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Celebrating Black History Month - Clyde McQueen

By Emily Banks Wooteneditor@polkenterprise.com (Editor’s Note: This is the third of a multi-part series celebrating Black History Month by recognizing the service, contributions and achievements of some of Polk County’s finest.) Clyde McQueen (Aug. 24, 1926-May 13, 2020) was born in the Lily Island community near Camden, the firstborn of the union…
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Prune roses and lawn, but leave trees alone

A red rose bush growing by a wooden post at The Gardens at Texas A&M.Properly pruning rosebushes this month will result in more blooms in the spring. Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Brylee Williams AgriLife Extension gardening guide offers top tips for February By Blair FanninAgriLife Extension What should — or shouldn’t — Texas gardeners be doing…
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TEEN AUTO FATALITIES linked to not wearing seatbelts

Special to the Booster AUSTIN – A parent’s worst nightmare happens all too often in Texas as the number of unbuckled teen drivers and passengers killed in crashes is rising. TxDOT’s Teen Click It or Ticket campaign is urging all teens to buckle up—every seat, every ride. Vehicle crashes continue to be a leading cause of death for U.S. teenagers.…
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Nitazenes rare but more potent than fentanyl

Nitazenes, a drug that is up to 20 times more powerful than fentanyl, 50 times more powerful than heroin and 80 to 100 times more potent than morphine, is about to give the country major cause for concern. This class of medication was created over 60 years ago as a potential pain relief medication, according to the World Health Organization. Many…
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Hay supplies remain tight for Texas cattle producers

Texas Crop and Weather Report Hay supplies may be better than last year, but they remain extremely tight as costs for winter feeding continue to mount for Texas ranchers, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service experts. Hay production was better during the 2023 hay season, but back-to-back years of impacts from drought have left Texas…
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Generation X is almost 60

By Elwood Watson Latchkey kids. Slackers. Caffeine lovers. Grunge. That’s how a lot of people have referred to Generation X, the 46 million Americans, like myself, who were born between 1965 and 1980. We were a generation that has been perennially pegged as cynical, self-indulgent, aimless, contrarian, and often peripheral when it comes to life…
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Dealing with freeze damage … again

Aloe Vera plant showing freeze damage following January hard freeze. By Greg GrantTexas A&M AgriLifeExtension Smith CountyHorticulture Agent Unfortunately, the last few years have brought us three rounds of major winter freeze damage and two rounds of summer heat and drought stress. Trying to determine the “cause of death” has become challenging.…
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'Learn to live' with ugly after freeze damage

By Adam RussellTexas AgriLife Extension A hard freeze can make plants an ugly eyesore in a landscape or garden. But practice patience when it comes to freeze-damaged plants, according to a Texas A&M AgriLife expert. Michael Arnold, Ph.D., director of The Gardens at Texas A&M University and professor of landscape horticulture in the Department of…
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Passion wins awards

Martha Mericle, Michel Blewitt, David Neyland, Pressley McWilliams, Clara Keath and Sawyer McWilliams won awards at the Jan. 11-13 ACHA Championship in Belton. By Tony Farkaseditor@trinityconews.com Martha Mericle’s passion for photography led to her second passion, and that paid off last week with an award from the American Cutting Horse…
Martha Mericle, Michel Blewitt, David Neyland, Pressley McWilliams, Clara Keath and Sawyer McWilliams won awards at the Jan. 11-13 ACHA Championship in Belton.

What makes OWLS so special

Barn Owl By Maureen Peltier They are out there in the woods, around your house right now, roosting quietly, getting ready for their nightly forages. There are at least 200 species of owls in the world, including Hedwig, Harry Potter’s mail-delivering Snowy Owl. Here in East Texas we have only four species, and sadly, Hedwig is not one of them, so…
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Making the best of the common cold

By Tom Purcell I forgot what it was like to experience a good old common cold. Prior to covid, you see, the cold-getting experience went like this: I’d wake with a stuffy nose and scratchy throat and my only thought was to curse the gods for visiting a new virus cocktail on me that was going to make me cranky for nine days. I remember at first…
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Pebble Beach benches celebrities

By Peter Funt At a time when the presence of celebrities seems to overwhelm professional sports (Taylor Swift, I’m looking at you in your sparkly Travis Kelce jersey), it’s noteworthy that this year’s AT&T Pro-Am golf tournament will be, for the first time since Bing Crosby brought his “Clambake” to Pebble Beach, essentially celebrity-free. Gone…
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Don’t be caught off guard by mild temperatures - Make garden resolutions for 2024

Garden resolutions for 2024 may include saving water. Utilizing a catchment system off a home’s rain gutter is a great way to help keep gardens growing during times of drought. Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Michael Miller If you have yet to make your New Year’s resolutions or have already decided you do not want to keep a resolution like spending…
Garden resolutions for 2024 may include saving water. Utilizing a catchment system off a home’s rain gutter is a great way to help keep gardens growing during times of drought. Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Michael Miller 

How to make healthy eating habits stick in the new year

Making food at home allows you to take charge of your meals and the ingredients you use. Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Sam Craft By Ashley VargoTexas AgriLife Extension The start of the new year offers a chance to reflect on the past and set goals for the future. Many of us aim to improve ourselves, but, unfortunately, New Year’s resolutions are…
Making food at home allows you to take charge of your meals and the ingredients you use. Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Sam Craft

Resolutions that really work

By Rhonda Oaks Two weeks into 2024, and I had not made a single resolution. I was going about my day when I heard about a terrible crash. I didn’t know the people involved, but I hurt for their families. As I thought about the facts of the crash, I realized the ones involved were just going about their day too, just like I was. As I mulled over in…
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Planning a year-round garden

By Cary SimsTexas A&M AgriLife Extension Angelina County Agriculture & Natural Resources Agent With Christmas behind us and a new year ahead, my mind is making plans for the upcoming garden. Now I’m not one for making resolutions, but I do love to take a look back and then make plans for the future. I have a smaller-sized vegetable garden that…
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American woodcock - The silent winter migrant

Image Credit: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Woodcock/id By Matthew R. March, MNRDPolk County Extension Agent American woodcock (Scolopax minor), also known as the timberdoodle, is a common winter migrant found throughout the woods of eastern Texas. Unlike other winter migrants such as ducks, geese and hawks that can be easily seen…
Image Credit: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Woodcock/id

Volunteers needed for Red Cross

Volunteers make up the majority of the workforce of the Red Cross, helping people after disasters. Courtesy photo Special to the News-Times As the time for making New Year’s resolutions grows closer, the American Red Cross, Texas Gulf Coast Region, asks you resolve to make a difference and support your community by becoming a volunteer in 2024.…
Volunteers make up the majority of the workforce of the Red Cross, helping people after disasters. Courtesy photo

Figs-the problem-free fruit

By Matthew R. March, MNRDPolk County Extension Agent Have you failed in growing fruit trees and are looking for a relatively problem-free, easy-to-grow fruit tree? If so, figs are the answer. Figs grow great in regions with mild winters such as Polk County and are generally free of diseases, require little cultural management, and are high…
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Using harvested rainwater is ‘superb’ for plants

COLLEGE STATION – Any Texan can collect rainwater and save it to use for all non-potable household water needs, increasing water-use efficiency around the home. RAINWATER HARVEST -- A rain chain is a decorative element that can hang from the edge of a roof to direct rainwater down into a barrel below. PHOTO COURTESY OF TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE“Plus,…
RAINWATER HARVEST -- A rain chain is a decorative element that can hang from the edge of a roof to direct rainwater down into a barrel below. PHOTO COURTESY OF TEXAS A&M AGRILIFE

Livestock Guardian Dogs - Unsung heroes of the livestock protection business

By Susan HimesTexas A&M AgriLife MediaRelations Specialist Livestock guardian dogs are rockstars in the canine world, even if most people never see them perform live. These unique animals are so important to the ranching industry that the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in San Angelo created an entire program dedicated to these…
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