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.

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

The Archer Public Library is excited to participate in Texoma Gives again on September 8th! We are raising money for next year's Summer Reading Program to help the kids of Archer County fight the Summer Slide, the loss of reading proficiency in the summer months. We hire educational performers, host arts and crafts events, and hold a reading contest with prizes for the participants to encourage kids to read all summer long! All these events are free to the children of Archer County so that we may help kids of all income levels. Please help us reach our goal by visiting https://www.texomagives. org/organizations/archerpubliclibrary on Thursday, September 8th. Thank you for your support!

“The hand of the LORD came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the LORD and set me down in the middle of the valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were many lying in the valley; and they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’” Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the LORD. Thus says the Lord GOD to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the LORD.’” Ezekiel 37:1-6 (New Revised Standard Version) The prophet Ezekiel had a vision from God about “dry bones.” This vision must have been frightening. How would we feel if we were transported into a valley that was full of bones? God asked Ezekiel whether the bones can live. Ezekiel acknowledged God’s authority and power. God told Ezekiel to speak God’s word over the bones to bring them to fullness with flesh and breath. God was doing a new thing by breathing life into dry bones to make them alive again!

19th-ranked Windthorst wrapped up its tournament season with a third-place finish at the Buckle Up for Lane’s Sake competition on Thursday and Saturday of this past week in Nocona. The Trojanettes posted a 6-1 record to move to 20-5 on the season, battling back to defeat the host Lady Indians (19-25, 25-7, 25-22) in the third-place match.

The Bradan Ritchey era in Archer City got started on the right foot after a dominating 35-12 win on the road against Quanah in the first-year head coach’s debut with the Wildcats. While Ritchey was pleased with the win, the leader of the Wildcats acknowledged his team has areas of improvement he’d like to see over the coming weeks.

Sixth-ranked Holliday got three big plays to pop in the second half, turning a 7-0 halftime lead into a 28-7 win over Iowa Park to kickoff the 2022 season. While the offense saw flashes of brilliance, the Eagles’ defense stole the show.

Holliday continued its run of tournament championships with a 6-0 week at the Harvester Classic in Pampa this past weekend to improve to 23-2 on the year. The Lady Eagles have two non-district matches remaining before opening up league play on Saturday, Sept. 10, at City View.