Friona has recorded over 4" of rain in June added to the 7+" from May. Now summer is here and the days are hot and humid.
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The Friona primary school is sponsoring a literacy event Monday June 29 at the gazebo at the city park. The sessions are 10 - 10:45 a.m. and 6 - 6:45 p.m. There will be stories, games, and activities for the kiddos.
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Firework sales legally began Wednesday June 24 and will end at midnight Saturday July 4. The Geries family plans to open their fireworks stand Friday June 26. The TNT stand is in place but no official word on when it will open. Randy Geries says this will be their last year to sell fireworks and they will be offering some bargains. For now the county burn ban is still lifted.
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Anniversaries: Linda and Danny Murphree 46 years and Clarence and Wynona Martin 68 years. Congratulations to these fine folks.
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I talked with former resident and coach Ky Graham this week. Ky and Lanis are moving from Breckenridge to Graham where Ky will coach cross country and be the head girls' basketball coach. They have been in Breckenridge for four years. Graham is a 4A school and about 9,000 population. Two of his district opponents will be Stephenville and Abilene Wylie. Their son Caison is moving to Lufkin for an assistant basketball coaching job in a 3A high school just outside Lufkin. I think it was called City View. Always good to catch up with Friona folks.
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Speaking of former Friona folks, two new FISD coaches are FHS graduates. Returning to Friona are Daniel Rosales, Class of 2000, and Mike Royal, Class of 1972. Daniel comes from coaching in Hereford and Mike had years coaching at Littlefield and Bushland. Royal will coach the offensive line for the Chieftains. Rosales will assist football and powerlifting. Coaches Vanessa O'Neal and Dannon Wafer left the coaching staff for Denison, TX. Several openings are still to be filled.
Longtime FHS choir director and band assistant Allison Johnston is stepping down and moving into counseling. She will be replaced as choir director by John Bonner. He has a Masters Degree from WT A&M and has been directing the choir at Friona Methodist Church.
Other new teacher faces will be Kayla Larue, Amy Godinez, Shelby Moser, Maria Garcia, and Jennifer Davis.
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Ever wonder who invented those pink plastic flamingos? Probably not. They were invented by Donald Featherstone in 1957, modeled after a bird he saw in National Geographic. Mr. Featherstone died this week at the age of 79 which means he was 22 when he invented the pink yard decoration for a company called Upton Products. He went on to invent many more plastic product s and became president of the company. He died in Massachusetts.
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Here is an NBC News headline from the Internet: "Afghan soldier kills six terrorists, wins new apartment." The spoils of war I guess.
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County Commissioners met Monday. They discussed a draft of the annual audit and some needed courthouse repair. They approved the purchase of a roadgrader for Precinct 1, approved Veterans Service Officer Bill Dannheim to attend training in September in Galveston, and heard an update on the Mariah Wind Project.
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The Friona Noon Lions met Thursday June 18 with 14 members present. We voted to donate money to the Summer Drama Workshop and to cook hamburgers on July 4 at Reeve Lake. (No fries, just burgers.) We will also put out the American flags around town on July 4. The Club will cook and sell fries at the July 18 Cheeseburger Festival.
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We are considering dropping our Happy Birthday listings. Over the years our list has gotten somewhat outdated for local folks. Many on the list have moved on, got married, got divorced, and we get hardly any additions. Posting birthdays on social media seems to be today's preference. Each week we proof the birthday list to delete those who have passed on but I think it might be time to discontinue it. Any strong feelings pro or con let us know.
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We were looking back in our newspaper archives for some information. It is always interesting to browse through our old Friona Stars. Sometimes you get so caught up in the pages you forget what it was you were first looking for. Anyway I was looking up some info in the 1972 archives and came across a photo of the 1971-72 Squaw basketball team who won the Class 3-AA district championship for the second year in a row. Among the team members I recognized were Patricia Phipps, Veca Welch White, Sharon Smith Rector, and Kathy King Rector.
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The summer drama workshops begin Monday July 6. Registration forms available at the high school office or the students can register the first day of rehearsals. Elementary starts at 9:00 a.m., junior high at 1:00 p.m., and high school at 7:00 p.m. More information available from Allison Johnston.
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Went to Denton/Frisco last weekend to visit my kids and surprise my daughter Kirsten at her 40th birthday party. It wasn't a surprise party but my being there was. I only told my baby daughter Megan I was coming. Hugged four of my five kids. Zac was not there. A little big city life goes a long way for me these days. They are widening I35 and traffic is totally insane, a little scary. I think they will be working on I35 forevermore. Glad to be home though. See you next week. Until then!
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