NEWS
Bowie City Council pushing to reopen economy earlier
By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
The Bowie City Council wants to get the local economy moving again and would like to jump right into phase two of the governor’s plan due to the low number of active COVID-19 cases.
Councilors debated the issue during its Monday night meeting. Mayor Bill Miller said we have to “open up our country,” and invited State Sen. Pat Fallon to comment via the video conference link.
Fallon said one death is too many, but at this point the predictions for much higher deaths and hospital needs have not come to pass in Texas so he believes it is time to start reopening.
“We have 21,000 hospital beds reserved for COVID-19 patients, 1,550 are occupied. We have capacity. Anyone who needed a bed or a ventilator had one. We are okay on personal protection equipment for medical personnel, but we are running low on gowns. Texas is one of the the least hit as the 40th high state with confirmed cases and 41st in deaths. We hunkered down, but it is time to get out of the foxhole and keep moving,” said Fallon.
He was enthusiastic about the governor’s plan, but said he would have liked to have seen it go a bit further adding they have a lot of questions to clarify. Governor Greg Abbott outlined his plan in a Monday press conference with phase one allowing all retail stores, restaurants, movie theaters and malls to reopen May 1 at 25 percent capacity.
This plan also outlined protocols for certain counties with five or fewer lab confirmed cases of the virus. Those counties may on an individualized basis, increase occupancy limits up to 50 percent for those retail categories listed in phase one. Montague County falls into this category and could jump immediately into phase two.
Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.
The 90-day ban on outdoor burning has expired in Montague County, but residents are urged to still exercise caution when burning. Those who plan large burns are asked to call the sheriff’s office at 8994-2871, ext. 1, to let the staff know in the event emergency fire calls come in.
Sunday, 7:00 a.m. Update – Lake Amon Carter is now at 922.80 feet, which is 2.80 feet above what is normally considered as “full”. Because of this flooding, Lake Amon Carter has been closed for boating. Selma Park has also been closed (due to electrical outages caused by the flooding). Both will reopen as soon as the water level is back below 922.00 feet.
Members of the Montague County Commissioner’s Court will meet at 9 a.m. on Nov. 12, instead of Nov. 11 due to the Veterans Day holiday.
The Tuesday agenda is filled with routine items. A pair of bills connected to the development of the sewer plant for the courthouse and jail complex will be considered.
One is for $620 to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for a permit fee for the septic system and the second is $6,400 for clearing brush and a fence row around the sewer plant property. Both bills will be paid for using American Rescue program grant funds.
The court will consider adjusting pay for two sheriff’s office positions utilizing the Senate Bill 22 grant. The sheriff’s office also has received unanticipated revenue of $1,768 from the Law Enforcement Partners to go into supplies and $250 from David and Marie Dooley to be put into training.
Precinct one will present an equipment lease agreement with First National Bank leasing of Wichita Falls for the purchase of a 2025 Mack P164T truck. Precinct two will seek to accept a $5,000 donation for paving Orchard Road.
Two replats for Silver Lakes Ranch will be offered and the court will consider approving North Starr Estates Subdivision in precinct three.
The Montague County ban on outdoor burning runs out on Nov. 12 and the court is expected to let the order run its 90 days.
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