McMurtry got it right

- Scott's Corner & Rotan -

When I get frustrated with all things political in Fisher County and the outlandish behavior of some local high profile individuals, I am just going to think about Larry McMurtry's Texasville and know he hit the nail on the head. It's not so far-fetched that a giant wall of tumbleweeds would take out the town. Not at all.

The water line project has gotten to Scott's Corner. Further lines have been staked out along FM 611, going east towards Rotan.

Now that Dollar General in Roby is open, I can make a little drive to Rotan to get .25¢ gallon jugs of filtered water from the kiosk next to Dairy Queen, then on to Roby for shopping. It's nice to wheel a cart around a brand-spanking new store and pick up some essentials.

The Rotan DG looks finished and the lights are on, but the building is sitting empty at this time.

Ace Hardware is coming along. There are a lot of workers there finishing up the store.

The condemned house is still standing on the corner lot of Sammy Baugh and North Richard in Rotan. City council talked about getting someone to tear it down in their meeting this week.

The old hospital hasn't had any work on it since the city sold it, but the grass is cut and foliage is trimmed.

The photos are of Scott's Corner, Ace, the condemned trailer house and the Callan Hospital building.

Commissioners call special meeting, 2024 final

Fisher County Commissioners have called a special meeting for December 31, 2024, 9 a.m.

The only item of action listed on the meeting agenda is to appoint a sheriff.

Look another direction

In regard to politics, I've always thought it was better to cast the eye locally rather than nationally, because the votes count one for one in a county or city, making the power of a constituent stronger. 

I am coming around to the idea that the closer view is no more enlightening or meaningful than that of an unknown horizon. 

Fisher County is starting out the year with three appointed people in elected positions. The sheriff, the county treasurer and the county lawyer have been chosen by the commissioners, not by the voters. 

The treasurer's change has not been announced officially. I'm reading between the lines. In the first commissioners meeting of December, the county judge, Ken Holt, said the signature card on the county accounts needed to be changed to Brandi Duniven, because "Jeanna is...". That's all. Fill in the blank.

It is a tragedy to lose Jeanna Parks as treasurer, if that is what's happening. I consider her to be the voice of basic, factual reason; steadfast; no hiding or dodging. Her numbers don't lie. They are posted with the commissioners court minutes. They are transparent. In Parks' case, that word is meaningful, not just thrown out there as a cover-your-ass blanket statement.

The special meeting called by the commissioners mid-December, with an agenda that indicated it was for precinct three funding to wrap up the year, seemed to really be about commissioners Gordon Pippin (precinct one) and Preston Martin (precinct three, final term) to have one last go at each other. There are other, more important issues that could have justified a meeting. More is not said, than is said, at these get-togethers.

So, Duniven, administrative assistant to the Fisher County Treasurer, will be taking over Parks' role, it looks like; Morgan Brooks, Sweetwater lawyer, and soon to be Nolan County Attorney, has been appointed to take over Michael Hall's spot as Fisher County Attorney; an unknown person will be taking over as Fisher County Sheriff in January, whether that person is Tom Pohlman, the currently appointed sheriff, or another individual chosen by the commissioners court.

This is the view of a citizen from the west side of the county, with no courthouse affiliations. This is what it looks like from the outside.

Things going on

- IREN, Childress Co., Texas -

I didn't get on here in time to announce the special meeting held by Fisher County Commissioners this morning, but it's online at the Double Mountain Chronicle facebook page, if you'd like to watch it. It will also be posted on the Fisher County Courthouse Texas YouTube site.

I drove up to the Childress area to check out the IREN bitcoin mining project going on there. First I drove through a new solar construction zone, mistaking it for the IREN site. There's a lot of building going on in that area, around a community called Kirkland, but Childress County has a lot of space, and these huge projects seem to take up a small portion of it when looking at all that sky.

Between Childress and Guthrie, Guthrie and Aspermont, there is restful landscape to lay the eye on from horizon to horizon. I stopped in Paducah, between Childress and Guthrie, and got a cheeseburger from the Dairy Maid. There's more fries comes with that order than I can eat. Reminds me of the old days (1970's).

There's some activity going on out by the Wetsel Substation, where IREN has bought property for the Fisher County bitcoin mining project. It's just north of where the Claytonville gas plant used to be.

So, while I was looking to the left, something else was happening on my right. In Sweetwater, a data storage facility has been installed on Sam Houston Street. Veribi has a much smaller operation than IREN. I don't even know if it's the same product. If you stop at the 1 1/2 acre site and listen, it sounds like a giant evaporative cooler.

My guess is that there are some lucrative government subsidies for this industry, much like that for the windmills and solar farms. Chances are they'll be popping up everywhere, big and small.

One other thing, the Dollar General in Roby has opened. That is massive progress in this county and brings a department store a few more miles closer to my house.

December 2024 public meetings

• Monday, December 9, 7 a.m. - Fisher County Appraisal District Board of Directors
• Monday, December 9, 9 a.m. - Fisher County Commissioners Court
• Monday, December 9, 6 p.m. - Roby Consolidated Independent School District Board of Trustees
  
• Thursday, December 12, 7 a.m. - Rotan City Council
• Thursday, December 12, noon - Roby City Council
• Monday, December 16, 7:00 p.m. - Rotan Independent School District Board of Trustees
  
• Monday, December 23, 5:30 p.m. - Fisher County Hospital District Board of Directors

Meetings that are highlighted have been confirmed. All others have been placed on their default date.

Out west and around the county

- Spring Creek tributary -

The four inches of rain that fell west and south of Hobbs during the beginning of November swelled up the dry creeks. The tank behind my house spilled over twice. That ought to tide us over for a little while. It can be quite a dry spell between fall and February.

Next Wednesday looks like we might get close to a freeze. Those last few tomatoes better grow fast before being pulled to ripen on the window sill.

The Rotan water line project is coming along. Right now, they're about to cut across Fisher County Road 347, north of FM 1614. They are replacing a part of the Snyder to Rotan aqueduct. 

I got lost in McCaulley today. First I went too far east towards Anson, and then I couldn't find the community center. Sometimes I'm a real airhead. Just go to the big bridge east of Roby on US 180, then go north on FM 57 about two miles. Find the old school and then look to the east. There's a huge metal building. There will be a lot of cars around it. 

They're having a big sale out there and have all kinds of good stuff to buy. I got some books and a quilt and a necklace. The sale will be continuing tomorrow (Saturday) at 9 a.m.

Also going on tomorrow, as well as Sunday, is the Pete Garcia Estate Sale in Rotan. It's taking place at 1011 North Tyler and starts at 8 a.m. both days.

It looks like the Dollar General store in Roby will be opening soon. There are people inside of it putting up inventory. I noticed today that the Rotan site is called DG Market. The outside of Ace Hardware in Rotan is up. I'm looking forward to getting in these stores.

I finished up my jaunt by getting a .25 cent gallon of water in Rotan and going to The Country Store. A person can never have too many books, right?

Out west and around the county

- Trencher, west of Hobbs -

Work on the City of Rotan water project is continuing out in the Hobbs area. It's pretty busy west of the Hobbs School, in eastern Scurry and western Fisher counties. Equipment and vehicles hauling pipes can be seen going up and down the state and county roads.

The commissioners court is going to be interesting next week, in light of the outcome of the Fisher County election. Simon Wade, former sheriff, who resigned last March, won the race by an overwhelming margin. Tom Pohlman, a sheriff's department employee at the time of Wade's resignation, was appointed as sheriff after Wade's departure. There's an article in the Double Mountain Chronicle this week that explains the situation. 

The commissioners court regular meeting is set for November 12. A special meeting to conduct the local canvass is slated for the following week, November 18.

Three and half inches or so of rain was measured in the Hobbs area last week. More rain is expected today and tomorrow, spurred by an upper level low coming through. Severe weather is predicted.

Sources:

• Double Mountain Chronicle
• Fisher County
• National Weather Service

A tale of two stores

- Dollar Generals, Fisher Co -

Construction of the new Dollar General Stores in Rotan and Roby wrapped up this week.

I'm really looking forward to the grand opening of these businesses. I drove to Sweetwater for a new coffee maker this morning. It would have been nice to drive 13 miles instead of 30. 

Snyder is closer to my house, only 21 miles, but I had to go to Rotan and Roby to take these photos. I like the Sweetwater Walmart better, anyway.

I hope they cut those ribbons, soon. I'm ready to buy cat food, Snickers, ballpoint pens, Windex, motor oil and milk in Fisher County.

Ballot info, early voting Oct 21; General Election Nov 5

Candidates on all ballots throughout Fisher County:

• President: Trump/Vance, Harris/Walz, Oliver/ter Maat, Stein/Ware 
• Write-in candidates: Ayyadurai/Ellis, Cuellar/Lasley, DeLaCruz/Garcia, Fox/McVay, Sonski/Onak, West/Abdullah

• U. S. Senator: Allred, Brown, Cruz
• Write-in candidates: Andrus, Roche
  

• U. S. Represenative District 19: Arrington, Johnson, Lewis
  

• Railroad Commissioner: Craddick, Culbert, Dunlap, Espinoza
• Write-in candidate: McKibbin

• Justice, Texas Supreme Court, Place 2: Blalock, Jones

• Justice, Texas Supreme Court, Place 4: Devine, Weems

• Justice, Texas Supreme Court, Place 6: Bland, Goldstein, Roberson

• Presiding Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals: Schenck, Taylor

• Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 7: Parker, Mulder

• Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 8: Finley, Anyiam

• Member, Texas State Board of Education, District 15: Kinsey, Kirkpatrick, Westbrook

• Texas State Representative, District 69: Coppage, Frank

• Chief Justice, Texas 11th Court of Appeals District: Bailey

• District Judge, Texas 32nd Judicial District: Harrison

• District Attorney, Texas 32nd Judicial District: Thompson

• Fisher County Sheriff: Wade
• Write-in candidate: Pohlman

• Fisher County Tax Assessor-Collector: Speck

Candidates on ballots in divided Fisher County districts:

• Precinct 1 Commissioner: Pippin; Precinct 3 Commissioner: Posey

• Rotan ISD Board Trustee candidates: McWilliams, Weems, Stanley, Mullins, Carrillo, Spruill, Clary

• Roby CISD Board Trustee candidates: Carrion, Whitefield, Estes, Edmonson

• Hermleigh ISD Board Trustee candidates: Tate, Taylor, Pence, Claxton, Minton, Beane

Two bonds for Rotan Independent School District:

• Proposition A: $5,700,000 bond (for school construction)
  
• Proposition B: $800,000 bond (for teacher housing)
  

Notes:

• Vote Texas
• Secretary of State Candidate Information
• Fisher County Election Page Sample Ballots
  

Get this name write

- Official write-in candidate -

The Fisher County Sheriff's race is bound to be an interesting local contest in the November 4 general election.

The Texas Secretary of State has the current sheriff, Tom Pohlman, registered as an official candidate.

Pohlman was appointed as sheriff last March. This was after the former sheriff, Simon Wade, resigned, when it became certain Wade would be ousted for licensing issues.

Wade is still on the ballot under the Republican Party, while Pohlman is designated as a write-in.

Link: Texas Secretary of State Candidate Information

Water plans in progress

- Pipes for water -

Inventory is being stockpiled at a location west of Hobbs for the City of Rotan water line project. The Texas Water Development Board lists the cost as $5,202,068. It is being financed by a general operations bond that the council approved in 2020 to raise $2,275,000, and a $2,927,068 grant from the TWDB Drinking Water Safety Revolving Fund.

Jacob Martin is the engineer for the project. Bids for service on the JM site give an idea of what costs are for labor, materials, and equipment. The work will be carried out in four segments.

The TWDB shows the construction site to be near Midway, on Farm to Market 1614, in Scurry County, where water for Rotan is transported by a network of pipes after purchase from the City of Snyder.

The city awarded the job to Whitewater Construction. Their company office is in Waco.

Second week of September events

- Sept. mud bog -

There are a few things going on this weekend to take pleasure in and enjoy the fresh weather we're having.

It is Rotan Homecoming Week and the Yellowhammers will play against the Rule Bobcats Friday night, Sept. 13, at 7:30 p.m. The parade and bonfire will be on Wednesday, Sept. 11.

There will be a mud bog at the rodeo grounds west of Rotan on Saturday, Sept. 14. Gates will open at 11:00 a.m. General admission is $10. That evening there will be a dance at the pavilion featuring singer Robert Sullivan.

In Nolan County, the Sweetwater Jaycee Roosters will have their annual fall motorcycle rally. The event will begin Friday night and last through Sunday. That will take place at the Sweetwater Lake Park, by the amphitheater below the dam.

The Snyder Downtown Farmer's Market will be going on this Saturday. After this weekend, there are only two more left for the 2024 season.

The West Texas Fair & Rodeo is going into its second week and will finish off Saturday night with a concert by Isaac Cole in the H-E-B Pavilion at the fair grounds in Abilene.

Commissioners court notes Sept 2024

- Fisher County Jail -

Commissioners court started off with scathing commentary by employees from the county tax office. Their remarks depicted a tense and dissonant atmosphere in the courthouse offices.

In budget talks, there were a lot of numbers tossed around confusingly. A declaration from one commissioner that he would not approve a budget in deficit, then going on to approve the budget, did not make anything clearer.

It seems the jail has been left out, but I couldn't tell you for sure. I would recommend money for them to buy a case of Round Up. There are tumbleweeds as big as cows in that yard. 

Aesthetically, I wish they would turn the commissioners tables around so they didn't have to talk over their shoulders to address the judge and the clerks. 

Whoever is clicking a pen throughout the meeting should be suppressed, Alice in Wonderland style.

I wonder, do these people talk to each other before meetings? Everyone except the auditors are ill prepared. The judge seemed angry that members did not know about a Nolan County attorney he was going to propose for Fisher County usage, despite his having told no one of the plan. 

I don't understand the justification for raising tax rates by any of the entities. They are begging poor, but people have paid more taxes in the past two years to the county than in their whole lifetime, due to oil royalties. Multiply that by however many people are on a lease and that adds up to a lot of money. Those amounts are easily verified on the appraisal district site, in case you think I'm exaggerating.

But, what do I know? I'm just an observer. You can be one, too. The Double Mountain Chronicle broadcasts the meetings live on facebook, and the county places video of the meetings on the home page of their website. Just look up to the right and click on youtube.

Links:

• Fisher County, Texas
  
• Fisher County Appraisal District
• Double Mountain Chronicle on facebook
• Fisher County on youtube
  

The week of meetings, Sept 2024

Next week is going to be busy with meetings. Here are dates, times and places of some of them:

Fisher County Commissioners Court, Monday, September 9,  9:00 a.m.

Clear Fork Groundwater Conservation District will meet at noon on September 9, at the USDA service center in Roby, located on Lyon Street, west.

Fisher County Appraisal District Board of Directors meeting, Tuesday, September 10, 7:00 a.m., at the CAD office across from the courthouse, north side. 

The Fisher County Historical Commission meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 6:00 p.m. at the museum in Roby. That would be September 10, on Concho, just north of the red light.

Fisher County new grand jury, Wednesday, September 11, 9:00 a.m., Fisher County Courthouse.

Also next week, if going by the default schedule, Rotan and Roby City Councils will meet on the second Thursday of the month, September 12. Rotan meets at 7:00 a.m. at Rotan City Hall on west Sammy Baugh, and Roby meets at noon at Roby City Hall on Lyon Street, just west of the red light.

A little news and a bunch of bugs

- Night flight bugs -

There was a pretty good rain around Hobbs yesterday, a little over an inch, but rain doesn't come without consequence around here. This time it was thousands and thousands of bugs. They looked like termites with wings and they all wanted in my house. I put in earplugs to keep them out of my ears, and got out the vacuum. The only good thing I can say about them is that they didn't bite or sting.

You can follow the progress of the new hardware store on facebook. Fisher Ace Hardware & Farm Supply in Rotan has a page with a lot of interesting photos and videos. They documented pouring the store foundation, reporting that it took 27 trucks to get the job done.

The land deal has gone through for the Dollar General store in Rotan. Expect to see groundwork being laid on the southern edge of town. Dollar General in Roby is in construction now.

Stoney LaRue will be playing at the Taylor County Coliseum Friday, September 5, during the West Texas Fair and Rodeo in Abilene. Table, floor and balcony seats are available. Performance begins at 9 p.m.

Taylor Sheridan's Yellowstone is coming back November 10, and Tulsa King will return September 15. I swore I would never watch another Sheridan production until he showed us the last episodes of season five of Yellowstone, but Tulsa King is coming on first, so I will be breaking my vow. The shows will air on Paramount Network and Paramount+.

Are you registered to vote?

In light of current newspaper and internet articles touting the scouring of Texas voter rolls, it's a good idea to check that your name is still on there. I have more faith in the abilities of the professionals who run the elections in our county than I do in the word of the governor, who likes to spin an ongoing maintenance program as his new, good idea, but it can't hurt to have a look.

On the official website of Texas, tex.gov, you can check your voter registration status in a variety of ways, using your voter identification, driver's license, or name, along with your birthday, to see if you are eligible to vote in the next election.

And now for a little ragtime

- Obituary for Day -

Luella Lucile Hudson Day (Ella Hudson Day), a prominent Rotan citizen in the early 1900's, composed music and wrote songs. Two of her ragtime tunes, Quality Rag (1909) and Fried Chicken Rag (1912), were nationally known. Day's Quality Rag was composed a few years before Scott Joplin's or James Scott's pieces of similar name.

As time goes on, I wonder if people get weary of their hometown heroes. Without a street named after them, they fade into the background.

In a 1966 Abilene Reporter article, Day and Josie Baird were listed alongside Sammy Baugh as noted citizens of Fisher County.

Josie Baird was a well-known teacher at Rotan. She wrote Tom Bond, Bronc-buster,Cow-poke and Traildriver. A scholarship has been given in her name by Gamma Tau Chapter of the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.

Sources:

• Musescore
• The Portal to Texas History, obituary
• The Portal to Texas History, article 
• Rag Piano
• Double Mountain Chronicle, Baird scholarship 
  

Hobbs School reunion set

Hobbs homecoming will be Saturday, October 19. The reunion is to take place in the annex by the gym. Registration commences at 10 a.m., with lunch to follow at noon. A formal program is not planned, but a microphone will be available for those wishing to address the gathering. Josh Helms' Rough Creek Catering will provide the meal. Price is $18 per plate.

IREN presents project information

Today, at the Fisher County Commissioners meeting, representatives from IREN came before the court to introduce themselves and to discuss a possible tax abatement for a project they want to set up in the county. Jason Date, Michael Leamons and Nicole Dill gave their spiel and promised jobs, retail sales and donations to local groups to make the project more lucrative. It sounds like what they want from the county is large, open land and an easy hook-up into electric transmission lines. 

Jason described the company as a sustainable data center. I got excited because I thought it meant all the county records would be in a huge, searchable database. I was wrong.

IREN is a bitcoin mining company. An article from the New Scientist website, written by Matthew Sparkes, gives a pretty good description of bitcoin.

More important is the definition of a data center. It's a large, temperature-controlled warehouse filled with computers, according to a Science for Georgia document. 

IREN has a project going in Childress. There is a video detailing the path to making that deal.

The company has already obtained several hundred acres in Fisher County, around the Wetsel Substation on FM 611, under the name IE US Development Holdings 5.

Looking over the internet, I couldn't figure out whether to be pro or con. Some say the data centers use too much energy and have a lot of emissions. Others say the data centers stabilize the electric grid by keeping energy expectations at a steady level. That is evidently done by using more electricity, that would otherwise be wasted, during slack periods, while using less electricity when energy is needed by other consumers, like during a heatwave or cold snap.

Soon we might be adding another line to our county industry banner: cattle, cotton, oil, wind energy, solar energy and bitcoin mining.

NASDAQ:IREN  

Roby possible site for Dollar General

- East Roby -

Dollar General has registered details for a store in Roby with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.

The site address is 411 East South First Street, east of the Fisher County Courthouse. 

Square footage for the building is listed as 9,100 with an estimated cost of $750,000.

Construction is currently going on at the site.