AUSTIN – Governor Greg Abbott today directed the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) to activate state emergency response resources ahead of severe winter weather expected to impact the state this week.

“The State of Texas is working around-the-clock to ensure Texans have the resources and support needed as severe winter weather impacts communities across Texas,” said Governor Abbott. “As temperatures begin to drop below freezing and regions of Texas face snow, ice, and freezing rain, it is crucial that everyone remain weather-aware, check DriveTexas.org before traveling, and heed the guidance of state and local officials. Texans can find the warming center nearest them at tdem.texas.gov/warm. I thank emergency management personnel and first responders for working tirelessly to help Texans prepare and stay safe during this winter weather.”

According to the National Weather Service, temperatures at or below freezing are expected across large areas of the state. Some areas may face disruptive snow, ice, and freezing rain, causing potentially hazardous travel conditions through the rest of the week.

Over the weekend, more than 700 Texas Department of Transportation personnel prepared for winter weather by pre-treating roads, bridges, and overpasses with over 500,000 gallons of brine and approximately 800 cubic yards of granular material.

At the direction of Governor Abbott, TDEM has activated the following state emergency response resources to support winter weather response operations:

• Texas Department of Transportation: Winter weather roadway equipment and crews pre-treating and treating roadways; personnel and equipment to assist with traffic control and road closures
• Texas Division of Emergency Management: Incident Management Teams; personnel working with local partners to update warming center maps
• Texas A&M Forest Service: Saw crews; motor graders and personnel to assist with snow/ice clearance
• Texas National Guard: High-profile vehicles and personnel responding to support stranded motorists

Additionally, the following state emergency response resources have been placed on standby for deployment as needed:

• Public Utility Commission of Texas: Power outage monitoring and coordinating with utility providers across the threat area
• Railroad Commission of Texas: Monitoring of the state’s natural gas supply and communication with the oil and gas industry
• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Air/water/wastewater monitoring
• Texas Department of State Health Services (Texas Emergency Medical Task Force): Winter Weather Packages including medics and ambulances
• Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service: Disaster assessment and recovery agents
• Texas Animal Health Commission: Coordinating animal/agricultural resource needs
• Texas Department of Public Safety: Texas Highway Patrol Troopers to patrol Texas roadways
• Texas Parks & Wildlife Department: Game Wardens to support local law enforcement; high-profile vehicles to assist stranded motorists
• Texas Department of Information Resources: Monitoring technology infrastructure
• Texas Education Agency: Monitoring school district needs across the state

Texans are urged to monitor local forecasts, check road conditions before traveling on roadways, and follow instructions from emergency officials.

Texans can access winter weather safety tips by visiting TexasReady.gov, locate warming centers opened and operated by local officials at tdem.texas.gov/warm, and check road conditions at DriveTexas.org.

All 12 TxDOT maintenance offices spent today pre-treating
bridges and overpasses with brine in the Wichita Falls District.
Crews in the largest cities sprayed brine on secondary highways and roads first before moving
onto the primary freeways. Employees transformed more than 86 dump trucks into snowplows
and adding brine tanks and sand spreaders.
Tuesday will be spent laying down brine on all primary high traffic roadways and making more
brine for the holding tanks and our tanker trucks.
TxDOT crews are ready to go on 12-hour around the clock shifts.
Motorists can obtain travel information, road conditions and see 15 Wichita Falls traffic cameras and 1 Vernon camera by visiting DriveTexas.org or calling (800) 452-9292. Traffic cameras are
also at TxDOT.Gov.
Remember to follow the Wichita Falls District in our newly created Facebook page,
www.Facebook.com/TxDOTWichitaFalls and on Twitter, www.Twitter.com/TxDOTWF
If you experience an emergency on the road, call 9-1-1 for help and stay buckled up inside your vehicle.

By BARBARA GREEN
[email protected]
Katie Boggeman had high aspirations even in kindergarten, where she told her teacher she wanted to be a Supreme Court Justice.
She laughs about that memory today and is not sure what made her pick that profession, but it was omen for the future as Boggeman began her official term as 97th District Attorney this week.
The Clay County resident won the March Republican Party Primary defeating DA Casey Hall and was not challenged in the general election planning for a Jan. 1, 2025 start; however, after the outgoing DA was indicted on theft charges those plans changed. So far she has been sworn in once after Hall agreed to a suspension and a second time when Hall resigned and the governor appointed Boggeman to fill the interim. She looks to the Jan. 1 ceremony as the “third time charm.”
The 44-year-old Boggeman has been married to Joe Mac Boggeman since 2015. The couple is raising two children in the Four Corners area of Clay County, where Joe Mac’s family is from. She calls herself a country girl at heart and always knew they would make their home in a rural area.
Boggeman grew up on a horse ranch in California where she showed livestock and competed in numerous horse disciplines as a youth. She grew up in the rodeo world and earned her first queen title at the age of 12. It was the start of a “queening journey,” that peaked with the Miss Rodeo USA from the International Professional Rodeo Association in 2004. She believes those experiences helped form the person she would become, as she traveled across the country and Canada at the age of 24.

Read the full feature in the weekend Bowie News.

Top Photo: Katie Boggeman, 97th district attorney, stands with her staff. (Left) Brandi Shipman, Wes Wallace, Paige McCormick, Boggeman, Todd Lewis and Jackie Welsh. The new DA is excited to have a full staff onboard and ready to go in 2025. (Courtesy photo)