NEWS
Saint Jo Council rescinds investigation; appoints new member to fill vacancy after resignation
By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
It appears the Saint Jo City Council was able to hammer out its problems stemming from a recent anger-filled meeting where the mayor abruptly resigned.
In a called meeting March 30, the council rescinded its planned investigation into possible misconduct by the mayor, as well as accepted the resignation of its mayor pro tem, appointed a new alderman and retained the city secretary who had submitted her resignation.
The original controversy reportedly began at the March 9 council meeting where questions about the 4B Economic Development Board were raised, along with questions about a city lease with Coppell Construction. Those topics were also fueled by reportedly “misinformation” spread on social media about the 4B board which lead to five of them resigning, as well as the mayor walking out that same night.
In a follow-up session despite Mayor Tom Weger apologizing for his outburst and the council members going through a timeline of how they got to the point where the agenda stated the removal of the mayor was being considered, the group voted to hire an investigator to begin an examination of possible misconduct by Weger.
The mid-week meeting opened with public comments followed by a 90-minute executive session as the council consulted with its attorney Andy Messer. The agenda item listed the resignations of Mayor Pro Tem Carla Hennessey and City Secretary Teresa Fangman, the appointment of a new council member.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
Trustees of the Bowie Independent School District welcomed one new member this week following the Nov. 5 election and accepted the 2023-24 outside audit with no exceptions.
Incumbent Trustee Jacky Betts returned to place one and Angie Christmas took the place two seat. After the board officers were dissolved with the new ones taking the oath, officers were elected. Betts will continue as president, Guy Green as vice president and Kent Dosch as secretary.
Paul Fleming of Edgin, Parkman, Fleming & Fleming, PC, presented the audit telling there were no issues and the process went smoothly. He noted the biggest change was the Legislature compressing the district tax rate and additional changes in the tax law. State aid formula grants increased due to the state’s funding formula compensating for lost property tax revenue due to the law change previously mentioned.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
Information was the watchword for the second hospital/emergency room community meeting Tuesday night, as the steering committee was announced along with additional financial considerations.
About 50 people attended the meeting. Melody Gillespie, who was named chairperson for the committee, said the goal is to gather information to get it out into the community. This group was formed after the Bowie emergency room was closed by Faith Rural Health System in early October just shy of one year of operating in Bowie.
Kylie Ward, one of the public relations volunteers, said, “This committee is not here to force things on you and there are assumptions already we are proposing a tax. We are not, we don’t have that ability, we are just a research team here to explore all the options.”
Other members of the committee include Tiffany Chandler and Damon Benton handling finance and grant research; Jennifer Tellef, secretary; Valerie Tomerson, grant research; Ann Smith, PR and Margin Latham and Gillespie, legislative research. It was pointed out there are other members of the sub-committees who are helping with research, but they also invite anyone interested to help with the process.
Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.
Top photo – Jack County Judge Keith Umphress spoke at this week’s steering committee meeting. (Photo by Barbara Green)
The following indictments were filed with the 97th District Clerk following the November session of the Montague County Grand Jury.
There were a total of 13 indictments with one sealed awaiting the arrest of a suspect.
A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Read the full list of indictments in your mid-week Bowie News.
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