Archives for December 2002

By Carrie Helms, Clarendon Enterprise
 
Lions Bobbie Thornberry and Jimmy Johnson look over the 40 holiday food baskets the Clarendon Lions Club delivered to local families last week.  The club was just one of several organizations and businesses demonstrating good will toward their neighbors this year.
 
Every child goes to sleep on Christmas Eve hoping that Santa will come down the chimney with a big sack of goodies and fill the house with toys and gifts for Christmas morning. But many children, even in Clarendon, wake up to just a cold and hungry morning like any other.

Fortunately, local businesses and organizations worked hard this holiday season to ensure that no one went without this Christmas.

“Every child should have something for Christmas,” said Linda Gray, General Manager at Duckwall’s in Clarendon. “Toys for Tots is a great way to benefit kids in the community.”

Toys for Tots began seven years ago with Chamberlain Motor Company and has become a yearly tradition to be carried on by Suna AutoMall.

“All the toys go to kids in this community; that’s the reason we do it,” receptionist Vicki Sloan said. “It makes children happy who wouldn’t have Christmas otherwise.”

Duckwall’s and Suna AutoMall collected the toys, and Panhandle Community Services wrapped and delivered them to local children.

Panhandle Community Services has sponsored an angel tree for children in the community for almost ten years.

“We put up the tree the last week of November,” Robbie Hill of PCS said. “In two weeks, all 58 angels had been taken off the tree.”

Each child, ranging in age from birth to elementary school, receives a new pair of shoes, a shirt, and pants; and Lions Club members put together a basket of food for their families.

“We get the food for the baskets and the names of the families from PCS,” Lion Jimmy Johnson said. The Lions Club buys a turkey for each basket, then assembles and delivers them to families in need.

“All the Lions deliver them to the homes,” Johnson said. “Most of the people who receive the baskets are very appreciative.”

One of those appreciative families is Larinda Brown and her three children.

“The kids really appreciate the gifts,” Brown said. “It is nice that my kids get to see the true meaning of Christmas and the spirit of giving.”

Keith and Cherie Floyd of Floyd’s Motor Company and Body Shop have been busy elves repairing old bicycles to be distributed to children in the community.

“This is the second year we have done this,” Cherie Floyd said. “Last year we collected 20 or 25 bikes, and this year we already have more than 40 bikes.”

The Boy Scouts volunteered their time to help get the bikes in working order.

“We couldn’t have done it without the boys,” Floyd said. “Steve Carter and Carl Draper have been a big help.”

Floyd’s delivered bikes to a list of 15 or more children on Christmas Eve.

“We deliver them on Christmas Eve so the parents can do what they want with them,” Floyd said. “We have plenty of bicycles for any child who needs one. Every child should have a bike.”

Children are not the only ones in need this holiday season. Residents at the Medical Center Nursing Home had a chance to have their Christmas wishes fulfilled with the help of the Angel Tree at Duckwall’s.

“We have been doing the Angel Tree for four years,” Gray said. “You take an angel off the tree with that person’s specific needs written on it.”

Duckwall’s and the Medical Center Nursing Home handed out the gifts at their annual Christmas party on Thursday, December 20.

 “It helps the residents because they cannot go shopping for themselves,” Gray said. “They get so excited, and it is something easy that the community can do to help make their Christmas special.”

Every year the youth from the First Baptist Church in Clarendon fill shoeboxes with gifts for children who visit the Ministry Center Clothes Closet and Food Pantry on Saturday mornings.

“Some kids who come in here probably don’t even have running water, much less gifts under the tree,” seventh grader Austin Howard said. “It is always good to do something nice for someone else, especially at Christmas.”

Many of these businesses and organizations work non-stop all year long to keep the Christmas spirit alive.

Over the last year, the Ministerial Alliance of Clarendon spent close to $4,000 helping people in the community with financial difficulties.

“We help people pay for utilities and for their heating during the winter months,” Alliance president Rev. James Ivey Edwards said. “Part of the money was spent buying food and gas for stranded travelers.”

Panhandle Community Services is active in four counties and involved in charitable services including helping people in the community with rent, paying utility bills, and weatherizing homes.

“We provide transportation around town and take a bus to Amarillo three times a week,” Hill said. “People can make donations of money or food or volunteer to help all year long.”

The Lions Club is a service organization that makes annual contributions to many organizations including the Bronco Band, the Junior Livestock Association, Girls Town, and Clarendon College. The club also has a program to buy eye exams and corrective lenses for local school children in need.

“People can get involved by donating food or cash money,” Johnson said, “or by joining in an organization like Lions Club.”

The Ministry Center is open every Saturday morning from 10 to noon distributing clothes and food and accepting donations.

“When you clean out your closets and cabinets, please don’t throw it all away,” Jean Ledbetter of First Baptist Church said. “We are always in need of children’s clothes, coats, and shoes or canned food.”

The Christmas Spirit is alive and well in Clarendon, especially for the families who have received gifts of love from charities like these.

“It feels good to know that there are people out there who really care about families who need help,” Brown said.

With an infusion of cash from two recent grants, Donley County Commissioners began consideration of adding more work to the restoration of the 1890 Courthouse during a called meeting last Thursday.

The scope of the project had been cut drastically last year when the only bid for the job came in over budget. But with additional funds now available through a $185,000 supplemental state grant, the county is reconsidering some of the deleted project goals.

Sandstone replacement and rehabilitation is the first area the county is looking at. The original bid included approximately $250,000 to address stonework which has deteriorated or failed over the last 112 years. Funds raised through local efforts and from a successful $50,000 challenge grant will likely be directed to address the most critically needed stonework.

“I am very concerned about the stonework around that main entrance on the east side,” said County Judge Jack Hall. “I also want to look at fixing that original cornerstone. It’s very important that those men’s names be there.”

The cornerstone is badly deteriorated from time and the elements, and the names of the original builders and 1890 county officials are in danger of being lost.

Architect Chris Hutson will look at using either cast stone or real stone in rebuilding banisters on either side of the main entrance. Builders will salvage and re-use as much original stone as possible.

“Matching the color of the stone will be the biggest challenge,” Hutson told the court. “Fortunately there is a variety of colors in the building.”

The original quarry for the sandstone in the building has never been identified.

Other additional work being considered includes cleaning and restoration of the artwork on historic vault doors, rehabilitation of the stained glass window in the main corridor, exterior lighting, restoring wood floors in first floor offices, window coverings, sidewalk repair and replacement, and further restoration work on theatre seats in the district courtroom.

County officials also discussed the November collapse of a chimney on the northwest side of the courthouse.

An engineering report after the accident gave no single cause of the collapse but rather pointed to a possible combination of factors, which includes width and condition of existing masonry, weather, and a lack of temporary bracing.

Construction supervisor Stephen Dodge said Phoenix One workers had been concerned about the chimney and had put in more rebar than was called for as well as partially filling the chimney flue with concrete for additional strength.

Unlike most chimneys on the building, the one in question transitions to one side – in a stair step manner – as it goes through the attic, and as a result the center of it shifts approximately 10 inches to one side. While all other chimneys in the building are two-bricks wide on all sides, the failed northwest chimney is two-bricks wide on three sides and one-brick wide on the fourth side. This condition was unknown until after the accident, and it is that side that carries the most weight and was where the chimney failed to support the 20,000 pounds of brick above it.

An engineer has recommended additional bracing as well as lowering both north chimneys from 22 feet to 17 feet to reduce weight and wind pressures.

The Texas Historical Commission, however, has thus far resisted giving permission to lower the chimneys and insisted the now decorative chimneys be fully restored. County officials have sent a letter to the THC asking them to reconsider this decision based on safety concerns.

Officials with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) last week outlined future plans for work in Donley County for the 2004-2006 fiscal years.

Speaking during a Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) meeting at the Bura Handley Community Building in Wellington last Thursday, area engineer Tracy Cain said $35.2 million will be spent per year in the TxDOT Childress District, which includes Donley County.

During fiscal year 2004, TxDOT plans to work on the concrete intersection at US 287 and Koogle Street in Clarendon. The work will involve strengthening the joints in the concrete and will cost $314,000.

In FY 2005, the northbound lanes of US 287 between Clarendon and Hedley will be overlaid at an estimated cost of $1.65 million. The same year will see the replacement of the bridge over Lelia Creek on CR 20 as part of the state’s off-system program at a cost of $285,600.

The next project in Donley County comes in FY 2006 when the Salt Fork bridge below the Greenbelt Reservoir will be removed. The $800,000 job will take the roadway back down to grade and will add a small drainage structure for the water that is allowed to flow from the reservoir.

District-wide the state will spend $5 million in FY 2004 to seal coat 300 miles of state highways. Cain said the goal is for every roadway to get a new surface every eight years.

Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander delivered $292.2 million in monthly sales tax payments to local governments this month.

Rebates to local cities were up over the same period last year.

Clarendon received $16,820.94, up 9.86 percent. Hedley’s rebate increased from $258.98 in December 2001 to $659.27 this year. Howardwick saw 5.68 percent increase for a rebate of $911.33.

December sales tax rebates include local sales taxes collected in October and reported to the Comptroller in November. The state’s share of sales tax reported during this period was $1.3 billion.

For details of sales tax payments, locate the Monthly Sales and Use Tax Allocation Comparison Summary Reports at www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/allocsum/compsum.html

By Carrie Helms, Clarendon Enterprise

Donley County resident Laban Tubbs is up in arms after two stray .30 caliber bullets from the shooting range at Clarendon Municipal Airport hit his barn and residence early last week.

Tubbs made a formal report with the Sheriff’s Office and asked the board of aldermen to investigate the situation after he discovered the bullet-holes Wednesday.

The Offense Report from the Sheriff’s Office reads that the officer observed “two bullet holes, one located on the side of the barn and the other on the roof of the residence. Both bullet holes indicated the direction of travel from the west.”

Tubbs, his wife, and two children have lived in their home located about three-quarters of a mile east of the airport shooting range for six years.

“If the shot that hit the roof had been any lower or to the left,” Tubbs said, “it probably would have gone through one living room window and out the other side.”

The family was not at home when the bullets hit the house and barn; but about a month ago, Tubbs heard a bullet pass by overhead when he and his 9-year-old daughter were outside.

“When it happened, I looked the house over but didn’t see any damage,” Tubbs said. “If anyone shoots above the berm, they are directly in line with my house.”

A sign is posted above the berm at the shooting range that spells out rules for safe shooting, but Tubbs suspects it had been used for target practice more than it had been read.

“Most of the people who shoot out there are very careful and conscious of where their bullets go,” Tubbs said, “but there will always be a few who won’t be so careful.”

Tubbs said he is uneasy now about his children being outside when people are shooting at the range.

“I told them if they hear people down there to come inside,” Tubbs said. “I don’t know what else to do.”

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen has called a meeting for Monday, December 30, at 7 p.m. to discuss closing the range.

“It looks like one person is going to ruin it for everybody,” Sheriff Butch Blackburn said, “Now it appears the city is going to outlaw it, and we will enforce it.”

According to Alderman Janice Knorpp, the opinion of the board seems to be that the range should not continue to operate.

“It should be closed,” she said. “It’s a wonder no one was killed.”

Tubbs is anxious for some change to be made quickly.

“Something needs to be done soon,” Tubbs said. “I appreciate the support the city council has given me, and I know they will do the right thing.”

Clarendon city officials took further action to clean up property around town last week.

During a public hearing on December 12, city aldermen questioned Isaac Huvall about his property at 502 S. Bond Street, on which several complaints had been made.

Huvall told the board he didn’t really understand what the problem was. He said he keeps about ten percent of his property wild for quail and dove that live in the area. He also keeps aluminum cans for recycling and admitted that high winds sometimes blow the cans about the neighborhood.

“I’ve got them cleaned up now, and they [the cans] are up against the house,” Huvall said.

“People want the cans gone,” Alderman Janice Knorpp responded.

Huvall told the board that he takes the cans to be recycled “about once a year,” but city officials said that wasn’t enough. Alderman Mark White agreed and said the city has a duty to perform.

“We have the ordinances to keep the city in order, and they have to be enforced,” White said. “The cans need to be moved.”

Later in the board’s regular meeting, the aldermen found Huvall in violation of the Nuisance Ordinance and voted unanimously to order Huvall to clear his property of cans and inoperable machinery within 30 days.

Aldermen also discussed an abandoned house at 316 E. Sixth Street. City Secretary Linda Smith said the owners of the property had indicated they did not care what happened to the property. The board voted to begin the legal steps necessary to demolish the structure.

In other city business, Lynn Coats with GreenLight Gas presented information to the board concerning a proposed rate increase. The board will consider this matter further at a called meeting on December 30.

Loy Davis requested permission to place three doublewide homes on property he owns on Seventh Street between Leroy and Johns. The aldermen voted to allow two doublewides on the property and said the alley should be left open.

The board approved a proposal for a holiday greetings ad in The Clarendon Enterprise.

A budget resolution to amend the 2002-03 municipal budget by $12,000 was discussed and approved.

City Superintendent Jim Roberts reported that the new trash truck and new backhoe should be delivered in the next two months. He gave the board information on a Texas Department of Transportation grant which might pay to fence off the airport, and Roberts also reported that the Donley County Sheriff’s Office had requested stop signs be erected on Jefferson Street at the Third Street intersection. The board approved the request.

Smith reported that traffic fines levied by the sheriff’s office had dropped off from 23 in September to nine in October and five in November.

David Pitts reported that the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department has applied for grant in the amount of $54,000 from the Texas Forest Service. The money would be used to for a new brush truck, which would also serve as a new rescue vehicle.

AUSTIN – Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs today urged Texas producers to be on the lookout for the 2002 Census of Agriculture surveys, which will be mailed Dec. 16, and to promptly fill out the report forms on behalf of their operations.

“Watch for a large white envelope with the words 2002 Census of Agriculture printed in green on the outside. This is definitely not junk mail – this is the largest information-gathering project for agriculture, and we need producers across Texas to put pen to paper and be counted among the nation’s farmers and ranchers,” Combs said.

Farm and ranch organizations use Census data to evaluate and propose programs that help producers. Policymakers refer to the data when they draft agricultural legislation. State and local governments use the information for rural development planning, while researchers use the data to develop new technologies to keep agriculture progressive.

“It’s a chance for farmers and ranchers to shape the way agricultural policies meet the changing needs of today’s producer,” Combs said. “The information comes straight from the source – the producer.”

Not only is it in the best interest of producers to fill out the survey, U.S. law requires a response from all producers who receive a Census report, even if they did not operate a farm or ranch in 2002. This same law also guarantees that their information is kept strictly confidential. Completed forms are due by Feb. 3, 2003.

The Census of Agriculture is conducted once every five years and gathers information about land use and ownership, acres irrigated, crop acreage and quantities harvested, livestock and poultry inventories, value of products sold, participation in federal farm programs and more. New to the 2002 Census will be questions on computer and Internet use and on new commodities such as bison, elk, llamas, deer, emus and ostriches.

For more information, visit the National Agricultural Statistics Service web site at www.usda.gov/nass or call (888) 4AG-STAT.

By Carrie Helms, Clarendon Enterprise

A new service being set up in Donley County will provide a valuable service to elderly residents and shut-ins, according to Judge Jack Hall.

The “Are You Okay?” system is currently being set up through the Donley County Sheriff’s Department. Once established, residents who request the service will be called daily by a computer to check on their well being.

Senior citizens, shut-ins, or the parents of latchkey children can choose the time of day the computer will call. If there is no answer, the computer will call back. If there is still no answer or the person picks up the phone but does not speak, the computer system will alert the dispatcher at the sheriff’s office.

“I think this will benefit senior citizens and homebound residents in our county,” Hall said. “It will be an extra method for them to have contact with EMS and medical personnel, and it will be added assurance and piece of mind to them and their families.”

Hall found out about the “Are You Okay?” service during a meeting of the Northern Rolling Plains Resource Conservation & Development (NRPRCD) board this summer. Perryton Police Chief Bobby W. Maness gave a presentation on the program at that meeting.

“[Chief Maness] from Perryton has said he will come down here and help us get it set up,” Hall said.

The computer, which will be located at the sheriff’s office, is on order as is the software, which is produced by Northland Innovation Corp. in Minneapolis, Minn.  None of the equipment or software will be paid for with local tax dollars.

The computer equipment is being purchased through the TIF grant, which was awarded to the Donley County Community Network earlier this year. Clarendon College is serving as the fiscal agent for the TIF grant. The county had to come up with $408 for the match on its share of the grant, but that amount was more than covered by a supplemental grant from the NRPRCD in the amount of $500.

The “Are You Okay?” software will be paid for by a $3,500 grant from the David & Nora Payne Foundation in Pampa.

“This isn’t going to cost us anything other than the time and a little bit of effort,” Hall said.

When the system becomes operational early next year, Donley County will be one of only a few Panhandle communities to provide the service. Hall said the only communities in our area that he knows are currently providing the service are Perryton, Dalhart, Hereford, and Plainview.

Hall credited Sheriff Butch Blackburn for helping bring the new system to Donley County.

“The sheriff and his willingness to work with this program is what has made this possible,” Hall said.

More information about the “Are You Okay?” system will be published when the system becomes operational early next year.