Meanwhile in Texoma........

[Volkonski]

I'll make room in the freezer.

[bill_g]

As it turns out the snow we got does not make good snowballs. It's snow and ice and rain. It's pretty, but it doesn't pack well. I should just put some ice cube trays outside to collect some natural cubes.

[Volkonski]

It is going to be cold for the next week at least with very low humidity.

City of Wichita Falls area lake levels drop

https://www.newschannel6now.com/2024/01 ... vels-drop/

The City of Wichita Falls has released that the combined lake levels for Lake Kickapoo and Lake Arrowhead have fallen 0.6% to 53.1%.

The City said that despite the recent rain, windy weather conditions have most likely led to more evaporation and loss of water.

[Foggy]

Cold here for the next few days, too also, but not flyover country cold, so I'll shut up now.

[Volkonski]

Lack of Wichita Falls area foster families leads to several kids turned away

https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/lo ... rned-away/

Recently, regional child advocacy groups have been forced to turn away large numbers of foster kids in need as more and more children join the thousands of kids in Texas’ foster care system.

Imploring Wichita Falls area adults and families to serve this vulnerable population, A World For Children advocacy group officials said they’re tackling common fostering myths to lower these numbers.

“They want love. They want a safe environment,” Director Ashley Almanza said.

It’s a goal Almanza said she’s had since she was a kid: Advocating for foster kids.

The World For Children director has hit recent struggles, turning away nearly 50 kids due to a lack of willing fosters.

Our older daughter works as an advocate supervisor for an organization which provides court appointed child advocates for Wichita County and the surrounding counties. She often has to drive 2 to 3 hours 1-way to visit foster children served by advocates under her supervision because foster parents couldn't be found near Wichita County. This means she is out of the office for a whole day. Sometimes this happens 2 or 3 days in a week.

Having foster families so distant complicates court visits and family visits.

[Volkonski]

In the county just east of us.

City of Petrolia under boil order

https://www.newschannel6now.com/2024/01 ... oil-order/

The City of Petolia has announced that they are under a boil order following freezing issues at the town’s water tower.

They are currently working on getting the tower thawed, flushed, running, and tested.

The city said the whole town is out of water and that the boil order will be in effect for several days.

When boiling water for consumption, the Centers for Disease Control said it should be brought to a rolling boil for at least one minute.

Freezing weather returns tomorrow.

[Volkonski]

Just 2 miles from us across from a Walmart Supercenter.

Three shot at Wichita Falls apartment complex

https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/lo ... t-complex/

Three people are hospitalized following an apparent shooting at a Wichita Falls apartment complex.

Officers with the Wichita Falls Police Department and first responders with the Wichita Falls Fire Department were dispatched to the Country Park Apartments in the 5200 block of Professional Drive just after 9:30 p.m. on Sunday, January 21, 2024, in reference to a report of gunshots.

According to Sgt. Danny Wiggins with the WFPD, when officers arrived at the scene, they discovered three people suffering from gunshot wounds.

[Volkonski]

Couldn't hurt I suppose.

Lake Wichita receives blessing from local parish

https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/la ... al-parish/

Water is a valuable resource that is essential to all parts of life, but 2023 was a drier year for Wichita Falls compared to years past after one of the hottest summers Texoma has ever seen.

With this in mind, the parish at Saint Benedict Orthodox Church held a ceremony on Sunday, January 21, 2024, asking God to bless the waters in the new year.

[Volkonski]

Update on shooting-

After further investigation, WFPD learned one of the wounded, a 33-year-old man, was the resident of the apartment. He told police that the other two men attempted to rob him while holding guns.

The victim said he produced a gun during the robbery attempt, and shots were fired. All three men were injured.

One of the suspects was pronounced dead at the hospital. The other suspect is in serious condition and under guard, according to Sgt. Eipper.

The victim was treated and released.

The identities of the suspects are still under investigation and will be released when more information is learned and next of kin has been notified.

https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/lo ... Hx0saqxT2E

[Volkonski]

Lake levels drop despite rain

https://www.newschannel6now.com/2024/01 ... pite-rain/

The City of Wichita Falls source water lake levels dropped last week despite rain over the weekend.

Combined lake levels dropped 0.2% according to Chris Horgen, Public Information Officer of the City of Wichita Falls.

This places the combined lake capacity at 52.9%, keeping Wichita Falls water customers under Stage One Drought Watch restrictions.

Horgen said the City of Wichita Falls stresses the importance of conservation in preventing Stage Two Drought Warning restrictions. If and when the combine lake levels reach 50%, those restrictions will trigger automatically.

[RTH10260]

Update on shooting-

At least we now have another story of a good guy with a gun

[Volkonski]

Mrs. V is in California visiting her sister.

I took her down to Dallas Love Field Airport yesterday, about a 2 hour drive each way.

On the way back I was in the express lane on Hwy 121 west when traffic stopped. That express lane is a narrow single lane with concrete barriers on both sides. Once you are stopped there is nothing to do but wait. Google maps told me that there had been a crash up ahead.

Since the express lane is too narrow to allow tow vehicles to pass in the direction of traffic they have to wait until traffic has cleared downstream of the wreck and then approach it from the "wrong" direction while driving backwards. This takes time. Police and ambulances close the regular lane next to the express lane and climb across the concrete barriers to get to the wreck.

Those of us behind the wreck waited about an hour for traffic to restart.

Mrs. V got to California about the same time I got home.

[Maybenaut]

Ugh! Do you have to pay to be in the express lane? If so, will there be a refund, or is it more like you pays your money and you takes your chances?

Fortunately for me the express lanes around here are all double lanes, and most of them have those flimsy barrier posts that an emergency vehicle could drive over. I use the express lanes all of the time (well, not all the time since I never go anywhere), even when there’s no traffic. The part of I-66 that I mostly drive on is four or five lanes each way not counting express lanes, and even in light traffic people are zipping around from all directions. I’m an anxious driver and I’m willing to pay a little extra to have the highway mostly to myself.

[Volkonski]

Yes, you pays your money and you takes your chances. Unlike some other states' express lane systems the Texas ones aren't free if you have several people in the vehicle.

No toll booths. You have to have a Texas toll transponder in your vehicle. If not, Texas will track you down using you license plate number and demand payment.

Texas likes to brag about not having an income tax but instead the state charges fees for many services that are covered by taxes in other states. Property taxes and sales taxes are also high.

[Volkonski]

Longstanding Denny’s on Kemp in Wichita Falls torn down

https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/lo ... 5TYDWIV_xs

Denny’s longstanding location at the corner of Kemp Boulevard and Elliott Street in front of Target has come down, with construction crews currently working to clear the pile of debris left in the wake of its demolition.

[Volkonski]

Today we are getting our first good rain in weeks. Might get as much as 1"!

However, that will be but a drop in the bucket of what we need. Our local reservoirs are only a bit above 50% full. Drier hotter weather is coming. Our water usage will greatly increase.

ANOTHER HOT, DRY SUMMER MAY PUSH PARTS OF TEXAS TO THE BRINK
Some areas are starting the year with low water reserves, and forecasters don’t expect substantial relief from the weather.

https://www.texasobserver.org/texas-res ... ions-2024/

Two consecutive summers of brutal heat and drought have left some parts of Texas with notably low water supplies going into 2024.

A wet year or a well-placed hurricane could quickly pull these regions back from the brink. But winter rains have disappointed so far. Monday’s downpours are the first in weeks for parts of the state and they won’t hit the watersheds that need them most.

Looking ahead, forecasters increasingly expect another scorching summer here this year.

That’s bad news for places like far South Texas, where big reservoirs on the Lower Rio Grande fell from 33 percent to 23 percent full over the last 12 months. A repeat of similar conditions would leave the reservoirs far lower than they’ve ever been, triggering an emergency response and an international crisis.

“Pretty scary times,” said Jim Darling, president of the Rio Grande Regional Water Authority and former mayor of the city of McAllen. “We’ll see what happens.”

Worries stretch beyond the Rio Grande. In Corpus Christi, on the South Texas coast, authorities last month stopped releasing water aimed at maintaining minimum viable ecology in the coastal wetlands, even as oil refineries and chemical plants remain exempt from water use restrictions during drought.

[Volkonski]

Bit of good news-

Lake levels rise after rainfall

https://www.newschannel6now.com/2024/01 ... -rainfall/

The City of Wichita Falls source water lake levels rose 2.8 percent last week.

Wichita Falls Public Information Officer Chris Horgen attributes this to recent rainfall and said both Lake Arrowhead and Lake Kickapoo saw significant increases.

The combined lake levels are now at 55.7 percent capacity.

Wichita Falls water customers still remain under Stage 1 Drought Watch restrictions despite the increase.

Last week we had the heaviest rain in months.

We are now into another dry spell with temperatures in the high 60s. Soon irrigation both agricultural and ornamental will resume. We need a wet spring.

[Volkonski]

Big cities may have more spectacular crime but can they beat this? I think we have a winner for Crime of the Week.

Cops find pink plastic gun, suspicious person suspect arrested on Kemp

https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/cr ... d-on-kemp/

Wichita Falls police arrested a man after responding to a report of a man armed with a pink gun.

According to the police report, on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024, officers went to the 4000 block of Kemp Blvd for a suspicious person.

While they were talking to witnesses, a man matching the suspect’s description started walking towards them. With their firearms drawn, police gave multiple commands to get on the ground, but the man put his hands on his head and continued towards the officers. He was tased and taken into custody.

Police identified him as Eric Warren. Witnesses said the man was seen displaying a pink handgun, and officers found a realistic pink plastic airsoft gun in his pocket.

[Volkonski]

Peace and quiet at last!

Mrs. V flew back to DFW from California on Tuesday. She spent the night at our younger daughter's condo in Arlington then younger daughter drove her here along with grandson.

Grandson is now 10 month old, starting to talk "HI!" and crawling around at warp speed getting into everything.

Our house is not child proof so a lot of things had to be moved out of the way.

Daughter and grandson returned home yesterday after which we straightened up the house.

Today Mrs. V is down in Dallas for a recorder society rehearsal. She will stay overnight with younger daughter and come back tomorrow.

Older daughter and her husband are out for breakfast at Panera Bread.

So for now it is just me and the cats.

[Volkonski]

Primary voting time in Texas is almost here.

We have gotten our mail-in ballots for the Democratic Primary. There are 8 candidates for President and 9 candidates for the Senate. Otherwise there are 1 or 2 candidates for each state and local office.

Locally-

Most popular early voting location in Wichita County bows out

https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/n ... 493900007/

The most popular location for early voters in Wichita County has opted out of the 2024 elections.

The Home Depot store, which had traditionally seen the largest number of voters, will not participate in the upcoming elections.

Wichita County Elections Coordinator Robin Fincannon said the decision was made by the local store, which had been an early voting site for many years.

Fincannon said to compensate, early voting at Sikes Senter will be expanded with more personnel and more voting machines.

Also, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center at 1100 Smith St. will be added to early voting locations.

Because of a presidential election and state and local races, 2024 is expected to see heavy voter turnout in Texas.

Early voting in the March 5 elections in Texas begins Feb. 20.

[Volkonski]

Wow, guess it is OK to take a shower this week.

Lakes rises (sic) for second consecutive week



https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/n ... 478489007/

The combined levels for lakes Arrowhead and Kickapoo rose for the second straight week. The 0.6 percent increase puts the numer (sic) at 56.3 percent of capacity. That's not enough to take water customers out of State One Drought Watch restriction, but the trend is moving in a positive direction.

[Volkonski]

It was 71F yesterday. It is 67F now. Winter is over.

Winter Storm Watch issued for Wichita Falls, surrounding areas

https://www.texomashomepage.com/weather ... ing-areas/

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch in anticipation of winter weather making its way to the area Super Bowl weekend.

The watch was issued late Friday morning and goes into effect Late Saturday evening, lasting until Sunday evening, February 11, 2024.

The areas included in the Winter Strom Watch include Kiowa, Jackson, Tillman, Comanche, and Cotton Counties in Oklahoma, as well as Hardeman, Wilbarger, and Wichita Counties in Texas.

[Volkonski]

Less than 1".

[Volkonski]

City View Independent School District
City View Families,
Happy Chilly Sunday afternoon. With the possibility of rainfall in our area mixing in with frozen precipitation tonight and overnight, we will continue to monitor weather conditions and (if necessary) make any announcement regarding a delay or cancelation via our ISD social media pages and local media outlets after assessing the roads before buses run and a Monday morning commute begins.
For now, stay warm and no matter where your loyalty lies: Go Chiefs, Go 49ers, Go Swifties, Go Usher, Go Reba, and Go Commercials on this Super Bowl Sunday!
-Dr. Thomas

[Volkonski]

The worst thing that could happen on Taylor Swift Sunday.

City of Electra experiences major power outage

https://www.newschannel6now.com/2024/02 ... rDLUGNCJl8

The outages occured because of the main transformer blowing at the substation.

As of right now, the city is trying to power the town with a smaller transformer, but the city’s administrator, Kim Cryer, said this is a temporary fix.

The city is asking residents try to conserve energy, refrain from using larger appliances, lower thermostats and only use essential electricity for the next several days.

Truly today mourning becomes Electra.