Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 039, Ed. 1 Friday, March 2, 2012 Page: 1 of 12
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CM K
FIRST
FINANCIAL
McCoy
Funeral Home
wwvii.mccoyfh.coni
907 Broadway
766-3452
Roscoe
401 E. 3rd
235-8666
Sweetwater
MEMBER FDIC
www. ffbsweetwater. com
r
DEDICATED TO PROUDLY DELIVERING LOCAL NEWS SINCE 1881
Friday, March 2, 2012
www.sweetwaterreporter.com
Morris Brothers visit
Southeast Elementary
The Morris Brothers visited Southeast Elementary School and hosted an assembly on positive class-
room behavior on Friday, Feb. 16. The Morris Brothers present across the nation on topics such as bul-
lying, character, behavior and testing. The Morris Brothers presented a positive and upbeat message on
bullying in and out of school and how to handle it when it occurs. The students, faculty and staff all took
part in the presentation.
Statewide gas price
average increases a nickel
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded
gasoline in Texas is a nickel more than the average
last week, according to the AAA Texas Weekend Gas
Watch. The current statewide average is $3.57.
The national average is $3.74, increasing 13 cents
more than the average last week. The statewide average
price is 17 cents less than the national average. The most
expensive gasoline average in the state is in Dallas at
$3.59. Amarillo is reporting the least expensive average
in the state at $3.41 for a gallon of regular unleaded.
Signs of economic improvement in the U.S., progress
toward addressing European debt uncertainties, and
continuing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East
have continued to pressure market crude oil prices
higher. Prices are being driven higher largely by the pos-
sibility of a future impact on supply. The result of this
speculation is that market prices for both crude oil and
gasoline have been pressured higher by future uncer-
tainty in the market.
"'Texas prices, like all U.S. prices, reflect the current
volatility of the global oil market. This week in Texas
the average 14-gallon fill-up, which is about the size of a
typical family sized vehicle, is about $50. Last week that
same fill up was $49.30, so the average 14-gallon fill-up
went up about 70 cents," said AAA Texas/New Mexico
Public Affairs Representative Sarah Schimmer. "Oil is a
global commodity and many global economic variables
determine the price of oil per barrel and ultimately the
retail price Texans pay at the pump."
To maximize fuel efficiency as well as extend the life
of your car, AAA recommends motorists have their
vehicle serviced regularly based on the manufacturer's
recommended schedule and identify a quality repair
shop. Motorists can either look for the AAA Approved
Auto Repair sign at local auto repair facilities, or search
for a nearby AAA Approved shop online at: www.AAA.
com/repair.
Outlaws and legends tills weekend
Abilene will host the
second annual Outlaws
& Legends Music Fest
-TEXAS-
LOTTERV
PICK 3 (Day)- 9-5-1
Daily 4 (Day) — 3-1-8-5
PICK 3 - 0-0-2
Daily 4 — 8-1-7-8
TEXAS TWO STEP
9-20-31-34 BB: 19
CASH FIVE
21-22-27-32-33
13 10522
March 2 and March 3
in celebration of Texas
Independence Day. The
festival kicks off Friday,
March 2, with more than
10 artists performing an
unplugged acoustic song-
swap show from 8 p.m.
to midnight, followed on
Saturday by the biggest
one-day, one-stage Texas
music festival from 10
a.m. to 1 a.m. The night of
March 3 w ill cap off with a
spectacular encore of the
artists sharing the stage
playing their biggest hits
from midnight to 1 a.m.
Proceeds will once again
benefit the Abilene-based
Disability Resources Inc.
(DRI), which provides res-
idential care and vocation-
al training to developmen-
tally disabled individuals.
Last years Outlaws and
Legends Music Fest gen-
erated close to $32,000
for DRI.
The festival will take
place at Abilene Speedway,
6825 W. Highway 80 in
Abilene..Gates will open
at 4 p.m. Friday, and
attendees must vacate
the Speedway by noon on
Sunday, March 4. Fans
may bring their own cool-
er, any size, for a fee of $20
per cooler. Three hundred
RV spaces are available for
$40 each on a first come,
first served basis. Vendors
will be on site serving food
and selling paraphernalia.
PERFORMERS
The Marshall Tucker
Band will headline this
year's festival. This leg-
endary multi-gold and
platinum rock and coun-
try band has produced 38
albums and 16 Billboard
Top 100 hits on the coun-
try music and rock charts.
Other artists include
Roger Creager, Lee Roy
Parnell, Mark Powell and
Lariat, Gary P. Nunn,
Matt Martindale, Eleven
Hundred Springs, Jamie
Richards, Whiskey Myers,
Larry Joe Taylor, Jerrod
Medulla, Charlie Shatter,
Charla Corn and Bracken
Hale. These performers
have amassed a combined
total of 28 Billboard USA
Top 100 singles and close
to 100 Texas music chart
• See LEGENDS page 3
Vol. 114, Issue 039 ■ 50 cents
Rat ngs discussed
at RPMH Board of
D rectors meet ing
The Nolan County Hospital District Board of Directors
met for their regiilarly monthly meeting on Monday
night, Feb. 27, 2012 at the Rolling Plains Memorial
Hospital.
The meeting opened with the annual 2011 Human
Resource (HR) report that was given by Gay Nell Cherry,
the hospital's HR director. Reports were given on patient
care providers, non-patient care providers and turnover
statistics from the past year.
While all three reports are broken down by department
and compared to the 2010 year, the first two reports are
graded on a four-point scale. A score of four or higher
is noted as an 'excellent' rating, followed by 'commend-
able', 'acceptable'^ 'marginal' and 'unacceptable'.
The most change in the first two reports was seen in
the 'commendable' category. In patient care providers,
the 'commendable' score stood at 55% for 2011, an 11%
increase from the prior year. A three percent decrease
was seen in the same category for non-patient care pro-
viders, which came in at 53%.
For the turnover statistics report for 2011, the hospital
saw a 2% increase in a one-year period. Cherry and the
board commended the employees as well as volunteers
of the hospital for their loyalty, while expressing a desire
to see more volunteers—both men and women—on the
campus.
It was also noted that some slight changes are being
made in the performance evaluating process for depart-
ment heads in order to simplify the scoring and make it
more accurate. Evaluations take place on a yearly basis.
Regarding action items, the board approved the Big
County Healthcare agreement, which was formed due
in part to some changes with the current Medicare regu-
lations. This partnership will allow for the hospital to
make a smooth transition throughout the changes while
still receiving necessary funds.
• See RPMH page 3
IISDA announces
CRP general sign-up
Landowners and producers
will have four-week window
beginning in March to enroll
Acting Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign
Agricultural Services (FFAS) Michael Scuse announced
that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will
conduct a four-week Conservation Reserve Program
(CRP) general signup, beginning on March 12 and end-
ing on April 6. CRP has a 25-year legacy of successfully
protecting the nation's natural resources through volun-
tary participation, while providing significant economic
and environmental benefits to rural communities across
the United States.
"It is USDA's goal to ensure that we use CRP to address
our most critical resource issues," said Scuse. "CRP is an
important program for protecting our most environmen-
tally sensitive lands from erosion and sedimentation,
and for ensuring the sustainability of our groundwater,
lakes, rivers, ponds and streams. As always, we expect
strong competition to enroll acres into CRP, and we urge
interested producers to maximize their environmental
benefits and to make cost-effective offers."
CRP is a voluntary program available to agricultural
producers to help them use environmentally sensitive
land for conservation benefits. Producers enrolled in
CRP plant long-term, resource-conserving covers to
improve the quality of water, control soil erosion and
develop wildlife habitat. In return, USDA provides
participants with rental payments and cost-share assis-
tance. Contract duration is between 10 and 15 years.
Producers with expiring contracts and producers with
environmentally sensitive land are encouraged to evalu-
ate their options under CRP. Producers also are encour-
aged to look into CRP's other enrollment opportunities
offered on a continuous, non-competitive, signup basis.
Currently, about 30 million acres are enrolled in CRP:
and contracts on an estimated 6.5 million acres will
expire on Sept. 30, 2012.
Offers for CRP contracts are ranked according to the
Environmental Benefits Index (EBI). USDA's Farm
Service Agency (FSA) collects data for each of the EBI
factors based on the relative environmental benefits for
the land offered. Each eligible offer is ranked in com-
parison to all other offers and selections made from that
ranking. FSA uses the following EBI factors to assess the
environmental benefits for the land offered:
• See USDA page 3
Check Out
CM K
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Sweetwater Reporter (Sweetwater, Tex.), Vol. 114, No. 039, Ed. 1 Friday, March 2, 2012, newspaper, March 2, 2012; Sweetwater, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth229703/m1/1/?q=Lamar+University: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Sweetwater/Nolan County City-County Library.