Archives for January 2010

The Clarendon College Board of Regents approved a bid package totaling more than $2.99 million for a new workforce education building at the CC Pampa Center during their regular meeting last Thursday.

Architect Jim Doche presented the bids and said estimates for the project had ranged as high as $3.3 million but noted that the bidding has been very competitive.

“There were 22 subcategories, and all but one had three or more bidders,” Doche said.

One-third of the winning subcontractors – mechanical work, electrical work, and roofing – are from Pampa, and college officials were pleased that money would be staying in Gray County.

Work will begin within 30 days on the 23,000 square-foot project, which will be completed in 2011. The workforce center is being paid for by bonds paid for by Gray County residents and a donation of $250,000 from the David & Nora Payne Foundation.

During the meeting, Regent John Howard said he had heard some concerns from Donley County residents about the new Pampa project.

“People think that college taxes from Donley County are paying for this, and this is not the case,” Howard said.
CC President Bill Auvenshine said taxes raised in Donley County are only used for the maintenance and operation of the Clarendon campus and noted that the tax revenue does not come close to paying the total bill.

“We have a $1.2 million maintenance and operation budget,” Auvenshine said. “We collect about $403,000 in taxes from Donley County, but our utilities alone cost about $420,000. The rest of that budget is paid for by student tuition and fees.”

The president also noted that Gray County residents are paying a five-cent tax for facilities in that county and, by law, have no representation on the Board of Regents.
Clarendon College has to maintain and expand its Pampa Center otherwise people north of I-40 would likely commute to Borger or Amarillo before coming to Clarendon.

The CC Pampa Center has seen significant enrollment growth this year, but Auvenshine said growth on the Clarendon campus is now limited due to the need for more student housing.

“What we need is more affordable housing for students,” Auvenshine said. “Where is there to rent [in Clarendon]? Where would you live? We need another dorm, but we need the money to do that.”

In other business, the board:
• Approved the purchase a new digital marquee for the Clarendon campus with help from the City of Clarendon and the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation as presented by Marketing Coordinator Ashlee Estlack;
• Moved the March board meeting to the fourth Thursday to avoid conflicting with spring break;
• Noted that filing for the May board election will begin February 6 and that the terms of Charles Deyhle, Ruth Robinson, and Susie Shields are expiring this year;
• Heard a preliminary enrollment report that showed a nearly 20 percent headcount increase over last spring; and
• Listened to a presentation from Dean of Students Tex Buckhaults about project that would help the 25 percent of the area population with no high school diploma get their GED and encourage them to further their education.

CHILDRESS – During campaign season the landscape seems to bloom with a special kind of flower – the political sign. In some places campaign signs seem to be blooming like wildflowers even though it is still winter.

Campaign signs on public lands are illegal. Before you plant a sign, there are a few things you need to know:
It is illegal to place any signs on or within the right of way.

This includes posting signs on trees, telephone poles, traffic signs and other objects on the right of way.

Campaign signs along Texas roads can be placed on private property with the owner’s permission.

Campaign signs may be posted as early as 90 days before an election (no earlier) and must be removed within 10 days after the election.

Before placing a sign inside of incorporated city limits, check with the city for applicable ordinances.

Anyone running for office is reminded that it is illegal to put any sign on state highway right of way without authorization. TxDOT’s regulatory authority allows the immediate removal of a sign placed on state highway right of way without prior notice, if the sign is not authorized by state law or approved by TxDOT. The penalty for violating this law is a fine of up to $500 per sign.

The law does not just apply to campaign signs. It is illegal to put any sign, including garage sale and business signs on state highway right of way without authorization. “Sign” is defined as any outdoor sign, display, light device, figure, painting, drawing, message, plaque, or other thing that is designed and/or intended to advertise or inform.

For more information contact Barbara Seal, Childress TxDOT Public Information Officer at 940-937-7288 or Twyla Hardin at 940-937-7124.

The 100th District Court heard four pleas resulting in four convictions when it met in Clarendon last Friday.

A total of $8,700 in fines was assessed as a result of the pleas that took place on January 22. In addition to the fines, the defendants were required to pay a total of $1,863 in court costs and $1,700 in restitution.

Donda Michelle Simpson was convicted and sentenced to two years in the State Jail Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice after pleading true to the allegations listed in the State’s Motion to Adjudicate Guilt of Defendant. Simpson is required to pay $390 in court costs to Donley County and a $2,200 fine.

Simpson pleaded guilty December 22, 2008, in Donley County to the state jail felony of forgery and received two years deferred adjudication.

Simpson also was convicted and sentenced to five years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for the offense of possession of a controlled substance, a first degree felony. Simpson is required to pay $443 in court costs to Donley County and a $1,000 fine.

Ebony Butler was convicted and sentenced to four years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice after pleading true to the allegations listed in the State’s Motion to Revoke Guilt of Defendant. Butler is required to pay $640 in court costs to Donley County and a $3,000 fine.

Butler originally pleaded guilty on November 6, 2008, in Donley County to the second degree felony of burglary of a habitation with intent to commit assault and received six years in the Institutional Division, TDCJ, but the sentence was probated for three years.

Jessie James Cariveau was convicted and sentenced to 12 months in the State Jail Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice after pleading true to the allegations listed in the State’s Motion to Adjudicate Guilt of Defendant. Cariveau is required to pay $390 in court costs to Donley County; a $2,500 fine; and $1,700. in restitution.

Cariveau pleaded guilty on January 12, 2009, to the state jail felony of criminal mischief and received three years deferred adjudication.

Assistant District Attorney Greg Buckley, prosecuted the above cases for the State of Texas with the Honorable Judge Stuart Messer presiding.

Christmas has come early for the local city-county library this year thanks to the estate of Mary Stocking McConnell.

The Gabie Betts Burton Memorial Library has received a check from that estate in the amount of $97,500.

Librarian Carolyn Blackerby says the library has been a beneficiary of Mrs. McConnell’s estate in the past, receiving smaller amounts from interest on a trust. The generous sum received in April is a partial termination distribution of the estate, according to a letter from a Bank of America representative.

The bank is reportedly in the process of completing the administration of the estate, and a smaller, final payment will be made to the library at a later date.

The money comes with no apparent strings attached other than it must be used for the library; and while there are several pressing needs, Blackerby has zeroed in on a project she hopes to see undertaken completed.

“We plan to use the money as seed money for a grant to remodel the second floor of the library,” she said.

Currently the upstairs area is unfinished. Part of it is used for storage and mechanical purposes, but most is underutilized space.

“The library should be for everyone in the community,” she said, “and we want to make sure it is just that way.”

Blackerby envisions the upstairs being used for meeting rooms, a literacy training area, periodical archives, and genealogy research. Access to the approximately 2,750 square foot second floor would be made easier by the installation of an elevator.

No plans have been carved in stone yet, but Blackerby has already contacted an elevator company for an estimate and plans to consult an architect regarding the feasibility of the project.

A portion of the estate’s gift may also be used to update the library’s reference material, she said.

Over the last year and a half, the Burton Library, which is jointly operated by the City of Clarendon and Donley County, has come to be utilized more and more by local people.

“Our traffic has doubled,” says Blackerby. “We started at 30 to 40 people a day. Now, it’s not unusual to have nearly 100 people daily.”

In addition to traditional research and reading, the Burton Library has become a popular meeting place for various groups – most notably the Donley County Tourism Council – and has enjoyed an up tick of activity thanks to the availability of Internet access. Many travelers stop to use the library to check their e-mail.

The surge in daily visitors has necessitated the addition of another full time employee. Recently city aldermen and county commissioners approved increasing Sabrina Burrow’s hours, moving her from part time to full time as of this week.

The Burton Memorial Library is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Package sales of beer and wine in the city limits was one topic of discussion when the Clarendon Board of Aldermen met last Tuesday.

Alderman Ann Huey said she asked for the topic to be put the board’s agenda after some citizens asked her about it.

“I think it would be a way to bring in extra money,” she said. “We could have the income here, and it’s not like people aren’t drinking.”

Alderman Larry Hicks said he approached several citizens about the topic after learning it was going to be on the agenda.

“I believe you might could get it in a package store, but I don’t think on-premises consumption (in restaurants and bars) would ever pass,” Hicks said.

Alderman Will Thompson said he would never support any effort to make alcohol sales legal in the city.

“I will not support it. I cannot support it. I don’t drink, and I am dead set against it,” he said. “Just look at the lives it destroys.”

Thompson said he did not think ill of anyone who has an opposing opinion on the issue, but he said he opposes alcohol sales “with every fiber of my being.”

Alderman Kyle Davis said he “would like to be able to go to Allsup’s and get a six pack,” but he also said he thought the matter would never pass local voters.

Huey and Hicks agreed that they believed the measure could pass if it were limited to package sales in stores.
Mayor Chris Ford shut discussion of the topic down, saying he felt the issue did not need to be coming from the Board of Aldermen but from the citizens.

“If people want it, they need to present a petition,” he said, and the board agreed with that position.

In other city business, aldermen met with City Attorney Jim Shelton, who presented information on the legalities and processes of annexation. The process to expand the corporate limits of the city takes about 90 days from start to finish and involves several steps, Shelton told the board.

“We probably need an official survey before we do anything,” Shelton said. “Everything refers to that.”
City Administrator John Webb agreed with Shelton.
“We need an accurate map anyway,” Webb said. “Let’s start there and then look to see if there is an area that could be developed to build up Clarendon.”
Also on last week’s agenda, aldermen:

• Approved a contract with TxDOT to tap the state’s waterline running west from the city to service the Clarendon College Livestock & Equine Center with the city gaining ownership of the line.

• Passed a resolution certifying funding for the match of a Transportation Enhancement grant that would revitalize the downtown area. The match for the $440,220 grant is expected to be $88,044, and the Clarendon Economic Development Board has expressed its interest in providing $50,000 for the match.

• Directed Webb to review applicants for City Secretary and present a recommendation to the board at a later date.

Clarendon College would not be seriously impacted if state officials carry through with a possible five percent budget cut.

Gov. Rick Perry, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, and House Speaker Joe Straus sent letters to state agencies and institutions of higher learning directing each state agency to submit a plan to identify savings for the 2010-2011 biennium.

But CC President Bill Auvenshine doesn’t think the college has much to worry about.

“This is a pre-panic,” Auvenshine said. “The comptroller has said Texas was the last going into the recession, and she believes it will be the first to come out of it.
“Other states are really suffering. Arizona is asking agencies to cut 30 percent.”

College officials had heard rumors before Christmas of a possible ten percent cut, Texas is now looking at five percent, and Auvenshine believes the final cut, if it comes, will be less than that.

“They did this in 2003,” he said. “They asked for ten percent and ended up at three percent.”

Five percent would amount to about $200,000 coming out of the college’s budget, but Auvenshine said CC did well in its last appropriation and that it can deal with the cut if it has to without cutting personnel.

“We met with staff members this week and asked them to look where they could cut in their budgets,”

Auvenshine said. “Deferring maintenance projects is the most likely thing. We’ve done that before.”

The letter from the state requests CC submit a plan identifying savings no later than February 15, 2010.

In the wake of the earthquake disaster in Haiti, Americans are donating via text message more than ever before. BBB advises donors that giving through text can be a safe and easy way to give—but you should still use caution.

Within days following the disaster in Haiti, it was widely reported that more than $3 million was donated through text message to such organizations as the Red Cross and others.

“It’s encouraging that people are making small donations through text messages,” said, Janna Kiehl, BBB CEO.

“Charities certainly welcome gifts made through any means available. Donors should still do their due diligence to make sure their money is going to trustworthy charities.”

Tips on giving through text messages:

Confirm the number directly with the source. While BBB has not yet heard of any scams relying on text message donations, this emerging method for donating is ripe for exploitation by scammers.

Be aware that text donations are not immediate. Depending on the text message service used by the charity, text donations can take anywhere from 30-90 days to be transferred to the designated charity. If you would like the donation to be received immediately by the charity, you can give online through the charity Web site, by calling the charity directly or by sending a check in the mail.

Review the fine print. When you give to a charity through text message, you might also be signing yourself up to receive text message updates from the charity in the future.

A charity should include the details of its text campaign on its Web site so you can see what you’re signing up for and how you can opt out.

Research the charity. Giving wisely to a charity isn’t just about making sure that the solicitation isn’t coming from scammers. Wise donors make sure their donations are going to charities that are best equipped to help in the relief efforts and will responsibly use the money for its intended purpose.

The list below identifies national charities that are seeking to provide assistance in response to the earthquake in Haiti.

This list only includes those charities that meet the BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s Standards for Charity Accountability.

Further information about other charities is available at http://www.bbb.org/charity-reviews/national/

AMARILLO – USDA Rural Development has announced their allocation for direct single family loans for Fiscal Year 2010.

Due to an increased level of funding as a result of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, USDA Rural Development in Texas has more than $130 million in direct funding available to help families achieve the dream of home ownership.

“USDA Rural Development is proud to assist rural Texans in meeting their housing needs, which is critical to the long term sustainability of our communities,” said Paco Valentin, USDA Rural Development State Director.
USDA Rural Development’s direct program provides low-interest, no-down-payment loans to help eligible families living in rural communities and rural areas to purchase their own homes.

The Direct Rural Housing Program is geared toward low to very low-income families. No down payment is required for the program and closing costs may be included in the loan. Under this program an applicant may be eligible for payment assistance, which would subsidize the interest portion of the house payment down to as low as 1%, lowering the overall monthly payment amount. In many cases, the total monthly house payment, including taxes and insurance, may actually be less than a family is paying for rent.

Homes must be in a community of 10,000 persons or less and locations not closely associated with urban areas.

For more information about this program, contact the Amarillo office at (806) 469-8600, extension 4 or visit our website at www.rurdev.usda.gov/tx.January 22