NEWS
Local Brookshire’s drawn into weekend bomb threats across the south
The Bowie Brookshire’s Grocery was evacuated Sunday afternoon after an email bomb threat was received, but police found nothing suspicious during a search of the empty store.
Bowie’s store became one of a series of stores that received threats starting June 19. There have been emailed bomb threats at multiple stores in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas. These bomb threats came on the heels of a mass shooting at a Fordyce, AR grocery store where 11 people were shot and four killed.
A bomb threat arrived through email on June 19 for a Tyler location and a store in Arkadelphia, AR was evacuated last Friday. On Friday additional threats forced the evacuation of two other stores in Tyler. Brookshire’s is headquartered in Tyler.
More threats came over the weekend including three Bossier City stores, grocers in Bullard, Albany, Brownwood, Bridgeport and Bowie, plus multiple stores in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
Bowie Police Captain Kent Stagg said the store manager called the police about the emailed threat at 12:18 p.m. Sunday. The threat indicated a “pressure cooker bomb” had been placed in all Brookshire Grocery Stores across the state.
The store was cleared of customers and employees, then police went inside searching for anything suspicious. The fire department also was contacted and waiting on scene. Police cleared the scene at 12:43 p.m.
Staff said it is unclear if this was an “active threat,” but they wanted to err on the side of caution. Officials with the Dallas FBI field office are investigating and have made contact with the local police.
Several personnel issues including the superintendent’s summative evaluation and filling the vacant intermediate principal position face the Bowie School Trustees when they meet at 5:30 p.m. on June 16.
The superintendent’s review is usually done in two parts during the year with the summative an effort to evaluate overall progress. Donna Hale’s contract also will be considered. as she marks her first year leading the district.
For the intermediate principal’s job, Jason Childress left the post last month taking the new formed director of student services, which will handle many of the tasks the assistant superintendent handled such as curriculum and test scores. That assistant position was eliminated by the board after Lee Ann Farris left the job. Childress’ resignation has been submitted.
Filling the principal’s job and consideration of a rental agreement for a portion of the bus parking lot property also are set for executive session. Any action all these topics will be considered back in open session.
On the regular agenda, the board will receive the 2025 fiscal audit for Jack County. A small portion of the district runs into that county.
The superintendent will provide operational reports and personnel updates. Childress will present the preliminary STAAR scores and the status of board goals, while Paula Peterson, finance director, gives the monthly financial report.
Numerous annual items will be up for action: Contract for cafeteria software; budget amendments; consider the ESSA application, the Montague and Jack County Tax Appraisal District budgets; library books for the elementary; ESC 9 contracts and a Texas Association of School Boards policy updates.
The board also will consider offering open enrollment for pre-kindergarten students for the next school year.
Six Montague County volunteer fire department have received grants from the Texas A&M Forest Service.
The service recently approved $29.3 million in funding for grants to through the Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program.
In the fourth funding round of the year, the program awarded 531 grants addressing volunteer fire department requests for personal protective equipment, slip-on units, fire and rescue equipment, water tenders, small brush trucks and training aids.
Nocona Hills Volunteer Fire Department received a $300,000 grant for a water tender vehicle. Montague and Sunset VFDs each received $45,000 for a slip-on unit, and the Nocona rural, Nocona city and Saint Jo VFDs each received $25,000 for fire and rescue equipment.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
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