COUNTY LIFE
Sampson jailed on three-count vehicular manslaughter indictment

A Nocona man was arrested on a felony indictment for the death of a Ringgold woman in a one-vehicle accident outside Saint Jo on Feb. 3.
Michael Paul Sampson, 49, Nocona, was charged with a three-count indictment for intoxication manslaughter, manslaughter and negligent homicide in the death of Billie Faye Miller, 65, Ringgold.
The victim was a passenger in Sampson’s 2016 Buick Enclave involved in the accident. According to a Department of Public Safety statement the crash happened at 3:45 a.m. on Feb. 3 on Farm-to-Market 677 South at the Saint Jo City Limits.
Sampson was reportedly driving northeast on FM 677 around a sharp curve. The driver continued straight through the curve and off the roadway vaulting over Dennis Road and continuing through a barbed-wire fence, striking a tree head-on.
His passenger was pronounced dead at the scene from injuries sustained in the crash. Sampson went to Nocona General Hospital with non-incapacitating injuries. The report also notes the roads were wet and neither of the persons were wearing a seat belt.
Sampson was arrested by Nocona Police on a warrant connected with the October indictment. He was booked into the county jail with bond of $150,000. As of Tuesday he remained in jail.
The two manslaughter charges are second degree felonies punishable if convicted by two to 20 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. The negligent homicide offense is a state jail felony punishable by 180 days to two years in jail and a fine up to $10,000.
COUNTY LIFE
Radio club hosting meteorologist

Michael Bohling, chief meteorologist from Channel 3 in Wichita Falls, will have a presentation at the Montague County Courthouse Annex Community room in Montague from 7-8 p.m. on April 8. It is sponsored by the Montague County Amateur Radio Club.
COUNTY LIFE
Saint Jo VFD readies annual fish fry

Members of the Saint Jo Fire Department will host a fish fry and silent auction from 5-7 p.m. on May 3 in the Saint Jo School cafeteria.
Cost is $12 per plate and to-go orders are available. Enjoy fresh catfish, french fries, hush puppies, beans, cole slaw and desserts. A silent auction is planned.
COUNTY LIFE
Funeral directors journals provide unique ‘day in the life’ perspective on community

By BARBARA GREEN
editor@bowienewsonline.com
Kimberly Morris, longtime funeral director in Nocona, has compiled a two-volume set of not only death records, but personal notes from the original funeral home owner covering some 25 years.
She calls it an introduction to the life of the W.L. Scott II who started Scott Funeral Home, the person who tried to make one of the hardest days in life as easy as possible.
Morris sees it as something that not only shows a day in the life, but a historic collection of resident’s deaths, that can be an interesting read as well as a genealogy resource.
The result is “the unpublished” – Volume 1: 1960-1979 and Volume 2: 1980-1985. It is centered around the funeral home intake form where the director made plans for the family, but on the back Scott kept a journal of the activities surrounding this service from start to finish often beginning with picking up a body.
Morris explains it was a different era where there was not a “funeral home” persé as everyone was embalmed at home.
Read the full feature in your Thursday Bowie News.
Also read the Scott Brothers legacy from “the unpublished,” that explains the big impact this family had on business development in Montague County. See page 4A.
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