Last week was miserable with single digit temperatures, snow, inches of ice, loss of electricity and then loss of water. On the surface it was just a distressing, depressing, memory maker.

CAMPBELL ATKINS ABOVE: Last week’s winter storm resulted in fallen tree debris throughout Madison County (pictured: the backyard of the Woodbine Hotel in Madisonville). RIGHT: Robert Bustamante, Director of Parks and Recreation for the City of Madisonville, works on clearing fallen tree debris near Lake Madison Park Monday..

Free COVID testing will be available at the Bedias Civic Center next Tuesday, Feb. 23, through Thursday, Feb. 25, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., each day. No appointment is needed for the drive-through testing. Bring a photo I.D., testing is free of charge.

Sherri Lewing was taken into custody Feb. 10 while her 16-year-old daughter, who she unlawfully removed from a North Zulch foster home earlier that week along with two other minors, was located safely by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office.

Donned in icicles, a horse forages for hay at KNS Farms in Madisonville. PHOTO BY KRISTINA SAUCEDO A cow stands stoically in the frigid temperatures Monday at Diamond T Ranch in Midway, Texas.