Archives for February 2002

With three playoff wins under their belt, the Hedley Lady Owls are preparing to face Nazareth Friday night for the semi-state title.

The girls will play at 8 p.m. in the Wilkerson Gaines Activity Center in Ft. Worth.

Tuesday night the Lady Owls edged out Whitharral, 41-45, for the Semi-Regional title in Floydada. Complete game results will be printed in next week’s Enterprise.

Hedley faced the Happy Cowgirls last Tuesday, February 12, for the bi-district championship game in Amarillo.  Both teams started the game off pretty evenly, but Happy pulled ahead to take a one point lead at the end of the first quarter.  The Lady Owls would return the favor in the second quarter, pulling away with a small lead at the half. The halftime score was 24-21. 

Hedley would increase their lead by three points in the third quarter, and in the final period of play and defeated the Cowgirls, 57-48.

“This was a hard played game, and both team played a good physical game,” said Coach Kenneth Housden. “We had balanced scoring from our players.”

Scoring for Hedley were Lauren Hill, 16; Haley Bennett, 13; Lora Llewellyn, 6; Rebekah Howard, 6; Kasi Woodard, 6; Amber Solis, 4; Brittney Bennett, 3; Sealey Stevens, 2; and Lacey Wallendorff, 1.

With that win, the Lady Owls advanced to the Area game. They faced Ft. Elliott on Friday at Tascosa High School in Amarillo.

Hedley started the game well, scoring 24 points and holding the Lady Cougars to just 12 points in the first quarter. The Lady Cougars stepped up to Hedley in the second quarter, matching Hedley point for point, but the Lady Owls maintained the lead at the half, 39-27. 

The Lady Owls would increase their lead in the third quarter by nine points and continued to dominate the game.  Hedley defeated Ft. Elliott 76-55 to claim the Area title.

“The press helped us a lot,” said Housden.  “We maintained balanced scoring from our players”

Scoring were Hill, 20; Howard, 17; Bennett, 16; Lora Llewellyn, 15; Woodard, 4; Solis, 3; and Bolin, 2.

More than 70 contributors have responded to the efforts of the Donley County Historical Commission (DCHC) to raise funds for the courthouse renovation and restoration, but more money is still needed to complete the project. 

Last summer construction bids came in much higher than anticipated. Now, efforts are being made to raise $400,000 to ensure the completion of the restoration. The county intends to solicit a good portion of these funds from private foundations, and a demonstration of significant local financial support is now needed to bolster those applications for larger donations.

The DCHC has set the goal of raising at least $75,000 locally. A recent mail-out campaign has netted donations ranging from $4 to $1500, indicating interest and support from all parts of the county. As of Monday morning, more than $11,000 has been donated to the project.

In addition to completing the project, the goal of the DCHC fundraiser is to help reinstate work, which was eliminated from the original plans when it became evident that state grant money could not cover all restoration costs. Restoring the stained glass window and replacing some of the more deteriorated exterior stonework are examples of work which can only happen if fundraising efforts are well supported.

The Donley County Courthouse Preservation Fund needs the financial support of all individuals, organizations, and businesses throughout Donley County. A special request for financial assistance to this unique and unusual project is also extended to those with roots or family ties to this historic county.

The Donley County Courthouse was constructed more than 110 years ago and is the oldest operating courthouse in the Texas Panhandle. In its earliest days, the building housed jurisdiction over 10 other Panhandle counties. A year ago, the courthouse was in desperate need of repair. A year from now, that same building will resemble the fine, sound structure that County Commissioner Col. Charles Goodnight helped dedicate in 1891.

The DCHC board extends its gratitude to those who have already chosen to help restore an important part of Panhandle history with their financial contributions for having the foresight to restore and preserve this building for future generations to enjoy. Now the DCHC is asking for the support of other citizens, businesses, organizations, Donley County natives, and people from the surrounding area to help write a new chapter in the history of the Donley County Courthouse.

Those wishing to assist in this historic project may send donations to Donley County Courthouse Preservation Fund, PO Box 825, Clarendon, TX 79226.

For more information about the courthouse restoration, check out our website at www.ClarendonOnline.com and click on the courthouse logo. Information is also available from the state at http://www.thc.state.tx.us/courthouse/CH1.html

US Rep. Mac Thornberry will be the keynote speaker when the Clarendon-Donley County Chamber of Commerce holds its annual Awards Banquet this Saturday night.

“Let Freedom Ring” is the theme for the event, which will be held at the Bairfield Activity Center on the campus of Clarendon College. The Silent Auction begins at 6 p.m., and dinner will be served at 7 p.m.

Also at Saturday’s banquet, entertainment will be provided by local singer Dan Hall, and community awards will be given for Man of the Year, Woman of the Year, Pioneer Man and Woman of the Year, and the Saints’ Roost Award.

Thornberry was born in Clarendon in 1958 and was raised on the family ranch in Donley County. He graduated from Clarendon High School, received a B.A. in history from Texas Tech University, then graduated from the University of Texas Law School in 1983. He spent several years working for San Antonio Congressman Tom Loeffler and Lubbock Congressman Larry Combest before going to work for President Ronald Reagan as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs in 1988.

He returned to Texas in 1989 to join his brothers in the cattle business and to practice law in Amarillo. He was first elected to the US House of Representatives in 1994 and is now serving his fourth term representing Donley County and Texas’ District 13 in Washington.

Thornberry currently serves on the House Budget Committee, Armed Services Committee, and the Committee on Resources. He has taken a leading role on issues of national defense, property rights, and federal fiscal responsibility.

Chamber officials are urging local residents to buy their tickets early as seating is limited. Tickets are $10 per person and are available at Community Bank, the Donley County State Bank, Herring National Bank, the Chamber office, or any Chamber board member.

Dress for the evening is casual, and reserved tables are available for groups or businesses.

Clarendon ISD will be competing with schools closer to its size and closer to home for the next two years following a realignment by the University Interscholastic League in Austin. But Hedley ISD received the opposite news.

  The biennial UIL reclassifications were announced Monday at the Region 16 Service Center in Amarillo, and CISD will move from District 6-2A to District 3-1A for football and to District 2-1A for basketball.

“We’re real excited about the new district,” said CISD Superintendent Monty Hysinger. “It was the best case scenario for us.”

Hysinger was on hand for the announcement along with Athletic Director Roger Hoeltzel and CHS Principal Larry Jeffers.

Other schools in District 3-1A will be Claude, Shamrock, Memphis, Wellington, and Wheeler. The same schools make up District 2-1A for basketball.

Hysinger said the change in CISD’s status from 2A to 1A reflects a drop in local enrollment and an expansion of the cutoff for class 1A schools. In the last reclassification in 2000, CISD’s high school enrollment was 173 and the cutoff was 169. This year, the local high school has an enrollment of 145, and the cutoff is 179.

District wide enrollment has dropped from 535 in 1999 to 495 this year.

Hysinger said the new district should make Clarendon more competitive academically and athletically and will reduce the school’s transportation costs. Under the old district, Clarendon had to travel more than 110 miles for games in Spearman and Sunray. Now, the farthest competitor will be 70 miles away in Wheeler.

Clarendon school officials may be happy with their new UIL alignment, but Hedley ISD is less than enthusiastic about the news it received Monday.

Following Monday’s reclassification, Hedley finds itself facing competitors further away from home.

“Do you know where I can rent a plane?” Hedley Principal Terry Stevens asked.

HISD moves from to District 2-1A for six-man football, a district which includes Happy, Valley, Matador, Patton Springs, and Silverton. The school will be in District 4-1A for Division II basketball. That district is composed of Valley, Silverton, McLean, Samnorwood, and Groom.

Stevens said Hedley will have to travel more than 110 miles for two of its competitors – Patton Springs and Happy – where the old district was much closer to home.

“We would have liked to have been closer,” Stevens said, “but it’s just for two years. Then it will change again.”

Stevens said Hedley will be in a strong six-man football district with some larger schools and a strong boys basketball district with HHS graduating several seniors. But he expects the Hedley girls will continue to be the district leaders in basketball.

Enrollment for the Hedley Public Schools is currently at 187.

The UIL will solidify the new districts later this month. The realignments will take effect in the 2002-03 school year and last through the 2003-04 school year.

Work continues on the new ambulance facilities on the Medical Center campus, and officials anticipate moving in by the end of the month.

The Donley County Hospital District began work on the 3,600 square foot barn for the Associated Ambulance Authority in September.

“We had to replace the concrete,” district administrator Alan Graham said, “so we lost two months there, but things are going along smoothly.”

The work is progressing steadily, and Graham is optimistic.

 “Right now the men are finishing hanging up the Sheetrock,” Graham said. “Then they will texture, paint, finish electrical and mechanical work, and lay carpet. That all should be done by the end of the month.”

Exterior finish work on the building calls for a brick and stucco veneer that will match the Community Services Building, which was completed last fall. Graham said the ambulance barn was originally intended to have a hipped roof instead of a gable roof, but that idea was cost prohibitive.

“The ambulance barn is intended to house the three current box units,” Graham said, “but four vehicles could easily fit.”

The three current ambulances are in good shape, but in the future, the Ambulance Authority may purchase a fourth vehicle that would save wear and tear on the box units.

“We hope maybe to add a Suburban or some kind of four-wheel-drive emergency response vehicle to respond to calls in rural areas,” Graham said.

When all the work is complete, the barn will house all the equipment with room to spare. Office space is included for the ambulance director and the authority’s billing operations. Ambulance crews will also have space to shower and sleep.

Additional space on the west side of the facility has been set aside for possible future use as an urgent care center for minor emergencies, and a landing pad for a helicopter will be built south of the ambulance barn.