City Council Appoints New Member

City Attorney Zollie Steakley swears in new Councilman Edwin Duncan.

At its monthly meeting in City Hall yesterday evening, the City Council appointed a new member, heard the monthly update from City Manager Cody Thompson, and approved routine items.

Edwin Duncan was nominated and his appointment unanimously approved to fill the empty Council seat resulting from Councilman Ken Brawley’s resignation last month because of health issues. Duncan will serve until May, when a new Council Member is elected to serve a two-year term.

City Manager Cody Thompson began by informing the Council of the City’s B Board selection of country singer Robert Earl Keen as the feature performer at this year’s Spring Super Sunday. The festival will be in April this year and will be similar to the one held last year that featured Merle Haggard. City merchants will be open that afternoon, and Keen’s show will be in the Lumberyard.

The City is getting prices for the following projects:

     1. Roof repair for the Community Center and the Roscoe Historical Museum.
     2. Electrical plugs in Old Town Park for use in City events, and lights for the trees on the downtown sidewalks.
     3. Repair and/or upgrade for the fountain in Memorial Park.
     4. Wayfinding signage at the intersection of Broadway and Main Street. (This will point visitors to various local businesses).

The City is consulting financial advisors and bond attorneys about costs for a bond program to pave City streets. Thompson told the Council that by next month’s meeting he should have some firm figures concerning estimated project costs, funds, and fees, at which time the Council can discuss what they want to do about the proposal. An ordinance calling for a bond election would have to be approved by February 19 in order to be on the ballot in the May 7 election.

A Texas Water Development Board representative was in Roscoe on Friday and signed off on the City’s R-O Water Treatment project.

Construction on the two new homes in the Young Farm Estates subdivision will begin before the end of the month.

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NOLAN COUNTY STOCK SHOW RUNS THROUGH WEEKEND

Kids show their swine in the Nolan County Coliseum.

The annual Nolan County Junior Livestock Show begins today in the Nolan County Coliseum and runs through Saturday. Here’s the schedule:

Wednesday:
4pm                 Broilers, Rabbits, Sheep, & Goats Weigh-In

Thursday:
9am-12pm       Steers, Heifers, & Swine Weigh-In
4pm                 Goat Show, followed by Lamb Show (North side)
4pm                 Rabbit Show, followed by Broiler Show (South side)

Friday:
2pm                Steer Show
4pm                 Swine Show

Saturday:
9:30am             Sign-Up for Honorary Show
10am                 Honorary Show - Kids 2nd grade and younger
11am                  Luncheon – Lone Star Ag Credit & Skeet’s Texas Grill
1pm                   Awards, followed by Premium Sale

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PLOWBOYS, PLOWGIRLS LOSE DISTRICT GAMES TO ANSON, HAWLEY

Both the Plowboys and Plowgirls had a rough week in basketball, losing two district games each, first to Anson here on Friday, then to Hawley in Hawley yesterday evening.

Here are the scores by quarters followed by individual scoring.

Anson 49 – Plowboys 36

Anson                13        22        37        49
Plowboys          10        24        31        36

Javier Leaños 15, Rafael Aguayo 14, Isaiah Gonzales 4, Jose Ortega 3.

Hawley 83 – Plowboys 34

Hawley              20        49        68        83
Plowboys             7         15        27        34

Leaños 13, Aguayo 6, Ortega 4, Johnathon Cuellar 32, Kevin Lavalais 3, Beal 2, Gonzales 2.

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Anson 72 – Plowgirls 32

Anson                16        41        54        72
Plowgirls            5        13        21         32

Bonnie Wilkinson 13, Bergan Trevino 7, Veronica Cuellar 5, Karina Cisneros 5, Alejandra Solis 2.


Hawley 62 - Plowgirls 35

Hawley             20         32        53        62
Plowgirls            4          11        18         35

B. Wilkinson 11, Trevino 7, Atkinson 5, Cuellar 4, Cisneros 3, Pena 2.

The next game for both teams is on Friday when they face Hamlin here, followed by games in Haskell in Haskell next Tuesday.

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MARYNEAL SHOOTER, LANCE LIGHT, DIES IN ABILENE

Sweetwater Police received confirmation from the Texas Rangers on Saturday that Lance Light, 54, died earlier that day at Hendrick Medical Center in Abilene. He had been there since being shot in the head by a Sweetwater Police Officer the previous Saturday, January 2.

Light, an Abilene resident formerly of Maryneal, allegedly shot and killed Lonnie Sturdivant, 59, in Maryneal. He fled the scene and was pursued by a DPS trooper while driving to Sweetwater. He stopped at the intersection of Texas Highway 70 and I-20 and was then shot when he allegedly pointed his pistol at law enforcement officers. He was then medevac’d to Hendrick Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition until this past Saturday, when he died.

The Texas Rangers, Sweetwater Police, and Nolan County Sheriff’s Office are conducting an ongoing investigation, and the Sweetwater Policeman who shot him is on leave until the investigation is complete.

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JASON EADY INSIDE AT LUMBERYARD SATURDAY

Jason Eady

Texas Country music singer Jason Eady will be playing acoustic guitar inside at the Lumberyard Saturday night. His two most recent albums, AM Country Heaven (2012) and Daylight and Dark (2014) made numbers 9 and 12 respectively on the US Heatseekers chart, and numbers 40 and 45 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

Other Jason Eady albums are From Underneath the Old (2005), Wild-Eyed Serenade (2007), and When the Money’s All Gone (2012). Singles include “Whiskey & You,” “Daylight & Dark,” “Cry Pretty,” “God Fearing Blues,” “OK Whiskey,” “The Other Side of Abilene,” and others.

Eady will appear with “special guest” singer-songwriter Courtney Patton, who also just happens to be his wife. The performance begins at about 9:30pm. The cover charge is $10. For reservations or more information, call the Lumberyard at 325-766-2457.

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WEATHER REPORT: STILL COLD

The storm cloud approaches from the northwest Saturday evening.

Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of last week were windy and warmer than the preceding days with highs of 52°F, 63°, and 57° respectively. Lows on all three nights were around 40°. However, chilly weather returned on Saturday and has pretty much stayed that way since. Saturday’s high was only 40° with a low of 28°, Sunday’s high was 41° with a low of 24°, and Monday’s high was 50° with a low of 31°.

The storm that blew in from the northwest on Saturday evening was supposed to bring snow, but all we got was about .05” of light rain. That doesn’t sound like much, but with the ground still wet from previous rains, it was enough to create puddles.

Yesterday was much nicer. The sun came out, breezes were light, and the temperature rose to 58°. Today and tomorrow should continue the trend with highs in the lower sixties and lows around 40°. Friday will be a bit cooler with a projected high in the mid-fifties and a low in the upper thirties, and the weekend will once again be cool. Saturday’s high should be only 48° with a low of around 33°, while Sunday and Monday will have highs in the low fifties and lows in the low to mid thirties.

There is no precipitation in the forecast.

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† HAZEL LEOLA NEVES

Services for Hazel Leola Neves, 89, were held on Monday, January 11, at First Baptist Church in Roscoe with Reverend David Draper officiating. Interment followed at Roscoe Cemetery. She passed away on Thursday,  January 7, at Snyder Healthcare Nursing Home. She was a resident of Snyder, formerly of Roscoe.

Ms. Neves was born on October 8, 1926, in Clarksville, Texas. She married Kenneth C. (Bill) Neves, on August 21, 1941 in DeKalb, Texas. She was a member of the First Baptist Church in Roscoe, the Sweetwater V.F.W., and the Roscoe American Legion Ladies Auxiliaries for fifty plus years. She had lived in Roscoe since 1957 and in Snyder the past five years. Hazel did volunteer work at Roscoe Nursing Home and was a seamstress for Walls Industrial, as well as a homemaker.

Survivors include her daughter, Teresa Thomas of The Woodlands; sons, Ernest (Ernie) Neves of Burkett, and Norman Neves of Snyder; brother, Maxie Lincecum of Myrtle Creek, Oregon; 9 Grandchildren and numerous great-grandchildren and great great-grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Kenneth C. “BIll” Neves, on July 15, 1987, a son, Kenneth Jay Neves, in 1969, and her parents, Ora and Eula Lincecum.

Pallbearers were Lance Neves, Laura Neves, Russell Cordell, grandsons and great-grandsons.

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† LONNIE O’DELL STURDIVANT

A memorial service was held at 11am on Saturday, January 9, at the First Baptist Church in Maryneal for Lonnie O’dell Sturdivant, 59, who died Saturday, January 2, at Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital in Sweetwater. Graveside memorial services will be held at 11am this Saturday, January 16, at Cavness Cemetery in Mason. McCoy Funeral Home in Sweetwater is in charge of arrangements.

Lonnie was born January 21, 1956, in Hobbs, New Mexico. He married Connie Brooks October 19, 2014, in Maryneal He was raised Pentecostal and was a graduate of Mason High School in 1974. Lonnie moved to Maryneal 9 years ago from Mason. He was a truck driver and crane operator, working for Crane Services in Sweetwater. He also owned Heidi Trucking Company. He was a union member, enjoyed playing his fiddle, and was a Christian. He was a sweet soft-spoken man and considered his word as a contract.

He is survived by his wife, Connie Brooks Sturdivant, of Maryneal, sons Seth Blackwell Sturdivant of Maryneal, Michael Brandon Moore of Lometa, Eric Wade Moore of Richland Springs, sister Shirley Wilkins of New Braunfels, granddaughter Heidi Abigail Sturdivant of Abilene, and eight step grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his son, Johnny Sturdivant, three years ago, and his parents Leonard and Iva Mae (Keith) Sturdivant.

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