Archives for January 2004

The Donley County Junior Livestock Show and Auction will be held this Saturday, January 10, at the Clarendon Community Center.

More than seventy young people will be exhibiting 113 animals in beef, sheep, goat, and swine divisions at 9:00 a.m. Projects will be judged by Randy Dunn, ag instructor from Pampa.

The day’s activities will conclude with the buyers’ supper and auction at 6:00 p.m.

During the year, these participants spend many hours feeding and caring for their animals, and the auction gives them an opportunity to be rewarded for their hard work.

Many participants will take their livestock on to major shows in Ft. Worth, San Antonio, and Houston.

If you would like to support the Junior Livestock Show and sale or need more information, contact Lon Adams at (806) 856-5323.

AMARILLO – AMA•TechTel Communications President Lehmer Dunn and Daniel Hudson, president of ARNet, Inc., have jointly announced the merger of their West Texas-based communications companies.

“We are excited about joining two major players in our industry to form one of the area’s largest locally-owned, integrated communications providers,” Dunn said. 

AMA•TechTel provides high-speed wireless Internet service to the communities of Clarendon, Hedley, and Howardwick and to most of the rural areas of Donley County.

The combined company will have a customer base of approximately 30,000 business and residential customers throughout the Panhandle, South Plains, and Permian Basin region. 

ARNet’s merger with AMA•TechTel gives customers the opportunity to take advantage of additional products and services such as local and long distance telephone service, high-speed wireless and DSL Internet access, telephone equipment, data networking solutions, and e-commerce. Customers choosing additional services will pay less for those services than they would if they used multiple providers.

“All customers of the company will experience the same quality service, competitive prices, and outstanding technical support they have come to expect,” stated Hudson.  “I am pleased to have the opportunity to bring the distinct advantages of each company to the loyal customers of both.”

“We are focused and committed to providing comprehensive communication services for many years to come for the residents and businesses of Amarillo, Lubbock, Midland, Odessa, and the surrounding areas,” said Sam Attebury, owner of the combined company. 

“We have been in the service business for 50 years with Attebury Grain; customer service is not new to us. We fully intend to exhibit the same longevity and dedication in the communications industry as we have in the grain industry,”  Attebury said.

Over the past 18 months, AMA•TechTel has successfully integrated through acquisition 1 Source Technologies (Amarillo-based ISP), Adobe Walls Internet (Amarillo-based ISP), and Master-E Networks (Amarillo-based network/cabling company). These acquisitions have added greater depth to an already well-established company. 

ARNet, one of the first Internet service companies in West Texas, was founded in 1995.  AMA Online was also established in 1995, offering Internet service in Amarillo and the Panhandle region and grew to national prominence as a major provider of fixed wireless Internet service. 

In 2003, Texas Tech University selected AMA•TechTel to design, build, and manage a wireless communications infrastructure backbone reaching from Amarillo to Lubbock to Hobbs, New Mexico.

In 2002, AMA•TechTel Communications was created with the merger of AMA Online and TechTel Communications. TechTel Communications, a Lubbock-based company, was one of the first Competitive Local Exchange Carriers to offer DSL connectivity along with local and long distance telephone service.

Dunn will remain president of the combined company; the management team will consist of individuals from both companies. ARNet and AMA•TechTel employees will join to provide continued service to Amarillo, Lubbock, and neighboring regions.

For more information, contact Leslie Rhodes at 806/722-2299 or lrhodes@amatechtel.com.

For information about AMA•TechTel’s high-speed wireless Internet service, contact the authorized local distributor, The Clarendon Enterprise, at 806/874-2259.

Christmas in Howardwick was a big success again this year beginning December 7 with the lighting of the Nativity scene at the park followed by caroling and cocoa at City Hall.

Sixty people listened as Dr. Genoa Goad reminded everyone of the reason for the season and watched as the lights were turned on.  Special recognition was given to Randy White of Greenbelt Electric for the new lighting system, to Doc Holliday, Bobby Murdock, Buster Baird, and Jim Cockerham for setting up the Nativity scene, and Nelda Grider for playing the keyboard for caroling.

The Christmas lighting contest was held December 11; and once again judges Shirley Osborn, Jean McAnear, and Jewell Judd worked hard to insure the best were recognized with the following results: Grand prize for overall lighting – Mr. and Mrs. Levi Harvey at 200 Chamberlain with the spectacular red and white creation as you drive into Howardwick: General lighting – (houses) first place, Ken and Carol Cardin, 135 Diane Dr; second place, Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Elam, 100 Rick Husband Blvd; third place, Jeff and Lee Ann Cook, Ten Bears: General lighting – (mobile homes) Mr. and Mrs. Ronnie Longan, 515 Tiffanie Dr; second place, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Brown, 339 Groper; third , Mr. and Mrs. Ron Hawkins, 310 Sailfish: Religious category (houses) – first, Wayne and Carla Carter, 233 Swanson St.; second, Roy Monroe; and third, Dean and Dorothy Arnold, 120 Diane Dr: Religious category (mobile home) – first, Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Carter, 150 Arthur St;  and second, Tom and Ronda Jaramillo, 161 Rick Husband.

The Howardwick Beautification Club is happy to sponsor the Christmas events, but it would not be possible without the hard work of their members. The Club meets the second Tuesday of each month at 12:30 p.m. at City Hall.  Everyone is invited.

The Clarendon FFA Chapter will be holding their first Invitational Ag Mechanics Show on January 5, 2004.

Judging will start at 7 p.m., and winners will be announced after tabulations. Concessions will be available. This event will be held at the Clarendon ISD Agriscience Building.

This year, invitations have been extended to Hedley FFA and Wellington FFA, according to Clarendon’s ag instructor Robin Wheelus.

The public is invited to attend during the judging, and there will be a public viewing and silent auction on Sunday, January 11, from 2-4 p.m. Some of the projects will be up for auction on Sunday.

There will be five divisions and nine classes, and Wheelus is expecting approximately 12 or 14 projects this year.

The show will be a good opportunity to see how the students of Clarendon FFA and Hedley FFA are applying their skills. A note to bidders: some of the projects that will be up for auction will be showing at the San Antonio Livestock Show in February, so you might have to wait until February 23 to take delivery.