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In the Heart of the Blackland Divide

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

Big Rains Drench Area

Water filled the streets and my back yard on Thursday afternoon.
The Roscoe area had had no significant rainfall since early July, but that all changed last Thursday when the clouds rolled in and, starting about 6am, dropped a deluge that lasted all morning and into the early afternoon. Sometimes the rain fell hard and sometimes it dropped off to a light shower, but it never let up until after 1pm. By that time my rain gauge had recorded 5.08”. Then on Friday, it rained again on three different occasions totaling .94” in my rain gauge, making a grand total of 6.02” for the two days.

Others I talked to had amounts in that range. The official rainfall for Roscoe for the two days was 5.69”. At Pyron, northwest of town, it was 4¾ inches, and west of town got about the same. The most I heard of was 8 inches south of Champion. Champion got about six, and Allen Richburg, southwest of town, got a little over six. Avenger Field, west of Sweetwater, got 3.93”, Sweetwater had 3.55” and Abilene 4.41”.

I was surprised at how quickly the five inches of rainfall soaked into the ground on Thursday. Of course the ground was pretty dry with big cracks in it, but it wasn’t really until Friday that we got all the standing water that we still have. The dry lakes around town are all full, and a lot of open cotton has been damaged by the continued wetness—although the prospects for a good winter wheat crop have naturally taken a turn for the better, and ranchers are happy.

The rains and a cold front that immediately followed dropped the temperatures, and for the first time in what has been a very mild fall, we’ve had some seriously cool weather with highs in the sixties and lows as low as Monday morning’s 43°F. I had to turn on my heat for the first time this fall when I got up on Sunday morning and it was 44° outside. By yesterday, it had warmed up again to a high of 81° and a low of 53° this morning. A dry cold front moves through today, so the forecast highs for today and tomorrow are 72° and 77° respectively.

Although farmers with cotton still in the fields could use some drying out time, forecasters are predicting more possible rain starting tomorrow night when the chances for precipitation are at 50%, increasing on Friday to 60%. They will then decrease to 20% on Saturday, so the trick-or-treaters out on Saturday night most likely won’t need to worry about getting wet.

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ROSCOE ROLLS OVER ROBY 55-0, MENARD NEXT FOR DISTRICT TITLE

It was no contest Friday night as the Plowboys easily defeated an overmatched Roby team 55-0. The victory, which puts them at 3-0 in district play, sets them up for a big game this week when they play the Menard Yellow Jackets, who are also 3-0 in district.

The Roby game was essentially over by the end of the first quarter, by which time the Plowboys had a 35-0 lead over the Lions. Vincent Pantoja scored the first TD on a 23-yard run to put the Plowboys up 7-0. Jose Ortega scored next on an 11-yard run, and a short time later Brayden Beal scored on a 60-yard dash to paydirt to put Roscoe up 21-0. Beal then hit Kevin Lavalais on an 8-yard pass to make the score 28-0, and then Ortega returned a Roby punt 50 yards to make it 35-0.

The Plowboys made two more touchdowns in the second quarter, the first on a 30-yard pass play from Beal to Lavalais, and the second a 4-yard run by Rafael Aguayo. The score at halftime was 48-0.

The Plowboys began substituting in the second quarter, and the JV players played the entire second half when the Plowboys continued to shut out the Lions while scoring one more touchdown on a 20-yard run by Diego Garza.

For the evening, the Plowboys amassed 240 yards rushing and 64 passing. Beal completed 4 of 5 passes for 64 yards and 2 TDs, all of them to Lavalais. Beal was also the leading rusher with 71 yards on 3 carries and 1 TD, followed by Francisco Garcia with 53 yards on 12 carries, and Vincent Pantoja with 34 yards on 4 carries and 1 TD. Erick Huidobro was successful on 6 of 7 extra-point kicks.

Top defensive players were Aguayo, Austin Willman, and Francisco Garcia, all with 3 tackles each. Javier LeaƱos and Roady Mann had 2 tackles each, and several others recorded one.

Friday evening the Plowboys will be playing for all the marbles when they face Menard in Menard. Both teams are undefeated in district play while all the other teams already have at least two losses, so the winner will be the district champ. The Yellow Jackets are 7-1 on the year, their only loss coming to Baird 15-13 in their second game of the season. The two teams’ only common foes so far are Miles, which Menard beat this past Friday 35-22, and Roby, which they beat the week before 39-8. They and Roscoe seem to be fairly evenly matched, so the game should be a good one.

Kickoff is at 7:30pm on Friday in Menard.  

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STEM CENTER HOLDS OPEN HOUSE


The new STEM Research Center had its formal opening Monday evening when a large number of its advisory board members, dignitaries, and others viewed the new building and learned of its programs.

Unfortunately, I was unable to attend the event because of a prior engagement, but yesterday the Abilene Reporter-News published a fine article of the event by Timothy Chipp entitled "Roscoe Collegiate Unveils STEM Agriculture Center."

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RCHS ROBOTICS TEAM WINS HONORS AT TSTC ROBOTICS COMPETITION

The RCHS Robotics team had an excellent weekend at the HUB BEST Robotics Competition at TSTC in Sweetwater on Friday and Saturday. Besides winning an award for Most Robust Design, the team also received the following medals:

1st - Overall
1st - Web Design
1st - Engineering Notebook
2nd - Spirit and Sportsmanship
2nd - Marketing Presentation

In addition, their coach, John Cox, was named Coach of the Year.

Next up is the regional robotics meet in Garland on November 13 and 14.

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COACH MARTIN’S PICKUP RECOVERED

Roscoe Police report that Johnny Martin’s stolen pickup was recovered in Abilene last weekend. The good news is that he’s got his pickup back; the bad news is that there was damage to it that will have to be fixed. Police have a suspect but won’t issue a warrant for his arrest until some witness statements are completed.

Police Chief Felix Pantoja also reported that Roscoe’s new police dog, Stalin, was certified in Amarillo last Thursday and is now a licensed law enforcement dog.

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DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME ENDS ON SUNDAY


This coming Sunday, November 1, is that special day we get only once a year—a 25-hour day. Personally, I wish we had more such days because of the advantage of that extra hour, which we can use however we want: an extra hour of sleep, spending time with the family, catching up on undone chores, indulging in our favorite hobby or pastime, or anything else our hearts desire. Imagine how nice it would be if all days lasted 25 hours. Life would definitely be more enjoyable, even if only by a little bit.

If we could just figure out how to nudge our trajectory around the sun into a slightly longer orbit, we might be able to do it. This would also solve the problems of global warming as it would also make the earth just a bit cooler than it now is. The North Pole icecap would refreeze, polar bears would once again regain their health and happy hunting, the sea would stop rising, glaciers would stop melting, rains would return to west Texas, Santa Claus wouldn’t have to worry about his elves’ workshop being flooded, along with several other related benefits.

As it is, however, we will have to be satisfied with things as they are now. In any case, just remember that when you go to bed Saturday night or when you wake up Sunday morning, you’ll need to move clocks and watches—the ones that don’t already do it automatically—back one hour. The official time of the change is at 2:00am. Enjoy that extra hour! You won’t get another one until this time rolls around again next year.

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PLOWBOY CROSS COUNTRY TEAM DISTRICT RUNNER-UP

The Plowboy Cross Country team came in second in the recent district meet and advanced to regional as a team. Medalists were as follows:

Plowboys                   Place       Time
Braiden Moore              2          19:59
Alfonzo Islas                  3          20:11
Spencer Little                9          21:49

Plowgirls
Alejandra Solis             4          13:54
Lyndi Wilkinson          8          14:07

Other Plowboys at Regionals running as a team:

Jetly Hobdy                  12        22:15
Juan Garcia                  13        22:23
Camden Boren             26        28:17

At the regionals, which were held on Monday in Lubbock, no Plowboys or Plowgirls qualified for the state meet in Austin.

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† SHERRY LYN HUNTER

Funeral Services will be held 1:00pm on Monday, November 2, at the First Baptist Church in Roscoe for Sherry Lyn Hunter, 81, who passed away in Stephenville on Wednesday, October 21.

Visitation will be held 5:00 to 6:30pm Sunday, November 1, at Stephenville Funeral Home.

Sherry was born May 7, 1934, in Lawton, Oklahoma, to Lee and Eula Hunter and was raised in a loving home with her brother, Howard and sister, Sandy. She graduated from Lawton High School and Camron University, where she obtained an associate’s degree, in Lawton, Ok. She met the love of her life, Archie Hunter, while he was stationed at Fort Still, OK. They were married on February 25, 1956, in Lawton.

Shortly after being married, Sherry and Archie moved to Texas and then settled in his hometown of Roscoe. She was an active member of the Roscoe First Baptist Church and the community. She greatly enjoyed sharing her ‘plain ole stories’ with everyone she met, especially her family. Countless people enjoyed the harvest from their garden and she gave endlessly to people in need, friends, neighbors, and was known as a “good cooker”. She was a fan of the Plowboys, and spent thousands of hours traveling with Archie to support students and their activities, even long after their own children had graduated. She worked for the Roscoe, Snyder, and Pacific Railroad, and the Nolan County Farm Bureau for most of her professional career.

Following Archie’s death in 2011, she moved to Stephenville to be closer to her family. She will be missed greatly in our hearts, but remembered with joy by those that had the fortune to meet her. She is survived by her daughter, Dr. Sandy Graham and husband Hal of Stephenville; sons, Art Hunter and wife Netia of Crawford, and Dan Hunter and wife Nancy of Austin; sister, Sandy Lair and husband John of Lakeview, AR; sisters-in-law, Alma Hunter, Geet Hunter, Audrey Hunter, Mae Hunter, and Sue Sanford; grandchildren, Ashley Van Winkle and husband Anthony of Krum, Alexis Lyn Hunter of Washington, DC, Addison Hunter and wife Vicki of Stephenville; great-grandchildren, Arlie Van Winkle, Liam Hunter; and numerous nieces, and nephews. She was preceded in death by her parents; brother, Howard; son-in-law, Johnny Johnson; and her husband, Archie.

In lieu of flowers, you may make donations to the First Baptist Church of Roscoe or to the Cowboy Church of Erath County.

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† LETHA ANN GRACEY BOSTON

Funeral services will be held at 10:00am tomorrow, October 29, at First Baptist Church in Roscoe for Letha Ann Gracey, 77, of Roscoe, who passed away at her home on Saturday, October 24. Burial will follow at Roscoe Cemetery.

Visitation will be from 6:00-8:00pm today at McCoy Funeral Home, 401 E. 3rd Street, Sweetwater.

A longtime member of the First Baptist Church, Letha was born in Roscoe to Mary B. and R E Gracey on July 1, 1938. She graduated from Roscoe High School in 1956 and from Texas Tech University in 1960 with her BBA. From Angelo State University she received her elementary education certificate. She married Jim Boston on February 4, 1961, in Fort Worth. In her 54 years of marriage, she held numerous jobs at Texas A & M University, J. J. Pearce High School in Richardson, Hermleigh High School, and served on the Roscoe ISD school board. After thirteen years of service to Hermleigh School, she retired in 1999. However, she did not retire from service to organizations, including Meals on Wheels, the Roscoe First Baptist Church, Nolan County Library Board, Nolan County Child Welfare Board and continued to be an active member of the Texas Tech chapter of Pi Beta Phi. Letha never met a stranger. She was a generous and caring lover of people of all ages. She enjoyed her yard, her garden (especially fresh tomatoes), her family, spoiling her three grandkids, exercising with her friends, playing bridge, and her club, “The Stitches.” Letha was fiercely loyal and would bravely stand up for what she thought was right and true.

Letha is survived by her loving husband and best friend, Jim Boston, along with her daughter, Kelly Richardson and husband Eddie, son Josh Boston and wife Delma, grandchildren James and Annie Martin and Jayton Boston, three step-grandchildren, and her special dog Leo. She is also survived by sisters Sid Weaver of Sugarland, Tiny Hinrichs of Houston, Rebecca Gracey of Albuquerque, NM, one brother-in-law, her special friend, Billie Jean Martin, and many special cousins, nieces, and nephews.

She was preceded in death by her parents, R E and Mary B. Gracey; sisters, Jane Horn and Gwen Terry, and brothers-in-law Peyton Weaver, Buster Horn, Jack Hinrichs, and Bob Killian.

Pallbearers will be Joe Brad McVey, Mike Ensminger, Johnny Martin, Bill Hunter, Lloyd Harris, Jesse Valdivia, Patrick Ivy, and Britt Pieper.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorials be made to Roscoe First Baptist Church Benevolence / Missions Fund.

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