News

The city of Breckenridge is nearing completion on its updated comprehensive plan.
With approval from the planning and zoning commission expected to take place this week, the city will vote to adopt next month.

City commissioners were presented with a draft version of the plan during their Tuesday, June 4 meeting.

The Wednesday, June 19 edition of the Breckenridge American covered the utilities portion of the plan as presented by Sage Diller, vice president of Enprotec/Hibbs & Todd.

Newly hired Jared McLane started a new role created by the county last week.

McLane, who was previously a coach and teacher at Breckenridge ISD was hired and officially began his role Monday, June 17 as Stephens County Elections Administrator.

The city of Breckenridge is nearing completion on its updated comprehensive plan, with a likely adoption at the July meeting.

City commissioners were presented a draft version of the plan during their Tuesday, June 4 meeting for review in preparation for next month’s meeting.

Sage Diller, vice president of Enprotec/Hibbs & Todd, presented the utilities portion of the presentation.

Ken Coignet, vice president of Public Management Inc., presented the population and housing portions of the comprehensive plan.

The Breckenridge Chamber of Commerce hopes to create new family traditions when the annual Boomfest firework show lights up the skies over Hubbard Creek Lake next month.

This year’s show will take place Friday, July 5 near Corley’s Landing at Hubbard Creek Lake, off of County Road 277.

The event is an evening-long affair with vendors, swimming and other outdoor summer activities. 
The event begins at 5 p.m. and is capped off with a singing of the national anthem by Breck’s Got Talent 2024 winner Abbi Duran and the fireworks show at 9 p.m.

Writers note: Due to space issues, the STAAR 3-8 results were not published in the Wednesday, June 19 edition of the Breckenridge American. These results are included in the online version of the story and will be published in the Wednesday, June 26 edition.

The Texas Education Agency has released the 2024 State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness results for both End-of-Course assessments and grades 3-8.

Four Stephens County 4-H students brought home state titles last week while competing in Range & Pasture Grass Identification and Range Evaluation contests at the Texas 4-H Roundup.

Josiah Moreno, Kason Burchett, Aiden Boulevard and Issac Tait all represented the county in both contests June 3-6 at Texas A&M University.

In the Range & Pasture Grass Identification contest Tuesday, June 4, the team took first overall.
Moreno was named reserve champion as an individual in the competition.

As more television and other media productions choose Texas as a location for filming, the city of Breckenridge has approved measures to invite those productions and earn a Film Friendly designation from the Texas Film Commission (TFC).

City Manager Cynthia Northrop said becoming a Film Friendly certified community is a low-cost step to contribute and promote economic development. 

The annual Battle of the Badges Blood Drive took place last week coordinated by the Breckenridge Rotary Club.

Taking place June 6-7 at Texas State Technical College and Stephens Memorial Hospital, the drive provided a friendly competition between the Breckenridge Police Department, Breckenridge Fire Department and the Stephens County Sheriff’s Office while giving community members an opportunity to donate potentially life-saving blood. 

After the first day of donations, the drive had 25 donors and a total of 42 donations when the drive ended Friday.

The dreams of a new splash pad at the city pool may come true with the help of a grant offered by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

The city hired a grant writer and an engineering firm to assist them in applying for a Local Parks Grant offered by TPWD, following a public hearing Tuesday, June 4.

During the planning process for the Breckenridge Comprehensive Development Plan, community members expressed interest in a splash pad and city leaders identified that as a priority.

The US-180 bridge over Hubbard Creek Lake will experience nightly lane closures as crews perform preventative maintenance on the bridge.

Last week, a Texas Department of Transportation contractor began cleaning and sealing the joints on the US-180 bridge, known locally as the Mile Long Bridge. According to a release, this is a preventative maintenance job to extend the bridge’s life.