The Comanche Chief Great news Comanche – we have bats, too! Follow Eleventh Street in Comanche and on either side of the JC Dingwall overpass amongst the concrete murals of Native Americans and Old Cora about sunset you will see hundreds, probably thousands, of bats descend from the overhang of the north and south sides of the bridge!
At exactly 8:20 p.m. two weeks ago (and 8:02 p.m. week,) bats took to the sky in a span of minutes. It was certainly a sight to see. And, when the bats emerged, birds show up to feed! I am not sure the type of bird, but we witnessed several birds catching bats in flight. All those bats are nesting under the ledge of the JC Dingwall overpass.
One square foot of the bridge overhang can accommodate 200 or more bats. The overpass is long, and they roost on both sides so the estimate of the number of bats living there could be very high.
Hamilton Herald-News Hamilton County’s new communications center went live Monday afternoon and is now operating out of the courthouse annex.
Communication Director Lacey Alexander said a temporary generator has been installed and an antenna and Department of Public Safety satellite will be installed Friday.
She said Mills County is assisting with satellite needs until Friday.
Mark Garnez is the new postmaster at Hamilton Post Office. He joined the local facility on June 21.
Gamez is a veteran of the US Navy, lives in Lampasas and is the father of three children, two daughters in college and a son going into eighth grade.
He has worked for the postal service for 131/2 years, most recently at Killeen. Hamilton is his first postmaster position. He said the staff there is great.
De Leon Free Press Last Monday, the Comanche County Commissioners’ Court met in a called meeting and discussed a number of items.
Probably the most important was the mention that Comanche County was awarded a $900,000 planning grant to restore the courthouse from the Texas Historical Commission. The grant required roughly a 30 percent match to complete a $1.3 million planning budget.
To close out the Peach and Melon Festival, Anna Robinett was crowned Miss De Leon. Claudia Chaves was selected Peach and Melon Festival Queen. Chelsi Bain was selected Junior Miss. Cashlynn Caldrer was selected Petite Miss and Luisa Spurlen was selected as Little Miss DeLeon.
Hico News-Review A fire call at the Laundromat downtown on North Railroad Street put a brief scare into bystanders and first responders last Thursday, Aug. 4, around 9 p.m. The building filled with smoke, but no flames were found. Claudia Turner said she was doing her laundry and noticed the smoke, which seemed to be coming from a small office near the front door. She called 911. Several Hico Volunteer Fire Department trucks and a dozen firemen were on the scene quickly from the fire station two blocks away. It was determined that the smoke was coming from a smoldering laundry bag of rags. Fire Chief Brandon Keller said there was “lots of smoke but very little fire detected and minimal damage.” The Laundromat is connected to several other buildings on that block recently renovated by developer Clay Mazur.