Archives for March 2001

The money jar of Turkey King candidate Vic Jeter disappeared over the weekend, forcing the popular banker into second place and plunging the election process into further controversy.

Election judge Linda Gray said Jeter’s jar was secure when she left Duckwall’s at 5 p.m. on Friday, but it was stolen over the weekend. A new jar will be glued to a big rock and ready to receive votes by Wednesday of this week, she said. In the meantime, voters who wish to support Jeter can give their money directly to the store’s clerks.

Recent high jinks by the Jeter campaign have aroused suspicion that the candidate himself may be a culprit. Last week, Jeter was reported to have threatened to steal the jar.

“I think he might have been involved,” Gray said. “I know he was in the store this weekend, and he did tell me that some boys were wanting to steal [the jar] for him.”

Jeter’s feathers appeared ruffled by the accusations, and he flatly denied any wrongdoing.

“I haven’t seen it, I didn’t take it, and I don’t know who did,” he said. “No one has contacted me claiming responsibility.”

Jeter vowed to find the real jar-nappers and said the jar wasn’t “really stolen.” Denying any knowledge of who took it, he promised the jar would be returned after the election is over and that the money would be returned to the turkey coffers even if he has to pay it himself.

While proclaiming his innocence, Jeter seems to know a lot more than he lets on. The former front-strutter tried to deflect attention from himself to – of all people – the Girl Scouts. He said a local Girl Scout troop had said they would take the jar under the auspices of going door to door with it to collect votes. Once they had the jar, Jeter claims the scouts were going to ask him for $50 to make it “disappear.”

While he seems to have the support of popular opinion, Jeter said he doesn’t really want to be the King Turkey.

“The crown needs to go to a local dignitary,” he said. “Whoever is the king should be someone who will carry the title with great honor, and that ain’t me.”

Jeter brushed off comparisons to H. Ross Perot’s bid for the presidency. In 1992, Perot told CNN’s Larry King he would only run if the people wanted him to.

“This [election] isn’t about what the people want,” Jeter said. “It’s about who has the most money. I represent the poor, the weak, the old, and the decrepit.”

Gray, however, said there was no reason for anyone to believe anything Jeter said.

“I really think he should be hauled in for questioning,” she said.

Neither Gray nor Jeter think any of the other 11 king candidates were involved in the jar’s disappearance. But Gray did say the turkey race has made a lot people do things they wouldn’t ever do otherwise.

“You look at people like [County Judge Jack] Hall, [insurance salesman Walt] Knorpp, and [car dealer Trey] Chamberlain. I think any one of them would really want to march down Kearney Street as the king of the festival,” Gray said.

Regardless of the voting method, the fact remains that Mayor Tex Selvidge is now the leading candidate with $31.62 as the election enters its sixth week. Jeter is in second place with $26.60, and other minor candidates continue to trade places.

One Duckwall’s clerk claims she saw a woman put $5 in Jeter’s jar before it was stolen. If that’s true, Jeter would be within 2¢ of Selvidge. It’s possible that if all the votes were counted, Jeter would be ahead.

Meanwhile in other Turkey Strut Festival news, County Commissioner Ernest Johnston sent a wooden turkey to Clarendon College’s Joel Zehr last week. City Librarian Carolyn Blackerby claims Zehr hauled the turkey to the library where he threatened it with bodily harm if it ever came back to roost in his yard.

“He said he would make sure the turkey wouldn’t be seen again,” Blackerby said.

Also, local resident Vernon Watkins had his picture taken with a turkey in his yard last week. The photo was published in the Amarillo Sunday News-Globe, and Watkins has reportedly been dragging the picture all over town, showing it to everyone he meets.

Anyone can have a turkey put in someone’s yard for a birthday, anniversary, or gag gift for a $5 donation to the Tourism Council. Call Carolyn Blackerby at the Burton Library at 874-3685 for your order and delivery.

The election for Donley County’s King Turkey continues, and pictures of all 12 turkey candidates are on money jars at Duckwall’s. The winner will be the turkey with the most money at the end of the contest.

The king will be crowned during the Turkey Strut Festival on April 21-22.

Money raised goes to the Donley County Tourism Council to help promote our fair county. Vote early and vote often.

The $2.9 million renovation of the Donley County Courthouse is now underway.

Workers from Environmental Reconditioning of El Paso began removing asbestos from the 1890 building Monday morning.

The abatement process is being overseen by Sun City Analytical, also of El Paso.

Sun City’s operations manager, Hector Diaz, says the abatement crews will be working in 10-hour shifts, four days a week. The company has 30 calendar days to complete the removal of asbestos and bat guano and encapsulation of lead paint in the courthouse.

The crew will work on the asbestos all this week, which Diaz says is mostly contained in the flooring and in some insulation in the basement.

Removal of the guano is scheduled to start next week. Crews will reportedly remove the malodorous stuff using vacuum cleaners and then sterilize the building using a chlorine solution.

Lead paint on the ceilings will largely be encapsulated.

In other courthouse news, the commissioners’ court agreed last Monday to auction any salvage or surplus property resulting from the renovation project. A date for the auction and the items to be sold have not been determined.

Commissioners also agreed to look into the possibility of more state funding for the project. The Texas Historical Commission reportedly has a limited amount of funds to make small additional grants to counties having already received approval for courthouse grants.  
To learn more about the restoration of the Donley County Courthouse, click here.

Clarendon Mayor Tex Selvidge is running unopposed in his re-election, but five candidates are vying for two seats on the board of aldermen.

Incumbent Michael Tibbets, Carl Draper, Bill Holden, Bob Watson, and Jim Wright have all filed to run for city aldermen.

The filing deadline passed Wednesday, March 21, at 5 p.m., but citizens still have until Monday, March 26, to file as a write-in candidate.

In other races around the county, incumbents Reneé Betts, Jim Shelton, and Marvin Thompson are each seeking re-election to the Clarendon ISD Trustees.  

With three seats available in the City of Hedley, Jim Lollar, Abby O’Neal, and incumbent Bruce Howard have filed for the board of aldermen.

As of Tuesday in Howardwick, Billy F. Woods has filed to run for mayor. Mike Rowland and Dewey Linley are running for the board of alderman.

The Donley County Hospital District has three seats up for election on the Board of Directors. Incumbents Don Thornberry, Nelson Christie, and David Strange have all signed up to run for re-election.

Jason Sargent, Jan Farris, Mark Montgomery, and Carole Ward have filed to run for Hedley CISD board.

Elections are scheduled to be held on May 5, 2001.

This turkey found himself on the wrong side of the law last weekend and ended up in the Donley County Jail. He was charged with trespassing near the local radio station and was held for two days before being released. 

Photo courtesy Jondel Moffet
 
Turkey King candidate Vic Jeter clung to his lead this week despite further allegations of election tampering.

Just one week after Jeter was suspected of redistributing votes among his opponents, the local banker was accused of threatening to abscond with his voting jar. Election judge Linda Gray said Jeter came by Duckwall’s Sunday and made the threat.

“He said, ‘I’m gonna steal that jar before I leave here,’” Gray reported.

Duckwall’s employees hid the jar from Jeter’s sticky fingers and thus preserved the integrity of the voting system for the time being.

Some analysts say the Jeter campaign is one of the most corrupt in the history of the Turkey Kingdom.

“I think it’s just terrible,” Gray said. “We’ve always had a peaceful election. I don’t know what his problem is.”

The shenanigans may have cost Jeter some points, however, with the ever-popular Mayor Tex Selvidge closing the gap between himself and the frontrunner. This week’s Enterprise / Gobbler Poll showed Jeter leading Selvidge by just $1.42. Last week, Jeter led by a margin of $4.55.

Car dealer Trey Chamberlain, insurance salesman Walt Knorpp, and County Judge Jack Hall maintained their third through fifth place positions without making great strides in the poll. Other minor candidates traded places, but Maurice Risley continued to hold firm in last place with $2.28.

Meanwhile, one of the turkeys making its way around the county found itself on the wrong side of the law Saturday night.

Jondel Moffet reported the turkey was “fowling” the area and consorting with unsavory characters near the KEFH radio studios. The bird resisted a citizen arrest and refused to talk, but a tag on its neck said, “To Delbert, From Jim R.”

The turkey was booked into the Donley County Jail on charges of trespassing where it was held for two days. Sheriff Butch Blackburn said the bird “meant no offense” and was “well behaved” while doing time.

Unconfirmed reports said the bird was actually placed on suicide watch due to being depressed over being so ugly.

The bird was released on its own recognizance Monday and was doing community service at the Burton Memorial Library at press time.

In an unrelated matter, one of the wooden turkeys has apparently flown the coop. It was last seen in Don Stone’s yard before it disappeared last Thursday.

Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Judy Burlin is hoping the bird will turn up and is asking whoever took the poor creature to “just please bring it back.”

Burlin says Stone is not considered a suspect in the bird’s disappearance. “He really liked that turkey,” she said.

Anyone with information on the lost fowl can call the Chamber or the Library.

The election for Donley County’s King Turkey has entered its fifth week, and pictures of all 12 turkey candidates are on money jars at Duckwall’s. The winner will be the turkey who has the most money at the end of the contest. Cast your vote today to make your voice heard.

The king will be crowned during the Turkey Strut Festival on April 21-22.

During the contest, anyone can have a turkey put in someone’s yard for a birthday, anniversary, or gag gift for a $5 donation to the Tourism Council. Call Carolyn Blackerby at the Burton Library at 874-3685 for your order and delivery.

New rules this week limit a turkey’s roosting time in a yard to 48 hours. Citizens who find a turkey in their yard must pay $5 to have it removed and can put it in someone else’s yard for another $5.

Money raised goes to the Donley County Tourism Council to help promote our fair county.

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen met in regular session March 13 at 7 p.m. in the Board Room of City Hall.

Carolyn Blackerby, representing the Donley County Tourism Committee, read the proclamation for the Spring Turkey Strut Festival set for April 21 and 22. The proclamation was passed by the county commissioners.

The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation Board presented tax abatement agreements to be reviewed for compliance. The aldermen approved the EDC board’s recommendation to rule that Kidd’s Texaco/Carquest is in compliance with the use of 43.5 percent of the intended funds allocated and Clarendon Outpost is in compliance with the use of 95.3 percent of the intended funds allocated.

The abatement allowances were made based on actual dollars spent on improvements and numbers of new jobs created.

An abatement agreement with Meeka-L, Inc., was canceled. That company had planned to build an extended living facility near the nursing home, but the deal did not come to fruition.

The city investment policy was approved as written.

The board considered new Christmas decorations for Kearney Street and approved the purchase of six eight-foot angles and six eight-foot stars to be alternated on both sides of the street.

In other city business, employee reports were heard from Librarian Carolyn Blackerby and City Superintendent Jim Roberts. The possible need to use City Park for this year’s July Fourth celebration was discussed, and the aldermen considered placing yield signs on Hawley Street at Wood Avenue.

WASHINGTON, DC – US Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) this week introduced legislation aimed at reducing and simplifying the amount of paperwork in the nation’s health care system.

The bill is called The Health Care Paperwork Reduction and Fraud Prevention Act.  The measure would establish a bipartisan commission to review the health care system and consider, among other things, whether government agencies should be required to use standardized credentialing and billing forms (which private sector insurance companies would be encouraged to use as well).

The bill is in part the result of meetings Thornberry held with area doctors over the past 12 months and a series of town hall meetings on health care he is holding this year. 

“I’ve heard a lot of different concerns and complaints about the Nation’s health care system,” Thornberry stated.  “But one concern that seems to stand out is the overwhelming amount of forms and paperwork that doctors and patients have to fill out. 

“It is truly incredible.  Today in America, if a doctor wants to treat a person who happens to be on Medicare or Medicaid, they have to contend with over 132,000 pages of rules and regulations.  Over 132,000 pages!  That’s over 10 times bigger than the US tax code, and we all know how complex that is.  In fact, if you have a hard time figuring out your taxes on April 15th, you probably have a good idea of what most doctors have to put up with every day. 

“Health care is by no means an easy issue.  But there’s got to be an easier way of doing things when it comes to the forms and paperwork people have to fill out.  My bill’s intended to look at ways to help solve some of the problems in this area which doctors and patients currently face.”

In addition to establishing a commission to look into these problems and report back within a year on possible solutions, Thornberry’s bill would also provide immediate assistance by, among other things, establishing a toll-free number for doctors to call if they have questions about billing or need any other information related to Medicare.  The ultimate goal, Thornberry said, was to look for ways to reduce the federal paperwork burden on the Nation’s doctors and patients – something which physicians in the 13th Congressional District agree needs to be done.

“The volume of regulations is so huge and so grotesquely convoluted as to be unknowable,” said Dr. James W. Godwin of Wichita Falls.  “The law needs to be simple enough, logical enough, and pertinent enough to daily life that compliance is simple and straightforward.”

Dr. Sheryl Williams of Amarillo agreed.  “I love seeing patients,” she stated, “but lately the paperwork – endless dictation with the proper number of case history elements to support the proper federal code – makes the practice of medicine less than satisfying.”