City Council Approves Property Tax, Board Budgets for Coming Year

The City Council and City Manager Cody Thompson discuss taxes and budget at yesterday's meeting.

At the second public hearing and monthly meeting of the City Council at City Hall yesterday evening, the City Council approved the proposed property tax rate for the coming fiscal year and set the budget for the City’s Type A and Type Boards. It also tabled the approval of budget amendments for the current fiscal year until after its next budget meeting on September 22 as one amendment is still not settled.

The City’s property tax rate for this year and next is $0.80118 on each $100.00 valuation of property, of which $0.630826 on each $100 valuation goes to the general fund and the remaining $0.170354 per $100 valuation goes to debt service. In other words, individual City tax assessments will be the same as last year unless there was a re-assessment of a property through improvements or new construction.

The Council also set the budget for the Type A and Type B Boards for the coming fiscal year. The Type A Board (business re/investment and business investment reserve) is set at $25,000, and the Type B Board (festivals, advertising/promotion, improvements, etc.) is set at $50,000. Funding for the two Boards comes from income from the City sales tax. The remainder of sales tax funding goes into the general fund to help pay the City’s expenses without having to raise the property tax.

In his monthly update, City Manager Cody Thompson informed the Council that the Roscoe Volunteer Fire Department will be flushing all the fire hydrants in the City during the last two weeks of this month to verify their proper operation. So, if you see water in the streets during that period, don’t assume a leak, and if the City water coming from your faucet is a little red, that’s probably the reason.

In other matters, the Council approved a fireworks permit for the West Texas Wind Festival as well as the closing of Broadway from Main to Bois d’Arc Streets and Main to Front Streets for the same event. The Council also accepted Young Farm improvements and approved the September/October City newsletter.

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PLOWBOYS FALL TO HAMLIN 35-21

The Plowboys dropped their second game of the season Friday night, this one to the Pied Pipers in Hamlin. The Pipers are essentially a young, inexperienced team, but their coach was very pleased with their improvement, especially on defense, over their loss to Anson in the first game.  The game’s outcome was in doubt until the final touchdown, however, as the Plowboys matched the Pipers in scoring for most of the game.

The first quarter was a scoring extravaganza as the two teams alternated touchdowns for the entire quarter. Hamlin got on the boards first on a 36-yard TD pass and extra-point kick to go up 7-0, but the Plowboys responded with a scoring drive ending with a 2-yard Brayden Beal pass to Javier Leanos and  point after to tie the game 7-7. Hamlin came right back with another score on an 8-yard run to go up 14-7, but the Plowboys once again answered, this time on a Beal to Leanos 20-yard touchdown pass. The kick was good and the score was 14-14. Hamlin then pulled into a 21-14 lead on a 2-yard run to close out the scoring in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Pipers scored once again on a 62-yard pass and run, increasing their lead to 27-14 after the extra-point attempt failed. The Plowboys closed out the first-half scoring when Beal connected with Jose Ortega from the 7 to make it a 6-point game, 27-21.

The second half was just as much about defense as the first half was about offense. Hamlin scored in the third quarter on a 7-yard run followed by a 2-point conversion to go up 35-21. That turned out to be the only scoring for the entire half as the Pipers were shut out in the fourth quarter, and the Plowboys failed to score in either quarter.

                            Roscoe      Hamlin

   First Downs       18           19   
Total Yards       304          346
   Passing          165          208
   Rushing         139          138
Fumbles Lost      0             1

Beal passed for 21 completions of 45 attempts with 3 TDs and 2 interceptions, while Hamlin’s Wagner went 14 of 19 with 2 TDs and 1 interception. Francisco Garcia was the Plowboys’ leading rusher with 91 yards on 14 carries, while Leanos had 23 yards on 1 carry, Beal had 17 on 12 attempts, and Ryland Madrid had 6 on 4 attempts. Leading receivers for the Plowboys were Ortega with 8 catches for 81 yards, Leanos 5 for 48, and Kevin Lavalais 6 for 28. Erick Huidobro kicked 2 extra points, and Pablo Huidobro 1.

On defense Rafael Aguayo had 6 tackles; Garcia, Lavalais, and Max Nemir 5; and Leanos 4. Isaias Aguilar had two tackles for losses and a fumble recovery, and Nemir intercepted a pass.

This Friday the Plowboys travel to Grape Creek for another tough game, this one with the 2A-I Junction Eagles, who are undefeated after knocking off Ingram Moore 62-21 and Grape Creek 41-14. An experienced team, they return 10 starters on offense and 8 on defense. In last year’s matchup in San Angelo, however, the Plowboys won 14-6.

Kickoff is at 7:30pm.

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ROSCOE LIONS CLUB HOLDS ORGANIZATIONAL MEETING

Vershel Smith addresses Roscoe Lions at last week's meeting in the Community Center.

About twenty charter members of the new Roscoe Lions Club were on hand for the luncheon and meeting held in the Roscoe Community Center last Wednesday. Vershel Smith of the Sweetwater Lions Club explained what needs to be done to get the club organized and running, and Chris Hartman was elected Secretary/Treasurer of the new club. The nomination and election of the President will wait until the next meeting, which will be at noon on Wednesday, September 23, at the Community Center. Thereafter, meetings will be at noon on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month.

All who are interested in seeing the Lions Club once again being a positive force in Roscoe are urged to become members, both men and women. For more information, contact Chris Hartman at 325-370-4931.

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PLOWBOY MUDBOG RVFD FUNDRAISER SET FOR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3

 The Plowboy Mudbog will not be at the West Texas Wind Festival this year as it has in the past. Instead, it will be on Saturday, October 3, and all proceeds will go to the Roscoe Volunteer Fire Department.

Details will follow later, but classes, entry fees, price of admission, etc. will be the same as those in the past, including the one on July 4 of this year. As usual, the mudbog will be at the baseball field on Second and Sycamore Streets, gates will open to the public at 11am, and the event will begin at noon.

So, make plans now to attend and contribute to a worthy cause!

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ROSCOE HARD TIMES BLOG MARKS FIFTH YEAR OF PUBLICATION
Today, September 9, marks the fifth anniversary of my first posting of the Roscoe Hard Times. My opening remarks introducing the blog were on September 9, 2010, and my first reporting of Roscoe news was on the following day when I gave an account of the Plowboys’ football game with Stamford at Mustang Bowl in Sweetwater.

At that time, I posted news as soon as I got it, but by December of that year had figured out that it was much easier on me and on the readers to publish it weekly. I’ve been posting it on Wednesdays ever since, minus two or three times every year when I’m off on vacation or occasionally when I have visiting family in town.

Over time the readership has steadily grown, and with the help of Google Analytics, a free service provided by Google, I’m able to see how many readers the blog has and where they are located.  So, for example, the Hard Times had 345 hits, or visits, this past week, which is pretty normal, although sometimes when something big happens, it will register over 450.  As you might expect, about half of these come on Wednesdays with the rest scattered out pretty evenly over the rest of the week.

As I said this time last year, when I started the blog, I had no idea about how long I’d keep it up—and I still don’t.  I guess I’ll just continue for as long as I consider the reward greater than the effort.  It’s my way of giving back to the community in a way that keeps me busy and mentally active, so I’m happy to do it.

Anyway, thanks to all you readers who regularly check the Hard Times to find out what’s going on in Roscoe.  You make me feel useful and keep me on my toes.

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MIKE RYAN AT LUMBERYARD SATURDAY NIGHT

Country singer/songwriter Mike Ryan and band will make their debut performance at the Lumberyard Saturday night. Ryan, who is originally from San Antonio, currently does his recording in Nashville and performs at venues in various states. On Saturday, he will be coming off a show with Travis Tritt in Louisiana, and next week he’ll be in one in Arkansas with Josh Abbott.

To date, Ryan has three albums: The First One (2010), Night Comes Falling (2012), and Bad Reputation (2014). Top singles include “Dancin’ All Around It,” “Only All the Time,” “Dancin’ with an Angel,” and his latest release, “Girls I Date.”

He will take the stage around 9:00pm. For reservations and more information, contact the Lumberyard at 325-766-2457.

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WEATHER REPORT: HOT AND DRY (AGAIN)

The weather over this past week is almost a carbon copy of the week before, hot and dry, sunny or partly cloudy skies, southerly and southeasterly winds, and highs in the mid to upper nineties with lows in the low to mid seventies, i.e., typical late summer weather for west Texas. The highs for the week were on Monday and yesterday afternoons when temperatures rose to 97°F. The lows were on last Wednesday and Thursday mornings when they dropped to 70°. There was not even a hint of rain.

That all should change starting today, when a mild cool front blows through. In fact, we’re given a 50% chance of rain today, which will diminish to 20% to 30% tonight. The high today will be only about 86° and the low tomorrow morning around 70°. The high temperature through the weekend should be tomorrow when it is predicted to be about 90° with other days in the eighties and with lows in the mid to upper sixties. Saturday’s high is forecast to be only 82° with a low of 64°.

In any case, it’s nice to know we’ll be having cooler weather and the chance of some needed rain. Maybe the long, hot summer has just about run its course and fall is just around the corner.

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