Archives for January 2003

Bruce Ferguson, County Executive Director for the Donley County  Farm Service Agency (FSA) reminds area farmers and ranchers to make an appointment to sign-up for the Direct and Counter-Cyclical Program (DCP). 

The deadline to apply for DCP is April 1, 2003.  This date is outlined in legislation, and no extensions or exceptions will be made.

Ferguson commented that sign-up is averaging at least one hour per farm. He encourages producers to avoid procrastinating. If a producer is planning to update bases and yields, Ferguson encourages using the Base and Yield Analyzer Internet tool available at www.fsa.usda.gov/pas/farmbill/tools.asp.

If electing to update yields, producers will be required to provide all production records for 1998-2000.  For cash leased land, FSA requires a copy of the lease agreement if available and proof of lease payment.  If no lease agreement is provided, the landowner must sign for zero shares.   

Producers who have dropped, added, purchased, sold or otherwise changed their farming operation need to to report these changes to the FSA office.  Also, producers must certify any 2002 crop plantings or land use changes not previously reported.

For more information about DCP, FSA, or the farm bill provisions, contact you local FSA office at 806-874-3561.

District Attorney Stuart Messer this week filed his annual report on the activities of his office for the year ending December 31, 2002.

Eighty-one people were sent to prison from the 100th Judicial District for a combined total of 630 years. Twenty-nine of those were convicted of first or second degree felonies.

Eighteen persons were convicted of felony driving while intoxicated charges and were imprisoned for an average term of seven years. In addition, 209 other people were placed on probation for a variety of crimes. Many of the probated sentences were conditioned on the defendant completing intensive residential substance abuse and anger management programs offered by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Fines assessed by District Court Judge David McCoy for the year totaled $245,200. Defendants were ordered to pay a total of $67,616.75 in court costs to the counties, and restitution of $73,506.08 was ordered to be paid to victims across the district.

Locally, 15 people were sent to prison for crimes committed in Donley County. Those crimes ranged from aggravated assault to attempted murder to sexual assault of a child.

District Attorney Stuart Messer said local cooperation was a great help to his office.

“The prosecution of crimes committed in Donley County is made so much easier for me because of the terrific cooperation I receive from the sheriff’s department, the local office of the Department of Public Safety, and all other law enforcement officials involved in any given case.

“It also helps to know there are good citizens in Donley County who are willing to step up to the plate and do their civic duty in serving as jurors. Without good jurors, the criminal justice system does not work.”

The 100th Judicial District includes Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Donley, and Hall counties.

Busy signals and painfully slow connections can now be a thing of the past for computer users in and around Hedley. High-speed, wireless Internet has finally arrived.

Thanks to the Donley County Community Network (DCCN) and AMA•TechTel Communications, a new transmitter has been installed on the KLSR tower northeast of Hedley, which expands the availability the southeastern part of the county.

The DCCN acquired a $250,000 TIF grant last summer, which funded new computers for several local entities as well as assisting AMA•TechTel in bringing Internet services to rural residents. In return, AMA•TechTel has contributed financially to the project and donated the expertise and services of its employees in providing Web designs and wireless networking for the DCCN.

The company, formerly known as AMA Wireless, has been servicing customers in Donley County since January of last year, but it has been limited to a ten-mile radius of Clarendon. Now, the transmitter near Hedley, along with a new tower on the south side of Greenbelt Lake, has expanded wireless service to previously hard to reach places in northern and southeastern parts of the county.

“We’re extremely excited about serving all the residents of Donley County and look forward to continuing to assist Donley County in spanning the digital divide,” said Douglas Campbell, Chief Operations Officer of AMA•TechTel.

The wireless service boasts download speeds up to 50 times faster than ordinary phone lines and operates from a microwave signal beamed continuously by towers, then directly into the home or office. A small antenna is mounted outside the home or office. The signal is then carried to a subscriber’s computer via coaxial cable, a wireless modem, and a CAT 5 computer cable.

The system does not require a phone line, meaning customers can save money by eliminating their second phone line or can free up their existing line.

With the wireless service, files download faster, Web pages pull up faster, and productivity is increased.

AMA•TechTel’s service costs as little as $44.95 per month for residential customers and $59.90 per month for businesses. Installation fees vary from nothing for residential customers who will sign up for three years to $150. Customers will also need a network card installed in their computer, and those can be purchased separately or from AMA•TechTel.

“This service is a great benefit to people engaged in e-commerce and businesses that communicate via e-mail as well as casual surfers,” said local AMA•TechTel agent and newspaper publisher Roger Estlack. “It is an asset to Donley County to have this service available when trying to attract new residents and businesses.

“If you’re frustrated by busy signals, poor connections, and no connections when trying to get online, then wireless Internet is what you need,” Estlack said.

Internet users can sign up for the wireless service at The Clarendon Enterprise. To see the service in action, interested computer users can visit the Enterprise or the Burton Memorial Library.

Four local men and one juvenile female were arrested here Monday on organized criminal activity charges following a three month investigation by the Donley County Sheriff’s Department.

Darrell Ray Thomas, age 34; David Ray Tolbert, age 35; Timothy Don Lockeby, age 23; and Joshua Lamar Allred, age 23, were booked into Donley County Jail.  A 17-year-old female was also arrested but was charged as a juvenile since she was 16 at the time of the offense.

According to Sheriff Butch Blackburn, the five suspects allegedly engaged in organized criminal activity between October 1, 2002, and January 9, 2003, during which time seven deliveries of methamphetamine were made to an inmate in the Donley County Jail.

The inmate cooperated with local law enforcement, and the suspects were indicted by the Grand Jury last Friday. The charge is a first-degree felony, which could carry a life sentence, Blackburn said.

“These arrests are part of a continuing effort to rid the county of drugs, and we’re by no means through,” Blackburn said. “This ought to show that no one is untouchable.”

The suspects were arraigned Tuesday by County Judge Jack Hall. Bond was set for Thomas at $250,000, for Tolbert at $100,000, and for Allred and Lockeby at $50,000 each. According to Blackburn, a district court hearing is set for Thursday to deny bond to Thomas.

The juvenile was released to the custody of a guardian on Monday, and the other suspects remained in jail at press time.

The drugs in question have already been tested by the Department of Public Safety lab in Amarillo and were determined to be methamphetamines, he said.

The sheriff said the five suspects did not have lengthy criminal histories, although Tolbert was on probation for possession of methamphetamine, and Thomas was out on bond for a prior felony theft charge.

District Attorney Stuart Messer said he appreciated the hard work of the sheriff’s office, and Blackburn also recognized those involved.

“I want to thank all the officers and the district attorney’s office for helping this case come together,” Blackburn said.

By Cheryl Johnson, Clarendon Enterprise

Clarendon’s B&R Thriftway is in the process of receiving a facelift and adding more features to help better serve their customers.

Bill and Laquetta Wilfong and Ron and Ka Wilfong have owned the Clarendon store since 1987, and this is the first update to the building since the purchase.

“We are remodeling to make it better for our customers and to modernize the facility,” said Laquetta Wilfong.

The remodeling plan includes expanding several areas including the produce and floral department, and each aisle will receive four to eight feet of new shelving. They are also replacing all the freezers and are added several new ones to offer more products to their customers.

Along with the expansion, the store will also see a change in the fixtures and décor, which will be the last phase of the project.

“We started around the first of the year, and hopefully it will be completed by February 12,” said Buddy James, who has been the store manager for fifteen years.

Customers have already seen some of the new changes. The front entrance and the office area have received a fresh coat of paint, and both the cigarette booth and magazine rack have moved to a new, more convenient location. Audrian Heating and Air of Fritch installed the new freezers last week while local contractor Terry Ashcraft worked on several projects in the building.

James also stated that the store will totally rearrange their products to better accommodate the new shelving and freezer space.

“We appreciate our customers and their patience throughout this project,” said Wilfong.

The store will remain open for business throughout the renovation.

Ashlee Kidd of Clarendon High School was named a winner in the small school division of the Lone Star Journalism Writing Contest last Saturday in Irving at the Texas Press Association’s 56th Midwinter Conference & Trade Show.

Kidd, the daughter of Doug and Nancy Kidd, received a certificate and a $75 check for her feature article “A Warm Heart and A Gentle Touch,” which was published in The Clarendon Enterprise last October.

TPA and the Interscholastic League Press Conference have teamed together for the second year to present the Lone Star Journalism Writing Contest that pairs students and local newspapers. The awards were expanded this year to include a category for both small schools (A-3A) and large schools (4A to 5A). 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 in the small school category were Mandy Countryman of Scurry-Rosser High School and Ryan Keser of Wylie High School. 

Winners in the large school category were Victoria Williams of Duncanville High School, Kristy Gillentine of Santa Fe High School, and Meaghan Owens of Westlake High School.

Kidd was joined at the conference by her mother and Enterprise editor Roger Estlack.

Also attending the TPA convention was former local publisher William Dean Singleton, who gave a report from the Newspaper Association of America (NAA) and his views on the current state of the newspaper industry during a luncheon on Friday.

Singleton, who is currently serving as the NAA president, established The Clarendon Press in 1972 and was its publisher for several years. Today, Singleton is vice chairman and CEO of MediaNews Group, Inc., which publishes 49 daily newspapers and 94 non-daily newspapers. The company’s largest paper is The Denver Post, of which Singleton serves as the chairman of the board and the publisher.

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen considered a regional marketing plan when they met in regular session last Tuesday night.

Dee Dee Autry of the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation and Seth Davidson of the Panhandle Tourism & Marketing Council presented the Texas Prairie Rivers Marketing Plan to the board.

“Donley County has a set of wildlife resources that is unique to Texas,” Davidson said, noting that 70 million people a year like to look at wild birds according to the National Audubon Society. “Donley, Hemphill, and Wheeler counties are the best areas for this.”

Davidson asked city officials to support the Texas Prairie Rivers plans with money from the Motel Bed Tax fund. The aldermen took no action, but they indicated they would be willing to support the plan if the county and the CEDC would each contribute a third of the cost.

Also during last week’s meeting, the aldermen considered the proposed donation of the old TxDOT building to the city by Walt Knorpp. The city would be responsible for the cost of moving the building, and one contractor has quoted a price of $15,000 to relocate the building to land near the recycling center. The aldermen tabled this issue pending further information.

Proposals for municipal engineering services were opened and reviewed. OJD Engineering submitted the only proposal, and it was accepted by the board. OJD will serve as the city’s engineers for a three-year period.

Alderman Janice Knorpp discussed grant consulting services and expressed her desire to allow the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission to administer a future grant application.

The Classic Cable franchise taxes were discussed, and the board directed consultant Colby Waters to contact the cable company regarding this matter.

The board discussed the position of city administrator and agreed to hold a workshop next Thursday at 1 p.m. to discuss what duties an administrator would perform.

Librarian Carolyn Blackerby reported 1,796 people per month visited the Burton Memorial Library in 2002. She also discussed the library’s upcoming 80th anniversary.