What the Abilene Reporter-News liked and disliked: Say Cowboys! Say cheese!

Our view
·4 min read

LIKES

  1. Can they strike more gold? Have to start with the Dallas Cowboys, who finally beat Tom Brady. He was 7-0 against Dallas until the Cowboys corralled him Monday in Tampa Bay. Dallas looked much better than it did in a 20-point loss at Washington. Now, it's on to San Francisco, which is 18-19-1 all-time vs. Dallas. But the Cowboys left their hearts in San Francisco in 1981, when Dwight Clark made The Catch to send the 49ers to the Super Bowl.

  2. And they're off! Filing began Wednesday for three seats on the Abilene City Council, including mayor, and three seats on the Wylie ISD board. We're going to see some new faces, so it'll be interesting to see who else joins the race and how it shakes out. Filing by six people for the city races on the first day is highly unusual.

  3. Thanks for cleanup. The march across Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Bridge on Monday was pleasant, despite the wind. What helped make it so was that, this year, the bridge surface had been swept. In the past, litter, branches and even dead animals have been on the road. So, if it was the city of Abilene or the Texas Department of Transportation that tidied the bridge, thanks for allowing marchers to converse and sing rather than watch where they were stepping.

  4. Danci Nanci. Retired longtime Abilene Convention & Visitors Bureau boss Nanci Liles found something to do. She revived her dancing days, teaming with eight-time Dancing With the Abilene Stars dancer Ivan Alverez to win the 2023 competition that serves as a major fund-raiser for Hendrick Home for Children. They did a fast two-step to a song by The Chicks (formerly Dixie Chicks). Liles said she and her late husband, Ken, "used to dance all the time." Yet, she credited her win to raising the most money. "It's not easy dancing in front of 1,300 people," she said. Any more dance plans? "One and done," she said Thursday from Plano, where she was being inducted into the Texas Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus' hall of fame.

  5. Hail Halle. This year's concert series at Episcopal Church of the Heavenly Rest continued with a performance by gifted pianist Halle Puckett. The Abilene High grad has been a guest performer with the Abilene Philharmonic, so this was a treat. Halle plays like a girl ... today's girl, who is bold and confident and strong. Brother Bach would be impressed.

Janet Mendenhall laughs as she walks with Mayor Anthony Williams during Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. bridge march. This was Williams' final MLK march as Abilene's first Black mayor.
Janet Mendenhall laughs as she walks with Mayor Anthony Williams during Monday's Martin Luther King Jr. bridge march. This was Williams' final MLK march as Abilene's first Black mayor.

DISLIKES

  1. It hasn't rained all year! There were a few sprinkles Wednesday but 2023 is beginning very dry here. Since the last good rain Nov. 26 (0.7 of an inch), Abilene has measured less than a half-inch over the past 56 days. We had 0.20 of an inch last January to start what proved to be a dry year.

HMMM

  1. Typo waiting to happen. No one would confuse Abilene mayoral candidate Weldon Hurt with an NFL quarterback. But, well, there's Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts. Will Hurts be for Hurt? It's more likely Hurt will be against Hurts if the Eagles and Cowboys play for the Super Bowl. Should we get the Big Hurt (former baseball slugger Frank Thomas) involved?

  2. On the other side ... Hurt is facing a challenge from Ryan Goodwin. The first-time candidate is hoping for just that May 6 ... a good win.

  3. It's always something. The comment last week that the city is receiving more complaints about road construction than potholes is interesting. First, The Pothole Challenge has not gone away. Second, if streets are being fixed, there is going to be inconvenience. Third, future plans call for more concrete to replace asphalt, which deteriorates. Concrete work takes time. This suggests we just need something to complain about because the lack of rain is keeping our intersections and underpasses from turning into lakes ...

  4. Cheese ties? We suppose that a tie that looks like brisket would get looks and send a vegan running. But we saw a cheese tie at the Great Lakes Cheese demonstration at the LIFT last week. It's not a look for everyone, but you can order one for under $17 from Zazzle. It's marked down, likely because Green Bay is out of the playoffs. Might be a good pastor gift; after all, it is holey ...

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: What the Abilene Reporter-News liked, disliked: Say Cowboys! Say cheese!