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Burn ban extended for county; budget draft finalized

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By BARBARA [email protected] County Commissioners went through their 2023-24 budget office by office during a called workshop Monday finalizing a draft proposal that will officially be voted on during the Aug. 14 meeting. The public hearing and vote on the budget will take place on Aug. 28. The court also extended the emergency burn 90 days after the initial seven-day order initiated by County Judge Kevin Benton last week. All outdoor burning in the unincorporated areas of Montague County are prohibited due to the dry and hot conditions continuing across Texas. Violations of the burn ban can lead to a $500 ticket. During the weekend local firefighters were kept busy at grass fires across the area. Friday night about 60 acres burned in the North Field area outside of Nocona. Another fire occurred on Yowell Road on Sunday burning about 65 acres. See the related box for all the specifics about what is allowed during the burn ban for outdoor cooking and welding.

Budget review

Judge Benton offered the court a draft that included many of the primary items its members asked for early in the process including a raise for employees and funding what is needed. Based on the proposal a tentative tax rate would be .5017 cents per $100 in property values, a .0019 below the present tax rate of .5036. The court approved a $5,000 across-the-board raise per employee. Commissioner Bob Langford said they want to try and do whatever they can for the employees and this is a significant increase.

Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.

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Motorcyclist injures in July 4th wreck

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The Department of Public Safety has provided information on an auto vs. motorcycle accident that reportedly occurred on July 4.
James Lee Hilton, Nocona, was driving a 2019 Harley-Davidson motorcycle and Daniel Parra, Chico, was driving a 2018 Ford Fiesta. Both vehicles were north on State Highway 101 outside Sunset with the motorcycle behind the car.
Parra was attempting to turn left on Farm-to-Market Road 2265 when the motorcyclist attempted to unsafely pass to the left states the report. The bike struck the left side of the Fiesta. Both vehicles came to rest off the roadway on the northwest corner of SH 101 and FM 2265.
Hilton was transported to Denton Medical City with

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Crash closes East Wise 2 hours, two injured

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A major crash on East Wise in front of the Second Monday parking on July 11 shut down traffic for several hours in the morning and sent two people to the Bowie emergency room.
The accident occurred at 9:53 a.m. Thursday at 1616 E. Wise involving a large sign installation truck and an SUV.
Briana Rollison, Bowie, was driving a 2001 Ford Expedition east in the 1600 block of E. Wise and the large truck from Turner Signs System of Richland Hills was traveling west on East Wise driven by Joshua Thompson.
The preliminary accident report states Thompson lost control of the vehicle crossing the double yellow line striking the SUV in front of the Parker Properties and Farm Services Building. The SUV was knocked into the ditch and later made it back on the roadway.
The truck rolled on the passenger side and slid about 50-100 feet west of the incident location. Skid marks from the truck were observed to start approximately 300-350 feet east of the crash location.

See the full story in the weekend Bowie News.

This large sign installation truck turned over after striking an SUV on East Wise Street Thursday morning. (Photo by Barbara Green)
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Bowie city budget offered to council

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By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
Bowie City Councilors this week got their first look at the 2024-25 proposed budget seeing a balanced plan with a total operational budget of $23,296,885 in expenses, which is a little more than $1.4 million above the previous year’s budget.
Mayor Gaylynn Burris said Monday night the budget looks “eerily familiar” to last year, despite adding a few equipment purchases. City Manager Bert Cunningham said he had already slashed more than $300,000 from the department requests in order to get a balanced budget.
The utility fund is balanced with expenses of $12,595,995 and revenues projected at $12,601,000. In the general fund revenues are projected at $10,705,568 with expenses at $10,700,890. Total budget expenses are $23,296,885 and overall revenue projected at $23,306,568. Cunningham said it leaves a small margin to set forth a balanced budget.

Read the full story in the weekend Bowie News.

Top photo: New chip and seal was laid on Elba and Lamb this week repairing well-worn roads near the Nelson/Mill drainage project. (Photo by Barbara Green)

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