Category: Howe News Bulletin

On Friday, July 22, 2016, Michael Garnet McGraw, 53, of Sherman pled guilty to one count of Injury To A Child and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.  McGraw was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for a separate charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance – Methamphetamine.  The sentences will be served concurrently.

The Injury to a Child charge stems from a 2013 report of a 13 year old girl to authorities in Omaha, Nebraska, that she had been sexually assaulted on several occasions by McGraw during the time the girl lived in Grayson County, several years before.   The girl, whose family lived in Denison during the years 2005 and 2006, reported the incident to Nebraska law enforcement, who in turn contacted the Sherman police department.  The girl reported that she was a friend of McGraw’s daughter and that the incidents took place when she would spend the night at McGraw’s home.

McGraw was originally charged with 5 counts of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child in April of 2015, but reached a plea agreement with the Grayson County District Attorney’s Office the week before he was to stand trial for the charges.

“We consulted at length with the family of the girl who was the victim in this case, and they felt strongly that this was a good outcome of the case,” said Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown. “Mr. McGraw will be in prison for at least 10 years, and potentially more.    We avoid the uncertainty of a trial and appellate issues, and the young lady does not have to go through the difficulty of a trial and re-living this experience.  Anytime you reach a plea agreement, both sides have to give something up in order to make it work, but this is a significant prison sentence.”

The Injury to a Child charge to which McGraw pled guilty was a first degree felony, punishable by up to 99 years or life in prison and a $10,000 fine.   McGraw will be eligible for parole after 10 years in prison.

The charge of Possession of a Controlled Substance – Methamphetamine, arose from an incident in October of 2012 when McGraw was stopped by a Grayson County Sheriff’s Deputy for a traffic violation and found to be in possession of 2 grams of Methamphetamine.

Assistant District Attorney Matt Johnson prosecuted the case.   McGraw was represented by Sherman attorneys Keith Brown and Pamela McGraw.

Persons who had reserved seating last year at Bulldog Stadium for Howe Bulldog varsity football games, have until August 4, 2016 to renew their seats.  On August 8, 2016, reserved seating will be open to the public for purchase.  Reserved seating of $25 per seat assures you a designated seat for all five home Howe Bulldog varsity games.  Game admission tickets are $5.00 for adults and $3.00 for students and must be purchased at the gate.  Reserved seats may be purchased at the Howe High School office.

WASHINGTON – Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) grilled U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch at a House Judiciary Committee Hearing today on her decision not to press criminal charges against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton following the FBI’s investigation on her use of an unsecured personal email system. Despite the FBI’s findings of “extreme carelessness” by Clinton in mishandling our country’s most sensitive matters of national security, when pressed by Ratcliffe, Lynch refused to rule out serving in a potential Clinton Administration.

In response, Ratcliffe said:

“That shadow which you cast on the Department of Justice just got a whole lot bigger. Because if you’re not willing to rule out future employment in the Hillary Clinton Administration, what that means is the American people have every right to wonder whether or not you looked at this through a fair and impartial lens, because your answer tells the American people that after the FBI Director told you that Ms. Clinton had been extremely careless with at least 110 emails marked as top secret, secret or classified and may have jeopardized the lives of actual Americans, and told you that she made numerous false public statements about sending, receiving or turning over classified materials, you might want to apply for a job with her?

“Your answer not ruling out employment with her means that as much of the free world is wondering whether or not Hillary Clinton should have been prosecuted and possibly sent to prison for being extremely careless as the FBI Director said, with hundreds of top secret, secret, and classified emails, you’re telling the American people watching today, that instead of going to jail, faced with the prospect of possible future employment, you think that she should go to the other end of the spectrum and be eligible to be the person with greater access and greater control over America’s sensitive and trusted national security information than anyone else on the planet? I’ve got to tell you, utter shock is an understatement with respect to what I just heard you say.”

Ratcliffe also pressured Lynch for answers on the nature of her review process – a question of heightened importance considering the well-publicized meeting between Lynch and former President Bill Clinton just days before Comey’s recommendation and Lynch’s subsequent decision to not pursue criminal charges. Lynch then refused to answer the most basic questions about the nature of her review. Specifically:

• She refused to answer whether her final decision weighed the strength of the evidence and the context of Hillary Clinton’s actions.
• She could not recall how long her meeting with the FBI lasted to review its recommendation on the Clinton email case.
• She refused to answer whether during her review of the FBI’s investigation she at least reviewed the 110 emails containing classified information that we know Hillary Clinton sent and received on an unsecured, unauthorized server.

Ratcliffe responded to Lynch’s shocking lack of transparency with the following:

“After a yearlong investigation involving 150 FBI agents working around the clock involving more than 30,000 emails, tens of thousands of man hours, that your thoughtful, careful weighing of the strength of evidence took you an afternoon? A cup of coffee with the FBI Director? That your decision in this case for charges relating to a person who according to the FBI Director was extremely careless handling America’s most sensitive national security matters, and is seeking to be a candidate in charge of America’s most sensitive national security matters took the better part of an afternoon? It didn’t last weeks. It didn’t last months. It didn’t take days. You weighed that evidence and determined her intent and gross negligence in a matter of hours.”

Click here to view Ratcliffe’s full dialogue with Lynch.

Ratcliffe has taken action to ensure that Clinton isn’t allowed to be held to a different standard of justice based on preferential treatment. Last week, he joined 200 House Republicans in demanding answers to a series of questions raised by the FBI’s investigation and recommendation on Clinton. He is supportive of House Republicans’ effort launched Monday requesting an investigation of Clinton for lying under oath before Congress.

Also yesterday, Ratcliffe’s original legislation, the Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2016 (H.R. 4768) passed in the House of Representatives to reverse Constitutional erosion and stop overreach by administrative agencies.

From the desk of Mayor Jeff Stanley:

A report from the Grayson County Health Department shows a positive result of West Nile carrying mosquitoes in Howe. All residents are encourage to take precautions when outside, especially during the morning and evening hours. The city has been sprayed and will be sprayed more throughout the mosquito season.

 

Sherman-Denison, Texas — The Herald Democrat and its affiliated publications announced last Tuesday the retirement of longtime publisher John Wright. Wright has worked for 45 years in the newspaper industry with more than 41 combined years in the Texoma market. Matt Guthrie has been named acting publisher of the paper, and Nate Rodriguez will be the general manager.

“We are sad to see John go,” said Guthrie, who is also a regional vice president for Herald Democrat owner GateHouse Media. “He has been a stalwart in the Texoma Community, and he will be missed. He has meant a lot to this paper and to the industry.”

Wright began his career in the newsroom of the Denison Herald in 1970. He worked his way up in the company, eventually becoming general manger of the Las Vegas Review-Journal before returning to Texoma in 1993.

“I was raised in this area since the first grade,” Wright said.

He and his wife Mary built a life in Texoma, quite literally: Wright built his own home outside of Denison where he still lives.

“I liked the lifestyle and the easy living” of the Texoma area, Wright said.

In 1996, Wright led the merger of the Denison Herald and Sherman Democrat and was named publisher of the newly formed Herald Democrat. The move to merge the two community newspapers improved the efficiency of the papers, and the Herald Democrat continues to serve its two primary markets as well as Grayson County and the surrounding areas of Fannin and Cooke counties and Bryan County in Oklahoma.

The merger wasn’t the only change Wright saw through his nearly half-century career. There were a number of technology changes, from a press system that used hot lead to create the plates that carried ink to paper to computer pagination that is used in today’s newsrooms. Wright also watched the internet — and its role in delivering information — go from dial-up and message boards to smartphones and Wi-Fi.

He said it was the ever-changing world of media that drew him to the business.

“We start over every day,” Wright said of the fast-paced world of news. “I didn’t mind the deadlines because that forced me to do things better, faster.”

It also creates a collaborative and malleable environment.

“I never thought of a newspaper as just being news; it was an information product,” Wright said.

Wright’s last day was Thursday and he plans to spend his retirement traveling with his wife, enjoying time with his eight children and 17 grandchildren, and finishing numerous projects at his home.

 

Guthrie said Rodriguez’s appointment as GM is effective immediately.   

“Nate will be overseeing the day-to-day operations of the newspaper,” the new acting publisher said. “I am confident he will make a positive influence in the community as well as in our operation. His enthusiasm and knowledge will not only be a boon to the Herald Democrat, but he will be an asset to the Texoma region as well.”

Rodriguez is moving to Texoma with his family and currently purchasing a home in Sherman. Guthrie is also moving to North Texas and will be based out of the Sherman office.

Nate most recently was the senior director of advertising for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which is a top 20 newspaper in the nation. He was responsible for a staff that included three managers, two supervisors, a general manager and three publishers, which supervised a staff of more than 40. During his time in Nevada he received first and second place recognition from the Nevada Press Association 2015 Innovation award. He was also a participant, chosen out of over 100 nominees, into the 2015/2016 NexGen program. The program was designed for up-and-coming news leaders by the Southern Newspapers Publisher’s Association. Before his time in Las Vegas, he had several position at the San Antonio Express-News.

“I am excited and honored for the opportunity to lead the Herald Democrat and our weekly papers here in Texoma. The Anna-Mellissa Tribune, Prosper Press and the Van Alstyne Leader, along with the Herald Democrat are truly in God’s country with the area ripe for future growth,” Rodriguez said. “I have big shoes to fill with the departure of John after 25 years, and the amazing leadership he has provided to this community and to the staff.”

Rodriguez promised a renewed digital focus.

“The community deserves a world class media outlet and I am excited to be leading this team to our mission of being first in local news and information for entire the Texoma region,” he said. “My experience leading other teams in major cities has prepared me for the challenge of the transformation of newspaper into the digital age. You will see a new and improved relationship with us in the coming weeks and months.”

Rodriguez, who has already been in the Texoma area working as a regional classified and digital director, praised the community for the reception he has received.

“I have had the opportunity to be on the ground here for the past month, and I have been thoroughly impressed with the hospitality of the community and the staff and have truly been welcomed with open arms.”