Storage room sale early March

Rotan Self Storage, located at 113 North Garfield, will have a storeroom sale March 4 at 9 a.m.

The contents of three storage units will be up for auction.

All items must be removed by the successful bidder.

Trustee sale scheduled for March

A substitute trustee sale has been set for March 5, as posted on the Fisher County website.

Parcel 22457 will be up for public auction. It is a little over 14 acres, coded as qualified ag land, market value appraised at $24,740. It is east of Roby, situated off of US 180.

The posting indicates the sale will take place at 1:00 p.m. (or 3 hours after that time), at the courthouse.

Due diligence should be taken before the sale to check the title and to see if the buyer will be obligated to take on a bank lien.

What do Alan Alda and Sammy Baugh have in common?

I'm always searching for something to read. A book ready at hand helps me to keep my mind in place. I don't know how non-readers keep their sanity. Maybe they go out and do things. I'm not much for doing things.

There are a lot of books in the world, but somehow I am at a loss between volumes as to what to read next. I even got intellectual recently and read Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. A lot of talk about farming while in between a lady goes crazy on drugs after a torrid love affair and throws herself in front a train. 800 plus pages of all that. I hope I didn't spoil it for you.

In a desperate hunt for the next read, I went down some rabbit holes and somehow came across a little tome titled MASH: A Novel About Three Army Doctors. 

Everyone is most likely familiar with the series, which starred Alan Alda in the role of Hawkeye Pierce, and some might even have seen the movie.

The book was written by Richard Hooker and published in 1968. It was based on his experience as a surgeon in the Korean War.

There I am, reading along, and one of the characters in the book says, "Way to throw! Who ever heard of Sammy Baugh?".

That's all that was said about our local claim-to-fame, but it was a shot out of the blue to see it in print. 

Look at us, we're famous! In a roundabout way.

So, Alda and Baugh have a connection, even if it's in a six degrees of separation type of way. They got it in two.

Rotan property on auction now

Texas Communities Group currently has an ongoing auction for a parcel within Rotan city limits.

Parcel 6229, address listed as 601 East Mead, can be bid on until March 4, when the online tax foreclosure sale ends.

The Fisher County Appraisal District has listed the value of the property at $47,940.

City council meeting next week

Rotan City Council will meet January 18, 7 a.m., at City Hall.

The council usually meets on the second Thursday of each month.

It has been scheduled for the third Thursday this month.

Sheriff sale set for January

Two lots will be up for auction at the foreclosure sale, set for January 2, 2024, 10:00 a.m., at the Fisher County Courthouse (usually at the north side entrance).

Parcel 6299, at 601 East Mead in Rotan, has an estimated bid minimum of $15,200.00.

Parcel 6483, at 808 North Garfield in Rotan, has an estimated bid minimum of $2,000.00.

More information can be found on the Perdue Brandon website.

North side of Sammy Baugh Ave still quiet

- Rotan Family Dollar -

The Family Dollar notice of application to sell wine and beer that was in the paper in November has not proven to be a useful indicator of whether or not the store will reopen.

The photo taken today shows the store is empty and there is no sign of life.

A search on the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission website yields no result for a license filed by this store.

Commissioner precinct 3 race confirmed

The Texas Secretary of State now reports five candidates running in the 2024 March Primary Election for Fisher County.

Sheriff Simon Wade, Commissioner Precinct 1 Gordon Pippin and County Tax Assessor Collector Jonnye Speck are all running unopposed.

Commissioner Precinct 3 Preston Martin will be in a race with newcomer Stuart Posey.

No one filed for county attorney.

All are running on the Republican ticket.

Candidate clues

The Texas Secretary of State is not reporting any new candidates for Fisher County other than Gordon Pippin for commissioner precinct one and Jonnye Speck for tax collector-assessor at this time, but the appointment of campaign treasurer is a fair measure of who will run, and it looks like there is going to be a race for precinct three commissioner.

As of December 8, Stuart Posey has submitted an Appointment of Campaign Treasurer. A campaign treasurer must be named before a candidate files for office. Candidates are allowed to name themselves as campaign treasurer and it is common practice to do so. Appointment this close to the deadline for candidate filing would indicate intention to run for office.

The filing for Appointment of Campaign Treasurer in August by Damon Clawson, seeking the sheriff's seat, is not known to be a serious bid since it was filed so far back and there has been no mention of his intentions.

When the SOS clears all candidate filings, the Fisher County March 2024 Primary Election might make for an interesting race.

Candidate filing ends soon

Candidates who wish to run for local offices have until December 11 to file for the March 2024 primary.

Positions being voted on are sheriff, commissioners for precincts one and three, county tax assessor collector and county attorney.

As of now only two positions have been filed for: precinct one commissioner by incumbent Gordon Pippin and county tax assessor collector by incumbent Jonnye Lu Speck.

Appointments for campaign treasurers have been made by five people: Sheriff Simon Wade, Commissioner Pippin, Tax Assessor Collector Speck, sheriff challenger Damon B Clawson, and Commissioner Preston Martin. If all five file for candidacy, the only position with a contest will be county sheriff. 

There has been no candidate or treasurer filing for the position of county attorney, currently held by Michael Hall.

To file as a candidate, contact Fisher County Clerk Pat Thomson for forms and fees needed.

Resources for this article: Texas Secretary of State & Fisher County Election page