Fire breaks out at Hillje Gin again
By SHANNON CRABTREE scrabtree@leader-news.com
      Volunteers from at least six area fire departments converged on Hillje Wednesday afternoon to battle high winds as much as the fire raging among cotton gin trash. For many of the volunteers, it was the third major fire they've fought on the grounds of Farmers Co-op of El Campo's Hillje gin this m...
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Police Blotter
      City Arrests Alcohol, drugs Robert Earl Whitley, 35, of 301 S. Wharton was arrested at 7:49 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 25 on a Wharton County warrant for driving while intoxicated and a warrant for failure to identify, after being stopped for disregarding a traffic control device. He was transferred ...
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Police seek robber in brazen Wharton heist
BENJAMIN C. SHARP bensharp@journal-spectator.com
      Police are looking for a man who robbed a Wharton store at gunpoint and then disappeared into the night.
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COURT REPORTS
      Theft and drug possession were among the crimes several Wharton County residents will have to defend against following October grand jury deliberations. And while a grand jury indictment is not an indication of guilt, it is a citizen jury verdict that a prosecutor has enough evidence against a p...
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Reward offered for tips in truck vandalism case
      Officials are offering a reward for help finding the person who did felony damage to a pickup earlier this month. West Wharton County Crime Stoppers will pay cash to anonymous callers who help them find the suspects in the crime, which took place on the night of Oct. 6 or morning of Oct. 7 attheS...
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New laws affect guns, buses
      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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