Archives for January 2003

Local gun enthusiasts will have to find a new place for target practice after the Clarendon Board of Aldermen closed a local shooting range Monday night.

The action followed complaints by county resident Laban Tubbs, who told the board in December that he had recently found two bullet holes on his property – one in the roof of his house and the other in the side of his barn about four feet from the ground.

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

He also said that he and his nine-year-old daughter had been outside when they heard bullets whizzing overhead and gunshots coming from the range adjacent to the municipal airport. Tubbs’ house is approximately three-quarters of a mile from the range.

“If anyone shoots above the berm, they are directly in line with my house,” Tubbs had said.

During Monday’s called meeting, Mayor Tex Selvidge said the area had never officially been opened as a public shooting range but had been used for several years without incident.

“We never had a problem before,” he said, “but now it’s obvious that there is a problem.”

Selvidge agreed with earlier comments by Tubbs and Sheriff Butch Blackburn that only a few shooters were to blame for the irresponsible behavior which led to the property damage.

“We had a ‘Rules of Shooting’ sign posted out there,” the mayor said, “but they shot holes in that and knocked it over.”

The board voted to cable off the entrance to the range, to post “No Shooting” signs, and to level an earthen berm at the site.

“We’ve already have an ordinance against shooting inside the city limits and on city property,” Selvidge said. “The sheriff assures me that it will be enforced.”

The aldermen agreed that anyone caught shooting at the airport should face the maximum fines allowed by law.

In other city business, Brent Wheeler of GreenLight Gas presented a proposed rate increase for Clarendon natural gas customers. The utility is currently seeking a rate increase for all of its customers through the Texas Railroad Commission, but Clarendon and Hedley have not ceded their local control to the state in this matter.

Wheeler told the board his company’s goal is to have one gas rate for their entire service area rather than different rates in each city.

“We are the first [gas] utility to ask for a regional rate,” he said.

The proposed regional rate is being reviewed by the railroad commission, and Wheeler recommended the city not take any action until the state makes its ruling.

The board agreed and voted to suspend GreenLight Gas’ notice of rate increase, which gives the city a total of 125 days to review the request. If approved, the average residential customer would pay an additional $4.86 per month, and the average commercial customer would pay an additional $15.83 per month.

The city also discussed and approved a lease purchase agreement for the new trash truck at 4.36 percent for five years. And the board authorized the city clerk to co-sign on the city’s general fund in the absence of the mayor or the mayor pro-tem.

Oscar Auker of Clarendon will perform during the 19th annual National Cowboy Poetry Gathering being held January 25 through February 1, 2002, in Elko, Nevada.

Poets and musicians, ages 11 to 87, from fifteen western states will be featured on six stages during the Gathering.  Each year thousands of fans travel to this small Nevada cow town in the dead of winter to celebrate ranching and cowboy culture.

Auker is an 11-year-old cowboy living with his family on the JA Ranch near Clarendon.  Oscar has been reciting poetry for as long as his mother can remember.  In June of 2002, he performed for the first time at the Cal Farley Boys Ranch Youth Gathering.

Oscar performs his own poems, classic cowboy poems, and his personal favorites from cowboy poets Red Steagall and Larry McWhorter.  Like most cowboys, Oscar prefers to be on horseback chasing cows, but he also enjoys reading and helping around the ranch with chores.

For more information about the Gathering, call 1-888-880-5885.  An Internet cybercast of the NCPG’s key speakers and performers begins January 29 and concludes February 1, 2002.  Log on to www.westernfolklife.org for an in-depth look at the Gathering schedule or to hear audio clips from past events.

A local girl came away with only minor injuries after a three-car accident just after noon December 20.

Christine Holden, age 17, was northbound on Koogle Street when southbound Mary Ann Humek of Irving, 29, failed to yield the right of way while attempting to turn left onto Third Street, according to a report from the Donley County Sheriff’s Office.

Humek’s 1990 Ford F-150 struck Holden’s 1999 Pontiac Grand Am in the left front quadrant. Humek in turn was struck from behind by Jeannie Lea Clark, 41, driving a 1995 Lincoln Towncar. Clark was following too close behind Humek, the report said.

Local emergency personnel responded quickly, and Holden was transported by the Associated Ambulance Authority to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo as a precaution. She was treated and released and suffered only minor injuries, her family said.

One citation was issued to Humek as a result of the accident.

American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) has completed the sale of two of its Texas retail electric providers (REPs) to Centrica, a leading provider of retail energy and other essential consumer services.

Plans to sell the two REPs – Mutual Energy WTU and Mutual Energy CPL – were announced in April.  The transaction received approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas and clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act from the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice.

The immediate cash proceeds from the transaction are valued at $185 million, which includes $146 million in the customers and $39 million related to the access to AEP’s customer relationship management and billing arrangement systems.  The funds will be used by AEP to retire outstanding debt and strengthen its balance sheet.

In addition to the immediate cash proceeds, the transaction includes two-year power supply and back office agreements.  The transaction also includes an earnings-sharing arrangement opportunity and protects the company against downside exposure.

Mutual Energy WTU and Mutual Energy CPL sell retail electricity to more than 810,000 residential and small commercial customers in south and west Texas.  These customers are served at the “price to beat,” a statutorily defined rate for customers with a peak demand of one megawatt or less who do not switch to competitive providers.  Full customer choice began in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) on Jan. 1, 2002.

“AEP’s strengths are in the wholesale energy markets and in the efficient operation of electricity transmission and distribution systems,” said Tom Shockley, AEP’s vice chairman and chief operating officer. “Building the business design necessary to be successful in a competitive retail market like Texas requires a special focus, which Centrica has with its background in retail marketing.  AEP’s resources are better focused on our strengths and strategy.”

As part of the transaction, Centrica assumes the obligation to serve those customers who choose the “price to beat” and gains the “West Texas Utilities,” “WTU,” “Central Power and Light” and “CPL” brand names.  Centrica also takes provider of last resort (POLR) responsibilities as defined by Texas regulations.

This transaction does not affect AEP’s ownership of its power plants in Texas and its transmission and distribution network that delivers electricity to customers.  AEP also will continue to serve customers with electric demand greater than one megawatt.

“The transition from AEP to Centrica will be seamless for customers, since little will change from the customer’s perspective,” Shockley said.  “The name of the electricity supplier will remain the same, even though the owner has changed.  The price-to-beat rates and responsibilities will remain the same.  The wires bringing electricity to the customers will still be owned by AEP, and we will continue to be responsive to customers’ needs for service connections and restoring power after outages.”

American Electric Power owns and operates more than 42,000 megawatts of generating capacity in the United States and select international markets and is the largest electricity generator in the U.S.  AEP is a leading wholesale marketer of energy commodities, utilizing its energy expertise and risk management skills to make optimal use of its generation, natural gas pipeline systems, natural gas storage, coal mines, and inland barge fleet.  The company is based in Columbus, Ohio.