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In the Heart of the Blackland Divide

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Helen Perry, Billy Joe Jay Win Council Seats, Hospital Bond Approved

Election volunteers Lottie Brown and Celia Pietzsch await voters at the Community Center in Saturday's City Election.
Incumbent Helen Perry and former Council member Billy Joe Jay were the winners in the race for two City Council members in the City election held on Saturday.  The final tally of votes was as follows:

          Helen Perry    52
          Billy Joe Jay   44
          Ken Brawley   30
          Enez Ensenia     6

Voters also approved by a 55 to 7 margin the renewal of a 0.25% City sales and use tax for street maintenance and repair.

Nolan County Hospital District voters also approved the issuance of up to $25,212,000 in bonds for renovation and expansion of the Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital:

          For:            624
          Against:    328

Roscoe voters bucked the overall trend with a majority in opposition:

          For:              30
          Against:      36

The hospital bonds were the first to pass since the hospital’s opening in 1976.  Improvements since then have been through grants and fund balance moneys.  Approval of the bonds will allow the hospital to install new labor and delivery rooms, an obstetrics department, an emergency generator, MRI capability, a new nurse/patient call system, and an outpatient dialysis center.  Improvements also include extensive renovations, especially to the OR and ICU. 

Construction could begin as early as late summer or early fall and should be completed within the next two years.


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PLOWGIRLS, PLOWBOYS WIN SILVER, BRONZE MEDALS AT STATE TRACK MEET


Plowgirls and Plowboys show off their medals, left to right: Olivia Saddler, Max Nemir, Lyndi Wilkinson, Braiden Moore, Eva Aguayo, Shelton Toliver, Whitney Williams, Jesus Leanos. (Photo courtesy of Misty Guelker.)
The Plowgirl and Plowboy relay teams exceeded most people’s expectations with their performances at the State 1A-II track meet in Austin last weekend.  The Plowgirls’ relay team of Eva Aguayo, Olivia Saddler, Lyndi Wilkinson, and Whitney Williams came home with silver medals in the 4 x 400 meter relay with a time of 4:16.16 and bronze in the 4 x 200 relay with a time of 1:51.55. 

The Highland girls also made a strong showing.  Beth Richburg won the 100 meter hurdles with a time of 15.64 and was third in the 300 meter hurdles at 49.10.  Additionally, the Lady Hornets’ relay team (Hannah Allen, Sierra Allen, Madison Moseley, and Beth Richburg) finished just behind Roscoe in the 4 x 400 relay (4:17.62).

Those results were enough to tie Roscoe and Highland for sixth in state along with Lometa.  Cross Plains finished first and Ira second.

The Plowboys’ 4 x 400 meter relay team—Max Nemir, Shelton Toliver, Braiden Moore, and Kevin Lavalais—also came home with bronze medals, finishing third to Garden City and Bronte with a time of 3:30.09.

Jesus Leanos finished seventh in the 1600 meter run with a time of 5:00.29.

The Plowboys finished in a tie for sixteenth in the team totals.  Bronte was first and Water Valley second.


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EVA AGUAYO, WHITNEY WILLIAMS ARE 2014 RCHS VALEDICTORIAN, SALUTATORIAN

Eva Aguayo and Whitney Williams are swift not only on the track, but also in the classroom.  Both returned from the State Track Meet with silver and bronze medals to learn that when the final grades were averaged, Eva Aguayo has been named this year’s Valedictorian, followed by Whitney Williams, the Salutatorian. 

Third place goes to Shelton Toliver, who also came home with a bronze medal from the State Meet.   Rounding out the top ten, in order, are Amber Craig, Shelby Higgins, Adam Pope, Rene Diaz, Ashton Payne, Zackary Longoria, and Tito Arce. 

All ten are part of the group of seventeen seniors who are also graduating with Associate’s Degrees from Western Texas College in Snyder.  Our heartiest congratulations go out to them for the hard work they’ve put in to prepare themselves for life after high school!


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CITY COUNCIL ADDRESSES SEVERAL ISSUES AT MONTHLY MEETING

City Manager Cody Thompson updates City Council on public works at last night's meeting.
At its monthly meeting last night the Roscoe City Council dealt with a number of issues ranging from awarding a contract to run the City Swimming Pool this summer to approving the purchase of a new vehicle for the Roscoe Police Department.

City Manager Cody Thompson gave the Council an update on the progress of various public works including the new reverse-osmosis water treatment plant, which should begin working by the end of this month or the beginning of June.  Other water line improvements should also begin in the next three or four weeks. 

Water and sewer lines are now being installed for the rental units located on Laurel and 4th Street.  When improvements are finished there, the owners will begin similar work on the Stone Tower RV Park in north Roscoe.

Work on water and sewer lines at the Young Farm Estates is progressing as planned.  The footing for its brick fence and entry has been poured, brick has been ordered, and work will begin in a couple of weeks.  Electric and natural gas lines will begin being installed within the next forty-five days.

The City Council chose Kalyn Presley-Tate of Roscoe to run the City Swimming Pool this year.  An exact date for opening the pool was not given, but it will be about June 1 as it is every year.  People wanting to make pool reservations should contact Presley-Tate at 325-338-2430.

The Council approved Ameriway Construction of Kerrville’s bid of $77,510 each to build the three houses receiving financial support from the Texas Department of Community Affairs.  These are the ones approved for Eugene Griffith at 901 Hickory, Lupe Kidd at 104 Hickory, and Herminia Garcia at 307 N. Cypress.

The Council also approved the purchase of a 2014 Chevy Tahoe for the Roscoe Police Department.  The City will provide $24,000 of the $28,216 purchase price, and the Police Department will cover the remainder with funds received from the DA’s office for the recent drug busts.


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TWO SWEETWATER MEN KILLED IN CRASH AT BERNECKER

  Devin LaRue                              Cassidy Crain
Two men from Sweetwater were killed last Wednesday evening on FM 608 near Bernecker, about eight miles north of Roscoe.

According to the Department of Public Safety, James Devin LaRue, 52, was driving north on FM 608 at about 5:45pm when he failed to negotiate a left curve.  He then overcorrected, and his 2002 Chevrolet 1500 HD pickup side-skidded and rolled over several times before coming to rest in a pasture next to the road. 

The passenger, Cassidy Lue Crain, 39, died at the wreck site, and LaRue was taken to Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital, where he died not too long after.  Neither driver nor rider was wearing a seat belt.


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WEATHER REPORT: RAIN


It was cool and cloudy yesterday.
It wasn’t a gully washer, and the ground was so dry that it soaked up quickly, but the rain that fell early Thursday morning was welcomed by all and had area farmers and ranchers smiling and hoping for more. 

Amounts varied according to location, some getting as much as 1.6” south of town and some as little as .6” in the Wastella area.  Almost everyone else had something in between with farms north and northeast of town generally getting more and areas to the west and northwest a bit less.  Here in town 1" to 1.25" fell.  Kenny Landfried recorded an official 1.23" for Roscoe on the east side of town while Lyndall Underwood got .98" on the west side.

Other than the rain, the weather has been all over the place this week, the only constant being the wind, which has blown hard no matter which direction it was coming from.  Just as it was two weeks ago, the windiest day was Sunday, which had sustained high winds of 36mph and gusts up to 45.  At least this time it wasn’t accompanied by dust.

Temperatures have also varied.  Thursday’s and Friday’s highs in the mid-eighties rose on Saturday and Sunday to 95°F or 96° and then fell to Monday’s 77° and yesterday’s 60°.  Lows varied from Sunday morning's 68° to this morning’s 43°.  

The outlook is for steadily warming temperatures, clear skies, and not as much wind as we’ve been getting.  Today’s 70° high is forecast to increase to about 80° tomorrow, 85° Friday, and back into the 90°s on Saturday and Sunday.  Lows should also progressively rise from tonight’s low forties back into the sixties by Saturday. 

There is no rain in the forecast.


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† INEZ FALKENBERG SAUER


Funeral services were held yesterday at 2:00pm in McCoy Chapel of Memories for Inez Falkenberg Sauer, 84, who passed away on Saturday, May 10, at Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital in Sweetwater.  Interment followed at the Roscoe Cemetery.

Inez was born June 29, 1929, in Oglesby, Texas, and was a graduate of Abbott High School.  She moved to Roscoe in 1946 and married LeRoy A. Sauer on November 8, 1946.  She owned and operated Roscoe Income Tax Service for 45 years.  She was a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Sweetwater.

Survivors include her daughter, Diane Clark and husband, Terry, of Roscoe; granddaughter, Lisa Ann Widner and husband, Matt, of Harrison, Arkansas; great-granddaughter, Jenna Widner of Harrison and nephew, Rex Falkenberg of Hillsboro, Texas.

She was preceded in death by her husband, LeRoy, on November 13, 1995; parents, Adolph and Carrie (Landfried) Falkenberg; brother, Roland Falkenberg; and sister-in-law Nellie Falkenberg.

Pallbearers were Ronnie Reedy, Randall Bankhead, Leslie Rannefeld, Ralph Stirl, Kenny Landfried, and Larry Willman.



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1 comment:

  1. It blows my mind that people still do not wear their seatbelts.

    ReplyDelete

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