News

The Jacksboro Lions Club has annually hosted its Fish Fry on the first Thursday of June to coincide with the first day of the Jack County Sheriff’s Posse Rodeo, but with COVID-19 restrictions in place and the rodeo canceled the club has moved its event to Thursday, June 25, on the Jack County courthouse lawn.

Jacksboro Lions Club President Cherry Rushin said the club considered moving the fish fry to coincide with TNT Fest or just canceling it all together before allowing club members to decide via survey.

Xena, Jack County Sheriff Department’s drug dog, needs a lot of care to do what she does and keep illegal drugs out of the county.

A lot of the care and upkeep comes from the folks at Live Oak Veterinary Clinic in the eyes of Xena’s handler, JCSO Deputy David Vanderkaay.

“They have three vets over there and I have (Dr.) Peter (Armstrong’s) cell phone number,” Vanderkaay explained. “Every time we’ve needed immediate attention, they’ve worked us in and gotten us taken care of.”

Valerie Monk started as the new executive director of the Jacksboro Chamber of Commerce on Monday, May 18 replacing Leslie Chalmers who moves onto the Jacksboro Economic Development Corporation,

Monk said she grew up in Cumby and after high school she attended Texas Tech University where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Advertising. She said after her graduation she worked at the Overton Hotel and Conference Center in Lubbock as a catering conference coordinator.

Jack County Local Health Authority Doctor Robert Cooper provided a COVID-19 update to the Jacksboro City Council during its meeting Monday, May 11.

Cooper said Jack County has had just four positive cases with the last positive case being identified three plus weeks ago.

“We have really seen a decrease in the amount of people presenting symptoms,” the doctor said. “That’s been nice, I think overall, other than a few isolated cities, we are tracking along with the state of Texas as far decrease (in cases.)”

During the May 11 Jacksboro City Council meeting, Jack County Judge Keith Umphress spoke to the council about his decision to decline the offer of Governor Greg Abbott to station the National Guard in Jack County for a mobile testing site.

Abbott activated the Texas National Guard at the end of March to assist communities with COVID-19 testing using mobile testing teams. They were activated to counties designated as hotspots or viewed as more rural.

The Jacksboro City Council decided to table their $3.5 million decision on certificates of obligations for a complete overhaul for city streets until July citing the downward trend of the economy during COVID-19.

The council, during its March 23 meeting, approved the publication of a notice of intent to approve the certificates in the May 11 meeting. 

After announcing the pool was not opening for the summer on May 6, the Jacksboro City Council directed City Manager Mike Smith to attempt to have the pool opened by mid-June in its May 11 meeting.

Smith said the city had originally decided it was not going to be possible to open the pool this summer, despite Gov. Greg Abbott announcing pools could open for the summer on May 5.

Eugene Weldon’s dream of a veteran’s memorial came to fruition in 2018 with the completion of the Cornerstone Military Memorial. 

Right after that, he began plans for a first responder memorial for Jack County residents who serve on the medical front lines. Work on the project was delayed because Weldon had heart surgery.

The expanded memorial, to be renamed Jack County Memorial Park, will have a groundbreaking tentatively scheduled for Sept. 11.

With long-time Mayor Sheila Birdwell’s term coming to an end, some changes on the council occurred in its meeting Monday, May 11.

Mayor Pro Tem Tissie Ford moved into Birdwell’s position while Courtney Conway took Ford’s position on the council. Both spots will be for one year when another election will be held for the positions.

Conway was sworn in by City Administrator Trish Shifflett.

For the full story, see the Wednesday, May 20, edition of the Jacksboro Herald-Gazette.

Members and leaders from churches across Jacksboro gathered on the Jack County Courthouse steps Thursday, May 7, to celebrate and participate in the National Day of Prayer.

According to a website dedicated for the day, National Day of Prayer is observed annually on the first Thursday of May and invites all faiths to pray for the nation.