Coquettish Spring

I always think of spring as a temperamental and somewhat self-indulgent woman. This week she flicked her skirts with showy colors then covered up again in a cold gray coat of ice and dismal rain. Today she's feeling playful and the sun is shining in a bright blue sky. Soon, she'll feel stormy.

I sound like Snoopy, writing his story, "It was a dark and stormy night". It's been a very long week, folks, I swear it lasted a month. I'm ready to say "Calf rope!" and call it good.

The photo today is from the icy weather we had this week, which glazed the already blooming trees. We (ha! he) got the onions in, although some people have already had theirs in for a good month. We may have to buy them this year, or depend on our friends that planted in a more timely manner.

I'm going straight to the Roby Star Record / Rotan Advance headlines before I can lay anymore silliness on you all. Here goes for the March 12, 2009 issue:

• Roby Lady Lions State Champions (big color photo)
• Skywarn training March 16, Roby Community Center
• Savannah Cave of Rotan ISD named to Academic All District Team in Basketball; Krystle Price named second (color photo)
• Marine Antonio Zambrano promoted to Sergeant (color photo)
• Roby CISD, District 14-A All District girls (color photo)
• Hamburger benefit for Ron Acosta March 17, Fisher County Courthouse Square
• Subscription rate and advertising rate change: $30 for Fisher & surrounding counties; $33 in Texas; $35 out-of-state - effective April 1, 2009
  
• Obituaries for Jimmie J. (Fancher) Horton; Basilia "Betsy" Luna
• Pastor's Column: Charles C. Glidewell, Cross Roads Baptist Church
• News Briefs: 18th Annual Spring Swing Women's Gold Tournament May 2
  
• Roby corrected track schedule
• Baby shower selections for Holly Simmons & Adam Skees @ The Yellow Rose inside The Newspaper Office
• Roby school board rehires all teachers & personnel, accepts Mary Mahaffey's resignation
• Bridal registry for Holli Griggs @ The Yellow Rose
• Texas cattle trichomoniasis program adopted, interstate rules effective April 1, in-state rules effective Jan. 1, 2010
• Rotan High School weekly bulletin
• Fisher County Roundup by Joy Walker
• Editorial comment by Rosemary Donham, commending Roby Lady Lions and Roby Lions
• Carrion files for re-election; Pache Parks, Randy Sharp, Roy Rivas file for Roby City Council
• Coffman and Carter file for re-election to hospital board
• Neugebauer: How are these proposals fair to those who made responsible decisions?; We must freeze government spending during these uncertain economic times
• Spring Sports: baseball, track, tennis, power-lifting, softball (photos)
• Sheriff's report
• USDA celebrates National Ag Day, March 9
• Roby City Council votes to purchase meter reading system
• Color photos of Roby Mayor and fans welcoming Lady Lions home
• Fisher County Historical Commission to attend Sagerton Hee Haw Show
• Birth announcement for Grayci LeeAnn McBrayer & Camden Maverick Lummus (color photo)
• Roby One-Act Play to present "Booby Trap" March 23 (color photo)
• Fisher County Commissioners meet with TxDOT rep re: bridge & road repair
• Full color photo page of Roby Lady Lions

That's it for this week. Hope to be more articulate next time. Have a good one!

Roby Lady Lions win state

The final score against Neches was 44-34, the last team Roby had to beat to win the Class 1A Division II State Championship title. We're so proud of those girls! You can read all about it in the Abilene Reporter News. The photo collection that Thomas Metthe created is outstanding. The game took place last night at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin.

Remember to Spring forward today, it's Daylight Savings time. I was upset that we got a call before eight this morning, but I now realize it was just before nine.

The photo today is of my favorite gravestone in the Hobbs Cemetery. While there are many that are more ornate and beautiful, this one is the most poignant in it's simplicity.

My favorite in the Sardis Cemetery is the grave of a child of a poor cotton picker. I can hardly read it without tears coming to my eyes. I'm amazed when a few words can tell a whole story and bring a rush of emotion. Whoever writes these things are literary geniuses.

The Grady Cemetery favorite is that of Johnnie McCombs. It has the famous epitaph that begins "Remember me as you pass by...". The thing about this grave is that no matter how many times we've seen it, it always takes some effort to find every time we visit the graveyard, giving us the eerie illusion that the grave moves around.

I used to think it was a little strange to have favorite gravestones, but through the years I've talked to other people and they tell me about their faves. I'll admit, though, that part of my fascination has to do with all the time I spent at the Hobbs Cemetery with my grandmother when I was little. I thought everyone went to visit the family grave several times a week. In later years, I realized we were there so often because my grandfather had only died the year before I was born, and the death was still new to the family.

This past January marked 45 years that he has been deceased.

Okay, on to the headlines. Here's the sketch from the Roby Star Record / Rotan Advance March 5, 2009 issue:

• Roby Lady Lions state bound (photo)
• Two-vehicle accident (photos)
• Carrion files for re-election, Pache Parks, Randy Sharp & Roy Rivas file for Roby City Council
• Sweetwater City Manager Eddie Brown addresses Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Project concerning water use (this is a real hot topic in Fisher & Nolan counties)
  
• Pastor's Column: Jerry Vincent
• Western Texas College Nursing Program Pinning & Graduation (photo) (woo-hoo, A'Lora!)
• Rotan Schools honor rolls
• Public meeting Mar. 6 @ Fisher County Hospital re: submission of application for financial assistance to be used for ambulance replacement
• Baby shower selection for Holly Simmons & Adam Skees at The Yellow Rose, inside the Newspaper Office
• Fisher County Roundup by Joy Walker
• What's Happened with 4-H by Riley Barnett, Fisher County Extension Agent
• Big Country Electric sponsors three to D.C., announces scholarship winners
• News Briefs: 2010 Census (hiring test info)
• State Rep. Joe Heflin named Vice-Chair of Rural Caucus
• Birth announcement for Brody Creed Evans (photo)
• Rotan High School weekly bulletin
• Roby CISD weekly announcements
• HuckPAC Party (photo), more info at huckpac.com
• Tumbleweed Smith: Adventures in the Sky and on the Ground
• Spring cleaning sale at The Yellow Rose inside the Newspaper Office
• Fisher County sports reports (photos)
• Texas Public Schools month, March (two photo collage pages)
• Randy's Roundup: President Obama's budget proposal; The Federal Government must stop supporting broken banks; Texas Independence Day
• Blood Drive in Rotan, Mar. 9, at The Country Store
• Roby Lady Lions support page (photo)

Once again, I would like to urge you to get your subscription to the Roby Star Record / Rotan Advance. You can contact the newspaper by email at radvance@rotanadvance.com or regular mail at Post Office Drawer A, Rotan, Texas 79546. Subscription rates are as follows per year: in Fisher County & surrounding counties - $30; within Texas - $33; outside Texas - $35.

I'm not affiliated with the newspaper, and anything printed here is merely my interpretation and in no way represents the views of the paper itself. But if you don't get it, then you don't get it! The whole story that is, so get your own subscription before the week's out and read all about the important issues in this community.

STTAR purchases Texas Theatre

The Sweetwater Texas Theatre Acquisition & Restoration committee made a grand victory today when closing papers were signed and Paul Hanneman handed over the keys to the building.

Texas 100 and STTAR raised over $30,000 in donations and pledges, and the Sweetwater Industrial Foundation provided a matching grant of $30,000, helping the foundation raise the neccessary $60,000 to purchase the theatre.

Now the real work can begin. Donations are being accepted for the second part of the STTAR goal: renovation. Contributions can be sent to:

Sweetwater Chamber of Commerce
c/o STTAR
P.O. Box 1148
Sweetwater, TX 79556
325-235-5488.

On hand for the occasion were: (front row) Weston Pyburn, Paul Hanneman (seller), Dr. Cody Wilkinson, Trey Aiken (Sweetwater Industrial Foundation); (back row) Carol Truitt, Mick Truitt, Mayor Greg Wortham, Tom Henderson, Scott Morgan (realtor) and Rachel Newberry (Beall Abstract). Those not otherwise noted are members of STTAR.

Read the full article in the Sweetwater Reporter.

Ethics, conscience and pride

It has come to my attention that some readers are coming to the Holler to read a bit of salaciousness that I wrote about in January. I was contacted by the party in question, but they never requested I remove the information. I have decided to do so on my own, and here's why.

First of all, I don't want to misrepresent my sources. Secondly, I want people to drop by to read homespun anecdotes and to give them contact to a wonderful part of the world that they have fond memories of but may not be able to visit physically.

So, I apologize if the information you seek is not here, but stay and read a bit. You might find that you enjoy it!

Snyder Saturday

On Saturday, we went on a Scurry County excursion that led us from the Sonic to a newly built bridge several miles south of Snyder. Walmart, Towle Park, an abandoned house serving as an owl nest, a collection of defunct pumpjacks, and an interesting guy and his dogs tooling back roads on a gator (John Deere) were all points of interest. My kids were actually having a good time with me. The sunshine was wonderful, despite the wind and cooler weather. Sometimes life is very good.

The photo today is of the new pavilion in Towle Park. There are many new additions and upgrades at the park. The removal of the fence around the pond was one of the best things that has happened there, and the addition of a nice fishing dock.

You can still go see the prairie dogs and feed the ducks and geese. Both are lifelong traditions for me and I'm not sure what I think about how long that is. I'm starting to realize that things I think of as new are at least 40 years old.

You can find out more about the area by reading The Handbook of Texas Online, the Scurry County Chamber of Commerce digital booklet on
Olive, or checking out the TxGenWeb Project for Scurry County.

Okay, pulling back into Fisher County, here are the headlines for The Roby Star Record / Rotan Advance, Feb. 26, 2009 newspaper issue:

• Roby Lady Lions basketball team capture Area Title (photo)
• Roby Lions basketball team earns Bi-District (photo)
  
• Tenaska Trailblazer Energy Project could be a reality in 2010 (photo)
• First Monday Missions benefit for girls softball, Mar. 2
• Shanna Spikes places ninth in San Antonio Stock Show (photo)
• County receives drug forfeiture money (photo)
• Veteran benefits seminar Mar. 14
• Carrion files for re-election; Pache Parks, Randy Sharp & Roy Rivas file for city council
  
• Obituaries for Betty Lou (Hull) McDaniel (photo), Wanda Warren (photo), Ida Kate (Kitty) Williams (photo), Jack Rister, Robert Walter Wright III
  
• Hospital board to hold meeting Mar. 6
• Hospital board meeting minutes for Feb. 23
• Pastor's Column: Charles C. Glidewell, Cross Roads Baptist Church
• Senior Citizens Valentine Banquet sweet success (photos)
• News Briefs: join Team Huck; hiring seminar
• Rotan High weekly bulletin
• Letter to the Editor from Cathy Posey, thanking 4-H members for Valentine Banquet involvement
• Fisher County Roundup by Joy Walker
• Tumbleweed Smith: Little Bitty Rugs
• Sheriff's report
• U.S. Senator John Cornyn: Wasteful spending dressed in Stimulus clothing
• Roby CISD weekly announcements
• Roby CISD honor rolls
• Mrs. Florence Wilburn's 96th Birthday Celebration today at Big Country Electric, everyone invited
• Roby schools track meet schedules
• Fisher County school sports reports, Yellowhammer tennis & track schedules (photos)
  
• National FFA Week photos - two-page spread
• Birth announcement for Gabriel Isaac Enriquez (photo)
• Randy's Roundup: Fiscal Irresponsibility; President Obama's Housing Plan; District Wrap-Up
• Bridal registries for Sunny Riggan & Lance Moore; Laney Marley & Trent Weesner at The Yellow Rose, located inside The Newspaper Office, Rotan
• Rotan FFA results at recent Ft. Worth Stock Show
  

I heard from Denny Cox that the Roby girls won against Strawn yesterday, so they will be heading to Austin on Thursday to compete for the State Championship title. Read about Saturday's game in the Abilene Reporter News.

The UIL website provides championship game schedules and other handy information.

Spring, winter, spring, winter...

It's that time of year when the seasons are confusing. On the one hand, you should already have your onions in the ground, on the other, you better have plenty of firewood cut. I know I've said it before, but I never get used to the moodiness of West Texas weather, even though I've lived here all my life.

I don't know what I had been researching when I suddenly became interested in the train line that used to be in Rotan. I believe my curiosity was peaked when I came across a 1962 picture of the Rotan M.K. & T. (Missouri-Kansas-Texas) depot. Then I started Googling and found out that it was referred to as "the Katy", and my imagination took over. I can just see us going to town to get on the train and casually saying that we would be "catching the Katy". I know that I don't like flying, have a certain feeling that I wouldn't like to be on a ship, but I love the idea of riding the train. Oh, it would be so fun, just to catch a train to Dallas, Louisiana or Albuquerque and spend the weekend. I was disappointed to read that Governor Perry's trans-corridor would not have a future. I was really looking forward to riding the train.

The photo today is from the Van Zandt Genealogical Society page on the ancestry.com website. The caption for the photo reads: "The first Texas Central train rolling into Rotan, Texas from Waco, Texas. George Nolen, roundhouse foreman, receives the train for servicing before it's return trip to Waco."

The article that is with the photo goes on to say that Nolen's youngest child was born on the railway grounds, in a boxcar.

According to the Handbook of Texas Online, The Texas Central line built an additional forty-two-mile extension from Stamford to Rotan during 1906-07. At this point, I wondered how the Texas Central and the Katy were associated, but in the same article it goes on to explain that "the Texas Central was acquired by the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company (Katy) in 1910, but continued to be operated by its own organization until April 30, 1914. Effective May 1, 1914, the Texas Central was leased to the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company of Texas. For the next fifty-three years the Texas Central was operated under lease."

Wikipedia also had some interesting info on the Katy. There's a long list of links at the bottom of that article. I'm sure many of you out there don't need an article or link to tell you about the trains that used to inhabit this part of the country. I envy all of you those memories.

I'm only backed up two newspapers, so let's get right to it. Here are the headlines for the Roby Star Record / Rotan Advance, Feb. 19, 2009 issue:

• Lady Lions clinch district (photo) - Yay, Lara, Tayler & Kim (I know them!)
• Rory Fanning walking across America raising money for Pat Tillman Foundation (photo)
• Roby Cafe under new management (photo) & I hear it's REALLY good
• Roby Lit Critters show strong at Wylie UIL meet (photo)
• Rotan School Board renews contracts for Spikes, Early, Hargrove & Ritchey
• Carrion files for re-election, Pache Parks files for Roby Council
• Rolling Plains Cotton Growers, Inc. annual meeting Feb. 24, Taylor County Fair Grounds
• Obituary for Jerry Clifton Stephenson (photo)
• Tarleton names Carissa Adkins to A honor roll; Shane Stuart earns BS in Agricultural Economics, Cum Laude; Jance Morris, Shane Stuart and Bethany Clements named Distinguished Students
  
• Pastor's Column: Bill Fitzgerald
• Rotan & Roby High School weekly bulletin & announcements
• Engagement announcement for Laney Marley and Michael Weesner (photo)
• Mayor Marshall completes required continuing education hours
• Fisher County Farm Service Agency: Billy Don Atkinson, Executive Director of FSA, reminds agricultural producers of the need for insurance coverage for crops; invites comments on interim rule for implementation of key eligibility requirements
  
• Letter to Roby School from Pat Tillman fund raiser, Rory Fanning
  
• Fisher County Softball Association met Feb. 12
• Congressman Randy Neugebauer's newsletter: votes against Stimulus Bill; Celebrating Black History month; YouTube & Facebook spaces for Congressman
• Tumbleweed Smith: Some of Abe's Kinfolks Live in Alto
• Neugebauer: A Stimulus Bil should stimulate the economy, not increase debt and grow government
• Rotan City Council appoints Debbie Hull to Rotan Housing Authority Board; next meeting Mar. 10
• You are invited to Mrs. Florence Wilburn's 96th Birthday celebration, Mar. 1, 2-4 p.m, Big Country Electric in Roby
• Sheriff's report
• Roby Softball & Baseball schedules
• Fisher County Basketball (photos)
• Fort Worth stock show photos
• DAR hosts Delta Kappa Gamma (photo of DA Ann Reed, Patsy Hamric, Dot Harris & Becky Brown)
• State Rep. Heflin appointed to House Committee on Agriculture & Livestock, House Committee on Elections
• Rotan ISD special board meeting Feb. 9 re: possibility of wind turbines in Rotan school district
• Letter to the Editor from Sheriff Mickey Counts re: private use of county resources

In Rosemary's Editor's Column, the thought for the day is: The person who never makes mistakes is the person who never does anything. Brothers, sisters, that says it all. You gotta take some chances, it's the best way to learn.

Feb. 12 issue:

• Big Country Electric Co-op sponsors annual speech contest
• Tenaska representative presents informative program to the Roby Lions Club (photo)
• Roby school board extends contracts for principals, athletic director
• Rotan Lions Club Pancake Supper successful
• Obituary for Wanda Faye Parker McClendon
• Pastor's Column: Wes Eastman
• Eli Speda files for re-election as Roby mayor
• Joanna Lee named to Dean's List at Stephen F. Austin State University
• Rotan High School weekly bulletin
• Fisher County Historical Commission received program about Dr. Frank Kiefer, an early doctor in the county
• Roby CISD weekly announcements
• Editor's Column: Fire safety
• Knight inks baseball scholarship (photo)
  
• Rotan Economic Development denies funds requests, approves budget
• Roby City Council discusses touch meters; changes to City Charter
• Stacie Whitefield member of Phi Theta Kappa International society
• Roby Jr. National Honor Society members (photo)
• State Rep. Heflin announces availability of new Top Ten Percent College Scholarship
• DAR compiles Valentine cards for veterans
• What's happening in 4-H
• Sr. citizen Valentine Banquet
• First Financial Bankshares named as one of top-performing banks in nation by Bank Director Magazine
  
• Recipe Corner: Rice Casserole (submit recipes to Clay Willingham, 412 N. Orange, Roby, TX 79543)
• Letter to the Editor from Sue Carillo re: brush pile
• Frank Cockrell Art Association to participate in Big Country Annual Meeting in Snyder Apr. 18; progress on Masonic Hall mural project; six murals completed in Roby museum; Larry Williamson presented sculpture program - next meeting Mar. 9, 6 p.m., Rotan Lions Club
• Fisher County basketball page (photos)
• Brent Whitefield graduates from Hallmark College of Aeronautics (photo)
• Commissioners Court lifts burn ban (now back in place), reviews bridge repair for TxDOT
• Fisher County Roundup by Joy Walker, Cross Roads Church holds Valentine Banquet
• Luke Wells, Tanner Mann, & Lauren Meek to participate in Fellowship of Christian Athletes Murle Greathouse All-Star Classic
• Sheriff's report

An interesting link I found this week is from the Texas Board of Nursing, where you are able to verify a license online. It's easy to use and you only need a name to find results.

Enjoy your Sunday, and remember, it's been so long, now, that we've had serious rain, that's it's bound to be coming soon, just around the corner. Just around the corner...

Local radio man dies

Jack A. Stein, 78, died Thursday, Feb. 19, 2009 at the Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital in Sweetwater after a lengthy illness. Service is at 11 a.m. Monday, Feb. 23, in McCoy Funeral Home chapel.

He is survived by son Jeff Stein of Sweetwater, daughter Jan Dickinson of Indiana, and sister Jill Shannon of Big Spring. He was preceded in death by his wife, Maxine.

Jack has been owner/co-owner of KXOX Radio in Sweetwater, Texas since 1957.

Ready for digital

We're ready for the changeover from analog to digital television. We simply traded in our rabbit ears for a set of cat ears. It's the latest thing on the cutting edge of technology.

90% chance of rain tonight, come on, come on!

It has been so dry here that I went to pick up an egg roll last night and it actually popped with a spark of static. You can't keep keep dirt off the TV screen, everything is gritty and dusty, and I think it adds to general malaise of the population. So that's why I say "Rain come on!" Of course, being West Texas, it won't be a gentle patter that you can sleepily dream through, but with high winds and stormy conditions. Oh, well, you can't always get what you want, but sometimes you get what you need. That's what Mick Jagger says, anyway.

I was torn about what photo to put up today, but this post card I found of the old Roby Truck Stop finally won out. It's dilapidated, now, and I have never seen it in decent condition. Wish it was still open so we could go eat breakfast there. On the back it says that J. A. "Jodie" Williams was the owner and Rig Edwards was the Mobil distributor.

The other photos that were in the running was of the estate sale that was south of Rotan yesterday, or of the nine Hobbs Yearbooks I scored there, ranging from year 1958 to 1966. I figured I could get the same reaction if I just bragged about them. I don't know what I'm going to do with them, yet. Maybe hold them for reference, maybe sell them. If there's a picture anyone wants out of them or some info, email me at hobbsholler@hobbsholler and I'll try to help you out.

I have headlines from the last three papers for you. I think the one between the last time I wrote and the oldest date for today is missing. Which means, I'm missing the Jan. 15 issue. It's still a lot of something for nothing, so here you go-

Roby Star Record / Rotan Advance issue for Feb. 5, 2009:

• First National Bank Rotan not compromised by Heartland Payment Systems, Inc. data breach
• Senior Citizen Valentine Banquet Feb. 12
• Congressman Randy Neugebauer votes against stimulus package; remembers Buddy Holly, Big Bopper & Richie Valens Feb. 3
• Baseball sign ups
• Texas Independence Day March 2
• Softball sign ups
• Texas Rep. Heflin announces grand recipients
• Area gins finish up season: Rotan total 37,000 bales, Longworth 18,298
• Sheriff's report
• Tumbleweed Smith: Taking the Polar Express to the North Pole
• Kyle Shipp named to Dean's List at South Plains
• Rotan natives make Angelo State Dean's List: Presley Gaspar, Breanna Marquis & Theresa Soliz
• Angelo State Fall graduates from Rotan: Rebecca Duke, Branna Marquis, Mindy Murphree & Theresa Soliz
• 60th Wedding Anniversary for Billy & Marlene Carter of Odessa, married in Roby 1948 (photo)
• Turner graduates with honors from UT Permian Basin (photo)
• Terms expiring for Roby City Council & Mayor
• Delta Kappa Gamma notes (photo)
• RISD accepting sealed bids on vehicles until Feb. 16
• Texas Preservation Days Feb. 10-11
• Rick Rodgers: Who must file 2008 income tax
• Fisher County basketball (photos)

Jan. 29:

• Roby Lit Crit off to great start (photo)
• FC Hospital Board meets with Dr. Carreon, field report on Trauma Survey
• What's happening in 4-H
• 2008 All Big Country Super Team
• Academic All-District Honors
• Academic All-State Honors
• Upcoming Quail events, Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch
• Donations taken for Tracy (Posey) Lanbaren
• Grass fire burns 500 acres (photo)
• Obituary for Marie J. McCain
• Dean's List students: Lindsy Cave, Chanel Terry
• Graduating students: Chanel Terry
• Pastor's Column: Tim Schwertner
• Texas Rep. Heflin adds Reina Cisneros to staff
• Recipe Corner: Hamburger Patties with Ketchup Gravy
• Tumbleweed Smith: some TV Commercials Should Pay Viewers
• News Briefs: Juneteenth West Texas scholarship applications being taken
• AARP Public Service free income tax service
• 2008 Class 1A All-Big Country football team
• Roby Lions basketball fans (photo)
• State releasing $123.9 million in funds to help low income Texans offset high utility bills
• Shop at The Yellow Rose gift shop inside The Newspaper Office
• Fisher County Basketball (photos)
• Randy's Roundup: The Stimulus Plan; Troubled Assets Relief Fund

Jan. 22:

• Dickson retires from Rotan & National Gypsum (photo)
  
• Memories of John Ervin
• Gin report
• RISD Gold Performance Awards (photos)
• Retirement reception held for Mary Alice Ramirez, Roby CISD
• Local sales tax comparison allocation down
• Golden Spread Electric Coop names new President & General Manager; Big Country Electric is a member of Golden Spread
• Obituary for Alton Wayne Harris
• Sardis Cemetery Association meeting minutes
• Pastor's Column: Charles Glidewell
• Brandi Weathersbee on President's Honor Roll
• Denton announces closing of brush pile at city council meeting
• Graduates: Tyson & Chanel Terry (photo)
• Tumbleweed Smith: Some T & P Railroad Trivia
• Recipe Corner: Salsa Chicken Rice Casserole
• Adrian Daniel named to Dean's List
• HSU graduates
• DeeAnn Springfield certified as coder
• Randy's Roundup: Presidential Inauguration; Honoring Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.; Donating Computers to Locknery High School; National Sanctity of Human Life Day
  
• Fisher County Financial Report
• Rotan students vie for region band honors (photo)
• Rotan fifth grade enjoys concert
• Frank Cockrell Art Association hosted Nan Arnett in scratch art program (photo), next meeting Monday night, Feb. 9, 6 p.m. @ Williamson Branson office in Roby
• Fisher County Basketball (photos)
• The Rotan Plant, taken from Feb. 1948 gypsum newsletter

I want to tell you all once again that I think the Rotan paper is the best newspaper around. Photo subjects are identified, all news is relevant to the area, and AP stories are not stuffed in for filler. Someone told me last week that Colorado City has a pretty good paper, too.

Ricky Niell has a new page on his RazzleDazzleArt site featuring his Alaskan photography. He has beautiful pictures and he can help you experience what it might feel like to wake up and find a moose in your yard.

There's no telling what I was Googling when I ran across a list of a few old patents awarded to Fisher County residents. Never mind that a couple of the people were listed as living in "Boby" or "Kotan". We know what they meant.

Templeton Farm changes hands

After 67 years of family ownership, the Templeton Farm has been purchased by the Landes family. I'm glad that we own the two acres that our house sits on so that I'll always have a piece of family history.

My mom wants me to put a sign on the gate that reads "God's Little Acre" like Erskine Caldwell's book, but I really don't want to be called Darlin' Jill.

The photo is of a painting I bought yesterday that was done by Hoyt Mulanax, a popular local artist in Sweetwater. Among many endeavors, he painted the Nolan County Courthouse mural, one of three that is on the south side of Staton's Pharmacy on the square.

And now, here are the Roby Star Record / Rotan Advance headlines for Jan. 1, 2009:

• Extremely dry conditions keep are fire departments busy (photo)
• Fisher County Jr. Livestock Show scheduled for Jan. 8-10
• The World's Favorite Crystal Ball
• Subscription renewals due
• New Year's Resolutions
• First Monday Missions Benefit for Uganada Mission Trip, Jan. 5
• Marriage announcement for Pam (Steele) Blank & Sheriff Mickey Counts
  
• Fisher County Hospital Board holds regular meeting
• Obituaries for Gene Hayes & Randy Gregg
  
• Flu Vaccine schedule
• Brazee 70th Wedding Anniversary
• Tax Planning by Rick Rodgers
• Sheriff's report
• Tumbleweed Smith: Holiday Visits
• First Kill buck (photo)
• DAR Christmas Party

Registration for both Western Texas College in Snyder and Texas State Technical College in Sweetwater is Jan. 8, with classes beginning Jan. 12. So if you're continuing your readin', ritin' & 'rithmetic, times a'wastin'!