A changing landscape:

DAYTON — As the area continues to grow, it brings change, but for a once thriving rice farming community, its rich history has become a thing of the past. Last week, a pair of local projects helped make that reality even more apparent as crews began demolition of the old American Rice Growers dryer in downtown Dayton, and land developers announced they had obtained an area off Highway 99 and FM 686 from a family synonymous with the rice industry. The dryer served as a hub for rice farmers. In fact, Dayton's moniker, the crossroads, is due in great part to that very facility.