Rotan Advance / Roby Star Record Highlights 7/6

• Summer Youth Activities Schedule
• Terrye Gruben is New County Auditor
• Bettye Jo Vaught Retires as County Auditor
• Country Market & Cafe Opens in Roby, formerly Circle D
• Very Funny Editor's Column Regarding Public Restrooms
• Notice of Sheriff's Sale
• McCright Family Reunion
• Louada Posey Obituary
• Lots of July 4th Photos from the Park
• Bridal Shower to be held for Kasey King & Josh Lindsey
• Bridal Shower to be held for Veronica Thomas & J.R. Tankersley

Selections for the showers are at the Newspaper Office.

The Fireworks show was really something and there were a lot of folks out to see it. The explosions were so loud you could feel them. Can't wait 'til next year!

What You Missed This Week, June 29...

in the Rotan Advance / Roby Star:

• 4th of July Celebration to be held
• Roby Lions Club Officer Installation
• Rotan Represented on Region Council
• Blood Drive July 3rd
• Rotan School Board Minutes
• Fisher County Hospital Board Minutes
• Calvin & Glenna Crow 60th Anniversary Announcement
• Crow-Lambert Reunion Notes
• Obituaries for James W. Adams, Jr. and George Edward Maule
• Notice of Sale of Property by the Rotan ISD
• Quad County (West Division) Baseball Photos

and much, much more. You ought to sign up and get the details!

George Maule dies at Age 84

I just received the news that my buddy George died about 6 p.m. today. His funeral will be at 10 a.m. Thursday morning at the First Methodist Church in Rotan.

What You Missed This Week...

..by not getting the Rotan Advance / Roby Star Record. Here's the highlights:

• Summer Youth Programs, numerous activities for the kids, including movies at the old Lance Theatre
• Stetson Rasberry joins the Texas State Hgih School Rodeo Team
• Fisher County ban burn enacted June 15th
• Chris Gonzales signs with Ranger College
• Cross Roads Vacation Bible School this week
• Spencer-Paske engagement announcement
• Births of Hunter Lee Bowman and Xander Coe Moffett
• James Ratliff's three-legged calf
• Cleveland / Moise Reunion highlights
• Obituaries for Merry Lou (Terry) Fuller and D.L. Knight
• Joy Walker's County Round-Up

...and much, much more, including recipes, classified ads and legal notices. For some reason there wasn't a blotter this week. Someone important must have gotten arrested this week! If you want to subscribe, just click on the link in the right column and get the information.

Hobbs Reunion Planned for October

The Hobbs School reunion has been planned for Saturday, October 21 this year. There will be a morning program and lunch in the gym. If you want to be added to the invitation list (either e-mail or paper mail), drop me a line at leslietempleton@yahoo.com. If you're here during the week, be sure to check out the old auditiorium, which I believe was restored a couple of years ago. There are photos of past graduates in the gym, and there have been upgrades done to the school itself.
Take some time to stop by the cemetery and pay your respects to family members and friends, and maybe run over to Rotan to see what's new there.
They're hoping for a big turnout this year!

Hobbs News

I have added two new links over in the right hand column, one with information about the local newspaper, the Rotan Advance/Roby Star, and one that goes directly to the Hobbs High School Classmates registration page.

Classmates basic membership is free, and there is always some sort of information to be gleaned there. I signed up for a 3-month gold membership recently, which was nice because I could add photos and announcements, and also look around a little deeper into the site.

I had to make sure to go in and change the payment plan on my account, though, because their default is an automatic draft from your bank or credit card account.

I am going to dig up some alumni information and make that available here, soon. I believe a Hobbs High School Reunion is scheduled for this year.

Todd Matthies Dies at 37

John Todd Matthies of Roby, Texas died May 29 in Roby.

Todd, as he was known to everyone, was born September 9, 1968 in Abilene, Texas. He was the son of Shirley (Farmer) Jeffrey and the late John Matthies (died at age 42). He graduated from McCaulley High School in 1987 and Tarleton State University in 1991. Todd married Fonda Jeffrey August 27, 1990, in Snyder.

Todd worked for the Texas Department of Transportation in Roby as a sign man. He was a member of the First Baptist Church in Roby.

He was preceded in death by his brother-in-law Todd Wayne Jeffrey, as well as his father, John.

Survivors include his wife, Fonda, son and daughter Heath and Hope, mother and stepfather Shirley and Billy Wayne Jeffrey, brother Rodney Matthies, sister-in-law Jana Bond and husband Ricky, step-grandparents Truett and Jewell Jeffrey, and nephews and niece David Bond, Judd Bond, Carl Bond and Kristi Smith and husband Joe.

Todd was buried at Roby Cemetery on May 31. The funeral procession was lead by the TxDOT sign truck that he worked in.

Rotan High School Graduates

Rotan High School Class of 2006 graduated Friday night at 8 p.m. It is so exciting to see these young people on the doorstep of adult life. The program was emotional, with the presentation of the Haley Helms Scholarship and the Coach Eric Alvarez Scholarship, a memories slide show ending in the song "Free Bird" by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and presentation of roses by the graduates to the special people in their lives. A special thank you goes out to Principal Bob Spikes, who persevered and made graduation possible for students that others had serious doubts about reaching the goal. Congratulations and Woohoo! to the Class of '06!

What the Hail?

We really took a pounding last night when tennis and golfball size hail moved through the area. This formed between our place and Snyder within a 45 minute time frame and within a 17 mile area. I could hear roaring as it approached and I thought it was a tornado. My daughter and I were in the cellar, but my husband stayed inside with the dog. He said it looked like cannonballs were being thrown into the tank (that's a pond) when the hail hit the water. It was scary and another hailstorm followed just a while after this one. The windshields were broken on all our vehicles and there is a lot of body damage. There was also a window broken on the house. I don't always love living in Texas, ya know.

Prickly Pear Blooming

A friend gave me a field guide this week, written by Zoe Merriman Kirkpatrick, entitled "Wildflowers of the Western Plains". It has been invaluable in helping to identify all the pictures of flowers I have taken. It's nice not to have to shuffle through a bunch of plants that don't grow in this region, and the photos make for fast identification. I just can't get enough of the flowers!