News

The communities of Breckenridge, Mineral Wells and Possum Kingdom Lake may look to the skies and see heightened military air traffic starting next week, as the USAFR’s 301st Fighter Wing’s 475th Fighter Squadron begins training exercises in the area.

According to an email and press release from U.S. Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, the F-16 Fighting Falcons training will last two weeks, beginning Monday, Aug. 10 and ending Friday, Aug. 20.

Children’s Summer Art Camp kicked off Tuesday, July 20 at the Breckenridge Fine Arts Center and wrapped up Friday, July 23. Art teacher, Janet Haigwood, taught four different sessions each with about 20 children, ranging from kindergarten to 8th grade.

The theme for this art camp was pirates. Students created clay projects, such as parrots, sharks, pirate ships, messages in a bottle and treasure chests and then painted the different items. On the last day, students made an origami pirate ship before finally painting it.

A 17-month search came to an end Tuesday night when Breckenridge City Commissioners hired new city manager, Erika McComis. McComis comes to Breckenridge from Argyle, where she has been the assistant town administrator since May 2020.

According to her resume, McComis brings “more than 20 years of municipal government experience, with an emphasis in law enforcement, management, leadership, budgeting and records management.” She has experience in developing and administering policies and procedures and completed the Texas Certified Public Manager Program in February 2021.

A new housing development broke ground last Thursday morning on the 400 block of Ridge Road in Breckenridge. The project will include two new homes.

The first structure will be built at 402 Ridge Rd. and will be about 1,500 sq. ft., with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. After the first home is completed, a second home will be built next door at 400 Ridge Rd. and will be slightly larger at 1,800 sq. ft.

Breckenridge Fire Department is seeking information on the recent fire at the historic Half-Way Oak tree, located 13 miles south of Breckenridge in a median of U.S. Hwy. 183. According to BFD, damage to the tree was minor, due to a passerby calling 911 when they saw the tree smoking.

Room by room, Stephens Memorial Hospital’s major upgrade project is being completed and its facilities are becoming more modernized and better tailored to the needs of staff and patients.

According to Chris Curtis, Director of Business Development at SMH, the upgrade project began about a month ago. The hospital is paying for the project using federal COVID-19 relief funds. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website, the hospital originally received $7,769,420 from the CARES Act legislation that passed in March 2020.

The 90th Judicial District Court Judge, Stephen Bristow, gave an update last Tuesday regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the courts in Stephens and Young Counties and how proceedings are moving forward with a majority of the restrictions lifted.

Breckenridge ISD board of trustees discussed the possibility of a wind farm project within the county and a potential Chapter 313 application, during their regular meeting last Monday, at the school administration office. There was also discussion about ESSER III funding and how the district is looking to spends that money.

With the 2021-2022 school year set to begin Wednesday, Aug. 18, Breckenridge ISD announced via Facebook last Tuesday that online school registration was now open to parents, for all new or returning students. The post also included an announcement of the dates for the upcoming Buckaroo Bash.

The Breckenridge City Commissioners added 150 goats to their payroll during their regular meeting Tuesday, July 6.

Terry Carr, with Rent-A-Ruminant Texas (RART), made a presentation to the commissioners about using goats to clear out brush in some of the city’s drainage ditches. The area needing to be cleaned up spans almost six acres, from the 100 block of S. Oakwood St. northeast to the 700 block of N. Breckenridge Ave.