Archives for January 2006

Filing for this year’s elections for county offices closed Monday evening, and two contested races have emerged.

According to Donley County Democratic Chairman Jean Taylor, incumbent Bob Trout will face a primary challenge for his Precinct 4 commissioner’s seat from Brad Dalton.

Also Connie Havens has filed as a Democrat to run for Justice of the Peace of Precinct 1&2. She will face Republican incumbent Jimmy Johnson in the November election.

Unchallenged on the Democratic ticket are the following incumbents: County Judge Jack Hall, County/District Clerk Fay Vargas, and Justice of the Peach for Precincts 3&4 Ann Kennedy.

Taylor will also be on the ballot again to run for county chair of the Democratic Party.

The Republican line up includes incumbents US Rep. Mac Thornberry, County Treasurer Wanda Smith, and Pct. 2 County Commissioner Donnie Hall.

Also on the Republican ticket is Landon Paul Lambert, who has filed to run for county attorney. That position is currently held by Kaye Messer, who was appointed to that office by the commissioners’ court when it became vacant several years ago.

The Republican Party’s local primary ballot will also include the candidacies of county chairman Tom Stauder and precinct chairmen Betty Hester, Jo Webb, Helen Land, Ron Lamberth, Bill Carson, and Ginger Stone.

The Democratic and Republican primary elections will be held March 7, 2006. The general election will be held November 7.

A burn ban is in effect in Donley County, and state and local officials are urging extreme caution as dry conditions persist.

Using executive authority, Donley County Judge Jack Hall instituted an emergency burn ban last Friday as the Texas Forest Service warned that the New Year’s weekend would present the “worst possible wildfire scenario.”

Meeting in emergency session on Tuesday, the county commissioners’ court formally enacted a ban on all outdoor burning and fireworks. Hall’s order would have expired after seven days, but the commissioners’ action will remain in effect until the court votes to lift the ban.

Commissioners said, given the severity of conditions, they intend the ban to include home barbecue grills.

The Donley County Sheriff’s Department has warned the burn ban will be strictly enforced.

Commissioners also issued a declaration of a disaster in the county following the New Year’s wildfire.

The forest service says maximum public cooperation is absolutely necessary to avoid a repeat of wildfire losses such as have occurred locally and other parts of Texas as well as in Oklahoma and New Mexico.

Be extremely cautious about any outdoor activities that might cause sparks or fires.  When in your vehicle, crush smoking materials in your vehicle ashtray and make sure they are out. Avoid using welding or grinding equipment near dead grass and weeds.

Protect your property by clearing brush and grass away from your home and buildings. Postpone outdoor burning as long as brush and foliage remain dry. Avoid driving or parking equipment in tall, dry grass and weeds that could be ignited by hot pollution control equipment.

If you are told to evacuate – leave the area immediately. Choose a route that leads away from the fire – and be alert to changes in the speed and direction of fire and smoke. Keep your vehicle parked facing the direction of escape. If you have time to get prepared, shut gas off at the meter and turn off propane tanks. Wet down your roof and shrubbery within 15 feet of your residence. 

Although only one structure was lost and no one was injured in the Donley County wildfire, other parts of the state have not been as fortunate. Firefighters and citizens have already been injured or killed, and homes and vehicles in addition natural resources have also been lost to wildfires in other parts of the state.

“Texas is in worse shape now from a fire-wise standpoint than it was back in February 1996 when a major wildfire siege erupted in Texas,” said Tom Spencer, state fire risk assessment coordinator with the Texas Forest Service.

Three people lost their lives in a two-vehicle collision on US 287 in Hedley last Friday.

Jessica Schroeder, age 30, and husband Curtis, age 31, died at the scene when their Ford F-150 crew cab pickup collided with an oncoming semi-truck at about 2:16 p.m., Department of Public Safety Trooper Chris Ward said.

The Schroeders’ 10-year-old son, Wolfgang, died Saturday morning at approximately 9:00 a.m. at North West Texas Hospital in Amarillo. Fourteen-month-old Augustus Schroeder survived the accident and is reported in stable condition.

The pickup, driven by Mrs. Schroeder of Keller, Texas, was southbound on inside lane of US 287 just inside the east city limits of Hedley when it veered across traffic and impacted behind the driver’s door of northbound J.B. Hunt semi-truck, which was in the outside lane.

The pickup slammed into the rear wheels of the semi-truck, DPS spokesman Daniel Hawthorne said. The semi-truck went into the north ditch, and the pickup spun 180 degrees counterclockwise and came to rest facing northwest in the inside lane.

Donley County Justice of the Peace Jimmy Johnson of Clarendon pronounced the mother and the father, who were the driver and the front seat passenger, dead at the scene. The older boy was airlifted to NWTH, and the infant was taken to NWTH by the Associated Ambulance Authority, where grandparents of the children later arrived.

The driver of the semi-truck, Kevin George of Watauga, Texas, was treated and released at the scene by Clarendon EMS.

Ward said witnesses told him that both vehicles appeared to have been traveling about 55 mph. He could not say with certainty what caused the accident.

“At this point, I would say that she (Mrs. Schroeder) was distracted by one of the children. That happens a lot, but I can’t prove it or disprove it. It’s strictly speculation.”

The accident caused US 287 to be blocked for a period of time. Traffic was restored to partial flow after approximately two hours and to full flow after approximately three and a half hours.

The Texas Department of Transportation employees from Hall and Donley counties along with the Donley County Sheriff’s Office, the Constable of Precinct 3&4, the Clarendon and Hedley volunteer fire departments, DPS, and Associated Ambulance responded to the accident.

Dry conditions and high winds fueled a New Year’s Day wildfire that scorched more than 21,000 acres of rangeland in Donley County.

Firefighters battled the inferno for approximately 26 hours before it was finally declared 90 percent contained at 3:30 Monday afternoon.

The fire started before 1:00 p.m. Sunday near the home of Doyle Littlefield on CR I between eight and nine miles north of Clarendon. Driven by 50- to 60-mph winds, the fire raced eastward, threatening the Chris Britten residence before heading to SH 70.

“In the ten minutes it took us to get there, the fire had already hit Hwy. 70,” said Jeremy Powel, First Fire Chief of the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department. “It was moving fast.”

The fire jumped SH 70 and continued eastward. At 4:12 p.m., the Donley County Sheriff’s Office logged that the fire had reached FM 1260 and was still moving.

Although several homes were threatened during the fire, a single barn was the only structure destroyed by the blaze.

“We probably would have lost a lot of homes on 1260 if the wind hadn’t changed,” Powell said.

The fire burned on eastward and threatened the headquarters of the RO Ranch as local and area fire departments and county and state agencies worked to head off the blaze.

Maintainers and bulldozers cut barricades in the rough rangeland, and the work continued throughout the night and into the next day.

The Texas Forest Service estimated the fire consumed 21,350 acres; and Powell, who surveyed the area by helicopter, said the burned area was nine to ten miles wide and was within a 34-mile perimeter.

Those fighting the wildfire included fire departments from Clarendon, Hedley, Howardwick, Groom, Hoover, McLean, Shamrock, Memphis, Claude, Kelton, Wheeler, and Pantex.

Donley and Gray county maintainers were utilized, and the Texas Forest Service and Texas Department of Transportation crews and equipment from Donley and Hall counties provided critical assistance. Andy Wheatly also donated the services of his Finch Ranch helicopter.

Local landowners also helped haul water, and the Clarendon Firebelles brought food to an estimated 100 men fighting the fire.

The official cause of the fire remained under investigation Monday afternoon, and local fire officials are urging all residents to be wary as long as conditions stay dry.

“Everybody needs to be extremely careful because so many things can happen on a windy day,” Powell said. “All residents, even in town, need to make sure you have nothing combustible with 100 feet of your home. Grass and brush need to be cut back away from all houses.”