Workers with the City of Paris on Tuesday placed three signs proclaiming the main thoroughfare of the Red River Valley Fairgrounds as “Gene Watson Boulevard.” They were placed at the south and north entrances of the fairgrounds, plus a side street in the middle. To honor country-western singer-entertainer Gene Watson, a fixture at the fair for many years, the Paris City Council in the summer passed an ordinance changing the three northern-most blocks of Sixth Street Northeast to Gene Watson Boulevard, who grew up in Paris and Lamar County. His performance tonight at the fairgrounds will be interrupted by a brief ceremony making note of Watson’s 50 years in the music industry and his ties to Paris. (eParisExtra photo by Charles Richards)
Charles Richards Charles Richards moved to Paris in 2004 after retiring from a 40-year career in journalism – the last 26 years as a news writer and sports writer with The Associated Press in Dallas and Washington, D.C. In mid-2004, The Paris News coaxed him out of retirement, and he began covering the police, court and regional beat for The Paris News. Then in early 2005, he was switched to coverage of a sharply divided Paris City Council. He was appointed by the City Council in 2006 to the 12-member City Charter Review Commission, which extensively rewrote the outmoded document. His writing awards include two first-place awards in statewide competition for feature writing. The most recent was his 2005 story on a Paris doctor’s startling use of leeches in a successful attempt to re-attach a man’s severed ear. Over his career, Richards’ interview subjects include Alabama Gov. George Wallace, President Bill Clinton, President George W. Bush, David Koresh, Arnold Palmer, Muhammad Ali and numerous other political and sports figures. He is an alumnus of Texas Tech, where he was editor of the school newspaper. He lives in Paris with his wife, Barbara, who is retired after 30 years as a teacher and high school counselor.
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