colorful history revealed
TRANSCRIPT
4 WISE COUNTY MESSENGER, Decatur, Texas, Friday, July 30, 2021
USPS Publication No. 688940ISSN 0746-8679The Wise County Messenger (ISSN 0746-8679) is published Wednesday and Friday by Wise County Messenger, Inc., P.O. Box 149, 115 S. Trinity St., Decatur, Texas 76234-0149. Periodicals class postage paid at Decatur, Texas. Subscription rates: one year in Wise County $37; one year out of county $43; one year out of state $49.
An erroneous reflection upon the character, standing or reputation of any firm, person or corporation, which appears in the columns of this paper will be corrected upon due notice given to the publication at the Messenger office.Postmaster: Send address changes to: Wise County Messenger, P.O. Box 149, Decatur, Texas 76234-0149. 940-627-5987. http://www.wcmessenger.com. E-mail: [email protected].© 2021 Wise County Messenger
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WISE COUNTY
Eek! Snakes on prolific biting pace in 2021BY AUSTIN [email protected]
Snakes and humans aren’t playing nice in Wise County this year.
The number of patients treated for snakebites at Wise Health System in Decatur is on pace to double the total from last year, according to the emergency department records.
As of July, 23 people have come through the hospital with snake-bites, eclipsing 2020’s total of 20 for the year.
Jennifer Barrow, a Texas Parks and Wildlife biologist in Decatur, said the rise in snake encounters isn’t due to a change in snake aggression or numbers. She pointed to the rise in pop-ulation and people getting out-doors instead.
“I don’t think there’s more snakes; I think it’s more people,” Barrow said.
Of the 23 cases this year, seven were admitted to the hospital, one was transferred to a higher level of care and 15 were dis-charged home from the emer-gency department, said Wise Health System Communications
Director Shannon Spann.Copperheads represent the
overwhelming majority in the snake bites the hospital has treated, making up 95 percent of cases. The other five percent of snakebites have come from rattlesnakes and unidentified varieties.
Wise County is home to four types of venomous snakes, said Barrow, including Copperheads, Cottonmouths, which are also called Water Moccasins, Dia-mondback Rattlesnakes and Timber Rattlesnakes, which are a state-protected species.
Depending on where you are in the county you might be more likely to see a rattlesnake over a cottonmouth.
Diamondback Rattlesnakes are found more often in west-ern Wise County. Decatur is the western edge of Timber Rattle-snake territory. Cottonmouths can be found in any water source, including Lake Bridge-port, while Copperheads prefer areas with dense foliage to use their natural camouflage.
Barrow said Copperheads and Diamondback Rattlesnakes are the most aggressive of Wise
County’s venomous residents. The most dangerous of the snakes is also one of the least aggressive.
“I’ve gotten more reports recently on the Timber Rattlers, but they’re not very aggressive,” Barrow said. “They want to get away from us just as bad as we want to get away from them.”
Barrow said snakebites are often because of human inter-ference. She said snake strikes will occur most frequently when people are messing with snakes, trying to handle them or when snakes get surprised and feel threatened.
“Usually people get bit when they’re getting too close and aggravating that snake,” Barrow said. “... Snakes don’t come chas-ing to bite you.”
Still, snakebites happen. And treating snakebites in Wise County is becoming more com-mon for the Wise Health System emergency department.
Wise Health System ER nurse Kayla Baker, in a video, said if you are bitten by a snake, remain calm and immediately seek medical attention.
“Do not attempt to capture or
kill any type of snake. It puts everybody at risk, and there’s no need to bring it to the emer-gency room with you [if bitten by a snake]. We have training to identify snakes,” Baker said.
She said the key for the best medical outcome is to seek medi-cal attention immediately.
“Remain calm and seek med-ical attention immediately,” Baker said. “... We are trained to identify and treat any type of snakebites, and if anti-venom is needed, it will be administered.”
Barrow cited population increases, people clearing prop-erty and an increase in outdoor recreation as driving factors behind the number of bites and snake encounters.
Being aware of where you’re reaching and stepping can be the difference between a trip to the emergency room and a nor-mal day.
Barrow said the most com-mon snake you will see around here, the Texas rat snake, is not venomous.
Still, she advised things go best when snakes and people respect each other’s boundaries.
WISE COUNTY
BY RICHARD [email protected]
Historians have uncov-ered a very colorful past for the Wise County Courthouse, especially on its walls.
The historical conserva-tion analysis of the court-house revealed a variety of paint colors used through-out the building in its orig-inal design. As part of the proposed historical reno-vation of the structure, the county is hoping to match many of the colors origi-nally used in 1895.
The analysis was part of the $787,753 planning grant from the Texas His-torical Commission that could pave the way for the restoration of the interior and exterior of the iconic county courthouse. The construction plans with Komatsu Architecture are nearing the finish line moving to schematic designs. The county is planning to have a shovel ready application to sub-mit to the Texas Historical Commission by October for a possible restoration grant. That grant would pay for up to 85 percent or $6 million of the project.
“We’re proceeding to the construction documents. We need to have a shovel ready project to submit,” said Wise County Judge J.D. Clark.
The county could receive word on if the project is awarded by January. At the earliest, Clark antic-ipated a start of May or June for the renovation work.
During a May visit, Restoration Associates
Colorful history revealedPaint colors found on
courthouse wallsLtd. took paint, plaster and wood samples from around the courthouse. The samples were taken to their lab and analyzed by stereomicroscopy and polarized light microsopy using an Olympus S/Z microscope, according a report from Komatsu.
“Polarized light micros-copy was used to identify pigments. All final color samples will be matched to Munsell Color standards and a physical printed report will be provided to the county for color verifi-cation when construction begins,” said the report.
Starting in the base-ment, light green was the historic color of the walls.
On the first floor, the central hallway was an off-white to cream color. The county judge’s office showed a light yellow. Other offices throughout the first floor showed min-imal paint layers in yellow and light green on the orig-inal lime-based plaster.
The second floor samples showed a light green and light yellow on the ceiling. Some office walls were a light to a medium coral. The district court court-room was a light green.
The hallways on the third floor were light green. The third-floor offices were light yellow, yellow and coral.
“It did not surprise me,” Clark said. “There was a lot of green in the Ellis County Courthouse, [also designed by Wise County Courthouse archi-tect James Riely Gordon]. There was also some yel-low and coral found. But it’s not nearly as bold as
the colors in Ellis County. But it’s similar to the Vic-torian turn of the century colors.”
Clark said the goal is to restore the building’s inte-rior to its original design as dictated by the grant. The county will be incor-porating modern technol-ogy needs around the his-
torical restoration.“Conservators will be
working to match up the colors to modern colors,” Clark said.
“You should be able to step inside and under-stand what it was like when it opened.”
Of the wood fixtures, white oak, hard pine and
birch were used.Along with restoring
many of the historical elements of the building, the renovation will also address many of the issues in the building — leaking roofs, water infiltration and termite damage.
MESSENGER ARCHIVE
COLLECTING EVIDENCE — Members of Restoration Associates Ltd. collect paint sam-ples in an office in the Wise County Courthouse.