Montague County has received a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist individuals with the purchase and installation of a residential storm shelter.
The shelter must be FEMA-approved and individuals must install and pay for the shelter. After installation and passing an inspection, the individual could be eligible for 50% reimbursement of the cost of the storm shelter up to a maximum $3,000 reimbursement.
The initial program allows for financial assistance for the installation of up to 100 storm shelters. Visit the Montague County website at co.montague.tx.us and click on “Safe Room Program,” and under quick links to see the qualifications and requirements for participation in the program.
There is no deadline to apply, but only 100 applicants will be accepted

It’s here, the first day of winter marked by the winter solstice at 4:21 a.m. on Dec. 21.
The winter solstice is the day with the fewest hours of sunlight throughout the year, making it the “shortest day” of the year. Thankfully, after the winter solstice the days begin to grow longer and longer again and until the summer solstice, the first day of summer and the longest day of the year

While many eagerly wait for the Christmas holidays to spend time with friends and family, with all the merriment, it can become a whirl of parties, shopping and cooking. But as much as you are looking forward to the holidays, so are the bad guys. Don’t let them burst your Christmas bubble.
According to the FBI December and January recorded the most burglaries in 2023. While home thefts happen all year round, police says thieves focus on crimes of opportunity.
There were more than 70,000 burglaries at homes across the nation last December, more than any other month of the year. Bowie Police Chief Guy Green say steps to secure you home can be as simple as parking a car in the driveway or leaving your lights on. Some police departments can perform vacation checks , all it requires is filling out a request form at the Bowie Police Department.
A Security.org survey noted that 49 million Americans, nearly 19% have had at least one package stolen in the past 12 months. Some 36% of U.S. adults surveyed say they’ve sent a package somewhere other than their home address, another 54% said they changed plans in order to receive a package in person and nearly seven in 10 said they weren’t willing to change up their online holiday shopping habits in face of package theft.
Green said the number one problem is porch pirates as shopping online sends packages daily to people’s homes.
“The best thing to do it have them delivered where someone is present to bring it in or to an office. Also make sure you vehicles are locked all the time and do not leave purses, wallets or gifts in open view,” explained the chief.

See the full story in the weekend Bowie News.