NEWS
DPS increases traffic enforcement for Fourth of July holiday
AUSTIN – The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) will be increasing traffic enforcement for the Fourth of July holiday from Tuesday, July 3 through Wednesday, July 4. During this period, DPS Troopers will be looking for DWI, speeding, seat belt and other traffic violators.
“DPS Troopers and other law enforcement agencies will be out in force looking for traffic violators and impaired drivers over the Fourth of July holiday,” said DPS Director Steven McCraw. “If you plan to consume alcohol, there is no excuse for not designating a sober driver or planning ahead for alternate transportation. DPS urges Texans to celebrate responsibly and take extra precautions to help keep everyone safe.”
During the 2017 Fourth of July enforcement period, DPS Troopers issued more than 98,000 tickets and warnings, including 1,658 seat belt and child safety restraint citations. DPS enforcement efforts also resulted in 529 DWI arrests, 374 fugitive arrests and 300 felony arrests.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation, 1,033 people were killed in motor vehicle traffic crashes in 2017 where a driver was under the influence of alcohol, accounting for 28 percent of last year’s traffic fatalities.
DPS offers drivers the following tips for enhancing safety on our roads this July Fourth holiday:
Do not drink and drive. Make alternate travel plans if you are consuming alcohol.
- Slow down – especially in bad weather, construction areas, heavy traffic and unfamiliar areas.
- Eliminate distractions while driving, including the use of mobile devices. Texas law prohibits using a portable wireless device to read, write or send an electronic message unless the vehicle is stopped.
- Buckle up everyone in the vehicle – it’s the law.
- Slow down or move over for police, fire, EMS and Texas Department of Transportation vehicles and tow trucks stopped on the side of the road with emergency lights activated – it’s the law. Also, show the same courtesy to fellow drivers stopped along the road.
- Drive defensively, as holiday travel may present additional challenges.
- Don’t drive fatigued – allow plenty of time to reach your destination.
- If you see a road hazard or if you observe anything suspicious, report it to the nearest law enforcement agency.
- Before your trip begins, make sure your vehicle is properly maintained and always double check to make sure all cargo is secure.
- Monitor weather and road conditions wherever you are traveling. In the event of inclement weather, use extra caution on roadways and be aware of your surroundings. For road conditions/closings in Texas, visit https://drivetexas.org.
The second community meeting on needs for an emergency room or hospital in Bowie is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 at the Bowie Community Center.
This is the second meeting to discuss these needs following the closure of the Faith Community Health Center emergency room on Oct. 6, just shy of a year of operation. More than 200 people attended that first meeting, where discussion centered on the creation of a taxing district to support any sort of medical facility.
Citizens in the Bowie area are encouraged to attend and take part in these discussions.
The Bowie City Council has moved its Nov. 18 meeting to 6 p.m. on Nov. 19 where three new council members will take the oath of office.
Councilors include Laura Sproles, precinct two, Brandon Walker, precinct one and Laramie Truax, precinct two. After the votes are canvassed and the oaths given, a mayor pro tem will be selected.
The new members will jump right into training as City Attorney Courtney Goodman-Morris provides an orientation and discussion of duties for council members.
City Manager Bert Cunningham will make his monthly report on the following topics: Nelson Street, which opened last Thursday, update on the sewer line replacement project, substation transformer placement and information on medical companies.
A closed executive session on the Laura McCarn vs. City of Bowie lawsuit is scheduled. The suit arose in November 2022 when the city broached selling some 25 acres it owns on Lake Amon G. Carter, originally part of the land purchased for the 500-acre Bowie Reservoir completed in 1985.
McCarn challenges the ownership of the property stating it should revert to the original owners since it was not used for the lake.
This 24.35 acre tract is located at the end of Indian Trail Road surrounded by the lake and the Silver Lakes Ranch subdivision.
One of Bowie’s major thoroughfares, Nelson Street, was reopened Thursday after one busy block has been closed since August 2021 when a section of the street failed.
Construction finally came to an end on Thursday when the street, including the Nelson and Mill intersection were reopened. Mayor Gaylynn Burris, City Manager Bert Cunningham, Councilors TJay McEwen and Stephanie Post, Engineer Mike Tibbetts and Public Works Director Stony Lowrance met at the site Thursday morning and removed the barricades. It only took a few minutes for vehicles to start arriving and drivers were excited to go through on the new roadway.
This section of Bowie has endured flooding and drainage problems for many years and in the summer of 2023 the city council finally bit the bullet and sought bids for the repair work expected to top $3 million. In August 2021 a one block section of Nelson was closed when a large sinkhole appeared on the north side of the street. Traffic had to be diverted including all the school traffic flowing from the nearby junior high and intermediate.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
Top photo – (Left) Mike Tibbetts, engineer with Hayter Engineering, talks with Bowie City Manager Bert Cunningham as they look over the massive drainage project on Nelson Street.
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