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Teague Chronicle
Fairfield Lake State Park closes after 50 years
, One of Freestone County’s crown jewels closed to the public on Tuesday. Fairfield Lake State Park was sold to Todd Interests, who plans to develop a high-end gated community with a private golf course, according to The Dallas Morning News. The park was open to public use for more than 50 years. “I am very sad that our state park is closing,” Mildred Hempel said. “Wildlife is something that we need to protect. Our Lake and State Park is very important to the wildlife and we humans need a place to go unwind and get fresh air and take in the...
Wildlife group has interests in State Park animals, plants
With the closure of Fairfield Lake State Park, several inquiries have been made about the wildlife on the property. One group, Defenders of Wildlife, has taken an interest in protecting the park’s animals and other natural habitat. The Texas DOW representative, Azalia Rodriguez, talked about the need for habitats to be protected. “Less than 2% of the land in Texas is protected, including state and local parks,” Rodriguez said. “Any time protected lands and animal habitats become approved for development, this is concerning. There are 14 other public parks on borrowed land in Texas, and to see Fairfield State Park become engrossed...
Solar farms seek tax abatements in FreeCo
Freestone County Commissioners heard from two different companies at last week’s meeting that are planning to develop solar farms near Teague and are applying for tax abatements, which would benefit the county to the tune of millions of dollars. The commissioners heard presentations on the two plans at their Feb. 15 meeting, when they also approved allowing jurors to be paid in cash, approved an engineering firm for the South Freestone County Water Supply Community Development Grant water upgrades, approved new contracts with two water co-ops; and made other decisions concerning the county’s finances and well-being. As for the solar farms, one...
Lady Lions can’t overcome Burks, foul trouble
HUBBARD – Down 53-51 with 38.6 seconds remaining in the contest and two of its starting guards fouled out of the game, the Teague girls basketball team still had a shot Friday night. The Lady Lions took the court and inbounded the ball to resume play for a potential tying or game-winning shot. Then came a whistle. One of the game’s three officials called a technical foul on Teague, which gave Rice two free throw attempts and possession. “I had six players on the floor,” Teague coach Lawrence Gullette said. “It was a misunderstanding between me and one of my players. I had...
Bell still serving as city administrator/secretary
Theresa Bell continues to serve the City of Teague as the city administrator/ city secretary because matters were not handled correctly at the Jan. 9, board of aldermen meeting. Her position was never terminated by the board. In a letter dated Feb. 9, 2023, from Andy Messer with Messer, Fort, McDonald Law Firm addressed Mayor David Huffman with the following statement - “The City Administrator/ City Secretary asked that I write you a letter regarding the January 9, 2023 Board of Aldermen meeting. The best evidence of what occurred at the January 9, 2023 meeting is the minutes and recording. As...
Teague Business Park receiving a sewer lift station from Duplichain
Teague. Duplichain Construction, LLC is installing a sewer lift station at the northeast corner of the 30-acre property. Once completed, this lift station will provide service for the businesses located at the business park. Brookshire Brothers is currently in the process of engineering and designing their new building and will be the first to locate in the business park. The lift station will be finished at a total cost of $208,964. After the facility is completed and put into operation, the equipment will become the property of the City of Teague at no cost. The Economic Development Corporation of Teague (EDC) has been working for several years acquiring land to establish a business park for the City of Teague. Land purchases, surveying, clearing, and obtaining permits from the Texas Department of Transportation have all been put in place by the EDC to provide an attraction for new businesses.
TCR delinquent on property taxes for 2nd year in a row
After paying last year’s Freestone and Limestone County property taxes five months late (and four days after a court ruling in their favor), Texas Central Railroad appears to be performing an encore this year with no payments yet to taxing entities in the two counties. Property taxes are due on Jan. 31 each year. Currently, Freestone County taxing entities are owed a total of $19,226.24 and Limestone County is owed $3,528.19. The proposed rail line’s corridor runs through Freestone and Limestone County. The company purchased several parcels of real estate three years ago, but since then, no apparent forward motion in building...
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Life and legacy remembered Beth Gibson Ireland was born in Houston to parents Roger and Christine Burns Gibson on Nov. 13, 1956. After graduation from Houston’s Jack Yates High School in 1975, she attended Houston Community College and Baylor University. She moved to her mother’s home town of Fairfield in 1983, where in 1984, she met and married Fairfield High School math teacher, James Ireland, and they had two children, Felicia and Philip. In 1987, she ran for and won the Freestone County Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace Office, thus becoming the first black woman in the county to do so and...
Fairfield Lake State Park to close Feb. 28
AUSTIN— After more than 50 years of public use and outdoor recreation by Texas families, Fairfield Lake State Park will permanently close to the public Feb. 28. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) was notified by its lessor, Vistra, the owner of the site, that the land lease for Fairfield Lake State Park was terminated due to the impending sale of the property. Texas State Parks has 120 days to vacate the state park before it is turned over to the new owner, Todd Interests. “Losing Fairfield Lake State Park would represent a significant step backward in our efforts to expand outdoor...
Lady Lions get 3rd, meet Lorena
, , With second place in District 20-3A on the line, the Teague girls basketball team fell just short against Mexia in a 62-57 loss at Teague last Friday. Teague (16-16, 10-4 in District 20-3A) finished third in the district standings following wins against Franklin on Monday and Elkhart on Tuesday. Mexia (30-4, 11-3 in 20-3A) took second after suffering a loss to Fairfield on Monday and bouncing back to beat Buffalo on Tuesday. The Lady Lions will face Lorena in the bi-district round, while the Lady Cats meet Troy. Times, dates and sites for these games have not been set as...
Commish to consider building an Expo Center
Freestone County Commissioners Court heard a proposal, at least in principle, to look into what it would take to build an Expo Center in Freestone County. That proposal was brought to the Commissioners Court at its Feb. 1 meeting, when the commissioners also agreed to deed to Fairfield a half-mile section of Old Mexia Road as part of a grant the Fairfield EDC received; took no action to reimpose a burn ban, authorized the use of fireworks on Texas Independence Day and made other decisions regarding the county’s finances and well-being. As for the Expo Center, Roger Nevill, a 20-plus-year resident of...
ICE-MAGEDDON: Winter storm forces power outages, closures
, , All four Freestone County school districts canceled instruction for at least three days last week. Dew, Fairfield, Teague and Wortham ISDs each canceled classes between Jan. 31 and Feb. 2, because of inclement winter weather. With the exception of Teague Elementary School and Dew ISD, all other districts and campuses reopened last Friday, and all four districts were back in the classroom on Monday. Freezing temperatures combined with rain began on Jan. 30, which prompted officials from all four districts to cancel classes the following day. Ice formed on some roads and buildings on the morning of Jan. 31, which...
Local state park faces potential sale, closure
, , One of Freestone County’s crown jewels is in danger of being shut down. Fairfield Lake State Park has been the center of sales talks for five years now. If the potential sale goes through, the park could close as early as this month. During the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission’s Jan. 25 work session, Texas State Parks Division Director Rodney Franklin briefed Commissioners on the potential closure of Fairfield Lake State Park. The 1,821-acre park was leased in 1971 by TPWD from what is now Big Brown Power Company LLC. In September 2018, representatives of Vistra, an owner in the Big...
Loan People now open for business
Trudy Savage, a native from Teague, is proud to be back in Teague serving Freestone County as well surrounding counties with Loan People. A grand opening was held on Jan. 24, from 5-7 p.m. Family, friends, and community members gathered to welcome Savage and her business to the community. A full taco bar was served by Hart to Table and margaritas were served by The Boozie Babe. The loan process is completed in-house at Loan People - origination, processing, underwriting, closing, and funding. “Loan People is based out of Austin. Loan People offers the latest programs, great rates and most of all the...
Lions drop pair of district contests
, , , TEAGUE - Four different Groesbeck players scored in double figures as the Goats ran past the Teague Lions, 68-46, in a District 20-3A contest Friday night in Teague. Groesbeck (15-12, 5-4 in 20-3A) completed a season-series sweep of Teague (11-14, 3-6 in 20-3A) with Friday night’s win. The Goats are in fourth place in the league standings as well. Groesbeck led 12-10 after one quarter of play and 34-19 at halftime. Allen Lewis and Braden Hurt had 11 and 6 points, respectively, in the second quarter for the Goats, while Jehmel Rice had 5 for the Lions in the frame. Groesbeck...
TISD school board honored for school board appreciation month
, , , The Teague ISD School Board was honored for their dedication to TISD at the monthly school board meeting on Jan. 24, during school board appreciation month. TISD school board members include Preisdent Jeff Gonzales, Vice President Debra Lawrence, Secretary Lovie Whyte, Brian Bowers, Vicki Dimiceli, Jason Hullum and Justin Lee. TISD Superintendent Chris Skinner honored Theresa Minchew as Teacher of the Month, Wayne Williams as Employee of the Month, and Emily Evans as Administrator of the Month for the month of January. Skinner then held a public hearing for the Texas Academic Performance Report. He reported that TISD was...
County school districts close for weather
, All four Freestone County school districts canceled instruction the last two days. Dew, Fairfield, Teague and Wortham ISDs each canceled classes on Tuesday and Wednesday because of inclement winter weather. It was not known as of press time if any of the four county school districts canceled classes today. Freezing temperatures combined with rain began on Monday, which prompted officials from all four districts to cancel classes on Tuesday. Ice formed on some roads and buildings Tuesday morning, temperatures remained freezing and road conditions remained wet, which prompted school officials to cancel classes for Wednesday as well. All extra curricular activities involving the four school districts were postponed until later dates. This includes basketball games involving teams from Fairfield, Teague and Wortham. On Tuesday, the county’s three high school basketball programs were all scheduled to play district contests on the road. The games involving Fairfield at Mexia, Teague at Franklin, and Wortham at Hubbard will be rescheduled for later dates. Freestone Health Clinics in Fairfield, Teague and Leon County also opened late on Tuesday. The clinics, which usually open at 7 a.m., opened at 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Lady Lions clinch playoff berth with big wins
, An 18-2 third quarter run helped Teague double up Groesbeck, 58-29, Friday night in District 20-3A girls basketball action in Teague. With the win, the Lady Lions clinched a playoff berth. They also clinched a season-series sweep of the Lady Goats with the win. Groesbeck (4-25, 3-8 in 20-3A) trailed 12-7 after one quarter of play and 26-18 at halftime. Makayla Banks and Marie Ramirez had 5 and 4 points, respectively, in the second quarter for the Lady Goats; while the Lady Lions had 4 points each from Jolee Haley and Bethanah Owens in the first quarter, and 6 and 4...
HOSA students compete, send one to state
Teague High School students traveled to Allen High School north of Dallas last weekend to compete in the Spring Leadership Conference for the Future Health Professionals organization, and one competitor is advancing to state. The group was formed last year wth the guidance of teacher and coach Devin Jones, who accompanied the group to the competition. Health Career Photography competitor Claudia Zamora, a sophomore, will advance to state competition for the second year in a row. In her entry, which was one of the top five, she had to find three different areas of health care, set up interviews, photograph each one and then write a report on all three areas. Also competing were Mental Health Promotion students Lexi Marek, Summer Marek, Maddox Smitson, Joshua Owens, Rebecca Coker, and Aleyda Chaires-Vidal. Medical Art Poster competitors included Sarah Gonzales, Gabrielle Trinidad, Starla Ashford and Aleyda Chaires-Vidal. Also traveling with the group were Carl Shugart, Kaylee Smith, Audrie Smith and Gariella Trevino.
FairField lake named State Park oF the Year
, , Fairfield Lake State Park recently earned the State Park of the Year award from Texas Parks & Wildlife. Park personnel received the award during the TPWD Region 5 leadership conference in Mineral Wells. Shannon Ballock, regional director for Region 5, had plenty of praise for Fairfield Lake. “This park is small in staff but mighty in all that they do,” Ballock said. “This park excels in improving and managing their field operations, their facilities are older but they remain in great shape because of the work and the commitment of this team. During site visits and spot inspections, it is...
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