COUNTY LIFE
Fun in the sun, household water; Amon Carter filling many needs
A fisherman enjoys an afternoon fishing near the tunnel that connects Amon Carter Lake to Bowie Reservoir. (Photo by Barbara Green)
This is part of the ongoing Bowie News’ Build a Better Bowie series featuring assets of the community focusing on development and discussion.
By BARBARA GREEN
“Water is the driving force of all nature.”
Those words may have been written by Leonardo DaVinci during the Renaissance, but they ring true today in a world where Mother Nature can bring drought on one end of the country and flood on the other.
North Texas struggled through a major drought in 2014 that continued into the spring of 2015, when the skies opened with generous rain.Within two days it filled the severely depleted Lake Amon G. Carter Lake and Bowie Reservoir. Again, spring and summer 2016 have been wet, maintaining those lake levels.
Owned by the City of Bowie, the lake provides raw water that is treated and then supplied to the residents inside the city, the Amon Carter Water Supply District serving the lake area and Silver Lakes Ranch and several annexed areas along U.S. Highway 81 and State Highway 59.
Drought has been a driving force in developing additional surface water resources throughout the city’s development. Today’s residents are benefiting from the forethought of city fathers who saw the need to develop a secure water supply.
In October 1936, Old Bowie Lake was completed and opened as the new water supply for the community. Located eight miles north of Bowie off U.S. Highway 81, it encompasses 1,286-acre -feet and was constructed as a Works Progress Administration project.
In 1952 according to the Montague County History Book, there was a severe drought. It led the city in February 1952 to lease two water wells from Rock Island Railroad in Stoneburg to supply city water.
By April the water in the lake was below the intake pipe and a pump had to be purchased to get water over the dam. A new water well also was drilled at the lake. Then water restrictions went into effect in Bowie and in September 1952 the city council began discussions on securing a new more ample supply of water. The future idea for Amon G. Carter Lake was born.
Read the full story in the mid-week News. Also please participate in the lake assets survey on the webpage. (Top photo: Labor Day weekend fun at Selma Park) Photo by Barbara Green
Give blood to save lives and at the time help the Nocona Volunteer Fire Department on March 24.
The blood drive will be from 1-6 p.m. in the H.J. Justin Building in downtown Nocona. First time donors generate $100 in funding and returning donors generate $15 per blood donation.
Go to the Nocona Firefighters Facebook page to scan the QR code to pick a time.
Gold-Burg High
Gold-Burg High School’s one-act play “Lady Precious Stream,” by S.I. Husung will be presented at district competition on March 19 in the Graham Auditorium.
The performance order will be Saint Jo, Prairie Valley, Universal Irving, Forestburg, Universal-Flower Mound, Gold-Burg and Bellevue. Plays begin at 10 a.m.
Nocona High
Nocona High School will be competing in the district one-act play competition on March 27 at Seymour High School.
Chrissy Shubert, theater arts teacher, said they will perform “Antigone in Munich: The Sophie Scholl Story,” by Claudia Haas produced by Stage Partners.
There will be a public performance of the play at 6 p.m. March 13 in the Nocona School Auditorium.
The plays will begin at 10 a.m. and Nocona is the sixth play of the day.
Prairie Valley High
Prairie Valley High School will present “Wild Strawberries” by Jerry Ayers for its University Interscholastic League one-act play contest on March 19 in Graham Memorial Auditorium.
PV will compete in 1A-District 18. The play is directed by Jesse Kincy. It is a comedic farce set in Italy during the Renaissance.
Read the full stories on these productions in the Thursday Bowie News.
Two marble panels collapsed and shattered at the Montague County Veteran’ Memorial on the courthouse square March 4 due to high winds.
This is the second time the monument has been damaged by high winds.
On Nov. 10, 2021 a panel fell over breaking into pieces and another panel shifted. It was a long process to get the slab replaced as the black marble came from India.
County Judge Kevin Benton recalls in 2021 there were delays first in finding the specific marble that was needed and then the first panel broke as it was being worked on and the artists had to start again.
Then the panel had to be shipped to its new home. It was an expensive proposition costing about $16,000. The panels are very large with the small ones weighing in at one ton.
Benton and Commissioner Bob Langford said Monday the wind deductible for the insurance is very high at $50,000. When that first panel was replaced county officials opted to have dowels placed in the panel that went into holes in the base to create a more secure attachment.
Langford said at that time they looked at possibly resetting the whole monument with dowels, but it was cost prohibitive at more than $30,000. He added the installers also indicated they really didn’t want to tackle something like that due to the possible liability if the panel is damaged.
Benton said they are talking to a company to see what is the best way forward with the repairs and what the costs could be to replace them.
Pictured: A precinct crew was removing the broken marble panels on Monday. (Photo by Barbara Green)
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