A Heavenly Mind
Thu, 03/16/2023 - 12:00am
“Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
News
Water loss more than dry faucets for OISD
Thu, 03/16/2023 - 12:00am
The Olney Independent School District shut its doors for two-and-a-half days as a result of the citywide water outage, throwing students off schedule for their end-of-year tests and forcing high school seniors to reschedule the college ACT test to later this month. The delayed interim subject matter tests may weigh on students’ STAAR test results, as teachers lose time to address any weaknesses or questions, school officials said. Students stayed home on Tuesday, March 7, and returned in the late morning on March 9, then adjourned for spring break on Friday, March 10. The loss of class days could also affect the district’s state funding level.
Olney math, science students qualify for state contest
Wed, 03/08/2023 - 11:00pm
On Saturday, February 25th Olney Junior High hosted 235 students from grades 6-12 for their annual Texas Math & Science Coaches Assn. Qualifying meet. Thirty-four OJH Students competed in this meet and added a few qualifiers to their list of TMSCA state competitors. Students can qualify by earning a predetermined score on any or all of four contests: Number Sense, Calculator Applications, Mathematics, and Science. OJH had 19 students qualify at this home meet. The team is coached by Dr. Greg Roach and Rhonda Geter Qualifiers in Olney: Benjamin Baran, Darla Castillo, Colby Johnson, Marlee Lane, Sophie Roach, Ava Stewart, Foster Sullivan, Jasmine Bryan, Shaine Grard, Adrian Melchor, A.J. Solano, Kendall Bailey, Jett Brock, Abram Dinwiddie, Pedro Gonzalez, Gannon Guy, Grace Jeske, Odin Savard, Harris Sullivan.
School board briefs
Wed, 03/08/2023 - 11:00pm
The Olney school campus and extracurricular facilities saw a number of improvements over the past couple of months, Olney Independent School District Superintendent Dr. Greg Roach reported to the school board on Feb. 27. The ballpark upgrade continues to proceed, slowed by weather conditions, he said. The new concession stand and bathrooms were re-roofed and were ready to have fixtures, LED lighting, and dividers installed, he said. The ballfield fencing is still not completed, and the district is waiting on the new scoreboards. The ag farm has a new roof and new electrical outlets were rewired after setting off the building’s breakers, he said. The City of Olney agreed to clear its land west of the ag farm of debris so that OISD maintenance crews can mow it, he said. Crews are preparing to pour concrete for a band observation tower and slabs for three golf and two band state championship monuments on the high school campus, he said.
County approves real estate swaps
Wed, 03/08/2023 - 11:00pm
The Young County Appraisal District has a new chief appraiser in Jesse Blackmon and, soon may move to a new headquarters with a larger parking lot and more space than the current building. Young CAD Board Secretary Mike Sipes and Mr. Blackmon informed County Commissioners on Feb. 27 of a plan to sell the agency’s current building at 724 Oak St. in Graham to Oak Street Baptist Church for its Open Door Christian School campus. Young CAD then would buy 505 Fifth Street from Sonic Oil & Gas, and lease back part of the building to Sonic to defray the costs, Mr. Sipes said. The Young CAD must gain approval for the transaction from the 14 members of the taxing district, including the Olney Independent School District Board of Trustees. The OISD board unanimously voted to approve the transaction at its meeting later that day. Sonic plans to sell the building to the county for $650,000 and rent back about a third of the total square footage for $40,000 per year prepaid for the next five years, Mr. Sipes said. The oil company has another fiveyear option for $48,000 per year. “Eventually, they will be paying us more than we are actually paying them,” he said.