State Fire Marshal Called in to Investigate for Arson

 

Burn marks on the inside of the front door at 210 Cypress Street.

After incidents occurring these past few days, it now seems obvious that an arsonist is at work in Roscoe and the Roscoe area.  After the most recent incident, a fire that burned down a vacant house on FM 608 two miles north of Roscoe early this morning, the state fire marshal has been called in to investigate.

This fire follows another possibly related blaze that destroyed the M. T. Duncan home west of Roscoe. The home, vacant for some time, burned to the ground about midnight Sunday night.  Located three miles west of town next to the south I-20 service road, it had a covered garage with two cars in it.  Both cars and garage were completely destroyed along with the house.

Another suspicious incident suggesting arson came to light yesterday with the discovery of an attempt to set fire to the house at 210 Cypress.  This fine old home, known to some as the Arledge house, is owned by Larry McBurnett of Bryan and is the oldest house still standing in Roscoe, having been built over a century ago.

Someone apparently threw gasoline on the front door and the porch floor just below it and then set it ablaze.  Luckily, the door was made of steel and didn’t catch fire, but it has definitely been scorched and there are burn marks at the bottom of the door both inside and out.

The house is just across the street from the Treviño residence at 211 Cypress, where arson is suspected in two incidents occurring there two weeks apart in March.

And on February 5, fire destroyed the Armando Renteria residence on 110 Ash Street, leaving him and his family without a home.  The cause of that blaze is also under investigation.  There have also been a couple of fires recently in Sweetwater.  Although nothing is certain about any connections at this time, there certainly seem to be too many fires occurring in the area recently to be accidental.

Anyone with information about any of these fires should call City Hall at 325-766-3871 or Crime Stoppers at 325-235-8477.

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SPRING FLING ENJOYED BY MANY DESPITE HIGH WINDS

One of the windiest days of the year fell on Saturday, causing the Spring Fling crowd to be lighter than in  the previous two years.  Even so, a large number of people came out anyway to participate in or watch the Little League’s opening ceremonies and games at George Parks Field, the two alumni football games at Plowboy Field, the 2nd Annual Screw Terlingua Chili Cookoff at the Lumberyard, and the free concert, street dance, and the fireworks show downtown.

Little League Opening Ceremonies

T-Ball teams shake hands after the game. (Photo courtesy of Lus Pantoja.)

The Roscoe Little League teams kicked off a new season with opening ceremonies, team introductions, and the first games of the season.  The Rangers played the Reds in the T-Ball game, and the Brewers beat the Rangers 3-1 in the Midget League game.  The Freshman League game between the Padres and Rangers unfortunately had to be called off because there were so many missing players due to a junior high robotics meet in Lubbock, so the two teams scrimmaged instead.

The Second Annual Screw Terlingua Chili Cookoff
 

First prize in the Chili Cookoff went to Johnson Construction--Keith Johnson, Kade Johnson, Kara Johnson, and Joan Johnson (not pictured).

Several delicious versions of chili were created at the Lumberyard Saturday morning as contesting teams did their best to come up with the winning entry.  First place went to Johnson Construction, second place to the Rockin’ S Indian Outlaws, and third place to Pretty Good at Drinking Beer. 

The Rockin S Indian Outlaws also won the Bloody Mary Contest, while Pretty Good at Drinking Beer won the Margarita Contest.  Fester Hoggle of Mule Butt Chili won the Showmanship Award.
 
All proceeds from the event go to the Open Door Day Care Center. 

The Alumni Football Games

A Plowboy tackles the Stamford ball carrier in first half action.

Two alumni football games took place at Plowboy Field on Saturday afternoon.  In the first game the Hermleigh Cardinal Exes defeated the Haskell Indian Exes by a score of 13-6.
 
In the second game, the Stamford Bulldog Exes pulled out an 8-0 victory in a dogfight with the Roscoe Plowboy Exes.  This hard-hitting affair went almost the entire game without a score, but in the last two minutes of the fourth quarter, the Bulldog Exes scored a touchdown and two extra points.  

The Plowboy Exes tried to manage a comeback, but they were going against a strong wind, which made passing difficult, and running the ball chewed up the clock.  Their final push ended with a turnover, and with only six seconds left, the Bulldog quarterback took a knee and ran out the clock.

The Free Concert, Street Dance and Fireworks Show

Brandon Jenkins at the free concert and street dance.

A sizeable crowd filled the sidewalks on both sides of Cypress and in Old Town Park for the free concert and street dance.  The Remains, a band from Brownwood, opened the show on the music stage set up in the street.  They played for about two hours before making way for the main act, Brandon Jenkins and band, who entertained the crowd with several well-known songs written by Jenkins.  These included among others, “Going Down in Flames” and “Finger on the Trigger.”

The final event of the evening was the Fireworks Show orchestrated by City Councilman Robert McBride, and it was as good as ever, coming off without any hitches despite the wind and concluding the official festivities for the day.

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GERMAN CONSUL GENERAL PAYS VISIT TO ROSCOE

The Consul General visits the Roscoe School accompanied by Marcia Alexander, Tamara Alexander, and Sweetwater Mayor Greg Wortham.

German Consul General Klaus-Jochen Gühlcke was in town on Friday as part of an official tour of west Texas.  Roscoe was of special interest to him because of the Roscoe wind farms and the German wind energy companies located here, E.ON and Siemens.  The Consul General also got a tour of the Roscoe School and its E.ON Center for Innovation & Higher Education.   

After visiting Roscoe, the Consul General went on to the Midland area to visit with German companies in the oil and gas industry before returning to the German Consulate in Houston.

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ROSCOE, HIGHLAND ATHLETES QUALIFY FOR REGIONAL MEET

At the Area Meet in Blackwell last Wednesday, several Roscoe and Highland tracksters qualified for the Regional Meet at ACU this Friday and Saturday.  The first four finishers in each event at the Area Meet qualify for Regional. 

Listed below are the team results along with Roscoe and Highland’s regional qualifiers and their event results at the Area Meet.

BOYS

Teams — 1. Ira 137; 2. Roscoe 104½; 3. Garden City 75; 4. Blackwell 54; 5. Water Valley 49½; 6. Bronte 49; 7. Highland 40; 8. Robert Lee 30; 9. Hermleigh 27; 10. Paint Rock 24; 11. Westbrook 19; 12. Veribest 10; 13. Sterling City 1.

High Jump – 4. Jacob Richburg, Highland, 5’7”.
Pole Vault – 1. Michael Hyde, Highland, 12’0”.
Discus – 1. Landon Jones, Roscoe, 124’11”.
3200 – 2. Jesus Leanos, Roscoe, 11:18.25; 4. Javier Leanos, Roscoe, 11:51.02.
400 Relay – 3. Roscoe, 45.74.
800 – 1. Sheldon Hall, Highland, 2:04.72.
110 Hurdles – 2. Dillon Freeman, Roscoe, 17.34.
100 – 4. Kevin Lavalais, Roscoe, 11.49.
800 Relay – 3. Roscoe, 1:36.90.
400 – 1. Sheldon Hall, Highland, 52.52; 3. Kevin Lavalais, Roscoe, 55.0.
300 Hurdles – 2. Dillon Freeman, Roscoe, 42.96.
1600 – 3. Jesus Leanos, Roscoe, 5:02.18.
1600 Relay – 1. Roscoe, 3:36.28.

GIRLS

Teams — 1. Garden City 92; 2. Highland 82; 3. Ira 68. 4. (tie) Roscoe 65; Westbrook 65; 6. Water Valley 58; 7. Robert Lee 48; 8. Bronte 36; 9. Paint Rock 32; 10. Blackwell 28; 11. Sterling City 20; 12. Veribest 8. 13. (tie) Hermleigh 7; Loraine 7.

High Jump – 4. Olivia Rovig, Roscoe, 4’6”.
Pole Vault – 4. Eva Aguayo, Roscoe, 6’6”.
Discus – 2. Beth Richburg, Highland, 92’8”.
Shot Put – 4. Carolina Perez, Roscoe, 30’2”.
3200 – 3. Alejandra Solis, Roscoe, 14:46; 4. Alura Renteria, 14:49.81.
400 Relay – 2. Roscoe, 53.78.
800 – 2. Kelsi Johns, Highland, 2:37.68.
100 Hurdles – 1. Beth Richburg, Highland, 16.09; 2. Olivia Saddler, Roscoe, 17.12; 3. Torrey Willman, Roscoe, 17.36.
800 Relay – 3. Highland, 1:57.53.
400 – 4. Lora Steward, Highland, 1:08.11.
300 Hurdles – 3. Beth Richburg, Highland, 51.40; 4. Hannah Allen, Highland, 53.15.
1600 – 3. Madison Mosley, Highland, 6:26.28.
1600 Relay – 1. Highland, 4.21.18.

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KANE PEAVY FINISHES SECOND IN STATE SPEECH COMPETITION

Roscoe Junior Kane Peavy won second place in the 11th grade division at the 12th Annual School Bus Safety Speech Contest in Waco and along with the honor received a $400 scholarship. 
The contest is so named because it is sponsored by TAPT (the Texas Association for Pupil Transportation). 

RCHS student Rainne Ruddick also qualified for the state competition and participated.

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WEATHER REPORT

The big weather news for the week was the wind as Roscoe lived up to its name of wind capital of the world.  Temperatures were generally mild to warm up until early yesterday morning, but the wind velocity was above average almost the entire week.

The attendance at the Spring Fling on Saturday was definitely hampered by the strong breezes as sustained winds of 25 to 30mph were typical and gusts up to forty miles per hour were recorded. In contrast to Saturday, however, Sunday afternoon was gorgeous as the wind died down to a light breeze.

Early yesterday morning a cold front blew through and temperatures plummeted from a high of 89°F on Monday afternoon to a low early yesterday morning of 36°.  Yesterday’s afternoon temperatures rose into only the fifties and the low this morning was 32°.

The forecast is for a steadily rising temperatures from a high today of about 59° up to the eighties on Friday, the weekend, and the beginning of next week.  There is no rain in the forecast, and a burn ban is back in effect for Nolan County.

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† ROY GENE SCHROEDTER

A memorial for Roy Gene Schroedter, 63, who passed away at his home on April 13, will be held at McCoy Funeral Home in Sweetwater at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 27.

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† ARMETA “JANEY” SANSING

Services were held at the McCoy Chapel of Memories in Sweetwater for Armeta “Janey” Sansing, 75, who passed away in Lubbock on Sunday, April 14.  Interment followed in the Roscoe Cemetery.

Janey was born July 23, 1937, in Pacio, Delta County, Texas, to Luther and Evelyn Iglehart Basham, who preceded her in death in 1989 and 1990.  She graduated from East Delta High School in 1955 and worked for Federal Reserve Bank before her marriage to H. L. Sansing on November 29, 1956.  He preceded her in death on March 18, 1999.

She and her husband moved to Roscoe on August 8, 1981, where she was employed seasonally with the Roscoe Co-op Gin as Scale Clerk.  Off season she worked part time at Walls and Texas Boll Weevil Program.  She was a Baptist.

Survivors include her son, Terry Dean Sansing and wife Sara of Lubbock; granddaughter, Tara Buxkemper and husband Drury of Lubbock; grandson, Austin Sansing of Lubbock; and Special Loved One, LeRoy Pietzsch of Roscoe.

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† MELISSA HAYGOOD JACKS

Services were held on Wednesday, April 17, in Granbury for Melissa Haygood Jacks, 56, who passed away on April 14, in her home in Granbury, surrounded by her family.  Interment followed at De Leon Cemetery in De Leon.

Melissa was born June 13, 1956, in Loraine to Garland and Maxine Haygood.  She graduated from Roscoe High School and attended Tarleton State University.  She married Bryan Jacks on August 11, 1995, in Marble Falls.  She worked as the receptionist in the cardiology unit in Lake Granbury Medical Center.  She was a member of the Stonewater Church in Granbury.

Survivors include her husband, Bryan Jacks; children, Derek Jacks, Heather Hardman, Jaec and Lacy Hardman; grandchildren, Morgan Hardman and Rayleigh Hardman; parents, Garland and Maxine Haygood; sister, Charlotte and Reid Cave; niece, Savannah Cave; and aunts and uncles, Jimmy Peterson, Lynne Peterson, Diane Williams, and Ann Smith.

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† KENNETH EUGENE PIER

Funeral services for Kenneth Eugene Pier, 53, of Roscoe and Sulphur Springs, are pending with McCoy Funeral Home.

Pier died Saturday, April 20, in Abilene.

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