Archives for October 2010

Members and guests of The American Legion, 18th District will meet at the Perryton Expo Center this coming weekend, October 9 and 10, for the annual Fall Convention.

Harold Lehnick, District 18 Commander from Claude and Susan Wheatley, Auxiliary President from Darrouzett will conduct the meetings. Invited guests include State Vice Commander Harry Hicks of El Paso, 4th Division Commander Steven Brooks of Lubbock and Martha Colis of Amarillo who represents The American Legion Auxiliary, Department of Texas.

The two-day event will commence at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 9, with registration. A fee of $25 will be charged to help offset expenses. The official joint opening ceremony and information session will begin at 2 p.m. The joint banquet will commence at 6 p.m. and feature Perryton’s Randy Brillhart as the speaker. The Sunday session will begin at 9 a.m. with the Memorial Service followed by business meetings.

The event is scheduled to adjourn by noon.

District Conventions are scheduled twice yearly for the purpose of exchanging information and training Post leaders. The 18th District encompasses the entire Texas Panhandle area.

A Memphis High School student is out on bond this week after he allegedly sent a threatening text message to a student at Hedley High School.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said his office received a call from the Hedley School about 1:30 p.m. Monday, October 4, that a student had received a threat.

Officers took statements from Hedley students and obtained enough information for a warrant then went to Memphis to arrest 17-year-old student there on the third degree felony charge of Terroristic Threat.

The individual was later released on $5,000 bond. The case is still under investigation.

Blackburn praised Hedley school officials for the way they handled the situation.

“The school did an excellent job the way they reported it and need to be commended for their efforts,” he said.

The sheriff also urged parents to talk to their kids about text messaging.

“Kids need to know that texting a threat to a school or a student at school can turn into a felony. Parents need to make kids aware that texting can have consequences.”

Clarendon College Regents named the five finalists to be the next college president during a called meeting last Thursday.

An independent committee had narrowed the list of applicants down to nine, but one withdrew his name from consideration.

The five men now in the running for the top position at CC in alphabetical order are:

• Dr. Steven Hilterbrand, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs at Baton Rouge Community College in Louisiana.

• Dr. Phil E. Shirley, President of Southeast Arkansas College in Pine Bluff, Ark., and former dean of instruction at Clarendon College from 1986 to 1990.

• Dr. David Smith, President of Brewton-Parker College in Mt. Vernon, Georgia.

• Dr. Roger Stacy, Immediate Past President of Northern Oklahoma College in Tonkawa, Okla.

• Dr. Gary Stretcher, Vice President of Academic Affairs at Lamar State College in Port Arthur.

CC President Bill Auvenshine said regents were unanimous in their selection of the final five.

“All of the finalists have Panhandle roots, and most still have relatives living in the area,” Auvenshine said.

Interviews for the finalists are scheduled October 25-29, and the public will have an opportunity to meet each candidate.

A called meeting of the board of regents will be held on November 4 to name the next president, Auvenshine said. The new president will take office in January.