Meanwhile in Texoma........

[pipistrelle]

I missed what happened so looked it up.

Mawson said the occupant told fire officials she was home alone when she smelled gas and opened some windows. He said she came home sometime later and did not smell the gas odor and flipped on a light switch, causing the explosion.

Neighbors reported the explosion sounded like a plane crash or like a transformer blew up.

Mawson said the home appears to be a total loss.

[Volkonski]

Volkonski turkey storage service.

Our daughter trains and supervises court appointed advocates who work with foster families.

Today one such family is getting a free frozen turkey from someone but can't pick it up themselves. Our daughter is going to fetch it but has to store it for a while before she can deliver it. So Mrs. V is now rearranging things in our freezer to make room since our daughter's freezer is full.

[Maybenaut]

I missed what happened so looked it up.

Mawson said the occupant told fire officials she was home alone when she smelled gas and opened some windows. He said she came home sometime later and did not smell the gas odor and flipped on a light switch, causing the explosion.

Neighbors reported the explosion sounded like a plane crash or like a transformer blew up.

Mawson said the home appears to be a total loss.

We had a gas leak once. I called it in and the gas company said leave the house right now and DO NOT open the windows.

I asked the utility worker when he showed up about opening the windows, and he said it had to do with the ratio of gas to oxygen, and more gas is less likely to explode*, and an open window could actually increase the chance of explosion*.

* I’m using these terms colloquially.

[Volkonski]

Yes, if the gas concentration is above the UEL, about 15%, the air/gas mixture won't ignite.

Breathing the air/gas mixture would be fatal but it won't ignite.

Once the gas flow is stopped at some point as the gas is removed from the building the concentration will be between 5% and 15% and then it can ignite.

[Volkonski]

Wichita Falls may not see Stage 2 Drought Restrictions if conditions continue

https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/lo ... ons-arise/

Officials with the water resource committee said we won’t be headed into Stage 2 Drought Restrictions.

The committee met Monday afternoon, November 6, 2023, to discuss current drought restrictions and the potential triggering for further precautions.

Luckily, the recent rains have put us in an improved position with the combined level of lakes Kickapoo and Arrowhead, now sitting at 54.7%, up a full percent from two weeks ago.

Despite the improvement, city officials still want residents to be mindful of their water usage.

“We hope that we don’t get there,” Daniel Nix, Utilities Operations Manager, said. “We ask the citizens to continue to remain vigilant and watch how they’re using their water going into the late part of the fall and early part of the winter. Obviously, it’s not irrigation season, and so you’ll want to turn your attention to how you’re using water inside your home.”

[Volkonski]

In Wichita Falls 8779 people voted in yesterday's election. There are about 65,000 registered voters in the city.

[Volkonski]

Lake levels dropping again. No rain in the forecast. We could get to the next level of water use restrictions in a couple of weeks. Time to order cases of Perrier.

Drove by the gas fire damaged house yesterday. So many builder pickup trucks parked in the street I could hardly get by.

[Volkonski]

This weekend Mrs. V. is off to the 48th Annual Texas Toot Early Music Workshop in Palestine, TX.

It doesn't open until tomorrow but tonight she will babysit our grandson in Dallas so his parents can go out for their anniversary.

Tomorrow Mrs. V. will pick up two overseas Texas Tooters at the Dallas Airport and drive them to the Toot. She's helpful like that.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

This brings back memories of going with my mom to the Texas Toot.

[Volkonski]

We're Number One!



Hogging the state: Texas tops country's wild pig population in new study

https://www.statesman.com/story/news/st ... 666094007/

Nearly all Texas counties, or 99.6%, are populated by the invasive and highly destructive species, one of over 800 invasive species in the Lone Star State.

The data was pooled by eyewitness accounts of hogs, of which there were 2,425 reported sightings. Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, and Oklahoma round out the top five. While the majority of hogs live in the south, their populations are quickly inching northwards, with multiple sightings in Wisconsin and Vermont.

First introduced by European colonizers in the 1500s, the feral pigs interbred with the Eurasian wild boars introduced in the 1900s for sport and created the tusked hybrid now seen across the U.S.

With no federally approved poison and hunting minimally effective, the pigs' high fertility rates, intelligence, and ability to eat nearly anything have contributed to their exploding population rates.

Researchers at Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service recently found that a warfarin-based toxicant effectively reduced the feral pig population at 23 sites in 10 Texas counties.

[sugar magnolia]

My grandparents are buried in a cemetery that has fences around all the graves to keep the wild pigs from digging up the bodies.

[Volkonski]

Combined lake levels drop half a percent this week

https://www.newschannel6now.com/2023/11 ... this-week/

The combined levels for Lakes Arrowhead and Lake Kickapoo have fallen 0.5% to 53.8% this week, according to The City of Wichita Falls.

Recent rain and cooler temperatures have kept levels from falling any further.

Residents in Wichita Falls remain in the Stage 1 Drought Watch.

The Stage 2 Drought Warning will automatically trigger if and when lake levels reach a combined level of 50%.

[Volkonski]

No rain in the forecast as area lakes continue to decline

https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/n ... 799313007/

North Texans can expect plenty of sunshine and mild temperatures for the next week.

That may be good news for holiday shoppers, but bad news for Wichita Falls lakes, which continue to decline.

The combined levels of lakes Arrowhead and Kickapoo dropped 0.3 percent over the past week and now have a combined total of 53.5 percent.

Wichita Falls water customers remain under the Stage 1 Drought Watch water-use restrictions.

If the combined level falls to 50 percent, Stage 2 Drought Warning restrictions will trigger automatically.

[Volkonski]

Our daughter took a half-day off today. She and Mrs. V are doing the WF Annual Christmas Home Tour where the very well-heeled show off the finest Christmas decorations that their money can buy.

For weeks now when you drive thru the more expensive neighborhoods there are professional Xmas decorators with their lift trucks adorning homes and trees. Evening electricity usage has greatly increased since Thanksgiving.

https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/n ... 825233007/

[AndyinPA]

We have an area here where, more than a hundred years ago, it was called Mansion Row. There's a house there that people call The Bow House because the house (Federalist, I think) has a massive red lit bow around the roof and the sides. It's beautiful. We go by it frequently, and I have always wondered what's inside. This year, to raise money for the Pittsburgh Symphony, they did an open house the weekend after Thanksgiving. The owner is on the Symphony Board. Four of us went.

OMG! We only toured the first floor. It was gorgeous room after gorgeous room after gorgeous room. The kitchen was spectacular, with the most beautiful tiles I have ever seen. The pantry was dining room size. Everything was beautifully decorated for Christmas. It all flowed so beautifully. The decorated trees and some room decorations were for sale (some quite at nice prices for the sizes).

The house was known as the tarp house for a long time after a fire in 1986 destroyed the top floor and roof, but it was purchased and saved about twenty years ago. Now, they actually sleep on the second floor and live on the third floor, so the first floor is probably used for events mostly, although it looked lived in, too.

It's so charming now to drive by and know what is inside, if only a part of it. I can dream about the rest. There are a few other mansions left; they are boutique hotels. I see some in-town weekends in my granddaughter's and my future.

[Volkonski]

About 10 minutes ago, 2 miles from our house.

Potential gunshot victims following incident on Britain Street

https://www.newschannel6now.com/2023/12 ... e-HQe1uGjc

Officers with the Wichita Falls Police Department were sent to the area near the 1500 block of Britain Street following a potential shooting incident.

Our crews on the scene said there were potentially two gunshot victims and that the suspects were no longer on the scene. They also said a victim was placed in the back of an ambulance.

[Volkonski]

UPDATE: According to the WFPD, there are two gunshot victims and both of them are female. The suspect in question reportedly has a connection to one of the victims, according to the WFPD.

Both of the victims were taken to a hospital and WFPD said the injuries could be life threatening. The suspect’s name is Isidro Sifuentes Garicia, but people call him David, according to the WFPD. He reportedly left the scene in a white KIA.

WFPD wants the public to know he may be armed and dangerous. They are also encouraging people to reach out with any information that they have. If you have information, you can call the non-emergency line or crime stoppers.

[Volkonski]

Today about 3 miles away. This shooter they caught.

Gunshots on Rhea Road

https://www.newschannel6now.com/2023/12 ... Wi7Rf4tj8w

Early this morning multiple calls were made with reports of hearing gunshots on Rhea Road.

Wichita Falls Police Department arrived on scene and went door to door to find out if anyone had heard or saw anything.

As of now there is one person in custody, this incident is still under investigation.

[Volkonski]

Another one! About 2 miles away.

Police respond to gunshot victim near Old High in Wichita Falls

https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/lo ... ita-falls/

Police are responding to a gunshot victim near Wichita Falls High School just after noon on December 8, 2023.

Police are responding to the corner of Ave H and Bell Street at what appears to be a multi-family housing unit, according to a reporter on the scene.

The victim has died, according to police scanner traffic and removed the first responder request to this location from CADWEB.

[Volkonski]

Update- Yesterdays shooting suspect is today's victim.

The victim of a fatal shooting that took place near Wichita Falls High School, “Old High” Friday afternoon has been identified by police.

According to Police, the victim was Isidro “David” Sifuentes Garcia, 40, who was a suspect in the shooting of his wife, Lindsey Garcia and her mother, Susan Kimes.

[Volkonski]

Shootings so common they just can't win Crime of the Week.

Crime of the Week: Drug Bust on Central Freeway

https://www.newschannel6now.com/2023/12 ... l-freeway/

For our Crime of the Week, we are revisiting the drug bust on Central Freeway on Saturday, December 2.

At around 10:00 a.m. the Wichita Falls Police Department made a traffic stop on Central Fwy. and found drugs inside the vehicle.

“One of our officers was running radar out on Central Freeway,” WFPD Sgt. Charlie Eipper said. “He clocked a car do a substantial amount of speed over the speed limit of sixty.”

According to court documents, once the patrol officer had stopped and approached the vehicle, he observed two individuals in the cab of the truck acting nervous and could smell the strong odor of marijuana while speaking with the duo he started noticing suspicious packaging.

“The female told the officer that they had traveled to Colorado and picked up a lot of the workings and the fixings and equipment to take back and deliver to someone else who was going to turn it into vape cartridges,” Sgt. Eipper said.

A search of the truck found empty vape cartridges, flavored liquid used for THC vapes as well as several packaging materials with THC labels used for packaging and distributing marijuana illegally, although the two were not caught with marijuana or THC products the delivery of such a large amount of paraphernalia can come with a hefty fee.

[Volkonski]

If you happen to be just north of the Red River on Christmas day-

Kiowa Casino & Hotel
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Watch the movie "News of the World" which has a lot to do with the Kiowa Nation in less happy times.

[Volkonski]

Sorry, no "throw your batteries into Lake Wichita" event.

Facebook event post about throwing batteries into Lake Wichita is bogus

https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/n ... 922273007/

No, there will be no “Throw your battery in Lake Wichita” event on Dec. 31.

“Is this supposed to be funny? Because it’s not funny,” said Lake Wichita Revitalization committee member David Coleman in response to a hoax post that showed up as an event on Facebook.

“Not only is it bogus, it’s just a horrible, horrible idea,” Coleman said. “The lake’s having enough trouble. We don’t need to pollute it with battery acid.”

The post said throwing in the batteries would recharge the power plant at the bottom of the lake. There is no power plant at the bottom of Lake Wichita.

It also contained the logos of the Wichita Falls Chamber of Commerce and several local businesses and claimed people who tossed in their old batteries would get a discount on new ones.

None of that is true.

Lake Wichita is a 1200 acre artificial lake created in 1900. It is now owned by the city of Wichita Falls and is used for recreational purposes. It had nearly disappeared by 2014 but has made a bit of a come back. It once was a reservoir for municipal water.

[Volkonski]

Christmas plans a changing...............

Plan 1 was to have our younger daughter, her husband and son come up for Christmas Day.

Plan 2 was to have younger daughter, her husband and son come up for Christmas day and have Mrs. V's sister from California come for the week.

Plan 3 was to have younger daughter, her husband and son come up for Christmas day and have Mrs. V's sister from California come for the week and older daughter and her husband would go away for a short mini vacation starting on the 26th.

Plan 4 was to have younger daughter, her husband and son come up for the 23rd and 24th and have Mrs. V's sister from California come for the 26th thru the 30th and older daughter and her husband would go away for a short mini vacation starting on the 26th.

Plan today to have younger daughter, her husband and son come up for the 24th and 25th, Mrs. V's sister from California is not coming and older daughter and her husband might take a day trip or two after the 25th.

[Tiredretiredlawyer]

And a partridge in a pear tree