Archives for July 2009

The skyline of Clarendon will soon be changing when the city’s west water tower is replaced by a new, taller water standpipe this summer.

City aldermen awarded a $335,882 bid to Tank & Vessel Builders of Baird, Texas, during the regular city meeting last Tuesday. The company will build the 120 feet tall standpipe about 75 feet north of the present water tower.

City Administrator John Webb said he believes replacing the tower, which was constructed in 1922, will improve the water quality.
“I think 80 percent of the rust and brown water incidents will be alleviated with the new standpipe,” Webb said. “And I think the rest of the problem will be taken care of by new pipes.”

The new structure is also designed to help water pressure problems in the city. Webb said Greenbelt Water Authority and OJD Engineering believe the standpipe will create equal water pressure throughout the city.

Engineer Che Shadle said the current tower produces 32 p.s.i. at the tank and said the new standpipe will produce 52 p.s.i. at the tank. The standpipe will hold about two and half times the amount of water the existing tank does.

Shadle said beginning construction on the standpipe is about 30 days out, and he expects the work to take four to six weeks.
The city received a Community Development Block Grant in the amount of $255,000 last year to replace the aging water tower. The project has been delayed as city officials worked to tie it in with the STEP grant project that laid new waterlines in the west part of town.
Webb said the city will still need to tie those new lines into existing meters and transition over to the new standpipe after it is constructed, and then he plans to begin replacing older lines throughout the city.

“We have 16,800 feet of new PVC pipe to install,” Webb said.
In other city business at last week’s meeting, Mayor Chris Ford administered the oath of office to Municipal Judge Jimmy Johnson for another two-year term; and aldermen approved spending $5,000 from the Motel Bed Tax fund to support the Buck’N Blowout Rodeo.

By The Numbers
$335,882
Bid amount from Tank & Vessel Builders.
$255,000
Grant city received for the project.
120
Height of new standpipe in feet.
19
Diameter of new standpipe in feet.
44
How many feet taller new tank will be.
250,000
Gallons the new standpipe will hold.
1922
Year current water tower was constructed.

A Wellington man is in the Donley County Jail this weekend after he led sheriff’s deputies and state troopers on a high-speed chase into Clarendon Saturday evening.

Carl Franklin Bedwell III is facing charges of Aggravated Assault on a Public Servant, Evading, and Resisting Arrest, according to Chief Deputy Randy Bond.

Donley County dispatchers began receiving multiple 911 calls at 7:08 p.m. Saturday with reports of someone driving erratically – going on the left and right shoulders, eastbound on US 287 west of Clarendon – at speeds in excess of 100 mph.

Bond said a trooper with the Texas Department of Public Safety got the suspect stopped at the turn off to FM 3257 about three miles west of Clarendon. A local deputy arrived on the scene; and as the trooper spoke with a witness, the suspect started his vehicle and fled despite warnings and three gunshots fired by the deputy.

The suspected crossed the west city limits at approximately 85 mph, and the trooper and two deputies boxed in his vehicle as he neared the intersection of Allen Street and US 287. The suspect stopped, exited his vehicle, and put up a brief struggle as he was arrested, Bond said.

The Donley County Sheriff’s Office assisted the DPS with this case,
and Bond says other charges may be filed as the case is investigated.

AUSTIN – Clarendon’s sales tax allocation dropped more than 11 percent in July, mirroring a dip in state sales tax revenue.

According to information released Friday by Texas Comptroller Susan Combs, the City of Clarendon received an allocation of $21,518.55 this month, which is down 11.89 percent from $24,423.44 for the same period last year.

Overall, the city is almost staying even compared to last year with year-to-date revenue down less than one percent at $170,499.27.

Hedley’s sales tax revenue was also down this month by 14.47 percent to $302.52 and was down for the year-to-date by 17.08 percent to $3,528.92.

Howardwick was the one bright spot in Donley County. That city’s July allocation was up 10.42 percent to $1,300.57, but it was still behind 8.97 percent with a year-to-date figure of $7,096.67.

Statewide, the comptroller announced that the state collected $1.57 billion in sales tax revenue in June, down 11.2 percent compared to June 2008.

“The oil and gas, construction, and retail trade sectors showed continued weakness, resulting in a sharp decrease in sales tax collections in June,” Combs said.
“Contributing to the decrease was not only the weakness in these three sectors, but also the strong level of collections received from them in June 2008.”

Combs sent July sales tax allocations totaling $426.7 million to cities, counties, transit systems, and special purpose taxing districts, down 8.8 percent compared to July 2008.

Combs sent July sales tax allocations of $284.3 million
to Texas cities, down 8.8 percent compared to July 2008. So far this calendar year, city sales tax allocations are down 1.6 percent compared to the same time period last year.

Combs sent $16.6 million to 151 special purpose taxing districts, down 5.5 percent compared to last July. Ten local transit systems received $99.6 million in sales tax allocations, down 8.9 percent compared to a year ago.
State sales tax collections in June and local sales tax allocations in July represent sales that occurred in May.

The Comptroller’s next sales tax allocation will be made on Friday, August 14

Area farmers are facing some big decisions on what to do with their land as hundreds of thousands of acres of USDA Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts are due to expire in the next few months.

USDA personnel from the Farm Service agency and the Natural Resources Conservation Service are in the latest stages of finalizing guidance and options for producers with expiring conservation reserve program (CRP) acres.

On July 8, 2009, personnel from both agencies in the Panhandle and South Plains regions met in Lubbock to discuss how to best serve farmers and ranchers for CRP land expiring from the program.

“With so many landowners coming into our offices seeking help, uniform guidance among agencies is critical for landowners and producers to make the best decisions for land that’s coming out of the program,” said Mickey Black, NRCS assistant state conservationist for field operations in Lubbock.

The bulk of the CRP acres are in the High Plains region of the state where there is significant concern about the future of the conservation of the land. According to FSA records, over 78,000 acres expired in 2008, with an additional 680,000 to be expired in October of 2009, and over 507,000 acres in October of 2010.

FSA State Executive Director Juan Garcia addressed 150 FSA and NRCS employees in the region saying, “Many producers are going to be faced with changes, and it’s up to all of us to educate the general public and provide landowners with the options available to help them.

“This is a serious issue,” said Garcia. “The NRCS and FSA offices are making a joint effort for a successful outcome.”

According to Garcia, FSA will be able to restore crop acreage bases beginning in October, 2010. Landowners need to be aware of this information because it will be a determining factor as they decide what they will do once their land expires from the program.

Black said, “Landowners have several options, including grazing or haying the existing grass cover, making enhancements to target wildlife, putting it back into production, or utilizing it for recreational purposes.”
For long-term planning, producers will need to stay informed of the latest policies for farm programs and benefits that might affect them and their operations.
“We expect to see some producers choose to return their CRP fields back to annually-tilled cropland production,” said Don Gohmert, NRCS State Conservationist.

“Most of the acres in the CRP program are classified as Highly Erodible Land (HEL),” said Gohmert. “This type of land is very susceptible to wind and water erosion.”
NRCS and FSA will encourage producers to keep the permanent grass cover, however, in cases where the landowners’ decide to plow up the grass; the NRCS will provide alternatives to help landowners understand the need to meet certain measures that ensure those acres will not erode beyond a level that the soil can tolerate.

These alternatives will help the producer apply best management practices to meet conservation compliance requirements.

Conservation compliance, which began with the 1985 Farm Bill, is still in effect. Compliance means that farmers need to control erosion on highly erodible land, which includes CRP acres, in order to stay eligible for USDA program benefits, including farm loan programs, disaster assistance, commodity price supports, and conservation programs.

According to NRCS, the most common ways farmers get out of compliance with USDA is by eliminating soil-conserving crops, such as forage species, and adding a tilled crop.

When the farmer changes his soil cover from permanent grass to annually-tilled crops, he/she should always consider conservation compliance when planning their rotations, in addition to commodity prices
Conservation compliance could entail the implementation of a crop rotation that includes high residue-producing crops like wheat or sorghum, or the installation, repair and maintenance of structural practices like terraces.

FSA and the NRCS, working with the local Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCD), urges producers to contact someone at the local USDA service centers to discuss expiring CRP options and to check on eligibility for USDA benefits.

For more information, call the USDA Service Center in your county, listed under USDA in the Yellow Pages, or access the information on the Texas NRCS website at www.tx.nrcs.usda.gov.

Summer fun has just begun at the Clarendon City Park. Thanks to the cooperation and combined efforts of citizens and organizations, a shared vision of building a park that Clarendon can be proud of has been fulfilled.

“A lot of citizens have commented on how nice it looks,” City Administrator John Webb said. “Young mothers are grateful that they now have a place they can take their toddlers to take out their high energy.”

One of those moms is Meghan Gribble, who likes to take her daughter to the park.

“I’m really glad the city put the new playground in,” Gribble said. “It’s where my daughter loves to play, and we go there often.”

Improving the park was definitely not a walk in the park. It took a total of three years for the park to appear as it does now; one full year of research, paperwork, approvals and disapprovals, and two years of labor. The city received a grant for almost $40,000 towards the project. This covered costs for necessities such as new playground equipment, picnic tables, grills, trees, plants, shrubs, tree and telephone pole removal, and new lights.

“We have made these improvements because we want citizens to have a nice, shaded place to meet,” Webb said. “It’s so nice when people get out and meet their neighbors.”

In addition to the grant, there were also many donations given towards the park. All of the following donated to the project: Bobbie Kidd from Greenbelt Water Authority, Alma from Home Depot, Johnny Floyd from Floyd’s Automotive, Earl Hartman from J&W Lumber, Mark White from Wallace Monument, Joe Fraust from BNSF, Nancy Breedlove from NVB Playground Equipment, Greg from Pampa Concrete, and Jimmy Cobb from AMA TechTel.

There were also many locals who donated their labor, such as: Mark Lutrell, Connie Sparks, Kelly Hill, Marcus Smith from PRPC, Roxana Eli from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Roy Williams, Boy Scout Troop 433, John Webb, and city employees. Locals who donated cash or tangible donations were: Vernie Ford, Duane and Wanda Nichols, John and Jeannie Molder, Jim Riley, and Sara SoRelle.

“We would like to say a big thank you to all the locals and organizations who have donated towards this project,” Webb said.

Among renovations and additions to the park, there is a new play area called Tot Town. According to City Clerk Jeannie Molder, Tot Town was the idea of former city superintendent, the late Jim Roberts, who wanted a place for his toddler grandchildren to play.

“Jim asked me to ask the board to pursue it, so I did, and it just went from there,” Molder said. “I don’t think anything does my heart better than to see that playground full of kids.”

As far as the grant is concerned, improvements to the park are complete. But that doesn’t mean that there are no ideas for the future in progress. Webb says that possible plans for the park include a waterfall at the entrance, solar lights, and decorating the park for holidays. Plans for the 1908 trussle bridge have not been finalized yet.

“Making the park beautiful makes it a focal point in Clarendon,” Webb remarked. “I really think that with the help of citizens we can bring back community pride into Clarendon, because that is important.”

All citizens are encouraged to take pride in the park, and
not to destroy something that has taken a lot of time and effort to look so nice.

“Help and support from Clarendon citizens in giving back that community pride is appreciated,” Webb said. “We want to show what a beautiful town Clarendon really is, and how is has so much opportunity to expand into the future.”