Happy New Year!

Christmas is done, winter has officially arrived, and, although it’s too early to really notice it, the days are getting longer. New Year’s Eve is just around the corner, and in just a few days, we’ll all be changing our old calendars for new ones. Before leaving the old year, though, perhaps we should mark its passing by reflecting on the things that happened in and around Roscoe in 2017.

Festivals and the Music Scene

Charley Pride at the Lumberyard on Spring Super Sunday.

In recent years, Roscoe has become regionally known for its annual city celebrations and live country music performances, often by some of the best-known singers in the business. The City sponsors three major festivals, Spring Super Sunday in April, the Independence Day Celebration on or around July 4, and the West Texas Wind Festival in October. These events draw large crowds with live music, street dances, contests, street vendors, and fireworks shows—and this year was no exception.

Spring Super Sunday featured country music great Charley Pride, who performed on the big stage of the Lumberyard to a crowd larger than Roscoe’s population, and many also enjoyed a new festival event, the demolition derby and “Tuff Truck” competition in the old Planters Gin lot just north of the railroad track. The July 4th Celebration had its Lions Club’s pancake breakfast, annual parade, and Plowboy Mudbog competition, the street dance “on the bricks,” and a great fireworks show. Unfortunately, the West Texas Wind Festival was cut short this year when a sudden downpour rained out the show shortly before the featured singer, T. G. Sheppard, took the stage. The rainstorm lasted long enough to ruin the band’s sound equipment and send people running to their cars, effectively ending the day for the celebration. However, it had a happy ending for those who hung around as more sound equipment was located, and T. G. Sheppard later returned to the Lumberyard, where he and his band put on their show originally planned for the free concert and street dance.  

In addition to the City festivals, Roscoe’s reputation as a major music venue was once again enhanced by the live performances of several nationally known artists and groups at the Lumberyard. This year’s lineup included Crystal Gayle, Gary P. Nunn, Johnny Bush, the Mavericks, Dale Watson, and Jo Dee Messina, and those who love the “Red Dirt” sound also enjoyed Randy Rogers, Stoney LaRue, Wade Bowen, Casey Donahew, Micky and the Motorcars, and others.

As in previous years, the Lumberyard received acclaim in Texas newspapers. Here’s an article that appeared in the Abilene Reporter-News in August.

City businesses also prospered in 2017, helped along by Spring Super Sunday and the Christmas Open House, as shoppers from all over the Big Country came to town to check out the wares offered at Vickie’s Gifts, the Wildflower Boutique, the Rockin S Cantina, McVey’s Nursery, and others.

Here's a video sampler (9:50) of Charley Pride's performance on Spring Super Saturday:



Roscoe School

Roscoe’s school system increased its standing as possibly the most accomplished and innovative rural school in the state. In addition to their high school diplomas, 27 of its 28 graduating seniors also received their Associate’s Degrees from Western Texas College, a feat matched by no other high school in the country. This program saves thousands of dollars in college expenses for students, who can enter universities as juniors and go right into their major courses because they have already completed all their general requirements. And the ones who don’t go to college have abilities and credentials that can get them skilled employment.

This year the school showcased two new collegiate programs, Edu-Vet and Edu-Drone. Both offer students valuable experiences and certifications. Edu-Drone students learn to repair and fly drones, leading to FAA Certification for commercial drone flight, and the school is partnering with Office Depot to spread its curriculum to other schools in the nation. Edu-Vet students benefit from working with on-site veterinarians. Located in the STEM Center, the Edu-Vet initiative is also a working pet clinic run by Dr. Betsy Oesch and Dr. John Dedwyler. (For information and appointments, phone 325-766-3529. The Edu-Vet website is at www.edu-vetroscoe.com, and the Facebook page is at Edu-Vet Pet Hospital.)

The Early Childhood Center on Main Street.

In August, the school also added a new facility and program for pre-schoolers, the Early Childhood Center, which uses the acclaimed Montessori system for giving kids a jump start in their education. It is one of only a handful of public schools in the state to offer this advantage. Montessori schools are known for their individualized instruction, which allows children to follow their own interests and advance at their own pace. Almost everywhere that a Montessori education is offered, it is done only privately and is not cheap. Children who go to Montessori schools in Dallas, for example, are charged around $11,000 dollars per year in tuition, while those in Roscoe go tuition-free.

State Senator Charles Perry speaks in the STEM Center.

The RCISD system model of education got plenty of praise and encouragement at the STEM Advisory Meeting at the STEM Center in October. State Senator Charles Perry and State Representative Stan Lambert both spoke of Roscoe’s importance as a model for other rural Texas schools. State Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller was unable to make the meeting, so Assistant Ag Commissioner and RHS grad Dan Hunter, better known here as Danny, attended in his place. Two Texas Tech professors reported that they are working with the state government of West Virginia to teach them about the Roscoe system model so that they may implement its ideas into their own public schools.

Also in October, RCHS was invited to be one of thirty schools in a global learning network. The group includes schools from the United States, Singapore, Switzerland, Germany, South Korea, and Canada. Schools were chosen for their excellence, equity, and innovation.

Roscoe’s robotics team, led by Coach Dan Boren, continued its annual feats of overachievement. In March, they competed in the Hub City Regional Meet in Lubbock with 45 other schools and finished in first place in the qualifying round. It earned them an invitation to the state tournament in Austin in May, where they finished eighth place out of 32 invited schools. It was a remarkable finish for such a small school. In robotics meets the size of the team’s school is not considered, and everyone competes in the same contest. Thus, almost all the schools represented in the state meet are big ones with hundreds and sometimes thousands of students.

In May, RCHS sophomore Bonnie Wilkinson won the 2A state championship in the triple jump with a distance of 36’11½”. Her sister, Lyndi, won the bronze in the 800-meter run. Lyndi has graduated, but Plowgirl fans look forward to seeing Bonnie do more great things this year and next.

Nick Limones (12) carries the ball behind Rey Martinez (74).

Coach Jake Freeman’s Plowboys once again gave Roscoe fans plenty to cheer about this fall, although their last two games unfortunately kept them from advancing in the playoffs as they had last year. They went into their final regular season game in Hamlin with a 6-3 record and a chance for a share of the district championship, but lost a heartbreaker in overtime 21-14. Then the following week in a bi-district match-up, they once again lost a close one, this time to Farwell 39-32, which ended their season. Even so, since Coach Freeman took over the program, the Plowboys have once again become a 2A team to reckon with in the Big Country, making the playoffs for the past four years—and there’s plenty of optimism about their chances for next year.

City Progress

The ribbon-cutting for the Legacy Tattoo Parlour in February.

Two new businesses have opened in town this year. One is the Legacy Tattoo Parlour on 14 Cypress, across the street from the Lumberyard. It is owned and operated by Manny Arenivaz. The shop offers several kinds of tattoos including custom art, cover-ups, and flash (predetermined patterns displayed on walls of the shop.) The shop minimum is $40 and can go up depending on the size and amount of work necessary. For more information, drop by during business hours, e-mail legacytattooparlour@gmail.com, or phone 325-766-2200.

The other is the Cotton Belles gift shop on 716 Broadway, where McFaul’s Garage used to be and next door to Windmill Park. It has not yet had its ribbon cutting but had its soft opening during the Roscoe merchants’ Christmas Open House in November and has been open since. It is owned and operated by Susie Alford and Misti De Loera. The shop offers a variety of gifts, t-shirts, jellies, and friendly service. Store hours are 10-5 M-F and 10-3 Saturday. For more information, phone 325-766-3663.

Windmill Park and its mural.

The City also has a new park located on the corner of Broadway and Main Street. It is called Windmill Park because it has a large windmill donated to the City by Jay and Scott Etheredge. The windmill is not a working windmill but is ornamental. It was raised in July by Ivey Windmill of Roscoe and 7 Wells Pump of Colorado City. On the wall next to the Cotton Belles shop is a huge mural painted by Calina Mishay Johnson, the same artist who painted the mural behind the Smackers building on Main Street.

The City sewer system got a major upgrade by Whitney Underground of Valley View this past summer. New lines and manholes were laid in several alleys in south Roscoe as the old lines were over sixty years old and in need of major repair.

Seventh Street was also widened and improved, and several streets got a new sealcoating in the City-County’s annual summer sealcoating project.

All three houses in the Young Farm Estates development have been sold and more are planned for construction in the coming year.

The City and School held elections in May, and there are new faces on both the School Board and City Council. Edward “Spider” Herrera and Kenny Hope, Jr., are now on the School Board, and David Pantoja, a former member, is back after a break. On the City Council, KC Hope has replaced Helen Perry.

As usual, the local wind farms still make the national and international news from time to time. Just last month, I met a French journalist in the Lumberyard who had just finished interviewing Cliff Etheredge, and a couple of weeks ago I visited the new Lithium-Ion Battery Storage System on the Inadale Wind Farm. It is E.ON’s first ever battery storage system for an American wind farm and only its second such system in the U.S. The first was one installed in July on a solar farm in Arizona.

Cotton and the Weather

Some of the fine dryland cotton grown around Roscoe in 2017.

This has been a banner year for cotton farmers in the Roscoe area. It has produced the kind of crop that farmers always dream about but seldom get. The actual amount of rainfall was less this year than last year or the year before. In 2016, Roscoe weatherman Kenny Landfried recorded a total of 28.97 inches, in 2015 33.55 inches, and this year just 23.68 inches.

The big difference in the size of the crop was not how much rain it got but when it got it, and this year it invariably came at the right time for the cotton. The big rain that really made the difference was the 2.43” rain that fell on August 13, with farms west of town getting more like three inches and some up to four. Right after that rain, one farmer remarked that it was a “million-dollar” rain, and, as it turned out, he was right. On this past Friday, the Central Rolling Plains Co-op Gin surpassed 50,000 ginned bales with 725 modules waiting in the gin yard and 4,638 modules still in the fields. Gin Manager Larry Black says this year will break the record for production by the Roscoe gin and estimates a final total of somewhere between 117,000 and 121,000 bales. The current record is the 2007 total of 109,991 ginned bales.

Other facts about 2017 from the official records of Roscoe weatherman Kenny Landfried are these. The last spring freeze came on February 25 when the temperature fell to 29°F, and the first freeze this fall was on October 28, when it dropped to 31°. Like last year, the temperatures this year were generally mild with fewer extremes than usual. The hottest day was the 105° recorded on June 18 and the coldest was January 10, when it dropped to 10°. However, there were only 10 100°+ days this year, compared to the 20 triple-digit days last summer or the record-setting 81 days in 2011.

In short, things continue to move in the right direction for Roscoe, and with continued hard work, creative thinking, and a little bit of luck, the coming year could well continue the trend. In any case, have a Happy New Year, and here’s wishing you all a healthy and prosperous 2018!

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CARLTON ANDERSON AT THE LUMBERYARD’S NEW YEAR’S CELEBRATION SATURDAY

Carlton Anderson

New Year’s Eve falls on a Sunday night this year, so the Lumberyard will be celebrating on Saturday night instead. Featured artist will be Carlton Anderson, an up-and-coming singer/songwriter from Nashville. Check out his sound on this YouTube video of his version of “Drinkin’ Problem.”

For reservations and more information, contact the Lumberyard at 325-766-2457.

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WEATHER REPORT: COLD!

All the tree limbs are covered with ice this morning.

It wasn’t supposed to get this cold. All the predictions a couple of days ago were saying today would be in the fifties. Yeah, right! Was it W. C. Fields who said, “It ain’t a fit night out for man or beast?” Whoever, it was, that’s the way I feel this morning. This miserable weather all started when a cold front moved in on Monday and got worse yesterday with cloudy skies, a misty fog, a strong north wind and a temperature that dropped several degrees below anything that was predicted. The wind chill temperature was in the low teens. Things started icing up around midnight, and today should be a good day not to do any more outside activities or traveling than absolutely necessary.

It wasn’t that way on Saturday when the temperature rose to 61°F. Sunday’s high was cooler at 41° but was still warmer than Monday’s maximum of 36°. Yesterday the high was only 39°, and this morning it’s only 20° with a projected high today of just 31°. Yesterday's mist has frozen on the trees and grass, and it looks like a winter wonderland out there. 

The good news is that tomorrow should be warmer with a high of around 51°, and the weekend should be even warmer with a high of 61° on Saturday and lows above freezing, although skies will remain essentially cloudy. On Saturday, there’s a 30% chance of precipitation, but it’s likely to be only drizzle. At the present time, the weathermen are forecasting a 40% chance for snow on Monday, New Year’s Day. I think I’ll stay inside and watch the football games.

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