COUNTY LIFE
Church music team wins grand prize for songwriting
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
A group of local musicians
Four songwriters of this band will travel to Tennessee this week to
Foxhedge Music sponsors the contest with the awards ceremony taking place on April 13 in Franklin, TN at Leiper’s Fork Distillery. The grand prize brings with its a $5,000 cash award and a vintage Bluesman guitar.
Jeff Livsey, worship pastor for Lighthouse Assembly in Bowie is the front man for the band and he says there is a group of about 24 going to the ceremony. The church membership has been ecstatic since the song was named a semi-finalist back in February with the winners named in mid-March.
The top four winners have been invited to perform two songs. Livsey was disappointed to learn the show allows only one person to perform at the showcase because he had hoped to include everyone.
“Forever (Now I Sing),” is the first single out of a new album released by the band in fall 2018. It contains seven original songs all mixed by Livsey in his “technical dungeon” of an office.
Writers for the winning song include Livsey, Chris Boyet, Krista Hunt, Jennifer Harris, all from Bowie, and Chet Bennetts, a fellow songwriter, Livsey met at a writing retreat. All but Bennetts are members of the church band. Trace Finn is the band drummer.
Read the full feature in your weekend Bowie News.
Bob Blackburn has fondly been called “Officer Bob,” for many years and it is a moniker he is happy to carry, spending more than 30 years working with the schools through local law enforcement.
Officer Bob has a heart for service he has shared through a total of 34 years in law enforcement, a lengthy career that comes to an end Oct. 30 as he retires after 25 years with the Bowie Police Department. He will continue as a reserve with the BPD and also wants to substitute teach.
“It’s time. I want to enjoy my kids and grandchildren, picking them up at school and going to games. I have loved working here and there has been an honest effort to get me not to retire, but I am in a good spot,” explains Blackburn one week from retirement.
Read the full story in your Thursday Bowie News.
(Top photo – Bob Blackburn hugs Mayor Gaylynn Burris as he receives a Bowie Knife plaque at his retirement party Oct. 30.)
The Bowie City Council approved a $950,000 project to improve the walking path at Pelham Park on Oct. 27.
Bowie Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Janis Crawley said the upcoming project will repave 26,277 square feet of pathway in concrete, spanning about 0.6 miles in length.
The work covers the trail section northeast of the Blade, curving past the soccer fields and toward the swimming pool.
Another section goes around the pool and sport courts, then back down toward the Blade. The project will also widen the trail section to eight feet and add a new 36-foot bridge.
Read the full story in your Thursday Bowie News.
Bowie High School will honor veterans at 8:45 a.m. on Nov. 11 in the high school gym. Staff and students invite area veterans to join them for a veteran’s breakfast at 8 a.m. followed by a ceremony where each veteran will be recognized for their service to the country.
Veterans are asked to register at: https://bit.ly/VeteransDay2026RSVP.
The staff of the Montague County Veteran’s Service office is partnering with the American Legion Post 220 for its Veterans Day program at 11 a.m. on Nov. 11 at the post home at 801 W. U.S. 82. Veterans and their families are invited to join a complimentary lunch.
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