One Dead, One Critically Wounded in Maryneal Shooting Incident

Lonnie Sturdivant

A shooting in Maryneal left one killed and the alleged shooter critically wounded in Sweetwater on Saturday afternoon around 4pm.

Lonnie Odell Sturdivant, 59, of Maryneal, was shot and killed at his home allegedly by Lance Light, 54, of Abilene, formerly of Maryneal. Light fled the scene in a white SUV and was soon located south of Sweetwater on Texas Highway 70 by a DPS trooper, who pursued him to the intersection of I-20 and 70 in Sweetwater, where he stopped. During his arrest there, he was shot in the head and critically wounded by a Sweetwater police officer, who reportedly fired three times. According to a DPS news release, he was shot “when he produced a gun and pointed it at officers.”

KTXS-TV of Abilene reported that he went to the Sturdivant home to shoot Sturdivant’s son but shot the father instead. The son is reportedly involved in divorce proceedings and a custody battle with his ex-wife, Light’s daughter. Light is an ACU ex and former teacher at Thomas Elementary in Abilene.

The Sweetwater officer who shot Light is now on paid administrative leave, and the DPS, Texas Rangers, Nolan County Sheriff’s Office, and Sweetwater Police Department are conducting an investigation.

--o--

 

FIRE ON MAIN STREET DESTROYS ZAMBRANO HOME

(fire photos by Valerie Pruitt)

According to Fire Chief Gary Armstrong, the Roscoe Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call at 6:56pm on Saturday of a house fire at 310 Main Street. They arrived on the scene with fire coming from the attic and did a search of the house to find that the owner, Elpidio Zambrano, was not at home. However, they did save his dog from the burning structure.

The Sweetwater Fire Department assisted with fighting the blaze. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

--o--

PLOWBOYS FALL IN EULA TOURNAMENT, WIN ONE AND LOSE ONE IN DISTRICT PLAY

The Plowboys ran into some rough sledding in the Eula Tournament last week, losing all three games they played, two to 3A schools, Jim Ned and Clyde, and one to 1A Huckabay, which doesn’t play football and whose players have been honing their basketball skills since school started.

The Plowboys did a little better in district play, winning their opener against Winters here in Roscoe on Friday 64-49, but then falling to Albany in Albany last night 57-33.

Here are the games in order with scores by quarters followed by individual Plowboy scoring:

Jim Ned 88 – Plowboys 36

Scores by Quarters
Jim Ned            24        43        68        88
Plowboys            7        11        19        36

Plowboy Scoring
Rafael Aguayo 11, Javier Leaños 10, Brayden Beal 6, Jose Ortega 4, Nick Limones 3, Johnathan Cuellar 2.

Huckabay 59 – Plowboys 40

Huckabay          13        27        43        59
Plowboys            7        19        23        40

Ortega 12, Aguayo 11, Isaiah Gonzales 6, Beal 4, Cuellar 4, Limones 3.

Clyde 77 – Plowboys 39

Clyde                23        42        51        77
Plowboys          15        25        31        39

Ortega 17, Aguayo 12, Gonzales 4, Beal 2, Clemente Aguayo 2, Limones 2.

Plowboys 64 - Winters 49
 
Plowboys          17        28        47        64
Winters               9        21        40        49

Ortega 25, R. Aguayo 19, Gonzales 10, Cuellar 4, Beal 2, Mason Hernandez 2, Limones 2.

Albany 57 – Plowboys 33

Albany                8        28        40        57
Plowboys          10        17        20        33

R. Aguayo 14, Ortega 12, Beal 3, Hernandez 2, Cuellar 2.

The Plowboys are now 1-1 in district play. Their next game is with Anson here in Roscoe on Friday. Tipoff is at 8:00pm.

--o--

PLOWGIRLS LOSE FIRST TWO DISTRICT GAMES

The Plowgirls are 0-2 in district after losing their first two games, one to Winters 36-32 here on Friday and the other to Albany 41-26 in Albany last night. They play Anson here on Friday. The game begins at 6:00pm.

 

Winters 36 – Plowgirls 32

Winters             5          21        28        36
Plowgirls          8          16        23        32

Veronica Cuellar 16, Bonnie Wilkinson 8, Lyndi Wilkinson 3, Bergan Trevino 3.

 

Albany 41 – Plowgirls 26
Albany             16        27        34        41
Plowgirls           5        15        21        26

Cuellar 12, B. Wilkinson 5, L. Wilkinson 5, Trevino 2, Lynzi Atlinson 2.

--o--

WEATHER REPORT: COLD

Sunrise yesterday morning.

The weather has been a mixed bag this past week, but with one common feature: it’s been colder than usual. Last Wednesday and Thursday the area was covered by a heavy fog with highs in the thirties, followed by overcast skies on Friday and a sunny Saturday followed by a beautiful sunny day on Sunday when the high of the week was 54°F with only a very slight breeze. It was cooler Monday and yesterday with highs of 48° and 46° respectively. Yesterday felt a lot colder, though, because it was windier with a wind chill in the thirties. Lows for the week ranged from 27° on Thursday to 34° Monday and yesterday.

It should be a lot warmer today with a high of around 55° with a 40% chance of light rain. Tomorrow and Friday will have partly cloudy skies and highs in the sixties but with strong, gusty southwest winds both days. The weekend will be cooler, and on Sunday evening and Monday morning there is a 50% chance of snow.

 

NOAA PREDICTS WET, COOL WEATHER AGAIN FOR NEXT THREE MONTHS

 

Precipitation outlook on left, temperature on right for January, February, and March 2016. (Click to enlarge.)

Since the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) forecast was pretty much on target for last year, I thought I'd consult it again for the first three months of this year. 

 

As you can see by the map on the left, their meteorologists say the outlook for January, February, and March in our area is for more rain than normal, indicated by the green strip that runs from central California to the Texas gulf coast. We're not projected to get as much as southern California to southwest Texas (dark green strip) but more than northern California to east Texas (light green strip).

 

That A in Arizona means above normal. The B in the northern part of the country means below normal, and the EC in the middle means equal chances for normal, above normal, or below normal.

 

The map on the right is the temperature outlook for the same three months, and the forecast for our area is for below average temperatures, unlike up north, where they'll be above average.

 

According to the NOAA, this weather pattern is being driven by El Niño, which continues to have the surface of the south Pacific Ocean much hotter than normal, the same as last year. They believe it will peak soon and then start cooling off, but just when and how much are anybody's guess. 

--o--