Year In Review

The second half of 2018 brought farewells and the winds of change.

In September, the community said goodbye to Buddy Wisdom, longtime beloved owner of the iconic Granbury Skating Rink.

More goodbyes followed in November with the loss of Granbury High School Choir Director Jeremy Bowen, just 28, and his fiance Ashley Morrison, 26. The couple was killed in a one-vehicle accident near Weatherford.

That same month, Fort Worth police officer and Hood County resident Garrett Hull was killed in the line of duty. He died in a gun battle with robbery suspects.

There were county, city and school officials who opted to not seek re-election.

The departures of Precinct 4 Commissioner Steve Berry, County Judge Darrell Cockerham and Precinct 2 Commissioner Butch Barton will significantly change the Commissioners Court – and county government. Their replacements will be sworn in on Tuesday, New Year’s Day.

After six terms and 18 years, the Granbury School Board said adieu in November to its longest-serving member, Micky Shearon.

Also in November, the Gran-bury City Council bid farewell to two-termer Gary Couch.

This week, another surprise retirement was announced. The day after Christmas, long-serving District Attorney Rob Christian told the HCN that he, too, will step down. He plans to go into private practice with his father.

Although goodbyes are often sad, there were certainly good things that happened in the second half of the year.

Dirt was turned on the 360-acre Saratoga development off Hwy. 377 in eastern Hood County. When finished, it will feature single family homes, multi-family housing and commercial properties.

The old Kroger building off Hwy. 377 near Business 377/Pearl Street is well on its way to becoming a multi-store shopping center with outlying buildings and a landscaped parking lot.

An agreement reached earlier this month between the city of Granbury and the Granbury Independent School District has paved the way for a possible outdoor pavilion by Decker Gym and Decker Field.

Workers have been busy all year adding 10,000 square feet to the Hood County Library. That project will be completed early in the new year.

New Year’s Eve will bring the traditional singing of “Auld Lang Syne,” a sentimental farewell that originated from a poem written in 1788.

Soon 2018 will be no more. But the dawning of 2019 will herald a whole new era in Hood County.

Here is what made news in the second half of this year:

July

Firefighters from all nine of the county’s volunteer fire departments as well as the U.S. Forest Service spend 2 1/2 hours battling a wildfire that burns 200 acres and destroys a home near the airport that had been purchased by the city for the airport expansion.

Ken Hackett, an independent, is no longer a contender for county judge after 152 signatures from his petition to be placed on the Nov. 6 ballot are disqualified, leaving him 16 short of the required 500 signatures.

Beto O’Rourke, Democratic challenger to U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, is met by a standing-room-only crowd and people lining the sidewalk outside Celebration Hall on the square when he arrives for a town hall meeting.

The city briefly closes City Beach Park to install buoys marking depths of 5.5 to 6 feet and signage prohibiting swimming past those markers in an effort to increase safety after a fourth drowning occurs on the 4th of July holiday.

A scam targeting homeowners claims that homestead exception applications won’t be processed until a $45 fee is mailed to an Austin address.

Dirt turns on the 360-acre Saratoga development off Hwy. 377 in eastern Hood County.

Cresson Mayor Bob Cornett said the city intends to build “backer roads” off TxDOT’s upcoming Cresson Relief Route in hopes that it will be prime real estate for stores, restaurants and other businesses.

For the first time in nine years, Preserve Granbury cancels Party on the Peak, its annual fundraiser, because the nonprofit got too late a start in planning, due largely to new board members coming on board.

The Granbury City Council accepts a concept plan for Dolce Vita, a five-story luxury apartment building for those 55 and older, to be built – if the council approves final plans – behind the old Texaco at Hwy. 377 and Hwy. 144.

Place 3 Granbury School Board candidate Don W. Hooper withdraws from the crowded race after questions are raised about his residency.

Seven-year-old Ava Rose has severe physical limitations that impact her ability to communicate, but nevertheless sends a letter to firefighters thanking them for saving her family’s home from a wildfire.

Sheriff Roger Deeds asks commissioners to cash out his jailers’ comp time in hopes that money will keep them from walking out the door as others have done.

The wife of a man who fell 30 feet from a cliff shortly before the fireworks show over Lake Granbury on the night of July 4th prepares to discontinue life support after doctors say he will never recover from his injuries.

After six terms and 18 years on the Granbury School Board, Micky Shearon decides not to seek reelection.

The Hood County Senior Center, with help from the community, gives air conditioning window units to clients identified through the Meals on Wheels program.

Because of a newly discovered four-vote requirement, Granbury City Council members Tony Allen and Gary Couch are able to block the wishes of Greg Corrigan, Tony Mobly and Trish Reiner to put a City Charter question on the ballot allowing the mayor to vote.

Firefighters battle another raging wildfire, this one on Knox Ranch off Highway 377 west of Granbury.

County Judge Darrell Cockerham proposes a 1-cent property tax rate increase.

The Hood County Library temporarily closes due to construction that is part of the expansion project, and staffers move materials next door to American Town Hall.

The ongoing drought drains ranchers’ stock tanks, feed supplies – and bank accounts.

August

Shortly after the owners of BBQ on the Brazos move out of Texaco Plaza in Cresson because of a lease dispute – vowing to remain in the tiny town – Rooster Beane and his wife Lori announce that Rooster’s BBQ will take over that spot.

Volunteer firefighters at Station 70 distribute bottled water to residents on the northwest side of Lake Granbury after Monarch Water, a subsidiary of Southwest Water Company, experiences a mechanical failure of a critical filter at its water treatment plant.

The Granbury School Board proposes a 1.5-cent tax rate drop.

The city tracks vacation home rentals on booking sites such as Airbnb, VRBO, Flipkey, HomeAway and Booking.com in an effort to ensure that those renting their properties are paying hotel occupancy taxes.

The fields expand as more candidates file for November city and school elections.

Two arrests for the promotion of prostitution are made during a bust of massage parlors in Gran-bury and Weatherford following a months-long investigation.

Granbury Mayor Pro Tem Tony Mobly’s mysterious absence at a regular City Council meeting breaks the four-vote requirement and paves the way for a particular Charter proposition to be placed on the November ballot against the wishes of councilmen Tony Allen and Gary Couch.

After four decades in operation under owners Buddy and Doris Wisdom, the Granbury Skating Rink is placed on the market.

Hood County receives much-needed rainfall that totaled about 4 inches in some areas and 6 inches in Pecan Plantation.

After the chaos that ensued following Tax Assessor-Collector Teresa McCoy’s brief takeover of property tax collections for the county from the Hood Central Appraisal District, County Commissioners hope to help citizens who claim they have been wrongly charged legal fees for delinquencies, though the county attorney sees little hope under the law.

Granbury dentist Dr. Michael Mc-Coy escapes serious injury after the single-engine plane he is piloting crashes at Granbury Regional Airport.

The close of the filing period results in two Granbury City Council races and one – with four candidates – for the Granbury School Board.

In a bizarre chain of events, law enforcement divers searching for another missing man in the Trinity River in Dallas at Loop 12 find a body in a submerged pickup belonging to William Moore, an 82-year-old Pecan Plantation man who has been missing for more than six years.

The Granbury School Board hires Jeremy Glenn to be the GISD’s new superintendent.

A city audit of Visit Granbury, Inc. reveals some missteps by the city-funded tourism organization.

The Granbury Housing Authority receives federal tax credits to build new housing for low-income seniors.

September

City and county officials disagree over fire safety at a large metal building built by Propell and also have differing interpretations of related law and a 2008 city-county interlocal agreement.

The community mourns the loss of beloved Granbury Skating Rink owner Buddy Wisdom, who died after being struck by a vehicle on South Morgan St.

Cresson officials are confident they will receive as much as $500,000 in grant funding for a multi-use, 23-acre park on land donated by developer Ike Thomas.

Ruth’s Place plans a 2,600-square-foot metal building with classrooms and a kitchen at its outreach site in Oak Trail Shores.

Elections Administrator Crickett Miller says there will not be enough time to conduct security scans on voting equipment ahead of the Nov. 6 midterm election using federal money distributed through the state.

In a belated performance evaluation conducted by the board of Visit Granbury, Inc. after the HCN files an open records request, the organization’s CEO receives a failing grade.

Joseph Scala, 74, is sentenced to 20 years in prison for suffocating his ailing wife.

The Commissioners Court grants a tax abatement to Propell, a company that manufactures equipment for the oil and gas industry and which promised to provide 100 jobs at more than $50,000 per year.

Fort Worth police officer and Hood County resident Garrett Hull dies after a gun battle with robbery suspects.

The Granbury City Council, in a 2-3 vote, pulls the plug on the city’s $750,000-plus annual funding of Visit Granbury, Inc.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturns a lower court’s ruling and finds that evidence was sufficient in Fred Ingerson’s capital murder conviction.

Acton Middle School mourns the loss of eighth-grader Destiny Yeager, who died with her mother Kirsten Hamsher in a house fire.

Pat Stewart becomes airport manager at Granbury Regional Airport after the retirement of Gary Hawkins.

The Commissioners Court accepts a letter of retirement from Precinct 2 Constable DeWayne Hart and begins accepting resumes in anticipation of appointing someone to fill the remaining year of Hart’s term.

More than 9.5 inches of rain during September and 5 inches the previous month help break the grip of drought in Hood County.

October

The long-closed Panter Branch School in Tolar is designated as a historic landmark by the Texas Historical Commission.

Hood County homeowners renting their homes on Airbnb earned an average of $6,000 per year and brought almost 4,000 guests to town, according to Airbnb Texas.

Students, teachers and staff at Acton Middle School plant a magnolia tree in memory of student Destiny Yeager, who died in a Cresson house fire along with her mother.

An unknown number of motorists receive letters containing demands for money and threats of not being able to renew their driver’s licenses due to old traffic tickets after the city of Lipan buys a new computer software system to help them collect unpaid fines.

The city takes possession of the Visit Granbury, Inc. offices at Granbury Square Plaza, as well as intellectual and property rights, a little more than two weeks after the City Council votes to defund the organization.

Three weeks after voting to defund Visit Granbury, Inc., the City Council approves City Manager Chris Coffman’s proposed tourism budget amendment and the creation of a new Convention and Visitors Bureau.

The Republican Party of Hood County opens a new office at 1315 Waters Edge Dr.

The city switches engineers on the airport expansion project.

After days of heavy rainfall that dumped a reported 14 inches of rain in Catalina Bay and The Islands on Lake Granbury, sea walls in those developments fail.

A man and his three children are rescued after their van is stalled in a flooded low-water crossing in Sunset Acres off Highway 377 west of Gran-bury.

An old-fashioned note-burning takes place at the Hood County Senior Center to celebrate paying off the building that opened in 1999.

Assistant City Manager Michael Ross takes the lead at City Hall while City Manager Chris Coffman recovers from serious injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident.

November

The Sledge Distillery and event venue opens on Paluxy Highway south of Tolar.

Katie Hurley, owner of Pretty Paws Mobile Grooming, receives more than 100 stitches on the right side of her mouth after she was bitten by a panicked dog that she and her partner Chris Oceguera rescued from the swift-moving Brazos River by the front entrance bridge at Pecan Plantation.

The Granbury Volunteer Fire Department partners with Hood County Christmas for Children on a fundraiser that includes silent and live auctions, dunking and pie-throwing booths, live music and food.

Retired military flight surgeon David Blocker is sworn in as Hood County’s health authority.

The community mourns the loss of Granbury High School choir director Jeremy Bowen and his girlfriend Ashley Morrison, who were killed in a late-night one-vehicle accident near Weatherford.

Precinct 2 Commissioner Butch Barton says that heavy rains will push the opening of the expanded Hood County Library into early 2019.

County Clerk Katie Lang and Gran-bury City Councilman Tony Mobly win re-election, while GHS senior Chris Willis wins the Place 3 seat on the Gran-bury School Board and Bruce Wadley snags the Place 3 seat on the City Council.

Pecan Plantation residents Donald and Bernice “Bernie” Wills ask for prayers after their son-in-law Cody Stilwell, a Weatherford resident and Fort Worth firefighter, joins about 200 other Texas firefighters in helping to battle deadly wildfires in California.

The Granbury High School Pirate Band concludes its fall marching season with a third-place finish at the USBands National Championships: Western Edition at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

Micky Shearon is honored with a reception as he ends an 18-year career serving on the Granbury School Board.

John Crain, a partially deaf disabled veteran, credits his barking dogs with saving his life after a fire breaks out in the living room of his two-story home while he is asleep in a bedroom.

The Commissioners Court agrees to spend $100,000 to expand the Citizens Collection Station.

Though still in considerable pain from broken bones suffered in a motorcycle accident, City Manager Chris Coffman reports back to work part-time.

Jacob Russell Shaw is arrested after allegedly murdering Kimberly Lynn Harmony and critically injuring Belinda Lane in a brutal knife attack.

Weekenders Mark and Bernis Riley discover a rare albino raccoon after it steals Bernis’ fishing bait.

More than 700 people are fed through a volunteer-driven community Thanksgiving meal.

December

County and chamber officials and Realtors worry that the five-acre minimum rule for new wells that the Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District plans to adopt will violate landowners’ rights and negatively impact development.

A young man whose family was once helped by Hood County Christmas for Children pays for pizzas for the organization’s volunteers.

The family of Dylan Wayne Mitchell, who died in the March 15 explosion at a Cresson chemical plant, and Jason William Speegle, a employee who was injured in the incident, file a lawsuit against Tri-Chem, the Chinese chemical manufacturer Dongying Shengya Chemical Co. Ltd., TR International Trading Company and Access Chemicals and Services.

The Granbury Independent School District and the Granbury City Council close a deal that transfers Decker Gym, Decker Field and surrounding land to the city.

The Granbury City Council schedules a public hearing for January for proposed significant increases to water and wastewater impact fees.

The Granbury Theatre Company schedules extra performances, on weeknights, of its holiday show “A Christmas Carol.”

Lakeside Baptist Church sponsors “The Granbury Living Christmas Cards,” an interactive event with live singers and actors that the church stages on the square every two years.

The county holds a “Bon Voyage” reception for County Judge Darrell Cockerham and commissioners Steve Berry and Butch Barton, who did not seek reelection and whose terms ends on the last day of 2018.

The Commissioners Court hires a moving company to handle the move back into the Hood County Library once the expansion project is finished.

Leonard Clyde Harkness, 57, is found guilty in the 2017 hit-and-run death of Martine Ann Turrey.

Golden Chick opens on U.S. 377 in Granbury.