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| Shauna McCambridge shoots a free throw. |
They were so close. With less than two minutes to go in Friday’s game in Colorado City, the Plowgirls had the 8-1 district champs on the ropes with a four-point lead, and all they needed was the knockout blow to win the game.
Unfortunately, it never came. The Lady Wolves narrowed the lead to two and with only six seconds to go called a time out. When play resumed, they somehow managed to make a layup at the buzzer to tie the game 35-35. That sent it into overtime, where they went on to outscore the Plowgirls and win their ninth out of ten district games.
That was a tough way to end the regular season for the Plowgirls. On the positive side, however, they now know that they are good enough to beat our district champs and can carry that confidence into the playoffs. Here’s hoping they do well there!
Shauna McCambridge and Carson Greenwood led the Plowgirl scoring with 11 points each, followed by Kaidy Ornelas with 8, Cameron Greenwood with 4, and Kirsten Welch with 3. McCambridge also had a great defensive game with 23 rebounds along with a couple of blocked shots. Ornelas had 6 rebounds, Mia Lavalais 3, Carson 3, Cameron 1, and Jacey Rodriquez 1.
Scoring by quarters:
1 2 3 4 OT F
Colorado 6 11 8 10 12 47
Plowgirls 4 10 11 10 2 37
The Plowgirls now have a week before playoffs begin, and to keep in practice they scheduled a scrimmage yesterday evening with Colorado City, and on Friday they will go to Sterling City for a practice game with the Lady Eagles that starts at 8:00pm.
Their playoff opponent has not yet been determined, but possibilities are Ozona, McCamey, Eldorado, and Wink. The game is scheduled to be in Sterling City on Friday, February 12, with tipoff at 7:00pm.
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SHAUNA McCAMBRIDGE IS BIG COUNTRY STUDENT ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Plowgirl basketball star Shauna McCambridge was selected on Thursday as the KTXS Big Country Student Athlete of the Week. The video and a short photo gallery are available on the KTXS website available here.
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CALL FOR APPLICATIONS FOR SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION
People interested in running for the school board in this year’s election must submit their applications by February 12. Applications are available at the RCISD office on 7th and Ash, or they may be downloaded from the school website here, which also includes more School Board information.
This year, there are three four-year term places open. The election will be held Saturday, May 1, at the RCHS School Cafetorium.
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DOCUMENTARY FEATURING BUSTER WELCH COMPLETED
The documentary film about cutting horses, which was previewed in a video that ran in the Hard Times last year, has now been completed. Entitled The Cut, its central figure is Roscoe’s “legendary horseman and rancher Buster Welch,” now 92. In the film, Welch provides perspective and insight from his lifetime as a rancher, trainer, and rider of championship cutting horses.
An article, “Shaping the Herd,” about the making of the film is in the latest issue of Western Horseman magazine. For more information, click here.
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COLORADO CITY, COLEMAN TOP PLOWBOYS
The Plowboys lost two more district games this week, one to Colorado City Friday and the other to Coleman last night.
The Wolves defeated the Plowboys 82-21 in Colorado City. Individual scoring by the Plowboys was led by Antonio Aguayo with 7 points, followed by Seth Wilcox with 5, Jax Watts with 4, Jake Gonzalez 2, Richie Solis 2, and Lupe Leaños with 1.
Scoring by quarters:
1 2 3 4 T
Colorado 23 10 28 16 82
Plowboys 4 7 3 7 21
The Bluecats beat the Plowboys in Coleman 68-26 yesterday evening. Individual scoring by the Plowboys was led by Aguayo with 14 points, followed by Raney with 5, Jordan 3, and Watts 3.
Plowboys 6 10 2 8 26
The Plowboys complete their basketball season with Miles in Miles on Friday.
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COVID-19 CASES CONTINUE DROP FROM HOLIDAY PEAK
The trend of the last couple of weeks continues as new cases and hospitalizations fall from their holiday peak. However, deaths remain high, but the falling numbers of new cases indicate they too should begin to fall soon. The decrease is cause for optimism as is the increasing availability of vaccines. However, some of the new strains of Covid-19 in Africa and Britain may make the current vaccines less effective.
In the US, the number of new daily cases has fallen almost 30% from a little over 200,000 two weeks ago to 140,000 on Monday. Numbers are declining in 47 of the 50 states, and the other three were basically flat. About 1.3 million people per day are now getting vaccinated, but still fewer than 2% of the population have completed both shots. Hardest hit states are Rhode Island, Alabama, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Washington.
In Texas, the good news is that the number of hospitalizations continues to drop after the record highs in January. The number of new cases, however, is about the same as a week ago, in fact, slightly higher. The number of new deaths, though, is also down a little with only 48 new deaths statewide being reported Monday. Hardest-hit counties are along the border near Laredo.
Similar trends are continuing in the Big Country. The number of active cases in Taylor county is now 2,052, a substantial drop from last week’s 2,502, and the number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients has dropped to 58 from last week’s 84. Still, the number of Covid-19 deaths remains high with 15 this past week, but even that is a significant drop from last week’s 24. There have now been 285 total Covid-19 deaths in Abilene hospitals.
In the Big Country’s 16-county trauma service area, the percentage of hospital beds for Covid-19 patients is also dropping. Last week, it was 16.4% but yesterday only 12.04%, the fifth day in a row that it has been under 15%. If it stays below 15% today and tomorrow, it will have been below for a week, the threshold for allowing bars to re-open and restaurants to increase their seating capacity. The number of hospital staff in quarantine has also dropped to 19 from 44 last week.
In our four-county area, the numbers are also improving. Nolan County has dropped to 217 active cases from last week’s 262, and Fisher County has dropped to 6 active cases from 12 last week. Mitchell County now has just 4, down from last week’s 21, and Scurry is down to 43 active cases from last week’s 51. Nolan County had 1 more death to bring its total to 27; Mitchell County also had 1 death for a total of 8. Fisher had 2 more deaths for a total now of 12, and Scurry had 3 more deaths to bring its total to 52.
RCISD reports good news again this week with no active cases among students or staff. In fact, Provost Andy Wilson reports that the school has had to test only 8 people since returning to school, and only one of those (in early January) was positive.
Here are the Big Country’s county totals since the pandemic began as of yesterday (with last Tuesday in parentheses): Howard, 2,929 (2,766); Erath, 2,525 (2,454); Scurry, 2,407 (2,350); Jones, 2,059 (2,053); Brown, 1,822 (1,750); Nolan, 1,462 (1,447); Comanche, 954 (932); Eastland, 794 (759); Runnels, 736 (717); Mitchell, 565 (552); Callahan 560 (538); Coleman, 463 (454); Stephens, 412 (415); Fisher, 287 (276); Coke, 209 (235); Haskell, 185 (179); Knox, 167(152); Shackelford, 121 (116); Stonewall, 48 (48); Throckmorton, 46 (45); Kent, 35 (34).
Selected west Texas counties yesterday (with last week in parentheses): Lubbock, 47,020 (46,329); Midland, 15,687 (15,197); Wichita (Wichita Falls), 13,973 (13,687); Ector (Odessa), 7,101 (6,929); Tom Green (San Angelo), 4,480 (4,440).
Texas now has had a total of 2,106,729 cases (1,998,063 last week), 367,152 active cases (376,862 last week) and 36,870 total deaths (34,701 last week).
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GROUNDHOG DAY AND THE FORECAST FOR SPRING
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| Punxsatawney Phil |
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| Bee Caves Bob |
Here in Texas, Groundhog Day is usually Armadillo Day instead with Austin armadillo Bee Caves Bob doing the honors of making the prediction. But not this year. For the first time in years, he made no forecast. Bee Caves Bob’s little party was just the latest casualty of the coronavirus pandemic as the sponsors thought it better not to hold the ceremony this time around.
I know of no groundhogs or armadillos making predictions about how soon spring will arrive in west Texas, but, just for the record, if there had been some critter looking for its shadow when the sun came up yesterday morning, it sure would have found it. There were some clouds in the east but not enough to block the rising sun, so if seeing your shadow at sunrise on February 2 foretells six more weeks of winter, then that’s what we’ll have.
On the other hand, that’s not what the National Weather Service’s Climate Prediction Center is predicting for this part of the world, as its weather maps indicate for the next three months:
The map on the left is the precipitation prediction for February, March, and April. Brown means below normal, and the darkness of the shade indicates its intensity. So, far west Texas, southern New Mexico, Arizona, and California should be the most below normal, while our area, the Texas Panhandle, northern New Mexico, and Arizona will also be below but not quite as much below as the darker area. On the same map, the shades of green indicate predictions for above normal precipitation, and the white area indicates equal chances for above or below normal.
The map on the right is the three-month outlook for temperature. The outlook for the entire southern half of the country, including us, is for temperatures well above the normal average. If that’s the case, then winter should be over pretty quickly for all but the northwestern part of the country, despite the groundhog seeing his shadow at sunup yesterday.
So, who will be right—the critters or the meteorologists? Time will tell.
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WEATHER REPORT: MILD AND DRY WITH WIND
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| Sunrise yesterday on Groundhog Day. |
The past week was characterized by mild temperatures, partly cloudy skies, strong winds on the weekend, and an absence of any precipitation. North wind kept the temperatures down on Wednesday and Thursday, which had highs of 47° and 55° respectively, but the temperatures rose with strong south and southwest winds on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On Friday, the sky was red from all the dust in the air. Highs were 64° on Friday, 65° Saturday, and 59° Sunday. Monday was nice with a high of 62° and only a light wind. Yesterday was beautiful with sunny skies and a high of 71°.
Since Thursday, there have been no days in which the low fell below freezing, and there has been no precipitation.
The forecast is for a springlike 80° this afternoon along with partly cloudy skies and a strong southwest wind. Tomorrow the wind will shift to the northwest but still be strong with sustained winds of 20mph. The high will be around 69° with the low falling into the mid-thirties. Friday will be sunny with a high of 64°, and Saturday’s high will be 59° with a stiff north breeze. The low will drop below freezing down to 28°. Sunday will be pretty much the same with a high of 55° and a low of 35°.
There is no precipitation in the forecast.
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† TEDDY LYNN VRUBEL
Teddy was born on August 27, 1957, in Littlefield to parents Joe and Mable Vrubel. He attended and graduated Highland High School in 1977. He worked for National Rail Car and Crane Services. He loved old cars and listening to old classic music and spending time with his grandchildren.
Teddy was survived by his wife, Alicia Vrubel; sons, Christopher Ramirez and fiancée Marina Ortega of Sweetwater, Kyle Hernandez of Sweetwater; daughters, Corey Vrubel and boyfriend Harold Perrigo of Sweetwater, Kelsi Vrubel of Sweetwater; grandchildren, Elijah Martinez, Evan Ortega, Connor West, Maevali Duran, Avaya Resendiz, Kolden Vrubel-Perrigo; sister, Kathy Bollinger and husband Todd of Roscoe; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his parents, stepdad Harry Jenkins; Mable Jenkins; aunt, Rosie Vasak and husband Joe; nephew, Kenny Jenkins; cousin, Gary Hodges.
Pallbearers were Kyle Hernandez, Chris Ramirez, Dominique Hernandez, Jeffery Wemken, Harold Perrigo, Steve Hernandez. Honorary pallbearers were Lewis Muñoz and Jesse Hernandez.
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AUSTIN, TX - Texas Rural Funders just released Broadband Stories from Rural Texas, a report that examines the impact of rural Texans’ lack of broadband access and how local communities are responding to the challenges they face.
“The COVID-19 pandemic exposes gaps across health care, technology, education, working from home, and all aspects of our everyday lives,” said Dr. Wynn Rosser, President, T.L.L, Foundation and a member of Texas Rural Funder
“For rural communities trying to access high-speed Internet, these broadband gaps are not cracks but canyons. Texas Rural Funders is shining a light on the progress being made in local communities and the need for a statewide broadband plan to address access and equity,” Dr. Rosser added.
In this latest edition of the report, Texas Rural Funders finds that rural Texans are the state’s most disconnected residents:
● Texas is one of only six states without a statewide broadband plan.
● Texas is 35th in broadband adoption among U.S. states
● 90% of Texans who are disconnected are in rural areas.
The report includes a compilation of real-world examples from Bastrop, Jasper, Ward, and Walker counties of how lack of broadband access impacts rural communities all across Texas and the extraordinary efforts of those communities to respond to the challenge.
“We’re bringing the overlooked needs of rural Texans to the forefront of ongoing policy discussions,” said Dr. Rosser. “As only one of six states without a statewide broadband plan, it’s time for Texas to get everyone connected.”
Rosser noted that an independent analysis by the 12-county Deep East Texas Council of Governments (DETCOG) shows that rural East Texans pay 400% more per megabit for broadband service that is less reliable and lower-speed than residents of Dallas-Fort Worth. The same analysis shows that there are significant economic gains to be realized by expanding affordable access to broadband, projecting an economic impact across the East Texas counties of more than 10,000 new jobs and $1.4 billion in added GDP over a 10-year period.
“Texas families and businesses can not only survive but thrive if connectivity improves,” added Dr. Rosser..
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About Texas Rural Funders
Texas Rural Funders is a coalition of funding organizations that believe the future of Texas depends on strong, successful rural communities. We are dedicated to working with rural communities to develop and implement solutions to their unique challenges. Learn more at texasruralfunders.org.
About Digital Texas
Digital Texas is a statewide coalition of advocates, employers, and non-profit organizations working to improve digital connectivity access for all Texans. To accomplish this, Digital Texas seeks to engage with private industry, nonprofit leaders, the public, and legislators. For more information, visit www.digitaltexas.org.
Copyright © 2021 Texas Rural Funders, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is:
Texas Rural Funders
1606 San Antonio St.
Austin, TX 78701
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