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.

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?

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.

City to test ordinance

Rotan City Council will meet this Thursday. Default meeting dates for the cities of Rotan and Roby are the second Thursday of the month; Rotan at 7 a.m., Roby at noon. That falls on October 10 this time around.

The Rotan agenda will include a public hearing regarding the torn up trailer house and vehicle situated at 511 East Sammy Baugh. This is the first property to come before the council in enforcement of the new substandard structure ordinance that was passed back in May.

County commissioners will meet next Tuesday, October 15, at 9 a.m. They usually meet the second Monday of the month, but pushed the meeting forward a day due to Columbus Day on October 14.

Note: Fisher County: Public Hearing Notice

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.

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.

Construction underway

- Store sites -

The Rotan Dollar General site is abuzz with workers this morning, and if the swiftness in which the Roby DG store is going up is any indicator, we'll be buying socks and waterhoses and ballpoint pens and catfood in no time, from both locations.

The photos in order, from top to bottom, are Rotan DG site, Roby DG site, and Ace Hardware Rotan site.

According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration, the Rotan DG store is planned for 12,480 square feet and Roby DG for 9,100 square feet. The Double Mountain Chronicle reported that Ace is planned for 12,500 square feet.

Services set for Anson Martin

Anson Martin died today. He and his wife recently sold their home at Camp Springs and moved to east Texas.

Visitation will be Tuesday 6-7:30 p.m. at Weathersbee-Ray in Rotan.

Funeral services will be at 1:00 p.m. Wednesday at the Cross Roads Baptist Church.

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 
  

School start dates 2024

The doors open for the new school year on the following dates:

Rotan Independent School District - August 14.

Roby Consolidated School District - August 15. 

Sweetwater Independent School District - August 14.

Big Country Homepage has an exhaustive list of all school begin dates.

August 2024 public meetings

The Fisher County Appraisal District Board of Directors will meet August 13, 7:00 a.m., at the appraisal district office located at 107 East North First Street in Roby. They will discuss the 2025 budget, the 2025-2026 reappraisal plan and will swear in a new board director. The last known chairman of the board, Pete Garcia, died in March 2023.

Two agendas have been posted for the date. The notices, one for a public hearing at 7:00 a.m., and one for a public meeting at 7:05 a.m, can be found on the Fisher County Posted Notices page.

A public hearing notice and a proposed budget notice for the CAD were in the August 4 issue of the Double Mountain Chronicle.

The City of Rotan has posted a meeting notice for August 8, 7:00 a.m. 

Fisher County Commissioners Court will meet August 12. The usual time is 9:00 a.m.

No agendas were posted for the city and county meetings.

A notice and a separate article in the DMC indicate there will be discussion regarding a reinvestment zone and the yearly budget at the commissioners meeting.

Builders build during dry season

- John Deere, Rotan -

There may not be a new dollar store going up on the south side of town, but the Rotan John Deere house is growing. United Ag & Turf is more than doubling in size and it's going up fast.

There were people on the Rotan Ace Hardware site this week, measuring and marking.

In Roby, there has been a major clear out around the old truck stop on the west side of town. There are workmen on big equipment getting down to the dirt.

In Sweetwater, it looks like they're building a major sports complex for the school. There are fancy new tennis courts west of the Mustang Bowl.

It's good to see things going outward and upward around the Rolling Plains.

Another store rumor

- South Rotan -

The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation has an Architectural Barriers Project Details page listed for Dollar General Store in Rotan, registration date 4/30/2024.

The site for the store is listed as 500 South McKinley. As best as I can figure, that would be catty-corner to the John Deere House (United Ag & Turf) as you're leaving town going south.

Fisher County Appraisal District has all that property on both sides of the highway, as well as McKinley, belonging to the Rivers and the Rotan Gin.

I don't know if it's real or like that alcohol license application that was posted in the newspaper for Family Dollar last November. That, of course, never came to pass. Maybe they just do a big group licensing packet and don't even look at the addresses. 

June 10 is listed as the start date. There is no activity at this time. October 10, 2024 is the projected finish date.

The estimated cost is $850,000 for a 12,480 square foot building.

Rotan roads in the news

Don't miss the KTXS news clip from June 20 where Karina Hollingsworth interviewed Ginger Gentry, Eula Gentry (hope I'm right, let me know if I'm not) and Inez Reese about pot holes in Rotan city streets. Eula and Inez had me laughing, those women should have their own show. Super gals!

A little public meeting notices audit

In September 2023, during the 88th Texas Legislative Session, HB 3440 was made a law. It amended a Texas Statute regarding Government Code 551.056(b), now requiring government entities to post meeting times, agendas and minutes on the internet, if they maintain a website.

In Fisher County, the County Commissioners Court and the Brazos G Water Planning Group both comply with the new law.

The City of Rotan, the Fisher County Appraisal District and the Fisher County Hospital Board all have websites, but do not post the meeting times and agendas 72 hours beforehand. The City of Rotan and the Fisher CAD also do not post the meeting minutes afterward.

The City of Roby does not maintain a website, so they are not subject to the new law.

Another provision of the new ruling is that offices that post meeting times and agendas on their website only have to have the physical (paper) notice available to the public during business hours.

The new ruling can be observed in the Texas Municipal League 2024 publication, Handbook for Mayors and Council Members, page 35.

Coming up: quail and mud

Rolling Plains Quail Research Ranch 100th Quail Appreciation Day will be held May 17, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Pre-registration is required. $30 fee, limit of 75 people for the event. Lunch is included. It will take place at the headquarters in Fisher County, about 15 miles west of Roby.

Fisher County Red Dirt Mud Bog LLC is kicking off the season this Saturday, May 18, 11:00 a.m. $10 to get in and $35 to enter a vehicle. There are usually concessions on site. The event will be held at the Rotan rodeo grounds, on the western outskirt of town.

Lots cleared and staked

- Former White's lot -

Two prominently damaged buildings in downtown Rotan have been demolished.

The Family Dollar Store and White's Hardware were both ruined in a severe storm last June.

The photo is a view looking west across the lot from Cleveland Ave/SH 70. The Lance Theater sign can be seen peeking over the tree tops on the left side of the picture and the bank and Landes Furniture can be seen on the right. The white wall straight ahead is the east side of the library (click on photo to zoom).

The local newspaper, The Double Mountain Chronicle, reported that plans are being made to build an Ace Hardware Store on the site.

Public sales for April 2024

Many properties will be available to bid on at the Perdue Brandon Nolan County Sheriff sale April 2, at the Nolan County courthouse, 2:00 p.m.

Also at that court house on April 2 are two trustee sales, one property is in Sweetwater: Reyes/Gwinn at 10 a.m., and one is in Roscoe: Borders at 2 p.m. 

The Whitley May Farm Sale in Loraine will be on April 6.

Bidding on the Callan Hospital in Rotan ends April 10 at 5 p.m. Contact city hall for more information.

The Rotan Farm Sale is on April 20, 9:30 a.m.