Archives for June 2005

Loyd Jeanette Richerson of Odessa died Tuesday, June 21, 2005, at Seabury Nursing Home in Odessa.

She was born August 1, 1911, in Ring, Texas, to Silas Carter Richerson and Nettie Ring Richerson.  Loyd was reared in Hedley and attended Clarendon Jr. College and West Texas State at Canyon.  She was a retired school teacher and taught school for 38 years at Clarendon and for the Ector County Independent School District.  She was a member of the Parkview Church Of Christ, the Dorcus Club of Odessa Christian School, and the Texas State Teachers Association.

She is survived by one sister, Jeanne Richerson; 2 nieces; and 2 nephews. She was preceded by six siblings, Abby Richerson, Ruth Richerson, Madge Moore, Glen Richerson, Woodley Richerson, and H.S. Richerson.

Services were Thursday, June 23, 2005 at 2:00 p.m. at the Parkview Church of Christ in Odessa.  Private family graveside services were at 4 p.m. on Friday, June 24, 2005, in Rowe Cemetery in Hedley under the direction of Robertson Funeral Directors, Inc.

Walking up stairs without holding on. Touching your toes. Putting on your own shoes. Riding a bike. Sitting with your legs crossed.

These tasks may seem easy, but they are things that one little girl could never do… until now.

Tristin Miller’s story started on July 19, 1996, when she and her twin sister, Kristin, were born premature with twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. They weighed just two pounds, 14 ounces and four pounds, 13 ounces.

Their mother Misti Watson said when the girls were born, Tristin had nothing wrong. She went home after just a week with no problems while her twin sister, Kristin, went home after five days and had to be on oxygen.

“Both girls never seemed to have problems until Kristin began doing things that Tristin couldn’t,” Misti said. “Tristin had a hard time sitting up, and doctors told me it was just because she was so small; but I knew something wasn’t right.”

Both girls suffer from hearing loss and a seizure disorder; but when Tristin was one and a half, she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, a condition that causes a loss of muscle coordination.

She started visiting the Shriners Hospitals for Children at the age of two. There they put her into bracing and worked with her in physical therapy until she was ready for surgery at the age of eight.

“Before surgery Tristin was given a doll, and the doctors used it to show her exactly what they were going to do,” Misti said.

Tristin’s three-hour surgery was at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Houston on October 27, 2004; and the doctors did eight different procedures on her legs during that one operation.

“After her surgery she got very grouchy and mean for a few days. She kept saying, ‘Help me Mama; help me.’

“I just thought, ‘Why did I do this? Why did I put her through all this pain?’” Misti said. “But after five or six days, Tristin said, ‘I can do this;’ and then I knew she was going to be all right.”

While in the hospital, Tristin enjoyed celebrating Halloween and participated in daily activities.

“She also had a teacher while she was there,” Misti said. “We went to school everyday after therapy.

“We always had something to do. They told us that the kids there aren’t sick; they just have something wrong with them, so they didn’t need to lie around in a bed.”

Tristin spent just three weeks in the hospital and came home with casts from the knees down.

“She used a walker to get around at first, but now she is doing great,” Misti said. “We have a therapist who comes twice a week, and we do stretches with her everyday.

“Right now her therapy is a game to her, but it’s painful some days. The doctors said we are trying to reprogram her brain to walk correctly. She spent eight years walking the wrong way, so now she’s learning to walk all over again the right way.”

Tristin sleeps with a wedge pillow between her legs and knee immobilizers, and during the day she wears braces to protect her muscles; but as soon as her muscles are stronger, she can go without them.

Everything at the Shriners Hospital is personal Misti said.

“They don’t ever forget her,” she said, “and they have several doctors and therapists that do everything they need right there together.”

After returning from Houston, Tristin went right back to school.

“She would cry sometimes, but the kids were great with her,” Misti said. “The kids fought over who got to help her.”

Thanks to the Shriners, Tristin is now off and running. She can walk up the stairs without holding onto the rail, put on her own shoes, touch her toes, ride a bicycle, and sit with her legs crossed.

“She doesn’t see herself different than anyone else,” Misti said. “She loves everybody and doesn’t see that she has ever had a problem.”

Tristin said she loves to read and one day hopes to be a teacher or a doctor.

“I want to help other people,” she said.

Tristin and Kristin will be third graders in the fall, and they are spending their summer playing baseball and wrestling with each other.

“They are very different but also very close,” Misti said.

There are not enough words to describe what the Shriners Hospitals for Children do, Misti said.

“They don’t ask for anything, but just do and do and do,” she said. “We are so appreciative of everything they have done for our family.

“They’re amazing and good hearted, and people don’t realize how they help until you actually see someone up walking around like Tristin is.”

Tristin should not have to have any more surgeries in the future, but she did have to travel to Houston a few weeks ago for Botox injections into her legs after she went through a growth spurt. According to Misti, the entire process of getting Tristin better has been slow and aggravating at times but completely worth everything.

“I have cried myself to sleep many a night over her. You just feel like it’s your fault,” she said. “But seeing her get better made it all ok. The good Lord has taken care of me.”

“And me,” Tristin said. “He’s a good guy.”

 Everybody can help Shriners help children 

Twenty-two Shriners Hospitals are Masonic charities and are located throughout North America – 20 in the United States and one each in Mexico and Canada.

Since the first Shriners hospital opened in 1922, about $7 billion have been spent to help 770,000 children at Shriners hospitals. Shiners operate two children’s hospitals in Texas – an orthopedic hospital in Houston and a burn hospital in Galveston.

There is never a charge to the patient, parent, or any third party for any service or medical treatment received at Shriners Hospitals, which accept and treat children under 18 years of age without regard to race, religion, or relationship to a Shriner.

Clarendon’s Al Morrah Shrine Club traditionally supports the hospitals by donating funds raised at the annual Saints’ Roost Celebration barbecue to the Khiva Temple’s travel fund, which pays for transporting children to and from the hospitals.

This year’s barbecue will be held from 11 until the food runs out on Saturday, July 2, at City Park. Tickets are $6.50 each and are available from Henson’s or The Clarendon Enterprise.

For more information about Shiners Hospitals for Children, visit their Web site at www.shinershq.org.

If you know a child that Shiners Hospitals for Children can help, please call their toll-free patient referral at 1-800-237-5005.

The 127th anniversary Saints’ Roost Celebration and Ranch Rodeo kicks off this weekend in Clarendon.

Activities get rolling on Friday, July 1, with the Donley County Horse Club Stick Horse Rodeo at 9:00 a.m. across from the Post Office.  Registration begins June 24 at Saye’s.  Cost is $5 per child.  All proceeds benefit the club.

The fun continues on Friday with the annual Depression Lunch at the Downtown Ministries building. The meal will begin at 11:00 a.m. and will consist of beans, cornbread, and a drink for a 25¢ minimum donation. They will also serve dessert, sausage wraps, and cokes for an additional charge.  The First Baptist Church will conduct the meal as a fundraiser until 1:30  p.m.

Friday is also the first night for the Saints’ Roost Celebration Ranch Rodeo.  The Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association presents the 10-team ranch rodeo at 7:30 p.m. Team events include Bronco Riding, Wild Cow Milking, Team Branding, and Team Doctoring/Sorting. The youngsters are also invited to participate in the Open Junior Calf Ride (ages 0-8), the Steer Ride (age 9-12), and the Donkey Ride (age 0-12).  Entry fee is $20 for each event.  The Open Calf Scramble, sponsored by Donley County State Bank, is open to age 0-12 and is free of charge. 

The rodeo will also feature the Open Wild Mare Race.  Six horses will be furnished each night.  There is a $90 entry fee with $150 added money.  All rough stock will be provided by Bill Hext of Canadian.

A $200 beef certificate will be drawn each night at the Rodeo Arena.

You can dance the night away Friday to the sounds of the Brant Moore Band.  The dance will be held at the rodeo grounds from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The COEA will start the fun early Saturday morning with the RHAA Ranch Horse Competition at 8:00 a.m. at the arena.

The Arts and Crafts Fair will begin at the City Park at 9:00 a.m. Booths selling food and craft items will be offering their wares until 3:00 p.m. The Donley County Extension Office is currently renting booth space for the fair.  The cost is $25.  Booth set up will begin at 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.  Each organization will be responsible for set-up and take-down of their booth as well as any trash around their booth.  For an entry form or more information, contact the Donley County Extension Office at 874-2141.  All entries must be received by Monday, June 27.

The Extension Service will also give away a new John Deere Riding Lawn Mower on Saturday.  Tickets are $5.00 per ticket or five tickets for $20.  They will even deliver the prize within 100 miles of Clarendon.  For tickets, contact any local 4-H or FFA member or call the Extension Office at 874-2141.  All proceeds benefit the Friends of the Donley County Junior Livestock Show Building Fund.

A big change to this year’s celebration is the Bicycle Parade and Western Parade.  The two parades will be held at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.  The youngsters will go first with their bicycles, directly followed by the Western Parade.  The Clarendon Chamber of Commerce is currently accepting entry forms for both parades.  Entry forms are available in this issue of The Enterprise or at the Chamber of Commerce office or Burton Memorial Library.

Line up for the Western Parade begins at 8:30 a.m. two blocks west of the City Park.  Bicycle Parade participants can fill out the entry form in this issue of The Enterprise or register 9:30 a.m. Saturday morning at the City Park Pavilion. 

The Old Settlers Reunion will be held at the City Park Pavilion beginning at 11:00 a.m. along with the Shriner’s Barbecue.  Tickets for the barbecue are available from any Shriner, at Henson’s, or at The Clarendon Enterprise office.  Tickets will also be sold Saturday.

The Turtle Race will be held Saturday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. at the intersection by Henson’s.  Youngsters are encouraged to sign up now at Henson’s for their numbers. 

The ranch rodeo begins its second night of performance at 7:30 Saturday.  All events will be the same with ten new teams competing. 

You can dance with the Lonesome Goat band on Saturday night beginning at 10:00 p.m. at the Rodeo Grounds.

Activities wind down on Monday night with the Open Ranch Bronc Ride at the Rodeo Grounds.  Competitors will ride 30 head of stock that evening.  They will also have the Open Junior Calf Ride, Steer Ride, and Donkey Ride for the youngsters along with the Open Calf Scramble.

The Chamber of Commerce will give away their National Finals Rodeo trip along with the $200 beef drawing on Monday during the rodeo performance.

Clarendon City Administrator Sean Pate will resign next month to take a position as manager of the City of Poteet.

Pate confirmed his decision to the Enterprise Monday morning and formally announced his resignation during Tuesday night’s meeting of the board of aldermen. He will stay on until July 28.

The move means a significant salary increase for Pate. Poteet has agreed to pay him $55,000 per year plus benefits for him and his family. Clarendon currently pays him $35,900.

“I just don’t think I can pass it up,” Pate said. “Obviously this isn’t a political move; it’s a professional move for my family.”

The administrator said he had not sought the Poteet position but learned of it through a fellow city administrator. The Poteet council interviewed him by phone and hired him over the phone. He visited the city, located 20 miles south of San Antonio, over the weekend.

Pate, who has held his current position since June 2003 said he intends to wrap up his business in Clarendon before leaving – getting the street paving underway and beginning the 2005-2006 budget process – and said he will be available if the city needs him.

“I’m not quitting Clarendon,” Pate said. “I’m just moving on. My phone will always be available, and I can help out on my own time if they need me.”

Mayor Tex Selvidge said he hates to see Pate leave but understands that a man has to take care of his family.

“I think he’s done a lot here,” Selvidge said. “I think some were against hiring an administrator, and he’s overcome that.”

Pate said he’s been impressed by the people of Clarendon and is grateful for the chance the city gave him.

“I have always tried to be fair,” he said. “I have respect for everyone in Clarendon, and I thank the board for giving me this opportunity.”

Selvidge said any decision about replacing Pate would have to be decided by the board of aldermen.

“We’ll just have to discuss it at the table,” he said.