City Council Hears Reports, Accepts Member Resignation

Police Chief Felix Pantoja reports to the City Council at last night's meeting.

Last night’s monthly City Council meeting began with a discussion of random drug testing for City workers followed by reports by the City Manager and Chief of Police and the resignation of Councilman Ken Brawley.

The meeting began with a discussion of the possibility of instituting random drug testing of City workers for reasons of liability, but since the issue was not an agenda item on this month’s announcement, the Council tabled any action until next month when it will be.

City Manager Cody Thompson reported on the progress of the dry boring under the Union Pacific railroad tracks downtown for new water lines for the City’s north side. Nelson Lewis, Inc., of Marble Falls is boring two new pipelines, one just west of the Cypress Street crossing and the other just east. The lines will contain 12” casing for 8” lines and will be completed before Christmas.

Thompson also reported that City workers currently have their hands full with clearing the City of broken tree limbs that fell during the recent ice storm.

He referred the Council to a very complimentary article about Roscoe’s resurgence that appeared in the Austin American-Statesman this past weekend. It was posted online on Saturday and published in the American-Statesman’s Sunday print edition. You can access the article by clicking here.

Young Farm Estates has home builders lined up to build two houses on Phase 1 lots, one on James Wells Drive and the other on Tom Dobbins Drive. Work should begin in the next two weeks.

Police Chief Felix Pantoja gave the police report for the month of November, including the initial usage report on the Department’s new K-9 Unit.

The meeting concluded with Councilman Ken Brawley’s announcement that he must resign his position because of health issues. A replacement should be appointed to complete his term before next month’s meeting.

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PLOWBOYS DOMINATE FOOTBALL ALL-DISTRICT HONORS

Brayden Beal is district's Offensive MVP, Vincent Pantoja is Defensive MVP.

Jose Ortega is Offensive Newcomer of the Year, Javier Leaños is All-District at three positions: offensive wide receiver, defensive cornerback, and punter.

As District 6-2A-II Champions who advanced to the Regional Finals, the Plowboy football team got the lion’s share of the All-District honors announced this past week. Brayden Beal was named Offensive MVP, Vincent Pantoja was Defensive MVP, and freshman Jose Ortega shared Offensive Newcomer of the Year with a sophomore from Miles. In addition, six other Plowboys were named to the First-Team Offense and seven to the First-Team Defense, as well as both kickers.

The First-Team Offense includes running back Vincent Pantoja; receivers Kevin Lavalais and Javier Leaños; and linemen Ray Bohall, Isaias Aguilar, and Paul Pantoja. On the First-Team Defense are lineman Anthony Ortegon, defensive end Paul Pantoja, inside linebacker Rafael Aguayo, outside linebacker Max Nemir, cornerbacks Kevin Lavalais and Javier Leaños, and safety Isaiah Gonzales. In addition, the first-team kicker is Erick Huidobro, and first-team punter is Javier Leaños.

On the Second-Team Offense are receiver Rafael Aguayo and linemen A. J. Renteria and Roadey Mann. The Second-Team Defense includes lineman Luis Villa, end Bernardo Villa, outside linebacker Francisco Garcia, and safety Jose Ortega.

Honorable Mention goes to wide receivers Isaiah Gonzales and Max Nemir and linebacker Austin Willman.

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UPCOMING RCISD SCHOOL EVENTS

The Roscoe FFA Stock Show will be at the RCISD Ag Barn on Saturday morning 10:00 to finish, about 12:00.

RCHS STEM Research Center Open House, also on Saturday, from 12:00-2:00pm.

Christmas Band Concert will be on Sunday at 2:00pm in the Cafetorium.

The Blackland Divide Invitational varsity boys’ basketball tournament will run from Thursday through Saturday at the RCHS Special Events Center. Opening games on Thursday will pit Ira vs. Anson at 2:00, TLCA vs. Highland at 3:30, Bronte vs. Rotan at 5:00, and Roscoe vs. Guthrie at 6:30.

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PLOWBOYS BEGIN BASKETBALL SEASON, LOSE ONE, WIN THREE

Rafael Aguayo (23) shoots for three in last night's game with Leuders-Avoca.

Less than a week after completing their football season, the Plowboys shifted gears and turned to basketball at Highland’s Hilltop Classic Tournament last Thursday. As might be expected, they lost their first game to Irion County 65-48 as they knocked the rust off their basketball skills, but then they finished strong by winning the consolation bracket with victories over Ira 61-41 and Sterling City 67-51.

Then last night they played their first home game in the RCHS Special Events Center with another victory, this time over Leuders-Avoca 69-43. So, their season record is now 3-1.

Although as a team they are short with no starters as tall as six feet, they are aggressive, quick, relentless, and fun to watch. They are led by Javier Leaños, the chief playmaker, who also leads the Plowboys in scoring.

Here are the scores by quarters and individual scoring for each game:

Irion County 65 – Roscoe 48

Plowboys           20        22        41        48
Irion County     28        34        47        65

Plowboy scoring:
Rafael Aguayo 15, Javier Leaños 12, Jose Ortega 10, Brayden Beal 7, Juan Garcia 4.

Roscoe 61 – Ira 41

Plowboys          12        28        46        61
Ira                        8        23        34        41

Leaños 29, Aguayo 11, Ortega 6, Garcia 6, Isaiah Gonzales 6, Pablo Huidobro 2, Erick Huidobro 1.

Roscoe 67 – Sterling City 51

Plowboys          18        35        46        67
Sterling City     21        28        45        51

Leaños 33, Garcia 14, Aguayo 9, Beal 6, Ortega 5.

Roscoe 69 – Leuders-Avoca 43

Plowboys            18        42        53        69
Leuders-Avoca    9        21        34        43

Leaños 32, Aguayo 21, Beal 4, Ortega 4, Gonzales 4, E. Huidobro 2, Garcia 2.

Next up for the Plowboys is Guthrie at 6:30pm on Thursday at home as the Plowboys host their annual Blackland Divide Invitational Tournament. Subsequent games will be on Friday and Saturday with start times and opponents depending on if they win or lose.

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PLOWGIRLS LOSE ONE, WIN ONE

The Plowgirls lost one and won one this past week. They lost in the Highland Hilltop Classic Tournament to the Sweetwater JV 58-26, but then beat Leuders-Avoca at home last night 43-40.

Sweetwater JV 58 – Roscoe 26

Plowgirls              3        11        17        26
Sweetwater JV  19        34        41        58

Magali Casas 7, Veronica Cuellar 6, Haley Bridges 6, Bonnie Wilkinson 4, Lyndi Wilkinson 3, Bergan Trevino 1.

Roscoe 43 – Leuders-Avoca 40

Plowgirls             14        23        34        43
Leuders-Avoca    8        20        27        40

Cuellar 16, L. Wilkinson 14, Trevino 5, B. Wilkinson 4. Casas 2, Alejandra Solis 2.

The Plowgirls have this weekend off and will next play Haskell in Haskell next Tuesday. Tipoff is at 6:15 following the Plowgirls JV game starting at 5:00pm.

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CHRISTMAS PARADE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19

Everyone is invited to join in this year’s Christmas Parade on December 19 in downtown Roscoe. No advance notification is necessary—just show up!

Line-up for participants is at 1:30pm at the 400 block of Broadway in east Roscoe. The Christmas Parade starts at 2:00pm. It will proceed west down Broadway and finish in front of City Hall.

Santa Claus will be in the parade! Children will get a chance to talk to him immediately after the parade in Old Town Park, across from City Hall.

Come help us celebrate. It should be fun! For questions or more information, contact Roscoe Police Chief Felix Pantoja at 325-514-8384.

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WEATHER REPORT: SUNNY AND MILD

The grass in my yard is still green.

It’s been a beautiful week with mostly sunny skies and slightly above-average temperatures for this time of year. It was a bit breezy around midday on Saturday and yesterday, but in general the weather has been nothing to complain about.

The City is still recovering from the recent ice storm with broken tree limbs everywhere and tree service trucks at work in various locations. Some trees have lost their leaves and others’ leaves are changing color, while still others are still loaded with green leaves, apparently unaware that it’s December and time to change. The same goes for the grass. Some lawns are turning yellow, some are still green, and some are mixed.

Temperatures continued to be mild with highs in the low to mid sixties until yesterday when the high was 70°F. Lows ranged from Friday morning’s 36° to yesterday’s 45°.

Forecasters are predicting even warmer temperatures for the next few days. Highs should rise from today’s 70° and Thursday’s 74° to Friday’s 77° and lows will be in the mid to upper forties except for Friday’s 55°. The weekend will be slightly cooler with a high of 67° on Saturday and 54° on Sunday. Skies will be mostly or completely clear and winds light to middling, although there is a 20% chance of a thundershower on Saturday.

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