By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
Starting at 7 a.m. Oct. 6 the City of Bowie will once more be without local emergency medical care as Faith Community Health System closes its emergency room, just a few weeks shy of its one-year anniversary.
It continues a tragic up and down cycle the city has dealt with since Bowie Memorial Hospital closed its doors on Nov. 16, 2015. That closure brought an end to 49 years of successful operation by a non-taxing hospital authority since May 1966.
That painful decision by the board back in 2015 came on the heels of the Nov. 3 election that failed to approve the creation of a taxing hospital district 1,732 to 1,548. About 130 hospital employees lost their jobs and another estimated 300-related jobs within the community were impacted.
This was the second failed hospital district election looking back to a May 2011 election that was defeated 1,644 to 973.
The controversy in this race came from including Forestburg Independent School District with Bowie ISD for the new district. The proposed tax rate offered to voters was 19 cents per $100 in property value and a rate not to exceed 40 cents.
When the hospital board began planning for this election it was announced some $1.2 million was cut from the hospital’s operating budget, while pending Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement cuts also reduced revenue with the hospital facing a cash shortfall of $900,000 in operations that year.
Unfunded federal mandates such as electric record management also hit the hospital to the tune of $1.2 million and had to be in place by 2013.
Those economic problems continued in the years that followed and rural hospitals continued to struggle and many close across the state. When the problems came to head again in mid-June 2015, former longtime administrator Lynn Heller said it is not an accident BMH got into this financial condition.

Read more on the history of the Bowie hospital in your weekend Bowie News.

A Wise County Sheriff’s deputy and Bowie resident was killed in a single-vehicle wreck in New Fairview on Oct. 2.
Wise County Sheriff Lane Akin announced Deputy Lex Allen Love’s death on Thursday.
He was killed in the line of duty during an accident on County Road 441, east of U.S. Highway 287 that occurred about 8:20 p.m.
The sheriff explained Deputy Love collided with a concrete barrier in a construction zone as he was rushing to the scene of the accident. Additional deputies were nearby and they responded to the scene only to find their fellow officer unresponsive as he was pulled from his vehicle.
Life saving measures were implemented and Wise County EMS arrived transporting him to Medical City where Love died late Wednesday night.

They live in Bowie with daughter, Blakely and son, Baker. He grew up in the Sunset area and was a 2017 Bowie High School graduate. A fund has been set up through Help a Hero called the Lex Love Memorial Fund visit https://helpahero.com/campaign/lex-love-memorial.
The Wise SO reported there will be a candlelight vigil from 7-8 p.m. on Oct. 6 at the Wise County Fairgrounds. The funeral will be at 10 a.m. Oct. 8 at First Baptist Church in Decatur.

Read more on this story in your weekend Bowie News.

AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott today announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and capture of the criminal involved in the shooting of Memphis Police Chief Rex Plant. The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) has added the suspect to their 10 Most Wanted Fugitive List.

“Texas is first and foremost a law-and-order state,” said Governor Abbott. “Law enforcement officers selflessly put their lives on the line each day they put on their badge, and they deserve to know that they have the full support of the State of Texas. I encourage anyone with information relating to this crime to call the Texas Crime Stoppers hotline or submit an anonymous tip online to help law enforcement bring this dangerous criminal to justice. Cecilia and I are praying for the swift recovery of Chief Rex Plant and for his loved ones during this difficult time.” 

Last night, Chief Rex Plant and another officer were serving an arrest warrant for burglary of a habitation when the suspect pulled out a handgun, firing multiple rounds and shooting Chief Plant. The suspect then fled the scene on foot. The Chief was airlifted to a Lubbock hospital.

The suspect, Seth Altman, 33, is described as a white male, approximately 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 220 pounds. He has blue eyes and red or auburn hair. The suspect should be considered armed and dangerous.

To be eligible for cash rewards, tipsters must provide information using one of the following methods:

• Call the Texas Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-252-TIPS (8477)
• Submit a web tip through the Texas 10 Most Wanted website
• Submit a tip online.

All tips are anonymous regardless of how they are submitted, and tipsters will be provided a tip number instead of using a name. Callers’ anonymity is guaranteed by law. Fugitives should be considered armed and dangerous. Texans should never try to apprehend a fugitive themselves.