COUNTY LIFE
ICF creates affordable, energy-efficient homes, developer saw a market need in Bowie
By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
Kenson Vance is a shrewd businessman, but he also has a desire to develop affordable housing for a community as well as help serve those with special needs.
Vance calls himself a realtor and developer. Making his home in Alvord, he has been working in Bowie the past several years first doing several house “flips.” Two years ago he put in one of the first tiny house projects on the corner of South Mason and Clay Streets. He and a silent partner operate under the name Dynamic Duo.
Bowie was not new to Vance as he grew up enjoying a family home on Lake Amon Carter. In 2020 as the tiny home project was completed, Vance told The Bowie News he feels like he has been part of Bowie all his life, and he loves it. He said trying to do small developments and affordable housing, sale or rental, in Wise County had become cost-prohibitive, especially in Decatur. He has found Bowie to be very open and accommodating.
“We did a couple of flips here, and then when the tornado came we had some bigger ideas. I came up and volunteered for a few weeks, and so did Dana Kilgore, my property manager. Being in real estate I would take people with certain budgets and try to find them something, but we could only find junk, so we started building houses,” explained Vance.
His most recent building projects are using a material not that common in small-town Texas for residential homes, insulated concrete forms.
Dave Cougston oversees Vance’s local construction, and he has been working with ICFs for more than 20 years. Cougston had been building large mansions which are not appropriate to the primary market in Bowie, but these two men see ICFs as a strong alternative to “stick houses.”
“I don’t know why anyone is building houses out of wood anymore,” explained Cougston. “This is such a superior product as far as safety, going greener and creating a healthier home.”
Vance also is working closely with Evergreen Life Services to develop a new facility in Bowie that can assist people with special needs, something that is very close to his heart.
Read the full feature in the weekend Bowie News.
In recognition of National Adoption Awareness Month this November, Texas Community Counseling and the Heart Gallery of Northwest Texas are partnering to bring resources to Montague County families.
The two organizations will host an adoption, foster care and kinship care resource fair on Nov. 14 at the United Presbyterian Church of Montague County Fellowship Hall, located at 300 W. Nelson St. in Bowie.
The resource fair will run from 10 a.m. to noon, bringing together local agencies and service providers to answer questions and share information about support available within the county.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
Members of the Montague County Historical Commission invite the community to join them on Nov. 14 for a Rolling Bus Tour.
This tour will cover the cemeteries in the south west corner of Montague County. You will have the opportunity to stroll through some of the cemeteries, others the bus will stop and Commission member Calvin Durham will tell the history of the cemetery.
The bus tour will meet at the Old Jail in Montague at 9 a.m. and return at approximately 3 p.m. The tour will include a sack lunch, a brochure of each cemetery visited and a book “This Soil will Grow Grapes” written by Melvin Fenoglio.
The cost of the tour is $20 for adults. There is no charge for children under 12. The commission members strive to preserve the history of the county and to share as much of it as possible with our citizens. You can RSVP by calling 940-841-2674 or 940-872-1007. Please leave a message with your name if there is no answer.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in coordination with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), will conduct a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System at 1:20 p.m. on Nov. 17.
FEMA’s emergency alert system is a national public warning system made up of thousands of radio, TV, cable and satellite and wireline video providers. Through the EAS, the President can address the American people or share life-saving information with the public during a national emergency.
FEMA is required by law to conduct a nationwide test of the public alert and warning system at least once every three years. These tests allow FEMA to identify technical or operational issues before the system is needed during an actual emergency.
FEMA and the FCC are sharing the test date in advance because it is important the public understands what to expect on the day of the test.
At approximately 1:20 p.m. (Central time), on Nov. 17, all the electronics providers will interrupt normal programming to relay a test message.
This message will state: This is a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System, issued by the Federal Emergency management Agency, covering the United States from 1:20 to 1:50 p.m. This is only a test. No action is required by the public.”
When the test is concluded, normal programming will resume.
FEMA and the FCC are coordinating with stakeholders, including participating communications providers as well as federal, state, tribal and territorial agencies to prepare for and conduct the test.
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