NEWS

Subzero freeze comes to Montague County

Published

5 years ago

02/17/2021

By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
Sub-zero temperatures are not something North Texans are used to dealing with, but Old Man Winter sent us a nasty dose of cold weather reality this week as temperatures dropped to record sub-zero lows and four to eight inches of snow fell across Montague County.
Along with the arctic temperatures came rolling electrical blackouts due to high demand across the state forcing the electric grid to implement rolling blackouts. People were forced to endure periods of no power at their homes as they tried to stay warm during the early hours of Monday and throughout the day. While they were suppose to be brief, hourly stops, that did not happen in many parts of the county where people were without service for hours.
The outages were expected to continue based on emergency protocol, but there also was ice and storm damage in certain parts of the state causing outages.
Bowie City Manager Bert Cunningham said Tuesday the city’s electric supply had been stable with no interruptions due to the storm or to ERCOT.
“We buy our bulk power from Bryan Texas Utilities and as long as their generators are running we are okay. They have a huge gas-fired generator and two other smaller turbine generators that are running full out. We are not subject to rolling blackouts unless BTU runs into a problem,” explained Cunningham.

Read the full story in the mid-week Bowie News.

NEWS

Commissioners to meet on May 11

Published

2 hours ago

05/07/2026

bowienews

Members of the Montague County Commissioner’s Court will meet at 9 a.m. on May 11.
After the consent agenda and public comments, the court will discuss an interlocal agreement between precinct two and the Bowie Sports Association for the baseball complex.
Precinct three will ask for a line-time budget adjustment of $15,000 from operating expenses to part-time.
The court will open and consider accepting sealed bids for emulsified asphalt and prime oil, all on a 90-day contract.
The consent agenda of minutes, bills and reports also is slated.

NEWS

Suspicious man jailed near BHS

Published

4 hours ago

05/07/2026

bowienews

A 44-year-old Bowie man was arrested Monday morning at the lake next to Bowie High School after he was acting suspiciously and ran from police.
At 7:28 a.m. May 4 Lt. Bob Blackburn saw a man trespassing at the school lake. Nearby there was a vehicle parked on the service road belonging to the suspect, Zane Huntley. The license plate on the vehicle had been concealed using tape.
“My immediate first thought was someone was here to hurt my kids. Covering up your plates is something criminals do,” said the officer.

Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.

NEWS

Overall preliminary values up 8.1%

Published

4 hours ago

05/07/2026

bowienews

By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
Staff of the Montague County Tax Appraisal District sent out 15,815 preliminary property value statements for the 2026 tax year.
An additional 3,500 mineral notices and 90 business personal property notices were sent out by Pritchard & Abbott.
Overall total preliminary values for the county went up 8.1% when compared to certified values from 2025 reported Chief Appraiser Kim Haralson.
Property values have undergone many changes in the last few years based on actions from the Texas Legislature, subdivision developments and energy.
Last November, Texas voters approved an increase in the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000 which affected last year’s values and taxes.
Ongoing development of subdivisions throughout the county and fluctuations in the oil and gas industry also are having an impact.
Values were determined as of Jan. 1, 2026, so any activity after that date such as recent upheavals in energy due to the war in Iran have not impacted the numbers.

Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.