News

Palo Pinto County rancher and retired US Air Force Col. Kim Olson spoke to about 30 voters at Jacksboro City Hall Saturday.

Olson outlined her reasons for running for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture.

She began her stump by speaking to how agriculture touches everyone’s lives every day. From free or reduced school lunches, Meals On Wheels, gas pump inspection to food safety, ag is pervasive.

The Jack County Tax Assessor/Collector’s office will be closed Monday, Aug. 14. The office will relocate temporarily from Room 209 in the Jack County Courthouse to the Assembly Room in the basement due to remodeling. Business will resume at 8 a.m. Tuesday in the Assembly Room. For more information, call 940-567-2352.

Mike Kidd had big plans for the Jacksboro Golf and Country Club when he and his partners, Kevin Brunson of Weatherford and his wife Sandra made a proposal to take over management last spring.

Some of those plans have come to fruition.

Most notably, the course now offers a lighted driving range.

“It’s the only lighted driving range outside of the Metroplex,” said Dusty Massie, general manager. “The closest would be Leonards which is 60 to 70 miles away. It’s probably the only lighted driving range on a 9-hole.”

County commissioners received an overview of the FY 18 budget during a workshop Monday afternoon.

Because of a $46 million drop in tax rolls, the effective tax rate, which raises the same amount of money as last year, is 58.5 cents per $100 valuation while the rollback rate is 49.53 cents per $100 valuation. Each penny of tax rate brings in $114,073, according to a presentation.

Jacksboro teachers and other staff members made the rounds in Jack County Wednesday to help new faculty get acquainted with the area.

Assistant Superintendent Wade Wesley said there are 25 new staff members to the district this year and 55 total over the last three years.

To help the newcomers get familiar with Jacksboro, the district held a scavenger hunt Wednesday. Administrators visited local businesses beforehand to tell them packs of roving educators might pay them a visit.

Kim Olson, retired United States Air Force colonel and candidate for Texas Commissioner of Agriculture, will be the guest at a Jacksboro meet-and-greet reception on Aug. 12.

The reception will be held at 3 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 12, in the City Council Meeting Room, Jacksboro City Hall, 112 W. Belknap St., Jacksboro, Tex. 76458. The meeting is open to the public.

Olson has a ranch near Mineral Wells where she is influencing the future of sustainable food production through her Community Supported Agriculture program.

Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar reminds shoppers they can save money on certain items during the state’s annual sales tax holiday. This year, the sales tax holiday is scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 11-13.

The law exempts most clothing, footwear, school supplies and backpacks priced below $100 from sales tax, saving shoppers about $8 on every $100 they spend during the weekend.

Being an assistant principal and band director at the same time is something Patrick Flaniken is familiar with.

Jacksboro’s new band director was splitting time between the two at his previous stop in Nocona, where he spent the last two years. He said the experience taught him how to manage time and compartmentalize.

“I had to tell myself during these hours I would only work on band director stuff,” Flaniken explained. “Other parts of the day I would compartmentalize and say I have to work on assistant principal stuff, which was a lot of paperwork.”

The Jack County Appraisal District released certified property values for Jack County July 25. The values were down for most of the taxing entities in the county with the exception of the City of Jacksboro and the City of Bryson.

Jack County saw a drop in values of $46.5 million from 1.1872 billion to 1.1407 billion or a 3.9 percent decrease.

The City of Jacksboro property values went up from $116.36 million to $119.9 or about $3.5 million, a 3 percent increase.