Archives for October 2006

AUSTIN – Local sales tax receipts continued their upward climb this month as Texas Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn released September figures on Friday.

Clarendon’s sales tax allocation posted a gain for the second month in a row with receipts totally 25,718.94, which is up 14.85 percent from the same period one year ago. The city is running 10.2 percent ahead for the year to date total.

Hedley was up 63.95 percent to $1,113.68, pushing that city’s year to date figure up 66.42 percent.

Howardwick also saw an increase of 8.2 percent to a total of $1,288.04 for September and increasing the figure for the year to date 6.58 percent.

Statewide, Strayhorn said that the state took in $1.51 billion dollars in sales tax in September, a 13.7 percent increase over September 2005. 

September state sales tax collections and October allocations of local tax revenue represent sales that occurred in August.  The sales tax growth reflects the overall strength of the Texas economy.  The increase in tax revenue is due in part to August’s three-day Sales Tax Holiday that annually packs stores with Texans and out-of-state shoppers who splurge on taxable items along with tax-free clothing and shoes. 

Strayhorn sent sales tax allocations of $282.6 million to cities across Texas, 14.4 percent more than October 2005.  Calendar year-to-date, city sales tax allocations are up 14.2 percent.

Representatives of the Concerned Citizens of Donley County took their campaign to abolish the personal property tax to City Hall last Tuesday during the Board of Aldermen’s regular meeting.

Brad Dalton, acting as the group’s spokesman, presented a petition with more than 300 signatures from all over the county requesting that the tax on cars, boats, and other personal property be abolished.

“Sooner or later we’re going to get this on a ballot, and then you’ll have to stop it,” he said.

Dalton asked the board members if they knew how much of the city’s revenues came from personal property taxes, and they replied the figure is about 22 percent of the property tax revenue, which they said translated to about $60,000 per year.

Aldermen said they could remove the personal property tax but said the city would still need that revenue.

“We have to have a place to come up with the money,” Alderman Michael Tibbets said.

“No, you have to cut your budget that much,” Dalton replied.

Aldermen agreed they could cut the budget but that citizens wouldn’t be happy when they cut the services to do so.

“I wanted to have a landfill to replace the revenue from the personal property tax,” Tibbets said, “but you saw how that went over.”

Mayor Mark White thanked the Concerned Citizens for coming and said the board would take their comments under advisement.

In other city business, the board reviewed requirements in the R1 residential zone concerning mobile homes and determined that two homes Loy Davis had requested be placed at Eighth and Johns streets fit the definition of what is prohibited in that zone.

Aldermen discussed whether the city should modify regulations in the R1 zone or redraw the city’s residential zones to expand the R2 district, which allows mobile homes.

“I think it would be awful tough to redraw the line,” Alderman Bobbie Kidd said. “I’d rather have one person upset with me than 14 or more.”

Alderman Tibbets agreed and said, “We’re going to open a can of worms.”

The board chose to let the current rules stand and took no action.

Also at Tuesday’s meeting, Fire Chief Delbert Robertson addressed the board concerning the need to fix up City Hall. The board said $7,000 has been budgeted this fiscal year to work on the building, which needs immediate attention to the roof. White said the city would contact a local contractor about this.

The board approved the Fund Investment Policy as presented and appointed City Secretary Linda Smith as the Fund Investment Officer.

The Chamber of Commerce’s quarterly report on their use of Motel Bed Tax funds was approved.

The city’s employee policies were discussed, and a clarification was made concerning holidays.

Hedley celebrated its 55th Annual Cotton Festival this past weekend, and it was another successful year.  Downtown Hedley was crowded with locals and visitors.  Everyone enjoyed the many activities and events.

The Lioness Club started the festival with their Chili and Stew Supper on Friday night.  The ladies began cooking chili on Wednesday.  Helen Lambert spent her 90th Birthday preparing Chili along with Louise Stewart, Betty Morgan, Susie Shields, and Mary Ruth White.  The Lioness Club had a very good turn out this year.

The Lioness Club held a Quilt Show on Saturday.  Some of the quilts were provided by Geneva Thomas of Wellington, Anita Mitchell of Hedley, Susie Shields of Lelia Lake, Alma Lamberson of Hedley, Sandra Finchum of Amarillo, Kathy Spier of Hedley.

Both the tractor and car shows were held on Saturday morning.  There were many entries in both events.

Best of Show in the Tractor Show went to Blackie Johnson with a 1952 Farmall Cub.  Jimmie Cannon, from Amarillo, TX, received Best of Show in the Car Show with a 1934 Plymouth Coupe.

Other winners in the Tractor Show included: Blackie Johnson – First with a 1948 Allis Chalmers; Blackie Johnson – First with a 1952 Farmall Cub, Redell Johnston – Second with a 1950 TO-20 Ferguson; Leon Ward – First with a 1958 351 Case, Bob Hoggard – Second with a 1961 Ford 4000.

Winners in the Car Show also included: Mary Ruth White – First with a 1965 Ford Mustang, Chrisi Tucek – Second with a 1966 Ford Mustang; Bobby Hefner – First with a 1958 Chevy Impala;  Grady Milton- First with a 1946 Ford, Ken Carden- Second with a 1949 Hudson.

The Lions Club served about 225 plates for lunch this year.

The Parade began Saturday afternoon.  Entries included Hedley School Organizations such as the High School Spanish Club, High School Football Team and Cheerleaders, and Jr. High Football Team and Cheerleaders.  Civic Groups included Khiva Shrine Cycle Escort and Mule Skinners, Howardwick Fire Department, and Clarendon Fire Department.  Floats included the Lioness Club, Scooters, and The Lions Club Queen, Erika Brown.  The Lions Club’s Honorees received an Honorable Mention Award, and the Lioness Club received Best Over All. 

Tonya Ward and Kim King were both in charge of the Annual School Reunion.  There were approximately 75 ex-students who attended from five different states.  Kathy Spier prepared a school history book, which contains class pictures, and events that have happened through the years.  She is now working on book of the history of Hedley and Rowe.  Cookies and fruit were provided for the ex-students while they enjoyed visiting and catching up.  

Tim Herbert of Amarillo was the winner of the Bale of Cotton given away by the Lions Club.

The Lioness Club’s hand-made Quilt went to Dot Pointer.  The Hedley Senior Citizen’s shotgun went to Jared Naylor of Hedley.

Family members of a Donley County woman have reported that she is in an Amarillo hospital suffering from the West Nile virus, but state and local health authorities as of Tuesday morning had not been notified of the case.

The elderly woman, whose identity cannot be published due to privacy concerns, lives just outside the northern city limit of Clarendon and was reportedly being taken off life support Tuesday. She had been hospitalized since October 2, a family member said.

The woman’s husband is also exhibiting symptoms that may indicate the disease, but the family was still awaiting the results of his tests, the Enterprise was told.

Officials with the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS) in Canyon said the case had not been officially reported as of Tuesday morning. Matt Richardson of the Amarillo Bi-City-County Health Department said that his office would not be notified of a case involving a Donley County resident and that it may take several days for such a case to be reported to state officials.

Dr. John C. Howard with the Clarendon Family Medical Center had not been notified of the woman’s case, but he said this is a time of the year when the disease can be spread by mosquitoes.

“Less than one percent of people who are bitten by an infected mosquito will develop symptoms of the disease,” Howard said. “It is more likely to affect older people.”

Howard said most people who have the disease will never know it, but some indicators require medical attention.

“It’s usually a mild disease,” Howard said, “but if you have fever and a bad headache and may have been bitten by a mosquito, you should see a doctor. A blood test can confirm the presence of the virus.”

Any symptoms consistent with meningitis or encephalitis will result in hospitalization, Howard said.

According to the TDSHS web site, West Nile virus infections “usually are mild with flu-like symptoms including fever, headache, sore throat, body aches, and fatigue, occasionally with skin rash and swollen lymph glands.

Symptoms of more severe West Nile infections – encephalitis and meningitis – include headache, high fever, stiff neck, disorientation, tremors, convulsions, muscle weakness, coma, and paralysis.”

Howard said the reservoir for West Nile Virus is in birds and the disease is transferred to humans by mosquitoes. The virus has an incubation period of three to 14 days with a week being the average, he said. The doctor recommends people watch out for mosquitoes at dusk and dawn, use a repellent containing DEET, and wear clothes with long sleeves and light colors to avoid being bitten.

Clarendon city officials say they are actively spraying for mosquitoes but also said the public must do their part to take precautions.

Rhonda and Randy Shaw have been named this year’s Parade Marshals for the 55th annual Hedley Cotton Festival this weekend.

The Shaws have been actively involved in various community service projects and volunteer activities within the Hedley community for many years.

They have maintained the Rowe Cemetery. The couple takes care of the cemetery’s donations and also assists the public in locating headstones of family and friends. They have been responsible for the bake sale each year to raise money for the cemetery.

Randy Shaw is a volunteer fireman and has been involved with the department for many years. He works on grants and other opportunities for the city.

Rhonda Shaw is a member of the Donley County Chamber of Commerce and is active in various community service and volunteer activities. She served on the Hedley ISD school board for eight years, is a member of the Hedley Volunteer Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary, and has been an avid supporter of the fire department for many years.

The Shaws have assisted in presenting a Fire Safety and Prevention program for the school children each year at the fire station. They have two children, Ben Shaw and LaRae Alexander.

Activities for this year’s Cotton Festival will begin Friday at 5 p.m. as the Lioness Club with a chili and stew supper. The club will sell tickets for a queen size hand-made quilt to be given away Saturday at 6 p.m. at the Lion’s Den.

Saturday’s activities begin at 10 a.m. with a tractor and car show, Rowe Cemetery bake sale, and National Honor Society cakewalk and jail. The Lion’s Club Barbecue begins at 11:30 a.m., and each barbecue ticket goes in the drawing for a bale of cotton at 6 p.m.

The Kiddie Parade will begin at 1:30 p.m. followed by the Community Parade at 2 p.m. The Hedley School Reunion starts at 3 p.m.

The Hedley Senior Citizens will serve Frito pie, nachos, drinks, candy, and other concessions during the day. They are also raffling a shotgun, a Remington 870 Express donated by Reynolds Machine Shop. The drawing is at 6 p.m. at the Lions Den.

The Math and Science Clubs will hold Bingo at the Senior Citizens, and entertainment during the festival will be provided by KLSR-105.3. Craft booths are welcome, but food booths are not allowed.

The Hedley Methodist Church will hold a “Sing-A-Long” at 7:00 p.m. after the Cotton Festival. The church will serve refreshments and have good fellowship singing.

Efforts are underway to launch a program that would give every student in Donley County paid access to a college education.

Clarendon and Hedley schools are working with Clarendon College on the PEAK (Promoting Education, Achievement, and Knowledge) Scholarship plan, and the two schools are preparing to raise money to fund the program.

“We need to raise $1.5 to $2 million over the next five years to make it happen,” said Clarendon Superintendent Monty Hysinger. “Right now we just need one big contribution from an individual or foundation to really get it kick started.”

Work originally began on the PEAK program several months ago when Hysinger learned of similar plans benefiting students of Caprock, Palo Duro, and Dumas high schools.

“I thought about our students and how we have Clarendon College right here in our back pocket,” Hysinger said. “I wondered why we didn’t do something to get more of our students to go through our college.”

Hysinger met with CC President Myles Shelton, and the two of them began laying the groundwork for the plan, which has since been expanded to include Hedley schools to potentially attract more grant money for the program.

“It’s a great program,” Hedley Superintendent Bryan Hill said. “I know it’s hard for a kid to see that far down the road sometimes, but this gives them the goal that there is something they can attain if they work hard.”

Shelton is also enthusiastic about the program, which could bring more students to Clarendon College.

“I think it will be a great opportunity for students in Donley County if we can get it done, and I think we can,” Shelton said. “It will be a real financial relief to parents.”

Clarendon ISD is committed to raising $14,000 per year to the PEAK fund with the high school raising $4,000, the junior high raising, $4,000, and the elementary, which has more students, raising $6,000.

With a fundraising letter to local businesses and the development of the Bronco Wall at Fifth and Sims streets, CHS has already raised $1,500 in the last few weeks. Alumni or Bronco supporters can buy an inscribed brick for $64, and $50 of that goes to the PEAK fund.

Clarendon ISD also has already put in place a program to use state incentive money to pay for concurrent college classes for high school students.

Hedley is committed to raising $6,000 per year for the PEAK plan, but school officials are still working out how to achieve that goal.

“We’re going to brainstorm about that at our next board meeting,” Hill said.

Hysinger said the first students who could take advantage of the PEAK plan would be this year’s eighth graders. Details of the plan are still being worked out, but Hysinger said the idea is as follows. PEAK would pay for tuition and fees through an Associate’s Degree or equivalent certification at Clarendon College.

Guidelines will include a requirement that the student spend all four years at Clarendon or Hedley  high school (one or the other but no transferring between the two). The student must be a resident of either the Clarendon or Hedley school district, a GPA of 80 or better will be required, and the student can have no major disciplinary actions on his record.

Students will also have to apply for all financial aid that they are eligible for.

“The program will always be ‘last money in,’” Hysinger said. “We want the kids to get all the grants and scholarships they can, and then we’ll make up the difference on tuition and fees. That way the money will go further.”

Hysinger said a part-time employee will probably have to be hired to run the program, but he reiterated the “tremendous opportunity for parents and kids” that PEAK represents.

Shelton said tuition and fees for 15 semester hours and one lab course at CC costs $1,065. The same coursework at West Texas A&M University costs $2,257, and that figure reaches $3,478.75 at Texas Tech University.

“The real challenge will be to raise the money (for PEAK) and sustain it over a long period of time,” Shelton said. “You have to do it so that kids in elementary school and their parents know that the money will be there for them.”

Hysinger said if the schools can’t reach their goal of $1.5 million or $2 million, the effort is still worthwhile.

“Even if we don’t realize the dream, we’ve still raised money for scholarships,” Hysinger said. “Raising $20,000 per year is still a lot of money available for kids in Donley County.”

For more information or to contribute to the PEAK fund, contact Monty Hysinger at 874-2062.

Elderly and disabled citizens in Hedley got their property taxes frozen last Thursday during the regular meeting of that city’s Board of Aldermen.

Mayor Janie Hill said city leaders had discussed the tax freeze for two or three months after receiving a petition from the Concerned Citizens of Donley County, calling for an election on the issue.

“We just decided it was the best thing to do because an election would cost us so much money, and we have a limited budget,” Hill said.

An election would have cost Hedley about $2,000, Hill said; and City Hall expects to receive only $17,500 in property tax collections in this year’s budget.

The board voted in favor of two motions. The first was not to place the issue on the November ballot, and the second was to approve the tax freeze.

Alderman Leon Ward was the lone vote against both motions. Mayor Hill said Ward wanted the issue to go before the voters, but the rest of the board disagreed.

“We hardly ever raise taxes here,” she said, “and we assumed it would pass because most of our citizens are over 65. It is just such a minor issue here.”

The freeze will fix the dollar amount of city taxes paid on qualified homesteads beginning with property tax statements that will be mailed out in October 2007. Higher tax rates or higher valuations cannot make that amount go up, but improvements – such as building on to a home – can raise the tax levy.

The freeze does not apply to taxes on personal property, such as cars and trucks.

City Secretary Randy Shaw said Hedley rarely increases its tax rate and did not think the freeze would have much of an impact on the city’s finances.

“We don’t have much of a tax base, so we don’t depend on property taxes too much,” Shaw said. “We depend on utility sales for our income. The freeze will only have an effect if some time in the future the board decides to go up a lot on the tax rate.”

A representative of the Concerned Citizens was scheduled to speak about taxation of personal property at Thursday’s meeting but did not show.

Shaw estimated taxation of personal property accounts for less than 20 percent of total property taxes collected, and Hill said she did not think the city would alter its policy on personal property taxes.

“I don’t foresee us ever changing that in the future,” Hill said. “But I do think we have a lot of people that don’t pay it.”

In other city business, aldermen received the audit report for 2005-2006 from CPA Denise Foster with Foster & Lambert, and the board approved the audit unanimously.