With kickoff just nine days away, Mineral Wells High School Athletics Director and head football coach Gerald Perry teed things up Wednesday for Mineral Wells Rotarians, giving them some information and insights about the 2019 Rams team.

With just 11 seniors on this year's varsity squad, youth is the theme for this season as Perry and his coaching staff is working on growing and coaching them up since the team could rely heavily on a group of sophomores and freshmen.

Perry thinks despite having a young team (which he said should pay dividends in two years) they are not using that as an excuse. He said the program's goals remain the same: "Win a district championship, win a state championship and practice on Thanksgiving Day."

Mineral Wells Rotarians on Wednesday heard of a good sign to come. The historic Crazy Water sign that once spanned Hubbard Street is nearing a return, thanks to the efforts of Leadership Mineral Wells Class 24 and a couple of recent major donations.

Rotarian and class member Cory Crenshaw led an update on the project that he said is now close enough to its funding goal that he is almost ready to place a deposit for the making of the sign and its supports.

The replicated, two-sided sign is planned to go across West Hubbard Street just west of U.S. Highway 281. While the west side of the sign will not be visible to passing westbound traffic, it will be seen by pedestrians downtown – especially once the proposed downtown park is created – and give people a chance to photograph it with the Baker Hotel in the background.

You might not think Palo Pinto County, with about 27,000 people, would generate a tremendous number of court cases but the numbers do not lie.

29th State District Court Judge Mike Moore was this week's Mineral Wells Rotary Club guest speaker. Moore is completing his second four-year term and said he hopes to serve at least one more term, possibly two. His court hears and handles a variety of cases – criminal, civil and family law – and has plenty of those on its dockets.

Moore said after disposing of around 8,000 cases in his first seven-plus years on the bench, his 29th district courtroom currently has 1,600 pending cases total. That includes over 500 felony criminal cases, some 90 Child Protection Services cases and around 900 civil and family law cases.

"It is just an incredible number of cases we have pending," said Moore.