Quake shakes South Texas ...

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A shallow, moderate earthquake struck southern Texas (TX) on Thursday morning, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS). It was the strongest earthquakes to hit the U.S. state in 45 years.

The 4.8 magnitude quake, upgraded from 4.6mb, occured at 07:25 AM local time (13:25 PM GMT) and was recorded at an extremely shallow depth of 3km (1.9 miles). It struck below Fashing, but was felt as far as Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Austin.

The epicentre of the quake was located 22 km (14 miles) NW (321°) from Pawnee, TX; 23 km (14 miles) SSW (213°) from Falls City, TX; 26 km (16 miles) WSW (249°) from Karnes City, TX; 60 km (37 miles) NW of Beeville, TX; 76 km (47 miles) SSE (154°) from San Antonio, TX; 92 km (57 miles) E of Pearsall, TX; 166 km (103 miles) SSW of AUSTIN, TX; and 463 km (288 miles) SSW (197°) from Dallas, TX.

The last time Texas experienced a tremor similar in intensity to Thursday’s quake was on July 20, 1966. The magnitude 4.8 earthquake was centred in the Panhandle, near Borger and Amarillo.

The most recent earthquake to strike the region hit on 25 April, 2010. The 4.0 magnitude earthquake was recorded 56 km west of Corpus Christi.

Traffic stop nets 37K in weed.

Conroe News: A traffic stop around 3 p.m. Tuesday yielded around $37,500 in pot hidden inside a car and the arrests of four men on North Loop 336 at Texas 75 East, the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday.

Deputies Tom Thompson and Scott Martin, working for teh MCSO Special Investigations Unit on criminal interdiction, stopped a 2008 Mercury Milan registered in Missour for a traffic violation, an MCSO release states.

Thompson's K-9 partner, Bianca, alerted on the vehicle, indicating that it could contain illicit drugs. During a search of the car, Thompson and Martin found 34 bundles of marijuana weighing approximately 75 pounds.

"Some of it was concealed in the trunk and some in the passenger area of the driver's side," MCSO Inspector Ike Fluellen said. "It was a real thorough search by the deputies. None of it was in plain sight."

Fluellen didn't know the source of the marijuana.
At around $500 per pound wholesale, the value of the marijuana is about $37,500.
Deputies arrested Oscar Rene Salinas, 18, of Baytown, Texas, Juan Raul Soliz, 28, of Mission, Texas, Antwan Deshey McKnight, 37, of Decatur, Ill., and Breon Cortez Wilson, 31, of Peoria, Ill.

Each is being held on charges of engaging in organized criminal activity and possession of marijuana greater than 50 pounds and less than 2,000 pounds, on bonds totaling $50,000 each.

Oak Ridge Boys performing in Kingwood October 9

"Giddy Up A Oom Poppa Mow Mow" your way on over to the Kingwood, Texas Cracker Barrel front porch on Sunday, October 9 to see and hear the Oak Ridge Boys. From 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Richard Sterban, Duane Allen, William Lee Golden and Joe Bonsall will be performing songs from their latest CD, It's Only Natural, meeting n' greeting folks and signing autographs. The store is located at 24400 Eastex Freeway at U.S. Hwy. 59 and North Park.

It's Only Natural recently debuted exclusively at all Cracker Barrel Old Country Store(R) locations with fresh cuts of some of their biggest hits, including "Elvira." Newly inducted into the Grand Ole Opry(R), the Oak Ridge Boys began performing together in 1973. They became a top act in country music and then crossed over to pop with the monster hit "Elvira" in 1981. The song became their fourth No. 1 country hit, reached No. 5 on the pop charts, won the group a Grammy(R) award and went on to become one of only a handful of singles ever to go double platinum.

In honor of "Elvira's" thirtieth anniversary, the group rerecorded the song, along with #1 CMT video hit Louisiana Red Dirt Highway and former Top Ten Billboard hits "Lucky Moon," "No Matter How High," "Gonna Take a Lot of River," "Beyond Those Years" and "True Heart" on It's Only Natural. New songs on the CD are "What'cha Gonna Do," "Wish You Could Have Been There," "Before I Die," "The Shade" and "Sacrifice...for Me."

"We're delighted to have The Oak Ridge Boys celebrate their thirtieth anniversary rerecording of "Elvira" and help us celebrate Cracker Barrel's one-year anniversary in Kingwood," said Cracker Barrel Marketing Manager Julie Craig. "If you haven't seen and heard them in person, you are in for a real treat. They have a great time performing and everyone around them has a great time too."