Intense Cold Punishes Area

The results of a broken hot water line in my ceiling.

The coldest weather in more than a generation has left in its wake a multitude of broken water pipes and related disasters in Roscoe and the surrounding area.  At least half the people I’ve talked to in the past few days have related some tale of woe concerning their problems with ice and broken water lines, and the impact of the storm has been readily apparent in such places as A-1 Wholesale Plumbing Supply in Sweetwater.  Normally open only M-F, it opened its doors on Saturday to long lines of people with broken pipes and fixtures in their hands looking for replacements. 

Plumbers worked overtime to make repairs before the next cold spell hit, which unfortunately happened to be last night as the temperature plummeted again for the second time in a week.  At 5:00 yesterday afternoon, it was 66°F, but by 11:30 last night, only six and a half hours later, it had fallen over fifty degrees to 15°F with high winds.  There were below-zero wind chill temperatures throughout the night, and by morning it was down to 9°F.  Like others here, I’ve got my fingers crossed that the recent repairs were good ones and the water lines make it through this latest spell without breaking.

I wish I could say I’ve been spared so far, but I haven’t.  Last Thursday evening at about midnight a ¾” hot water line in the ceiling directly over the Roscoe Hard Times “office” (i.e., my computer hutch with computer, printer, scanner, router, etc.) suddenly burst, shooting out a steady stream of water and causing a big chunk of the ceiling to collapse and fall to the floor, covering everything below with broken sheetrock, wet insulation, and water. 

At the water heater, the shutoff valve to the hot water line was stuck from years of nonuse, and an attempt to open it only caused the handle to break, so a considerable amount of water poured onto the carpet before I managed  to turn off the water at the meter outside.  The resulting mess was too shocking for me to put on this family blog (actually, taking pictures was the last thing on my mind at the time), but I can assure you it wasn’t a pretty sight. 

Unsurprisingly, the scanner and keyboard were ruined by water, falling sheetrock, and wet insulation, but the computer miraculously still works—although without sound from either the speakers or the headphones.  And, even though sound is not necessary for most computer operations, it is needed for creating YouTube videos, such as the ones I have posted on this blog and elsewhere, so I will have to fix the problem soon or get another computer. 

On the bright side, the gaping hole in my ceiling has been replaced with new sheetrock, and a new hot water line now runs under the floor rather than above the ceiling.  Like many other people around here, I’ve got my fingers crossed that these latest repairs will hold, that this frigid weather will end, and that life will soon return to normal.  

--o--

PLOWBOYS WIN TWO OF THREE TO STAY IN RUNNING FOR PLAYOFFS

After winning two of three basketball games this past week, the Roscoe Plowboys can secure a place in the playoffs with a win over the Moguls in Munday this Friday.

The Plowboys beat the Pied Pipers 34-30 in Hamlin last Friday as Caden Smith led the way with 17 points while Cody Graham got 10.  Then on Saturday they hammered Rotan 59-24 in a game made up from the one postponed last Tuesday because of the bad weather.  Smith again was high scorer for the Plowboys with 21 points, and Cody Graham got 20.

Last night the Plowboys lost at home to first-place Stamford (9-0) 63-51 with Smith scoring 25 points and Graham 12.  Roscoe is now 13-11 for the year and 5-4 in district play.  Munday is also 5-4 after beating Haskell on Saturday, so the winner of Friday’s game will secure the final playoff spot with a 6-4 record. 

The Plowgirls had another rough week, losing to Hamlin 57-27 on Friday and to Rotan 46-38 on Saturday.  Last night they played well against the Stamford girls but fell just short, losing 39-37.  Against Hamlin, Lindsey Williams, Kim Norris, and Faith Boren all scored 6 points, and against Rotan Williams had 13 and Norris 8.  Jacinda Morales was the Plowgirls’ high scorer against Stamford with 10, while Williams had 9.