Archives for October 2014

A diesel-fueled fire caused more than $1.5 million worth of damage to a road construction plant west of Clarendon last Wednesday, October 8.

The Clarendon Volunteer Fire Department and Donley County EMS were dispatched at 11:53 to the reported diesel fuel tank fire at the J. Lee Milligan Plant on FM 2362 just south of US 287. Five trucks and nine firemen responded.

Firemen discovered an 8,500-gallon diesel tank was leaking and a large ground fire was heating the tank. The same tank in a different compartment contained 11,000 gallons of burner oil, and the fire was also affecting several drums of oil, a 300-gallon diesel tank, a 300-gallon propane tank, and a tank of liquid asphalt heated to 350°F. A large electrical generator was also in the vicinity.

Clarendon VFD evacuated the area as the fire was out of control and the danger of an explosion was too great to suppress the fire. The Pantex Fire Department was called for mutual aid at 12:30 p.m. and responded with three units and six firefighters.

Clarendon Fire Chief Jeremy Powell said the Pantex FD has a truck capable of putting foam on a chemical fire at a rate of 1,000 gallons per minute. Clarendon can pump foam at 250 gallons per minute.

Just before 1:00 p.m., a 300-gallon steel fuel tank exploded, rocking the plant and causing heavy damage to the area.

Pantex FD showed up a short time later and agreed with CVFD officials that the scene was unsafe for firefighters. Fire officials then explained to Milligan officials that the fire would likely have to burn itself out.

Pantex remained on the scene for several hours and then returned to Pantex.

About 5 p.m., CVFD noticed the fire had subsided and began cooling the area by pumping water onto the fire from a distance. The department used a thermal camera and noted that cooling efforts had worked and the tank had become less of a risk.

A direct attack was staged on the fire with Milligan employees assisting by smothering the leaking fuel and fire by dumping loads of sand on the fire with a front-end loader as CVFD pumped water and foam onto the fire.

The blaze was contained by 6 p.m., and firefighters returned to the station at 7 p.m.

“The combined efforts J. Lee Milligan employees and Clarendon Firefighters stopped the fire and prevented further property loss or damage,” Powell said.

Early damage estimates were $1.5 to $2 million, and the plant will be closed for several days for repairs.

Powell said the fire was caused by an accidental diesel spill from a fuel transport company filling the 8,500-gallon tank. The spilled diesel contacted the open flame of a propane torch being used by Milligan employees in the process of plant duties. The leak on the tank was subsequently caused by the fire burning and damaging fuel lines.

CVFD used its thermal imaging camera during the course of the fire. Fuel in the diesel tank was heated to 450°F and many objects near the fire were heated to an excess of 2,000°F.

The Donley County Sheriff’s Office this week is still trying to determine if a crime was committed when a Howardwick woman died from a gunshot wound last Wednesday, October 8.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said his office is calling the death of Karla Bartek “suspicious” as they await the results of forensics before ruling the case as a suicide or a homicide.

Authorities received a call of a gunshot wound in Howardwick at 425 Janny after 10 a.m. Wednesday, October 8. Upon arrival, Sheriff Butch Blackburn found the body of Carla Bartek in the front yard of the home with one gunshot wound to the head. A .380 semi-automatic pistol was found with the body, Blackburn said.

Bartek’s husband, Alton, reported the incident, Blackburn said.

Preliminary results of an autopsy conducted Thursday found that the gunshot wound was the cause of Bartek’s death and that her body showed no other signs of trauma, leading officers to believe there was no physical altercation before her death.

Forensic lab results are expected back by next week, Blackburn said. The Texas Rangers are assisting with the investigation.

Funeral services for Bartek, age 53, were held Monday, October 13, in Amarillo at Calvary Baptist Church. Bartek, who was born February 1, 1961, in Farmington, New Mexico, to Wayne and Irene Holt, is survived by her husband; two sons, Ricky Paulson and Christopher Paulson; five brothers, Gene Willis, Marlin Willis, Ronnie Willis, Lonnie Willis and Victor Holt; and three grandchildren.

Legal action against Clarendon Mayor Larry Hicks was resolved out of court this week when the city’s chief executive fulfilled terms of a settlement crafted at a court-ordered mediation last Thursday, October 9.

Three former members of the Board of Aldermen – Debbie Roberts-Hillis, Jesus Hernandez, and Tommy N. Hill – sued Hicks last November, listing several complaints against the mayor and requesting the district court remove him from office.

Eleven months after the suit was filed, the terms of mediation came down to one issue – the installation of an exterior elevator on the front of City Hall in 2012. The plaintiffs initially claimed the lift was installed without board approval. They later produced a report from A Home Elevator, Inc., that the elevator was basically obsolete and would be very costly to make operational.

Hillis and attorney Greg Freeman, representing the plaintiffs, attended the mediation last week and agreed to drop all action if Hicks would call a special meeting of the Board of Aldermen and recommend the elevator be removed. Hicks agreed, and a called meeting was held Monday afternoon.

During that meeting, Hicks made the required recommendation and also noted that the elevator had never been finished, that it was former city administrator Lambert Little’s project, and that nothing more had been done with it after Little was terminated in late 2012.

Hicks also noted that, under the terms of the settlement, he had to recommend the elevator be removed but said it was up to the board to decide what action to take.

The board discussed the elevator project. It was mentioned that the elevator was purchased from the City of Amarillo for $10 and the work so far to install it had cost about $2,000, and Hicks said removing it would probably cost about the same.

Alderman Doug Kidd said the complainants allegations were about actions taken while two of them were still serving on the board and noted specifically that the elevator project had been budgeted.

Hillis and Hernandez both resigned from the board in June 2013. Hill’s term as alderman expired in May of that year, and he lost his election bid that month to unseat Hicks as mayor.

Alderman John Lockhart said he had heard several complaints about the appearance of the elevator and that it was “an eyesore” on the front of City Hall.

Alderman Sandy Skelton said the elevator is currently not needed since there is no public space on the second floor of City Hall and said he thinks the current Board Room is adequate for public meetings and is handicapped accessible. He noted that the board can meet elsewhere, such as the Burton Memorial Library, if it needs more space.

“I would be in favor of getting rid of the whole thing and getting this behind us,” Skelton said.

The board then approved a motion to give Hicks the authority to have the lift and housing removed and to restore the building back to its appearance before the project was undertaken.

The District Court heard two pleas in local cases last week during docket calls in Clarendon and Childress.

District Attorney Luke Inman, assisted by Greg Buckley, prosecuted the cases for the State of Texas with the Honorable Judge Stuart Messer presiding.

In Clarendon on Monday, October 6, Billy Gene Chadwick was convicted for the second degree felony offense of burglary of a habitation and was sentenced to ten years in the Institutional Division of the TDCJ, but the sentence was probated for a period of three years.

Chadwick, 41-years-old of Clarendon, was arrested in Donley County by Deputy Sonny Marasco on April 21, 2014, and was later indicted by a Donley County Grand Jury on June 25, 2014.

Pursuant to the plea Chadwick is required to pay a $2,000 fine to Donley County, $614 in court costs, and complete 300 hours of community service.

In Childress on Thursday, October 9, Matthew Lunsford was placed on probation for a period of two years for the class A misdemeanor offense of deadly conduct. Lunsford pleaded guilty and was placed on deferred adjudication for the offense.

Lunsford, 18-year-old resident of Clarendon, was arrested in Donley County for the offense that took place February 23, 2014, by Donley County Deputy Jay Logan and was indicted by a Donley County Grand Jury on April 1, 2014.

Pursuant to the plea agreement, Lunsford is required to pay a $250 fine to Donley County, $398 in court costs, and successfully complete 100 hours of community service. If Lunsford violates probation, he could face up to one year in the county jail.