One Sunday more than a quarter-century ago, Verma Fobbs was speaking at church about the need for Christians to get out in the community to let others see Jesus working through the congregation when an elderly lady in the pew in front of her said something that stuck with her.
Job seekers have a new resource at the Olney Community Library and Arts Center. The library received two computer stations via a Texas Workforce Commission grant to help connect rural employers with aspiring employees. OCLAC is one of 17 rural libraries in the 11-county North Texas Workforce Solutions service area to receive the Career Stations, the library said. The Career Stations consist of computers, desks, and equipment to provide virtual career services such as job search and skills enhancement to residents in rural areas. The Career Stations are located in facilities that are easily accessible to the public, TWC said in a statement. The project was funded by the Innovation Grant Award from the Texas Workforce Commission.
The Olney City Council approved an ordinance at their Sept. 12 meeting that puts the Olney Police Department in charge of twice-yearly inspections of food service establishments and mandatory annual inspections of the school and hospital cafeterias. The city assumed responsibility for the inspections and agreed to fund training for two Olney Police officers to become certified food inspectors after the Texas Department of State Health Services regional office in Abilene informed local officials that they were understaffed and might not be able to inspect the school cafeteria this year, Olney Police Detective Dustin Hudson said. Under state law, the school cafeteria must be inspected before classes are allowed to begin, he said. State law also requires that businesses that serve food to the public be inspected every six months, but state inspectors were only able to perform inspections in Olney about every 18 months to two years and were not able to investigate health code complaints in a timely manner, Detective Hudson said.
County commissioners lifted the burn ban put in place on July 27 at their Sept. 12 meeting but Precinct 3 Commissioner Stacey Rogers warned the ban may be reinstated after cold weather sets in. The Order Restricting Outdoor Burning was rescinded with immediate effect on a 4-1 vote.
County commissioners voted on Sept. 12 to allow the Young County Historical Commission to meet once a month and store records and artifacts at the 1921 County Jail in Graham’s town square. The county Historical Commission launched a fundraising effort last year to save the Old Jail from the wrecking ball. The commission is seeking a state grant to hire an architect and engineering firm to come up with a plan to use the 101-year-old building. Historical Commission Director Susan Smith told Commissioners that the 12 boxes of artifacts and two filing cabinets of historical scrapbooks and other records had to be relocated from the basement of the Post Office Museum, where they had been stored for about a decade because the museum was being refurbished. Ms. Smith said the commission also needed meeting space as a plan to meet throughout the county had been stymied by aging members’ health.
213 E. Main St.
PO Box 577
Olney, Texas 76374
Phone: (940) 564-5558
Fax: (940) 564-3992