Clarendon Live

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Archives for January 2013

Leldon “Zeke” Taylor

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Leldon “Zeke” Taylor, 60, passed away Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012.

Funeral: 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 5, at Pleasantview Baptist Church, Arlington. A second funeral service will be held 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 7, at Calvary Baptist Church in Clarendon. Interment: Citizens Cemetery in Clarendon. Visitation: 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 4, at Pleasantview Baptist Church.

Memorials: In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Zeke’s memory to Rendon Baptist Church, Rendon, or Arlington Baptist College.

Zeke was born June 9, 1952, in Fort Worth to R.B. “Bob” and Maudie M. Taylor. He graduated from Glen Rose High School, the University of Texas Arlington and Arlington Baptist College.

He retired July 2007 from the IRS after 34 years of service and was the pastor of Rendon Baptist Church for 13 years.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Maudie and Bob Taylor, and wife, Linda S. Talley Taylor.

He is survived by his Wife, Janie Hall Taylor; brother, Vernon S. Taylor and wife, Karen; nephews, Matthew and Jeffrey Taylor and Kyle Talley; brother-in-law, Robert Talley; and several cousins.

Editorial: Resolve to get involved in New Year

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 Lambert Little is gone from City Hall, and Clarendon must now figure out the best way to move forward as 2013 gets underway.

The Board of Aldermen is faced with several decisions. First and foremost, they have a vacancy to fill on the board since former alderman Terry Noble’s November 27 resignation. The name of Sandy Skeltonwas put forward at the board’s December 11 meeting, but aldermen tabled consideration of making an appointment until next week’s meeting on January 8.

Roger Estlack, Editor

Who the board picks will say a lot about how it intends to govern from this point forward. The appointment of someone with an ax to grind or with a personal agenda will spur further dissension among citizens, but the thoughtful appointment of someone who truly has only the city’s best interests at heart could go a long ways toward bringing people back together.

The board must also consider what process it will undertake to find a replacement for Little. Even those who voted to terminate the former administrator have said they believe Clarendon needs someone in that position. But before we go down the path of making that selection, it would be in the best interest of all involved for Alderman Tommy Hill to step down.

Hill has exhibited an extremely adversarial attitude toward each of the last three city administrators and has voted to fire the last two. No matter who holds the title, Hill takes it upon himself to attempt to micromanage the city’s affairs, injects himself into personnel matters, and repeatedly takes issue with the administrator’s authority. Jesus Christ might be the only one who could do the job to Hill’s liking and then only with the board retaining the right to hire and fire.

In several open meetings, Hill has stated that he sees it as his job to keep an eye on the city employees’ daily activities. No one would think it was a school board member’s job to see that the janitor is sweeping the floor at the Bronco Gym, but Hill thinks being an elected official makes it his responsibility to know what each employee is doing every minute of the day. Aldermen are supposed to set policy. The administrator and supervisors then manage the city just like the superintendent and principals manage the school.

Alderman Hill no doubt means well and he certainly loves his hometown. But unfortunately his personality is creating disharmony at a time when this community needs to find a way to set aside differences and move forward. Now that he has accomplished his latest goal, it would be a good time for him to bow out. Is there any chance of him resigning? No. But his absence would bring a more civil tone to city meetings and create a situation where a good applicant might consider applying for the job of administrator.

The next steps that must be taken are the responsibility of the citizens of this town. Your editor has heard some grumbling about people not doing business at this or that establishment following the dismissal of Mr. Little. That is an intolerable attitude. One of our biggest problems is that qualified businessmen and businesswomen don’t run for local offices for fear the decisions they might make would negatively impact their business.

History is full of stories of local merchants who got hit in the pocketbook after they made tough decisions on an elected board. But as friends and neighbors we need to take strides to see that doesn’t happen. It is no secret that this column disagreed with the city aldermen’s recent decision, but our families have not changed their purchasing or dining habits because of it. It’s politics. You agree or disagree and move on.

In a small town we can’t afford to start lobbying against any business in town. If you support this community, you need to support your local merchants. If you don’t, well then you don’t really support the town.

And finally, it’s time for good people to start thinking about running for office. We’re still several weeks away from the filing time, but we need folks to put some careful thought into serving their community. The situation at the city, in part, has been caused by a lack of participation by the people.

There soon will be opportunities to run for not just the city council but also for the school board, the hospital board, and the college board. If you think you might be a good fit for one of those, then make it a point to attend that board’s meeting or meetings before you file. Educate yourself about that position, what the issues are, and how that entity operates. And then, if you’re willing, throw your hat in the ring and prepare to get your hands dirty and your feelings hurt. Public service, as former mayor Tex Selvidge recently pointed out, is a thankless job, but it is necessary.

And if you can’t run for office or don’t want to, then at least make some time in your busy schedule to attend some of these public meetings. We can’t print a complete transcript of every meeting that occurs in Donley County. (It would take up a lot of space, and frankly you wouldn’t want to read it anyway.) We do, however, make great efforts to keep you abreast of what’s happening. But there can be no substitute for sitting through these meetings yourself, to see how board members interact with each other, to see the tough issues they have to deal with, and for wanting to scream after two hours of pointless debate, “Make a motion already!”

Resolve to get involved in 2013, and our community will be better for it.

Broncos beat Valley

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By Sandy Anderberg

The Bronco varsity basketball team gained a big win over the Valley Patriots on the road Tuesday night. After leading from the beginning the Broncos won 58-38.

Clarendon shot 70 percent from the free throw line, which helped them to stay one step in front of the Patriots. Aggressive offense and intense defense allowed the Broncos to find a rhythm in the game and stop Valley from gaining any momentum. The second quarter of play was big for the Broncos to give them a boost going into the second half. Consistency was key in the last half of play as the Broncos stayed solid. The inside strength of Cole Ward and Adam Topper plus the outside shooting of Cody Wood gave the Broncos the edge they needed to get the win. Head coach Brandt Lockhart felt the Broncos turned up the heat in the second half of play.

“We played well on defense and pushed the ball in the second half and got easy baskets. We only allowed two offensive rebounds.”

Scoring: Ward 16, Topper 13, Wood 11, Charles Mason 8, Trajen Johnson 4, Diego Santos 2, Jonah Sell 2, and Cedrick McCampbell 2.

The Broncos played in the Canadian Basketball Tournament over the holidays and took on Wheeler in the opening round. They played solid basketball and breezed to a 71-36 win.

The Broncos came together and hustled hard to take an 18-point lead at the break while holding their opponent to only 12 first half points. They continued their dominance after half time and got the big win. Ward was on fire and put in 21 points while Topper also finished in double figures with 13.

Also scoring: Mason 8, Wood 7, Santos 7, Chance McAnear 5, Johnson 4, Sell 3, and Wood 1.

The Broncos went up against Childress in the second round and narrowly lost 53-55. The Broncos could never get any offense going and trailed by eight points at the break.

Foul trouble plagued them, as they had to hustle to get back into it. They were able to get within two points, but ran out of time. Topper, Ward, and Santos finished in double figures.

Scoring: Topper 16, Ward 12, Santos 10, Wood 9, and Johnson 6.

The loss put the Broncos in the consolation round where they met up against Wellington. They hustled hard and fought to the end, but were defeated 55-64.

The Broncos only trailed by three after the opening quarter, but the Rockets were able to increase their lead to 11 points at the break. The Broncos were able to stage a comeback in the final half of play, but could not overcome the point difference. Topper was a workhorse inside and finished with 21 points.

“I thought we played well the first game, but the next two games we did not shoot the ball well,” Lockhart said. “We had chances to win the game, but could not get stops and could not convert on offense. I thought we played hard, but did not play physical.”

Scoring: Topper 21, Santos 9, Johnson 9, Wood 6, Ward 6, and Mason 4.

The Broncos will play Childress at home on Friday, January 4, at home at 6:00 p.m. and open their District season at home on Tuesday, January 8, against Claude.

Lady Broncos clobber the Patriots

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By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Broncos made short work of Valley Tuesday night as they brought home a big win over the Lady Pats at 66-48.

Solid play and aggressiveness helped the ladies get the victory and continue their winning streak. The ladies jumped on the Lady Patriots early and stifled their offense in the first quarter of the game. They used the break to recover somewhat and came out in the third period to play tough and solid basketball. A huge third quarter sealed the win for the Lady Broncos.

“The Valley game was a very scrappy game,” head coach Molly Weatherred said. “I thought the girls did a great job handling this type of ball game. We shot really good from the three, which was a huge key to winning the ball game. I thought our defense did a good job making them take some tough shots.”

Ryann Starnes hit two three-pointers and went two for two from the bonus to lead the Lady Broncos on the scoreboard. The ladies shot 66% from the free throw line.

Scoring: Starnes 14, Jentry Shadle 9, McKayla Cartwright 9, Taylor Gaines 7, Camra Smith 7, Deborah Hoard 6, Lydia Howard 6, Anna Ceniceros 3, Audrey Shelton 3, and Jency Burton 2.

The Lady Broncos also participated in the Canadian Tournament December 27 and finished second to the host team.

They took on Stratford in the first round and clobbered them 64-52. The ladies took control early and kept up the momentum throughout the game. Several Lady Broncos contributed to the win on the scoreboard with Shadle and Cartwright leading the way in double figures.

Scoring: Shadle 12, Cartwright 11, Gaines 9, D. Howard 9, Starnes 8, Burton 7, Smith 4, Ceniceros 2, and L. Howard 2.

The win over Stratford put the ladies in a matchup with Borger in the second round. After overcoming a first quarter deficit, the ladies regrouped and defeated the Lady Bulldogs 50-46. The Lady Broncos trailed by one at the break, but hustled back to take the lead by one after three. They were able to stay consistent and get the win. Cartwright exploded inside and accounted for 21 points in the win.

Also scoring: D. Howard 9, Gaines 8, Burton 5, Ceniceros 3, Skyler White 2, Starnes 1, and L. Howard 1.

With two wins, the Lady Broncos held a lot of momentum going into the Championship game against Canadian. Despite playing hard, the ladies fell 42-49. The game was close in the first half of play with just one point separating the teams. But the Lady Cats grabbed the upper hand in the third period, which gave them the lead and the win. Weatherred thought the ladies played hard in the tournament.

“We were a little short handed,” Weatherred said. “Jentry went out in the first game with a rolled ankle and others had the flu. Overall they played well despite some adversity.”

The ladies are anxious to get on with their schedule after the break.

“It was nice to get back in the gym after our days off,” Weatherred said. “We were a little sloppy and out of shape, but we played hard and got back into things. It will be good to get on a roll before our District season starts.”

Scoring: Cartwright 17, Gaines 9, D. Howard 6, Ceniceros 5, Starnes 2, Shelton 2, and Burton 1.

The ladies will travel to San Jacinto on Friday, January 4, and play at 7:30 p.m. and begin their district schedule at home on January 8 against Claude.

Hedley Lady Owls beat Shamrock

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By Fred Gray

Playing at home, the Lady Owls defeated the Shamrock lady roundballers 43 – 39, on Tuesday, December 18.

Bailey Wood played an excellent game, leading all scorers with 20 points. She made five 2-point baskets, added two 3-pointers, and was an outstanding 4 of 4 from the free throw line. Kati Adams also played well, contributing 13 points to the winning effort. Adams made three 2-point baskets, and was 7 of 8 from the free throw line. Salem Shelp added a respectable 6 points, and Kortney Burton scored 4 important points – the winning margin of the game.

The Lady Owls next game is Friday, January 4, at 6:30 P.M, when they travel to Silverton to play the Silverton Lady Owls. It promises to be a soaring, high flying aerial game, with feathers flying and talons loosened. Be there!

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