The Leonard Graphic (Leonard, Tex.), Vol. 126, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 23, 2016 Page: 1 of 8
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Leonard Graphic and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Leonard Public Library.
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®je eonarb <15rapljir
Reading
Leonard
Flames destroy yet
another historic church
Softball Tournament
dlr
(v 1
Continued to Page 3
Baseball
has
Seniors
named to
Saginaw
All-State
Council hires new City Secretary,
gives two property owners 30 days
who
started
I-
Continued to Page 5
!F
Miss Leonard Pageant registration under way
Thursday, June 23,2016
In Continuous Publication Since 1890
Vol. 126 Issue No. 25
Named the 2014 Leonard Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year!
Picnic sport
information
program
starts July 7
Coheley
departs
LHS for
Volleyball
Tournament
Beth Woodson takes the
oath of office for City
Secretary at Monday’s
special called meeting
of the Leonard City
Council.
By Betsy Blevins
Editor and Publisher
By Ava Barlow
StaffWriter
occurred, but did get into
the attic and move to other
portions. Many expressed
there are not at least three
contestants, if desired.
Contests for all ages will
be held Monday, July 11, at
Leonard Junior High at 6:30
p.m. All age divisions will
participate in the Summer
Sun Dress Contest and Texas
Masquerade Costume contest.
Talent is required for the Junior
and Teen Miss divisions, and
optional for the Little and Young
Miss divisions. Teen Miss
contestants will be required to
write an essay.
All award presentations will
take place on Friday evening,
July 15, at the Leonard City
Park pavilion. Start time on
Friday will be around 8 p.m.
Participants will receive at least
the fees incurred by the City.
The Smith item passed with
no opposition, but the St. George’s
adamently opposed the potential
decision.
Susan St. George spoke first
during public forum, questioning
why they are being targeted when
there are many other properties in
the City in disrepair.
“Why do some get notices of
action needed, and others don’t?”
she asked, specifically referencing
a property on Connett Street that
had been in a state of disrepair
for the entire 16 years she has
lived in Leonard. Due to speaking
during public forum, however,
Councilmembers were unable to
answer her questions or respond.
Once the Council got the
agenda item, Randy St. George
LSA will host a Co-ed
Slow Pitch Softball Tournament.
Each team is required to have a
minimum of eight players, with
two females, and a maximum
of 12 per team. Cost per team
is $150. There will be prizes for
first and second place teams.
This tournament is open to all
towns, and players ages 13 and
older.
Each game will be 60
minutes with a run limit per
inning.
Contact Janet or Allen
Turner by phone, text or via
Facebook message. Janet can
be reached at 903-449-7267
and Allen can be reached at
214-460-0324. All registration
entries are due by Tuesday, July
5.
J
A.
Leonard City Secretary
Kristen Campbell will officially
leave her post at the end of
the month of June. Campbell
tendered her resignation to City
Administrator Jim Cox last week,
and told The Graphic Tuesday
she was moving from the local
area, so commuting would be
difficult. At a special meeting
Monday, the Council approved
the recommendation by Cox to
hire Susan “Beth” Woodson, the
former City Secretary for the City
of Whitewright. At Whitewright,
her duties as City Secretary
included Court Administration,
Planning and Zoning Secretary,
Election Chief Coordinator,
Human Resources Clerk, Public
Works Director Assistant and
a ribbon award. Trophy awards
will be presented to first, second
and third place in each age
division contest category, and
to first, second and third place
overall in each age division.
The overall winner in the Teen
Miss category will receive a
$500 scholarship if there are at
least two contestants in the age
category. If the winner is not yet
college-bound, the money will
be held in reserve for the future.
The total points accumulated
in the individual contests will
determine the overall places in
each age division.
For more information,
contact organizer Betsy Blevins
at betsy@theleonardgraphic.
com or call 972-658-7766.
There was no word on
whether the property was
insured.
Leonard Volunteer Fireman Bill Watson looks
where most of the damage for hot spots in the attic of Indian Creek Baptist
Church, which caught fire this past Father’s Day
Sunday, just after noon.
suspicions that the fire was set Betsy Blevins staff photo
intentionally - and find it too
much of a coincidence that this
is the third historic church fire
in southwestern Fannin County
in less than a year. In January
and February, Marvin United burned to the ground.
Methodist Church in Ely and
Grove Hill United Methodist
Church north of Leonard both
four years before the founding
of the Indian Creek Baptist
Church. Worship services were
first held in a schoolhouse 1/4
mile south of this site. Dock
Holcomb donated this property
adjacent to the cemetery, and a
church building was completed \L
in 1882 using lumber hauled
by wagon from Jefferson.
For over a century the burial
ground was under the direct
care of the congregation. An b
annual cemetery decoration
day was begun in 1900.”
While the property still
contained the small, white
frame structure, the church
body had disbanded some
years ago, and the building
After four good years as the
Head Baseball Coach at Leonard
High School, Craig Coheley has
made the decision to move on for
the 2016-17 season, accepting
the same position at 5A Saginaw
High School.
Coheley, who finished with
a 62-44 record and three playoff
appearances at Leonard, said the
decision to leave his young Tiger’
team was a hard one.
“This group is going to be
hard to leave behind. We were
so young that I became very
close to these boys. They have a
bright future. But I just felt like
the timing was right,” Coheley
said. “With my son (Colson)
graduating, Saginaw was a good
fit for us to be closer to him at
the University of North Texas in
Denton. Also, it puts us closer to
our home in Wichita Falls.
“I would like to thank the
Administration, coaches, fans
and players for four great years
here. It has been a blast. The love
and support provided to my sons
and myself are very appreciated.
The support I received from
the community in baseball just
can’t be matched. Anything I
ever needed to help these boys
was given to me. Leonard is a
great place to coach and I will
miss working for Coach (Shane)
Fletcher and principal Brad
Maxwell.”
Coheley, who leaves with
a 415 career victories under his
belt, came to Leonard in 2012
after four successful years in
Farmersville. He inherited a 7-16
squad and immediately took his
new team to the 3A playoffs and
finished with a 19-13 record.
The Tigers also had playoff
appearances in 2015 and 2016 in
undoubtedly one of the toughest
3A districts n the state.
“I wish the boys and my
fellow coaches continued
success. I will surely keep up
with them,” Coheley said. “My
sons both are going to miss
Leonard a great deal.”
I
was mainly used for Indian
Creek Memorial reunion
meetings - or Decoration Day - ffi-,
as a board member referred to
it - and an occasional funeral -
service for those being buried
in the accompanying cemetery.
The reunion meetings were
held on the third Sunday in
May, with the most recent
one held just last month - on
Sunday, May 15.
The fire appeared to start
at the back of the church,
w
; J.
Illi
Finance/Budget Committee
Coorindator, among many other
responsibilities.
The previous week, at
the regular monthly meeting,
Councilmembers heard from
one unhappy couple concerning
the City moving forward with
ordering them to take down a
burned structure on their property.
There were two properties on the
agenda for the Council to consider
- 304 E. College owned by Ricky
Don Smith, and 901 N. Main
owned by Randy and Susan St.
George. The Smith home burned
in February 2013, and the St.
George home burned in August of
2014. The Council’s decision was
to issue a 30-day notice to have
the properties tom down or made
livable, or the City would contract
to have the job done and place a
lien against the property to recoup
Many Father’s Day
dinners were interrupted for
local volunteer firemen Sunday
as they were dispatched to
combat yet another fire at a
rural historic church building.
Firefighters from Leonard,
Trenton and Blue Ridge were
dispatched to the Indian
Creek Baptist Church on State
Highway 78 in the Nobility
community west of Leonard
after a fire broke out just after
noon Sunday.
“I was standing in line at
Branscome’s to check out with
steaks to grill for Father’s Day
lunch when I got the call,” said
a Trenton firefighter. “Maybe
this won’t take all afternoon
and it will be waiting for me
when I get home,” he said with
a smile.
Firefighters fought hard
and were able to save the
structure from burning to the
ground, which meant some
historical items housed inside
the building were also saved.
A podium, song hymnals and
communion table were among
the items removed. While the
building “stood”, much of the
inside sustained heavy fire,
smoke and water damage, and
is likely a total loss.
The property has a
Historical Marker, which
reads, “The oldest readable
gravestone in this burial
ground bears the date 1870,
Registration is open
for the 2016 Miss Leonard
Pageant, which will be held in
conjunction with The Leonard
Picnic in July.
In order to participate in
the Miss Leonard Pageant,
contestants must have a physical
address in Leonard, or must
have been enrolled in Leonard
ISD on the last day of the
preceding school year.
Entry forms must be turned
in with the non-refundable entry
fee of $25 (cash, money order or
check made out to The Leonard
Chamber of Commerce) by
Friday, July 1. Forms may be
dropped off at The Leonard
Graphic (located in the SRE
building in downtown Leonard),
Area children are
encouraged to be a reading
superhero this summer in the
Leonard ISD 12th Annual
Summer Reading Program.
The Superhero themed
event will be held the first three
Thursdays in July. Children are
encouraged to dress up as their
favorite Superhero for the first
day on Thursday, July 7, but are
also welcome to dress up on July
14 and 21 as well.
Pre-k through second grade
will meet from 9:30-10:30 a.m.
and third through sixth grade
will meet from 11 a.m. to noon.
Prizes will be given each day the
program is held.
Children should read 20
minutes per day for four weeks
to earn the reward trip, meal
and free t-shirt on Friday, July
29. The trip will be to the Fort
Worth Museum and Omni
Theater.
Reading Program teachers
are Sheri Watson and Sarah
Shearer. Be a reading super hero
and come fly with us!
A
Two Leonard High School
four-year starters were recently
honored for their efforts this
season by being named to the
Texas High School Baseball
Coaches Association 3A All-
State baseball team chosen last
week.
Coheley,
every game
of his four-
year career
at second
base, hit
.365 for the
year with a
.500 on base
percentage.
He also
scored 29 runs and was
successful on 22 of 23 stolen
base attempts from his lead-off
spot in the order. He was named
to the second-team.
Nixon, who also pitched
and was 7-4,
hit .405 with
25 RBI’s
and 22 runs
scored. Like
Coheley, he
started every
game in his
high school
career.
Together, the pair helped
lead the Tigers’ to three playoff
appearances and 11 playoff
games.
“They are both deserving,
well deserving,” Head Coach
Craig Coheley said. “With only
two seniors this year, those two
had to be like coach-players.
They accepted that role and
excelled at it. They performed
at a high level and helped their
teammates at a high level. I am
very proud of them and they
both have a bright future ahead
of them. When you consider
only six kids were picked at
each position, that’s a pretty
big honor. It shows the respect
within the baseball prganization
for our baseball program at
Leonard.”
gr
LSA is organizing the
Leonard Picnic Annual
Volleyball Tournament
The 2016 Leonard Picnic
will offer several competition
opportunities for sports
enthusiasts. Details are as
follows:
Jh
or you can call committee
member Betsy Blevins at 972-
658-7766 to arrange drop-off or
pick-up. There will be no late
entries or payment accepted
to allow time and money for
ordering awards.
Contestants will be
organized in the following age
groups based on their age on
July 11, 2016: Baby Miss -
0-18 months; Tiny Miss - 19
months-3 years; Little Miss -
4-6 years; Young Miss - 7-10
years; Junior Miss - 11-14
years; and Teen Miss - 15-18
years of age. There will be
no moving up or down in age
divisions, but organizers do
reserve the right to move/
combine age divisions where
w
Ry I
p I J-
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Blevins, Betsy. The Leonard Graphic (Leonard, Tex.), Vol. 126, No. 25, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 23, 2016, newspaper, June 23, 2016; Leonard, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1239885/m1/1/?q=%22Places+-+United+States+-+Texas+-+Fannin+County+-+Leonard%22: accessed June 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Leonard Public Library.