ANSWER LINE NOTE: I took a day off a week ago, and my friends in the newsroom picked some past questions to appear in my usual column space. I am thankful to the reader who called in to point out that the information about timber rattlers being on the “threatened” list was no longer accurate.
QUESTION: Can you find out why Longview Baptist Temple changed its name to Emmanuel? Curious if there was a split, a change in management, or just a re-branding. Also, do they still load buses with kids and send them into neighborhoods to knock doors?
Editor’s note: Answer Line is on assignment this week. Look for more questions and answers to return soon. In the meantime, enjoy this best-of column:
QUESTION: I have looked online but cannot find a code by the city of Longview addressing flags and flagpoles at residential addresses.
QUESTION: Has the police department of East Mountain risen from the ashes much like the phoenix? I’m sure I saw a car with the East Mountain Police logo on it.
QUESTION: Can you give us a brief instruction how voting by mail works in Gregg County? All the information I’m reading is confusing.
QUESTION: Is anyone tracking the positive rate of coronavairus cases in Gregg County? From day one, Gregg County’s rate has been 26% through last Sunday (based on my calculations using information in the newspaper). In the last 30 days, it’s been 34%. Those numbers seem like they’re awfully,…
QUESTION: Can you provide an update on what’s going to happen to the old Gregg Florist on Pine Tree Road, the New Way gas station that burned on Marshall Avenue, the Jack in the Box and Texaco at Interstate 20 and Estes Parkway and Joe’s Pizza on the Spur? Why haven’t they been torn down yet…
QUESTION: What has caused the national coin shortage? I’m seeing these notices in a lot of the store windows.
QUESTION: I’d like to know when nursing homes in Texas expect to re-open so family members can visit with nursing home residents?
Editor’s note: Answer Line was on assignment this week. Look for new questions and answers next week. In the meantime, enjoy this best-of column:
QUESTION: How many dentists have privileges at each of Longview’s hospitals?
QUESTION: What is the policy at Christus Good Shepherd as well as Longview Regional Medical Center regarding employees working after they have been exposed to someone who has COVID-19? Local health care workers have told me they’re being told they should not quarantine but continue working u…
QUESTION: The COVID-19 data for East Texas shows Gregg County has twice as many cases as Harrison county, but Harrison County has about three times more deaths than Gregg County. Has there been an explanation from either county for this?
QUESTION: Are we still under requirements to limit gatherings to under 100 people? I attended my church this past weekend for the first time in two months and there were at least 200 people there. We were told to wear masks while moving about, but allowed to remove them once seated. That mea…
Editor’s note: Answer Line is on assignment this week. New questions and answers will return soon. In the meantime, enjoy this best-of column consisting of Q&A from 2012.
QUESTION: How is Longview enforcing the governor’s mask requirement?
QUESTION: I ordered takeout from a restaurant this past weekend. The girl who took my order was less than 3 feet away from me. She and the people behind the counter filling orders — not one of them had a mask on. I seems that with them right over my food and the governor’s order (about masks…
QUESTION: On April 8 there was a story in the News Journal about two deaths on FM 2751. I don’t believe there have been follow-up reports about the names of the victims, the results of the autopsy, any charges, etc. Did I miss a follow up story?
QUESTION: There used to be a sandwich shop chain (with a store in Longview) called Alvin Ord’s. Its logo depicted a monk carrying a large sandwich.
Editor’s note: Answer Line was on assignment this week. Look for more questions and answers next week. In the meantime, enjoy this best-of column made up of Q&A from 2015:
Editor’s note: Answer Line was back on assignment this week. Look for new questions and answers next week. In the meantime, enjoy this column from March 2012:
QUESTION: Can you tell us who is responsible for policing the handicapped spaces near the Vietnam Wall and handicapped ramp at Teague Park? We attempted to take a handicapped Vietnam veteran there to see the wall but were unable because all the spaces were occupied by vehicles without either…
QUESTION: Is the Longview Public Library still accepting books for donations?
Editor’s note: Answer Line has been on assignment this week. Look for new questions and answers soon. In the meantime, enjoy this best-of column from 2014:
QUESTION: My wife and I had lunch today at a local restaurant. All employees working the guest area wore face masks. We noticed the employees working in the kitchen did not have on face masks. What are the face mask rules for all restaurant employees?
QUESTION: The historical marker for the old Longview High School on Whaley Street is really overgrown. Who is responsible for maintaining that?
QUESTION: I heard there’s more mobile COVID-19 testing coming to Longview. A couple of the days require prescreening for symptoms for an appointment. When mobile testing was here the first time, the prescreening questionnaire asked questions about insurance. Is insurance required for me to b…
QUESTION: How are buffets like the Golden Corral, China King and others where the customer can pass through and serve themselves operating now that they can be open?
Editor’s note: Answer Line was on assignment this week. Look for new questions and answers next week. In the meantime, enjoy this best-of column with Q&A from 2016:
QUESTION: I received in the mail an economic impact payment card. It is a Visa credit card for my stimulus money. I have not received a check or anything, and I don’t know if this is a scam or not. It says that it’s on behalf of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
QUESTION: My husband and I went down to The Green recently to walk around and get some fresh air. In the far western edge there is an area where there are some outside xylophones, some musical instruments that can be played. On the ground beneath these xylophones are a series of concrete pan…
QUESTION: About the $1,200 economic impact payment: I read that it’s for people with an adjusted gross income of $150,000. Is that for one person or two people? I haven’t gotten anything yet, and I know people that have.
QUESTION: Is the Texas Department of Insurance doing anything to lower auto insurance rates like in Louisiana because people are driving a lot fewer miles during the pandemic?
QUESTION: If bars are supposed to be closed, how can Outlaws Bar hold an outdoor live concert with drinking and over 35 people out back of the bar not keeping any distance between them? Longview police evidently did nothing to enforce the governor’s order. Who else can be notified for violations?
QUESTION: I was wondering how long it took Dr. Jonas Salk to come up with the vaccine for the horrible polio epidemic? Did the other countries also have polio? I can think about that polio and how scared those parents were for their children. It makes me think how scared people are for their…
QUESTION: How have our local hospitals been affected by COVID-19 patients? How many patients have they treated? Were they overrun with COVID-19 patients?
QUESTION: What is the story behind the abandoned car wash at the corner of Pliler Precise and Judson Road? It’s been roped off for several years it seems.
QUESTION: We are calling about Longview Transit. We are wondering why they are still traveling the road. You see people at the bus stop standing close together waiting on the bus. Why is it allowed to continue operating? Sometimes you see the bus and there’s no one on there at all. What’s going on?
Editor’s note: Technical problems derailed Answer Line’s bid Friday to finish today’s column. She’ll return with new questions and answers next week. Meanwhile, enjoy this column from Jan. 27, 2016:
QUESTION: Why is the county no longer sharing countywide COVID - 19 information with Longview Mayor Andy Mack? Is there a reason we are not seeing daily updates on the county’s social media pages? Mayor Mack is doing a great job at providing information, but why does it seem his hands are ti…
Editor’s note: Answer Line was on assignment this week and indulging in a little bit of sadness that her baby’s kindergarten year and her fifth-grader’s final year at Hudson PEP have been cut short. Please enjoy this column from June 11, 2010. She chose it just because it quoted now retired …
QUESTION: Would Answer Line please explain what a charter school is? There’s been a lot of publicity about that lately.
QUESTION: I walk every day through my neighborhood and am pleased to see how many folks are now getting out at different times of the day to walk with family, dogs, etc., while practicing staying at home more due to the coronavirus situation.
Answer Line note: I decided this would be a good day to share a couple of poems that some faithful readers sent me about our current situation. Keep sending questions — I’ll be back at answering them Saturday. Today though — in this fourth week of working at home while cracking down on a cou…
QUESTION: How was it possible for Ollie’s Bargain Outlet to have a grand opening this week? It seems like that’s a non-essential business, and what about social distancing?
QUESTION: Where did coronavirus get its name? Who, what or where is corona?
QUESTION: Gov. Greg Abbott previously stated that a shelter in place would not include houses of worship. Can you get clarification concerning the order by Gregg County and the city of Longview?
ANSWER LINE NOTE: Answer Line has received a few questions from people regarding complaints about businesses and people violating the governor’s order — and now a local order as well — prohibiting people from social gatherings of more than 10 people and prohibiting people from dining in rest…
