Roscoe Celebrates July 4th This Saturday

Shooter Jennings is only one of many musicians in town this weekend.

Final preparations are underway for Saturday’s big July 4th Celebration, and the event’s organizers are planning a day to remember.

The day will begin at 8am with the Roscoe Lions Club Pancake Breakfast in the open building just west of the Smackers building on Broadway. Then at ten o’clock the parade will come down Broadway, followed by the Plowboy Mudbog at George Parks Field, with the gates opening at eleven and the event beginning at twelve.

During the afternoon, street vendors will be open and selling food and other wares along Broadway, Cypress, and Old Town Park, and the Roscoe Historical Museum will be open for visitors.

The Roscoe Express will be available to shuttle people free of charge between downtown and the Plowboy Mudbog during the afternoon.  There will also be free swimming from 1-5pm at the City Swimming Pool.

Music will begin “on the bricks” of Cypress next to the bank at four-thirty with Aaron Einhouse followed by Saints Eleven at six o’clock. From eight to nine-thirty, Scooter Jennings will take the stage and will play until the ever popular fireworks show at about 9:45.

Here are more details about the various events of the day:

THE PANCAKE BREAKFAST

The Lions Club Pancake Breakfast will start at 8am and end at 10am before the start of the parade. Pancakes, bacon, sausage, coffee, and juice will be served for $5/plate in the empty building next to the former Smacker’s Café on Broadway. All proceeds from the ticket sales and breakfast will be used to support the Roscoe Lions Club charitable activities for the year.

THE PARADE

Once again, parade organizers invite your participation. They are looking for creativity and variety. Float awards will be presented to best overall, best western, and most patriotic. Prizes will also be awarded to the best antique vehicle, best motorcycle, and best semi. Anything is welcome!

The parade will start at 10:00am.  Line-up will be on West Broadway at 9:30am, and judging will be at 9:45am.

For more information, call Valerie Pruitt at 325-338-4666.

THE PLOWBOY MUDBOG

This year’s Plowboy Mudbog at George Parks Field will feature mudboggers from as far away as Dallas, Amarillo, and New Mexico. Registration for entrants begins at 9:30am Saturday morning at the northwest corner of the baseball field at Second and Sycamore Streets.  The driver entry fee is $30.

Entries will be in five classes:

1.    Street: 35” tires and under with limited engine modification.
2.    Super Street: 35” with engine vac under 13”.
3.    Modified: 36” to 39” with limited engine modification.
4.    Super Modified: 36” to 39” with engine vac under 13”.
5.    Open: 40” and over.

Since there’s an advantage in going last rather than first, each mud vehicle makes two runs, with the second run in reverse order from the first.

The public gate will open at 11:00am with mudbog action beginning at noon. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students 11 to 16. Kids 10 and under are free.  Proceeds will benefit the Roscoe Baseball Little League. The Little League will also run the concession booth.

Time permitting, there will also be a Plowboy Mudbog “Dash for Cash,” an entertaining event featuring kids running through knee-deep mud.

Spectators are encouraged to bring sun block, mosquito repellent, canopy, and lawn chairs. For more information, see the Plowboy Mudbog Facebook page, or contact Felix Pantoja at 325-514-8384.

CITY SWIMMING POOL

Swimming at the Roscoe City Pool will be free of charge from 1:00-5:00pm.  The City Pool is located at 4th and Cedar Streets next to the City Park.

For more information, contact Isabel Moore at 325-514-9416.

THE FREE CONCERT AND STREET DANCE

The music stage will be set up on Cypress Street between the Roscoe State Bank and Old Town Park. Aaron Einhouse will open the show at around four-thirty, followed by Saints Eleven at around six. They will be followed at eight o’clock by this year’s feature act, Shooter Jennings and band, who will play until 9:30 or so.

Aaron Einhouse is a regular on the Texas music circuit. Here is his single “Oh, Susannah” as he and his band performed it on the TV series Texas Music Scene.

Saints Eleven is a Dallas/Denton band who sang at this year’s Outlaws & Legends Music Fest in Abilene. Their music, which lead singer Jeff Grossman calls Americana, is not unlike Texas Country/Red Dirt. They have three albums: I'll Be Fine, I Told You, and Coming Back Around.

Singer/songwriter Shooter Jennings is the son of country-music legend Waylon Jennings and a star in his own right. Over a long career, he has produced several albums and performed or had his songs performed in TV shows and movies. He has also recorded songs with Billy Ray Cyrus, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Wanda Jackson, and others.

FIREWORKS SHOW

The fireworks show, organized, as always, by City Councilman Robert McBride, will be a memorable event that fittingly tops off the day. The show begins at about 9:40pm and will be done at about ten o’clock.

Those who are still not done celebrating can then go to the Lumberyard, where there will be live music free of charge by the Black Lillies and dancing until 1:00am.

So, if you're in the area on Saturday, make plans to attend, bring lawn chairs and coolers, and help us celebrate the country’s independence!

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PIT BULL ATTACKS LOCAL WOMAN ON MORNING JOG

Mari Cornett was viciously attacked at 3rd and Cedar by a pit bull while on her early morning jog last Thursday morning, June 22. She was badly bitten and received multiple wounds. She was taken to Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital where she was treated and released.

The dog’s owner, Julie Villa, is receiving a citation for not properly penning the dog. She is also responsible for all medical bills for the victim plus veterinarian fees for putting the dog down and having the head sent to Austin for rabies testing. Fortunately, the results were negative.

Police Chief Felix Pantoja would once again like to remind Roscoe residents to follow the law regarding leash laws and at-large dogs. Recently, several dogs have been seen running loose, and their owners are legally responsible for any damage they may cause. Vicious dogs may in certain cases be classed as deadly weapons and their attacks as third-degree felonies.

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REWARD OFFERED FOLLOWING BURGLARY SOUTHWEST OF ROSCOE

Mike Massey’s house six miles southwest of Roscoe was burglarized in the early morning hours of Thursday, June 22, and several valuable items, mostly collectibles, were taken. Massey is offering a $5000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the perpetrator.

If you have any information that will lead to the solution of this crime, please contact the Nolan County Sheriff’s Office at 325-235-5471 or Mike Massey directly at 325-514-0829.

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LUMBERYARD CELEBRATES THE 4TH WITH KYLE PARK FRIDAY, BLACK LILLIES AFTER FIREWORKS SATURDAY– NO COVER!

The Black Lillies.

When the City’s fireworks show is over at about ten o’clock Saturday night, it may be time for the kiddies and old folks to go home, but the grown-ups who want to continue the celebration are in for a real treat. The Lumberyard has booked a name band, The Black Lillies, and is going all out by inviting everyone to a late-night dance with no cover charge. That’s right—the Lumberyard is footing the bill on this one. It’s a first for them and should be a great way for everyone to wrap up a great Independence Day party in Roscoe.

The Black Lillies are an Americana band from Knoxville, Tennessee, who have been around since 2009. They are led by Cruz Contreras and originally made an impact on the Tennessee music scene with their album Whiskey Angel, which was nominated for the tenth annual Independent Music Awards in 2010. The following year they produced 100 Miles of Wreckage, which peaked at no. 11 on the Americana radio charts. Their third CD, Runaway Freeway Blues (2013) was on in the Americana Music Association’s top five for over five months, and their most recent album, Hard to Please, reached #30 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart. Popular singles include “Same Mistakes” and “Smokestack Lady.”
 

Kyle Park

On Friday night, Kyle Park will begin the weekend music fest with a return engagement at the Lumberyard. He writes and produces his own songs, which might loosely be termed a part of the current Texas Country genre. Born in Austin in 1985, he formed a band while a student at Texas State University in San Marcos. His first album, Big Time, was released in 2005, and since then he has produced five others, the most recent being Beggin’ for More, released in 2013. His single “The Night is Young” reached #1 on the Texas Country Charts in 2013. Three other singles, “Fit for the King,” “Long Distance Relationship,” and “Turn That Crown Upside Down,” were all Top Ten hits on the Texas Music Chart.

For more information, contact the Lumberyard at 325-766-2457.

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WEATHER REPORT: A COOL SPELL AND RAIN (FOR SOME)

Puddles at 4th and Cypress yesterday.

Although the weather was varied this past week, it was marked by some unusually cool weather for the beginning of summer, strong chances for rain that didn’t pan out, and then, finally, on Monday, by a shower that didn’t last long but really poured down while it did.

The days leading up to the weekend continued last week’s trend of hot weather. Thursday’s high was 99°F, followed by Friday’s 103°. But then the anticipated cold front arrived, bringing rain to some areas in the vicinity but not to Roscoe. The temperature dropped quickly and refreshingly, though, and fell from over a hundred down into the seventies in less than an hour. The cool temperatures then hung around all weekend until yesterday when the numbers began rising again. Lows that had been at 75° on Friday morning were down to 63° on Saturday, and the difference was noticeably pleasant. Morning temperatures remained in the sixties until this morning, and I took advantage of them by opening my home’s windows and outside doors.

The weekend chances for rain were high, anywhere from 40% to 70%, but the rains never materialized until Monday afternoon, when a storm cloud approached from the southwest and hit Roscoe with a quick, hard shower. I got .6” in my rain gauge, but I talked to some people from Maryneal who said they got 3½ inches and others from Wastella who said they didn’t get a drop. Kenny Landfried recorded an official .35" in east Roscoe and got 1.45" on his farm on Cottonwood Creek northwest of Roscoe. So, the amount people got in this case really did depend on the location because the rainfall and amounts weren’t general.

Yesterday the temperature warmed back up to 90°, today will continue the trend with an anticipated 94°, and tomorrow should top out at around 101°, so our brief break from the heat is apparently over. The weekend will be only slightly cooler with a Friday high of 97°, and 95° on Saturday and Sunday. Lows will be in the low to mid-seventies.  Chances of rain are at 20% through Monday and 0% after that.

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