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The second week of October will be Free College Application Week throughout the state where admission application fees will be waived for Texas residents.

This year, the free application week will be held from Oct. 13-19. The week was created by Senate Bill 2231 during the 89th Texas Legislative Session for all public colleges and universities for all residents who apply through ApplyTexas to undergraduate programs. 

Early voting begins Monday for the November election where Texas voters will decide on 17 constitutional amendments. Residents in the voting district for Bowie ISD will elect a candidate for the Board of Trustees places No. 3 and 4, while residents in Perrin-Whitt CISD will decide on a $28,220,000 school bond.

Early voting in the election will run from Monday, Oct. 20 through Friday, Oct. 24. Voting will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 20-24 and Oct. 27-29. The final early voting period will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 30-31.

Jack County 4-H member Amberlie Hines has been showing rabbits since she was about 1 year old, practicing poses with a stuffed animal until she was old enough to start training with real rabbits. 

She started showing in open competitions—which are for competitors under 5 years old and 19 years or older—when she was about four, winning second place in rare breeds.

Considering takeaways from the community needs assessment workshop in June, the Jacksboro Economic Development Corporation heard proposals for a housing study that could help foster the city’s economic growth by determining the type of housing needed for the city’s current and future residents.

“There were folks [at the workshop] who thought housing was an issue and there were those who very much thought it wasn’t,” JEDC Board President Brent Hackley said. “That’s why we’re starting this conversation.”

Classrooms at Jacksboro ISD will display the Ten Commandments as required by Senate Bill 10 following a donation of posters from Sen. Brent Hagenbuch in September. The new law, effective beginning with the 2025-2026 school year, required every classroom to visibly display a poster 16 by 24 inches or larger, without any other text than what was laid out in the bill. This comes as Texas and other states make a push to increase the role of religion in public schools.

The Tuesday, Nov. 4 election is quickly approaching and Jack County residents will need to make sure that they are registered to vote in order to head to the polls. The last day to register to vote is Monday, Oct. 6.

Eligible voters can fill out a registration form online or in person, and return it to the Elections Office located at 100 N Main, Suite 301 inside the Jack County Courthouse in Jacksboro. Applications must be signed and returned either in person or by mail by the deadline to be registered to vote in the November election.

It was one for the history books after the Jacksboro 150th anniversary celebration event wrapped up a weekend filled with food, fun and fellowship on the courthouse square, drawing residents and returners alike to revel in hometown history and pride.

A crowd gathered downtown Saturday, Sept. 27 to witness the revealing of the Jacksboro Centennial time capsule, buried in 1975.

The City of Jacksboro will increase water rates and its capital improvement fee after a vote by the Jacksboro City Council Monday, Sept. 22, set to take effect under the billing cycle beginning Sunday, Oct. 19.

Jack County commissioners signed a proclamation Monday, Sept. 22 declaring Oct. 5-11 as National 4-H week, recognizing the county’s 4-H program and the doors it opens for its kids.

“Any time we can spotlight the young men and women and the volunteers that help make 4-H a powerhouse, we will recognize them,” Jack County Judge Keith Umphress said. 

Ron Butler is the Jack County liaison officer for the Texas Division of Emergency Management where he helps provide state resources to local first responders in the event of an emergency or disaster. Butler was guest speaker at Jacksboro Lions Club Wednesday, Sept. 24 where he said the commitment of those first responders made his job easy.

The Jack County liaison officer for two years, Butler began his career in emergency response where he was a firefighter and paramedic in the Metroplex for about 26 years.