VISD keeping mask order in place –for now
The Vernon Independent School District board of trustees voted to continue requiring students, staff, and visitors to wear masks when inside VISD buildings – at least for the next four weeks. But they agreed to lessen some of the more stringent policies – such as no longer banning parents from eating with their children at…
Read MoreMayor issues disaster declaration for winter storm
Mayor Pam Gosline issued a Disaster Resolution on February 23 for the City of Vernon in response to damage done by the most recent winter storm from Feb. 14 – 22. This state of disaster declaration was issued to allow for the city and its citizens to be eligible for FEMA aid. That declaration must…
Read MoreState Leadership Announces Funding For Texas School Systems To Support In-Person Instruction
Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency (TEA) announced today that the State of Texas will provide a “hold harmless” to Texas school systems for the rest of the 2020-2021 academic school year only. This means funding will be made available to school systems in Texas that have seen enrollment and attendance declines…
Read MoreThree contested races set
The filing period for local elections ended on Friday with three contested races set. At the Vernon city commission, Place 4 incumbent Britt Ferguson is seeking re-election, but he is being challenged by Dustin Fraticelli for the two-year term on the commission. Don Aydelott, the incumbent for City Commission Place 3, filed for re-election and…
Read MoreAEP Texas restores more than 150,000 customers as generation increases on the electric grid
AEP Texas restored electric service to approximately 150,000 customers overnight late Wednesday into Thursday morning as more generation came online in ERCOT. We are actively working to restore power to customers throughout our service territory. Crews are working around the clock to restore power to all impacted customers. We know many of our customers…
Read MoreCovid numbers continue to decline in Wilbarger County
Wilbarger County reported 9 active Covid 19 cases on Monday, Feb. 15, as the county’s positive rate continues to stay in single digits. The mandatory mask requirement for the county is still in place. The state’s current requirement is “The county must have 30 or fewer new COVID-19 cases during the previous 14 day period.”…
Read MoreVC trustees extend president’s contract, sell land to hotel owner
The Vernon College board of trustees appointed Betsy Smith to fill the unexpired term of Anne Spears, who resigned from her place on the board in January. The action was part of the February board of trustee meeting last Wednesday. The trustees accepted a bid of $140,001 from Joe Rogers, of Rogers Lodging, to purchase…
Read MoreVernon to have its first Black city commissioner
Vernon is going to have its first Black city commissioner. Early Williams III was unopposed for the open spot of Place 1 on the city commission when the filing period ended on Friday. The Place 1 seat is for a one-year term to complete the unexpired term of Justin Marsh who resigned in December. “That’s…
Read MoreRecord breaking cold, snow hit
Wilbarger County residents saw between five and eight inches of snow fall Sunday, and drifts over a foot deep from high winds. Some roads, especially dirt county roads, were impassable. That prompted Vernon ISD to cancel school on Monday. After assessing the roads again Monday, the district decided to close school again on Tuesday. Vernon…
Read MoreRotating power outages anticipated to continue over next 24 hours
At 1:25 Monday morning, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) directed transmission and distribution companies to begin controlled rotating outages as an emergency procedure to avoid a sustained large-scale outage and prevent long-term damage to the electric system. AEP Texas began rotating the areas affected so that consumers are impacted for a limited amount…
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