Shoppers Flock to Christmas Open House

Vickie's Gifts was full of shoppers during Christmas Open House.

Cars lined the streets of downtown Roscoe on Sunday afternoon as a largely female crowd partook of some early Christmas cheer and good bargains at several Roscoe businesses.  Sales were brisk as a large number of shoppers showed up to enjoy the event, and the Roscoe Express, the City’s “People’s Tram” transported many of them from one store to another.

Kelsey Drake of Roscoe was the winner of the Grand Prize, a gift basket with something in it from each of the participating businesses: Vickie’s Gifts, the Wildflower Boutique, the Lumberyard, Southern Belle Salon, Rockin’ S Cantina, McVey’s Nursery, and the Turquoise Toad.  

The City also extended its monthly Trades Day event in the Community Center to include Sunday afternoon as well as Saturday.

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PLOWBOYS STOP BRONTE 44-20, FACE WINK TOMORROW IN PLAYOFFS

The Plowboys are District 6-2A-II runners-up as everything fell in place for them Friday night.  They beat Bronte, Winters beat Menard, and Miles beat Roby, which was the only possible way for the Plowboys to wind up second in district.  But they did, and now they’re headed to the playoffs.

They drew first blood at their game in Bronte when Vincent Pantoja ran the ball into the end zone from four yards out.  The kick was good, and the Plowboys were ahead 7-0.  The Longhorns came right back and tied it up 7-7 on a forty-yard run, but that was Bronte’s high point of the evening, as the Plowboys took the lead for good when Cutter Davila hit Kevin Lavalais on an 84-yard scoring pass play.   The kick was again good, and at the end of one Roscoe led 14-7.

The second quarter was all Plowboys.  Davila hit Lavalais for another touchdown, this one on a play covering 85 yards.  The kick was no good, but the Plowboys now led 20-7.  Later, Pedro Huidobro kicked a 21-yard field goal to make it 23-7.  Then Davila hit Isaiah Gonzales for a 24-yard touchdown pass to give the Plowboys a 30-7 halftime lead.

Bronte scored first in the third quarter to make the score 30-14, but Pantoja answered with his second TD of the evening on a 65-yard run to make the score 37-14 at the end of three.  In the fourth quarter Bronte scored on a 3-yard run to narrow the gap to 37-20, but later Davila completed a 25-yard pass to Lavalais for his third TD of the evening.  After the kick, the Plowboys led 44-20, and that was the game’s final score.

Pantoja was the Plowboys’ leading rusher with 168 yards and two TDs in 25 carries.  Davila completed 13 of 20 passes  for 350 yards and 4 TDs with one interception, and Lavalais was the leading receiver with 5 catches for 191 yards.  On defense, he also had two interceptions.

The Plowboys’ first playoff game is tomorrow night at Memorial Stadium in Big Spring against Wink.  Like Roscoe, Wink is 5-5 on the year, but the Wildcats finished 2-2 in their district while the Plowboys were 3-2.  

The only common opponent for the two teams this year was Eldorado.  The Plowboys beat them 20-12 in a close game while Wink lost to them 49-48, also in a close game.  Both games were played in Eldorado.  On paper, then, it appears that the Plowboys and Wildcats are pretty evenly matched, so it should be a good game.  The team that wins will probably be the one that can handle the cold weather the best.  The forecast temperature for the game is near freezing, so if you’re planning to attend, be sure to bundle up.

Kickoff is at 7:00pm.  Even though the teams are playing at a neutral site, the Plowboys have been designated as the visitors, so people attending the game should sit on the visitors’ side.  Go, Plowboys!

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CITY COUNCIL MEETS, LEARNS ABOUT AGRICULTURAL DRONES

After their presentation, students posed for a photo with City officials.

The City Council got a treat at its monthly meeting Monday evening when a group of RCHS FFA students did a presentation on the use of drones in agriculture, explaining how they can increase efficiency and cut farming expenses while helping the environment.  The benefit of drones is already being experienced in places like Idaho and Australia, but Texas currently has very strict laws concerning the private use of drones, so it may be a while before they can be used here for agriculture.  Students participating in the presentation were Rainee Ruddick, Cutter Davila, Gabriel Alvarez, Chase Cathey, and Olivia Saddler.

City Manager Cody Thompson reported some operational problems at the R-O Water Treatment Plant caused by a faulty check valve, which resulted in some filter membranes getting soaked with chlorine.  The fault was with the manufacturers, so they will replace the membranes at their expense.  There are also some electrical problems that remain to be fixed.

Thompson also said the City had planned to use a special camera to scope the inside of all the sewer lines, using $60,000 left over in the fund for the sewer-line replacement program, but the old lines, many of them eighty to a hundred years old, were so clogged with debris that extra money would be needed, extra money that the City doesn’t have.  Instead, the City will scope as much as it can with the available funds.  That will allow the scoping of about half  of the City lines.

Thompson also reported that the natural gas lines have now been installed at Young Farm Estates, and Oncor will start on the electrical lines this week.  The Stone Tower RV Park and its washateria will also be open shortly, and the construction of the three houses being financed by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs is coming along on schedule.

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PLOWGIRLS DROP BASKETBALL OPENER TO ROBERT LEE

The Plowboys may still be playing football, but the weather has turned cold and basketball season has just begun for the Plowgirls.  Unfortunately, they lost their opening game last night to Robert Lee, 37-28.

The first half was close.  The Plowgirls were ahead by two at the end of the first quarter, 7-5, but fell behind in the second and at the half Robert Lee led 15-12.  The third quarter belonged to the Lady Steers (?) as they outscored the Plowgirls 13-4 and jumped out to a 28-16 lead.  The Plowgirls outscored them in the fourth quarter 12 to 8, but by then it was too late, and Robert Lee won by 9, 37-28.

High scorer for the Plowgirls was Mia Herrera with 9, followed by Olivia Saddler with 8, Sam Ortega with 5, Danielle Dean with 3, and Selena Perez with 3.

The Plowgirls’ next game is next Tuesday, November 18, at home against Colorado City.  The varsity game is scheduled to start at 6:30pm (JV girls at 4:00), but that could change. 

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WEATHER REPORT: FIRST FREEZE

Ice in the birdbath.

The area got its first taste of winter with a cold front that blew in Monday night about midnight with rapidly falling temperatures and winds gusting up to 39mph.  In one hour the temperature went from 67° to 43°, a drop of twenty-four degrees, and by yesterday morning it was down to 30° to 32°, depending on location.  Then, the first hard freeze since last winter came early this morning as the temperature fell to 25°.  The high today is forecast to be only about 33° with a low tomorrow morning of around 22°.  Already, Monday afternoon’s 81° seems like a distant dream.

Tomorrow should also be very cold with a projected high of 35° and a low of about 25°.  Friday will be about ten degrees warmer with a high of 45° and a low of 35°.  Then, Saturday should be sunny and nice with a high of 60° before another front moves through, causing Sunday’s high to be only in the mid forties with a low of around thirty.

No rain has fallen in the past week, and none is in the forecast.  

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