Asleep at the Wheel to Play Here Friday Night

Roscoe’s growing reputation as the music Mecca of West Texas will advance to another level Friday night when nine-time Grammy Award winners Asleep at the Wheel perform on the outdoor stage of the Lumberyard.

Led by Ray Benson, who also hosts the television series Texas Music Scene, the group has been a fixture of Texas music since the seventies, appearing on Austin City Limits a record ten times.  They have been named the Best Country Music Band by Rolling Stone magazine, toured Europe, and appeared in the movies Roadie and Wild Texas Wind.

The group starred in the musical A Ride with Bob, about Bob Wills, which played to standing-room-only houses in Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas, and won a regional Emmy Award.  When it played at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, it was attended by President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush. 

In fact, the group would have played in the White House but never made it because they were scheduled for the fateful September 11, 2001.

In 2007, they practically swept the Austin Music Awards, winning Band of the Year, Songwriter of the Year (Benson), Country Band of the Year, Record Producer of the Year (Benson), Male Vocals of the Year (Benson) and Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year (McQueen).

In 2009, they collaborated with Willie Nelson to produce the album "Willie and the Wheel," which has several western swing classics.  It was nominated for a 2010 Grammy Award for Best Americana Album. 

They are members of the Texas Music Hall of Fame and have received numerous other major awards. 

The recent appearance of the Bellamy Brothers at the Lumberyard drew a crowd of over seven hundred people, and a similarly sized crowd, if not more, is expected Friday night.

The cover charge will be $12, and the show begins at 9:00pm. 

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ROSCOE PADRES ARE COLORADO CITY LEAGUE CHAMPS

Top of the Heap: The Roscoe Padres (Padres photos courtesy of Lus Pantoja.)

The Roscoe Padres are the Freshman League Champions of the Colorado City Baseball League and will go on to the district playoffs in Hawley in July.  Exact dates and opponents have not yet been set, but the games will be during the week of July 9th.

The Padres’ last week of the regular season was an exciting one.  They entered it in first place with only a single loss to the Colorado City Reds.  But then they lost to the Colorado City A’s and were thrown into a three-way tie with the Reds and A’s. 

The next game against the Reds was a gimme, since only eight of their players showed up and they were forced to forfeit, taking them out of contention.  That left only the A’s and the Padres, so everything came down to the final game between the two teams.

The A’s jumped out to an early lead and by the third inning had a six-run lead over the Padres.  But the Padres battled back and tied the A’s in the final inning, throwing the game into extra innings—which they went on to win by a single run to become the league champs.

Later, in a game played to determine second place, the A’s held off the Reds and will also advance to the district playoffs.

The Padres players are Clemente Aguayo, Gage Braden, Sean Cuellar, Francisco Garcia, Diego Garza, Derrick Hudson, Jose Ortega, Paul Pantoja, Adrian Rangel, Zack Rangel, Ethan Scott, Konner Turney, Jazmine Alvarez, and Jovana Peña (the only two girls to play in the league). 
  
Padres Coaches are Edward Garcia and David Pantoja—and thanks are due to proud mom Lus Pantoja, who provided me with all this information. 

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COTTON CROP OFF TO GOOD START

Cotton planting has been going on around Roscoe for the past couple of weeks and is 80% to 90% complete in most places.  

Despite washout from recent rains necessitating some replanting around Champion, the area crop seems to be off to a promising start with good stands and healthy young plants. 

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CITY INVITES INDEPENDENCE DAY PARTICIPATION

The City of Roscoe hopes to make this year’s Independence Day parade the best ever and is asking for your help in making it a success.  The parade, which begins at 10:00am on Saturday, July 7, will kick off a day of celebration full of fun and activities culminating in live music, a street dance, and a fireworks show. Line-up for the parade will be on W. Broadway at 9:30am, and judging will be at 9:45am. 

Parade organizers are looking for creativity and variety.  Float awards will be presented to best overall, best western, and most patriotic, and prizes will also be awarded for the best bicycles, antique vehicles, motorcycles, semis, and farm implements.   

For more information, call Valerie Pruitt at 325-338-4666.

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WEATHER REPORT

After a week of unseasonably mild temperatures, the weekend heated up with Saturday’s high in the upper nineties and Sunday topping out at a torrid 104°F.  At midnight that night, it was still 87°F.

Monday’s similar heat produced an afternoon thundercloud that cooled things off and brought the double rainbow pictured at the top left as well as strong wind gusts, but no more than a sprinkle as far as precipitation was concerned. 

The forecast is for a 30% chance of rain tonight but no more after that.  Temperatures the rest of the week should be typical for this time of year with highs in the low nineties and lows in the low seventies.

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