JANUARY—Much like in 2020, January of 2021 started out with news about COVID-19. Because of the number of teachers and students with the virus, RISD schools extended the Christmas break. Judge Steve Young announced three more deaths bringing the total to 14. (We were at 91 at the end of 2021.) The first vaccines were being offered to older citizens and the immune compromised of Milam County.
Snow blanketed Rockdale with nearly six inches the second week of January.
The Milam County 4-H team won a national honor but were unable to travel to Colorado to compete nationally because of the virus.
Rockdale held its annual Martin Luther King parade where James Barnes was the grand marshal.
RHS athletes helped residents clean up limbs after the snowfall.
The COVID death total was 18 during the third week of January and Judge Young issued a grim COVID report the last week in which the county experienced seven deaths in one week. Milam County ended January with 25 deaths.
FEBRUARY—The month of February started out with Rockdale’s support of Alex Sandoval who was diagnosed with a rare brain cancer. The whole town wore tie-dyed shirts to help raise money for the family’s medical expenses. The schools in Cameron, Milano and Thorndale also got involved in the tie dye theme.
Tamara Hebert Powell followed in her grandmother’s footsteps by writing a series of stories for Black History Month in The Rockdale Reporter just as Susie Sansom Piper had for over 40 years.
COVID deaths were at 29 the first week of February.
A successful fish fry fundraiser for Alex Sandoval was held at Brett’s Backyard Bar-B-Que, grossing $15,000. There were 500 pounds of fish fried and 950 plates served. Another $5,600 was raised through tie dye t-shirt sales. Kaitlynn Schnerr did her own fundraiser for Alex and raised another $5,000 for the family.
Eight more inches of snow fell on Rockdale and over 5 million people in the state were without water and electricity for several days.
Milam County ended February with 37 deaths.
MARCH—Milam County Sheriff Chris White resigned and Mike Clore was appointed sheriff by Judge Young and the county commissioners.
Rockdale updated and rededicated Moultry Park.
Ward Roddam retired as Rockdale Volunteer Fire Department Chief after a life-long association with the VFD.
Milam County ended the month with 45 COVID deaths.
APRIL—Richard Thrasher Jr. was arrested on a criminal trespass charge, having been found asleep in the old Antique Queens building, after which the building was boarded up.
The Rockdale Farmers’ Market opened at the Chamber of Commerce building and had many more new vendors than in previous years.
Work began in the 200 block of Cameron Avenue by TxDOT removing the old sidewalks in its downtown rehabilitation project.
Allan Miller of Miller-Starnes Chevrolet-Buick announced that he had sold his decades old family business to Michael Handwerger. The business would now become Alpha One Chevrolet-Buick.
Rockdale’s Whinstone US announced that it had been sold to RIOT Blockchain Inc for $80 million and 11.8 million shares in the new company.
Milam County began offering COVID vaccines to students aged 16 and older.
A going away retirement party was held for Ward Roddam as he retired from the position of fire chief. He was replaced by Herbie Vaughan.
Demolition work began on “The 1895” (old city hall) by the Vision Historic Preservation Foundation.
Milam County ended the month with 47 COVID deaths.
MAY—Stephanie Xia was announced as head of national mining at Bitmain’s Rockdale operations.
Scott Starnes won an east side seat on Rockdale’s city council. Starnes and Brett Boren were sworn into office by city secretary Terry Blanchard.
Lorrie Birkhead, Mark Smith and Julie Orton were named Teachers of the Year by the RISD.
Alex Sandoval, age 11, succumbed to a rare brain cancer after a long fight.
The RISD board named Renee Lee as the new junior high principal. She lasted one semester and has since turned in her resignation.
Jason Barcak and Troy Zinn both ran unopposed and became members of the RISD board, Zinn as returning president and Barcak as a new board member.
Whitney Boyd was to represent Rockdale in the Miss Texas Pageant.
RISD announced that Arianna Eastridge was valedictorian and Kaitlyn Rash was salutatorian.
Dixie Whitmore celebrated 50 years of teaching piano lessons in Rockdale.
JUNE—The Class of 2021 graduated with 116 members. The ceremony was moved to the RHS gym because of rain.
Gimel Peterman was named Rockdale High School’s teacher of the year. He was presented the Golden Apple award by high school principal Brent Hasselbach.
Milano graduate, Brittany Barnett, competed in the Miss Texas USA pageant in Houston. She placed in the top 15 and was awarded the People’s Choice Award.
A grand opening was held for Sumuel Park’s splash pad.
Fair Park was alive with sounds as the Rockdale Fair Association presented a Texas Truck & Tractor Pull Association show.
A crowd of about 167 showed up for Rockdale’s Homecoming at the Patterson Civic Center.
The Institute for Teaching God’s Word Theological Seminary held its graduation ceremonies and Dr. Brooks announced his retirement.
The Bad to the Bone Riders held their annual MARC Run and raised over $15,000.
Donald Ray and Mary Allen were the grand marshals at the annual Junteenth Parade which started at The 1895 (old city hall) and went down Cameron Avenue to Moultry Park.
Youngsters enjoyed a night at the City Pool at Veterans Park, with snacks and drinks when area churches partnered with the city of Rockdale to host an evening swim.
JULY—Milam County commissioners voted to create reinvestment zones and to adopt tax abatements for four proposed solar energy projects around the county after a public hearing on the matter in the county courthouse.
The COVID-19 Delta variant was first reported in Williamson County and, shortly after, in Milam County.
Jim Gibson was chosen as the new economic director of the Rockdale MDD.
Despite some heavy after noon rain, the annual Fourth of July celebration was a crowd pleasing success with music, food, conversation and a fireworks show to top it all off.
Judge Steve Young announced that “Milam County received more great news regarding our quest for grant funding. The Texas General Land Office advised us that the county will receive $5.8 million in infrastructure funding. The funding is generally referred to as ‘mitigation’ and the uses include transportation. This brings our grant and funding totals to an unheard-of amount of $45 million for 2021. This is more than the county has ever received in its entire history.”
After a long layoff, the Rockdale Park Board met in City Council chambers and authorized member Michelle Larkin to seek grants to apply for which would help pay for some of the things the board would like to see done at the city’s parks.
County businesses would soon start applying for funds “lost” during the COVID-19 shutdown and slowdown of the past year. The Milam County commissioners voted to create the Milam County Small Business Grant Program.
After a long lull in COVID-19 deaths, Milam County ended July with a total of 53 COVID-related deaths.
AUGUST—R o c kd a le Earth Day chairman David Melton announced that the businesses and individuals had donated enough money for mural artist, Sam Welty, to come at the end of August after a long wait due to COVID.
The former junkyard that was on two lots near the east entrance of the city of Rockdale was sold in an auction to a buyer from Georgetown.
For the third year in a row, Charles Price III was honored by his mother, family, friends and the Austin Freedom Riders with a ride from Rockdale to Cameron.
Students had returned to the nine-month adventure of learning in area public schools. Rockdale Independent School District had a preliminary total of 1,420 students with the population divided into 431 in the high school, 345 in the junior high school, 396 in the intermediate school and 248 in the elementary school.
Milam County’s ambulance service, or as one speaker at commissioners’ court meeting called it, “lack of service,” took center stage during a discussion of the existing contract with AMR.
The Texas Book Festival announced the Lucy Hill Patterson Memorial Library in Rockdale as a recipient of the 2021 Texas Library Grants. The library received a grant of $2,500.
SEPTEMBER—C it y of Rockdale Public Works employees began laying water pipes along US 79. The new lines would be in the city right-of-way rather than the state right-of-way. Public
Works Director Jerald Brunson said the work should take 10 to 14 work days if everything goes as planned. In addition to laying new pipe, the city would also remove some old pipes.
The Rockdale Reporter asked people to share their 9/11 memories and we were inundated with responses. Everyone remembered where they were. The same week Kyle Cooke became editor of The Reporter.
Dollar General opened its doors on US 79 in Milano.
Mural artist Sam Welty completed his El Camino Real de los Tejas mural on the south side of the Rockdale MDD building.
The American Statesman Glove Co. announced that Rockdale was a finalist in its search for a home.
Artist Tommy Neinaber had some of his sculpture work set up at the Lucy Hill Patterson Memorial Library. The artist uses layered resin to create his unique artwork.
Rockdale High School Principal Brent Hasselbach announced that Mallory L. McDaniel had been named a “Commended Student” in the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program. A Letter of Commendation from the school and National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC), which conducts the program, was presented by the principal to this scholastically-talented senior.
Milam County ended September with 71 COVID deaths.
OCTOBER—Annie Laura Ray, graduate of RHS class of 1975, announced she would hold a book signing on Oct. 16, as part of the 2021 Rockdale Fair and Rodeo.
Pruett Insurance celebrated their 40th year in business. The insurance agency was started by Jo Pruett in 1981 from the ground up.
Haven Jimenez was crowned Miss Rockdale Fair Queen for 2021 in the RHS auditorium. And, if that wasn’t good enough, the other pageant contestants also voted her Miss Congeniality. First runner-up was McKenzie Becker of Thorndale and second runner-up was Aaliyah McBrewer.
County Commissioners heard an update by Milam County Judge Steve Young on plans for a regional training center. The judge met with representatives of Temple College, the Central Texas Council of Governments, the Texas Workforce Commission and local mayors to share ideas on how this project would come together. They also toured around the county to see various operations in place and discussed how they would be able to help.
RHS Distinguished Alumni honorees for 2021 were Graham Kyle, Joan McKinney Ratliff, Penny Graves Redington, J.W. (Bill) Cooke and William (Will) Earl Ray.
The 2021 Best of Rockdale contest winners were announced in The Rockdale Reporter.
The RHS Big Blue Band participated in the Brazos Valley Marching Festival at Caldwell High School on Oct. 2 and earned a Superior (Division 1) rating from the judges.
The 2021 Fair and Rodeo was a huge success raising $622,123 at the livestock auction, the highest ever in the fair’s history.
Brett Boren celebrated the third anniversary of his Brett’s Backyard Bar-B-Que in grand style with BrettFest, a gathering of over 40 barbecue joints from across our state, as well as three other states and one from Mexico. He also managed to sell out about half of the hotel rooms in Rockdale. Texas Monthly magazine came out with their Top 50 Barbecue Joints and 21 of them were in attendance. Almost 600 people showed up to help him celebrate and enjoy all the vendors and live music.
NOVEMBER—Haven Jimenez, daughter of Vincent and Christina Jimenez, was crowned homecoming queen at Tiger Stadium as the Tigers won their game against Troy.
Alcoa announced it had completed the sale of land and industrial assets in the state of Texas in a transaction valued at $240 million. The sale included approximately 31,000 acres in Milam and Lee Counties and was marketed as the Sandow Lakes Ranch, which includes the site of the former Rockdale aluminum smelter. The Rockdale smelter was fully curtailed in 2008 and was permanently closed in 2017.
A state-sponsored COVID-19 infusion clinic opened at the former Richards Memorial Hospital. The infusions are given to people who have contracted the COVID-19 virus. After infusion, patients are 70 percent less likely to be hospitalized when infused within four to five days of the onset of symptoms.
Rockdale High School held a very successful and well-attended Trunk or Treat Halloween celebration at the Tiger Football Field parking lot. There were 28 vehicles in total and each was represented by RISD groups including RES, RIS, RJH, RHS, the administration office, the maintenance department, varsity football, Rotary Interact Club, National Honor Society, Spanish NHS, College and Career Readiness, English as a Second Language, the Student Council, the RHS theater department, coaches and ACE Tigers Afterschool Programs.
The Big Blue Band from Tigerland announced that Band Sweetheart was Peyton Shuffield and Band Beau was Lamonte Robinson.
The Rockdale Tiger Booster Club held the 2021 Homecoming Parade and city-wide pep rally which was sponsored by the good folks at Alpha One Chevrolet-Buick.
The Rockdale Chamber of Commerce and The Milam County Historical Commission hosted an official historical marker dedication ceremony for the Coffield House.
The Milano Volunteer Fire Department held a fundraiser for Robert Whitmore on Sunday with pulled pork sandwiches and all the trimmings including dessert. Over 400 plates were sold and fellow firefighters from all over the state showed up to help.
Rockdale Historical Society held its annual Choo-Choo Chili meal fund-raiser at the I&GN Railroad Museum grounds and raised approximately $1,250 to be used by the organization to maintain the facility.
The temperature dropped just in time for the Rockdale Downtown Association’s (RDA) tree lighting. Attendees were served free chili cooked by Climate Control AC & Heating, free hot chocolate and cookies donated by Nathan Bland with Rollo Insurance.
DECEMBER—On Tuesday, Nov. 23, Gov. Greg Abbott’s major economic announcement was no surprise to the people of Williamson County. Abbott officially announced that a new $17-billion semiconductor plant would be built in Taylor.
Milam County Sheriff’s Department was investigating after a woman who was reported missing was found dead in the San Gabriel River near Apache Pass. County Sheriff Mike Clore is investigating the death of Christi Warrick Coufal, 55, of Cameron as a homicide.
The Bad to the Bone Riders held another successful Buddy Oney Toy Run raising over $7,600 for Milam County’s less fortunate children.
Rockdale Chamber of Commerce’s annual Breakfast with Santa was another hit this year. Our Rockdale McDonald’s provided pancakes, milk and juice and they were very well-received and appreciated.
Milano held its annual Christmas Parade followed by the annual Christmas lunch sponsored by the City of Milano.
The first Lone Star Jazz party was a big success at The 1895, put on by the Vision Historic Preservation Foundation. Headliner The Sparky Thomason Quintet was the last jazz band to play and they put on a very popular show for the crowd.
A chili fundraiser for the Milam Touch of Love at Brett’s Backyard Bar-B-Que was a big success as over 200 bowls of delicious chili was served. Some of the animals available for adoption were there as was Santa. Wes Barlow provided live music.
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