NEWS
Ham radio operators prepare demonstration days
Montague County “hams” will join with thousands of amateur radio operations who will be showing off their emergency capabilities June 28-29.
This annual events called “Field Day” is the climax of a week-long “Amateur Radio Week” sponsored by the American Radio Relay League. In the Montague County area, the local radio club “MCARC” will be demonstrating amateur radio at the Montague County Courthouse Annex on June 28-29. They invite the public to come and see how ham radio’s new capabilities work and learn how to get their own FCC radio license before the next disaster strikes.
The demonstration will be 1 – 7 p.m. on June 28 and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 29.
During the past year the new has been full of reports of ham radio operators providing critical communications during unexpected emergencies in towns across America. During Hurricane Katrine, amateur radio – often called “hams” traveled south to save lives and property. When trouble is brewing, amateur radio’s people are often the first to provide rescuers with critical information and communications.
During the upcoming event, the public will have a chance to meet and talk with Montague County ham radio operators and see for themselves what the amateur radio service is about. Showing the latest in digital and satellite capabilities, voice communications and even historical Morse code, hams from across the USA will be conducting public demonstrations of emergency communications abilities.
Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators will construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and back yards around the country. Their slogan, “Ham radio works when other systems don’t,” is more than just words to the hams as they prove they can send messages in many forms without the use of phone systems, internet or any other infrastructure that can be compromised in a crisis. More than 30,000 amateur radio operators across the country participated in last year’s event.
“We hope people will come and see for themselves. The communications ham radio people can quickly create have saved many lives when other systems failed or were overloaded. And besides that, it’s fun,” said Joe Ehlene, club president.
There are more than 650,000 amateur radio licenses in the U.S. and more than 2.5 million around the world. To learn more about amateur radio go to emergency-radio.org. Come learn more, they can even help you get on the air.
The Bowie City Council will meet at 6 p.m. on June 23.
The agenda includes both old and new business items.
City Manager Bert Cunningham will make his report on the 2026-27 budget process, bid opening for the Glenn Hills lift station on July 16 and the bid for Rock and Pillar repairs.
In new business a pair of planning and zoning committee recommendations for replats at 107 E. Nelson and 412 Green will be reviewed. An ordinance adopting an office of emergency management amending a present ordinance will be offered.
Old business will see the second reading of the pickleball court reservation fee ordinance and the ordinance prohibiting drilling and mining or the reopening of an abandoned well or mine in any public park in the city limits.
A HEAT ADVISORY will be in effect from noon until 9 p.m. today (Thursday). Please plan accordingly.
Hear Audio Alert:https://hrpow.us/oeFZANN
Montague County Sheriff Marshall Thomas has confirmed human skeletal remains were recovered on June 13 in the Sunset area, and they could possibly be those of a flight attendant believed to have been murdered almost a year ago in the Fort Worth.
The murder suspect, Dennis William Day, 66, admitted in June 2025 to strangling Rana Soluri, 47, an Envoy flight attendant who lived with Day during that last year. She was reported missing by a co-worker on June 11 and had not been seen or heard from since March 2025.
Day initially denied any involvement, but later admitted to the murder and indicated he dumped her body somewhere in the Montague County area. Lawmen have scoured the areas in questions in both Montague and Wise County, but found nothing.
Sheriff Thomas said on June 13 the SO received a call of possible skeletal remains in the Brushy Creek area north of Poss Dyer Lane on Farm-to-Market 1749. A deputy went to the scene and confirmed it was human remains.
Investigators responded and kept the scene secure overnight until staff from the University of North Texas Forensic Anthropology Center could arrive and made the recovery on June 14. A Texas Ranger and staff from the Fort Worth Police Department also were on scene.
“There is no determination made yet on how long it has been there,” said Thomas. “The anthropologist was pleased to recover most of the skeleton in these conditions. Heavy rains previously made the past searches difficult. We are working jointly with Fort Worth to make an identification and if it is the victim in their homicide.”
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