Election day approaching in local general, special elections

Saturday is the final day to vote in the general and special elections on the ballot for the May election. On the ballot are elections for Graham Hospital District, Graham ISD, city of Olney, Olney ISD and city of Newcastle.

Election day voting is from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, May 4. Early voting was held at two Young County locations from Monday, April 22 until Tuesday, April 30. A total of 1,705 voters turned out for early voting, or 14.6% of registered Young County voters.

Polling locations for election day are Loving Volunteer Fire Department at 8891 Hwy. 114 East in Loving, First Baptist Church Newcastle at 501 Graham St. in Newcastle, First United Methodist Church at 700 Third St. in Graham, North Central Texas College at 928 Cherry St. in Graham and Olney Community Library and Arts Center at 807 W. Hamilton St. in Olney.

Graham ISD

A GISD bond election is being held with two bond propositions, the first of which will consolidate the district from three to two elementary schools.

This will be accomplished by adding space at Pioneer Elementary School to serve pre-K through second grade students. Minor renovations will be completed at Crestview Elementary School to serve third through fifth grade students.

The proposition would include the demolition of the existing Woodland Elementary School campus, except for the gymnasium.

The estimated cost for Proposition A is $27,500,000 and the anticipated date of completion is August 2026.
Proposition B on the ballot is a student multipurpose facility which has an estimated cost of $10,500,000 and an anticipated completion date of August 2025.

Graham Hospital District

Graham Regional Medical Center Board of Directors has four seats up for election in May which are held by Dr. Donald Behr, Terry Bishop, Jon Garvey and Barry Strickland.

The incumbent candidates filed for reelection along with new candidate Mark Freis.

City of Olney

The Olney City Council has three seats up for election which are held by Rue Rogers, Tom Parker and Tommy Kimbro.
A special election is being held for the unexpired term of Tom Parker, whose resignation was accepted by the Olney City Council in January. The filing period for that election was Tuesday, Feb. 27 through Monday, March 25.

Incumbent Rue Rogers and new candidate A.D. Patel filed for the position of mayor.

New candidates Jackie Griffith-Voyles, Mona Bernhardt, Ruben Torres, Ronnie Cowart, Melissa Scott, Terri Wipperman and Kathy Muncy filed for the open city council position.

Olney ISD

The Olney ISD Board of Trustees has three board members who are up for election which are Kenley Lane, Jodee Wales and Mark McClelland.

Incumbent Wales filed to run for his position along with new candidate Landon Rowe.

Incumbent Kenley Lane filed to run for his position along with new candidate Ryan Cawthon. New candidate Hannah Stewart filed to run for the position held by McClelland.

Along with the school board election is a $8.35 million special bond election which the district said will require no tax increase. The district determined storm shelters were its top priority.

The bond package includes dual-purpose tornado shelters for all students while having everyday use of the shelter space. A storm-safe corridor would be constructed from Olney Elementary School to a new intermediate wing and from Olney High School to the Career and Technology Education Center.

The shelter space would have self-contained classrooms which are dedicated for special education as well as add new fifth grade classrooms. The room would address state requirements for intervention and enrichment.

A secure vestibule would be created at the daycare. The project would include protected shelter access for special needs and health-compromised individuals. A dedicated space would be created for an on-campus School Resource Office.

Another aspect of the project would be for easing transitions for students by dedicating space for the Pre-K for All program. Along with this would be the addition of an intermediate wing for fifth and sixth grade connecting OES and Olney Junior High School.

City of Newcastle

The Newcastle City Council has three seats up for election which are held by Adrian Ontiveroz, Ronnie Cavitt and Tricia Crossland.

New candidate Josh Bennett filed to run for mayor. New candidates Chad Owen, Joshua Duffield, Jeff Altebaumer and James Coppersmith are running for the open city council positions.