With little advance notice, two businesses quietly opened along I-20 this past week, both in buildings that had been closed and dormant for some time. We wish them both success as they will provide local citizens with more choice in dining and, in the case of one, in the purchase of diesel and gasoline.
TEX-MEX RESTAURANT OPENS ON I-20 AND FM 608 IN FORMER RETTA MAE’S BUILDING
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| The Tex-Mex Restaurant. |
In the past couple of days, if you’ve driven out past Stripes and made the left turn just beyond I-20 on your way to Sweetwater, you may have noticed all the cars at what used to be Retta Mae’s and wondered what in the world was going on over there. Wonder no more. There’s a new restaurant there. It’s called the Tex-Mex Restaurant, and it opened Monday. The owner and manager is Marco Alba from Pecos.
Tex-Mex serves both Mexican and American food. The breakfast menu includes breakfast burritos as well as sausages or bacon, eggs and hash browns. Dinner items include Mexican plates with the usual choices: enchiladas, chile verde, flautas, fajitas, quesadillas, taco plates, and dinner burritos, while American items include among others steak dinners, chicken fried steak, burgers, and fish plates. Salads and appetizers such as nachos are also available. Prices are reasonable. Mexican dinners are in the $9-$12 range, and the steak dinners run from $14-$19 depending on the cut and size of steak. Items may be eaten in the restaurant or ordered “to go.”
The hours of operation are from 6am to 8pm Tuesdays through Sundays. The new owners are still settling in and don’t yet have their credit and debit card connections set up, so you’ll need to take cash or checks with you if you want to eat there, at least for the time being. This will change soon, though.
If you need more information or have questions, contact Tex-Mex during business hours at 432-203-0318.
235 TRAVEL STOP OPENS ON I-20 EAST SERVICE ROAD IN WEST ROSCOE
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| The 235 Travel Stop. |
Since Friday, the newly renovated 235 Travel Stop (so called because it is just off Exit 235) has been open for business. Formerly the old Truck ‘n’ Travel Truck Stop, it is located on the south side of I-20 just across from the STEM Center. Its owner and manager is Zul Menin, originally from Bombay, India, and more recently from Sugar Land, Texas.
The business is open 24 hours a day, and its restaurant is open from 6am to 10pm. There is a daily buffet, with a choice of meats and vegetables for $8.99, as well as a menu with the kinds of foods usually available at roadside restaurants—burgers, sandwiches, chicken fried steaks, steak and chicken fingers, hamburger steaks, salads, etc. Prices are reasonable. The buffet is $8.99, entrees are $7.95, and full breakfasts range from $5 to $8.
In addition, the business has a convenience store with snacks and travel items. Beer for consumption off premises is also available.
For more information, contact the 235 Travel Stop at 325-284-3071.
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HAMLIN SHUTS DOWN PLOWBOYS 21-0, WINS DISTRICT TITLE; PLOWBOYS FACE SUDAN IN BI-DISTRICT PLAYOFF TOMORROW
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| Francisco Garcia is tackled at the Hamlin 2-yard line in first quarter action. This is as close as the Plowboys would get to scoring against the Pied Pipers. |
The Plowboys vaunted offense, which was scoring an average 39 points per game and had the team on a five-game winning streak, met its match Friday night as Hamlin kept it out of the end zone all evening and came away with the 4-2A-II district championship with a 21-0 victory. With a 4-1 district record, the Plowboys end the regular season as the district runner-up but can redeem themselves tomorrow night when they face Sudan in a bi-district playoff game in Post.
The Plowboys definitely did not have their best game of the season against Hamlin. Two disastrous Plowboy fumbles early in the first quarter set the tone for the game and put the Pipers up 14-0 almost before everyone in the crowd had taken their seats in the stands. The game began with both sides jittery and unable to move the ball, but on the Plowboys’ second drive, a Beal fumble set Hamlin up on the Roscoe 19, and it took the Pipers only two plays to score on a 6-yard run and go up 7-0. On the ensuing drive after the kickoff, a second Beal fumble once again gave Hamlin the ball, this time at midfield. A couple of plays later, they completed a 41-yard pass play for their second TD of the evening, and the extra point made the score 14-0.
Then for the rest of the first half and all the way up to the end of the third quarter, neither side could score as the Plowboy defense tightened and held Hamlin out of the end zone for the rest of the game. The Hamlin touchdown at the end of the third quarter came when Clemente Aguayo caught a pass and was struggling for extra yardage. A Hamlin player wrested the ball away from him and then raced 43 yards down the sideline for the final score of the evening. The play gave Hamlin a 21-0 lead and effectively put the game out of reach for the Plowboys.
It’s not that the Plowboys didn’t have their chances to score too, though. A look at the game stats shows that they finished with more first downs (18 to 17) and more total yardage (265 to 264). The Pied Pipers also had three turnovers—two fumbles and one interception. The difference was that every time the Plowboys threatened, the Hamlin defense tightened up and shut the Plowboys down.
On a different night with the breaks going the other way, the Plowboys might have come away with the victory. But on Friday, the Pied Pipers were the clear winners. They had the big plays, and their offensive and defensive lines outplayed the Plowboys when they had to.
Here is the scoring by quarters:
Hamlin 14 0 7 0 – 21
Roscoe 0 0 0 0 – 0
On offense, Francisco Garcia had only 62 yards in 29 carries, Brayden Beal only 30 in 12 carries, and Jose Ortega 32 in 2 carries. Beal completed only 17 of 40 passes, and Ortega was 0 for 1.
On defense, Ortega and Austin Willman both had 5 tackles and 2 assists, Cade Garrett 4 tackles and 1 assist, and Jose Garcia 4 tackles.
The Plowboys' bi-district playoff game is with the Sudan Hornets in Post tomorrow evening. Sudan is from District 3-2A-II. They have a 6-4 record overall (the Abilene Reporter-News lists it as being 2-8, but that is wrong) and were 3-2 in district play. Roscoe is designated as the visiting team.
Kickoff is at 7:30pm.
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PLOWBOY HEAD COACH JAKE FREEMAN IS INTERVIEWED IN ABILENE REPORTER-NEWS
Abilene Reporter-News sports reporter Evan Ren interviewed Plowboy head coach Jake Freeman in a nice article that was posted on November 6 and appeared in the Reporter-News print edition on Monday, November 7. You can access it here.
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WINK TO PLAY CROSS PLAINS AT PLOWBOY FIELD FRIDAY EVENING
If you live somewhere around Plowboy Field, don’t be concerned Friday evening if you see the lights on and hear bands playing or announcers speaking into the PA system. You aren’t missing a Plowboy game. Their game against Sudan is on Thursday at Post.
What you’ll be hearing is the game between Wink and Cross Plains, who have selected Roscoe as a suitable midpoint and venue for their playoff contest.
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CHRISTMAS OPEN HOUSE THIS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13
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| Shoppers check out the wares at a previous Chrstmas Open House. |
Christmas Open
House, the popular Sunday afternoon shopping event that launches local
merchants and shoppers into the holiday season, is back. Between 1:00
and 6:00pm, it will include most of Roscoe’s downtown businesses:
Vickie’s Gifts, Wildflower Boutique, Roscoe Thrift Store, the Rockin’ S
Cantina, McVey’s Nursery, Main Street Antiques, Peppy’s, and the
Lumberyard. Vendors will also be selling items in the Community Center.
The event features shopping, refreshments, and a drawing for a grand prize worth over $500 made up of items from each of the businesses. Shoppers will receive cards at any participating business and complete them by getting them stamped there and at all the others. They will then submit them at the Lumberyard on 7 Cypress Street for the drawing to be held there at 6:00pm.
The Rockin’ S Cantina, a liquor store and gift shop, will set up its gift selections temporarily at 801 Broadway (the old Smacker’s Café on the corner of Broadway and Main) because liquor stores can’t be open on Sunday.
The Roscoe Express shuttle will operate all afternoon carrying visitors from one business to the next at no charge.
The event features shopping, refreshments, and a drawing for a grand prize worth over $500 made up of items from each of the businesses. Shoppers will receive cards at any participating business and complete them by getting them stamped there and at all the others. They will then submit them at the Lumberyard on 7 Cypress Street for the drawing to be held there at 6:00pm.
The Rockin’ S Cantina, a liquor store and gift shop, will set up its gift selections temporarily at 801 Broadway (the old Smacker’s Café on the corner of Broadway and Main) because liquor stores can’t be open on Sunday.
The Roscoe Express shuttle will operate all afternoon carrying visitors from one business to the next at no charge.
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CITY COUNCIL HOLDS PUBLIC HEARING, APPROVES BID FOR SEWER LINE REPLACEMENT PROJECT, CONDUCTS OTHER BUSINESS
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| City Manager Cody Thompson updates the City Council on City projects. |
At its monthly meeting in City Hall last night, the Roscoe City Council held a public hearing, approved a bid for sewer line replacement, heard updates on City works, approved submitting an application for a Texas Community Development Block Grant and fulfilling requirements pertaining to that submission. It also set dates for two of the three City Festivals in 2017.
The public hearing was held to assess community needs before submitting an application for a Texas Community Development Block Grant to the Texas Department of Agriculture. The City wants to use the grant to help fund and finish the ongoing City sewer line replacement. In that regard, the Council also approved the bid recommended by EHT engineers of Abilene, namely, to Whitney Underground Utilities, Inc., of Valley Mills. Whitney was the lowest qualified bidder with a contract price of $581,787.50. The Council’s awarding of the bid, however, is contingent upon approval by the funding agency.
The Council also discussed and approved a Citizen’s Participation Plan and Grievance Procedures for the City of Roscoe as required by federal law and the Texas Community Development Block Grant Program. It also appointed a committee of four--City Manager Cody Thompson, City Secretary Donna Parker, and Council Members Billy Joe Jay and Edwin Duncan--to review the Block Grant Application.
City Manager Cody Thompson informed the Council of the City’s ongoing sewer flow problems with lines between Bois d’Arc and Main Streets. Work on the lines in question is scheduled to begin within the next thirty days and continue for about a year.
City workers will also be cleaning up the cemetery in anticipation of Veteran’s Day on Friday, a day in which City Hall will be closed. City Hall will also be closed on Thursday, November 24, and Friday, November 25, in observance of Thanksgiving. However, Knox workers will be picking up trash on the day after Thanksgiving as regularly scheduled.
The Council then set the 2017 dates for two of the three City festivals. The Independence Day Celebration will be on Saturday, July 1, and the West Texas Wind Festival will be on Saturday, October 21.
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Robert Lee 25 43 57 75
Plowgirls 20 43 57 74
For the Plowgirls, Veronica Cuellar led the scoring with 27 points. Bonnie Wilkinson had 13, Baylor Trevino 9, Jaci Alexander 9, Lynzie Atkinson 5, Karina Cisneros 4, Lyndi Wilkinson 4, and Jovana Pena 4.
The Plowgirls’ next game will be their home opener with Rotan on Friday. The JV game starts at 5:00 and the Varsity game at about 6:15.
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PRECINCT 6 AND NOLAN COUNTY ELECTION RESULTS |
| Voting was brisk at the Community Center yesterday. |
President and Vice President Precinct 6 Nolan County
Donald Trump & Mike Pence (R) 490 3551
Hillary Clinton & Tim Kaine (D) 109 1029
Gary Johnson & William Weld (L) 16 142
Jill Stein & Ajamu Baraka (G) 2 22
U. S. Representative, District 19
Jodey Arrington (R) 500 3720
Troy Bonar (L) 49 363
Mark Lawson (G) 14 184
State Representative, District 71
Stan Lambert (R) 503 3614
Pierce LoPachin (D) 95 941
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ROSCOE COMMUNITY CENTER NEWS
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| There was a full house at the Community Center on Sunday. |
Thanksgiving Dinner
The annual Thanksgiving Dinner was a huge success! We want to thank everyone who came out to support us by attending, volunteering, or donating. We served over 220 plates this year. Our hope for next year is to serve even more.
We would like to give a special thanks to the following businesses, without whose generous donations this meal would not have been possible: The Roscoe State Bank, Roscoe Volunteer Fire Department, Roscoe Lions Club, First Baptist Church, Salem Lutheran Church, Blackland Smokehouse, Crop Production Services, Central Rolling Plains Co-op, Wildflower, Vaquero Analytical, West Texas Rock Resources, Main Street Antiques, Muncy’s Place, Brookshires and many others.
We thank you for your continued support of the Community Center!
243 Ruger Gun Raffle
For the months of October and November, we have been conducting a raffle of a 243 Ruger rifle and scope to help raise funds for some much needed renovations to the Community Center. We are happy to announce we raised over $2800.00!
Thank you to everyone who purchased tickets.
The Winner is Josh McCauley from Dalhart, TX…. Congrats, Josh!!
Christmas Open House
The Roscoe Community Center will participate in Roscoe’s Christmas Open House this Sunday, November 13, 1pm-5pm. We will have vendor booths set up to help you get your Christmas shopping started.
Be sure to register for the door prize and enjoy refreshments while you shop. Be sure and come see us at the Community Center!
Rentals
We still have spaces available for your Christmas and New Year Parties. Call Misty Reynolds at 325-338-1005 for reservations.
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TRUMP WINS ROSCOE ELEMENTARY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION
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| Students select their candidate of choice. |
Roscoe Elementary first through fifth graders had their own Presidential election yesterday and elected Donald Trump before the nation did. The students went through the entire voting process from providing an ID, which they made themselves, to receiving an “I Voted” sticker. Here are the final results:
Donald Trump 171 73%
Hillary Clinton 38 16%
Other 27 11%
Total 236
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WEATHER REPORT: COLD AND WET
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| 4th and Cypress Streets (a.k.a. Smith Lake) on Sunday afternoon. |
It began last Wednesday with the passing through of a front that dropped 1.82” in my rain gauge here in Roscoe, but more than that in surrounding areas, especially north of Roscoe. Along with the rain was plenty of thunder and lightning. On Sunday we got .82” here in town, but other areas got more. Total for the two rains exceeded 5” in parts of Fisher County, although south of town generally got less than Roscoe did. On Monday it was once again cool and cloudy with drizzle or mist in the air all day, and Tuesday was a replay of Monday. Precipitation totals for those days were .08” on Monday and .06” yesterday. Total for the week was 2.82” with the great majority of it light and slow-falling. The high temperature for the week was 75° on Monday afternoon when the sky cleared for a while and the sun broke through. Otherwise skies were cloudy and afternoon highs were between 65° and 61°.
The forecast is for more of the same through Saturday, with the sun possibly breaking through on Friday. The only significant rainfall is likely to come on Saturday evening when there’s a 40% chance of precipitation. Sunday will mark a change with mostly sunny skies and a high of 70°, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday should follow suit with clear skies and highs in the low to mid-seventies. Lows will be in the low to mid-fifties.
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† BILLY WAYNE FRAZIER
Mr. Frazier was born on August 18, 1927, in Merkel. In 1946 he graduated from Merkel High School, where he was an all-around athlete participating in football and basketball, and being inducted into the Merkel Football Hall of Fame in 1976. On May 14, 1950, he married Lafae Butler in Roscoe. Billy was a member of the First Baptist Church in Roscoe and loved fishing, horses, and competing in roping contests every chance he had. He was a long time employee of Nolan County and retired after 34 years of service.
Survivors include his wife, Lafae Frazier of Malakoff; daughters, Deborah Lindstrom and husband, Charlie, of Malakoff, and Tonya Arpe and husband, Billy, of Roscoe; grandchildren, Jennifer Scott and husband, Shane, of Georgetown, Cody Arpe and wife, Brittania, of Midland, Patrick Brown and wife, Katie, of LaRue, and Chad Arme and wife, Susana, of Missouri City; step-grandchildren, Linnea Marasky and husband, Chris, of Japan, and Jeff Lindstrom and wife, Erin, of Seattle; seven great-grandchildren and two step great-grandchildren; sister, Faye Huff of Amarillo; brother, David Frazier and wife, Shirley, of Gonzales; and numerous nephews and nieces.
He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Vora Frazier; a granddaughter, Mandy Brown; a sister, Aileen Cook; and two brothers, Wallace Frazier and Elby Frazier.
Pallbearers were Cody Arpe, Patrick Brown, Chad Arpe, Shane Scott, Gaylond Frazier and Rode Ammons.
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The Trump-quake registered 9.0 on the Richter scale here in Europe. Looks like it didn't even rattle the teacups in Precinct 6 or Roscoe Elementary School.
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