News

With the extended cold temperatures, I thought I would give y’all a refresher or crash course on heat pump heating. In our normal East Texas winter climate an air source heat pump is an efficient way to heat our homes. With that being said, the extended sub freezing temperatures we are going to experience will cause your heat pump heating system to be inefficient. When a heat pump has to operate in temperatures below about 35 degrees, the outdoor unit will freeze up and the sensors inside of it will cause it to go into a defrost cycle. This defrost cycle will cause cold air blown inside your home so the auxiliary heat is turned on to counter act this cold air. In simple terms , you are running heat and air conditioning AT THE SAME TIME.This is a normal occurrence for a heat pump in low temperatures but This situation is not efficient for heating your home. When this happens, it is normal for the outdoor fan to quit running and you can see STEAM (NOT SMOKE) coming from the outdoor unit (THIS IS NORMAL OPERATION IN THIS SITUATION). Now to the part that will save you some headache. Go ahead and switch your thermostat over to emergency heat or auxiliary heat. This setting on your thermostat will disable the outdoor unit and make just the indoor heating elements heat your home. In the long run, your house will be more comfortable and the system will continue to cycle just like it would normally. Then you ask, how do I know if I have a heat pump? Does your outdoor unit run when you have the heat on? If YES, then you have a heat pump. In your thermostat there will be a mode setting for “em. Heat” or “aux. heat”. It should be something like OFF, COOL, HEAT, EM HEAT as you scroll through or look at the switches. EM HEAT is where you want to be. Stay warm, remember your pipes, plants, and pets.

We knew it was coming and have been in preparation for nearly a week and yet, it wasn’t enough. As of Monday at press time, two fatalaties have occuried on icy roadways near us.

Sleet and snow were coming down in Sabine County Monday just in time for a hard freeze. Tuesday morning it was reportedly 18 degrees at 7 a.m for most of the county.

The Sabine County Commissioners Court held its first regular meeting of the year on Monday, January 8th and after opening prayer and pledge to the flag, approved the minutes of the last meeting. There were no line-item transfers or budget amendments to consider.

While most consumers will have popped champagne to ring in the new year, 2024 will be a time to watch trends in wine and winemaking. The art of wine grape growing and winemaking is full of history and tradition, yet it is constantly innovating and evolving through science.

These past few days, while I have been ill and on the mend, I have watched several movies, many different genres, none of which are horror. I don’t do horror. Life has enough horror without subjecting myself to more.

I have used this phrase many times, “God willing and the creeks don’t rise”, and I’ll wager that you have, too. I have understood the phrase to mean that I would be somewhere, or accomplish some task unless prevented by some unseen circumstance. Amazingly, there is much discussion about what this really means. Research shows that there are two different opinions about the saying, and both sides are avid that their positions are correct.Some people have problems with acknowledging a higher power called God, and that this God does not interfere in the actions of man. So, to them blaming God for being unwilling that something happen is unrealistic.