Latest news with #WichitaFalls
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Everybody sees it': City Council hears about the city's growing homelessness population
Wichita Falls City Council members spent the bulk of their meeting on Tuesday discussing the city's growing homelessness problem. The councilors heard a report from Dr. Louis Wilson, a local gastroenterologist, and Steve Sparks, CEO of Faith Mission, who have launched meetings with various agencies to address the problem. 'It's not your imagination, homelessness has been increasing dramatically,' Wilson said. 'Both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness has spiked. Everybody knows it, everybody sees it.' He said a big reason for the increase is migration. 'We're experiencing a situation where most of unsheltered homeless in Wichita Falls are not from Wichita Falls,' he said. Wilson said expertise on addressing the problem is not organized in one place but is scattered around the town in different agencies and is 'screaming for a gathering, screaming to be brought together.' He said the meetings produced a proposed a plan of action. It includes improved communications among agencies about homeless clients, expanding homeless people's access to mental health care, identifying gaps in emergency homelessness shelters and incentivizing people in housing programs to move out so that more housing vouchers can be available to those who need them. He also said homeless people have no place to go when they are discharged from medical facilities, and he suggested hiring case managers 'to move into the streets.' Sparks said, 'Frankly, the trends indicate that without some kind of attention the problems associated with homelessness will worsen.' He said the community must do everything it can to 'give men, women and children a shot at self-sufficiency.' 'What do you suggest that we do?' council member Tom Taylor said. Wilson said everything on the action plan list is 'doable.' 'We did not create pie-in-the-sky possible vague things,' Wilson said. 'These things can be checked off.' He listed emergency shelters as a top priority and said county and city leaders need to come together to address the problems. Amy Vail, property manager for Big Blue, The Kate and City Center Apartments, all in downtown Wichita Falls, said her tenants have a lot of involvement with police because of homeless people — sometimes multiple times a day. 'How can we move forward? How can we help our tenants?' she said. 'Ignoring them is probably the best bet,' Assistant City Attorney James McKechnie said. He said hiring private security would be another option. Vail also said homeless people loiter in a nearby park after dark, and she understands other cities are giving bus passes to homeless people to come to Wichita Falls. 'My tenants are scared,' she said. Jeremy Davis, director of the Museum of North Texas History and a downtown resident, said he had a physical altercation with a homeless person who tried to get into his building. 'I hear fighting, cussing, screaming, yelling at all hours of the day and night,' he said. "It's got to stop.' 'Unfortunately, the loitering and some of the destruction downtown has gotten worse,' Sparks said. 'Business leaders have come to my office on several occasions and complained about it.' McKechnie said the city will probably look at revising some ordinances that apply to homelessness. 'I sense the frustration. I feel it. I see it. We all do,' Mayor Tim Short said. 'That's why we're moving forward. Unfortunately, I think our ordinances have not kept up." 'The county stands ready to join with the city of Wichita Falls to take action and move forward on this,' Wichita County Judge Jim Johnson told the panel and suggested possibly forming a joint task force. More: Air Force releases report on fatal accident at Sheppard More: City Council agrees to loan local company $1 million for possible expansion This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: City councilors hear about the city's growing homelessness problem
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Oncor: 'Varmint' responsible for Sunday power outage
Blame it on a "varmint." Several thousand Wichita Falls residents were without power for a while Sunday night. Oncor Customer Operations Executive Gordon Drake said the outage occurred when a "varmint" got into some equipment at a substation on Jacksboro Highway. The result was an electrical outage that started about 6:30 p.m. Sunday. Drake said about 8,117 customers were initially affected, but crews were called in, and all the power was restored to all customers by about 11:30 p.m., he said. Drake said animals are a major cause of outages. "We've had raccoons, we've had snakes. There's just a lot of varmints moving this time of year. Squirrels are a problem for us all the time," he said. "They get up on people's transformers in the alleys, and it causes a fault and we'll have an outage on five or six houses." More: Wichita Falls restaurant inspections: How did they do June 20-July 2 More: 'Everybody sees it': City Council hears about the city's growing homelessness population This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Varmint' responsible for power outage
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Wichita Falls joins global efforts, raises awareness on World Drug Day
WICHITA FALLS (KFDX/KJTL) — June 26 honors the awareness of International Day Against Drug Abuse and illicit trafficking. It's a day to recognize the toll of addiction and the ongoing fight against drug abuse around the world, but for Wichita Falls, the crisis isn't just international—it's right here at home. Wichita Falls has been hit hard by numerous accidental overdoses over the past decade.. with easier access to controlled substances it leaves a much bigger impact on the community. In 2022 alone, three young residents, including a 13-year-old, died from fentanyl overdoses within 28 hours of one another. Methamphetamine is another popular drug that continues to dominate the street drug market in Wichita Falls, fueling property crimes, gang violence, and long-term addiction. Brad Fisk, director of substance abuse services for Helen Farabee, said drugs and the struggle with addiction are not an uncommon occurrence here at home. 'I think drug addiction impacts this community in so many different ways, all the way from, you know, increased hospitalizations, increased people going into emergency rooms, increased overdoses, especially with the fentanyl crisis,' Fisk said. 'We're seeing more and more, accidental overdoses and more and more of those being needing to be reversed.' Fisk emphasizes that addiction is a disease and must be treated with professional help. 'You know, it's probably drug abuse that is connected to so much of our family problems, that we have a lot of domestic issues that come up are alcohol or drug related, so many people that enter into mental health hospitals, at least.' While accepting help can be difficult for some, recovering addict Breezie Freeman proves that it's never too late to get sober. Her unhappiness with her own lifestyle choices pushed her to seek the help she needed. 'First, I would just let them know that they are loved and to not go down that path, that's the path that they don't want to go down on,' said Freeman. 'I know it might numb the pain just for that little bit, but that's all it's going to do, you're going to want more and more.' Seeking help and accepting those resources has only been positive in her recovery. Freeman will graduate from the 13-month program on July 7. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Louisiana bank to enter Dallas with its second Texas deal
Six years after entering Texas, Louisiana-based Investar Holding Corp. is going much bigger in the Lone Star State with a deal for the $1.6 billion-asset Wichita Falls Bancshares. Acquiring Wichita Falls, the holding company for the 36-year-old First National Bank, would add $1.2 billion of Texas-based deposits, including $364 million in the rapidly growing Dallas-Forth Worth Metroplex, where First National operates five branches. It would also significantly alter Investar's funding profile by raising the level of Texas-based deposits, currently at 6%, to 37% for the pro forma company. In a press release, Investar CEO John D'Angelo described the merger, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter, as "a pivotal moment in the history of Investar Bank and a defining milestone for our company." To help fund the purchase, Baton Rouge-based Investar announced the completion of a private placement of $32.5 million in preferred stock on Tuesday. The company said it would use the stock-sale proceeds to support the acquisition and for general corporate purposes, "including organic growth and other potential acquisitions." An Investar spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the company's level of interest in pursuing more M&A deals. Investar agreed to pay about $84 million in cash and stock for Wichita Falls, which is based in the North Texas city of the same name. Investors appear to favor the transaction. Shares in Investar were trading up nearly 6% midday Wednesday at $21.56 per share. Investar entered Texas in 2019 by acquiring the $125 million-asset Mainland Bank in Texas City. Following the completion of the deal announced Tuesday, the combined company would start with $4 billion of assets, $3.3 billion of loans and $3.5 billion of deposits. Investar is projecting 2026 earnings of $3.08 per share, reflecting 35% accretion. Investar reported earnings per share of $2.06 in 2024 and $1.69 in 2023. "We believe this merger creates more long-term value for our customers, communities and shareholders," Wichita Falls President David Flack said in the press release. "It will allow us to bring new products and services to our customers while keeping the same banking locations and trusted local bankers." The sale to Investar "provides a great opportunity to enhance strategic synergies through combined resources," Stan Pinkham, the president and CEO of First National Bank, said in the release. Founded by D'Angelo in 2006, the $2.7 billion-asset Investar has frequently employed M&A to fuel its growth. Investar acquired the $249 million-asset Citizens Bancshares in Ville Platte, Louisiana, for $46 million in July 2017. Five months later, in December 2017, the company was able to bulk up in its core Baton Rouge market, completing a $22 million deal for the $131 million-asset BOJ Bancshares. In recent years, Investar has pursued a multistate expansion strategy. It bought Cheha Financial Group in Oxford, Alabama, for $41 million in April contrast with Investar, which is a significant commercial and small business lender, Wichita Falls has focused on mortgage lending. In addition to its seven branches, it operates two mortgage offices. As of March 31, one-to-four-family mortgages made up just under half of its $1.1 billion loan portfolio. Investar said it plans to sell $200 million of mortgages to reduce the pro forma company's residential loan concentration and pay down corporate debt and noncore deposits. The announcement that Investar expects the deal to close in about five months is in keeping with a growing trend of more timely M&A decisions by regulators. In a research note Monday, Seaport Research Partners Senior Analyst Laurie Havener Hunsicker noted that 10 of the 21 bank deals announced in January and February 2025 have already closed.
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
'Everybody sees it': City Council hears about the city's growing homelessness population
Wichita Falls City Council members spent the bulk of their meeting on Tuesday discussing the city's growing homelessness problem. The councilors heard a report from Dr. Louis Wilson, a local gastroenterologist, and Steve Sparks, CEO of Faith Mission, who have launched meetings with various agencies to address the problem. 'It's not your imagination, homelessness has been increasing dramatically,' Wilson said. 'Both sheltered and unsheltered homelessness has spiked. Everybody knows it, everybody sees it.' He said a big reason for the increase is migration. 'We're experiencing a situation where most of unsheltered homeless in Wichita Falls are not from Wichita Falls,' he said. Wilson said expertise on addressing the problem is not organized in one place but is scattered around the town in different agencies and is 'screaming for a gathering, screaming to be brought together.' He said the meetings produced a proposed a plan of action. It includes improved communications among agencies about homeless clients, expanding homeless people's access to mental health care, identifying gaps in emergency homelessness shelters and incentivizing people in housing programs to move out so that more housing vouchers can be available to those who need them. He also said homeless people have no place to go when they are discharged from medical facilities, and he suggested hiring case managers 'to move into the streets.' Sparks said, 'Frankly, the trends indicate that without some kind of attention the problems associated with homelessness will worsen.' He said the community must do everything it can to 'give men, women and children a shot at self-sufficiency.' 'What do you suggest that we do?' council member Tom Taylor said. Wilson said everything on the action plan list is 'doable.' 'We did not create pie-in-the-sky possible vague things,' Wilson said. 'These things can be checked off.' He listed emergency shelters as a top priority and said county and city leaders need to come together to address the problems. Amy Vail, property manager for Big Blue, The Kate and City Center Apartments, all in downtown Wichita Falls, said her tenants have a lot of involvement with police because of homeless people — sometimes multiple times a day. 'How can we move forward? How can we help our tenants?' she said. 'Ignoring them is probably the best bet,' Assistant City Attorney James McKechnie said. He said hiring private security would be another option. Vail also said homeless people loiter in a nearby park after dark, and she understands other cities are giving bus passes to homeless people to come to Wichita Falls. 'My tenants are scared,' she said. Jeremy Davis, director of the Museum of North Texas History and a downtown resident, said he had a physical altercation with a homeless person who tried to get into his building. 'I hear fighting, cussing, screaming, yelling at all hours of the day and night,' he said. "It's got to stop.' 'Unfortunately, the loitering and some of the destruction downtown has gotten worse,' Sparks said. 'Business leaders have come to my office on several occasions and complained about it.' McKechnie said the city will probably look at revising some ordinances that apply to homelessness. 'I sense the frustration. I feel it. I see it. We all do,' Mayor Tim Short said. 'That's why we're moving forward. Unfortunately, I think our ordinances have not kept up." 'The county stands ready to join with the city of Wichita Falls to take action and move forward on this,' Wichita County Judge Jim Johnson told the panel and suggested possibly forming a joint task force. More: Air Force releases report on fatal accident at Sheppard More: City Council agrees to loan local company $1 million for possible expansion This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: City councilors hear about the city's growing homelessness problem
