Archives for January 2002

Clarendon College is planning to build a new residence hall to meet the growing needs for on-campus housing.

“We need 12,000 to 14,000 square feet to accommodate an additional 80 beds,” said CC President Myles Shelton, who hopes to have the hall ready for the fall 2003 semester. “We’re going to move forward with this fairly expeditiously in the next few months.”

The number of students seeking campus housing has exceeded the current capacity of the residence halls for the last two years. Enrollment has grown from 331 on the main campus in the fall of 1999 to 363 in 2001.

CC Regents will not know the estimated cost of the new hall until a final site and design is selected, but Shelton said he anticipates construction costs to be $100 to $120 per square foot. The facility would be financed with revenue bonds, which would be paid by fees on students using the building and not by taxpayer monies.

“The low interest rates provide an opportunity for Clarendon College to go after revenue bonds at this time,” Shelton said. “The opportunity is here, and we clearly have the need.”

This last fall, the college met the need for beds by making several two-bed rooms into three-bed rooms. In the past students who requested on-campus housing were put up in a local motel when dorm rooms are not available.

The CC Board of Regents authorized BGR Architects and Engineers of Lubbock to draw up proposals for two sites for the facility on College Hill during their regular meeting January 17. The school hopes to go to bid on the project in 60 to 90 days.

The first site under consideration is now occupied by the former Vo-Tech Building. That structure was originally a World War II era barracks that was moved to CC’s modern campus in the 1970s and bricked for use as a student union building. In recent years, the college had taken steps to renovate the aging facility for use as a dormitory before realizing that the idea was unfeasible.

The old Vo-Tech Building would be torn down to erect a two- or three-story building, Shelton said.

The second site is the area between Vaughan Hall and Phelan Hall. Shelton said a three-story building might be erected there that would connect the two existing halls.

The challenge for the architect at the second site, Shelton said, would be to come up with a design that connects the two-story Vaughan Hall with the one-story Phelan Hall in the same architectural style as the rest of the campus and that would look as though it had always been there.

On either site, the new facility would be a co-ed facility, which would likely use a magnetic strip card to control access to different levels. The facility would also need to provide some flexibility for changing campus demographics in the future. The college currently needs 15 to 20 new male beds and 60 to 65 new female beds, and Shelton said that gender breakdown should meet CC’s needs for the next three years.

While local enrollment has grown steadily since 1999, enrollment at the school’s largest satellite slipped this year. Enrollment at the CC Pampa Center was 167 for fall 1999, surged to 243 in the fall of 2000 after the opening of the new campus there, then dropped back to 177 last fall. The numbers are picking up in Pampa, however; and Shelton says he expects spring 2002 enrollment to settle around 190.

Overall enrollment for the home campus and all CC satellites last fall was 891.

Carrie Helms, Clarendon Enterprise

For the last two and a half weeks while other sixth graders were watching TV or eating an afternoon snack, Stormie Garrison, Austin Howard, and Michael Brooks were collecting signatures for a petition to present at next month’s City Council meeting.

A classroom assignment in Jamie Ward’s English class inspired them to start a petition to get a skating park in Clarendon.

“We were studying persuasive writing in Mrs. Ward’s class and had to write a pretend letter to the mayor,” Garrison said.  “We decided to try it for real.”

The boys have been avid skaters for several years, but lately this pastime has gotten them into trouble.

“The best place to skate right now is downtown,” Brooks said, “but some people have complained.”

They have tried to find other places to roller blade, but as the scrapes and bruises tell, none has been found.

“Kids need a smooth surface away from traffic and out of the way of businesses,” Howard said. “The pavement is too rough, and it is hard to keep control with all the vibrations.”      

The boys think they have found the perfect location.

“Across from the [City Park] by the Texas Saddlery is an empty lot,” Brooks said. “Families could go together, and the older kids could skate while the younger ones played across the street.”

The plan the boys have thought up consists of a 25×50 foot oval slab of concrete with benches around the outside of a four-foot wall.

“It would be like a skating rink but with small ramps for jumping,” Garrison said.  “There could even be walking trails and bike paths for adults.”

They are convinced there is nothing safer.

“We would have plenty of adult supervision and safety regulations,” Brooks said.  “The jumps would not be so high that they would be dangerous.”

So far, they have collected more than 130 signatures, but they have encountered a few doubters.

“It would be really funny if three junior high kids could make something like this happen,” Garrison said.  “I want this to happen so much so I can show all those who said it couldn’t be done.”

Carrie Helms of Clarendon High School was named the top winner in the 2A division of the first-ever Lone Star Journalism Writing Contest last Saturday in Irving at the Texas Press Association’s 55th Midwinter Conference & Trade Show.

Helms, the daughter of Eddie and Joburta Helms, received a plaque and a $75 check for her feature article “The House That Buck Built,” which was published in The Clarendon Enterprise last November.

The TPA and the Interscholastic League Press Conference (ILPC) teamed together to create a contest designed specifically for small schools, those classified as 1A, 2A, or 3A. Local newspapers around the state had students write features, published them, then entered the work in the contest. The winners were chosen by the judges in the ILPC office.

Other winners were Anne Cervenka of East Bernard High School and Travis Sutherland of Utopia High School. Finalists receiving honorable mention status included Briana Parramore of Winters High School, Robin Watterson of Ingleside High School, and Jessica Williams of Industrial High School.

Helms was joined at the conference by her mother; her grandparents, Buck and Jo Welty; and Enterprise editor Roger Estlack.

Also during the conference, The Clarendon Enterprise was recognized as a runner-up in Division 8 of the third annual TPA Special Sections Contest for its 2001 graduation edition. Top honors in Division 8 went to the Lytle Leader-News for its football edition.

Hedley High students competed at the West Texas High School Comanche Invitational UIL Meet in Stinnett on Saturday.

Other schools that participated in the meet included Dalhart, Groom, Pampa, Clarendon, Dumas, Canadian, and West Texas High.

The Calculator Team led the way with a first place team finish. Lauren Hill placed first individually, and Samuel Howard came in second with Treva Rowland completing the championship team.

Lora Llewellyn received third place individually in the Science contest, and, with the help of Lisle and Treva Rowland, the team placed second overall.

The Current Events team also placed second led by Aaron Bugg’s fourth place finish. He was joined by Cassie Moore and Amber Solis.

Stephen Howard, Lauren Hill, and Marissa Wells placed second  as the Number Sense team, led by Howard’s second place and Hill’s fifth place individual placement.

The Mathematics team of Stephen Howard, Lacey Wallendorff, and Lora Llewellyn took third with Howard placing fourth and Wallendorff placing sixth individually.

Josh Collins represented Hedley in Headline Writing at the meet.

Jimmy Floyd of Canadian displays 5-cent movie coupons found in the office of the old Mulkey Theater.

Enterprise Digital Photo
 
The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation would acquire the Mulkey Theater if a deal now under discussion works out.

Salem Abraham of Canadian confirmed Tuesday morning that he and his partner, Bob Altman of Central Texas, are exploring the idea of donating the historic theater to the CEDC.

“I’m hopeful this will work out,” Abraham said. “I think it would be better to try to see it in the hands of someone who can do something with it.”

Abraham owns 49 percent of the theatre; Altman owns 51 percent. The two are awaiting the results of an appraisal of the building, which was conducted last week.

Members of the CEDC and the Clarendon Chamber of Commerce toured the Mulkey on Thursday.

“I’m really impressed with the shape it is in,” said CEDC Board Member Dee Dee Autry.

Autry said the idea for acquiring the theater started when the Donley County Tourism Council wanted to put lights on the Mulkey’s marquee during the Old Fashioned Christmas Celebration. Inquiries about that led to the discussion of the 1940s-era building being donated to the community in some way.

The CEDC board has not formally made a decision about what to do with the building, but Autry said she personally would like to see it restored for live entertainment or motion pictures with the old barber shop area being utilized as an office for the chamber and CEDC.

“I would love to see it done like Canadian’s [Palace] Theater,” Autry said.

Abraham and his wife restored the Canadian theatre and installed a state-of-the-art sound system. Today, it runs movies every night with a new movie on Friday and a matinee on Sunday.

Autry says the CEDC is looking into the possibility of grants to restore the building and has contacted the Texas Commission on the Arts for assistance.

It is hoped that revitalizing the Mulkey would spur activity on Kearney Street like it did in Canadian.

“On the block with the Palace four years ago, there was a bank, a dilapidated theatre, three vacant buildings, and a caliche parking lot,” Abraham said.

“Today all the buildings are full, and the parking lot has been paved and landscaped.”

Abraham says he sees the Mulkey as having the potential to be nicer than the 1909-era Palace because the local theater was fancier to start with.

Abraham warns restoring the theater will not be a small project, but he thinks it is more doable in the hands of something like the economic development corporation which can go after grants for the benefit of the community.

Autry said if the donation of the building works out, the first step will probably be to consult an architect to see what work needs to be done on it.

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen agreed to help the Donley County Sheriff’s Department buy a new computer during its regular meeting January 8.

Mayor Tex Selvidge said the old computer in the sheriff’s office is a used PC donated to the department by a bank in Memphis. The county will put up $1,000 for a new PC, and the Probation Department of the 100th District Court will add another $1,000. The aldermen agreed to provide $500 for this purpose.

A building permit for the county courthouse project was discussed. Alderman Mac Stavenhagen agreed to talk to the county judge about this matter.

Plumbing inspections were discussed. Board consultant Colby Waters said the state is now requiring inspections to be done by a licensed plumbing inspector in cities with populations less than 5,000. Previous rules required this only of cities of more than 5,000 people. Waters told the board that no rules have yet been adopted governing these inspections. The board took no action.

A resolution was passed authorizing the city to apply for a grant that would benefit the bailing operations at the city’s Three Feathers Recycling Center.

The board discussed a citizen’s request to pave her driveway. The citizen had agreed to pay for the paving, but the city denied the request.

Librarian Carolyn Blackerby said the contractor will begin on the library renovation in about five weeks. The job should take four weeks to complete. The library will also be purchasing a new computer for the librarian.

Local phone customers were disconnected from making out of town calls for nearly eight hours last Wednesday after a farmer near Panhandle cut a fiber optic cable.

The disruption affected more than 10,000 Valor Telecom customers in Clarendon, Hedley, Panhandle, Lakeview, Memphis, Groom, Claude, Wellington, and Estelline.

Valor crews began repairing the cable at 3:30 p.m. and had service restored by 11 p.m.

Last October, more than 8,000 Valor customers were disconnected for more than three hours when a crew with the City of Panhandle also cut a fiber optic cable.