SPORTS
OUTDOORS: State parks continue recovery process from rain
Flooding left more than 50 Texas state parks drenched during the Memorial Day weekend.
Since then, communities and park staff statewide have teamed up to clean up, restore and reopen most of the damaged sites.
Thanks to their efforts, only four parks remain closed: Cedar Hill, Lake Somerville, Lake Whitney and Ray Roberts Lake State Park.
All units of Ray Roberts – located in Sanger – and Lake Somerville are closed at this time.
“We are currently assessing damages that require capital repair,” Brent Leisure, the director of the state parks division at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, said. “We intend to move on those repairs as quickly as possible and get Texans back into those parks.”
State park recovery projects are estimated to cost $16 million.
To date, the most costly infrastructure damage was sustained at Bastrop with the loss of the park lake dam, said Director of the Infrastructure Division at the TPWD Jessica Davisson.
A section of the park road also washed away when the dam breached. Preliminary reports for reconstruction are more than $6 million.
Recovery would not have occurred as quickly without the help of more than 300 volunteers who dedicated about 6,500 hours toward cleanup efforts. Others loaned equipment to help move debris.
Lake Whitney State Park in Whitney has had volunteers show up daily. Local farmers and ranchers there have offered their tractors to help with park cleanup projects. The number of volunteers has increased on a weekly basis, the TPWD reports.
Mother Neff State Park in Moody continues to put on clean-up events during restoration efforts. Two of three rental facilities impacted have been cleaned and are nearly ready for rental.
Moreover, Debris was picked up so mowing can begin again. Volunteers brought power washers and generators to assist in the clean up.
Volunteer Flood Day events at Ray Roberts have helped the park clean and remove debris at Sanger and Pond Creek satellite units. The Greenbelt Unit also had a volunteer event to clean the multi-purpose trail. More than 90 volunteers dedicated 1,180 hours toward restoration.
At Blanco State Park, another one of the parks hardest hit, the Texas A&M Forest Service, the Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System, a pair of ranches and a hauling company removed tons of debris, which helped get the park ready for its recent partial reopening.
For more information about the status of current parks, log onto the website: texasstateparks.org.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. (Logo provided by the TPWD, used with permission)
Saint Jo hosted its own volleyball tournament Sept. 10-12.
In its first match, the Lady Panthers bested Sam Rayburn in a b est-of-three match 2-1 (25-11, 23-25, 25-14.) In the opener, senior Tatum Morman staked the Lady Panthers to a 4-0 lead with help from Kamron Skidmore and Olivia Johnson kills. The Lady Rebels would come back and tie the game at seven.
Savannah Hill’s kill broke serve and allowed Abby Carter to string together seven points. An ace and a Hill kill helped keep the drive alive. Hill later rolled off six points in a row, helped by two aces, to go up 23-10. Sam Rayburn broke serve but Saint Jo finished the game with a single Morman point.
Sam Rayburn came right out of the gate firing in the second game leading 4-0. A single Carter point, thrown down by a Hill block, and Hill’s four-point skein put the Lady Panthers up 8-6. Sam Rayburn tied the game at eight.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
Forestburg’s volleyball team gave visiting Chico a solid test Sept. 8, but the Lady Dragons rebounded from a third-set loss to pull out the 3-1 win (25-23, 25-19, 25-27, 25-19).
The Lady Longhorns got out to a quick start with aces from freshmen Madi Wadsworth and Lacie Shotwell staking the squad to a 4-1 lead in game one. Wadsworth later broke a 4-all tie with a kill.
Addy Conway rolled off four straight points, helped by a Wadsworth kill to give Forestburg an 11-9 lead. Chico took a 16-14 lead but a Brenna Briles ace and Jocelyn Rich’s two points forced Chico into a timeout down 17-19.
The respite worked as it would be Forestburg’s last lead of game one, the Lady ‘Horns not having another serving point.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
After splitting the first two games with Vernon Northside, Bowie’s volleyball team turned things out and wound with a 3-1 match win (25-17, 15-25, 25-17, 25-17).
Molly Enlow used two aces amidst a four-point string to give the Lady Rabbits a 5-1 lead in game one. Senior KP Rutherford’s pair of points extended the lead to 8-3.
Northside cut the deficit to 10-11 before Rutherford’s kill broke serve.
Bella Culwell’s point, aided by an Ellie Mowery kill, put Bowie up 13-10. Northside tied the game at 13 before Rutherford came through with another pair for a 17-14 lead. Lillie Maddox also had a deuce for a 20-15 lead and force a Lady INdian timeout.
Northside broke serve but a Sophie Maddox block and Lillie Maddox three-point string gave the squad game point at 24-16. The squads exchanged side outs to end the game.
For further details, pick up a copy of Thursday’s Bowie News.
-
NEWS3 years agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS4 years ago2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS4 years agoWreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS3 years agoSO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS3 years agoMurder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
Show us something good9 years agoCountry music star children perform in Bowie
-
100th Birthday4 years agoLooking back at the 1958 Centennial edition of The Bowie News
-
NEWS3 years ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death