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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-03-09 Euless Articles Fort Worth, other North Texas cities open warming stations for residents without power Winter Storm Uri’s first snowfall across Tarrant County began early Sunday morning. A winter storm warning is in effect for all of North Texas until Monday evening. STAR-TELEGRAM STAFF FEBRUARY 16, 2021 11:29 AM, UPDATED FEBRUARY 17, 2021 05:20 PM BY AMANDA MCCOY Fort Worth and other cities across North Texas have opened warming stations and shelters to help residents without electrical power as widespread outages continued Tuesday for a second day, with more wintry precipitation expected. The city of Fort Worth has extended the hours for the overnight shelter operating at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Anyone needing the shelter will need to self-transport to the Convention Center and enter through the Houston Street entrance, the city said in a news release. The location is 1201 Houston St, Fort Worth, TX 76102. COVID-19 screening will take place before people enter the building and COVID-19 protocols will be in place. Cots will be provided. People should bring their own blankets. Food will not be provided. Restrooms will be available, but there will not be facilities for showers. Arrangements have been made to allow residents using the Fort Worth shelter and warming stations to bring their pets. Animals will be placed in a temporary container while at the stations. Parking is the responsibility of each individual, the city said. Garages are available on Commerce and Houston Streets. The city plans on operating the convention center shelter 24 hours a day until noon Thursday. FORT WORTH AND NORTH TEXAS WARMING STATIONS The city also has warming stations available for anyone who needs to have a warm place to go during the day. No snacks or cots will be available at the warming centers. Warming stations at the following locations will operate from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday: • Worth Heights Community Center, 3551 New York Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76110. Phone 817-392-8722. • Handley Meadowbrook Community Center, 6201 Beaty St, Fort Worth, TX 76112. Phone 817-392-2830. • Diamond Hill Community Center, 1701 NE 36th St, Fort Worth, TX 76106. Phone 817-392-5485. • North Tri-Ethnic Community Center, 2950 Roosevelt Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76106. Phone 817-392-5200 • Summerglen Library, 4205 Basswood Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76137. Phone 817-392-5970 • Southwest Community Center, 6300 Welch Ave, Fort Worth, TX 76133 This is a list of city-operated facilities. For a list of other organizations and businesses offering warming stations, visit fortworthtexas.gov/closures. Other cities in North Texas have also opened warming centers and shelters: • The warming station at the Keller Public Library, 640 Johnson Road, remains open for those who need it. • In Grapevine, residents can go to The Rec Center of Grapevine, 1175 Municipal Way. Call 817-410-4455 for more information. • The Colleyville Library, 1000 Main St., opened Monday as the city’s warming center. For more information on the Colleyville center, call 817-503-1111 or 817-312-2030. • Arlington has partnered with hotels to provide special rates for residents without power. The Salvation Army also is open as a warming center at 712 W. Abram St. • Haltom City has a warming center in the Recreation Center at 4839 Broadway Ave. • Dallas officials asked residents without power to call 2-1-1 or 877-541-7905 for warming center locations. • In North Richland Hills, residents should call the warming station hotline at 817-427-6001. • Mansfield has opened two warming centers at Chris W. Burkett Service Center, 620 S. Wisteria St., and the MAC, 106 S. Wisteria St. For details call 817-728-3609 or visit the City Facebook page at facebook.com/CityMansfieldTx. • Denton has several warming centers including the following: MLK Jr. Recreation Center, 1300 Wilson St., 940-349-8575, open through Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday/Sunday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. North Lakes Rec Center: 2001 W Windsor St., 940-349-8287, open through Wednesday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday/Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. City fire stations will be open through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 110 Mockingbird Lane, 2110 E. Sherman Drive, 2230 W. Windsor Drive, 3232 Teasley Lane and 4201 Vintage Parkway. For more information, follow the city’s Twitter. • Bedford, Hurst and HEB ISD are operating a warming center, which is expected to also serve as an overnight shelter, at Central Junior High, 3191 W. Pipeline Road in Euless. The City of Euless also has opened a warming center at the Euless Family Life Rec Center, at 300 W. Midway. • In Irving, the Senior Park Recreation Center is open as a warming center. Residents seeking transportation can call 972-721-6448. For updates go to CityofIrving.org or visit the city’s Twitter or Facebook pages. • A Parker County warming center will be open from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. at High Ridge Church at 1000 Cinema Drive in Hudson Oaks. • Southlake’s warming center is at the DPS North Station at 100 E. Dove Road. Visit the City of Southlake Twitter page for updates. The Rail Club Live in Fort Worth is also offering its location at 3101 Joyce Dr. for people to stay warm and there is the option to stay overnight, all they have to do is bring blankets and bedding. There is also free food and water available. People can call 817-386-4309 for more information. The location is open for people 24/7. TIPS FOR STAYING WARM These are some tips for staying warm in your home while the power is out. • The National Weather Service advises people who lose power to close blinds and curtains to contain the heat. • Placing towels, blankets or rags underneath doors to keep hot air from escaping though gaps can also help maintain heat. • Try to eat and drink regularly so your body will continue producing heat, but avoid alcohol and caffeine. • Wearing layers of loose-fitting, lightweight warm clothes can help you stay warm by trapping body heat around you. • Finally, closing doors to all rooms can help avoid wasting heat. Euless issues urgent request for water conservation BY ELIZABETH CAMPBELL FEBRUARY 18, 2021 06:27 PM Euless is joining other North Texas cities asking people to conserve water. “It is essential to shut your water off if you discover a water leak or broken pipes,” according to a post on the police department’s Facebook page. “The City of Euless is receiving a high number of service calls to shut water off due to broken pipes,” the post said. The city posted a video on how to shut off the main water valve if a pipe breaks. It also said residents can call 817-685-1580, and someone will assist as quickly as possible to help shut off the water. This family in Euless, Texas, has been without power for 72 hours. Here's how they are staying warm. February 19, 2021 Paul Murphy Timothy Wilsey, his wife Nicole and his 7-year-old son have been without power for 72 hours, and they have been forced to use their cars for warmth and to charge battery packs and phones, “their only lines of communication.” The Euless, Texas, family said their apartment is currently only heated by candles. “We are keeping busy by going old school and reading books and playing board games,” he told CNN by text message from Euless, a suburb of Dallas and Fort Worth. Timothy says they’re only using their phones to quickly look at the news, so they can stay updated on the power outage situation, and to look for restaurants that may be open and serving food. “We are mostly laying under covers in bed,” Timothy said. “The only time we leave the bed is to go to the car to warm up or charge the phones and battery packs.” They put the food they could save from their freezer on their patio so it would stay warmer, but have no other way to cook food. The food they do have is largely limited to beef sticks, beef jerky, chips and some cookies; as for things to drink, they have bottled water and some bottled tea, but that is it. “Other they [sic] that we are hoping the restaurants are open and serving hot food,” he said. “Sorry, hard to type while your hands are cold.” Turner Turns Venmo Trolling Into Fundraising for Those Impacted by Texas Winter Storms by Wheat Hotchkiss Pacers.com Writer/Editor @Wheat_Hotchkiss Posted: Feb 20, 2021 An unexpected exchange between Pacers center Myles Turner and a fan on Venmo has turned into a huge push to raise funds to help families impacted by the winter storms in his native state of Texas. It all started on Monday night, when the Pacers fell in overtime to the Chicago Bulls at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. After the loss, one fan found Turner on the mobile payment app Venmo and requested $100 from the sixth-year center. Like all professional athletes, Turner had seen fans "troll" him before on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, but Venmo was a new one. He chuckled at the request and shrugged it off. But then the fan sent him another request, and then another. After the third time, Turner decided to play along, sending the fan one cent with the message "Here's a penny for your thoughts" on Thursday night. The fan then shared the transaction on Twitter later that evening and Turner retweeted him on Friday morning. It was an amusing exchange, but that's when things took an unexpected turn. As Turner's retweet went viral, other fans started sending him money on Venmo, often a penny or two. Before he knew it, his phone was going off constantly as payments rolled in. "All those pennies and two cents in a matter of three or four hours added up to $230," Turner said Saturday. "Just like that. That's a lot of pennies. I was like, that's a lot of people that just got behind this...we decided that we could really take advantage of this (to help a good cause)." Back in his home state of Texas, thousands of families were without power or water for much of the past week as a result of the severe winter weather that hit much of the country. Turner's parents in the Dallas area were fortunate enough to rely on a backup generator to get them through the freezing temperatures, but many others weren't so fortunate. The situation even forced the NBA to postpone the Pacers' game in Houston that was scheduled for Saturday. So Turner shared that he would match any donations he received through the weekend and donate it all to helping families in Texas. "It just kind of hit home to me because it was my people," Turner said. "It was people that are going through a lot. I've spent a lot of time in San Antonio, I obviously went to the University of Texas down in Austin, I have a lot of family in Houston. I know people are going through a lot and I just wanted to do whatever I could to help." By the time he talked to the media in the early afternoon on Saturday, Turner had already raised over $12,000. He plans to continue accepting donations through Sunday night. Anyone who wants to contribute can do so on Venmo by donating to @Original_Turner. UPDATE After this story was posted, Turner announced that the NBPA would also match any money donated. On Monday morning, he revealed that fans had donated $25,395.86. With matches by both him and the NBPA, a total of $76,187.58 was raised. U.S. Concrete: 4Q Earnings Snapshot Feb. 24, 2021Updated: Feb. 24, 2021 5:11 a.m. EULESS, Texas (AP) _ U.S. Concrete Inc. (USCR) on Wednesday reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1.5 million, after reporting a profit in the same period a year earlier. On a per-share basis, the Euless, Texas-based company said it had a loss of 9 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs and stock option expense, came to 55 cents per share. The concrete and aggregates producer posted revenue of $334.4 million in the period. For the year, the company reported profit of $25.5 million, or $1.53 per share. Revenue was reported as $1.37 billion. U.S. Concrete shares have increased 28% since the beginning of the year. The stock has increased 39% in the last 12 months. This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on USCR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/USCR 'Day 14 with no water': Some North Texans still without running water after February winter storm “It's hard to deal with not being able to flush our toilets without going out and getting a bucket of water from the pool,” Euless resident Brian Augustine said. Author: Ariel Plasencia Published: 5:59 PM CST March 1, 2021 Updated: 5:01 PM CST March 3, 2021 EULESS, Texas — There are North Texans who still don’t have running water, two weeks after the historic February winter storm. Grand Prairie resident Torrie Roberson lives in the Three60 North apartments. She said they haven’t had running water for two weeks. “All I can do is laugh, because it feels like not even real,” Roberson said. “[You] just want to be still so you don't sweat because there's no running water [to shower].” Roberson said another tenant put a flyer on her door, encouraging people not to pay rent until the water comes back on. A woman who answered the phone for the apartment complex told WFAA the water was turned on at noon Monday. Roberson said she did not have running water by noon. By 3:30 p.m., she told WFAA she did notice some water coming out of her sink. However, her shower was not fully functional, she said. Euless resident Brian Augustine understands Roberson’s frustration. “It's hard to deal with not being able to flush our toilets without going out and getting a bucket of water from the pool,” Augustine said. Augustine said Monday marks Day 14 without water. During a phone call Monday, management for the Overlook at Bear Creek Apartments told WFAA they hope to have water restored to all 34 buildings by the end of the week. As of Monday afternoon, water had been restored to 14 buildings. Management said they installed portable showers and port-a-potties, which are professionally cleaned twice a day. They are also providing bottled water for residents. Augustine is thankful he has family nearby so he can shower and do laundry. “There's just a lot of things that you don't realize that you need water for until it's been taken away from you for so long,” Augustine said. Arlington resident Vera Smith is grateful to finally have running water. But she told WFAA she received a letter from her apartment complex, the Paddock on Park Row, saying it could be up to three weeks before a part arrives to fix the boiler. That means no hot water for showers. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Smith said she’s nervous to shower in a place that’s not her home. “It’s COVID-19. It's too many germs,” Smith said. “I have a 15-year-old daughter. It's unsanitary to go to a shower. They might say it's clean. You don't know. So it's unsafe. I don't feel comfortable going somewhere to another location to take showers. I don't have family members here. So it's just hard right now without hot water.” On Tuesday, March 2 Paddock on Park Row sent the following statement: “Unfortunately, a new hot water boiler failed at the Paddock on Park Row because of the severe weather that has devastated communities across Texas. Our team is working to install a new system and restore hot water to the residents affected as soon as we possibly can. We remain in communication with the residents of this property, whose safety and well-being remains our greatest priority.” North Texas cities find ways to help residents after devastating winter storm BY ELIZABETH CAMPBELL MARCH 02, 2021 05:30 AM SAGINAW Although Saginaw is dealing with repairing water damage at the library, the aquatic center and both fire stations, the city is helping residents who are recovering from the winter storm. For many, the extreme weather brought on extended power outages and broken pipes. Other Tarrant cities are also working with people who have water damage or who don’t have their water lines repaired yet. Saginaw City Manager Gabe Reaume said, “There were some frustrations, but I think some really kind things came out of it. I think everybody is still in damage assessment mode. Saginaw is waiving permit fees for weather-related improvements for the next three months and not charging late fees on water bills.” “Waiving permit fees is a goodwill gesture,” he said. In Bedford, City Manager Jimmy Stathatos said there were over 200 calls for help with unlocking water meters because of broken pipes. Bedford is allowing water customers to unlock their meters so that they can use the shutoff valves. In Euless, spokeswoman Betsy Deck said plumbers could make weather-related repairs but should bring “visual” documentation to city hall showing the work was finished. “We also have lists on our website of registered plumbers and electricians along with HEB Chamber and Euless Small Business Association members that provide those repair and restoration services”, Deck said. Deck said the city has several apartment communities that are still working through water repairs. “We have provided bottled water to apartments without water and hot showers at the Euless Family Life Center,” Deck said in an email to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Haltom City manager Rex Phelps said employees set up warming centers, transported the homeless to the centers, and delivered water and food.Haltom City is postponing “water disconnects” until further notice and customers that had high water use because of broken pipes can call the utility office at 817-222-7717. In North Richland Hills, spokeswoman Mary Peters said the city is providing “leak adjustments” to help customers with significant water loss from broken pipes.