NEWS
County commissioners call two meetings for July 6
The Montague County Commissioner’s Court has called two meetings for July 6.
The first one at 9 a.m. is a public hearing on the 2021-2022 proposed budget, which was filed on June 14 and placed on the county’s website for review. The second agenda item is to consider adopting the budget proposal.
That budget proposal does not include the $50,000 placed in contingency this past Monday for next year’s budget for additional repairs on sliding doors at the county jail. A request to spend $43,416 to repair five of the doors this year was approved Monday.
The original budget proposal showed a little more than $9.8 million general fund expenses, $486,984 for indigent health care, $1.1 million in precinct one, $985,785 in precinct two, $931,790 in precinct three and $1,006,384 in precinct four.
There also are numerous restricted funds within the budget, but these are the primary ones for county operations.
This budget also does not have a tax rate set. That figure will not be calculated until the certified property values arrive in late July; afterwhich, the court will take another look at the budget to consider a tax rate.
Depending on the projected tax revenue the budget may stay as proposed or face cuts to meet the tax rate the court desires.
In April the preliminary property values for the county came in at $2,025,557,101, which was up $74,306,876 above the 2020 certified values. Using the 2020 tax rate of .5641 cents per $100 in value those values could generate an additional $419,165.09 in revenue.
Certified values tend to stay in the vicinity of the preliminaries, but it is never a sure thing due to protests, property sales, mineral values and other factors. The county’s new fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
The second called meeting is to consider confirming the location of an existing county road Frontier Drive and accept a new survey for the property. That meeting is set for 9:15 a.m.
The Bowie City Council has cancelled its Jan. 14 meeting due to a lack of a quorum. No date has been announced for the next meeting, but the regular date would be Jan. 28.
The Bowie News was overwhelmed with more than 400 snow day photos sent in from across the county. Please view them on our Facebook page. We will publish many in the Thursday Bowie News. Thank you to everyone who sent them in.
Top photo – Brandee Mumms and her family put together a snowman.
WICHITA FALLS DISTRICT – TxDOT maintenance crews cleared all Tier 1 and Tier 2 highways
today. Snowplows started running between Midnight and 4 am across the region. Tonight, we
are expecting slick conditions because of refreeze. Bridges and overpasses will be particularly
icy.
Archer City Office: Archer county is reporting wet roads on their Tier 1 roadways including US
281 and SH-79. They are planning to run plows on secondary roads this evening. Slick spots on
bridges and overpasses are expected overnight.
Bowie and Nocona Offices: Bowie and Nocona kept highways US 287, US 82, US 81, and SH59 constantly cleared today. The area’s primary roads are in great shape. The crew plans to
expand to SH-175 in Montague and Nocona overnight.
Gainesville Office: The Gainesville office is responsible for taking care of more than 20 miles of
I-35. Crews worked hard today to keep I-35 in great condition and keep the Interstate traffic
moving. US 82 is also a high priority highway, and the plows were on it all day. The office has
been able to plow some of their higher volume FM roads. Refreeze will also be a big concern in
Cooke County.
Graham Office: Graham’s crew got their primary roads in top shape today. However, the
Area Engineer, Zach Husen, wants to remind everyone that bridges and overpasses will refreeze
tonight. There will be ice on the lane markings as well as the shoulders. Graham has already
been able to start plowing FM’s which they will work on tonight as well.
Henrietta and Clay County Office: Our maintenance office in Henrietta services all of Clay
County. US 287 is their Tier 1 roadway that was very good shape this afternoon. The crew has
already started plowing lesser traveled roads and will continue to plow new highways while
maintaining the best service possible on US 287. The maintenance supervisor, Darin Reed, is
concerned about snow and runoff refreezing tonight. Drivers should be cautious and watch for
black ice.
Vernon, Wilbarger County Office: The Vernon crew kept US 287 in good shape today. They
were able to work on other primary and secondary roads in their area. Refreeze is the main
concern for tonight.
Wichita Falls Office: Crews plowed their major roadways in top shape including I-44, US 287,
and US 82 (Kell Fwy) as well as the area’s secondary highways. This crew will continue to keep
control of these major roadways throughout the night.
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Wet roadway conditions with slick spots are expected across the entire district. Refreezing will
happen on plowed highways and unplowed roads. Overpasses and bridges will be the first to
freeze and the last to thaw. Motorists should be on the watch for black ice.
Motorists can obtain travel information, road conditions and see 15 Wichita Falls traffic cameras
and 1 Vernon camera by visiting DriveTexas.org or calling (800) 452-9292. Traffic cameras are
also at TxDOT.Gov.
Remember to follow the Wichita Falls District on our Facebook page,
www.Facebook.com/TxDOTWichitaFalls and on Twitter, www.Twitter.com/TxDOTWF
If you experience any emergency on the road, call 9-1-1 for help.
Drivers are urged to follow these precautions:
Reduce speed. Speed limits are based on normal dry road and weather
conditions, not winter road conditions. Do not use cruise control.
Turn on your headlights. It is not for you…it’s so other drivers can see you.
Maintain at least three times the normal following distance on snow or ice.
Watch carefully for personnel, equipment treating roadways, and stay at least
200 feet back from road crews. Don’t Crowd the Plows.
Use extra caution on bridges, ramps, overpasses, intersections, and shaded
areas as they tend to freeze first and thaw last.
If you start to slide, ease off the gas pedal or brakes. Steer into the direction
that you want to go until you feel you have regained traction, and then
straighten your vehicle.
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