By Kathy Thomson

Only a few cases of influenza have been seen at the Resource Center or at the school so far this winter, but quite a few patients seen by the medical staff at the Shackelford County Health Clinic have tested positive for influenza, according to administrator Jera Fairley.

“We started seeing quite a few cases of flu back in November,” Fairley said. “Then prior to Christmas, we were seeing 40 to 50 cases a week that tested positive for influenza. It’s slowed down a little now, but we are still seeing some.”

By Kathy Thomson

New voter registration cards were mailed in December, and everyone who is registered to vote in Shackelford County should have received a 2020 voter registration card by the end of this week.

Those who are not registered to vote still have time. The last day to register to vote in the upcoming March 3 primary election is Monday, Feb. 3.

Shackelford County Tax Assessor Collector Chief Deputy Belinda Perez is also in charge of voter registration. 

By Kathy Thomson

Licensed hunters ages 16 years and younger have opportunities this winter and spring to sharpen their skills and bring home some whitetail and turkey trophies, and adult hunters still have time to harvest wild game. 

Dove season ended Sunday, Jan. 5, but quail season continues until Feb. 23.

The regular season for deer and turkey ended Sunday, Jan. 5, though a special late deer season runs from Jan. 6-19, 2020, and is open to all legal hunters. 

For most people, breathing is automatic – the air goes in, the air goes out – they don’t even think about it. But for those with airway problems, especially children, it isn’t that simple.

“Children who suffer from air-passage problems never get enough oxygen to the brain, which causes them to never get enough sleep,” says Dr. Stuart Frost, an orthodontist and author of The Artist Orthodontist: Creating An Artistic Smile is More Than Just Straightening Teeth (www.drstuartfrost.com). “They typically do poorly in school and seem inattentive and lethargic.”

By Kathy Thomson

Students at the Moran Independent School System started the spring semester and the fourth grading period on Monday, Jan. 6, after a two-week long Christmas break.

Tuesday, Jan. 7, the Moran Parent Teachers Organization rewarded 15 students for their outstanding efforts in a recent fundraiser by sending them to Pizza Heaven in Cisco on a party bus. 

Upcoming Optional/Required fifth days include the following Friday – Jan. 17, Feb. 14, March 27, April 24, and May 1, 15, and 22.

As part of their commitment to education and training, concern for community and support of youth, four scholarships are available through Big Country Electric Cooperative and affiliates:

•Big Country EC Academic Scholarship – Two $4,000 scholarships will be awarded to graduating seniors whose parents or guardians are members of Big Country EC. The deadline is March 5, 2020. 

By Kathy Thomson

Twenty-nineteen started off cold, with temperatures unwilling to climb above freezing until Jan. 3, but the year ended on a warm note, with unusually mild temperatures the final month and a half.

During the course of the year, the weather was typical for this part of West Texas.

A late freeze surprised early blooming trees in March. 

A gully washer grabbed headlines in April, another storm relocated Polo on the Prairie in May, and a lightning strike started a house fire in July. 

By Melinda L. Lucas

Over a dozen volunteers gathered on Christmas Day to prepare about 100 lunches for local residents during the Matthews Memorial Presbyterian Church’s 11th annual Christmas Feast.

Several Christmas meals were served to local residents who came to the church’s fellowship hall, but most were boxed and delivered by church members to the people on the Vittles by Vehicle list.

Take-out plates were provided for other members of the community who called in requests.

By Melinda L. Lucas

Students and staff of Albany Junior-Senior High School and Nancy Smith Elementary School will be back in class on Tuesday, Jan. 7 to start the second semester and the fourth sixth weeks of the 2019-2020 school year. 

Teachers return for a staff development day at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 6. 

By Melinda L. Lucas

The board of trustees at the Old Jail Art Center has asked potential donors to consider contributing now, during the museum’s current ongoing Annual Appeal, to double the effect of their generosity.

“The Charles E. Jacobs Foundation recognizes the importance and successes of the OJAC and will match contributions to the Annual Appeal dollar-for-dollar up to $25,000,” said executive director Patrick Kelly. 

The OJAC is continuing its mission of providing art for all, according to Kelly.