Top: The Holliday ISD school board broke into executive session to have its annual superintendent evaluation. This was Cody Carroll's first as Holliday Superintendent. Carroll also provided the school board with band hall construction update during the meeting Monday, Jan. 11.

After a hard day at Burgess Manning, where he worked for 25 years, Rick Foreman would be greeted at home by his daughter Meri Beth. It was time to go to the pig barn and work with the hogs. It was 1998, and she was 9 years old when she decided to be a part of the Archer County Junior Livestock Show. Her interest was stirred by friend Amanda Womack who was showing pigs. Meri Beth was intrigued by the prospect. Rick and wife Charla, with a strong nudge from County Agent Marvin Henry, signed up to support Meri Beth’s passion.

One might say Mike Jacobs was the most valuable shower in the inaugural Archer County Junior Livestock Show in 1968. According to the Archer County News he had the Grand Champion Ewe, Grand Champion Barrow, Prize Gilt, and Grand Champion in the poultry division. He was in the seventh grade when his father, Jim Jacobs, got with Lawrence Berend and Brett Triplett to organize a livestock show for FFA and 4H members to exhibit a wide range of animals. His dad was the ag teacher in Windthorst at the time.

Ann and J.R. “Jack” Parkey’s involvement in the ACJLS began in the early 1980s when their son Robert (James Robert, IV) was a freshman at Holliday High School. Jack had recently returned to the county to run his family’s ranch in Dundee with Ann and their three children. Under the leadership of Jim Bob Wallace, ag teacher and FFA sponsor at Holliday, Robert set out to do a beef project. That was the beginning of over a decade of the Parkey’s service to the ACJLS.

Clifton Russell began showing animals at the Archer County Junior Livestock Show in the early ‘70s and showed multiple types of animals throughout high school. His father, Bob Russell, served on the original show board.

The Archer County Commissioners Court approved a request to turn the county owned little league baseball field into a practice softball field during its meeting Monday, Jan. 11.

Archer County Judge Randy Jackson reported Monday, Jan. 11, that the county will remain included in the GA- 29 mandate including a facial coverings which was issued by Governor Greg Abbott due to large positive COVID-19 case numbers in the county and update vaccine distribution.

Top: Joann Hoff, Mary Baumer, Laura Hoff and Margaret Beaman (not pictured) of the Family Life & Mission of Windthorst receive ground beef from Archer County Farm Bureau to distribute to qualified families. “This gift was gratefully appreciated by all of our organization,” Baumer said about the gift in July. “It means another month of protein, which at times can be hard to come by.” The organization also received an end-of-year donation from ACFB.

Agricultural producers and private landowners interested in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) can sign up for the popular program beginning Monday, Jan. 4, until Feb. 12. The competitive program, administered by US- DA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA), provides annual rental payments for land devoted to conservation purposes.

Archer County was hit with over an inch of snow in the late hours of New Year's Eve and early morning of New Year's Day. Photos/Jerry Phillips.