NEWS
Commissioner challenges district attorney on what is going on in her office
By BARBARA GREEN
County budget hearings often get heated, but Monday the debate got heated as questioning became a bit personal as one commissioner challenged the district attorney what is being done in her office.
This was the second budget workshop for Montague County Commissioners as they begin hearing from elected officials and department heads on their 2018-19 budget requests. Discussions included an expensive proposal to begin digitizing county clerk and district clerk records, pay increases in the DA and county clerk’s offices and retaining an attorney to update county subdivision rules.
District Attorney Casey Polhemus opened by telling the court there were no “big” changes in her budget, but she would like to supplement the staff salaries with funds that were budgeted for the assistant DA two position, which was not filled last October when Ron Poole retired.
She proposed reassessing that funding to supplement the staff for the additional workload taking $10,000 of that $17,000 allotted for the ADA2 into AD Clay Riddle, then $3,650 to the DA investigator and then $2,000 each to the two administrative staff members. She also discussed how the forfeiture funds were being used.
Commissioner Roy Darden asked Polhemus how many cases she had tried since taking office. She said two last year and two this year. Darden then proceeded to challenge the DA telling her people are “looking at your office and what to know when you are going to try cases,” and why you are giving things away.
The DA appeared surprised at the questioning and exclaimed she is “not giving anything away,” and had been working very hard.
Read the full story in the mid-week News.
The second community meeting on needs for an emergency room or hospital in Bowie is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the Bowie Community Center.
This is the second meeting to discuss these needs following the closure of the Faith Community Health Center emergency room on Oct. 6, just shy of a year of operation. More than 200 people attended that first meeting, where discussion centered on the creation of a taxing district to support any sort of medical facility.
Citizens in the Bowie area are encouraged to attend and take part in these discussions.
The Bowie City Council has moved its Nov. 18 meeting to 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 where three new council members will take the oath of office.
Councilors include Laura Sproles, precinct two, Brandon Walker, precinct one and Laramie Truax, precinct two. After the votes are canvassed and the oaths given, a mayor pro tem will be selected.
The new members will jump right into training as City Attorney Courtney Goodman-Morris provides an orientation and discussion of duties for council members.
City Manager Bert Cunningham will make his monthly report on the following topics: Nelson Street, which opened last Thursday, update on the sewer line replacement project, substation transformer placement and information on medical companies.
A closed executive session on the Laura McCarn vs. City of Bowie lawsuit is scheduled. The suit arose in November 2022 when the city broached selling some 25 acres it owns on Lake Amon G. Carter, originally part of the land purchased for the 500-acre Bowie Reservoir completed in 1985.
McCarn challenges the ownership of the property stating it should revert to the original owners since it was not used for the lake.
This 24.35 acre tract is located at the end of Indian Trail Road surrounded by the lake and the Silver Lakes Ranch subdivision.
One of Bowie’s major thoroughfares, Nelson Street, was reopened Thursday after one busy block has been closed since August 2021 when a section of the street failed.
Construction finally came to an end on Thursday when the street, including the Nelson and Mill intersection were reopened. Mayor Gaylynn Burris, City Manager Bert Cunningham, Councilors TJay McEwen and Stephanie Post, Engineer Mike Tibbetts and Public Works Director Stony Lowrance met at the site Thursday morning and removed the barricades. It only took a few minutes for vehicles to start arriving and drivers were excited to go through on the new roadway.
This section of Bowie has endured flooding and drainage problems for many years and in the summer of 2023 the city council finally bit the bullet and sought bids for the repair work expected to top $3 million. In August 2021 a one block section of Nelson was closed when a large sinkhole appeared on the north side of the street. Traffic had to be diverted including all the school traffic flowing from the nearby junior high and intermediate.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
Top photo – (Left) Mike Tibbetts, engineer with Hayter Engineering, talks with Bowie City Manager Bert Cunningham as they look over the massive drainage project on Nelson Street.
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