Roscoe School Year Begins with Another Enrollment Increase

School began in the Roscoe ISD on Monday morning, and, just as in the previous three years, student enrollment is larger than it was the year before.  Counting all grades, there are 573 students this year compared to last year’s 526, an increase of 47 students overall.

Here are the first-day enrollment figures for the past four years:

                                 Grades          2011      2012        2013       2014
Elementary        pre-K - 6           234        284         338         359
Junior High              7-8                   31           53            78           98
High School             9-12                98         110          110         116
Totals                  pre-K - 12          363        447         526         573

As the figures show, the greatest increases have been in the Elementary and Junior High grades.  High School enrollment is up only 6 students over last year and only 18 more than in 2011.  Even so, the consistent growth indicates the school’s local popularity as most of the increase is due to transfers coming in from area communities.

The largest grades are the eighth with 55 students and the fourth with 53.  Pre-K also has 53 students and kindergarten has 48.

Now that school has begun, everyone should keep in mind that children are walking to and from school.  Please observe speed limits and pedestrian crossings, and do not use cell phones in school zones.

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CITY COUNCIL ADDRESSES SEVERAL ISSUES AT MONTHLY MEETING

City Manager Cody Thompson reports to the City Council

At its monthly meeting in City Hall last night, the Roscoe City Council received an update on water and sewer issues and dealt with a number of action items.

City Manager Cody Thompson reported that contractors are still in the process of completing work on the SCADA system and the reverse-osmosis water treatment plant.  They should be completely done sometime next month, at which time the City of Roscoe will have some of the best drinking water in the state of Texas.  Once they are finished, the City will begin some major water line improvements that will take approximately three to four months.

Thompson also said that plans are underway to construct a new road for industrial development along US 84 between FM 608 and Smartt Industries.

He also reported that this year’s West Texas Wind Festival will take place on Saturday, October 18.  It will feature country singer Radney Foster and band along with the usual street vendors, Plowboy Mud Bog, live music, kids’ area, and fireworks.  Anyone interested in being a vendor should contact City Hall at 325-766-3871.

The Council awarded the bid for construction of the three new homes funded by the Texas Housing Development to Ameriway Construction Company of Kerrville and set August 25 and 26 for their annual budget workshop.

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PLOWBOY PREVIEW TOMORROW AT PLOWBOY FIELD

Plowboys and Plowgirls at last year's Plowboy Preview.

The annual Plowboy Preview will be held tomorrow, August 14, and Plowboy fans will have the opportunity to meet this year’s Plowboys and Plowgirls.  These include the football players, cheerleaders, the cross country team, and the Big Purple Marching Band.  The Cheer Pals will also be performing.

The hamburger meal will start at 7:00pm in the west foyer of the Special Events Center.  Burger, chips, and drink will cost $6, and proceeds will go to the Roscoe Junior High Cheerleaders.

First Financial Bank will also be serving free watermelon.  So come on out and show your support.

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PLOWBOYS SCRIMMAGE HASKELL HERE FRIDAY

Plowboys prepare for 2014 football season.

Fans can get their first look at this year’s Plowboys in action when they scrimmage the Haskell Indians at Plowboy Field Friday afternoon at six o’clock.  The JV Plowboys will also scrimmage with Haskell starting at 5:00pm.  The Plowboys, both varsity and JV, will have another scrimmage next week with Munday, but that will be at Munday, so your best chance to see them before the regular season starts is this week.

2014 ROSCOE PLOWBOYS VARSITY FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

Date                      Opponent                                  Site                          
Aug. 29                 Hawley                                      Hawley
Sept.  5                 Hamlin                                       Roscoe
Sept. 12                Junction                                    San Angelo
Sept. 19                Jim Ned                                     Jim Ned
Sept. 26                Eldorado                                    Eldorado
Oct.  3                   OPEN
Oct.  10                 *Miles (Homecoming)        Roscoe
Oct.  17                 *Winters                                    Winters
Oct.  24                 *Roby                                        Roscoe
Oct.  31                 *Menard                                    Roscoe
Nov.  7                  *Bronte                                      Bronte

* District Game

Kickoff for all games is at 7:30pm.

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ROSCOE HARD TIMES BACK ONLINE

A Mongolian eagle lights on my arm before a giant statue of Genghis Khan.

After a two-week hiatus, the Roscoe Hard Times resumes posting this week and, barring unforeseen circumstances, should continue for the foreseeable future.  As most of you already know, I spent the last couple of weeks on a 13-day trip to Hong Kong and Mongolia, and a memorable trip it was.

Besides seeing the sights of Hong Kong and several places in Mongolia, including the capital city, Ulaanbaatar, I got to spend time with my daughter Vanya and attend the fifth birthday party of my granddaughter, Olive.  Vanya is a fourth-grade teacher at the American International School and has been there for a year.

The three of us went on the Trans-Siberian Railway to a working ranch in northern Mongolia about 25 miles from the Siberian border for a couple of days, and stayed in a yurt while we were there.  We also went in a Land Rover on a tour of eastern Mongolia, where we visited a 13th century reconstruction of life as it was during the time of Genghis Khan.

There were many highlights, but perhaps the most remarkable thing that happened on the trip was an incident that occurred on the eight-hour train ride back to Ulaanbaatar from the ranch.  About an hour into the ride, my granddaughter Olive suddenly woke up coughing and crying and saying she couldn’t breathe.  She was in distress for about twenty minutes and was unable to catch her breath and breathe normally.  This had never happened to her before, so her mother had no idea what to do.  Someone came in with an inhaler, and she tried that, but it didn't help.

Then, a woman who had heard the coughing came into our compartment and told Vanya to take Olive to the ladies’ room at the end of the car.  There she had Olive urinate on a cotton cloth.  Then she wrapped the wet cloth in a dry one and tied it around Olive’s neck.  The coughing immediately stopped, the breathing became normal, and Olive, worn out from the ordeal, laid down and went right off to sleep.  Vanya and I were amazed at how well this home remedy worked, and when Olive started coughing again a couple of hours later, Vanya took her back to the ladies’ room, repeated the operation, and Olive was again immediately relieved and went right back to sleep.

Later, Vanya got on the computer and did a Google search trying to find out about this cure but was unable to locate anything.  One of her Mongolian friends, however, said that he’d had asthma as a child and this remedy was one his mother used on him.  I have no idea what a doctor here would do, but whatever it is, it couldn’t possibly work as fast or as efficiently as that Mongolian method did. 

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