NEWS
Volunteers far, near step up to help Bowie clean up
By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
Volunteers have converged on the storm-ravaged areas of Bowie this week helping the community clean-up and clearing debris so it can see the full extent of damage from the May 22 F1 tornado.
The hum of chainsaws and heavy equipment fills the southside neighborhoods while nearby in downtown debris removal and damage assessment continues as they all try to find a path forward.
City officials report power has been restored throughout the city’s storm area. Those who had their electric service torn directly out of their house and cannot afford to hire an electrician also are receiving assistance from city-hired electricians. Other communication companies also are busily working on restoring their services.
City Manager Bert Cunningham reported Friday morning all the streets that may have been blocked by debris have been cleared, however, there are still limbs along the curb which will be picked up. City and Texas Department of Transportation crews continue to collect and clear debris.
Vegetation will be accepted at the Bowie Business Park from 8 a..m. – 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. It will be closed Sunday.
All citizens across Bowie and the county who received any type of storm damage are encouraged to take part in the disaster survivor assistance survey.
As of Friday there were 358 damage reports submitted. Of those 72 were businesses and 286 were residence. There are 34 who report they cannot reside in their homes due to the damage.
Links are available on the city website at: cityofbowietx.com and the city Facebook page. This survey, which takes a brief five minutes to fill out, will be used as part of the damage assessment report the city will use when applying for disaster relief funding. It does not matter whether or not you have insurance, own or rent.
Volunteers
From the morning after the storm throughout the rest of this week, Bowie has been filled with local volunteers and many from out of town who traveled with organized groups.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
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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