News from July 29, 2010
ron carr photo
Jenny Riethmayer, left, leads a group of students in creative crafts during the primary school summer camp at the Early Childhood Learning center Tuesday July 27. The camp theme was “Nursery Rhymes & Fun Times” and each child received books to take home. The annual back-to-school tax free weekend is August 20-21. School begins in Friona Monday August 23. School supply lists are available on the frionaisd.com website. Click on the Schools tab.
School projects ongoing as deadlines loom
School starts in Friona Monday August 23. Teachers report for staff development the week of August 16-20. Several construction projects are underway facing deadlines of completion prior to the start of school and athletics.
Official Chieftain football and Squaw volleyball practice starts Monday August 2. The first Squaw scrimmage is August 7 at Highland Park. The new volleyball coach is Bryan Masse and new assistant coach is Darrell Ray. Complete football and volleyball schedules are included in today’s issue of the Star.
At the primary school, workers are busy installing a new roof and updating the air-conditioning and heating throughout the building. Project manager Gary McKinney of Lubbock said his goal was to have the primary school project completed by August 2.
The primary school building was built in 1954. Classrooms were still using cast-iron radiators for heat and window units for cooling. Now each classroom will have its own individual heating and cooling thermostat. The office, restrooms, and hallway will have separate controls also.
The new primary school principal is Autumn Sloan who will be moving to Friona from Amarillo, replacing former principal Tracy Ellis who retired at the end of the 2009-10 school year.
After completion of the primary school project, McKinney said they would move to the high school and gym to put on a new roof and install heating and cooling units to service the coaches office and boys locker room. The skylights in the gym will be sealed and covered over by the new roof.
Another deadline is the new track being installed at the high school football field. The first scrimmage is scheduled with Panhandle here on Saturday August 14. School officials are hoping the track will be finished by then. Plans also include paving and building about 60 parking spaces on the east side of the football field along Grand St. to be utilized for visitor parking.
The 2010-2011 school calendar is available at frionaisd.com. The school year will have 180 days of instruction with the last day of school May 26, 2011 and graduation May 27, 2011.
Town Talk II
Thanks to a Saturday night rainstorm we added another inch to our monthly total which is now about 4.5". Not too far away, at Walcott, the area reported 7" of rain Saturday night. The moisture and warm weather still looking good for cotton and corn crops.
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Received word that Friona resident Billie Fairchild has decided to move to Austin to be near her family. Her son Weldon and wife Ruby Lee, and daughter Phyllis Parker and husband Johnnie live in the Austin area along with Billie’s grandchildren and great grandchildren.
Billie and her late husband Carl were married in 1939 and farmed on land that was part of the XIT ranch. They moved into Friona where Carl operated a pool hall and Billie was the librarian for many years. The family lived in an apartment at the back of the pool hall until the late 50s. They later moved the apartment and added on to make their home. It is still the location where Billie lives today. Carl passed away in 1980.
Good luck to Billie and thanks for all she has done to make Friona a better place. Enjoy your family.
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Spoke with former Friona coach Rex Cumpton last week. He had nine screws put in his broken leg and is still recuperating at home for now. He was run over by one of his Hobbs football players during a practice session. Rex says their first game of the year is a 5-hour drive. Not looking forward to that with a broken leg I guess. Keep on keeping on coach. Keep that golf cart charged up. We’ll be cheering for you.
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Stormi and Brent Choate are Friona short-timers. Brent has accepted a teaching position in Odessa and they will be moving in the next few weeks. Stormi has been an important contributor to the Chamber of Commerce board and the Miss Friona and little Miss pageants. I know her chair massage clients and her fellow employees at the Hereford Wal-Mart will miss her. Good luck Stormi and Brent and Amber. We will miss you too.
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Sympathies to the Parsons family on the passing of Mike Parsons in Austin. He was 57, a lawyer, son of Margaret and the late Percy Parsons, and brother to Dale Parsons and Rhonda (Parsons) Murphree. Obituary in this issue of the Star.
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Stop by the Credit Union and purchase some raffle tickets for a charcoal grill. The raffle is being used as a fundraiser to assist with medical expenses for Minnie Aguirre. Minnie has been battling cancer and after some good progress she was recently diagnosed with another tumor so her treatments continue. The tickets are $1 each or 6 for $5. Or send your donation to Nancy Davis, c/o Credit Union, P.O. Box 848, Friona 79035. She will enter you in the raffle.
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On page 559 of the 2nd edition Parmer County History Book, published in 1981, it states that Bi-Wize drugstore had been robbed 10 times in 21 years and only one had been caught because he remained inside the building. If you were one of those other 9 robbers and burglars that got away, it is about time to fess up and turn your self in. What were you thinking?
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From around the area: The Claude News says the roof collapsed at the pharmacy in Claude. Not sure when or how they can re-open. Clarendon Enterprise reports the city secretary, city manager, and city maintenance employee all resigned in Hedley. They hired new ones but then they resigned during their first week on the job. What’s up in Hedley? Apparently it is not all peaches and watermelons there along 287.
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On Monday the school year unofficially begins for us here at the newspaper. That is the first official UIL day for football and volleyball two-a-day practices. Plus the Maize Days and All-School Reunion activities will be speeding up. The Maize Days week celebration will be about two weeks earlier this year. The reason is the Chieftains are in an 8-team district the next two years so that bumps the homecoming game earlier since there will only be three non-district games. We are about to get busier after a lazy slow summer.
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The Chamber of Commerce has applications for Little Miss and Miss Friona candidates. They need young ladies from the community to sign up for the competition to represent Friona during the next year. Contact the Chamber for more info at 250-3491. The Miss Friona Pageant is Saturday September 4 and the Little Miss is Tuesday September 7. The big weekend is September 10-11 with homecoming, Maize Days parade, activities at the city park, and the all-school reunion, plus the Chamber of Commerce golf tournament.
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The 6th St. Church of Christ hotline (250-3495) reports this week that Joy Graham is ‘doing great’, Jim and Sherry Atwell’s son-in-law Jason Bullard has been diagnosed with Stage 4 liver cancer, Kenneth Hall is in Muleshoe hospital with pneumonia, and Gene Welch is finally back in Friona at PMC and continues to progress.
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Had an opportunity to meet our two new volleyball coaches this week. Bryan Masse is the head coach moving here from Roswell, NM. He has 30-years coaching experience and went to Eastern New Mexico University long ago with Friona’s Kenny Austin and Don Herbert. Assistant v-ball coach Darrell Ray lives in Clovis and will be commuting. He was head coach at Clovis High for 10-years. We welcome both gentlemen to Friona schools and will have more info and photos after the season kicks off next week.
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I stopped by the Early Childhood Learning Center on Tuesday to take s few photos during their summer camp session for primary school students. May I say a huge GOD BLESS YOU to the teachers and teacher aides of this age group. They were patiently cutting, coloring, and reading with the kids. Some were making spiders (I think) out of Ritz crackers, peanut butter, and pretzels. Others were learning to jump rope and tie their shoes. Another group had a hand puppet thing going on.
It takes a particular kind of patient, loving, dedicated person to nurture and teach kids of primary school age. I’m not endowed with that kind of patience and dedication but they are and we should be grateful for them. See you next week. Until then!
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FHS Football Queen – Circa 1950
Join her and many other FHS grads for the
Centennial All-School Reunion
September 10-11, 2010 in Friona
During the Maize Days celebration
RSVP/Pre-registration $10 per person to
Friona Ex Students
c/o Friona State Bank
P.O. Box 549
Friona, Tx 79035
Please put your graduation year on your check.
(Mary Joyce Renner Barnett was an
sophomore in 1950-51)