The Sheriff’s Office received 117 calls for service this past week. As this report is being written there are 22 inmates and 7 being female in the Archer County Jail. On Wednesday, dispatch received a call from HWY 281 in the north part of the county. The caller stated that while he was on vacation that some broke into numerous vehicles on his property and that he has a good idea who did it. Deputies responded to the scene and took a theft report. The deputy is currently working the case and feels like he will have a subject in custody in very short order. This case should be a reminder that if you are going to be out of town for an extended period of time, please do not hesitate to notify the sheriff’s office so we can put your property on a patrol check to help ensure your property is be watched and checked. On Thursday, dispatch received a call from Little Lease Rd. near Holliday. The caller stated that he found a 28-inch alligator on his property. Lt. Franklin, Deputy Quick and the local game warden all responded to the call. As deputies arrived it was confirmed that the caller had indeed found a 28inch alligator in his yard. After some investigation it was discovered that it had escaped from its enclosure ¾ of a mile away. The caller was able to catch the alligator with a net and was able to tape the gators mouth shut before deputies arrived. The caller stated that he was from Florida and had done that before. The gator was returned to the owner and the game warden is working with the owner to ensure that it does not escape again. The sheriff’s office encourages citizens to not try and handle exotic creatures unless trained to do so. Please call the Sheriff’s Office if you come across anything like the above. Of course, this is the first time I have ever heard of a gator in Archer County but I guess you never can tell what’s out in the wild.

Join the Archer Public Library as we honor Larry McMurtry's legacy with the dedication of a Literary Landmark in his name. The evening will include a panel discussion of Larry Mc-Murtry's life and work and a special screening from the Lonesome Dove miniseries. 6:00 PM Friday, November 18th at the Royal Theater in Archer City, TX. Doors open at 5:30 PM light refreshments provided.

“There is a balm in Gilead;” so goes the great old hymn and “like a bridge over troubled waters” goes the lyric to a song by Simon and Garfunkel. Jesus is the one who has laid down His life on the Cross of Calvary as a bridge to rescue you and me by His victory over Satan, sin, evil and death. In the Catholic Christian tradition it is believed that all the graces that flow to us, flow from the pierced side of Christ from the Cross, flowing from His Sacred Heart. From the Cross Our Lord spoke what are known as His seven (7) last words, in fact, seven last statements. These are models of aspirational prayers. Prayer is the great means to access ever flowing graces and the Holy Spirit. We need daily graces for when our souls grow weary as they do in this hyper-active noisy and high speed world in which we live, with the hyper-active pace we are all expected to maintain. Prayer is the best medicine for weary souls and like many medical treatments consistency is key. We are counselled by Paul to “pray without ceasing” (1st Thessalonians 5:17a) and one of the best ways to aspire to this is through ‘aspirational prayers.’ It is said that the Greek Orthodox monks pray ‘The Jesus Prayer’ over 2000 times throughout the day. The Jesus Prayer is an aspirational prayer that goes as follows “Jesus Christ, have mercy on me a sinner” (short version) or “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.” Prayer is a medicine (catalyst) for our faith and a consoling restorative for our tired and weary souls, especially when taken like medication, regularly, in the right way at the right times. Aspirational prayers are short easy to remember prayers that can be said once or repeated often throughout the day to help us stay connected to Jesus. For example, as soon as we wake in the morning we can say/pray, in child-like trust “Good morning, Jesus,” and/or “Lord, I thank you for this, another day,” Again, when we wake in the morning we might/could pray, “Lord , come to my assistance, Lord, make haste to help me” or “Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise,” Before any activities we could pray, “Come, Holy Spirit;” or “Jesus, help me,” or “Jesus, I need you,” or Jesus I love you,” or “Jesus, I trust in you.” When we accomplish anything good we ought to pray, “Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to thy Name give the glory.” How often we send text messages to others, how about doing this also spiritually to God with our prayers, to our Lord and Savior by these simple aspirational type prayers, so that our minds and our hearts may remain connected to Him throughout the day. Jesus said “ remain in me as I remain in you…..” (John 15:4-5).