NEWS
County’s two contested races going to runoff
Montague County had only two contested county primary races Tuesday and both will result in a May 22 runoff.
There was a strong voter turnout of 23.50 percent for Montague County in the party primaries Tuesday with 3,107 ballots cast out of the 13,222 registered voters.
Ginger Wall, elections administrator, said thing swent very well and while there will always be a few glitches it was a good election for the parties. Early voting for the May primary runoff will run May 14-18.
The only contested races for the county were on the Republican ticket. To win the election candidates must attain 50 percent of the vote plus one.
Two-term Justice of the Peace Two Karen Reynolds will do battle with retired law officer Kevin Benton in the runoff. Reynolds of Forestburg received 464 votes earning 29.46 percent, while Benton of Bowie bested her with 679 votes at 43.11 percent.
Ron Westbrook received 340 votes and Stacy Hudson 92 votes in the JP2 race.
It was a close race for county treasurer. Brandi Shipman and LaVonda Langford, both from Nocona will face off in the county treasurer runoff. Shipman, former elections administrator, received 1,025 votes or 38.38 percent, while Langford, who serves as assistant county treasurer for Treasurer Linda McGaughey who is retiring earned 852 votes or 31.90 percent.
Charley Lanier, Forestburg, received 794 votes or 29.73 percent of the ballots.
The nasty battle for State Senator in district, Craig Estes (R-Wichita Falls), member of the senate since a special election in 2001 was ousted in a decisive three-man race.
NEWS
Amon Carter Lake Board to meet
Members of the Amon Carter Lake Water Supply Corporation will meet at 6 p.m. on May 26 in the office at 607A Lindsey for a monthly meeting.
Items on the agenda include a consent agenda and minutes and financials. Possible discussion/action may be considered on the following topics: Treasurer’s report, review of finance and current loans; president’s report as to the written agreements with contractual employees; consider current water rates and a possible increase; and review of expenses and areas that need amendment.
An executive session may be entered to discuss personnel issues.
NEWS
Saint Jo City Council hires fire marshal
The City of Saint Jo has a new fire marshal as the city council made the appointment during its May 13 meeting.
Gary Hines, a retired professional firefighter and certified fire investigator, will take the position. City Secretary Debbie Dennis said the post is required by ordinance but has not been filled for a long period.
The council set dates for a budget workshop for 2 p.m. on June 14 and 2 p.m. on June 28 for the ordinance workshop, as the council works to update its rules.
Aldermen gave their support to a proposition by Councilman Jack Dunn who is asking the Legislature to allow Texas’ smallest cities, those with 2,500 or few in population, to receive an additional share of sales and use tax. He would like to see the funds used in these communities to repair and replace aging infrastructure without new taxes or reliance on state grants.
In letter to State Rep. David Spiller, whom Dunn will meet with on June 1, the alderman explains much of the state’s 6.25% share generated locally flows into general funds and is spent on other priorities. He would like Spiller to author this legislation. Dunn gave the letter to the council along with a powerpoint on the plan.
“A single water treatment plant upgrade or sewer rehab carries massive, fixed costs that do not shrink with population size. These communities, often with only a few hundred or a couple thousands residents, simply cannot spread those costs across enough ratepayers or a broad tax based,” the letter states.
Dunn suggests a “graduated sales tax retention policy:” 1% additional share for cities with 2,500 or fewer residents; .75% for those 2,500 and 5,000; and .50% for cities between 5,001 and 10,000. It would be dedicated to infrastructure. Dunn says the overall statewide fiscal impact would be negligible, but could help sustain small, rural cities.
NEWS
City of Nocona buys water storage tank, review dam repair
The Nocona City Council approved a bid for a new 203,000 gallon capacity tank for potable water at the water plant and learned a slide repair to the lake dam is going to be pretty costly.
At its May 12 session the council received three bids on the tank and went with one from Tank Depot of Cleburne for $193,923. It is for a a 217,600 gallon tank usable for 203,000 gallons. The price could change slightly since it was based on estimate freight costs.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
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