By Sam HolbrooksSeminole SentinelSEAGRAVES -- Sea-graves High School facul-ty, administrators, alum-ni, and students gathered at the SHS Auditorium on Saturday to pay tribute to one of their most beloved educators, Bill Woods. By the end of the day, those warm feelings toward the teacher, and the wife who stood by him throughout his career, were immortal-ized with a permanent in-scription that reads "Bill and Myrna Woods Band Hall" on the north side of the campus.Following an introduc-tion by new SHS Principal Daylan Sellers, Seagraves ISD Superintendent Josh Goen detailed a legacy of a man who had made a ca-reer in music that spanned 37 years, and was respon-sible in large part for the accomplishments of -- and the particular sense of pride inspired by -- the Seagraves High School "Pride of the Plains" Band over the years. Bill Woods' instruction planted the seeds for at least 20 of his former students to launch careers as school Band Di-rectors.Now 86 years of age, Mr. Woods was born in Den-ton County and was a 1950 graduate of Plain-view High School. Ac-complished on several in-struments, Woods' love of music from a young age never wavered, keep-ing him on a path that would ultimately lead to his induction into the

Texas Bandmasters Hall of Fame, and finally to Saturday's trek from his Abilene home back to the Seagraves school, for an honor that is bestowed upon an elite few in the field of education.Woods performed as a drum major, student con-ductor, and was a world class twirler, recognized by a VFW sponsored na-tional competition in Chi-cago in 1950. He attended Hardin-Simmons Uni-versity, paying his way through school by per-forming in dance bands. Woods served as a Band Director in Anson be-fore coming to Seagraves in 1957, leading the High School band to its first-ever Sweepstakes, and the Junior High band to other awards, while also teach-ing choir.Woods departed Sea-graves for a time in 1961, teaching band at the 4-A Levelland High School be-fore, eight years later, he would return, with assur-ances from the SISD that he would be given time to complete his Master's De-gree at Texas Tech. Dur-ing the summer months, he also served as an in-structor at the Texas Tech band camp, at which he served as Assistant Direc-tor from 1969 to 1979. By the time retirement came, he had served in admin-istrative roles for several music oriented organiza-tions, including service as President of the Texas Mu-sic Educators Association (TMEA).

Meanwhile, Seagraves would earn 12 consecutive sweepstakes under Woods' tutelage before he left once again in 1981 to take a po-sition as Director of the famed Hardin-Simmons "Cowboy Band". He would then serve as Band Direc-tor at Merkel High School before retiring in 1989. In 1997, Woods was named "Texas Bandmaster of the Year" and inducted into the Texas Bandmas-ters Hall of Fame. During Saturday's cere-mony, wife Myrna Woods, an accomplished pianist in her own right, got near equal billing as an endear-ing presence in Seagraves. Mrs. Woods worked as a Secretary to the Superin-tendent of Seagraves ISD, and later at the Abilene ISD before retirement. She had served for 15 sum-mers as Dorm Director at the Texas Tech Band Camp. Mrs. Woods passed away in 2015.A series of testimonials from former students of Mr. Woods included per-sonal anecdotes and paint-ed an endearing portrait of a perfectionist who, while high strung at times, never allowed his temperament to compromise his pursuit of excellence, or his love of the students. His creed was one that resonated throughout the auditorium on Saturday: "No excuses. Just results". Keith Call, a 1977 gradu-ate, spoke of a Band Di-rector who respected stu-dents as equals, and the love and respect that was

returned. He taught re-spect for authority, respon-sibility, and achievement as a process of prepara-tion, instead of a singular goal. Call told the crowd that rehearsal was geared toward perfection, such that a piece of music was rarely played from start to finish until the band took the concert stage. Seagraves High Class of 1979 graduate Marilyn Low, now a Seagraves ISD teacher and businesswom-an, recalled the pride in being part of a band with a reputation as a "pow-erhouse". Low presented Woods a Memorial plaque. Bonnie Anderson, who was Seagraves' first black teacher before later mov-ing on to become a 39-year veteran Band Direc-tor in Littlefield, spoke of both Myrna and Bill Woods as almost surrogate parents, with a home that was always open -- quite literally. She credited both with helping to shape her

career as a teacher. "One thing that Bill taught me how to do, was how to listen," Anderson told the gathering. "Listen for that certain kind of sound that you're trying to get as a Director. He taught me to look for the band sound that I wanted.""And he taught me how to listen to kids -- not to talk over them, but to talk to them."Bruce Woods, one of Bill and Myrna Woods' two sons, focused on his fa-ther's emphasis on "focus and commitment".Before the Seagraves "Pride of the Plains" band played the school's song, "Spirit of Liberty March", and the crowd moved out-side to watch the unveil-ing of the new sign at the Band Hall, Guest of Honor Bill Woods, in a brief ad-dress laced with humor, offered an intriguing in-sight into the mind of a lifelong music man. Perhaps the only one to notice, Woods had figured out that the gold seams be-tween the terrazzo floor-ing in the school hallways were 30 inches apart, and that the seams in the side-walk out front were 60

inches apart. With his "6-to-5 stride", he would hit each seam as though marching on the field, and on the right foot. "This school was built for 6-to-5", he joked.Woods told of meeting his future wife Myrna in the seventh grade, form-ing a bond that would last through High School and on until he was "wearing out a 1937 Wyllis, driving back and forth" between his alma mater, Har-din-Simmons, and hers, Abilene Christian College. After a year of teaching in Anson, he was playing a dance when he got the call for the Seagraves job, doubling his salary -- to $4,000.Woods closed by telling the crowd, "I cannot tell you how much I love Sea-graves, and how much Myrna loved Seagraves. It will always be home to me. Every one of you are a part of our lives, and will remain that way forever."Turning toward the band, Woods said, "we are the pride of this entire West Texas area. Get together, buckle down, and do it. No excuses. Just results."

CMYK

Vol. 8 October 31, 2017 Issue 2

email: news@seagravesisd.net

U.S. POSTAGEPAIDSEAGRAVES, TXPERMIT No. 577ZIP CODE 79359

BOXHOLDERPO BOXSEAGRAVES, TX 79359

FREEThe TalonServing Our Community, Parents, Students and Staff

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Bill & Myrna Woods Band Hall

Page 2 October 31, 2017 The Talon

Chapters

By Toni Polyak, Gaines County Library - Seagraves Branch

HIgh School Student Spotlight

Chapter 1: Read All About It!...Come by and check out our new book releases! We are receiving so many new books we hardly have room on the shelves! Your favorite authors and genres are awaiting you! Whatev-er your tastes may be His-torical Fiction, Romance, Fantasy, Mystery and even Manga. It’s all here!

Chapter 2: A Partner-ship…We at the Seagraves Branch Library would like to help provide books for those reading for Acceler-ated Reading points. We have a large selection of AR books. We also have easy reading books for the younger age groups as they learn to read. We can partner with teachers to help students find the books they like and need! Chapter 3: Celebrate No-vember!...The following are just a few celebra-tions and recognitions in the month of Novem-ber: American Diabetes Month, Aviation History Month, Diabetic Eye Dis-ease Month, Lung Cancer Awareness Month, Mo-vember, Nat’l Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month, Nat’l Epilepsy Aware-ness Month, Nat’l Family Caregivers Month, Nat’l Inspirational Role Mod-el’s Month, Nat’l Mar-row Awareness Month, Nat’l Memoir Writing Month, Nat’l Novel Writ-ing Month, Peanut Butter Lover’s Month, PPSI Aids Awareness Month, Vegan Month, Worldwide Be-reaved Siblings Month.

Chapter 4: Once Upon a Time…It was a dark and stormy night when I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I felt light as a feath-er when I did not judge the book by it’s cover as they lived happily ever af-

ter! After all every cloud has a silver lining and this is driving me nuts! Ok, maybe a bit overused, but clichés can be fun and we can celebrate them No-vember 3, Cliché Day! Use clichés as much as possible, Hey, why not, give it a shot! Win some, lose some, you’ll never know until you try! (This really is driving me nuts!)

Chapter 5: Veteran’s Day…Celebrated on Novem-ber 11, 2018. This day was formerly called Armistice Day and proclaimed each year since 1926. If Veter-an’s Day falls on a Satur-day, then either Saturday or Friday is considered a Federal Holiday. If it falls on a Sunday, then the Monday after it is a Feder-al Holiday. Honor the Vet-erans!

Chapter 6: READ…Won-der Woman Warbringer, book one of the DC Icon series, written by Leigh Bardugo. A mix of fanta-sy and action-hero, Won-der Woman comes to life and generates a new era of fans. This story is some-what a prequel to the well known tales of Princess Diana, aka Wonder Wom-an. It begins as Princess Diana is attempting to prove to herself to her war-rior sisters. This book is written for Junior Fiction readers, but will satisfy Young Adult and Adult readers as well. Forthcom-ing DC Icon series books are Batman by Marie Lu, Catwoman by Sarah J. Maas and Superman by Matt de la Pena.

Chapter 7: “I can smell autumn dancing in the breeze. The sweet chill of pumpkin and crisp sun-burnt leaves.” ~ Ann Drake

By Braygen Patterson In this edition of The Talon student spotlight has been awarded to se-nior, Estefania Hernan-dez. Hernandez was born in Cuauhtémoc, Chihua-hua, Mexico on October 14, 2000. Hernandez was a resident of Mexico for fourteen years until three years ago when she moved to Seagraves, Texas. Her-nandez is the daughter of Jose Aaron Hernandez Perea and Sandra Ivonn Gonzalez Rascon, she also has a one four-year-old brother named Aaron Her-nandez. Hernandez is a member of the Pride of the Plains Band where she plays her favorite instrument, trum-pet.

“My favorite thing about Seagraves is school because it's where I spend most of my time.” Hernan-dez said. “It where I spend the most time with my friends.” Hernandez's fa-vorite subject is Eng-lish. “Estefania is a wonderful student. She is very hard-

working, she preserves and always tries.” Senior Eng-lish teacher Mrs. Jennifer Cox said. “Overall she's just a respectful student with a very positive atti-tude.” According to Hernan-dez Seagraves High School has given her a great op-portunity to learn a second language and gives her a different education than what she had. After high school she plans on attending New Mexico Junior College and continuing to take English classes. When Hernandez leaves she hopes to stay in touch with her classmates and be able to take all the great memories with her.

Sellers to Seek Re-election

A long time Gaines County resident, Calvin Sellers, has announced his intentions to seek re-elec-tion to the Gaines County Justice of the Peace, Pct. 2 position, per a press re-lease issued to the Semi-nole Sentinel on Friday.Sellers filed his inten-tions with the Gaines County Republican Par-ty, and will be subject to election in the upcoming March 2018 party prima-ry. He was first elected to the position in the March 2014 Republican Party primary process.Sellers was born in Sea-graves and attended schools in Seagraves and Seminole. After high school Sellers enlisted in the United States Army, where he served during the Vietnam era.Sellers and his wife, Judy (Barnett), also a native of Gaines County, have two sons, two daughters and seven grandchildren. They are members of the First Baptist Church of Seagraves. “As a Seagraves native, successful business own-er, experience in work-ing within a government organization, and hav-ing deep roots in Gaines County, I believe I have the background and ex-perience to effectively manage the resources and personnel of the Office of Justice of the Peace, Pct. 2,” said Sellers in his press release. “In my three years of being Justice of the Peace, I’ve enjoyed the opportu-nity to serve the people of Gaines County and learn the duties of the position.”Sellers says he will con-tinue be dedicated to car-rying out the duties of the office “in the most fair and efficient manner pos-sible.” “I would appreciate your support,” said Sell-ers. “If re-elected, I will continue to work hard to earn and keep your trust in Pct. 2. My door will al-ways be open to hear your concerns. We are privi-leged to live in Gaines County, and I will be dedicated to carrying out

the responsibilities of the office, and ensuring we live in a safe and prosper-ous Gaines County. I will strive to lead Pct. 2 to al-ways do what is right and strive to carry out the du-ties of the office for the betterment of the commu-nity. I hope to earn your vote, and the opportunity to serve you as Justice of the Peace, Pct. 2.” According to the Texas Association of Counties, the justice of the peace presides over the court that is most accessible to the average citizen. Jus-tices of the peace hear misdemeanor cases pun-ishable by fine only and can hear most civil cases in which the amount in controversy does not ex-ceed $10,000. The justice of the peace also performs the functions of a magistrate and conducts inquests. In addition, a justice of the peace may issue warrants for search and arrest. Jus-tices of the peace also is-sue civil process, conduct preliminary hearings, ad-minister oaths and serve as a coroner in counties where there is no medical examiner. The justice of the peace may also con-duct inquests. As with all elected county officials, the jus-tice of the peace has ul-timate authority over the operations of the office, including the authority to hire and fire personnel and direct their daily ac-tivities. The justice of the peace also has authority to determine how to use all other resources allocat-ed to the office during the budget process.

Jr High Student Spotlight

Page 3 October 31, 2017 The Talon

By: Mia Duran Seagraves Jr.High student spotlight goes to 7th grader Ethan Salazar. He was born in Denver City, Texas, on October 25, 2004. He is the son of, Martin Sala-zar and Stephan Me-drano Guerrero. Salazar has 2 siblings, Nathan-iel Salazar and Martin Salazar Jr. Ethan is in involved in several school activi-ties including, one act play, basketball, and football. ¨I like doing one act play because I can express myself¨ Salazar said. ¨I play football and basketball not just for fun and entertainment, I play to get not only disciplined and better but because I have a passion for the game.” Everybody has a subject in school they enjoy for, Ethan, it›s math. ¨I like math, yes, it is hard but when you have a teacher like Mr. Purcella, that takes his time and shows us little tricks it makes it fun¨ Salazar said. One of Ethan’s favorite Bible verses is ¨I can do all things through him who gives me strength.̈ Philippians 4:13 ¨The message that I receive when I hear or read the verse is that, I can do whatever I set my mind to because God will always be there

by my side giving me strength to overcome the difficulties.̈ Salazar said. Salazar was honored to be selected as a student spotlight. ¨Being picked for student spotlight was a shock at first but then I came in realization that when you do what you have to and try in your classes that you›ll end up getting recognized for the hard work¨ Salazar said. Being prepared for class and ready to learn are why Ethan was nominated by English teacher, Marsha Dossey. “Ethan deserves this nomination because of his dedication to learning both in the classroom and on the field” Dossey said. After high school Ethan wants to attend Ohio State University and study business. “My mind might change as I grow, but for now that›s what I have my mind set to and a goal to strive towards¨ Salazar said. Salazar believes that the best thing you can do in life it to work hard to get somewhere and become someone. ¨No matter what becomes of me after high school, I always want to stay a hard working man, as I am now¨ Salazar said.

By Mackenzy Ragland 4th grader Zane Thompson is this edition of Talon’s Elementary Stu-dent Spotlight. Thompson was born on September 11th, he is the son of Glenn and Kensey Thompson along with his brother Zeth Thompson who is seven years old; they have lived here in Seagraves Texas for 9 years. “I like Seagraves be-cause it’s a small town and I like living in a small town” Thompson said. He was chosen for stu-dent spotlight by his teach-er Jana Scott,because he always cares about oth-ers and works hard in class and is always focused when it’s time to work. “He’s a student that ex-

emplifies good deci-sion making and has strong academics” Scott said. According to Mrs. Scott Zane has a promising fu-ture as a lead-er and he is a great example for others to follow if they want to be a leader as well.

“Zane constantly shows great character in class and I think that’s what a stu-dent should have in class and towards a teacher” Scott said. Thompson is honored to have been selected as the student spotlight. “I’m excited, because my teacher has noticed how well I am doing in my class” Thompson said “and it shows that I have a good character when with my classmates and in class learning what my teacher teaches me.” Thompson wants to work for ESPN when he’s older because he loves sports and he enjoys watching sports with his dad and brother.

ElementaryStudent Spotlight

By Caleb Martinez In this edition of Talon Jamie Jo’Van Ochoa has been chosen for the Soar-ing Athlete. Jo’Van has been play-ing football since he was in 7th grade. He is a mem-ber of the varsity football team where he is a receiver and outside backer. Some of the things that Jo’Van does before a game is stretch, work on spe-cial plays, practice catches, and gets in his zone for the night. “Football is my favorite sport because I like the en-ergy of the game.” Ochoa said.

Jo’Van was nom-inated for Soar-ing Athlete by Head Football Coach Steve Heryford. “Jo’Van is a very hard working young man and does what is needed to be done.” Heryford said. Offensive Coor-dinator Jay Ragland also felt that Jo’Van

deserved the Soaring Ath-lete. “Jo’Van has accepted his role on the team and leads with his actions.” Ragland said. “He is not a vocal person bus his ac-tions lead the way for oth-ers to follow.” To Jo’Van being a great athlete means that you have to work hard and have a great attitude even when times are tough. One of Jo’Van’s fa-vorite quotes comes from the movie Joe Dirt, “you gotta keep on keepin’ on.”

Soaring Athlete

ObituariesSEAGRAVES…..Funer-al Services for Alfredo J “Freddy” Soto, 46, of Sea-graves will be held at 10:00 A.M. Monday, Octo-ber 9, 2017 in the St. Paul’s Catholic Church with Fa-ther Paul Karieakatt offici-ating. Under the direction of Ratliff Funeral Home of Seagraves. Alfredo passed away Wednesday, October 4, 2017 in Seagraves, Tex-as. He was born on May 5, 1971 to Efrain and Josephi-na Jacuinde Soto in Sea-graves, Texas. He married Naome Longoria on Au-gust 6, 2005 in Seagraves, Texas. He

was an avid sports fan and loved camping and fishing. Alfredo was preceded in death by his mother Jo-sephina Jacuinde in 2008. He is survived by his wife: Naome Soto of the home, three sons: Alfre-do Soto Jr of Grand Forks, N.D, Jose Luis Soto and Cody Soto both of Semi-nole, a daughter: Josie Soto of Eunice, N.M, Father: Efrain Soto Sr of Sea-graves, a brother: Efrain Soto Jr. of Wolfforth, a sis-ter: Linda Sanchez of Den-ver City and two Grand-children: Norberto Pinon, Gabriel G. Soto.

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Page 4 October 31, 2017 The Talon

New Kid On the Block

Senior Mackenzy Rag-land is a new kid on the block at Seagraves High School. She is the daugh-ter of Coach Jay Ragland and Mrs. Melanie Rag-land. She was most recent-ly from Lockney where she attended school from 4th grade through her ju-nior year.

Ragland is en-joying the new opportunities that Seagraves has to offer. “The school has more to of-fer,” Ragland said “like pho-tography class, yearbook class, and flex period so I can catch up on my work.” Senior Eng-lish with Mrs. Cox is Ragland’s

favorite class. “We are getting to learn about poetry and much more this year” Ragland said. Mrs. Cox makes every-thing seem less stressful, according to Ragland. “Everything is not al-ways ‘work, work, work’”

Ragland said. Being the new kid can be difficult but Ragland leans on her friends and faith to make the transition easier. “Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans will succeed” Prov-erbs 16:3 is one of Rag-land’s favorite verses. Ragland is involved with Talon Media, aca-demic UIL, is a student athletic trainer and will play softball. After graduation Rag-land plans on attending South Plains College to finish her basics then at-tend West Texas A&M University to earn her bachelor’s degree in early childhood education with a minor in photography.

Goen Above and Beyond

at Seagraves

Schools

Communication is Key for SISD

Joshua Goen We are functioning in a new age of technology with more communication tools than at any time in our past. Why then does it seem like we are less effective at communicating than ever before? We stay busy connecting and are still so disconnected at the end of the day. For our school district, finding the right balance of old fashioned paper and new-age electronic avenues is crucial. How can we get feedback and input from such a diverse community of stakeholders? This is a question school teachers and administration have attempted to answer for years. It is understandable that parents are busier than ever, working and provid-

ing for their families and loved ones. I have seen various communication efforts with differing levels of participation over the years. Planned and carried out with good intentions, many of these efforts are not as informative for stakeholders as desired. For the school, the efforts are not as effective for re-lationship development as intended. How can we get on the same page? Overall, students surveyed love their local school as do parents and community members. The news media portrays public education as a fail-ing system, but I suggest it is a system that contin-ues to improve and serve rural communities well. I recognize that the rate of improvement and innova-tion in public schools does lag behind when compared to technological advances and other industries in this 21st century. If we look at the learning experience and expectations of today’s student compared to 17 years ago, the changes are drastic. I am proud of the educators, facilities, and plans we have in place for the students of Seagraves Schools. A communication bar-

rier recognized in these first nine weeks of school comes from this pride. It is my hope that parents and stakeholders will continue to hold us accountable for serving students well and preparing them to be life-long learners. This will require hard work and a lot of improvement. Moving from good to great will be possible when both parents and school personnel de-velop a trust that allows for honest and open feedback, constructive criticism, and solution-oriented collabo-ration in all situations. If we do not currently have your trust, we want to earn it and hope you recognize our desire to improve and grow while we grow your students. Please continue to raise your expectations of Seagraves ISD as we continue to raise our ex-pectations of you and your children. We are going to work on earning your trust so you can feel confident that we will listen to your recommendations for improvements and take ac-tion to make real positive changes. I am so excited to see how we progress together as a learning community of students, staff, and stakeholders in 2017-2018!

Football Stats

Quarter 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TotalSeagraves 14 14 14 0 42Tahoka 0 0 6 0 6

Quarter 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TotalSeagraves 21 8 20 0 49Vanhorn 0 6 8 2 16

By Cade Humphries Fields of Faith is an an-nual Fellowship of Chris-tian Athletes event that is held nationwide in foot-ball stadiums on the 2nd Wednesday in October. This year the Seagraves FCA attended the Fields of Faith that was held in Lub-bock, Texas. 50 students from Seagraves Junior High and High School at-tended this year’s event. The students enjoyed singing worship songs and listening to testimonies from fellow high school students and college ath-letes. “I enjoyed Fields of Faith because of the mu-sic and the way everyone shared their testimony” Sophomore Abrianna Gar-cia said. The speaker this year was Zack Randles. Ran-dles grew up in Lubbock, Texas and is now a pastor in Washington, D.C. He gave a inspirational mes-sage challenging students to lead a life of faith and spread the word to others.

“My favorite part of Fields of Faith was when everyone went to the floor to praise God.” Sopho-more Caleb Martinez said. “It gave me reassurance that this generation wants more of God.”

Due to rainy weather the event was moved to the United Supermarkets Arena. 12-13 thousand stu-dents from the area were in attendance.

Seagraves Students Attend Fields of Faith

Quarter 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TotalSeagraves 0 7 0 21 28Hamlin 21 7 0 6 34

Quarter 1st 2nd 3rd 4th TotalSeagraves 7 6 24 25 42Roscoe 0 13 6 0 19

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