West Texas Wind Festival Enjoyed by All

The view from Memorial Park on Saturday afternoon.

Local folks and visitors from surrounding communities gathered in Roscoe Saturday to take part in the seventh annual West Texas Wind Festival, and on a beautiful fall day everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  From the morning’s Roscoe Elementary “Run with the Wind” one-mile and 5K runs to the fireworks show downtown that night, there was plenty to see and do. 

The area around the Community Center and the firehouse was filled with RVs and the barbecue pits of teams vying for the $1500 grand prize for the best steak in the “BBQ in the Wind” Cookoff.  At George Parks Field, spectators came to watch souped-up mud vehicles of various shapes and sizes plow through the squishy blackland mud.  At the FFA Ag Barn, sellers and buyers converged at the annual Roscoe Pig Sale, and downtown, strollers checked out the various wares sold by the street vendors, while kids played in the bounce houses and on the other inflatables. 

 
(Click the play button to view video. Click the box in lower right-hand corner to view full screen.)

The free concert and street dance started at six with the music of Rance Norton and his Cadillac Cowboys, and they were followed by country music star Moe Bandy and his Americana band, who put on a great show for a large crowd.  

The events of the evening concluded with another of Robert McBride’s firework shows, and many of those not ready to go home yet walked over to the Lumberyard, where Lyndall Underwood and the Dusty Creek Band performed on the outdoor stage. 

Thanks are due, once again, to the organizers of the event, whose hard work and careful planning produced another memorable time for all.

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Roscoe Elementary “Run with the Wind”

Runners set out on the 5K run.

The top three finishers in the One-Mile Fun Run received medals, as did the top three finishers in the 5K categories.  The top male and female finishers in the 5K runs received gift cards from Tractor Supply in Sweetwater and the Wildflower Boutique in Roscoe.

Event organizers wish to thank Tractor Supply, the Wildflower Boutique, and Paul and Verla Johnson for their generous contributions.

One-Mile Fun Run (10 and under)
    1. Levi Spencer
    2. Sam Wilson
    3. Katie Wilson

5K “Run with the Wind”
   
        Kids (13 and under)
    1. Jaden Gonzales
    2. Tyler Guelker
    3. Phillip Peyton
   
        Adults (14 and over)
    1. Andy Wilson
    2. Casey Wetsel
    3. Craig Guelker
   
        Top Female – Tamara Alexander

 
"BBQ in the Wind" Cookoff

Cooks at work on Saturday morning.

The Regulators were the big winners in this year’s “BBQ in the Wind” Cookoff sponsored by the Roscoe Volunteer Fire Department.  They came in first in the 16 oz. ribeye steak competition and walked away with the $1500 grand prize, donated by Fuller Foods of Colorado City. 

Here are the top three winners in each category along with the amount of their prizes:

Steak
        1. The Regulators - $1500
        2. Backyard Cookers - $500
        3. Two Peas in a Pod - $250

Ribs
        1. Two Peas in a Pod - $500
        2. Brew N Q - $300
        3. Son of a Dink - $150

Chicken
        1. Spook’s BS BBQ - $150
        2. Two Guns BBQ - $100
        3. Backyard Grilling - $75


Plowboy Mudbog

Abel Alvarez of Colorado City, driving "River Rat," was the only contestant to make it all the way through the mudbog without bogging down.

You couldn’t have asked for better weather for the Plowboy Mudbog at George Parks Field on Saturday. 
 
Here are the winners for each of the classes (only first names were given on some entry forms):

Street
        1.    Shane, Big Spring
        2.    Fletch, Colorado City
        3.    David Pantoja, Roscoe

Modified
        1.    Caleb Dean, Roscoe
        2.    Lon Rhoudes, Big Spring
        3.    Shannon Mollette, Rotan

Super Modified
        1.    Josh Sorrells, Snyder
        2.    Art Rivera, Colorado City
        3.    Pam Alvarez, Colorado City

Open
        1.    Abel Alvarez, Colorado City

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PLOWBOYS DOWN RANGER 46-36

On a cold, rainy Friday night in Ranger, the Plowboys fell behind early but made up for it with a strong second half and won going away 46-36.

The Bulldogs drew first blood when they intercepted a Cutter Davila pass and ran it back 24 yards.  The extra points were good, and they were up 8-0.  They then quickly followed with another TD on a 12-yard run, made the extra points, and the score was 16-0 Ranger.  The Plowboys got on the board when Davila hit Max Nemir for a 7-yard touchdown pass.  Then Davila scored on a 27-yard scamper.  Neither extra point try was good for the Plowboys, however, and the first quarter ended with them down, 16-12.

Ranger went ahead 22-12 early in the second quarter, but the Plowboys responded with a 4-yard Davila pass to Shelton Toliver.  Again the Roscoe PAT failed, and the score was 22-18 until Ranger scored again to go ahead 30-18.  Then Davila hit Toliver with another 4-yarder, which ended the scoring for the quarter.  At halftime the Plowboys were down 30-24.

Roscoe came out firing on all cylinders in the third quarter, though, as they scored three touchdowns, and the defense held the Bulldogs scoreless.  The first Plowboy TD was a Kevin Lavalais 8-yard run.  The next two were Davila passes to Toliver, one for 33 yards and the other for 30.  The Plowboys were now ahead 46-30.

Ranger scored again in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late, as the Plowboys won 46-36.

For the evening Davila passed for 287 yards with 14 completions of 25 passes and one interception.  Toliver was the leading receiver with 6 catches for 104 yards and 4 TDs. Rafael Aguayo had 4 catches for 131 yards, Nemir had 2 receptions for 22 yards and one TD, and Lavalais had one catch for 8 yards.
Nemir led the Plowboy rushers with 101 yards on 15 carries, Davila had 63 on 16 carries, and Aguayo had 36 on 6 carries. 

Roscoe is now 3-4 on the year and 2-2 in district play.  Next up is Gorman at Plowboy Field Friday night.  The Panthers, who are coming off a 60-0 loss against Hamlin, are 1-6 on the year and 1-3 in district.

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PLOWGIRLS ARE DISTRICT CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPS

Regional qualifiers: Whitney Williams (Sr), Alyssa Chavez (Fr), Karina Cisneros (Fr), Braiden Moore (Fr), Samantha Ortega (Jr), Lyndi Wilkinson (Fr), Alejandra Solis (So), and Olivia Saddler (Jr).  (Photo courtesy of Misty Guelker.)

The Roscoe Plowgirls’ Cross Country team won the district meet in Eula on Monday and will compete in the Regional Meet in Grand Prairie next Saturday, November 2.

Three Plowgirls also won individual medals at Eula.  They were Lyndi Wilkinson, who came in second with a time of 13:08; Karina Cisneros, who was third at 13:14; and Alejandra Solis, who was sixth at 13:30.

One Plowboy, Braiden Moore, also qualified for Regional by coming in fourth.

In JV competition, Plowboys Adam Pope finished first and Jetly Hobdy second.

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ROSCOE POST OFFICE WILL CUT TO SIX HOURS PER WEEKDAY

USPS District Manager Ernest T. Brown addresses concerns at the community meeting on Wednesday.

At the community meeting held at the RCHS Cafetorium last Wednesday afternoon, the Operations Manager of the Fort Worth District, Ernest T. Brown, confirmed that Roscoe is in no danger of losing its Post Office.  However, service hours will be cut from the current 6½ to 6 per day M-F sometime in the near future.  Just when those 6 hours will be has not yet been determined.  Customers with specific requests regarding open times should let them be known to acting Postmaster Linda Kubala.

Brown explained the cut by giving the recent history of the US Postal Service, its mandate from Congress, its requirements to be self-supporting—including retirement funding, and its recent losses in volume because of e-mail, direct billing and payments, and other technological advances.  These losses require cost-cutting measures, including a 3¢ increase in the cost of stamps for first-class mail, the cessation of Saturday mail delivery, postal plant consolidations, decreases in open service hours, and closings of low-volume post offices. 

Evaluations of post offices are made every February, Brown said, and depending on volume are considered full-time, 6-hour, 4-hour, or 2-hour post offices.  He advised local citizens to use their own post office for mailings and purchases since all evaluations are based on volume.  He said on-line purchases can be credited to the 79545 zip code rather than the default setting if customers just take the trouble to make the change.

In advance of the meeting, the Postal Service sent out 802 surveys to the Roscoe zip code and received 187 responses.

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PLOWTECH TO COMPETE IN BIG COUNTRY ROBOTICS MEET IN SWEETWATER

The RCHS robotics team, formerly the Plowbots but now known as Plowtech, will be competing in the 2013 Big Country BEST Robotics Competition to be held this Saturday, October 26, in Sweetwater.  The game this year, entitled “Gatekeeper,” centers around three different areas, all leading up to the creation of a CPU (Central Processing Unit). 

Plowtech will be competing with teams from the following high schools: ATEMS (Abilene), Blanket, Comanche, Gustine, Highland, Jim Ned, Potter’s Hand Christian (San Angelo), Rising Star, Robert Lee, and Sweetwater, as well as Sweetwater Middle School.

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WEATHER REPORT

Friday afternoon was beautiful and sunny until a norther blew in that afternoon bringing 35mph winds with gusts up to 41mph.  The temperature dropped sharply, going from about 75°F down to 60° in the space of about an hour or so.  On Saturday, the wind had abated, but the weather was cooler with a light frost at sunrise and a temperature of 34°. 

The weather warmed up as the day went on, and it was nice to be outside for the 5K run, the Plowboy Mudbog, and the other outdoor events of the Wind Festival, although it was a bit chilly that evening at the free concert and street dance downtown.

Since then, the sunny skies have continued.  It warmed up to 78° on Sunday, but another front moved through, and Monday’s high was only 66°.  Yesterday was back to 73° for the high with 44° for the low.

Today should be similar, as should the rest of the week.  Highs will be in the seventies and lows around fifty.  Friday and Saturday will also have a 20% chance of precipitation.

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