Wichita Falls Pundit
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06-18-2025 - 5:00 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 11,034 Megawatts.
06-18-2025 - 5:00 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 93. Heat index values as high as 99. South southwest wind 6 to 11 mph. Tonight: A 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 10pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 73. Southeast wind around 7 mph.
06-18-2025 - Good Morning! It's Wednesday, and the Texas Rangers got beat 6 to 1 by the Kansas City Royals last night. Maybe they'll do better tonight. The International Space Station will make a visible pass over Wichita Falls at 5:17 this morning. If you're reading this, there's a 99.99% chance you missed it. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready.
06-17-2025 - There is a neverending discussion about whether or not you should buy a new or used car. Some say it is stupid to buy a new car due to massive depreciation in the early years. Some say the depreciation is justified if you plan to keep the car for more than a few years. I always buy new. I've kept my last three cars an average of 12 years each. I say do whatever makes you happy, but act your wage!
06-17-2025 - Air Traffic Control frequencies are active this morning, as usual. Plug these into your scanner radio if you're in the Wichita Falls area: 124.525, 132.925, 254.275, 269.250, 348.650, 364.800 MHz.
06-17-2025 - FEMA Daily Operations Briefing - National Current Ops / Monitoring – June 16 –17, 2025
New Significant Incidents / Ongoing Ops:
• No new significant incidents / operations
Hazard Monitoring:
• Severe Weather – Central Plains to Middle Mississippi Valley
• Excessive Rainfall / Flash Flooding – Central Plains to Upper Mississippi Valley and Ohio Valley to Mid-Atlantic
• Critical Fire Weather – Southwest
• Tropical Activity
Eastern Pacific:
• Tropical Storm Erick
Disaster Declaration Activity:
• FMAG Approval: Trout Fire – NM
• FMAG Approval: Alder Springs Fire – OR
Event Monitoring:
• No new significant events
06-17-2025 - 8:00 AM - According to Water Data for Texas, Wichita Falls reservoirs are: Arrowhead: 100% Kemp: 100% Kickapoo: 100%. Monitored Water Supply Reservoirs are 100% full. The City of Wichita Falls uses combined levels of Arrowhead and Kickapoo (100%) to determine drought stage.
06-17-2025 - 8:00 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 12,641 Megawatts.
06-17-2025 - 8:00 AM - NWS Forecast - Today: Sunny and hot, with a high near 97. Heat index values as high as 101. South wind 11 to 16 mph increasing to 17 to 22 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 33 mph. Tonight: Mostly clear, with a low around 77. South wind 10 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph.
BUY TWO-WAY RADIOS & SCANNERS!
06-17-2025 - 7:45 AM - Good Morning! It's Tuesday. The Clay County Amateur Radio Club (Henrietta, Texas) holds a weekly practice net on Tuesdays at 8:00 PM on the 146.800 MHz repeater. All licensed Amateur (ham) Radio operators are invited to check in. Of course, scanner radio enthusiasts can also tune in. I hear a conversation on 462.600 MHz. Unless these guys are within a mile of me, this is a repeater. If it's a repeater, it's not local because I don't hear anyhting on what should be the input frequency of 467.600 MHz. There must be a "band opening" this morning. As I write this, the signal is starting to fade, so I'll call it a band opening. My Folgers Black Silk coffee is ready!
06-16-2025 - 9:15 PM - I noticed on the Parks on the Air® spotter page that Alaska was once again on the air, and, once again, the signal was so weak I wasn't sure if it was live or if those Morse code dots and dashes existed only in my mind. While I have worked Alaska before, I haven't worked that state or Hawaii in the POTA program. I have worked parks in all lower 48 states. So, rather than be teased by Alaska, I switched to Channel 6 - the superbowl of CB Radio, to carry me until bedtime.
06-16-2025 - From my combo law enforcement.corrections consultant: So I could say I worked in the Criminal Justice system at the city, county, state, and federal levels. I did a six-month stint at the Wichita County Jail. Yes, I'm counting Army MP time as federal. Deal with it! Anyway, I was walking by a "tank" at the Jail Annex, formerly the Sprague factory, when an old inmate said: "Boss Man, I need an I-60." I laughed and said, "I know where you've been!" An I-60 is a Texas state prison form used to request various things. If I remember correctly, at the County Jail, they just called them a "kite." For example, there are 20 inmates in a tank. If they wanted someone moved out, they could submit a "kite" signed by at least 11 inmates. He'd be kited out! I don't remember what Mr. I-60 was requesting.
06-16-2025 - I'm listening to a Morse code practice session from W1AW, the American Radio Relay League (ARRL), on 14.047.50 MHz. This sounds like a 20 word-per-minute session. Just my speed!
06-16-2025 - From the FCC database: Licensed Amateur (ham) Radio Operators in the Wichita Falls, Texas area: Wichita Falls—471, Burkburnett—64, Iowa Park—36, Electra—14, Henrietta—64. Total: 649. Because licenses are issued for a 10-year term, some listed operators are deceased, and their listings are awaiting removal. Some are inactive.
06-16-2025 - Texas Governor Greg Abbott has signed a property tax relief package to raise the homestead exemption from $100,000 to $140,000. Exemptions for disabled Texans and those over 65 will rise from $10,000 to $60,000. In total, exemptions for Texas seniors will total $200,000. This legislation will do for now. We need to end the State's ability to seize a home for non-payment of property taxes. My house has a clear title. Even if it did not, I didn't finance through the State of Texas.
06-16-2025 - In the news is a report of a Wichita Falls woman busted for mailing bills containing synthetic cannabis to offenders at the James V. Allred Unit prison. She didn't know that you can't mail books to prisoners. Books must come from a publisher or bookstore. Also, Allred Mailroom staff go over all mail with a "fine-tooth comb." What could be more suspicious than a Bible? That's my opinion.
06-16-2025 - From the U.S. Federal Trade Commission - Debt collection operation Blackstone Legal, along with its owners, will face a permanent ban from the debt collection industry as a result of the Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit charging that they deceived and harassed consumers to collect fake debts the consumers did not owe.
06-16-2025 - From the U.S. Federal Trade Commission - U.K.-based payment processor, Paddle.com Market Limited, and its subsidiary, Paddle.com, Inc., will pay $5 million and be permanently banned from processing payments for tech-support telemarketers. This settles a Federal Trade Commission action alleging that Paddle abused the U.S. credit-card system and enabled deceptive foreign operators to access it, costing consumers millions of dollars.
06-16-2025 - From my corrections consultant - On very hot days, Allred Unit Correctional Officers have, in the past, delivered ice to the cells. Sometimes, inmates who are locked up most of the day are let out to get ice water. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is, or was, in the process of installing air conditioning in units across the state. Unknown if any progress has been made at Allred. Summer is miserable for all concerned. Tune in to the Allred Unit on your scanner at 153.815 MHz.
06-16-2025 - Over the last decade, the size of our local CB Radio Channel 6 (the "superbowl") group has shrunk quite a bit. I didn't know any of them, but I know that when the band was dead, and there was no "skip" to be heard, they would engage in "local talking" throughout the day. I don't hear that anymore. Everything changes. The old guys fade away, and no new blood replaces them.