20 RCHS Seniors Graduate at Saturday Commencement

The Class of 2015: Bottom: Elisa Herrera, Samantha Ortega, Danielle Dean, Jesenia Pena, Makayla Porter, Olivia Saddler, Roxanne Covarrubias; Middle: Gabriel Alvarez, Korie Rogers, Matthew Davila, Mireya Sanchez, Juan Sanchez, Jake Wilson, Burke Zimmerman; Top: Chase Cathey, Nicholaus Hermosillo, Domonic Pantoja, Antonio Gallegos, Mia Herrera, Phillip Ballenger. (Photo by Debbie Nevins)

Twenty RCHS students officially completed their high school careers by receiving their diplomas in a commencement ceremony at the Special Events Center Saturday evening.  But what’s even more impressive is the fact that eighteen of those twenty, or 90%, of the Class of 2015 had received their Associate’s Degrees from Western Texas College in Snyder the night before, a remarkable accomplishment both for the students and the school.

RCHS WTC Graduates. (Photo by Debbie Nevins)

Here is a list of the graduating seniors with an asterisk beside the names of those who also completed the requirements for their Associate’s Degree:

Gabriel Alvarez
Phillip Ballenger *
Chase Cathey *
Roxanne Covarrubias *
Matthew Davila *
Danielle Dean *
Antonio Gallegos *
Nicholaus Hermosillo *
Elisa Herrera *
Mia Herrera *
Samantha Ortega *
Jesenia Pena *
Makayla Porter *
Korie Rogers *
Olivia Saddler *
Juan Sanchez *
Mireya Sanchez *
Jake Wilson *
Burke Zimmerman

Top Ten Graduates: Front: Korie Rogers, Samantha Ortega, Danielle Dean, Matthew Davila, Nicholaus Hermosillo; Back: Chase Cathey, Jesenia Pena, Jake Wilson, Makayla Porter, Antonio Gallegos. (Photo by Debbie Nevins)

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CHASE CATHEY, KORIE ROGERS ARE 2015 RCHS VALEDICTORIAN, SALUTATORIAN

Chase Cathey, Valedictorian, and Korie Rogers, Salutatorian. (Photo by Debbie Nevins)

The RCHS Valedictorian this year is Chase Cathey, who finished high school with an overall grade average of 95.16. He plans to attend Angelo State University and major in Business Administration of Information Systems.

The Salutatorian is Korie Rogers, who had an overall grade average of 93.74.  She plans to attend Texas Tech and major in Finance.

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LYNDI WILKINSON FINISHES FIFTH IN 400 AT STATE TRACK MEET

Plowgirl Lyndi Wilkinson wasn’t able to manage the 60.93 seconds she got in the 400 meter run at the Regional Meet, but her time of 61.78 at the UIL State Track & Field Meet in Austin on Friday was still good enough for her to finish fifth in state in the 2A division.  The winner was Ryley Haynes of Seymour with a time of 59.55 seconds.

Congratulations, Lyndi, and better luck next year!

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ROSCOE POLICE MAKE SECOND I-20 DRUG BUST IN LESS THAN A WEEK

Confiscated marijuana on the hood of a Roscoe Police vehicle.

Just six days after a $200,000 bust, the Roscoe PD has once again "hit them where it hurts" with another drug bust. On Friday afternoon, Sgt. Steven Spencer made a routine traffic stop on Interstate 20 in Roscoe, during which he noticed several indicators that raised his suspicion of criminal activity.

 After the driver, a man from El Paso, consented to a vehicle search, Spencer located paraphernalia, which by State law, gave him authority to perform a more detailed search. In an undisclosed location, Spencer found $25,000 worth of marijuana. The El Paso man was transported to the Nolan County Sheriff’s Office for possession of marijuana of over 5 but less than 50 lbs. The 20 bundles of narcotics and vehicle were seized by the Roscoe PD, and the El Paso man's bond was set at $7500.

This second seizure in less than a week will continue to fund the Department with staffing and the latest state of the art equipment, all cost free to the city and citizens. In the past year, the department has added two additional highly qualified and experienced part-time officers, patrol vehicles, and equipment--all to better serve the citizens of Roscoe and made available due to seizures Sgt. Spencer has filed for the Roscoe PD.

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WEATHER REPORT: RAINY, HUMID

Grass is green and puddles fill the streets all over Roscoe.

This week has been very much like the week before: relatively mild temperatures for this time of year with high humidity (97% with fog this morning) and intermittent rain showers.  On late Thursday night and early Friday morning, weatherman Kenny Landfried recorded .49”, and on Saturday afternoon another .25”.  Then on late Monday night and early yesterday morning .85”.  In areas west of town and around Inadale and Wastella, most people I talked to got more, somewhere between 1.2” and 1.5”. All over west Texas a lot of rain is falling and lakes are seeing their highest levels in years. Highs have generally been in the eighties and lows in the low to mid-sixties.  The high for the past week came on Monday with 87°F and the low on Sunday morning at 59°.

The coming week should be more of the same.  Daily humidity will range from 75%-88%, and there is at least a 40% chance of rain from now until noon on Sunday.  That will increase to 60% tomorrow as a cold front moves through.  The high tomorrow is projected to be only 65° with a low of 56°.  The rest of the week will see highs in the upper seventies to about eighty with lows in the sixties, unusually mild for late May in west Texas.

Back in January, the NOAA forecast more rain than usual for the southwestern states based on El Niño, and that forecast has certainly been accurate.  Although we haven’t had any gully washers like they have in the panhandle and places east of here, there has been an abundance of moisture, and it appears we haven’t seen the end of it yet.

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A MEMORIAL DAY TRIBUTE TO SSGT. GARY W. JEFFRIES

SSgt. Gary W. Jeffries

Army Staff Sgt. Gary Jeffries, 37, was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Fort Carson, Colorado.  He died on January 28, 2008, in Mosul, Iraq, of wounds sustained when his unit encountered an improvised explosive device during convoy operations. Also killed were Sgt. James E. Craig, Spc. Evan A. Marshall, Pfc. Brandon A. Meyer and Pvt. Joshua A.R. Young.

More than 800 troops gathered inside a movie theater on the Army’s Forward Operating Base Marez to eulogize the five soldiers killed. The memorial was attended by top American commanders in Iraq, including Gen. David Petraeus.

Jeffries was a 1990 graduate of Roscoe High School.  In the 1990 Gleaner, he jokingly willed to underclassmen his camouflage jacket, his intelligence, his ability to fix a carburetor and change oil, and his cowboy boots. He joined the Army in 1997 and was on his fourth deployment overseas—and his third in Iraq—when he was killed.

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