NEW BOSTON, Texas-After at least four years without one, the Bowie County Courthouse is getting an electronic metal detector security post at the front of the building.
Bowie County commissioners agreed Monday to reimplement this security measure at the courthouse's first-floor front entrance. The post will be staffed with two Sheriff's Office security officers, whose salaries commissioners agreed to finance through the Courthouse Security Fund. The officers will man the post and screen visitors during the courthouse's regular business hours.
The front entrance security was initially implemented after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., said Bowie County Sheriff James Prince.
The courthouse has had camera security on both floors all along.
County officials discontinued the metal detector post at the front entrance because of severe financial problems between 2011 and 2015. Since then, the county has recovered enough to put it back.
Prince previously said that the district judges recently expressed a strong interest in getting the front entrance security measure back.
"We will be glad to get this security post back," Prince said.
In other business, commissioners agreed to authorize the county to make a $50,000 contribution, as the county's share of matching funds, for a $350,000 grant recently extended to the county from the Northeast Texas Regional Mobility Authority. The grant money will be used to finance a feasibility study that focuses on an Interstate 369 West Spur project connecting existing major roadways.
A $100,000 match is needed for the grant. Earlier this month, Texarkana, Texas, City Council pledged $25,000 to the match. The remaining matching funds will be considered by the TexAmericas Center, which is expected to benefit from this transportation project.