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FARMERS DOUBLE TIME--Taking advantage of a spell of dry weather, farmers work in teams to have cotton fields stripped before more wet weather moves in this week. Area Farmers in Race Against Wet Weather Cotton farmers are working fast to strip their fields just in case the weather turns wet again. After two weeks of moisture the dry days have allowed producers back into their fields. Snow and rain is in the forecast again--but it may not affect too many Floyd County farmers. The headlights off of strippers can be see in fields all over the county, as farmers work in the dark to beat the forecast. "There were a lot of people worried about what the rain was going to do to the grade of cotton," said Scott Gin Manager John Woelfel. "The wet weather affected it a little bit--but not near as bad as we feared. It probably cost the producer about 2-3 cents less a pound." The Spring hail affected almost all Floyd County cotton producers and cut the cotton production. "However, the cotton that is coming in is good," said Woelfel. "The irrigated fields are producing up to 2 1/2 bales an acre and as low at 1 1/4 bale. The non-irrigated is producing 1/2 to 3/4 bale." "This county normally plants anywhere from 185,000 to 190,000 acres of cotton," said Ag Extension Agent J.D. Ragland. "I would guess that the hail wiped out at least 30% of the crop."
LOCAL
GINS HARD AT WORK--Araa gins have been very busy recently
due to good stripping weather. Scott Gin Manager, John
Woelfel, is pictured here as he checks on operations inside
the Scott Gin.
Texas Rangers have been asked by the Floyd County Sheriff's Department to investigate the hanging of F.L. Williams, 62, of Floydada. Authorities say Williams was found hanging from by his shirt, Wednesday morning, November 20. Williams shirt was tied to an angle iron that supports a privacy petition in a holding cell. "The petition is the type of wall that separates stalls in a public restroom," said Texas Ranger Stuart Willer. "There is space above and below the wall. The bar that supports the wall runs from the floor to the ceiling." Williams was cut down by a jailer. Records indicate EMS was called to the scene at 2:38 a.m. Williams was transported to W.J. Mangold Memorial Hospital and then to UMC in Lubbock. He has been released from the hospital. A brother to F.L. Williams, Rev. John Williams, says he does not believe the authorities report of the hanging. Rev. Williams told this newspaper he does not believe F.L. could have hanged himself. Rev. Williams believes someone else is responsible for the hanging and is asking the F.B.I. to investigate the incident. F.L. Williams does not have a phone and was not available to answer questions. Rev. Williams refused, on Monday, to discuss F.L.'s condition and would not give a current location where F.L. was staying. F.L. was arrested Tuesday night, November 19, after a man reported Williams was chasing him and waving a machete around. Williams was subsequently arrested for public intoxication and taken to the Floyd County jail. According to Sheriff Gilmore, "While being booked in Williams took a nitroglycerin pill from his personal belongings." EMS was called to the jail at 1:59 a.m. Wednesday morning because Williams was complaining of chest pains. According to a report in the Plainview Herald, "He was treated for a 'self inflicted cut' but no other medical problems were noticed." EMS was then called at 2:38 a.m. after the jailer found Williams hanging in the jail. Jailers have a policy to check the prisoners every 5 minutes, but it has not been determined how long Williams had been hanging in the cell.
The Lockney Area Chamber has added a new "draw" to the Dec. 5th city wide Holiday affair - a raffle. Tickets may be purchased from any of the Chamber directors at a cost of $2 for one, or $5 for 3. The evening of the holiday affair, three names will be drawn at City Bank. Each will receive $100 in "Chamber Bucks" to help the winners with their holiday shopping at Chamber member businesses in Lockney. As part of their "shop Lockney" drive, the Chamber will hold the first in a series of drawings for $100 in chamber bucks on December 5, in conjunction with Lockney's Holiday Affair. Shoppers making a minimum purchase of $25 at a Lockney Chamber member business will automatically be entered into the series of three drawings, each for $100 in chamber bucks. Subsequent drawings will be held December 12 and December 19. Shoppers will automatically be entered into the drawings with each $25 purchase, and there is no limit on entries. Businesses will be open till 9:00 p.m. December 5 during this city wide Christmas party for the convenience of holiday shoppers. Most of the businesses will offer refreshments for their shoppers. Santa will be arriving via firetruck at City Bank at 6:00 p.m. Girl Scout Troop 43 will be offering pictures taken with Santa for a price of $3 for 1 to 2 kids, and $5 for larger groups till 7:30 p.m. There will also be separate contests for the best decorated home, and business. You must call Ginger Mathis at 652-2960 to register before December 5, if you want your home or business judged. Should you get an answering machine, please leave your name, address to be judged, and phone number. Entries will be judged on December 5. First place will win $50 in chamber bucks; second place will be awarded $25 in chamber bucks; and third place will receive $10 in chamber bucks. Christmas on the Square is December 5th Christmas on the Square The Floydada Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring their annual Christmas on the Square, December 5th, from 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Downtown businesses are staying open until 8:00 p.m., giving everyone a chance to shop at home for their Christmas decorations, gifts, etc. Several businesses will serve refreshments and door prizes will also be given away. Santa Claus will arrive on the square, via a city fire truck, at 5:00 p.m. Santa pictures will be taken inside Hale's Insurance, on Main Street, from 5:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Pictures with Santa Claus are $5.00 each. "They will be digital pictures," said Chamber Manager Irene Hernandez. "The pictures will be available the next day." Floydada youngsters, kindergarten through 5th grade, will sing Christmas carols under the pavilion from 5:30 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Fifteen minute hay rides will be given around town, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Passengers will be loaded between Script Printing and the First National Bank of Floydada. The trailer will load up every 30 minutes. "We are hoping everyone will participate in this year's Christmas on the Square, as well as they did at last year's event," said Hernandez. "If you give your local businesses a chance they will be able to save you a lot of out-of-town Christmas shopping hassle. We have a lot to offer right here at home." Mangold Health Fair is Dec. 7th W.J. Mangold Memorial Hospital will hold it's tenth annual "Holiday Health Fair" on Saturday, December 7, from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. in the Lockney Elementary Cafeteria. Your admission to the Health Fair will be a donation of a canned good or a new toy to be donated to the Salvation Army Christmas Cheer Program. Don and Sybil Harrington Cancer Center will be at the Fair to do mammography. If you would like to make an appointment for a mammogram, you may do so by calling 1-800-377-4673. United Blood Institute will be holding a blood drive and there will also be bone marrow testing at this year's fair. There will be over 30 booths providing glaucoma checks, cholesterol screens, blood sugar and blood pressure checks, body fat evaluations and posture evaluations. Flu shots, pneumonia shots and immunizations will be available for a nominal fee. Again this year at the Health Fair will be "Project KidCare" a children's identification project that provides a picture and current information about your child in a handy vinyl pocket. This is part of a national effort to provide parents with personal safety id's of their children in the event of an emergency. KidCare is being offered as a free public service to families in the area. If your child attended last year, bring your packet to be updated. If you didn't attend last year, a new packet will be issued. The Health Fair booths will be manned by various local and area organizations. There will also be children's activities booths. Merchants will provide the door prizes, and a health lunch will also be available. "This event is
designed to be informative and fun for the entire family,"
said Hospital Administrator Sharon Hunt. "Mangold Memorial
Hospital invites everyone to attend."
EARL ADKINS Funeral services for Bobby Earl Adkins, 67, of Ralls were held at 2:00 p.m. Sunday, November 24, 2002 at the Ralls First Baptist Church. Charles Carmen, chaplain of the Covenant Medical Center's Oncology Department, officiated. Reverend Dennis Williams, pastor of First Baptist Church in Lorenzo, assisted. Burial was held in the Ralls Cemetery under the direction of Adams Funeral Home of Ralls. Adkins died Friday, November 22, 2002 at Lubbock's Covenant Medical Center. He was born on May 14, 1935 in Rochester to D.C. and Aleta Adkins. He attended Ralls schools. He married Joyce Brown on April 19, 1995 in Lubbock. He was a nondenominational ordained minister and worked in ministries at the Spur Prison and the Floyd County and Crosby County jails. Adkins was a farmer in the Ralls community for many years. He has lived in Ralls since the 1980's. Survivors include his wife, Joyce; three sons, Carlos of Lubbock, Shannon and wife, Beverly, of Lorenzo and Rance and wife, Karen, of Vernon; one stepson, Ray Lemon of Houston; two stepdaughters, Linda Page and husband, Sam, of Lubbock and Barbara and husband, Mike, of Floydada; two brothers, Carl Adkins and wife, Billye, of Odessa and Bobby Suggs and wife, Wanda, of Lubbock; seven grandchildren, Andrew Adkins, Jonathan Adkins and Bradley Adkins, all of Lorenzo, Jamie Adkins, Abby Adkins, Daniel Adkins, all of Vernon and Justin Adkins of Florida; and two step-grandchildren, Monty Anderson and Dusty Anderson, both of Floydada. Casket Bearers were Bob Kimbrough, Odell Heathington, Billy Simpson, Walt Norris, Joe Rankin, Louis Powell and Ray Hall. The family suggests memorials to M.D. Anderson Hospital, Box 297153, Houston, Texas 77292-1035. FAY CRADER Services were held Tuesday for Fay Crader, 84, of Plainview on November 26, 2002 at 10:00 a.m. at Trinity Fellowship Church, Plainview. Reverend Steve Rogers, pastor, officiated. Burial was in the Lockney Cemetery under the direction of Lemons Funeral Home. Mrs. Crader died Friday, November 22, 2002. She was born March 5, 1918 at Detroit, Texas. She graduated from Annona High School in 1935 and from Paris Junior College in 1938. She attended East Texas State Technical College in Commerce for one year. She married L.G. (Bill) Crader December 20, 1941 in Idabelle, Oklahoma. He preceded her in death December 7, 1983. Mrs. Crader taught school for three years in the Lanes Chapel Community, before moving to Plainview in 1947. She was a member of Trinity Fellowship Church. Survivors include two daughters, Sue Johnson and Cathy Crader, both of Plainview; one son, Jimmy Crader of Floydada; two sisters, Nettie Puckett of Omaha, Texas and Mildred Summitt of Mt. Ida, Arkansas; nine grandchildren, fifteen great-grandchildren, and several nieces and nephews. The family suggests memorials to VistaCare Family Hospice, 4418 Olton Rd., Plainview, Texas 79072. J.B. (JACK) HEFLIN Services were held Monday for Jack Heflin, 90, of Plainview on November 25, 2002, at 10:00 a.m. at Parkview Baptist Church, Plainview. Reverend Joe P. Weldon, retired Baptist minister, officiated, with the Reverend Steve Martin assisting. Grandsons served as Pallbearers. Burial was in Plainview Memorial Park under the direction of Lemon Funeral Home. Heflin died November 21, 2002. He was born October 19, 1912 in Como. He married Era Mae Brown January 3, 1934 at Picton. She preceded him in death July 22, 2001. Mr. Heflin moved to Plainveiw in 1940. He retired from Southwestern Public Service after 30 years of service. He was a member of the Odd Fellows and a charter member of Parkview Baptist Church. He is survived by three daughters and sons-in-law, Burnis Jean and Wesley Eiland of Fayetteville, Arkansas; Reta and Joe Martin of Plainview; Kay and Johnny Conder of Abilene; three sons and two daughters-in-law, Thomas and Beverly Heflin of Plainview; Rob Heflin of Floydada; Louis and Patty Heflin of Plainview; four sisters, Nell Massey of Winnsboro; Doris Borum of Plainview; Vivian Carmichael of Abernathy; and Ima Jean Hopkins of Houston; twenty-six grandchildren and twenty-nine great-grandchildren. The family suggests memorials to VistaCare Family Hospice, 4418 Olton Rd., Plainveiw, Texas 79072. THOMAS LEE SNEAD Services were held for Thomas Snead in Levelland, on Friday, November 22, 2002 at South Plains Church at 2:00 p.m. The Rev. Eddie Trice, pastor, officiated. Graveside services followed at the Levelland Cemetery. Arrangements were by Head Funeral Home of Levelland. Snead was born in Fort Worth on October 10, 1926. He later moved to North Hollywood, California, where he went to school and later earned a degree in Animal Husbandry at Cal Poly University in San Louis Obispo. His passion was farming. He moved to West Texas in the 1940's, where he lived his passion as a farmer for twenty years. Tom was an entrepreneur at heart which led him to South America to farm for ten years, and then he returned to Texas. The last five years of his life he taught Spanish in a rural school in Colorado. He is survived by his wife of eight years, Mary Strickland Snead of the home; two sons, Jim Snead of Levelland and Tommy Lee Snead of El Paso; one daughter Kay Pryce of Tacoma, Washington; three step sons, Alex Snead, Adrian Snead and Marcel Cairo; and three sister, Martha Shiffman, Jane Peters and Joy Wallace. His children, grandchildren and great grandchildren have been so blessed by his life. His memory will be cherished by us all. ` JANICE E. "JAN" WHITTON Services for Janice E. "Jan" Whitton, 58, of Canton were held Monday (25th) at Oak Grove Baptist Church in Canton. Burial was in Tarver Cemetery under the direction of Eubank Funeral Home, Canton. Mrs. Whitton died November 22 in Dallas. She was born February 20, 1944 in Jacksonville, Florida to McLee and Luella Fretwell Brewer, former teachers in the Lockney system. He was the Vocational Agricultural instructor and Mrs. Brewer was an elementary teacher in the late fifties and early sixties. She grew up in Lockney and was a dental assistant. She was a former resident of Mesquite and moved to Canton in May 2002. Survivors include her husband, Delbert W. Whitton of Canton; son, Kyle Dwayne of Dallas; daughters Stacy Lynn Hale, Rowlett and Christi Lee Clark of Canton; brother, Danny Brewer, and her parents, McLee and Luella Brewer, all of Canton; three grandchildren.
Dear Editor, A few weeks ago the Helping Hands Hospice of West Texas was asked to help our family take care of our mother, Marjorie McElyea. The family whole-heartedly recommends the Hospice to any one who might have a loved one suffering from illness. Every individual from the Hospice who came to help our mother was cheerful and professional. We were given information about what to expect as the illness progressed--everything was just as Vonda told us it would be. One day, Vonda came by the house unexpectedly, and told us all to leave for one hour while she stayed with Mema. The gesture of kindness was greatly appreciated and is an example of the exemplary care provided by the Hospice. All the family members are grateful to the Hospice for the care it provided for Mema and the support it gave to the family. Words cannot adequately convey the thanks to Vonda, Amy, Isabelle, and the other hospice caregivers that we feel, but please know that we are forever grateful to each of you. No one can know when an illness may befall a family member, but if that family lives in the Floyd County area, the Helping Hands Hospice of West Texas is a wonderful service form which to get help both physically and emotionally. Sincerely, The family of Marjorie McElyea
Dear Editor, On November 17, my wife and I drove to Floydada to see the Veterans War Memorial. My wife and I were amazed as we looked at the memorial. It is beautiful. I would like to thank everyone involved in this magnificent memorial. It is not often that veterans are appreciated in such a manner. Once again, thank you. Curtis D. Jester
The newspaper offices will be closed on Thursday and Friday. I know that is one more day than most businesses close--but we make up for it in overtime close to the Christmas holidays. I've gotten spoiled by the extra days we take at Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is always more restful for me than Christmas. Maybe because Thanksgiving is always on a Thursday and we can always give ourselves an extra long weekend around here. I hope everyone is not waiting until Thursday to stop and think about what you are thankful for. Personally I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I'm most thankful for what prayer has done for my life. Recently I've had some of my most stressful days ever, here at the paper. But--I've also seen prayer work in wonderful ways at the same time. Sometimes God makes you wait for answers to prayers--and sometimes God answers them right away. Most of the time we've already forgotten what we prayed for and suddenly we realize the prayers were already answered. Lately I've seen prayer work quickly and obviously. For that I'm thankful. I hope I can remember these times when something else comes along and I think God is taking too long. I'm thankful that God doesn't always answer prayers the way I think He should. I'm thankful that I don't know the big picture--because I know I couldn't handle it. I don't believe there are unanswered prayers. I just believe the answers aren't always what we were expecting and the answers are much better than we could ever have imagined. God is so faithful. It is impossible for Him to be anything but faithful. His love is everlasting and steadfast. If I had been the only human being in the whole world, God would have still sent His son to take my place on the cross. And, Jesus would have willingly died--just for me. If you can think of nothing else to be thankful for in your life--be thankful Jesus loved you enough to die for you. Be thankful that He is as close to you as your own prayer. Speaking of prayer. I received this on the internet and I checked it out. As far as I can tell--the story is true. The story comes from the Presidential Prayer Team web site...... "Fifty Christian truckers got together to pray to pray that somehow the sniper terrorizing the Washington, DC area would be caught. "Ron Lantz would be retiring as a driver in a few days and didn't even live in the area, but he felt sure that God would answer their prayers. In fact, he told the others there that God was going to use him to catch the sniper. "A few days later he was listening to the radio as he was driving again through the region and felt compelled to pull off the highway to a rest stop. It was just twenty miles from where the prayer meeting had taken place. As he pulled in, he was shocked to see a car similar to what was being described on the radio right there before his eyes. "Carefully trying to read the license plate, a chill went up his back as the numbers matched. He quickly called 911 and remained there for what he said were the longest 15 minutes of his life until the police arrived. He even pulled his truck across the exit, there would now be no escape for these elusive murderers. The rest is now history-the snipers were taken into custody without incident. "Ron's testimony is being beamed around the world. It shows the power of prayer. And in a class act, showing his true character, when asked what he would do with the award money, he said the half million dollars would simply be given to the victims' families. "The snipers killed 10 and wounded 3 around our nation's capital over the past three weeks, leaving the entire region in a state of terror. Yet out of the great darkness has also come a great beam of light as the world has heard a clear testimony of the power of prayer." The Presidential Prayer Team honored trucker Ron Lantz as an American Inspiration To check out this story and the Presidential Prayer Team website, go to: www.presidentialprayerteam.org
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