Archives for July 2015

Beautiful, weather greeted a patriotic crowd gathered on the Courthouse Square last Saturday, July 4, for the 138th annual Saints’ Roost Celebration.

The Kids’ Parade started the day with the youngsters peddling or driving from Third Street down Sully Street in front of the Courthouse. In the 0-4 age group, Haylin Bivens was first, Matthew Newhouse was second, and Gage Kidd was third. Kyndall Shields won the 5-8 age group with Mason Jackson second and Aubrey Stidham third. The 9 and up age group was won by Alexa Ralston, Finley Cunningham was second, and Jayde Gribble was third.

The Herring Bank Parade delighted kids of all ages as floats, riding units, emergency vehicles, and other entries wound their way from the baseball fields through downtown. Christ’s Kids Ministry took Grand Champion and best float, Redell and Sherol Johnston won best car or truck, Jerry Green won best tractor or farm equipment, best animal entry went to the Clarendon Outpost, and best “other” entry went to Bikers Against Child Abuse.

The annual Craft Fair drew a big crowd to the courthouse square with an impressive number of vendors; and the Chamber of Commerce recognized several pioneer citizens during the Old Settlers gathering. The following honorees received a mug from the Chamber: Johnny Leather, Buford Holland, and Neil Gray.

The Al Morrah Shrine Club served 771 plates of barbecue, up slightly from 750 last year. A portion of the proceeds from the annual barbecue are used in conjunction with the Khiva Shrine Temple in Amarillo to help pay for the transportation of kids to the Shriners’ burns and crippled children’s hospitals.

Several organizations held fundraisers during the celebration. Rose Linley won the John Deere riding lawn mower given by the Junior Livestock Association in support of the Donley County Activity Center. Doris Homer was the winner of the St. Mary’s Catholic Women Quilt Drawing. The winners of the Courthouse Lighting Committee Penny Raffle were Judy Thomas and Craig Snell, $100.00 each and Susan Bailey and Greta Byars, $50 each.

The Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association hosted a Junior Ranch Rodeo on July Fourth and an open Ranch Rodeo on July 2 and 3. Results of those events are listed in a separate article in this week’s edition.

Henson’s annual Turtle Race was held Saturday afternoon. There were altogether 242 participants, which was slightly down from the 261 terrapin handlers last year. The winners were Karly Jones for the 0-4 division, Trystan Richie for the 5-8 division, Jodee Pigg for the 9-14 division, and Tyler Lane for the adult division. Each child division winner received $50. The adult division brought in $185, which was divided in half between the winner and the Donley County Child Welfare board.

Cowboys from Wilson Cattle made a five-peat performance as they took top honors for the fifth year in a row during the Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association’s annual Ranch Rodeo last Friday and Saturday.

Wilson Cattle’s scores beat out 29 other local and regional teams as working cowboys put their skills to the test as part of the 138th annual Saints’ Roost Celebration. The team was made up of Rody Wilson, Casey Joe Lewis, Tres Campbell, and Matt Cramlet.

The Finck Cattle & Barnes Cattle team finished second with Ky Finck, Blaine Barnes, Derek Finck, and Drew Sageser, and the Foster Cattle Company placed third this year with the team of Asa Cole, Ewell Adams, Casey Pope, Keith Bryan, and Matt McPherson.

The Top Hand for the rodeo was awarded to Keith Brimm, and the Top Horse award was won by Rody Wilson.

This year’s attendance for the two-day ranch rodeo was 1,489 and Thursday’s junior rodeo was 507.

The Junior Ranch Rodeo was won by Huddleston Performance Horses with the team of Kade McClesky, Casey McClesky, Cooper McClesky, Bree McClesky, And Cooper Huddleston.

The second place team was Giallo Del Cielo with the team of Lane Oles, Kater Tate, Cody Kindrick, Rye Clark, and Cutter Hermsmyer. Lazy 7 was third in the junior rodeo with a team of Garrett Fry, Jett Cabler, Brody Rankin, Gunnir Bateman, and Llano Bateman.

Top Hand winner for the Junior Ranch Rodeo was Cooper McCleskey, and Jake Baca rode the Top Horse.

Junior Calf, Donkey, and Steer Riding and Mutton Bustin’ were held all three nights. Overall Mutton Bustin’ champion for the three nights was Maddie Benson. Overall Calf Riding Champion was Eli Richie, the Overall Donkey Rider was Kyle Brown, and Steer Riding champion was Hudson Matt.

Nightly winners of the junior events were as follows:

July 2 – Calf Scramble – Brogan Rankin, Gunner Bateman, and Cooper Oles; Mutton Bustin’ – Bryntee Allen; Calf Riding – Eli Ritchie; Donley Riding – Kyle Brown; and Steer Riding – Hudson Matt.

July 3 – Calf Scramble – Cooper Oles, Gracie Shadle, and Gracie Shadle; Mutton Bustin’ – Camry Shadle; Calf Riding – Harrison Howard; Donkey Riding – Jackson Graves; and Steer Riding – Macate Trammel.

July 4 – Calf Scramble – Jade Benson and Kaden Ocasta; Mutton Bustin’ – Maddie Benson; Calf Riding – Eli Ritchie; Donkey Riding – Rye Reynolds; and Steer Riding – Hudson Matt.

Beef winners this year were Jake Baca, Shelly Holden, and Michael Hall.

Clarendon is ready to welcome visitors this week to the 138th annual Saints’ Roost Celebration, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, July 2-4.

The Chamber of Commerce again reminds people that the biggest change for this year centers on the Herring Bank July Fourth Parade, which has been moved from its afternoon timeslot to 10 a.m. Line up for the parade will start at 9 a.m., and $850 in prize money is up for grabs for parade entrants.

The Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association will kick off the activities with a Junior Ranch Rodeo on Thursday night, July 2, at 7:30 at the COEA Arena followed by a dance at 9 p.m. featuring Chris Albracht as the deejay.

Clarendon merchants will have sales on Friday, and the Ten Commandments marker at the Courthouse will be dedicated that morning at 10 a.m. followed by the Depression Lunch from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Downtown Crossties Ministry building. COEA’s Ranch Rodeo will start that night at 7:30 with No Dry County providing live music for the dance at 9:00.

Saturday, July 4, the Arts & Craft Fair on the square will start at 9 a.m. The Craft Fair is sponsored by the Donley County 4H. The Old Settlers Reunion and the Kids’ Bicycle & Tricycle Parade also begin at 9 a.m. The Kids’ Parade will line up and register at 8:30 at Keith Floyd’s shop at Third and Sully.

Line up for the Herring Bank Parade, featuring $850 in cash prizes plus trophies, will also start at 9 a.m. on Sixth Street north of Prospect Park. At 10:00, the parade will then take its usual route – north on Kearney to Third Street, west on Third to Sully, south in front of the Courthouse, and then wind back to the ball parks.

Parade winners will be announced at 1 p.m.

Ed Montana will be handling the parade and celebration announcing and will also be performing live music during the festivities on the square.

Following the parade, the Al Morrah Shrine Club will have its annual barbecue lunch at approximately 11 a.m. and will serve until the food is gone. Tickets will be $10 per plate. Tickets can be purchased on the Square or in advance at the Clarendon Visitor Center.

The Clarendon Lions Club has retired its cow patty bingo fundraiser and will instead have Bounce Houses and Water Slides at the Lions Hall from about 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A five-dollar wrist band will let kids bounce and slide to their hearts’ content all day.

The annual Henson’s Turtle Race will be held on 3 p.m. on Saturday. Registration is ongoing at Henson’s. Kids ages zero to 14 can enter the races free to win a cash prize. Adults and kids over 14 can enter the senior races for $5 with the winner getting half the pot and the other half going to charity.

The COEA’s Ranch Rodeo will close out the official celebration Saturday night at 7:30 with No Dry Country again headlining the dance at 9:00.

Box seating tickets are still available for all three nights of rodeo for $150. Contact Theresa Shelton for 654-2993 for information.

Also next weekend, the Be Brave Scholarship Fundraiser event will be held Sunday, July 5, at the Donley County Activity Center from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

A ten-dollar admission charge will include a hamburger meal, entertainment, and kids’ bounce houses. Tickets available in advance at Every Nook & Cranny or at the door.

For more information about the celebration, contact the Clarendon Visitor Center at 874-2421.

A late afternoon storm Monday did considerable damage to trees and property in Clarendon.

What started as a sprinkle quickly turned into a driving rain that filled street gutters and dropped visibility to almost zero on city streets.

As the wind picked up, a sudden strong east wind hit briefly and left its mark in several places.

At the historic McMurtry house at Sixth and Allen, where the Todd Knorpp family lives, the remains of a huge elm tree was knocked over, crushing a wrought iron fence and doing considerable damage but apparently missing the home itself. The tree itself had already died during the long drought of the last few years

On the opposite side of the block, at the old Stina Cain house at Sixth and Sims, large limbs of an evergreen tree were torn off; and other nearby properties also lost tree limbs of various sizes.

Further west, on College Hill, a large pine tree of 40+ years was toppled south of Clarendon College’s Knorpp Hall. The greatest damage was probably sustained on the college softball field where the Lady Bulldogs’ scoreboard was ripped from its I-beam posts. The electronic bottom two-thirds of the sign was left a ruined mess in the outfield. The top third of the sign was deposited and crumpled some 50 yards to the west against a barbed wire fence across the parking lot from Regents Hall.

The shoulders of Third Street between the First Baptist Church and Broncho Stadium again sustained erosion during the deluge, and crews also responded there to a power line that was ripped down.

The Clarendon City Council plan to take its show on the road next week after aldermen clashed with a local property owner over code compliance issues last week.

The old Neece house at Sixth and Bugbee was again the topic of conversation, and property owner Linda Lewis updated the council on work she has done at the house, moving a colony of bees and demolishing a dangerous balcony on the house.

But Alderman Sandy Skelton was not satisfied with progress on the property that avoided a condemnation order late last year.

“It really doesn’t look better,” Skelton said, particularly noting vegetation grown up along fences at the property, which Lewis said is Virginia creeper groundcover rather than weeds.

“I would suggest you look at the neighborhood and see how neighbors take care of their yards,” Skelton said. “You take off to Pampa, and we’re left hearing the complaints.”

Alderman Larry Jeffers also complained about the appearance of the property, and Aldermen John Lockhart and Beverly Burrows offered suggestions on removing debris from the property in a quick manner.

Lewis defended herself saying that she felt like she had done a lot to the property.

The council plans to visit the property as an agenda item on next Thursday’s regular meeting.