Archives for February 2006

Work is progressing as scheduled on the project to replace the bridge below the Greenbelt Dam on SH 70 just north of Clarendon.

The first phase, to build a detour on the east side of the existing bridge, is complete.  The detour has 12-foot lanes with no shoulders and is the same width as the 24-foot wide bridge.  An advisory speed of 40 miles per hour will be posted on this detour.

“We ask that motorists be extremely careful when using the temporary crossing and to please adhere to the 40 miles per hour advisory speed,” said Larry Davis, Chief Inspector for TxDOT. 

For more information: Call Barbara Seal, TxDOT Public Information Officer 940 937-7145.

Early voting by personal appearance in the Democratic and Republican primary elections began Tuesday in the Donley County Courthouse Annex and will continue through Friday, March 3.

The only locally contested race this primary season is the Precinct 4 commissioner’s position, which has incumbent Bob Trout facing challenger Brad Dalton on the Democratic ballot.

Voters casting ballots in the primaries will be ineligible to sign petitions calling for either Carole Keeton Strayhorn or Kinky Friedman to be placed on the November ballot as independent candidates for governor.

County Clerk Fay Vargas also reminds voters to carefully darken the oval next to the name of the candidate of their choice rather than marking an X as was done in the past. This will allow ballots to be counted by machines this year.

Everything old will be new again when Clarendon holds the 128th anniversary Saints’ Roost Celebration this summer.

It’s going to be on the Fourth of July, preferably at the Courthouse; and the parade will return to its afternoon timeslot.

At a planning meeting hosted by the Chamber of Commerce Friday evening, the date of the celebration was the first topic of conversation. In the last six years, the celebration has only been held twice on July 4, and a Saturday schedule was favored the other four years with the date being as early as July 1 and as late as July 7.

Forcing the celebration to Saturday last year caused confusion, hurt local merchants who had to be closed two days instead of one, and denied local motels the opportunity to host visitors for more nights.

Attendees at last week’s meeting favored Tuesday, July 4, as the appropriate date to mark American Independence, and most recalled the celebration as being traditionally held on the Fourth. It was also discussed that the date will eliminate confusion and will give Clarendon the opportunity to attract visitors for more than one day, especially those attending class reunions.

With the date established, the Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association outlined its plans for rodeo activities. Alex McAnear said COEA will hold its annual ranch rodeo Friday and Saturday, June 30 and July 1, and a ranch horse competition will be held Saturday morning. Dances will be held both nights.

McAnear also said a kids’ rodeo for cowboys and cowgirls ages 16 and under will be held Monday night, July 3, and a ranch bronc ride will be held Tuesday night, July 4. No dance is planned for those two nights, but COEA will consider opening the dance floor if a local band wants to perform.

Books for the rodeo will open May 1, 2006, and Boy Scout Troop 433 will provide concessions for all four nights of rodeo activities.

The arts and craft fair and the Shriners’ barbecue will be held Tuesday, July 4; and those attending the meeting expressed a preference for those activities to be held on the Courthouse Square.

The celebration was traditionally held at the courthouse, but the location was moved to City Park in 2001 when the restoration of the courthouse began. Shriners A.R. Henson and Roger Estlack said the barbecue had lost attendance since it moved, and others said they thought county commissioners had said the move was only temporary when it was made.

It was discussed that the park offers a bigger area and more electrical outlets for vendors, but it also has limited viewing for the parade and limited parking. It’s also difficult to draw visitors from the highway to a celebration out of view at the park compared to a celebration one block away at the courthouse.

County Extension Agent MaryRuth Bishop said she would talk to county officials about holding the celebration on the square, and representatives of the Shrine Club are planning to attend the next commissioners’ court meeting also.

The time for the parade was the next item of discussion, and it was decided to return the parade to its traditional 2 p.m. timeslot.

Last year’s parade broke with tradition and was held at 10 a.m., which meant the temperature was cooler during the parade, but which also meant vendors and other activities were hurt by the loss of an afternoon crowd. Starting at 2 p.m. also gives Chamber officials more time to line up the parade and allows people participating the parade to enjoy the morning activities at the celebration.

Other activities will be a blood drive at Suna AutoMall on Friday, June 30, and the annual Henson’s Turtle Race on Saturday afternoon, July 1, which will draw a typically large crowd on its own and add to any sales and activities planned that day by downtown merchants.

Those attending the meeting also discussed the possibilities of reviving the old rodeo queen contest and adding a community fireworks display, but it was decided that those topics could be revisited when planning future celebrations.

For this year, the County Extension Office will being sending mail outs to prospective vendors March 1, and the Chamber of Commerce will begin sending information to potential parade participants about the same time. COEA will continue its traditional role of handling the publicity of the celebration in the form of posters and advertisements.

Those who plan to host other activities in conjunction with the 128th anniversary Saints’ Roost Celebration are asked to call the Chamber office at 874-2421 to get on the calendar.

A cutting torch is being blamed for a fire that burned the grass off the Greenbelt Dam last Thursday.

Sources say a workman with the crew in charge of dismantling the old bridge below the dam on State Highway 70 caused sparks that ignited the dry grass. Flames spread up the face of the dam, and a north wind drove the fire to the south. The blaze also jumped the highway at one point.

Clarendon and Howardwick firemen worked together for five to six hours to contain the fire, according to Clarendon First Fire Chief Jeremy Powell.

Greenbelt Water Authority General Manager Bobbie Kidd said the only way to get the blaze under control was to set another fire on the north end of the dam.

“You can’t drive a fire truck up that steep slope,” Kidd said.

Officials were also concerned that fire-fighting equipment might damage the sprinkler system on the dam.

Kidd said a dollar estimate has not been set for the damage from last week’s fire, and it’s unknown whether the heat harmed any portion of the sprinkler system. For now, the water authority is hoping to get the grass reestablished to prevent damage to the dam itself.

“If we get a big rain without grass on it, we could get a wash in the dam and have to repair it,” Kidd said. “We’ll probably start watering it to prevent that.”

Powell said the fire burned an estimated 70 acres.

With still no appreciable precipitation, a countywide burn ban remains in effect in Donley County.

Donley County’s economy continues to generate higher sales tax receipts for local cities, according to Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn.

January figures released last week shows Clarendon, Hedley, and Howardwick all with double-digit increases over the same period last year.

Clarendon’s sales tax collection was up 12.37 percent to $28,559.48; and Howardwick’s receipts were up 10.07 percent to $878.92. The rebate at the City of Hedley came in 79.05 percent ahead of last January with a total of $999.87.

All three cities are now ahead of their year-to-date collections compared to the same time in 2005. Clarendon has posted gains in sales tax collections every month but one since last March.

Strayhorn said January’s state sales tax collections got a boost from a strong economy, holiday sales, and the rebuilding process that continues in Southeast Texas following Hurricane Rita.  The state collected $1.5 billion in sales tax revenue, up 12 percent compared to January 2005. 

Also, Strayhorn returned $572.9 million in local sales tax to Texas cities, counties, transit systems, and special purpose taxing districts, up 13.9 percent compared to sales tax distributions to local governments in February 2005. 

The Comptroller sent $390.5 million in sales tax to Texas cities, up 13.4 percent compared to February 2005 payments.

January state sales tax collections and February’s local sales tax allocations primarily represent sales made in December, but also include earlier sales by businesses that report sales tax to the Comptroller on a quarterly or annual basis.

A Friday evening blaze destroyed 30 to 40 acres of grass and threatened several homes on the southwest side of Lake Greenbelt last week.

Fortunately, no structures were lost in the fire, but the incident highlights just how dangerously dry conditions are. Officials are urging caution and remind everyone that a countywide burn ban is still in effect.

The Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department was paged out to Greenbelt Way after 6:30 p.m. for what was initially thought to be a house fire. The blaze was soon identified as a grass fire, causing concern about the number of homes located on the lakeshore near the waist-high grass.

“The wind pushed it away from the houses,” First Fire Chief Jeremy Powell said. “But if we hadn’t got there when we did, some houses could have been threatened.”

Powell said the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but it appeared to be either intentionally set or the result of someone’s carelessness.

“There was nothing around that looked like it would have caused it,” he said. “Someone may have pitched a cigarette out the window or something.”

Firefighters from Hedley and Howardwick and county maintainers assisted in bringing the fire under control by 10 p.m.

Another fire burned about 30 acres near Interstate 40 and State Highway 70 about 10:30 Saturday morning. Powell said a wheel came off a truck and somehow started that inferno.

Groom, McLean, Howardwick, and Clarendon fire departments worked along side Donley County maintainers and got that blaze under control in about two and one-half hours.

Powell said everyone needs to continue to use caution and take steps to safeguard their homes from the threat of wildfires.

“Make sure weeds and brush are cut back,” he said, “and keep all flammable things away from your home.”