The Springtown Epigraph

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The

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Thursday, July 9, 2015

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Volume 52, Number 12

Soldier faces long road to recovery Page 1B after freak accident

$1 Springtown, Texas 76082

Police debunk attempted child abduction story BY NATALIE GENTRY Springtown police have concluded that a recent post on a social media website claiming that an attempted child abduction took place in Springtown this past weekend is not true.

The rumor circulated throughout the city and online, authorities said, prompting several anxious parents to call the police asking what happened. “Offi cers investigated the incident and determined the situation involved

a child who was mad at a parent and got out of the car,” said Springtown Police Department Public Information Officer Laura Stone. “The parent then drove alongside the child, trying to get the child back

into the car. caution. “It was not an attempted abduction.” However, most comments on the During the investigation, offi cers original post agree that it is impordid warn parents of the possibility that tant for parents to remain vigilant and a child predator was in the area as it know where their children are at all is always better to err on the side of times.

City seeking FEMA aid for storm damage BY NATALIE GENTRY The City of Springtown is still working to get continued funding for damage caused by storms that ripped through the area in early May. Representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) visited the city in June to determine if the damage was significant enough to warrant federal aid. According to Springtown Mayor Tom Clayton, the FEMA personnel gave the city high marks for documentation of the damage. Conceptual cost estimates the city provided to FEMA included: two sections of waterline that go under two different creek crossings and another section of an aerial sewer line spanning Walnut Creek. According to the city’s engineering fi rm, Freese and Nichols, the base bid for permanent repairs to the pipes is $579,270. City Administrator Doug Hughes noted that the city has already recognized approximately $33,000 for temporary repairs to these lines, and

May fl oods damaged two waterlines at Walnut Creek crossings and city offi cials are seeking federal funds to help pay for those repairs. Officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency toured the repaired areas recently. Photo by Mark K. Campbell FEMA has this cost as well. Hughes said FEMA has made no decision to date if they will fund any projects in Parker County. “However, FEMA has fi nished their fi rst step and determined Parker County has met its threshold for fi nancial

losses due to the fl ood events in May,” Hughes said. He also said that one of the city’s grant consultants recommended the city pass its own disaster proclamation just in case it is needed for funding that cannot be received in conjunction

with the county. This proclamation was announced by Mayor Clayton at the June 25 council meeting. County commissioners rode with FEMA offi cials to check out several damaged roadways.

The county had already made repairs because those roads were essential for travel. FEMA said it would have preferred seeing the roads in their damaged state but understood the county’s situation, Commissioner George Conley noted.

This year already one of wettest in history And it's only early July BY MARK K. CAMPBELL Ah, the weather – the one topic everyone likes to talk about. We entered 2015 in the throes of a years-long, dusty drought. Now, barely six months later, that phenomenon is a distant memory, and we're trying to dry out. When it comes to precipitation, this year is marching up the historical meteorological ladder as one of the wettest ever.

This July 8 downpour just south of Springtown added to the remarkable precipitation that has fallen in 2015 so far. If we average our usual amounts for the rest of the year, the area will finish with its seventh highest total ever. Photo by Mark K. Campbell

Gathering data People often wonder why an airport is the offi cial weather reporting entity. Because of the urgency in maintaining up-to-the-minute meteorological information for fl ights, airports always have the latest observation and forecasting technology, including radars. Local rainfall records go back to 1898 around here. The fi rst reporting station, from 1898-1940 was an offi cial area in downtown Fort Worth. From 1940-53, Meacham Field gathered data. Great Southwest International Airport was the offi cial spot from 195374 then DFW Airport arrived and has been the official site since. Naturally, we are many miles from DFW so their rainfall totals can differ widely from ours; still, that airport's PLEASE SEE RAIN, PAGE 2A.

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