Archives for July 2008

Just eight days after Greenbelt Lake’s last drowning, another man lost is his life in nearly the same location Sunday afternoon.

The body of 20-year-old Orin Tye Brazell of Dumas was recovered north of Sandy Beach by the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department Dive Team at 2:54 p.m. after a nine-minute search of the area.

Brazell’s drowning marks the 20th since Greenbelt opened in 1968.

“Four of us suited up and took a compass heading, and we found him on the second pass,” diver Kelly Hill said.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said Brazell was with a group from Amarillo that came to the lake to swim for the day. Blackburn said the 911 call came in at 2:20 p.m., and Brazell was found 150 feet from shore in 10 feet of water.

“We had good witnesses who gave good reference points,” the sheriff said. “I want to commend the dive team. They did an excellent job, and our community doesn’t know how lucky we are to have them.”

Hill said Brazell was found about 500 feet from where 21-year-old Chafen Wayne Wilson of Pampa drowned on Saturday, July 19.

Justice of the Peace Connie Havens pronounced Brazell dead at 3:13 p.m., and an autopsy was scheduled for Monday afternoon, Blackburn said.

This case is the fourth drowning in 12 months; and like all previous fatalities at Lake Greenbelt, the subject was not wearing a life preserver.

In addition to the dive team and the sheriff’s office, assisting in this case were the Associated Ambulance Authority, Greenbelt Lake Patrol, and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

A new interim administrator warned Clarendon officials of tough decisions ahead as they begin the process of climbing out of a financial hole.

Phyllis Jeffers with the Texas First Group was hired by the Board of Aldermen during a called session Monday morning and went to work immediately.

“Right now you’re in a tight timetable, and some things are going to have to be addressed right away,” she said. “Just from what I’ve seen so far, you’re going to have some very difficult decisions to make at budget time.”

Earlier this month, city officials said rising expenses – particularly for fuel and supplies – were outpacing revenues, and the board was forced to move $132,000 into the general fund from a certificate of deposit in order to pay the bills.

Mayor Mark White said Jeffers will be “looking at the budget and everything” to help the city deal with the problem.

“There is work ahead of us,” said Jeffers, who spent 23 years working with the City of Pampa, including holding the positions of City Secretary and Director of Human Resources and Community Services. “The rate of inflation is rising, and expenses are going up just like at our homes. The city is going to have to look at everything and maybe reprioritize.”

The Texas First Group, which is comprised of retired and former municipal administrators, will be paid $30 per hour plus mileage for Jeffers’ services. She will be at City Hall three days a week and attend all city meetings.

Last Tuesday, Kerry Sweatt, who also works for the Texas First Group, addressed the board in its regular session about his firm’s services.

“We’re here to help you do two things,” Sweatt said. “See if you’re ready to go back to city administrator. And see if we can save you money.”

Sweatt also said attention needs to focus on finances.

“Frankly, your ox is in the ditch, and you’re at budget time,” Sweatt said.

Former Clarendon city administrator Sean Pate recommended the Texas First Group to City Secretary Linda Smith after she called him concerned about the city’s finances.

At last week’s meeting, Smith raised concerns about the city’s debt load and reminded aldermen of the need to maintain a three-month financial reserve.

“We all realize what a crunch we’re in,” Mayor White said.

A Lelia Lake man was arrested Monday and charged with kidnapping after his victim got loose at a Clarendon supermarket.

James Michael Brinkley, age 37, was booked into the Donley County Jail; and Sheriff Butch Blackburn expected he would be arraigned Tuesday afternoon.

Blackburn could not reveal all the details of the case, saying it originated elsewhere.

“We inherited a mess,” the sheriff said. “Most of this started in Amarillo.”

Blackburn said sometime Monday morning a 52-year-old white man who resides in McLean was kidnapped in Amarillo by two or possibly three subjects.

The man was bound and put in a white van which was later being driven through Clarendon, followed by the victim’s red Lincoln Navigator, which was driven by one of the suspects. The vehicles then pulled off at Lowe’s Family Center.

Doug Kidd, who lives west of the supermarket, and his neighbor, Ed Laney, were on Laney’s porch when the vehicles pulled quickly into the parking lot.

“The van stopped next to Lowe’s, and an SUV pulled up beside it sort of in the ditch there,” Kidd said. “The people in the vehicles were talking, and then we noticed someone running away from the vehicle, and the cars took off north under the railroad tracks.”

Blackburn said the victim had somehow freed himself of the tape binding his hands, found a pocket knife, and stabbed the driver of the van before jumping out of the vehicle.

“A witness saw the victim removing the tape after he got out of the van, and there was tape in the parking lot,” Blackburn said.

Inside Lowe’s, Annette Osburn had just clocked out at 12:08 p.m. and was headed for the front door when the victim came into the store.

“He came running through, screaming, ‘Call the cops! I’ve been kidnapped!’” Osburn said. “Then he went over there (past the checkers) and flopped down started saying he needed a drink of water.”

Osburn and co-worker Karen Wortham said they didn’t know what to think of the man.

“He seemed very upset, very distraught,” Wortham said, noting that he went to the water fountain several times.

Osburn called the sheriff’s office and said, contrary to some rumors going around town, he never went near anybody in the store and didn’t threaten anyone.

Blackburn said when his department questioned the victim, he reported that he had been kidnapped; and he gave officers a description of the white van he had been held in.

“He also reported there was another victim – a white female – being held against her will,” Blackburn said.

Local officers recognized the vehicle description as belonging to a residence near Lelia Lake and soon found the victim’s Lincoln Navigator abandoned on County Road R.

“There were shoe tracks and vehicle tracks indicating another vehicle,” the sheriff said.

That vehicle, the white van, was located at a residence on County Road 19 near Lelia Lake. There Blackburn and Collingsworth County Sheriff Joe Stewart gained consent to search the residence and found 32-year-old Stephanie Boggs of Hereford hidden beneath a large pile of towels in a bedroom.

Boggs told the sheriffs that she was being held against her will; and Brinkley, who had a superficial stab wound, was placed under arrest.

Blackburn said Boggs was brought to his office to be interviewed, and she was subsequently placed under arrest and booked into the Donley County Jail for possession of methamphetamine.

In late breaking news, a third person connected to the case was stopped by a Donley County Deputy for a traffic violation Tuesday morning and arrested. The sheriff’s office was not releasing the details of that arrest as the Enterprise went to press.

Blackburn said the investigation is still ongoing in the case but said county residents are safe.

“All suspects in Donley County are accounted for and have been arrested,” the sheriff said, “and all the victims are safe at this time.”

Blackburn would not go on the record about the motives for the kidnappings, but he did say all of the people involved in the case have criminal histories.

Assisting with the Donley County Sheriff’s Office with this case were the Collingsworth County Sheriff’s Office, the Department of Pubic Safety, the Amarillo Police Department, and Texas Ranger Alvin Smit.

WELLINGTON – Animals thrive on the banks of waterways. And those same tree-covered, green grassy areas are keys to maintaining healthy watersheds for creeks and rivers.

Landowners must learn how to manage these properties to strike an ecological balance that benefits wildlife and livestock and still protects watersheds, Texas AgriLife Research scientists say.

Dr. Bill Pinchak, AgriLife Research range animal nutritionist, said landowners should take a holistic approach.

“The goal is to move the animals and reduce the amount of time they are grazing in a particular area,” Pinchak said. “You have to have more than just water to get them to move and stay.”

For many years, grasslands were grazed and periodically renewed by brush-clearing wildfires, he said. But humans have upset that natural balance, and now they must figure out how to restore it.

Riparian areas along creek beds are considered nirvanas for all animals, from deer to cattle to feral hogs, because they provide cover, food, and water.

“But it is the most limited ecosystem in the region,” he said.

And in most cases, it cannot sustain the existing population of animals using it. So Pinchak suggested landowners backtrack on the animal trails leading into these particular areas.

The questions, Pinchak said, are: Why did the animals leave other areas? Are they over- or under-grazed? Is it a matter of where the water is?

“We have to become active managers, or the riparian area will degrade over time,” Pinchak said. “They will concentrate and over-utilize it.”

Management is required to achieve both goals of providing for the wildlife and maintaining the watershed, he said.

“Determine what is not being provided in other areas for animal survival. First they need thermal balance (shade) to keep cool, and then they need water balance, then food, then resting areas, and so forth.”

Pinchak said land away from the riparian areas might need to be burned to allow green growth and provide a new focal point to attract the animals. Creating artificial shade might be necessary, or adding another source of water.

“If we can get an animal to water elsewhere at midday and rest there, we’ve reduced the impact on the riparian section by one-third,” he said.

Dr. John Sij, AgriLife Research agronomist, has been working with some alternate watering sources for remote locations that will help draw both cattle and wildlife away from riparian areas and keep them from overgrazing and deteriorating the banks of waterways.

Working on his own ranch and others, Sij constructed a solar-powered watering system that will pump about 4 to 6 gallons per minute into a stock tank, with the overflow traveling down about 100 feet into a second earthen tank that can be used by both wildlife and livestock.

By using a helical pump, there is no reasonable limit to the well depth, he said. More solar panels can be added the deeper the well gets, or use a larger pump.

“Just don’t go out and develop the system yourself,” Sij advised. “You need someone to help set up the system; someone who knows the depth, water temperature, well capacity and other measurements that help determine the energy needed, how much water is needed, and how much it will pump during the summer vs. winter.”

Dr. Jim Ansley, AgriLife Research rangeland ecologist, said many landowners are trained to think the best rangeland management is to kill the brush to increase grass growth to feed livestock.

But with wildlife interests becoming more of a forefront issue, brush growth could be encouraged, depending on what the long-term goal is for the particular property, Ansley said.

“A person needs to understand that if they control brush all the way, they may lose their wildlife option,” he said. “But you can’t just let it go either. The brush and grass relations have to be balanced.”

Brush competition can sometimes change the species of grass that thrive, Ansley said. While the short buffalo grass may come in and be a nutritious forage, it doesn’t have as much grazing value as mid-grasses because it doesn’t produce as much biomass.

Production of palatable grasses can triple if warm-season mid-grasses are allowed to establish, he said. But they can be lost over time and take five to 10 years to re-establish if the area becomes overgrown with brush.

“If you have areas where brush is getting out of hand and you still want to have both livestock and wildlife, you need to start looking at control,” Ansley said. “If you have an interest in wildlife hunting, don’t just let brush go. You will lose your grass understory.”

Some places, he said, will be reduced to bare ground and prickly pear.  Since it takes time for the better grass species to come back, he advised landowners to start controlling the brush canopy when they first start seeing a decline in grass growth. Treat the medium areas of overgrowth first, not the worst areas, because that will give the best return on the investment.

Dr. Dean Ransom, AgriLife Research wildlife biologist, said in working with wildlife the first and foremost focus is on habitat, which is affected by both cattle grazing and brush control.  “With the suppression of fire, we’ve seen a brush invasion,” Ransom said.

Wildlife need a mix of plant life and enough brush to provide protective cover, thermal cover, food and places to rest, he said. Maintaining some residual cover from the previous season’s growth is important for birds especially.

“If wildlife are on your radar screen, think about how you manage the landscape, think about your stocking rates,” he said.

The Clarendon Enterprise won two first place plaques during the West Texas Press Association’s 2007 Better Newspaper Contest.

The awards were presented to the Enterprise during the WTPA’s 78th annual convention in Fredericksburg last Saturday.

The Enterprise received first place honors for Editorials about Gov. Rick Perry’s cutting funding to the state’s community colleges and Clarendon’s need for a city administrator. Judges at Tarleton State University noted both editorial pieces made strong arguments and were well supported.

Roger Estlack also received first place in Column Writing for pieces about the death of Zell SoRelle and about the lasting advice of his father.

In addition to the first place awards, the local paper received a third place certificate in the General Excellence category for Division D (weeklies with circulations of 1,800 and below). Judges were complimentary of the Enterprise’s appearance, content, and photography.

This year’s Division D Sweepstakes Award went to the Hico News Review, and second place Sweepstakes went to the Eldorado Success.

This year’s convention marked the last for Estlack as a member of the WTPA Board of Directors. Brownwood publisher Bob Brincefield succeeds Estlack as chairman of the board.

Fredericksburg Standard Radio Post co-publisher Cathy Collier hosted this year’s convention and was elected as president of the association on Saturday.

Melissa Perner of Ozona and Mac McKinnon of Dublin assume the roles of first and second vice presidents. Mary Hudson Dudley of Perryton continues as secretary/treasurer of the WTPA.

Attending this year’s convention and representing the Enterprise were Roger, Ashlee, Benjamin, and Elaina Estlack; Anndria Kidd; Michael Newhouse; and Aaron and Amy Kidd.

Depending on your generation, the building on the southwest corner of Third and Kearney is known as the “M” System, Pud’s, or JAMZ. But if all goes according to plan, everyone will know it as the Bronco Burger next month.

Restaurant owner Jerome Martinez says he’s excited to move his popular burger joint off US 287 and into the heart of downtown.

“I just can’t wait,” he said. “There is so much potential at this location.”

Richard Tiedeman’s family crew is leading the renovation of the building under the direction of owner Landon Lambert.

The new Bronco Burger will occupy only the northeast portion of the first floor of the building, and Martinez says Lambert has other plans for the rest of the building.

The mezzanine to the second floor will be capped off for now, but Martinez says he hopes to eventually open it back up and expand to the second floor for private parties like birthdays, etc.

Pressed tin ceilings will largely remain intact in the restaurant, and coverings have been removed to reveal the wood floor. Windows are scheduled to be repaired soon, and plans call for central heat and cooling to be installed.

Martinez says his establishment will be non-smoking throughout but that he hopes to someday add tables outside on the north sidewalk for smoking and outdoor dining. He also plans to include a display to let travelers know what else is available in downtown.

“I want to help the community,” he said. “This town has done so much for me and my family.”

Martinez has been in the restaurant business since 1992. He moved to Clarendon two years ago when Sonic Drive-In opened and then took over the Bronco Burger in March.

Martinez says he isn’t worried about losing highway traffic.

“Ninety percent of my business is local,” he said. “There’s plenty of business right here in town.”

A midnight swim ended in death for a Pampa man at Greenbelt Lake last Saturday.

Chafen Wayne Wilson, age 21, was pronounced dead by Justice of the Peace Ann Kennedy after his body was recovered approximately 75 feet from the shore of Old Clarendon Point.

Greenbelt Water Authority Manager Bobbie Kidd said Wilson was in a group of eight people ranging in ages from 16 to 24 who decided to swim from the point to Sandy Beach.

“It’s kind of weird deal when you decide to start swimming at midnight,” Kidd said.

Kidd didn’t know if any of the swimmers had made it to Sandy Beach or not, but when the group returned to Clarendon Point, only six people came up on shore.

“They thought two might have drowned,” Kidd said, “but one just came up in a different place and was lost in the bushes.”

The Donley County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call shortly before 12:30 a.m., and the Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department Dive Team recovered Wilson’s body at 1:16 a.m. in eight feet of water.

“The search took three minutes,” said dive team member Kelly Hill. “One of the kids had given us a really good reference point and had put a rock on the beach to mark the location.”

Kidd praised all the emergency personnel who responded to Saturday’s call and specifically praised the dive team.

“This bunch is good,” he said. “When you get called out at midnight and it’s pitch black and you can pull a body out of the water in less than an hour, that’s good.”

Chief Deputy Randy Bond said there were no signs of foul play in the drowning. Results of an autopsy are pending.

Greenbelt said this is the lake’s 19th drowning since it opened in 1968, and it’s the third drowning in the last two years.

Wilson was not wearing a life preserver, and no one has ever drowned in Greenbelt Lake who was wearing a life preserver.

In addition to the dive team and the sheriff’s office, assisting in this case were the Associated Ambulance Authority and the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department.

Plans are being made for the 2008 Clarendon High School Exes Homecoming Reunion to be held September 19.

The Bronco pep rally at 3 p.m. will start the reunion with the Bronco Band’s Mexican Pile On to follow in the cafeteria at 5 p.m.

All CHS exes are asked to meet in front of the Old Gym at 6 p.m. to get name tags and visit, and the Bronco football game starts at 7:30.

Following the game, the reunion moves to the Clarendon Community Center where exes will enjoy music, snacks, soft drinks, and lots of reminiscing. Registration is $5 per person.

Tours of the high school building will be available during the reunion for those who are interested.

For more information, contact Janie Ivey Gibson at 806-874-0827 or lulivey63@nts-online.net or contact Valorie Trout Ashcraft at 806-874-3631 or ashcraft.valorie@clarendon.k12.tx.us.

The Clarendon Economic Development Corporation made its second and third awards under its Façade Grant Program last week.

The Hair Connection at 322 S. Kearney showed that a little bit goes a long ways as owner June Franklin and her husband put on a shiny new coat of paint and replaced some deteriorating trim. A handsome new sign was the finishing touch.

The total project cost $146.14 and five hours of the couple’s time on July 6. The CEDC Board approved Franklin’s grant application on July 7, and President Steve Hall presented her with a check for $73.07 two days later.

“Every little bit helps,” said Franklin. “That pays for the paint.”

Franklin didn’t even know about the CEDC’s grant program when she started the project. Then Every Nook & Cranny co-owner Virginia Patten drove by and mentioned it to her.

The work has already paid off for Franklin, who says her salon has already picked up some new customers because they noticed the business.

The CEDC’s third grant was awarded to Roger Estlack, who refurbished a storage building used by The Clarendon Enterprise north of the Mulkey Theatre at 106 S. Kearney. That project was eligible for and received the maximum award of $2,000.

Estlack hired Chris and Terri Ford of Finders Keepers to repair the 1892 building’s awning, restore the north showcase window, make other repairs, and paint the entire storefront.

“We were in a situation where we were going to have to replace the awning because it was deteriorating quickly,” Estlack said. “With the CEDC’s help, we were able to renovate the entire façade for just a little more than what the awning repairs alone would have cost us.”

The building has been used for nothing but storage for about three decades, but Estlack says that could change.

“The new look has generated a lot of interest,” he said, “and we’d be willing to do some work to the interior of the building if we could find a suitable business to rent the front of it.”

The CEDC has budgeted $10,000 for this year’s Façade Grant Program, which provides fifty-fifty matching grants up to a maximum of $2,000 per project for properties on a three-block stretch of Kearney Street between First and Fourth Streets.

Projects eligible for consideration could be anything from a coat of paint to new signage to a complete rehabilitation of a storefront.

The program will run through the close of this fiscal year, which ends September 30, 2008. The program’s future will depend on its success this year.

Every Nook & Cranny submitted the first grant of the year and received $1,055.20 for its storefront.

The CEDC Board will next meet to consider grant applications on August 4 at 5:15 p.m. in City Hall.

AUSTIN – Local city sales tax revenues climbed again in June, according to information from Texas Comptroller Susan Combs.

Clarendon’s monthly allocation was $24,423.44, an increase of 4.08 percent compared to last June. The city’s sales tax collections are now 2.27 percent ahead for the year-to-date.

Hedley received an allocation of $359.57, up more than 19 percent from last June and putting that city’s year-to-date total up 4.24 percent.

Sales tax revenue also grew in Howardwick, which received $1,177.81, up 13.45 percent. That city is up 10.76 percent for the year so far.

Statewide, Combs collected $1.7 billion in sales tax revenue in June, up 8.4 percent compared to June 2007.

 “Through June 2008, fiscal year-to-date state sales tax collections have increased 6.1 percent compared to fiscal 2007,” Combs said.  “While we have seen the national economy slowing, growth in Texas sales tax revenue continues at a steady pace.”

Combs sent July sales tax allocations of $311.9 million to Texas cities, up 2.6 percent compared to July 2007.  So far this calendar year, city sales tax allocations are up 5 percent compared to the same time period last year. 

State sales tax collections in June and local sales tax allocations in July represent sales that occurred in May and were reported to the Comptroller in June.

The Comptroller’s next sales tax allocation will be made on Friday, August 8.