S-T Fall Festival a Success Despite Uncooperative Weather

The Skidmore-Tynan Fall Festival was plagued by bad weather Saturday. The Elementary festival began at 4 p.m. Shortly afterwards, a violent storm blew through dropping approximately 3 inches of rain in a little over an hour and knocking out the electricity. "That's not right!" someone commented as the rain blew horizontally, first from the east and then from the west. A steady stream of festival goers filed hurriedly through the front door of the pavilion as hail fell during the most violent portion of the storm. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the storm abated and all was calm.

The High school portion of the festival began a 6 p.m. with raffles, a cake walk, bingo in the old gymnasium, and other activities. A high point of the evening was the presentation of two excellent plays by the High School Drama Department. "Seven Wives for Dracula" and "The Trial of Goldilocks" had the audience rolling with laughter. All of the actors and actresses are to be commended for their hard work. Standout performances included Katy Casas and Rose Cavasos as poison-happy "Sisters One and Two," Rob Boscamp as the crotchety hard-of-hearing "Judge." and Will Handy as the improbable "Baby Bear."



The P.T.C. Toy Walk



Rain drives festival participants inside.



Games continued, even after the electricity went out.



The S-THS Drama Department presents "The Trial of Goldilocks"

Bobcat Little League Clarifies Boundary Issues

The Bobcat Little League Board of Directors met at the Skidmore First Baptist Church October 21, 2003. League President, Keith Petrus, reported that clarification of Little League Rule II (d) regarding league boundaries had been provided by the Little League State Headquarters in Waco, Texas. Under Rule II (d), players residing inside the newly formed Bobcat Little League boundaries will have the option of continuing to play for the Beeville League. If a player living within the Bobcat Little League boundaries chooses to continue participating in the Beeville League, the player may continue to do so for the remainder of his/her Little League career. However, if the player chooses to sit out a year after making their decision, the player's eligibility will revert to the Bobcat Little League for the remainder of their career.

The Constitution Committee's recommendations were presented to the board. After discussion, the proposed Constitution was approved by unanimous vote.

The Auxiliary Committee presented fundraising ideas for the Bobcat Little League including a Cook-off, Silent Auction, Raffle, Calcutta, Bake Sale, and BBQ Sale. Other ideas were presented at the meeting and will be discussed further at next month's meeting.

Ed Wilson presented the proposed budget for the 2004 Bobcat Little League. All numbers were based on prices and premiums from last year. Sponsorship fees were set at $200 per team in the proposed budget. A motion to set the sponsorship fees at $250 was made and passed unanimously. Mr. Wilson agreed to expand the budget to include the costs associated with construction and maintenance of the proposed ballpark.

The next Bobcat Little League board meeting was set for Tuesday, November 11, 2003.

Holubec to Accept S-T Elementary Blue Ribbon Award in Washington Ceremony

The Skidmore-Tynan Elementary School has been awarded the "Blue Ribbon of Excellence" - one of only 214 schools nationwide to receive the prestigious award. Skidmore shared the honor with 23 other Texas schools but was the only South Texas school recognized. The continuing efforts of elementary principal Patty Holubec and her excellent teaching staff increased TAAS Scores in all student groups including Hispanic, Anglo and socioeconomic students. To be eligible for the Blue Ribbon Award, schools must either have 40% of their students from disadvantaged backgrounds that dramatically improve in student performance or students, regardless of background, must score in the top 10% on the state tests. The Blue Ribbon schools will be honored during award ceremonies in Washington, D.C. on October 30-31, 2003