West Texas Wind Festival in Downtown Roscoe Saturday

Bobby Bare is the featured singer at the free concert and street dance.

Plans are being finalized for the ninth annual West Texas Wind Festival, and organizers are expecting a large crowd, especially for the free concert and the fireworks show. As usual, the downtown streets will be lined with vendors all afternoon and evening, and the Roscoe Historical Museum will be open. The Roscoe Express Shuttle will also be on hand to take people to and from selected parking areas and downtown all afternoon at no charge.

Cooks will be barbecuing around the Fire House and Community Center most of the day, and the Highland Juniors will host Cock-a-Doodle Poo Bingo in the morning and a Wild Hog Sacking in the afternoon and evening in the Young Farm Estates lot across the street from the Lumberyard.

Music for the free concert and street dance in Cypress Street will begin at about four with the West Texas Heat Band followed by the Back Porch Band at around six.

Then at around eight, country music legend Bobby Bare will take the stage. Bare, whose songs “Detroit City,” “Four Strong Winds,” “Marie Laveau,” “500 Miles Away from Home,” and many others have earned him several Grammy awards and nominations over the years, and in 2013 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.

The fireworks show will follow Bobby Bare’s performance at about 9:40 and conclude this year’s Wind Festival, although those who aren’t ready to go home yet can move over to the Lumberyard, where the music will go on until midnight with Zack Harmon and Band from Abilene.  There will be no cover charge.

Here are details for the events of the day:

5K “Run With the Wind” 5K Run and 1 mile Fun Run

Roscoe Elementary School will host a 5K Run and 1 mile Fun Run to raise money for the ABC Fund.

Start times are 10:00am for the Fun Run and 10:30am for the 5K Run. Both will begin at the Roscoe ISD Special Events Center on 7th Street.

Registration fee for the 5K run is $25 for all participants and $15 for the Fun Run (children younger than first grade are free).

Participants may register in person at the Roscoe Elementary School office, online at http://bit.ly/runwiththewind, or at the event between 9:00 and 9:45am. They may also mail their registration forms along with a check to P.O. Box 129, Roscoe, TX 79545.

All participants who register today, October 14, will receive a T-Shirt. Prizes will be awarded to the first place male and female finishers. Medals will be given to the top three overall finishers. Showers will be available after the race.

For more information, contact the Roscoe Elementary School office at 325-766-3323.

BBQing in the Wind Cookoff

First Place Steak Prize:  
$1500 from Fuller Foods, Colorado City

Categories:
16 oz. Rib Eye Steak
Pork Spare Ribs
Pulled Pork

Schedule:
6:30-8:30pm (Friday)/8:00am (Saturday) – Meat inspection begins
10:00am – Cooks’ meeting
3:00pm – Pulled Pork turn in
4:00pm – Pork Spare Ribs turn in
5:00pm – Rib Eye Steak turn in

Contestants must enter all three events to enter the Steak category. Cost for all three is $150. Cooking fuel may be wood, gas, or charcoal.  Dry camper spaces only. No hookups. No electricity per cook site. One camper, one vehicle, up to 12' x 12' cover, and up to two pits in cooking area are allowed.

The Fire Department will supply a public electricity and water station.

All proceeds go to the Roscoe Volunteer Fire Department.  For more information, contact Gary Armstrong at 325-235-4110.

Cock-a-Doodle Poo Bingo and Wild Hog Sacking

 The Highland High School Class of 2017 will host two interesting contests as fund raisers, both with $500 cash prizes (assuming all tickets are sold. If less, then a lesser prize will be awarded) and both at the side lot of the Young Farm Estates office across the street from the Lumberyard:

1. Cock-a-Doodle-Poo “Bingo”
Chicken will be released at 10:30am.

Bingo squares are $25 each, and squares may be purchased up until the event begins.

2. Wild Hog Sacking

4:00pm – Midnight

$20 entry fee per adult team (2 person team required, i.e., $10 per person); $10 child team (ages 6-9) 2 person team required, i.e., $5 per person). An admission fee to watch will be charged on the day of the event.

All proceeds benefit the Highland Class of 2017. Tickets may be purchased from any Highland High Junior. For more information, contact Dawn Huckabee at 325-235-7597 or Jandi Boil at 325-236-0055.

Downtown Schedule:

4:00pm/5:30pm - West Texas Heat Band
6:00pm/7:30pm - Back Porch Band
7:40pm – Announcements of Cookoff Winners, give aways
8:00pm – Bobby Bare and Band
9:40pm – Fireworks Show
10:00 – Event Ends

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PLOWBOYS MAUL MILES 48-7, WINTERS NEXT

In what was expected to be a hard-fought game, the Plowboys used a devastating passing attack Friday night in Miles to blow out the Bulldogs 48-7. Brayden Beal and his receivers amassed 321 passing yards and three touchdowns in the contest, while Vincent Pantoja had three rushing TDs and Francisco Garcia one in racking up their first district win of the year.

The Plowboys began the scoring in the first quarter when Vincent Pantoja scored on a 3-yard run and Erick Huidobro kicked the extra-point to go up 7-0. Miles responded with a drive and a 34-yard touchdown pass to tie the score at 7-7, which was also the score at the end of the quarter. That touchdown, however, turned out to be the Bulldogs’ last one for the rest of the game.

In the second quarter, the Plowboys went up 14-7 when Beal hit Kevin Lavalais on a 62-yard pass play and scored again later in the quarter on another Pantoja run, this one from five yards out. The extra-point kick was no good, but the Plowboys went into halftime ahead 20-7.

In the third quarter, Roscoe scored two more touchdowns, the first on another pass from Beal to Lavalais, this one covering 28 yards. Then later in the quarter, Pantoja ran the ball in from the one, and the Plowboys increased their lead to 34-7.

In the fourth quarter, the Plowboys scored two more. Beal hit Jose Ortega on a 37-yard play for one, and Francisco Garcia made the other on a 10-yard run.

For the evening, Beal completed 16 of 26 passes for 3 TDs with no interceptions. Top receivers were Lavalais with 6 catches for 175 yards and 2 TDs, Rafael Aguayo with 5 catches for 87 yards, and Ortega with 4 catches for 50 yards and 1 TD. Top rushers were Pantoja with 17 carries for 67 yards and 3 TDs, Garcia with 9 carries for 46 yards and 1 TD, Beal with 7 for 23 yards, and Ortega with 4 for 23 yards.

The Plowboy defense also excelled. Aguayo led with 5 tackles and a sack, followed by Anthony Ortegon with 4 and a sack and Max Nemir also with 4. Lavalais and Juan Garcia each had an interception.  

Coach Freeman’s Plowboys have another big test Friday evening when they take on the Winters Blizzards, the District 6-2A-II pre-season favorites, here in Roscoe. Winters is coming off a 34-0 victory over Roby after losing all their non-district games. The only common non-district opponents of the two teams were Hamlin, who beat Winters 39-8 and the Plowboys 40-20; and Eldorado, who beat Winters 25-18 and lost to the Plowboys 33-27. The Blizzards’ other losses were to Christoval, Ballinger, and TLCA (San Angelo). It should be a good game and could be the one that decides the district championship.

Kickoff at Plowboy Field is at 7:30pm.

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ROSCOE POLICE DEPARTMENT ADDS K-9 UNIT

On October 1, the Sweetwater and Roscoe Police Departments announced an agreement that will greatly benefit the citizens of both cities, as well as those of the 32nd judicial district. The Roscoe Police Department will now be responsible for K-9 "Stalin." Sgt. Steven Spencer will be the handler of the two-year-old Belgian Malinois.

"I was contacted in September by officials from SWPD, and asked if I would be interested in taking over the responsibilities of Stalin," Spencer stated. "Having a K-9 is a lot of responsibility. It is also a lot of work, I honestly had to do some thinking on it," added Spencer. Sgt. Spencer, who came to Roscoe two years ago, has been a K-9 handler before. "I also knew that a majority of the funds to purchase Stalin came from the citizens of Sweetwater, and I didn't want to take away from that. So, after all the wrinkles were ironed out, I took possession of Stalin on October 1."

Sgt. Spencer and Stalin will now be on 24-hour standby to assist and aid Sweetwater when called upon. They will also be utilized throughout the 32nd Judicial District. "Sgt. Olds, who is SWPD'S handler of K-9 "Dana," has been a tremendous help in the transition process. We will coordinate our schedules as to have a K-9 Unit readily available  as much as possible. If Sgt. Olds is off and a SWPD Officer is needing a K-9, they will call me, and we will come running.  It's something I'm used to from being a handler before and just comes with the territory of having a K-9 partner.  We will also be training and certifying together." Spencer went on to add.

Police K-9 units require constant training. Both department units will be training together, along with the Abilene Police Department K-9 units.

The Roscoe Police Department will be utilizing funds from their Drug Seizure funds to outfit Sgt. Spencer's patrol unit. It will now have a K-9 transport section, heat detection system, emergency cooling and "bail out" system. Chief Felix Pantoja stated, "We seized the proceeds from the crooks’ illegal drug activity, so it's  just seems fair to let them pay for Stalin to ride as comfortably and safely as possible."

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CITY COUNCIL HEARS REPORTS, APPROVES RAISE IN CEMETERY MAINTENANCE FEES

Police Chief Felix Pantoja gives Police Report to Council.

At its regularly monthly meeting at City Hall last night, City Manager Cody Thompson reported on preparations for this weekend’s West Texas Wind Festival in downtown Roscoe and upcoming work on the old City Sewer, and Police Chief Felix Pantoja gave the Police Department’s monthly report and informed the Council of the Department’s addition of a K-9 unit to be used by the Roscoe and Sweetwater Police Departments.

The Council also approved the City investment report for the fourth quarter and discussed the raising of cemetery maintenance fees. Thompson reported that the annual $15 fee, which hasn’t changed in many years does not cover the City’s expenditures for cemetery maintenance. After some discussion, the Council approved raising the annual fee from $15 to $20 per plot.

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WEATHER REPORT: A LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING

The weather was decidedly varied this week with temperatures both cool and hot, winds ranging from calm to gusty, and skies from completely clear to overcast. We even got a little rain on Thursday and Friday. My battery-operated rain gauge recorded .38” on Thursday and .24” on Friday for a total of .62”, and most people I talked to got something between a half and three quarters of an inch for both days.

High temperatures varied from a high of 77°F on Friday to 92° on Sunday. Nights were generally cooler than the previous week with lows in the upper fifties to low sixties.

Today and tomorrow will see hot afternoons again with highs of around 91°, but a front will move through on Friday resulting in a high of only about 80° for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. So, the weather for the Wind Festival should be nice.

There is no rain in the forecast for the coming week, but a front should arrive next Wednesday, and the long range forecasters are currently predicting a 90% chance of rain when it does.

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† SHIRLEY DEAN McFAUL

Funeral services were held yesterday, October 13, at 4:00pm at McCoy Chapel of Memories for Shirley Dean McFaul, 71, who passed away on Friday, October 9, at Rolling Plains Hospital in Sweetwater. Interment followed in Sweetwater Cemetery. She was born on August 20, 1944, in Navarro County, Texas.

Survivors include her sons, Raymond Roy McFaul and wife, Shelley, of Abilene, and Ricky Lynn McFaul and wife, DeeAnn, of Sweetwater; daughters, Brenda Kay Rogers and husband, Mike, of Slaton, and Billie Jo Berry of Sweetwater; sisters, Mavies Shute of Sweetwater and Louise Shubert; brother, Tollie Parker, Jr., of Weatherford; eighteen grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Raymond McFaul, her parents, Tollie and Ivereen Parker, and her brother, Mauria Parker.

Pallbearers were Christopher Rogers, Cody Rogers, Bryan Berry, Justin Scott, Dallas McFaul and Michael Seabring.

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