NEWS
New alert system goes live in Bowie
The City of Bowie has initiated a new community alert system that went live on Oct. 3.
Kirk Higgins, city emergency management coordinator, explains with this system a citizen inside the city limits can select the alerts they wish to receive whether it be community events or severe weather alerts and how to receive those for example on a cell phone.
Announcements might include the dates for a festival or news about a broken water main. It also automatically sends national severe weather alerts for tornadoes or storms.
“While it is similar to what the county provides, it is easier to use and allows you to update it when you want,” said Higgins.
The subscriber can set the alerts or messages to come in a phone call, text message, email or through Alexa.
Those preferences can be changed at any time in the future. Higgins said one of the great features is being able to narrow down a specific area of the city for an alert, for example, a broken water main impacting a five-block area in town. Alerts could go out just to those in the impact area not to everyone in the system.
“It can be tailored to whatever we need by simply drawing a box on a map of the city, which creates a lot of options,” said the coordinator.
Community announcements will include utility outages, wildfires, floods, public health alerts and criminal activity.
Community events could include Jim Bowie Days, Chicken and Bread Days, Second Monday and other similar items.
This service is provided free of charge to the residents of Bowie. Higgins added if you reside outside the city, but work inside the city you could use the work address to receive alerts that impact that area. Citizens can sign up at hyper-reach.com/txcityofbowiesignup.html, call or text 940-531-9400. For an Alexa, the citizens asks it to enable hyper-reach.
Members of the Bowie Independent School District Board of Trustees will meet at 5:30 p.m. on June 16.
The big item on the agenda is the review of superintendent candidate applications and consider possible interview choice. Superintendent Blake Enlow resigned on May 23 and Assistant Superintendent Lee Ann Farris has been serving as the interim.
That item will be in executive session along with professional educator contracts that need to be considered.
On the regular agenda Farris will update the board on education bills passed by the 89th Texas Legislature and their budget impacts, as well as discipline impacts. A budget workshop will be considered. She also will provide information on state assessment and board goals.
Campus administrators and directors will provide updates, along with the finance director.
In action items the board will review Texas Association of School Board update 124, consider changes to the 12-month and 11 employee dates and consider the purchase of a new band trailer not to exceed $80,000.
Due to the June 19 Juneteenth federal holiday the U.S. Post Office will be closed, which moves then Thursday Bowie News to a delivery date on Friday. It will be available in the stores at its regular time.
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