News

After an exhausting election season for Stephens County, matters will get interesting in the coming weeks. The battle for County Commissioner, Precinct 1 will head into a runoff election.

In the race for the seat, if no two candidates received 50% and one additional vote during the primary election, then the top two candidates would have moved to a primary runoff election Tuesday, May 26. David Fambro received 162, or 30.11%, of the precinct 1 votes, while Chad Ezell received 105 votes, or 19.52%, causing the need for a runoff election.

Breckenridge City Commissioners put a spotlight on the multiple completed road projects under Andy McCuistion during his time as city manager. McCuistion announced his resignation at the previous city commissioner meeting on Feb. 4.

The highlighting of work occurred during the regular city commissioners meeting on Tuesday, March 3, inside the Breckenridge City Offices Commission Chambers.

Whether prescribed or found through illegal avenues, opioids are changing lives in America. These drugs can be snorted, smoked, injected or prescribed to give the feeling of blocking pain.

There are various forms of this opioid that law enforcement wants the community aware of; black-tar and brown heroin. Along with prescription painkillers, these opioids are flooding the market and ruining American lives.

As Super Tuesday comes to a close, Stephens County totals for the March primary election have been released.

All results released are unofficial until being officially verified by the Stephens County Election office. For more information and the full list of results in the statewide races, see the Wednesday, March 11 edition of the Breckenridge American.

Republican Primary Results

Stephens County Emergency Management hosted a meeting for emergency partners and the community regarding local preparations in the event of a Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak on Friday, Feb. 28 inside the Stephens County Courthouse.

The community listened to representatives from the Texas Department of State Health Services (Texas DSHS) and the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) as the addressed the preparedness of the state regarding COVID-19.

Incoming President Yuri Huntington discussed her goals for the Rotary Club of Breckenridge once she takes over, during the Feb. 25 meeting.

Huntington will begin serving as the new president in July. She recently attended the Lone Star President-Elect Training Seminar (PETS) in DFW.

For the full story, click here to subscribe or log in to read the Wednesday, March 4 edition of the Breckenridge American.

The early voting daily totals are down in Stephens County compared to the 2018 primaries, after a review of the voting totals of the previous primary election.

“We don’t have the reason behind the turnout,” County Tax Assessor-Collector Christie Latham said. “It is an emotionally charged election and I would have thought the numbers would have been higher, so it’s hard to say why they’re not.”

Stephens County has joined multiple states and counties around the United States in lawsuits against large pharmaceutical companies for their role in the opioid epidemic.

The suit was filed in May 2018 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas in the Abilene Division. The lawsuits are against multiple companies including Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Breckenridge ISD school board announced six candidates as finalists for the superintendent position.

The decision was passed unanimously at a special board meeting Monday, Feb. 24 at the BISD Administration building.

For the full story, click here to subscribe or log in to read the Wednesday, March 4 edition of the Breckenridge American.

Stephens County Commissioners discussed the fallout after a weekend of phone calls from constituents who were concerned that the political signs on the courthouse lawn interfered with the integrity of the election.

The decision on political candidates’ signage on county property was tabled during the Monday, Feb 24 commissioners court meeting.

For the full story, click here to subscribe or log in to read the Wednesday, March 4 edition of the Breckenridge American.