News

OHH asks County for ARPA funds

OHH asks County for ARPA funds

Thu, 09/08/2022 - 12:00am

Olney Hamilton Hospital and Graham Hospital asked county commissioners for a combined $600,000 from federal COVID funds to start needed construction projects, hospital officials said. OHH Administrator Michael Huff and Graham Regional Medical Center Chief Executive Shane Kernell. The hospital administrators asked the county to dip into the $2.74 million remaining from the American Rescue Plan of Act of 2021, which provided emergency funding for local governments during the COVID epidemic. Mr. Huff said the OHH board had instructed him to hire architects to advise whether to replace or renovate the existing 114-year-old hospital or to do a combination of both. The hospital construction costs could reach $20 million, funded by an annual $2 million in tax revenues from a new wind farm and hydrogen plant. Since OHH will not start receiving those funds until next year, Mr. Huff asked the commissioners for $250,000 in working capital to pay the architects to get started. Similarly, Graham Hospital wants to begin a $4.5 million addition and needs money for architectural fees, Mr. Kernell said. The commissioners asked County Auditor Cheryl Roberts to investigate whether ARPA funds could be spent in this way. They also cautioned that repairs to the 90-year-old Young County Courthouse needed funding. “We need to fix our place here and when we do that, we will start talking about the other stuff,” Precinct 2 Commissioner Matt Pruitt said. “We need to worry about our building. We need our wiring fixed, our internet fixed. We have to make this functional for us and the county.”

OISD drops tax rate, enrollment up

Thu, 09/08/2022 - 12:00am

OISD’s board of trustees approved a tax rate of $1.0324 per $100 valuation for maintenance and operations, including staff salaries and district operations. Last year’s rate was $1.0517 per $100 valuation. The district tax rates are set by the State of texas based upon Maximum Compressed Tax rates and property tax reduction legislation, OISD Chief Financial Officer Tim Orsak said.

Commissioners under fire for burn ban

Thu, 09/08/2022 - 12:00am

Young County Commissioners split on whether to lift the burn ban on Aug. 29 after a spate of much-needed rain and constituents clamoring for the chance to burn brush piles and light homecoming bonfires. The commissioners took no action after much discussion and a tie vote on lifting the ban, which has been in place since June as area firefighters battled extreme drought conditions. Precinct 1 Commissioner Stacy Creswell voted no. “We’ve got places south of town where people don’t have cattle … and [have] grass that’s waist high, and brush piles they want to burn,” he said. “There’s no safe way to burn that no matter how you do it.” Precinct 2 Commissioner Matt Pruitt abstained from the vote, joking that he was “scared” to vote because of mounting pressure from both sides. “Newcastle Fire Department says they don’t want to lift it,” he said, noting that the town’s high school students were equally adamant about having a Homecoming bonfire the following weekend. “I just want to make the right decision for my constituents,” Mr. Pruitt said.

Newcastle polling at Baptist church

Thu, 09/08/2022 - 12:00am

Young County Commissioners moved Newcastle’s polling location from City Hall to the First Baptist Church of Newcastle at 501 Graham St. ahead of the Sept. 8 general election. Election Administrator Kaitlyn Mosley said she requested the change at the behest of Newcastle city officials. “They came to me and said, ‘This isn’t working out,’” she said. The City Hall location can accommodate only one voting machine and scanner, and created too much traffic on a weekday for people to transact business with the local government, she said. The Baptist Church location was suggested by local citizens, she said. “I haven’t been there but I hear there is a lot more room,” she said. The commissioners also approved lists of Democratic and Republican election judges and workers that Ms. Mosley submitted to them at their Aug. 29 meeting.

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