May 12, 2011 - Another Fannin County law enforcement official is facing criminal charges following complaints filed in October of 2010. Chad Wayne Stovall, 36, of Greenville, was on the most recent indictment list for indecency with a child by sexual contact and aggravated sexual assault of a child, which are second and first degree felonies. When Stovall was arrested on the charges he was a Deputy with the Fannin County Sheriff's Office, and a Leonard resident.

May 12, 2011 - On the northwest corner of the Leonard square is a building that sits on block number 14, lot number 18 and one/half of lot 17, and was once a two story building with the first floor having 17 foot ceilings. It was built in 1918 and is now known as the SRE, Inc. building, but was originally built by The International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF).

May 12, 2011 - Judge Spanky Carter held a meeting in the Leonard City Hall on Tuesday, May 3, at 7 p.m. to address the animal control issue of Fannin County. Judge Carter opened the meeting by saying "On May 23 (in the Commissioner Court meeting) we will make a decision on whether to build a facility in Fannin County."

MAY 5, 2011 - Much of the nation and world watched as President Barack Obama announced late Sunday evening that the leader of the al-Qaeda terrorist organization, Osama bin Laden, age 54, had been killed during a U.S. mission in Pakistan that day. Crowds gathered at the White House in Washington, D.C., and at Ground Zero in New York City, N.Y. as the news leaked within the hour prior to the President's official announcement. The throngs waved flags as chants of "U.S.A! U.S.A! U.S.A!" and the familiar tunes of the Star Spangled Banner and God Bless America filled the night sky. Many felt that justice had finally been served for Bin Laden, who had the blood of thousands of innocent children, women and men on his hands following attacks starting in the early 90's.

MAY 5, 2011 - Several children from Village Apartments took advantage of full ditches and muddy alleys last Saturday to have an evening of entertainment.

MAY 5, 2011 - On July 22, 1880, the first day lots and blocks were sold in the town of Leonard; Dr. William Atcheson Kuykendall bought the lots numbered 18, 9 and 10 of block 13, which is the north side of the Leonard square. The main focus of this article will be blocks 17 and 18, which is presently occupied by The Leonard Pharmacy.

Documents were found to confirm lot 18 was coupled with lot 17 when filed in the courthouse on June 22, 1897, after Kuykendall bought the lot from J. A. and L. E. Gober on June 2, 1892. J. A. Gober was not the original owner of Lot 17 as there are documents showing D. R. P. McDermett sold the lot to J. A. Gober on 12/10/1886. Kuykendall died on April 26, 1902, leaving a portion of his large estate to his wife Martha and the rest to their three children, son John Oscar (J.O), and daughters Antonio E. Hoard and Lou M. Greer. Martha received Lot 18 as part of her inheritance from her husband.

MAY 5, 2011

[Editor's Note: This article is being re-printed courtesy of The Lime Springs Herald in Lime Springs, Ia., and Evans Publishing. The subjects of the story are former Leonard residents Rodney, Shanna and Cole Lewis, who moved from here in 2003. Cole is now 18 and preparing to graduate from Crestwood High School this year. He enjoys working with the volunteer fire department in their hometown with both of his parents. They still have many family members in the area including Rodney and Shanna's daughter and Cole's sister, Jessica, and her children of Leonard; Rodney's parents, Darold and Susan Lewis of Leonard; Shanna's mother, Ruth Taylor of Leonard, and father and step-mother Jerry and Nancy Todd of Trenton; as well as many others.]

The Rodney Lewis family has two claims to fame in regards to the Lime Springs Fire Department--it contains the only woman (Shanna) on the department and the youngest (Cole), but all three are in the "brotherhood."

The patriarch, Rodney, brought his family from Texas in 2003, where he had been a member of the Leonard, Texas volunteer fire department for three years.

April 28, 2011 - Sonic Drive-In in Leonard was the scene of a fire last Thursday, April 21, which left the business temporarily closed. The fire was discovered by employees around 9 p.m., but didn't do extensive damage or cause any injuries.

Director of Operations Rusty Mazy reported Tuesday that the blaze started in the deep fryer system that cooks their popular mozzarella sticks, French fries, cheddar peppers and tater tots, among other things.

"There is a casing in the back of the fryer that houses the elements and connects them to the rest of the fryer," said Mazy. "And the electrical fire was inside that casing."

April 28, 2011 - On July 22, 1880 the town of Leonard came into existence with the sale of town lots at auction. The area had been platted for a town for the Solomon Langdon Leonard heirs with a lot in the middle for a city hall and a square of businesses around. The sale of lots was held on the public square, which had been donated to the town by the Leonard heirs.

To familiarize readers with the laying out of the town, the north side of the present square was numbered Block 13,the west side was numbered Block 18, the east side was Block 17 and the south side was Block 21. Within each block were 12, 25' x 150' lot designations.

May 5, 2011 - This Saturday, May 7, there will be four benefits from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. that will keep the downtown square bustling with activity.

The Leonard Chamber of Commerce is having a Rummage Sale from 8 a.m. to noon at the Leonard Community Center. All proceeds from the sale will go to the Leonard Picnic Fireworks Extravaganza for this year. The Chamber is accepting donations from the community for items to sell. Anyone wishing to do so needs to mark the item(s) with the price(s) that the donator believes it will sell for, and contact Penny Edwards at K.D. Johnson, who will provide access to the Leonard Community Center for drop-off. Organizers also need clothes racks, hangers and plastic bags for the sale. Anybody having these items that the Chamber may use can contact Edwards at 903-587-3373.