Archives for July 2006

The title of the best small weekly newspaper in West Texas went to The Clarendon Enterprise, following the results of the West Texas Press Association’s 2005 Better Newspaper Contest.

The Sweepstakes Award was presented to the Enterprise during the WTPA’s 76th annual convention held here last Saturday. The local paper received three first place plaques and one second place certificate in Division D (weeklies with circulations of 1,800 and below).

The Clarendon paper received first place in the General Excellence competition with judges from Texas Tech University’s College of Mass Communications saying the “consistently good writing joined by clean, consistent layout make the Enterprise a pleasure to read.”

The paper also received first place in Feature Writing with judges calling Ashlee Estlack’s article about Tristen Miller a “great story” with “great structure” and also praising Roger Estlack’s story about L.L. Wallace.

The Enterprise also received first place honors in Photography for work by Cheryl Johnson and Roger Estlack, and second place honors were awarded to the Enterprise for Editorials.

Accepting awards on behalf of the Enterprise were Publisher Roger Estlack, Office Director Ashlee Estlack, and Copy Editor Helen Estlack.

Also attending this year’s convention and representing the Enterprise were Anndria Kidd; Russell, Scarlet, and Nathan Estlack; Doug and Nancy Kidd; Kari Lindsey; and Ruby Dell Estlack.

AUSTIN – Donley County’s unemployment rate was up in May and June after falling in April, according to information released by the Texas Workforce Commission.

Even though the jobless rate is higher, the workforce in Donley County has grown from 1,814 in April to 1,909 last month, and the number of people employed has grown from 1,737 to 1,809.

Seasonally non-adjusted data from TWC showed 1,734 employed out of a workforce of 1,816, putting the local unemployment rate at 4.5 percent, which is up from 4.2 percent in April.

The June data shows 1,809 people employed in Donley County with 100 people looking for work, bringing the unemployment rate up to 5.2 percent.

Seasonally adjusted nonagricultural employment in Texas increased by 30,000 jobs in June and 259,900 jobs over the last 12 months. Texas employers have added jobs for 34 of the last 35 months, for a total of 632,400 jobs since July 2003. The June seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held steady at 5.1 percent.

“The Texas labor market continues to grow at a steady pace and across many different industries,” said Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Chair Diane Rath. “Currently at 2.7 percent, over-the-year job growth has been above 2.5 percent for the last 11 months.”

Fun, laughter, and Texas hospitality were the hallmarks of the 76th annual West Texas Press Association’s summer convention in Clarendon last week.

The world’s largest regional press association gathered here Thursday, Friday, and Saturday with a registered attendance that surpassed last year’s convention in San Angelo and boasted more attendees than any other regional press convention held in Texas this year.

“The convention was a terrific success,” said local publisher and convention chairman Roger Estlack. “We had a big crowd. Everyone had a great time, and the community received an economic boost for the weekend.”

The convention had more than 90 people registered, and some events drew more than 100 people. More than 30 attendees had never been to a WTPA convention before, and the Texas Panhandle convention site helped draw new members to the association, boosting its membership from 86 newspapers last year to an even 100 this year.

WTPA members were impressed with Clarendon and all it had to offer and repeatedly praised the community during the convention.

“The hospitality extended to convention participants and the pride Clarendon residents exhibited in your community was extraordinary,” said WTPA Board Chairman Roy Robinson of Graham.

Activities began Thursday morning with the annual golf tournament at the Clarendon Country Club, which tournament sponsor Robert Burns of EMBARQ said had some of the nicest greens he has seen all year. Joe Thompson of the Hood County News won the tournament, and Doug Kidd, representing The Clarendon Enterprise, came in fourth out of 13 players.

Registration began Thursday afternoon at the Bairfield Activity Center and was followed by a reception at the Best Western Red River Inn. That evening Judge Jack Hall gave the press a tour of the 1890 Donley County Courthouse and praised newspapers for the roles they play in their communities.

The Saints’ Roost Band provided musical entertainment as attendees enjoyed the Chuckwagon cooking of Kevin Romines and the Honey-Do Spoiler wagon from Pampa. After the meal, James Doores donned the character of American legend Mark Twain in an address to those assembled. The evening was closed with a special WTPA Night at the Sandell Drive-In, where the feature presentation was “The Paper.”

The convention got down to business Friday at the Bairfield Activity Center with Tim Harrower, a newspaper page designer from Oregon, teaching WTPA papers how to liven up their pages. Texas gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman addressed the press prior to Friday’s luncheon, and Jasper publisher Willis Webb helped member papers prepare for natural disasters during an early afternoon work session.

Convention attendees had the afternoon free to explore Clarendon, and many of them descended on local merchants to set cash registers ringing.

Every Nook & Cranny owner Markeeta Howard said sales in her business were way above what it would be for a typical Friday afternoon.

“I would say that they brought in about $800 extra for that day,” Howard said. “It was huge for us.”

The convention resumed at the Bairfield Activity Center Friday evening with a reception and banquet that featured photographer Wyman Meinzer of Benjamin, who discussed his work capturing the beauty of landscapes and skyscapes in the Panhandle and South Plains.

Graham publisher Roy Robinson was honored that evening with the Harold Hudson Award for his distinguished years of service to the industry and the WTPA. Sandi Baylis of American Profile was also recognized with the Dewane Kelly “Friend of the Newspaper” Award as someone who has worked to promote the well-being of the WTPA and its member newspapers.

Saturday morning began with a Publishers’ Roundtable, during which a variety of issues facing the newspaper industry were discussed, including Web advertising, obituary policies, photography sales, and creating non-traditional revenue sources.

The general membership meeting was also held Saturday morning, and a new slate of officers was elected for the WTPA. Eldorado’s Randy Mankin was elected chairman of the board, and Clarendon’s Roger Estlack was elected president of the association. Other officers include First Vice President Bob Brincefield of Brownwood, Second Vice President Cathy Collier of Fredericksburg, and Secretary/Treasurer Mary Dudley of Perryton.

New members of the board of directors include Robert Burns of EMBARQ, Mac McKinnon of Dublin, Melissa Perna of Ozona, and Don Richards of Hale Center. They join second year members Sandi Baylis of American Profile, Todd Griffith of Decatur, Kevin Hamilton of Iowa Park, and Brian Brisendine of Hereford.

Democratic candidate for US Senate Barbara Ann Radnofsky addressed the convention prior to the results of the Better Newspaper Contest being announced at Saturday’s brunch. The Kerrville Daily Times, the Wise County Messenger, the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post, and The Clarendon Enterprise were recognized as this year’s sweepstakes winners.

The identity of the James Roberts As-Good-As-His-Word handshake personality was revealed as Clarendon’s Ashlee Estlack, who presented a $50 bill to Kim Griffith of Decatur for being the 50th person to shake her hand.

Newly elected First Vice President Bob Brincefield extended the invitation to the 2007 convention, which will be held in Ruidoso, New Mexico.

As the traditional convention finale, Bob Dillard of Fort Davis drew the names of three grand prize winners. Sarah Mankin of Eldorado won the weekend in Fort Davis and Marfa—one night at the Hotel Limpia and one night at the Paisano Hotel, Scarlet Estlack of Clarendon won the weekend for four at Prude Ranch, and Nancy Kidd of Clarendon won the trip into the San Carlos Mountains in Mexico.

Texas’ most unique candidate for governor was in Clarendon last Friday to address local residents and members of the press during the 76th Annual West Texas Press Association Summer Convention.

“I’m the only candidate without a humor bypass,” Richard “Kinky” Friedman told the more than 100 people assembled in Clarendon College’s Bairfield Activity Center as he criticized the 88 combined years of experience held by his opponents.

Friedman said the time has come for fundamental change in Austin where people on the far right and the far left have held politics captive, and he said the state’s current leadership has exhibited “wussification of the worst kind.”

“A funny thing happened to education in Texas under Gov. Perry,” Friedman said. “We’ve dropped to 50th and Guam and Samoa are sneaking up on us.”

The mystery author and musician said he would provide new funding for classroom education by shifting funding for athletic programs to the private sector like Georgia has and by legalizing casino gambling in Texas with local options.

“I just returned from a fact finding mission to Las Vegas, and everyone there was from Texas,” he said.

He lauded Georgia for providing a system where every high school graduate with a B or better average goes to college for free, said Perry had taken Texans’ eyes off the issue of education by focusing on gay marriage, and announced another goal which received much applause.

“Let’s get rid of the TAKS test,” Friedman said.

The flamboyant independent candidate pledged not to meet with any lobbyists if he is elected and sharply criticized the governor’s handling of the border situation.

“Politicians that don’t want to offend Hispanics offend Hispanics,” he said. “Right now everybody is getting screwed except the Mexican government.”

Friedman called the state’s installation of Web cams on the border a joke and said he will work closely with neighboring governors to seal the border.

He said this fall’s election should not be Democrats or Republicans but about what’s best for Texas.

“If you value common sense and common honesty, you should vote for Kinky,” Friedman said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released a new guide to help agricultural producers enhance security at the farm level, announced Bruce Ferguson, County Executive Director for the Donley County Farm Service Agency (FSA).

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach to protecting agriculture, but the ‘Pre-Harvest Security Guidelines and Checklist 2006’ is a guide that addresses potential security concerns for an agricultural operation regardless of type or size,” said Ferguson

Food and agriculture biosecurity is an important component of USDA’s mission. Improving awareness through enhanced outreach and communications is a key element of USDA’s homeland security efforts.

The voluntary guidelines and checklists were developed based upon recommendations made by producers throughout the United States. Guidelines have been developed for general agriculture, dairy, crops, cattle and poultry security.

According to Ferguson, this guide is the latest in a series of materials produced by USDA to bolster food and agriculture security. USDA continues to work closely with its federal, state, and local government partners as well as industry stakeholders to develop sector-wide guidelines. For instance, guidance has been issued by USDA for food processors and distributors, and for agricultural transporters in coordination with the trucking industry.

Agriculture and food account for 13 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product, 18 percent of its employment, and $140 billion in revenue.

USDA continues to work with its federal, state, local partners as well as industry in protecting the nation’s agriculture and food production from threats such as natural disasters and either the naturally occurring, intentional; or unintentional introduction of diseases and pathogens as they do not respect geographic borders. The interconnected global food system contributes to our nation’s economic strength by improving production and marketing efficiency and providing timely responses to consumer needs.

USDA’s local Farm Service Agency Service Centers are distributing the “Pre-Harvest Security Guidelines and Checklist 2006” to agricultural producers throughout the country. For more information about USDA’s homeland security efforts, go to www.usda.gov/homelandsecurity.

Clarendon’s economy remains strong with sales tax receipts recording their ninth straight month of growth, according to information released by Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn last week.

The comptroller said the state received $1.49 billion in sales tax revenue in June, up 15.6 percent compared to June 2005.

“The strong Texas economy continues to generate double-digit gains in sales tax for the state and many local governments,” Strayhorn said.

City Hall received a July allocation of $23,921.73, which is up 19.64 percent over the same period last year. That pushes Clarendon’s total collections for the year to date up 9.67 percent to $165,977.19.

Hedley also posted a big gain for the month of July with an allocation of $475.14, up more than 34 percent over last July and pushing that city’s year to date figure ahead nearly 78 percent to $5,300.82.

But the news was not as good for Howardwick where the July allocation was down almost 34 percent to $669.11. The city had been running ahead for the year to date figure, but this month’s allocation pulled that figure down 2.49 percent to $5,957.86.

Statewide, Strayhorn sent July sales tax allocations of $277.6 million to Texas cities, up 19.3 percent compared to July 2005. 

June state sales tax collections and July sales tax allocations to local governments mostly represent sales that occurred in May.

Clarendon will welcome more than 90 registered attendees during the West Texas Press Association’s 76th annual convention this week.

Convention chairman and WTPA First Vice President Roger Estlack and the staff of The Clarendon Enterprise are hosting the event, which has been designed to showcase Donley County and leave a positive lasting impression on the members of the state’s largest regional group of newspapers.

“We believe we’ve put together a program that puts our community’s best foot forward, that is entertaining and educational, and that most of all is fun,” Estlack said. “Local support for this convention has been terrific, and it will have a positive impact on our local economy.”

The Clarendon convention will bring in newspapers from an area loosely bounded by Perryton in the north, Ft. Davis in the west, and Hondo in the south. Thirty-seven individual papers and associate members are sending representatives.

Co-hosts for the event include the County Star-News in Shamrock, The Valley Tribune, The Wellington Leader, and The Dalhart Texan.

The convention begins Thursday morning with a golf tournament at the Clarendon Country Club and continues that afternoon with registration and a WTPA directors’ meeting at the Bairfield Activity Center on the campus of Clarendon College.

Thursday evening the activities will move downtown where Judge Jack Hall will welcome convention attendees to the 1890 Donley County Courthouse. The Saints’ Roost Band will provide musical entertainment as the crowd enjoys the Chuckwagon cooking of Kevin Romines and the Honey-Do Spoiler wagon. Then former newspaperman and renowned author Mark Twain, as portrayed by James Doores of Amarillo, will address the convention.

Thursday’s activities will close with WTPA Night at the Sandell Drive-In and a special presentation of “The Paper,” starring Michael Keaton, Glenn Close, and Robert Duvall.

Friday morning the convention returns to the Bairfield Activity Center with a page design workshop presented by Tim Harrower of Wilsonville, Oregon, and the beginning of a silent auction to raise money for the WTPA Scholarship Fund.

Texas independent candidate for governor Kinky Friedman will join the association for lunch, and Jasper publisher Willis Webb will help newspapers prepare for disasters that may affect their businesses in an afternoon session. The remainder of the afternoon will be free for convention attendees to shop local stores, visit Lake Greenbelt, or tour the Saints’ Roost Museum.

The convention resumes Friday evening at the Bairfield Activity Center with a banquet featuring Benjamin photographer Wyman Meinzer and his new book, Between Heaven & Texas.

Activities on Saturday morning will include a publishers’ roundtable discussion and a general membership meeting. Democratic US senatorial candidate Barbara Ann Radnofsky will open the annual awards brunch, which will reveal the winners of the 2005 WTPA Better Newspaper Contest, and the convention will close with the announcement of the 2007 convention site.