NEWS
County accepts tax rolls, calls special runoff vote
Montague County Commissioners handled a brief agenda Monday that included calling the special State Senate runoff election for Dec. 19 and accepting the anticipated tax totals for 2020.
The court is still running one short, as Commissioner Mark Murphey continues to recover following surgery.
Tax Assessor-Collector Kathryn Phillips presented to tax figures to the court. Taxable value is $1,962,961,209 and taxes are $10,651,780.59. Montague County has 100,082 properties which will be taxed.
County Elections Administrator Ginger Wall presented the order call the Dec. 19 runoff election for District 30 State Senate. Wall also got approval to consolidate the runoff to the four locations that presently serve for early voting in Bowie, Nocona, Saint Jo and Montague.
District 68 State Representative Drew Springer will face Metroplex area business owner Shelley Luther in the runoff. Neither won the required majority in the six-person race in September.
The county will amend its agreement with the Texas Association of Counties, which hosts the county website to add a secure sockets layer certificate. Jessica Thomas, county technology director, said these connections protect sensitive data such as credit cards that may be exchanged during a webpage session.
She explained while the county’s website does not collect customer data it would provide an additional layer of security at a relatively low cost of $150 a year. Thomas added hackers often target smaller businesses with ransom ware so there would be a precaution. The request was approved.
Commissioner Bob Langford told the court it has been brought to his attention they need to post any new subdivisions or requests for plat revisions on the county website 30 days before they come to the court for consideration. Thomas said if the court forwarded her those requests she would make sure they go on the website.
The Bowie City Council will meet at 6 p.m. on June 23.
The agenda includes both old and new business items.
City Manager Bert Cunningham will make his report on the 2026-27 budget process, bid opening for the Glenn Hills lift station on July 16 and the bid for Rock and Pillar repairs.
In new business a pair of planning and zoning committee recommendations for replats at 107 E. Nelson and 412 Green will be reviewed. An ordinance adopting an office of emergency management amending a present ordinance will be offered.
Old business will see the second reading of the pickleball court reservation fee ordinance and the ordinance prohibiting drilling and mining or the reopening of an abandoned well or mine in any public park in the city limits.
A HEAT ADVISORY will be in effect from noon until 9 p.m. today (Thursday). Please plan accordingly.
Hear Audio Alert:https://hrpow.us/oeFZANN
Montague County Sheriff Marshall Thomas has confirmed human skeletal remains were recovered on June 13 in the Sunset area, and they could possibly be those of a flight attendant believed to have been murdered almost a year ago in the Fort Worth.
The murder suspect, Dennis William Day, 66, admitted in June 2025 to strangling Rana Soluri, 47, an Envoy flight attendant who lived with Day during that last year. She was reported missing by a co-worker on June 11 and had not been seen or heard from since March 2025.
Day initially denied any involvement, but later admitted to the murder and indicated he dumped her body somewhere in the Montague County area. Lawmen have scoured the areas in questions in both Montague and Wise County, but found nothing.
Sheriff Thomas said on June 13 the SO received a call of possible skeletal remains in the Brushy Creek area north of Poss Dyer Lane on Farm-to-Market 1749. A deputy went to the scene and confirmed it was human remains.
Investigators responded and kept the scene secure overnight until staff from the University of North Texas Forensic Anthropology Center could arrive and made the recovery on June 14. A Texas Ranger and staff from the Fort Worth Police Department also were on scene.
“There is no determination made yet on how long it has been there,” said Thomas. “The anthropologist was pleased to recover most of the skeleton in these conditions. Heavy rains previously made the past searches difficult. We are working jointly with Fort Worth to make an identification and if it is the victim in their homicide.”
-
NEWS3 years agoSuspect indicted, jailed in Tia Hutson murder
-
NEWS4 years ago2 hurt, 1 jailed after shooting incident north of Nocona
-
NEWS3 years agoSO investigating possible murder/suicide
-
NEWS3 years agoWreck takes the life of BHS teen, 16
-
NEWS3 years agoMurder unsolved – 1 year later Tia Hutson’s family angry, frustrated with no arrest
-
Show us something good9 years agoCountry music star children perform in Bowie
-
NEWS3 years ago
Sheriff’s office called out to infant’s death
-
100th Birthday4 years agoLooking back at the 1958 Centennial edition of The Bowie News