The spring 2023 Comanche County Walk Across Texas (WAT) event just finished-up this past week.
We had some great participants and supporters of this springs’ event.
Walk Across Texas! is a physical activity program that encompasses eight weeks. Teams comprised of eight people of all ages support one another to establish the habit of getting outside and participating in a regular physical activity. This year we had 11 teams, and they walked a total of 17,649 miles. The goal is 832 miles per team and all teams
easily reached that goal.
This year’s top 10 walkers and their milage are as follows: Steve Hicks: 702, Rita Hairston: 625, Jeffery Roemisch: 483, William Wellman: 474, Mindy McCamey: 399, Kandie Hodges: 384, Vernia Tippie:383, Sean Bridges: 365, Yolanda Fasta: 361, and Whitney Garland: 307.
The top five teams were: Texas Bank: 2293, Walk Yo Face Off: 2221, Not Fast, Just Furious: 1971, Commit To Be Fit 2023: 1904, and Don’t Hate, Accelerate: 1814.
Those are all impressive totals and congratulations to everyone that participated in the event.
We do not yet have this years estimated economic impact from the program, but to give you an idea of the benefits of improving or increasing a healthy lifestyle and exercise program, here are the results from last year’s spring and fall WAT programs. Cardiovascular Disease Savings: $555,241.00 and Diabetes Savings: $439,304.00, for a total estimated economic impact of $994,545.00.
We really appreciate our sponsors and supporters, they are as follows: CECA, AccelHealth, CCMC, Texas Bank, Central Texas Farm Credit, Mrs. Vernia Tippie, and the Comanche County Commissioners Court.
Mesquite cutworms
Depending on where you live in the county, we are having an outbreak of mesquite cutworms again this year. This large outbreak is probably due to the below average temperatures and the rainfall we have been fortunate to experience. The mesquite cutworm is actually not a worm at all but a caterpillar. The caterpillar will normally feed during the cooler part of the day, early morning, or late evening. During the heat of the day, they will hide under plant debris or in the soil. They eat all the delicate parts of the leaf leaving the midribs, stems, and a mostly bare tree. The caterpillar is dark colored with colored spots.
It is hard to imagine anything that might do damage to a mesquite tree and unfortunately the cutworms only provide a minor setback to the mesquite, they should easily recover. Perhaps the biggest issue with the mesquite cutworm is their interference with mesquite control timing. We will soon be at the time to apply foliar sprays to kill mesquite trees, but if they have been defoliated by the mesquite cutworm then there are no leaves to spray. If you had plans to spray, check to see if your trees have been damaged if so, do not waste money on spraying until the mesquites put on new leaves.