April 21, 2011 - It was a long two years in the making, but the day the Vega family had been waiting for came Sunday afternoon when, during a dedication service, they received the key to their brand new home, built by Habitat for Humanity of Fannin County (Habitat).

Gilberto Vega, his wife Stacie and their three children, Matthew, Andrew and Kayleigh stood before the group of 40 to 50 people humbled.

"We would like to thank the people from the church in Fort Worth that provided the walls, and all of the volunteers that worked countless hours here, and to Habitat for working with us," said Stacie Vega, through tears. "We have been looking forward to this day for a long time."

April 21, 2011 - Leonard residents will officially have no municipal election on May 14, following the decision by the Leonard City Council to cancel it at last week's regular monthly council meeting. City Secretary Nancy Robinson certified that Stephen Bolin and Larry Thompson were uncontested in their seats. Darrell Grintz opted to fill the unexpired term vacated previously by Richard Johnson, and Tammy Barnes was the sole filer for the position held by Glenn Murphy, who did not file for re-election. The Leonard ISD School Board had already canceled their part of the election and with the City Council following suit last Tuesday, the election is officially called off.

April 21, 2011 - Located on the corner of Collin and Parmele is a home with a yard full of rocks and flowers, in all sizes and colors. In fact, it is a little difficult to see the rocks from the road due to the colorful irises now towering up and over for spring. But strolling down the many brick sidewalks throughout the yard puts one in the perfect place to admire the many wonders displayed in the gardens.

On a recent walk with Lois Harvey, the owner of the rocks and flowers, through the midst of the gardens, many words escaped her mouth. Words like eternal prince, sneak preview, rare edition, spring dancer, toulouse, star woman, season ticket, epicenter, hot fudge, maui moonlight, and ask alma were thrown about familiarly - as some of the names for the many varieties of irises she has blooming or will be blooming very soon. The outside iron ore rocks do a good job of containing the plants inside the different beds where they are planted.

April 14, 2011 - The Leonard ISD Board of Trustees met on Monday, April 11, to handle an agenda full of big business for the district, which set a new enrollment record this week with 918 students. The longer than usual meeting included handling personnel contracts, hearing and seeing construction updates, adopting a school calendar for the 2011-12 school year, revising the school calendar for the current year, offering an Early Resignation Incentive program, and voting to purchase two school buses.

April 14, 2011 - As previously announced, organizers of the 2011 Leonard Picnic are planning to bring back the Miss Leonard Pageant during the annual town celebration. This was a fun and popular event years ago, but has taken an 18-year hiatus and organizers are hoping to bring it back in a big way this year. While it bears the same name and will be held at the same time of year as the previous pageants, the structure and organization will be slightly different.

April 14, 2011 - The next Madeline Burke fundraiser will be held on Saturday, May 7 on the Leonard Town Square from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Blandelles, the beloved band of the area, has offered their talent to entertain in hopes local folks will come out to hear them sing and donate to Madeline. Their part of the concert will be from noon to 1:45 p.m. All contributions will go to Madeline. Ratti's Pizza is also roviding pizza to be sold by the slice and iced cold drinks will be on sale. This event will be in addition to the Big Bag of Books Sale, the sidewalk sales by some of the local merchants, a rummage sale for the Chamber to raise funds for the fireworks at The Leonard Picnic, and buggy rides being offered by Bear Creek Country Store.

April 14, 2011 - The John A. and Cella Mae Grider Arnold family home sits in the middle of a quarter of a block at 601 North Main Street. The lots were bought from the Melton family and the Arnold's built the house in 1941 around a large pecan tree and a water well in the front yard. John Alton Sr. was also known to some as "Rosie" and Cella was known as the instrumentalist at the Leonard Presbyterian Church, as well as a local instructor in piano.

April 7, 2011 - A capacity crowd audience enjoyed a wonderful time of entertainment, eating and excitement at the 2011 Leonard Chamber of Commerce Banquet and Awards Night held Monday evening. The aromas from Luna Azul, the tunes from the LHS Jazz Band, and the anticipation of the award presentations and recognitions filled the room as the evening commenced. The top honors of the evening were awarded to Darvin Nolen, Jane Blackerby and Edward Jones - Carlisle Mott.

April 7, 2011 - Dr. John Pendergrass began the Pendergrass Hospital in Leonard circa the 1920's. The hospital originally occupied a two-story frame house on the corner of Hunt and Parmele streets in which Dr. Pendergrass had added an operating room with a skylight for better lighting. He also had the house bricked and added the west wing as probable patient rooms or exam rooms. Dr. John and Dr. Scott Pendergrass, his older brother, both used the hospital to treat and do surgery on patients.

March 31, 2011 - The Texas A&M Polo team, composed of LHS graduates Amanda and Stephanie Massey, will once again compete at the National Intercollegiate Polo Tournament. This will be the team's third consecutive year at the Nationals since the addition of the Massey's to the program.

In the history of A & M Polo, the women's team has only won two national championships (1994, 1995). The National Intercollegiate Tournament will be at Cornell University April 18-24. The A&M squad has high hopes of earning another intercollegiate title, after a tough loss in the finals of the National Tournament last year. The team was beat by University of Kentucky in the last twenty seconds making the final score 15-14.