Archives for July 2009

Clarendon College Regents will consider a proposal to enclose the college’s Livestock & Equine Center during a called meeting today at the Clarendon Country Club.
CC President Bill Auvenshine said the $113,964 proposal from Arena Design Consultants of St. Justin calls for installing eight-foot steel panels at the top of the unfinished south and east walls of the center with roll-up screens mounted below the panels.

“The screens can be raised or lowered as the weather dictates,” Auvenshine said, “making it perfect for year-round functions.”

The proposal also includes the mounting of four roll-up overhead doors and the installation of four Big Ass fans to circulate air in the arena.

“That’s actually the brand name,” Auvenshine said of the industrial type ceiling fans, the blades which will span a diameter of about 20 feet.

Auvenshine said that he had seen some of the fans at another livestock facility and told designer Brad Muncie that the LEC needed some.

“He said to me, ‘You mean those Big Ass fans?’ and I said, ‘Well, yeah.’”

If regents approve the proposal, it will be a big step in completing the LEC, which was constructed in 2003 at a cost of $1 million.

The 73,600 square foot covered arena has been an asset for the college but has been lacking in several items that were originally planned for it.

“Everyone tells us how nice the county arena is in Vernon,” Auvenshine said. “Ours will be just as nice when we get it completed.”

The president said Vernon’s facility is booked 50 weeks of the year, and he expects similar demand for the Livestock & Equine Center.

“We had the guy who designed Vernon’s arena look at our facility, and he said it is just like theirs except that it’s not finished,” Auvenshine said.

After the building is enclosed, all that remains to finish the Livestock & Equine Center will be the installation of a concrete slab, restrooms, a concession stand, and a judging stand.

“About $100,000 would finish it,” Auvenshine said of the work that remains to be done.

Also on today’s agenda, CC Regents will hold a workshop to consider the 2009-2010 budget and the 2009-2010 tax rate.

They are also scheduled to consider action on a proposal for athletic insurance; consider a proposed four percent raise for college staff; and review the college policy manual, the personnel handbook, the college catalog, and the student handbook for 2009-2010.

For the Bronco football players and coaches another summer has come and gone and next week will begin the two-a-day workouts for the CHS 2009 football season, according to Athletic Director Gary Jack.

Football equipment will be issued Saturday, August 1, at 11:00 a.m. for seniors through freshmen. Practice will begin Monday morning August 3 at 7:30 a.m. sharp.
“The morning session will run until approximately 12:30 p.m. with an hour break in the middle,” Jack said. “All athletes are expected to be on time, clean shaven, have a good short haircut, and be at all practices and meetings.”

Girls and boys cross-country athletes grades 9-12 need to report to the gym Monday, August 3, at 6:00 p.m. All girl athletes playing other sports at CHS are highly encouraged to participate in cross-country.

All incoming 7th,-9th-11th graders and new students must have a doctor’s physical prior to practice. The physicals will be held at the Clarendon Clinic on Saturday, August 1, beginning at 9:00 a.m. at a cost of $10. Athletes must wear shorts to the physical, drink plenty of water, and have their paper work all filled out including parents’ signatures where needed.

Those not needing physicals should bring their completed paper work on the first day of practice.
The coaches are excited about the upcoming season and hope the athletes are as well.

“Our expectations are always high ever year, especially after the great year we had last year,” Jack said. “We are planning on being in the playoffs and making deep runs in every sport. So come out and get ready for a fun year!”

Sentences were handed down in two Donley County cases last Friday when the 100th District Court was convened in Childress, according to information from District Attorney Luke Inman’s office.

Jeremy Matthew Blackwell pled guilty to a second degree felony offense of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to 10 years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Blackwell was arrested for the second degree felony offense on March 6, 2009. Blackwell was indicted on three second degree felony counts by the Donley County Grand Jury on June 22, 2009.

“The Donley County Sheriff’s Office did an excellent job in investigating these offenses by Blackwell which resulted in the plea today,” Inman said.

Blackwell was scheduled to be tried in Donley County on July 29, 2009. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Blackwell is required to a pay a $4,000 fine.

In a separate case, Joe Wayne Clark, Jr., was placed on probation for a period of two years for the State Jail felony offense of driving while intoxicated with a child passenger. Clark was convicted and sentenced to two years in the State Jail Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, but the sentence was probated for two years.

Clark was arrested in Donley County on June 23, 2009, for the driving while intoxicated offense. Clark pleaded guilty to a complaint and information filed by the state for the State Jail felony offense and was convicted of the state jail felony.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Clark is required to pay a $1,500 fine to the county, $565 in court cost, complete an alcohol education program, among other conditions of probation.

Inman was assisted by Assistant District Attorney Greg Buckley, prosecuted the cases, with Judge Stuart Messer presiding.

Teachers at Clarendon CISD will be getting a raise this coming school year thanks to federal stimulus money received by the state.

Superintendent Monty Hysinger said the public school should receive about $60,000, which will be used to give each teacher an additional $922 on top of their state step raise.

“The stimulus money is only good for this coming school year,” Hysinger said. “It dries up after that, but we will guarantee that a teacher won’t make less in 2010-2011 than they did in 2009-2010.”

The money also is just for teachers and cannot be used for staff pay raises, Hysinger said.
Gov. Rick Perry’s office released a statement about the approval of the state’s fund request.

“I’m pleased that the U.S. Department of Education has approved Texas’ application for State Fiscal Stabilization Funds, which will help increase public school funding, providing each school a minimum additional $120 per student,” Gov. Perry said.

“Providing quality education to our state’s school children continues to be a top priority. Texas lawmakers appropriated this money, along with more than $30 billion in state funds, to enhance educational excellence in our state,” the governor said.

The stimulus funds will come to the school with its regular state appropriation.

With this stimulus funding, CCISD has received a total of about $210,000 in economic stimulus money.

“We received about $100,000 in stimulus money for special education,” Hysinger said. “The majority of that will go to salaries over two years in order to maintain the level of service the district currently provides.”

The school district also received about $50,000 for what Hysinger called remediation endeavors, and he said that money will be used over two years to purchase software packages for laptop computers and for software that will enhance instruction in a variety of fields.

Clarendon College faculty will be getting a pay increase following the regular meeting of the CC Board of Regents last Thursday, July 16.
CC President Bill Auvenshine said the board approved a one percent step grade raise and an additional three percent raise for all faculty for a total raise of four percent.
Auvenshine said he will recommend at the board’s next meeting a four percent raise for all other college employees as well.
Also last week, representatives of US Wind Energy met with the board, and Auvenshine reports that the board and US Wind are still negotiating a lease that would allow the placement of wind turbines on the southwest side of the college campus.
The board heard from one student who was appealing a grade and upheld the grade given by the instructor, ratifying decisions by a grievance committee, the dean, and the president.
An update was given on the process of issuing bonds in Gray County for expansion of the CC Pampa Center. Those funds would be paid for with tax revenue in that county.
Regents approved a four percent increase as requested by Great Western Dining, but student fees will not increase because of this since the possibility of the increase was known when the fees were set.
The board approved the purchase of 136 bed frames from KNL Steel for $293 each. Those are being installed in Phelan, Vaughn, and Knorpp residence halls.
A bid to replace vinyl flooring in the Courson Center, Vaughn Hall, Phelan Hall, Knorpp Hall, and the downtown vocational building was awarded to Johnny Cooper.
Regents considered bank depository bids and elected to keep the college’s deposits with the Herring Bank.
A new audit firm was selected for the college for this fiscal year. CMMS of Amarillo has experience in community college audits, working with both Frank Phillips College and Amarillo College, and had a lower bid than the college’s previous auditing firm.
The board accepted a workers’ compensation insurance proposal from the Texas Association of School Boards and a property and casualty insurance proposal from HRH.
The board accepted the resignation of Jimmie Dean Murphy, who is moving to the coast.
New hires for the month included Terry Noble as a mechanic/maintenance worker, Kim Jeffery as criminal justice instructor, Gregg Lawler to teach mathematics, Sharon Hannon to teach developmental English, Tenna Joos as an assistant softball coach/dorm director, and Jamie Ward as Enrollment Services Counselor.

The Donley County Commissioners’ Court met in regular session on Monday, July 13, at 9 a.m. in the Commissioners Courtroom in the Courthouse.

Roger Estlack attended the meeting to request $500 for the Saints’ Roost Museum for the Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon CookOff, which was approved.
A Contract Agreement between South Plains Forensic Pathology and Donley County has been approved for one year.

Dr. John Howard was named as the Local Health Authority.

Democratic alternate election judges were appointed for the primary election in March 2010.
The alternate judges are as follows: Precinct 101; Henry Hermesmeyer, Precinct 102 (Howardwick); Dorthy Arnold, Precinct 201; Gay Cole, Precinct 303 (Hedley Lions Club); Brenda Swinney, Precinct 401; Bunny Owens. There is no alternate election judge appointed for Precinct 301 yet.

There were no added additional fees or changes to optional fees made to the Chapter 502- Transportation Code.

Judge Willis Smith was re-appointed to the Board of MHMR.

The Annual Criminal and Civil Law Update for September 23-25, 2009, with Landon Lambert as County Attorney was approved.

The collection of $5 for each civil suit filed in the County Court, Statutory County Court, Probate Court and District Court in the County was approved.

Brenda Mawlin from the Donley County Soil and Water Conservation District asked for assistance in a tree program for kids.