Committee forming to plan decorations for courthouse

Local volunteers are being sought to make plans for decorating the Donley County Courthouse for Christmas this year.

The county commissioners’ court last month appointed Justice of the Peace Denise Bertrand to recruit and organize a volunteer committee to decorate the lawn in 2014 and forward. And the hope is that the lawn will be lit in a manner to give the respect and dignity the historic courthouse deserves.

Given the nickname “The Jewel of the Plains,” the Donley County Courthouse was built in 1890 and is the oldest operating courthouse in the Panhandle. The building was completely restored in 2003.

Bertrand says volunteer organizations have decorated the courthouse lawn for many years. The Girl Scouts are still decorating their tree and putting out a nativity scene. This leaves the rest of the lawn empty and in desperate need of some loving care at Christmas.

The plan is for the courthouse lawn to again be something to brag about and a place to kick off the Christmas holiday each year. The committee is charged with overseeing the lighting, hosting a lighting ceremony the weekend of Thanksgiving, and removal and storage of the decorations.

Judge Bertrand says the committee’s organizational meeting will be Tuesday, January 21, in the courthouse at 7:00 p.m. Anyone and everyone who is interested in seeing a Donley County Christmas tradition revived and improved is asked to come.

For more information and to volunteer, call Bertrand at her office 806-856-5914.