Archives for June 2011

The sky, as well as firework stands, will be bare this Fourth of July, and citizens are warned not to take the county fireworks ban lightly.

“There will be no warnings on fireworks,” Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said. “We will file charges on people.”

Donley County Judge Jack Hall signed a disaster declaration last Wednesday, part of which banned the sale, possession, and use of fireworks. The judge’s order was good for only 60 hours, but Gov. Rick Perry approved the county’s request to extend the ban through July 5, 2011, at 7 a.m.

The ban not only impacts patriots wishing to celebrate the Fourth of July celebrators but also people who make money from annual fireworks sales. That inlcudes the Jesus Name Apostolic Church, whose members say they understand the need for the ban.

“The ban is disappointing,” church member Beverly Burrow said, “but we had already made up our minds before the ban in respect of others not to order anymore fireworks if we didn’t get any rain. I think the ban is wise and so does my husband as well as most everyone in our congregation.”

Fireworks sales have been a long-running fundraiser for the church.

“We’ve had our stand for 20 some years, and we usually help fund missionaries with most of the money we make,” Burrow said.

Perry’s decision to extend the judge’s ban came at the recommendation of the Texas Division of Emergency Management.

County commissioners also extended Hall’s disaster declaration at their regular meeting on Monday, otherwise it would have expired after seven days.

The disaster declaration cites the lack of rainfall and continuing hot, dry conditions as posing the threat of large wildfires which could endanger “lives and property on a large scale.” It also states that current conditions make the threat of disaster “imminent.” Clarendon has had barely more than half an inch of rain this year.

As of this week, bans on fireworks have been either passed or are pending in 23 Panhandle counties.

In other county business Monday: Commissioners approved the July Fourth Celebration on the Courtyard; renewed the Texas VINE service for 2012; accepted a bid of $450 on tax delinquent property at Lot 4, Saints Roost II from Charles and Debbora Sharpton; and distributed budget worksheets to elected officials and department heads to be turned in by July 11, 2011.

All three Donley County cities posted higher sales tax revenue when Texas Comptroller Susan Combs released June allocation figures last week.

The City of Clarendon June allocation is $22,085.89, which is up 1.09 percent from the same period one year ago. The city is now 10.9 percent ahead on its year-to-date sales tax revenue with a total of $165,287.99 since January of this year.

Howardwick was up 15.46 percent for the month with revenue of $1,330.43 and was ahead 6.73 percent for this calendar year with total revenue to-date of $6,272.24.
Hedley’s revenue for June was up 3.58 percent at $340.15, but that city was lagging behind 1.88 percent for the year with $3,443.05 since January.

June’s sales tax allocations represent sales that occurred in April.

Statewide, Combs said that sales tax revenue in May was $1.95 billion, up 9.9 percent compared to May 2010.

“Spending in sectors such as the oil and gas industry and manufacturing helped increase state sales tax revenue,” said Combs. “Retail spending also grew. Texas has now had 14 straight months of sales tax revenue increases.”

Combs delivered June sales tax allocations of $311.8 million to Texas cities, up 6.6 percent compared to June 2010. So far this calendar year, city sales tax allocations are up 6.3 percent compared to the same time period last year.

For details of June sales tax payments to individual cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose districts, locate the Monthly Sales Tax Allocation Comparison Summary Reports on the Comptroller’s Web site at
www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/allocsum/compsum.html.

The Comptroller’s July sales tax allocation will be made on Monday, July 11.

Donley County Judge Jack Hall this morning signed an order banning the sale and use of fireworks, and Gov. Rick Perry this afternoon extended that ban through the July Fourth holiday.

Perry’s decision comes at the recommendation of the Texas Division of Emergency Managment, and his extension will expire at 7 a.m. on July 5, 2011.

The local fireworks ban, which was good for only 60 hours prior to the governor’s extension, was included in a county disaster declaration signed by Hall today.

The disaster declaration cites the lack of rainfall and continuing hot, dry conditions as posing the threat of large wildfire which could endanger “lives and property on a large scale.” It also states that current conditions make the threat of disaster “imminent.”

Hall’s disaster declaration is in effect for seven days unless the commissioners’ court extends the declaration at their meeting next Monday.

The judge said Briscoe, Hall, Gray, Collingsworth, and Armstrong counties are all passing similar measures to help prevent wildfires

Clarendon resident Brandon Goodwin III is out on bond this week on a charge of animal cruelty.

The Donley County Sheriff’s Office and city employees were dispatched to Goodwin’s house at 223 S. Carhart St. on May 24 on a report of a dog hanging from the fence. The small female dog was dead when they arrived.

Following an investigation, Goodwin was arrested on May 25 on a Class A Misdemeanor; cruelty to non-livestock animals. If found guilty, he could possibly a maximum $4,000 fine and up to a year in jail.

“When we come up on something like this, we will prosecute to the full extent of the law,” City Administrator Lambert Little said. “There is absolutely no reason for this.”

The city also impounded two other dogs Goodwin had reportedly tied to a fence post. Little said that the dogs had no food and no water and were covered with ticks. One was so tangled around the post that it only had two feet of moving area.

“These dogs were so malnourished you could see their ribs,” Little said. “We will keep them in our animal control facility for ten days. If they are not adopted by then, we will have to euthanize them.”

Little said that the city will need to “pep up animal control” to encourage citizens to take better care of their animals.

“We’re not nearly as strict as we should be about people taking care of their animals,” he said. “The city rules concerning animal cruelty state that pets cannot run at large in the city, must have a rabies shot tag issued by the city, and must be provided food, water, and shelter.”
The city has the right to impound dogs that are tied up by anything but a leash.

“It is not permitted to have dogs chained up, and if your dog is tied up, you must be out there to watch it,” Little said. “It is permissible is they are tethered to something like a clothes line where they won’t get tangled up. There must be 150 square feet of playing space per animal.”
Pets picked up will have ten days of adoption time before getting euthanized.

“It will cost owners time and money to get their animals back,” Little said. “They can also face a fine for ordinance violation.”