Other Days: March 25, 2026

10  YEARS  AGOMARCH  23,  2016While Cleveland County Judge Gary Spears says the price tag for repairs to roads damaged by heavy rains earlier this month is still expected to come in about $100,000, he said the cost is just a fraction of what it would have been just a few years ago. "If this was about 10 years ago, we would be looking at about a half million dollars in damages instead of just about $100,000," Spears said. Spears attributed this to drainage improvements that helped keep damages and costs down. As much as 9 to 14 inches of rain fell over a six-day span to cause flooding and damage to numerous roads in the county, resulting in road closures for several days.Cleveland County Judge Gary Spears has issued a statement asking for the public's help in finding the person(s) involved in stealing several road closure warning signs that were set up during the recent floods. Spears reported that 14 signs and eight warning cones were stolen after they were set out to warn motorists about high water and washed out roads. He estimated the losses will cost the county about $2,000 overall.The Friends of the Pioneer Village discovered one more setback Tuesday in their efforts to refurbish the historic buildings here, when they found a main floor truss beneath the old Mt. Olivet Methodist Church had been destroyed by termites.Tleatha "Tootie" Spencer defeated Sharon Crosby in Tuesday's Democratic primary runoff election for the Ward 1, Position 1 seat on the Kingsland City Council.20  YEARS  AGOMARCH  29,  2006With one week left in the filing period, it looks as though the Cleveland County judge's race is shaping up to be a three-man contest rather than a four-man race. Bobby Hyatt of the "Y" community and Gary Spears of New Edinburg have joined incumbent County Judge Vernon Dollar in officially filing for the of...