TEXARKANA, Texas – The Texarkana Texas High School football team showed up at the Rosehill Community on Saturday to clean up the heart of the neighborhood where their stadium is located.
Armani Valentino, organizer of the group ‘Buy Back the Block’ in Texarkana first started out with some mini cleanups in the Rosehill Community and a handful of other people helped pick up trash, but once cleaned up, the trash never ended.
Valentino, originally from the Rosehill Community, and most of his classmates moved out of the neighborhood to pursue careers and life, leaving their neighborhood and mothers behind.
Since then, Valentino moved back to Texarkana in 2016 and purchased a block in the Rosehill Community that was, like many in the area, drug infested with transients, squatters with plumbing and wiring being cut and stolen.
In 2020, Valentino decided to run for the office of Bowie County Judge.
Many asked him, ‘why would you run for the highest office in the county?’
Valentino said, “That’s the position that can make the biggest impact for the community, not just for Rosehill, but other communities in the county that also suffer from the same situation.”
This year is Texarkana, Texas’ 3rd ‘Annual Buy Back the Block.’
The Texas High coaches agreed it was a great opportunity for the football players to learn to give back to the community where they play at Texas Stadium.
Coach Justin Coats reported back that the athletic director loved the idea.
So, after their scrimmage game on Saturday, the team huddled up and tackled Rosehill Community to instill pride for back to school, one block at a time.
#BuyBacktheBlock Texarkana
