THE BURN BAN IS BACK. County commissioners reinstated the county-wide burn ban effective from now to June 24. No outdoor burning of any kind allowed. Contact County Judge Trey Ellis, the Sheriff’s Office, or your precinct commissioner if you have any questions about the burn ban. Violations are a Class C misdemeanor.
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Squat 805 pounds. Bench 400 pounds. Edgar Guerrero, FHS sophomore, was aiming to win a gold medal at the state powerlift meet but he had trouble with his deadlift. Coach Hutchins said he slipped on his first deadlift attempt and got red lights on his next two when the judges never told him to put the bar down. The squat of 805 pounds set a Texas high school record for that event but it doesn’t count since he didn’t finish the meet. Congratulations Edgar. Get them next year.
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The federal government gave Yale University a $384,949.00 grant to study the evolution of duck genitalia. Yale has apparently been studying duck genitalia since 2009. That is a long time to look at the underside of a duck. The project is officially called Social Phenotypic Plasticity Experiments. No White House tours but Congress can fritter away money to learn about the private parts of a duck. If it wasn’t so sad and frustrating it would be funny.
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Congratulations to the FHS one-act play. They won 1st place in district and advance to the area round in Plainview April 9th. The crew won the district tech award, Tyler Etue and Haden Smiley were All-Star Cast, Holly Johnston voted Best Actress, and Maddie Murphree was honorable mention All-Star Cast. Good job thespians and Mrs. Erika Montana.
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“Boiled” eggs baked in the oven? They say you can put eggs on their side in a muffin pan, bake them in the oven at 325 for 30 minutes then put them in cold water and you have boiled eggs that are easy to peel. Same process applies to any number of eggs you want to ‘boil’. Haven’t tried it. If you do let me know.
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The Chieftain baseball team lost to Bushland Saturday 14-4 in five innings. A rematch was here Wednesday March 27 at 4:30 p.m. Bushland is one of the four teams in our district and last year made it to the state semi-finals in baseball. The Chieftain track team won 1st place at the Muleshoe track meet last Friday. The Squaws placed 3rd at Muleshoe.
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Exchanged some history info with a Mr. Dwight Bates who sent information that his cousin, Robert A. Bates, who was born in Black, Tx. around 1920, served in WWII, and died aboard the Battleship Arizona at Pearl Harbor. He is one of the hundreds of sailors still entombed on the Arizona. His parents were John A. and Lonella Bates. They had twins Leonard and Gleonard who were 10 in 1920, and son Arnold who was 6 in 1920.
Recently someone found a box on the street in Bakersfield, California and brought it to the local VFW Post. In the box was a Purple Heart with the name Robert Bates inscribed on the back along with the date of Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Research and phone calls later they located a niece of Robert Bates in Brownsboro, Texas, and a nephew in Wills Point. They had been searching for info on their uncle for 20 years. The medal was returned to them. No one knows how the Purple Heart came to be in that box in Bakersfield. Quite an interesting and nice story that began out at Black.
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Banquets for the Class of 2013 will be: April 8, First Baptist Church 6:30 p.m.; April 15, 6th St. Church of Christ 6:30 p.m.; April 22, First Methodist Church 6:30 p.m.
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The Canadian River Music Festival will be held May 11 in Canadian, Texas. Lots of food, and vendors, and of course music. Pat Green will be the headliner this year. Ray Wylie Hubbard will be there too. All day access tickets can be purchased for $25 through the website, www.canadianrivermusicfestival.com. Festival organizers sent me two wristbands good for all day access. If you are planning to attend and want my two wristbands let me know.
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Don’t forget about the annual H.K. (Pudge) Kendrick Memorial Golf Tournament June 22-23 right here at Friona Golf Club. It is a two-person scramble, limited to the first 54 paid teams. Entry fee is $250 per team ($225 if using a personal cart). To sign up contact the Friona Golf Club at 806-250-3125 or Greg Lewellen at 806-250-3991 ext 230. This is a popular event and proceeds benefit the Parmer County Cancer Coalition.
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Friona graduate Jennie Scott Bailey underwent surgery March 22 for a brain tumor. Additional surgery was performed Saturday March 23. She is recovering at home but still faces treatment for possible cancer. She has worked for the Texas Tech football staff for 25 years.
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During the big wind and dust storm last Saturday, an accident due to blowing dirt and zero visibility occurred on South Hwy 214 at CR AA between a semi- and a passenger car. No serious injuries reported.
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My son-in-law Walt Holmes was promoted at Interstate Batteries to Senior Vice-President for distributor operations and the innovation team. Walt and Candee live in Coppell. He is a Baylor Law School graduate and has been with Interstate Batteries for many years. I’m a proud daddy-in-law.
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Jo Beth Gipson and Becky Jones and maybe some others plan to participate in a SnackPak4Kids 5K Fun Run and Walk April 13 in Amarillo. The entry fee is $15 and proceeds help the SnackPak program. Jo Beth or Becky can give you more information.
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The Friona ISD school calendar for the month of April is on page 8 in this Star. April and May are busy months for the school district. Parents and friends might want to clip out the calendar and put it in the fridge to keep up with school happenings.
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The senior class steak dinner is Sunday April 14 in the junior high cafeteria. Tickets in advance are $12 or $13 at the door. Takeouts will be available. This is the popular fundraiser for the senior all-night drug free party held after the May 31 graduation. Lot of senior parents are no doubt looking forward to staying up all night. Tickets are available from any senior.
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Had some nice Rafter G BBQ at the West Texas Rural Telephone Co-Op meeting Tuesday at the Hereford Bull Barn. Board member Ernest Flood retired after serving 21 years. Local WT Services employee Cherry Wells received a plaque in recognition of her 15 years with the company. Rural telephone cooperatives are struggling to keep the Universal Service Tax that underwrites rural telephone service.
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I checked in with Greg O’Brian at Friona Wheat Growers about the freezing temps effect on wheat crops. We have had a few hard freeze mornings recently. The young, later planted wheat should be okay but there will be damage to older wheat that was beginning to head. Will be a while before the actual damage is known.
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Congratulations to Friona’s own Cory Hamilton, now head baseball coach at Randall High School. The Raiders beat Canyon 2 out of 3 games last week and Canyon was ranked 4th in State 4A. Then they pounded Palo Duro 10-0 this week. Cory is a Friona graduate, son of Randie and the late Charles Hamilton. Go Raiders.
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Have a nice Good Friday/Easter weekend. Be cautious Monday. It is April Fool’s Day. Lot of activity around town the next two months as spring kicks into high gear. We will try to keep up. See you later. Until then!
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