Night Owls
Archives for August 2010
Clarendon interim administrator quits
The City of Clarendon’ Interim Administrator stepped down Friday morning for health reasons.
Mayor Chris Ford said Phyllis Jeffers called him and told him about her decision.
The Board of Aldermen will discuss the city’s next steps tomorrow evening as they debate bringing in another interim or just look for a permanent administrator.
Two-A-Days underway at Bronco Stadium
CHS cheerleaders earn recognition at Wayland
Services for Betty Stewart
Services for Betty Stewart, 75, of Memphis, were held at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 31, 2010, at the First Baptist Church in Memphis with Rev. Daniel Downey, officiating and Dr. O.K. Bowen, assisting. Burial followed in Fairview Cemetery under the direction of Hughs Funeral Home of Memphis, TX.
Betty passed away Friday, July 23, 2010, in Amarillo.
Betty was born March 17, 1935 in Hall County, TX to the late Mr. Robert Stewart and Mrs. Zettie (Weatherford) Stewart. She was a 1953 graduate of Memphis High School. While she was in high school she attended the Baptist General Convention in Waco, TX where she was asked to accompany the vocalist as well as the congregational music. She received her music degree in 1957 from Hardin-Simmons University. Betty worked in the public school system as a music instructor before retiring with 32 years. She taught in various towns such as Snyder, TX; Odessa, TX; Clarendon, TX; Darrouzett, TX and Hale Center, TX where she retired. Then she became an instructor for Clarendon College for several years. In 1989 she received her Master of Arts in Music Education from West Texas A & M University. She served as organist for the First United Methodist church in Clarendon, TX for several years. Bettye taught private voice and piano lessons for 50 plus years. She was a director of the Renaissance ladies vocal group in Memphis, TX. Betty was a member of the First Baptist Church where she served as pianist from age 12 and was later elected as church pianist. She was also a member of the Music Committee.
She was preceded in death by her niece, Alecia Stewart.
She is survived by her sister, Bobbie Stewart of Memphis, TX; her brother, Jim Stewart and wife Judy of Memphis, TX; three nephews, Brad Stewart and wife Jill of Lubbock, TX; Clay Stewart of Memphis, TX; Doug Stewart of New York, NY; her great-nephew, Stetson James Stewart of Lubbock, TX; her great-niece, Laci Kae of Lubbock, TX.
The family suggests memorials to the First Baptist Church Music Department, P.O. Box 726, Memphis, TX 79245.
Herman Wayne Vinson
Herman Wayne Vinson, 66, died July 29, 2010, in Pampa.
Memorial services were held at 2 p.m. Saturday, July 31, 2010, at the First Baptist Church in Pampa, with Dr. Johnny Funderburg, pastor, officiating. Private burial followed in Fairview Cemetery. Arrangements were under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors.
Mr. Vinson was born January 9, 1944 in Amarillo to Herman and Irene Vinson. He graduated from Clarendon High School in 1962, and attended West Texas State University where he graduated in 1967 with a Bachelors of Science Degree and later a Masters of Education Degree in 1971. Herman began his teaching career in O’Donnell where he taught for two years. He then moved to Pampa where he met his wife, Jana Cole. Herman and Jana were married on July 9, 1971 in Hereford and recently celebrated their 39th anniversary. In 1974, they moved to Childress where Herman was a counselor for the Childress ISD for 10 years. Herman, Jana and their two daughters, Shelley and Kelley, moved back to Pampa where he was the Middle School counselor for 22 years. In addition, he taught classes at Clarendon Junior College, in both the Childress and Pampa branches. Herman retired in 2006 and started a new chapter in his life. He and Jana traveled extensively with family and friends throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean.
Herman was involved in many professional organizations. He enjoyed delivering Meals on Wheels. He took pride in working with the CASA organization. He served as deacon, Sunday school teacher, and devoted member of First Baptist Church in Pampa. He served on the board of the Pampa Youth and Community Center for many years.
Herman enjoyed sports of all kinds. He loved attending many of the Big 12 sporting events. He enjoyed watching West Texas A&M games, as well as many of the Pampa ISD sporting events.
Above all, he enjoyed spending time with his family and friends. Herman was a devoted and Godly husband, father, Paw-Paw, brother, and friend. Herman was known for his fun sense of humor, his easygoing demeanor, and his unique way of telling a joke. He will be greatly missed by all who loved him.
Survivors include his wife, Jana Vinson of the home; two daughters, Shelley Vinson of New York City, New York, and Kelley Simpson and husband Nick of Dalhart; two granddaughters: Taylor Simpson and Claire Simpson, both of Dalhart; two sisters, Barbara Bobbitt and husband Buddy of Memphis, and Ava Ontiveros and husband Cecil of Springlake; three brothers, Bobby Vinson and wife Charlene and Eddie Vinson, all of Amarillo, and Garey Vinson and wife Georganna of Clarendon, his mother-in-law: Marguerite Cole of Hereford; brother-in-law: Bill Cole and wife Cindy of Hereford, two sisters-in-law: Beverly Paetzold and husband John of Amarillo, and Cheryl Ramey and husband George of Yukon, Oklahoma; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Herman was preceded in death by his parents; and his father-in-law, Floyd Cole.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorials to CASA of the High Plains, 315 N. Ballard, Pampa, Texas 79065, Pampa Meals on Wheels, P.O. Box 939, Pampa, Texas 79066-0939, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Phase 1 Clinical Trials, 1515 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, Texas 77030, or First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 621, Pampa, Texas 79066-0621.
Frances Stevens
Frances Stevens, 79, died Thursday, July 29, 2010, in Clarendon.
Services were held at 2 p.m. Monday, August 2, 2010, in Robertson Funeral Directors Chapel of Memories in Clarendon with Rev. Bill Hodges, Pastor of the First Church of the Nazarene of Clarendon, officiating. Interment was held at Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon. Services were under the arrangement of Robertson Funeral Directors of Clarendon.
Mrs. Stevens was born on February 4, 1931, in Dumas to William Bowden and Bonnie Belle Alford Bray. She was a resident of Amarillo before moving to Clarendon in 1975. She married Roy Don Stevens on November 22, 1985 in Clarendon. She was a long-time employee of the US Postal Service and was the Postmaster at Hedley when she retired. She was a Baptist.
She was preceded in death by her parents; and one son, Glenn Ivey.
Survivors include her husband, Roy Don Stevens of Clarendon; three sons, Wilson Ivey of Amarillo, Roger Dale Stevens of Sparks, Nevada, and Thomas Stevens of Lubbock; 2 daughters, Donna Stevens of Clarendon and M’Lissa Hester of Lubbock; two brothers, Bill Bray of Amarillo and Charles Bray of Lubbock; three sisters, Pauline Gibbons of Jeanerette, Louisiana, Ruth Brooks of San Antonio, and Bernadeen Lindsey of Mt. Arlington, New Jersey; 18 grandchildren; and 11 great grandchildren.
The family will be at 608 South Jackson.
The family requests that memorials be to a favorite charity.
Like New Again
An abandoned chair lay by a dumpster in the alley. Abused, broken and regarded as junk, it waited the arrival of the Clarendon city trash truck.
But then Wayne Tubbs entered the scene. After looking the chair over, he picked it up and carried it back to his workshop, where it became one of the many pieces of old furniture he reconstructs to look brand new.
“That was about six years ago, and we still have that chair today in our upstairs bathroom,” said Patsy Tubbs, Wayne’s wife. “He’s redone a lot of the furniture in our household, and for many other people as well. I call him the Chairman of Clarendon.”
Wayne said that his inspiration to begin fixing furniture came from his grandfather.
“I used to help my grandpa, Earl Berry, in Carrizozo, New Mexico, fix stuff in the late 40s and early 50s,” Wayne said. “Back then they didn’t have any money, so they had to make just about everything they had. He did all kinds of work as a blacksmith and carpenter, and he even made windmill towers out of wood. He was a jack of all trades.”
Wayne started repairing and refinishing furniture for people in 1996, after he retired from his position as superintendent over El Paso Natural Gas Company.
“I’ve been working with furniture all my life, but it became a hobby after I retired,” Wayne said.
“We were living in Roswell, New Mexico, at the time, and there was a lady there who had a warehouse full of antiques. She wanted her stuff fixed, so I started working for her, mainly on rebuilding chairs and tables, until I moved to Clarendon in 2003.”
His work did not stop there though. Since he moved to Clarendon, Wayne has rarely had an empty workshop or any idle time.
“I’ve done work on a roll-top desk, tables and chairs for the Saints Roost Museum; redone doors for the Clarendon Schools; rebuilt stairs and made stair railing for the First United Methodist Church; did quite a bit of work for Poor Boys Antique Shop; built the box that held Kevin Johnston’s spurs that were presented to George W. Bush; and I make picture frames for Patsy’s paintings,” Wayne said. “I also do a lot of work for many other local customers.”
One of his local customers is Virginia Patten.
“Wayne refinished a slant top desk that’s in my office, and it was a piece of junk,” she said. “It was my grandparents’ desk from the late 1800s, and my parents used it at The Grocery Store. He saw it and said he could fix it, and now it’s one beautiful piece of furniture. As a trademark, he even left one of my father’s cigarette burns on it. It’s worth millions to me. If my house were on fire, I would get that desk out.”
He has also done numerous pieces for Fredie Jo Moreman.
“Wayne is an artist in his trade,” Moreman said. “He is very thorough and detailed in his work. There’s not many people anymore who can do woodwork like him. I’ve been pleased with everything he’s done for me.”
To ensure that the furniture looks as good or better than its original condition, Wayne refinishes and repairs the old fashioned way, which he said is “still the best.”
“I use a lot of tools that people used years and years ago, in fact I still use some of my grandfather’s tools,” Wayne said. “I make a lot of my own tools as well. Most of the old furniture I do by hand without the use of power tools or strippers with harsh acid.”
Wayne and Patsy figure that he has worked on thousands of pieces of furniture throughout the years.
“When people bring furniture to me that’s in pieces, I see it like a puzzle and I enjoy reconstructing it,” he said
Wayne’s workshop continues to be full of old furniture awaiting an extreme makeover as more customers bring in “junk,” but pick up works of art.
“I love seeing the furniture before and after he gets done working on it because it’s always such a drastic change,” Patsy said. “He continues to amaze me and each of his customers with his endless talents in woodworking.”
Hedley taps Conatser for secretary
Jason Conatser was tapped as the next city secretary in Hedley during a called meeting of the Board of Aldermen last Thursday.
Conatser succeeds Randy Shaw, who has held the position for almost 19 years. Shaw’s last day of full time employment was Friday. He announced his resignation July 1, and City Clerk Rhonda Shaw and maintenance worker Roger Hager resigned also.
Conatser was originally hired for Hager’s position at a July 20 called meeting, and Bill Farris was hired as secretary. Farris quit three days later.
During last Thursday’s meeting, Alderman Leon Ward suggested offering the secretary’s position to Conatser, and Shaw put in a good word for him.
“He’s had a great attitude and is catching on fast to a lot of stuff,” he said.
Ward said he would like to see Conatser have a month with Shaw to learn everything that needs to be done. Shaw said he could help for a couple of weeks but not for 40 hours a week.
The board unanimously approved motions to hire Conatser as secretary and to hire Shaw on an hourly basis.
Wreck injures Memphis family
Three people remained hospitalized at press time following a single car rollover Sunday afternoon four miles east of Clarendon.
According to Department of Public Safety Trooper Kellan Roberts, Neil David Alderman, age 29 of Memphis was traveling eastbound on US 287 in a 2003 silver Pontiac Grand Am at 6:29 p.m. when he ran off the road and hit a culvert at County Road 16.
The car then became airborne and came down on its right front, beginning to roll until it ended up in the median. The car came to rest on its top facing southbound.
Alderman along with front passenger Sandra Shahan, 27, and rear passengers nine-month-old David Neil Alderman and two-year-old Cody Alderman were all transported to Northwest Texas Hospital in Amarillo, where they all remain in critical condition except for David, who suffered minor injuries.
The wreck are still under investigation, and charges are pending.
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