its portion of the Cresson bypass through annual payments of $1.2 million over a 10-year period.
The county sponsors a workshop for board members of the county’s 88 homeowners associations to answer questions about how to deal with nuisance properties.
Democratic Party Chair Robert Vick announces that U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke of El Paso, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s Democratic challenger on the November ballot, will hold a Town Hall meeting in Granbury on July 6.
The community holds fundraisers for Autumn Flowers, a 21-year-old who was born with fluid on the brain and needs a hematopoietc stem cell transplant.
In an effort to be prepared in the event of a school shooting, the Granbury School Board votes 4-3 to have more school police officers as well as up to 10 educators serving as armed school marshals.
A 22-year-old Fort Worth man drowns at the City Beach.
Former Granbury School Board member Chris Tackett and his wife, Mendi, travel to Tornillo for a Father’s Day protest against President Trump’s policy of separating immigrant families.
For the first time in a decade, Granbury’s financial strength reaches a point where a full 50 percent of property tax revenues fund citizen services.
During the city’s annual budget workshop, Granbury Mayor Pro Tem Tony Mobly suggests shifting some of the Hotel Occupancy Tax revenues given to Visit Granbury, Inc. to the Lake Granbury Conference Center.
