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Sales tax holiday for school supplies, clothes is Fri. Aug. 5 - Sat. Aug. 7

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The exemption applies to clothing and school supplies costing less than $100.

  • Today is the first day of the annual sales tax holiday for Texans purchasing clothing and school supplies. The sales tax holiday continues through Sunday. Eligible items include backpacks, clothing including shoes, and approved school supplies. Each item must be sold for less than $100. The annual sales tax holiday weekend was created by the state legislature in 1999. Details are available at TexasTaxHoliday.org.
  • Today is also the first day that State Highway 224 will be closed just east of Neylandville. The area being closed is about halfway between Commerce and Greenville. The bridge over the South Sulphur River is going to be destroyed and replaced. The closure is expected to last for months. The Texas Department of Transportation says the project is scheduled to be completed in January 2023. Drivers on State Highway 224 will be routed onto a detour, however, the quickest way between Commerce and Greenville during the closure is taking State Highway 24 to Interstate 30.
  • Fire danger across Northeast Texas today is rated high to very high once again. Yesterday in red River County, firefighters contained a blaze northwest of Clarksville that burned 43 acres. Elsewhere, a Lamar County fire east of Pattonville burned 18 acres before being contained. Data published yesterday by the U.S. Drought Monitor showed the entire region as being in drought, with parts of southern Hunt County as well as Kaufman and Van Zandt counties shown as being in exceptional drought. That’s the highest level of drought in the U.S. Drought Monitor’s ratings.
  • A heat advisory remains in effect across most of Northeast Texas today. Mostly sunny today with afternoon highs around 102. We have a very slight chance for rain during the late afternoon and early evening. Tonight, mostly clear with lows in the mid 70s. This weekend, sunny and hot with no rain in the forecast. High temperatures around 100 both Saturday and Sunday.