Okay, we had our first official freeze, some sleet and some snowflakes, but the warm season plants did not die? We saw pictures posted on the internet in awe and disbelief. I posted a picture of our Red Cascade rose blooming away with fresh buds showing. I even have a Texas sage that is blooming new flowers today after the freeze. I recorded 26(f) at the homestead Thursday morning after everything cleared off. It is a fact that the coldest night is always after the clouds clear off and the winds die down. Still, I just checked my three peppers and one tomato in containers out by our pond this morning. I failed to cover them yet all are alive with the peppers looking fine and the tomato looking a bit haggard but has a small tomato hanging on a still green stalk minus most its leaves. So what’s up with all this?

The Archer Public Library now offers Libby by OverDrive! Borrow e-books, audiobooks, and magazines to read on your phone or tablet using the Libby app by OverDrive. You can even send and read your borrowed e-books to your Kindle e-reader (U.S. only)! It’s free and easy to get started for new users and a streamlined experience for current OverDrive app users. Learn more at overdrive.com/apps/ libby/.

The Semicolon Case Every so often, news reports emerge of court cases that hinge upon the meaning of a word, or a spelling error, or even the correct placement of punctuation. Legal documents and statutes often have such complicated conditions or phrases that such exact precision is demanded.

Well…. It did rain! A good one too. With thunder. Now many of us will show above normal to near normal rain for this month. Not so for our neighbors out west as the precip fell on a Vernon, to Seymour, to Throckmorton line missing the same areas where the dreaded drought lines are currently drawn. So please leave those “Pray for Rain” signs out. It ain’t over and may come to visit us all. But please do take credit. It worked this time.

The Sheriff’s Offce received 111 Calls for Service during the past seven day period ending Sunday, Oct. 25. On the day of this report there were 29 individuals incarcerated in the Archer County Jail consisting of 24 men and five women.

With all the changes 2020 has brought to us, it can be diffcult to take a step back and see the silver lining. One of the best changes we’ve seen stemming from the pandemic is the lessening of several government regulations, particularly when it comes to health care. As COVID-19 became a concern this past spring, Texas and the federal government made it easier for patients to use existing technology for telehealth. The Texas Department of Insurance issued an emergency rule that ensured more access to telehealth, and we need to ensure much of the new rule is made permanent.

The Archer Public Library now offers Libby by OverDrive! Borrow e-books, audiobooks, and magazines to read on your phone or tablet using the Libby app by Over- Drive. You can even send and read your borrowed e-books to your Kindle e-reader (U.S. only)! It’s free and easy to get started for new users and a streamlined experience for current OverDrive app users. Learn more at overdrive.com/apps/libby/

Dr. Bridges is a Texas native, writer, and history professor.

Paul and Nila Dowlearn-Owners of Wichita Valley Nursery. Paul’s recent books, “The Lazy Man’s Garden” and “Touch the Earth” are available at the Nursery, 5314 S.W. Pkwy, Wichita Fall, Texas.

The Sheriff’s Office received 90 Calls for Service during the past seven day period ending Sunday, Oct. 18. On the day of this report there were 26 individuals incarcerated in the Archer County Jail consisting of 24 men and two women.