COUNTY LIFE
Two marble panels fall, shatter at courthouse
Two marble panels collapsed and shattered at the Montague County Veteran’ Memorial on the courthouse square March 4 due to high winds.
This is the second time the monument has been damaged by high winds.
On Nov. 10, 2021 a panel fell over breaking into pieces and another panel shifted. It was a long process to get the slab replaced as the black marble came from India.
County Judge Kevin Benton recalls in 2021 there were delays first in finding the specific marble that was needed and then the first panel broke as it was being worked on and the artists had to start again.
Then the panel had to be shipped to its new home. It was an expensive proposition costing about $16,000. The panels are very large with the small ones weighing in at one ton.
Benton and Commissioner Bob Langford said Monday the wind deductible for the insurance is very high at $50,000. When that first panel was replaced county officials opted to have dowels placed in the panel that went into holes in the base to create a more secure attachment.
Langford said at that time they looked at possibly resetting the whole monument with dowels, but it was cost prohibitive at more than $30,000. He added the installers also indicated they really didn’t want to tackle something like that due to the possible liability if the panel is damaged.
Benton said they are talking to a company to see what is the best way forward with the repairs and what the costs could be to replace them.
Pictured: A precinct crew was removing the broken marble panels on Monday. (Photo by Barbara Green)
A RED FLAG WARNING for Montague County, TX will be in effect today from 11 am until 6 pm. Please be careful.
Today is the first day of spring. In 2025, the March equinox happens on March 20 at 5:01 A.M. EDT. This falls on a Thursday and is the astronomical beginning of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere and the autumn season in the Southern Hemisphere.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the spring equinox (also called the March equinox or vernal equinox across the globe) occurs when the Sun crossesthe celestial equator going south to north. It’s called the celestial equator because it’s an imaginary line in the sky above Earth’s equator. Imagine standing on the equator; the Sun would pass directly overhead on its way north.
On the March equinox, the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere receive roughly equal amounts of sunlight; neither hemisphere is tilted more toward or away from the Sun than the other.
Although in most locations (the North Pole and the equator being exceptions), the amount of daylight had been increasing each day after the winter solstice—and after the spring equinox, many places will experience more daylight than darkness in each 24-hour day. The amount of daylight each day will continue to increase until the summer solstice (in June) when the longest period of daylight occurs.
Information from the Farmer’s Almanac
Economic and community development representatives from across the nation participated in the Texas Community Development Institute March 5-6. Among those completing the Advanced course was Cindy Roller, Bowie Community Development executive director.
Roller was in the 2025 class among 26 in the Advanced class with over 100 attendees overall attending. She has officially completed years 1-3 in the CDI curriculum.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
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