Archives for April 2018

The Texas Dept. of State Health Services is reporting a second confirmed case of rabies in Donley County this week after a skunk tested positive for the disease.

TDSHS says a woman and child were playing outside at their residence northeast of Clarendon when a skunk approached the property last Friday morning. The family dog chased the skunk into an outbuilding but it later ran back out and sprayed the porch. The woman’s husband arrived and shot the skunk, which later tested positive for rabies.

Earlier this month a horse in the western part of the county tested positive for rabies.

Residents are reminded of the importance of having their pets vaccinated for rabies and also urged again to avoid wild animals, especially normally nocturnal animals acting strange in the daytime.

Howardwick residents got to hear from eight of the nine people running for city council during a candidates’ forum there last Tuesday, April 17.

Coy Cooper moderated the event on behalf of a group known as the Friends of Howardwick, and a large crowd was in attendance. Local citizens submitted questions beforehand, and Cooper drew those questions at random.

Candidates attending were Brice Hawley, Vol Lindsey, James Wix, and Mary Grady – all running for two full terms on the city council – and Alderman Doc Holladay, Marietta Baird, Kay Dye, and Debbora Sharpton – all running for three unexpired terms. Johnny Floyd, running for a full term, was the only candidate not present due to health issues.

The opening question was why each candidate felt they should be elected.

Vol Lindsey said he is a retired English teacher who has seen a lot of undercurrents and valid issues in Howardwick and that he wants to see what he can do to improve the community.

James Wix said he would like to be a mediator and “see if we can get stuff done.”

Marietta Baird said her main goals if elected would be to be fair and not be swayed by anything other than the truth.

Brice Hawley said community service is his goal and that he thought his previous experience as a trustee of a home owners’ association would benefit him on the city council.

Alderman Doc Holladay, the only incumbent on the ballot, said he has constantly been involved with working to improve the city since he moved there in 1993. He also stressed the importance of mowing as a revenue source for the city and noted that less rain this year would mean less revenue. “We’re going to have to live within our means,” Holladay said.

Mary Grady said she would be fair if elected and would like to see the public more involved, especially on big issues.

Debbora Sharpton said for her honesty is most important and that the city should do nothing without the public’s involvement.

Kay Dye said her main focus is to see the community come back together.

In response to a question of how to save money for the city, candidates generally had similar answers about being good stewards of the public’s funds and funding needs over wants. Searching for new revenue streams was also a common response. Holladay focused on preventive maintenance as a way to save money, and Dye said the community can work together on projects to save money.

Regarding keeping all city employees year round, candidates generally agreed on making tough choices based on revenue although some candidates, such as Dye, also felt there was plenty of work to be done year round.

In response to a question about the public’s ability to comment at city council meetings, candidates generally agreed to the need to have involvement from the community and ways for the citizens to express their concerns and thoughts.

Hawley did mention the need to work within the rules of the Open Meetings Act.

In a question directed specifically to Sharpton and Holladay, both candidates agreed the city should follow all appropriate municipal laws.

On the idea of unincorporating the city, Dye said she only brought that up because of the recent politics but thought the city really needed to “get it together” and enforce the ordinances.

On the question of non-employees using city equipment as volunteers, Holladay said he had done it for years, and other candidates generally agreed that the city should look at its insurance policy to determine the liability of that issue.

Candidates responses to questions of employee hierarchy, determining issues of importance to the city, and what duties city employees should have were not far off from each other generally. Candidates all seemed to embrace the idea of some kind of event or community barbecue to bring the town together.

Among questions taken from the floor was one directed at Hawley, asking him to stop harassing Mayor Greta Byars. Hawley’s said he thought his political signs, which say “Got Byars Remorse?”, were just a clever play on words and that he didn’t consider that harassment.

Other comments at the meeting included a desire by Holladay to see the tree limb dump re-opened for the city, and a confirmation by real estate agent Linda Naylor that unicorporating would be a decline in property values.
Election Day will be May 5.

A Monday grass fire near Hedley destroyed an abandoned trailer house and other structures west of Hedley.

Clarendon Fire Chief Jeremy Powell said the grass fire was reported east of County Road 23 at 4:20 p.m. The blaze started off of US 287 and moved north northeast.

The fire was stopped at the railroad tracks, but the trailer house and some out buildings were lost, Powell reported. The BNSF railway was also shut down for a short time.

Hedley, Clarendon, and Memphis volunteer fire departments responded along with Donley County motor graders from precincts 1, 3, and 4. Donley and Hall county sheriff’s departments and DPS Troopers provided traffic control, and the Associated Ambulance Authority also responded.

Local and area volunteer firemen have been kept extremely busy lately as persistent drought, low humidity, and high winds have created critically dangerous conditions for wildfires.

In addition to responding to fires near Samnorwood and Wellington in the last week, Clarendon firemen were back in the Ashtola area last Wednesday, April 11, just one day after a fire in that community burned 10-15 acres and destroyed the 1930s era school building there.

Powell said the Wednesday fire started about 3:20 p.m. in the median of US 287 before it moved north and east and consumed 142 acres. Three homes were threatened by the second Ashtola fire, but none were lost.  Traffic on the railroad and US 287 was closed for a short time.

Assisting Clarendon firemen with the blaze were departments from Hedley, Howardwick, and Memphis as well as county motor graders, local EMS, TxDOT, and the Donley County Sheriff’s Office.

Even with rain in this week’s forecast, fire conditions remain exceedingly high in much of the Panhandle and South Plains, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service.

With elevated fire danger, caution should be used with any outdoor activity that may cause a spark. It only takes one spark to start a wildfire. Some tips to keep in mind are these:

• Postpone outdoor burning until conditions improve.
• Avoid parking and idling in tall, dry grass. Catalytic converters can get hot enough to ignite the grass under a vehicle.
• Avoid setting hot chainsaws or other hot, gas-powered equipment in dry grass.

Wildfires burning in grass can spread and grow extremely fast. It is important that if you spot a wildfire you report it immediately to local authorities. A quick response can help save lives and property.

Early voting begins Monday in this year’s Clarendon College District election.

Donley County voters will cast ballots to elect three members to the Clarendon College Board of Regents. On the ballot are incumbents Edwin Campbell and Jerry Woodard and challengers Lance Wood and Tommy Waldrop, and the top three vote earners will be elected.

Early voting for the college election will be conducted at the Clerk’s Office in the Donley County Courthouse Annex from April 23 through May 3 during regular business hours.

Election Day will be Saturday, May 5, 2018.

Howardwick City Hall reported Tuesday that it is not conducting early voting this year for that city’s regular and special elections because early voting was not part of the Order of Election approved by the Donley County Commissioners’ Court. All voting for the five positions on the Howardwick City Council will take place on Saturday, May 5, at City Hall.

Kenneth Overstreet and Tanya Word, both of Clarendon, were the top men’s and women’s finishers of the sixth annual Chance Mark Jones Roar & Run 5K last Saturday, April 14, at Clarendon College.

Overstreet, age 16, was the first to cross the finish line with a time of 20:42, giving him the best overall time, the best men’s time, and best time for those ages 11-19.

Word, age 46, ran the race in 24 minutes, 15 seconds, finishing before all other women and winning the 40-49 age group.

The race sponsored by the Clarendon Lions Club in conjunction with National Child Abuse Awareness Month, drew more than 80 registrations, but high winds and cold temperatures kept many people indoors Saturday. Thirty-five people actually ran or walked the 5K the day of the event, which was also attended by several spectators, supporters, and workers.

The annual Roar & Run 5K is held to raise awareness of child abuse and to honor the life of four-year-old Chance Mark Jones, who died in 2011.

Complete results were: Top Men’s Time – Kenneth Overstreet 20:42; Top Women’s Time – Tanya Word 24:15; 10 and under – 1st Kutter O’Keefe 37:45; Ages 11-19 – 1st Overstreet, 2nd Bryce Williams 24:35, 3rd Lillie Dale 25:02; Ages 20-29 – 1st Karissa Huffman 25:00, Marilyn Brandt 36:00, and 3rd Bryce McCary 44:21; Ages 30-39 – 1st Tony Dale 25:03, Charles Huffman 31:04, 3rd Andrew Brown 37:43; Ages 40-49 – 1st Word, 2nd Michelle Branigan 32:52, 3rd Scarlet Estlack 51:25; Ages 50-59 – 1st Shaun O’Keefe 45:09, P.J. O’Keefe 47:77, 3rd Nancy Kidd 49:42; and Ages 60-69 – 1st Martha Smith 43:27.

Proceeds from this year’s 5K will help support the Clarendon Water Recreation Project and will also support the annual charitable activities of the Clarendon Lions Club, including eyeglasses for local school kids, Christmas food baskets for local families, scholarships, and hosting the area office of The Bridge – Children’s Advocacy Center.

A former Donley County producer was honored by the National Peanut Board recently by making a donation in the name of the late Bob White to help establish the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta at the Emory Food Allergy Center.
White was the former chairman of the National Peanut Board. He passed away in October 2016.

“Like other peanut farmers, Bob White took great pride in growing a nutritious and wholesome food,” said NPB President and CEO Bob Parker. “That anyone could be harmed by eating the product he grew bothered him. During his tenure on the National Peanut Board, Bob embraced efforts to find ways to prevent, treat and find a cure for peanut allergy. He would have been excited to know that NPB played a role in bringing a food allergy research center to a prestigious institution like Emory University,” said Parker.

Panhandle Peanut Growers Producers President Michael Newhouse of Clarendon also praised White’s contributions to the industry.

“There are big boots to fill that Bob left behind,” Newhouse said. “A lot of folks don’t even know what Bob did for the peanut industry on a national and international level. He had a way of bringing people together even when they disagreed, and he always did what was best for the industry and not just what was best for his personal farm.”

On a local level, Newhouse said White had served as a mentor to himself and also to other younger farmers.
Many NPB staff, former board members and Texas peanut leaders attended the event in Atlanta along with White’s wife, Pat, and daughter, Mandi Gay.

“I want to thank you for honoring my dad,” Gay wrote in a Facebook post. “I am so grateful to know that my parents were a part of such a wonderful group of people. Thank you for allowing us to be there. I am so glad I got to meet all of you and hear some of the stories from your times together. I know my mom will cherish them always.”

The new food allergy program addresses an important problem that was close to White’s heart.

“There’s a huge gap in the Southern U.S. without a world-class food allergy and treatment center,” Parker said. “Georgia being the largest producer of peanuts, it’s fitting that a world-class university like Emory has started this program here and brought in solid leadership in Dr. Brian Vickery.”

Dr. Vickery has worked on groundbreaking food allergy research at Duke University and University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He has exceptional qualifications for patient-centered care and advancing research. Dr. Vickery acknowledged NPB’s contribution to the Center in memory of Bob White.

Eighteen Clarendon High School students competed last week at Odessa College in the regional academic meet, and several students qualified to move on to state competition in Austin May 4-5.

The Current Issues & Events team of Noab Elam, Andy Davis, Alex Bilbrey, and Orian Neal placed first as a team to win the regional championship and punch their ticket to state.

Elam placed 2nd overall, and Davis came in 4th. The team came in with the highest district score of any competing teams, and they came through with the best score in regional competition as well.

The Social Studies team of Elam, Bilbrey, Josh Cobb, and Sophie Bilbrey placed 2nd as a team and Noab Elam won the individual regional championship.

The Science team of Tessa Lutters, Grayson Burch, and Harmond Drenth placed 2nd as a team as well. Lutters placed 2nd overall and tied for 2nd in Chemistry and so qualified to go to state as an individual. Burch placed 4th overall and tied for 2nd in Chemistry with Lutters.

There are more than 7,000 students in Clarendon’s region, so for students to be in the top 4 in the region is a great achievement.

The state competition is the largest high school academic contest in the United States. Sponsors and competitors are excited about the chance to travel to the state capital and compete.