Archives for April 2018

This historic Ashtola school building went up in flames Tuesday afternoon after an accidental grassfire got into the structure, and local officials are reminding everyone of how dangerous conditions are for fire this week.

Clarendon Fire Chief Jeremy Powell said local volunteer firemen were called out about noon April 10 after a rural resident, attempting to smoke out honey bees occupying their front porch, accidentally set their yard on fire.
This resulted in one occupied structure being threatened, 10-15 acres of grass being destroyed, and the 1930s-era school building going up in flames.

“We saved the house, but just the brick walls are all that’s left of the school,” Powell said.

Powell said everyone needs to be particularly careful this week – Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday – as temperatures are expected rise into the 90s with wind speeds up to 45 mph.

“We are in extremely critical danger right now,” Powell said. “Everyone needs to avoid doing anything that has any chance of starting a fire because anything could turn out catastrophic very quickly.”

Last Monday and Tuesday, local and area firemen were called to battle a wildfire at Goodnight that ultimately burned 14,824 acres.

Also last Tuesday evening, a disaster was narrowly avoided at a house fire at Fifth and McLean Streets in Clarendon. The Jason Morrow family said they smelled smoke but initially dismissed it because they thought it was the fire at Goodnight. They soon discovered the smell was coming from their home.

With most of Clarendon’s department at Goodnight, two local trucks responded to the call at the Morrow house, assisted by one firetruck from Mobeetie that was in town for supper. Powell said the fire was determined to be electrical in nature and caused only minimal damage to the home.

Runners and walkers will gather at Clarendon College this Saturday to raise awareness about child abuse during the sixth annual Chance Mark Jones Roar & Run 5K.

More than 70 people have registered for the event, which is hosted by the Clarendon Lions Club and coincides with Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Sign-ins start at 8 a.m. at the Bairfield Activity Center. The 9 a.m. race will start and end at the Bulldog Gym and run through the city; in front of the First Baptist Church; down Fifth Street along Clarendon Junior High; past several historic structures, including the S.W. Lowe House, the First United Methodist Church, and the Donley County Courthouse; around Prospect Park – the site of the Chance Mark Jones Memorial Playground; and then back up through the southwest part of the city to the college.

Race packets will be available for pick-up all day this Friday, April 13, at the Clarendon Visitor Center.
Proceeds from the race will benefit the charitable community activities of the Clarendon Lions Club. The race honors the life of four-year-old Chance Mark Jones, who died from abuse in 2011.

For more information, contact Lion Ashlee Estlack at 806-874-4808 or 806-662-4687.

Training teachers, raising kids right, and possibly arming personnel were all topics of discussion when the Clarendon school board held a public hearing Monday night, April 9.

Superintendent Mike Norrell started the hearing with an overview of some of the programs and security measures the Clarendon Consolidated Independent School District has adopted over the years and in recent months, including new measures implemented at the Clarendon Elementary just last week. More changes are in store, Norrell said, included security vestibules planned for construction the elementary and junior high and possibly the high school.

Local parent Chancy Cruise, who had spoken about security concerns at last month’s board meeting, was one of about a dozen parents and members of the public at Monday’s hearing and said he appreciated what had been done to lock down the elementary.

“It looks like y’all are really getting after it, and I appreciate that,” Cruise said. “We don’t want a jail but do want a secure school.”

Later it was Cruise who spoke up again and asked about board members’ feelings about arming school staff.

“I’m not against it,” Board President Wayne Hardin said, “but at the same time I’m not sold on it.”

Hardin said there are many issues to consider when it comes to the discussion of arming school personnel.

“These people were trained to be educators not security guards,” Hardin said. “And if the only training you’ve got is your CHL training, you are woefully under trained for that.”
School Trustee Weldon Sears said arming personnel has been discussed as one option.

“We’re looking at all the tools available to use,” Sears said. “It’s certainly something that could be worked out.”
Trustee Will Thompson also said the board had talked about the pros and cons of arming teachers and also said there is no single answer for school security.

“Most shooters are linked to bullying,” Thompson said. “We need to be instilling the Golden Rule and what kind of character you have. I think character education will create a bigger impact than arming teachers. We need the cooperation of parents and the community to do that.”

Trustee Reneé Mott also put the focus on parenting.

“All the parents here (at the hearing) are good parents,” she said, “but you’ve got to be involved not just with your kids but with other kids also. I know I never had a problem getting on to any of my kids’ friends.”

Hardin also focused on today’s culture as a problem.

“I went to school here in the 70s. We had shotguns and rifles in pickups in the parking lot, but we didn’t shoot each other,” he said. “We’ve got a culture problem.”

Cruise himself also said that he was not convinced arming school personnel is the right thing to do.

“I don’t really know that I like the idea or not,” he said.

In response to comments Monday night, Norrell said CCISD is planning for more training for teachers to help identify troubled youth and combating bullying continues to be something the school works on.

Parent Deborah Dale asked if there were any programs for parents to help them identify troubled kids. Norrell said there is nothing formal for that currently.

Some parents talked about additional security concerns and places where security could be improved. Elizabeth Zongker asked if the school had enough money for the security measures being talked about and put in place.
Norrell responded that the school has a line item for security in its budget but it isn’t enough. The school also has a fund balance that he said was “in very good shape” and said there are ways for the school to borrow money.

Cruise asked about raising taxes, but CCISD’s tax rate is capped at $1.17 per $100 valuation. Hardin said it would take voter approval through something like a bond election to go over that. Parent Corey Gaither said he would vote for whatever as long as it means his kid’s safety.

School officials said security has long been a priority for the district and work and discussions will continue.

Cruise also asked if the board would hold more public hearings in the future, and Hardin said the board could certainly do that. Sears said the school would likely be surveying parents about security in the near future as well.

The public hearing lasted almost an hour, after which the board set to work on its regular agenda, which include a report on a security audit. That report and discussion was held in closed session.

Other items of business Monday night included administrative reports, a quarterly investment report, and the acceptance of the resignation of one employee in the administration office, Nelda Woodard, who is retiring.

A report was also presented on trustee training hours as follows: Robin Ellis 11, Wayne Hardin 23, Wes Hatley 5, Reneé Mott 13, Chuck Robertson 5, Weldon Sears 6, and Will Thompson 25. Four of the board members – Ellis, Hatley, Robertson, and Sears – are deficient in the number of hours they need in the proper areas.

Candidates running for city council in Howardwick have been invited to a town hall forum next Tuesday, April 17, at the City Hall there.

The event is being sponsored by a new group calling themselves the Friends of Howardwick. One of the group’s members, Coy Cooper, said all nine candidates are being encouraged to attend the meeting, which will be at 6 p.m.

Local citizens can submit questions, which will be accepted up until 6 p.m., and a moderator from out of town is expected to lead the forum.

Clarendon College Theatre Department invites all audiences to the new original short play Clean by Clarendon College’s own Rodney Donahue on Thursday, April 19 and Friday, April 20 in the Harned Sisters Fine Arts Center at Clarendon College’s Clarendon campus. Doors open at 6:35; the play begins promptly at 7:00 pm.

Clean is an original comedy about the opportunities life offers us. In the play, Tammy, a human resources manager, hates her boss. During a seemingly typical workday for Tammy, things become atypical when she learns she is interviewing a hitman for a position in the company who happens to have an interesting alternative to her situation with her boss.

Clean asks us what it means to judge others and how we clean both our messes and our consciences. The play is suitable for audience members of every age.

Firefighters and emergency personnel were working diligently Tuesday to contain a wildfire that had consumed more than 11,000 acres in Armstrong and Donley counties in a battle that has already lasted two days.

By Wednesday morning, Texas A&M Forest Service Public Information Officer Clay Bales said the 294 Fire was 60% contained overall and the acreage total was 15,000.

The fire first started along the roadside of FM 294 north of Goodnight late Monday afternoon, April 2, according to Texas A&M Forest Service Public Information Officer Clay Bales.

“All the weather patterns and fuel patterns told us it could be a bad day yesterday,” Bales said Tuesday morning.

The 294 Fire moved north and east over several hours Monday evening as fire departments from Clarendon, Claude, McLean, and Skellytown were joined by Donley and Armstrong county personnel as well as the forest service. TFS single-engine aircraft from Amarillo made eight drops on the fire, and a fixed wing aircraft from Abilene made one drop.

Ten structures were threatened but none were lost Monday, and officials feared that I-40 might have to be shut down due to smoke impairing visibility.

By Tuesday morning, Bales reported that the fire was 70 percent contained and had burned about 6,500 acres.

“We felt like we pretty well had a line around it,” Bales said about 11:30 Tuesday morning, noting that a task force and aircraft were still monitoring hot spots.

But within just a few minutes, with winds picking up out of the north, the fire had reignited on its south side and was being driven toward US 287. Emergency personnel began diverting highway traffic between Clarendon and Claude. By noon, the fire had jumped US 287, and TFS reported three structures had been lost. Bales later said it was four structures, one of which was a home. Specific details of the structures were not available at press time.

High winds continued driving the fire toward rough terrain although it was initially slowed by farmland. Winds also hampered aircraft support from Amarillo, but the tanker plane was able to leave Abilene.

By 4 p.m., TFS reported it had six aircraft including three large air tankers – one from Abilene and two from Phoenix, two helicopters from Oklahoma, and ten dozers assisting local firemen. The fire was 50 percent contained when looking at the entire perimeter at that time.

Donations of Gatorade, peanut butter crackers, and candy bars with nuts were pouring into a staging station at the Associated Ambulance Authority to be delivered to those fighting the fire.

Tuesday afternoon, Bales said the state had two task forces on the ground assisting local crews with four more on the way. The fire had gotten into the canyon, and seven homes were still threatened.

Bales said Wednesday morning that four large air tankers (3000-gallons) and two heavy helicopters are planned to be used today to assist in gaining full containment. At that time, the fire activity remains on the south side in the canyon. Two TFS task forces are active on the south side, and one task force will be going north to check that perimeter as winds come from the south today.