Wichita Falls Pundit
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06-05-2025 - 8:50 PM - Our local Amateur (ham) Radio Skywarn® weather spotters issued an update on the 146.940 MHz repeater. Tune in with your scanner radio.
06-05-2025 - 6:30 - The Local Group is up and running on CB Radio Channel 23. Get a radio and join the fun!
06-05-2025 - 3:10 PM - I contacted a station in Salamonie River and Frances Slocum State Forest (US-4224) in Indiana on 20 meters (14 MHz) CW (Morse code) in the Amateur (ham) Radio Parks on the Air® program. POTA hunter count: 534.
06-05-2025 - I saw it on the news over 40 years ago, but it still comes to mind now and then. A City of Wichita Falls employee was involved in a minor traffic accident. The accident occurred mainly due to another vehicle traveling the wrong way on a one-way street. The City employee made two mistakes. First, he spoke to the news media and was on camera. That's a supervisor's job. Second, he admitted, on camera, that he didn't look both ways because it was a one-way street. A civil jury might want to split the blame had the accident been severe enough to lead to a trial. Remember, the news media has a job to do. Being your friend isn't necessarily part of that job.
06-05-2025 - Years ago, two young military service members walked on the Sikes Senter Mall's main concourse. I know they were military because, when they turned right towards the Sears store, the one on the right made a 90-degree turn, and the one on the left made two 45-degree turns. Salute!
06-05-2025 - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring – Jun 4-5, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / operations
Hazard Monitoring:
• Severe Thunderstorms / Heavy Rains/ Flash Flooding - Southern Plains to Central Plains
• Tropical Activity:
Eastern Pacific:
• Disturbance 1: High (80%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity
Event Monitoring:
• No new significant events
06-05-2025 - 6:00 AM - What's wrong with those Texas Rangers? I hear thunder!
06-05-2025 - 5:45 AM - At this hour, a good place to be is either the Circle M Bakery at 2716 Old Iowa Park Rd, or Tommy's Donuts & Fried Rice at 2608 Old Iowa Park Rd. It's a little early for the fried rice at Tommy's. That comes later in the day, but worth waiting for. Circle M Bakery has great fried pies.
06-05-2025 - 5:30 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 99.9% Kemp: 100.0% Kickapoo: 100.0%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 99.9% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (99.95%) to determine drought stage.
06-05-2025 - 5:30 AM - ERCOT (Texas) snapshot of grid conditions - ERCOT reports that conditions are normal and there is enough power for current demand with an operating reserve of 8,945 Megawatts.
BUY TWO-WAY RADIOS & SCANNERS!
06-05-2025 - 5:30 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 7am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 83. Light and variable wind becoming southeast 5 to 8 mph in the morning. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Tonight: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 1am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 72. Southeast wind 8 to 10 mph.
06-05-2025 - 5:20 AM - Good Morning! It's Thursday. We have a line of storms headed our way from the west. It is unknown if this line will grow, shrink, or stay at the same intensity. The storm appears to be over Vernon, Texas, at the moment. Perhaps our local Amateur (ham) Radio Skywarn weather spotters will provide a weather update on the 146.940 MHz repeater before long. Tune in with your scanner radio. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
06-04-2025 - I haven't heard of this in over 30 years. It could be still happening. Gamblers would board a plane - free of charge or cheap - that would take them to Las Vegas or some other gambling destination. The "free or cheap" condition was that you had to show the organizers you had $200 in cash. A police officer was present to provide security. You'd probably have to show $2,000 in cash today. I have no idea when these flights started or ended or if they did end.
06-04-2025 - 12:0 PM - Another oversized load is passing through town, with pilot cars operating on CB Radio Channel 19. I wonder how much secret government stuff comes through town on trucks with Coca-Cola or some other brand name plastered across the side. Remember Close Encounters of the Third Kind?
06-04-2025 - At 6:10 AM, and not hearing any local trucking traffic on CB Radio Channel 19, I spun the dial to Channel 6, the "super bowl." I wasn't expecting to hear anything but static, but there were actually weak signals down in the noise. Let's see what the day brings.
06-04-2025 - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring – June 3-4, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / operations
Hazard Monitoring:
• Severe Thunderstorms – Southern Plains
• Heavy Rain / Flash Flooding – Southwest to Central Great Basin, Middle Mississippi Valley to Ohio Valley
• Tropical Activity:
Atlantic:
• Disturbance 1: Low (near 0%)
Eastern Pacific:
• Disturbance 1: High (80%)
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• No new declaration activity
Event Monitoring:
• No new significant events
06-04-2025 - From my law enforcement consultant - It was a surprise for me to learn, early in my law enforcement career, about the number of people in Wichita Falls who had and may still have federally licensed, full-automatic weapons. No, I didn't have exact numbers, but I got the feeling over the years that it was certainly more than a handful. By the way, if you ever have the urge to fire weapons in the full-automatic mode, try Mr. Guns in Plano, Texas. They have a large assortment to choose from and a nice gun range. It's not cheap, but it's reasonable.
06-04-2025 - The Bluebonnet Grocery on Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd and the Missile Club on Burk Road near SAFB, have been around since the 1960s. I don't know how many owners each have been through but the business names have remained the same. The Glass Kitchen, on Old Iowa Park Road, shut down several years ago. It had also been around for a long time! My first meal in Wichita Falls was at the Glass Kitchen on Hines in 1966.
06-04-2025 - 5:15 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 99.2% Kemp: 100.0% Kickapoo: 100.0%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 99.2% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (99.6%) to determine drought stage.
06-04-2025 - 5:15 AM - ERCOT (Texas) snapshot of grid conditions - ERCOT reports that conditions are normal and there is enough power for current demand with an operating reserve of 11,146 Megawatts.