NEWS
Early voting begins Monday
Early voting for the Nov. 5 general election begins Oct. 21 and will continue through Nov. 1.
Texas voters will consider a series of 10 proposed constitutional amendments that cover a variety of topics. In local ballots, the City of Bowie and Bowie Independent School District are the only entities to have elections.
Bowie ISD has one contested race in place three as Jases Brown and Jeff Jackson battle it out. Daniel Deweber is unopposed in place four. Neither of the incumbents, Shea Brown or Travis Price, opted to run for another term.
Within the Bowie City Council, there is a race for mayor as Gaylynn Burris is challenged for that post by Bill Miller. Incumbent Councilor Wayne Bell is the only person running unopposed for the three council places.
For precinct one Michael Christmas and Diana Higgins are the candidates and in precinct two, Councilor Jason Love is facing Jason Johnson.
Early voting locations will be as follows: Bowie Bible Baptist Church, 1400 State Highway 59 North; Montague County Annex Community Room, 11339 State Highway 59N; H.J. Justin Community Center, 100 Clay Street, Nocona and Saint Jo Civic Center, 101 E. Boggess.
Early voting hours will be: 8 a.m. -5 p.m. between Oct. 21-Nov. 1.
Extended hours will take place on two days: Oct. 22 and Oct. 31, 7 a.m. -7 p.m., only at the county courthouse annex location.
Visit the Montague County website for sample ballots for all the elections: co.montague.tx.us/page/montague.SampleBallots. The site also includes brief explanations of the constitutional amendments
The Saint Jo City Council had a brief meeting on June 17.
The 2026-27 budgets for appraisal and tax collections from the Montague County Tax Appraisal District were approved. The tax collection budget faces a 3.71% increase and 2.2% in the appraisal budget.
The city’s payment for tax collections will go from $1,305 for the year down slightly from $1,445 last year. The appraisal portion for Saint Jo will be $9,526, up from $9,361 in 2026.
A municipal election for Nov. 3 was called. Places open on the ballot will be mayor, and the places filled by Melissa McPherson and Jack Dunn, who was appointed to fill out a term.
The council approved a resolution to apply for grants for water infra structure improvements through the Texas Water Development Board. The city is working with engineers from Corlett, Probst and Boyd of Wichita Falls on a proposed project.
The 60th anniversary Jim Bowie Days Celebration opened on June 20th with a full day of activities focusing on sports and a barbecue cookoff.
Festivities continue throughout the week highlight by rodeo, youth rodeo, kid’s activities and Pioneer Court. The second annual Smokedown BBQ Cookout began on Friday night with the steak and beans contests. Three other categories for chicken ribs and brisket followed on Saturday. There were 27 teams, four more than last year.
Conducted by Outlaw BBQ, the grand champion was Vinny McNamara, with 36 points. Steve Cumbie was reserve grand champion with 26 points.
Read about all the weekend’s winners complete with many photos in your Thursday Bowie News.
Top photo – The first annual pickleball tourney drew 17 teams. Teams greet each other before they start play (Photo by Barbara Green0
A Bowie couple accused of causing serious injuries to a 15-month old boy in January 2025 pled guilty in 97th District Court on June 14 and both received state prison terms.
Jonah Belcher and Cheyenne Eckert, both 24, Bowie, were each charged with injury to a child, a first-degree felony. Belcher received 17 years in prison and Eckert, the child’s mother, received 10 years.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
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