Archives for March 2018

A half a million dollars from the State of Texas last week has put Clarendon’s proposed water recreation project within striking distance of being fully funded.

The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department gave final approval last Thursday to a $500,000 grant for the pool project. The city’s application was ranked fifth out of 36 in its category, and Clarendon was the only community in the Panhandle that was funded in that category.

Mayor Sandy Skelton attended the TPWD board meeting in Austin and thanked the department for its support of the city’s $2.086 million project. Now, he’s looking for more support within the community.

“We’ve done really well, and we now have more than 85 percent of the funds needed for this project,” Skelton said. “We need some more citizens to step up at this point.”

One final grant application for $150,000 is pending with a determination expected next month. If that application is successful, the project will be $155,000 short of being fully funded.

TPWD officials will be in Clarendon on April 30 to review grant requirements and visit the project site.

The project began in 2015 when an anonymous donor offered the city $500,000 for a water recreation facility if the community could match those funds. Since that time, $280,420 has been raised or pledged privately, including a $100,000 gift from the Charles & Thelma Bairfield Foundation; and the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation boosted the project with $525,000.

Total funds pledged or available now totals $1,780,420.

Skelton says the city’s water recreation steering committee will meet soon to discuss ways to raise the remaining funds for the project.

“Donations of any size are appreciated and needed,” Skelton said. “Whether its $1,000, $100, or $50, we need as many people as possible to support this project and finish out the fundraising.”

City Administrator David Dockery said a public pool facility for Clarendon could happen quickly if fundraising is finalized soon.

“We would set a target completion date in the summer of 2019,” he said.

Those interested in donating to the pool project are asked to call Dockery at City Hall at 874-3438 or send donations to the city at PO Box 1089, Clarendon, TX 79226.

A theft at a Clarendon restaurant landed two people in jail Sunday after a chase and manhunt.

Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn said Grumpy’s Pizza was robbed about 4 p.m. March 25 when a tall, slender Hispanic-looking male with tattoos entered the establishment, forced open the cash drawer, took the money, and fled in a waiting vehicle driven by a white female.

An employee and customers gave officers a good description of the man and the vehicle as well as the tag number of the car.

Department of Public Safety Troopers later located the vehicle and stopped it near the eastbound rest area on US 287 near Giles. The male suspect then fled on foot into the pasture south of the highway.

Blackburn said his department was assisted in the ensuing manhunt by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Memphis Police Department, Gray County Sheriff’s Office, the DPS helicopter and troopers, dogs from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and Andy Wheatly’s helicopter service.

A caller later reported the subject on their front porch asking for assistance at a residence two miles west of Memphis. The subject then ran east along the railroad. Sheriff Blackburn and Donley County Deputy Miranda Betts arrived within minutes, located the man in an abandoned travel trailer, and placed him under arrest.

Blackburn said the man, whose true identity had still not been determined at press time, is charged with Class B Misdemeanor Theft, Evading, Burglary of a Habitation, Resisting Arrest, and Possession of a Controlled Substance.

The driver was also being held in the Donley County Jail this week on charges of Theft and Possession of a Controlled Substance.

 

The early bird deadline is approaching for the sixth annual Chance Mark Jones Roar & Run 5K, which will be held Saturday, April 14, hosted by the Clarendon Lions Club to coincide with Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Those interested in running or walking the 5K (about 3.1 miles) are encouraged to sign up by April 2 to take advantage of the early bird discount. Registration costs $25, but those who sign up early save $5. Signing up by April 2 also guarantees participants the official 5K t-shirt.

Race registrations are available at the Clarendon Visitor Center and at The Clarendon Enterprise or online at http://bit.ly/2CzTnf3.

Sponsorships are also available, and potential sponsors are also asked to sign up by April 2 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, and other local projects.

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

The Clarendon Enterprise received thirteen awards on its way to winning the General Excellence Award during the 108th annual Panhandle Press Association Convention in Childress last Saturday, March 24.

During the annual PPA Better Newspaper Contest, the Enterprise received six First Place plaques for Editorial Writing, Serious Column Writing by Roger Estlack, Society/Lifestyle Page, Human Interest Photography by Elaina and Roger Estlack, Spot News Photography by Roger Estlack, and Best Online Newspaper.

The paper got five second place honors for Best Special Section (the 2017 Fall/Winter Clarendon Welcome Guide), Headline Writing, Feature Writing, Front Page Layout, and Advertising Design.

The Enterprise’s Cub Reporter, Benjamin Estlack, won third place honors for Serious Columns and Humorous Colums.
Former Perryton Herald publisher, the late Jim Hudson, and former Friona Star publisher, the late Ron Carr, were inducted into the PPA Hall of Fame.

The PPA was led this year by Booker publisher Joni Yara, who was re-elected as president. Other board members include Vice President Ginger Wilson of Dumas and Secretary/Treasurer Roger Estlack of Clarendon along with directors, Tara Huff of Fritch, Rob Langrell of Clovis, Wes Reeves of Xcel Energy in Amarillo, Jeff Blackmon of Shamrock, and Mary Dudley of Perryton.

Attending this year’s convention from Clarendon were Roger, Ashlee, Benjamin, and Elaina Estlack and Tara Allred.

The PPA represents 31 member newspapers in the Panhandle region. Next year’s convention will be in Amarillo.

State and national officials were present Tuesday when local producers gathered at Bertie Fannie’s in Memphis for the annual meeting of the Panhandle Peanut Growers Association.

Coinciding with National Peanut Month and National Agriculture Week this week, PPGA members learned about current trends in the peanut industry and also received updates on broader agriculture issues.

PPGA President Michael Newhouse of Clarendon urged local producers to be active in their association, stressing the importance of letting policy makers know their stories and the importance of their industry.

Marshall Lamb of the National Peanut Research Laboratory in Dawson, Geo., gave producers an overview of market and production trends.

After low yields and poor quality from the 2016 crop, Lamb said the 2017 crop was the second best yields since 2012 and came from 1.829 million acres, which was the highest since 1991. The result, Lamb said, was the largest peanut crop production in history.

“I researched that all the way back to 1909 and then figured I could quit at that point,” Lamb said.

Lamb said a record drought in Argentina right now is affecting the world market for peanuts, and officials are also keeping an eye on a large surplus supply in the United States resulting from the 2017 crop. He urged producers to be patient for the next three to four weeks to see how Argentina, where harvest is getting underway, will impact supply.

Bob Parker, the CEO of the National Peanut Board, also spoke at Tuesday’s meeting with praise for Panhandle producers.

“This area has a history of sending great leadership to the national board,” Parker said, noting the contributions of the late Donley County producer Bob White and recognizing the new regional and state leadership of Newhouse, Jeff Roper, and others.

Parker focused his remarks mostly on the research and marketing led by the national board, particularly the group’s work on peanut allergies.

New research has shown that peanut allergies can actually be prevented, Parker said, if infants are exposed to peanuts as early as four to six months, a finding which up ends a generation of parenting advice and is a huge discovery.

“When we started this research, a lot of people thought it was a waste,” Parker said of the millions of dollars the industry has invested. “But thank goodness we had people of vision in place. Now we’re the poster child of food allergy research.”

Parker also discussed the development and marketing of new “milked peanut,” which is higher in protein that almond milk and is now available in stores on the eastern seaboard and online nationally through Amazon.

“This is the first new peanut product category to be launched since the development of peanut butter over 100 years ago,” Parker said.

Other speakers Tuesday included Caleb Pool with Congressman Mac Thornberry’s office, who gave a legislative update; insurance agent Kathy Fowler, who spoke on issues of crop insurance and subsidies; and Shelly Nutt, the Executive Director of the Texas Peanut Producers.