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Archives for October 2019

Nadine Hodges Lee

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Nadine Hodges Lee, 89, of Clarendon, formerly of White Deer and Groom, passed peacefully in her sleep on October 13, 2019 in Clarendon.

Nadine Hodges Lee

Rosary services were held Tuesday, October 15, 2019, at Carmichael-Whatley Colonial Chapel in Pampa, with Father Arokia Raj Samalo, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church of Groom, officiating.

Funeral mass was held at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, October 16, 2019, at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in White Deer with Father Mieczyslaw Przepiora, pastor of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church of Vega, officiating. Burial will follow in White Deer Cemetery under the direction of Carmichael-Whatley Funeral Directors of Pampa.

Nadine was born on July 19, 1930, to Bryon and Irene Palmer Hodges on the family farm in Carson County. She graduated in 1949 from Groom High School. She married Johnny Edward Lee on April 16, 1953 in Pampa. They lived in Groom before returning to the family farm in 1972. She was an active member of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Groom for many years. After the death of her husband in 1996 she moved to White Deer. She worked at the White Deer Senior Citizens until 2008 when she moved to Clarendon.
She enjoyed gardening, oil painting, and putting together puzzles. She especially loved taking care of any animal big or small. She had fun reminiscing about growing up on the farm and found great pride in sharing those wonderful memories with her friends and family.  She was a talented painter and loved to gift people her paintings. She had a kind heart and wanted to help people.

She was preceded in death by her husband of 43 years; her parents; and four sisters.

She will be loved and missed by her six children, Carol Braddock, Wayne Lee, Forrest Lee, Charles Lee, Johnny Lee, and Helen Milstead; and five grandchildren.

Memorials can be made to the White Deer Senior Citizens, PO Box 744, White Deer, Texas 79097; or the White Deer Cemetery Association, PO Box 433, White Deer, Texas 79097.
Sign the online guest register at www.carmichael-whatley.com

Alfred Lee Musgrove, Jr.

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Alfred Lee Musgrove, Jr., age 93, of Lubbock, passed away on Monday October 7, 2019.

Alfred was born August 19, 1926, in Grenville, New Mexico.

Services were held Saturday, October 12, 2019, at Llano Cemetery in Amarillo. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.resthavenfuneralhome.com for the Musgrove family.

Hedley ready to host annual Cotton Festival

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Hedley residents are making preparations to host their 68th annual Cotton Festival on Friday and Saturday, October 11 and 12.

The Hedley Lioness Club will get things going Friday with a Chili & Stew Supper at 5 p.m. The club will also be selling chances on a quilt. The Lions Club Hoedown will follow at 6:30 p.m.

Hedley’s One Act Plan will host Bingo on Friday starting at 6 p.m. and Saturday starting at 10 a.m. in the Senior Citizens building. All proceeds support the high school’s One Act Play.
Saturday’s events begin with the Hedley Fire Department’s Pancake Breakfast from 6:30 to 9:30 a.m., and the Rowe Cemetery Association will hold a bake sale.

At 11:00 a.m., the Lions Club will host a catered BBQ dinner, and the Senior Citizens will be serving hamburgers.

The Community Parade will be held at 2 p.m. and a dance will begin at 8 p.m.

Drawings for the festival will include a Rocker raffled by the Rowe Cemetery Association, a Henry Lever Action raffled by the Hedley Senior Citizens, the Lioness Club quilt, and outdoor furniture from the American Legion.

Other activities planned this year include a bounce house, chicken poop bingo, vendor booths, and a tractor and car show.

City putting trust properties up for sale

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The City of Clarendon in conjunction with the Texas Communities Group, LLC, will begin placing “For Sale” signs on available trust properties within the city in the coming days.

A press release from City Hall says this project is a part of the clean-up effort spearheaded by the City of Clarendon and other participating taxing entities.

Trust properties are lots and tracts of land which have been foreclosed upon to collect a tax lien due the local governmental entities, the City of Clarendon, Donley County, Clarendon ISD, Donley County Hospital District, the Clarendon College District, and the Panhandle Ground Water Conservation District. These properties were put up for auction and went unsold at the tax sale. The properties are then “struck-off” to the entities.

The placement of the signs on available property will identify the properties available for purchase. There will also be catalogs disbursed within the community.

Anyone over 18 years old can submit a bid for a property. However, a successful bidder cannot owe delinquent taxes on other property in the county, owe an unpaid fine or fee to the city and/or county, and/or own other property in the city/county that is subject to existing penalties for codes enforcement.

Those interested may place a bid online at www.texascg.com or can simply go to the City of Clarendon and submit a bid, which is the price you would consider paying for the property you wish to buy. Should you meet the requirements listed above and your bid is sufficient and accepted by all entities, the property will be deeded to you upon receipt of the payment of your bid amount and fees to cover the cost of the deed and recording fees, which are minimal.

Texas Communities Group recalls the saying that one person’s trash may be another person’s treasure. This is certainly the case with Trust Property, the press release says. If you are interested in a property, there certainly is value to you. Maybe the property is next door and you can expand your yard or build a garage. Perhaps a property with a structure can be rehabbed into a profitable rent house. Never underestimate the power of an entrepreneurial mind.

Citizens are urged to notice the signs, look through the catalog, or go online and scroll through the properties.

The process to purchase these Trust Properties is simple; just submit the winning bid. The paperwork and recording is done for you. Returning property back to the tax rolls is one purpose of this effort.

Local boy hit by vehicle on US 287

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A Clarendon boy is hospitalized in Lubbock this week after he struck by a Jeep while crossing US 287 Sunday afternoon.

T.J. Smith

DPS Trooper Chase Overbeeke said the boy, identified on social media as seven-year-old T.J. Smith, was struck by the vehicle at about 2:40 p.m. near the intersection with Goodnight Street. He had been playing across the road and was called back by the person watching him, the trooper reported. He darted north across the highway and was struck on his right side.
Witnesses told DPS that the driver of the Jeep, 38-year-old Scott Ormon of North Richland Hills, was not speeding and tried to avoid the boy.

Smith was transported by ambulance to Claude and was then airlifted to Lubbock’s University Medical Center with severe injuries, particularly to his head and face.

A family friend told the Enterprise Tuesday afternoon, that Smith’s mother, Shantel Harris, reports that he is doing “amazing” and that he is off the ventilator and eating liquids. She also said that recovery will be a “long road.”

She also is said to be very thankful for the prayers, love, and support shown by the community. A prayer vigil was held for the boy at Prospect Park within hours of the accident Sunday.

Reports say that donations for the family may be made at Pilgrim Bank in an account for Ms. Harris.

Morning accident

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Emergency personnel assist Richard Miller after law enforcement officers say he failed to yield the right-of-way last Tuesday morning at US 287 and South Hwy. 70 and ran into the side of a semi-truck driven by Larry Simpson of DeLeon, Texas. Miller was transported by ambulance to North West Texas Hospital with non-incapacitating injuries, according to a report from the Donley County Sheriff’s Office. Enterprise Photo / Roger Estlack

Allsup’s stores selling to Yesway

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Allsup’s Convenience Stores is being purchased by Yesway, according to reports Tuesday afternoon.

A Yesway press release said the Iowa-based company has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase Allsup’s, which is based in Clovis, New Mexico, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions.

The manager of the Clarendon Allsup’s location was unavailable for comment at press time.

“Allsup’s founders, Lonnie and Barbara Allsup, were true pioneers, innovators, and visionaries of convenience store retailing,” said Thomas Nicholas Trkla, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Yesway. “They were the first to offer customers hot, cooked foods, self-serve gasoline sales, and 24-hour service. We could not be more pleased to be joining forces with such a strong, beloved company and talented team of employees.”

Trkla said Yesway looks forward to building on the Allsup’s heritage and plans to keep products customers are used to “including – without question – the world-famous Allsup’s Burrito.”

The Eastern New Mexico News in Clovis obtained a copy of a letter sent to Allsup’s employees, which said the stores will continue to operate under the Allsup’s name.

“It has not been a secret that we have been exploring a potential transaction over the past year or longer,” the News reported the letter saying. “Our top priority was to find a partner for this transaction that would be a good fit for our company, a responsible steward of the wonderful company that you and our family have built over the past 63 years.”

The News also said the letter states that longtime VP of Finance Barbara Allsup will retire, while Mark Allsup will stay on board in a management and advisory role to ensure a smooth transition.

“We are very excited to have selected Yesway as the acquirer of our company and the future custodian of our brand and legacy,” President Mark Allsup said in the Yesway release. “We chose Yesway as a partner because their values are truly aligned with ours. They share our commitment to support the local communities we serve, our unwavering pledge to our customers to provide them with a terrific shopping experience, and our dedication to the success and wellbeing of our employees.”

“Mark was very deliberate and selective in choosing a buyer for our company and we believe he has made an excellent choice in Yesway,” Barbara Allsup said in the release. “Lonnie and I opened our first store in Roswell, New Mexico in 1956 and have operated as a private, family-owned business eversince. We have always cared deeply about maintaining strong family commitments, having honest, hard-working employees, and partnering with helpful service providers, vendors and other professionals in the communities we serve. We believe that our legacy is in very good hands with Yesway.”

BW Gas & Convenience Holdings, LLC d/b/a Yesway is headquartered in Des Moines, IA and Abilene, TX. Yesway appears at #6 on the Convenience Store News “2019 Top 20 Growth Chains” list, is currently ranked #43 on the “CSP Top 202 Chains” list, was named a “2017 Chain to Watch” by Convenience Store Decisions, and was awarded a Bronze for Loyalty & Advocacy in the 2018 Loyalty360 Customer Experience Awards. Over the past three and a half years, Yesway has acquired over 150 conveniences stores located in Iowa, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Yesway plans to assemble a portfolio comprising more than 500 convenience stores in selected regions of the United States over the next several years. www.yesway.com.

Thornberry: ‘Time is right’ for a change

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Congressman Mac Thornberry said Monday “the time is right” following his announcement that he will not seek re-election in 2020.

US Rep. Mac Thornberry

The Clarendon Republican referred to the people of the 13th District as his employers and, in his official statement, he expressed his gratitude for the people who had repeatedly elected him since 1994 and to those he worked with.

“It has been a great honor to serve the people of the 13th District of Texas as their congressman for the last 25 years,” Thornberry said in a statement released Monday. “We are reminded, however, that ‘for everything there is a season,’ and I believe that the time has come for a change. Therefore, I will not be a candidate for reelection in the 2020 election.”

Read Thornberry’s full statement here.

Thornberry sat down with The Clarendon Enterprise Monday afternoon and said there were three main points that led him to the decision not to seek a 14th term in office with the first reason being term limits.

“We did not get limits on terms in office, but we did put limits on committee leaderships,” Thornberry said. “You can’t serve more than six years.”

Thornberry became the chairman of the influential House Armed Services Committee in January 2015, the first Texan to hold the position. Even after the balance of power shifted to the Democrats in the 2018 election, Thornberry remained in a leadership role on the committee as the Ranking Minority Member.

“The rule applies whether you’re in the majority or the minority,” Thornberry said.
Secondly, the congressman said just the time in office itself makes him think it is time to step aside.

“I’ve been doing this for 25 years,” he said. “It’ll be 26 years, and that’s longer than I expected.”

And the third reason? Politics.

“The political environment makes it more difficult to get things done,” he said.

Thornberry has seen a lot of changes over the years, but the biggest change has been the level of discourse in the nation’s capital. And the animosity is not just for show or publicity. This, he said, is “a time of personal vendettas,” and he doesn’t see that changing anytime soon.

“It is different even behind closed doors,” Thornberry said. “Both parties have moved further into their ideological corners over time.”

The disappearance of conservative or “Blue Dog” Democrats and moderate Republicans has increased the level of partisanship, he said. That rancor has also crept into traditionally bi-partisan areas of policy making.

“For 58 straight years, the president, whoever it was, signed the defense authorization bill,” Thornberry said, “but this year we had a partisan vote in the House. Armed Services and Agriculture have been two of the most bi-partisan areas, but that’s changing now.”

The Texas Tribune reported that Thornberry’s announcement makes him the sixth Texas Republican to announce to announce an upcoming retirement from Congress. The Tribune called him “the last remaining Texas Republican from the class of 1994 and the dean of the GOP delegation.” It also said his retirement was not surprising due to committee term limits.

Asked about his thoughts on congressional term limits, Thornberry told the Enterprise that he’s always voted for it when it comes up.

“It only makes sense if it applies to everyone equally,” he said. “I think there are more benefits to it than not since people are so disillusioned with their government.”

The congressman did say, however, that it takes time to learn the processes in Washington.

“I served on the Armed Services Committee for several years before I went on the Intelligence Committee, and I was surprised by how much I didn’t know,” he said, “and I’m still trying to understand dairy policy.”

Thornberry chuckles when told that he made headlines with his announcement Monday.

“Some of the things that are being said… You’d think that I died,” he said.

The congressman’s term won’t expire until January 2021; and with 15 months left in office, he’s still got some things he wants to work on.

Not surprisingly, national defense is at the top of the priority list for the congressman who introduced a bill to create a National Homeland Security Agency six months before the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

“We still have work to do to restore the readiness of our military and help the Pentagon be more innovative,” Thornberry said. “The private sector is leading on innovation in many areas, and there are a number of steps we can do along those lines.”

Close to home, Pantex, Bell Helicopter, and Sheppard Air Force Base play critical roles in the nation’s defense, and Thornberry said the people employed in those facilities are the ones who make their work significant.

“It will be important for my successor to be supportive of those roles,” he said.

Thornberry isn’t sure what he will do when his term comes to a close.

“I have a longer list of things I don’t want to do than things I want to do,” he said. “I’ll be looking for a job, but there are limits to how much of that I can do before I leave office. I hope to still have some connection to national security. I don’t see myself going back into practicing law. I wouldn’t want to have me as an attorney.”

Looking back on his service, Thornberry is reluctant to point his accomplishments in office or tout his legislative record.

“If people think I have fairly and honestly represented them, then I’m satisfied with that,” he said. “My main goal is to be the representative the people of this area deserve.”

And it is the people of the 13th District and the local community – his employers, he says – that he credits with his success.

“I have such gratitude for being born and raised in this community and for the values and support I have received and continue to receive from the people of Donley County,” Thornberry said. “It’s allowed me to do all I have been able to do.”

CC rodeo teams do well on the road

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Clarendon College’s rodeo teams had a busy September posting good results at two rodeos.

The teams competed in Portales September 19-21 at the Eastern New Mexico University rodeo. The team fared well with five members of the men’s team competing in the finals.
Cole Franks, a freshman from Clarendon, qualified 5th in the Bareback Riding, 8th in the Saddle Bronc riding, and 10th in the Team Roping with partner Rafael Dominigo, a freshman from Citra, Florida.

In the Saddle Bronc Riding, Taylor Russell, a sophomore from Lipscomb, tied for second-third, Riggin Smith a sophomore from Winterset, Iowa, was fourth-fifth, and Keene Justesen a sophomore from St. Cloud, Florida, was 6th. Franks also placed fourth in the finals and finished 5th in the average in the Bareback Riding.

In the saddle Bronc Riding, Riggin Smith was 2nd in the finals and finished 2nd in the average, Taylor Russell finished 5th, Keene Justesen finished 6th, and Franks finished 8th.

In the Team Roping finals Franks and Dominigo placed 2nd, which was good enough for 2nd in the average.

The team finished in Portales with 305 points placing them 5th out of 17 teams in the Southwest Region.

Clarendon College teams traveled to Alpine, Texas, September 26-28 for the Sul Ross Rodeo with seven of the men’s team qualifying for the finals on Saturday night.

In the Bareback Riding, Justin Opatrny, a sophomore from Cochranton, Penn., split first-second in the first round, placed 6th in the finals, and was second in the average. Cole Franks split fourth-fifth in the first round, was second in the finals, and was in the average, and Josh Green, a sophomore from Wetumpka, Ala., placed 10th in the first round, 5th in the finals, and 8th in the average.

In the Saddle Bronc Riding, Riggin Smith placed 1st in first round, 1st in the finals and was the Champion Saddle Bronc rider of the rodeo.

Also in that event, Keene Justesen placed third-fourth in the first round, 3rd in the finals, and 3rd in the average. Taylor Russell placed 2nd in the first round and 7th in the average, while Brody Roessler, a freshman from Fairview, Alberta Canada, placed eighth-ninth in the first round and finished 9th in the average.

In the Bull Riding, Dawson Gleaves, a freshman from Amarillo, placed 5th in the first round and 5th in the average.

The men’s team placed 3rd overall with 405 points. The Women’s Team has had a rough start but continue to work hard for improvement.

The teams will travel to Vernon College October 3-5 and to Canadian for the Frank Phillips College Rodeo October 10-12, and finish the semester in Lubbock at Texas Tech on October 31- November 2.

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