Archives for July 2003

An Amarillo girl’s life was cut short last Friday, July 4, when she drowned at Lake Greenbelt.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said his office received a call at 12:34 p.m. from the Lake Patrol that 4-year-old Brooklyn Allen was missing from where her family was camping on the north side of the dam.

Emergency personnel responded from the Donley County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, Associated Ambulance Authority, and the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department (CFVD) Rescue Team.

A foot search of the area was conducted, and the girl’s arm floaties and flotation device similar to an inner tube were found washed up on the shore.

Members of the CFVD Dive Team recovered the body of the girl at 1:40 p.m. She was transported to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo where she was pronounced dead at 2:43.

Preliminary results of an autopsy conducted Saturday listed drowning as the cause of death.

It is believed the girl waded into the lake where the bottom falls off sharply.

“You go from a depth of two feet to twelve feet in very short distance,” Blackburn said.

Allen had come to the lake with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend, another couple, and a few other children.

No charges have been filed following the accident, but an investigation is ongoing pending final autopsy results.

The 125th anniversary Saints’ Roost Celebration is generally being considered a great success by those organizations who helped put on this year’s festivities.

Typical July weather in the upper 90s was a great difference from last year’s celebration when some two inches of rain fell on the event.

With the courthouse renovation still being wrapped up, City Park was the site of the activities. The Old Settlers Reunion got things started, and Douglas Allee of Waynesboro, VA, received the award for having traveled the greatest distance to be there. Viola Graham and Coy Stevens were the oldest Woman and Man. Stevens also received the award for having lived in Donley County the longest – since 1914.

The Al Morrah Shrine Club served more than 1,000 plates of barbecue. Funds from the barbecue are used in conjunction with the Khiva Temple of the Shrine in Amarillo to help pay for transportation of kids to the Shriners’ burns and crippled children’s hospitals, both of which are Masonic charities operated free of charge.

The Kids Parade saw a total of 36 entries. In the 4-year-old and under division, Raylyn Shelton was first, Hannah Floyd was second, and Richee Tiedeman was third. Evan Jones took first place in the 5- to 8-year-old division, followed by Taylor Perryman and Payge Petrie. And first place in the 9- to 12-year-old division went to Nicholas Tiedeman, Andrew Tiedeman was second, and Cassandra Trevino was third.

The annual July Fourth Parade boasted 58 entries in four divisions this year. The Clarendon High School Cheerleaders’ float won first place in the Float division for the third year in a row. The Hedley Lioness Club was second, and the Shamrock American Legion was third. In the Antique Car division, Henry Like was first with his 1941 Plymouth truck, Ken Carden was second in a 1949 Hudson Commodore, and honorable mention went to Otis Ferris with his 1938 A Model John Deere. The Riding Unit division was won by Boys Ranch with the Khiva Shrine Temple Mule Skinners second and the Donley County Horse Club honorable mention. The Hard Core Ministries’ motorcyclists received first place in the Miscellaneous division. Hinton’s Hay Baling was second, and the Fultons were honorable mention.

The star attraction in the Lions Club’s Cow Patty Bingo was in no hurry to declare a winner. Instead of getting right with it at 1 p.m., the critter stood around in the hot sun way past 3 p.m. before selecting Markeeta Howard of Clarendon, Teresa Dronzek of Clarendon, and Susan Bratton of Dallas as the winners.

The COEA Ranch Horse Competition was held July 3. Bill Smith won the Open Division, followed by Todd Adams and Bill Smith in second and third. Riley Abbott was first in the Cowboy Division, Steve Lewis was second, and Jim Richardson was third. In the Bronc Riding, Casey Stegall was first, R.D. Horn was second, and Tim Stout and Cody Lewis tied for third.

The COEA Ranch Rodeo was held July 4 and 5 and was very well attended. On Friday, the Parks Ranch team won the Bronc Ride, Matthews/Dorsey won Sorting & Doctoring, the JA’s was first in Cow Milking, and the Upper 6666’s won Team Branding. On Saturday, the Barnes Land & Cattle Co. was first in Bronc Ride, Bar W Ranch was first in Sorting & Doctoring, Rafter S topped the Cow Milking competition, and Jones Ranch won the Team Roping.

The Jones Ranch was first overall, Barnes Land & Cattle Co. was second, the Upper 6666’s was third, and Bar W was fourth. Roady Wilson of the LX Ranch was the Top Hand, and Monty Jones of the Jones Ranch had the Top Horse.

Winners in the Calf Ride were Laxton Lamberson (Thursday), Dustin Crump (Friday), and Tate Stavenhagen (Saturday). Dustin Camp was the overall winner.

Winners in the Steer Ride were Bradley Watson (Thursday), Cody Holowell (Friday), and Matthew Key (Friday). The overall winner was Matthew Key.

The winner of the Saturday Donkey Ride was Kayla Hall, but the name of the winner of the Friday ride was not available. Winners’ names from the Calf Scramble were also not available, but the COEA appreciates all the kids who participated, and the Donley County State Bank for the cash awards and Walco International for the prizes.

Lee Bo Tolbert, Dale Robinson, and Bob Trout were the winners of the COEA’s beef drawings.

Paul Bell won the Shriners’ drawing for a new pair of handmade James Owens boots.

Jennifer Tubbs won the Chamber of Commerce’s drawing for the tickets to the National Finals Rodeo.

The Stick Horse Rodeo sponsored by the Donley County Horse Club on Saturday morning was reportedly very well attended with over 20 kids participating.

Henson’s turtle race had 230 entrants Saturday afternoon, and the top winners were MaRae Hall, Sami Lindsey, Brayden Hawkins, and Jessica Tabor.

An investigation of the Associated Ambulance Authority by the Texas Department of Health (TDH) following the March arrest of ambulance driver for Driving While Intoxicated has resulted in no action by the state.

Officials with the ambulance service, which is operated by the Donley County Hospital District, have received official word from Austin late last week that the case has been closed with no action taken.

“We’re very pleased with their decision,” said authority director Anita Aaron. “We’re looking forward to continuing to provide Donley County with the quality service they have come to expect. We’ve got an outstanding group of people here.”

The TDH investigation was triggered when volunteer ambulance driver Alan Graham was arrested for DWI on March 2 after he responded to an accident. Graham, who is also the administrator of the hospital district, resigned from the volunteer ambulance service. Legal action is still pending against him at press time.

“I’m pleased with the outcome of this investigation,” Graham said Tuesday, “and we are now looking to move forward.”

For more than 100 years the Donley County Courthouse has stood as a sentinel of justice and freedom; and on Friday, July 4, it was rededicated to the service of the people of this county and the Panhandle.

A crowd estimated to number more than 400 assembled on the east side of the courthouse square on the hot July morning as dignitaries from the local, state, and federal governments delivered several speeches on the occasion of the rebirth of the oldest operating courthouse in the Texas Panhandle.

“We picked this day [July 4] because of the freedoms that are housed in this courthouse,” County Judge Jack Hall said in his welcoming remarks. He stressed the important role the 1890 courthouse has played in the lives of local citizens, and that was a theme repeated throughout the morning.

Following the invocation by Commissioner Don Hall and the posting of the colors by Boy Scout Troop 433, State Rep. Warren Chisum led the crowd in the Pledge of Allegiance, and Dan Hall performed “God Bless the USA” and led the national anthem.

Donley County Historical Commission Chairman Jean Stavenhagen gave a history of the courthouse and spoke of its tie to local citizens.

“Our courthouse is more than steel, stone, and rock,” Stavenhagen said. “It is where life unfolds; it is the essence of all the people who have walked down its halls and worked in its rooms.”

She spoke of the historic cases that were tried within the courthouse walls and of the early records housed there that detail the lives of such legendary figures as Alfred Rowe and Charles Goodnight. And she praised the renovated courthouse.

“Let us pay homage to our wonderful “old lady” of Donley County,” Stavenhagen said. “She has had her arteries of pipes and wires unclogged, the bats taken out of her hair, and a ‘facelift’ of newly painted walls and floors. She is now the “Queen of the Panhandle” – all spruced up, sitting in her courtyard like royalty, waiting for her people.”

Clarendon’s own US Rep. Mac Thornberry followed Stavenhagen and focused on what the courthouse means to the people of Donley County.

“Polishing bricks, mortar, and wood isn’t what this project is about,” Thornberry said. “This is about the people of Donley County. This building helps us to remember all the pioneers who built this county.”

And the Congressman also echoed Judge Hall’s comments about freedom.

“Let us remember that we can’t just coast on the sacrifices of prior generations. Liberty must be earned anew each day.”

State Rep. Chisum addressed the crowd and mentioned that that day was also his birthday, and the crowd burst into spontaneous song to wish him a happy birthday.

“The older I get, the more I’m glad we take care of our old stuff,” Chisum quipped, before addressing the larger significance of the day.

Larry Oaks, the executive director of the Texas Historical Commission (THC), next spoke of the immense project and praised the people of Donley County.

“You are to be commended on the job you’ve done here,” he said. “It’s people at the local level that make this country great, and the heart and soul of Texas is in its small towns.”

Oaks also referred to those who worked on the Donley County project as being “the super team” and offered accolades to the architects at Volz & Associates and the people at Phoenix I Restoration & Construction.

John Kiehl of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission, who served as the project administrator, offered thanks to the various county officials who had helped with the project. 

General contractor Dale Sellers of Phoenix I spoke of his company’s role in the project and mentioned that some 30 local people had worked on the courthouse and that several hundred thousand dollars had been spent with local merchants.

Project architect Chris Hutson spoke of the 1890 courthouse as a survivor, detailing some of its prior problems and then addressing the character of our local people.

“I was thinking of 1887 when the citizens decided to move the entire town and what a gut-wrenching decision that must have been,” Hutson said. “I’ve never before seen the spirit of vitality that I’ve seen in Clarendon.”

THC Director of Architecture Stan Graves and THC Preservation Program Architect Lyman Labry presented a plaque on behalf of the State of Texas to the county to be hung in the courthouse.

Ruth Robinson of the Donley County Historical Commission conducted the drawing for the original painting of the courthouse done by James Ivey Edwards. Nova Mooring was the winner, and she donated it back to the courthouse.

Members of the commissioners’ court – Ernest Johnston, Don Hall, Buster Shields, and Bob Trout – cut the ribbon to the front door of the courthouse, and Rev. Jim Aveni closed the ceremony with a prayer.

A total of 388 guests signed the registry before touring the courthouse on Friday. Another 121 visitors came by on Saturday.

Inside the courthouse were arranged various artifacts from the building that were found during the project. One display also recognized those donors to the project who had given $1,000 or more. Another display listed everyone who had given any money no matter what amount.

Authorities have identified the body of a Vernon man found on a Donley County ranch this weekend as one Theodore Jerome Byrd.

The 74-year-old man has been missing since June 11 and was found after a ranch hand discovered his burned up van on a ranch northeast of Hedley Sunday evening. The sheriff’s office investigated and found Byrd’s body lying under a tree about 100 yards away.

Texas Ranger Gary Henderson was called to help investigate, and the body was sent to Lubbock for an autopsy, which determined Byrd’s death to be accidental from exposure to the elements.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said the man suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It is believed he became lost, got his van stuck, and then burned the vehicle’s motor up trying to get it out. The subject was not burned.

“It looked just like he had laid down to take a nap,” the sheriff said.

Justice Ann Kennedy and the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department assisted in the case.

 
Authorities are seeking the man whose likeness appears above in connection with three burglaries.
 
Donley County Sheriff’s Department is seeking your help in identifying the man whose picture appears with this article. The subject, a heavy set, light-complected, black man in his 50s, is wanted in connection with the burglaries of three rural homes in Donley County last Tuesday.

The Chad Hommel home, the Billy Jack Land farm home, and the Dawn Watson home were all burgled, and cash was taken.

An eyewitness saw the man in one of the homes, and his description matches that of a man who approached the Paul Bell home and claimed he was looking to buy hay. In every case, the homes appeared to be unoccupied by the lack of any cars being visible.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said his office believes the subject is not from Clarendon but is from this area, possibly from Pampa. The sheriff also believes the subject was caught on videotape at a local convenience store, and still images are being taken from that film at press time.

Texas Ranger Gary Henderson assisted with the investigation and arranged for the artist to draw the depiction of the man based on the witness’ recollections.

If anyone has any information about this man’s identity or his whereabouts, please call the Donley County Sheriff’s Office at 806/874-3533.

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

The scaffolding is down, and workers are busy putting the final touches on the restoration of the 1890 Donley County Courthouse to be ready for this Friday’s Saints’ Roost Celebration.

“I think we’re going to make it,” said Daniel Ledbetter, job superintendent with Phoenix I Restoration. “They’re working really hard to get done.”

The job will be 92 to 95 percent complete for the re-dedication of the Panhandle’s oldest operating courthouse.

Some items just won’t be ready though. The judge’s bench will not be completed, but its façade will be in place to give visitors an idea of what it will look like. The ornamental finials won’t be ready for the roof, and some exterior stonework will not be completed.

Painting and carpeting is expected to be finished this week. The stain glass window, which is being restored in Waco at press time, is expected to be returned to Clarendon and installed before Friday, and the tiled hearths of the fireplaces are also slated to be finished.

It is widely anticipated that the courthouse re-dedication will be the highlight of this year’s celebration. The ceremony will start at 9:30 a.m., July 4, on the east side of the square.

“This dedication will be as much a tribute to the generosity of the various donors that made this project possible as it will be a celebration of our country’s history,” said County Judge Jack Hall.

Dignitaries scheduled to participate in the ceremony include US Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon), State Rep. Warren Chisum (R-Pampa), and Texas Historical Commission Executive Director Larry Oaks.

Donley County Historical Commission Chair Jean Stavenhagen will give a history of the courthouse, and remarks will also be given by project administrator John Kiehl of the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission, Phoenix I president Dale Sellers, and architect Chris Hutson.

The Donley County Historical Commission will also hold a drawing to give away an original oil painting of the courthouse by James Ivey Edwards.

The $4.2 million restoration of the Donley County Courthouse was funded by the State of Texas, Donley County taxpayers, and the generous donations of several foundations, businesses, families, and individuals. For more about the project, visit www.ClarendonOnline.com and click on the courthouse logo.