NEWS
Bowie Council to hear Nelson Street repair presentation
Members of the Bowie City Council will see a design presentation on the Nelson Street Bridge project at its 6 p.m. June 12 meeting.
Mike Tibbets with Hayter Engineering will meet with the council to review the design that would make repairs to the closed section of Nelson Street.
The block of Nelson Street at Kiwanis Park and Mill was closed on Aug. 21, 2022 after a section on the north side of the road failed and collapsed. This area along Nelson, Lamb and Rock have experienced ongoing drainage problems for many years.
City crews have undertaken significant work in the Kiwanis Park and Lamb Street area to slow the flow of water, but major work is needed to replace the large culverts that go under the street at Nelson and nearby drop boxes, as downstream at Rock and Pillar.
Hayter has estimated the Nelson Street repairs and the connecting work on Mill would run around $2 million. However, Public Works Director Stony Lowrance had told the council if they make repairs at Nelson that will only push more water down the channel and possibly blow out the culverts that need replacing at Rock and Pillar. Adding those repairs could add another million or more to the project.
The council will consider not only the Nelson Street repair, but alternate bids for Pillar and Rock. City Manager Bert Cunningham has said the city has funds to pay for the Nelson and Mill work if it is around $2 million, but any additional work may require borrowing money or using reserves, which he emphasized they do not want to reduce by too much in order to protect overall general operational costs.
Other topics
In the city manager’s report, Bert Cunningham will report on the electric grant application he has been preparing. He said the city’s substation needs some improvements, especially a new transformer, and he is pursuing all avenues to help find funding for the substation work.
In new business, the Montague County Tax Appraisal District has submitted its 2024 budget for council action.
An ordinance amendment for the mobile food vendors ordinance will be reviewed, along with a recommendation for a new member to the park’s board.
Public comments wrap up the agenda along with the consent topics.
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.”
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