Happy Halloween

Boo!

Halloween is this evening, so remember to drive carefully if you’re out on the roads as there will be children out trick or treating.

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The Roscoe Collegiate High School Seniors have been sponsoring a haunted house this week at the Jaycee Barn in Sweetwater.  The last night is tonight.  Time is from 6:00-10:00pm.  All proceeds go to fund their senior blowout. 

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For a scary Halloween greeting, click here. 

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PLOWBOYS FALL TO GORMAN 42-21 

Cutter Davila sets to throw a pass to Shelton Toliver (10) at Gorman.  (Photo courtesy of Lus Pantoja.)

Turnovers were costly as the Plowboys committed six—four interceptions and two fumbles—in a 42-21 loss to Gorman Friday night.  The first, an interception of a Cutter Davila pass in the game’s first minute, set the tone for the rest of the evening as Gorman’s B. J. Ramirez returned it 49 yards for a touchdown. 

Later in the quarter, Gorman’s Dakota Pacheco ran 30 yards for another TD, and the Panthers were off and running.  Pacheco scored on two more touchdown runs in the second quarter, one 20 yards and the other 5, and at halftime Gorman led 27-0.

Roscoe got on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter when Kevin Lavalais intercepted an errant Zach Carlton pass and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown.  Later in the quarter, Davila completed a pass to Jesus Leanos that went 40 yards for a TD, and Eduardo Gallegos ran 70 yards for another one to close out the Plowboy scoring.

Gallegos had 123 rushing yards to lead the Plowboys, and Davila completed 15 of 31 passes for 204 yards but had 4 intercepted.  

The Plowboys are now 2-6 on the year and 2-3 in district.  This Friday they go to Hamlin to play the Pied Pipers, who are 5-0 in district play and coming off a 39-0 victory over Cross Plains.  Kickoff is at 7:30pm.

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PLOWBOTS EARN SECOND PLACE IN BIG COUNTRY ROBOTICS MEET

2012 Roscoe Plowbots

At the recent Big Country BEST (Boosting Engineering, Science, and Technology) Robotics Competition at Texas State Technical College, Roscoe Collegiate’s robotics team, the Plowbots, took second place and in doing so qualified for the Texas BEST Regional Championships to be held in Dallas, November 9-10. 

First place went to ATEMS (Abilene ISD’s Academy of Technology, Engineering, Math & Science High School) while Sweetwater High School also qualified by winning the robotics division.

A record thirteen schools competed in this year’s event.  Besides the winners, the other participating schools were Clyde High School, Clyde Junior High, Robert Lee, Highland, Jim Ned, Comanche High, Comanche Junior High, Sweetwater Middle School, Rising Star, and Gustine.

Roscoe Collegiate’s team, led by Coach Dan Boren, comprises students from grades 6 through 12.  Junior high students build and run the robot; high school students serve as mentors and deal with the website, marketing, engineering notebook, exhibit, and spirit and sportsmanship; and sixth graders are members of the spirit and sportsmanship team that creates signs and t-shirts and exhibits enthusiasm.

This year’s robot, controlled remotely, has to ascend a metal bar, pick up objects from one location, and deposit them in another location.

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MIRIAN SOLIS QUALIFIES FOR REGIONAL IN CROSS COUNTRY

At the recent district cross-country track meet, Plowgirl Mirian Solis’s time of 13:10 was good enough for her to qualify for the upcoming regional meet starting at noon this Saturday in Arlington’s Vandergriff Park.      

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EARLY VOTING CONTINUES

Early voting in this fall’s general election, which began last Monday, continues daily from 8:30am-5:00pm until this Friday, November 2, at the County Clerk’s office at the Nolan County Courthouse.  Election Day is next Tuesday, November 6, when the polls will be open from 7:00am-7:00pm in the Roscoe Community Center.

For details about the races, candidates, and bond issues, scroll down to the article in last week’s issue of the Hard Times.  

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WEATHER REPORT

The weather was unseasonably cold over the weekend as the temperature dropped to 32°F early Saturday morning and stayed there for about four hours before warming up again.  Since there was some ice in my birdbath, I feared for my tomatoes and other garden plants, but apparently they made it through the frost okay and are still green and growing. 

Temperatures remained chilly over the weekend but began to rise again on Monday and by yesterday rose to 77°F to create an almost perfect fall afternoon with sunny skies and little to no wind.   

The forecast is for more of the same.  The high today should once again be in the seventies and rise into the eighties tomorrow and Friday, then cool down back to the seventies on Saturday and sixties on Sunday.  Lows should be in the forties and fifties, and there will be a 20% chance of rain.   

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

(Editor's note: I received the following shortly after posting last week's issue.  As I told Mr. Fitzgerald in my reply to him, we were unaware an Irishman was in our midst at the West Texas Wind Festival but were glad he could make it.)

Dear Editor,

Through the space in your paper, if I can thank the city of Roscoe for the wonderful night we had at the Gene Watson concert on October 20th, it was fantastic.  On looking at the Gene Watson website, I saw that he was in Roscoe.  I immediately called for tickets and was informed that it was free!  I thought this must be a joke or a prank, but no—the assistant assured me there was no charge.

We have learned in our lifetime that very few things are free, especially good things.  Of course I was quite prepared to pay the admission fees to see a legend like Gene Watson who have given us decades of happiness in listening to their great country music.  Each of these singers have their own unique style.  The ones that are no longer with us like Johnny Cash have passed on their legacy of country songs that we will keep listening to until our own number is called and what a legacy that is!

To arrive in a small place like Roscoe on Saturday evening and see all the local community in jubilant mood was a wonderful experience and to visit the various stalls and excellent food stands was exciting to say the least.  We need to see more of this in local communities where the young and not so young and the elderly can sit down and digest the festival’s events. 

Texas is unique in so many ways and is steeped in history.  The size of it alone makes it about six times larger than my home country, a lot of travelling.  Again my sincere thanks to Roscoe, all the bands and of course the great Gene Watson and his band for providing us with such great entertainment.

Regards
John Fitzgerald
Killarney,
Ireland

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