Hooks police chief suspended with pay pending investigation; council names acting chief

HOOKS, Texas — The Hooks City Council voted Monday night to suspend Police Chief Johnny Millwood with pay pending an investigation, appointing Officer Matlock as acting police chief in the interim.

The action came after the council met behind closed doors in executive session to consider “possible personnel action regarding police chief” under Section 551.074 of the Texas Government Code. No details about the nature of the investigation were disclosed in open session.

When the council reconvened, Councilperson Davis made the motion to suspend Millwood pending an investigation, with the council specifying the suspension would be with pay. The motion passed, as did a second motion naming Officer Matlock acting chief.

Millwood was ordered to turn in all city equipment and vehicles immediately upon suspension, and the acting chief was directed to retrieve the city’s property. The council set Aug. 24 as the date to revisit the chief’s status.

Millwood was named Hooks police chief in early 2024. He drew criticism from some residents later that year over the reassignment of a school resource officer, which prompted calls for his removal at the time, according to previous reporting.

Residents again press council on data centers

Before the executive session, four residents used the open forum portion of the meeting to urge the council to help pause data center and solar farm development in Bowie County until safeguards are in place — the latest in a series of appearances by opponents at local government meetings across the county this summer.

Robin Buchanan told the council the area is not equipped to handle the projects, pointing to fire risks and other potential hazards, and criticized tax abatements for the companies behind them.

“We’re not saying all data centers are bad. Let’s just pause them until we can get safeguards in place and regulations and be prepared for them,” Buchanan said. “Let’s just be prepared, be proactive instead of having to be reactive.”

Christy Prince thanked the council for “the stance you were trying to take last month” and raised concerns about battery energy storage system fires near area schools, saying local fire departments have said they cannot handle a BESS fire or the evacuations one would require.

“It’s not a fire. It is a toxic fire,” Prince said. “You might be able to evacuate the children out of the school, but where are you going to evacuate them to?”

Prince also questioned ownership of the land along Interstate 30 near Hooks, saying an Aug. 3 affidavit still lists Bowie County, the New Boston and Hooks industrial development corporations and a company called Data Hub LLC as surface owners. “If it’s actually been sold to Data Hub LLC, why are the three entities that purchased the land still shown as surface owners?” she asked.

Paula Sorensen spoke “from the heart” about mornings on her back porch watching deer cross the hay meadow, saying she has been brought to tears thinking about the changes that may be coming. “The decisions made by a few are destroying the lives of many,” she said.

Danny Proctor of Leary, a member of an opposition group that meets Thursdays at the Dixie Diner, said the group’s goal is to pause the projects until the 2027 Legislature can address them. He identified the owner and CEO of Data Hub as Rick Jackson, a candidate for governor of Georgia, and asked whether council members are under a nondisclosure agreement with the company.

“I don’t believe that’s a proper way to conduct business — the very people that you represent are kept in the dark from what’s happening,” Proctor said. He also argued that Gov. Greg Abbott’s recent statements on data centers apply only to the ERCOT grid, which does not cover Bowie County.

Under Texas open meetings rules, council members could not respond to open forum comments.

Fire chief honored as department lands another grant

The council paused mid-meeting to recognize Hooks Volunteer Fire Department Chief Brandon Whitehurst, whose department recently received an additional $35,000 in grant funding through the Texas A&M Forest Service’s Rural Volunteer Fire Department Assistance Program. The money will go toward new apparatus, equipment, personal protective gear and training aids to be placed in service over the next six to 12 months.

The department’s new fire truck — parked outside city hall for the meeting — cost about $478,000, with all but roughly $78,000 covered by grant funding. Mayor Marc Reiter noted the manufacturer was so proud of the truck that it asked to display it, with Hooks VFD markings, at a fire industry show at Texas A&M.

A letter from Whitehurst’s wife, Andrea, read aloud at the meeting, described a lifelong firefighter who joined the department as a boy alongside his father, Michael, left class in high school — with his teachers’ permission — to run calls, and has secured three truck grants and equipment grants totaling more than $1 million since becoming chief in 2019.

“He is committed to his community, to every run, to looking out for money spent, to ensuring the training of his guys,” she wrote. “He is my hero and deserves the world.”

Other business

The council approved the consent agenda, including minutes from its July 20 regular meeting and a July 28 special meeting, along with July departmental reports, financial reports, checks and invoices. The motion by Councilperson Davis, seconded by Councilperson Hillis, passed unanimously.

The meeting opened with an invocation asking for protection over students, teachers and staff as the new school year begins.