News

 While on a on a stroll that started in San Diego, CA, and will end in St. Augustine, FLA, Janet Cassidy walked through Fisher County Friday, stopping just long enough to speak about her cause with kids at the HUB in Roby.

   Janet was put on the obese scale in the 2nd grade and was tortured by fellow students most of her life. She recalled coming home from the Catholic school she was attending in Syracuse, NY, telling her mother that she “had to get out of that school.”

   Her mom relented and allowed Janet to transfer to public school, but Janet learned the way people perceived her, and the way she was treated, wasn’t limited to the students in New York Catholic schools. It seemed to be the mindset of people all throughout society, all across America. 

After welcoming new member Dr. Vick Burk to the Rotan Economic Development Corporation Board (EDC), the board listened to the proposal from local business, Burri-to-go, and heard updates on the renovations of the Lance Theater. 

   The Flores family, operators of local business, Burri-to-go, originally approached EDC President Greg Pruitt about the possibility of expanding into the unused east room of the building. After giving the matter some thought, they decided to pursue purchasing the building outright and having the EDC finance the purchase.

   David Flores offered a price of $25,000 to purchase the building.

   The appraisal values the land with the improvement—which is the building—at $19,360. Calculating in the cost of the existing equipment, the EDC estimates the offered price to be reasonable.

Wayne and Tonya Jones, made sure to take along the Fisher County Chronicle on their 35th Wedding Anniversary trip. The first leg of their trip started with an 8 hour train ride to Denali Nation Park where they went on a tundra wilderness tour and saw moose, caribou, grizzly bears and Dall sheep. Here, Wayne, earned the nickname “Hawkeye’ due to spotting all the animals before anyone else. From there they went to Fairbanks and panned for gold at Gold Dredge 8. Goldstream Dredge No. 8 is a ladder dredge operated by the Fairbanks Exploration Co. from 1928 to 1959. Here they also saw the Alaskanpipeline. Then it was on to Dawson City Yukon and after to Whitehorse Yukon and on to Fraser, British Columbia. Here they boarded a train to Skaway, Alaska where they took a helicopter ride up to the Meade Glacier (pictured above). Then they hopped on a cruise ship and it was off to Glacier Bay National Park. They saw not only glaciers, but several whale, bald eagles and seals.

Cody Dykes has been appointed by the Northwest Texas Conference as the new Lay Pastor for the First Untied Methodist Church of Rotan. Cody previously served as the associated pastor of the Tuscola United Methodist Church. He works as a safetly officer for TxDot, and his wife, Jennifer, works for Bowie Elementary School as a clerical aide. Cody and his family live in Abilene, and will be commuting to Rotan on the weekends. He and his family love to go camping and fishing.The Methodist Church in Rotan happily welcomes them to their congregation.

Rotan ISD Superintendent, Greg Decker proposed the purchase of new Google laptops at last week’s school board meeting. The school has been looking at new technology and opportunities to use the technology due to a big push for project based learning. 

   Project based learning is a teaching method where students spend longer periods of time investigating solutions to complex problems or situations. Through this process, the students gain a deeper understanding of the world, and gain a well-rounded skill set on how to work within it.

   One of the most pivotal changes between Project based learning and the more traditional teaching methods is the use of technology. 

A group of scientists from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and Texas A&M University will be conducting a 2-month survey on a segment of the Brazos River that runs through Fisher County. 

   In the past few weeks, residents along the Double Mountain have been receiving letters about an upcoming recreational use attainability analysis in the Brazos River basin. A team of scientists is expected to be conducting a series of measurements along 148 miles of river stretching from the junction of the Salt Fork Brazos River in Stonewall County to the junction of the North Fork Double Mountain Brazos River in Kent County. 

   The purpose of the survey is to determine the recreational use of the river. In 2010 the river was listed as having elevated levels of E. coli bacteria. The river’s water quality tested at 146 colony forming units (CFU). In 2014 the water tested at 186 CFU. 

ROBY, TX - Roby CISD Superintendent, Heath Dickson informed the board they were in the final stages of negotiations with the city and are scheduled to take over the Roby Community Center on July 1st.

   The community center’s popularity has declined in the last few years, suffering around $3,500 in losing revenue last year. After a number of repairs to the building, costing the city around $16,000, the city began to look at whether continuing to operate the center was in the city’s best interest. 

   At the council meeting in November, the members of the Roby City Council and City Manager, Jack Brown agreed: Donating the building to a worthy organization or individual was something they should explore. They opened the opportunity up to the public, and collected letters from interested parties. 

 Even though the state has run into numerous issues regarding the STAAR test this year, Roby CISD and Rotan ISD administrations were proud to present to the respective school boards: Fisher County students achieved high marks.

   “I’m very proud of our students and our teachers, and I think once you hear the scores, you’ll be pleased as well,” said Rotan Superintendent Greg Decker.

   Rotan ISD test scores are as follows:

5th grade math 95% 

5th grade reading 74%

8th grade reading 86%

8th grade math 78%

 All of these test scores are substantially higher than those of last year.

   Algebra one 90%

Biology 100%

English 1 89%

English 2 75%

US history 100%

After practically a lifetime of service, Fire Marshal, Charlie (Red) Bennett officially turned in his resignation to the Rotan City Council at the monthly meeting last week.

   Red presented a letter to the council stating: 

   Madam Mayor and members of the council, I have en   joyed my 6 years as Fire Marshal for the City of Rotan. With his         letter, I offer my retirement to you. Thanks again, Red Bennet

   The emotional Red spoke to the council: “I had a birthday. I turned 75, and I’ve been fighting fire all these years.”

During the meeting of the commissioners court last Monday, the commissioners implemented countywide facility policies and began working through the final stages of the new jail. The new jail also accepted the first residents as Sheriff J.A. Robinson reported that there were 5 in jail and that they were waiting to be heard in district court.

   The commissioners voted on the policy resolution, which designated all county buildings as no smoking facilities. Additionally, all county buildings will be restricted to allowing only service animals inside the buildings. The latter of the policies affects G.W. the dog, which has lived at the county jail for the last couple of years. G.W. was left at the jail some time ago, and was basically adopted by the Sheriff’s department.