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Community & Opinions

2022 Community Calendar

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SPUR VISITOR CENTER at 101 Hill Street at Burlington Avenue is operated by the Spur Area Chamber of Commerce and open during regular hours Tuesday–Saturday. Vistiors seeking information on the area may email spurchamber@gmail.com or call (806) 271-3097. THE SPUR AREA FOOD BANK serves families throughout Dickens County. The Food Bank is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization operating off private donations and welcomes donations to this community work. Donations are tax-deductible and are accepted directly into the Food Bank’s account at Spur Security Bank or at 612 Burlington Ave. The Spur Area Food Kitchen Inc. does not discriminate due to race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. THE KENT COUNTY LIBRARY, 156 W. 4th St., Jayton, is open for patron services Monday–Thursday, 9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Staff will bring requested materials out to patron’s cars if requested. Masks are recommend for patrons. Library patrons may also check out e-books and audiobooks on the Libby app for free with their library card. For information call (806) 2373287 or“like”Kent County Library on Facebook. THE KENT COUNTY SENIOR NUTRITION CENTER, 156 W. 4th St., Jayton, is open Monday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to noon and Tuesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m A lunch meal is served at noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a nominal cost, and is also available for carry-out. For information call (806) 237-3288. THE SPUR-DICKENS COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, 403 E. Hill St., is open Monday–Thursday, noon–5 p.m., and extended hours on the first Monday of each month until 7 p.m. Call (806) 271-3714 for questions. Free WiFi service (password spurlib2017) is available to guests from the parking lot. SPUR-DICKENS COUNTY MUSEUM, 327 Burlington Ave., Spur, is open 1 to 5 pm. Fridays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. Disposable masks are available for visitors’ use. For other hours, please call a board member: Fronye Morris, (806) 271-3577; Linda Swenson, (806) 271-3238; Woodie McArthur, (806) 271-4415; or Don Wright, (806) 271-4520. SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER/SOUTH DICKENS, 210 Burlington Ave., provides a dine-in meal at noon Monday–Friday. the salad bar is available on Wednesdays. A donation of $4 is suggested for ages 60 and older, with a $8 donation for those younger than 60. For more information call (806) 271-4472. SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER/NORTH DICKENS, 511 Montgomery St., Dickens, provides a meal at noon Monday–Friday, still practicing social distancing precautions. A donation of $5 is suggested. For more information call (806) 623-5520. DICKENS COUNTY MUSEUM on Montgomery Avenue in Dickens is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the second and fourth Saturdays monthly. For a special viewing or other hours please call Ruby Combs at (806) 269-6215 or Bron Combs at (806) 294-5302 KENT COUNTY LIONS CLUB meets the second and fourth Mondays of each month at noon at the Kent County Community Center, 156 4th St., Jayton. Lunch is served at a cost of $10 per person; please RSVP to Daryl Ham at (806) 269-1179. SPUR ART GUILD Open painting day every third Monday at the Spur Senior Citizens Center, 201 Burlington Ave., Spur.

A great year for football

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Our three newspapers cover eight

Spur ISD board agrees to supplemental December pay for active employees

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In the regular monthly meeting of the Spur Independent School District board on Monday, Oct. 24, the trustees agreed to approve December supplemental pay for active Spur ISD employees.

Panic buttons, locked doors for Texas schools

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Texas public schools

JGISD considers Stetson Reinvestment Zone at Oct. meeting

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At the regular monthly

Independent candidate for Congress

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“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.”

Early voting ends Friday; election is Tuesday, Nov. 8

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AUSTIN— Early voting for the general election ends on Friday, Nov. 4, with the closely watched governor’s race pitting incumbent Gov. Greg Abbott against challenger Beto O’ Rourke headlining the ballot. A number of other statewide races are on the ballot, general, land commissioner, agriculture commissioner and comptroller. Voters can find polling places in their county by visiting VoteTexas.gov. Those voting early can visit any location in the county in which they’re registered. However, those who choose to vote on Election Day must go to the specific precinct in which they live.

Doing the math, newsprint style

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Last week we gave readers a headsup to look for a revamp of physical features— sheet size, color pages, and one I didn’t mention: where the susbcriber address goes. These are the result of making a change in printing operations, a major undertaking for weeklies like this one.

2022 Community Calendar

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SPUR VISITOR CENTER at 101 Hill Street at Burlington Avenue is operated by the Spur Area Chamber of Commerce and open during regular hours Tuesday–Saturday. Vistiors seeking information on the area may email spurchamber@gmail.com or call (806) 271-3097. THE SPUR AREA FOOD BANK serves families throughout Dickens County. The Food Bank is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization operating off private donations and welcomes donations to this community work. Donations are tax-deductible and are accepted directly into the Food Bank’s account at Spur Security Bank or at 612 Burlington Ave. The Spur Area Food Kitchen Inc. does not discriminate due to race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. THE KENT COUNTY LIBRARY, 156 W. 4th St., Jayton, is open for patron services Monday–Thursday, 9:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Staff will bring requested materials out to patron’s cars if requested. Masks are recommend for patrons. Library patrons may also check out e-books and audiobooks on the Libby app for free with their library card. For information call (806) 2373287 or“like”Kent County Library on Facebook. THE KENT COUNTY SENIOR NUTRITION CENTER, 156 W. 4th St., Jayton, is open Monday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to noon and Tuesday and Thursday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m A lunch meal is served at noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a nominal cost, and is also available for carry-out. For information call (806) 237-3288. THE SPUR-DICKENS COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY, 403 E. Hill St., is open Monday–Thursday, noon–5 p.m., and extended hours on the first Monday of each month until 7 p.m. Call (806) 271-3714 for questions. Free WiFi service (password spurlib2017) is available to guests from the parking lot. SPUR-DICKENS COUNTY MUSEUM, 327 Burlington Ave., Spur, is open 1 to 5 pm. Fridays and 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. Disposable masks are available for visitors’ use. For other hours, please call a board member: Fronye Morris, (806) 271-3577; Linda Swenson, (806) 271-3238; Woodie McArthur, (806) 271-4415; or Don Wright, (806) 271-4520. SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER/SOUTH DICKENS, 210 Burlington Ave., provides a dine-in meal at noon Monday–Friday. the salad bar is available on Wednesdays. A donation of $4 is suggested for ages 60 and older, with a $8 donation for those younger than 60. For more information call (806) 271-4472. SENIOR CITIZENS CENTER/NORTH DICKENS, 511 Montgomery St., Dickens, provides a meal at noon Monday–Friday, still practicing social distancing precautions. A donation of $5 is suggested. For more information call (806) 623-5520. DICKENS COUNTY MUSEUM on Montgomery Avenue in Dickens is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the second and fourth Saturdays monthly. For a special viewing or other hours please call Ruby Combs at (806) 269-6215 or Bron Combs at (806) 294-5302 KENT COUNTY LIONS CLUB meets the second and fourth Mondays of each month at noon at the Kent County Community Center, 156 4th St., Jayton. Lunch is served at a cost of $10 per person; please RSVP to Daryl Ham at (806) 269-1179. SPUR ART GUILD Open painting day every third Monday at the Spur Senior Citizens Center, 201 Burlington Ave., Spur.

The Underrated Role of Auntie

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On this Sunday afternoon I am at my sister Sara’s home, watching her nestle her youngest grandson as he sleeps soundly on her shoulder after his afternoon feeding. Fred is my newest greatnephew. He joins the others of his generation who have given me another chance to snuggle, squish,andkisschubbycheeks. Just this past week another nephewsentphotostohisaunts andunclesaboutanewdelivery arriving in next April. My siblings and I had strong bonds with our parents’ siblings. Our aunts and uncles wrote letters, flew or drove to Texas for visits, and hosted us on our family vacations. I learned from the best how to nurture this special family dynamic. My nieces and nephews are more than physical extensions of my brothers and sisters. Christopher and Michael have been the boys I did not have. I spent their youngster time at ballparks or golf courses or halftime shows and drove cross country with each on epic road trips when they were college students. Our golf games, though few, are now famous for brotherly smack talk and their aunt pretending to be an Irish PGA commentator in the middle of their backswings. But the mundane history we share is my favorite. I am the one who taught them how to go to the back yard when everyone is in the front yard saying good-bye after a big holiday meal and hurl leftover burned rolls over the rooftolandontheunsuspecting relatives. The art of the ambush is still a family tradition thanks to my auntie skills. Early on, my nieces were the built-in family playmates for my two girls. Today, they are each other’s confidantes. It is easy to see in them the best of my brother and my sisters. These beautiful adult nieces and I now share music and film appreciation, wickedly delightful senses of humor, heartfelt conversations about family relationships, favorite sports teams, and stories about their parents when we were brothers and sisters growing up in Snyder, Texas. I’ve also come to realize these “kids”—including my two daughters—are wise beyond years from where I was at their ages.