CLICK HERE to return to the Archives Index

Front Page Headlines

Bring Your Own Band Deemed Huge Success

By Chuck Miller
Special to the Free Press

Bring Your Own Band to DeLeon was a huge success. This past Saturday six bands performed at the very first Bring Your Own Band marching competition.

The bands started at 1 p.m. and marched until 4 p.m. The bands were divided into two classes -- 1A and 1A Open.

DHS BAND PERFORMING. The DeLeon High School band, sporting their striking new white uniforms, performed their UIL marching routine at the Bring Your Own Band competition held in DeLeon last Saturday afternoon, as band director Chuck Miller and an assistant look on from the sidelines. Since DHS was the host for the new event, it performed for exhibition only and was not involved in the judging. Nevertheless, the event's judges visited with the band after their performance and gave them generally good remarks. The band in the visitors stand across the field had already completed their competition performance.

Class 1A consisted of bands that were 39 members or less, and from a 1A school.

Class 1A Open were bands larger than 39 members in 1A, or a 2A classification with fewer than 40 members.

Competing in class 1A was Rising Star, Gorman and Ranger. Competing in 1A Open were Millsap and Goldthwaite.

At the conclusion of the afternoon, the following awards were presented by the judges:

Outstanding Percussion, Class 1A, Ranger, Class 1A Open, Millsap; Outstanding Colorguard, Class 1A, Gorman, Class 1A Open, Goldthwaite; Outstanding Drum Majors, Class 1A, Ranger, Class 1A Open, Goldthwaite.

Overall: Class 1 A, 1st place Ranger, 2nd place, Rising Star; 3rd place Gorman; Class 1A Open, 1st place Millsap; 2nd place, Goldthwaite.

The Mighty Maroon Band marched but since they were the host, they did not compete for awards.

They did however, get critiqued by the judges and received valuable information to help them improve as they head into UIL competition. The judges were Merle Lensest, of Perryton; Bryan Bronstad and Keith Zuehlke, both of Clifton.

The Mighty Maroon Band will compete in Glen Rose this Saturday in the Paluxy Valley Marching Festival. They will perform at 1 p.m. They will then travel to Brady, Saturday, Oct. 18, to perform at the UIL Marching Contest. The time of performance in unknown at this time.

Now is the Time to Burn!
Are Your Countertops Radioactive?

Comanche County Emergency Services Coordinator Ray Helberg called this week to advise property owners who have brush piles that need burning to burn them soon.

Helberg said that with drying weather conditions and the likelihood of a killing frost in the relatively near future, that a countywide burn ban will soon be recommended.

Following the rains that swept the area on Monday, conditions are currently wet and relatively safe for burning, Helberg noted. And there currently is no burn ban in effect.

Burners are advised to call 893-2424 (Central Dispatch in Comanche) and tell them the location of your large fire. That might avoid having a volunteer fire department dispatched to your controlled burn if someone else sees the smoke and calls in a fire.

Radioactive Countertops?

Recent publicity about certain granite countertop materials having relatively unsafe levels of radioactivity has caused some concern among homeowners and others.

Ray Helberg states that he has the necessary Geiger counter equipment to evaluate your granite counter tops, most of which are completely safe.

If you wish to have your counter tops checked, call the Emergency Management office at 325-356-5805 to make arrangements. There is no charge for this service.

MRSA Staph Infection Discovered at DeLeon School

Tuesay, September 30, DeLeon school students took home the following letter from Dr. Randy Mohundro, DISD superintendent:

“We are writing to give you more information on a type of Staph infection called MRSA (Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) that has affected DeLeon ISD. This week, we have had one confirmed case of a student with MRSA infection on one of our campuses. We are continuing to disinfect all of our facilities and are taking the proper steps to monitor this situation closely.

Generally, Staph infections are mild skin infections that can progress to more serious infections if not treated properly. There are many different kinds of Staph and not all of them are harmful. MRSA is a kind of Staph that is resistant to some kinds of antibiotics.

If you suspect your child might have MRSA, contact your healthcare provider immediately to obtain a medical evaluation. Please know that if the school nurse suspects an MRSA infection involving a student or staff member, the individual will be sent home and can only return once they have been cleared by a physician.

The spread of MRSA may be reduced by practicing good hand washing, especially after coughing, sneezing and restroom use. Students should not share personal items like towels or razors, and must thoroughly clean shared sports and workout equipment after every use. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your school nurse or campus principal.”

Dr. Mohundro also participated in the following Q&A session with the Free Press:

Q. How common is staph infection?

A. Staph is all around us. It is found in public places and even in our homes. It is normally a minor skin infection, but if not treated can turn into a more serious infection. MRSA, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus is becoming more common. This strain of staph has become resistant to many antibiotics that are normally used to treat it, and thus staph must now be taken more seriously than in the past.

Q. How common is staph in schools?
A. Staph is seen in schools due to the large number of individuals that are occupying a small space. Additionally, Staph in schools can spread due to students participating in various athletic activities and then using and sharing towels and other personal items.

Q. What signs should people look for?

A. If a parent notices a skin irritation that is not clearing up, it would be advisable for them to seek additional medical attention from a medical profession. (According to the CDC, Center for Disease Control, Staph skin infections may look like pimples or boils, and may be red, swollen, painful and/or have pus or other drainage.)

Q. What did you do to disinfect the school?

A. As soon as a case was reported and the school was made aware of it, the district’s infectious disease protocol was put into affect. This includes using foggers in all areas with a virucide to kill any viruses that might exist on any hard surfaces, including classrooms, restrooms, showers, and athletic dressing rooms. Hand sanitizer is readily available and students are encouraged to use it throughout the day, with many teachers having students use it whenever they enter their classroom.

Although there have been rumors of other MRSA cases in DeLeon schools, as of Tuesday, October 7, there had only been one confirmed case.

Hodges Only Perfect Picker

The football bounced the wrong way for Tarleton State on Saturday and it also kept several of our contestants out of the "perfect" category.

Talmage Hodges was the only one of our panel of pickers who managed to successfully predict all 15 contest games, and thus pockets the $50 weekly prize.

Talmage's father, Terry, along with Barry Hooker, Steve Baker, Don Carruth and Buddy Sharp all came close, but each missed one game.

The overall average score was 78% correct, or almost 12 out of 15. But for the Tarleton game, the average would have been higher. As it was, the panel earned a "C+" on Week 5.

The game most often missed was Tarleton State's loss to Texas A&M Kingsville, with 84% favoring the locals. Over half of the panel also missed on predicting Perrin Whitt's defeat of Evant and Comanche's stomping Dublin.

Not a single picker, however, failed to predict Brownwood's win over Manor. Only one true believer picked Bayor over Oklahoma. Hico's win over Moody was also missed only by one contestant. Victories by Bangs, the University of Texas and Texas Tech were also popular correct picks.

Question has apparently arisen as to whether participation in our football contest constitutes gambling.

Our legal counsel assures us that our football contest is considered to be safely within the laws of the State of Texas. So you can rest easy on the legal matter.

Whether contest participation constitutes gambling in an ethical or moral sense, however, is more debatable. Some who we have heard discuss the matter on Sunday mornings correctly note that participation is free, and thus if nothing is ventured, how can the proceeds constitute gambling?

Others of the more hard line debaters, however, note that a fifty cent purchase is required, and thus it could be considered gambling.

We respond, however, that most of the newspapers would be purchased, whether or not the football contest is being held. If this is the case, therefore, gambling would again be ruled out.

If, however, the newspaper, or extra copies, are purchased solely for the purpose of entering the contest, then that trivial amount spent might be considered as gambling, if only in the most technical sense of the word.

One thing is for clear, however. If the newspaper is stolen and then used for contest entry, it may not be gambling, but there's an ethical line somewhere that has been crossed.

On the serious side, good luck to our contestants in Week 6. It will be very interesting to see how our panelists make their picks on the Red River Shootout.

All content of this site, unless otherwise noted, is Copyright©2006-2008 Morgan Publishing Co.

All Rights Reserved. Any duplication, in any form, without the written consent of the copyright holder is prohibited.