WICHITA FALLS MAN

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07-08-2023 - Checking on Red River Hot Dogs, I see that the owner has taken ill. Their Facebook page says they will not be firing up the grill until further notice. I hope they're back on the street soon!

07-08-2023 - Many years ago, there was a ham radio broadcast of an actual family disturbance. Yes! A local man and woman, both licensed "hams", were arguing on one of the local Amateur (ham) Radio repeaters. It was something you'd expect to be conducted over the phone, not over the public airwaves. When the repeater owner thought he'd heard enough, he jumped in and threatened to turn the machine off if the squabble didn't stop.

07-08-2023 - In 2001, agents with the Federal Communications Commission visited an address on the north side of town where they had tracked a station causing interference on the Amateur (ham) Radio 40-meter band. There, the occupant of the house admitted to making one-way broadcasts that interfered with other Amateur Radio operators. This person also admitted to having no Amateur (ham) Radio license. He was fined $10,000.

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07-08-2023 - Loop 11 - the loop that doesn't loop - in Wichita Falls is a state-maintained road. According to my research, a street doesn't have to form a loop to be called a loop. All it has to do is connect one highway to another. Then why call it a loop? Loop 11 is never going to loop. I say we petition the state to rename it for something more meaningful. If not a rename, give it a secondary name as was done with the Lloyd Ruby Overpass.

07-08-2023 - According to the Texas unclaimed property website, a former Wichita Falls City Councilor, now deceased, has 9 entries totaling $2875.01. Has he no relatives in town to claim this? Check to see if you're listed! Google it - I'm stingy with links for a reason.

07-08-2023 - In the 1970s, there was a candy and gum stand on the north end of the first-floor lobby of the downtown Post Office. It was operated by a man who was blind. I can’t remember his name. These days someone would rob him, blind or not.

07-08-2023 - The Wichita Falls area Amateur (ham) Radio storm spotters were activated for a short time last night in response to possible threatening weather. Monitor local storm spotter activity at 146.940 MHz on your scanner.

07-07-2023 - In the 1960s, the Wichita Falls bus station was on the southwest corner of 7th and Lamar. It then moved to what is now the Juvenile Justice Center at 6th and Lamar. Then it moved to a former service station at 5th & Van Buren. From there, it moved to a metal building on 14th Street between Holliday and Broad Streets. From there, it moved to the Jolly Tuck Stop in Clay County. For a long period of time, you could not get to - or leave - Wichita Falls by bus. It was, at least for me, quite embarrassing. I'm not sure how or why the City let us get into that situation. After the move to Jolly, a sign was placed on the door of the 14th Street location with the address to the Jolly location but instead of Jolly, or Clay County, the sign showed the new address to be in Wichita Falls. No one wanted to admit that we didn't have a bus station. From Jolly, the buses moved to the new station in the 300 Block of Scott Ave.

07-07-2023 - In the 70s it was the Toddle House Sandwich Shop. In the 80s it was the Steak & Egg Restaurant. Some called it the Steak & Leg because "ladies of the evening" would take breaks there. Across the street, where the bus station is now located, was the Imperial 400 motel. If the Steak & Egg was the break room, the Imperial 400 was the office.

07-07-2023 - From the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau - This month, more than 7,100 people who were charged illegal advance fees by Timemark, Inc. to renegotiate, settle, reduce, or alter the terms of their federal student loans will receive a check in the mail. In July 2020, the CFPB settled with Timemark, Inc. for violating the Telemarketing Sales Rule. From 2016 through October 2019, the company used telemarketing campaigns to convince people with federal student loans to pay up to $699 in fees to file paperwork to reduce or eliminate their monthly payments, through loan consolidation, forgiveness, or income-driven repayment plans. The U.S. Department of Education, however, offers these options to student loan borrowers for free.

07-07-2023 - WF police investigate July 4 murder, Police seek identity of Murphy's robbery suspects, Free Family Day coming to Museum of North Texas History, Man who pleaded guilty to child indecency accused of violating probation, Texas program helps pay energy, water bills for qualifying residents, Man allegedly uses his head to bust out window, Frank & Joes Coffee Shop celebrates 7 years, New baked potato shop opens downtown, Rider grad Taliyah Brooks qualifies for the World Track & Field Championships.

07-07-2023 - Back in the early days, there were police and fire call boxes scattered about the city. The last one that I remember was on Eastside Drive (Now Martin Luther King, Jr.) and 2nd Street. You opened the door to the box, lifted the handset, and turned a handle one way for the police and the other way for the fire department. It disappeared in the early 1980s.

07-07-2023 - From my law enforcement consultant - A Wichita Falls police officer was running "Code 3" (lights & siren), over the North Scott bridge toward Old Iowa Park Road, to back up another officer who sounded like he was on the losing end of a scuffle. Just as he neared Sheppard Access Road, another officer arrived at the scuffle, reported that the situation was under control and that no other backup was needed. The officer near Sheppard Access Road turned off his lights and siren, realized it was break time, pulled onto the Pioneer #3 parking lot, and went inside the restaurant. A citizen called to report that the officer used his red lights and siren to get to his coffee break.

07-07-2023 - From my law enforcement consultant - There was an episode of Law and Order on TV where a cop was forced to admit, on the witness stand, that he had used the term "homocide" when referring to homicides involving gay men. Many years ago, a local doctor used that term on a death certificate. It was a small but amusing typo.

07-07-2023 - From my law enforcement consultant - The Wheel Burglars & Doo Doo Bombers. It was the 1980s and someone was tossing car wheels through business windows and helping themselves to the goodies inside. Radio Shack in Parker Square had been hit. They put one of their display video cameras to use and caught the burglars in the act. In the 1990s, at a religious organization near Midwestern State University, someone had defecated on the office sofa, twice. A hidden camera caught the third act of the steaming hot donation being made. The bomber was jailed.

07-07-2023 - It was the L & M Restaurant on Seymour Hwy. It's now a car repair shop across from the Post Office. This was after Lloyd and Mary sold it. One evening, a waitress was seen, by me and others, dumping uneaten appetizer chips back into the chip bin. The bin was visible from the dining room. When a waitress at a still-in-business-today restaurant was questioned about this practice, she said they do it if there are a lot of chips left in the bowl. Maybe we should squirt ketchup on those uneaten chips! Ketchup? A patron was seen squirting ketchup on uneaten catfish fillets - not in Wichita Falls - just for this reason.

07-07-2023 - The year was 1970. The station was KNTO, 103.3 FM. After a long day of easy-listening music, Nightcap, hosted by Doug Allen, would erupt at 7 PM with three hours of good old hard rock. The station was in a mobile home at the bottom of the radio tower on Onaway Trail. A friend and I visited the studio one night while the Nightcap program was on the air. The front door was unlocked, so we just walked in and there was Doug Allen at the mic. He didn't mind the visit and told us his real name was Doug Bennett. On a later visit, we fetched coffee and donuts for him. Those were the days.

07-07-2023 - From my corrections consultant - A Correctional Officer working outside 7 & 8 chow halls turned around to see an offender, who had just left the Infirmary, standing at the gate. The officer said, "You should have said something." The offender responds with, "I'm serving three life sentences. I'm in no hurry."

07-07-2023 - Can you believe that in the early 1980s, there was a gun show at Sikes Senter Mall? I walked into the mall one Saturday and there were gun-loaded tables scattered about the concourse. I don't know if that was the only event ever held back then but I'll bet you'll never see it happen these days!