News

The Texas 2023 general election is scheduled to take place Tuesday, Nov. 7. There are no local elections on the ballot. Included on the ballot are 14 Texas constitutional propositions.

Early voting will take place weekdays at the Stephens County Courthouse beginning Monday, Oct 23 and run through Friday, Nov. 3. Early voting hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Nov. 2-3 when hours will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. On election day, Tuesday, Nov. 7, polls will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

The deadline to register to vote in the election was Tuesday, Oct. 10.

Assistant District Attorney Phillip Gregory was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to the position of 90th Judicial District Court Judge in Stephens and Young counties. Gregory will fill the unexpired term of former judge Stephen Bristow, who retired Saturday, Sept. 30.

Gregory has served as the 90th Judicial District ADA since being sworn in February 2016. He received notice of the appointment Friday, Oct. 6, and will be sworn in at 9 a.m. Monday, Oct. 16 at Stephens County Courthouse. A ceremonial swearing in will take place later in the week at the Young County Courthouse.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, in coordination with the Federal Communication Commission, will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) tomorrow. The tests are part of the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS).

The test will be conducted at 1:20 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4 and will be distributed through radio, television and cell phone communication.

The deadline to register to vote in the November 2023 election is approaching.

Voters wishing to vote in the election, which includes 14 potential constitutional amendments, must register by Tuesday, Oct. 10. Texas law requires all eligible voters to register by the 30th day before election day.

To be eligible to register to vote in Stephens County, a resident must be a United States citizen, resident of the county and at least 17 years and 10 months old on the date of submission of the voter registration application and 18 years old on election day.

The Stephens County Commissioners Court hosted its second public hearing regarding the latest proposed wind farm in Stephens County by NextEra Energy Resources which has proposed a 150.4 MWAC (Megawatts-AC) wind energy generation project inside the county.

NextEra Project Manager James Jewett attended to answer a list of 93 questions submitted from community members regarding the project. Community members had until Monday, Sept. 11 to submit questions to the county to be forwarded to NextEra.

Breckenridge ISD trustees continued work on a possible bond election last week during a Sept. 19 meeting. Trustees voted to approve Parkhill Architects to work with the district on long-range facilities plan development, bond planning and project design. Parkhill representatives spoke with the board during the meeting to map out what the process will look like to order a bond election for the May 2024 election.

The Stephens Memorial Hospital District held public hearings Tuesday, Sept. 19 and voted to adopt a new tax rate and budget for the upcoming tax and fiscal years.

No members of the public were in attendance to express opinions.

The Stephens County Sheriff's Office recovered the body of a Florida man Wednesday evening at Hubbard Creek Lake. Michael Henry Hanlon, 45, was found dead after a nearly hour-long search near Water District Road 277.