Archives for December 2005

For three weeks, no one has won the jackpot during Late Night Shopping; but this Thursday evening someone will go home with $400 in Christmas Cash.

Several participating merchants on Kearney Street will be open until 8:30 p.m., and the drawing will be held at 8 p.m. Five lucky individuals will spin the wheel for prizes from local merchants and a chance at the money. If none of the five lands on the cash spot, a drawing will be held to give away the money. You must be present to win.

The Chamber of Commerce is supporting the Late Night Shopping jackpot this year by giving away $100 in Christmas Cash each Thursday between now and Christmas. The jackpot has gone unclaimed and has rolled over until this week.

Shoppers can register from 5 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. at any participating Christmas Cash merchant. You must be 18 years old to register. Five people will get a chance to spin the wheel for prizes from local merchants and the jackpot.

Last week’s winners were Brandon Fauster, Chris Davis, Crystal Fulton, Annette Osburn, and Greg Bowers, who also took a spin at the wheel two weeks ago.

The Downtown Ministry Center will be open from 6 to 8 p.m. and will serve hot chocolate and refreshments, and the Burton Memorial Library will host photos with Santa at that time.

Support your local merchants this holiday season, and watch for their Christmas specials and holiday hours in the pages of the Enterprise. Also make a point to visit with any of the local banks about the benefits of a zero-percent interest Christmas Cash loan for all your holiday shopping.

A Hedley High School senior remains hospitalized this week after being seriously injured in a one-vehicle rollover December 14.

Britney Upton, age 18, was traveling south on FM 1547 between Memphis and Quail when the accident occurred, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Daniel Hawthorn. For an unknown reason, the young woman lost control of her black Chevy S10 pickup, over-corrected, rolled multiple times, and was ejected and thrown through a barbed wire fence.

She was not wearing her safety belt.

Wellington EMS responded to the accident and transported Upton to Hedley, where she was airlifted to North West Texas Hospital in Amarillo. She was later medivaced to University Medical Center in Lubbock for additional treatment.

Upton is the daughter of Tim and Jackie Upton of Memphis. The family is giving regular updates to Hedley ISD instructor and Enterprise photographer Kari Lindsey, who is in turn posting that information on the school’s Web site at www.hedleyisd.net.

According to the family, Upton suffered six broken vertebrae, a fracture to her right collarbone, and multiple fractures in her right foot. Her right lung was also injured. She is reported to be doing remarkably well, and she ate her first solid meal Monday.

This accident was especially alarming for the Upton family because Britney lost a younger brother in rollover near Claude about ten years ago, Lindsey said.

DPS officials remind everyone to buckle their seatbelts to prevent injuries like those Upton received last week.

“Statistics tell us that 80 percent of rollover victims in light trucks who were wearing safety belts escape with only minor injuries,” Hawthorne said. “The stats speak for themselves. Buckle up.”

A fund has been established at Memphis State Bank to help with the Upton family with expenses as they take off work and travel to Lubbock to be with their daughter.

Trust and friendship are two things that cannot be bought, and the new management team at Suna AutoMall says they intend to earn both from customers in Clarendon and the surrounding area.

The General Motors dealership has begun a management contract that will culminate with the sale of the business to Stanley Automotive Enterprises on or about February 1, 2006.

The priority of the business will be serving local people with old-fashioned values, and that’s something of a tradition for area manager Don Crow.

“I learned integrity from my father and grandfather,” Crow said. “You look people in the eye, shake their hand, and tell them the truth.”

Crow’s grandfather started selling cars in Abernathy in 1927. Now, as the third generation in his family of car dealers, Crow says his West Texas roots guide his business philosophy.

“You do what you say and a little bit more,” he said. “You just treat everybody they way you’d want your own mother treated.”

The Stanley group has big plans for the dealership, which was founded in 1956 by Fred E. Chamberlain, Jr., and operated as Chamberlain Motor Company until August 2002, when it was purchased by New York native Mark Suna, who has since moved to Kentucky.

Customers can expect to see more cars on the lot in the next 60 to 90 days as the Stanley group builds up the dealership’s inventory, Crow said.

“I’d like to see us have 75 to 100 new cars and 65 to 80 used cars.”

In addition to a larger inventory, Crow says the Stanley group intends to completely renovate the dealership to make it a more functional facility that will be customer friendly. Plans for the showroom are still being finalized but will likely include new flooring, replacing the ceiling tiles, and going through the air-conditioning and electrical systems.

In the service department, air-conditioning will be installed and state of the art diagnostic equipment will be added.

“We’re going to make sure that we have all the equipment we need to serve our customers the proper way,” Crow said.

Under the new management for only a short time, new life has been breathed into the dealership with sales picking up and new employees being hired and old employees returning.

“We’re leading our district in terms of performance, which indicates that [general manager] Ken [Sisk] is doing a great job,” Crow said. “Terry Noble is back in the shop and doing great work, Master Tech Matt Chambers is all set up, and we’ve hired a couple of salesmen.”

The Suna AutoMall staff also consists of comptroller Connie Simpson, title clerk Nancy Kidd, sales manager Rod Darris, service manager Eddie Bartley, receptionist Tessie Robinson, and salesman Jerry Daniels.

Crow is splitting his time between Suna AutoMall and Childress Ford in Childress, which is also under a management contract with Stanley. He and his wife, Donna, will make their home in this area as soon as they sell their house in Driftwood, near Austin.

In addition to Suna AutoMall and Childress Ford, the Stanley group owns 15 dealerships in rural communities and is looking at adding others. Crow says there are benefits to being in such a large group.

“We’re able to sell out of each other’s inventories; so if we don’t have the car you’re looking for, we can find it immediately and have it here usually within 24 hours,” Crow said.

“West Texans serving West Texans is what we’re all about.”

No big winner last week means the jackpot has climbed to $300 in Christmas Cash for this week’s Late Night Shopping drawing this Thursday.

Several participating merchants on Kearney Street will be open until 8:30 p.m., and the drawing will be held at 8 p.m.

The Chamber of Commerce is supporting Late Night Shopping this year by giving away $100 in Christmas Cash each Thursday between now and Christmas. The jackpot rolls over when there is no winner.

Shoppers can register from 5 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. at any participating Christmas Cash merchant. You must be 18 years old to register. Five people will get a chance to spin the wheel for prizes from local merchants and the jackpot.

Last week’s winners were Chrisi Tucek, Kuiipa Hayes, Judy Burlin, Greg Byars, and Cheryl Phillips, who spun the wheel two weeks ago.

This week marks the return of wagon rides downtown, which is being sponsored by several local merchants and is free to kids of all ages. Also this week, the Burton Memorial Library will hold its Open House with refreshments and caroling led by local Girl Scouts

St. Nicholas will be downtown this Thursday. Kids are encouraged to come tell him all their wishes.

The Downtown Ministry Center will be open and will serve hot chocolate and refreshments.

Late Night Shopping will continue December 22, and the library will host photos with Santa at that time.

Support your local merchants this holiday season, and watch for their Christmas specials and holiday hours in the pages of the Enterprise.

Sales tax receipts for local cities increased again this month, according to information released Friday by Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn.

The Clarendon economy produced a sales tax allocation for December 21.51 percent higher than the same time a year with the city receiving $20,640.18 this month.

The city will close the calendar year having posted significant gains in nine out of the last ten months, and the year-to-date figure now stands at $269,037.02, an increase of more than nine percent.

Likewise, Hedley collected $694.88 this month compared to $317.60 for the same period one year ago. Howardwick received $1,034.18, which up from $850.15 last year. Both cities are also ahead for the year-to-date with Hedley posting a 13.32 percent increase and Howardwick 3.91 percent higher than last year.

November state sales tax collections and December sales tax allocations to local governments mainly represent sales that occurred in October.

Statewide some Southeast Texas communities continue to see declines in their sales tax revenue as a result of Hurricane Rita, but overall state and local sales tax revenues are up. Texas cities received $252.8 million in sales tax allocations, up 15.8 percent compared to December 2004. 

The state collected $1.58 billion in sales tax in November, up 9.4 percent compared to November 2004.  December sales tax allocations to local governments rose by $50.8 million, or 15.8 percent, compared to December 2004.  Sales tax allocations are up 19 percent in 22 counties that were declared disaster areas following Hurricane Rita.

“These sales tax numbers tell the story of Texans’ heroic response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita,” Strayhorn said.  “They show the generosity of Texans who purchased millions of dollars worth of clothing, household goods and emergency supplies for those in need.  And the numbers reflect spending by thousands of evacuees, who were welcomed in cities throughout Texas. 

Only 25 local governments in 22 Southeast Texas disaster counties show declines in their December allocations, compared to 73 local governments whose sales tax revenue dropped in November.  Cities, counties, special taxing districts and a transit system located within the disaster area lost about $271,000 in sales tax in December, compared to losses of $2.3 million in November.

“Some towns continue to lose sales tax revenue because they have businesses that have not been able to reopen,” Strayhorn said.

A Hedley man was injured in a one-car accident last Thursday when his car ran off a county road.

David Forbes, age 52, was recovering Monday in University Medical Center in Lubbock, according to Department of Public Safety Trooper Chad Simpson.

Forbes was northbound on County Road 24 when his 2000 Pontiac Grand Prix traveled into the east ditch and struck at least four trees before coming to rest, Simpson said. Forbes, who was wearing his seatbelt, was pinned inside the car.

A passing motorist tried to help and called 911. The DPS, Associated Ambulance Authority EMTs, the Donley County Sheriff’s Department, and the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department all responded to the call. Emergency personnel extracted Forbes, who was airlifted to North West Texas Hospital in Amarillo and later transferred to UMC.

An official cause of the accident has not been determined.