I had a request this week to find out about having the State of Texas install Duck Crossing signs on north Highway 214. Apparently, a number of ducks and their ducklings have been struck and killed by vehicles on this road. In Clovis, New Mexico, if a duck is struck in the Duck Crossing it is a fineable offense.
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PROJECT CHRISTMAS CARD will be underway after the Thanksgiving holiday. Boxes will be available for donation at a number of businesses in Friona. The money will go to purchase equipment for the hospital.
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It is election season again, and a number of candidates are announcing their intentions this week. Their ads are in this issue of the Friona Star.
Jo Beth Gipson announced this week that she plans to run for re-election to the office of Parmer County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 1, Place 1 in the March 2018 election. Gipson has served as the Justice of the Peace for a number of years.
Ross R. Paiz has also announced he will be running for this position as a Republican. He has over a decade of public and community service.
Bailey (Warren) Windham, of Farwell, has announced she will be running for the position of Parmer County Treasurer on the Republican ticket. Windham would be replacing Altha Herington, who has announced her intention to retire. She is the daughter of Sandra Warren, the incumbent District Clerk, and the granddaughter of Bonnie Warren-Howard who served as Parmer County Clerk from 1963-2000.
See their announcement ads on page 8
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Cathy Shields has been named the Officer in Charge at the Friona Post Office. She looks very familiar because she grew up here and graduated from Friona High School. Before she became Cathy Shields, she was Cathy Chesher. She is replacing retired Postmaster Jack Glover. She is married to Craig Shields and has three sons, Eric, Calvin and Tyler.
Cathy has been in the postal service for almost 32 years. She started her career on Valentine’s Day, February 14. She is a familiar face around the area as well. She has held positions in Dimmitt, Muleshoe, Earth, and Farwell.
Stop by and give her a warm welcome home!
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Lucy Hernandez has been named the new Friona Public Library Director. She is replacing retiring longtime director Darla Bracken. Bracken is retiring December 31, 2017. Lucy is currently serving as Assistant Director. She began her library career in October 2009 as the Circulation Clerk and became the Assistant Director in 2012.
Darla will be missed, but she is leaving the library in great hands. Congratulations Lucy!
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Patricia Phipps, Friona City Manager, announced her retirement recently and the search for a new City Manager was on. At the Monday night City Council meeting it was announced that the search was over. They have hired Leander Davila. He is a FHS graduate that attended South Plains College to study Law Enforcement Technology, Texas State University to study Criminal Justice and graduated from St. Edward’s University with a degree in Organizational Leadership.
Leander is currently with the City of Houston in the City Manager’s office as a Special Projects Manager. He begins his career in Friona on January 2, 2018.
Congratulations Leander!
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There have been a number of questions about the future of the Friona Star. The Friona Star will continue on the way it has been going. We will still have all the local pictures and stories that our readers have come to expect.
If you have pictures, articles or tidbits for Town Talk, please feel free to send them, drop them by, email them, or even text them.
The Friona Star is a local paper, and we will keep the tradition going!
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I had a call from Friona Farmer’s Co-op Gin manager Duncan Welch this week. He has received a number of complaints that the Friona Star has not been reporting on the number of bales they are ginning.
Duncan, I apologize for causing an issue, but I used a gin report in Friona Flashbacks and way back when they reported those numbers every week.
Now that the gin is doing so well, here is the report for Wednesday, November 15, 2017:
Friona Farmer’s Co-op Gin has ginned 5,760 bales to date. There are 100 modules on the yard and 70 to be picked up.
“This looks like a RECORD-BREAKING season,” stated Welch.
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“A Harvey Christmas” is coming up on December 3 at 2 p.m. at the FHS Auditorium. This event is sponsored by the Friona Union Congregational Church and will consist of the music of the season. A free-will offering will be received to benefit continuing Hurricane Harvey Relief.
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Christmas in Friona is this weekend! Get your Christmas shopping out of the way and shop locally. Stop by Creative Chaos, Bi-Wize, Interior Expressions, Ivy Cottage, KrafTee Gallery and Milk House Market for that perfect gift.
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Make plans to attend “Simply Christmas Lunch and Learn” on Thursday, November 30 from 12-1 p.m. at the XIT Center in Bovina. There will be holiday crafts, gift ideas, meal ideas and demonstrations of crafts and electric pressure-cooking. The event is $15, which includes lunch, a cookbook, and holiday inspiration. The event is sponsored by the Bailey, Castro, Lamb and Parmer County FCH Agents.
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Friends of the Library Book Shoppe will be open on Friday, November 17 from 3-5 p.m. Stop by and check out their selection of Christmas cards, and pick up that special book for a Christmas gift. The Book Shoppe will also be open on Wednesday, November 22.
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Prairie Acres Community Bingo is Saturday, November 18 at 3 p.m. Family Bingo Night at Prairie Acres is Tuesday, November 21 at 7 p.m.
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Sunday is a very special day. St. Teresa’s Turkey Dinner will be served from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The FHS production of “The Little Mermaid, Jr.” will be held at 4 p.m. at the FHS Auditorium. In addition, the Annual Community Thanksgiving Service is at 6 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church. Sounds like a busy afternoon filled with food, entertainment, and giving of thanks.
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Are you ready for some BASKETBALL? The Varsity and JV Squaws will take on Bushland on Saturday, November 18 at 12 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the FHS gym. The 2017-18 FHS Basketball schedule was in the November 9 edition of the Friona Star.
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“You’ve got to get up every morning with DETERMINATION if you’re going to bed with SATISFACTION!”~George Lorimer
