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Friends pushing the council using singing kids, attorney’s opinion
Friends of the Auditorium continue to pound away at the Bowie City Council using singing children and addressing the question of illegality in using hotel/motel tax monies for restoration of the 1927 facility.
At its June 3 meeting, Councilor Laura Sproles said the use of the tax money for “historic preservation,” when nothing has actually been done to the building, which would constitute illegal use of the funds. Sproles chairs the city’s hotel tax committee.
Her statement raised the anger of the audience as they exclaimed it is legal. Back in 1997, three percent of the tax was set aside by the council for the restoration project.
In January of this year, the council demanded to know the status of the project and gave the Friends until November to return with some concrete evidence of financial support through grants or donations. Estimated cost to restore the building is between $4.5 and $5 million.
During public comments Tuesday night, Jim Graham, member of the Friends, read a letter from Bowie attorney Brandon Earp, whom the group had asked to write a letter to the city with his opinion on the legality of using the hotel occupancy tax for the ongoing restoration efforts of the auditorium. Earp, a former Bowie mayor and councilor, said while he provided his opinion the “relative lack of legal authority for the questions of fact that seem to be of paramount importance in considering this matter.”
Read the full story in the weekend News.
Oct. 7 is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 5 general election.
Voters also should double check their voter registration to make sure all the information is up-to-date. Go to votetexas.gov on the Texas Secretary of State’s website to make any address changes.
Registering to vote in Texas is easy, simply complete a voter registration application on the SOS website and return it to your county election office at least 30 days before the upcoming election date.
Fill in the required information, print and sign the complete application. At this late date it may be best to deliver the registration form in person to the election office in the courthouse annex at Montague.
Any additional information on voter registration can be seen on the county website at co.montague.tx.us, click on elections. Direct any questions to the office at 894-2540.
Marty Hilton and his crew with City of Saint Jo Public Works pulled an all nighter repairing an eight-inch water main break along U.S. 82 and Boggess Street. The break was reported around noon on Wednesday. City officials said one of the hardest parts was digging on U.S. 82 and when large trucks would go by the vibrations kept making the walls fall down causing them to be dug out again. The repair was completed at 10:30 a.m. Thursday and the water turned back on. The city is under a boil order until the water tests are complete, which can’t happen until Monday when the lab reopens. (Courtesy photo)
Tawni Jones Ledbetter was arrested on July 10 by law officers in Hood County on a warrant for making a false statement to the Texas Alcohol Beverage Commission.
Ledbetter was released from jail on $10,000 bond. While the former owner of The Rack lists Bowie as where she lives, she also remarried earlier this year to a man who resides in Granbury.
The TABC complaint could be handled as a misdemeanor according to the public information office, but additional details were unavailable as of presstime. The PIO indicated it depends on the specific type of case and he did not have the warrant information at the time of the call.
Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.
CORRECTION – In the Wednesday Bowie News this article in the print edition stated Ledbetter was the owner of The Rack, this is incorrect. She is no longer owner of this business. We apologize for this error.
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