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The 50th Reunion celebration for the FHS Class of 1970 has been cancelled. Because of the uncertainty of being able to hold an indoor group gathering and the desire to keep everyone healthy, the reunion will not be held this year. The reunion committee will meet again in December to set a date in 2021 for the celebration.
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Strike up the band! Full rehearsals for the FHS band will begin on Monday, August 3rd at 7 p.m. Remember to bring a face mask, bottle of water, medical history form, and tennis shoes. Rehearsals are scheduled for 7 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on August 3rd, 4th, 6th, 10th, 11th, 13th, 17th, and 18th.
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Please see back page for information on how you can participate in the 12th Annual Pudge Kendrick Memorial Golf Tournament. You do not have to be in the golf tournament to enjoy great food and to participate in the raffle, give-away, and silent auction. All proceeds will go to the Parmer County and Hereford Coalition. They provide grants for area cancer patients.
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Farwell's "Border Town Days" and Bovina's "Bull Town Days" celebrations have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar revised the Certification Revenue Estimate (CRE) and now projects a fiscal 2021 ending shortfall of $4.58 billion. The shortfall, which Hegar attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic and recent volatility in oil prices, is a decrease from the $2.89 billion positive year-end balance originally projected in the October 2019 CRE. The pandemic hit tax revenues hard across the board, particularly hotel, motor vehicle sales, severance and mixed beverage taxes. The state's sales tax, its largest source of tax revenue, has held up better than some taxes, but still has fallen significantly.
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Did you know that outdoor watering can account for 50 to 80 percent of the water used in a home. The High Plains Water District (HPWD) offers the following landscape watering tips: (1) most turf grasses need about one inch of water per week to survive; (2) water lawns in the morning or evening to reduce water losses from evaporation & wind drift; (3) use sprinklers that throw large drops of water rather than a fine mist; (4) water plants deeply and less frequently to encourage healthy root systems; (5) don't water during or directly after a rainfall event.
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National Days
July 23 - Gorgeous Grandma Day
July 24 - Drive-Thru Day
July 25 - Day of the Cowboy
July 26 - Aunt and Uncle's Day
July 27 - Love is Kind Day
July 28 - Buffalo Soldiers Day
July 29 - Lipstick Day
July 30 - Cheesecake Day
12th Annual Pudge Kendrick Memorial Golf Tournament
Everyone is invited out to the John Pitman golf course in Hereford from 11 a.m. till 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday to enjoy the delicious lineup of food!!! The menu will consist of food from Kurbside Sweets, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Rusty Pit BBQ, and Frios Gourment Pops.
There will also be a raffle for a 4-wheeler donated by Clovis Sign Company. Tickets are available from cancer coalition members and on the Hereford Cancer Coalition facebook page. The drawing will be held on Friday, July 31st and you do not have to be present to win.
There will also be a Silent Auction and a $1000 Cash Drawing contest. Both of these events will be open through Sunday afternoon. Winners will be announced Sunday evening.
Information for all events can be found on the Parmer County Cancer Coalition and Hereford Cancer Coalition facebook pages. Proceeds will go to the Parmer County and Hereford Cancer Coalitions who provide grants for our neighbors fighting cancer in Hereford and Parmer County.
UIL officials released a much-anticipated plan on Tuesday that offers a guideline to begin the fall sports season. "Our goal in releasing this plan is to provide a path forward for Texas students and schools," UIL Executive Director Charles Breithaupt said in a press release. "While understanding situations change and there will likely be interruptions that will require flexibility and patience, we are hopeful this plan allows students to participate in the education-based activities they love in a way that prioritizes safety and mitigates risk of COVID-19 spread."
Friona ISD Superintendent Jimmy Burns told the Friona Star, "I am very happy with the UIL announcement. We needed to return to some sense of normalcy and for small towns in Texas that means Friday night football, volleyball, and marching bands."
For Friona, the first day of practice for volleyball is August 3rd and the first day for a game is August 10th. The first day of practice for football is August 3rd and the first day for a game is August 27th. The first day for rehearsal for the band is August 3rd and the first day to begin the contest show visual/marching curriculum is September 7th.
Acknowledging the situation is not always clear-cut and that COVID-19 affects every community differently, UIL officials also stated in the press release that "the plan also allows for local flexibility and encourages districts to plan for possible interruptions in order to complete district seasons." Superintendent Burns said that the Friona school district will post information in all social media venues so everyone can have access to the latest information.
Additionally, the COVID-19 risk mitigation guidelines for the 2020-2021 school year were published. This includes guidance around face coverings, general operations and protocol for individuals confirmed or exposed to COVID-19, congregate settings (band halls, locker rooms, etc.), practice and rehearsal activities, spectators and media, and concession stands and food service. These guidelines are in addition to guidance issued by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and intended to be implemented along with TEA guidance, which applies to UIL academic activities and extracurricular non-UIL activities.
In the press release, the UIL also has several requirements in response to the pandemic. Stadiums will be limited to 50% capacity, and the UIL will also require schools to develop a plan for mitigating risk of spreading the coronavirus during UIL-sanctioned activities. The UIL recommended that "each school identify a staff member or group of staff members to serve as compliance officer(s) to oversee effective use of these protocols. Schools must follow all requirements of state authorities." Schools must post these plans on the homepage of the school website or other easily accessible area of the school website, per the UIL announcement.
By Esdras Rodriguez
At a young age, I became immersed in the medical field-translating for my mom at her appointments, being hospitalized for a blood disorder and for respiratory issues, plus, accompanying my dad for his surgeries and appointments. I cannot pinpoint an exact situation which I can say was the "defining moment" that showed me medicine was my calling. Instead, it was the culmination of all the community experiences, talents, passions, and interests that the Lord graced me with. These experiences began during high school and have followed me through many cities and communities-yet, the Texas Panhandle has and will always be, my home.
One of the biggest opportunities I received early in my journey was from Parmer Medical Center. PMC believed in me and granted me the only scholarship I ever received from Friona, and then they went on to provide for me multiple unique and extensive trainings through their partnership with Ogallala Commons. Through my experiences with PMC and OC, especially under the guidance of my amazing mentor Dr. Jubay, I was able to get distinctive, hands-on experience that few, if any, students my age can receive at such an early point in the medical profession. This experience enabled me to qualify for another major blessing and turning point within my journey, that of becoming a JAMP student.
The Joint Admissions Medical Program (JAMP) is a program designed to help students from underserved communities to both afford and prepare for the journey into medical school. Having been convinced by a counselor to attend WTAMU, I then was also helped by the same counselor to get into an honors mentorship program (Attebury Honors Program), there I met another fellow student who was pursuing the same goal as I felt lead to, helping others through medicine. Mercedes Hernandez, who was my unofficial mentor for 2 years, helped me connect to both Ogallala Commons and the JAMP program. Then, after being one of the 100 students who qualified from 500 applicants, I was able to experience so many rare and amazing opportunities. Through the JAMP program, I benefited from two summer internships at major medical centers in Houston and San Antonio. All these experiences played a major role in me getting both into medical school and falling in love with this profession.
Having stated all the above and being in so many cities for internships, interviews, and business trips, I still feel that the Texas Panhandle is and will forever be my home. I don't know what all the Lord has planned for my path, whether that be practicing somewhere else initially or something else, but I do know that I want to be able to come back and practice in the Panhandle as it will always be the place that gave me the opportunities and resources to become who I am now.
Esdras Rodriguez grew up in Friona, Texas. He graduated from Friona High School and was the Valedictorian for the Class of 2014. He received his bachelor's degree from West Texas A&M University, while completing 3 OC Community Internships at Parmer Medical Center from 2015-2017. Esdras has just finished his second year at Texas Tech University School of Medicine. He passed his licensing exam and will now be getting into clinicals.
About Ogallala Commons, Inc: Ogallala Commons, Inc., is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization providing education and leadership to build vibrant communities in the Great Plains region. Their service area is centered over the High Plains-Ogallala Aquifer, but also extends west into the Rocky Mountains region, and east to the river-braided prairies. The Ogallala Aquifer is a tremendous gift of groundwater that intertwines all human and natural communities living in this unified area of the Great Plains, even though we are politically and culturally sectioned into eight different states.
Ogallala Commons is shaped and directed by a 9-member Board of Directors, assisted by an Advisory Council and a small staff--men and women leaders from 6 states in the High Plains-Ogallala Aquifer region-leaders who follow the vision of Ogallala Commons and build it into an operational community resource network.
Ogallala Commons works to reinvigorate the commonwealth that forms the basis of our assets. Simply put, Ogallala Commons helps communities "to do together what no one community can do alone."
Web: ogallalacommons.org
Facebook: Ogallala Commons
Working with my supervisor and friend, Dr. Jubay at Parmer Medical Center's Rural Clinic (2017)
Entering Texas Tech School of Medicine in El Pawo, Texas (July 2018)
Standing with my JAMP Internship supervisor in Houston(2016)
Taking a break from exams and studying - spending time with girlfriend, Hannah Burk
If your child needs updated on their vaccinations, Friona Rural Health Clinic will be open on Saturday August 1st from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. If this date does not work for you, please feel free to make an appointment with the clinic and you will be taken care of that way, as well. The child must present their shot records at the time of vaccination for them to be seen.
Vaccinations and physicals are a part of the requirements for "back to school". We at Friona Rural Health Clinic are ready to assist you in meeting those needs. If you have any questions or need to schedule an appointment, please call Friona Rural Health Clinic at 806-250-2781.
Texas Panhandle:
7,242 cases
116 deaths
5,974 recoveries
Armstrong County: 3
Briscoe County: 9
Carson County: 10
Castro County: 142
Childress County: 9
Collingsworth County: 6
Cottle County: 6
Dallam County: 160
Deaf Smith County: 453
Donley County: 35
Gray County: 139
Hall County: 2
Hansford County: 43
Hartley County: 77
Hemphill County: 23
Hutchinson County: 91
Lipscomb County: 12
Moore County: 940
Motley County: 2
Ochiltree County: 63
Oldham County: 7
Parmer County: 263
Potter County: 3,263
Randall County: 1,355
Roberts County: 6
Sherman County: 35
Swisher County: 64
Wheeler County: 30
Eastern New Mexico:
432 cases
3 deaths
Curry County: 316
Quay County: 24
Roosevelt County: 92
Union County: 14
Oklahoma Panhandle:
1,040 cases
7 deaths
1,026 recoveries
Beaver County: 32
Cimarron County: 1
Texas County: 1,007
Texas:
356,000 cases
4,334 deaths
108,000 recoveries
United States:
3,790,000 cases
144,000 deaths
1,160,000 recoveries
Worldwide:
15,000,000 cases
617,000 deaths
8,470,000 recoveries
Health Protocols for Voters and Elections (English)
County Disaster Declaration (English)
March 16 FISD Letter (English) (Spanish)
March 31 FISD Letter (English) (Spanish)
Letter from City Manager (English) (Spanish)
Friona Community Helpline (English)
2-1-1 Texas Social Services Hotline (English)
Share The Facts about COVID-19 (English) (Spanish)
What You Need To Know (English) (Spanish)
What To Do If You Are Sick (English) (Spanish)
County Clerk PSA (English)
Chamber of Commerce Letter to Businesses (English)
FISD Emergency Resolution (English)
Covid Risk Chart (English)
