Archives for October 2004

Hedley High School’s math and science teams competed October 23 at the Lubbock Coronado Invitational Math and Science Meet against nine other 1A-3A schools, finishing fourth in the sweepstakes award.

Hedley was one of four 1A schools at the meet and was the only six-man school competing. 

Senior Stephen Howard won a second place medal in Number Sense, a fourth place ribbon in Science, and placed seventh in Math.  Will Wallendorff, also a senior, placed seventh in Science. Juniors Holly Davis and Carmen Garcia placed eighth and tenth in Science respectively. 

Sophomores Betty Cruz, Ruth Anne Howard, and Justin Kellas placed fifth, seventh, and eighth in Calculator Applications, leading that team to a fourth place finish.  Freshmen Kristen Dwight and Sam Lovely both medaled by taking second and third places in the Science competition.

Each team finished fourth, which was commendable considering the competition and Hedley’s relatively small size and lack of experience from this year’s team.  Bruce Howard, Hedley Science Coach, notes that only four of the fifteen Hedley competitors were involved in the math and science program from last year.

“We are basically starting our teams over from scratch, and we are very excited and proud of this new group of students who will sacrifice and work to become strong academic competitors,” said Howard. “By the time district competition rolls around, we hope to have championship caliber teams again.”

By Cheryl Johnson, Clarendon Enterprise

Clarendon will be buzzing on Saturday, October 30, with many activities for young and old ghosts and goblins.

The day gets started with the Clarendon Halloween Daze craft show sponsored by the Destination Donley County Tourism which will be held at the corner of Highway 287 and Sully in the KEFH 99.3 parking lot.  Vendors will begin selling their wares at 10:00 a.m. 

Set up for the booths will begin at 8:00 a.m.  Booths cost $10. Contact Linda Gray at 874-2009 or Mary Ruth Bishop at 874-2141 to register.

Events continue at the parking lot with a Pumpkin Carving Contest, Costume Contest, and a Pet in Costume Contest.

The Pumpkin Carving Contest begins at 1:00 and will end at 2:30.  For more information, contact Mary Ruth Bishop at 874-2141.

Folks wanting to participate in the Costume Contest need to register at 3:00 p.m.  Winners will be announced at 4:00 for each age division.  The contest will be held at the KEFH parking lot.

You can get your pets involved in the festivities also with the Pet-in-Costume Contest.  It will also be held at 3:00 at the parking lot.

Destination Donley County will also sponsor a Spook Maze Saturday evening next to the Fire Station from 5:00 to 7:30 p.m.  The cost is $3.00 per person.

The Medical Center Nursing Home will hold its annual Trick or Treating beginning at 6:00.  The nursing home will serve free hot dogs from 6:00 to 6:30 and will begin trick or treating with the residents and their families at 7:00.

MCNH is also having a coloring contest for the younger children and a pumpkin carving contest for all junior high, high school, and college students.  The coloring sheet is available in this week’s Enterprise.  All coloring forms and carved pumpkins are to be turned in to MCNH by 5 p.m. on October 28.  Prizes will be awarded for each age division in each contest.

The annual School Carnival sponsored by the Bronco Parents will be held from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Community Center.  The carnival provides fun and games for children of all ages.  A concession stand will be available. Proceeds from the carnival benefit the Bronco Parents’ activities.  There is no admission fee.

The Clarendon Firebelles, with the aide of the Clarendon Fire Department, will be hosting a Haunted Mansion Saturday evening.  The fun will begin at 7:30 p.m. on the front steps of City Hall.  The Firebelles encourage everyone to come out and have a good time, but they do caution that some material may not be suitable for young children.  Admission to the event will be $3.00 per person, and half of all proceeds will be donated to Sue Howard and her family for medical purposes.

Everyone is invited to meet at the college flagpoles at 8:00 p.m. for trick or treating at the CC residence halls.  This is the first year for this activity, and it is being held in conjunction with the MCNH activities, which are sponsored by Medical Center Nursing Home, Clarendon College, Associated Ambulance Authority, Clarendon Outpost, Mike’s Pharmacy, Community Bank, Clarendon Family Medical Center, Shelton Law Offices, and The Clarendon Enterprise.

Donley County residents will go to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in local races as well as voting for statewide offices and choosing electors for president of the United States.

The General Election will be held November 2, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Early voting by personal appearance continues through Friday, October 29, in the Courthouse Annex.

As of early Monday afternoon, at least 350 people had cast early or mail-in ballots, according to the Donley County Clerk’s office. That number is up from the same point in the 2002 general election, in which 247 people had voted eight days before the election.

According to Deputy County Clerk Kim Layton, there are 2,670 county citizens registered to vote.

On the local level this year, incumbent Democrat Wilma Lindley is facing Republican challenger Vicky Tunnell for the office of County Tax Assessor / Collector. 

Precinct 3 voters will have the opportunity for a rematch as Democratic incumbent Commissioner Henry C. “Buster” Shields is pitted against former commissioner Andy Wheatly, the Republican he unseated four years ago.

Voters in Precincts 3 and 4 have also seen a horserace develop between Democratic incumbent Constable Mike Wallendorff and write-in challenger Tony Sellars.

Also of interest to local voters are the following candidates running unopposed for reelection: Precinct 1 Commissioner Ernest Johnston (D), Donley County Sheriff Charles “Butch” Blackburn, Jr. (D), District Attorney Stuart Messer (R), District Judge David McCoy (D), State Rep. Warren Chisum (R), and State Sen. Robert Duncan (R).

Clarendon native US Rep. Mac Thornberry (R) has no Democratic opponent but does face a challenge from Libertarian M.J. “Smitty” Smith.

Polling places for this year’s General Election are as follows: Box 101 – Clarendon College Bairfield Activity Center, Box 102 – Howardwick City Hall, Box 103 – Martin Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, Box 201 – Donley County Courthouse, Box 301 – Clarendon Community Center – Rodeo Grounds, Box 302 – Cotton Gin – Lelia Lake, Box 303 – Hedley Lions Club, Box 401 – Community Bank, and Box 402 – McClellan House. Check your voter’s registration card to see which precinct box you should vote in.

If a voter has any trouble casting their ballot, they are asked to call the secretary of state’s office at 1-800-252-8683.

Complete results of this year’s local races will be printed in next week’s Enterprise.

By Cheryl Johnson, Clarendon Enterprise

Clarendon will be buzzing on Saturday, October 30, with many activities for young and old ghosts and gobblins.

The day gets started with the Clarendon Halloween Daze craft show to be held at the corner of Highway 287 and Sully in the KEFH 99.3 parking lot.  Vendors will begin selling their wares at 10:00 a.m.  Set up for the booths will begin at 8:00 a.m. 

If you would like to set a booth at the show, the cost is $10, and you can contact Linda Gray at 874-2009 or Mary Ruth Bishop at 874-2141 to register.

Events continue at the parking lot with a Pumpkin Carving Contest, Costume Contest, and a Pet in Costume Contest.

The Pumpkin Carving Contest will begin at 1:00 and will end at 2:30.  For more information, please contact Mary Ruth Bishop at 874-2141.

Folks wanting to participate in the Costume Contest need to register at 3:00 p.m.  Winners will be announced at 4:00 for each age division. 

You can get your pets involved in the festivities also with the Pet-in-Costume Contest.  It will also be held at 3:00.

The Clarendon Firebelles will have a Spook Maze and a Haunted House for the youngsters.  The Maze will be held next to the Fire Station beginning at 5:00 p.m. The Haunted House will be held at the Fire Station at 7:30.  Each activity is $3 per person.  Proceeds benefit the Firebelles.

The Medical Center Nursing Home will hold its annual Trick or Treating beginning at 6:00.  The nursing home will serve free hot dogs from 6:00 to 6:30 and will begin trick or treating with the residents and their families at 7:00.

Everyone is invited to meet at the Clarendon College flagpoles at 8:00 p.m. for trick or treating at the CC residence halls.  This is the first year for this activity, and it is being held in conjunction with the Medical Center activities.  Medical Center Nursing Home and Clarendon College along with the Associated Ambulance Authority, Clarendon Outpost, Mike’s Pharmacy, Community Bank, Clarendon Family Medical Center, Shelton Law Offices, and The Clarendon Enterprise have provided an evening of safe, fun, and free activities for the children of Donley County.

The Medical Center is also having a coloring contest for the younger children and a pumpkin carving contest for all junior high, high school, and college students.  The coloring sheet is available in this week’s Enterprise. 

All coloring forms and carved pumpkins are to be turned in to the Medical Center by 5 p.m. on October 28.  Prizes will be awarded for each age division in each contest.

Wrapping up the Halloween events is the annual School Carnival sponsored by the Bronco Parents.  The carnival will be held at the Community Center at the rodeo grounds.  The carnival provides fun and games for children of all ages.  Proceeds from the carnival benefit the Bronco Parents’ activities.  There is no admission fee.

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen held a public hearing on proposed changes to the rates the city charges for building permits when it met October 12.

Ordinance 353 would amend Ordinance 143 and set the price for building permits at $10 for all construction costing between $250 and $1,000. The city would also charge $1 for each additional thousand dollars or fraction thereof.

If approved, a building permit for a $50,000 home would cost $59.

Under the exisiting ordinance in Clarendon, building permits cost $1 for the first $250 to $1,000 and 25 cents for each additional $1,000 or fraction thereof.

A second reading and another public hearing will be held on this proposal on October 26.

In other business, aldermen accepted the bid of FirstCare for health insurance for city employees.

Tarell Dyer and Chris Ballinger addressed the board on behalf of Centramedia Online Services concerning leasing space on the city radio tower to deploy wireless Internet service in Clarendon. A lease document will be presented at the next meeting.

A bill from the Associated Ambulance Authority was presented, and board members approved paying the revised total of $378.25.

Alderman Janice Knorpp discussed a topic known as Project LA, which is a California-based manufacturer of kit aircraft looking to relocate in Texas or elsewhere in the United States.

Knorpp will work with the Panhandle Regional Planning Commission to file a response to the project and express the city’s interest in attracting the business to this location.

The board approved the fund investment policy with the city secretary remaining as the fund investment officer.

If you thought last winter’s natural gas bill was high, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

GreenLight Gas General Manager Brent Wheeler says because of uncertainty in an unregulated market, consumers need to be prepared to pay an extra 12 to 17 percent for natural gas this winter.

“This will have a huge impact on consumers – small businesses, schools, seniors on fixed incomes, everybody,” Wheeler said. “I’m strongly encouraging people to take energy saving tips and to let us get them set up on a 12-month average billing plan.”

Wheeler says his company has no control over the rising cost. A consumer’s gas bill is made up of three components, and only two are regulated (the pipeline transportation and local distribution cost).  The actual commodity cost is unregulated and varies according to market conditions.

“Because natural gas is a commodity, GreenLight Gas has no control over the price it must pay for natural gas,” Wheeler said. “The price we charge the customer is the same price we must pay.”

With natural gas being traded in the free market, Wheeler says prices should be coming down given current conditions, but that’s not what is happening.

“The industry reports that inventories are full. There’s more in storage than at any time in the last five years,” he said. “You would think that prices would come down, but instead they are tracking the price of crude oil.”

Wheeler said he favors having the federal government step in to regulate the price of wholesale natural gas, noting GreenLight’s cost for gas has increased from $1.75 per MCF in 2001 to an expected high of $8 per MCF this winter.

“I’d like to see these consumers protected and not see quadruple increases in prices for energy,” he said. “I want people to stay warm.”

But Wheeler doesn’t see any relief coming any time soon.

“I don’t believe these high natural gas prices are just a temporary phenomenon,” Wheeler said. “I believe for the next two or three years at least, we’re going to see very high natural gas prices until there is a reasonable supply available.”

In the meantime, Wheeler urges people to call GreenLight at 259-1444 and get set up on 12-month average billing to ease the pressure on consumers’ budgets by spreading the high cost of heating over the entire year.

GreenLight Gas is a Not-for-Profit natural gas utility that is owned by two electric cooperatives, Lighthouse Electric Cooperative of Floydada and Greenbelt Electric Cooperative of Wellington, who are also Non-Profit.  GreenLight Gas’s mission is in providing the best service at the lowest possible price.