Archives for October 2012

Clarendon’s sales tax revenue ticked up for the second month in a row when Texas Comptroller Susan Combs delivered September allocations last week.

The city showed an increase for the month of 10.21 percent for a total of $26,327.62 compared to $23,886.43 for the same period one year ago.

The September allocation keeps the city just slightly ahead for its year-to-date figure with $274,415.32 collected since January, which is up 0.97 percent from this same point in 2011.

Howardwick, which increased its sales tax rate last fall, posted an increase of 26.28 percent for the month with an allocation of $1,555.09; and that city is running 25.22 percent for the year-to-date at $14,134.31.

Hedley continued its trend of declining sales tax revenues, dropping 39.25 percent for the month to $174.58 and now reporting a 32.94 decline for the year-to-date at $4,035.62.

Statewide, Combs said sales tax revenue in September was $1.96 billion, up 11.6 percent compared to September 2011.

“Continued strength in the manufacturing and oil and natural gas sectors led to the sales tax revenue increase,” Combs said. “Collections were also boosted by improvement in consumer spending at restaurants and retail stores. State sales tax revenue has now increased for 30 straight months.”

The sales tax figures represent monthly sales made in August.

Local veterinarian Dr. Guy Ellis reports that there have been several cases of neurologic disease in raccoons recently in and around the Clarendon vicinity that has been diagnosed as canine distemper.

Dr. Ellis urges everyone to reduce exposure to wild animals and vaccinate pets to prevent this deadly disease.

Canine distemper is a highly contagious and sometimes fatal disease that is seen in dogs worldwide. Though its incidence has diminished greatly due to vaccination, distemper cases and outbreaks are still seen sporadically.

Canine distemper is caused by the canine distemper virus. This virus can also infect several other species including ferrets and wild animals such as coyotes, foxes, wolves, skunks, and raccoons. Animals usually become infected by direct contact with virus particles from the secretions of other infected animals (generally via inhalation). Indirect transmission (i.e., carried on dishes or other objects) is not common because the virus does not survive for long in the environment. The virus can be shed by dogs for several weeks after recovery.

Puppies under four months of age (before vaccinations are fully protective) and unvaccinated dogs are most at risk. Because canine distemper also occurs in wild animals, contact with wild animals may contribute to the spread of distemper to domestic dogs.

Canine distemper causes symptoms in multiple body systems, including the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, and the brain and spinal cord. The appearance of symptoms and course of distemper can be variable, ranging from very mild illness to fatal disease.

Vaccination is effective at preventing distemper. Puppies are typically vaccinated starting at 6 weeks of age and at regular intervals (every 2-4 weeks) until they are 14-16 weeks old (as with other vaccines, presence of antibodies received from the mother can interfere with vaccines so a puppy is not considered fully protected until the final vaccine in the series has been given). Vaccination should be repeated a year later, then at regular intervals.

For information or to get your pets vaccinated, call the Clarendon Veterinary Hospital at 874-3544.

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen gave City Administrator Lambert Little several goals to work towards if he is to get back in their good graces last week.

 Following a closed session that lasted more than an hour, aldermen gave the administrator suggestions about his job during last week’s regular city meeting on Tuesday, October 9.

 Little had asked for “measurable goals,” but aldermen led by Abby Patten and Tommy Hill mostly discussed subjective areas for improvement, such as wanting the city to be “run more effectively and efficiently” and asking for better “day to day operations.”

 Patten did tell Little specifically to finish up any proposed city policies that were needing approval, and Hill said he’d like to see a report to the board each time Little travels to meetings to let them know what was learned at said meeting.

 Mayor Larry Hicks recommended Little also spend more time in the field to see what was happening around the city and also to make sure that employees were doing what they had been asked to do.

 The suggestions followed a September 25 meeting during which aldermen gave Little a performance evaluation and then gave him three months to meet their expectations.

 In other city business last week, the board opened bids on a Community Development Block Grant project to replace aging sewer lines on the north side of the city.

 The low bid from LA Fuller & Sons came in at $267,594, which is about $7,500 more than the funds available through the grant and the city’s match. Aldermen voted unanimously to accept Fuller’s bid.

 The board approved a backup agreement with the City of Pampa for solid waste disposal and approved a letter to the State Comptroller’s office reaffirming the city’s power of eminent domain as required by the state legislature.

 Aldermen considered and unanimously approved a contract with the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation for the CEDC to administer the city’s Hotel Occupancy Tax funds.

 CEDC Executive Director Chandra Eggemeyer said she would help applicants fill out the proper paperwork, make sure their requests are proper under the law, and set certain criteria and reporting requirements for recipients.

 The Clareneond EDC would have to establish a budget for the HOT funds that would be approved by the city, and Eggemeyer would report quarterly to the Board of Aldermen.

 The board also approved a variance for Clarendon G2K, which is planning to build a new dollar store at US 287 and Parks Street across from the City Barn.

 City ordinances require the business to have 40 parking spaces for the amount of square footage they are building, but the board vote to allow the business to only have 30 spaces.