It has been a year.

When looking at our 2023 top stories for Freestone County, the Fairfield Lake State Park was certainly the most frequent front-page flier.

Here are to top stories from last year:

1. Fairfield Lake State Park Named Park of the Year
It was announced in January that our own Fairfield Lake State Park was awarded the 2022 ‘Park of the Year’ award for Region 5 by Texas Parks & Wildlife.
This was especially noteworthy, as the coming year marked the 100th year Centennial Celebration for the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

2. State Park Closes Gates…and then reopens until Summer.
Texas Parks & Wildlife announced in February that after 50 years of public use and outdoor recreation, Fairfield Lake State Park (FLSP) would permanently close at the end of the month.
This followed the official notification from property owner, Vistra, that the park’s land lease was terminated due to an impending sale of the property. TPW was given 120 days to vacate before the new owner, Dallas developer Todd Interests finalized the sale.
Following massive public support for the park, TPW reopened FLSP on March 13th for Day Use Only. Their gates remained open until June 4th in preparation for transfer of ownership.

3. County Support for State Park vs. Private Property Owner.
Freestone County residents had been speaking with legislators for years about saving Fairfield Lake State Park, ever since Luminant (managed by Vistra) ceased operations at Big Brown Mine.
When the property sale was officially announced in February, that support grew in visibility, with citizens and elected officials signing petitions and state legislators introducing bills that would assist in efforts to preserve that park.
However, once it became clear that the new buyer was not interested in either selling or leasing the property to Texas Parks & Wildlife, many local landowners and county officials became vocal in their support of private property rights.
County Commissioners pointed to the potential tax revenue projected to benefit our rural area with the development of multi-million-dollar homes in the new gated, lake-front community.
Eminent Domain became a loathsome word, and tempers flared between Freestone County Commissioners and the TPW Commission.

4. Todd Interests Buys Grand Champion for Record $34K, Serves BBQ to Landowners, Offers Basket to Special Commissioners.
Todd Interests enlisted the services of attorneys and public relations professionals in a fight against the State of Texas to uphold his property purchase and continue development plans at Fairfield Lake.
Most people’s first interactions with the Todd family happened during the Freestone County Fair when they purchased the Grand Champion Steer for a record $34,000.
Owner Shawn Todd held a press conference on the steps of the Freestone County Courthouse in July, declaring to the crowd that the battle was over private property rights, not the preservation of a state park. The developer served barbeque to both supportive landowners and state park protestors.
When the State moved the battle to the courtroom, Mr. Todd was there as well, reportedly offering a basket of peaches and golf apparatus to specially appointed commissioners, tasked with determining the value of property he had purchased in the county.

5. TPW Pursues, and then Drops, Condemnation Process to Save Park.
With the encouragement of park lovers across the State, and with the mandate from TPW Commission, the Texas Parks & Wildlife filed a petition in September to condemn the 5,000 acres surrounding Fairfield Lake that was purchased by developer Todd Interests in an effort to preserve the state park for Texas residents.
November saw the hearing of special commissions, tasked with assigning a current property value, which would be the amount that the State of Texas would be required to pay to Todd Interests in order to seize the property by eminent domain.
Although purchased less than six months earlier for $103 million, the 3-member panel of commissioners set the value at four times that amount. This resulted in a $418.3 million price tag for the State.
After consideration, Texas Parks & Wildlife dropped their pursuit, thus ending this story in December.

6. Offices of Fairfield Attorney and Former Mayor Raided.
Downtown Fairfield was abuzz during the month of May when the offices of Clean Energy Technoloty Association, Inc. (CETA) was taken over by members of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Property and files were seized after the SEC filed suit against Attorney Roy Hill and his association, Eric N. Shelly of Pennsylvania.
The suit alleged an oil & gas related fraudulent scheme.
The case is being handled through the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

7. New Home for City of Fairfield, Police Department…Finally!
Four years after mold issues had city employees vacating their old building, the City of Fairfield and Fairfield Police Department reunited again into their newly renovated Municipal Building on Commerce Street.
They officially hosted tours for residents during the National Night Out celebration in October.

8. New Hog Pens for County Fairgrounds.
With the assistance of funding from the City of Fairfield, the Freestone County Fair Board began a renovation project for the hog barns at the fairgrounds.
Demolition of the old began just last month. The plan include a concrete 50-foot by 100-foot pavilion and a 30-foot by 100-foot dirt add-on.
The project should be complete in time for the County Fair this summer.

9. Radio Station of the Year.
In November, the KNES Texas 99.1 crew was awarded ‘Radio Station of the Year’ by the Texas Country Music Association.

10. School History Made by Lady Eagles Volleyball Team.
For the first time in school history, the Fairfield Lady Eagles varsity volleyball team advanced to the Region III tournament. These star athletes beat out the first night of competition, but was stopped on the last day of the tournament to Nacogdoches Central Heights.

That’s it for the year. Let’s see what 2024 has in store for us.