Thorndale

By Marie Bakken
Champion Sports

The Lady Dogs will host the annual Thorndale Shootout at Bulldog Gym and Thorndale Middle School Gym on Dec. 27-28.

The 12-team tournament is divided into four pools of three teams. The Pool groups are: Pool A-Thorndale, Groesbeck, Italy; Pool B-Taylor, Moulton, Caldwell; Pool C-Rogers, Salado Fayetteville; Pool D- Crawford, Hearne, Thorndale JV.

Pool play starts at 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

The championship game is set for 7 p.m. Wednesday.  The third place game is at 4:45 p.m. and consolation is at 4:30.

The Thorndale School Board approved a contract with Goodwin-Lasiter-Strong architects for a potential bond project during its meeting Nov. 14.

The board had previously selected GLS as the architect for the project. 

TISD Superintendent Adam Ivy stated that the contract had been negotiated and revised through the district attorneys and was revised favorably for the district. The agreement removes arbitration as a method for dispute resolution and replaces it with mediation. The agreed upon fee of 7.25 percent was included along with a stipulation that if a bond is not passed that GLS will bill for pre-bond services at an hourly rate up to no more than $10,000 if the district completes no other work with GLS over the following year. 

The board approved the contract by a vote of 6-0.

The Fighting Band from Bulldog Land received a Superior 1st Division Rating at the Region 26 UIL Marching Contest held at Giddings High School on Saturday, Oct. 22. What a lot of folks don’t realize is that the band begins to practice for this contest at the end of July. While most kids are still enjoying their summer break the band kids cut their summers short in order to start rehearsing. Everyone knows the football team has two-a-days, but did you know that the band has two-a-days also. These kids are coming to band practice twice a day five days a week. They come in for sectionals and then they come in for full band rehearsal. These are some of the hardest working kids there are. The next time you see a band member take the time to give them a little shout out. The band would also like to say thank you to the Thorndale ISD School Board, administration, parents, staff and community for all of the support. The band could not be successful without your support.

By MARIE BAKKEN

Champion Sports 

The Thorndale Bulldogs proved they have got some fight left in them, as they came from behind to defeat Normangee 50-36 on the road Friday night and claim the Bulldogs’ first district win in two seasons.

The victory moves Thorndale to 2-4 on the season and 1-0 in District 13-2A Division I play, as Friday’s matchup was the league opener for both squads.

The Bulldogs garnered 462 yards of total offense on the night, all on the ground.  And the 50 point performance is the best for the squad in two seasons.

Luke Leschber’s 234 yard rushing performance on 42 carries and five touchdowns earned him a Texas Football Magazine Player of the Week nomination. (Votes can be made at www.texasfootball.com until noon on Friday.)

Thorndale High School’s 2016 Homecoming Court members are: front row, from left, Calli Pipkin, Mary Leopold, Sage Wycough and Addison Cuba; back row, from left, Joshua Iselt, Chase Cuba, Ruben Briones and Hunter Towery. The Homecoming royalty will be crowned during halftime of Friday’s football game with Moody.

Thorndale ISD had an unwelcome visitor late last week.

According to the Thorndale Police Department, on September 29-30 a skunk was found on the Thorndale ISD campus. 

The skunk was trapped in a utility room and was turned over to the Thorndale Police Department. There was no known contact with the skunk and it is unknown how long the skunk was located in this area. 

The Thorndale Police Department impounded the animal and submitted it for testing at the Department of State Health Services where it tested positive for rabies.

If you had contact with this skunk, you are asked to call the Thorndale PD immediately. Rabies is a fatal disease.

The Thorndale City Council honored two hometown heroes during its meeting Sept. 14.

Thorndale police officers Michael M. Moehling and Kurt R. Kraemer were recognized for their efforts to save the life of a Thorndale resident Keith Fisher on Aug. 22.

The City honored them with a proclamation and Life Saving medals. Proclamations were also given by Senator Charles Schwertner’s office and state Rep. Dr. Marsha Farney’s office.

On Wednesday evening, July 13, at approximately 10 p.m., Moehling and Kraemer were at a business at the intersection of U.S. Highway 79 and North First Street in Thorndale when a local resident was being driven to the hospital by his wife.  The resident was reportedly feeling ill, having chest pains and believing he could be having a heart attack.  

A fundraiser dinner, auction and dance will be held to assist Thorndale resident Edgar Islet and his family on Sunday, Sept. 25, at the Fireman’s Hall in Thorndale. Iselt was involved in a serious car accident on July 1.  

Tickets for the full event are $10 per person and must be purchased in advance. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.

The meal will consist of barbecue brisket, green beans, noodles, potato salad and coleslaw. Desserts will be available for a free will donation. Serving begins at 11 a.m. and plates will be available for dining in and to-go.

Tickets may be purchased in Thorndale at Thorndale City Hall, Prosperity Bank, Rockdale Federal Credit Union and St. Paul Central Ministry Office.

In Taylor, tickets are available for purchase at Crop Production Services.

In Rockdale tickets can be purchased at The Rockdale Reporter office or from Eric Paulsen at Rockdale Ford.

By MARIE BAKKEN

Thorndale Sports

The Thorndale Bulldogs broke a nine game losing streak on Friday, as they defeated cross-county rival Milano 40-27 at Bulldog Stadium.  Two forced turnovers by the Thorndale defense in the fourth quarter helped to clinch the come from behind win.

It was the first victory for the Bulldogs since the opening game of the 2015 season against Burton.

Thorndale opened up the scoring with 52 second left in the first quarter on a two yard run by running back Hunter Towery.  It was the first of three times the senior would reach the end zone on the night.  He ran the ball 18 times for 199 yards.  The extra point kick by Mason Fisher was good and the Bulldogs had a 7-0 led.

The Eagles answered quickly, with 11:04 left in the second, Milano quarterback Kyle King ran the ball in from the six for the score.  The conversion run attempt failed, leaving Thorndale with a 7-6 lead.