Volume 15 Issue 4 "Working together for a better tomorrow" October 4, 2022
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September 2022 was a busy month for our Tarrant County government. Here are a few of items from recent Commissioners Court Meetings:
- Commissioners Court passed a conservative FY2023 budget and adopted a new Tarrant County tax rate of $ .224, which lowered your tax rate by ½ cent.
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Commissioners Court approved the early voting sites for the Joint General and Special Elections for November 8, 2022. Click here to find the nearest early voting location for you and for the hours of operation.
- Public Health provided information to the court regarding COVID-19 in our community. The mid-September COVID numbers rose to a High Alert. Public Health believes this was due to the start of school. Currently this trend is continuing to decrease, so the COVID-19 Community Level has been lowered to a medium rating.
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Public Health informed the court that the new COVID-19 Omicron Booster (Bivalent Vaccine) is now available. Click here to obtain more information regarding COVID-19. Such as: Latest News, Vaccine Finder, COVID-19 testing sites, and much more.
- Commissioners Court approved an agreement with Texas Department of Transportation for the Tarrant County Sheriff Department to provide the Courtesy Patrol.
- Commissioners Court approved Law Enforcement Services Agreements with the City of Haslet and Edgecliff Village to provide services by the Tarrant County Sheriff Department.
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The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which is a federal program, awarded Tarrant County $409M to assist our county’s recovery process from COVID. All areas in our community have been impacted due to COVID. Commissioner Court agreed on four focus areas to assist our county during this recovery process. These areas are Prepare for the Future, Improve Public Health & Wellness, Revitalize the Economy, and Strengthen the Community.
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Commissioners Court approved $25M to be used for The Small Business Workforce Recovery Grant Program. The application submission was open July 11- August 31. These applications are currently being processed for approval. If your business applied for this grant, you will be notified of your status via email. Should you have any questions, please send an email to TCSBGrants@tarrantcounty.com
- Commissioners Court approved $35.5M to provide financial support for many of our non-profit agencies who were unable to fundraise during the last two years due to COVID. The application submission for this grant was open mid-April through May 16. Commissioners Court approved 35 grant projects at the end of July. Various non-profits in our community were awarded these funds which will assist various agencies such as food banks, women and children, healthcare, housing support, just to mention a few.
- 988 National Suicide Hotline - MHMR of Tarrant County updated Commissioners Court regarding the new telephone number for the national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline. The three-digit phone number was created due to Congress passing the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act of 2020. Prior to this Act, an individual had to dial an 800 number to reach assistance. Why 3 numbers? It is easy to remember and familiarity to other phone numbers such as 911 and 211.
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JOINT GENERAL AND SPECIAL ELECTION - EARLY VOTING
October 24, 2022 through November 04, 2022
Monday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
October 29 Saturday 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.
October 30 Sunday 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
October 31 Monday 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.
November 1 – 4 Tuesday - Saturday - 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
For all Tarrant County elections information and any questions relating to voting, you may contact the Election Administration directly at 817-831-8683 or click here.
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Tarrant County partners with transit providers to offer free rides for early voting, Election Day
Throughout early voting and on Tuesday, Nov. 8, Tarrant County voters can catch a free ride to the polls on Trinity Metro, Arlington’s Via and other transit services.
Riders can show their voter registration card or current Texas ID and ride for free during early voting from Oct. 24-Nov. 4 and on Election Day, Nov. 8.
Click here for more information.
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Defend Against Medicare Fraud | |
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You are one of the first lines of defense against Medicare fraud.
Do your part and report services or items that you have been billed for, but did not receive.
- Review your plan statement to make sure its correct
- Make sure you received the services or items billed
- Check the number of services billed
- Ensure the same service has not been billed more than once
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You can protect your identity and your benefits!
- Never give out your Social Security, Medicare, health plan numbers, or banking information to someone you don’t know
- Carefully review your Plan Statement to ensure all the information is correct
- Know that free services DO NOT require you give your plan or Medicare number to anyone
- Share this information with your friends
To report suspected fraud,
call: 1-877-7SAFERX (1-877-772-3379)
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Mayor Art Miner
City of Watauga
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Mayor Arthur L. Miner was elected to Council on May 4, 2019.
Art was born in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He frequently moved as a military family member, spending most of his formative years in Arizona and New Mexico. Art enlisted in the United States Navy after High School, where he served for the next 24 years (1972 -1996). He met Sharon, his wife of 45 years, while stationed at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi. Art and Sharon have two children and two grandchildren.
During his military career, Art served aboard seven aircraft carriers, where he made seven major deployments (7 months or longer) spanning from Vietnam to Operation Desert Storm. He returned home from one deployment to meet his five-month-old daughter Amanda. Art culminated his naval career at the Naval Aviation Maintenance Office in Patuxent River, Maryland, where he served as the Program Manager for Naval Air Systems Command Aircraft Battle Damage Repair Program.
After retiring from the Navy, Art held positions as Production Manager, Operations Manager, and Plant Manager for numerous companies in the Metroplex. On the home front, Art immediately immersed himself into the community, coaching baseball for four years with NAY A, girls' basketball with Upward, and girls' volleyball with the YMCA. Within a few years, Art began his venture into local city service. Mayor Hector Garcia appointed Art to his first City board, Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, in 1998. Wanting to be more involved, Art was assigned to the Parks Development Corporation 2 years later, where he has served as the President for 12 of those years. Art also served on the Veterans Advisory Board. Capp Smith Park, the Hector F Garcia Recreation Center, and the Veterans Memorial are but a few of the significant accomplishments during his tenure.
Mayor Miner said, "I have an excellent City Council and an outstanding City Manager, and I look forward to great things for the City of Watauga." Art also serves as the President of the Economic Development Corporation.
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On a more personal note
What I do for fun -
I enjoy playing golf and shooting pool.
Favorite movie -
Vanishing Point (the original 1971 version)
Restaurant -
Wienerschnitzel
Vacation spot -
Padre Island Corpus Christi Texas
Last book read -
Sidney Sheldon "Rage of Angels"
People would be surprised to know that -
Art has 2 Bischon Frise dogs who control most of his life. His grandchildren control the rest.
Article courtesy of
The City of Watauga
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City & Economic Development
City of Watauga
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Watauga is derived from the Cherokee Indians who first settled in the area and means “the land of many springs.” The City of Watauga was incorporated on October 11, 1958, and is home to 24,582 residents. Watauga’s small-town atmosphere strikes just the right balance of community pride and involvement for a quality of life that meets the needs of our citizens in the best way possible.
The Watauga Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is committed to building an economically vibrant community by supporting our local businesses through the development of business retention programs, completion of quality of life projects, and new business attraction programs. We invite you to explore and learn about the many programs the WEDC has to offer our current businesses and residents and those businesses seeking to locate within our great City.
Watauga is in the Mid-Cities area of the DFW region and enjoys the benefits of excellent transportation infrastructure. In Tarrant County, Texas, Watauga is bordered by the City of Keller north, North Richland Hills to the east, Haltom City to the south, and Fort Worth to the west. Most of the city’s land area is east of Highway 377 and west of Rufe Snow Boulevard, which borders North Richland Hills.
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Developments of Bursey Road Townhomes and Hightower Estates will bring a total of 131 new homes to Watauga while providing the city with new green space and sidewalks. The Bursey Road Townhomes development layout theme is to orient the fronts of the masonry townhomes toward Bursey Road and plant trees along the street, providing a vibrant streetscape to the community. The Hightower Estates development will enhance the parkway along Hightower Drive with greenspace and a masonry screening wall. The development of Bursey Road Townhomes includes 61 townhome lots located on the south side of Bursey Road, between Whitley Road on the west and Indian Springs on the east. Across Bursey Road, to the north, are two Keller ISD school facilities, and to the south, immediately adjacent to the project, is the Hillview Addition, a neighborhood of existing single-family homes. The Hightower Estates project will develop two vacant tracts of land into a single-family residential community at 6000 and 6001 Hightower Drive. The properties have approximately 915 feet of frontage on Hightower Drive. The site is bounded by the Fire Station and Dance Studio to the west and existing homes and a car wash to the east. The northern half will belong to Keller’s ISD, and the southern half will belong to Birdville ISD. Existing neighborhoods border the properties to the north and south.
Article courtesy of
The City of Watauga
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2022 Walk to End Alzheimer's
Saturday, October 15, 2022
at The Rec of Grapevine
Help us raise awareness and funds to support Alzheimer’s Care, Support and Research.
Register Here
Make a $25.00 donation and get a t-shirt!
Together, we can make a difference.
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Question: Who was the first native-born Governor of Texas?
Answer: The first native-born Governor of Texas was James Stephen Hogg (1851-1906).
Hogg was born near Rusk,Texas on March 24, 1851. Hogg was in the newspaper business in East Texas, and later had his own papers where he fought against what he considered corrupt. Hogg studied law and was admitted to the bar. He entered politics at age 22, and held several county offices before being elected Texas Attorney General in 1886. Hogg was elected Governor of Texas in 1890. He served as Governor from 1851-1895. After his term ended, Hogg returned to private practice, invested in oil, and never held public office again.
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