Archives for July 2015

The first graduating class of the new Clarendon College Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) Program has achieved an outstanding pass rate of 93.75 percent on the NCLEX-RN licensing exam, the gateway exam for receiving an RN license and practicing as a Registered Nurse in the State of Texas.

Sixteen students graduated from the College’s first class of ADN students this May, and in addition to the licensing, these students have earned an Associate of Applied Science Degree in Nursing, which requires general education course work in addition to the nursing courses.

“Obviously we’re very proud of our students success,” said CC President Robert Riza. “It goes back to the hard work and dedication of our faculty. Dr. Cathy Rosser has been helping us this year and mentoring our faculty, and our program director, Cathy Bailey, has done an amazing job getting our students ready for graduation and for this exam.”

The Texas Board of Nurses (BON) governs the practice of the Professional Nurse, also known as Registered Nurse (RN), as well as all other nursing programs in the State. The annual NCLEX examination pass rate for each professional nursing education program is determined by the percentage of first time test-takers who pass the examination during the examination year. Successful nursing programs must maintain an eighty percent (80%) pass-rate for first-time NCLEX-RN candidates each year.

“This group of nursing students faced each challenge they experienced head-on, and prevailed each time,” David Hall, CC Associate Dean of Career, Technical, and Continuing Education said. “They have risen to a new level of comprehension and competence in their field; and I am proud to know can now take their training and confidently and positively influence well-being in our communities.”

The College is also grateful for the communities and organizations that support its mission and students, specifically the College’s ADN clinical partners located in Pampa, Childress, Wheeler, Shamrock, and Amarillo.

Riza said the program serves an important purpose for the college’s service area.

“This program helps meet the needs of our communities by providing quality health professionals from the area,” Riza said.

Hall also said the ADN graduates come from the local communities and have been provided the opportunity to learn at local clinical locations.

“These students are now poised and ready to give back to the communities who have supported them,” Hall said.

The ADN Program at Clarendon College includes start dates for bridge students who currently hold Vocational Nursing licenses, and also those who are new to the healthcare field.

Anyone interested in more information is encouraged to contact Cathryn E. Bailey, ADN Program Director, at 806-660-2014.

 

Three men traveling from Colorado to Dallas got a night’s stay in the Donley County Jail Sunday after an off-duty deputy saw them smoking pot in front of a local convenience store.

Sheriff Butch Blackburn said off-duty Deputy Odie Smith was getting gas at Allsup’s when he saw the men engaged in illegal activity. He called Deputy Sonny Morasco to the scene, and he observed the driver lighting a bong in plain view, the sheriff said.

Joshua Foreman, age 21, from Euless; Alexander James Salazar, age 20, from Bedford; and Joshua Gordon, age 21, from Bedford, were all arrested and charged with a second degree felony of Possession of Controlled Substance and a class A misdemeanor of possession of marijuana.

Justice of the Peace Denise Bertrand arraigned the men Monday, July 27, with total bond for each one set at $4,500. All three made bond and were released Monday.

Blackburn said the men admitted that they had gone to Colorado to buy drugs and were on their way back to the Dallas area.

In addition to marijuana, the men had THC wax with them, a more potent derivative of marijuana, the sheriff said.

The City of Howardwick is getting ready to make some noise after installing three new storm sirens this week.

The $57,000 project replaces five older sirens and is being paid for largely by grant funds from the US Department of Agriculture, according to City Secretary Tammy Jordan.

The USDA provided $41,137.50 for the new sirens, Greenbelt Rural Electric Coop. provided $3,100 for poles and power, and the city paid the balance, Jordan said.

The new system will provide better coverage that the old system and can be radio-controlled by local officials and by dispatchers at the Donley County Sheriff’s Office. The sirens can be set to tone differently for fires and tornadoes.

The largest siren located north of the community building can put out 128 decibels at a distance of 100 feet and will cover a radius of one to 1¼ miles. Two smaller sirens are located in the city’s northeastern addition and on the southwest side of the city in the Nocona Hills section. Those sirens output 120 decibels and cover a radius up to three quarters of a mile.

Technicians with Storm Sirens, Inc., were working to install the system Tuesday and expected to be testing the system on Wednesday of this week.

Jordan said the city applied for funding for the system last October and was almost immediately approved. Installation comes now after a lightning strike this summer hit the old system.

 

The Clarendon City Council again wrestled with the Third Street question during their regular meeting last Thursday, July 23.

Engineer Clayton Scales presented four differing proposals to solve the vexing problem of drainage on the newly paved street between Bugbee Avenue and Broncho Stadium. The rollover curb installed as part of street project earlier this year does not channel storm water and results in significant erosion behind the curb.

The estimated costs to fix the problems range from about $200,000 to put 10-foot concrete lanes behind the rollovers to about $97,000 to place a six-inch stand-up curb on the south side of the road and a 10-foot hot mix asphalt lane behind the rollover on the north side.

Aldermen discussed the merits of each of the four proposals in an attempt to determine how to carry the most storm water for the best price. City Administrator David Dockery also discussed possible solutions, and asked Scales to do more studies with specific attention the cost and effectiveness of an eight-inch stand-up curb.

In other city business, the council discussed the need for a raise in sanitation rates. Dockery said the department needs about 14 percent more revenue to cover its expenses. Alderman Sandy Skelton said he was in favor of covering expenses “as long as the expense is reasonable.” The council will consider the matter further at a future meeting.

Aldermen approved a raise in the employee retirement contribution rate from 5 percent to 7 percent. The contribution is matched by the employees, and city officials said the employees supported the plan as a way to retain employees.

A motion was approved to institute a Municipal Court Security Fee, which will add $3 to each citation. The funds will be used for security for the municipal court, including City Hall, which houses the court.

 

CORPUS CHRISTI – Kati Adams of the Hedley FFA Chapter, was awarded a $10,000 scholarship, sponsored by Richard Wallrath Educational Foundation at the 87th annual Texas FFA State Convention held July 13-17 in Corpus Christi.

Adams was awarded for her qualifications in academic achievement, leadership, SAE, FFA involvement, financial need, and personal interview.

The 87th annual Texas FFA State Convention recorded approximately 12,000 members and guests. Members of the agricultural youth leadership organization spent the week attending leadership workshops, participating in events and activities, being recognized for their achievements, and serving as the legislative body for the Texas FFA Association.

The Texas FFA is the nation’s largest state FFA association with a membership of more than 109,000 members and 1,032 local FFA chapters.

FFA gives students the opportunity to apply practical classroom knowledge to real world experiences through local, state, and national competitions.

For more information about the Texas FFA visit www.texasffa.org.

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Conditions at Greenbelt Lake have improved, but more rain is needed get the reservoir completely out of drought status.

Greenbelt General Manager Bobbie Kidd said this week the lake has come up 11 feet for the year and has actually moved out of Stage Four drought conditions but is not quite out of Stage Three.

“We lack about a foot and a quarter before we get to Stage Two,” Kidd said.

The lake entered each drought stage based on elevation triggers, and those triggers reverse as the lake level rises. Making it back to Stage Two will be an important benchmark for Greenbelt because that’s when the water authority will lift restrictions on skiing and recreational boating, Kidd said.

The lake has two temporary boat ramps open for fishing boats at Kincaid Park, and Kidd said the additional eleven feet in the reservoir has improved Greenbelt’s traffic somewhat, but more important is the quantity of water the lake now holds.

“We nearly doubled our capacity going from about 7,700 acre-feet to more than 14,000 acre-feet,” Kidd said. “That puts us at nearly five billion gallons.”

In addition to exceptional rainfall since the spring, Greenbelt has been helped by efforts undertaken months ago to clean out the channel of the Salt Fork of the Red River, which feeds the lake. The water authority cleared out a 1.6 miles of the river, making a channel four feet deep and about 20 feet wide, which has helped get runoff water into the lake.

“There was a lot of water just standing before that,” Kidd said.

Greenbelt Water Authority has added a lot of groundwater capacity to its operations since the lake level dropped nine feet in 2011 alone. Since then five wells have been put online in Clarendon and four wells have been located on Kelly Creek, allowing about 40 percent of water consumption to be coming from groundwater instead of the reservoir.

It will take about eight more feet of water in Greenbelt to get completely out of drought status, but Kidd said he thinks people have learned a lot during the drought.

“People are getting smarter about water usage,” he said. “I think even if the lake was full you wouldn’t see water being wasted.”

 

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

Two Donley County men are facing assault charges after weekend fight that is under investigation by the Texas Rangers.

Clay Sawyer, age 32, and Chris Blackburn, age 21, were both arrested in the early morning hours of Saturday, July 18, after officers were dispatched to the 600 block of S. Collinson Street following a report of a fight in progress at about 1:28 a.m.

One victim was reportedly hospitalized following the altercation, and neighbors witnessed two Donley County Deputies, one state trooper, and local EMS respond to the events.

Texas Ranger Scott Swick was called in Saturday to handle the case and file the charges since Blackburn is the son of Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn.

Justice of the Peace Pam Mason said she arraigned both subjects on Saturday night.

Sawyer was charged with two counts of Class A Misdemeanor Assault with bond set at $1,500 for each count. Blackburn was charged with one count of Class A Misdemeanor Assault with bond set at $1,500.

Sawyer and Blackburn were released on bond Sunday.

Ranger Swick said Monday that his investigation is on-going and offered no further comment on the case.