P&Z to present annexation zoning ideas
By SHANNON CRABTREE scrabtree@leader-news.com
      Possible land uses for areas targeted for annexation will be presented to El Campo City Council Tuesday. Currently five areas are under consideration for involuntary annexation including sites on and off Hwy. 71 North as well as U.S. 59 east and south of the current city limits.
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You Had To Be There
      To help get Ricebirds "fired up" for Friday night's football game with Bay City, students performed a skit featuring girls feeding blindfolded boys marshmallow and pickle on a stick. Freshman Andrew Catete is fed his 'treat' by junior cheerleader Amy Hardin.
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Juvenile crime funding needed
By BARRY HALVORSON news@leader-news.com
      More money to detain juvenile offenders heads up the agenda for Monday's regular meeting of the Wharton County Commissioners Court. The meeting will start at 9:30 a.m. and will be held in the commissioner's courtroom of the County Courthouse Annex building.
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Club's program boosts TAKS scores
Passing Rates Rise
By BRENDA SOMMER bsommer@leader-news.com
      Not only does the El Campo Boys & Girls Club provide a safe, nurturing environment for youngsters, it appears it helps them with their education. "This discovery came as a result of an effort to run a program called "Learning Today" … to help club members perform better in school and on st...
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Practice Time
      With their giant shorts billowing in the wind, 6-year-old Matthew Van Gorp (right) tries to keep the ball from Marcos Borges III, age 4, as the boys kill time prior to their game Thursday evening at Friendship Park. Matthew is the son of Mark and Lori Van Gorp, while Marcos is the son of Adriane a...
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DARE program's success is difficult to measure
By BARRY HALVORSON news@leader-news.com
      While there are plenty of statistics concerning drug arrests, confiscations and convictions, the numbers on how many of Wharton County's students avoided drugs because of the D.A.R.E. program is a little harder to pin down. "I get asked all the time about how many kids we've prevented from doing ...
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Club provides safety, fun place
      The Boys & Girls Club of El Campo works to provide children with a safe, drug-free place enjoy educational and leisure activities. The club's mission is to "inspire and enable all young people, especially those from disadvantaged circumstances, to realize their full potential as productive, respo...
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New law affects homeowners with guns
      Many new traffic and criminal laws went into effect Sept. 1 that readers need to be aware of. The following are some of the most notable changes to Texas laws, and were effective Sept.
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