City Council Hears Reports, Approves Actions

City Manager Cody Thompson reports to the City Council.

At its monthly meeting in City Hall yesterday evening, the City Council received updates from the City Manager and Chief of Police and approved one action item while tabling another.

City Manager Cody Thompson reported on City works and updated the Council on water and sewer activity. He said City workers have spent time lately on patching City streets, burning tree limbs and spending time doing cleanup at the Roscoe Cemetery, where they have hauled off excessive dirt and floral debris. They also re-routed a road there. They have also been doing repair work at the main lift station, cleaning and replacing defective parts.

The TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) has certified the liners at the new Sanitary Sewer Plant, and all lagoons are now back in operation. The old Sanitary Sewer Plant has yet to be certified officially closed. The City is waiting on a field visit by the TCEQ, which has been held up by Covid-19, but is now reportedly ready for the visit.

The City has closed on the right of way for the I-20 re-construction. It sold the 1.2 acres of the old Sanitary Sewer Plant to the Texas Department of Transportation for $5,800.

The City has been slow in paying some bills due to slow incoming revenues. The money will increase by the end of the year and in January as citizens pay their property taxes, along with the Franchise Tax, which is paid on the first of February. Sales tax revenues are tracking similar to preceding years.

Police Chief Felix Pantoja then gave the Police Report for the month of November, saying they had received 86 calls and made one felony arrest.

The Council then approved the annual Christmas Parade, which will take place in downtown Roscoe at 10:00 Saturday morning.

It also discussed a Game Room ordinance, but in the end because of legal complications decided to take no action at this time and tabled the motion. At present, there are two game rooms in Roscoe, one on Broadway at the site of the old Dairy Fluff and the other on FM 608 and the I-20 service road at the site of the former Dairy Queen. The one at the 235 Travel Stop has closed.

The Council then approved some routine monthly items and adjourned.

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CHRISTMAS PARADE DOWNTOWN SATURDAY MORNING

Santa Claus rides in a previous Christmas parade.

Roscoe’s annual Christmas Parade down Broadway will take place this Saturday morning at 10:00. Line-up will be on Broadway and Cedar Street in west Roscoe at 9:30am.

Santa Claus will be in the parade, and after its conclusion will be on hand to talk to children in the Community Center at Broadway and Bois d’Arc. Hot chocolate and cookies will be available there.

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PLOWGIRLS WIN TWO, BEAT BRONTE, HAMLIN

Mia Lavalais (23) throws to Kaidy Ornelas (5) while Carson Greenwood (11) and Shauna McCambridge (30) look on.

The Plowgirls are on a roll after winning both their games this past week. Both were played at home in the Special Events Center.

The Plowgirls won their first game of the season Friday evening with a victory over Bronte 56-16. The game’s outcome was never in doubt as the Plowgirls jumped out to a 16-3 lead in the first quarter and then cruised the rest of the way to an easy win.

Shauna McCambridge led the Plowgirls in scoring with 15 points, followed by Mia Lavalais and Kaidy Ornelas both with 12, Cameron Greenwood with 11, Jacey Rodriquez with 4, and Carson Greenwood with 4.

McCambridge also led in rebounds with 15. Lavalais, Jacey Rodriquez, and Carson Greenwood all had 5, Ornelas 3, Cameron Greenwood 1, and Kirsten Welch 1.  

Scoring by quarters:
                             1         2          3          4          T
Plowgirls          16        12        13         15        56
Bronte                3          3          2          8        16

They continued their winning ways last night with a victory over Hamlin 54-34. The Plowgirls built an 18-7 lead over the Lady Pipers in the first quarter and maintained it the rest of the way in racking up their second win.

Carson Greenwood led the Plowgirls in scoring with 22 points. She was followed by Shauna McCambridge with 11, Cameron Greenwood with 8, Jacey Rodriquez with 7, and Kaidy Ornelas with 6.

McCambridge also led in rebounds with 23, followed by Jacey Rodriquez and Carson Greenwood, both with 7. Cameron Greenwood had 4, Ornelas 1, and Jissel Rodriquez 1.

Scoring by quarters:
                            1          2          3          4          T
Plowgirls          18        12        14        10        54
Hamlin               7        10         8          9        34

Lueders-Avoca canceled their games with the Plowgirls and Plowboys scheduled for Friday. So, the Plowgirls travel to Snyder Friday with the JV game starting at 4:30pm, followed by the varsity game at 5:45pm.  

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PLOWBOYS WIN ONE, LOSE ONE

Antonio Aguayo (20) looks to throw the ball as Parker Gleaton  (15) looks on.

The Plowboys won one and lost one this past week with a 36-34 win over Bronte and a 57-30 loss to Hamlin. Both games were played at home in the Special Events Center.

With the score tied in the last minute of the game against Bronte Friday evening, Antonio Aguayo was fouled and sank two free throws to put the Plowboys up 36-34. Bronte was unable to respond before the buzzer sounded, and the Plowboys won a thrilling nail biter.

The Plowboys’ first win of the year was a good game for the last three quarters, but that’s not how it started. In the first period they couldn’t get anything going, and by the end of the quarter were behind 10-2. The second quarter was better, but they were still behind by 9 at halftime, 19-10. The big change came as the Plowboys came out on fire in the third quarter, outscoring the Longhorns by 12 points, and by the end of three, they were ahead 27-24.

The final quarter was exciting as the lead kept changing hands, and the game wasn’t decided until the final buzzer.

Jax Watts led the Plowboys in scoring with 12 points, followed by Aguayo with 8, Seth Wilcox with 7, Zackary Jordan 3, Jake Gonzales 3, and Parker Gleaton 3.

Scoring by quarters:
                             1        2          3         4         T
Plowboys           2        8        17         11        36
Bronte              10        9          5        10        34

The Plowboys were then overpowered by Hamlin last night. The final score was 57-30. Aguayo led the Plowboys in individual scoring with 10 points, Watts and Jordan both had 5, and Gleaton 4, while Wilcox, Gonzalez, and Lupe Leaños had 2 each.

Scoring by quarters:
                            1         2         3          4          T
Hamlin             18       15        12        12        57
Plowboys          12        6          7          5        30

The Plowboys' next game is this Friday against Veribest here in the Special Events Center beginning at 5:00pm.  Then on next Tuesday, they are scheduled to play Highland, also here with tipoff at 6:30pm.

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CALEB BOREN AWARDED AMERICAN FFA DEGREE

Caleb Boren sees his award on the big screen.

Caleb Boren, a member of the Roscoe FFA Chapter, was awarded the American FFA Degree at the 93rd National FFA Convention & Expo, held virtually on October 27-29.

The American FFA Degree is bestowed upon a select group of students in recognition of their years of academic and professional excellence. Sponsored by Case IH, Elanco National Health, and Syngenta, the award recognizes demonstrated ability and outstanding achievements in agriculture business, production, processing, or service programs.

To be eligible, FFA members must have earned and productively invested $10,000 through a supervised agricultural experience (SAE) program in which they own their own business or hold a professional position as an employee. Recipients must also complete 50 hours community service and demonstrate outstanding leadership abilities and civic involvement through completion of a long list of FFA and community activities.  Less than one percent of FFA members achieve the American FFA Degree.

Each recipient of the American FFA Degree receives a gold American FFA Degree key and certificate after being recognized at the national convention

Congratulations, Caleb, for all the hard work, and good luck in the future!

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ROSCOE COLLEGIATE COVID-19 NUMBERS IMPROVE

Roscoe Collegiate Provost Andy Wilson reports that the school’s Covid-19 numbers have improved since Thanksgiving. Only 8 adults and 3 students have current positive infections.

He also included a recent article that addresses the safety of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic, It contains information which may allay some parents’ concerns about sending their children to school under the present conditions.

The article is accessible by clicking here.

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COVID-19 SITUATION REMAINS SERIOUS

In the United States, the numbers of new cases and hospitalizations are at record levels, including numbers of weekly deaths, which have now exceeded any week from last spring. The country now has over 200,000 new cases daily along with 2,250 daily deaths and over 100,000 Covid-19 hospitalizations, all new records. 

However, vaccinations began yesterday in Britain, and it won’t be long before they also begin here.

In Texas, the numbers remain serious. Hospitals are full all over, and 142 Texas hospitals are currently reporting staff shortages. On Monday, the state had 8,800 Covid-19 hospital patients, and both the numbers of new cases and new deaths have increased compared to last week. Still, the state ranks 27th in new cases per capita, well below the hardest-hit states.

In the Big Country, the situation, while still critical, has at least lowered its number of active cases in the past week. There are now 2,618 active cases in Taylor County, down from the 2,842 of last week. However, Covid-19 hospitalizations are at 116, up from 104 last week. 65 staff are currently in quarantine, and the 22-county region’s ICU beds are still full. Abilene hospitals have now had 129 total Covid-19 deaths, up from 117 last week and 103 two weeks ago.

Also, the 22-county Big Country trauma service area has now had six straight days in which over 15% of its hospitalizations are Covid-19 patients. If that percentage holds today, businesses in the area must cut back to 50% capacity, and bars must close by governor’s executive order. The area is currently running at a little over 16% to 18%, and yesterday was at 18.22%.  

The good news is that Hendrick expects to receive about 3,000 vaccines starting next week. The first recipients will be healthcare workers and rest home staff.

Locally, the numbers also continue to increase. Nolan County now has 265 active cases, which is 63 more than last week’s 202 and 106 more than the 159 of two weeks ago. Once again, the little chart for Nolan County in the Hard Times’ right-hand column warns of a high infection rate. Mitchell County now has 84 active cases, a drop from the 97 last week but still more than the 31 two weeks ago. Fisher County has 22 active cases compared to 18 last week. In Scurry County, on the other hand, the numbers are still trending in the right direction with 93 active cases reported yesterday compared to 118 last week and 140 two weeks ago. However, they do report two new deaths this week.

Here are the Big Country’s county totals for the year as of yesterday (with last Tuesday in parentheses): Howard, 2,264 (2,055); Scurry, 1,686 (1,629); Jones, 1,656 (1,610); Erath, 1,514    (1,339); Brown, 991 (935); Nolan, 861 (780); Comanche, 563 (493); Eastland, 408 (369); Runnels, 405 (361); Mitchell, 380 (349); Stephens, 343 (328); Callahan 256 (223); Coke, 199 (204); Coleman, 192 (179); Fisher, 173 (162); Knox, 125 (122); Haskell, 105 (96); Shackelford, 59 (52); Stonewall, 31 (25); Kent, 26 (25); Throckmorton, 25 (23);
 
Selected west Texas counties yesterday (with last week in parentheses): Lubbock, 34,722 (32,236); Midland, 8,109 (7,276); Wichita (Wichita Falls), 7,766 (6,818); Ector (Odessa), 5,771 (5,150); Tom Green (San Angelo), 3,494 (3,432).

Texas now has had a total of 1,258,124 cases (1,168.111 last week), 200,050 of them active (186,678 last week), and 22,627 total deaths (21,379 last week).

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WEATHER REPORT: COOL, THEN WARMER

This past week was pretty mild as far as the weather is concerned. We have moved into December, and the weather tends to get cooler as the days get shorter.

Last Wednesday had a high of 47°F and a low of 34° followed by a high on Thursday of only 42° with a low of 31°. But then the wind shifted, and temperatures increased with highs of 57° on Friday and 55° Saturday under cloudy skies. Sunday and Monday were clear and even warmer with sunshine and 60° on Monday and 67° yesterday. Both days were beautiful.

Today and tomorrow should be even warmer with southwest winds. This afternoon’s high should be around 76° with a low tomorrow morning of 46°. Tomorrow should be even warmer with a high of 79° and a low of 52°. Friday will be cooler with a high of 63° and Saturday’s high will drop to 53° as north wind returns. Sunday will be sunny and cool with a high of 47° and a low of 31°. Monday will have sunny skies and a 57° high.

The most likely possibility for rain will be on Sunday when the chance for precipitation rises to 25%.

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