Archives for January 2016

Koyt Tucek and Tyler Harper exhibited the top animals in the Beef Division during the annual Donley County Junior Livestock Show last Saturday, January 9, at the Donley County Activity Center.
Tucek repeated his 2015 performance by showing the Grand Champion Steer, and Harper had the Grand Champion Heifer.
Other top winners were Brenna Ellis and her Grand Champion Goat; Madison Smith with the Grand Champion Sheep; Maloree Wann and her Grand Champion Gilt; and Koyt Tucek with the Grand Champion Barrow.
Reserve Champion honors when to Izzy Craft, goats; Joseph Watson, sheep; Grant Haynes, steers; Taylee Ehlert, heifers; Maloree Wann, gilts; and Harrison Howard, barrows.
A total of 79 kids from the Donley County 4-H Club and local FFA chapters exhibited 135 animals during the show. Last year 77 young people showed 110 animals.
The livestock auction following the show generated an estimated $49,150, and that number will increase as donations continue to be received. The 2015 premium sale totaled about $42,600 at this point last year.
Showmanship awards this year went to Chardy Craft – Senior Goat, Kynna Phillips – Junior Goat, Jasmine Lockeby – Senior Sheep, Malerie Simpson – Junior Sheep, Ray Jaramillo – Senior Swine, Brock Hatley – Junior Swine, Hannah Hommel – Senior Beef, and Tyler Harper – Junior Beef. The Pee Wee Showmanship winners were Presley Smith and Gracie Ellis.
Complete results of the show are as follows:
Sheep – Light Weight – Malerie Simpson, first; McKay Shelp, second; Jasmine Lockeby, third; Shiann Cook, fourth; and Alysse Simpson, fifth.
Medium Weight – Joseph Watson, first; Madison Smith, second; and Alysse Simpson, third.
Heavy Weight – Madison Smith, Grand Champion; Joseph Watson, Reserve Champion; and Shiann Cook, third.
Goats – Prospects – Kynna Phillips, first; Jayde Gribble, second; and Calder Havens, third and fourth.
Light Weight – Izzy Craft, Reserve Champion; Jaxan McAnear, second; Riley Jantz, third; Christopher Gonzales, fourth; Riley Wade, fifth; and Kynna Phillips, sixth.
Medium Weight – Chardy Craft, first; Levi Gates, second; Jayde Gribble, third; and Reagan Wade, fourth.
Heavy Weight – Brenna Ellis, Grand Champion; Laney Gates, second; Brandalyn Ellis, third and fourth; Ethan Babcock, fifth; and Jaxan McAnear, sixth.
Heifers – Class One – Makenzi Hinton, first; Lane Hinton, second; and Bailey Downing, third.
Class Two – Hannah Hommel, first; and Taylor Shaller, second.
Class Three – Tyler Harper, Grand Champion; and Taylee Ehlert, Reserve Champion.
Steers – Hereford Class One – Harrison Howard, Breed Champion.
American Class One – Grant Haynes, Reserve Champion; Madison Smith, Reserve Breed; and Tristen Harper, third.
AOB Class One – Hannah Hommel, first; Tyler Harper, second; and Evelyn Mills, third.
AOB Class Two – Grant Haynes, first; Madison Smith, second; and Kelsey McAnear, third.
AOB Class Three – Koyt Tucek, Grand Champion; Issac Dunham, second; and Kelsey McAnear, third.
Gilts – Class One – Lane Cabler, first; Jayden Lambert, second; Andrea Coccini, third; and Steven Mills, fourth.
Class Two – Jaxan McAnear, first; Ray Jaramillo, second; Clay Ward, third; Emma Lambert, fourth; and Kenlee Lambert, fifth.
Class Three – Maloree Wann, Reserve Champion; Tristin Kain, second; Tristen Harper, third; and Lane Cabler, fourth.
Class Four – Maloree Wann, Grand Champion; Angel Olivas, second; Clint Franks, third; and Kasie Hinton, fourth.
Barrows – Light Weight Class One – Payton Havens, first; Blaine Ellis, second; Mya Edwards, third; Jaxan McAnear, fourth; Tristen Harper, fifth; Brock Hatley, sixth; and Jayden Lambert, seventh.
Light Weight Class Two – Taylor Halsel, Reserve Division; Emeri Robinson, second; Bryce Hatley, third; Ray Jaramillo, fourth; and Misti Scott, fifth.
Light Weight Class Three – Koyt Tucek, Grand Champion; Grant Haynes, second; Calder Havens, third; Raylyn Shelton, fourth; Cole Franks, fifth; and Marie Francksen, sixth.
Med. Weight Class One – Hannah Hommel, first; Kenlee Lambert, second; Payton Havens, third; Grayson Waldrop, fourth; and Emma Lambert, fifth.
Med. Weight Class Two – Brock Hatley, first; Blaine Ellis, second; Raylyn Shelton, third; Bryce Hatley, fourth; and Tanner Burch, fifth.
Med. Weight Class Three – Grant Haynes, first; Caton Grahn, second; Emeri Robinson, third; Caylor Monroe, fourth; and Mycah Woodard, fifth.
Med. Weight Class Four – Hannah Hommel, Division Champion; Issac Dunham, Reserve Division; Cutter Goodpasture, third; Hadleigh Halsell, fourth; Heath McCleskey, fifth; and Collin Monroe, sixth.
Heavy Weight Class One – Harrison Howard, first; Tyler Harper, second; Issac Dunham, third; Jaxan McAnear, fourth; Clay King, fifth; and Malerie Simpson, sixth.
Heavy Weight Class Two – Harrison Howard, Reserve Champion; Kennady Waldrop, second and third; Grayson Waldrop, fourth; Alysse Simpson, fifth; and Bryce Williams, sixth.
Heavy Weight Class Three – Koyt Tucek, Grand Champion; Darcy Grahn, second; Bryce Grahn, third; Emmelise Warren, fourth; Emmelise Warren, fifth; and Bryce Williams, sixth.

The Hedley Board of Aldermen will review that city’s employee policies this week after a called meeting last Tuesday, January 5, that featured accusations of nepotism, improper use of funds, and harassment.
Mayor Leon Ward moved to take last week’s meeting into closed session before the controversial topics were raised, but City Secretary Gini Burnett protested, saying she wanted any hearing about her held in public and questioning whether the agenda was properly posted to allow a closed session.
Ward then agreed to keep the meeting public and began a discussion about Burnett using the city’s debit card for personal use.
Minutes of the city’s December 10 meeting, that were approved earlier at the January 5 meeting, indicate that the board had unanimously approved Burnett’s use of the card for a meal while out of town on business for the city. But in the new discussion, Ward said he felt that expenditure should not have been approved and that Burnett did not realize how serious a transgression it was to have used the card in that manner.
Ward also said he did not think he had impressed on Burnett enough about a charge of nepotism, relating to her paying her father to do contract labor for the city.
Burnett said the meal expense was approved and said she had promised not to hire her father again even though she could point to numerous times when the city had done the same thing in the past. She said the controversy seemed to have arisen after she filed a complaint against Alderman Dusty Wilkinson.
“I filed a harassment charge on Dusty Wilkinson,” she said. “After the December 10 meeting, I gave verbal complaint to Leon on December 16. I have been slandered and retaliated against”
Wilkinson was not present at last Tuesday’s meeting but was listening on speaker phone for parts of the meeting.
Alderman Lonnie Roby said the board had approved the expense for the meal, that no one had a problem with it, and he urged the board to forget the whole thing and move on.
“This is a bunch of bull crap,” Roby said.
Alderman Kathy Spier said the charge of nepotism made no sense to her.
“I don’t understand the problem,” she said. “Mother and I work for the senior citizens center. Should I be fired for nepotism? What about all the years that (former city secretary) Randy (Shaw) and (former city clerk) Rhonda (Shaw) ran the city?”
“Gini has been nothing but honest and forthright and above board,” Spier said.
Burnett also read guidelines from the Texas Open Meetings Act prohibiting board members from discussing city business outside of a posted meeting whether in person, on the phone, or by electronic message.
The board’s regular meeting this week will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 14.

The Clarendon College Meats team won the Southwest International Invitational judging contest hosted in Lubbock this past weekend.
Clarendon College finished in first place with 3,495 points, followed by Garden City Community College with 3,315; the Australian National Team with 3,268 in third; Cisco College with 3,032 in fourth; and Western Texas College with 1,841 in fifth place.
Individually, Clarendon College finished with 4 of the top 10 spots.
Courtney Walker finished in first place with 914 points; Wesley Burnett placed third with 878 points; Thachary Mayer placed fourth with 873 points; and Taylor Stubenborbt placed tenth with 830 points.
Other team members included Dyllan Galligan, Maggie Roque, JD Davis, and Taylor Swinson.
The team will next head to the National Western Intercollegiate Meat Judging Contest in Greeley, Colo., on January 17.

Winter Storm Goliath did not pack quite the punch in Donley County that it did in other parts of the Texas Panhandle, but the meteorological finale of 2015 still left its mark.

Heeding warnings ahead of the storm, Lowe’s Family Center was swamped Saturday, December 26, by local residents stocking up on essentials, and the shelves of milk, eggs, and bread were bare by that night.

Rolling into the High Plains Saturday evening, the storm blasted the area with strong winds that lasted through Sunday and periodically pelted the county with ice and snow. Official reports said local snowfall amounted to between three and four inches, but strong north winds pushed much of that snow into drifts while leaving some areas of bare ground.

The primary difficulty for local folks were power outages. While electric service in Clarendon stayed on, some county residents suffered power losses with a few being in the dark for several days even after the storm subsided Monday. Landline telephone and even some cellular phone services were also disrupted.

Southwestern Electric Power Co. reported that at Goliath’s peak, 15,500 SWEPCO customers were without power, with 5,400 outages in in the areas of Clarendon, Hedley, Wellington, Memphis, Shamrock and Wheeler.

Employees with the Texas Department of Transportation worked diligently to keep major highways passable. Travel during the storm was discouraged, but several motorists continued to push their luck and had to be rescued.

By 5 p.m. Sunday, state officials had closed Interstate 40 through the Texas Panhandle, and by 8:30 that night, US 287 from Childress to Amarillo was closed as well.

TxDOT’s Childress District at that time reported “heavy sleet and snow falling with snow pack and black ice on roadways,” and the department said it had numerous reports of vehicles sliding off of roadways, rollovers, and jackknifed trucks.” Downed power lines across roadways and widespread power outages were also reported.

Clarendon’s Red Cross shelter at the First United Methodist Church opened its doors to 110 stranded motorists, and the Church of Christ Family Life Center sheltered about another 50 people.

Roads re-opened Monday, but it was still a few days before some folks in rural areas were able to get their lives back to normal.

By last Wednesday, Greenbelt Electric still had local men working to restore all their members’ power with help from two other electric cooperatives as well as construction crews from Oklahoma, Louisiana, and from Lubbock.

Road graders were called in to help clear county roads to get linemen to downed poles, according to Greenbelt Electric’s Randy White.

“Donley County commissioners and hands really stepped up, working nights and weekends to help clear roads for us,” White said. “I was impressed.”

White said Greenbelt Electric lost a total of 250 poles during the storm, and the last residential outage was not restored until Sunday, January 3. As of Tuesday, Greenbelt was still working to repairs lines to some rural water wells.

 

Local 4H and FFA members spent last weekend making preparations for the annual Donley County Junior Livestock Show & Sale this Saturday, January 9, starting at 9 a.m.

The young people were busy setting up livestock panels and arranging chairs for the show at the Donley County Activity Center.

A total of 79 exhibitors have been working with their lambs, goats, beef and pig projects. Each one has quickly learned that despite the cold and snowy weather, the animals still need to be fed and watered daily.

Preliminary activities will be happening Friday evening as final preparations are made for the show. A chili supper will be held that evening starting at 5:30 for $7 per person with proceeds benefiting the stock show.

An on-site concession stand will open at 10:30 Saturday morning and will offer pulled pork sandwiches, baked potatoes, beans, brownies, and Frito pies. Proceeds from that stand also go to the stock show.

Following the show, the buyers’ barbecue dinner will precede the livestock sale that evening at 6:00 p.m.

The junior livestock association still welcomes donations to the buyers’ club by calling 806-874-2421. Those can also be dropped off at the Extension Office or mailed to DCJLS at PO Box 661, Clarendon, TX 79226.

Scheduled to exhibit animals this year are: Ethan Babcock, Tanner Burch, Lane Cabler, Andrea Coccini, Chardy Craft, Izzy Craft, Bailey Downing, Issac Dunham, Mya Edwards, Taylee Ehlert, Blaine Ellis, Brandalyn Ellis, Brenna Ellis, Marie Francksen, Clint Franks, Cole Franks, Laney Gates, Levi Gates, Christopher Gonzales, Cutter Goodpasture, Bryce Grahn, Caton Grahn, Darcy Grahn, Jayde Gribble, Hadleigh Halsell, Taylor Halsell, Tristen Harper, Tyler Harper, Brock Hatley, Bryce Hatley, Calder Havens, Payton Havens, Grant Haynes, Kasie Hinton, Lane Hinton, Makenzie Hinton, Hannah Hommel, Harrison Howard, Riley Jantz, Ray Jaramillo, Tristin Kain, Clay King, Emma Lambert, Jayden Lambert, Kenlee Lambert, Jasmine Lockeby, Christian Lucero, Jaxan McAnear, Kelsey McAnear, Heath McCleskey, Klaiton McCleskey, Evelyn Mills, Steven Mills, Caylor Monroe, Collin Monroe, Angel Olivas, Kynna Phillips, Jodee Pigg, Emeri Robinson, Misit Scott, Madison Shelp, Raylyn Shelton, Alysse Simpson, Malerie Simpson, Madison Smith, Koyt Tucek, Reagan Wade, Riley Wade, Grayson Waldrop, Kennady Waldrop, Maloree Wann, Clay Ward, Ryan Ward, Emmelise Warren, Joseph Watson, Bryce Williams, and Mycah Woodard.