Archives for March 2016

The City of Clarendon is close to completing a project to loop water lines on the south side of the city, according to a report made to the City Council’s regular meeting March 10.

City Administrator David Dockery said the project ties lines along Browning Blvd. from Carhart Street to Parks up to Barcus and then west to Bugbee Avenue.

“This will help take care of the biggest part of the red water in that part of town,” Dockery told the council. “I want to compliment the public works crew for accomplishing this job while stilling taking care of their usual tasks.”

Public Works Director John Molder also spoke on the looping project, agreeing with Dockery that the works should “just about alleviate the red water” and noting that the city is receiving good water from Greenbelt.

“We’re delivering a good product with bad lines,” Molder said, referring to cast iron lines that were put into service early in the 20th century.

Dockery also reminded the council of the Town Hall meeting that will be held Tuesday, March 29, in the Bairfield Activity Center at 7 p.m. to discuss further improvements to the water system at a cost of about $4 million through a USDA grant/loan program.

In other city business, the council opened sealed bids on a city-owned hanger at the Smiley Johnson Municipal Airport. John Morrow bid $1,200 on the hanger, and Gary Campbell bid $1,203.99. The council accepted the high bid.

Aldermen also discussed the bylaws and articles of incorporation for the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation. Mayor Larry Hicks said discrepancies had been discovered in how the CEDC is operating compared to what the bylaws actually call for. The chief discrepancies are a requirement in both the bylaws and the articles of incorporation that requires board members to be residents of the City of Clarendon and a provision in the bylaws setting the date of the regular monthly CEDC meetings.

City officials say the bylaws need to either be followed or changed to fit current practice. The CEDC will discuss the bylaws at its next meeting.

Also at the March 10 meeting, Aldermen gave final approval to Ordinance 451, finishing the process of closing a portion of Fourth Street west of Collinson Street.

 

The fourth annual Chance Mark Jones Roar ‘N Run 5K is three weeks away, but those wanting to participate are reminded that the early registration deadline is next Friday.

The Clarendon Lions Club is hosting the event on Saturday, April 9, to coincide with Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Those interested in running or walking the 5K (about 3.1 miles) are encouraged to sign up before April 1 to take advantage of the early bird discount. Registration costs $25, but those who sign up early save $5. Signing up by April 1 also guarantees participants the official 5K t-shirt.

The year’s race will start and end on the Clarendon College campus and will run through the city, around Prospect Park, and past several historic structures, including the Donley County Courthouse, the First United Methodist Church, and the S.W. Lowe House.

The race will begin at 9 a.m. Race registrations are available at the Clarendon Visitor Center at the Mulkey Theatre, at the Enterprise, or online at http://bit.ly/1PrEcUy.

Sponsorships are also available, and potential sponsors are also asked to sign up by April 1 to ensure their names are on this year’s T-shirt.

Proceeds will go towards the many charitable activities of the Clarendon Lions Club, which includes eyeglasses for local school kids, Christmas baskets for local families, hosting the local office of The Bridge – Children’s Advocacy Center, local scholarships, continued park improvements, and monetary support for other local charities.

For more information, contact Lion Ashlee Estlack at ashlee.estlack@clarendoncollege.edu or 806-874-4808, Lion Jacob Fangman at 806-874-3556, or Lion Roger Estlack at publisher@clarendonlive.com or 806-874-2259.

 

Clarendon College sophomore Brayden Hawkins was ranked 7th in the All-American Standings and has been named to the All-American Junior College Livestock Judging Team after 5th place finish at the Houston Livestock Show this weekend.

Each year roughly 300 freshmen start judging livestock in the college ranks, and as sophomores only 15 will are named to the All-American team, a ranking that takes into account both academics and judging success.

The award is fifteen years old and Brayden is only the 6th person in Clarendon College history to ever receive this honor.

Hawkins is the grandson of Glenda Hawkins of Clarendon and the late Jerry Hawkins.

The CC Sophomore Livestock judging team finished the Spring semester strong with a 9th place overall finish at the Houston Livestock Show.

This team has made the top ten at Phoenix, Denver, Ft. Worth, San Antonio, and Houston, and the last time the College achieved this was five years ago. The team was also just 26 points away from winning the reasons contest.

Individually, Hawkins placed 5th overall and was in the top 10 in reasons; Annie Belden placed 2nd high in sheep and goats; and Kirsten Midkiff placed 14th overall in reasons.

Other members of sophomorelivestock judging team are Austin Browning, Quentin Quintana, Trey Tidwell, and Chris Johnson. The team is coached by Johnny Treichel and Curtis Wertman.

 

WASHINGTON – US Congressman Mac Thornberry (R-Clarendon) voted last week in support of a resolution, H. Res. 639, authorizing the Speaker to file a legal brief on behalf of the House of Representatives in support of a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of President Obama’s 2014 executive actions on the deportation of some illegal immigrants.

The lawsuit was filed by the State of Texas and 25 other states and will be heard by the Supreme Court this summer. The resolution passed the House by a vote of 234-186.

“The importance of this lawsuit cannot be understated as it goes to the heart of the separation of powers in our constitutional system,” Thornberry said. “The Supreme Court should recognize that no president, whether Democrat or Republican, should have the power to circumvent Congress and undermine the rule of law.”

“This is very important. If we’re going to maintain the founding principle of being a self-governing people, if we’re going to maintain the founding principle of government by consent of the governed, the legislative branch of government needs to be the one writing the laws—not the executive branch,” said Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI).

In a ruling last year, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the states in the lawsuit. The Court’s decision prevents the Obama Administration’s implementation of the executive actions while the matter makes its way through the legal system.

In the lawsuit, the Supreme Court asked whether the President’s executive amnesty violates his duties under Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” Thornberry said that is a question the House is uniquely qualified to answer, because under Article I, “all legislative Powers” are vested in Congress.

H. Res. 639 authorizes Speaker Ryan to file a brief on behalf of the whole House defending Congress’s Article I powers. The decision to file these briefs is usually made by the House’s Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group, not the full body. This is the first time any speaker has done this.

Thornberry voted last year in support of H.R. 240, the “Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act,” which prevents any funds from being used to carry out the President’s executive actions that grant deferred action to nearly five million illegal immigrants. The bill passed Congress and was signed into law by the President.

 

Donley County Commissioners approved a tax abatement for a new wind farm Monday and received an update on the Salt Fork project already under construction.

During its regular meeting, the court consented to a ten-year one hundred percent tax abatement for what’s being called the Salt Fork II project, which is located adjacent to the west of the current project along the northwestern part of the county.

Cielo Wind Energy representative Steve Brewster said Salt Fork II will start by the end of 2016 in order to take full advantage of the federal production tax credit. This is the last year companies will be able to get 100 percent credit under that tax break as the law now stands.

Brewster said the 150 megawatt project that stretches into Carson and Armstrong counties will include a minimum of 23 megawatts of production in Donley County.

As a condition of the abatement, Donley County will receive payments in lieu of taxes amounting to the greater of $1,500 per megawatt or $75,000, annually for ten years. The first payment is expected in 2018.

Also on Monday, Vince Green of EDF Renewable Energy discussed the progress of the Salt Fork I project.

EDF purchased Salt Fork I from Cielo for development and has contracted with Blattner Energy to build the wind farm.

Construction is underway on 63 turbines in Donley County and 24 in Gray County, Green said. Foundation and ground work is being completed, and turbines are expected to start arriving this week with the goal of being in full production by the end of 2016.

The substation for the project and the operations and maintenance building are both located in Donley County. Additionally, Green said another 27 turbines are expected to be erected in this county in Phase Two of the Salt Fork I project (which is not the same as Salt Fork II).

Garland Power & Light has agreed to purchase 150 MW of power from Salt Fork I, and another 24 MW has been contracted to Salesforce.

The Salt Fork I project represents a $235 million investment. Green reported that 100 people are at work on the site. He said about 75 attended a hiring event in Pampa last year, and two were hired by Blattner.

Green also reported that $467,187 had been spent locally so far on the project for food, lodging, water, and caliche.

County Judge John Howard asked Green to supply a more detailed breakdown of the local spending, noting that sales tax revenue for the City of Clarendon has not reflected an increase in local spending. Commissioner Dan Sawyer also said he doesn’t see construction people in Clarendon and reminded Green that the project is supposed to produce some full time employees.

Green said the full time positions are in the total project and said that construction workers are likely going to Groom most often for meals and groceries since its closer to the job site. But he said he would get a more detailed report on local spending to the county.

Green also reported that EDF has sub-graded the roads near the project and placed a two-inch caliche cap on 71,000 feet out of 124,000 feet of roads in the project.

When the first phase of the Salt Fork I project is completed, it will be comprised of 87 V100 (unit capacity of 2.0 MW) wind turbines supplied by Vestas.

The amount of power generated will be equivalent to avoiding more than 510,000 metric tons of CO₂ emissions annually, according to an EDF press release. This is equivalent to the emissions of 107,000 passenger vehicles driven over the course of one year.