Archives for February 2004

WASHINGTON – Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Mark Rey today announced the release of nearly $1.5 billion in funding for conservation programs on working lands this fiscal year.  The distribution of funds to states makes conservation programs administered by the Natural Resources Conservation Service operational.

“These funds demonstrate the Bush Administration’s commitment to working lands and to maintaining high environmental stewardship in communities across the nation,” Rey said. “The Department of Agriculture remains committed to providing the conservation tools and resources to ensure that the land remains both healthy and productive.”

With financial and technical assistance from NRCS, farmers, ranchers, and other landowners will continue to address resource concerns on agricultural working lands, promote environmental quality, address challenges in water quality and quantity, protect prime farmland and grazing land, and protect valuable wetland ecosystems and wildlife habitat on private lands.

The FY 2004 allocations to states include $1.2 billion in financial assistance and $305 million for technical assistance for NRCS Farm Bill programs and other activities.  At least $30 million of the technical assistance funds will be used for technical service providers. 

“This funding will provide positive applications of sound conservation on the ground – at the local level – on America’s privately-owned farms and ranches,” Rey said.

Now that these funds have been allocated, NRCS state offices will begin writing contracts with farmers and ranchers nationwide.  These contracts will help ease the existing backlog in these popular programs improving soil, water, air, and at-risk habitat on working lands.

Information on conservation programs is available at http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2002/products.html.  Landowners who want specific information regarding program participation should contact their local USDA Service Center or NRCS office, located at http://offices.usda.gov or in the telephone book under Federal Government, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

By Ashlee Kidd & Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Imagine you are having a heart attack, someone calls 911 for help, but the ambulance looks for you in a completely different town. That’s exactly what can happen if you make that call from a cellular phone.

Callers using cell phones to contact 911 need to be aware that calls may not be reaching the 911 operator nearest them.

According to the sheriff’s department, cellular 911 calls go to the first available tower, not necessarily to the nearest 911 dispatcher. Calls come into the Donley County dispatcher from Canadian, Shamrock, Wheeler, and Memphis; and cellular calls made from Clarendon have been received by 911 operators as far away as Briscoe County and Hall County.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn says the problem is particularly bad when it comes to residential cellular or so-called “box phones,” which do not provide dispatchers with the same information as landline phones.

“When you call us on a landline, our computer gives us your name and address,” Blackburn said. For rural residents, the computer also produces a map pinpointing the location of your home.  The same information is not available with a residential cellular phone.

“A lot of people have these now because they are so cheap compared to landlines,” the sheriff said, “but people need to be aware there is a reason the price is so low. You don’t get the same service.”

Blackburn said not being able to locate a caller can be a big problem with kids, who are taught to call 911 but are not taught where they are.

“People need to spend 20 minutes with their kids and teach them – particularly if they have a residential cell phone. Do they know their phone number? Do they know what town they are in? Do they know their address and their parents’ names?”

“Knowing this information could save the kids’ lives or their parents’ lives,” he said.

In order to guarantee a quick response from emergency personnel, the sheriff’s department advises that a caller should always identify what town they are in and where they are.

If on the road, the caller should be aware of where on the road they are. Be aware of mile markers and road signs and know your license plate number and the color, make, and model of your car.

“It could be the difference in us getting there or not,” Blackburn said.

Clarendon Aldermen cleared the way for an assisted living center to be built here last Tuesday by changing the zoning restrictions for residential areas.

The board voted unanimously to amend Ordinance 207 to allow state licensed assisted living facilities in the R1 and R2 districts.

The change follows a request by Sue Leeper to build a 16-bed center on three lots adjacent to her home on Taylor Street. Under the previous rules, such a facility could not be built on Leeper’s property, which falls in the R1 district.

In a second public hearing on the issue last week, city officials read a letter from two citizens opposed to the zoning change, and one citizen appeared in person to speak against the amendment.

Jim and Mary Douglas wrote that they understood Clarendon’s need for an assisted living center but that they felt the R1 district should remain residential only for fear of the city losing the ability to attract new homeowners.

Alan Graham addressed the board and asked if any studies had been done with regards to the impact an assisted living center would have on traffic and utilities in Leeper’s neighborhood.

“The streets need repair,” he said. “I bet you can count 30 potholes just in front of my house.”

Graham, who is the administrator of the Donley County Hospital District, said he also understands the need for an assisted living center but recalled that Leeper was on the hospital board when it created a 5-year plan in 1999, which included having assisted living facilities on the Medical Center campus.

He asked why she didn’t consider a location near the Medical Center, which is already zoned for assisted living facilities. Leeper replied that she needed it to be near her home.

Other questions raised during the public hearing focused on the appearance and construction of Leeper’s proposed building, which is still in the design stages. City Administrator Sean Pate said these issues would be addressed when Leeper applies for a building permit.

When constructed, Leeper said her Country Cottage Assisted Living Center will employ six to eight full time employees.

In other city business, aldermen heard from Willard Skelton, who addressed lighting needs for the Saints’ Roost Museum’s annual gun show at the Clarendon Community Center. Aldermen agreed to use $200 from the motel bed tax fund for this purpose.

Audit reports for the City of Clarendon and the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation were presented by Gordon Maddox and approved by the board. Alderman Michael Tibbets asked CEDC representatives to explain the expenditure of $65,548 for special projects at the next meeting.

The board voted 3-1 to purchase a pickup from Greenbelt Water Authority for use by the street department. Alderman Tommy Hill opposed, and Alderman Bobbie Kidd was absent.

The board discussed authorizing the city administrator as one of two signatures on city checks, but Pate said he did not want to do this. The board instead agreed to have Alderman Janice Knorpp as an authorized co-signer in the case of the unavailability of Mayor Tex Selvidge or Mayor Pro-tem Mark White.

In his administrative report, Pate said the city’s application for a solid waste grant through the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission was successful. The city will receive full funding in the amount of $8,000 to construct a 16’x30’ metal building near the recycling center.

Pate also said that RCI Technologies had completed the inventory of city property for the new GASB-34 accounting requirements with the exception of dating the city’s radio tower on the west side of town. It was believed to have been built in the late 1960s, but no evidence of it could be found in records from that time. City officials will now look at later records after Alderman White recalled putting his handprints in the wet concrete at the tower as a kid in about 1973.