Oh how I love anticipating spring! From that moment I catch the fragrance of and then pick my first paperwhite--- which I did over a week ago--- and see my first daffodil--- yesterday--- I start thinking of spring. Each year I forget how much work it brings! --- Sort of like women who forget the “discomfort” of childbirth, something I was never quite able to do. The chores of spring are almost enough to make me envy living in an apartment, as I did when I was young. Almost.

The state’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.8% in January, down a tick from December’s 6.9% rate but double the record low of 3.4% in May 2019. It is unclear what effect the mid-February winter storm had on employment, when power outages swept the state and many roads were impassable. We’ll find out next month.

The staff and I are gearing up to publish our Best of Bosque County 2020 special section and the deadline is quickly approaching. The section, announcing all of the first-place winners in the contest, will publish in the March 24th edition of both The Clifton Record and the Meridian Tribune.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of everyone, but none more so than those who lost a loved one to the deadly disease. 31 individuals in Bosque County have lost their lives to COVID-19, and The Clifton Record and Meridian Tribune would like to honor those lives in the next edition of Bosque River Run magazine.

For many, things have settled down since the cold spell. Repairs have been made or continue. Everyone’s watching to see which plants will survive. Zack had helped a neighbor insulate his pool pump before the storm. Happily, the pump moved water during those deep freeze days and avoided damage. Zack repaired water lines to the troughs and helped another neighbor with a bad, outdoor leak. Turning off water to her home and property wasn’t a good option. A small concrete pad needed to be broken up, possibly damaging additional, adjoining pipes. Although he might have tried it here, this was beyond Zack’s comfort zone on someone else’s property. We weren’t optimistic that she’d find a plumber quickly, so Zack created a temporary compression sleeve that diminished and redirected the giant spray from the leak, allowing her to have water in the house.

I wanted to write to thank our county auditor and the many other Bosque County employees who worked so very hard to make sure that we were included in the FEMA declaration after the recent ice storm. They came up with the numbers and figures for our losses to make sure that we were one of the smaller counties in Texas that were on the list for these federal funds. Thanks again to all of you for your hard work to make sure that Bosque County gets their fair share of these federal dollars that are being awarded for our recent losses.

While Gov. Gregg Abbott has lifted the statewide mandate to wear a mask in public and allowed all businesses to operate at full capacity, many businesses, schools and other entities say they will continue to require that masks be worn. Abbott issued the order last week, effective March 10.

The coronavirus pandemic has affected the lives of everyone, but none more so than those who lost a loved one to the deadly disease. 28 individuals in Bosque County have lost their lives to COVID-19, and The Clifton Record and Meridian Tribune would like to honor those lives in the next edition of Bosque River Run magazine.

My Facebook account’s been temporarily disabled. I tried to remove the birth year from my personal info. I’d read that hackers can use birth year plus birthplace to steal identity. It probably wouldn’t have happened. But I figured, why take the chance? I should have left well enough alone. I hit the wrong thing, and---well, it’s a long story. Bottom line--- FB erased me. I don’t exist. Not just my account, but every post I ever made on any page or group. Every happy birthday cartoon I shared has magically disappeared from dozens of different friends’ accounts.