Archives for September 2001

The City of Clarendon will celebrate the 100th anniversary of its incorporation next Tuesday, September 25, 2001.

Mayor Tex Selvidge and the Board of Aldermen have invited the public to attend an Open House at City Hall from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in honor of the milestone.

Clarendon was first established in 1878 when Rev. L.H. Carhart led a group of Methodist colonists to settle this part of the Texas Panhandle. The town, named in honor of Carhart’s wife Clara, was originally situated at the junction of Carroll Creek and the Salt Fork of the Red River.

The colonists strictly forbade drinking and other sinful habits, and the town quickly garnered the derisive nickname “Saints’ Roost” from the area cowboys and folks in the only two other towns in the region – Tascosa and Mobeetie.

Nine years later, it became necessary to move the town when the tracks of the Ft. Worth & Denver City Railway missed Clarendon by five miles. A town site was located along the railway in 1887, and “new” Clarendon soon replaced the old town. But it was another 14 years before Clarendon had a city government.

An application for incorporation of the Town of Clarendon was filed with Donley County Judge B.H. White on September 9, 1901. The petition was signed by George W. Washington, H.B. White, Geo. L. Jowell, J.A. Hill, C.C. White, J.M. Hill, Morris Rosenfield, F.A. White, I.W. Carhart, W.M. Stevens, M.W. Easum, John Codger, Gus Jacques, T.H. Westbrook, W.H. Caldwell, H.D. Ramsey, T.P. Davis, T.W. Oliver, J.J. Harrison, T. Ewing, F.A. Dewey, W.E. Jones, Jas. Trent, A.M. Beville, H.A. Campbell, L.D. Rhode, Clifton Carter, R.A. Chamberlain, Willis Holtson, T.W. Carrol, S.J. White, J.J. Alexander, J.N. Eddins, Wm. H. Cooke, J.E. Griffin, H.A. Morgan, R.F. Wood, W.H. Oliver, W.G. Jones, John M. Clower, I.W. Carhart, Jr., Del W. Harrington, J.D. Jefferies, H.E. Taylor, June W. Taylor, J.B. Pope, Jno. E. Cooke, A.C. Barrett, W.P. Blake, Geo. F. Morgan, W.M. Hildebrand, B.H. White, and W.C. Freeman.

Judge White declared on September 10, 1901, that there were more that 2,000 people living in the area seeking incorporation, and he ordered an election to be held on September 24. The vote was 114 “for corporation” and 90 against the measure.

After canvassing the vote on September 25, 1901, Judge B.H. White decreed: “the inhabitants of said town of Clarendon be and they are hereby incorporated….”

The first city election was held on Tuesday, October 29, 1901. Citizens elected I.W. Carhart as Clarendon’s first mayor. Original members of the Board of Aldermen were W.H. Cooke, R.A. Chamberlain, L.C. Beverly, T.J. Noland, and F.D. Martin. Geo. L. Jowell was elected as City Marshall.

Those early city fathers laid the groundwork for the city improvements and services citizens of Clarendon enjoy today.

In preparation for the city government’s 100th anniversary, City Secretary Janice Barbee and City Clerk Linda Smith have been working hard to compile a list of all former mayors along with former members of the Board of Aldermen and former city marshals.

During its centennial Open House Tuesday, City Hall will be displaying a copy of the petition for incorporation, the city charter, and interesting ordinances from the early 20th century.

Citizens of Clarendon and surrounding communities are encouraged to stop by City Hall and help commemorate the city’s centennial by enjoying cake and refreshments during the come and go Open House.

Leon Church, County Agent

The Donley County Extension is hosting the annual Donley County Crops Tour on Thursday, September 27. Registration begins at 12:45 p.m. at the Donley County Extension Office located at 201 E. Third St. with the tour beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Five CEU’s for pesticide applicators will be offered; those wishing to receive these credits should be registered at the beginning of the day.

A very informative tour is scheduled; the following is the tour route and plan:

1:00 p.m. – Cedar, Mesquite Control Using Power Pellets, Yucca Control, Brush Buster-J.F. Cadenhead, Extension Range Specialist.

2:30 p.m. – Cotton Fertility – Dr. Randy Boman, Cotton Specialist; Cotton Variety Trials and Insect Concerns – Dr. Todd Baughman, Extension Agronomist, Emory Boring, Extension Entomologist.

3:30 p.m. – Moisture/Irrigation Monitoring – Leon New, Extension Irrigation Specialist.

4:00 p.m. – Peanut Disease Control, Insect concerns, Variety Differences, etc., Plus Nutsedge Control in Peanuts. – Dr. Chip Lee, Peanuts Specialists and Dr. Todd Baughman.

5:00 p.m. – Lake Weed Control in Peanuts – Dr. Todd Baughman, Extension Agronomist

5:45 p.m. – Barbecue Dinner Bairfield Building, Clarendon College Campus; meal sponsored by Herring National Bank, Donley County State Bank, Community Bank, Paymaster Gin, Evans Fertilizer, Quail Peanuts, and Birdsong Peanuts.

6:15 p.m. – Laws and Regulations – Monty McLean, Texas Department of Agriculture.

A sponsored meal will be offered to participants at the end of the tour. For further information call the Extension Office at 806/874-2141.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) Wednesday condemned the terrorist attack on America and called for the establishment of a National Homeland Security Agency to help the federal government better prevent and respond to threats against our home.

“Yesterday was a day without adjectives,” Thornberry stated. “There is no fitting way to properly describe the shock, horror, grief, and anger we all felt watching the tragic events unfold. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families, to those who are trying to rescue those who may still be trapped, and to those who are working to bring the cowards who committed this crime to justice.

“America’s resolve has not been broken. In fact, I believe our resolve is stronger now than it ever has been before. We are resolved to fight terrorism. We are resolved to defend freedom. And we are resolved to put this tragedy behind us and continue down the great path of democracy that our Founding Fathers charted for us more than 200 years ago. With this same resolve, however, we must look at areas where we need to change.

“The threats of the 21st century will not be fully deterred by our military superiority, which is why we need to reorganize our federal agencies and our Armed Forces so we are better prepared to deal with the complicated security environment in which we now live.”

According to Thornberry, these changes include:

• Improving our Intelligence – With better organizational focus, clearer requirements, improved coordination and dissemination and more resources. “Intelligence – both technical and human – remains our first and best line of defense,” Thornberry remarked.

• Transforming our Military – Everything from its personnel policies, to its acquisition processes, to its professional education. “It will take more than tanks and aircraft carriers to provide our security in the future,” Thornberry said. “Our military must be able to deal with a broader array of threats. Business as usual will not be good enough to do the job.

• Strengthening our Homeland Security – Today, more than 40 agencies have some responsibility for homeland security. “We must reorganize federal agencies to better prevent and respond to homeland threats,” Thornberry stated. “It will take more than incremental changes. It will take bold steps — even if it means stepping on bureaucratic toes — such as the establishment of a National Homeland Security Agency.”

Thornberry noted that he has introduced legislation that would do just that. The bill is called The National Homeland Security Agency Act (HR 1158). Based on a recommendation by the bipartisan Commission on National Security/21st Century, the measure would bring together four federal agencies currently on the front lines of homeland defense – the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, the Customs Service, and the Border Patrol.

Under this legislation, FEMA would be renamed the National Homeland Security Agency. The new NHSA would continue to be the federal government’s principal response agency in times of natural disaster. But under this plan, it would also become the federal government’s principal agency for coordination, response and prevention with regard to terrorist attacks and other manmade disasters, and the principal point of contact for state and local governments. In carrying out this mission, the NHSA would be assisted by the Coast Guard, Customs Service and Border Patrol, which would be transferred to the new homeland security agency as independent entities.

Also transferred to the NHSA under this realignment would be the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office and the Institute of Information Infrastructure Protection, which are currently in the Department of Commerce, and the National Infrastructure Protection Center and the National Domestic Preparedness Office, which are currently part of the Department of Justice/Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“The intent of establishing a new Homeland Security Agency is not to add another layer of fat to our already bloated federal bureaucracy,” Thornberry noted. “Rather, the goal is to realign and consolidate a number of key federal agencies in a way that will help the federal government better prevent and respond to homeland threats.

HR 1158 was introduced by Thornberry in March and is currently under consideration by the Government Reform Committee.

The Donley County Commissioners’ Court decided last week to move ahead with a proposed budget which raises taxes by seven percent and cuts some personnel to part-time status.

In a called meeting last Wednesday, the court discussed the possibility of raising taxes to just under the rollback rate in order to keep all employees at their current status and possible give raises in the sheriff’s department.

But commissioners expressed concerns that county residents would not be happy with a higher tax rate, and the court could not seem to find a way to give deputies a raise.

Commissioner Buster Shields said people in his precinct said they would not support a tax rate near the roll back rate and that some did not want their taxes to go up at all. Commissioner Ernest Johnston said some people he had talked to said they understood that the cost of things had gone up, but he did not push for the higher rate.

“I don’t question the job our sheriff and deputies do,” said Commissioner Donnie Hall, “and I know they lay their lives on the line every time they pull somebody over and step out of the car. But I can’t see cutting one [department] to give a raise to someone else.”

Commissioners looked at the possibility of hiring another deputy for traffic control purposes as one possible way to increase revenue, but the idea did not have the support of the court.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn countered that his department had already written enough tickets to justify a raise for his deputies.

After approximately three hours, the court verbally agreed to proceed with their original seven percent tax increase and to maintain cutting secretaries in the extension office, the Precinct 1 J.P.’s office, and the tax assessor/collector’s office to part time.

The decision came one week after the court had come under fire from those departments for those cuts.

A final hearing on the 2001-2002 county budget will be held next Wednesday, September 19, at 1:30 p.m. A vote to approve the budget is expected at that time.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) Wednesday condemned the terrorist attack on America and called for the establishment of a National Homeland Security Agency to help the federal government better prevent and respond to threats against our home.

“Yesterday was a day without adjectives,” Thornberry stated. “There is no fitting way to properly describe the shock, horror, grief, and anger we all felt watching the tragic events unfold. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims and their families, to those who are trying to rescue those who may still be trapped, and to those who are working to bring the cowards who committed this crime to justice.

“America’s resolve has not been broken. In fact, I believe our resolve is stronger now than it ever has been before. We are resolved to fight terrorism. We are resolved to defend freedom. And we are resolved to put this tragedy behind us and continue down the great path of democracy that our Founding Fathers charted for us more than 200 years ago. With this same resolve, however, we must look at areas where we need to change.

“The threats of the 21st century will not be fully deterred by our military superiority, which is why we need to reorganize our federal agencies and our Armed Forces so we are better prepared to deal with the complicated security environment in which we now live.”

According to Thornberry, these changes include:

• Improving our Intelligence – With better organizational focus, clearer requirements, improved coordination and dissemination and more resources. “Intelligence – both technical and human – remains our first and best line of defense,” Thornberry remarked.

• Transforming our Military – Everything from its personnel policies, to its acquisition processes, to its professional education. “It will take more than tanks and aircraft carriers to provide our security in the future,” Thornberry said. “Our military must be able to deal with a broader array of threats. Business as usual will not be good enough to do the job.

• Strengthening our Homeland Security – Today, more than 40 agencies have some responsibility for homeland security. “We must reorganize federal agencies to better prevent and respond to homeland threats,” Thornberry stated. “It will take more than incremental changes. It will take bold steps — even if it means stepping on bureaucratic toes — such as the establishment of a National Homeland Security Agency.”

Thornberry noted that he has introduced legislation that would do just that. The bill is called The National Homeland Security Agency Act (HR 1158). Based on a recommendation by the bipartisan Commission on National Security/21st Century, the measure would bring together four federal agencies currently on the front lines of homeland defense – the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, the Customs Service, and the Border Patrol.

Under this legislation, FEMA would be renamed the National Homeland Security Agency. The new NHSA would continue to be the federal government’s principal response agency in times of natural disaster. But under this plan, it would also become the federal government’s principal agency for coordination, response and prevention with regard to terrorist attacks and other manmade disasters, and the principal point of contact for state and local governments. In carrying out this mission, the NHSA would be assisted by the Coast Guard, Customs Service and Border Patrol, which would be transferred to the new homeland security agency as independent entities.

Also transferred to the NHSA under this realignment would be the Critical Infrastructure Assurance Office and the Institute of Information Infrastructure Protection, which are currently in the Department of Commerce, and the National Infrastructure Protection Center and the National Domestic Preparedness Office, which are currently part of the Department of Justice/Federal Bureau of Investigation.

“The intent of establishing a new Homeland Security Agency is not to add another layer of fat to our already bloated federal bureaucracy,” Thornberry noted. “Rather, the goal is to realign and consolidate a number of key federal agencies in a way that will help the federal government better prevent and respond to homeland threats.

HR 1158 was introduced by Thornberry in March and is currently under consideration by the Government Reform Committee.

More than 60 people were present Saturday as Donley County’s newest historical marker was unveiled at the Rowe Cemetery near Hedley.

The cemetery was established in 1898 when Isaac Smith sold two acres of his land for use as a graveyard by the community of Rowe. Four children of the Beedy family were the first remains to be interned there.

By 1911, Rowe – which was named for English-born pioneer and RO Ranch founder Alfred Rowe – had become a ghost town as its residents flocked to a new settlement with more favorable soil and water. The new settlement was called Hedley.

The old town’s namesake was also ill fated. The Englishman was a first class passenger on the HMS Titanic and was frozen to death in the icy waters of the Atlantic when the great ship struck an iceberg and sank on April 15, 1912.

The citizens of Hedley never forgot their origins or the old graveyard. By 1912, the Hedley Cemetery Association had been formed to care for the Rowe Cemetery. More land was purchased from the descendants of Isaac Smith in 1915 and 1953, which brought the total area to 12 acres.

In 1914, the association was reorganized as the Rowe Cemetery Association, and it continued to raise funds and care for the cemetery until 1951 when the responsibility was turned over to the City of Hedley.

Today, donations are still the major source of income for the Rowe Cemetery, and volunteers are still needed for maintenance of its grounds. The Rowe Cemetery Association Trust was established in 1984 to provide revenue that can be used for perpetual care.

In 1988, the trust board installed two arched gates, and the Hedley chapter of the American Legion erected a memorial in 1990 to honor the veterans that fought from the Civil War to the Vietnam War.

During Saturday’s program, Bruce Howard gave the invocation, and Jack Moreman welcomed the crowd assembled.

The Hedley Choir sang “The Star Spangled Banner” as Bufford Holland presented the American flag, and Skyler Conatser led the Pledge of Allegiance. The Choir also sang “Texas, Our Texas” while Connie DeBord presented the Lone Star Flag. Conatser led the pledge to the Texas flag.

Jean Stavenhagen read a short history of the cemetery.

“This beautiful old cemetery before us this morning has survived for over a hundred years, outliving the town for which it was named but retaining the dignity of its English namesake,” Stavenhagen said. “Its silent earth is filled with the early pioneers who paved our way, the soldiers who fought our battles, and the families who loved us.

“Rowe Cemetery exists today because of the long line of people throughout the past century who dedicated themselves to its support and protection. The placement of this impressive marker assures the Rowe Cemetery of its significant place in history.”

Afterward, M.O. Weatherly and Randy Shaw unveiled the marker. Lyndon Messer read the inscription.

The principal people who worked to secure the marker were recognized by Doyle Messer and Stavenhagen. The program was closed out with Barbara Collins singing “Amazing Grace” and “God Bless America.”

A local man is in the Donley County Jail this week following the early morning assault of a local woman.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said Stanley McCampbell, age 38, was arrested last Wednesday, September 5, after he allegedly crawled through a bedroom window of a home belonging to a woman on Goodnight Street and proceeded to hit her in the head with a piece of concrete.

The woman got away from the man and ran to a nearby home belonging to her aunt.

The relative then brought the woman, who was bleeding from the head, to the sheriff’s office about 4 a.m. where a dispatcher called for an ambulance.

After taking statements and collecting evidence, McCampbell was arrested that afternoon and charged with burglary with intent to commit assault, Blackburn said.

McCampbell was arraigned Thursday by Justice of the Peace Jimmy Johnson. The man was on parole for attempted murder, Sheriff Blackburn said.

Tickets are on sale now for the seventh annual Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon Cookoff to be held next Saturday, September 22, at the Saints’ Roost Museum.

Museum officials say 14 wagons are signed up to compete for top prizes, and the day will provide great family entertainment for all ages.

The gate opens at 7:30 a.m. with breakfast and lunch concessions provided by the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce. The tradeshow starts at 10 a.m., and museum tours will be available throughout the day.

Patrick Robertson and KEFH-FM will provide music beginning at noon. Live entertainment begins at 2 p.m., and performances are scheduled all day and include Dan Hall of Clarendon, Thut Creek and Cozy Parsons of the Red River Steakhouse in McLean, Katrina Burrow and David Strange of Clarendon, the Saints’ Roost Band, Christine Walls of Quitaque, and Gary Alan Bruce of Pampa.

The Chuckwagon meal will be served at 5 p.m. with a menu of chicken fried steak, potatoes, beans, and cobbler.

At 6:30, the museum will raffle off a pair of Jim Owens Handmade Boots, and the cookoff awards will be presented at 6:45.

The Clarendon College Theatre Department will present a melodrama, “He Ain’t Done Right By Nell,” at 7 p.m., and an open-air dance will follow with music provided by the Palo Duro Band of Amarillo.

Admission to the all-day event is free. Tickets for the authentic Chuckwagon supper are $10 each and can be purchased in advance at Henson’s in Clarendon by calling 806/874-3517. Boot tickets are also available at Henson’s or from any museum board member.

On Sunday morning, cowboy church will be held under the tent at the museum with preaching by Jimmy Burson of Silverton.

All proceeds will benefit the Saints’ Roost Museum’s continued operation and its ongoing effort to restore the historic Ft. Worth & Denver City Depot.

The Donley County Commissioners’ Court today decided to go forward with a proposed budget that will increase taxes seven percent and trim personnel in three offices.

The decision comes after a called meeting of the court on September 5, 2001, in which commissioners said they could not see a way to raise enough money to keep the positions funded. The Enterprise will have a complete report next week.

Last week, Donley County officials got their chance to respond to proposed cuts in their budgets during an August 30 called session of the commissioners’ court. Three officials sought to preserve their secretaries’ positions while Sheriff Butch Blackburn argued that personnel in his department deserve raises.

The proposed county budget for 2001-2002 called for the secretary in the Extension Office to be cut to half time. Church said his office is involved with agriculture and community development, 4-H programs, and consumer science programs. He said the Extension has been instrumental in providing crop demonstration plots, cotton variety and fertility trials, moisture monitoring for peanuts, a roundtable lecture series, the Don Taylor business development series, the July 4th Craft Fair, and nutritional programs at the senior citizens centers in Clarendon and Hedley.

The Extension Office saved local residents $115,000 in health screening fees over the last four years at the annual Health & Wealth Fair, he said. Church also pointed out there are 142 young people in 4-H and discussed the Walk Across Texas program his office sponsors.

“We can do all of those things because we have a fulltime secretary,” he said.

County FCA Agent Sue Church also said that the local secretary has been asked to train the Extension’s district secretary. Three other community members also spoke out in favor of the Extension’s secretary, praising her commitment and performance on the job.

Pct. 1&2 Justice of the Peace Jimmy Johnson echoed complaints aired recently by some county officials who did not approve of the commissioners’ handling of the proposed budget.

“I wish you had called us and told us the county was in a deficit,” he said. “What disturbs me is that my employee found out about the cuts before I had a chance to tell her.”

Johnson’s court clerk was also cut to part time status in the proposed budget.

Johnson outlined the responsibilities of his clerk and told the court that she exercises her duties with a professionalism of which Donley County should be proud. He also said that Pct. 3&4 Justice of the Peace Ann Kennedy in Hedley is a personal friend of his, but that there is no comparison between his court and hers. Johnson said his court is busier with items such as felony arraignments, bail hearings, and delinquent taxes due to his office being in the county seat.

The justice said his office is not a revenue producer for the county on its own. He said his court produces revenue through tickets written by law enforcement agencies by being timely in handling its business.

“[My clerk] has been with me almost five years,” he said. “It takes a long time to educate a court clerk to handle that type of business.”

Tax Assessor/Collector Wilma Lindley also had her deputy’s position cut to half time. She agreed with Johnson.

“I felt like [the court] should have called me in and talked about it,” she said.

Lindley said the only people who don’t use her office are the ones that don’t own vehicles.

“Some days we’re swamped,” she said. “Some days we don’t have very many people, but I feel like I should have the fulltime help because I need my vacation.”

Sheriff Blackburn had no cuts in his personnel, but the proposed budget also had no pay raises for his deputies and dispatchers like he had sought.

“I know we’re broke; we have been broke for 100 years,” Blackburn said. “I wouldn’t ask for my people a raise if we weren’t paying our own way.”

The sheriff pointed to the increased number of traffic tickets his department has issued since he took office in January, noting that it has dramatically increased county revenues.

“Already this year, we’ve written over 300 traffic tickets,” the sheriff said. “That’s a total of $98,210.25 if they were all paid. What has been collected is $52,817.45. I don’t believe y’all were getting that under the previous administration.”

Blackburn said he is the fourth lowest paid sheriff in the state and said the county is asking his deputies to work for “welfare wages.”

Blackburn earns a salary of $20,834.88. His deputies earn $18,680.58 annually, and dispatcher/jailers earn only $6.97 per hour.

The sheriff said average pay for counties this size is approximately $27,000 per year. He realized Donley County couldn’t meet the average, but said it should do better.

“We’re putting these [deputies] out here on the highway, they’re going on calls that not very many people want to go on, and the reason they’re doing that is because they want to. They’re not doing it for the pay. We need to at least pay them a wage where they don’t qualify for food stamps.

“If you want to save money, we can send these rented radar units back and forget about the $52,000 we’ve already collected.”

For their part, members of the commissioners’ court said they did not question the job any department was doing, but that the county only has so much money. The court also pointed to a health insurance benefit that the county provides to its employees – the premiums for which have increased from $60,000 annually in 1998-99 to $120,000 in 2000-01 and is expected to cost $157,000 in the coming year.

County Clerk Fay Vargas said the health insurance provides excellent coverage, but other county officials questioned the high cost of insuring family members under the program.

After returning from a lunch recess, the court spent the afternoon looking for ways to restore the secretaries to fulltime in the proposed budget. Commissioners considered raising taxes to just under the legal rollback limit and also looked at hiring a fifth deputy whose job would primarily be traffic control.

As the afternoon progressed, the court was discussing across the board pay raises for most employees that might be paid for by higher taxes and increased revenue from traffic control. Attention focused on a four percent raise, and Sheriff Blackburn said that a four percent raise “on not very much is not very much” and still pushed for higher raises in his department. Blackburn told commissioners he would settle for a four percent raise for his dispatchers but wanted to increase deputy salaries to $20,000 annually with the chief deputy getting an additional $1,000.

Commissioners recessed for dinner and reconvened after 8 p.m., and at that time commissioners began discussing having two departments share a secretary and not having such a big tax increase.

Commissioner Donnie Hall told the sheriff, “You’re not going to get what you want.”

Blackburn responded that his office did not want to take on the added burden of a fifth deputy if it meant just a “Mickey Mouse” four percent raise.

Judge Jack Hall told the commissioners he thought the court should take more time to consider the budget and not rush to any decisions. Commissioners met again Wednesday afternoon and agreed to make the cuts as proposed.

A final vote on the 2001-2002 budget will be taken on September 19 at 1:30 p.m.