Archives for October 2013

By Jeff Blackmon, County Star-News, Shamrock

Two Donley County men were among several Texas Panhandle veterans recently who were able to see firsthand just how appreciated they are for their service to America

In September, an Honor Flight made up of area veterans made the trip with family members to Washington, DC, to lay wreaths at war memorials, fellowship, swap war stories, and make new friends. Among those honored veterans were Joe Robinson and Bufford Holland of Donley County, both of whom fought in World War II.

The trip was made possible through America Supports You Texas, an organization committed to supporting American troops currently serving in the military and military veterans. The organization spends time throughout the year raising money for honor flights, which are designed to take veterans on a trip to Washington, DC, to visit the war memorials there and enjoy the camaraderie of other veterans.

“These flights are a sincere attempt to restore true patriotism in our country,” Gene Miller, a veteran of the United States Marine Corps, said.

It was also a special chance for World War II veterans to make the trek to Washington, DC, and remember friends and family who they served with that are now gone. According to statistics provided by the National World War II museum as many as 600 World War II veterans die each day. These honor flights are a great way to honor these men and women before they are no longer living.

For a veteran to go on one of these trips they must first be nominated. After an application process and approval, the veterans may go on the trip. If a veteran needs someone to go along to care for them a “guardian” may apply to go along with the veteran. No cost is required for a veteran to attend an honor flight but a “guardian” must pay for their trip.

The agenda for the September trip was a fast and furious one. Wednesday morning the group of 143 left Amarillo airport on a chartered Southwest Airlines flight and arrived in Baltimore, Maryland. Once their the group traveled to the World War II Memorial for a wreath laying ceremony followed by a visit to the new United States Marine Corps Museum.

One special guest with the group was 14-year-old Jordan Langehening of Panhandle, who led the group to each memorial in full dress while playing his bagpipe.

The next day the group spent time at the Iowa Jima Memorial, at Arlington National Cemetery with a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier followed by ceremonies at the Korean War Memorial and Vietnam War Memorial. The group also took time to visit the Lincoln Memorial, the Air Force Memorial and the memorial to Franklin Delano Roosevelt. At the Vietnam Memorial, several members of the party located the names of friends and family and made tracings to take back home.

The final day of the trip the group visited the United States Capitol where they sat on the floor of the House of Representatives and visited with United State Representative Mac Thornberry and heard an address from United States Representative and Vietnam veteran Sam Johnson.

The group then was given a tour of the capitol by Thornberry and then visited the Udvar-Hazy Center, a division of the Smithsonian Institution where several historic airplanes, including the Enola Gay, are housed. Following lunch and a wreath laying ceremony at the United States Navy Memorial, the group headed back to Amarillo to a raucous crowd welcoming home the veterans at the airport.

Everywhere the group went it was met with applause and handshakes. Even foreigners went out of their way to tell these men of courage thank you for their service.

To learn more about Texas Panhandle Honor Flights, visit www.americasupportsyoutexas.org.

Editor’s Note: Sandra Penn contributed to this report.

Donley County Commissioners again took no action on a proposed wind farm tax abatement when they held their regular meeting Tuesday, October 15.

The court met in closed session for about 45 minutes before reconvening in open session and taking no action. The matter will be brought up again at the court’s November 12 meeting.

Prior to the closed session, Cielo Wind Power representatives Robert Peña and John Robertson met with the commissioners.

Robertson reviewed the proposed wind farm project and said that wind development opportunities are really limited to the northwestern part of the county, and the project will require a 25-mile transmission line to tie in to the power grid.

Cielo is seeking a tax abatement that commissioners seem favorable to granting, but the payments the wind power company would make to the county in lieu of taxes appears to be a point of negotiation.

The project would be at least 80 megawatts and up to 160 megawatts with a maximum of about 36 turbines, depending on their capacity. More turbines could be added in the future, but those would have to be under a separate agreement with the county.

Part of the project will be built in Gray County, where Cielo is currently working on a separate tax agreement.

Robertson said Cielo intends to either start construction or purchase five percent of the equipment for the project by January 1, 2014, in order to qualify for federal tax credits.

Donley County voters will begin going to the polls Monday, October 21, to begin deciding a local option election on the sale of alcoholic beverages in the county.

Election Day will be Tuesday, November 5, and there are several basic facts that voters need to know before going to the polls.

The Language:

The alcohol question will appear on ballots countywide along with several proposed amendments to the state constitution. Voters will be asked to choose FOR or AGAINST the following option: “The legal sale of all alcoholic beverages including mixed beverages.” The election for the Clarendon Board of Aldermen will be on a separate ballot.

Early Voting:

Early voting on the issue begins Monday and continues through Friday, November 1, and early ballots may be cast at the Donley County Courthouse Annex.

Absentee Voting:

Those unable to vote in person during early voting or on Election Day can apply for a ballot by mail by contacting the county clerk’s office or by downloading the application from http://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/pol-sub/5-15f.pdf. The completed application must be received (not postmarked) by October 25. Photo ID is not required to vote by mail.

Photo ID:

Texas now requires voters to show photo ID at the polls. IDs that can be accepted include: one of four Texas Department of Safety (DPS) issued photo IDs (driver’s license, personal ID card, concealed handgun license, and election identification certificate) or one of three United States government issued photo IDs (passport, military ID card, US citizenship or naturalization certificate). The photo ID must be current or expired no more than 60 days. Other photo IDs, including student IDs and employment IDs, cannot be accepted at the polls.

Clarendon College is holding public forums this week to allow community members to meet finalists for the position of president.

Vice President of Student Services Dr. Robert Riza of Hill College in Hillsboro was the first candidate in town on Wednesday, October 16.

Dr. Gary Stretcher will be in Clarendon today, October 17, and he is the Vice President of Academic Affairs at Lamar State College in Port Arthur, Texas.

Dr. Steve Rook of Mena, Ark., will finish up the week with an appearance on Friday, October 18. Rook is the Vice President of Academic & Student Affairs at Rich Mountain Community College.

Each candidate is meeting the public at the CC Bairfield Activity Center from 11:00 a.m. to noon each day on the days of their visits, and regents will meet with each candidate for closed door interviews while they are in town.

Regents will announce the selection of the next CC president at their board meeting next Thursday, October 24.

The Clarendon College Men’s and Women’s Basketball programs are launching a marketing and community outreach campaign this week they call “150 + A Friend.”

This campaign aims to find 150 loyal Bulldog fans who will commit to bring a friend to each home basketball game this season for a crowd of more than 300 at each game.

“Our gym is widely known as being one of the toughest places to play in the state, and we want this year to be legendary,” Men’s Basketball Head Coach Tony Starnes said. “We want the other teams to be in amazement at what kind of community support we get from ‘such a small town’.”

The teams have hopes that the games will be loud, crazy, and fun for their supporters and a loud and crazy nightmare for their opponents.

“We want the fire marshal to turn people away,” Starnes said. “We want you to be part of the 150 and encourage you to get involved with these kids here on campus. We have a great bunch of kids.”

For information on the 150 + a Friend program, contact Starnes at 806-874-4833. A schedule of home games for the CC men and women is on page ten. The community is invited to “Meet the Bulldogs” on Tuesday, October 22, at 7 p.m. in the Bulldog Gym