County commissioners have reinstated the burn ban effective for 90 days. No outdoor burning of any kind. Violators are subject to citation and fines. County Judge Trey Ellis is authorized to lift the ban in the event of any significant moisture.
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Monday January 20 from 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. the Booster Club will have a big t-shirt sale in the football concession stand. All t-shirts will be $5.00. They are selling old football, basketball, volleyball, and baseball shirts, plus some “Fear the Spear” and junior high shirts. Long and short sleeves available. Stop by and help the Booster Club reduce its inventory.
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Monday January 20 is Martin Luther King Day. Banks and the post office will be closed. City hall will be open. Friona Star and most other local businesses will be open.
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January is School Board Recognition Month. It is time to thank our locally elected school board members who serve the community without pay. They spend long hours working with parents and educators to develop local school policy and standards for students. They deal with financial uncertainty while still providing excellent education experiences for all of the children.
The Friona ISD Board of Trustees are Mitchell Smiley, Tracy Bunker, Ricky Barnett, Becky Riethmayer, Andy Montana, Antonio Rocha, and Wade Schueler. If you see one of these folks around town tell them thanks for their service to the community and school district. A group photo is included elsewhere in this Star.
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In a chat with volleyball head coach Bryan Masse last week, he said he spent time during the holidays as a ski instructor at Ski Apache in Ruidoso. He has been a ski instructor for many years. Bryan came here from Roswell several years ago. He still has a camper trailer at the ski area that he maintains and uses during his instructor days.
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Saturday about noon our volunteer firemen were called to Prairie Acres. Someone reported smelling an electrical wire overheating. It was determined to be a small electric motor overheating. No fire was found but it is better to err on the side of caution. Thanks to our firemen for being on call to respnd.
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I had a busy weekend starting with basketball Friday night, powerlifting in Bovina Saturday, and the Friona livestock show on Sunday. You can see the results of our efforts with all of the photos in today’s Star. At the livestock show I joined many others at the concession stand for a tasty brisket plate with the brisket cooked by popular chef Charlie Pope. For $5 we got a brisket sandwich, chips, a drink and a couple of cookies. A good meal deal for an old bachelor on a Sunday afternoon.
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At the stock show Sunday I enjoyed watching Lori and Ben Osborn try to keep up with their twin boys, Robbie and Jack. The little guys were pretty energetic to say the least. A photo is on page 5. Cute kids and future stock show participants no doubt.
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There was a huge crowd at the Floyd Reeve auction last week. One estimate was about 3,000 people attended. Danae Reeve McLellan said equipment purchased went to 12 states and Mexico. It was quite a success with lots of family memories and emotions involved.
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FHS senior and band drummer (percussionist) Kailey Lucas will be headed to San Antonio as a member of the 1A/2A all state band. Kailey qualified last week at the regional tryouts. Congratulations Kailey. I have enjoyed watching Kailey and her percussion band mates during performances of the Chieftain Band the last couple of years. She is a nice and talented young lady.
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We have stacks of old newspapers here and have offered them to folks free. We have given papers to people to pack their boxes when moving and a couple of times to folks who wanted them to spread down when painting. This week a lady came by and took a big carload of papers to be used for a high school physics project. The students have to build a chair out of newspapers strong enough for the class instructor to sit on and not bust his (or her) hiney. That should be interesting. We were glad to get rid of some old papers and hope we can grab a photo of the class project. If you need some old newspapers let us know.
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Mickey Harrelson had back surgery this week. Daughter Goldie says he is doing well. Gene Welch and Jerry London had some health issues continue this week. Gene was in the local hospital and Jerry was in the hospital in Amarillo.
And I am sad to report that former Friona Star publisher Bill Ellis was admitted to Prairie Acres on December 31, 2013, his 77th birthday. Bill is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and could no longer be cared for at home. I worked alongside Bill (and Carol) for eight years before he retired and sold me the Star in 2003. He gave me the opportunity to learn the weekly newspaper business and we shared many road trips to football and basketball games, the highlight of which was finding new interesting places to eat. I have good memories of those years and wish all the comfort and peace possible to Bill and his family.
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Get ready for major work on Highway 60 between Washington and Summit streets beginning in the summer. TxDOT will dig up the road and put in concrete. First phase will be on the south side of Hwy 60 and take about four months. Then work will move to the north side for another four months. Access to businesses from Hwy 60 will be closed too. We will try to keep you updated.
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We are ready to accept photos of your sweethearts for our annual Valentine’s paper. It will be published February 13. Cost is $10 for 1-2 person photo and $20 for 3 or more in the photo. Bring your photos by the office Mon-Wed from 10-5 and we will scan them and give them back to you. Thanks for reading the Friona Star and we look forward to a great year of local news. Until then!
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