1
$
Vol. 23, No. 48 Wheeler County, Texas
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Area Roundup Independence Day celebration March 2
Adult sewing classes
available
The Wheeler County AgriLife Extension Office will offer adult sewing classes March 16,
March 23, March 30 and April 6, beginning at 6
p.m. at the Wheeler County Ag and Family Life
Center. Cost is $10 plus supplies. Class size is
limited and registration deadline is March 9. For
more information, call (806) 826-5243.
Shamrock community blood
drive
Coffee Memorial Blood Center will hold a
blood drive in Shamrock March 2, 2015, from 2
p.m. to 7 p.m., located at the First Baptist Church
Fellowship Hall in Shamrock. All blood types
are needed and every eligible donor who presents to donate will receive a free t-shirt. A photo
ID or donor card is required and you must be at
least 17 years old to donate. Donors who are age
16 may donate with a signed parental consent
form. For more information call (806) 331-8800
or (877) 574-8800.
TX Panhandle War Memorial
ceremony March 29
Randall County Veterans Park, 4101 South
Georgia Street, Amarillo Texas, is the site of a
Veteran’s ceremony March 29 at 2 p.m.
Its purpose is to observe National “Welcome
Home Vietnam Veterans Day” declared by U.S.
Congress. Names of Vietnam War Fallen Hero’s
from all 26 counties of the Texas Panhandle will
be read. President Fred Rangel is asking relatives/friends of any Vietnam combat or Vietnam
era Veterans that are deceased, (Not in combat
but later years), to submit his/her names, rank,
and branch of service to Texas Panhandle War
Memorial c/o Fred Rangel 4101 South Georgia
Street, Amarillo, TX 79109-1100. Their names
will also be read during the ceremony only from
the 26 counties of the Texas Panhandle, please.
Deadline to submit names is March 14, 2015.
Information or questions: Contact Fred Rangel
806 (674-0495).
Vendor permit required for
St. Pat’s
Officials in Shamrock would like to forewarn
anyone wanting to set up a vendor booth on private property during St. Patrick’s Day weekend
here in Shamrock. All vendors will need to purchase a temporary vendor permit through the
City Hall.
Money from these permits goes towards scholarships. Permits will be checked by local law
enforcement and a ticket will be issued if you do
not have one. Call the Chamber of Commerce
or visit the City Hall for more information.
Girl Scout cookies available
Girl Scout cookies are now on sale through
March 1, 2015. Girls will have them on hand,
so please pay for your cookies when you get
them. Donations are appreciated as we will be
sending to the troops again this year. For donations, please contact service unit manager, Joyce
Walker at (806) 669-4695. You may also contact
Cari Coole at (806) 334-2325.
St. Pat’s Association
wants catering bids
If you would like to be the caterer for the annual St. Patrick’s Banquet set for Friday, March 13,
please send an email to jeff@countystarnews.
com or call (806) 256-2070.
Chamber banquet
The Shamrock Chamber of Commerce is asking for nominations for three categories for this
year’s Shamrock Chamber of Commerce Banquet.
If you would like to nominate someone for
Man of the Year, Woman of the Year or Business of the Year, please contact Connie at the
Shamrock Chamber of Commerce at (806) 2562501. The chamber would also like a short write
up of why each person or business was nominated.
Miss Irish Rose, Lad N’ Lassie sign ups
The deadline for Miss Irish Rose is February
26 and Lad N’ Lassie deadline is February 20.
Cattle nutrition workshop series
The Wheeler AgriLife Extension office will
hold section 2 of a cattle nutrition workshop series Tuesday, February 24, at noon at the Wheeler Ag and Family Life Center. Registration fee
is $10. Each workshop will be two hours in
length with following workshops in March and
in April.
The Wheeler County Historical Commission (CHC) will commemorate Texas Independence Day with re-enactors, time period
artifacts and reproductions, a real “come and take it” cannon, singing
the Texas State song and pledging the Texas flag.
This celebration event will be located at the Wheeler County Ag
and Family Life Center in Wheeler starting at 10:30 a.m. on March 2,
2015. The event is free and all ages are invited to attend.
Texas Independence Day is the commemoration of the adoption of
the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836, in which
independence from Mexico was declared and the Republic of Texas
was born.
Activities will provide compelling visuals and interview opportunities with volunteers and attendees. Stories will also be depicted
about the Alamo, the style of cannon used in 1834, the story of Angelina Eberly, the woman who saved Austin as the state capital of
Texas in 1842, and a book signing by Author Carl Williamson from
Miami, Texas.
For more information, visit Texas Annexation which is hosted by
the Texas State Library and Archives. Wheeler County Historical
Commission works to provide opportunities for citizens to learn
more about state and local history.
Howard returns home to Shamrock as FBC pastor
By JEFF BLACKMON
Publisher
Mark Howard, a Shamrock native, is the new
pastor at the First Baptist Church in Shamrock.
Howard replaces Mike Martin, who served in
Shamrock until 2014 when he and his wife Carla, a first grade teacher at Shamrock Elementary
School, moved to Amarillo.
Howard and his wife Teresa moved to Shamrock
in the fall, and Howard says he is glad to be back
home.
“After being involved in church planting and
ministry in the Northwest for almost 25 years, I
am happy to be back home in Shamrock,” Howard
said. “First Baptist is where I came to faith in Christ
as a 9-year-old, was discipled and influenced spiritually through my teenage years by Godly mentors
and where I surrendered to a calling on my life to
vocational ministry.
“I love this church family.”
Howard and his wife moved to Shamrock from
Washington, where their three grown children and
three grandchildren remain.
He said he and his wife are excited about getting
plugged in to the community.
“My wife Teresa and I have just moved into our
home, and we’re more than excited to get connected into the community,” Howard said. “I also love
this community and look forward to renewing old
acquaintances and making new ones.
“God is at work, and we are going to join Him
in it.”
For more information on Shamrock First Baptist New Shamrock First Baptist Church Pastor
Church visit www.shamrockfirst.com.
Mark Howard.
St. Pat’s Day Chili Cook-Off details Rotary Club
raffling off Yeti
Cooler
The Shamrock Rotary Club is again sponsoring
a chili cook-off this year at the annual St. Patrick’s
Day Celebration on Saturday, March 14. The Rotary Club would love for anyone interested to enter
this fun event. Proceeds will go towards Meals on
Wheels, a very worthy cause.
“Shamrockin’ to the Moon” is this year’s theme
for Shamrock’s St. Patrick’s Day celebration and
parade, while “Deep in the Heart of Shamrock”
remains the overall theme. “Shamrockin’ to the
Moon” is based on the fact that Alan Bean is this
year’s banquet and parade Grand Marshal. Bean is
one of eight living astronauts who have walked on
the moon. He was born in Wheeler.
This year’s cook-off is officially sanctioned by
the International Chili Society (ICS) with the winner of this year’s St. Pat’s cook-off becoming eligible to compete in the ICS World Championship
Homestyle Chili Cook-off in the fall of 2015. Local judges will be utilized to determine the cookoff winners.
The entry fee is $50 per entry. If interested, you
can show up Saturday morning at 8 a.m. and enter the chili cook-off with a $50 entry fee. The
location of the cook-off will be on the vacant lot
just North of the Community Center at the south
end of Main Street (Hwy 83). The schedule is as
follows: 8 a.m. - the location of the cook-off will
be open for set up (no electricity available), 9:15
a.m. - there will be a cooks’ meeting discussing
rules and regulations, 9:30 a.m. - cooking starts,
12:30 p.m. - turn in chili for judging. At 1 p.m. the
winners will be announced. First place will receive
$200, second place $100 and third place $50. After
the judging, cups will be available to purchase for
$3 each so that anyone wanting to try the chili from
the cook-off will be able to do just that.
For more information or any questions about the
chili cook-off, you may contact Gordon Dockery,
Chairman at (806) 334-0971 or Randy Lee at (806)
334-0133.
To download a registration form and for more
information you may go to the City of Shamrock’s
website at www.shamrocktexas.net, click on the
St. Patrick’s Day banner and then click on “Chili
Cook-Off.”
You will also find other information on the
St. Patrick’s Day events and schedule as well as
Shamrock’s St. Patrick’s Day History which began
in 1938.
Recently, the 83rd Texas House Legislature
passed HCR83, designating the Shamrock St. Patrick’s Day Celebration as the official St. Patrick’s
Day Celebration for the State of Texas.
The Shamrock Rotary Club is raffling a Yeti
Tundra 45 cooler starting now through Saturday, March 14. You can buy one ticket for $5
or 5 tickets for $20 to be entered into the drawing which will be held that Saturday at the Chili
cook-off site during the St. Patrick’s Day weekend events at the Community Center. This cooler has a retail price of $350 and has a 9.4 gallon
capacity.
Yeti coolers are made from the same roto-molded polyethylene material as whitewater
kayaks resulting in extreme durability in all conditions. Yeti coolers also have twice the amount
of insulation as most coolers resulting in ice
keeping much longer. It has a freezer style sealing gasket and has heavy duty T-latches on the
lid. In addition to being great for any outdoor
sporting or tailgating activities, the durability of
these coolers make them very good for commercial uses such as oil and gas, construction and
Continued on page A8
Carnival tickets now on sale at chamber office
Carnival tickets are now on sale at the Shamrock Chamber of Commerce
located at the U-Drop Inn.
Tickets are $2 each,
The annual celebration is the official St. Patrick’s Celebration for the
State of Texas, being declared that by the Texas Legislature in 2013. Bean
will serve as the banquet speaker and parade Grand Marshal. William
Clark Green will be performing at the Saturday night dance with
special guest Tom Velasquez and the Global Nomads.
For ticket information contact the Shamrock Chamber of
Commerce at (806) 256-2501.
Thursday, March 12
3:30 p.m. -- 5th Annual St. Patrick’s Invitational Track Meet
at El Paso Stadium
Friday, March 13
4 p.m. -- Carnival opens behind Bartlett’s Hardware
& Lumber
6:30 p.m. -- “Kickoff Banquet” featuring Alan Bean, artist and astronaut, $20
Following the banquet -- Dance at the Shamrock Country
Club featuring J.W. Lane and County Road X, $10 cover charge. Must
be at least 21 years of age.
Saturday, March 14
8:00 a.m. -- 5K Fun Run, starting at Water Tower Plaza
9:30 a.m. -- Arts and Craft Show at the Shamrock Junior High gymnasium
10 a.m. -- Donegal Beard Contest at the parade review stand, first place
prize is $100
10 a.m. -- Old Settlers’ Reunion at the Shamrock Volunteer Fire Department
10 a.m. - 3 p.m. -- St. Patrick’s Health Fair • Exclusively sponsored by
Accolade Home Care at First Baptist Church Family Life Center
10:30 a.m. -- Parade will begin in the 800 block of North Main Street and
proceed south to Water Tower Plaza
Noon -- Carnival opens behind Bartlett’s
1 p.m. -- Antique, Classic Car, Truck and Motorcycle Show at the U-Drop
Inn, judging to begin at 2 p.m.
2 p.m. -- Bull riding followed by team roping at the Shamrock Rodeo
Arena.
3 p.m. -- Crowning of Miss Irish Rose at the Shamrock
High School Auditorium
4-5 p.m. -- Unveiling of the Alan Bean statue in
Wheeler at the Wheeler Historical Museum.
9 p.m.-1 a.m. -- Dance featuring recording starring William Clark Green with special guest Tom Velasquez &
the Global Nomads. Tickets $12.50 in advance, $15 at the
door.
Sunday, March 15
Noon -- Carnival opens behind Bartlett’s
Noon to 4 p.m. -- Arts and Crafts show will continue at the
junior high school gymnasium
1 p.m. -- Lad ‘n’ Lassie Beauty Pageant at the Shamrock High School
Auditorium.
ACE SALE! FEb. 21 onLy!
now serving breakfast
Located inside garrisons
on the corner of i-40 & 83
20% off almost anything
that fits in brown
paper bag.
Located inside Market Square Thriftway
1814 N. Bill Mack St. • Shamrock, TX • (806) 256-2481
FOR SCHEDULE UPDATES: www.shamrocktexas.net
1/2 off all in stock
hard surfacing
install only, no carryout
Premier Floor Warehouse
301 S. Cuyler, Pampa TX • 669-7001