The 2020 Homecoming Queen and her Court (l-r) Rebecca Maldonado, Yazmyne Romero, Homecoming Queen Nohemi Castillo, Tiffany Sandoval, and Kayli Stone.
Evening walk at Reeve Lake...just beautiful (photo by Carolyn Wiseman)
By Darla Bracken
Fall is in the air! Our town has celebrated harvest every year for nearly our entire 114 year history...so it seems like parade time. Many of us remember the American Legion Post 206's honor guard presenting the colors: our beloved 'Star Spangled Banner.' Hats off! Hands over your hearts! Our flag is passing by in review...God Bless America!
American Legion Post 206 is the oldest organization in FRIONA organized in April 1934 and chartered in March 1939. The Legion's Women's Auxiliary soon followed in June 1935. One of its earliest major achievements was to assist in building the Veteran's Hospital in Amarillo. Another first order of business was to build a meeting place. Countless donations and fundraisers- bake sales, pie suppers--with every activity dedicated to that end. Soon they dug a 20 ft. by 60 ft. basement on donated land near the corner of 7th and Washington with plans to construct a building on top. In 1945, the Legion purchased and moved the old XIT Syndicate Hotel from east of Hub to that same corner. Normally, Post 206 meets at 119 W. 6th, which also houses the Book Shoppe. However, because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of heating and air conditioning, they are meeting at the XIT Community Building in Bovina.
The Legion has always been generous in community support as well as sharing their meeting space with Boy Scouts and other groups, loaning veterans medical equipment, sponsoring Gold Star Mothers, decorating the veterans graves on Memorial Day, Auxiliary seeking donations for Poppies made by disabled American Veterans, and sponsoring Boys State and Girls State each year.
From their mission creed: "For God and country...we associate ourselves together..."to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, to maintain law and order...to promote Americanism...to promote peace and good will on earth…" One of their earliest activities has been to sponsor young people to Boys and Girls State. "American Legion's Boys State is among the most respected and selective educational of government instruction programs for high school students in America."
At American Legion Boys State, participants are exposed to the rights and privileges, the duties and responsibilities of an American citizen. The training is objective and practical with city, county and state governments set up and operated by students in their state's capital as elected officials to help serve as a safeguard for democracy before the students achieve voting age.
The youth movement known as Boys State originated in the Illinois state American Legion in 1934 and adopted by the National organization in 1935 and is now in operation in 48 states (Alaska and Hawaii do not operate their own programs, but send delegates to other states) plus the Panama Canal Zone and the District of Columbia. The first Boys State was held June 10, 1940. The group produces a newspaper called "The Lone Star Stater." The highest offices elected by Boys State are Governor and Lt. Governor who are then eligible to attend the Governors Ball and then National Boys State. There are 1,100 participants in Texas each year. Delegates are housed at Prather Hall on the University of Texas campus and serve in the state Capital in Austin each second week in June.
The program is an intense, week long program that provides the opportunity to learn by doing, for a new appreciation for patriotism and to: develop new and lasting friendships, develop a better understanding of how to build a consensus through discourse and debate, gain knowledge of a two-party political system and put that knowledge to action, to learn flag etiquette and to understand the part they are to play in our society as they become adults.
The Legion accepts applications from which nominations and selections are made. Skills recognized include: ability to learn quickly, interpersonal, leadership, public speaking, and plain old hard work. Local legion posts sponsor the delegates who receive certificates, shirts and medals. In 2020, for the first time in their 80 year history, Boys State held their program virtually through Zoom.
Riley Davidson, the 17 year old son of Stuart and Julie Davidson, grandson of Rex and Darla Bracken of FRIONA and Steve and Sally Davidson of Idalou, was greatly honored to represent Friona and Parmer County at the 80th session. Riley is the second member of his family to attend Texas Boys State. His uncle, Lt. Colonel Silas Davidson, attended in 1995 from Idalou and is now a professor at West Point. "Our family is very proud of this honor for Riley and wish to express our appreciation to SFC (Ret) Ricardo Villarreal, American Legion Post 206 Commander/Adjutant and Legion members for the awards."
Jared Boyd named Chief of Staff
First-year Texas Tech Lady Raider basketball coach Krista Gerlich finalized the program's coaching and support staffs for 2020-21. "I couldn't be more excited and confident in the staff that we have put together to lead Lady Raider Basketball back to prominence," Gerlich said. "We have veterans who have recruited and won at the highest level, along with some of the best and brightest up-and-coming stars in our profession who are all equipped for the challenge ahead.
"I've always been told to surround myself with good people and good things will happen; well, I couldn't have better PEOPLE around me. They are extremely hard workers, they operate with the upmost integrity and they all have a unified calling to be servant leaders. This Lady Raider coaching staff has what it takes to attract high quality players, coach and win in high-level games while positively impacting the lives of our student-athletes, Texas Tech University and the community of Lubbock. We are finally complete and already implementing positive change within the Lady Raider program."
Associate head coach JC Carter and assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Ashley Crawford, as well as chief of staff Jared Boyd and director of operations Jordan Vessels come to Tech after serving on Gerlich's staff at UT Arlington. Assistant coach Eric Ely joins the Lady Raider program after 10 seasons at Oregon State.
Jared Boyd enters his first season on staff at Texas Tech as chief of staff, following two seasons as director of operations on Krista Gerlich's staff at UT Arlington. In his role at UTA, Boyd managed day-to-day administrative responsibilities, scheduling of practices and workouts, arranging team travel, coordinating scouting and film preparation and overseeing the student managers.
Boyd graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Sports and Exercise Science from West Texas A&M in 2012 where he served as a student assistant for Gerlich. He graduated from Texas Tech in 2015 with a Masters Degree in Sports Management.
At Tech, Boyd manages day to day admin responsibilities including public relations and community outreach for Coach Gerlich and the Lady Raider team. He will help with scheduling of practices, coordinating scouting and film preparation and scheduling and organizing community service projects. You can contact him at jared.boyd@ttu.edu.
Source: texastech.com
Parmer Medical Center and Friona Rural Health Clinic are once again going to be offering a Flu Shot Clinic. The flu shot clinic will be a little different this year to be in compliance with the COVID 19 guidelines.
The influenza (flu) vaccinations will be administered at a drive-thru clinic located at Parmer Medical Center on Saturday, October 3rd from 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. They will have signs showing where to enter and exit and there will be staff personnel present to assist if you have questions. The shots will be given under the canopy at the main entrance to the hospital and shot recipients should never need to exit their vehicles.
Two different types of vaccinations are being offered this year. The Quadrivalent vaccine protects against four types of influenza - the same three strains as the standard flu shot, plus an additional B-strain virus. This is the same vaccine we have offered the last three years. They are also offering the Fluzone-HD which is more commonly referred to as the "High Dose" flu vaccine. Information from the CDC website regarding the Fluzone-HD vaccine will be available. This may assist individuals in determining which vaccination they want to receive.
The charge for the vaccinations will be totally covered if the recipient is a subscriber to traditional Medicare. You will need to present your Medicare card and driver's license at the time of the injection. For all other vaccination recipients, the cost for the Quadrivalent injection is $29.00 and the Fluzone-HD is $75.00.
Due to additional requirements for Medicaid flu shot recipients, they will need to receive their flu shots at Friona Rural Health Clinic. For more information, please call Veronica Gafford at 806-250-2781 or Rhonda Wilkins at 806-250-2754.
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The teaching profession is challenging under normal conditions. Toss in a pandemic and it can be downright brutal. The Friona Star would like to commend all our educational professionals and FISD personnel who are definitely going "above and beyond" in their effort to educate the kids of our community in these trying times. Thank You.
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The Friends of the Library Book Shoppe will begin fall and winter hours next week. The book shop, located at 119 West 6th, will be open Wednesday afternoons from 3:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m.
Appointments are no longer necessary, but only two customers or one customer family/friend group will be able to shop at a time due to social distancing requirements, so you may have a slight delay before entering.
You may call 265-5811 to request a visit at another time if Wednesdays are not convenient. The book shop sells good quality used books for one dollar a bag, and all proceeds benefit Friends of the Library projects.
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Friona High School yearbooks ranging from 2006 through 2020 are available to purchase. Contact Mr. Monk or the High School office for more information. You also can pre-order the 2021 yearbook online by going to JostensYearbooks.com.
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Bi-Wize is now fully open with a few modifications. Masks are not mandatory, but are preferred at least for the near future.
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This Friday is "One-Hit Wonder" Day. There are a lot to choose from, but I think the one that was the biggest hit and sold the most "records" (ancient terminology) was "You Light Up My Life" by Debbie Boone.
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Prairie Acres is finalizing its new protocol for visitation. Governor Abbott has issued new guidelines for qualifying facilities which allows for more flexibility for family members to see their loved ones. The article containing the guidelines can be found in this edition of the Friona Star.
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The show American Pickers on the History Channel is currently planning on returning to Texas this November. They are looking for leads throughout the state, specifically interesting characters with interesting items and lots of them! Mike and Frank only pick private collections so NO stores, malls, flea markets, museums, auctions, businesses or anything open to the public. You can contact them at 1-855-OLD-RUST (653-7878), or by email, which is AmericanPickers@cineflix.com or Facebook: GOTAPICK
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National Days
September 24 - Punctuation Day!
September 25 - One-Hit Wonder Day
September 26 - Pancake Day
September 27 - Crush a Can Day
September 28 - Good Neighbor Day
September 29 - VFW Day
September 30 - Chewing Gum Day
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)
