Archives for October 2004

AUSTIN – Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn said Friday that the state took in $1.16 billion dollars in sales tax in September, a 3.9 percent increase over last year.

Strayhorn sent $326.5 million in monthly sales tax payments to Texas cities, counties, transit systems, and special purpose taxing districts, up 8 percent compared to last October. So far in 2004, local sales tax allocations are 8.2 percent ahead of last year.

“Nine of my ten economic indicators are positive, and we have enjoyed an increase in sales tax collections for 13 months running,” Strayhorn said.

Locally, the City of Clarendon’s sales tax rebate edged up just slightly to $18,423.74, an increase of 0.84 percent over one year ago. Clarendon is 3.33 percent ahead for its year-to-date total collections.

The rebates of both Hedley and Howardwick slipped again this month. Hedley received $436.22 for October, down 27.5 percent; and Howardwick received  $1,120.19, down 4.42 percent. Hedley and Howardwick are down 3.4 percent and 1.3 percent respectively for the year to date.

Statewide, Comptroller Strayhorn sent sales tax allocations of $221.9 million to Texas cities, 6.9 percent more than October 2003. Calendar year-to-date, city sales tax rebates are up 8.1 percent. Texas counties received October sales tax rebates of $19.3 million, up 10.2 percent compared to a year ago. Calendar year-to-date, county sales tax allocations are 8.4 percent higher than last year.

September state sales tax collections and October allocations of local tax revenue represent sales that occurred in August.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Tax relief is available to every Texas taxpayer as a result of legislation supported by US Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) and approved by Congress last week.

Of particular interest to Texas taxpayers, the bill gives them the opportunity to deduct state sales taxes from their federal income tax obligation.

The US House passed H.R. 4520, “The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004,” by a margin of 280 to 141. H.R. 4520 is a far-reaching bill designed to spur job creation and make US products more competitive abroad by ending tariffs on American manufacturers and farmers and by easing the tax burden of US employers.

The US Senate approved the measure 69-17, and the bill was awaiting the signature of President George W. Bush at press time.

“Current tax law is unfair when it allows people to deduct state income taxes from their federal income taxes, but does not offer an equal opportunity to people who live in states, such as Texas, where we pay a state sales tax instead of state income tax,” said Thornberry. “This bill has eliminated that inequity.”

The chief economist Byron Schlomach of the Texas Public Policy Foundation praised the move to restore sales tax deductibility.

“By once again making the sales tax deductible from the federal income tax, Texans will be able to keep more of their hard-earned money, improving the Texas economy,” Schlomach said. “No longer will the federal tax code encourage the adoption of a state income tax, one of the most damaging forms of taxation. Congress has eliminated one of the arguments for a state income tax and its close cousins like the business activity tax. This action makes it more likely that Texas will keep its current transparent tax system and possibly move away from some hidden taxes like the corporate franchise tax.”

The bill gives Texas taxpayers two options for utilizing the sales tax deduction. One option allows taxpayers who itemize deductions on their federal income tax forms to collect sales receipts and deduct the total amount of sales tax paid. The other alternative allows them to determine the amount of their deduction by using tables to be created by the Secretary of the Treasury. Those tables will be based on average consumption along with other factors to include the taxpayer’s filing status, number of dependents, and adjusted gross income.

Another provision of H.R. 4520 delivers assistance to operators of marginal oil and gas wells in the form of tax credits that kick in if prices fall below certain levels.

“With the invaluable input of oil and gas producers from our area, I have been pushing for these credits for years. I believe ensuring the profitability of margin wells is an essential step toward boosting domestic production and reducing our reliance on foreign oil.”

The formula for the marginal well tax credits allows for providing producers up to $3 per barrel if oil prices fall below $18 per barrel. The credits for natural gas would provide up to 50 cents per thousand cubic feet (mcf) if gas prices dip under the $2 per mcf level.

“The credits should provide encouragement to all US energy producers, but especially the smaller, independent companies that are so important to our area’s economy.”

By Cheryl Johnson, Clarendon Enterprise

Organizers of the 53rd annual Cotton Festival in Hedley have deemed this year’s event a success.  The streets were filled with residents and visitors who enjoyed all the festivities.

The Lioness Club kicked the festival off with their Chili and Stew Supper on Friday night.  Many out-of-town guests were present, and people enjoyed renewing old acquaintances.  Crow Hollow donated the meat for the supper.

The Lioness Club also hosted a Quilt Show on Saturday.  They boasted over 100 visitors to the show, which featured a variety of quilts of various designs from the 1920s to the 1990s.  Those who donated or loaned quilts included Helen Lamberson, Dorothy Whitaker, Mary Ruth White, Patsy and Kathy Spier, Dorotha Crawford, Susie Shields, and Anita Mitchell.  The winner of the quilt raffle was Mikki Morris of Quail.

A Tractor and Car Show started the events on Saturday. Kory Reimen of Granite, Oklahoma, was the winner of the Best of Show in the Tractor Show with a 1953 Super H.  Bennie Poe of Childress was the winner of the Best of Show in the Car Show with a 1955 yellow and white Bel Aire.  Philip Muller of Martha, Oklahoma, and Walter Cannon were recognized for traveling the farthest to participate in the Tractor and Car Show.

Other winners in the Tractor Show were: 1935-1944 class, Blackie Johnson – first with a John Deere LA, Leon Ward – second with an Allis Chalmer WC; 1945-1955 class, Kory Reimen – first with a Super H, Blackie Johnson – second with an Allis Chalmer G, Kent Courson – third with a Farmall Cub; 1955 and up class, Phillip Muller – first with a John Deeere 420 LP, Vernon Patton – second with a John Deere 630, and Travis Thomas – third with a John Deere 720.

Other winners in the Car Show were: 1920-1930 class, Delbert Wilson – first with a 1934 orange Ford Coupe, Grady Milton – second place with a 1930 Brown Model A Ford, LaVerne Muller – third place with a 1929 black Ford truck; 1940s class, Grady Milton – first place with a 1946 green Ford Coupe, Ken Carden – second place with a 1949 black Hudson, Walter Cannon – third place with a 1948 white Ford Pickup; 1950s and up class, Benny Poe – first with a 1955 yellow and white Bel Aire, David Moss – second place with a 1971 Cheyenne pickup, and Murrell and Dorthey – third place with a 1951 blue Hudson.

The Lions Club served about 240 plates of barbecue for lunch.  Lions Club president Jim Mitchell reported that this was more people than they have had in several years.

The Hedley Senior Citizens also served hamburgers during lunch.  Sysco Food donated the beef patties and supplies to the senior citizens.

Dustin Sanders of Claude and Gary Alan Bruce of Clarendon provided live entertainment at the Center during the day.  They Voices of God gospel group from Quanah also performed earlier in the morning.

The parade was very successful with more entries that they have had in many years. The streets were full of people to watch the parade. Winners of the parade include: Organizations Class – Adamson Lane Post 287 of Hedley – first, Khiva Motorcycles – second, and Khiva Mini Corvettes – third; Business Class – Don Stone Signs – first, Donley County Chamber of Commerce – second, Donley County Tourism – third; Floats Class – Red Hatters Club – first, Hedley High School Class of 1954 – second, Hedley High School and Junior High football teams – third. 

The annual Hedley School reunion proceeded the parade at the school.

Carol Ward of Hedley was the winner of the Bale of Cotton given away by the Lions Club.  Patrice Wood was named the winner of the half of beef given away by the Hedley Senior Citizens.  Hedley Feedlot donated the beef to the Senior Citizens.

Linda Naylor Frye, president of the Rotary Club, stated that Miles Patton of Hedley won the Pumpkin Guess contest at 162 pounds, and he got to take the pumpkin home.  Sam Hawkins of Clarendon was the winner of the shotgun giveaway.

WHITE DEER – The Board of Directors of the Panhandle Groundwater Conservation District proposed well production rates last week that are a guaranteed amount of water that can be pumped annually in a management sub-area.

The Board decided that public comment on proposed Rule 15, where the floor rates were added, will be taken until October 29.  A final public hearing will be held on November 10.

The customary maximum annual production rate is one acre-foot per acre.  An acre-foot of water is the amount needed to cover one land-acre to a depth of one foot.

Under the proposed rule, if an area is proven to have declines over 1.25 percent per year, the Board may reduce the maximum annual production rate for that area by 0.1 acre-foot every two years until compliance is achieved.  The area cannot be restricted below its production floor rate.  The guaranteed floor rates range from 0.1 to 0.5 acre-foot of water per land-acre over 15 sub-areas.

The floor rate is the volume of water that can be pumped in a sub-area and still meet the District’s 50/50 Management Standard if all sections were producing.  The District board can review the floor rates no more often than every ten years.

Production floor rates were proposed in response to well owners’ requests for more certainty in the regulatory environment.

Proposed Rule 15 sets out a 1.25 percent acceptable decline rate that will limit the annual drop in the Ogallala Aquifer to ensure compliance with the 50/50 Management Standard. The standard says that at least 50 percent of the aquifer must be left in 50 years, starting in 1998.

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen met in regular session last Tuesday with a full agenda to discuss.

Mark C. White addressed the board on behalf of the Destination Donley County tourism council. He requested funds from the Motel Bed Tax to promote maize days and costume contest on October 30, a fall festival on November 20, and a nativity scene in December. The board approved $1,000 to help advertise these activities.

Anita Aaron of the Associated Ambulance Authority addressed the board concerning a bill for services rendered to a volunteer fireman. No action was taken.

Health insurance bids were opened, but no action was taken pending the aldermen’s review of all proposals.

Tarrel Dyer spoke to the board on behalf of Centramedia and discussed the possibility of leasing space on the city’s radio tower to deliver high-speed Internet services. He will bring a detailed proposal to the next meeting.

The city’s contract with the Donley County Sheriff’s Department for law enforcement services was discussed. Approval for the contract was given when aldermen approved the 2004-2005 municipal budget. Sheriff Butch Blackburn said his department had 51 burglaries for the year-to-date and 42 of those have been solved. There have been 23 aggravated assaults and sexual assaults, all of which have been solved.

Aldermen considered audit proposals from Doshier, Pickens, & Francis PC and from Gordon Maddox. The board voted to hire Doshier, Pickens, & Francis to conduct the audit of the city and the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation for 2003-2004.

The board discussed paying for the city administrator’s dues in professional and civic organizations, an issue that had come up at a previous meeting.

Alderman Janice Knorpp said the matter was a moot point since paying such dues was spelled out in the administrator’s contract. Other aldermen seemed satisfied with her position, but Alderman Tommy Hill was not. He said he had never seen the administrator’s contract. Other board members insisted that the entire board had reviewed the contract prior to hiring City Administrator Sean Pate and noted that it was a benefit to the city for Pate to belong to professional organizations, which offer meetings, trainings, and information.

Hill still had questions.

“What would the taxpayers think of this?” Hill asked regarding the professional dues.

“Do they want someone who’s incompetent?” Pate responded.

Hill said the city had bills it wasn’t paying and vehicles it wasn’t repairing but was paying for Pate’s dues. Pate and members of the board asked Hill what he was talking about, but Hill never gave any specific examples.

Building permit fees were discussed. Aldermen agreed that Ordinance 143 should be amended to charge $10 for a permit for construction valued at $250 to $1,000 and to charge an additional $1 for every additional $1,000 or fraction thereof. A public hearing on this will be held October 12.

In his administrator’s report, Pate said the city was making progress in tearing down dilapidated houses, and he reported that the old North Ward School building is scheduled for demolition.

It’s Cotton Festival time in Hedley, and folks there are ready for the 53rd annual event to be held this Friday and Saturday.

The Lioness Club kicks off events with their Chili and Stew Supper Friday at 5:00 p.m. at the Lioness Hall. Tickets are $5 for adults and $2.50 for children under 6. 

The Lionesses are also selling tickets for a queen size hand-made quilt.  The drawing will be held on Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Lions Den.  Tickets are available for $1. Tickets may be purchased at the Donley County State Bank, Herring National Bank, Community Band, Lowe’s, or at the Lioness Hall.

Voices for God, a gospel group from Quanah, will begin the activities on Saturday at 9:00 a.m.  The Tractor Show and Car Show get underway at 10:00 a.m.  Rowe Cemetery Association will hold a bake sale at the City Hall beginning at 10:00.

The Lioness Club will hold a Quilt Show on Saturday.  Old and new quilts will be on display.  Admission is free.

Other activities will be held throughout the day including several craft booths, which will be set up down Main Street.

The annual Lions Club Barbecue will begin serving a delicious meal at 11:30 a.m.  The barbecue tickets are good for the drawing for a Bale of Cotton which will be given away at 6:00 p.m. at the Lions Den.  You must be present to win.

The Hedley Senior Citizens will serve hamburgers all day for $5 a plate, which will include chips and a drink.  They will also have live cowboy music inside the center from talented local artists including Dusty Michelle Armstrong of White Deer, Gary Alan Bruce of Clarendon, and Dustin Sanders of Claude. 

Bruce will come back after the reunion to finish the night with a good Western and Gospel music.

The Senior Citizens are also selling tickets on a half of beef, which was donated by the Hedley Feedlot.  That drawing will be held at 6 p.m. at the Lions Den. 

The Kiddie Parade will begin at 1:30 p.m. down Main Street, promptly followed by the Community Parade at 2:00 p.m.

The annual Hedley School Reunion will begin after the parade at 3:00 p.m. at the school. Attendees are asked to bring finger foods and snack items. Drinks will be provided. Many invitations to out-of-town ex-students have been sent, and they anticipate a good crowd.  Everyone is invited to join them for a good time.

At 4 p.m., barbecue sandwiches will be available at the Lions Den. 

Street entertainment will be provided by KEFH 99.3 all day long.

A Hedley High School graduate was seriously injured in Iraq last Wednesday when the convoy he was traveling in was ambushed near Kirkuk.

Army PFC Aaron Bugg’s condition had stabilized by Friday, but he was still suffering from multiple wounds and could lose part of his left leg, his mother, Connie Dalton, told the Enterprise. He was scheduled to be transported from Germany to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Virginia on Saturday.

The front of the vehicle Bugg was traveling in took the brunt of the blast, Dalton said, but her son sustained shrapnel injuries to all four extremities with his left side receiving the most damage.

Dalton said there were many people hurt in the ambush, but an army medic on the convoy was uninjured and got to Bugg quickly. He was treated in Balad, Iraq, and evacuated to Germany.

“When they called me, he was in a coma; and they weren’t sure he’d make it,” she said. “They replaced an artery in his left arm and saved it. He has no muscle in his left leg and just had a hole between his left knee and foot. They’ve transplanted bone from his thigh, but he still might lose his foot.”

Dalton said Bugg later awoke from his coma. Doctors removed his ventilator Friday, and Bugg gave them the thumbs up sign.

“I’m just thanking God that he’s alive, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed on that leg,” she said. “I thought we were going to lose him. Now I’m just happy he’s alive, and I can’t wait to see him.”

Dalton was leaving Saturday to be with her son at Walter Reed.

Last Christmas, Bugg proposed to Lisa Marie McCrosky of Missouri, a girl he’s been friends with since the eighth grade. They are to be wed in January.

Bugg joined the Army in 2002 when he graduated from HHS at age 17. He wanted to get into law enforcement and enlisted to get money for college. The army recruiter at the time asked Dalton how she felt about his signing up.

“I said he’s his own man and has to make his own decisions,” Dalton recalled. “I support him in whatever he does.”

Dalton’s son is a member of Bravo Company, First 27th Infantry, 2nd Battalion, and was home on leave during Hedley’s homecoming last month.

“I just put him on the plane to go back September 16,” she said.

Bugg’s mother says she understands why America went to war in Iraq, but she thinks the US doesn’t have any business being there now.

“It’s just senseless – all these kids dying,” she said. “But as far as [my son’s] service, I have a lot of respect for him and everyone over there. I’m just like every other mother.”

Dalton said she’s received phone calls and prayers from Hedley, Clarendon, and Memphis since receiving the news of her son’s injuries.

“He’s touched a lot of lives in his 20 years. He’s a kid everybody likes,” she said. “I just want everybody to know that God answered their prayers. There’s still a lot of praying going on, and He’s answering them.”