Top stories of 2023

To kick off 2024, The Gatesville Messenger offers a snapshot of some of the biggest local news stories of the year.

Last week, The Messenger presented the first five out of the top 10 stories of 2023. From citywide to countywide, this list presents the top five most newsworthy events in Gatesville and Coryell County.

#5 Local resident inducted into Hall of Fame

Coryell County resident John Aycock was inducted into the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame where he was recognized and honored for his commendable service over the years.

According to the Hall of Fame, to date, only 31 Rangers out of thousands who have served over the past 200 years have been inducted. Aycock joined the ranks of those extraordinary Rangers who had been honored in the past.

Aycock was “totally shocked” when he found out he was being inducted into the Hall of Fame. Aycock was joined by Sgt. John Martin in the induction ceremony – both being the only two living inductees.

Aycock retired in 2001 after a 33-year career with the Texas DPS, including 18 years as a Texas Ranger.

“I’m proud of all of it,” he said. “If you’ve got people to work with and cases to work on, you don’t really need anything else but God, but you’ve got to have Him. If I hadn’t had Him, there were a lot of times I wouldn’t have come home. Lots of times.”

#4 Rusty Garrett returns to Food for Families

Renowned KWTX weatherman Rusty Garrett returned for the 34th annual Food for Families food drive following his battle with cancer, which caused him to miss the event in 2022.

Since the start of Gatesville’s Food for Families in 1990, Rusty has returned year-after-year to help raise funds for the city’s donation site. According to KWTX, he has only missed the yearly food drive twice in three decades – once when he had the flu, and last year after learning of his cancer diagnosis and preparing for treatment.

The Gatesville community welcomed the local legend back with open arms on Friday, Nov. 17. On the morning of the food drive, several Gatesville High School students, band, cheerleaders, and staff hosted a pep rally where they recognized his dedication to Food for Families each year.

The school presented him with a poster of the total pounds that has been raised during his time supporting the drive in Gatesville, which equals to 8,116,369 pounds of food that has served local families and individuals in need.

#3 Fighting wildfires

Following a summer of extreme heat that resulted in a series of wildfires across Central Texas, Coryell County teamed up with local experts to develop a plan to reduce the risk of wildfires.

Public meetings were held in August, September, and October to discuss Coryell County’s Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP) and to receive insight from citizens and state and local agencies to help shape the plan. Several groups were involved in the creation of CWPP, including The American Conservation Foundation, Natural Resource Solutions L.C., and Texas A&M Forest Service.

“This is going to help mitigate against risks for wildfires but also promote the ecosystem health and the protection of human lives and property,” said Lillian Reed with Natural Resource Solutions L.C.

The creation of the plan involved conducting risk assessments to identify which areas are at the highest risk for wildfires as well as how to prepare if a wildfire occurs.

“I think the most important thing is that this is not just a rural plan,” Coryell County Judge Roger Miller said. “There are components of this that are going to apply to the City of Gatesville, and we hope the city will implement those strategies.”

The CWPP allows the county to apply for the Community Wildfire Defense Grant, a federal grant that helps at-risk communities plan for and reduce the risk of wildfires.

#2 Celebrating historic milestones

Coryell County celebrated two major anniversaries in 2023 – the Coryell County Courthouse and Mother Neff State Park.

The county courthouse celebrated 125 years in July with a festive ceremony that included posting of the colors by an area horseback color guard, speakers, live music, and old-fashion games from children and adults. The building was completed on July 18, 1898.

The celebration also included speeches by Coryell County Historical Commission president Danny Corbett and Coryell County Judge Roger Miller.

Located in southeastern Coryell County, Mother Neff State Park celebrated 100 years as the oldest state park in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department in December.

Gretchen Neff Watson, a native of Houston, returned to her roots in Coryell County to attend the 100-year celebration at Mother Neff State Park and the re-dedication of the park’s historical marker. In addition, the park was recently honored by being placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

At the dedication and unveiling ceremony for the historical markers, Governor Neff’s great-granddaughter said, “I think that both Mother Neff and my great-grandfather, Pat Neff, would be so pleased and so very proud by all the care and effort of those who have continued the legacy.”

#1 Eclipse preparations

In 2023, Gatesville began preparing for a solar eclipse that will darken the sky over the city and much of Central Texas for more than four minutes on April 8, 2024.

Gatesville is identified as a prime viewing area for the eclipse, which will not be visible in many parts of the state. That means many of those located outside the eclipse zone will flock to areas in which the eclipse will be prominent.

The city held its first town hall meeting in September to share the initial plans and priorities for the influx of visitors from across the globe who will be traveling to Central Texas.

Since traffic is expected to significantly increase in the days leading up to the eclipse, the police department’s resources will be stretched. With the possibility of hundreds of thousands of people traveling to the Gatesville area, Eclipse Coordinator Cheri Shepherd said the number one priority is public safety, including awareness, education, and preparations.

There are many plans already in place, including a downtown festival and A NASA ambassador who will give an educational presentation on Saturday ahead of the eclipse.

“We really want to use this as an opportunity to promote Gatesville as a great place to live and visit, and we want to put our best foot forward when people do show up here,” Shepherd said.