News from May 8, 2008
Herbert, Rojas, Hughs top three in class of '08
At the senior class honor reception Sunday afternoon, FHS principal Denver Crum released the names of the top ten graduates for the Class of 2008, handed out UIL honors, awarded scholarships, and inducted two more former graduates into the school’s Hall of Distinguished Graduates.
Judge Trip Horton of Beaumont, Class of ’74, and Dr. Joel Osborn of Amarillo, Class of ’69, were this year’s Hall of Distinguished Graduates honorees. Horton was introduced by his sister Kathryn Gurley and Osborn was introduced by his sister Karen Renner.
Both men gave credit to the education they received in the Friona school system for their later success. Horton, an attorney, was recently appointed by Governor Rick Perry as an appellate judge in Beaumont. After attending medical school and serving his residency in Mississippi, Osborn returned to Amarillo where he is a respected cardiologist.
Brooke Herbert was named valedictorian for the Class of 2008. Alonzo Rojas is salutatorian, and Lauren Hughs was third in the class and is the historian. Rounding out the top ten graduates were, from 4 through 10, Ryan Schwab, Jordan Carr, Miranda Frye, Hollis Gurley, Erin Austin, Chris Haile, and Ryan Geries.
The Parmer County Retired Teachers and School Personnel scholarship was awarded in honor of the late Bobby Wied to Deirdre Johnston. The Joy Morton Scholarship for Excellence was presented to Ryan Geries, Chris Haile, and Deirdre Johnston.
Ryan Schwab and Miranda Frye received scholarships from Deaf Smith Electric Cooperative. Lauren Hughs received the Wal-Mart Foundation scholarship, Erin Austin received the DAR Good Citizenship scholarship, and Julissa Saenz received a scholarship from the Ladies Society of St. Teresa’s Catholic Church. The Parmer County Hospital Auxiliary presented scholarships to Julissa Saenz and Briar Barnett.
Many other local businesses and organizations presented scholarships to deserving students during the afternoon reception.
(See list on page 10 in the paper.)
July 4, Cheeseburger Cook-off, Maize Days forms available from Chamber
The latest newsletter from the Friona Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture notes details for local events leading up to the annual Maize Days celebration in September.
Sunday May 11 is Mother’s Day and the Kid Fish event at Reeve Lake will be held from 1-4 p.m. A sign-in table, fishing poles and bait will be available at the Community Center.
Each Wednesday at 8:30 a.m., listen to the Friona Bulletin Board live on KPAN Radio 860 AM with Chamber Executive Vice-President Chris Alexander for an update on Friona happenings.
The Chamber’s summer events are great opportunities for local organizations to have booths as fundraisers.
The July 4 holiday this year is on Friday. The Noon Lions will sell burgers and fries in city park. The Chamber will sell drinks. All booths are free and booth set-up begins at 5 p.m. The Chamber asks that booth novelties be kept G-rated. Donations for fireworks are still needed. Deadline for vendor registration is 5 p.m. July 1. Bring your own lawn chairs and join the fun.
The 3rd Annual Cheeseburger Cook-Off & Festival is Saturday July 19. Booth set-up time will be 8:00 a.m. Since it is a cheeseburger festival, no other meat vendors will be allowed. However, novelty and other fundraiser booths will be available. Chamber member booths are free, non-members pay $30. Deadline for vendor forms and fees is 5 p.m. Friday July 11. Judging begins at 11 a.m. and the public sale of cheeseburgers will begin at 12 noon.
It should be noted that the Chamber is limiting the number of Cheeseburger Cook-Off teams to the first 20 paid in advance. Entry fee is $100 per team. Prizes of $500, $300, & $100 will be awarded to 1st through 3rd place, plus other category prizes. Cheeseburger Cook-Off rules and regulations and entry forms are available from the Chamber at 621 Main St. or call 806-250-3491 for more information, or email fedc@wtrt.net.
Saturday, September 20, is the 52nd annual Maize Days Celebration at city park. All food vendors are welcome. All booths are $20 for Chamber members and $30 for non-members. The Chamber will not be serving BBQ. Another good opportunity for community fundraisers. Deadline for vendor forms and fees is 5 p.m. Wednesday September 17. Maize Days week is from September 13-20. Details of other Maize Days events will be published at a later date.
Vendors will need to furnish their own tables and chairs for all above events. Vendor forms can be emailed or faxed. For details and information contact the Chamber at 806-250-3491.
Town Talk II
Don’t forget Sunday is Mother’s Day. Better get by Ingram’s or Ivy Cottage, or Wendy’s Greenhouse for a little something to remember mom. Don’t wait until the last minute. Also a reminder that the annual KidFish event is Sunday afternoon from 1-4 p.m. at Reeve Lake. If all you are going to do is buy mom a pizza, at least make sure it is a gourmet supreme. Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there.
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The next meeting of the Relay for Life group is Thursday May 15 at 6:30 p.m. at Friona State Bank. The $10 entry fee is due and t-shirt sizes are due to the team captains that evening. The Relay is June 20 and the cancer survivor dinner is June 16 in Farwell.
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Our Friona volunteer firemen had a busy period last Thursday and Friday. Thursday afternoon a wood chip pile behind the city barn caught fire. Water and a bulldozer put it out. Friday morning around 6:30 a.m. they responded to a fire at Cunningham Electric.
A gas leak at the building sparked a fire which somehow caused the overhead door at the east end of the building to open. A passerby reported the fire. Owner Joe Cunningham said if the door had not opened the fire might have consumed the entire building. As it was the fire did damage to some motors and the inside of the shop area.
Friday evening about 8:30 p.m. firefighters once again suited up for a small grass fire at the Hwy 214/86 Hub intersection. About the same time the wood chip fire started smoldering again. Hats off and thanks to our firefighters for their efforts.
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Garage sale freaks mark your calendars for the June 21 city-wide garage sale in Hereford. I believe the Dimmitt city-wide garage sale is the week before, June 14. More details as we get them. Check the calendar on page two.
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We have just a few American Legion members here anymore. Each year on Memorial Day they prepare and put out the flags on our veterans graves at the cemetery. They are in need of some help. Bill Hardin has asked that volunteers come out on Friday May 23 to help drive the crosses into the ground that hold the flags. Be there at 6 p.m. and bring a hammer. This would be a good project for one of our local church, school, or youth groups. Think about it. Contact Bill at Tasty Cream.
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Speaking of Tasty Cream, Bill says they have a new menu item. They will be selling mini-burgers now, a smaller version of the Tasty Cream hamburger. Great for kids or grown-up snacks. Stop in and sample a few. And don’t forget they have ice cream too.
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Went over to Prairie Acres last week to draw the winning ticket for their laptop giveaway. The money is used by the activity department for summer outings for the residents. The staff takes able residents to places like Leal’s in Muleshoe to eat, the zoo in Clovis, or a KFC picnic at the Hereford Aquatic Center where feeding the ducks is a highlight. They also attend FHS pep rallies and last year went to Amarillo to attend “The Nutcracker.” Kudos to Cecelia, Patti, and Elizabeth for providing activities and looking after our elderly.
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At last week’s Lions Club meeting we learned that junior high teacher Donald Herbert had a hip replacement that morning (May 1). Report is all went well and we wish Don a successful recovery period.
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Dusty Hansard’s mother Shirley passed away on Saturday. Jim and Shirley Hansard moved here from Memphis, Texas several years ago to be nearer Dusty and family. Another son lives in Hereford. Dusty is a funeral director with Blackwell Funeral Home. Mrs. Hansard was buried in Memphis Wednesday. We extend our sympathies to the Hansard family.
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Our heartfelt sympathy also to the family and many friends of Everett Gee on his passing last Saturday. Everett is a brother-in-law to Friona Star office manager Marlene Mueller. Mayme Gee is Marlene’s sister. Everett is a Friona native and longtime city employee, well liked by everybody who knew him. For the past several months he had fought many health battles. He died in a hospice in Amarillo early Saturday morning.
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Graduation is coming soon. You could give cash, you could give a gift card from some store, or you could go by one of our local banks and load up a Visa or Mastercard money card. They are safer than cash and accepted almost everywhere. Plus they can be reloaded at the local bank no matter where the graduate ends up going to college or working.
I’ve used one this past year for my son Zac in college down in Georgetown. A quick call to the bank puts money on his card without hassle. And it is instantly on the card. The transaction costs about $3, cheaper than Western Union and faster than a money order. Plus, they can check online to see how much is left to spend. Hooray for technology at the speed of light.
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Attended the Sunday Hall of Distinguished Graduates ceremony at the high school. It was nice to meet the honorees, Judge Trip Horton and Dr. Joel Osborn. It is the local version of a Friona High School Hall of Fame. Judge Horton’s name is Henry Hollis Horton III, so he inherited the moniker of “triple H’s” thus the name Trip.
He said he remembers playing on the Friona basketball team with my brother Rick who also graduated in 1974. Dr. Osborn is a 1969 graduate and cardiologist in Amarillo. He is well known to many Friona patients. We appreciate both gentlemen and their families returning to Friona to receive the honors.
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Congratulations to Brooke Herbert, Alonzo Rojas, and Lauren Hughs for finishing one, two, three respectively in the Class of 2008. At the Sunday ceremony Principal Denver Crum said they would announce the Friona top ten and this years “val sal”. Took me a second to realize he meant valedictorian and salutatorian. I’m kind of slow with the modern hip-hop school terms. This year’s val-sal is Brooke and Alonzo. Congratulations to all the kids who are about to graduate.
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Kendrick’s Fast Stop installed new electronic gas price signs. Now the employees can sit inside the store and change the gas prices in comfort instead of having the numbers blowing away down Highway 60.
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Big turnout at Monday’s senior lunch. Gatekeeper Joann Mills said we had 80 seniors present, plus there were 18 takeout meals. The menu was Mexican pile-on which is served the first Monday of the month. The Chamber of Commerce board ordered takeouts for their board meeting. Hope they enjoyed Nora and Rosemary’s spicy pico de gallo.
Frank Salinas, Boyce and Bonnie Glover, Fred Cook and his mom Iona, and local police officers Rachel Cummings and Isidro Jiminez were all visitors or first timers. There were probably some others. These are just the ones I noticed.
It was said that Eddie Joe Hall is now in Prairie Acres nursing home.
Welcome to all who attend the twice-weekly lunch, Monday and Thursday. It is a bargain at $3 so come join in the food and frolic. If your frolicker is out of order, don’t worry, just enjoy the food.
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Thanks to all for reading and participating in the Friona Star news. That’s it for this week. We’re still having a good time Scooter. Until then.
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